The Rooster
Sunday, September 04, 2005
Morning Papers - It's Origin
Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History …
1781 Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers.
1875 Whites attack Blacks at Clinton, MS to overthrow a reconstruction government.
1848 Inventor Lewis H. Latimer, an innovator in electric lighting industry, who will become the only Black member of distinguished scientists and inventors who worked with Thomas Edison, is born in Chelsea, MA.
1888 George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film camera, and registered his trademark: Kodak.
1893 English author Beatrix Potter first told the story of Peter Rabbit in a "picture letter" to Noel Moore, the son of Potter's former governess.
1908 Author Richard Wright, noted for "Native Son" and "Black Boy", is born in Natchez, MS.
1951, President Truman addressed the nation from the Japanese peace treaty conference in the first live, coast-to-coast television broadcast.
1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.
1957, Ford Motor Co. began selling its ill-fated Edsel.
1962 Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Rummel orders the New Orleans Catholic schools to integrate.
1967, Michigan Gov. George Romney said in a TV interview he'd undergone a "brainwashing" by U.S. officials during a 1965 visit to Vietnam -- a comment that damaged Romney's bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
1971, an Alaska Airlines jet crashed near Juneau, killing 111 people.
Missing in Action
1965 BRANCH JAMES A. PARK FOREST IL SURVIVAL UNLIKELY REMAINS RET 03/92 ID'D 06/18/93
1965 JEWELL EUGENE M. TOPEKA KS CRASH EXPLODE NO PARA SEEN
1966 BLISS RONALD G. SAN DIEGO CA 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1966 MC NISH THOMAS M. NASHVILLE TN 03/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL IN 98
1966 NASMYTH JOHN H. SAN GABRIEL CA 02/18/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1966 SALZARULO RAYMOND P. FALLANSHEE WV NVN TOLD SUBJ BODY IN ACFT REMAINS IDENTIFIED 11
September 3rd
1966 TRUJILLO JOSEPH FELIX DEMING NM REMAINS RETURNED 11/17/92
1967 PIRKLE LOWELL ZINH REMAINS RETURNED 31 OCT 94 ID 09 JAN 96
1967 MOORE HERBERT W. JR. IMPERIAL PA
1968 FRAZIER PAUL R. MILWAUKEE WI
Haaretz
Court convicts Palestinian parliament member of crimes against Israel
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Palestinian parliament member Husam Khader was convicted Sunday by an Israel Defense Forces court of a string of terror-related offenses against Israel.
As part of a plea bargain deal, Khader admitted to the charges which were filed against him in the Samaria military court at the Salem checkpoint.
He was convicted of working for an illegal organization, providing the means to carry out crimes and of failing to prevent criminal acts.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620824.html
Sharon says law must recognize victims of Jewish terror attacks
By Gideon Alon and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday pressed Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to move for an urgent amendment to the law on compensation of terrorist attack victims, in order to provide compensation for the Israeli Arab victims of a shooting attack by a Jewish terrorist in the northern town of Shfaram last month.
Four Israeli Arabs were killed in the attack, and dozens wounded.
At present the law recognizes only victims of terror attacks perpetrated by anti-Israel organizations as eligible for compensation by the National Insurance Institute.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620752.html
Terror threat in West Bank; IDF ordered to beef up operations
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told cabinet members Sunday that security officials have received warnings of terror attacks planned for the West Bank and that he has instructed the Israel Defense Forces to beef up its operations there.
The minister has also ordered the IDF to accelarate the construction of the West Bank separation fence, continue to thwart planned attacks and arrest suspects.
IDF troops arrested two Palestinians in the northern West Bank on Sunday after the soldiers found an IDF uniform and military equipment in a suspicious-looking vehicle, Israel Radio reported.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620787.html
Israel sending experts to U.S. to offer hurricane relief aid
By Haaretz Service
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, announcing that a delegation of government experts would leave this week to determine areas in which Israel could help the relief effort in hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast, said Sunday that it was the Jewish state's duty to come to the aid of the ally which had stood by it in difficult times past.
"This week, a delegation of Defense and Health Ministry people will leave in order to coordinate what can be done there," Sharon told the cabinet at the opening of its Sunday session.
Sharon said "we will do everything in our power" to help Americans in distress following Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620790.html
Hurricane relief may cut into U.S. pullout aid for Israel
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service, and Agencies
The scope of the disaster relief that the U.S. government is preparing for the areas hit by the hurricane is likely to reduce the amount of American aid to be transferred to Israel, Army Radio reported Sunday, citing unnamed White House officials.
The U.S. aid was slated to offset the cost of implementing the disengagement plan.
After returning from his tour of the New Orleans region Friday, U.S. President George W. Bush immediately signed a $10.5 billion disaster aid package passed by Congress - an amount he repeatedly called "just the beginning" of federal expenditures for storm relief.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620503.html
PA nixes Israeli request to protect Gaza synagogues
By Yuval Yoaz and Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondents
The Palestinian Authority rejected an Israeli request on Sunday that it take responsibility for the protection of synagogues in Gush Katif and other evacuated Gaza settlements after the completion of the disengagement plan.
The request was made informally through an American mediator to a PA minister. The minister, upon rejecting the request, sent Israeli officials a message urging them not to submit an official request to the PA on the matter.
The government's appeal to the PA was discovered by the state prosecution during a High Court panel meeting Sunday morning convened to decide whether to re-open debate over the planned demolition of Gaza Strip synagogues, an issue which has placed the government and Israel's chief rabbinate at odds.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620744.html
Dahlan aides deny reports that PA official is seriously ill
By Haaretz Service
Aides to Mohammed Dahlan denied Sunday reports that the Palestinian Authority minister of civil affairs was seriously ill, Israel Radio reported.
Saudi newspaper Okza reported Sunday that Dahlan was hospitalized in Amman, Jordan, in serious condition, but that his life was not at risk.
According to the report, Dahlan suffers from severe back pain, and doctors are skeptical about the chances that an operation would relieve the condition. They also fear the Palestinian minister might become a paraplegic.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620770.html
Ethiopian children cannot go to school in Or Yehuda while politicians argue
By Yulie Khromchenko and Yuval Azoulay
Six-year-old Adiso Dasa, who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia three years ago, did not start school on Thursday. Rather than beginning first grade, he stayed home because of an order given by Or Yehuda Mayor Yitzhak Bokovza barring 50 children of Ethiopian immigrant families from registering in local schools.
The families all immigrated within the past three years, and until a few months ago they lived in absorption centers around the country, where they were given a governmental grant to purchase an apartment. Many of the families chose to move to Or Yehuda, where they believed they could integrate into Israeli society, find jobs and make a decent living. But sometimes dreams are dashed.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620508.html
Or Yehuda mayor removes his ban on 42 Ethiopian students
By Amiram Barkat, Yulie Khromchenko and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents
In the wake of a High Court petition and under the threat of criminal charges against him, Or Yehuda Mayor Yitzhak Bokovza bowed to pressure and removed his ban on allowing 42 Ethiopian children to study in the city's school system.
Bokovza had refused to allow the children to register to schools in the town and as a result they did not begin their schooling this year. Bokovza announced the removal of his ban following a meeting of the Knesset's State Control Committee.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620504.html
The Cheney Observer
All washed up
Oliver Morgan looks at the economic consequences of Katrina's fury leaving the US offshore oil industry in ruins
Sunday September 4, 2005
The Observer
With a death toll in the thousands, widespread flooding, rampant looting, a million people evacuated from their homes and the declaration of a public health emergency, Hurricane Katrina has already been called America's worst natural disaster - will it also be an economic one?
The storm tore through the heart of the American offshore oil industry in the eastern gulf of Mexico. By Wednesday, according to the US government's Minerals Management Service (MMS), 91.45 per cent of US Gulf of Mexico oil production had been 'shut in' - or cut off. This amounts to some 18 per cent of US output. In addition, 83.46 per cent of its gas production was interrupted. As the week progressed production crept back - but very slowly.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1562184,00.html
BORROWING TO CREATE JOBS: MORE INSANITY
By: Devvy
September 3, 2005
NewsWithViews.com
"Then I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:455, Papers 15:393
The insanity and lunacy coming out of Washington, DC was once again shoved down our throats last month. Because the economy is tanking and because the major job sectors that made America the most prosperous nation on earth (agricultural, manufacturing, industrial) have been gutted by NAFTA and other unconstitutional treaties, Americans are desperate for any kind of jobs that pay more than minimum wage and for almost a decade, that means government jobs - constitutional or not. With the signing of CAFTA by Bush, with the FTAA to follow at the end of the year, America will finally be reduced to a non, self-sustaining nation. A tragedy. Here is a prime example of bribing the American people with jobs while trying to shore up a sinking economy.
Congress passed another huge pork bill last month and Bush signed this $286.5 billion transportation legislation at a Caterpillar facility in Montgomery, Ill., on August 10, 2005 with the promise of jobs. During the 2004 pretend election cycle coverage on the tube, a middle-aged man up in Ohio yelled into the microphone of a reporter, "This election isn't about Vietnam, it's about jobs." There are two problems here, though: (1) There is no money to pay for this $286.5 billion appropriation and (2) the federal government is not supposed to create jobs – except under a communist system.
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd122.htm
FUEL EMERGENCIES WERE ALLOWED TO EXIST TO BRING THE ISSUE TO A BOIL HENCE ALLOWING PERMITTING THAT NORMALLY ISN'T ALLOWED AND/OR DEREGULATION. I doubt we will ever see any of the National Reserve.
Maybe, just maybe updates to levees was seen not as vital to black neighborhoods and survival in New Orleans so much as a barrier to creating a national disaster which could in turn facilitate deregulation and exploitive drilling and pipelines?
Do I believe there was racism? Without a doubt. The neighborhoods of New Orleans were denied the safeguards they needed to survive. After all what self respecting Evangelical wants 'Sin City' in his country?
Pipeline could ease shortages
State depends on ships, barges for gas supply
BY PAIGE ST. JOHN
FLORIDA TODAY
RELATED STORIES:
Finally, relief in New Orleans
TALLAHASSEE - Hurricane Katrina's hit to fuel supplies and gas prices has given life to a proposal to lay a gasoline pipeline across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida.
Colonial Pipeline, an Atlanta-based consortium owned by six oil companies, is in preliminary talks with Florida regulators about permits and to potential customers about whether there's enough of a market.
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050903/NEWS04/509030316/1006
Halliburton subsidiary repairing hurricane-damaged naval facilities
WASHINGTON : A subsidiary of Halliburton Company has been contracted by the US Navy to restore power, repair roofs and remove debris at three US Navy facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the company said.
KBR, the Halliburton subsidiary, is also performing damage assessments at other naval facilities in New Orleans, the company said.
The work is being performed under a US$500 million contract signed with the Navy in 2004 to provide immediate services associated with regional emergencies caused by natural disasters or military conflict. - AFP/de
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/166488/1/.html
Halliburton hired for storm cleanup
The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
ADVERTISEMENT
Halliburton subsidiary KBR will also perform damage assessments at other naval installations in New Orleans as soon as it is safe to do so.
KBR was assigned the work under a "construction capabilities" contract awarded in 2004 after a competitive bidding process. The company is not involved in the Army Corps of Engineers' effort to repair New Orleans' levees.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3335685
Crossfire War: Bechtel Denies Military Base Construction in Iran after Gulf War
By Willard Payne
Night Watch: SAN FRANCISO/FLOSSMOOR, IL - A spokesman for Bechtel Group, the construction/engineering concern headquarted in San Francisco, today called Mr. Willard Payne of Night Watch Information Service/International Affairs, based in Flossmoor, IL, and requested he no longer mention Bechtel Group being invited to Iran the day after the Gulf War ended in 1991, as shown on CNN, Bechtel’s London branch office in Hyde Park.
http://newsblaze.com/story/20050902223805nnnn.nb/newsblaze/OPINIONS/Opinions.html
Hurricane Losses May Top $100 Billion
By VOA News
03 September 2005
Harry and Silvia Pulizzano walk across debris from Hurricane Katrina in search of Silvia's brother's home in Waveland, Miss., on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005
U.S. economic forecasters say total losses from Hurricane Katrina's devastation could top $100 billion.
In terms of insurance losses alone, industry forecasters say they are estimating payouts to be around $25 billion. Insurance adjusters say they will have a clearer picture of the damage when they are able to enter New Orleans and other Gulf of Mexico coastal cities.
They say losses are likely growing by tens of millions of dollars each day in New Orleans as water damage becomes worse, sporadic fires continue to burn and looters ravage the city.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-09-03-voa23.cfm
DeLay: Terrorism preparedness needs review
SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Republican Leader Tom DeLay said Saturday the nation's terrorism preparedness needs review in light of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
DeLay was in Baton Rouge visiting the Louisiana state emergency center where government agencies have set up their command and control.
He said in a phone interview that he would meet with Secretary Michael Chertoff to discuss how the country deals with disaster and that the issue will be on Congress' agenda when it reconvenes Tuesday.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/12555656.htm
Now this is what I call starving the beast.
Food, water arrives amid chaos
TIM HARPER
WASHINGTON BUREAU
New Orleans—Under a searing sun obscured by acrid smoke, thousands of refugees lined the street outside this city's convention centre yesterday, weak, begging for help and accusing their government of leaving them here to die.
Instead of their federal government stepping in, they said, they had been saved by looters who smashed windows of abandoned stores and distributed food and water to those left with nothing.
Four days after Hurricane Katrina turned this tourist destination into a seething refugee camp where power is wielded at gunpoint and huge fires burned, food and water began arriving.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1125697813286&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home&DPL=IvsNDS%2F7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
Spreading the poison of bigotry
By Howard Witt
Tribune senior correspondent
Published September 4, 2005
BATON ROUGE, La. -- They locked down the entrance doors Thursday at the Baton Rouge hotel where I'm staying alongside hundreds of New Orleans residents driven from their homes by Hurricane Katrina.
"Because of the riots," the hotel managers explained. Armed Gunmen from New Orleans were headed this way, they had heard.
"It's the blacks," whispered one white woman in the elevator. "We always worried this would happen."
Something else gave way last week besides the levees that had protected New Orleans from the waters surrounding it. The thin veneer of civility and practiced cordiality that in normal times masks the prejudices and bigotries held by many whites in this region of Deep South Louisiana was heavily battered as well.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/perspective/chi-g6j20lvt7.1sep04,1,4453224.story?coll=chi-opinionfront-hed
The Real John Roberts
Justice O'Connor ruled Bush can't get 'a blank check' but her successor will give him one
by Nat Hentoff
September 2nd, 2005 3:05 PM
With the nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., President George W. Bush now stands on the verge of a lasting legacy as a president who changed the face of American law. . . . Bush is about to secure a consistent conservative majority on the Supreme Court that will likely sweep away a host of doctrines in areas ranging from abortion to affirmative action to presidential powers. Law professor Jonathan Turley, George Washington University, National Law Journal, August 1
Professor Oona A. Hathaway, Yale Law School, a former law clerk to Justice [Sandra Day] O'Connor, said [that] the arrival of Judge Roberts 'could re-center the court' in the direction of unchecked presidential power. The New York Times July 24
Having read the huge outpouring of John Roberts's memoranda during his stays at the Justice Department, along with his filings and arguments in his private-practice cases, I decided that his two-year record on the nation's second most influential court, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, should be my initial focus on the effect on our lives of the 30 or more years he will sit on that tribunal. (As I write, his confirmation appears to be foreordained, after the current turbulent hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.)
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0536,hentoff,67495,6.html
Rove Not Entitled to D.C. Homestead Deduction
Bush Adviser to Reimburse City for Back Taxes
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 3, 2005; Page A02
Presidential adviser Karl Rove may live in Washington. But in his heart -- and for voting purposes -- he remains a Texan. Which means he is not legally entitled to the homestead deduction and property tax cap he's been getting on his Palisades home for the past 3 1/2 years.
This week, the D.C. tax collector was alerted to the problem. And Rove agreed to reimburse the District for an estimated $3,400 in back taxes, city officials said. But now some Lone Star officials also are wondering about the place Rove calls home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/02/AR2005090202397.html
Protest Dick Cheney's Visit to Canada
Contributed by: sthompson
Dick Cheney is not welcome in Canada.
Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 5:00 PM
Protest at the Palliser, 113 - 9 Avenue SW, Calgary
George Bush's Vice President is coming to Calgary September 8th. He is speaking at a dinner at the Palliser Hotel sponsored by the Fraser Institute. The Fraser institute and Dick Cheney's Agenda threaten Canadian Sovereignty and are aimed at furthering the U.S. plans for Annexation of Canada. Cheney was George Bush Senior's minister of defence in the first Gulf War and has been an architect of the brutal war and occupation of Iraq and the " War on Terror". His former company Halliburton is massively profiting through U.S. government contracts from the U.S. Occupation of Iraq. Cheney is visiting Alberta to underscore U.S. oil interests in Alberta.
http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/2005090214445783
Jean miffed about Cheney visit snub
By AMANDA PURCELL
Today staff
Friday September 02, 2005
Fort McMurray Today — It’s a government-to-government invitation only.
That’s the word Athabasca-Fort McMurray MP Brian Jean received about the Sept. 9 visit to the oilsands by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney.
Jean said he’s been told he will not be allowed to attend, and he’s nothing less than appalled.
“They’re coming to Fort McMurray, a place that the 88,000 or so people here elected me to represent them and I’m not even invited to any of the events,” he said.
“I would like to participate in some way to encourage investment in the U.S. I think I have a better handle on the oilsands that Paul Martin or Anne McLellan do, that’s for sure,” he said.
“I just find it very tacky and insulting to the people that elected me quite frankly.”
Alex Swann, spokesman for Anne McLellan’s office, said it’s not a deliberate snub.
“Protocol dictates that their be a representative from each level of government, and as far as the federal government goes, we’ve determined it’s Anne McLellan, who is in fact Dick Cheney’s counterpart.
“So, that is why at this time that is all that has been confirmed.”
Swann also said details of who can and cannot be on the tour are not yet finalized, as space on the helicopters they will be touring on is limited. When asked if there is a possibility that Brian Jean could be invited to attend the event, Swann said he “wouldn’t rule it out, but can’t rule it in at this time.”
-- apurcell@fortmcmurraytoday.com
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/story.php?id=182168
US House Republicans mull post-Katrina energy bill
Fri Sep 2, 2005 5:57 PM ET
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress may needto pass legislation dealing with energy issues, such asincentives to expand U.S. oil refining capacity, in response toHurricane Katrina, House Republican leaders said on Friday.
http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20050902:MTFH71894_2005-09-02_21-56-39_WAT003787:1
Doug Heller: Why Are Oil Stocks Up 5% This Week?
Doug Heller Fri Sep 2, 3:01 PM ET
As prices for gasoline reach record highs all around the country because, we are told, of the devastation to our oil infrastructure and refining capacity, the stock market is exposing the oil industries' despicable secret: the winds of Katrina will be a windfall for big oil.
The Yahoo Major Oil & Gas Index shows stocks up 5% since Monday. ExxonMobil is up 5%. Halliburton is up about 8%. Why would companies sustaining massive damage to their property be doing so well? Why would investors bet that this is good for the oil industry?
What the market tells us is that the industry will not show restraint, but will, instead, cash in on the disruption and destruction. Of course, catastrophe profiteering is vile. Sure, the companies, whose record profits of one quarter are exceeded by the next quarter's, should be voluntarily cutting margins and freezing prices in this time of national need. But they aren't and they won't. So the stocks rise and the coffers swell.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20050902/cm_huffpost/006666
Bush White House suppresses information, whistle blowing
By Patrick Martin
2 September 2005
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Three events last week in Washington shed light on the Bush administration’s implacable hostility to objective scrutiny, scientific study and simple honesty. In three widely differing areas—race relations, contraceptive policy and military contracting—top officials have intervened to suppress information or remove those who refuse to prostrate themselves before the ideology of the Republican right.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/sep2005/bush-s02.shtml
Stones Rail Against Bush
"Sweet Neo Con" nails the Bush administration
Throughout last year's presidential election, Mick Jagger held his tongue. But on the Rolling Stones' first studio album in eight years, A Bigger Bang, Jagger unleashes a barbed political track, "Sweet Neo Con," an open attack on the Bush administration that rips hypocritical Christians and patriots, rising gas prices, "prison without trial" and Vice President Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton.
Jagger has told friends that the song is not about Bush specifically but is a stab at the neo-con worldview and policies.
Jagger says he wrote the song quickly, and the subject matter surprised the band. "I have my opinions, which I've stated in the tune," Jagger told USA Today. "Maureen Dowd is no more qualified to have opinions than I am."
"Sweet Neo Con," which is not one of the new album's first three singles, has caused trickles of controversy -- Fox News' Brian Kilmeade argued that the song makes the band unfit to partner with the NFL, which will air Stones concert footage all season on Monday Night Football. Even Keith Richards had misgivings about the song at first. "I didn't want this to be a diversionary storm," he told USA Today. "I thought potentially it would detract attention from the rest of the album and be seen as cheap publicity. We don't need that. But I told Mick, 'If you really feel like you want to say that, I'll back you all the way.'"
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/7583320/therollingstones?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single1&rnd=1125853741824&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.1040
The Japan Times
Raging typhoon expected to engulf Okinawa, Amami Islands
Waves pound the Amami Oshima shoreline Sunday in this TV image.
TOKYO — A raging typhoon pounded Okinawa, surrounding islands and the Amami Islands Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Typhoon Nabi brought fierce winds, high waves and downpours across the island chain, the agency warned.
The typhoon has an atmospheric pressure of 940 hectopascals and is packing winds of up to 162 kph. By noon Monday, the typhoon is expected to be within a 100 km southeast of Amami Oshima Island, part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Up to 400 millimeters of rain are expected in Kyushu and Shikoku, 200 mm of rain in Okinawa and 150 to 200 mm of rain in the Kinki and Tokai areas.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=348167
Japan gov't, firms join relief effort for U.S. hurricane victims
TOKYO — The Japanese government will provide $200,000 in cash to the American Red Cross and offer up to $300,000 worth of tents, blankets and other supplies for victims of Hurricane Katrina, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday.
Japanese automakers have also announced emergency aid packages, with Toyota Motor Corp pledging a total of $5 million to support activities of the Red Cross and the Friedkin Disaster Relief Fund. Nissan Motor Co said it and its employees will offer a total of $750,000 and 50 pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles for Red Cross workers. The Japanese Red Cross Society decided to provide $200,000 to its U.S. counterpart.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=347992
Canadian Support
The Americans have finally accepted Canadian aid.
-Three Canadian warships, a coast guard vessel and three Sea King helicopters will be sent to Louisiana on Tuesday.(1000personnel)
-About 40 navy divers from both Canadian coasts are going to tag along on the mission.
-Air Canada has dispatched an Airbus passenger jet from Toronto to New Orleans with a cargo of bottled water and relief supplies
-Canadian oil companies are trying to send extra oil to the U.S. The Canadian government has asked Canadians to reduce oil consumption.
-Yesterday, the Department of Human Health Services in the U.S. contacted the Canadian public health agency and asked for an inventory of emergency supplies that,we are willing to send at any moment.
Canadians are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. Provincail governments are offering engineers and other specialists. Many Canadians have also opened their homes to the stranded. The list goes on....
We may have our differencs, but we are here to help.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=347992
12,000 take part in quake drill in Miyagi
SENDAI — About 12,000 people participated in a drill in Miyagi Prefecture on Sunday to test their preparedness for rescue operations in the event of a major earthquake, organizers said.
Taking part in the drill, conducted in Higashimatsushima, were police officers, firefighters and Self-Defense Forces personnel as well as local citizens, they said. It was based on the assumption that an earthquake measuring upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 will strike off the prefecture.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=348170
Two bodies found in Afghanistan identified as missing teachers
KABUL — Two bodies found in southern Afghanistan have been identified as those of two Japanese teachers missing in the country, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday. The ministry has notified the families of Jun Fukusho, 44, and Shinobu Hasegawa, 30, who went missing after entering Afghanistan from Pakistan in early August, it said.
A forensic investigation in Kabul found that dental work of the bodies matched the dental records of the two teachers, the ministry said. They were shot in the head once each, and are believed to have been dead as long as almost one month, according to the ministry.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=348109
The Okinawa Times
Dry Island
Water rationing has continued on Zamami Island for 169 days since 17 July, 2003. It is the longest suspension since the dam was completed in 1992. However, from 31 December to 3 January, it was temporarily restored for New Year's, but re-imposed from the 4th when the holidays were over.
Zamami is known for one of the best dive spots on Okinawa, and a lot of divers visited the island during the New Year's holidays as usual. But according to dive shop owners, tourists were asked to cooperate in economizing water consumption by having them wash their bathing suits and wetsuits only on the last day of their dive tour. Shop owners concerned in the diving business wish the water supply will replenish to normal by summertime.
The volume of water stored in Zamami dam, the water reservoir of the island, is only 25% now. The village regularly turns off the water from 10pm at night to 8am the next day. Residents correspond to it by using underground water. There has been no good rain since April last year, and the only solution is for it to rain, nothing else.
http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/eng/20040110.html
continued ...
"Okeydoke"
History …
1781 Los Angeles was founded by Spanish settlers.
1875 Whites attack Blacks at Clinton, MS to overthrow a reconstruction government.
1848 Inventor Lewis H. Latimer, an innovator in electric lighting industry, who will become the only Black member of distinguished scientists and inventors who worked with Thomas Edison, is born in Chelsea, MA.
1888 George Eastman received a patent for his roll-film camera, and registered his trademark: Kodak.
1893 English author Beatrix Potter first told the story of Peter Rabbit in a "picture letter" to Noel Moore, the son of Potter's former governess.
1908 Author Richard Wright, noted for "Native Son" and "Black Boy", is born in Natchez, MS.
1951, President Truman addressed the nation from the Japanese peace treaty conference in the first live, coast-to-coast television broadcast.
1957, Arkansas Gov. Orval Faubus called out the National Guard to prevent nine black students from entering Central High School in Little Rock.
1957, Ford Motor Co. began selling its ill-fated Edsel.
1962 Roman Catholic Archbishop Joseph Rummel orders the New Orleans Catholic schools to integrate.
1967, Michigan Gov. George Romney said in a TV interview he'd undergone a "brainwashing" by U.S. officials during a 1965 visit to Vietnam -- a comment that damaged Romney's bid for the Republican presidential nomination.
1971, an Alaska Airlines jet crashed near Juneau, killing 111 people.
Missing in Action
1965 BRANCH JAMES A. PARK FOREST IL SURVIVAL UNLIKELY REMAINS RET 03/92 ID'D 06/18/93
1965 JEWELL EUGENE M. TOPEKA KS CRASH EXPLODE NO PARA SEEN
1966 BLISS RONALD G. SAN DIEGO CA 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1966 MC NISH THOMAS M. NASHVILLE TN 03/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL IN 98
1966 NASMYTH JOHN H. SAN GABRIEL CA 02/18/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1966 SALZARULO RAYMOND P. FALLANSHEE WV NVN TOLD SUBJ BODY IN ACFT REMAINS IDENTIFIED 11
September 3rd
1966 TRUJILLO JOSEPH FELIX DEMING NM REMAINS RETURNED 11/17/92
1967 PIRKLE LOWELL ZINH REMAINS RETURNED 31 OCT 94 ID 09 JAN 96
1967 MOORE HERBERT W. JR. IMPERIAL PA
1968 FRAZIER PAUL R. MILWAUKEE WI
Haaretz
Court convicts Palestinian parliament member of crimes against Israel
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent
Palestinian parliament member Husam Khader was convicted Sunday by an Israel Defense Forces court of a string of terror-related offenses against Israel.
As part of a plea bargain deal, Khader admitted to the charges which were filed against him in the Samaria military court at the Salem checkpoint.
He was convicted of working for an illegal organization, providing the means to carry out crimes and of failing to prevent criminal acts.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620824.html
Sharon says law must recognize victims of Jewish terror attacks
By Gideon Alon and Jack Khoury, Haaretz Correspondents
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon Sunday pressed Justice Minister Tzipi Livni to move for an urgent amendment to the law on compensation of terrorist attack victims, in order to provide compensation for the Israeli Arab victims of a shooting attack by a Jewish terrorist in the northern town of Shfaram last month.
Four Israeli Arabs were killed in the attack, and dozens wounded.
At present the law recognizes only victims of terror attacks perpetrated by anti-Israel organizations as eligible for compensation by the National Insurance Institute.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620752.html
Terror threat in West Bank; IDF ordered to beef up operations
By Gideon Alon, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz told cabinet members Sunday that security officials have received warnings of terror attacks planned for the West Bank and that he has instructed the Israel Defense Forces to beef up its operations there.
The minister has also ordered the IDF to accelarate the construction of the West Bank separation fence, continue to thwart planned attacks and arrest suspects.
IDF troops arrested two Palestinians in the northern West Bank on Sunday after the soldiers found an IDF uniform and military equipment in a suspicious-looking vehicle, Israel Radio reported.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620787.html
Israel sending experts to U.S. to offer hurricane relief aid
By Haaretz Service
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, announcing that a delegation of government experts would leave this week to determine areas in which Israel could help the relief effort in hurricane-stricken Gulf Coast, said Sunday that it was the Jewish state's duty to come to the aid of the ally which had stood by it in difficult times past.
"This week, a delegation of Defense and Health Ministry people will leave in order to coordinate what can be done there," Sharon told the cabinet at the opening of its Sunday session.
Sharon said "we will do everything in our power" to help Americans in distress following Hurricane Katrina.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620790.html
Hurricane relief may cut into U.S. pullout aid for Israel
By Yoav Stern, Haaretz Correspondent, Haaretz Service, and Agencies
The scope of the disaster relief that the U.S. government is preparing for the areas hit by the hurricane is likely to reduce the amount of American aid to be transferred to Israel, Army Radio reported Sunday, citing unnamed White House officials.
The U.S. aid was slated to offset the cost of implementing the disengagement plan.
After returning from his tour of the New Orleans region Friday, U.S. President George W. Bush immediately signed a $10.5 billion disaster aid package passed by Congress - an amount he repeatedly called "just the beginning" of federal expenditures for storm relief.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620503.html
PA nixes Israeli request to protect Gaza synagogues
By Yuval Yoaz and Amiram Barkat, Haaretz Correspondents
The Palestinian Authority rejected an Israeli request on Sunday that it take responsibility for the protection of synagogues in Gush Katif and other evacuated Gaza settlements after the completion of the disengagement plan.
The request was made informally through an American mediator to a PA minister. The minister, upon rejecting the request, sent Israeli officials a message urging them not to submit an official request to the PA on the matter.
The government's appeal to the PA was discovered by the state prosecution during a High Court panel meeting Sunday morning convened to decide whether to re-open debate over the planned demolition of Gaza Strip synagogues, an issue which has placed the government and Israel's chief rabbinate at odds.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620744.html
Dahlan aides deny reports that PA official is seriously ill
By Haaretz Service
Aides to Mohammed Dahlan denied Sunday reports that the Palestinian Authority minister of civil affairs was seriously ill, Israel Radio reported.
Saudi newspaper Okza reported Sunday that Dahlan was hospitalized in Amman, Jordan, in serious condition, but that his life was not at risk.
According to the report, Dahlan suffers from severe back pain, and doctors are skeptical about the chances that an operation would relieve the condition. They also fear the Palestinian minister might become a paraplegic.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620770.html
Ethiopian children cannot go to school in Or Yehuda while politicians argue
By Yulie Khromchenko and Yuval Azoulay
Six-year-old Adiso Dasa, who immigrated to Israel from Ethiopia three years ago, did not start school on Thursday. Rather than beginning first grade, he stayed home because of an order given by Or Yehuda Mayor Yitzhak Bokovza barring 50 children of Ethiopian immigrant families from registering in local schools.
The families all immigrated within the past three years, and until a few months ago they lived in absorption centers around the country, where they were given a governmental grant to purchase an apartment. Many of the families chose to move to Or Yehuda, where they believed they could integrate into Israeli society, find jobs and make a decent living. But sometimes dreams are dashed.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620508.html
Or Yehuda mayor removes his ban on 42 Ethiopian students
By Amiram Barkat, Yulie Khromchenko and Yuval Azoulay, Haaretz Correspondents
In the wake of a High Court petition and under the threat of criminal charges against him, Or Yehuda Mayor Yitzhak Bokovza bowed to pressure and removed his ban on allowing 42 Ethiopian children to study in the city's school system.
Bokovza had refused to allow the children to register to schools in the town and as a result they did not begin their schooling this year. Bokovza announced the removal of his ban following a meeting of the Knesset's State Control Committee.
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/620504.html
The Cheney Observer
All washed up
Oliver Morgan looks at the economic consequences of Katrina's fury leaving the US offshore oil industry in ruins
Sunday September 4, 2005
The Observer
With a death toll in the thousands, widespread flooding, rampant looting, a million people evacuated from their homes and the declaration of a public health emergency, Hurricane Katrina has already been called America's worst natural disaster - will it also be an economic one?
The storm tore through the heart of the American offshore oil industry in the eastern gulf of Mexico. By Wednesday, according to the US government's Minerals Management Service (MMS), 91.45 per cent of US Gulf of Mexico oil production had been 'shut in' - or cut off. This amounts to some 18 per cent of US output. In addition, 83.46 per cent of its gas production was interrupted. As the week progressed production crept back - but very slowly.
http://observer.guardian.co.uk/business/story/0,6903,1562184,00.html
BORROWING TO CREATE JOBS: MORE INSANITY
By: Devvy
September 3, 2005
NewsWithViews.com
"Then I say, the earth belongs to each of these generations during its course, fully and in its own right. The second generation receives it clear of the debts and incumbrances of the first, the third of the second, and so on. For if the first could charge it with a debt, then the earth would belong to the dead and not to the living generation. Then, no generation can contract debts greater than may be paid during the course of its own existence." --Thomas Jefferson to James Madison, 1789. ME 7:455, Papers 15:393
The insanity and lunacy coming out of Washington, DC was once again shoved down our throats last month. Because the economy is tanking and because the major job sectors that made America the most prosperous nation on earth (agricultural, manufacturing, industrial) have been gutted by NAFTA and other unconstitutional treaties, Americans are desperate for any kind of jobs that pay more than minimum wage and for almost a decade, that means government jobs - constitutional or not. With the signing of CAFTA by Bush, with the FTAA to follow at the end of the year, America will finally be reduced to a non, self-sustaining nation. A tragedy. Here is a prime example of bribing the American people with jobs while trying to shore up a sinking economy.
Congress passed another huge pork bill last month and Bush signed this $286.5 billion transportation legislation at a Caterpillar facility in Montgomery, Ill., on August 10, 2005 with the promise of jobs. During the 2004 pretend election cycle coverage on the tube, a middle-aged man up in Ohio yelled into the microphone of a reporter, "This election isn't about Vietnam, it's about jobs." There are two problems here, though: (1) There is no money to pay for this $286.5 billion appropriation and (2) the federal government is not supposed to create jobs – except under a communist system.
http://www.newswithviews.com/Devvy/kidd122.htm
FUEL EMERGENCIES WERE ALLOWED TO EXIST TO BRING THE ISSUE TO A BOIL HENCE ALLOWING PERMITTING THAT NORMALLY ISN'T ALLOWED AND/OR DEREGULATION. I doubt we will ever see any of the National Reserve.
Maybe, just maybe updates to levees was seen not as vital to black neighborhoods and survival in New Orleans so much as a barrier to creating a national disaster which could in turn facilitate deregulation and exploitive drilling and pipelines?
Do I believe there was racism? Without a doubt. The neighborhoods of New Orleans were denied the safeguards they needed to survive. After all what self respecting Evangelical wants 'Sin City' in his country?
Pipeline could ease shortages
State depends on ships, barges for gas supply
BY PAIGE ST. JOHN
FLORIDA TODAY
RELATED STORIES:
Finally, relief in New Orleans
TALLAHASSEE - Hurricane Katrina's hit to fuel supplies and gas prices has given life to a proposal to lay a gasoline pipeline across the Gulf of Mexico to Florida.
Colonial Pipeline, an Atlanta-based consortium owned by six oil companies, is in preliminary talks with Florida regulators about permits and to potential customers about whether there's enough of a market.
http://www.floridatoday.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050903/NEWS04/509030316/1006
Halliburton subsidiary repairing hurricane-damaged naval facilities
WASHINGTON : A subsidiary of Halliburton Company has been contracted by the US Navy to restore power, repair roofs and remove debris at three US Navy facilities damaged by Hurricane Katrina, the company said.
KBR, the Halliburton subsidiary, is also performing damage assessments at other naval facilities in New Orleans, the company said.
The work is being performed under a US$500 million contract signed with the Navy in 2004 to provide immediate services associated with regional emergencies caused by natural disasters or military conflict. - AFP/de
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world_business/view/166488/1/.html
Halliburton hired for storm cleanup
The Navy has hired Houston-based Halliburton Co. to restore electric power, repair roofs and remove debris at three naval facilities in Mississippi damaged by Hurricane Katrina.
ADVERTISEMENT
Halliburton subsidiary KBR will also perform damage assessments at other naval installations in New Orleans as soon as it is safe to do so.
KBR was assigned the work under a "construction capabilities" contract awarded in 2004 after a competitive bidding process. The company is not involved in the Army Corps of Engineers' effort to repair New Orleans' levees.
http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/3335685
Crossfire War: Bechtel Denies Military Base Construction in Iran after Gulf War
By Willard Payne
Night Watch: SAN FRANCISO/FLOSSMOOR, IL - A spokesman for Bechtel Group, the construction/engineering concern headquarted in San Francisco, today called Mr. Willard Payne of Night Watch Information Service/International Affairs, based in Flossmoor, IL, and requested he no longer mention Bechtel Group being invited to Iran the day after the Gulf War ended in 1991, as shown on CNN, Bechtel’s London branch office in Hyde Park.
http://newsblaze.com/story/20050902223805nnnn.nb/newsblaze/OPINIONS/Opinions.html
Hurricane Losses May Top $100 Billion
By VOA News
03 September 2005
Harry and Silvia Pulizzano walk across debris from Hurricane Katrina in search of Silvia's brother's home in Waveland, Miss., on Thursday, Sept. 1, 2005
U.S. economic forecasters say total losses from Hurricane Katrina's devastation could top $100 billion.
In terms of insurance losses alone, industry forecasters say they are estimating payouts to be around $25 billion. Insurance adjusters say they will have a clearer picture of the damage when they are able to enter New Orleans and other Gulf of Mexico coastal cities.
They say losses are likely growing by tens of millions of dollars each day in New Orleans as water damage becomes worse, sporadic fires continue to burn and looters ravage the city.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2005-09-03-voa23.cfm
DeLay: Terrorism preparedness needs review
SUZANNE GAMBOA
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Republican Leader Tom DeLay said Saturday the nation's terrorism preparedness needs review in light of the Hurricane Katrina disaster.
DeLay was in Baton Rouge visiting the Louisiana state emergency center where government agencies have set up their command and control.
He said in a phone interview that he would meet with Secretary Michael Chertoff to discuss how the country deals with disaster and that the issue will be on Congress' agenda when it reconvenes Tuesday.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/state/12555656.htm
Now this is what I call starving the beast.
Food, water arrives amid chaos
TIM HARPER
WASHINGTON BUREAU
New Orleans—Under a searing sun obscured by acrid smoke, thousands of refugees lined the street outside this city's convention centre yesterday, weak, begging for help and accusing their government of leaving them here to die.
Instead of their federal government stepping in, they said, they had been saved by looters who smashed windows of abandoned stores and distributed food and water to those left with nothing.
Four days after Hurricane Katrina turned this tourist destination into a seething refugee camp where power is wielded at gunpoint and huge fires burned, food and water began arriving.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1125697813286&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home&DPL=IvsNDS%2F7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
Spreading the poison of bigotry
By Howard Witt
Tribune senior correspondent
Published September 4, 2005
BATON ROUGE, La. -- They locked down the entrance doors Thursday at the Baton Rouge hotel where I'm staying alongside hundreds of New Orleans residents driven from their homes by Hurricane Katrina.
"Because of the riots," the hotel managers explained. Armed Gunmen from New Orleans were headed this way, they had heard.
"It's the blacks," whispered one white woman in the elevator. "We always worried this would happen."
Something else gave way last week besides the levees that had protected New Orleans from the waters surrounding it. The thin veneer of civility and practiced cordiality that in normal times masks the prejudices and bigotries held by many whites in this region of Deep South Louisiana was heavily battered as well.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/perspective/chi-g6j20lvt7.1sep04,1,4453224.story?coll=chi-opinionfront-hed
The Real John Roberts
Justice O'Connor ruled Bush can't get 'a blank check' but her successor will give him one
by Nat Hentoff
September 2nd, 2005 3:05 PM
With the nomination of John G. Roberts, Jr., President George W. Bush now stands on the verge of a lasting legacy as a president who changed the face of American law. . . . Bush is about to secure a consistent conservative majority on the Supreme Court that will likely sweep away a host of doctrines in areas ranging from abortion to affirmative action to presidential powers. Law professor Jonathan Turley, George Washington University, National Law Journal, August 1
Professor Oona A. Hathaway, Yale Law School, a former law clerk to Justice [Sandra Day] O'Connor, said [that] the arrival of Judge Roberts 'could re-center the court' in the direction of unchecked presidential power. The New York Times July 24
Having read the huge outpouring of John Roberts's memoranda during his stays at the Justice Department, along with his filings and arguments in his private-practice cases, I decided that his two-year record on the nation's second most influential court, the District of Columbia Circuit Court of Appeals, should be my initial focus on the effect on our lives of the 30 or more years he will sit on that tribunal. (As I write, his confirmation appears to be foreordained, after the current turbulent hearings before the Senate Judiciary Committee.)
http://www.villagevoice.com/news/0536,hentoff,67495,6.html
Rove Not Entitled to D.C. Homestead Deduction
Bush Adviser to Reimburse City for Back Taxes
By Lori Montgomery
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, September 3, 2005; Page A02
Presidential adviser Karl Rove may live in Washington. But in his heart -- and for voting purposes -- he remains a Texan. Which means he is not legally entitled to the homestead deduction and property tax cap he's been getting on his Palisades home for the past 3 1/2 years.
This week, the D.C. tax collector was alerted to the problem. And Rove agreed to reimburse the District for an estimated $3,400 in back taxes, city officials said. But now some Lone Star officials also are wondering about the place Rove calls home.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/02/AR2005090202397.html
Protest Dick Cheney's Visit to Canada
Contributed by: sthompson
Dick Cheney is not welcome in Canada.
Thursday, September 8, 2005 at 5:00 PM
Protest at the Palliser, 113 - 9 Avenue SW, Calgary
George Bush's Vice President is coming to Calgary September 8th. He is speaking at a dinner at the Palliser Hotel sponsored by the Fraser Institute. The Fraser institute and Dick Cheney's Agenda threaten Canadian Sovereignty and are aimed at furthering the U.S. plans for Annexation of Canada. Cheney was George Bush Senior's minister of defence in the first Gulf War and has been an architect of the brutal war and occupation of Iraq and the " War on Terror". His former company Halliburton is massively profiting through U.S. government contracts from the U.S. Occupation of Iraq. Cheney is visiting Alberta to underscore U.S. oil interests in Alberta.
http://www.vivelecanada.ca/article.php/2005090214445783
Jean miffed about Cheney visit snub
By AMANDA PURCELL
Today staff
Friday September 02, 2005
Fort McMurray Today — It’s a government-to-government invitation only.
That’s the word Athabasca-Fort McMurray MP Brian Jean received about the Sept. 9 visit to the oilsands by U.S. Vice-President Dick Cheney.
Jean said he’s been told he will not be allowed to attend, and he’s nothing less than appalled.
“They’re coming to Fort McMurray, a place that the 88,000 or so people here elected me to represent them and I’m not even invited to any of the events,” he said.
“I would like to participate in some way to encourage investment in the U.S. I think I have a better handle on the oilsands that Paul Martin or Anne McLellan do, that’s for sure,” he said.
“I just find it very tacky and insulting to the people that elected me quite frankly.”
Alex Swann, spokesman for Anne McLellan’s office, said it’s not a deliberate snub.
“Protocol dictates that their be a representative from each level of government, and as far as the federal government goes, we’ve determined it’s Anne McLellan, who is in fact Dick Cheney’s counterpart.
“So, that is why at this time that is all that has been confirmed.”
Swann also said details of who can and cannot be on the tour are not yet finalized, as space on the helicopters they will be touring on is limited. When asked if there is a possibility that Brian Jean could be invited to attend the event, Swann said he “wouldn’t rule it out, but can’t rule it in at this time.”
-- apurcell@fortmcmurraytoday.com
http://www.fortmcmurraytoday.com/story.php?id=182168
US House Republicans mull post-Katrina energy bill
Fri Sep 2, 2005 5:57 PM ET
WASHINGTON, Sept 2 (Reuters) - The U.S. Congress may needto pass legislation dealing with energy issues, such asincentives to expand U.S. oil refining capacity, in response toHurricane Katrina, House Republican leaders said on Friday.
http://today.reuters.com/investing/financeArticle.aspx?type=bondsNews&storyID=URI:urn:newsml:reuters.com:20050902:MTFH71894_2005-09-02_21-56-39_WAT003787:1
Doug Heller: Why Are Oil Stocks Up 5% This Week?
Doug Heller Fri Sep 2, 3:01 PM ET
As prices for gasoline reach record highs all around the country because, we are told, of the devastation to our oil infrastructure and refining capacity, the stock market is exposing the oil industries' despicable secret: the winds of Katrina will be a windfall for big oil.
The Yahoo Major Oil & Gas Index shows stocks up 5% since Monday. ExxonMobil is up 5%. Halliburton is up about 8%. Why would companies sustaining massive damage to their property be doing so well? Why would investors bet that this is good for the oil industry?
What the market tells us is that the industry will not show restraint, but will, instead, cash in on the disruption and destruction. Of course, catastrophe profiteering is vile. Sure, the companies, whose record profits of one quarter are exceeded by the next quarter's, should be voluntarily cutting margins and freezing prices in this time of national need. But they aren't and they won't. So the stocks rise and the coffers swell.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/huffpost/20050902/cm_huffpost/006666
Bush White House suppresses information, whistle blowing
By Patrick Martin
2 September 2005
Use this version to print Send this link by email Email the author
Three events last week in Washington shed light on the Bush administration’s implacable hostility to objective scrutiny, scientific study and simple honesty. In three widely differing areas—race relations, contraceptive policy and military contracting—top officials have intervened to suppress information or remove those who refuse to prostrate themselves before the ideology of the Republican right.
http://www.wsws.org/articles/2005/sep2005/bush-s02.shtml
Stones Rail Against Bush
"Sweet Neo Con" nails the Bush administration
Throughout last year's presidential election, Mick Jagger held his tongue. But on the Rolling Stones' first studio album in eight years, A Bigger Bang, Jagger unleashes a barbed political track, "Sweet Neo Con," an open attack on the Bush administration that rips hypocritical Christians and patriots, rising gas prices, "prison without trial" and Vice President Dick Cheney's former company Halliburton.
Jagger has told friends that the song is not about Bush specifically but is a stab at the neo-con worldview and policies.
Jagger says he wrote the song quickly, and the subject matter surprised the band. "I have my opinions, which I've stated in the tune," Jagger told USA Today. "Maureen Dowd is no more qualified to have opinions than I am."
"Sweet Neo Con," which is not one of the new album's first three singles, has caused trickles of controversy -- Fox News' Brian Kilmeade argued that the song makes the band unfit to partner with the NFL, which will air Stones concert footage all season on Monday Night Football. Even Keith Richards had misgivings about the song at first. "I didn't want this to be a diversionary storm," he told USA Today. "I thought potentially it would detract attention from the rest of the album and be seen as cheap publicity. We don't need that. But I told Mick, 'If you really feel like you want to say that, I'll back you all the way.'"
http://www.rollingstone.com/news/story/_/id/7583320/therollingstones?pageid=rs.Home&pageregion=single1&rnd=1125853741824&has-player=true&version=6.0.12.1040
The Japan Times
Raging typhoon expected to engulf Okinawa, Amami Islands
Waves pound the Amami Oshima shoreline Sunday in this TV image.
TOKYO — A raging typhoon pounded Okinawa, surrounding islands and the Amami Islands Sunday, the Japan Meteorological Agency said. Typhoon Nabi brought fierce winds, high waves and downpours across the island chain, the agency warned.
The typhoon has an atmospheric pressure of 940 hectopascals and is packing winds of up to 162 kph. By noon Monday, the typhoon is expected to be within a 100 km southeast of Amami Oshima Island, part of Kagoshima Prefecture. Up to 400 millimeters of rain are expected in Kyushu and Shikoku, 200 mm of rain in Okinawa and 150 to 200 mm of rain in the Kinki and Tokai areas.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=348167
Japan gov't, firms join relief effort for U.S. hurricane victims
TOKYO — The Japanese government will provide $200,000 in cash to the American Red Cross and offer up to $300,000 worth of tents, blankets and other supplies for victims of Hurricane Katrina, Chief Cabinet Secretary Hiroyuki Hosoda said Friday.
Japanese automakers have also announced emergency aid packages, with Toyota Motor Corp pledging a total of $5 million to support activities of the Red Cross and the Friedkin Disaster Relief Fund. Nissan Motor Co said it and its employees will offer a total of $750,000 and 50 pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles for Red Cross workers. The Japanese Red Cross Society decided to provide $200,000 to its U.S. counterpart.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=347992
Canadian Support
The Americans have finally accepted Canadian aid.
-Three Canadian warships, a coast guard vessel and three Sea King helicopters will be sent to Louisiana on Tuesday.(1000personnel)
-About 40 navy divers from both Canadian coasts are going to tag along on the mission.
-Air Canada has dispatched an Airbus passenger jet from Toronto to New Orleans with a cargo of bottled water and relief supplies
-Canadian oil companies are trying to send extra oil to the U.S. The Canadian government has asked Canadians to reduce oil consumption.
-Yesterday, the Department of Human Health Services in the U.S. contacted the Canadian public health agency and asked for an inventory of emergency supplies that,we are willing to send at any moment.
Canadians are raising hundreds of thousands of dollars. Provincail governments are offering engineers and other specialists. Many Canadians have also opened their homes to the stranded. The list goes on....
We may have our differencs, but we are here to help.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=347992
12,000 take part in quake drill in Miyagi
SENDAI — About 12,000 people participated in a drill in Miyagi Prefecture on Sunday to test their preparedness for rescue operations in the event of a major earthquake, organizers said.
Taking part in the drill, conducted in Higashimatsushima, were police officers, firefighters and Self-Defense Forces personnel as well as local citizens, they said. It was based on the assumption that an earthquake measuring upper 6 on the Japanese seismic intensity scale of 7 will strike off the prefecture.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=348170
Two bodies found in Afghanistan identified as missing teachers
KABUL — Two bodies found in southern Afghanistan have been identified as those of two Japanese teachers missing in the country, the Foreign Ministry said Saturday. The ministry has notified the families of Jun Fukusho, 44, and Shinobu Hasegawa, 30, who went missing after entering Afghanistan from Pakistan in early August, it said.
A forensic investigation in Kabul found that dental work of the bodies matched the dental records of the two teachers, the ministry said. They were shot in the head once each, and are believed to have been dead as long as almost one month, according to the ministry.
http://www.japantoday.com/e/?content=news&cat=1&id=348109
The Okinawa Times
Dry Island
Water rationing has continued on Zamami Island for 169 days since 17 July, 2003. It is the longest suspension since the dam was completed in 1992. However, from 31 December to 3 January, it was temporarily restored for New Year's, but re-imposed from the 4th when the holidays were over.
Zamami is known for one of the best dive spots on Okinawa, and a lot of divers visited the island during the New Year's holidays as usual. But according to dive shop owners, tourists were asked to cooperate in economizing water consumption by having them wash their bathing suits and wetsuits only on the last day of their dive tour. Shop owners concerned in the diving business wish the water supply will replenish to normal by summertime.
The volume of water stored in Zamami dam, the water reservoir of the island, is only 25% now. The village regularly turns off the water from 10pm at night to 8am the next day. Residents correspond to it by using underground water. There has been no good rain since April last year, and the only solution is for it to rain, nothing else.
http://www.okinawatimes.co.jp/eng/20040110.html
continued ...
January 20, 2005. The Supercells were apparent in January. The one over the Atlantic were providing high pressure areas of clear weather. Again, it is primarily the industrialized Northern Hemisphere nations causing this climatic disruption. It is obvious in this satellite that the northern hemisphere is directly 'affecting' heat transfer to Antarctica as well. Noted the winter of the north is far more disturbing then that of the south where it is currently winter.
September 4, 2005. There it is. The peripheral reach of the Arctic Ocean vortex. It's spawning these eddies all the time. This is the fuel of Katrina. Now there is a storm that has manifested in the Pacific. That is what Hurricane Hilary looked like when it was absorbed into Katrina. This isn't going to stop until Global Warming stops. The carbon dioxide of Earth is way to high. Noted this phenomina is not occuring in the Southern Hemisphere.
Morning Papers - continued ...
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com
P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.
Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies at His Home
Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies of Cancer
By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer Sun Sep 4, 2:43 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday evening of cancer, ending a 33-year Supreme Court career during which he oversaw the court's conservative shift, presided over an impeachment trial and helped decide a presidential election. His death creates a rare second vacancy on the nation's highest court.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/rehnquist
Superdome evacuation completed
Conditions had become intolerable for thousands
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS - The last 300 refugees in the Superdome climbed aboard buses Saturday bound for new temporary shelter, leaving behind a darkened and stinking arena strewn with trash.
The sight of the last person — an elderly man wearing a Houston Rockets cap — prompted cheers from members of the Texas National Guard who were guarding the facility.
“I feel like I’ve been here 40 years,” said Louis Dalmas Sr., one of the last people out. “Any bus going anywhere — that’s all I want.”
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3967
Landrieu Blasts Bush on Katrina Response
Landrieu Implores President to “Relieve Unmitigated Suffering;” End FEMA’s “Abject Failures”
KTAL-TV
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., issued the following statement this afternoon regarding her call yesterday for President Bush to appoint a cabinet-level official to oversee Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts within 24 hours.
Sen. Landrieu said:
“Yesterday, I was hoping President Bush would come away from his tour of the regional devastation triggered by Hurricane Katrina with a new understanding for the magnitude of the suffering and for the abject failures of the current Federal Emergency Management Agency. 24 hours later, the President has yet to answer my call for a cabinet-level official to lead our efforts. Meanwhile, FEMA, now a shell of what it once was, continues to be overwhelmed by the task at hand.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3965
Mystery unfolds over hunt for WMD in Iraq
By Charles J. Hanley / Associated Press
Beneath the giant dome of a Baghdad palace, facing his team of scientists and engineers, George Tenet sounded more like a football coach than a spymaster, a coach who didn't know the game was over.
"Are we 85 percent done?" the CIA boss demanded. The arms hunters knew what he wanted to hear. "No!" they shouted back. "Let me hear it again!" They shouted again.
The weapons are out there, Tenet insisted. Go find them.
Veteran inspector Rod Barton couldn't believe his ears. "It was nonsense," the Australian biologist said of that February evening last year, when the then-chief of U.S. intelligence secretly flew to Baghdad and dropped in on the lakeside Perfume Palace, chandelier-hung home of the Iraq Survey Group.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3964
Dangerous Incompetence
-- a message from Cindy Sheehan
George Bush has been an incompetent failure his entire life. Fortunately, for humanity, he was just partying his way through school, running companies into the ground and being an alcoholic and cocaine abuser for most of that time and his incompetence was limited to hurting the people who worked for him and his own family. The people in his life who were hurt by his incompetence probably have been able to "get on" with their lives. Now, though, his incompetence affects the world and is responsible for so many deaths and so much destruction. How many of us did not foresee the mess he would make of the world when he was selected the first time? We saw what he had done to Texas. How many of us marveled and were so discouraged and amazed when he was "re-elected" the second time? We saw what he had done to the world. Dangerous incompetence should never be rewarded, let alone be rewarded so handsomely as in George's case.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=494
Veterans for Peace from Camp Casey, Crawford to Camp Casey Covinton, Louisiana to Provide Hurricane Relief
Hurricance Relief from Camp Casey, Crawford Supporters to Camp Casey Covington, LA!
The "White Rose" Bus of the Veterans For Peace Chapter 116 of Mendocino County, which drove Cindy into and out of Crawford left the Bring Them Home Now Tour on Thursday to bring direct relief to the community of Covington, LA. Working with Annie and Buddy Spell, Alex and Ella and other supporters from Camp Casey, Crawford, they were able to get through and set up Camp Casey Covington in Reverend Peter Atkins Park. Yesturday they moved into the Covington Pine View Middle School on 28th Street.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3963
Seattle Post Intelligencer
New Orleans turns to its dead
By ALLEN G. BREED
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEW ORLEANS -- With the last weary refugees rescued from the Superdome and convention center, New Orleans turned its attention Sunday to gathering up and counting the dead across a ghastly landscape awash in perhaps thousands of corpses.
No one knows how many people were killed by Hurricane Katrina and how many more succumbed waiting to be rescued. But the bodies are everywhere: hidden in attics, floating in the ruined city, crumpled in wheelchairs, abandoned on highways.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Hurricane%20Katrina
Whistle-blowers awarded damages
11 get $4.7 million for raising safety concerns at Hanford
By LISA STIFFLER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Eight years after Hanford pipefitters blew the whistle on a hazardous-waste cleanup contractor over safety problems, the workers Friday were awarded more than $4.7 million in damages.
The 11 workers claimed that they were laid off and harassed for their actions, and a Benton County Superior Court jury agreed, awarding back wages and, in most cases, damages for emotional distress. The individual awards ranged from $89,700 to $553,700.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/239293_hanford03.html
Machinists hold fast on picket lines
Boeing strikers vow to be out for as long as it takes
By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER AEROSPACE REPORTER
Ian Erskine and Bill Cromer work at The Boeing Co.'s huge Everett plant, where until Thursday they and other Machinists assembled the company's biggest jets -- the 747, 777 and 767.
But production of all Boeing jetliners, those twin-aisle planes in Everett as well as the single-aisle 737 at the company's Renton plant, was abruptly halted early Friday when Erskine, Cromer and about 16,500 other Boeing Machinists in the Puget Sound region went on strike.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/239290_boeunion03.html
Boeing strike's ripples are small -- for now
By KRISTEN MILLARES BOLT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
When the 16,500 Machinists in the Puget Sound area decide to curtail their spending, the region's retailers and restaurants feel it.
While Salo and his peers are reviewing their expenses and future spending, so, too, are the many manufacturing companies that rely on Boeing for a steady stream of orders for parts and service work.
Depending on the strike's duration, it may not be all bad news.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/239269_bizimpact03.html
Other unions vow to help -- but not strike
Boeing security officers uneasy about having to police a Machinists' picket line
By JOHN COOK
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Security officers, truck drivers, engineers and other unionized workers at The Boeing Co. will pledge their support to the striking Machinists, but they are not permitted under current contracts to launch "sympathy strikes" against the aerospace giant, union leaders said Friday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/239264_otherunions03.html
The Moscow Times
Thousands Mourn in Beslan School Gym
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Relatives grieving inside the burnt-out gym at Beslan School No. 1 on Thursday morning. Photographs of the dead covered what remained of the walls.
BESLAN, North Ossetia -- With the air thick with grief and anger, thousands of people gathered at Beslan's School No. 1 on Thursday to commemorate the 331 hostages, half of them children, who died in last year's attack.
Mourners passed through two metal detectors at the entrance to the schoolyard, and police officers searched them for weapons, a grim irony that angered some victims' families.
"My daughter and her two children were in this damn school," screamed Zoya Gadiyeva, who was holding portraits of her daughter and 6-year-old granddaughter, both of whom died.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/001.html
'Fear Is the King of This Town'
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Marianna Kokayeva, left, posing with her cousins Isolda and Ilya and her aunt, Veta. They all were held as hostages.
BESLAN, North Ossetia -- Former child hostages are wetting their beds at night. Some are overeating to cope with painful memories. Many are obsessed with water.
The Ossetian spirit of joy and hospitality in this small town of 30,000 has turned into fear and anger a year after the school seizure -- fear of another attack and anger that half of the town received cash and other gifts while the rest got nothing.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/002.html
Only 3 Beslan Mothers Will Meet With Putin
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Mamsurov, left, visiting the gym on Thursday with his son Zelim and Kozak.
BESLAN, North Ossetia -- The Beslan Mothers' Committee said only three of its members would go to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin on Friday, and they would tell him that he also was responsible for the deaths of their children.
"As the head of state, he was responsible for our children. ... He must tell us why the border was not secure, why the terrorists were allowed to cross it. Who ordered the tanks to fire incendiary grenades on a school? It will not be an easy discussion, but he will be forced to listen to us," Susanna Dudiyeva, the head of the committee, said at a news conference in Beslan on Wednesday.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/012.html
New School Year Starts Amid High Security
By Oksana Yablokova and Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writers
A policeman with a metal detector at School No. 1741 in southwest Moscow.
On the first anniversary of the Beslan school seizure, children in Moscow and around the country began a new school year Thursday amid heightened new security measures aimed at preventing further terrorist attacks.
Top law enforcement officials last month ordered schools nationwide to install new security measures, including alarm buttons, surveillance cameras, metal detectors and fences.
But by Thursday, only some of the country's wealthier regions and large cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, had fully complied with the order.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/003.html
Time to Tell the Truth About Beslan
Editorial
We look forward to hearing from you.President Vladimir Putin cannot be commended for his decision to face the grief-stricken mothers of Beslan on Friday. He should have done it long ago.
It is his duty to meet the victims of a terrorist attack of such mind-boggling proportions that we are all still struggling to come to terms with it a year later.
It is the duty of the head of the state to ensure that 1,000 people are not taken hostage and that innocent children are not slain.
It is Putin and his ministers who did not learn the lessons of Dubrovka in 2002, instead fooling themselves into believing that they had won that standoff and that the terrorists would not dare to try such a bold hostage-taking attack again.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/005.html
Russia to join WTO only on favorable conditions - deputy foreign minister
RIA NOVOSTI. September 4, 2005, 3:29 PM
MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will join the World Trade Organization (WTO) only on favorable economic conditions, a senior Russian diplomat said.
"I would like to emphasize that joining the WTO is not an end in itself for Russia and we are not concerned about the deadlines," Alexander Yakovenko, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said in an interview whose transcript has been posted on the foreign ministry's Web site. "We will join this organization when the coordinated conditions of our membership fully meet the interests of strengthening Russia's economy."
The deputy foreign minister added that the bilateral and multilateral talks on Russia's accession to the WTO had intensified recently. At present, Russia has concluded negotiations and signed respective agreements with 19 WTO members on their access to the Russian product market, and with 13 WTO members on their access to the Russian services market. The working group on Russia's accession to the WTO is currently preparing the final report that establishes Russia's obligations in the scope of all WTO agreements.
"It is not a secret, though, that the moist complex problems remain unsolved and it will be difficult to reach an agreement on these issues," Yakovenko said referring to import duties in such sensitive for Russia branches of economy as the airspace and car-manufacturing industries, the access of foreign banks and insurance companies to the Russian financial market, and the state subsidies in agriculture.
Other controversial issues include customs regulations, veterinary controls, protection of intellectual property, and regulations of the pharmaceutical market.
"Unfortunately, certain WTO members continue to put forward the demands that exceed the standard accession requirements (the so-called WTO-plus requirements)," the Russian diplomat said. "They include such sensitive issues as the regulation of prices on fuel-carriers, export duties, and the activities of companies partially owned by the state."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Russia's oil is key to development of global economy
RIA NOVOSTI. September 4, 2005, 4:14 PM
TOKYO, September 4 (RIA Novosti, Andrei Fesyun) - The future development of the global economy is impossible without Russia's energy resources, a Russian oil expert said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Gennady Shmal, president of the Union of Oil and Gas Industrialists of Russia, said, "The goal of our participation [in the Days of Russia's Oil and Gas organized in the context of the EXPO-2005 international trade show in Japan] is to show how Russia's energy sector influences global economy and demonstrate the capabilities of the Russian energy industry in terms of cooperation with large Japanese companies."
According to the expert, "Russia should be more aggressive in the Far East considering high demand for energy supplies on the part of Asian countries, primarily China, and also knowing that the prices for fuel-carriers in the region are 10%-20% higher than those in Europe."
"The East for us begins in the Urals," Shmal said. "We should not look only at the West, at Europe, which has been already saturated with oil and gas pipelines; we must construct pipelines in Siberia trying to correct the existing economic imbalance."
Russia has unique experience in the construction of oil and gas infrastructure and wants to attract the interest of Japanese corporations to joint projects in the energy sphere, the expert said.
Despite the resistance of certain Japanese government officials, "the current situation has changed and new opportunities for future cooperation have appeared," he added.
Business presumes mutual efforts, Shmal said. "We are always ready to cooperate if Japan wishes to do the same."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
The Washington Post
Many Evacuated, but Thousands Still Waiting
White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials
By Manuel Roig-Franzia and Spencer Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A01
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3 -- Tens of thousands of people spent a fifth day awaiting evacuation from this ruined city, as Bush administration officials blamed state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management.
President Bush authorized the dispatch of 7,200 active-duty ground troops to the area -- the first major commitment of regular ground forces in the crisis -- and the Pentagon announced that an additional 10,000 National Guard troops will be sent to Louisiana and Mississippi, raising the total Guard contingent to about 40,000.
… Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.
The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html
72% Say Gas Scalping Is Tied to Storm
Majority in Poll Blame Gouging on Government's Handling of Price Surge
By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A27
An overwhelming majority of Americans believe oil and gas companies are gouging consumers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but offer mixed reviews of President Bush and the government's initial response to the deadly storm, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey conducted Friday night found that 72 percent of the respondents say oil companies and gas suppliers have taken advantage of the storm emergency by raising gasoline prices, which spiked virtually overnight last week to $3 dollars a gallon or more in many areas. Eight in 10 say the federal government's handling of surging gas prices was "not so good" or "poor," the survey found.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301164.html?nav=hcmodule
240,000 Evacuees Strain Capacity
By Lisa Rein and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A01
HOUSTON, Sept. 3 -- Thousands of evacuees, exhausted and frustrated after days trapped in flooded New Orleans, continued to pour into Houston and other cities in Texas on Saturday, rapidly filling enormous arenas and small shelters in an extraordinary exodus of humanity that has quickly strained the capacity of the Lone Star State.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301664.html
At Smaller Shelters, Some Large Problems
Present and Future Both Bleak for Many
By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A25
DONALDSONVILLE, La., Sept. 3 -- The exodus from New Orleans continues, but for those lucky enough to have escaped, another journey to find shelter has begun.
For days, the focus has been on mega-shelters such as Houston's Astrodome and LSU's Pete Maravich Center. But in towns like this one along the Mississippi River, a patchwork of shelters has popped up in civic centers, gyms and churches.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301619.html
continued …
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Vacation is Over... an open letter from Michael Moore to George W. Bush
Friday, September 2nd, 2005
Dear Mr. Bush:
Any idea where all our helicopters are? It's Day 5 of Hurricane Katrina and thousands remain stranded in New Orleans and need to be airlifted. Where on earth could you have misplaced all our military choppers? Do you need help finding them? I once lost my car in a Sears parking lot. Man, was that a drag.
Also, any idea where all our national guard soldiers are? We could really use them right now for the type of thing they signed up to do like helping with national disasters. How come they weren't there to begin with?
Last Thursday I was in south Florida and sat outside while the eye of Hurricane Katrina passed over my head. It was only a Category 1 then but it was pretty nasty. Eleven people died and, as of today, there were still homes without power. That night the weatherman said this storm was on its way to New Orleans. That was Thursday! Did anybody tell you? I know you didn't want to interrupt your vacation and I know how you don't like to get bad news. Plus, you had fundraisers to go to and mothers of dead soldiers to ignore and smear. You sure showed her!
I especially like how, the day after the hurricane, instead of flying to Louisiana, you flew to San Diego to party with your business peeps. Don't let people criticize you for this -- after all, the hurricane was over and what the heck could you do, put your finger in the dike?
And don't listen to those who, in the coming days, will reveal how you specifically reduced the Army Corps of Engineers' budget for New Orleans this summer for the third year in a row. You just tell them that even if you hadn't cut the money to fix those levees, there weren't going to be any Army engineers to fix them anyway because you had a much more important construction job for them -- BUILDING DEMOCRACY IN IRAQ!
On Day 3, when you finally left your vacation home, I have to say I was moved by how you had your Air Force One pilot descend from the clouds as you flew over New Orleans so you could catch a quick look of the disaster. Hey, I know you couldn't stop and grab a bullhorn and stand on some rubble and act like a commander in chief. Been there done that.
There will be those who will try to politicize this tragedy and try to use it against you. Just have your people keep pointing that out. Respond to nothing. Even those pesky scientists who predicted this would happen because the water in the Gulf of Mexico is getting hotter and hotter making a storm like this inevitable. Ignore them and all their global warming Chicken Littles. There is nothing unusual about a hurricane that was so wide it would be like having one F-4 tornado that stretched from New York to Cleveland.
No, Mr. Bush, you just stay the course. It's not your fault that 30 percent of New Orleans lives in poverty or that tens of thousands had no transportation to get out of town. C'mon, they're black! I mean, it's not like this happened to Kennebunkport. Can you imagine leaving white people on their roofs for five days? Don't make me laugh! Race has nothing -- NOTHING -- to do with this!
You hang in there, Mr. Bush. Just try to find a few of our Army helicopters and send them there. Pretend the people of New Orleans and the Gulf Coast are near Tikrit.
Yours,
Michael Moore
MMFlint@aol.com
www.MichaelMoore.com
P.S. That annoying mother, Cindy Sheehan, is no longer at your ranch. She and dozens of other relatives of the Iraqi War dead are now driving across the country, stopping in many cities along the way. Maybe you can catch up with them before they get to DC on September 21st.
Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies at His Home
Chief Justice Rehnquist Dies of Cancer
By GINA HOLLAND, Associated Press Writer Sun Sep 4, 2:43 AM ET
WASHINGTON - Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday evening of cancer, ending a 33-year Supreme Court career during which he oversaw the court's conservative shift, presided over an impeachment trial and helped decide a presidential election. His death creates a rare second vacancy on the nation's highest court.
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/rehnquist
Superdome evacuation completed
Conditions had become intolerable for thousands
Associated Press
NEW ORLEANS - The last 300 refugees in the Superdome climbed aboard buses Saturday bound for new temporary shelter, leaving behind a darkened and stinking arena strewn with trash.
The sight of the last person — an elderly man wearing a Houston Rockets cap — prompted cheers from members of the Texas National Guard who were guarding the facility.
“I feel like I’ve been here 40 years,” said Louis Dalmas Sr., one of the last people out. “Any bus going anywhere — that’s all I want.”
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3967
Landrieu Blasts Bush on Katrina Response
Landrieu Implores President to “Relieve Unmitigated Suffering;” End FEMA’s “Abject Failures”
KTAL-TV
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Mary Landrieu, D-La., issued the following statement this afternoon regarding her call yesterday for President Bush to appoint a cabinet-level official to oversee Hurricane Katrina relief and recovery efforts within 24 hours.
Sen. Landrieu said:
“Yesterday, I was hoping President Bush would come away from his tour of the regional devastation triggered by Hurricane Katrina with a new understanding for the magnitude of the suffering and for the abject failures of the current Federal Emergency Management Agency. 24 hours later, the President has yet to answer my call for a cabinet-level official to lead our efforts. Meanwhile, FEMA, now a shell of what it once was, continues to be overwhelmed by the task at hand.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3965
Mystery unfolds over hunt for WMD in Iraq
By Charles J. Hanley / Associated Press
Beneath the giant dome of a Baghdad palace, facing his team of scientists and engineers, George Tenet sounded more like a football coach than a spymaster, a coach who didn't know the game was over.
"Are we 85 percent done?" the CIA boss demanded. The arms hunters knew what he wanted to hear. "No!" they shouted back. "Let me hear it again!" They shouted again.
The weapons are out there, Tenet insisted. Go find them.
Veteran inspector Rod Barton couldn't believe his ears. "It was nonsense," the Australian biologist said of that February evening last year, when the then-chief of U.S. intelligence secretly flew to Baghdad and dropped in on the lakeside Perfume Palace, chandelier-hung home of the Iraq Survey Group.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3964
Dangerous Incompetence
-- a message from Cindy Sheehan
George Bush has been an incompetent failure his entire life. Fortunately, for humanity, he was just partying his way through school, running companies into the ground and being an alcoholic and cocaine abuser for most of that time and his incompetence was limited to hurting the people who worked for him and his own family. The people in his life who were hurt by his incompetence probably have been able to "get on" with their lives. Now, though, his incompetence affects the world and is responsible for so many deaths and so much destruction. How many of us did not foresee the mess he would make of the world when he was selected the first time? We saw what he had done to Texas. How many of us marveled and were so discouraged and amazed when he was "re-elected" the second time? We saw what he had done to the world. Dangerous incompetence should never be rewarded, let alone be rewarded so handsomely as in George's case.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=494
Veterans for Peace from Camp Casey, Crawford to Camp Casey Covinton, Louisiana to Provide Hurricane Relief
Hurricance Relief from Camp Casey, Crawford Supporters to Camp Casey Covington, LA!
The "White Rose" Bus of the Veterans For Peace Chapter 116 of Mendocino County, which drove Cindy into and out of Crawford left the Bring Them Home Now Tour on Thursday to bring direct relief to the community of Covington, LA. Working with Annie and Buddy Spell, Alex and Ella and other supporters from Camp Casey, Crawford, they were able to get through and set up Camp Casey Covington in Reverend Peter Atkins Park. Yesturday they moved into the Covington Pine View Middle School on 28th Street.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=3963
Seattle Post Intelligencer
New Orleans turns to its dead
By ALLEN G. BREED
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
NEW ORLEANS -- With the last weary refugees rescued from the Superdome and convention center, New Orleans turned its attention Sunday to gathering up and counting the dead across a ghastly landscape awash in perhaps thousands of corpses.
No one knows how many people were killed by Hurricane Katrina and how many more succumbed waiting to be rescued. But the bodies are everywhere: hidden in attics, floating in the ruined city, crumpled in wheelchairs, abandoned on highways.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/apus_story.asp?category=1110&slug=Hurricane%20Katrina
Whistle-blowers awarded damages
11 get $4.7 million for raising safety concerns at Hanford
By LISA STIFFLER
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Eight years after Hanford pipefitters blew the whistle on a hazardous-waste cleanup contractor over safety problems, the workers Friday were awarded more than $4.7 million in damages.
The 11 workers claimed that they were laid off and harassed for their actions, and a Benton County Superior Court jury agreed, awarding back wages and, in most cases, damages for emotional distress. The individual awards ranged from $89,700 to $553,700.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/239293_hanford03.html
Machinists hold fast on picket lines
Boeing strikers vow to be out for as long as it takes
By JAMES WALLACE
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER AEROSPACE REPORTER
Ian Erskine and Bill Cromer work at The Boeing Co.'s huge Everett plant, where until Thursday they and other Machinists assembled the company's biggest jets -- the 747, 777 and 767.
But production of all Boeing jetliners, those twin-aisle planes in Everett as well as the single-aisle 737 at the company's Renton plant, was abruptly halted early Friday when Erskine, Cromer and about 16,500 other Boeing Machinists in the Puget Sound region went on strike.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/239290_boeunion03.html
Boeing strike's ripples are small -- for now
By KRISTEN MILLARES BOLT
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
When the 16,500 Machinists in the Puget Sound area decide to curtail their spending, the region's retailers and restaurants feel it.
While Salo and his peers are reviewing their expenses and future spending, so, too, are the many manufacturing companies that rely on Boeing for a steady stream of orders for parts and service work.
Depending on the strike's duration, it may not be all bad news.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/239269_bizimpact03.html
Other unions vow to help -- but not strike
Boeing security officers uneasy about having to police a Machinists' picket line
By JOHN COOK
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Security officers, truck drivers, engineers and other unionized workers at The Boeing Co. will pledge their support to the striking Machinists, but they are not permitted under current contracts to launch "sympathy strikes" against the aerospace giant, union leaders said Friday.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/business/239264_otherunions03.html
The Moscow Times
Thousands Mourn in Beslan School Gym
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Relatives grieving inside the burnt-out gym at Beslan School No. 1 on Thursday morning. Photographs of the dead covered what remained of the walls.
BESLAN, North Ossetia -- With the air thick with grief and anger, thousands of people gathered at Beslan's School No. 1 on Thursday to commemorate the 331 hostages, half of them children, who died in last year's attack.
Mourners passed through two metal detectors at the entrance to the schoolyard, and police officers searched them for weapons, a grim irony that angered some victims' families.
"My daughter and her two children were in this damn school," screamed Zoya Gadiyeva, who was holding portraits of her daughter and 6-year-old granddaughter, both of whom died.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/001.html
'Fear Is the King of This Town'
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Marianna Kokayeva, left, posing with her cousins Isolda and Ilya and her aunt, Veta. They all were held as hostages.
BESLAN, North Ossetia -- Former child hostages are wetting their beds at night. Some are overeating to cope with painful memories. Many are obsessed with water.
The Ossetian spirit of joy and hospitality in this small town of 30,000 has turned into fear and anger a year after the school seizure -- fear of another attack and anger that half of the town received cash and other gifts while the rest got nothing.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/002.html
Only 3 Beslan Mothers Will Meet With Putin
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Mamsurov, left, visiting the gym on Thursday with his son Zelim and Kozak.
BESLAN, North Ossetia -- The Beslan Mothers' Committee said only three of its members would go to Moscow to meet President Vladimir Putin on Friday, and they would tell him that he also was responsible for the deaths of their children.
"As the head of state, he was responsible for our children. ... He must tell us why the border was not secure, why the terrorists were allowed to cross it. Who ordered the tanks to fire incendiary grenades on a school? It will not be an easy discussion, but he will be forced to listen to us," Susanna Dudiyeva, the head of the committee, said at a news conference in Beslan on Wednesday.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/012.html
New School Year Starts Amid High Security
By Oksana Yablokova and Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writers
A policeman with a metal detector at School No. 1741 in southwest Moscow.
On the first anniversary of the Beslan school seizure, children in Moscow and around the country began a new school year Thursday amid heightened new security measures aimed at preventing further terrorist attacks.
Top law enforcement officials last month ordered schools nationwide to install new security measures, including alarm buttons, surveillance cameras, metal detectors and fences.
But by Thursday, only some of the country's wealthier regions and large cities, such as Moscow and St. Petersburg, had fully complied with the order.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/003.html
Time to Tell the Truth About Beslan
Editorial
We look forward to hearing from you.President Vladimir Putin cannot be commended for his decision to face the grief-stricken mothers of Beslan on Friday. He should have done it long ago.
It is his duty to meet the victims of a terrorist attack of such mind-boggling proportions that we are all still struggling to come to terms with it a year later.
It is the duty of the head of the state to ensure that 1,000 people are not taken hostage and that innocent children are not slain.
It is Putin and his ministers who did not learn the lessons of Dubrovka in 2002, instead fooling themselves into believing that they had won that standoff and that the terrorists would not dare to try such a bold hostage-taking attack again.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/02/005.html
Russia to join WTO only on favorable conditions - deputy foreign minister
RIA NOVOSTI. September 4, 2005, 3:29 PM
MOSCOW, September 4 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will join the World Trade Organization (WTO) only on favorable economic conditions, a senior Russian diplomat said.
"I would like to emphasize that joining the WTO is not an end in itself for Russia and we are not concerned about the deadlines," Alexander Yakovenko, Russia's deputy foreign minister, said in an interview whose transcript has been posted on the foreign ministry's Web site. "We will join this organization when the coordinated conditions of our membership fully meet the interests of strengthening Russia's economy."
The deputy foreign minister added that the bilateral and multilateral talks on Russia's accession to the WTO had intensified recently. At present, Russia has concluded negotiations and signed respective agreements with 19 WTO members on their access to the Russian product market, and with 13 WTO members on their access to the Russian services market. The working group on Russia's accession to the WTO is currently preparing the final report that establishes Russia's obligations in the scope of all WTO agreements.
"It is not a secret, though, that the moist complex problems remain unsolved and it will be difficult to reach an agreement on these issues," Yakovenko said referring to import duties in such sensitive for Russia branches of economy as the airspace and car-manufacturing industries, the access of foreign banks and insurance companies to the Russian financial market, and the state subsidies in agriculture.
Other controversial issues include customs regulations, veterinary controls, protection of intellectual property, and regulations of the pharmaceutical market.
"Unfortunately, certain WTO members continue to put forward the demands that exceed the standard accession requirements (the so-called WTO-plus requirements)," the Russian diplomat said. "They include such sensitive issues as the regulation of prices on fuel-carriers, export duties, and the activities of companies partially owned by the state."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Russia's oil is key to development of global economy
RIA NOVOSTI. September 4, 2005, 4:14 PM
TOKYO, September 4 (RIA Novosti, Andrei Fesyun) - The future development of the global economy is impossible without Russia's energy resources, a Russian oil expert said in an interview with RIA Novosti.
Gennady Shmal, president of the Union of Oil and Gas Industrialists of Russia, said, "The goal of our participation [in the Days of Russia's Oil and Gas organized in the context of the EXPO-2005 international trade show in Japan] is to show how Russia's energy sector influences global economy and demonstrate the capabilities of the Russian energy industry in terms of cooperation with large Japanese companies."
According to the expert, "Russia should be more aggressive in the Far East considering high demand for energy supplies on the part of Asian countries, primarily China, and also knowing that the prices for fuel-carriers in the region are 10%-20% higher than those in Europe."
"The East for us begins in the Urals," Shmal said. "We should not look only at the West, at Europe, which has been already saturated with oil and gas pipelines; we must construct pipelines in Siberia trying to correct the existing economic imbalance."
Russia has unique experience in the construction of oil and gas infrastructure and wants to attract the interest of Japanese corporations to joint projects in the energy sphere, the expert said.
Despite the resistance of certain Japanese government officials, "the current situation has changed and new opportunities for future cooperation have appeared," he added.
Business presumes mutual efforts, Shmal said. "We are always ready to cooperate if Japan wishes to do the same."
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
The Washington Post
Many Evacuated, but Thousands Still Waiting
White House Shifts Blame to State and Local Officials
By Manuel Roig-Franzia and Spencer Hsu
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A01
NEW ORLEANS, Sept. 3 -- Tens of thousands of people spent a fifth day awaiting evacuation from this ruined city, as Bush administration officials blamed state and local authorities for what leaders at all levels have called a failure of the country's emergency management.
President Bush authorized the dispatch of 7,200 active-duty ground troops to the area -- the first major commitment of regular ground forces in the crisis -- and the Pentagon announced that an additional 10,000 National Guard troops will be sent to Louisiana and Mississippi, raising the total Guard contingent to about 40,000.
… Behind the scenes, a power struggle emerged, as federal officials tried to wrest authority from Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Babineaux Blanco (D). Shortly before midnight Friday, the Bush administration sent her a proposed legal memorandum asking her to request a federal takeover of the evacuation of New Orleans, a source within the state's emergency operations center said Saturday.
The administration sought unified control over all local police and state National Guard units reporting to the governor. Louisiana officials rejected the request after talks throughout the night, concerned that such a move would be comparable to a federal declaration of martial law. Some officials in the state suspected a political motive behind the request. "Quite frankly, if they'd been able to pull off taking it away from the locals, they then could have blamed everything on the locals," said the source, who does not have the authority to speak publicly.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301680.html
72% Say Gas Scalping Is Tied to Storm
Majority in Poll Blame Gouging on Government's Handling of Price Surge
By Richard Morin and Claudia Deane
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A27
An overwhelming majority of Americans believe oil and gas companies are gouging consumers in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina but offer mixed reviews of President Bush and the government's initial response to the deadly storm, according to the latest Washington Post-ABC News poll.
The survey conducted Friday night found that 72 percent of the respondents say oil companies and gas suppliers have taken advantage of the storm emergency by raising gasoline prices, which spiked virtually overnight last week to $3 dollars a gallon or more in many areas. Eight in 10 say the federal government's handling of surging gas prices was "not so good" or "poor," the survey found.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301164.html?nav=hcmodule
240,000 Evacuees Strain Capacity
By Lisa Rein and Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writers
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A01
HOUSTON, Sept. 3 -- Thousands of evacuees, exhausted and frustrated after days trapped in flooded New Orleans, continued to pour into Houston and other cities in Texas on Saturday, rapidly filling enormous arenas and small shelters in an extraordinary exodus of humanity that has quickly strained the capacity of the Lone Star State.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301664.html
At Smaller Shelters, Some Large Problems
Present and Future Both Bleak for Many
By Robert E. Pierre
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, September 4, 2005; Page A25
DONALDSONVILLE, La., Sept. 3 -- The exodus from New Orleans continues, but for those lucky enough to have escaped, another journey to find shelter has begun.
For days, the focus has been on mega-shelters such as Houston's Astrodome and LSU's Pete Maravich Center. But in towns like this one along the Mississippi River, a patchwork of shelters has popped up in civic centers, gyms and churches.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/09/03/AR2005090301619.html
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Suggestion to Saudi Arabia for safer women drivers.
Morning Papers - continued..
The Gulf News
Another rise in petrol prices 'matter of time'
By C.L. Jose, Staff Reporter
Dubai:
It is only a matter of time before retail petrol prices in the UAE are increased further, to at least match the cost of production, market sources told Gulf News yesterday.
Petrol retailers noted that the cost of production at the current international crude price is close to Dh9.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=180117
Arabs can learn a lot from Asian awards
By Abdullah Al Madani, Special to Gulf News
In the Arab world, the number of foundations that confer annual prizes for significant achievements has been on the rise since the late 1980s.
This, of course, is a good development. However, Arab prizes, in general, lack several necessary criteria.
They are seen as being given only to persons or groups whose political views are similar to those of the organisers. Committees and juries established for the purpose of handling and validating submissions and deciding on winners are often accused of religious, sectarian or nationalistic bias.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/OpinionNF.asp?ArticleID=180081
Bahraini Jewish woman elected rights body head
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Manama: A Bahraini Jewish woman, Huda Azra Noono, has been elected to head the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, making her the first non-Muslim to head a human rights watchdog in the country.
"I am honoured to be elected the secretary-general of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, and I will do my best to help promote human rights in the country," Noono yesterday told Gulf News.
"We will work together as a team to ensure that people's rights in all areas are preserved," she said following the board elections.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180092
Civil groups to monitor Egypt’s polls
Agencies
Cairo: An Egypt court ruled on Saturday that local non-governmental organisations will be allowed to monitor Egypt's presidential election to be held this week.
The decision was immediately hailed as a major step towards ensuring a more transparent election.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180064
Opposition flays Mubarak's 'scandalous' campaigning
By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor
Cairo:
Three of Egypt's 10 presidential hopefuls are fighting it out for the top slot as campaigning peaked for Wednesday's poll.
Opposition leaders made the accusation that government institutions are being used to ensure that President Hosni Mubarak, 77, wins for the fifth straight term in the first multi-candidate contest after governing Egypt for 24 years.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180097
Iran blasts US move to deny visas
Agencies
Tehran/Vienna: Iran on Saturday denounced as an "ugly act" the US decision to deny visas to an Iranian parliamentary delegation to attend the annual UN General Assembly session in New York, claiming it showed the Americans were not competent to serve as host to the United Nations.
Washington has given no reason for denying visas to the delegation that was expected to be headed by Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180109
Saddam trial for mass killing to begin on October 19
gencies
Baghdad : Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and seven of his former associates will go on trial for mass killing on October 19, government spokesman Laith Kubba said on Sunday.
"There is a date set for October 19," Kubba told a news conference. "They will be tried for the execution of 143 citizens."
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180194
Saddam's defence strategy drafted
Agencies
Amman:
Saddam Hussain's daughter has devised a strategy for the defence of Iraq's ousted leader, including a media campaign and hiring of a new team of international lawyers, for the expected start of her father's trial next month, she said yesterday.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180111
Saddam's family form new defense team
Agencies
Amman: The family of ousted dictator Saddam Hussain has chosen a new legal counsel to defend him in a trial for war crime charges, the family’s lawyer said on Saturday.
The team includes prominent American, European, Asian and Arab lawyers chosen “on the basis of competence and merit to put up a strong defence," said Abdel Haq Alani.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180059
Lebanon arrests four generals over Hariri case
Agencies
Beirut: A Lebanese magistrate issued arrest warrants on Saturday against four pro-Syrian generals charged with murder over the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri.
Judicial sources said Judge Elias Eid issued the warrants after interrogating the men, allowing them to be kept in custody in connection with Hariri's murder investigation.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180065
Egyptian forces to begin deployment at Gaza border
Agencies
Jerusalem : Egyptian border police are to be deployed at the buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border on Sunday, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.An Egyptian soldier stands at the Egyptian-Gaza border. Israel wants the Egyptian forces to prevent weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip through underground tunnels.
About 750 lightly armed Egyptian forces will take up positions along the border, according to an agreement signed last week between Israel and Egypt.
The Israeli Parliament had on Wednesday approved the deal, another key step in the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180192
Five militants killed in Syria
Agencies
Damascus:
Syrian security forces killed five members of a militant group in clashed on Friday.
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported that the clashes took place in a village outside the Hamaa province on Saturday.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180057
Saudi women blamed for 50% of traffic accidents
Agencies
Dubai: Despite being barred by law from taking the wheel, Saudi universities have released a study that blames women for a whopping 50 per cent of Saudi’s traffic accidents.
A Saudi based newspaper asked a Jeddah Traffic Administration official if there could be any truth in the study’s results.
The study blames women’s lack of knowledge of road traffic rules and regulations, reports the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
A common cause of women’s traffic accidents comes from them opening car doors without paying attention to on-coming traffic and having marital arguments.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180190
The Boston Globe
Rebuilding New Orleans
Message #1104.1
Posted by
BostonDotCom on Sep-3 11:07 AM
In ''The city that will be,'' Drake Bennett looks at the prospects for rebuilding New Orleans after last week's devastating floods. Should cities built on vulnerable or unstable ground be relocated following disasters of such magnitude? Or do history and memory — not to mention economic and political reality — require that we rebuild on the same ground, no matter what?
http://boards.boston.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&tsn=1&tid=1104&webtag=bc-news
The city that will be
(Reuters Photo)
By Drake Bennett September 4, 2005
THIRTY YEARS AGO, in their book ''3000 Years of Urban Growth," the historians Tertius Chandler and Gerald Fox calculated that of all the cities that had been flooded, burned, sacked, leveled by earthquake, buried in lava, or in some way or another destroyed worldwide between 1100 and 1800, only a few dozen had been permanently abandoned. Cities, in other words, tend to get rebuilt no matter what.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/09/04/the_city_that_will_be/
Eerie Saturday night in the French Quarter
Local residents examine the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis, Miss., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2005. The coastal line of the city was completed devastated including the Bay St. Louis Bridge. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
By Dan Sewell, Associated Press Writer September 4, 2005
NEW ORLEANS --The only lights Saturday night on Bourbon Street were the flashing blues of police vehicles on patrol, the headlights of rumbling military trucks and an occasional flashlight or cigarette glow among bedraggled holdout residents.
"Why does any local stay? Because this is our neighborhood, this is home," said Ride Hamilton, 29. He has turned his French Quarter home into a mini-warehouse of supplies for his neighbors. He said he accumulated the goods during daily "shopping" trips to local stores, "trying to get it before somebody else does. We're relying on ourselves out here."
Johnny White's Sports Bar, which has no doors and, according to locals, never closes, has become a gathering place for some of those who remained downtown when Katrina devastated the city Monday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/04/eerie_saturday_night_in_the_big_easy/
Hurricane Maria forms over open Atlantic
September 4, 2005
MIAMI --Maria intensified and developed into the season's fifth hurricane on Sunday, growing stronger over warm water in the open Atlantic.
At 5 a.m. EDT, the storm had maximum sustained wind of 75 mph -- only 1 mph higher than the minimum threshold for hurricane status -- and was centered 645 miles southeast of Bermuda.
It was moving north-northwest at 14 mph, and was expected to turn to the north later Sunday or early Monday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/04/hurricane_maria_forms_over_open_atlantic/
Chief Justice Rehnquist dies of cancer
Just pass midnight and praying on the steps on the Supreme Court for the passing of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist are from left to right, Brandi Swindell, Cheryl Conrad, Barbara Gough Katie Mahoney and Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Sunday Sept. 4, 2005 in Washington, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday evening of cancer, ending a remarkable 33-year tenure on the Supreme Court and creating a rare second vacancy on the nation's highest court. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
By Gina Holland, Associated Press Writer September 4, 2005
WASHINGTON --Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who oversaw the high court's conservative shift and presided over the impeachment trial of President Clinton, died Saturday evening. He was 80 years old and had spent 33 years on the Supreme Court.
Rehnquist's death opens a rare second vacancy on the nation's highest court and gives President Bush, whose election Rehnquist helped decide, an opportunity shape the makeup of the court for years to come.
"The Chief Justice battled thyroid cancer since being diagnosed last October and continued to perform his duties on the court until a precipitous decline in his health the last couple of days," court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in announcing his death.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/04/chief_justice_rehnquist_dies_of_cancer_1125822101/
Rehnquist death gives Bush chance to shape court
By Jackie Frank September 4, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist creates a rare double opening on the U.S. Supreme Court, giving President George W. Bush the chance to make a significant mark on the federal judiciary.
Rehnquist, a conservative force who pushed the closely divided nine-member court to the right in his more than 30 years on the bench, died on Saturday at age 80 after a battle with thyroid cancer.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/04/rehnquist_death_gives_bush_chance_to_shape_court/
Eight killed in latest Afghan violence
September 4, 2005
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Suspected Taliban gunmen killed five Afghan policemen in an ambush on Sunday, the latest incident in a wave of violence ahead of September 18 elections, an official said.
Security is the main worry two weeks before the country goes to the polls to elect a lower house of parliament and councils in its 34 provinces, the next big step on its difficult path to stability.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/09/04/eight_killed_in_latest_afghan_violence/
Hamas' secretive military wing emerges
A Masked Palestinian Hamas militant displays his weapon during a training session in Jebaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, in this early Friday, Aug. 12, 2005, file photo. Hamas' secretive military wing emerged from hiding Saturday, revealing the names of seven top commanders and detailing how they masterminded attacks on Israelis _ part of an increasingly fierce competition between militants and the Palestinian Authority over who will get credit for Israel's pullout from Gaza. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)
By Ravi Nessman, Associated Press Writer September 4, 2005
JERUSALEM --The shadowy military wing of Hamas went public Saturday, revealing the names of its top commanders and outlining the history and increasing sophistication of its attacks against Israel in the latest salvo in the battle for credit over Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/09/04/hamas_secretive_military_wing_emerges/
White doves, tears mark Beslan anniversary
Grandparents, no names given, of Boris Dzhibilov, 9, who was killed in the school hostage taking, cry at their grandson's gravestone at the cemetery in Beslan, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005. Thousands of residents of the small town of Beslan on Saturday marked the first anniversary of one of Russia's deadliest terrorist attacks. Mourners again bid a wrenching farewell to hundreds of adults and children who perished in the hellish storm of gunfire and explosions on Sept. 3, 2004, after enduring nearly three days of thirst, hunger and terror at Beslan's School No. 1. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
By Mike Eckel, Associated Press Writer September 4, 2005
BESLAN, Russia --Thousands of anguished residents of the small town of Beslan on Saturday marked the anniversary of one of Russia's deadliest terrorist attacks with white doves rising into the air, the tolling of bells, and tears.
Mourners again bid a wrenching farewell to hundreds of adults and children who perished in a storm of gunfire and explosions on Sept. 3, 2004, after enduring nearly three days of thirst, hunger and fear as hostages at Beslan's School No. 1.
A day after a meeting with victims' relatives, President Vladimir Putin ordered a fresh investigation, acknowledging criticism of the authorities' handling of the school seizure by heavily armed militants, the botched rescue and the subsequent inquiry.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/09/04/white_doves_tears_mark_beslan_anniversary/
Twice victimized
September 3, 2005
IN DISASTER movies, people flee. In real disasters, thousands of people have nowhere to go. In the land of SUVs, they don't have cars or enough cash for a bus ticket.
Just as the need for levee repairs was forgotten, the poor in New Orleans were long overlooked, ignored until Hurricane Katrina left them stranded in a drowned city and awash on national television.
The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, knew that poverty would hinder the evacuation of the city's 445,000 people. He asked churches, relatives, and friends to help poorer residents leave -- a noble but grossly inadequate request. In Katrina's wake, New Orleans has been swallowed by water, and residents who had little now have virtually nothing.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/09/03/twice_victimized/
Every worker's dream
September 3, 2005
IN ''ALLENTOWN," Billy Joel's lament for lost jobs in Pennsylvania's coal country, disillusioned workers wait in vain to realize ''the promises our teachers made/if we worked hard, if we behaved." Written in 1982 after massive layoffs at nearby Bethlehem Steel, Joel's song presaged the wrenching changes in the US economy that have kept so many unskilled industrial workers from achieving the modest prosperity their fathers enjoyed.
The state of working America on Labor Day 2005 finds many thousands of these workers re-employed in new industries, but with lower pay, fewer benefits, less security, and -- not coincidentally -- less union representation. These workers make up the 25 percent of America's families that are low-income: earning less than twice the poverty rate, or $38,000 for a family of four. That's 9 million working families living officially above poverty but still struggling.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/09/03/every_workers_dream/
The New Zealand Herald
Typhoon strengthens, heads for Okinawa
02.09.05 2.15pm
TOKYO - A powerful typhoon churning toward Japan's Okinawa islands strengthened by Friday to a Class Five storm -- technically the same strength as Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans -- and experts said it could also threaten Japan's southernmost main island.
Typhoon Nabi -- Korean for "butterfly" -- increased in power to super-typhoon status, the Tropical Storm Risk group at University College London said on its website, www.tropicalstormrisk.com
An official at Japan's Meteorological Agency warned that the storm could reach Okinawa by Monday and could curve up to hit Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343729
New Orleans gets more troops, mass evacuations
04.09.05 1.00pm
By Mark Egan
NEW ORLEANS - President George W. Bush ordered more troops to help evacuate and secure New Orleans this morning, as rescuers moved thousands of desperate refugees out of the city and shut down two huge shelters that had become the scene of murder, rape and chaos.
Under fire for his government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, which wrecked one of the world's most famous cities and may have killed thousands of people, Bush said he will send in 7200 additional active duty troops in the next three days.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10343952
New Orleans to stay shut for at least nine months
04.09.05 1.00pm
By Geoffrey Lean and Andrew Gumbel
New Orleans will have to be abandoned for at least nine months, and many of its people will remain homeless for up to two years, the US government believes.
The bleak assessment will deepen the biggest-ever crisis faced by President George Bush, who last week in an embarrassing gaffe called the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a "temporary disruption".
As the relief effort finally got under way yesterday for the tens of thousands of people left without food, water, medicines or the rule of law for five days, the federal official in charge of disaster recovery told foreign diplomats that reconstruction cannot begin until next summer.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343951
Kiwi cop one of six remaining in Katrina aftermath
04.09.05
By David Fisher
In the City of Vultures, a New Zealander is one of the few remaining police officers who has stayed behind to protect the helpless.
James Gourlie, 30, formerly of Christchurch, is one of six officers who have remained out of a district force of 200.
"This is my district. I will not abandon my district, my county, my workmates or these people," he told the Herald On Sunday last night.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343934
Young Kiwis make it out of New Orleans hellhole
04.09.05
By David Fisher
Four young Kiwi women had last night escaped the hell New Orleans has become.
Marianne Lynch, Natasha Rive, Kay-Lynn Mann and Stacey Howes were forced to seek shelter from the hurricane in a central city hotel.
The parents of the women were relieved to hear they had escaped after days of food shortages and fear of the chaos outside.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343940
Storm brews around Bush leadership
03.09.05
By Andrew Gumbel
President George W. Bush is facing not only the fallout of Hurricane Katrina but also an intense political storm as relief experts, government officials and newspaper editorials criticise everything from disaster preparedness policies to his public entry into the growing crisis on the Gulf Coast.
The New York Times said of a speech he made on Wednesday: "Nothing about the President's demeanour yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343799
Clark offers NZ's help to deal with hurricane aftermath
03.09.05
Prime Minister Helen Clark called on the American Consul-General in Auckland, Siria Lopez, yesterday to offer her sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The two women talked briefly about their horror at images seen on television from New Orleans and the Auckland-based diplomat said her family in Florida had a tough time with Hurricane Andrew in 1992 but this one was much worse.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343845
Telecom's brave new world has a familiar ring
04.09.05 1.00pm
By Catherine Harris
This week Telecom reminded us that a brave new world of telecommunications is close at hand.
The future involves your computer, video calling, mobiles and an upgrade of the ordinary phone system which will bring, according to Telecom, more new services than we can currently imagine. One expert suggests 80 per cent of future communications will done via video.
Telecom will begin switching telephones to the new network in 2007, with the aim of getting everyone in the country on VoIP (Voice over internet Protocol) technology by 2012.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10343957
Volkswagen could cut 10,000 German jobs
04.09.05 1.00pm
FRANKFURT - Volkswagen cut could more than 10,000 jobs in Germany in the coming few years to make Europe's largest car maker competitive with its international rivals, a magazine said overnight (NZ time).
Volkswagen wanted to reduce the workforce in west German plants drastically, Spiegel magazine said in a report released before publication, quoting internal VW projections.
Hit by a strong euro and weak sales, VW has been negotiating with its staff about cost-saving concessions in high-wage Germany.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10343953
Beslan draws line under its grief
04.09.05 1.00pm
By Andrew Osborn in Beslan
Three hundred and thirty-one doves were released over the graves of those who died in last year's Beslan school massacre yesterday, as the southern Russian town sought to draw a line under its grief twelve months on.
The number of doves represented the number of victims, 186 of whom were children, and each of their names was read out in a moving ceremony in the town's graveyard under a leaden rain-filled sky. Mournful bells tolled while a crowd of some 12,000 looked on, their faces etched with sadness, and a short poem was read aloud.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343954
Headmistress flees rage of Beslan mob
03.09.05
It was meant to be a sombre day of mourning and remembrance, but the first anniversary of the seizure of Beslan's School Number One was marked by a display of raw and latent anger as the school's hated headmistress was forced to flee a mob intent on attacking her.
"Murderer! Murderer!" the mob shouted at a frightened Lidia Tsalieva. "Why did you come here?"
They also targeted the Kremlin, accused of tragically mishandling the siege and its aftermath.
Many parents and relatives of the 318 dead, 186 of whom were children, issued a symbolically powerful and politically embarrassing petition, saying they didn't want to live in Russia any longer because they had lost faith in its justice system.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343807
continued …
Another rise in petrol prices 'matter of time'
By C.L. Jose, Staff Reporter
Dubai:
It is only a matter of time before retail petrol prices in the UAE are increased further, to at least match the cost of production, market sources told Gulf News yesterday.
Petrol retailers noted that the cost of production at the current international crude price is close to Dh9.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/NationNF.asp?ArticleID=180117
Arabs can learn a lot from Asian awards
By Abdullah Al Madani, Special to Gulf News
In the Arab world, the number of foundations that confer annual prizes for significant achievements has been on the rise since the late 1980s.
This, of course, is a good development. However, Arab prizes, in general, lack several necessary criteria.
They are seen as being given only to persons or groups whose political views are similar to those of the organisers. Committees and juries established for the purpose of handling and validating submissions and deciding on winners are often accused of religious, sectarian or nationalistic bias.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/OpinionNF.asp?ArticleID=180081
Bahraini Jewish woman elected rights body head
By Habib Toumi, Bureau Chief
Manama: A Bahraini Jewish woman, Huda Azra Noono, has been elected to head the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, making her the first non-Muslim to head a human rights watchdog in the country.
"I am honoured to be elected the secretary-general of the Bahrain Human Rights Watch Society, and I will do my best to help promote human rights in the country," Noono yesterday told Gulf News.
"We will work together as a team to ensure that people's rights in all areas are preserved," she said following the board elections.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180092
Civil groups to monitor Egypt’s polls
Agencies
Cairo: An Egypt court ruled on Saturday that local non-governmental organisations will be allowed to monitor Egypt's presidential election to be held this week.
The decision was immediately hailed as a major step towards ensuring a more transparent election.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180064
Opposition flays Mubarak's 'scandalous' campaigning
By Duraid Al Baik, Foreign Editor
Cairo:
Three of Egypt's 10 presidential hopefuls are fighting it out for the top slot as campaigning peaked for Wednesday's poll.
Opposition leaders made the accusation that government institutions are being used to ensure that President Hosni Mubarak, 77, wins for the fifth straight term in the first multi-candidate contest after governing Egypt for 24 years.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180097
Iran blasts US move to deny visas
Agencies
Tehran/Vienna: Iran on Saturday denounced as an "ugly act" the US decision to deny visas to an Iranian parliamentary delegation to attend the annual UN General Assembly session in New York, claiming it showed the Americans were not competent to serve as host to the United Nations.
Washington has given no reason for denying visas to the delegation that was expected to be headed by Iran's Parliamentary Speaker Gholam Ali Haddad Adel.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180109
Saddam trial for mass killing to begin on October 19
gencies
Baghdad : Ousted Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein and seven of his former associates will go on trial for mass killing on October 19, government spokesman Laith Kubba said on Sunday.
"There is a date set for October 19," Kubba told a news conference. "They will be tried for the execution of 143 citizens."
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180194
Saddam's defence strategy drafted
Agencies
Amman:
Saddam Hussain's daughter has devised a strategy for the defence of Iraq's ousted leader, including a media campaign and hiring of a new team of international lawyers, for the expected start of her father's trial next month, she said yesterday.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180111
Saddam's family form new defense team
Agencies
Amman: The family of ousted dictator Saddam Hussain has chosen a new legal counsel to defend him in a trial for war crime charges, the family’s lawyer said on Saturday.
The team includes prominent American, European, Asian and Arab lawyers chosen “on the basis of competence and merit to put up a strong defence," said Abdel Haq Alani.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180059
Lebanon arrests four generals over Hariri case
Agencies
Beirut: A Lebanese magistrate issued arrest warrants on Saturday against four pro-Syrian generals charged with murder over the assassination of Prime Minister Rafik Al Hariri.
Judicial sources said Judge Elias Eid issued the warrants after interrogating the men, allowing them to be kept in custody in connection with Hariri's murder investigation.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180065
Egyptian forces to begin deployment at Gaza border
Agencies
Jerusalem : Egyptian border police are to be deployed at the buffer zone along the Gaza-Egypt border on Sunday, the Israeli Defense Ministry said.An Egyptian soldier stands at the Egyptian-Gaza border. Israel wants the Egyptian forces to prevent weapons smuggling into the Gaza Strip through underground tunnels.
About 750 lightly armed Egyptian forces will take up positions along the border, according to an agreement signed last week between Israel and Egypt.
The Israeli Parliament had on Wednesday approved the deal, another key step in the Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180192
Five militants killed in Syria
Agencies
Damascus:
Syrian security forces killed five members of a militant group in clashed on Friday.
The official Syrian news agency SANA reported that the clashes took place in a village outside the Hamaa province on Saturday.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180057
Saudi women blamed for 50% of traffic accidents
Agencies
Dubai: Despite being barred by law from taking the wheel, Saudi universities have released a study that blames women for a whopping 50 per cent of Saudi’s traffic accidents.
A Saudi based newspaper asked a Jeddah Traffic Administration official if there could be any truth in the study’s results.
The study blames women’s lack of knowledge of road traffic rules and regulations, reports the London-based Arabic newspaper Asharq Al-Awsat.
A common cause of women’s traffic accidents comes from them opening car doors without paying attention to on-coming traffic and having marital arguments.
http://www.gulfnews.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=180190
The Boston Globe
Rebuilding New Orleans
Message #1104.1
Posted by
BostonDotCom on Sep-3 11:07 AM
In ''The city that will be,'' Drake Bennett looks at the prospects for rebuilding New Orleans after last week's devastating floods. Should cities built on vulnerable or unstable ground be relocated following disasters of such magnitude? Or do history and memory — not to mention economic and political reality — require that we rebuild on the same ground, no matter what?
http://boards.boston.com/n/pfx/forum.aspx?nav=messages&tsn=1&tid=1104&webtag=bc-news
The city that will be
(Reuters Photo)
By Drake Bennett September 4, 2005
THIRTY YEARS AGO, in their book ''3000 Years of Urban Growth," the historians Tertius Chandler and Gerald Fox calculated that of all the cities that had been flooded, burned, sacked, leveled by earthquake, buried in lava, or in some way or another destroyed worldwide between 1100 and 1800, only a few dozen had been permanently abandoned. Cities, in other words, tend to get rebuilt no matter what.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/ideas/articles/2005/09/04/the_city_that_will_be/
Eerie Saturday night in the French Quarter
Local residents examine the destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in Bay St. Louis, Miss., on Friday, Sept. 3, 2005. The coastal line of the city was completed devastated including the Bay St. Louis Bridge. (AP Photo/Marcio Jose Sanchez)
By Dan Sewell, Associated Press Writer September 4, 2005
NEW ORLEANS --The only lights Saturday night on Bourbon Street were the flashing blues of police vehicles on patrol, the headlights of rumbling military trucks and an occasional flashlight or cigarette glow among bedraggled holdout residents.
"Why does any local stay? Because this is our neighborhood, this is home," said Ride Hamilton, 29. He has turned his French Quarter home into a mini-warehouse of supplies for his neighbors. He said he accumulated the goods during daily "shopping" trips to local stores, "trying to get it before somebody else does. We're relying on ourselves out here."
Johnny White's Sports Bar, which has no doors and, according to locals, never closes, has become a gathering place for some of those who remained downtown when Katrina devastated the city Monday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/04/eerie_saturday_night_in_the_big_easy/
Hurricane Maria forms over open Atlantic
September 4, 2005
MIAMI --Maria intensified and developed into the season's fifth hurricane on Sunday, growing stronger over warm water in the open Atlantic.
At 5 a.m. EDT, the storm had maximum sustained wind of 75 mph -- only 1 mph higher than the minimum threshold for hurricane status -- and was centered 645 miles southeast of Bermuda.
It was moving north-northwest at 14 mph, and was expected to turn to the north later Sunday or early Monday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/04/hurricane_maria_forms_over_open_atlantic/
Chief Justice Rehnquist dies of cancer
Just pass midnight and praying on the steps on the Supreme Court for the passing of Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist are from left to right, Brandi Swindell, Cheryl Conrad, Barbara Gough Katie Mahoney and Rev. Patrick Mahoney, Sunday Sept. 4, 2005 in Washington, Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist died Saturday evening of cancer, ending a remarkable 33-year tenure on the Supreme Court and creating a rare second vacancy on the nation's highest court. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
By Gina Holland, Associated Press Writer September 4, 2005
WASHINGTON --Chief Justice William H. Rehnquist, who oversaw the high court's conservative shift and presided over the impeachment trial of President Clinton, died Saturday evening. He was 80 years old and had spent 33 years on the Supreme Court.
Rehnquist's death opens a rare second vacancy on the nation's highest court and gives President Bush, whose election Rehnquist helped decide, an opportunity shape the makeup of the court for years to come.
"The Chief Justice battled thyroid cancer since being diagnosed last October and continued to perform his duties on the court until a precipitous decline in his health the last couple of days," court spokeswoman Kathy Arberg said in announcing his death.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/04/chief_justice_rehnquist_dies_of_cancer_1125822101/
Rehnquist death gives Bush chance to shape court
By Jackie Frank September 4, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist creates a rare double opening on the U.S. Supreme Court, giving President George W. Bush the chance to make a significant mark on the federal judiciary.
Rehnquist, a conservative force who pushed the closely divided nine-member court to the right in his more than 30 years on the bench, died on Saturday at age 80 after a battle with thyroid cancer.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/09/04/rehnquist_death_gives_bush_chance_to_shape_court/
Eight killed in latest Afghan violence
September 4, 2005
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Suspected Taliban gunmen killed five Afghan policemen in an ambush on Sunday, the latest incident in a wave of violence ahead of September 18 elections, an official said.
Security is the main worry two weeks before the country goes to the polls to elect a lower house of parliament and councils in its 34 provinces, the next big step on its difficult path to stability.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/09/04/eight_killed_in_latest_afghan_violence/
Hamas' secretive military wing emerges
A Masked Palestinian Hamas militant displays his weapon during a training session in Jebaliya in the northern Gaza Strip, in this early Friday, Aug. 12, 2005, file photo. Hamas' secretive military wing emerged from hiding Saturday, revealing the names of seven top commanders and detailing how they masterminded attacks on Israelis _ part of an increasingly fierce competition between militants and the Palestinian Authority over who will get credit for Israel's pullout from Gaza. (AP Photo/Muhammed Muheisen, File)
By Ravi Nessman, Associated Press Writer September 4, 2005
JERUSALEM --The shadowy military wing of Hamas went public Saturday, revealing the names of its top commanders and outlining the history and increasing sophistication of its attacks against Israel in the latest salvo in the battle for credit over Israel's withdrawal from Gaza.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/09/04/hamas_secretive_military_wing_emerges/
White doves, tears mark Beslan anniversary
Grandparents, no names given, of Boris Dzhibilov, 9, who was killed in the school hostage taking, cry at their grandson's gravestone at the cemetery in Beslan, Saturday, Sept. 3, 2005. Thousands of residents of the small town of Beslan on Saturday marked the first anniversary of one of Russia's deadliest terrorist attacks. Mourners again bid a wrenching farewell to hundreds of adults and children who perished in the hellish storm of gunfire and explosions on Sept. 3, 2004, after enduring nearly three days of thirst, hunger and terror at Beslan's School No. 1. (AP Photo/Dmitry Lovetsky)
By Mike Eckel, Associated Press Writer September 4, 2005
BESLAN, Russia --Thousands of anguished residents of the small town of Beslan on Saturday marked the anniversary of one of Russia's deadliest terrorist attacks with white doves rising into the air, the tolling of bells, and tears.
Mourners again bid a wrenching farewell to hundreds of adults and children who perished in a storm of gunfire and explosions on Sept. 3, 2004, after enduring nearly three days of thirst, hunger and fear as hostages at Beslan's School No. 1.
A day after a meeting with victims' relatives, President Vladimir Putin ordered a fresh investigation, acknowledging criticism of the authorities' handling of the school seizure by heavily armed militants, the botched rescue and the subsequent inquiry.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/09/04/white_doves_tears_mark_beslan_anniversary/
Twice victimized
September 3, 2005
IN DISASTER movies, people flee. In real disasters, thousands of people have nowhere to go. In the land of SUVs, they don't have cars or enough cash for a bus ticket.
Just as the need for levee repairs was forgotten, the poor in New Orleans were long overlooked, ignored until Hurricane Katrina left them stranded in a drowned city and awash on national television.
The mayor of New Orleans, Ray Nagin, knew that poverty would hinder the evacuation of the city's 445,000 people. He asked churches, relatives, and friends to help poorer residents leave -- a noble but grossly inadequate request. In Katrina's wake, New Orleans has been swallowed by water, and residents who had little now have virtually nothing.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/09/03/twice_victimized/
Every worker's dream
September 3, 2005
IN ''ALLENTOWN," Billy Joel's lament for lost jobs in Pennsylvania's coal country, disillusioned workers wait in vain to realize ''the promises our teachers made/if we worked hard, if we behaved." Written in 1982 after massive layoffs at nearby Bethlehem Steel, Joel's song presaged the wrenching changes in the US economy that have kept so many unskilled industrial workers from achieving the modest prosperity their fathers enjoyed.
The state of working America on Labor Day 2005 finds many thousands of these workers re-employed in new industries, but with lower pay, fewer benefits, less security, and -- not coincidentally -- less union representation. These workers make up the 25 percent of America's families that are low-income: earning less than twice the poverty rate, or $38,000 for a family of four. That's 9 million working families living officially above poverty but still struggling.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/09/03/every_workers_dream/
The New Zealand Herald
Typhoon strengthens, heads for Okinawa
02.09.05 2.15pm
TOKYO - A powerful typhoon churning toward Japan's Okinawa islands strengthened by Friday to a Class Five storm -- technically the same strength as Hurricane Katrina, which devastated New Orleans -- and experts said it could also threaten Japan's southernmost main island.
Typhoon Nabi -- Korean for "butterfly" -- increased in power to super-typhoon status, the Tropical Storm Risk group at University College London said on its website, www.tropicalstormrisk.com
An official at Japan's Meteorological Agency warned that the storm could reach Okinawa by Monday and could curve up to hit Japan's southernmost main island of Kyushu.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343729
New Orleans gets more troops, mass evacuations
04.09.05 1.00pm
By Mark Egan
NEW ORLEANS - President George W. Bush ordered more troops to help evacuate and secure New Orleans this morning, as rescuers moved thousands of desperate refugees out of the city and shut down two huge shelters that had become the scene of murder, rape and chaos.
Under fire for his government's slow response to Hurricane Katrina, which wrecked one of the world's most famous cities and may have killed thousands of people, Bush said he will send in 7200 additional active duty troops in the next three days.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10343952
New Orleans to stay shut for at least nine months
04.09.05 1.00pm
By Geoffrey Lean and Andrew Gumbel
New Orleans will have to be abandoned for at least nine months, and many of its people will remain homeless for up to two years, the US government believes.
The bleak assessment will deepen the biggest-ever crisis faced by President George Bush, who last week in an embarrassing gaffe called the devastation of Hurricane Katrina a "temporary disruption".
As the relief effort finally got under way yesterday for the tens of thousands of people left without food, water, medicines or the rule of law for five days, the federal official in charge of disaster recovery told foreign diplomats that reconstruction cannot begin until next summer.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343951
Kiwi cop one of six remaining in Katrina aftermath
04.09.05
By David Fisher
In the City of Vultures, a New Zealander is one of the few remaining police officers who has stayed behind to protect the helpless.
James Gourlie, 30, formerly of Christchurch, is one of six officers who have remained out of a district force of 200.
"This is my district. I will not abandon my district, my county, my workmates or these people," he told the Herald On Sunday last night.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343934
Young Kiwis make it out of New Orleans hellhole
04.09.05
By David Fisher
Four young Kiwi women had last night escaped the hell New Orleans has become.
Marianne Lynch, Natasha Rive, Kay-Lynn Mann and Stacey Howes were forced to seek shelter from the hurricane in a central city hotel.
The parents of the women were relieved to hear they had escaped after days of food shortages and fear of the chaos outside.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343940
Storm brews around Bush leadership
03.09.05
By Andrew Gumbel
President George W. Bush is facing not only the fallout of Hurricane Katrina but also an intense political storm as relief experts, government officials and newspaper editorials criticise everything from disaster preparedness policies to his public entry into the growing crisis on the Gulf Coast.
The New York Times said of a speech he made on Wednesday: "Nothing about the President's demeanour yesterday - which seemed casual to the point of carelessness - suggested that he understood the depth of the current crisis."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343799
Clark offers NZ's help to deal with hurricane aftermath
03.09.05
Prime Minister Helen Clark called on the American Consul-General in Auckland, Siria Lopez, yesterday to offer her sympathy for the victims of Hurricane Katrina.
The two women talked briefly about their horror at images seen on television from New Orleans and the Auckland-based diplomat said her family in Florida had a tough time with Hurricane Andrew in 1992 but this one was much worse.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343845
Telecom's brave new world has a familiar ring
04.09.05 1.00pm
By Catherine Harris
This week Telecom reminded us that a brave new world of telecommunications is close at hand.
The future involves your computer, video calling, mobiles and an upgrade of the ordinary phone system which will bring, according to Telecom, more new services than we can currently imagine. One expert suggests 80 per cent of future communications will done via video.
Telecom will begin switching telephones to the new network in 2007, with the aim of getting everyone in the country on VoIP (Voice over internet Protocol) technology by 2012.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10343957
Volkswagen could cut 10,000 German jobs
04.09.05 1.00pm
FRANKFURT - Volkswagen cut could more than 10,000 jobs in Germany in the coming few years to make Europe's largest car maker competitive with its international rivals, a magazine said overnight (NZ time).
Volkswagen wanted to reduce the workforce in west German plants drastically, Spiegel magazine said in a report released before publication, quoting internal VW projections.
Hit by a strong euro and weak sales, VW has been negotiating with its staff about cost-saving concessions in high-wage Germany.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10343953
Beslan draws line under its grief
04.09.05 1.00pm
By Andrew Osborn in Beslan
Three hundred and thirty-one doves were released over the graves of those who died in last year's Beslan school massacre yesterday, as the southern Russian town sought to draw a line under its grief twelve months on.
The number of doves represented the number of victims, 186 of whom were children, and each of their names was read out in a moving ceremony in the town's graveyard under a leaden rain-filled sky. Mournful bells tolled while a crowd of some 12,000 looked on, their faces etched with sadness, and a short poem was read aloud.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343954
Headmistress flees rage of Beslan mob
03.09.05
It was meant to be a sombre day of mourning and remembrance, but the first anniversary of the seizure of Beslan's School Number One was marked by a display of raw and latent anger as the school's hated headmistress was forced to flee a mob intent on attacking her.
"Murderer! Murderer!" the mob shouted at a frightened Lidia Tsalieva. "Why did you come here?"
They also targeted the Kremlin, accused of tragically mishandling the siege and its aftermath.
Many parents and relatives of the 318 dead, 186 of whom were children, issued a symbolically powerful and politically embarrassing petition, saying they didn't want to live in Russia any longer because they had lost faith in its justice system.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10343807
continued …
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