September 20, 2005. Waiting out "Rita" in Miami.
Tuesday, September 20, 2005
September 16, 2005.
High tide at Newport Beach, California is higher than normal this week.
Photographer states :: The end of a long and fun day. The high tide came in shortly after this last photo was taken, making for a really big end to the day! This series is from the Southern Hemi swell that hit SoCal this weekend 9-16/9-17. The sets seen here at the "Wedge" in Newport Beach were exceptionally high with some rogue waves hitting as high as 20-22' high. The swell is starting to fade but should last through tomorrow evening.
September 16, 2005.
Newport Beach, California.
Photographer states :: This wave crested at around 12 feet on Friday. This series is from the Southern Hemi swell that hit SoCal this weekend 9-16/9-17. The sets seen here at the "Wedge" in Newport Beach were exceptionally high with some rogue waves hitting as high as 20-22' high. The swell is starting to fade but should last through tomorrow evening.
September 16, 2005.
Newport Beach, California.
Photographer states :: This wave crested at around 13-15 feet on Friday. The evening sets of waves were really choppy due to the winds and we saw more than a share of splash in excess of 30 feet! Many cameras were ruined even on the beach due to the waves breaking near the crowds. This series is from the Southern Hemi swell that hit SoCal this weekend 9-16/9-17. The sets seen here at the "Wedge" in Newport Beach were exceptionally high with some rogue waves hitting as high as 20-22' high. The swell is starting to fade but should last through tomorrow evening.
September 16, 2005.
Newport Beach, California at 'The Wedge." These waves are 20 to 22 feet high. Yes, the storms in the Pacific are contributing to this. "The Wedge" is famous for near shore 'rouge' waves. The sea wall in the background is what causes all this turbulence as the ocean slams into it and reverberates off it to meet new incoming waves.
September 20, 2005. It is difficult to believe Hawaii isn't going to get hit by one of the major storms currently in the Pacific. "Jova" is a Cat 3 and currently will deliver winds and waves but it is "Kenneth" as the Cat 4 that might deliver an eye to Hawaii. There is a new convection system off Central America on the Pacific side. It is huge. It is a compliment to Rita no different than Hilary was to Katrina. The current 'jump' that occurred with Rita happened when it came closer to the vortex flow over central North America which turned south to meet "Rita" adding fuel to it's velocity.
Morning Papers - It's Origins
Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History
1519 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain on a voyage to find a western passage to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. (Magellan was killed en route, but one of his ships eventually circled the world.)
1660 First children of mixed heritage are classified as Black and sold as slaves in Virginia and a free White woman who marries a Black is considered a slave as long as her husband is alive in Maryland.
1830 The first National Convention of Free Men agrees to boycott slave-produced goods.
1831 A Black convention is held in Philadelphia.
1873 panic swept the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures.
1916 Henry G. Parks, who will build one of the largest Black food companies - "Parks Sausage," is born in Atlanta, GA
1958 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is stabbed by Isola Curry while autographing copies of his book, "Stride Toward Freedom", in a Harlem store. Ms. Curry will be eventually committed to an institution for the criminally insane and Dr. King will fully recover.
1962 black student James Meredith was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Gov. Ross R. Barnett. (Meredith was later admitted.)
1973 in their so-called "battle of the sexes," tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, at the Houston Astrodome.
Missing in Action
1965 BLACK ARTHUR N. BETHLEHEM PA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1965 CURTIS THOMAS J. HOUSTON TX 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV BRANSON-ALIVE AND WELL 95/98
1965 FORBY WILLIS E. ONAKA SD 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1965 HAWKINS EDGAR LEE LAMESA TX CACCF/CRASH/PILOT
1965 MARTIN DUANE W. DENVER CO REPORTED KILLED BY NATIVES
1965 ROBINSON WILLIAM A. ROBERSONVILLE NC 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1965 SMITH PHILIP E. ROODHOUSE IL 03/15/73 RELEASED BY CHINA ALIVE IN 98
1966 BLOOM RICHARD MCAULIFFE SAN FRANCISCO CA
1972 LESTER RODERICK B. MORTON WA
September 19…
1966 BROWN FRANK MONROE JR. TUNKHANNOCK PA
1966 HENRY DAVID ALAN EL CERRITO CA
1966 PARSONS DON B. FREEPORT NY
1966 PILKINGTON THOMAS H. MORTON GROVE IL
1966 WALTMAN DONALD G. KELLOGG ID 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED 5 SEPT 97
1968 CAPLING ELWYN R. DETROIT MI 03/77 SRV RETURNED REMAINS TO PCOM REMAINS RETURNED 03/18/77
1968 HOLT ROBERT ALAN READING MA REMAINS IDENTIFIED 06/04/99
1968 LA VOO JOHN ALLEN PUEBLO CO REMAINS IDENTIFIED 06/04/99
September 18
1965 BARBER ROBERT FRANKLIN SEATTLE WA CRASH EXPLODE AT SEA NO SURV
1965 VOGT LEONARD F. JR. CINCINNATI OH CRASH EXPLODE AT SEA NO SURV
1968 WOODS BRIAN D. SAN DIEGO CA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1969 CLINE CURTIS R. BURLINGTON MI
1970 KEESEE BOBBY JOE 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV
September 17
1965 KLENDA DEAN ALBERT MANHATTAN KS
1966 LEETUN DAREL D. HETTINGER ND
1967 GRUBB PETER A. SOUTH HAMPTON NY
1967 NELLANS WILLIAM L. WARSAW IN
1967 STAVAST JOHN EDWARD CLAREMONT CA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 VENANZI GERALD S. TRENTON NJ 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1968 DAVIS EDGAR F. GOLDSBORO NC
1972 BUELL KENNETH R. KANKAKEE IL
1972 DONNELLY VERNE G. MARYSVILLE CA REM RETURNED ID'D 02/05/91
1972 GOETSCH THOMAS AUGUST MEMPHIS TN
1972 TUROSE MICHAEL STEPHEN PARMA OH
1972 ZORN THOMAS ONEAL JR. WAYCROSS GA
The Jerusalem Post
Shalom: Iron curtain between Israel, Arab world falling
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday afternoon, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom stated that the "iron curtain" between Israel and the Arab world was coming down.
"These are optimistic times in the Middle East," Shalom said. In the past week, the foreign minister has held meetings with more than ten leaders from the Arab and Muslim world, a significant diplomatic advance since mere months ago. "These meetings have been open and friendly, as befits meetings between countries which have no conflict," Shalom told the assembled world leaders.
For full text of speech click here >>
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127182727228
FM meets Tunisian, Moroccan reps at UN
By ORLY HALPERN
In what was described as "positive" meetings, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom met with his Moroccan and Tunisian counterparts at the UN Monday to discuss how to deepen ties with their countries. However, despite the kisses and hugs which marked the meetings, full diplomatic ties were not an option.
"The Tunisian minister said Tunisia is a moderate country, but it will never be first or last to have contact with Israel," said Shalom's spokesman Ilan Ostfeld, who attended the 40-minute meeting which was conducted in French, English and Arabic.
Shalom responded by saying that Israel wants more than tourism-level relations.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415961
Wiesenthal to be buried in Israel Fri.
By SHANI ROSENFELDER
Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who helped track down numerous Nazi war criminals following World War II and spent the later decades of his life fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice against all people, died Tuesday at the age of 96.
Wiesenthal will be buried in Israel on Friday, according to members of the Jewish community in Vienna, Austria, where Wiesenthal lived.
Wiesenthal passed away in his sleep at his home, according to Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
World leaders, human rights activists and Jewish organizations mourned for Simon Wiesenthal, praising his courage and determination to seek justice - rather than revenge - against Nazi atrocities.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127182724587
IDF leaves four W. Bank settlements
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
On Tuesday night the IDF completed its pullout from Kadim and Ganim, evacuated settlements in northern Samaria, marking the end to the disengagement process in the West Bank. Earlier in the day, the army left Sa Nur after completing the late Monday night burial of the synagogue, and by last Friday the army no longer maintained a permanent presence in Homesh.
The settlements located in Area C, which are under sole Israeli control, will not be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, unlike those in the Gaza Strip. As of Tuesday, Israeli citizens were barred from entering the area and Palestinians were permitted to enter as long as they did not attempt to build anything there.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127182727443
Non-Orthodox rabbis petition High Court
By DAN IZENBERG
The Reform movement in Israel on Tuesday petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding that the state appoint a female rabbi as the official spiritual leader of the Reform congregation of Birkat Shalom in Kibbutz Gezer.
If the petition is accepted by the court, it would mark the first time that a Reform rabbi, and a female rabbi, would be appointed as a state-paid official ministering to the spiritual needs of a religious congregation.
The petitioners included Rabbi Miri Gold, whom the movement wants to see appointed to the post.
A spokeswoman for the Reform movement's Israel Religious Action Center told The Jerusalem Post that as a communal rabbi, Gold would not be authorized to marry couples or grant kashruth certificates. She said the movement decided to petition the court because of the practical needs of the Birkat Shalom congregation. It did not demand parity with the Orthodox movement in the country's cities, but did not rule out the possibility that it would do so in the future, when the Reform population in Israel "grows and becomes stronger."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127182726081
Homeopathy works
By MICHA ALTMANN
An article in the August 2005 British medical journal Lancet reported that scientists from the University of Berne, Switzerland, had concluded homeopathy had the same medical value as placebos – meaning none at all.
Homeopathic treatments are based on diluting substances in water many times over, in the counterintuitive belief that the more times a remedy is diluted, the more potent it becomes.
A recent article published in the medical journal Lancet widely quoted in Israel and elsewhere stated that "homeopathy is no better than dummy drugs," the implication being that it is useless. As a successful long-time practitioner of homeopathic medicine I cannot allow this charge to pass without comment.
An important initial point to make is that the placebo effect – part of the human psychological potential for positive reaction to a drug that does not result directly from the drug itself – has been shown to account for 50% of the success of any treatment system, conventional or other. Taking into consideration the fact that 90 percent or more of homeopathic patients turned to this treatment after trying conventional medicine again and again in vain, an obvious question is: Why they did not experience at least this amount of effectiveness with the conventional treatment? Clearly, because the beneficial effects they felt with homeopathy were not placebo ones. This is even more obvious when considering that the majority of these patients are small babies and children, in whom the placebo effect argument does not hold.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415060
Arab leaders to launch hunger strike
By DAVID RUDGE
Israeli Arab leaders, including Knesset members, will pitch a tent in the same spot and begin a hunger strike next week in protest of the decision not to charge any police officer with the killings of 13 Israeli Arabs in the October 2000 riots.
Archive: Click here for in depth coverage of the Or Commission report.
Aside from the planned hunger strike, Israeli Arab leaders on Monday night decided on a series of measures to protest against the decision.
Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) MK Muhammad Barakeh said the minority Arab community in Israel and its leadership would not rest until the report was "thrown into the dustbin" and the decisions rescinded.
Meanwhile, Professor Shimon Shamir, a member of the Or Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the October 2000 riots, sharply criticized the Police Investigations Department (PID) for not pressing charges against any of the officers.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415563
'Gaza-Egypt border to remain closed'
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH AND AP
The Gaza-Egypt border will only reopen as part of an international agreement, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Monday, quashing speculation that Egypt and the Palestinians might operate a crossing there without Israel's blessing.
Abbas spoke a day after his security forces plugged the last holes in the border fortifications, ending a week of chaos during which thousands of Gazans and Egyptians flooded across the frontier without controls. "The (border) terminal will be open when there is an international agreement," Abbas said Monday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096412873
Israel, Greece square off for a spot in quarterfinals
By FRANKIE SACHS
The national team checked into its Belgrade hotel on Monday ahead of Tuesday's crucial Eurobasket second-round clash against Greece and found a herd of Greek reporters waiting.
Many were eager to speak to coach Tzvika Sherf, a well-known figure in Greece from his days coaching Aris Thessaloniki, PAOK Thessaloniki and Makedonikos, while others targeted guard Dror Hajaj, who will play for AEK Athens next season.
All of Israel's players were happy to speak to the reporters. The 12 men are simply happy to be there.
The winner-takes-all match pits two teams that went 2-1 in the group stage, but Greece is the favorite. Nevertheless, Israel, considered by many to be one of the biggest surprises after upsetting Spain on Sunday in Novi Sad, is confident that on any night it can take any team.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415350
Resisting economic reform
By KENNETH ROGOFF
If the 1990s was the era of economic shock therapy, the present decade may be remembered for economic reform paralysis. Although the reasons for gridlock differ across countries, the bottom line is that few politicians anywhere are having much success in limbering up their economies.
The problem is not just in emerging markets such as Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil, where an ascendant Left has failed to find a viable alternative to the much reviled "Washington Consensus" of economic liberalization. One sees the same phenomenon across many rich countries as well.
In a remarkable coincidence of timing, Japan and Germany both held early elections in the hope of energizing reform. In Germany, the most urgent needs are for tax and labor-market reform. In Japan, the Koizumi government wants to privatize the behemoth postal service, whose giant financial arm is wrapped like a python around the country's banking system.
Even in the United States, one of the few places where economic liberalization is not a dirty word, President George W. Bush has his own frustrations. Despite a huge investment of time and energy, he has failed to marshal even his own troops in support of a relatively modest proposal to stave off collapse of the nation's old-age insurance program. Indeed, Bush's popularity has taken a beating over pension reform.
Some people ascribe the global collapse of reform efforts to a peculiarly ineffective collection of leaders. This view is nonsense, and besides, if the public is so unhappy with its leaders' performance, why does it keep electing and re-electing them?
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415208
Business Investor's Daily
Storms Expose Energy Security As Major Problem For The U.S.
No new refineries seen; alternative fuels won’t help for quite a while
BY MIKE ANGELL INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
With another big storm headed for the Gulf of Mexico as the region still reels from Hurricane Katrina, the U.S.’ lack of energy security has been laid bare.
October crude futures on Monday surged $4.39, or 7%, to $67.39 a barrel on fears that Rita will roil the Gulf later this week, possibly slamming into Texas, which boasts the most U.S. refineries.
Natural gas and refined product prices shot up even more.
Nearly one-third of U.S. energy supply comes from Gulf. Another big portion comes from dubious overseas sources like the Mideast and Venezuela.
There’s little anyone can do about Gulf crude and natural gas production when storms hit.
Likewise, there are strong economic reasons to build refineries near where it’s produced or imported. That’s why refineries are clustered along the Gulf Coast.
Refiners have showed little interest in building a brand-new facility anywhere in the U.S. Overcoming the regulatory and political opposition would take years, at best, with no guarantee that future prices would justify the investment.
The Bush administration is touting steps toward better energy security, notably the newly passed Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Experts say there are many things being done or that can be done that should improve energy security. But all will take years to implement.
“Energy security is a very complex problem with a lot of different sides,” said Michael Waldron, spokesman for the Energy Department. “No one solution has all the answers.”
The energy act’s main theme for security is diversifying away from gasoline and crude oil as much as possible, especially for transportation which consumes 68% of the crude oil used in the U.S. But alternative fuel vehicles, most agree, are still years away from being commercially feasible.
The act allows over $1 billion to be spent on hydrogen fuel cells. Automakers and researchers have demonstrated hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The trouble is each car costs $1 million today. The first fuel cellpowered cars could be available in a decade. But a study from the National Academy of Engineering says it will take at least another decade after that before fuel cell cars sell in numbers large enough to make a dent in fossil fuel demand.
Another alternative fuel is etha- nol, an alcohol made out of sugar or corn. Brazil has led the way in ethanol use with investments in both the infrastructure and making “flexible fuel” cars that can handle both ethanol and gasoline. Today, about 40% of auto fuel used in Brazil is ethanol.
Brazil has several advantages. The country grows large amounts of sugar cane needed for ethanol. The government also mandated that gasoline contain at least 25% ethanol.
About 4 million U.S. cars on the road today can run on gasoline or ethanol. But only about 1% of those cars may be using ethanol because of the limited supply, says Anne Korin, a co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.
The U.S. is more dependent on corn-based ethanol, which is much more energy-intensive to produce than sugar-based ethanol. Farm lobbyists have blocked ethanol imports.
But the new Central American Free Trade Pact will let more ethanol enter the U.S. tax-free. And the energy act provides tax rebates to invest in ethanol infrastructure.
Energy security also means tapping more domestic energy sources, such as coal and nuclear power.
Meanwhile, Congress may approve more Arctic oil drilling this year.
One potential source that’s been given short shrift is oil shale found across the Rocky Mountains area. A Rand Institute study estimates 800 billion barrels of crude is trapped in shale. The U.S. has 22 billion barrels in regular crude reserves.
The amount of crude in oil shale is “more than triple Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves,” Rand researcher Debra Knopman said. “It would be enough oil for 400 years of consumption.”
First looked at during the late ’70s, oil shale is still too expensive to produce. Oil would have to be $70 to $90 before shale is cost-effective.
Shell has proposed another method that it claims would make shale competitive at $20 a barrel. But it is still largely a lab experiment with no actual field tests, Knopman says.
Shale has serious potential environmental concerns too. Still, the Rand study says at the very least the Energy Department should put shale back into its R&D plans.
Some see renewable energy as the ultimate in energy security. The U.S. gets about 2% of its energy from sources like wind, solar and geothermal power. That could easily reach 20% in a decade or so, says Jeff Deyette, energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
It would also avoid fossil fuels’ global warming problems, he says.
http://epaper.investors.com/Daily/skins/IBD/navigator.asp?src=AA2PFDV&AW=1127240249857
Oil Prices Shoot Up As New Storm Aims For Gulf Of Mexico
Crude Up $4.39 To $67.39
Tropical Storm Rita heads for the Keys, then Texas? Gasoline, natgas up 14%
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Crude-oil futures surged more than $4 — the biggest one-day price jump ever — amid worries that Tropical Storm Rita, strengthening off the Bahamas, could hit U.S. oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico later this week.
That would strike yet another blow at an industry struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
The swells in energy futures came as OPEC ministers met to discuss how to relieve price pressures in the oil market and expressed concern that Rita would bear down on the hurricane-ravaged U.S. Gulf Coast.
October light, sweet crude rose $4.39, or 7%, to $67.39 a barrel. Nymex crude — still more than $3 off its record high of $70.85 hit briefly on Aug. 30 after Katrina hit the Gulf — had fallen $1.75 Friday to its lowest close since Aug. 5.
Heating oil surged over 20 cents to $2.0384 a gallon. Unleaded gasoline futures rose nearly 26 cents to $2.0427 a gallon. Natural gas swelled 14% to a record $12.663 per million British thermal units.
“The main driver today is Tropical Storm Rita. We really can’t afford to lose more production,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.
In Florida, thousands began evacuating the Florida Keys as Rita built up speed off the Bahamas about 380 miles from Key West.
Rita had sustained winds of 70 mph and was forecast to be in the Straits of Florida between the Keys and northern Cuba on Monday, possibly as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph, forecasters said.
Long-range forecasts showed Rita moving into the Gulf of Mexico late in the week as a hurricane, then possibly approaching Mexico or Texas. But forecasters warned that long-term predictions are subject to large errors.
If Rita strikes Texas, the biggest oil refiner in the country, it could spell serious disruption. Texas has 26 petroleum refineries, most along the coast, with the capacity to pump 4.6 million barrels a day. That’s over a quarter of the U.S. total refining capacity, according to the Energy Department.
Huge swings in the oil market have become the norm, said Oil Price Information Service analyst Tom Kloza, and the market was ripe for another rally, coming off a huge drawback on falling demand and Katrina recovery efforts.
“This is speculation and fear about what is more or less a typical September event,” said Kloza, pointing to Hurricane Ivan, which last fall shut down rigs and disrupted refining. “It really underscores how maniacal the entire oil trading business has become.”
About 55% of oil production and 35% of gasoline production in the Gulf remains blocked in the wake of Katrina, the Minerals Management Service said Monday.
OPEC ministers sought to reassure oil markets that supplies are plentiful. They seemed near agreement to make 2 million extra barrels of oil a day available. They were to decide Tuesday whether to offer the extra oil or boost the current output ceiling.
Previous OPEC pledges have done little to stabilize prices this year, as markets focused on refining capacity. Analysts have called OPEC moves symbolic as the cartel already pumps above quota.
Supply concerns are likely to increase as the northern winter approaches, when demand for heating oil, diesel and jet fuel rise.
http://epaper.investors.com/Daily/skins/IBD/navigator.asp?src=AA2PFDV&AW=1127240249857
The Moscow Times
Russia's Sun-Kissed South Frets About Future
By Maria Levitov
Staff Writer
Competition from Turkey and Cyprus is increasingly drawing Russian vacationers from beaches like this one in Anapa.
ANAPA, Krasnodar Region -- Like many middle-class Muscovites, Zina Nosova was planning on spending her summer vacation abroad this year -- and not in Anapa, a Black Sea resort known for its high-rise Soviet-era hotels and rows of tacky beachside kiosks.
But when Nosova, an interpreter, found out that her travel companion's passport had expired, she reconsidered Russia's sunny Krasnodar region and discovered it was not such a bad choice after all.
Despite a recent boom in foreign travel, more than 500 kilometers of the country's coastline along the Black Sea and Sea of Azov still attracts more Russian tourists than all foreign destinations combined. Last year, the region counted 7.1 million Russian visitors, 600,000 more than vacationed abroad.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/002.html
Khodorkovsky Appeal Delayed for 2nd Time
By Catherine Belton
Staff Writer
Igor Tabakov / MT
Khodorkovsky smiling Monday as he was led into the courtroom, where he refused again to replace Genrikh Padva.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Monday won a day's reprieve for his election campaign as the Moscow City Court for a second time adjourned proceedings in his appeal.
The three judges pressed Khodorkovsky to have two of his junior lawyers and his close legal adviser, Anton Drel, represent him in the appeal and ordered all three to sit at the defense table in the court in a bid to start proceedings. The only lawyer authorized by Khodorkovsky to defend him in the appeal, Genrikh Padva, was hospitalized last week due to poor health and has so far been unable to appear.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/011.html
6 More Prisoners Mount Duma Bids
By Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writer
Igor Tabakov / MT
Valery Doshkevich, 56, a cobbler who supports Khodorkovsky, mending shoes about 50 meters from the Moscow City Court on Monday.
With bids that threaten to thoroughly discredit the race, a motley group of prisoners at the Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility are drawing up plans to run against fellow prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky for a seat in the State Duma.
Even if Khodorkovsky were to end up withdrawing, voluntarily or involuntarily, the other prisoners may refuse to follow suit, embarrassing federal and city authorities who appear keen on keeping Khodorkovsky from winning at all costs.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/001.html
Going Dangerously Astray
By Pavel Felgenhauer
This month, Russia lost two jet fighters during military exercises that simulated a major war with NATO. A naval task force was deployed in the North Atlantic on a mission to intercept and destroy U.S. reinforcements heading to the European theater of war.
To Our Readers
Has something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage?
Then please write to us.
All we ask is that you include your full name, the name of the city from which you are writing and a contact telephone number in case we need to get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you.During exercises on Sept. 5, a Su-33 jet fighter fell off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov during landing and sank. The pilot ejected and was rescued.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/009.html
A Capital Test for National Democracy
By Nikolai Petrov
To Our Readers
Has something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage?
Then please write to us.
All we ask is that you include your full name, the name of the city from which you are writing and a contact telephone number in case we need to get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Just over two months remain before voters go the polls to elect the next Moscow City Duma, but the election has already generated enormous interest among analysts and the political elite. For a number of reasons, the City Duma contest has emerged as the main midterm test for Russia's political parties and an indicator of where they stand in advance of the State Duma and presidential elections in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
This year's City Duma election is the first since sweeping changes were made in the capital's election laws. Coalitions and blocs will no longer be permitted to contest the election, only established political parties. Moscow lawmakers surpassed their federal counterparts, erecting a 10 percent barrier for party representation in the next City Duma, cutting minimum voter turnout to just 20 percent and getting rid of the option to vote "against all." The Central Elections Commission washed its hands of the election in a sense by criticizing the city for taking election reform too far, though it did so only after the date of the ballot had been set and no further changes could be made.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/006.html
Clinton Says Authoritarianism Growing Under Putin
The Moscow Times
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said in an interview published Monday that he was worried about authoritarian trends under President Vladimir Putin. Asked what he thought about Putin's policies, Clinton said, "Putin had a very active start, but now I am concerned about the authoritarian trends in the Russian leadership," Izvestia reported.
"It's very important for democratically elected leaders to maintain a political balance to remain in the gentlemen's club of world leaders," he said.
The brief interview took place in New York on the sidelines of the inaugural session of the Clinton Global Initiative, an alternative to last week's United Nations summit.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/012.html
Oil Firms to Freeze Pump Price
The Associated Press
Russia's major oil producers on Monday agreed to freeze their gasoline prices in Russia until the end of the year, Interfax reported, citing the Industry and Energy Ministry.
The oil companies made the decision at a meeting with Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko, Interfax quoted ministry spokesman Stas Naumov as saying.
"The result of the meeting was a voluntary decision by the management of Russia's largest companies; prices won't rise any further on the domestic market until the end of the year," the official said according to Interfax.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/047.html
Yushchenko Struggles to Win Support for Yekhanurov Vote
The Associated Press
KIEV -- President Viktor Yushchenko scrambled Monday to secure the necessary support for his candidate for prime minister amid growing signs that the Ukrainian parliament would block his choice.
Failure to approve acting Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov's candidacy would plunge Ukraine into another crisis after the dramatic sacking of popular Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, as Yushchenko needs to get a new government in place.
Yekhanurov must win 226 votes to be named prime minister by the 450-member parliament. But as of Monday evening, he had only 199 promised votes and little room to maneuver, with opposition parties either opposing him on principle or as a show of loyalty to Tymoshenko.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/017.html
Pravda
Mikhail Khodorkovsky unwilling to recollect the past
09/20/2005 18:00
Giving himself credit for the development of Yukos, Mr. Khodorkovsky does not mention anything about his criminal past
The status of a prisoner does not stop the former CEO of the Russian oil giant Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, from conducting activities with mass media. When communicating with Russian reporters, Mr. Khodorkovsky tries to display decorum and cultivate the image of a dissident to conceal criminal aspects of his biography. Quite on the contrary, when it comes to interviews with foreign media outlets, the former Russian oligarch feels really inspired to dwell upon his efforts that he used to take to raise the Russian economy from ruins under severe conditions of the incipient market system.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/351/16164_Khodorkovsky.html
Russia's economy to develop steadily during the current decade, German experts say
09/19/2005 12:23
Pravda.Ru interviewed one of the most respectable analyst in the world, Mr. Norbert Walter, the Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Group
Norbert Walter, the Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank, enjoys the reputation of one of the most respectable analysts in the world. A recent report from his research group which gave a forecast on the development of the world economy before 2020, contradicted to previous predictions outlined by CIA experts and Goldman Sachs investment group.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/89/358/16155_Walter.html
Russia's national wealth structure differs from the one in the rest of the world
09/20/2005 14:12
The share of natural resources in Europe, the USA and Japan makes up only one of two percent
The World Bank published the list of wealthiest and poorest states. Russia has not been mentioned in either the first or in the second group. However, Russia is closer to the lower part of the list: with 38,709 dollars of the national wealth per capita. To draw a comparison, every citizen of Switzerland (which tops the chart) can possess $648,2 thousand. Almost the entire Europe, the USA, Japan and even the African state of Botswana ($40,592 thousand), Namibia ($39,907 thousand), Peru ($39,046 thousand) are listed ahead of Russia. However, it is much more important to see not the list of countries, which come ahead of Russia, but the reason, which creates such a state of affairs.
The advantages of Switzerland are obvious: this country has not been waging war with any other country for several hundreds of years.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/365/16162_wealth.html
Putin's daughters enter university which changes the order at the institution
09/17/2005 16:44
The studies began September 1, but none of the president's daughters has shown up at the University yet
This year, the St.Petersburg State University is the focus of attention: Russia President Putin's daughters became students of the University last summer. Maria and Yekaterina Putin never go out without security, they are afraid of pronouncing their family name in public. It was just once that Russia was allowed to see the girls: their pictures at the age of 5-6 appeared in a little book published many years ago. This is quite natural that the girls have changed a lot since that time, but just few people know what they look like.
Vladimir Putin is a graduate of the St.Petersburg State University, this is probably the reason why his daughters decided to enter the University as well.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/350/16151_putin.html
The Miami Herald
Rita's winds reach 100 mph; U.S. 1 flooded
BY MARTIN MERZER, CARA BUCKLEY AND PHIL LONG
Miami Herald
Hurricane Rita swamped beaches and roads in the Florida Keys and produced localized flooding in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but preliminary reports suggested only modest damage thus far.
Still, the storm was not through with the region, it was growing stronger as its core passed south of Key West and it was far too early to take anything for granted.
In the Keys, water flowed over U.S. 1 at various places between mile markers 73 through 90 and elsewhere -- with the road closed at marker 73.5, authorities said. Rising water also was reported along the 18-mile stretch between Florida City and Key Largo.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12689167.htm
Galveston calls for voluntary evacuations
JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press
GALVESTON, Texas - Taking a cue from the suffering in New Orleans, residents lined up for plywood and officials called for a voluntary evacuation of this island city as Hurricane Rita threatened to slam into the Texas Coast this weekend. Officials also began steps to fly thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees to Arkansas.
Rita, approaching the Florida Keys, was upgraded to a hurricane Tuesday morning and continued to strengthen.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12694241.htm
Housing construction falls for 2nd month
MARTIN CRUTSINGER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Construction of new homes slipped for a second month in August, providing fresh evidence that the nation's housing boom may be cooling.
The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments dropped 1.3 percent last month after a decline of 1.5 percent in July. It marked the first back-to-back declines in housing starts since early 2004.
Even with the declines, housing construction totaled 2.01 million units in August, the eighth month out of the past nine that housing has been above the 2-million mark.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12694034.htm
Sen. Boxer writes novel about Senate
ERICA WERNER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - She's a feisty left-wing senator from California faced with a vexing decision: What to do about a conservative Supreme Court nominee who appears headed for confirmation?
"You need to be the conscience of the liberals, even if you're the only voice in the wilderness," implores an aide.
Who could this senator be but Barbara Boxer, the outspoken liberal whose combative opposition to Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state was parodied on Saturday Night Live?
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12695378.htm
Truckers quit, join teamsters
More than 350 truck drivers resigned from their jobs over the weekend and joined the Teamsters Union
BY MONICA HATCHER
mhatcher@herald.com
Truck driver Sandro Lerro knew when he signed on with the Teamsters Union Saturday he probably wouldn't have a job come Monday.
It's a price he said he was willing to pay for the possibility of benefits and better wages down the road from companies willing to hire him through the new union job placement center that opened Saturday in Miami.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12689104.htm
The Jordan Times
Containment through inclusion
Israel is giving Hamas the biggest boost ever by seeking to deny it the opportunity to participate in the January Palestinian legislative elections.
“It is inconceivable,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Sunday in New York, “that a movement such as Hamas, which has a very good chance of winning, can participate in elections while calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”
This countereffective Israeli stance, repeated by Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, prompted Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to reject the audacity of such interference. “The Palestinian elections are for the Palestinian people, and only the Palestinian people,” Abbas asserted in the wake of the Israeli declaration that it aims to disrupt the elections, at least in the West Bank, by keeping roadblocks to prevent Palestinians from reaching polling stations.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/opinion/opinion1.htm
Egypt, PA urge Gaza border monitoring
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt and the Palestinian Authority are pushing Israel to agree to third party monitoring of border traffic as a way of reopening a legal crossing on the Gaza frontier, which thousands of people surged across illegally last week, officials said Monday.
The proposal, under which officials from a third country would monitor the Rafah crossing, is expected to be discussed with a senior Israeli defence ministry official who is due to come to Cairo in the near future.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/news/news1.htm
2 British undercover soldiers detained in Basra for firing at police
Iraqis run Monday from the area as a British tank burns in Basra, 550 kilometres southeast of Baghdad (AP photo by Nabil Jurani)
BASRA (Reuters) — Angry crowds attacked a British tank with petrol bombs and rocks in Basra on Monday after Iraqi authorities said they had detained two British undercover soldiers in the southern city for firing on police.
Two Iraqis were killed in the violence, an interior ministry official said.
An Iraqi official in Iraq's second largest city said the British military had informed him that the men were undercover soldiers and that an Iraqi judge was questioning them.
"They were driving a civilian car and were dressed in civilian clothes when a shooting took place between them and Iraqi patrols," the official told Reuters.
"We are investigating and an Iraqi judge is on the case questioning them."
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/news/news3.htm
'$1b plundered from Iraq funds'
LONDON (Reuters) — Large-scale corruption in Iraq's ministries, particularly the defence ministry, has led to one of the biggest thefts in history with more than $1 billion going missing, Iraq's finance minister said in an interview.
"Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal," Finance Minister Ali Allawi told British newspaper The Independent in a report published on Monday. "It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history." Corruption, both in the bidding for and the awarding of contracts, and in the administration of public offices, is one of the most frequent accusations made by Iraqis against their government and foreign firms operating in the country.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/news/news4.htm
Hamas flexes muscles in Gaza City rally
By Ibrahim Barzak
The Associated Press
RAFAH — Hamas supporters, including thousands of men and vehicles flaunting rockets, filled the streets of Gaza City in an impressive show of strength as Palestinian and Egyptian forces were busy imposing order on their chaotic border crossing.
The Hamas rally on Sunday was a military-style victory parade. Masked men, some carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers, others with assault rifles, led the march down a main Gaza boulevard. About a dozen men rappelled down the side of a 10-storey building, unrolling huge green Hamas flags along the way.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/news/news8.htm
7 riders to represent Jordan at the World Championship
AMMAN (JT) — Ten riders out of 29 have successfully finished the 120km endurance race organised by the Royal Jordanian Equestrian Federation (RJEF) in Qastel on Saturday.
The ride, which took place under the patronage of HRH Princess Alia, qualified winners to take part in the World Championship for Young Riders and Juniors scheduled to take place in Bahrain on Dec. 17.
“Seven of those who finished the race successfully were Jordanians, while three of them from other Arab countries,” said RJEF's Endurance Committee President Walid Assaf.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/sports/sports1.htm
Kingdom fails to beat world popcorn record
By Thomas Gringer Jakobsen
Children tuck into popcorn in King Hussein Park during Jordan's bid to become the Guinness Book World of Records holder for the largest popcorn box in the world on Monday (Photo by Nader Daoud)
AMMAN — Despite the brave efforts of participants toiling under a scorching sun in King Hussein Park on Monday, Jordan failed in its bid to become the Guinness Book of World Records holder for the largest popcorn box in the world.
The event, organised by Al Hussein Society for Habilitation/Rehabilitation of the Physically Challenged (AHS), brought together around 4,000 schoolchildren with one single aim: To fill a 5.75 metre high box with 36 cubic metres of popcorn in less than eight hours.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/homenews/homenews4.htm
Newstrove - Kabul
Karzai Calls For Reduction In Foreign Military Operations
20 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai today called for an end to major U.S.-led military operations in his country.
Karzai said the war on terrorism in Afghanistan should be fought differently following the successful 18 September parliamentary elections.
Karzai says air strikes are no longer effective. He also demanded that foreign forces stop searching people's homes without government authorization.
Karzai told reporters in Kabul that foreign governments should "concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases, on supplies to them, on the money coming to them."
Meanwhile, the commander of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, General Karl Eikenberry, today predicted that hostilities are likely only to increase.
"We can expect more fighting in the weeks ahead as the enemy attempts to return Afghanistan to the dark days of the past in an effort to impose the will of a very few over the democratically stated choice of many," Eikenberry said.
Eikenberry said U.S-led forces will stay on the offensive against militants through autumn and winter.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/900600d2-12e7-41be-a7e8-4fe582d9fbdb.ht
Karzai wearies of foreign military
Kabul — Afghan President Hamid Karzai challenged the need Tuesday for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying that air strikes are no longer effective and that U.S.-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks.
Mr. Karzai also demanded an immediate end to foreign troops' searching people's homes without his government's authorization.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050920.wafgh09020/BNStory/International/
Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for London bombings
HS Rao (PTI)
London,
Al-Qaeda, for the first time claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 7 suicide bombings in London that killed 52 people.
In a videotaped message aired on Arab television station al-Jazeera on Monday, Al-Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said Al-Qaeda had the "honour" of carrying out the attacks.
"The London attack is one of the attacks that Al-Qaeda ... Had the honour of carrying out against Zionist, British arrogance," said al-Zawahiri, who wore a black turban and a white shirt and spoke to someone off-camera.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1495059,00050003.htm
continued ...
"Okeydoke"
History
1519 Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan set out from Spain on a voyage to find a western passage to the Spice Islands in Indonesia. (Magellan was killed en route, but one of his ships eventually circled the world.)
1660 First children of mixed heritage are classified as Black and sold as slaves in Virginia and a free White woman who marries a Black is considered a slave as long as her husband is alive in Maryland.
1830 The first National Convention of Free Men agrees to boycott slave-produced goods.
1831 A Black convention is held in Philadelphia.
1873 panic swept the floor of the New York Stock Exchange in the wake of railroad bond defaults and bank failures.
1916 Henry G. Parks, who will build one of the largest Black food companies - "Parks Sausage," is born in Atlanta, GA
1958 Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. is stabbed by Isola Curry while autographing copies of his book, "Stride Toward Freedom", in a Harlem store. Ms. Curry will be eventually committed to an institution for the criminally insane and Dr. King will fully recover.
1962 black student James Meredith was blocked from enrolling at the University of Mississippi by Gov. Ross R. Barnett. (Meredith was later admitted.)
1973 in their so-called "battle of the sexes," tennis star Billie Jean King defeated Bobby Riggs in straight sets, 6-4, 6-3, 6-3, at the Houston Astrodome.
Missing in Action
1965 BLACK ARTHUR N. BETHLEHEM PA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1965 CURTIS THOMAS J. HOUSTON TX 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV BRANSON-ALIVE AND WELL 95/98
1965 FORBY WILLIS E. ONAKA SD 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1965 HAWKINS EDGAR LEE LAMESA TX CACCF/CRASH/PILOT
1965 MARTIN DUANE W. DENVER CO REPORTED KILLED BY NATIVES
1965 ROBINSON WILLIAM A. ROBERSONVILLE NC 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1965 SMITH PHILIP E. ROODHOUSE IL 03/15/73 RELEASED BY CHINA ALIVE IN 98
1966 BLOOM RICHARD MCAULIFFE SAN FRANCISCO CA
1972 LESTER RODERICK B. MORTON WA
September 19…
1966 BROWN FRANK MONROE JR. TUNKHANNOCK PA
1966 HENRY DAVID ALAN EL CERRITO CA
1966 PARSONS DON B. FREEPORT NY
1966 PILKINGTON THOMAS H. MORTON GROVE IL
1966 WALTMAN DONALD G. KELLOGG ID 03/04/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED 5 SEPT 97
1968 CAPLING ELWYN R. DETROIT MI 03/77 SRV RETURNED REMAINS TO PCOM REMAINS RETURNED 03/18/77
1968 HOLT ROBERT ALAN READING MA REMAINS IDENTIFIED 06/04/99
1968 LA VOO JOHN ALLEN PUEBLO CO REMAINS IDENTIFIED 06/04/99
September 18
1965 BARBER ROBERT FRANKLIN SEATTLE WA CRASH EXPLODE AT SEA NO SURV
1965 VOGT LEONARD F. JR. CINCINNATI OH CRASH EXPLODE AT SEA NO SURV
1968 WOODS BRIAN D. SAN DIEGO CA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1969 CLINE CURTIS R. BURLINGTON MI
1970 KEESEE BOBBY JOE 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV
September 17
1965 KLENDA DEAN ALBERT MANHATTAN KS
1966 LEETUN DAREL D. HETTINGER ND
1967 GRUBB PETER A. SOUTH HAMPTON NY
1967 NELLANS WILLIAM L. WARSAW IN
1967 STAVAST JOHN EDWARD CLAREMONT CA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 VENANZI GERALD S. TRENTON NJ 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1968 DAVIS EDGAR F. GOLDSBORO NC
1972 BUELL KENNETH R. KANKAKEE IL
1972 DONNELLY VERNE G. MARYSVILLE CA REM RETURNED ID'D 02/05/91
1972 GOETSCH THOMAS AUGUST MEMPHIS TN
1972 TUROSE MICHAEL STEPHEN PARMA OH
1972 ZORN THOMAS ONEAL JR. WAYCROSS GA
The Jerusalem Post
Shalom: Iron curtain between Israel, Arab world falling
By JPOST.COM STAFF
Addressing the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday afternoon, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom stated that the "iron curtain" between Israel and the Arab world was coming down.
"These are optimistic times in the Middle East," Shalom said. In the past week, the foreign minister has held meetings with more than ten leaders from the Arab and Muslim world, a significant diplomatic advance since mere months ago. "These meetings have been open and friendly, as befits meetings between countries which have no conflict," Shalom told the assembled world leaders.
For full text of speech click here >>
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127182727228
FM meets Tunisian, Moroccan reps at UN
By ORLY HALPERN
In what was described as "positive" meetings, Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom met with his Moroccan and Tunisian counterparts at the UN Monday to discuss how to deepen ties with their countries. However, despite the kisses and hugs which marked the meetings, full diplomatic ties were not an option.
"The Tunisian minister said Tunisia is a moderate country, but it will never be first or last to have contact with Israel," said Shalom's spokesman Ilan Ostfeld, who attended the 40-minute meeting which was conducted in French, English and Arabic.
Shalom responded by saying that Israel wants more than tourism-level relations.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415961
Wiesenthal to be buried in Israel Fri.
By SHANI ROSENFELDER
Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who helped track down numerous Nazi war criminals following World War II and spent the later decades of his life fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice against all people, died Tuesday at the age of 96.
Wiesenthal will be buried in Israel on Friday, according to members of the Jewish community in Vienna, Austria, where Wiesenthal lived.
Wiesenthal passed away in his sleep at his home, according to Rabbi Marvin Hier, the dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
World leaders, human rights activists and Jewish organizations mourned for Simon Wiesenthal, praising his courage and determination to seek justice - rather than revenge - against Nazi atrocities.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127182724587
IDF leaves four W. Bank settlements
By MARGOT DUDKEVITCH
On Tuesday night the IDF completed its pullout from Kadim and Ganim, evacuated settlements in northern Samaria, marking the end to the disengagement process in the West Bank. Earlier in the day, the army left Sa Nur after completing the late Monday night burial of the synagogue, and by last Friday the army no longer maintained a permanent presence in Homesh.
The settlements located in Area C, which are under sole Israeli control, will not be handed over to the Palestinian Authority, unlike those in the Gaza Strip. As of Tuesday, Israeli citizens were barred from entering the area and Palestinians were permitted to enter as long as they did not attempt to build anything there.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127182727443
Non-Orthodox rabbis petition High Court
By DAN IZENBERG
The Reform movement in Israel on Tuesday petitioned the High Court of Justice, demanding that the state appoint a female rabbi as the official spiritual leader of the Reform congregation of Birkat Shalom in Kibbutz Gezer.
If the petition is accepted by the court, it would mark the first time that a Reform rabbi, and a female rabbi, would be appointed as a state-paid official ministering to the spiritual needs of a religious congregation.
The petitioners included Rabbi Miri Gold, whom the movement wants to see appointed to the post.
A spokeswoman for the Reform movement's Israel Religious Action Center told The Jerusalem Post that as a communal rabbi, Gold would not be authorized to marry couples or grant kashruth certificates. She said the movement decided to petition the court because of the practical needs of the Birkat Shalom congregation. It did not demand parity with the Orthodox movement in the country's cities, but did not rule out the possibility that it would do so in the future, when the Reform population in Israel "grows and becomes stronger."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127182726081
Homeopathy works
By MICHA ALTMANN
An article in the August 2005 British medical journal Lancet reported that scientists from the University of Berne, Switzerland, had concluded homeopathy had the same medical value as placebos – meaning none at all.
Homeopathic treatments are based on diluting substances in water many times over, in the counterintuitive belief that the more times a remedy is diluted, the more potent it becomes.
A recent article published in the medical journal Lancet widely quoted in Israel and elsewhere stated that "homeopathy is no better than dummy drugs," the implication being that it is useless. As a successful long-time practitioner of homeopathic medicine I cannot allow this charge to pass without comment.
An important initial point to make is that the placebo effect – part of the human psychological potential for positive reaction to a drug that does not result directly from the drug itself – has been shown to account for 50% of the success of any treatment system, conventional or other. Taking into consideration the fact that 90 percent or more of homeopathic patients turned to this treatment after trying conventional medicine again and again in vain, an obvious question is: Why they did not experience at least this amount of effectiveness with the conventional treatment? Clearly, because the beneficial effects they felt with homeopathy were not placebo ones. This is even more obvious when considering that the majority of these patients are small babies and children, in whom the placebo effect argument does not hold.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415060
Arab leaders to launch hunger strike
By DAVID RUDGE
Israeli Arab leaders, including Knesset members, will pitch a tent in the same spot and begin a hunger strike next week in protest of the decision not to charge any police officer with the killings of 13 Israeli Arabs in the October 2000 riots.
Archive: Click here for in depth coverage of the Or Commission report.
Aside from the planned hunger strike, Israeli Arab leaders on Monday night decided on a series of measures to protest against the decision.
Democratic Front for Peace and Equality (Hadash) MK Muhammad Barakeh said the minority Arab community in Israel and its leadership would not rest until the report was "thrown into the dustbin" and the decisions rescinded.
Meanwhile, Professor Shimon Shamir, a member of the Or Judicial Commission of Inquiry into the October 2000 riots, sharply criticized the Police Investigations Department (PID) for not pressing charges against any of the officers.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415563
'Gaza-Egypt border to remain closed'
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH AND AP
The Gaza-Egypt border will only reopen as part of an international agreement, Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas said Monday, quashing speculation that Egypt and the Palestinians might operate a crossing there without Israel's blessing.
Abbas spoke a day after his security forces plugged the last holes in the border fortifications, ending a week of chaos during which thousands of Gazans and Egyptians flooded across the frontier without controls. "The (border) terminal will be open when there is an international agreement," Abbas said Monday.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096412873
Israel, Greece square off for a spot in quarterfinals
By FRANKIE SACHS
The national team checked into its Belgrade hotel on Monday ahead of Tuesday's crucial Eurobasket second-round clash against Greece and found a herd of Greek reporters waiting.
Many were eager to speak to coach Tzvika Sherf, a well-known figure in Greece from his days coaching Aris Thessaloniki, PAOK Thessaloniki and Makedonikos, while others targeted guard Dror Hajaj, who will play for AEK Athens next season.
All of Israel's players were happy to speak to the reporters. The 12 men are simply happy to be there.
The winner-takes-all match pits two teams that went 2-1 in the group stage, but Greece is the favorite. Nevertheless, Israel, considered by many to be one of the biggest surprises after upsetting Spain on Sunday in Novi Sad, is confident that on any night it can take any team.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415350
Resisting economic reform
By KENNETH ROGOFF
If the 1990s was the era of economic shock therapy, the present decade may be remembered for economic reform paralysis. Although the reasons for gridlock differ across countries, the bottom line is that few politicians anywhere are having much success in limbering up their economies.
The problem is not just in emerging markets such as Indonesia, Mexico, and Brazil, where an ascendant Left has failed to find a viable alternative to the much reviled "Washington Consensus" of economic liberalization. One sees the same phenomenon across many rich countries as well.
In a remarkable coincidence of timing, Japan and Germany both held early elections in the hope of energizing reform. In Germany, the most urgent needs are for tax and labor-market reform. In Japan, the Koizumi government wants to privatize the behemoth postal service, whose giant financial arm is wrapped like a python around the country's banking system.
Even in the United States, one of the few places where economic liberalization is not a dirty word, President George W. Bush has his own frustrations. Despite a huge investment of time and energy, he has failed to marshal even his own troops in support of a relatively modest proposal to stave off collapse of the nation's old-age insurance program. Indeed, Bush's popularity has taken a beating over pension reform.
Some people ascribe the global collapse of reform efforts to a peculiarly ineffective collection of leaders. This view is nonsense, and besides, if the public is so unhappy with its leaders' performance, why does it keep electing and re-electing them?
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull&cid=1127096415208
Business Investor's Daily
Storms Expose Energy Security As Major Problem For The U.S.
No new refineries seen; alternative fuels won’t help for quite a while
BY MIKE ANGELL INVESTOR'S BUSINESS DAILY
With another big storm headed for the Gulf of Mexico as the region still reels from Hurricane Katrina, the U.S.’ lack of energy security has been laid bare.
October crude futures on Monday surged $4.39, or 7%, to $67.39 a barrel on fears that Rita will roil the Gulf later this week, possibly slamming into Texas, which boasts the most U.S. refineries.
Natural gas and refined product prices shot up even more.
Nearly one-third of U.S. energy supply comes from Gulf. Another big portion comes from dubious overseas sources like the Mideast and Venezuela.
There’s little anyone can do about Gulf crude and natural gas production when storms hit.
Likewise, there are strong economic reasons to build refineries near where it’s produced or imported. That’s why refineries are clustered along the Gulf Coast.
Refiners have showed little interest in building a brand-new facility anywhere in the U.S. Overcoming the regulatory and political opposition would take years, at best, with no guarantee that future prices would justify the investment.
The Bush administration is touting steps toward better energy security, notably the newly passed Energy Policy Act of 2005.
Experts say there are many things being done or that can be done that should improve energy security. But all will take years to implement.
“Energy security is a very complex problem with a lot of different sides,” said Michael Waldron, spokesman for the Energy Department. “No one solution has all the answers.”
The energy act’s main theme for security is diversifying away from gasoline and crude oil as much as possible, especially for transportation which consumes 68% of the crude oil used in the U.S. But alternative fuel vehicles, most agree, are still years away from being commercially feasible.
The act allows over $1 billion to be spent on hydrogen fuel cells. Automakers and researchers have demonstrated hydrogen-powered vehicles.
The trouble is each car costs $1 million today. The first fuel cellpowered cars could be available in a decade. But a study from the National Academy of Engineering says it will take at least another decade after that before fuel cell cars sell in numbers large enough to make a dent in fossil fuel demand.
Another alternative fuel is etha- nol, an alcohol made out of sugar or corn. Brazil has led the way in ethanol use with investments in both the infrastructure and making “flexible fuel” cars that can handle both ethanol and gasoline. Today, about 40% of auto fuel used in Brazil is ethanol.
Brazil has several advantages. The country grows large amounts of sugar cane needed for ethanol. The government also mandated that gasoline contain at least 25% ethanol.
About 4 million U.S. cars on the road today can run on gasoline or ethanol. But only about 1% of those cars may be using ethanol because of the limited supply, says Anne Korin, a co-director of the Institute for the Analysis of Global Security.
The U.S. is more dependent on corn-based ethanol, which is much more energy-intensive to produce than sugar-based ethanol. Farm lobbyists have blocked ethanol imports.
But the new Central American Free Trade Pact will let more ethanol enter the U.S. tax-free. And the energy act provides tax rebates to invest in ethanol infrastructure.
Energy security also means tapping more domestic energy sources, such as coal and nuclear power.
Meanwhile, Congress may approve more Arctic oil drilling this year.
One potential source that’s been given short shrift is oil shale found across the Rocky Mountains area. A Rand Institute study estimates 800 billion barrels of crude is trapped in shale. The U.S. has 22 billion barrels in regular crude reserves.
The amount of crude in oil shale is “more than triple Saudi Arabia’s oil reserves,” Rand researcher Debra Knopman said. “It would be enough oil for 400 years of consumption.”
First looked at during the late ’70s, oil shale is still too expensive to produce. Oil would have to be $70 to $90 before shale is cost-effective.
Shell has proposed another method that it claims would make shale competitive at $20 a barrel. But it is still largely a lab experiment with no actual field tests, Knopman says.
Shale has serious potential environmental concerns too. Still, the Rand study says at the very least the Energy Department should put shale back into its R&D plans.
Some see renewable energy as the ultimate in energy security. The U.S. gets about 2% of its energy from sources like wind, solar and geothermal power. That could easily reach 20% in a decade or so, says Jeff Deyette, energy analyst for the Union of Concerned Scientists.
It would also avoid fossil fuels’ global warming problems, he says.
http://epaper.investors.com/Daily/skins/IBD/navigator.asp?src=AA2PFDV&AW=1127240249857
Oil Prices Shoot Up As New Storm Aims For Gulf Of Mexico
Crude Up $4.39 To $67.39
Tropical Storm Rita heads for the Keys, then Texas? Gasoline, natgas up 14%
BY THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Crude-oil futures surged more than $4 — the biggest one-day price jump ever — amid worries that Tropical Storm Rita, strengthening off the Bahamas, could hit U.S. oil facilities in the Gulf of Mexico later this week.
That would strike yet another blow at an industry struggling to recover from Hurricane Katrina.
The swells in energy futures came as OPEC ministers met to discuss how to relieve price pressures in the oil market and expressed concern that Rita would bear down on the hurricane-ravaged U.S. Gulf Coast.
October light, sweet crude rose $4.39, or 7%, to $67.39 a barrel. Nymex crude — still more than $3 off its record high of $70.85 hit briefly on Aug. 30 after Katrina hit the Gulf — had fallen $1.75 Friday to its lowest close since Aug. 5.
Heating oil surged over 20 cents to $2.0384 a gallon. Unleaded gasoline futures rose nearly 26 cents to $2.0427 a gallon. Natural gas swelled 14% to a record $12.663 per million British thermal units.
“The main driver today is Tropical Storm Rita. We really can’t afford to lose more production,” said Phil Flynn, analyst at Alaron Trading in Chicago.
In Florida, thousands began evacuating the Florida Keys as Rita built up speed off the Bahamas about 380 miles from Key West.
Rita had sustained winds of 70 mph and was forecast to be in the Straits of Florida between the Keys and northern Cuba on Monday, possibly as a Category 1 hurricane with winds of at least 74 mph, forecasters said.
Long-range forecasts showed Rita moving into the Gulf of Mexico late in the week as a hurricane, then possibly approaching Mexico or Texas. But forecasters warned that long-term predictions are subject to large errors.
If Rita strikes Texas, the biggest oil refiner in the country, it could spell serious disruption. Texas has 26 petroleum refineries, most along the coast, with the capacity to pump 4.6 million barrels a day. That’s over a quarter of the U.S. total refining capacity, according to the Energy Department.
Huge swings in the oil market have become the norm, said Oil Price Information Service analyst Tom Kloza, and the market was ripe for another rally, coming off a huge drawback on falling demand and Katrina recovery efforts.
“This is speculation and fear about what is more or less a typical September event,” said Kloza, pointing to Hurricane Ivan, which last fall shut down rigs and disrupted refining. “It really underscores how maniacal the entire oil trading business has become.”
About 55% of oil production and 35% of gasoline production in the Gulf remains blocked in the wake of Katrina, the Minerals Management Service said Monday.
OPEC ministers sought to reassure oil markets that supplies are plentiful. They seemed near agreement to make 2 million extra barrels of oil a day available. They were to decide Tuesday whether to offer the extra oil or boost the current output ceiling.
Previous OPEC pledges have done little to stabilize prices this year, as markets focused on refining capacity. Analysts have called OPEC moves symbolic as the cartel already pumps above quota.
Supply concerns are likely to increase as the northern winter approaches, when demand for heating oil, diesel and jet fuel rise.
http://epaper.investors.com/Daily/skins/IBD/navigator.asp?src=AA2PFDV&AW=1127240249857
The Moscow Times
Russia's Sun-Kissed South Frets About Future
By Maria Levitov
Staff Writer
Competition from Turkey and Cyprus is increasingly drawing Russian vacationers from beaches like this one in Anapa.
ANAPA, Krasnodar Region -- Like many middle-class Muscovites, Zina Nosova was planning on spending her summer vacation abroad this year -- and not in Anapa, a Black Sea resort known for its high-rise Soviet-era hotels and rows of tacky beachside kiosks.
But when Nosova, an interpreter, found out that her travel companion's passport had expired, she reconsidered Russia's sunny Krasnodar region and discovered it was not such a bad choice after all.
Despite a recent boom in foreign travel, more than 500 kilometers of the country's coastline along the Black Sea and Sea of Azov still attracts more Russian tourists than all foreign destinations combined. Last year, the region counted 7.1 million Russian visitors, 600,000 more than vacationed abroad.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/002.html
Khodorkovsky Appeal Delayed for 2nd Time
By Catherine Belton
Staff Writer
Igor Tabakov / MT
Khodorkovsky smiling Monday as he was led into the courtroom, where he refused again to replace Genrikh Padva.
Mikhail Khodorkovsky on Monday won a day's reprieve for his election campaign as the Moscow City Court for a second time adjourned proceedings in his appeal.
The three judges pressed Khodorkovsky to have two of his junior lawyers and his close legal adviser, Anton Drel, represent him in the appeal and ordered all three to sit at the defense table in the court in a bid to start proceedings. The only lawyer authorized by Khodorkovsky to defend him in the appeal, Genrikh Padva, was hospitalized last week due to poor health and has so far been unable to appear.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/011.html
6 More Prisoners Mount Duma Bids
By Nabi Abdullaev
Staff Writer
Igor Tabakov / MT
Valery Doshkevich, 56, a cobbler who supports Khodorkovsky, mending shoes about 50 meters from the Moscow City Court on Monday.
With bids that threaten to thoroughly discredit the race, a motley group of prisoners at the Matrosskaya Tishina detention facility are drawing up plans to run against fellow prisoner Mikhail Khodorkovsky for a seat in the State Duma.
Even if Khodorkovsky were to end up withdrawing, voluntarily or involuntarily, the other prisoners may refuse to follow suit, embarrassing federal and city authorities who appear keen on keeping Khodorkovsky from winning at all costs.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/001.html
Going Dangerously Astray
By Pavel Felgenhauer
This month, Russia lost two jet fighters during military exercises that simulated a major war with NATO. A naval task force was deployed in the North Atlantic on a mission to intercept and destroy U.S. reinforcements heading to the European theater of war.
To Our Readers
Has something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage?
Then please write to us.
All we ask is that you include your full name, the name of the city from which you are writing and a contact telephone number in case we need to get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you.During exercises on Sept. 5, a Su-33 jet fighter fell off the flight deck of the aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov during landing and sank. The pilot ejected and was rescued.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/009.html
A Capital Test for National Democracy
By Nikolai Petrov
To Our Readers
Has something you've read here startled you? Are you angry, excited, puzzled or pleased? Do you have ideas to improve our coverage?
Then please write to us.
All we ask is that you include your full name, the name of the city from which you are writing and a contact telephone number in case we need to get in touch.
We look forward to hearing from you.
Just over two months remain before voters go the polls to elect the next Moscow City Duma, but the election has already generated enormous interest among analysts and the political elite. For a number of reasons, the City Duma contest has emerged as the main midterm test for Russia's political parties and an indicator of where they stand in advance of the State Duma and presidential elections in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
This year's City Duma election is the first since sweeping changes were made in the capital's election laws. Coalitions and blocs will no longer be permitted to contest the election, only established political parties. Moscow lawmakers surpassed their federal counterparts, erecting a 10 percent barrier for party representation in the next City Duma, cutting minimum voter turnout to just 20 percent and getting rid of the option to vote "against all." The Central Elections Commission washed its hands of the election in a sense by criticizing the city for taking election reform too far, though it did so only after the date of the ballot had been set and no further changes could be made.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/006.html
Clinton Says Authoritarianism Growing Under Putin
The Moscow Times
Former U.S. President Bill Clinton said in an interview published Monday that he was worried about authoritarian trends under President Vladimir Putin. Asked what he thought about Putin's policies, Clinton said, "Putin had a very active start, but now I am concerned about the authoritarian trends in the Russian leadership," Izvestia reported.
"It's very important for democratically elected leaders to maintain a political balance to remain in the gentlemen's club of world leaders," he said.
The brief interview took place in New York on the sidelines of the inaugural session of the Clinton Global Initiative, an alternative to last week's United Nations summit.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/012.html
Oil Firms to Freeze Pump Price
The Associated Press
Russia's major oil producers on Monday agreed to freeze their gasoline prices in Russia until the end of the year, Interfax reported, citing the Industry and Energy Ministry.
The oil companies made the decision at a meeting with Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko, Interfax quoted ministry spokesman Stas Naumov as saying.
"The result of the meeting was a voluntary decision by the management of Russia's largest companies; prices won't rise any further on the domestic market until the end of the year," the official said according to Interfax.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/047.html
Yushchenko Struggles to Win Support for Yekhanurov Vote
The Associated Press
KIEV -- President Viktor Yushchenko scrambled Monday to secure the necessary support for his candidate for prime minister amid growing signs that the Ukrainian parliament would block his choice.
Failure to approve acting Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov's candidacy would plunge Ukraine into another crisis after the dramatic sacking of popular Prime Minister Yulia Tymoshenko, as Yushchenko needs to get a new government in place.
Yekhanurov must win 226 votes to be named prime minister by the 450-member parliament. But as of Monday evening, he had only 199 promised votes and little room to maneuver, with opposition parties either opposing him on principle or as a show of loyalty to Tymoshenko.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/20/017.html
Pravda
Mikhail Khodorkovsky unwilling to recollect the past
09/20/2005 18:00
Giving himself credit for the development of Yukos, Mr. Khodorkovsky does not mention anything about his criminal past
The status of a prisoner does not stop the former CEO of the Russian oil giant Yukos, Mikhail Khodorkovsky, from conducting activities with mass media. When communicating with Russian reporters, Mr. Khodorkovsky tries to display decorum and cultivate the image of a dissident to conceal criminal aspects of his biography. Quite on the contrary, when it comes to interviews with foreign media outlets, the former Russian oligarch feels really inspired to dwell upon his efforts that he used to take to raise the Russian economy from ruins under severe conditions of the incipient market system.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/351/16164_Khodorkovsky.html
Russia's economy to develop steadily during the current decade, German experts say
09/19/2005 12:23
Pravda.Ru interviewed one of the most respectable analyst in the world, Mr. Norbert Walter, the Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank Group
Norbert Walter, the Chief Economist of Deutsche Bank, enjoys the reputation of one of the most respectable analysts in the world. A recent report from his research group which gave a forecast on the development of the world economy before 2020, contradicted to previous predictions outlined by CIA experts and Goldman Sachs investment group.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/89/358/16155_Walter.html
Russia's national wealth structure differs from the one in the rest of the world
09/20/2005 14:12
The share of natural resources in Europe, the USA and Japan makes up only one of two percent
The World Bank published the list of wealthiest and poorest states. Russia has not been mentioned in either the first or in the second group. However, Russia is closer to the lower part of the list: with 38,709 dollars of the national wealth per capita. To draw a comparison, every citizen of Switzerland (which tops the chart) can possess $648,2 thousand. Almost the entire Europe, the USA, Japan and even the African state of Botswana ($40,592 thousand), Namibia ($39,907 thousand), Peru ($39,046 thousand) are listed ahead of Russia. However, it is much more important to see not the list of countries, which come ahead of Russia, but the reason, which creates such a state of affairs.
The advantages of Switzerland are obvious: this country has not been waging war with any other country for several hundreds of years.
http://english.pravda.ru/world/20/91/365/16162_wealth.html
Putin's daughters enter university which changes the order at the institution
09/17/2005 16:44
The studies began September 1, but none of the president's daughters has shown up at the University yet
This year, the St.Petersburg State University is the focus of attention: Russia President Putin's daughters became students of the University last summer. Maria and Yekaterina Putin never go out without security, they are afraid of pronouncing their family name in public. It was just once that Russia was allowed to see the girls: their pictures at the age of 5-6 appeared in a little book published many years ago. This is quite natural that the girls have changed a lot since that time, but just few people know what they look like.
Vladimir Putin is a graduate of the St.Petersburg State University, this is probably the reason why his daughters decided to enter the University as well.
http://english.pravda.ru/main/18/88/350/16151_putin.html
The Miami Herald
Rita's winds reach 100 mph; U.S. 1 flooded
BY MARTIN MERZER, CARA BUCKLEY AND PHIL LONG
Miami Herald
Hurricane Rita swamped beaches and roads in the Florida Keys and produced localized flooding in Miami-Dade and Broward counties, but preliminary reports suggested only modest damage thus far.
Still, the storm was not through with the region, it was growing stronger as its core passed south of Key West and it was far too early to take anything for granted.
In the Keys, water flowed over U.S. 1 at various places between mile markers 73 through 90 and elsewhere -- with the road closed at marker 73.5, authorities said. Rising water also was reported along the 18-mile stretch between Florida City and Key Largo.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12689167.htm
Galveston calls for voluntary evacuations
JUAN A. LOZANO
Associated Press
GALVESTON, Texas - Taking a cue from the suffering in New Orleans, residents lined up for plywood and officials called for a voluntary evacuation of this island city as Hurricane Rita threatened to slam into the Texas Coast this weekend. Officials also began steps to fly thousands of Hurricane Katrina refugees to Arkansas.
Rita, approaching the Florida Keys, was upgraded to a hurricane Tuesday morning and continued to strengthen.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12694241.htm
Housing construction falls for 2nd month
MARTIN CRUTSINGER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Construction of new homes slipped for a second month in August, providing fresh evidence that the nation's housing boom may be cooling.
The Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments dropped 1.3 percent last month after a decline of 1.5 percent in July. It marked the first back-to-back declines in housing starts since early 2004.
Even with the declines, housing construction totaled 2.01 million units in August, the eighth month out of the past nine that housing has been above the 2-million mark.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12694034.htm
Sen. Boxer writes novel about Senate
ERICA WERNER
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - She's a feisty left-wing senator from California faced with a vexing decision: What to do about a conservative Supreme Court nominee who appears headed for confirmation?
"You need to be the conscience of the liberals, even if you're the only voice in the wilderness," implores an aide.
Who could this senator be but Barbara Boxer, the outspoken liberal whose combative opposition to Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state was parodied on Saturday Night Live?
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12695378.htm
Truckers quit, join teamsters
More than 350 truck drivers resigned from their jobs over the weekend and joined the Teamsters Union
BY MONICA HATCHER
mhatcher@herald.com
Truck driver Sandro Lerro knew when he signed on with the Teamsters Union Saturday he probably wouldn't have a job come Monday.
It's a price he said he was willing to pay for the possibility of benefits and better wages down the road from companies willing to hire him through the new union job placement center that opened Saturday in Miami.
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/12689104.htm
The Jordan Times
Containment through inclusion
Israel is giving Hamas the biggest boost ever by seeking to deny it the opportunity to participate in the January Palestinian legislative elections.
“It is inconceivable,” said Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom on Sunday in New York, “that a movement such as Hamas, which has a very good chance of winning, can participate in elections while calling for the destruction of the state of Israel.”
This countereffective Israeli stance, repeated by Israel's Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, prompted Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas to reject the audacity of such interference. “The Palestinian elections are for the Palestinian people, and only the Palestinian people,” Abbas asserted in the wake of the Israeli declaration that it aims to disrupt the elections, at least in the West Bank, by keeping roadblocks to prevent Palestinians from reaching polling stations.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/opinion/opinion1.htm
Egypt, PA urge Gaza border monitoring
CAIRO (AP) — Egypt and the Palestinian Authority are pushing Israel to agree to third party monitoring of border traffic as a way of reopening a legal crossing on the Gaza frontier, which thousands of people surged across illegally last week, officials said Monday.
The proposal, under which officials from a third country would monitor the Rafah crossing, is expected to be discussed with a senior Israeli defence ministry official who is due to come to Cairo in the near future.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/news/news1.htm
2 British undercover soldiers detained in Basra for firing at police
Iraqis run Monday from the area as a British tank burns in Basra, 550 kilometres southeast of Baghdad (AP photo by Nabil Jurani)
BASRA (Reuters) — Angry crowds attacked a British tank with petrol bombs and rocks in Basra on Monday after Iraqi authorities said they had detained two British undercover soldiers in the southern city for firing on police.
Two Iraqis were killed in the violence, an interior ministry official said.
An Iraqi official in Iraq's second largest city said the British military had informed him that the men were undercover soldiers and that an Iraqi judge was questioning them.
"They were driving a civilian car and were dressed in civilian clothes when a shooting took place between them and Iraqi patrols," the official told Reuters.
"We are investigating and an Iraqi judge is on the case questioning them."
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/news/news3.htm
'$1b plundered from Iraq funds'
LONDON (Reuters) — Large-scale corruption in Iraq's ministries, particularly the defence ministry, has led to one of the biggest thefts in history with more than $1 billion going missing, Iraq's finance minister said in an interview.
"Huge amounts of money have disappeared. In return we got nothing but scraps of metal," Finance Minister Ali Allawi told British newspaper The Independent in a report published on Monday. "It is possibly one of the largest thefts in history." Corruption, both in the bidding for and the awarding of contracts, and in the administration of public offices, is one of the most frequent accusations made by Iraqis against their government and foreign firms operating in the country.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/news/news4.htm
Hamas flexes muscles in Gaza City rally
By Ibrahim Barzak
The Associated Press
RAFAH — Hamas supporters, including thousands of men and vehicles flaunting rockets, filled the streets of Gaza City in an impressive show of strength as Palestinian and Egyptian forces were busy imposing order on their chaotic border crossing.
The Hamas rally on Sunday was a military-style victory parade. Masked men, some carrying rocket-propelled grenade launchers, others with assault rifles, led the march down a main Gaza boulevard. About a dozen men rappelled down the side of a 10-storey building, unrolling huge green Hamas flags along the way.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/news/news8.htm
7 riders to represent Jordan at the World Championship
AMMAN (JT) — Ten riders out of 29 have successfully finished the 120km endurance race organised by the Royal Jordanian Equestrian Federation (RJEF) in Qastel on Saturday.
The ride, which took place under the patronage of HRH Princess Alia, qualified winners to take part in the World Championship for Young Riders and Juniors scheduled to take place in Bahrain on Dec. 17.
“Seven of those who finished the race successfully were Jordanians, while three of them from other Arab countries,” said RJEF's Endurance Committee President Walid Assaf.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/sports/sports1.htm
Kingdom fails to beat world popcorn record
By Thomas Gringer Jakobsen
Children tuck into popcorn in King Hussein Park during Jordan's bid to become the Guinness Book World of Records holder for the largest popcorn box in the world on Monday (Photo by Nader Daoud)
AMMAN — Despite the brave efforts of participants toiling under a scorching sun in King Hussein Park on Monday, Jordan failed in its bid to become the Guinness Book of World Records holder for the largest popcorn box in the world.
The event, organised by Al Hussein Society for Habilitation/Rehabilitation of the Physically Challenged (AHS), brought together around 4,000 schoolchildren with one single aim: To fill a 5.75 metre high box with 36 cubic metres of popcorn in less than eight hours.
http://www.jordantimes.com/tue/homenews/homenews4.htm
Newstrove - Kabul
Karzai Calls For Reduction In Foreign Military Operations
20 September 2005 (RFE/RL) -- Afghan President Hamid Karzai today called for an end to major U.S.-led military operations in his country.
Karzai said the war on terrorism in Afghanistan should be fought differently following the successful 18 September parliamentary elections.
Karzai says air strikes are no longer effective. He also demanded that foreign forces stop searching people's homes without government authorization.
Karzai told reporters in Kabul that foreign governments should "concentrate on where terrorists are trained, on their bases, on supplies to them, on the money coming to them."
Meanwhile, the commander of U.S.-led forces in Afghanistan, General Karl Eikenberry, today predicted that hostilities are likely only to increase.
"We can expect more fighting in the weeks ahead as the enemy attempts to return Afghanistan to the dark days of the past in an effort to impose the will of a very few over the democratically stated choice of many," Eikenberry said.
Eikenberry said U.S-led forces will stay on the offensive against militants through autumn and winter.
http://www.rferl.org/featuresarticle/2005/09/900600d2-12e7-41be-a7e8-4fe582d9fbdb.ht
Karzai wearies of foreign military
Kabul — Afghan President Hamid Karzai challenged the need Tuesday for major foreign military operations in Afghanistan, saying that air strikes are no longer effective and that U.S.-led coalition forces should focus on rooting out terror bases and support networks.
Mr. Karzai also demanded an immediate end to foreign troops' searching people's homes without his government's authorization.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050920.wafgh09020/BNStory/International/
Al-Qaeda claims responsibility for London bombings
HS Rao (PTI)
London,
Al-Qaeda, for the first time claimed responsibility for carrying out the July 7 suicide bombings in London that killed 52 people.
In a videotaped message aired on Arab television station al-Jazeera on Monday, Al-Qaeda's deputy leader Ayman al-Zawahiri said Al-Qaeda had the "honour" of carrying out the attacks.
"The London attack is one of the attacks that Al-Qaeda ... Had the honour of carrying out against Zionist, British arrogance," said al-Zawahiri, who wore a black turban and a white shirt and spoke to someone off-camera.
http://www.hindustantimes.com/news/181_1495059,00050003.htm
continued ...
The Speed of Federal discharge that kills. It facilitates the Neocon's Purpose to hand government over to privatization. It is a strategy IF this entire mess was organized by people that smart. Actually, it was because Rove, Bush's Brain, was in the hospital with kidney stones when Katrina was a growing reality. Think about it. The REAL president of the USA, Karl "Marx" Rove, the control freak of all covert control freak that out CIA Agents on a whim. Who has their finger on the nuke button?
Morning Papers - continued
New York Times
I THINK KEEPING ‘THE VOTE’ BEFORE THE PUBLIC AS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE BUT I DON’T BELIEVE IN A NATIONAL ID EITHER. Cost could be one reason but not necessarily the only reason. Idenity theft happens all to frequently and the increase in IDs in the nation of people who normally don't bother is adding to the problem.
I don't believe the government has a right beyond the census to know anything about my life. I don't break the law and that doesn't not have to be quantified in a Naitonal ID. I am allowed to make decisions at to who knows what about my life. It is a matter of personal chioce and security, especially being a woman. The USA Census determines the allotment of USA Representatives to the House and in that capacity a general overview has to be accurate, but only a general view. Any other information regarding income and items like square footage of my home is not what I would call pertinent information to purpose of "House Representation" but admittedly CAN enhance the govenment's focus to improve the quality of life in the USA for all. Howerver, wtih this administrations too much infromations in their hands is dangerous and provides venues of manipulatin to control their PARTIES elections. I think the USA census needs to be trimmed because with regime change in the USA the information places people at risk, espcially minorities.
The USA Census would have knowns the delicate nature of the populous of New Orleans.
realizing that the negligence by FEMA and the Executive Branch was far more than a mistake it was murder of BlackAmericans.
Denying Access to the Ballot
It has been clear since 2000 that the election system is in serious need of reform. But the commission led by James Baker III and former President Jimmy Carter has come up with a plan that is worse than no reform at all. Its good ideas are outweighed by one very bad idea: a voter identification requirement that would prevent large numbers of poor, black and elderly people from voting.
The commission makes helpful recommendations. It favors requiring electronic voting machines to produce paper records, and opposes partisan activity by state election officials. It fails to address other problems, like not counting provisional ballots cast at the wrong precincts.
But the bombshell recommendation is for the states to require voters to have drivers' licenses or a government-issued photo ID. That would not be a great burden for people who have drivers' licenses, but it would be for those who don't, and they are disproportionately poor, elderly or members of minorities. These voters would have to get special photo ID's and keep them updated. If they didn't have the ID's, their right to vote would be taken away. The commission recommends that the cards be free. But election administration is notoriously underfinanced, and it is not hard to imagine that states would charge for them. Georgia is already charging $20 and more for each of its state voter cards.
There is very little evidence of voters' claiming to be people they are not, and the commission admits that its members are divided about how big a problem it is. But the report goes on to say that even if there is just a small amount of fraud, it should be stopped. True, but if the solution risks disenfranchising hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of voters, it is a very bad reform.
There are more reasonable approaches. The states could require uniform ID's, but allow each voter without one to sign an affidavit attesting to his or her identity, a system some states use now. It is little wonder that a dissent came from the former Democratic leader in the Senate, Tom Daschle, a commission member. He said that "for some, the commission's ID proposal constitutes nothing short of a modern-day poll tax."
The disappointing report made public yesterday was not a complete surprise. There have been red flags waving around the commission for some time; Mr. Baker is remembered by many for his fierce fight to stop the counting of votes in Florida in 2000. There have also been complaints about the commission's process. Spencer Overton, a George Washington University law professor and commission member, complains that he was told he had to limit a dissent on complicated voting issues to just 250 words.
The purpose of election reform should not be making it harder to vote. We all have a duty to make our election system as good as it can be - and not to disenfranchise people in the name of reform.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/opinion/20tue2.html?pagewanted=print
Nazi Hunter Simon Wiesenthal Is Dead at 96
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 20, 2005
Filed at 6:27 a.m. ET
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who helped track down Nazi war criminals following World War II, then spent the later decades of his life fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice against all people, died Tuesday. He was 96.
Wiesenthal, who helped find one-time SS leader Adolf Eichmann and the policeman who arrested Anne Frank, died in his sleep at his home in Vienna, said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
''I think he'll be remembered as the conscience of the Holocaust. In a way he became the permanent representative of the victims of the Holocaust, determined to bring the perpetrators of the greatest crime to justice,'' Hier told The Associated Press.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/obituaries/AP-Obit-Wiesenthal.html?hp
Simon Wiesenthal: "The Conscience of the Holocaust, Dies in Vienna" at 96
Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Nazi Hunter has died in Vienna at the age of 96, the Simon Wiesenthal Center announced today (September 20th).
"Simon Wiesenthal was the conscience of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the International Human Rights NGO named in Mr. Wiesenthal’s honor, adding, "When the Holocaust ended in 1945 and the whole world went home to forget, he alone remained behind to remember. He did not forget. He became the permanent representative of the victims, determined to bring the perpetrators of the history’s greatest crime to justice. There was no press conference and no president or Prime Minister or world leader announced his appointment. He just took the job. It was a job no one else wanted.
The task was overwhelming. The cause had few friends. The Allies were already focused on the Cold War, the survivors were rebuilding their shattered lives and Simon Wiesenthal was all alone, combining the role of both prosecutor and detective at the same time."
Overcoming the world’s indifference and apathy, Simon Wiesenthal helped bring over 1,100 Nazi War Criminals before the Bar of Justice.
There will be a news conference at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Tuesday, September 20th at 10 am.
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=312458&content_id=%7b3F90833B-C57B-42B7-BB2B-9876E0C87E89%7d¬oc=1
Ex-White House Aide Charged in Corruption Case
By PHILIP SHENON and ANNE E. KORNBLUT
Published: September 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - A senior White House budget official who resigned abruptly last week was arrested Monday on charges of lying to investigators and obstructing a federal inquiry involving Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who has been under scrutiny by the Justice Department for more than a year.
The arrest of the official, David H. Safavian, head of procurement policy at the Office of Management and Budget, was the first to result from the wide-ranging corruption investigation of Mr. Abramoff, once among the most powerful and best-paid lobbyists in Washington and a close friend of Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader.
According to court papers, Mr. Safavian, 38, is accused of lying about assistance that he gave Mr. Abramoff in his earlier work at the General Services Administration, where he was chief of staff from 2002 to 2004, and about an expensive golf trip he took with the lobbyist to Scotland in August 2002.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/politics/20lobby.html?hp&ex=1127275200&en=083385ffda531ffa&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Little Difference Found in Schizophrenia Drugs
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: September 20, 2005
A landmark government-financed study that compared drugs used to treat schizophrenia has confirmed what many psychiatrists long suspected: newer drugs that are highly promoted and widely prescribed offer few - if any - benefits over older medicines that sell for a fraction of the cost.
The study, which looked at four new-generation drugs, called atypical antipsychotics, and one older drug, found that all five blunted the symptoms of schizophrenia, a disabling disorder that affects three million Americans. But almost three-quarters of the patients who participated stopped taking the drugs they were on because of discomfort or specific side effects.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/health/psychology/20drug.html?hp&ex=1127275200&en=75fc05e76754c22a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Suicide Bomber Hits U.S. Convoy, Killing 4 Americans
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 20, 2005
Filed at 3:34 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. diplomatic convoy in the northern city of Mosul, killing four Americans and wounding two others, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
A U.S. Diplomatic Security agent and three private security guards died when the suicide bomber rammed their SUV, the middle vehicle in a convoy of three, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject.
He said the victims were attached to the U.S. Consulate in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, 225 miles north of Baghdad.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Americans-killed.html
Bush Aide Will Lead Hurricane Inquiry
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and CARL HULSE
Published: September 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - President Bush has named Frances Fragos Townsend, his domestic security adviser, to lead an internal White House inquiry into the administration's performance in handling Hurricane Katrina, Scott McClellan, Mr. Bush's spokesman, said Monday.
Mr. McClellan said Ms. Townsend's job would be "to follow through on the president's commitment to determine what went wrong, what went right and lessons learned."
Ms. Townsend, a former federal prosecutor, has undertaken a number of sensitive and high-profile tasks for Mr. Bush, most recently overseeing the reorganization of the nation's intelligence services after the intelligence failures about Iraq's weapons capabilities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/national/nationalspecial/20cong.html
Blacks Join the Eating-Disorder Mainstream
By DENISE BRODEY
Published: September 20, 2005
As a teenager, Nickona Knuckles regularly binged on food and then vomited to keep her weight down.
Ms. Knuckles, who is African-American, recalled that at the time she had no idea of the devastating health effects of bulimia, nor did she care. She was one of nine black students in a high school of 3,000 and was struggling simply to be accepted
Pat Shannahan for The New York Times
As a teenager, Nickona Knuckles binged and then vomited to keep her weight down.
"When it came to body image, my perception of beauty was based on my white peers and images of white celebrities in the media," Ms. Knuckles, now 34, said in an interview at her home in Phoenix. "I didn't want to be white but it was very difficult to be comfortable with who I was."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/health/psychology/20eat.html
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Hurricane Katrina Relief:
Over 100 tons of food, clothing, medical supplies, and generators delivered; countless FEMA applicants walked through process on mobile internet facility; six families reunited; two dogs returned to their owners...
The Pix from Louisiana. Volunteers delivering food and giving support.
http://michaelmoore.com/mustread/covington.php
Sunday, September 11th, 2005
A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush from Michael Moore
To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:
On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?
How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?
That's right. Horse shows.
I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.
I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.
Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?
When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?
When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?
Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?
Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?
With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?
Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.
That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.
It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the window at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"
My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?
And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?
Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.
Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?
I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?
I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.
Yours,
Michael Moore
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
mmflint@aol.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=185
Monday, September 19th, 2005
See You in D.C.
A message from Cindy Sheehan
So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
(MLK, Jr. Aug. 28, 1963, I Have a Dream speech)
What Bush's Katrina shows once again is that my son died for nothing. If you listen to Bush – and fewer and fewer are, thank goodness -- we are in Iraq in part due to 9/11. All our president has been talking about has been protecting this country since 9/11. That's why people voted for him in the last election. Katrina shows it's all as sham, a fraud, a disaster as large as Katrina itself.
Hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of innocent lives wasted later what have we achieved? Nothing. Casey died for nothing and Bush says others have to die for those that have died already.
Enough, George! What is disgusting is not, as the first lady says, criticism of you, but rather the crimes you've committed against this country and our sons and daughters. Stop hiding behind your twisted idea of God and stop destroying this country.
This week I arrive in Washington DC to begin my Vigil at the White House just like I did in Texas. But this time I'll be joined by Katrina victims as well. In your America we are all victims. The failed bookends of your Presidency are Iraq and Katrina.
It is time for all of us to stand up and be counted: to show the media, Congress, and this inept, corrupt, and criminal administration that we mean business. It is time to get off of our collective behinds to show the people who are running our country into oblivion that we will stand for it no longer. We want our country back and we want our nation's young people back home, safe and sound, on our shores to help protect America. That it is time for a change in our country's "leadership." That we will never go away until our dreams are reality.
We have so-called leaders in our country who are waiting for the correct "politically expedient" time to speak up and out against the occupation of Iraq. It is no sweat for our politicos to wait for the right time, because not one of them has a child in harm's way. I don't care if the politician is a Democrat or a Republican, this is not about politics. Being a strong leader to guide our country out of the quagmire and mistake of Iraq will require people of courage and determination to stand up and say: "I don't care if I win the next election, people are dying in Iraq everyday and families are being decimated." We as the 62% of Americans who want our troops to begin coming home will follow such a leader down the difficult, but oh so rewarding, path of peace with justice.
It is no longer time for the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. It never has been the time for that. Our "now" is so fiercely urgent. Like my daughter, Carly, wrote in the last verse of her "A Nation Rocked to Sleep" poem:
Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Being Rocked to Sleep?
Our leaders want to keep us numb so the pain won't be too deep,
But if we the people allow them to continue, another mother will weep,
Have you heard the sound of a Nation Being Rocked to Sleep?
Wake up: See you in DC on the 24th.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=506
Saturday, September 24
Massive March, Rally & Festival
Part of the UFPJ Sept. 24-26 D.C. Mobilization.
10:00AM All-Day Peace & Justice Festival Begins, Washington Monument Grounds
11:30AM Rally at Ellipse
12:30PM March steps off
3:00PM "Operation Ceasefire" Concert featuring Cindy Sheehan
Volunteer in D.C. On/Before Sept. 24
END THE WAR ON IRAQ
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
Leave no military bases behind
End the looting of Iraq
Stop the torture
Stop bankrupting our communities
No military recruitment in our schools
More than two years after the illegal and immoral U.S. invasion of Iraq, the nightmare continues. More than 1600 U.S. soldiers have died, at least another 15,000 have been wounded; even the most conservative estimates of Iraqi deaths number in the tens of thousands. Iraq, a once sovereign nation, now lies in ruins under the military and corporate occupation of the United States; U.S. promises to rebuild have not been kept and Iraqis still lack food, water, electricity, and other basic needs.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3091
CBC Premieres Michael Moore's 'Bowling for Columbine'
9/7/2005
As part of it's Turn On To Reality September Documentary Festival CBC Television is proud to present BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE the Academy Award®-winning documentary, from US filmmaker and social activist Michael Moore, on Sunday, September 18, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE is a tour-de-force from award-winning Michael Moore and the result is a stunningly brave piece of work. As his country's leading satirist and social documentarian, Moore, in this groundbreaking film, boldly asks a question that most Americans dare not ask in these wildly patriotic times, "Are we a nation of gun nuts — or are we just nuts?"
http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/article.asp?id=47229&issue=09072005
Extended tours of some US military units eyed in Iraq: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US military planners are considering extended tours of duty for some units in Iraq if more US troops are needed for the upcoming elections there, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Lawrence DiRita, the defense department's chief spokesman, said it was "entirely possible" commanders would want to boost the force in Iraq beyond its current level of 140,000.
"And I guess the thinking at the moment is, if we did need more and it was based on rotations, how would that work?" he said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4163
Activists link Katrina crisis, Iraq war
By Frederick Cusick / Philadelphia Inquirer
Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan yesterday laid some of the blame for the death and destruction associated with Hurricane Katrina on President Bush's Iraq war.
Sheehan, a Californian who became an international figure when she camped out next to Bush's vacation ranch in Crawford, Texas, last month, said Katrina was not only a natural disaster, but "a man-made tragedy and a criminal negligence disaster."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4151
British bishops lament "litany of errors" in Iraq
By Gideon Long / Reuters
LONDON, Sept 19 - The West has committed a "litany of errors" in Iraq and the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 was driven as much by American interest as by concern for the Iraqi people, British church leaders said on Monday.
In a wide-ranging report, bishops from the Church of England also criticised Western policy towards Iran and said the European Union had not tried hard enough to end a stand-off over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4158
What has happened to Iraq's missing $1bn?
By Patrick Cockburn / The Independent
One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defence ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons.
The money, intended to train and equip an Iraqi army capable of bringing security to a country shattered by the US-led invasion and prolonged rebellion, was instead siphoned abroad in cash and has disappeared.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4160
Leaders Who Won't Choose
In Washington, it's business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe.
By Fareed Zakaria / Newsweek
Sept. 26, 2005 issue - "Adversity builds character," goes the old adage. Except that in America today we seem to be following the opposite principle. The worse things get, the more frivolous our response. President Bush explains that he will spend hundreds of billions of dollars rebuilding the Gulf Coast without raising any new revenues. Republican leader Tom DeLay declines any spending cuts because "there is no fat left to cut in the federal budget."
This would be funny if it weren't so depressing. What is happening in Washington today is business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe. The scariest part is that we've been here before. After 9/11 we have created a new government agency, massively increased domestic spending and fought two wars. And the president did all this without rolling back any of his tax cuts—in fact, he expanded them—and refused to veto a single congressional spending bill. This was possible because Bush inherited a huge budget surplus in 2000. But that's all gone. The cupboard is now bare.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4154
Police Fortify Numbers for War Protests
March to Be First Since D.C. Passed Arrest Law
By Del Quentin Wilber / Washington Post
D.C. police have canceled days off and are planning to deploy several hundred officers during an antiwar demonstration next weekend that will include a march near the White House, but officials said they expect no trouble.
Saturday's rally, part of a weekend of protests and counter-protests, will be the first demonstration allowed to surround the White House in more than a decade. It is the first major rally to occur since a D.C. law that requires police to give clear warnings before arresting demonstrators took effect.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4140
The Boston Globe
25 geniuses get their day in the sun
Harvard professor among MacArthur grant winners
By Gareth Cook, Globe Staff September 20, 2005
A Massachusetts doctor fighting the global threat of viruses and a longtime Maine fisherman combining science with his experience on the water to save a way of life are among the 25 recipients of the MacArthur ''genius" grants announced today.
The MacArthur Fellows Program, now in its 25th year, awards $500,000 with no strings attached to encourage people who have shown great potential in a wide variety of fields, from the sciences to the arts. The Fellowship is unusual, and particularly dramatic, because it is shrouded in secrecy. Winners do not apply and do not even know that they are being considered until they get a phone call informing them they have won.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/20/25_geniuses_get_their_day_in_the_sun/
Winter heating cost to rocket
5 to 10 distributors face gas-price probe
By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff September 20, 2005
Massachusetts average gasoline prices finally dropped below $3 a gallon yesterday following the post-Hurricane Katrina spike. But for Bay State consumers, the worst energy news is yet to come this winter.
The nearly 1 million homeowners who use heating oil can expect to pay 31 percent more for fuel than they did last year, translating to an average $500 total increase. Natural gas utilities are seeking average rate hikes of 26 percent over last year. Electric utilities are likely to soon follow with requests for 20 percent and higher rate increases.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/09/20/winter_heating_costto_rocket/
Higher education board proposes raising college tuition
September 20, 2005
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Students may pay several hundred dollars more next year to attend one of the state's three public colleges.
The Board of Governors of Higher Education is proposing tuition increases of 3 percent to 6 percent to help raise an additional $30 million it says it needs to run the colleges and Office of Higher Education. The board is asking the state to provide an additional $11.7 million, while students would pay $18.3 million more.
The University of Rhode Island would raise its tuition 6 percent to $7,724 for in-state students. With room and board increases as well, in-state students would pay a total of $16,464 per year.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/09/20/higher_education_board_proposes_raising_college_tuition/
Man charged in N.J. kidnap attempt is former N.H. cop
September 20, 2005
WHITEFIELD, N.H. --The Whitefield man being held on charges he tried to kidnap a boy in New Jersey last month is a former police officer who met the youngster through a homosexually oriented Web site, court documents and police say.
George Nugent, 56, is a former police officer in Lancaster, Northumberland and Litchfield, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported Tuesday. His most recent job was for a construction company in Plymouth.
He is being held without bail as a fugitive from justice from New Jersey, where he is charged with chaining a boy around the neck and trying to kidnap him.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/09/20/man_charged_in_nj_kidnap_attempt_is_former_nh_cop/
Major developments in Katrina's aftermath
By The Associated Press September 20, 2005
Major developments in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
-- President Bush says he was concerned that Tropical Storm Rita could hit the already devastated Gulf Coast as he prepares for a fifth trip to the region to survey hurricane recovery efforts.
-- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin suspends his plan to start reopening large parts of the city to residents and told those who have returned to be prepared to evacuate again as Rita approaches the gulf. Some business owners and residents say they'll stay put.
-- The city is requesting 200 buses to assist in a possible evacuation. They would start running 48 hours before landfall from the downtown convention center and a stadium in Algiers.
-- The death toll in Louisiana spikes to 736, as receding floodwaters allow search and recovery crews to accelerate their probes into the city's decimated neighborhoods. The toll across the Gulf Coast is 973.
-- Brig. Gen. Robert Crear says the Army Corps of Engineers hopes to have New Orleans' levees back to being capable of handling a Category 3 storm by June, the start of the next hurricane season.
-- President Fidel Castro is lamenting that the U.S. government has still not responded to his offer to send nearly 1,600 Cuban doctors to help Hurricane Katrina victims, saying the team could have saved lives.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/20/major_developments_in_katrinas_aftermath/
Princeton claims progress against grade inflation
By Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press Writer September 19, 2005
Princeton University bigwigs are lauding the fact that fewer of their students got "A's" last year.
To them, the falling grades don't mean that the students are less capable or lazier, but that a year-old policy designed to hold in check grade inflation is working.
In the 2003-04 school year, 46 percent of grades given to undergraduates were "A-plus," "A" or "A-minus." Princeton wants to bring that down to 35 percent. It got about half way there last year, when 41 percent of grades were in the "A" range.
Princeton's efforts are among the most ambitious among elite schools trying to rein in the awarding of uniformly high grades, which some academics see as cheapening grade-point averages.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/09/19/princeton_claims_progress_against_grade_inflation/
AP reporter included in dengue fever cases
A worker fumigates the work area of a construction site as part of anti-mosquito breeding efforts Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005 in Singapore. Singapore has yet to pinpoint a reason for the spike in number of dengue infections and has embarked on a drive to weed out the cause. Eight people have died from dengue fever this year in the city-state. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
By Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer September 20, 2005
SINGAPORE --Hooked to an intravenous drip on wheels, I shuffled from my hospital bed to the bathroom and slumped over the sink to brush my teeth. Blood oozed from my gums, a symptom of dengue fever.
On another laborious visit to the bathroom, the IV needle pulled free, and big drops of blood splashed to the floor as I pressed a buzzer and waited for a nurse to find a vein again.
The high fever, aching joints and sharp, grinding headaches left me disoriented and bedridden for days when I had dengue fever in June. But doctors warned me that the biggest danger was bleeding because the mosquito-borne virus lowers the number of platelets, clotting agents in the blood, to dangerous levels.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/09/20/ap_reporter_included_in_dengue_fever_cases/
Voting improvement
September 20, 2005
THE MENINO administration and the Justice Department averted a court showdown last week over minority voting rights in Boston. Now Secretary of State William Galvin, the state's leading election official, is left to deal with the thorny details of the breakthrough settlement agreement.
In July the federal government sued the city, alleging that local officials had discriminated against voters with limited English skills by skimping on bilingual poll workers and election materials written in foreign languages. The Justice Department even charged the city with improperly influencing the ballot choices of Asian voters and demanded that city officials sign a consent decree admitting wrongdoing. To its credit, the Menino administration stood up to the Justice Department, which had provided little proof of its harsh allegations.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/09/20/voting_improvement/
continued ...
I THINK KEEPING ‘THE VOTE’ BEFORE THE PUBLIC AS AN IMPORTANT ISSUE BUT I DON’T BELIEVE IN A NATIONAL ID EITHER. Cost could be one reason but not necessarily the only reason. Idenity theft happens all to frequently and the increase in IDs in the nation of people who normally don't bother is adding to the problem.
I don't believe the government has a right beyond the census to know anything about my life. I don't break the law and that doesn't not have to be quantified in a Naitonal ID. I am allowed to make decisions at to who knows what about my life. It is a matter of personal chioce and security, especially being a woman. The USA Census determines the allotment of USA Representatives to the House and in that capacity a general overview has to be accurate, but only a general view. Any other information regarding income and items like square footage of my home is not what I would call pertinent information to purpose of "House Representation" but admittedly CAN enhance the govenment's focus to improve the quality of life in the USA for all. Howerver, wtih this administrations too much infromations in their hands is dangerous and provides venues of manipulatin to control their PARTIES elections. I think the USA census needs to be trimmed because with regime change in the USA the information places people at risk, espcially minorities.
The USA Census would have knowns the delicate nature of the populous of New Orleans.
realizing that the negligence by FEMA and the Executive Branch was far more than a mistake it was murder of BlackAmericans.
Denying Access to the Ballot
It has been clear since 2000 that the election system is in serious need of reform. But the commission led by James Baker III and former President Jimmy Carter has come up with a plan that is worse than no reform at all. Its good ideas are outweighed by one very bad idea: a voter identification requirement that would prevent large numbers of poor, black and elderly people from voting.
The commission makes helpful recommendations. It favors requiring electronic voting machines to produce paper records, and opposes partisan activity by state election officials. It fails to address other problems, like not counting provisional ballots cast at the wrong precincts.
But the bombshell recommendation is for the states to require voters to have drivers' licenses or a government-issued photo ID. That would not be a great burden for people who have drivers' licenses, but it would be for those who don't, and they are disproportionately poor, elderly or members of minorities. These voters would have to get special photo ID's and keep them updated. If they didn't have the ID's, their right to vote would be taken away. The commission recommends that the cards be free. But election administration is notoriously underfinanced, and it is not hard to imagine that states would charge for them. Georgia is already charging $20 and more for each of its state voter cards.
There is very little evidence of voters' claiming to be people they are not, and the commission admits that its members are divided about how big a problem it is. But the report goes on to say that even if there is just a small amount of fraud, it should be stopped. True, but if the solution risks disenfranchising hundreds of thousands, or even millions, of voters, it is a very bad reform.
There are more reasonable approaches. The states could require uniform ID's, but allow each voter without one to sign an affidavit attesting to his or her identity, a system some states use now. It is little wonder that a dissent came from the former Democratic leader in the Senate, Tom Daschle, a commission member. He said that "for some, the commission's ID proposal constitutes nothing short of a modern-day poll tax."
The disappointing report made public yesterday was not a complete surprise. There have been red flags waving around the commission for some time; Mr. Baker is remembered by many for his fierce fight to stop the counting of votes in Florida in 2000. There have also been complaints about the commission's process. Spencer Overton, a George Washington University law professor and commission member, complains that he was told he had to limit a dissent on complicated voting issues to just 250 words.
The purpose of election reform should not be making it harder to vote. We all have a duty to make our election system as good as it can be - and not to disenfranchise people in the name of reform.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/opinion/20tue2.html?pagewanted=print
Nazi Hunter Simon Wiesenthal Is Dead at 96
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 20, 2005
Filed at 6:27 a.m. ET
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- Simon Wiesenthal, the Holocaust survivor who helped track down Nazi war criminals following World War II, then spent the later decades of his life fighting anti-Semitism and prejudice against all people, died Tuesday. He was 96.
Wiesenthal, who helped find one-time SS leader Adolf Eichmann and the policeman who arrested Anne Frank, died in his sleep at his home in Vienna, said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the Simon Wiesenthal Center in Los Angeles.
''I think he'll be remembered as the conscience of the Holocaust. In a way he became the permanent representative of the victims of the Holocaust, determined to bring the perpetrators of the greatest crime to justice,'' Hier told The Associated Press.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/obituaries/AP-Obit-Wiesenthal.html?hp
Simon Wiesenthal: "The Conscience of the Holocaust, Dies in Vienna" at 96
Simon Wiesenthal, the famous Nazi Hunter has died in Vienna at the age of 96, the Simon Wiesenthal Center announced today (September 20th).
"Simon Wiesenthal was the conscience of the Holocaust," said Rabbi Marvin Hier, dean and founder of the International Human Rights NGO named in Mr. Wiesenthal’s honor, adding, "When the Holocaust ended in 1945 and the whole world went home to forget, he alone remained behind to remember. He did not forget. He became the permanent representative of the victims, determined to bring the perpetrators of the history’s greatest crime to justice. There was no press conference and no president or Prime Minister or world leader announced his appointment. He just took the job. It was a job no one else wanted.
The task was overwhelming. The cause had few friends. The Allies were already focused on the Cold War, the survivors were rebuilding their shattered lives and Simon Wiesenthal was all alone, combining the role of both prosecutor and detective at the same time."
Overcoming the world’s indifference and apathy, Simon Wiesenthal helped bring over 1,100 Nazi War Criminals before the Bar of Justice.
There will be a news conference at the Simon Wiesenthal Center, Tuesday, September 20th at 10 am.
http://www.wiesenthal.com/site/apps/nl/content.asp?c=fwLYKnN8LzH&b=312458&content_id=%7b3F90833B-C57B-42B7-BB2B-9876E0C87E89%7d¬oc=1
Ex-White House Aide Charged in Corruption Case
By PHILIP SHENON and ANNE E. KORNBLUT
Published: September 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - A senior White House budget official who resigned abruptly last week was arrested Monday on charges of lying to investigators and obstructing a federal inquiry involving Jack Abramoff, the Republican lobbyist who has been under scrutiny by the Justice Department for more than a year.
The arrest of the official, David H. Safavian, head of procurement policy at the Office of Management and Budget, was the first to result from the wide-ranging corruption investigation of Mr. Abramoff, once among the most powerful and best-paid lobbyists in Washington and a close friend of Representative Tom DeLay, the House majority leader.
According to court papers, Mr. Safavian, 38, is accused of lying about assistance that he gave Mr. Abramoff in his earlier work at the General Services Administration, where he was chief of staff from 2002 to 2004, and about an expensive golf trip he took with the lobbyist to Scotland in August 2002.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/politics/20lobby.html?hp&ex=1127275200&en=083385ffda531ffa&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Little Difference Found in Schizophrenia Drugs
By BENEDICT CAREY
Published: September 20, 2005
A landmark government-financed study that compared drugs used to treat schizophrenia has confirmed what many psychiatrists long suspected: newer drugs that are highly promoted and widely prescribed offer few - if any - benefits over older medicines that sell for a fraction of the cost.
The study, which looked at four new-generation drugs, called atypical antipsychotics, and one older drug, found that all five blunted the symptoms of schizophrenia, a disabling disorder that affects three million Americans. But almost three-quarters of the patients who participated stopped taking the drugs they were on because of discomfort or specific side effects.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/health/psychology/20drug.html?hp&ex=1127275200&en=75fc05e76754c22a&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Suicide Bomber Hits U.S. Convoy, Killing 4 Americans
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: September 20, 2005
Filed at 3:34 a.m. ET
BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) -- A suicide car bomber attacked a U.S. diplomatic convoy in the northern city of Mosul, killing four Americans and wounding two others, a U.S. official said Tuesday.
A U.S. Diplomatic Security agent and three private security guards died when the suicide bomber rammed their SUV, the middle vehicle in a convoy of three, the official said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to speak on the subject.
He said the victims were attached to the U.S. Consulate in Mosul, Iraq's third largest city, 225 miles north of Baghdad.
http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Iraq-Americans-killed.html
Bush Aide Will Lead Hurricane Inquiry
By RICHARD W. STEVENSON and CARL HULSE
Published: September 20, 2005
WASHINGTON, Sept. 19 - President Bush has named Frances Fragos Townsend, his domestic security adviser, to lead an internal White House inquiry into the administration's performance in handling Hurricane Katrina, Scott McClellan, Mr. Bush's spokesman, said Monday.
Mr. McClellan said Ms. Townsend's job would be "to follow through on the president's commitment to determine what went wrong, what went right and lessons learned."
Ms. Townsend, a former federal prosecutor, has undertaken a number of sensitive and high-profile tasks for Mr. Bush, most recently overseeing the reorganization of the nation's intelligence services after the intelligence failures about Iraq's weapons capabilities.
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/national/nationalspecial/20cong.html
Blacks Join the Eating-Disorder Mainstream
By DENISE BRODEY
Published: September 20, 2005
As a teenager, Nickona Knuckles regularly binged on food and then vomited to keep her weight down.
Ms. Knuckles, who is African-American, recalled that at the time she had no idea of the devastating health effects of bulimia, nor did she care. She was one of nine black students in a high school of 3,000 and was struggling simply to be accepted
Pat Shannahan for The New York Times
As a teenager, Nickona Knuckles binged and then vomited to keep her weight down.
"When it came to body image, my perception of beauty was based on my white peers and images of white celebrities in the media," Ms. Knuckles, now 34, said in an interview at her home in Phoenix. "I didn't want to be white but it was very difficult to be comfortable with who I was."
http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/20/health/psychology/20eat.html
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Hurricane Katrina Relief:
Over 100 tons of food, clothing, medical supplies, and generators delivered; countless FEMA applicants walked through process on mobile internet facility; six families reunited; two dogs returned to their owners...
The Pix from Louisiana. Volunteers delivering food and giving support.
http://michaelmoore.com/mustread/covington.php
Sunday, September 11th, 2005
A Letter to All Who Voted for George W. Bush from Michael Moore
To All My Fellow Americans Who Voted for George W. Bush:
On this, the fourth anniversary of 9/11, I'm just curious, how does it feel?
How does it feel to know that the man you elected to lead us after we were attacked went ahead and put a guy in charge of FEMA whose main qualification was that he ran horse shows?
That's right. Horse shows.
I really want to know -- and I ask you this in all sincerity and with all due respect -- how do you feel about the utter contempt Mr. Bush has shown for your safety? C'mon, give me just a moment of honesty. Don't start ranting on about how this disaster in New Orleans was the fault of one of the poorest cities in America. Put aside your hatred of Democrats and liberals and anyone with the last name of Clinton. Just look me in the eye and tell me our President did the right thing after 9/11 by naming a horse show runner as the top man to protect us in case of an emergency or catastrophe.
I want you to put aside your self-affixed label of Republican/conservative/born-again/capitalist/ditto-head/right-winger and just talk to me as an American, on the common ground we both call America.
Are we safer now than before 9/11? When you learn that behind the horse show runner, the #2 and #3 men in charge of emergency preparedness have zero experience in emergency preparedness, do you think we are safer?
When you look at Michael Chertoff, the head of Homeland Security, a man with little experience in national security, do you feel secure?
When men who never served in the military and have never seen young men die in battle send our young people off to war, do you think they know how to conduct a war? Do they know what it means to have your legs blown off for a threat that was never there?
Do you really believe that turning over important government services to private corporations has resulted in better services for the people?
Why do you hate our federal government so much? You have voted for politicians for the past 25 years whose main goal has been to de-fund the federal government. Do you think that cutting federal programs like FEMA and the Army Corps of Engineers has been good or bad for America? GOOD OR BAD?
With the nation's debt at an all-time high, do you think tax cuts for the rich are still a good idea? Will you give yours back so hundreds of thousands of homeless in New Orleans can have a home?
Do you believe in Jesus? Really? Didn't he say that we would be judged by how we treat the least among us? Hurricane Katrina came in and blew off the facade that we were a nation with liberty and justice for all. The wind howled and the water rose and what was revealed was that the poor in America shall be left to suffer and die while the President of the United States fiddles and tells them to eat cake.
That's not a joke. The day the hurricane hit and the levees broke, Mr. Bush, John McCain and their rich pals were stuffing themselves with cake. A full day after the levees broke (the same levees whose repair funding he had cut), Mr. Bush was playing a guitar some country singer gave him. All this while New Orleans sank under water.
It would take ANOTHER day before the President would do a flyover in his jumbo jet, peeking out the window at the misery 2500 feet below him as he flew back to his second home in DC. It would then be TWO MORE DAYS before a trickle of federal aid and troops would arrive. This was no seven minutes in a sitting trance while children read "My Pet Goat" to him. This was FOUR DAYS of doing nothing other than saying "Brownie (FEMA director Michael Brown), you're doing a heck of a job!"
My Republican friends, does it bother you that we are the laughing stock of the world?
And on this sacred day of remembrance, do you think we honor or shame those who died on 9/11/01? If we learned nothing and find ourselves today every bit as vulnerable and unprepared as we were on that bright sunny morning, then did the 3,000 die in vain?
Our vulnerability is not just about dealing with terrorists or natural disasters. We are vulnerable and unsafe because we allow one in eight Americans to live in horrible poverty. We accept an education system where one in six children never graduate and most of those who do can't string a coherent sentence together. The middle class can't pay the mortgage or the hospital bills and 45 million have no health coverage whatsoever.
Are we safe? Do you really feel safe? You can only move so far out and build so many gated communities before the fruit of what you've sown will be crashing through your walls and demanding retribution. Do you really want to wait until that happens? Or is it your hope that if they are left alone long enough to soil themselves and shoot themselves and drown in the filth that fills the street that maybe the problem will somehow go away?
I know you know better. You gave the country and the world a man who wasn't up for the job and all he does is hire people who aren't up for the job. You did this to us, to the world, to the people of New Orleans. Please fix it. Bush is yours. And you know, for our peace and safety and security, this has to be fixed. What do you propose?
I have an idea, and it isn't a horse show.
Yours,
Michael Moore
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
mmflint@aol.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?id=185
Monday, September 19th, 2005
See You in D.C.
A message from Cindy Sheehan
So we have come to cash this check -- a check that will give us upon demand the riches of freedom and the security of justice. We have also come to this hallowed spot to remind America of the fierce urgency of now. This is no time to engage in the luxury of cooling off or to take the tranquilizing drug of gradualism.
(MLK, Jr. Aug. 28, 1963, I Have a Dream speech)
What Bush's Katrina shows once again is that my son died for nothing. If you listen to Bush – and fewer and fewer are, thank goodness -- we are in Iraq in part due to 9/11. All our president has been talking about has been protecting this country since 9/11. That's why people voted for him in the last election. Katrina shows it's all as sham, a fraud, a disaster as large as Katrina itself.
Hundreds of billions of dollars and tens of thousands of innocent lives wasted later what have we achieved? Nothing. Casey died for nothing and Bush says others have to die for those that have died already.
Enough, George! What is disgusting is not, as the first lady says, criticism of you, but rather the crimes you've committed against this country and our sons and daughters. Stop hiding behind your twisted idea of God and stop destroying this country.
This week I arrive in Washington DC to begin my Vigil at the White House just like I did in Texas. But this time I'll be joined by Katrina victims as well. In your America we are all victims. The failed bookends of your Presidency are Iraq and Katrina.
It is time for all of us to stand up and be counted: to show the media, Congress, and this inept, corrupt, and criminal administration that we mean business. It is time to get off of our collective behinds to show the people who are running our country into oblivion that we will stand for it no longer. We want our country back and we want our nation's young people back home, safe and sound, on our shores to help protect America. That it is time for a change in our country's "leadership." That we will never go away until our dreams are reality.
We have so-called leaders in our country who are waiting for the correct "politically expedient" time to speak up and out against the occupation of Iraq. It is no sweat for our politicos to wait for the right time, because not one of them has a child in harm's way. I don't care if the politician is a Democrat or a Republican, this is not about politics. Being a strong leader to guide our country out of the quagmire and mistake of Iraq will require people of courage and determination to stand up and say: "I don't care if I win the next election, people are dying in Iraq everyday and families are being decimated." We as the 62% of Americans who want our troops to begin coming home will follow such a leader down the difficult, but oh so rewarding, path of peace with justice.
It is no longer time for the tranquilizing drug of gradualism. It never has been the time for that. Our "now" is so fiercely urgent. Like my daughter, Carly, wrote in the last verse of her "A Nation Rocked to Sleep" poem:
Have you ever heard the sound of a Nation Being Rocked to Sleep?
Our leaders want to keep us numb so the pain won't be too deep,
But if we the people allow them to continue, another mother will weep,
Have you heard the sound of a Nation Being Rocked to Sleep?
Wake up: See you in DC on the 24th.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=506
Saturday, September 24
Massive March, Rally & Festival
Part of the UFPJ Sept. 24-26 D.C. Mobilization.
10:00AM All-Day Peace & Justice Festival Begins, Washington Monument Grounds
11:30AM Rally at Ellipse
12:30PM March steps off
3:00PM "Operation Ceasefire" Concert featuring Cindy Sheehan
Volunteer in D.C. On/Before Sept. 24
END THE WAR ON IRAQ
BRING THE TROOPS HOME NOW!
Leave no military bases behind
End the looting of Iraq
Stop the torture
Stop bankrupting our communities
No military recruitment in our schools
More than two years after the illegal and immoral U.S. invasion of Iraq, the nightmare continues. More than 1600 U.S. soldiers have died, at least another 15,000 have been wounded; even the most conservative estimates of Iraqi deaths number in the tens of thousands. Iraq, a once sovereign nation, now lies in ruins under the military and corporate occupation of the United States; U.S. promises to rebuild have not been kept and Iraqis still lack food, water, electricity, and other basic needs.
http://www.unitedforpeace.org/article.php?id=3091
CBC Premieres Michael Moore's 'Bowling for Columbine'
9/7/2005
As part of it's Turn On To Reality September Documentary Festival CBC Television is proud to present BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE the Academy Award®-winning documentary, from US filmmaker and social activist Michael Moore, on Sunday, September 18, 2005 at 8:00 p.m.
BOWLING FOR COLUMBINE is a tour-de-force from award-winning Michael Moore and the result is a stunningly brave piece of work. As his country's leading satirist and social documentarian, Moore, in this groundbreaking film, boldly asks a question that most Americans dare not ask in these wildly patriotic times, "Are we a nation of gun nuts — or are we just nuts?"
http://www.broadcastermagazine.com/article.asp?id=47229&issue=09072005
Extended tours of some US military units eyed in Iraq: Pentagon
WASHINGTON (AFP) - US military planners are considering extended tours of duty for some units in Iraq if more US troops are needed for the upcoming elections there, a Pentagon spokesman said.
Lawrence DiRita, the defense department's chief spokesman, said it was "entirely possible" commanders would want to boost the force in Iraq beyond its current level of 140,000.
"And I guess the thinking at the moment is, if we did need more and it was based on rotations, how would that work?" he said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4163
Activists link Katrina crisis, Iraq war
By Frederick Cusick / Philadelphia Inquirer
Antiwar activist Cindy Sheehan yesterday laid some of the blame for the death and destruction associated with Hurricane Katrina on President Bush's Iraq war.
Sheehan, a Californian who became an international figure when she camped out next to Bush's vacation ranch in Crawford, Texas, last month, said Katrina was not only a natural disaster, but "a man-made tragedy and a criminal negligence disaster."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4151
British bishops lament "litany of errors" in Iraq
By Gideon Long / Reuters
LONDON, Sept 19 - The West has committed a "litany of errors" in Iraq and the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 was driven as much by American interest as by concern for the Iraqi people, British church leaders said on Monday.
In a wide-ranging report, bishops from the Church of England also criticised Western policy towards Iran and said the European Union had not tried hard enough to end a stand-off over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4158
What has happened to Iraq's missing $1bn?
By Patrick Cockburn / The Independent
One billion dollars has been plundered from Iraq's defence ministry in one of the largest thefts in history, The Independent can reveal, leaving the country's army to fight a savage insurgency with museum-piece weapons.
The money, intended to train and equip an Iraqi army capable of bringing security to a country shattered by the US-led invasion and prolonged rebellion, was instead siphoned abroad in cash and has disappeared.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4160
Leaders Who Won't Choose
In Washington, it's business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe.
By Fareed Zakaria / Newsweek
Sept. 26, 2005 issue - "Adversity builds character," goes the old adage. Except that in America today we seem to be following the opposite principle. The worse things get, the more frivolous our response. President Bush explains that he will spend hundreds of billions of dollars rebuilding the Gulf Coast without raising any new revenues. Republican leader Tom DeLay declines any spending cuts because "there is no fat left to cut in the federal budget."
This would be funny if it weren't so depressing. What is happening in Washington today is business as usual in the face of a national catastrophe. The scariest part is that we've been here before. After 9/11 we have created a new government agency, massively increased domestic spending and fought two wars. And the president did all this without rolling back any of his tax cuts—in fact, he expanded them—and refused to veto a single congressional spending bill. This was possible because Bush inherited a huge budget surplus in 2000. But that's all gone. The cupboard is now bare.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4154
Police Fortify Numbers for War Protests
March to Be First Since D.C. Passed Arrest Law
By Del Quentin Wilber / Washington Post
D.C. police have canceled days off and are planning to deploy several hundred officers during an antiwar demonstration next weekend that will include a march near the White House, but officials said they expect no trouble.
Saturday's rally, part of a weekend of protests and counter-protests, will be the first demonstration allowed to surround the White House in more than a decade. It is the first major rally to occur since a D.C. law that requires police to give clear warnings before arresting demonstrators took effect.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4140
The Boston Globe
25 geniuses get their day in the sun
Harvard professor among MacArthur grant winners
By Gareth Cook, Globe Staff September 20, 2005
A Massachusetts doctor fighting the global threat of viruses and a longtime Maine fisherman combining science with his experience on the water to save a way of life are among the 25 recipients of the MacArthur ''genius" grants announced today.
The MacArthur Fellows Program, now in its 25th year, awards $500,000 with no strings attached to encourage people who have shown great potential in a wide variety of fields, from the sciences to the arts. The Fellowship is unusual, and particularly dramatic, because it is shrouded in secrecy. Winners do not apply and do not even know that they are being considered until they get a phone call informing them they have won.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/09/20/25_geniuses_get_their_day_in_the_sun/
Winter heating cost to rocket
5 to 10 distributors face gas-price probe
By Peter J. Howe, Globe Staff September 20, 2005
Massachusetts average gasoline prices finally dropped below $3 a gallon yesterday following the post-Hurricane Katrina spike. But for Bay State consumers, the worst energy news is yet to come this winter.
The nearly 1 million homeowners who use heating oil can expect to pay 31 percent more for fuel than they did last year, translating to an average $500 total increase. Natural gas utilities are seeking average rate hikes of 26 percent over last year. Electric utilities are likely to soon follow with requests for 20 percent and higher rate increases.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2005/09/20/winter_heating_costto_rocket/
Higher education board proposes raising college tuition
September 20, 2005
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Students may pay several hundred dollars more next year to attend one of the state's three public colleges.
The Board of Governors of Higher Education is proposing tuition increases of 3 percent to 6 percent to help raise an additional $30 million it says it needs to run the colleges and Office of Higher Education. The board is asking the state to provide an additional $11.7 million, while students would pay $18.3 million more.
The University of Rhode Island would raise its tuition 6 percent to $7,724 for in-state students. With room and board increases as well, in-state students would pay a total of $16,464 per year.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/09/20/higher_education_board_proposes_raising_college_tuition/
Man charged in N.J. kidnap attempt is former N.H. cop
September 20, 2005
WHITEFIELD, N.H. --The Whitefield man being held on charges he tried to kidnap a boy in New Jersey last month is a former police officer who met the youngster through a homosexually oriented Web site, court documents and police say.
George Nugent, 56, is a former police officer in Lancaster, Northumberland and Litchfield, the New Hampshire Union Leader reported Tuesday. His most recent job was for a construction company in Plymouth.
He is being held without bail as a fugitive from justice from New Jersey, where he is charged with chaining a boy around the neck and trying to kidnap him.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/09/20/man_charged_in_nj_kidnap_attempt_is_former_nh_cop/
Major developments in Katrina's aftermath
By The Associated Press September 20, 2005
Major developments in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina:
-- President Bush says he was concerned that Tropical Storm Rita could hit the already devastated Gulf Coast as he prepares for a fifth trip to the region to survey hurricane recovery efforts.
-- New Orleans Mayor Ray Nagin suspends his plan to start reopening large parts of the city to residents and told those who have returned to be prepared to evacuate again as Rita approaches the gulf. Some business owners and residents say they'll stay put.
-- The city is requesting 200 buses to assist in a possible evacuation. They would start running 48 hours before landfall from the downtown convention center and a stadium in Algiers.
-- The death toll in Louisiana spikes to 736, as receding floodwaters allow search and recovery crews to accelerate their probes into the city's decimated neighborhoods. The toll across the Gulf Coast is 973.
-- Brig. Gen. Robert Crear says the Army Corps of Engineers hopes to have New Orleans' levees back to being capable of handling a Category 3 storm by June, the start of the next hurricane season.
-- President Fidel Castro is lamenting that the U.S. government has still not responded to his offer to send nearly 1,600 Cuban doctors to help Hurricane Katrina victims, saying the team could have saved lives.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/09/20/major_developments_in_katrinas_aftermath/
Princeton claims progress against grade inflation
By Geoff Mulvihill, Associated Press Writer September 19, 2005
Princeton University bigwigs are lauding the fact that fewer of their students got "A's" last year.
To them, the falling grades don't mean that the students are less capable or lazier, but that a year-old policy designed to hold in check grade inflation is working.
In the 2003-04 school year, 46 percent of grades given to undergraduates were "A-plus," "A" or "A-minus." Princeton wants to bring that down to 35 percent. It got about half way there last year, when 41 percent of grades were in the "A" range.
Princeton's efforts are among the most ambitious among elite schools trying to rein in the awarding of uniformly high grades, which some academics see as cheapening grade-point averages.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/09/19/princeton_claims_progress_against_grade_inflation/
AP reporter included in dengue fever cases
A worker fumigates the work area of a construction site as part of anti-mosquito breeding efforts Wednesday, Sept. 14, 2005 in Singapore. Singapore has yet to pinpoint a reason for the spike in number of dengue infections and has embarked on a drive to weed out the cause. Eight people have died from dengue fever this year in the city-state. (AP Photo/Wong Maye-E)
By Christopher Torchia, Associated Press Writer September 20, 2005
SINGAPORE --Hooked to an intravenous drip on wheels, I shuffled from my hospital bed to the bathroom and slumped over the sink to brush my teeth. Blood oozed from my gums, a symptom of dengue fever.
On another laborious visit to the bathroom, the IV needle pulled free, and big drops of blood splashed to the floor as I pressed a buzzer and waited for a nurse to find a vein again.
The high fever, aching joints and sharp, grinding headaches left me disoriented and bedridden for days when I had dengue fever in June. But doctors warned me that the biggest danger was bleeding because the mosquito-borne virus lowers the number of platelets, clotting agents in the blood, to dangerous levels.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/09/20/ap_reporter_included_in_dengue_fever_cases/
Voting improvement
September 20, 2005
THE MENINO administration and the Justice Department averted a court showdown last week over minority voting rights in Boston. Now Secretary of State William Galvin, the state's leading election official, is left to deal with the thorny details of the breakthrough settlement agreement.
In July the federal government sued the city, alleging that local officials had discriminated against voters with limited English skills by skimping on bilingual poll workers and election materials written in foreign languages. The Justice Department even charged the city with improperly influencing the ballot choices of Asian voters and demanded that city officials sign a consent decree admitting wrongdoing. To its credit, the Menino administration stood up to the Justice Department, which had provided little proof of its harsh allegations.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/09/20/voting_improvement/
continued ...
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