Betcha though I forgot.

Never !!

The Man !!

October 7, 2002. (Hey is that a freudian slip or what? That was the year he was a UN Inspector to Iraq when they were proving their case against Bush. Let's try this again.)

October 7, 2005.

Nobel Peace Prize.

Mohammed el Baradei and the IAEA.

YES !!!!!

The Rooster 

The span always breaks down with these massive storm. This is the continued reconstruction on October 5, 2002, linking New Orleans to Slidell. 

Working on the Twin Span of Interstate 10. 

Work continues on the I-10 Twin Spans Wednesday, October 5, 2005 linking New Orleans to Slidell. 

The reconstruction of Interstate 10 that connects New Orleans to Slidell has begun. This occurred last year as well.  

Morning Papers - It's Origins

Rooster "Crowing"

"Okeydoke"

History

1765 the Stamp Act Congress convened in New York to draw up colonial grievances against England.

1777 the second Battle of Saratoga began during the American Revolution. (British forces under Gen. John Burgoyne surrendered 10 days later.)

1800 Gabriel Prosser is publicly hanged after refusing to reveal his key followers. He was betrayed on the night set for the planned attack. Prosser's plan was doomed when the area was hit by a hurricane-like storm and an untimely betrayal moments before his "divinely deliverance."

1821 William Still, head of Philadelphia's Underground Railroad, is born.

1934 Playwright-poet Imamu Amiri Baraka is born LeRoi Jones in Newark, NJ. He will publish his collection of short stories called "Tales"

1940 Artie Shaw and his Orchestra recorded Hoagy Carmichael's "Stardust" for RCA Victor.

1954 Marian Anderson became the first black singer hired by the Metropolitan Opera Company in New York.

1960 Democratic presidential candidate John F. Kennedy and Republican opponent Richard M. Nixon held the second of their broadcast debates.

1979 Pope John Paul II concluded his weeklong tour of the United States with a Mass on the Washington Mall.

1985 Palestinian gunmen hijacked the Italian cruise ship Achille Lauro in the Mediterranean with more than 400 people aboard. (The hijackers killed an elderly Jewish American tourist, Leon Klinghoffer, and threw his body overboard; they surrendered two days after taking the ship.)

1993 Toni Morrison receives the Nobel Peace Prize for literature. She is acclaimed as one of the most celebrated American writers of the twentieth-century.

1998 Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, was beaten and left tied to a wooden fencepost outside of Laramie, Wyo.; he died five days later. (Russell Henderson and Aaron McKinney are serving life sentences.)

2001 Barry Bonds finishes his remarkable season by hitting his 73rd home run and shattering the slugging percentage record that Babe Ruth had held since 1920.


Missing in Action

1966 GILCHRIST ROBERT M. LITTLETON CO
1966 KNIGHT LARRY DALE ALBANY OR
1966 PABST EUGENE M. NEW YORK NY
1966 TREECE JAMES A. MEMPHIS TN CACCF/CRASH/PILOT/OFFSHORE MR1
1967 APPLEBY IVAN D. FRESNO CA REMAINS RETURNED 01/95 IDENTIFIED 10/95
1967 AUSTIN WILLIAM R. SIMPSONVILLE SC 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 FULLAM WAYNE E. CHATTANOOGA TN REMAINS RETURNED 09/24/87
1967 HODGES DAVID L. CHEVY CHASE MD REMAINS IDENTIFIED 04/16/99

Haaretz

Weissglas, Erekat make progress on arrangements for Gaza border
(image placeholder)
By Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondent, and The Associated Press
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Israel and the Palestinians moved ahead Friday with provisions for the Gaza border with Egypt, in the wake of the recent Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip.
The talks on the border were part of a series of meetings between top aides to Prime Minister Ariel Sharon and Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas ahead of an upcoming summit between the two leaders.
Dov Weissglas and Saeb Erekat held talks for more than two hours in Tel Aviv on Friday, to iron out the details of the summit. They also agreed on the establishment of two joint professional bodies to work out the arrangements for the Egypt-Gaza border at Rafah.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/632572.html


Palestinians release abducted Hamas militants unharmed
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By Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondent, and the Associated Press
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Three Hamas members who were abducted by Palestinians were released Friday night unharmed in Bethlehem.
One of the Hamas members said that his captors were Fatah members, and that they warned him that Hamas would suffer if it acted in the West Bank the same way it did in Gaza.
Earlier, a senior member of the Palestinian general intelligence service was abducted and shot by unknown gunmen in the Gaza Strip, Palestinian sources said Friday.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/632869.html


ElBaradei says Nobel Peace Prize win sends strong message
(image placeholder)
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
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Chief nuclear inspector Mohamed ElBaradei said Friday he felt "humbled" after winning the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize, and said it sent "a very strong message" about the importance of the nuclear agency's role.
The Egyptian diplomat and the International Atomic Energy Agency, the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency that he leads, were awarded the prize for their efforts to prevent the proliferation of nuclear weapons.
"I'm extremely humbled and honored," ElBaradei said.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/632876.html


Gaza evacuees to stay in hotel another week despite eviction
(image placeholder)
By Haaretz Service
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Gush Katif evacuees staying at the Shirat Hayam hotel in Ashkelon will not be evicted immediately, despite the hotel's earlier demand that they leave, due to the intervention of the Disengagement Administration (Sela), Israel Radio reported.
Sela facilitated an arrangement between the hotel management and the evacuees whereby they will remain in the hotel for one more week.
Earlier Friday, the hotel's management announced that the evacuees would be unable to remain. It then cut off their electricity and water and said it was not planning to provide them with dinner.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/632908.html


Between friendly countries
(image placeholder)
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Pentagon official Larry Franklin, a Middle East expert and researcher, confessed this week to having passed classified information to a senior diplomat at Israel's embassy in Washington and to two senior employees of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC). The affair has been under investigation for a long time, and it appears that the FBI has been employing wiretaps in the probe since 2002. The assessment is that most of the parties involved in the investigation exercised maximum caution in order to avoid causing excessive damage to those under investigation, who included senior American and Israeli diplomats.
The indictment against Franklin does not make any claim that employees of either AIPAC or the Israeli Embassy in Washington engaged in espionage; rather, it accuses him of illegally passing on information about national security issues. There is no claim that the Israeli Embassy recruited Franklin to spy for it. But even this lesser charge against Franklin is sufficient to land him with an extremely heavy sentence and to cause shock waves in the relationship between the two countries.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/632627.html


The Middle East Times

Afghanistan releases first election results
Waheedullah Massoud
AFP
October 6, 2005
FRAUD CHECK: An Afghan election worker goes through ballot papers in Kabul on October 6. Ballots from 299 polling stations have been excluded from the count for last month's Afghan legislative elections because of fraud.
(REUTERS)
KABUL -- War-scarred Afghanistan took another step on Thursday toward forming its first parliament in more than three decades when the first provisional results from last month's landmark vote were released.
But with key warlords and members of the ousted Taliban regime dominating initial counting in some areas, there was concern that the new body would become mired in the old power struggles that have broken down this destitute nation.
"We have now completed the physical process of counting the ballot papers in all provinces across Afghanistan," said Peter Erben, head of the Joint Electoral Management Body (JEMB) that organized the September 18 elections.

http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20051006-093643-5862r


IS EVERYONE ELSE READING WHAT I AM READING HERE? BRITISH TROOPS ARE ARRESTING IRAQI POLICE. GOT THAT? Now, under the new constitution does that mean the British have Homeland Security rights or not? I have a problem with jurisdicition with these arrests.

British troops arrest Iraq police after attacks
AFP
October 7, 2005
BASRA, Iraq -- British troops in southern Iraq have arrested 12 people, including policemen and militiamen, on terrorist charges following recent attacks on their forces, a British commander said on Friday.
"Some of the individuals we have arrested are linked to militia groups in Basra ... some of the individuals are members of the Basra police service," Brigadier John Lorimer said in a statement following the Thursday evening arrests.
A leader of the Mehdi Army militia, loyal to firebrand Shia cleric Moqtada Al Sadr, said that all those detained belonged to his organization.
"They all belong to the Mehdi Army," Fatah Al Sheikh said.
Sheikh, who is also a member of the national parliament belonging to Sadr's faction, said that the arrests were part of "a US-British plot to hobble the Sadr movement" ahead of the December general elections.

http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20051007-091758-4203r


EU trumpets new era as talks open with Turkey
Michael Thurston
October 4, 2005
NEW ERA: British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, his Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul (R) and EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana pose for photographers at a European Union foreign ministers meeting in Luxembourg on October 4.
(REUTERS)
LUXEMBOURG -- The European Union celebrated a new chapter in the continent's history on Tuesday after opening entry talks with Turkey, a large mainly Muslim state whose admission would take the EU right up to the borders of the Middle East.
But while the 25-nation bloc's leaders celebrated after clinching a late-night deal to launch the talks, the fact that most ordinary Europeans oppose it cast a cloud over the sense of triumph.
British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw, looking exhausted after a 30-hour marathon haggle to overcome objections notably by Austria, said that the agreement was nothing short of historic.

http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20051004-065007-9610r


Islamic global free trade area urged
United Press International
October 5, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Muslim countries have agreed to start building a global Islamic free trade area in a bid to boost their economic development.
At a three-day World Islamic Economic Forum that has just ended in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, delegates from the 57 countries of the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC) agreed to establish a permanent secretariat for the project in the Malaysian capital.
The host of the meeting, Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmed Badawi, told the forum that the world's 1.5 billion Muslims were "a huge Islamic consumer market" and that an Islamic free trade area was a way for the Muslim world to punch its real weight in global trade deliberations. It would also give the Islamic world a powerful voice in the World Trade Organization talks that sets the rules for global trade.

http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20051005-061013-1611r


Viewpoint: The Sharonization of Hamas
Debra DeLee
October 4, 2005
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's recent statement that he would withhold Israeli cooperation from Palestinian legislative elections in January if Hamas candidates take part, flies in the face of his own experience with the moderating influence that holding public responsibility can have on extremist views.
In explaining his 180 degree turn from being a strong advocate of Israeli settlements in Gaza to the driving force behind their evacuation, Sharon has repeatedly observed that, "what you see from here [in the Prime Minister's Office], you don't see from there". In other words it was not until he obtained a position of ultimate responsibility for Israel that Sharon began to recognize the burden that the Gaza settlements imposed on the state.

http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20051004-061446-9181r


Arab women happier than US thinks
AFP
September 29, 2005
JEDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- US media are being disingenuous in portraying Arab women as unhappy and wronged, a close aide to President George W. Bush on a PR visit to Saudi Arabia was told this week.
And it came from the horse's mouth.
"We are happy. We want to show that image [but] the general image of the Arab woman in the American media is that she is not happy," a female student at Jeddah's private Dar Al Hekma university said during an encounter with US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes, drawing thunderous applause from colleagues.
"Your media is not really as fair as it used to be," came another voice from among the crowd of women clad in the mandatory black abaya (traditional cloak-like garment) who gathered in an amphitheater on Tuesday to "exchange" views with the American visitor.

http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050929-042043-7723r


US envoy grilled by Turkish women over Iraq war
Isabel Malsang
AFP
September 29, 2005
GRILLED: US Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy Karen Hughes blows a kiss to Turkish children during her visit to the Turkish Education Volunteers Foundation Education Park in Istanbul on September 28.
(REUTERS)
ANKARA -- A close aide to US President George W. Bush was harshly criticized here on Wednesday by Turkish feminists and rights activists demanding an end to the war in Iraq, but the US envoy politely but firmly dismissed their appeals.
"Decisions must be made that are very hard," Karen Hughes, the Undersecretary of State for Public Diplomacy, told a forum of several nongovernmental organizations working to improve women's rights in Turkey.

http://www.metimes.com/articles/normal.php?StoryID=20050929-032818-6873r


The Times Picayune

NOPD investigation of Cadillac cops may involve brass
Dozens may have fled in 'commandeered' cars
Cops turned up in Baton Rouge after storm
By James Varney
and Walt Philbin
Staff writers
Acting New Orleans Police Superintendent Warren Riley said Thursday that as many as 40 officers from the department's 3rd District, including the commanding captain, are "under scrutiny" for possibly bolting the city in the clutch and heading to Baton Rouge in Cadillacs from a New Orleans dealership.
"It is a subject that is under review," Riley said, stopping short of saying he has launched a formal investigation. Asked if Capt. Donald Paisant, who replaced Capt. James Scott as the 3rd District commander, was a part of that review, Riley said, "Certainly the commander of that district is under scrutiny."

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tporleans/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tporleans/archives/2005_10_07.html


Kenner joins chorus scorning decision to move drainage pump operators
2:45 p.m.
By Mary Swerczek
Kenner bureau
Kenner politicians added their voices to the chorus criticizing Jefferson Parish’s decision to evacuate its drainage pump operators before Hurricane Katrina, and they asked that Kenner workers be trained to run the pumps.
“Kenner has been seriously affected by this,” Councilman Kent Denapolis said at Thursday night’s City Council meeting. “There is no doubt in my mind that this caused great destruction in my district.”
Hundreds of homes across Metairie and Kenner flooded after Katrina struck Aug. 29.

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_10_07.html


Mass for St. Bernard residents scheduled
Father Herb Kiff, pastor of St. Bernard and San Pedro parishes, will celebrate a special Mass for parishioners Sunday, Oct. 9 at 1:00 p.m. at St. Joan of Arc Church, 529 West 5th Street, LaPlace.
A reception will follow in the church's Family Life Center. A map of the church's location is available at its Web site, http://www.sjachurch.com/. For more information, please contact the curch at (985) 652-9100.
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Louisiana lawmakers to hold special session in November
By Ed Anderson
Capital bureau
BATON ROUGE – Lawmakers will be called into a special session Nov. 6-18 to deal with the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina and Hurricane Rita, Gov. Kathleen Blanco’s two chief legislative floor leaders said today.
Senate President Don Hines, D-Bunkie, and House Speaker Joe Salter, D-Florien, said the new dates were agreed to after a meeting with legislative leaders and key Blanco staffers.
The previous dates mentioned for a special session were Oct. 23 to Nov. 3.
But the October date "was too early for them (the administration) to get everything together,’’ Hines said.
Salter agreed: "Everybody was talking after the hurricane about having a session as soon as possible. I didn’t see how they could be ready by the 23rd (of October).’’

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/breakingtp/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_Times-Picayune/archives/2005_10_07.html


Even in Atlanta, Sugar Bowl will retain a New Orleans flavor
Friday, 3:45 p.m.
By Ted Lewis
Staff writer
The 2006 Sugar Bowl may be headed in Atlanta for a year. But it will retain a New Orleans flavor – perhaps complete with a Mardi Gras parade.
That was one of the points driven home Friday in Atlanta as official announcement was made that this season’s game will be played at the Georgia Dome because of Hurricane Katrina-caused damage to the Superdome.
“We want to put on the best possible New Orleans-style show that’s part of the best Sugar Bowl we’ve ever produced,” said bowl president Mark Romig. “We’d love to include a parade and benefit concert to give everyone a sense of what the Sugar Bowl and New Orleans are all about.”

http://www.nola.com/newslogs/tpsports/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_tpsports/archives/2005_10_07.html


China Daily

Flooding forces huge evacuation in Shaanxi
(China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-07 06:57
About 286,000 have been evacuated from flood-hit regions in Shaanxi Province in Northwest China along the banks of tributaries of the Yangtze River and Yellow River the country's top two rivers.
The provincial civil affairs department said that a total of 3.16 million people in the province have been affected by the floods along the Hanjiang River, tributary of the Yangtze River and Weihe River, tributary of the Yellow River.
More than 45 counties in the province have been hit by the flood caused by continuous rainfall since late September. The flood in the Weihe River is said to be the most severe since 1981.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482985.htm


Fujian starts reconstruction after typhoon
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-07 09:58
People in southeast China's Fujian Province have started their reconstruction work orderly after the conclusion of awesome Typhoon Longwang, which has claimed 15 lives and left 11 missing.
Longwang, which landed in Fujian Sunday night and swept over the province for ten hours, destroyed 5,500 houses, affected the normal life of 3.71 million people, forced 186 highways in the province to close and 2,125 enterprises to stop production.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482998.htm


Cold currents to bring rainfall to most regions
By Fu Jing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-07 06:57
Northern cold currents will bring rainfall in most regions of China as the week-long National Day holiday comes to a close.
China Meteorological Administration (CMA) said yesterday that temperatures would drop dramatically in western and northern China in the coming three days because of the strong cold currents, which have hit the western part of the Inner Mongolia Autonomous Region.
"The currents will continuously move forward to affect southern and eastern China, and temperatures in the regions they cover will drop by an average of 4 C to 8 C," said the administration.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482982.htm


Death toll up in central America flooding
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-07 10:31
Rescuers pulled at least 40 more bodies from a muddy landslide in Guatemala Thursday as the death toll from five days of storms in Central America and Mexico jumped to more than 200.
Crews unearth the remains of the villages from the avalanche in Solola, a town near Lake Atitlan, about 60 miles west of the capital, Guatemala City. But the toll could rise amid fears that as many as 150 people are still buried at the site.
"We took out 40 to 45 bodies today," said Pedro Mendoza, 25, one of numerous area residents participating in the recovery. "The landslide was Wednesday but because the roads are blocked, no one can get through to help us."

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_483008.htm


Exports buoyant as trade volume rockets
By Dai Yan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-07 06:56
A report completed by the Ministry of Commerce's Department of Foreign Trade said yesterday the country's two-way foreign trade will hit US$1.4 trillion, according to International Business Daily, a newspaper published by the ministry.
The ministry has forecasted a trade surplus of US$90 billion to 100 billion for 2005, compared to a surplus of US$32 billion in 2004.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482981.htm


Washington pressures Beijing for further currency moves
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-10-07 08:52
Growing high-level visits between China and the United States underline the importance of the bilateral relations, though officials from Washington often bring with them pressures and directives to the other.
On the eve of a trip to Beijing, U.S. Treasury Secretary John Snow said yesterday during a testimony to the Senate Finance Committee at the Capitol that he would ask China for more currency flexibility.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482988.htm


US, China textile talks resume next week
(Reuters/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-07 09:37
The United States and China will make a fourth try next week at negotiating a comprehensive textile trade deal, U.S. trade officials said on Thursday.
U.S. and Chinese negotiators will meet Oct 12-13 in Beijing for talks on a pact that potentially could restrict China's textile and clothing shipments to the United States through the end of 2008, the U.S. Trade Representative's office said.
The negotiations are driven by U.S. industry concerns about a sharp increase in textile and clothing shipments from China following the end of a global quota system on January 1.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482991.htm


Yum 3Q profit up on China sales
(AP)
Updated: 2005-10-06 09:00
LOUISVILLE, Ky. - Yum Brands Inc. posted 16 percent growth in third-quarter profits Wednesday on the strength of resurgent sales in China coupled with solid U.S. performances by its Taco Bell and KFC restaurant brands. The fast-food company also raised its full-year forecast, and its shares rose more than 2 percent in late morning trading.
Louisville-based Yum reported net income of $214 million, or 72 cents per share, for the three months that ended Sept. 3, compared with $185 million, or 61 cents per share, a year ago.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/06/content_482847.htm


China develops new products to treat sewage
(People's Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-04 10:02
China has recently developed world-class high-molecular-weight polyacrylamide products which can be used for sewage treatment, paper making and oil exploitation.
The products were developed by the Changchun Research Institute of Applied Chemistry under the Chinese Academy of Sciences in Changchun, capital of Northeast China's Jilin Province.
According to experts from the institute,the new materials, up to international criteria, are in conformity with the development trend of green chemistry. The new products require simple production techniques and cause no second-time pollution.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/04/content_482588.htm


Giant panda breeding base to be built in Shaanxi
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-10-07 09:58
China will establish a breeding base for giant pandas in northwestern Shaanxi Province in an another effort to save the highly endangered species from extinction.
The base will be located at the Shaanxi Salvage and Breeding Research Center for Endangered Wild Animals in Zhouzhi county on the northern side of the Qinling Mountains, said Wang Wanyun, an official with the Shaanxi Provincial forestry Department.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482997.htm


Toothbrush gives sea lion winning smile
By Zheng Yanyan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-07 06:56
DALIAN: How do sea creatures keep their teeth pearly white? Those living in an ocean park manage by using a toothbrush just like human beings.
When given a brushing with an electric toothbrush, Xiaojia, a sea lion from Laohutan Pole Aquarium, shows a bit of unwillingness and turns his head several times. However, he finally opens his mouth and closes his eyes to enjoy the treatment.
To this six-year-old California sea lion, brushing is required once or twice each week, so that oral diseases are kept to a minimum.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482979.htm


Second manned space flight set on Oct 13
(chinadaily.com.cn/AFP)
Updated: 2005-10-06 08:44
HONG KONG - China will launch its second manned space flight at 11:00 am (0300 GMT) on October 13.
"We expect (to launch the flight) on October 13 if weather permits," said Jiang Jingshan, a member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering who was involved in the first flight.
The launch date for Shenzhou VI could change according to weather conditions, Jiang said on local radio.
It is reported that Shenzhou VI spaceship was successfully connected to the Long March 2F rocket Tuesday afternoon at the Jiuquan satellite launch center.
He said two astronauts have been selected to orbit Earth for five days, expanding on the 21-hour flight of Shenzhou V which circled Earth 14 times in 2003.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/06/content_482843.htm


Heilongjiang sees HIV cases rising
By Li Fangchao (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-10-07 06:57
HARBIN: Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province is reaching a critical stage in the fight against HIV/AIDS, as the HIV infection rate is increasing rapidly, sources with the Heilongjiang Provincial Health Department said.
By September this year, 261 HIV/AIDS cases have been detected in the province.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-10/07/content_482986.htm


The New York Times


Justice Department Nominee Tied to Lobbyist Withdraws
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: October 7, 2005
WASHINGTON, Oct. 7 - President Bush's pick for the second-ranking position at the Justice Department abruptly withdrew his nomination today after facing weeks of questions over his ties to the lobbyist Jack Abramoff and his role in formulating torture policies, officials said.
The nominee, Timothy Flanigan, was scheduled to face yet another round of questioning next week from senators who had grown increasingly skeptical about his nomination as deputy attorney general.
Of chief concern to Democrats and some Republicans was Mr. Flanigan's role at Tyco as general counsel in overseeing the lobbying work of Mr. Abramoff in pushing for Tyco and other companies to maintain their tax-exempt status.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/politics/07cnd-lobby.html?hp&ex=1128744000&en=67e209536c14d6a9&ei=5094&partner=homepage


BP to Sell Chemical Unit to British Company for $9 Billion
By HEATHER TIMMONS
Published: October 7, 2005
LONDON, Oct. 7 - BP said today that it would sell its Innovene chemical division to the private British company Ineos Group for $9 billion in cash, instead of spinning the unit off in an initial public offering as expected.
BP said it planned to return all the proceeds of the sale to shareholders. Earlier this week, BP warned that damage from hurricanes in the Gulf would cut its third-quarter profits by $700 million.
With the sale, BP exits the business of manufacturing olefin and derivatives, which are by-products of petroleum that can be used to make plastic. BP created Innovene in April 2004 by separating the chemical units from the rest of its business, in anticipation of a public offering. The big oil companies have been unloading their petrochemical divisions since the late 1990's.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/07/business/worldbusiness/07cnd-chemical.html


World Court Issues First Arrest Warrants for Uganda Cult
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 6, 2005
Filed at 8:29 p.m. ET
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- The International Criminal Court has issued its first arrest warrants, for five members of Uganda's notoriously cruel Lord's Resistance Army, the top U.N. envoy for Congo said Thursday.
The International Criminal Court, the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal, was founded in 2002 and had said for some time it was investigating the LRA, infamous for abducting more than 30,000 children, forcing them to become fighters, porters or concubines. The group has killed thousands of civilians and forced more than a million to flee their homes.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-UN-Criminal-Court.html


Palestinians Blamed for Hamas Abductions
By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published: October 7, 2005
Filed at 3:43 p.m. ET
RAMALLAH, West Bank (AP) -- The Palestinian security services were behind the abductions of four local Hamas leaders from their West Bank homes, the Islamic militant group and a security official said Friday, reflecting rising tension between the group and the Palestinian Authority.
A spokesman for the security forces denied the claim, but a senior security official speaking on condition of anonymity confirmed the involvement of the security services and members of Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah movement.
He said the abductions were meant as a warning to Hamas to lie low following a series of deadly clashes between its gunmen and police in Gaza.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/international/AP-Israel-Palestinians.html


Over the Shoulder, Over the Top
By RUTH LA FERLA
Published: October 6, 2005
How did this happen?" Nina Collins asked as she settled down to a lunch of miso soup and salad in downtown Manhattan last week. "When did we get to this place where we spend $1,000 on a bag?
The question was rhetorical. Not long ago Ms. Collins herself arrived at that place, succumbing, she confided a bit sheepishly, to a yen for a handbag styled like a saddle bag from Mulberry, a British luxury brand in high demand at stores like Barneys New York and Bergdorf Goodman. The price, about $1,200, struck her as an affront to reason. But she had to have it.
Luxury analysts say the new handbag aficionados aren't necessarily middle-aged or rich, and that some may defer other purchases in order to splurge. "Bags are selling to women in a wider age range than we've ever seen before," said Dana Telsey, a retail analyst with Bear, Stearns, citing customers from their 20's to their 60's and 70's. The youngest are willing to make a tradeoff, Ms. Telsey said. "Maybe it's their lunches. Or maybe it's their living quarters. They'd rather wear their paycheck."
Pamela N. Danziger, the president of Unity Marketing, a consulting firm specializing in the luxury market, maintained that the majority of women buying luxury bags tend to be younger than 40 and to earn from $50,000 to $75,000 a year, or in rarer cases just over $100,000. "Those women are the most likely to be extravagant," said Ms. Danziger, the author of "Why People Buy Things They Don't Need" (Dearborn Trade, 2004). The tend to sacrifice vacations, restaurant dinners and other designer fashion in favor of a luxury bag. "They are the consumers who have something to prove," she said.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/10/06/fashion/thursdaystyles/06handbags.html



Belfast Telegraph

Adams hits out at assets swoop
Raids linked to reputed IRA chief Tom 'slab' murphy
By Debra Douglas
07 October 2005

Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams last night claimed raids on £30m worth of suspected IRA property in Manchester were part of a political agenda.
Anti-racketeers searched 250 homes and businesses as part of an investigation linked to Tom "Slab" Murphy, the Provisionals' alleged Chief of Staff, as both Mr Adams and Martin McGuinness prepared for Downing Street talks with Prime Minister Tony Blair aimed at focusing on a fresh push to revive a power-sharing administration.

Speaking after the raids, Mr Adams challenged the allegations and hit out at the Assets Recovery Agency's Belfast chief, Alan McQuillan.
"Have the Assets Recovery Agency named some person?" he said. "I am not going to respond to what are obviously briefings headed up by a man, Alan McQuillan, a former Special Branch officer.

"I don't think it's any accident and I am not surprised that this is trotted out today.

"This is obviously a political agenda," he added.

But Northern Ireland Secretary Peter Hain rejected the criticisms and emphasised the Agency's independence.

"Let everybody be crystal clear about this, in Northern Ireland or anywhere else, that if you acquire assets, if you acquire resources illegally by criminal means then every effort will be made by the agency and the security forces to track down those assets," he said.

Asked about Mr Adams' claim that "a political agenda" was at work in the timing of the investigation, Mr Hain added: "Whether the ARA knew about the meetings I rather doubt. Certainly their activities are quite independent of any political negotiations that have been taking place in Downing Street and that will continue to be the case in the future when political discussions occur."

Meanwhile, unionists warned that yesterday's offensive could destroy new attempts to restore devolution in Northern Ireland.
Danny Kennedy, deputy leader of the Ulster Unionists, said: "If, after investigation by the ARA, the properties turn out to be linked to the IRA this will have very serious consequences for the political process in Northern Ireland."

DUP leader, the Rev Ian Paisley, who accused the ARA of concentrating on loyalist gangsters and ignoring republicans, backed the raids but said they should have happened sooner.

"We should have started a bit earlier on to deal with IRA racketeering," he said.

"I wish the police every success and I trust that soon these people will be brought to the courts, have British justice applied to them and be removed from our society which they have cursed for far too long."

The raids were also welcomed by Alliance leader David Ford and the SDLP's Alex Attwood.
© 2005 Independent News and Media (NI)
a division of Independent News & media (UK) Ltd

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=664239


BSix held after murder of former UDA boss
Gray: did he know too much?
By David Gordon and Jonathan McCambridge
05 October 2005
Gray: the questions
•Did the UDA kill their former 'brigadier'?
•What does this mean for the UDA ceasefire?
•Was Gray spilling the secrets of his former allies?
•How will death of central suspect affect money laundering probe?
Speculation was today growing that loyalist Jim Gray was gunned down over rumours that he was helping police investigations into former allies in the UDA leadership.
Detectives today made six arrests over the murder and denied that 47-year-old Gray had been under police protection.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=664072


The case of God's Banker: Roberto Calvi the trial begins
Twenty-three years ago, an Italian businessman was found hanging from scaffolding beneath Blackfriars Bridge. Today five people face murder charges in a courtroom drama that promises to provide yet more explosive twists in an extraordinary story. Peter Popham reports from Rome
06 October 2005
Nearly a generation has passed since a London postman on his way to work discovered the body of a well-heeled, nicely-turned out Italian businessman hanging by the neck from scaffolding under Blackfriars Bridge.
The businessman was a banker called Roberto Calvi. His body was discovered at 7.30am on 18 June 1982. Ex-banker would be more accurate, because the day before he died Calvi had been relieved of his duties at Banco Ambrosiano, of which he had been chairman, and his secretary had jumped to her death. The bank was about to collapse with £800m in debts.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=664222


US estate agency on way to Ulster
Competition 'will drop fees'
By Debra Douglas
06 October 2005
People across Northern Ireland selling houses could reap the benefits of stiffer competition due to the arrival of a multi-national company here, a property expert predicted last night.
Following yesterday's announcement that American company RE/MAX are set to open around 30 branches in the province and are hoping to grab 30% of the market, Professor Alastair Adair, from the School of the Built Environment at the University of Ulster, said it could have a significant impact.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=664145


Can dance music and politics really mix?
Claire Hughes talks to Ms Dynamite, Paul Van Dyk and Adam Freeland to find out
03 October 2005
Politics and dancing? The two words just don't go together, do they? But music and politics have been linked throughout history. Dance music's first "Summer of Love" took place in the UK in 1988, and with it came one of history's most vehement clashes between politics and music. The dawning of "acid house" prompted a wave of public panic, exacerbated by the British press, which had us believing that anyone listening to this new music was a crazed drug addict.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/music/story.jsp?story=663774


Will Wikipedia swallow Google?
Charles Arthur
05 October 2005
Wikipedia is the top result on Google, the site that the most links point to from elsewhere on the web. But what is so special about it? The first is that anyone can start a new entry on any topic that they like. The second is that experts can chip in if they want to. And it can all be done anonymously. Sure, someone may come along and decide you were wrong; but you may have added to the sum of online human knowledge.
Wikipedia has just three essential tenets: its contributors carry out no original research (instead, they link to web or external sources); articles should be verifiable using trusted data; and written from a "neutral point of view".

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/story.jsp?story=664060


Dolphins go to war
They're as cuddly as sea creatures ever can be yet the American military has been using them for years. They've got bigger brains than we have and they can even sing the theme tune from 'Batman'. Is there anything these mammals can't do? Peter Marren reports
05 October 2005
One of the strangest stories to emerge from the ruins of Hurricane Katrina is a tale of military-trained dolphins on the loose in the Gulf of Mexico. Whether they were whistling the Batman theme is not known.
The cetacean mammals were reportedly being used by the US navy to detect stray torpedoes and mines, and were controlled using signals transmitted to a neck harness. It is possible that some were armed with toxic darts tied to their backs to immobilise terrorists or enemy agents. "If divers or windsurfers are mistaken for a spy or suicide bomber, they could fire," warned an accident investigator close to the US government's marine fisheries service.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=664054


The Chicago Tribune

3rd Suspect Nabbed in Subway Terror Plot
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
Published October 7, 2005, 2:27 PM CDT
NEW YORK -- The investigation into an alleged plot to bomb the city's subway moved forward on several fronts Friday as a third suspect was arrested in Iraq and authorities looked into whether a fourth person had traveled to New York as part of the scheme, officials said.
A law enforcement official familiar with the case said the man's trip to New York was described by an informant who had spent time in Afghanistan and proved reliable in past investigations.
"He's been a source of multiple correct information in the past," the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the continuing investigation. "Does that mean a fourth person he identified is in fact in New York? We don't know that."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-nyc-subway,1,2583904.story?coll=chi-news-hed


D.C. Police Evacuate Washington Monument
By Associated Press
Published October 7, 2005, 2:22 PM CDT
WASHINGTON -- The Washington Monument was evacuated Friday after a bomb threat was called in to local police.
U.S. Park Police Sgt. Scott Fear said the call came in at 2:24 p.m. EDT and the monument was evacuated a short time later. Bomb-sniffing dogs were called in and two blocks between Constitution and Independence avenues were closed off.
An initial search turned up nothing worrisome.
A law enforcement official, who spoke on condition of anonymity because other agencies were handling the case, said the credibility of the threat was low but officials did not want to take any chances.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-washington-monument,1,10911.story?coll=chi-news-hed


City Hall's ex-patronage head, 3 others deny hiring fraud charges
By Mike Robinson
The Associated Press
Published October 7, 2005, 11:54 AM CDT
Mayor Richard M. Daley's former patronage chief and three other men pleaded not guilty Friday to violating Chicago's ban on political patronage hiring, with defense attorneys claiming the charges in the indictment don't even add up to a violation of the law.
Defense attorneys promised a blizzard of motions attacking the indictment in hopes that U.S. District Judge David H. Coar will throw it out as defective because it doesn't allege a crime.
"I don't think they can fix it because they need evidence to fix it," Thomas Anthony Durkin, representing fired patronage chief Robert Sorich, told reporters. He said that "a crime exists only in the minds of the government - not in the facts."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051007patronage,1,1061246.story?coll=chi-news-hed


Moscow Times


Schroder to St. Pete for Putin's Birthday
By Carl Schreck
Staff Writer
With little of the hype that characterized the run-up to his 50th birthday, President Vladimir Putin was set to celebrate turning 53 on Friday with German Chancellor Gerhard Schröder in St. Petersburg.
The visit, a private one, could well be Schröder's final foreign trip as his country's leader.
Spokesmen for the Kremlin and the German Embassy in Moscow said Thursday that they did not know what celebratory events were planned, but Friday is the second and final day of a Central Asian Cooperation Organization summit, which has brought leaders from Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan to the city.

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2005/10/07/011.html


Intelligence Design
Stalin's failure to predict Hitler's 1941 invasion of the Soviet Union was a classic mistake of 20th-century intelligence: the projection of one's own values upon an opponent.
By Gabriel Gorodetsky
Published: October 7, 2005
Few Soviet specialists can draw on the kind of personal experience that distinguishes former CIA officer David E. Murphy, who headed his agency's base in Berlin before taking over Soviet operations at U.S. headquarters in Langley, Virginia. Murphy used his insider's perspective to admirable effect in "Battleground Berlin: CIA vs. KGB in the Cold War," a chronicle of espionage co-authored with his KGB counterpart, Sergei Kondrashev. Alas, his venture into less familiar territory exposes the severe shortcomings of a practitioner turned historian.

http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/07/106.html


Drama on the Cutting Edge
Praktika, the latest addition to city's theater scene, plans to fill its repertoire with new and controversial plays.
By Alexander Osipovich
Published: October 7, 2005
Moscow is home to over 100 theaters, but only a handful of them focus on showing new works by living playwrights. On Friday, a new venue is set to join this select club when the Praktika Theater celebrates its grand opening.
Praktika is the brainchild of Eduard Boyakov, best known as the former general director of the Golden Mask festival. In his nine years on the job, Boyakov turned the event from a little-known local awards ceremony to the leading performing arts festival in the country. But he left the Golden Mask last year, and, citing the need to support the so-called "new drama" movement in Russia, redirected his efforts into the new theater. "When the new drama movement began, the first thing it needed was a festival," he told the newspaper Gazeta last month. "Now what it needs is a permanent space."

http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/07/104.html


Global Eye
Moot Court
By Chris Floyd
Published: October 7, 2005
Last week, President George W. Bush filled the final vacancy on the U.S. Supreme Court -- and right on cue, all the knee-jerk Bush-bashers were up in arms, sputtering the usual objections: Unqualified crony! Right-wing apparatchik! Fawning, groveling Bush Family factotum! Wheel-greasing goon in high-priced threads!
Poor little dissident lambkins. They must be the only people left in the United States who still take the country's governance seriously. For it's obvious that the nation's political elite -- whatever party label they happen to wear -- do not. No ruling class that was actually serious about governing would ever countenance the pair of jokers whom Bush has foisted on what is supposed to be the ultimate guarantor of law in the land. Yet the first bad joke sailed through with bipartisan support and the second is bound to follow. Clearly, this is an Establishment in the throes of nervous breakdown, collapsing in a fit of hysteria-induced giggles while a pack of ruthless thugs loot the store and burn down the house.

http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/07/120.html


U.S. Attorneys in Talks Over Adamov
By Stephen Boykewich
Staff Writer
A delegation from the U.S. Attorney's Office was in Moscow on Thursday for confidential talks about the case of former Nuclear Power Minister Yevgeny Adamov, a U.S. Embassy spokeswoman said Thursday. A Swiss court ruled Monday to extradite Adamov to the United States, shunning a rival extradition request from Russia.
Embassy spokeswoman Courtney Austrian said she could not say what was discussed or the length of the visit.
A source at the Prosecutor General's Office said prosecutors had met the delegation, which was led by U.S. Attorney Mary Beth Buchanan, Interfax reported.
"In the course of talks, questions are being discussed in connection with the investigation of the criminal case against Adamov, as well as his possible extradition from Switzerland," the source said.

http://www.moscowtimes.ru/stories/2005/10/07/012.html

continued ..

September 25, 2005. Grand Chenier, Louisiana. Most of the dead in the morgues of Louisiana remain unnamed. I think that is a cement slab that goes over the casket in the ground that is in the tree with it. There here is that cable leading from the casket to the water. I don't know what that is. I hope they have found all the dead from the storm. Something like 1200 for all the Gulf States with Louisiana nearly 1000 alone.  

September 29, 2005. Another substantial line. Fuel Price protesters in Jakarta, Indonesia. The Bali Bombing occurred after this. The two are probably not related. Just notable.  

October 1, 2005. Iraq. Abu Ghraid Prisoner Release. THE LINE IS SUBSTANTIAL. 

Morning Papers - continued ...

Los Angeles Times

Roadside Bombs Kills 6 Marines in Iraq
By Louise Roug, Times Staff Writer
BAGHDAD -- Six Marines were killed by roadside bombs during heavy fighting west of Baghdad, the U.S. military said today.
The bombings came as Iraq's draft constitution was being distributed throughout the country and US and Iraqi forces intensified their raids and operations to root out insurgents. But residents in Western hot-spots say the military offenses are politically motivated and will create insurgents rather than kill them.
"The confrontations that occurred were so brutal" that residents "are now seeing members of their families being killed in front of their own eyes by the American bombardment," said Sheik Iusamah Judaan, a tribal leader from Karabilah in Qaim. "Obviously, they'll seek revenge and this is what's happening."

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-100705iraq_lat,0,2546979.story?coll=la-home-headlines


100 Very Busy Days for Mayor
Villaraigosa's energetic start raises hopes, but some grow impatient for action on tough issues.
By Patrick McGreevy, Richard Fausset and Steve Hymon, Times Staff Writers
His day began with a speech in Koreatown. Next he was off to MacArthur Park to raise money for victims of a fire, followed by a prostate cancer awareness event in Boyle Heights, a downtown health fair, a South L.A. police roll call, a Watts gospel concert and, finally, a Northridge celebration of India's independence.
So went one day in August for Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa — a Saturday, in fact. Before sundown, he also found time to have brunch with state Assemblywoman Jackie Goldberg (D-Los Angeles) and get some work done at the office.
Villaraigosa pledged that he would bring more energy to the mayoralty than his predecessor, James K. Hahn. And as he approaches his 100th day in office Saturday, he has worked to fulfill that campaign promise with an indefatigable, barnstorming style.

http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-mayor7oct07,0,5445252.story?coll=la-home-headlines


New York's Penn Station Reopened After Apparent Hoax
By Josh Getlin and Michael Muskal, Times Staff Writers
NEW YORK -- A day after security was beefed up because of a threat to the subway system, parts of Penn Station were briefly closed this morning as officials investigated an apparent hoax involving a mysterious substance.
Television footage showed several officers wearing yellow hazardous material suits swarming through the station as officers with dogs patrolled the transportation hub used by passengers on Amtrak, various commuter trains and the city's subways.
No delays to Amtrak, which operates trains from New York to other cities, were reported. The closure did not affect the parts of the station used by the commuter rail system.
The station reopened more than an hour later.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-100705nyc_lat,0,571695.story?coll=la-tot-promo&track=morenews


Cronyism as a core value
Even conservatives can see that Bush, in choosing Miers, is no fan of meritocracy.
OF ALL THE despondent conservative reactions to Harriet E. Miers' Supreme Court nomination, my favorite came from National Review editor Rich Lowry, who quoted a source he described as a "very pro-Bush legal type." The source complained that Miers is "not even second rate, but third rate," and proceeded to despair that "a crony at FEMA is one thing, but on the high court it's something else entirely."
The Supreme Court, you see, is important. What bad could come of having a crony at FEMA? Oh, right.
The conservative schism over the Miers nomination has opened an interesting intellectual fault line on the right. Conservatives have long found cultural populism to be one of the most effective weapons in their arsenal. When you're stuck defending the interests of the super-rich, it's quite useful to position yourself against the educated snobs and phonies.

http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/commentary/la-oe-chait7oct07,0,4054408.column


Michael Moore Today

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

George W. Bush and his Supreme Court nominee, Harriet Miers, in Crawford, TX on August 6th, 2001 from 'Fahrenheit 9/11'

"Bin Laden Determined to Strike in the USA" - It clearly indicates the leadership of al Qaeda was focusing on airports. There was no doubt. Just negligence. There was even mention of US Citizens. It didn't fit into Bush/Cheney/Halliburton/Carlyle agenda. It's just that simple. The people of this country are disposable, especially those of New York City.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/august6thmemo.pdf


New York subway 'may be target of terrorist attack'
By Charisse Jones and Mimi Hall / USA Today
Police bolstered security on New York City's subways Thursday after receiving a threat that the mass transit system could be the target of a terrorist attack in coming days.
"We have never had before a specific threat to our subway system," Mayor Michael Bloomberg said at a news conference. "It was more specific as to target. It was more specific as to timing."
Russ Knocke, a spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security, cast doubt on the threat. He said the agency "received intelligence information regarding a specific but non-credible threat to the New York subway system in recent days. The intelligence community found it to be of doubtful credibility."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4434


Bush: U.S. Foiled at Least 10 Terror Plots
By Tom Raum / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Thursday the United States and its allies had foiled at least 10 serious plots by the al-Qaida terror network in the last four years, including plans for Sept. 11-like attacks on both U.S. coasts.
In a speech designed to revive flagging public support for the war in Iraq, the president also said the U.S. and its partners have stopped at least five more efforts by al-Qaida to case targets or infiltrate operatives in the United States.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4435


Poll: Bush Ratings Hit New Low
NEW YORK, Oct. 6, 2005
The President's approval ratings are at their lowest point ever.
(CBS)
Quote
President George W. Bush's overall job approval rating has reached the lowest ever measured in this poll, and evaluations of his handling of Iraq, the economy and even his signature issue, terrorism, are also at all-time lows.
(CBS) This CBS News Poll finds an American public increasingly pessimistic about the economy, the war in Iraq, the overall direction of the country, and the president. Americans' outlook for the economy is the worst it has been in four years. Most expect the price of gas to rise even further in the next few months.
A growing number of Americans want U.S. troops to leave Iraq as soon as possible, rather than stay the course, and the highest percentage ever thinks the United States should have stayed out of Iraq. When given a set of options for paying for rebuilding the hurricane-racked Gulf Coast, only one — taking money from the Iraq War — gets majority support.

http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2005/10/06/opinion/polls/main924485.shtml


For Immediate Release
Office of the Press Secretary
September 29, 2003
Press Briefing by Scott McClellan
The James S. Brady Briefing Room
12:18 P.M. EDT
MR. McCLELLAN: Good afternoon. This afternoon the President will welcome and congratulate the 2003 Stanley Cup Champion New Jersey Devils to the White House. Later this afternoon, the President looks forward to meeting with congregational rabbis. This is the Jewish high holy days, and it is a time for prayer and reflection in the Jewish community. Today's meeting is part of the President's ongoing commitment to reaching out to faith-based leaders who make our nation stronger. So the President looks forward to that meeting.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2003/09/20030929-7.html


Senate Supports Interrogation Limits
90-9 Vote on the Treatment of Detainees Is a Bipartisan Rebuff of the White House
By Charles Babington and Shailagh Murray / Washington Post
The Senate defied the White House yesterday and voted to set new limits on interrogating detainees in Iraq and elsewhere, underscoring Congress's growing concerns about reports of abuse of suspected terrorists and others in military custody.
Forty-six Republicans joined 43 Democrats and one independent in voting to define and limit interrogation techniques that U.S. troops may use against terrorism suspects, the latest sign that alarm over treatment of prisoners in the Middle East and at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is widespread in both parties. The White House had fought to prevent the restrictions, with Vice President Cheney visiting key Republicans in July and a spokesman yesterday repeating President Bush's threat to veto the larger bill that the language is now attached to -- a $440 billion military spending measure.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4424


Indictments in Plame Case Could Come Any Time
By E&P Staff / Editor & Publisher
NEW YORK -- Is it the beginning of the end or the end of the beginning? Whatever way you look at it, it seems clear to many in Washington right now that indictments in the Valerie Plame affair will likely be announced soon, possibly on Thursday.
Note to editors and reporters: As the aspens turn, don't stray too far from your desks, cells or Blackberries.
Rumors surged all day Wednesday, though reports of 22 indictments did seem a bit farfetched. But late Wednesday, Reuters suggested that indeed the end--or beginning--was near, "within days," and added one major clue: Karl Rove's lawyer, who has always stated that his client was not a target in the probe, now refused to comment on that one way or the other.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4425


Iraq Attacks Continue, 9 Days Before Vote
By Thomas Wagner / Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents using suicide and roadside bombs killed at least 21 people, including a U.S. soldier, on Thursday in the latest of a series of attacks aimed at wrecking Iraq's constitutional referendum next week.
The attacks came as Iraqis began picking up copies of the draft constitution that they will vote on Oct. 15 after the country's Shiite-led parliament ended a bitter dispute with Sunni Arabs about how the referendum will be conducted.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4433


TELL CONGRESS TO BRING OUR TROOPS HOME NOW (USE THIS FORM TO TAKE ACTION)
In the biggest Washington protest since the Iraq War and Occupation started, hundreds of thousands of people last Saturday showed that the movement against the war is growing in strength across the US. Virginia Rodino, who was one of the United for Peace and Justice mobilising co-ordinators for the protest, said, "This was representative of the mood in the US. The protest was calling for the US troops to be brought home." Our military generals on the ground admit the resistance consists almost entirely of native Iraqis who just want us to LEAVE, and with no end to the increasing violence in sight.
We need to build on the momentum of the the recent demonstrations by having each member of Congress hear personally from you, their direct constituents, to demand that Congress pass legislation to end the war now, refuse any additional funding for the war, prohibit the establishment of permanent military bases in Iraq, and investigate the claims of the Bush administration that were used to justify the war.

http://www.trotn.com/troopshome.htm


Conservatives Confront Bush Aides
Anger Over Nomination of Miers Boils Over During Private Meetings
By Peter Baker and Dan Balz / Washington Post
The conservative uprising against President Bush escalated yesterday as Republican activists angry over his nomination of White House counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court confronted the president's envoys during a pair of tense closed-door meetings.
A day after Bush publicly beseeched skeptical supporters to trust his judgment on Miers, a succession of prominent conservative leaders told his representatives that they did not. Over the course of several hours of sometimes testy exchanges, the dissenters complained that Miers was an unknown quantity with a thin résumé and that her selection -- Bush called her "the best person I could find" -- was a betrayal of years of struggle to move the court to the right.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4426


Photo Tour of the Gulf Coast
From Jason
I have been touring the Mississippi Gulf Coast for the past few days and I simply cannot believe what I have seen.
The entire coast of Mississippi is flattened. I know that everyone has heard this on the news but until you see it for yourself it doesn't really make sense. Hopefully the pictures I took will give you some idea but let me tell you the no picture does this justice.
It looks like the apocalypse. It looks like a bomb went off and it covered 200 miles of land. It looks like this is a region that will be affected by this disaster not just for a year or two or three but possibly forever. One thing that it doesn't look like is America.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/covington.php?id=45


...isms

College Students' Spirituality and Religiousness Vary by Race and Gender; New Study Shows African Americans Most Religious Group

Date: October 6, 2005
Contact: Shaena Engle ( engle@gseis.ucla.edu )
Phone: 310-206-5951
While today's college students have a very high level of interest and involvement in spirituality and religion, there are important differences among student subgroups, most significantly between African Americans and whites, and between men and women, according to new research.
A survey of 112,232 students at 236 colleges and universities found that the biggest differences between African American and white students were in their levels of religious commitment, ethic of caring, religious engagement and spiritual quest. African Americans are also far more likely than whites to believe in God, pray and attend religious services frequently.
While gender differences are not always large, women score higher on 11 of 12 scales that measure various aspects of students' spirituality and religiousness. The most marked differences are in women's higher levels of charitable involvement and religious commitment.

http://www.newsroom.ucla.edu/page.asp?RelNum=6514


The Next Michael Moore?
Micha Peled's "China Blue" takes a stealthy look at Chinese sweatshops and mixes in a little love courtesy of Teddy Bear Films Director Micha Peled delivers a jeans shipment from China to a store.
It Grows on You From the Big Screen to Your Screen Bavarian Hospitality Old-Fashioned Fun Martha's Breakdown The Arts & Entertainment Channel Do you want Richmond.com A&E stories delivered direct to your desktop? Check out our RSS feeds.
Mike WardRichmond.comThursday, October 06, 2005A documentary film about Chinese sweatshops conjures up many images and motifs: wasted youth, depression and harrowing danger to name a few. But love?
That's the theme that filmmaker Micha Peled has woven through "China Blue," a film that recently premiered at the Toronto International Film Festival and will make its U.S. debut Friday night in Ashland.
"At first blush, it looked like the whole the film was going to have miserable people hunched over sewing machines and who wants to look at that?" the San Francisco-based filmmaker said to Richmond.com in a recent phone interview.

http://www.richmond.com/ae/output.aspx?Article_ID=3919277&Vertical_ID=127&tier=1&position=2


Alleged Race Discrimination
By Daniel Pulliam
dpulliam@govexec.com
Alleging race discrimination in hiring and advancement practices, 13 current and former employees of the Commerce Department filed a $500 million class action lawsuit Wednesday, 10 years after the first complaint was made.
The suit -- filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia -- includes 11 black and two white plaintiffs and includes allegations that employees saw recriminations after speaking out against the alleged "pervasive race discrimination at Commerce."
Approximately 60 people gathered in front of the Commerce headquarters in Washington on Wednesday to draw attention to the lawsuit. One person wore a set of yellow plastic chains around her neck and others carried signs calling for "equal pay now."

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/1005/100705lb.htm


Federal jobs open to all as policy of regional discrimination ends next April at 16:43 on October 6, 2005, EST.
OTTAWA (CP) - The federal government plans to throw open its doors to job applicants from across the country and end its long-standing practice of regional discrimination.
But a host of hurdles still face most Canadians hoping to land full-time permanent employment in the federal civil service.
Personal favouritism, racial discrimination and bilingual imperatives - not to mention a growing federal addiction to temporary employees - are among the impediments to a federal workforce that accurately reflects the Canadian population, suggest three audits and an annual report released Thursday in Ottawa.
"Access and representativeness are very important to me," Maria Barrados, president of the Public Service Commission of Canada, said at a news conference.

http://www.940news.com/nouvelles.php?cat=23&id=100665


MAINE ATTORNEYS SAY ANTI-DISCRIMINATION LAW PROVIDES NO LEGAL BASIS FOR SAME-SEX MARRIAGE
Maine Won’t Discriminate calls on opponents to finally start talking about what the law really does.
PORTLAND, Maine – In a legal memorandum released today, leading members of Maine’s legal community conclude that “the addition of sexual orientation to Maine’s non-discrimination law provides no legal basis for same-sex marriage.” The memo reviewed Maine’s Anti-Discrimination and specifically, compared it to the Massachusetts Supreme Court decision that legalized same-sex marriage. The answer is clear -- Maine’s Anti-Discrimination Act prohibits discrimination based upon sexual orientation in employments, housing, credit, public accommodations and education -- nothing more, nothing less.

http://business.mainetoday.com/newsdirect/release.html?id=2244


Airport agreement to end discrimination against disabled
06/10/2005 - 17:36:43
A new agreement ensuring all European Union airports are made fully accessible prohibits airlines from discriminating against passengers over age or disabilities, a minister said today.
Transport Minister Martin Cullen said a deal struck at the European Council of Ministers guaranteed the rights of persons with reduced mobility to full and free access at all EU member states’ airports.
“This is a good deal. It ensures equality for all and at no cost to people with reduced mobility. Heretofore, a person in a wheelchair may have had to pay an additional charge when travelling by air because of their disability. Today’s agreement will see an end to this practice,” Mr Cullen said.

http://breakingnews.iol.ie/news/story.asp?j=130051660&p=y3xx5zz4x


UK employers unprepared for age discrimination law
06 October 2005 13:50
Four out of five employers have taken no steps to prepare themselves for new age discrimination legislation due next year, research shows.
The survey of 1,000 employers by Eversheds law firm and Cranfield School of Management also found that one in five respondents believe their board members or and senior managers are not committed to eliminating ageism in the workplace.
The legislation will come into force in October 2006 and will outlaw any discrimination on grounds of age in recruitment, training and promotion.

http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2005/10/06/31968/UK+employers+unprepared+for+age+discrimination+law.htm


The Predators of New Orleans
By Mike Davis
Oct 6, 2005, 10:21
After the criticism of his disastrous handling the Katrina disaster, President George Bush promises a reconstruction programme of $200bn for areas destroyed by the hurricane. But the first and biggest beneficiaries will be businesses that specialise in profiting from disaster, and have already had lucrative contracts in Iraq; they will gentrify New Orleans at the expense of its poor, black citizens.

THE tempest that destroyed New Orleans was conjured out of tropical seas and an angry atmosphere 250km offshore of the Bahamas. Labelled initially as “tropical depression 12” on 23 August, it quickly intensified into “tropical storm Katrina”, the eleventh named storm in one of the busiest hurricane seasons in history. Making landfall near Miami on 24 August, Katrina had grown into a small hurricane, category one on the Saffir-Simpson hurricane scale, with 125 km/h winds that killed nine people and knocked out power to one million residents.

http://www.axisoflogic.com/artman/publish/article_19768.shtml


New sex discrimination law is no nightmare for business
04 October 2005 11:09
Business should not be concerned by 'alarmist reports' about changes to sex discrimination laws, according to Croner HR consultancy.
New sexual harassment legislation, aimed at tackling discrimination in the workplace, came into force over the weekend.
The European Equal Treatment Directive has extended the definition of sex discrimination to cover any act that leads to intimidation or degradation.
Under the new law, an employee who persists in making remarks about a woman's appearance could be accused of sexual harassment.

http://www.personneltoday.com/Articles/2005/10/04/31954/New+sex+discrimination+law+is+no+nightmare+for+business.htm


Blagojevich announces program to combat housing discrimination
CHICAGO Governor Rod Blagojevich (bluh-GOY'-uh-vitch) says many Illinoisans face housing discrimination due to their race, color, national origin, disabilities or religion.
His office today announced the creation of a Fair Housing program to help protect home buyers from discrimination.
The Illinois Department of Human Rights will conduct a series of seminars over the next few weeks in Chicago, Decatur, Peoria and Rantoul.
The seminars will inform homebuyers, landlords, tenants and property owners about the state's anti-discrimination laws.
They'll also include information about how to file discrimination charges with the state.

http://www.kwqc.com/Global/story.asp?S=3932797&nav=7k7NJ1IJ


University Settles Discrimination Suit
By Ron Wood
The Morning News
FAYETTEVILLE -- The University of Arkansas settled a federal lawsuit filed by Linda Schilcher, a former professor, who claims she was discriminated against and fired from the Middle Eastern studies program.
Neither side would divulge terms of the out-of-court agreement Monday. The final document is being drafted and should be filed with the court in a couple of days. An order of dismissal, subject to terms of the settlement agreement, was filed Monday. The case was set for trial later this month.

http://www.nwaonline.net/articles/2005/10/04/news/fayetteville/05fzschilcher.txt


Major League Baseball accused of discrimination against Caribbean fans
Wednesday, October 5, 2005
ST. THOMAS, USVI: Innovative Cable TV on Tuesday charged Major League Baseball with discriminating against baseball fans in the region by not allowing the telecasts of the baseball playoffs.
“Our representatives at ESPN tell us that Commissioner Bud Selig and MLB will not license to them outside of the continental United States,” said Jennifer Matarangas-King, president and general manager of Innovative Cable TV. “We only want to be treated equally as Hawaii and Alaska but obviously Commissioner Selig is unaware that these two states are not part of the continental U.S. We are very much a part of the U.S., which is why United States is part of our name, United States Virgin Islands.

http://www.caribbeannetnews.com/2005/10/05/accused.shtml


The ‘disability.gov.uk’ website

With the merger of disability.gov.uk and the ‘disabled people’ section of Directgov, it’s now easier to find the information you are looking for.
Directgov provides a single point of access to government information and services and this includes much of the information previously on disability.gov.uk.
Find out about:

1. the Disability Discrimination Act


2. the Disability Rights Commission and the proposed Commission for Equality and Human Rights

It puts ‘disability rights’ in context of everyday life – from employment and education to transport and health services.
Directgov has a wide range of information of interest for everyone from students to over 50s, motorists to parents.
As well as disability rights information, Directgov offers disabled people information on a wide range of topics including financial support, home and housing, leisure and travel.
Please use the options on the left to begin to get the most out of Directgov.
(If you link to disability.gov.uk from your website or browser, please amend the link to Directgov - 'disabled people' section.)

http://www.direct.gov.uk/DisabledPeople/DisabledPeopleArticles/fs/en?CONTENT_ID=10023362&chk=85yA9r


Social Engineering

The Dark Art of Social Engineering
By Duane Laflotte.
Date: Oct 6, 2005.
"It is only one who is thoroughly acquainted with the evils of war that can thoroughly understand the profitable way of carrying it on."—Sun Tzu, The Art of War
I'm here to teach you what social engineers do when trying to manipulate the human element of a system. Only when you understand that will you know exactly how to defend yourself and your company. As a good friend of mine once said, "It's all about control."
Social Engineers Are High-Tech Con Artists
The art of the con is one of the oldest forms of social engineering. Essentially, con artists try to talk you into doing, buying, or selling stuff that you normally wouldn't. They exploit your confidence in what they're talking about, to their own personal gain. Most cons don't involve anything high-tech at all. But a talented con artist who knows something about networks, computers, and security would be a dangerous individual indeed. These hybrid con artists are popularly known as social engineers.
Before I regale you with stories of social engineering, let me first tell you why I would even know of such things: I'm a professional hacker. My job is to discover all your corporate secrets, all the sensitive data, all the things that would cripple or destroy your company if they were ever to fall into the wrong hands. To neglect the human component of the system that is your company and just focus on the network or the computer infrastructure would be an incomplete view of your total security—and the security of the data you may believe is vaulted away.

http://www.informit.com/articles/article.asp?p=417272&rl=1


Panda Software Reports the Return of Sober Worm Which Uses Social Engineering Techniques
The Sober.Y Worm Spreads Via Emails in English or German, Claiming to Be a NewPassword Notification or a Photo of Old School FriendsPanda Software's TruPrevent(TM) Technologies Blocked This Threat Without Prior Identification, so Users of These Technologies Have Been Protected From the OutsetGLENDALE, Calif., Oct. 6 /PRNewswire/ -- PandaLabs has recorded the appearance of a new variant of the Sober worm, Sober.Y, which spreads using social engineering techniques in emails sent in English or German. This worm was intercepted by Panda Software's TruPrevent(TM) Technologies without prior identification, so users of these technologies have been protected againstthis threat from the outset.
http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/10-06-2005/0004163143&EDATE=


The Boston Globe


Fishermen to help save Alaska whales
By Mary Pemberton, Associated Press Writer October 6, 2005
ANCHORAGE, Alaska --Alaska's commercial fishing fleet is joining in an effort to save the world's most endangered whales.
Until recently, it was believed that the North Pacific right whale was headed toward certain extinction. However, more animals than expected were found last summer in the Bering Sea, lending hope they can be saved.
Even so, there are likely fewer than 100 North Pacific right whales. The animals share the Bering Sea with the largest commercial fishery in the U.S.
Now, the Marine Conservation Alliance -- a coalition of commercial fishermen, seafood processors and coastal communities -- is working with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration to make mariners more aware of the vulnerable whales. They've come up with a two-page laminated guide suitable for posting on a ship's bridge.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/10/06/fishermen_to_help_save_alaska_whales/



ElBaradei and IAEA win Nobel Prize

International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) Director General Mohamed ElBaradei smiles during a news conference after winning the Nobel Peace Prize October 7, 2005 in Vienna. The U.N. nuclear watchdog IAEA and its head, ElBaradei, won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday. (REUTERS/Herwig Prammer)
By Alister Doyle October 7, 2005
OSLO (Reuters) - The U.N. nuclear watchdog and its head Mohamed ElBaradei won the 2005 Nobel Peace Prize on Friday in an award calculated to help efforts to banish the peril of nuclear arms six decades after Hiroshima.
The Nobel Committee praised the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and ElBaradei, a 63-year-old Egyptian, for work to prevent the spread of nuclear weapons to new states and to terrorists, and to ensure safe civilian use of nuclear energy.
ElBaradei learned he had won from television news at home after missing a telephone call to his Vienna office from the Nobel Committee in Norway.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/10/07/nobel_peace_prize_seen_rewarding_anti_nuclear_work/


Senate set to give Bush more for war fund
By Liz Sidoti, Associated Press Writer October 7, 2005
WASHINGTON --President Bush would get $50 billion more for wars under a Senate bill that -- if the House concurs -- would push funding for Iraq and Afghanistan conflicts since the 2001 terrorist attacks beyond $350 billion.
The Senate is ready to approve the money as part of a $445 billion military spending bill for the budget year that began Oct. 1. It comes as public support for the Iraq fighting slips, U.S. casualties climb and Congress grows increasingly frustrated with the direction of the conflict.
A vote was planned for Friday.
The Senate bill provides $5 billion more for wars than the House version, but the final bill is expected to include $50 billion after House-Senate negotiators work out their differences.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/10/07/senate_set_to_give_bush_more_for_war_fund/


Auto industry, environmentalists clash over emissions rules
October 7, 2005
AUGUSTA, Maine --Auto industry representatives disagreed with environmentalists, physicians and a prominent Maine car dealer Thursday over the costs, benefits and legality of proposed pollution standards for new vehicles sold in Maine.
The Board of Environmental Protection held a public hearing on a plan to have Maine join California and five other states requiring new cars and trucks sold in the state to release 30 percent less greenhouse gas pollution by 2016.
If approved, it would effectively force car manufacturers to make vehicles that burn less gasoline and create less carbon dioxide.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/10/07/auto_industry_environmentalists_clash_over_emissions_rules/


Jobs drop in September as Katrina hits
Former residents of Terry Town, Louisiana, Izella Crayton (R) hugs her daughter, Dontrice, 2, as her son Donald looks on, arriving at their trailer home at a trailer site in Baker, Louisiana October 6, 2005.A smaller-than-expected 35,000 jobs were lost overall in the United States last month as hiring in some regions was offset by layoffs stemming from the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, according to a Labor Department report on Friday. (REUTERS/Lee Celano)
By Glenn Somerville October 7, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - A smaller-than-expected 35,000 jobs were lost in the United States last month as hiring in some regions was offset by layoffs stemming from the damage caused by Hurricane Katrina, according to a Labor Department report on Friday.
The national unemployment rate kicked up to 5.1 percent in September -- the highest rate since May -- from 4.9 percent in August. Wall Street economists had expected a higher job-loss total of 143,000 but had correctly anticipated the 5.1 percent jobless rate.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/10/07/jobs_fall_in_september_after_katrina/


Majority of dead Katrina victims nameless
A FEMA progress map is displayed at a news conference where officials briefed reporters on disaster mortuary recovery operations, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005, at the FEMA Joint Information Center in Baton Rouge, La. More than a month after Hurricane Katrina, the vast majority of the nearly 1,000 dead in Louisiana lie anonymously in a morgue _ largely because authorities have released only a few dozen names, but also, perhaps, because many of the victims' families were scattered by the storm and are still picking up the pieces of their lives. (AP Photo/Judi Bottoni)
By Mary Foster, Associated Press Writer October 7, 2005
NEW ORLEANS --Within weeks of the attack on the World Trade Center, the public knew a lot about many of the Sept. 11 victims -- their families, their jobs, their commute, even some of the intimate details of their final moments. The victims' families mobilized with remarkable effectiveness to make sure their loved ones were found and their stories told.
More than a month after Hurricane Katrina, the vast majority of the nearly 1,000 dead in Louisiana lie anonymously in a morgue -- largely because authorities have released only a few dozen names, but also, perhaps, because many of the victims' families were scattered by the storm and are still picking up the pieces of their lives.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/10/07/majority_of_dead_katrina_victims_nameless/


Young workers try to strike a balance with Jewish holidays
By Penelope Trunk, Globe Correspondent, 10/2/05
SUZANNE KREITER/GLOBE STAFF
Teacher Sarah Maltzman will take only some time off during Rosh Hashana.
One of the first major religious decisions that young, Jewish professionals make is whether or not to go into the office on Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur.
Most Jewish holidays start at sundown, a safe time to leave the office. However, Rosh Hashana and Yom Kippur are all-day affairs, and this year they both fall on weekdays, which means taking off three or four days of work during the next two weeks. Rabbi David Lerner, of Temple Emunah in Lexington, calls this decision at the intersection of work and religion ''a big moment.''
''I can't think of another event like this in Jewish life,'' he says.

http://bostonworks.boston.com/globe/climb/archives/100205.shtml


THE TALIBAN ARE IN AFGHANISTAN AND NOT IRAQ !!!!! WHERE IS OSAMA BIN LADEN ?????

Four years on, Taliban vow to continue holy war
By Saeed Ali Achakzai October 7, 2005
SPIN BOLDAK, Afghanistan (Reuters) - Four years after U.S. forces launched their offensive to overthrow the Taliban, the guerrillas vowed on Friday to continue their holy war to rid Afghanistan of foreign troops.
Taliban military chief Mullah Dadullah told Reuters that Afghanistan had become a "hub of disturbance, killings, looting and drugs" since the Taliban's overthrow in late 2001.
Dadullah, speaking by satellite phone from an undisclosed location, denounced presidential and legislative elections in October 2004, and September 18 this year as U.S.-staged "dramas."
He said the latest polls for a national assembly and provincial councils had brought in "old murderers and warlords."

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/10/07/four_years_on_taliban_vow_to_continue_holy_war/


Al Qaeda is not in Iraq. Zwarhari is in Iraq. There is a difference.

Six US marines killed in Iraq attacks
October 7, 2005
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Six U.S. Marines were killed by roadside bomb blasts during combat operations in Iraq, the U.S. military said on Friday, bringing the total U.S. military death toll to at least 1,948 since the 2003 U.S.-led invasion.
A military statement said four marines died when a bomb went off in Gharma, near Falluja, on Thursday. Falluja, about 50 km (30 miles) west of Baghdad, is a stronghold of Sunni Arab opposition to U.S. occupation and the Shi'ite-led government.
Two more marines were killed on Thursday by a roadside bomb while on patrol in the vicinity of Qaim near the Syrian border, where the U.S. forces are conducting a major combat operation aimed at flushing out militant fighters, a separate military statement said.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/10/07/four_marines_die_in_iraq_bomb_attack/


US kills 29 in W. Iraq operation against Qaeda
U.S. Army Staff Sgt. Bill Hatzman with the 14th Cavalry calls in information as he provides an over watch for Army soldiers and Marines looking for weapons caches, east of the Syrian border, near the Euphrates River, in this military handout photo taken on October 4 and released October 7, 2005. REUTERS/USAF/Tech. Sgt. (REUTERS/USAF/Tech. Sgt. Andy Dunaway/Handout)
By Andrew Quinn October 7, 2005
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - U.S. soldiers killed at least 29 insurgents in a drive to root out militants in western Iraq, the military said on Friday, after U.S. President George W. Bush vowed not to waver in his campaign against Islamic extremists.
In grisly new evidence of Iraq's deepening sectarian strife, police said the bodies of 22 men who had been bound with wire handcuffs and shot had been found in southeastern Iraq.
In Basra, British troops were holding 12 men, including members of the police, on suspicion of attacking foreign troops.
U.S. officials said their latest campaign near the Syrian border was scoring successes as about 1,000 soldiers backed by combat aircraft seek to shut down what they say is a key route for arms and fighters into the country.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/10/07/us_kills_29_in_w_iraq_operation_against_qaeda/


Bush presses vaccine makers on bird flu
President Bush speaks about war on terror to the National Endowment for Democracy, Thursday, Oct. 6, 2005, in the Ronald Reagan Building in Washington (AP Photo/Ron Edmonds)
By Kevin Freking, Associated Press Writer October 7, 2005
WASHINGTON --Increasing fears of a bird flu pandemic are forcing U.S. officials to face up to problems with the country's troubled flu vaccine industry.
President Bush was scheduled to meet Friday with the heads of major vaccine companies "to press ahead to expand our manufacturing capacity for a vaccine to address this risk," White House spokesman Scott McClellan said, speaking of the possibility of a bird flu outbreak.
On the agenda for the White House meeting is liability, McClellan said. If healthy people suffer side effects from a vaccine, manufacturers can face huge lawsuits, which is one reason many companies have left the business in the last two decades.
Another reason is that vaccines simply aren't very profitable, especially flu vaccine, which must be made fresh every winter to keep up with newly circulating strains. Ironically, although there have been three shortages since 2000 and supplies are strained again this year, in most years manufacturers throw away millions of unused flu shots.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/other/articles/2005/10/07/bush_presses_vaccine_makers_on_bird_flu/


No room for torture
October 7, 2005
FOR 18 months, Congress and the world have known that something has been terribly wrong at Guantanamo and in the detention centers in Iraq and Afghanistan, where US troops have tortured and killed detainees in violation of US and international law. Finally, the Senate has acted, by an impressive 90-9 vote, to end the confusion over the rules of military interrogation. Instead of threatening to veto the measure, as his staff has done, President Bush should embrace it as evidence that the military will correct abuses and hold itself to a high standard.
Two of the leaders of the push to better regulate the interrogation and treatment of prisoners have military backgrounds that give them a feeling for the issue that both Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld lack. Republican Senator John McCain of Arizona was a POW in Vietnam, where, he said Wednesday, he and his comrades suffering mistreatment ''took great strength from the belief that we were different from our enemies." Another sponsor is Republican Lindsey Graham of South Carolina, who served as a lawyer in the military.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/10/07/no_room_for_torture/

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