The Rooster
Monday, November 14, 2005
November 14, 2005. 1228 gmt.
Western Hemisphere.
With Spring progressing to Summer in the Southern Hemisphere the peripheral reach of the Antarctica Vortex reaches across South America to the equator. It helps explain the warmer but still subzero temperatures. The heat into the ice continent is overwhelming it's frigid temperature yet.
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite 12 hour loop - click here
November 14, 2005. 1130z.
Water Vapor of the Western and Northern Hemisphere.
This system extends along the entire equator of the Atlantic Ocean to the African Continent.
UNISYS Water Vapor Satellite 12 hour loop - click here
November 14, 2005. 1230z.
Water Vapor GOES East Satellite.
A different view of a global system that manifests in storms that deliver heat to the oceans.
Morning Papers - It's Origins
Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"
"Okeydoke"
History
Today is Monday, Nov. 14, the 318th day of 2005. There are 47 days left in the year.
1851, Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick" was first published.
1889, inspired by Jules Verne, New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) set out to travel around the world in less than 80 days. (She made the trip in 72 days.)
1900, Aaron Copland, one of America's leading composers of the 20th century, was born in New York City.
1900 The Washington Society of Colored Dentists, the first organization for Colored dentists is founded.
1915 Booker T. Washington, educator and writer, dies in Tuskegee, AL. He will be honored with a U.S. Postal stamp for the 100th anniversary of his birth
1922, the British Broadcasting Corporation began its domestic radio service.
1935, President Roosevelt proclaimed the Philippine Islands a free commonwealth.
1940, during World War II, German planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry.
1943, an American torpedo was mistakenly fired at the battleship USS Iowa, which was carrying President Roosevelt and his joint chiefs to the Tehran conference; the torpedo exploded harmlessly in the Iowa's wake.
1956 During a mass meeting of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), it is decided to discontinue boycott as soon as the Supreme Court's decision is implemented.
1968, Yale University announced it was going co-educational.
1969, Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon.
1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 1,000 level for the first time, ending the day at 1,003.16.
1973, Britain's Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey. (They divorced in 1992, and Anne remarried.)
Ten years ago: The U.S. government instituted a partial shutdown, closing national parks and museums while government offices operated with skeleton crews.
U.S. Rep. Enid Greene Waldholtz, R-Utah, filed for divorce from her husband, Joe, who was under federal investigation for possible campaign financing improprieties. (Joe Waldholtz spent 22 months in federal prison.)
Five years ago: Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified George W. Bush's fragile 300-vote lead over Al Gore, hours after a judge refused to lift a 5 p.m. deadline; however, the judge gave Harris the authority to accept or reject follow-up manual recount totals.
Pioneering CBS Radio newsman Robert Trout died in New York at age 91.
One year ago: Mahmoud Abbas, the temporary successor to Yasser Arafat, escaped unharmed when militants firing assault rifles burst into a mourning tent for the deceased Palestinian leader in Gaza, killing two security guards.
Usher was honored with four trophies at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, including favorite male soul-R&B artist, best pop-rock album, best pop-rock artist and best soul-R&B album
Missing in Action
1965 MC CLELLAND PAUL T. JR. WEST STAYTON OR
1967 KMETYK JONATHAN P. NIAGARA FALLS NY KIA 11/12/67 NVA STOLE BODY IN AMBUSH 11/14/67
1967 SULLIVAN TIMOTHY B. SPRINGFIELD MA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1970 KLUGG JOSEPH R. OKEMOS MI
November 13
1964 BLOOM DARL R. MORRISDALE PA AIR COLLISION NO PARA SEEN
1965 JENKINS HARRY T. WASHINGTON DC 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED
1968 ERSKINE JACK D. VC SKETCHES OF ERSKINE FOUND
1969 RAY RONALD E. PORT ARTHUR TX
1970 BANCROFT WILLIAM W. INDIANAPOLIS IN
1970 WRIGHT DAVID I. ANNAPOLIS MD
November 12
1965 HUNTING PETER M REMAINS RETURNED 11/13/65
1966 FROSIO ROBERT CLARENCE WARRINGTON FL
1966 JONES JAMES GRADY BIRMINGHAM AL
1967 CAYCE JOHN D. SAN ANTONIO TX
1967 ROARK JAMES D. ABINGDON VA
1969 BODAHL JON KEITH BOISE ID
1969 DENNANY JAMES E. MATTAWAN MI
1969 HELMICH GERALD ROBERT MANCHESTER NH
1969 SMITH HARRY WINFIELD BATON ROUGE LA
1969 TUCCI ROBERT L. DETROIT MI
The China Daily
Anhui reports newest outbreak of bird flu
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-14 21:59
China on Monday reported a new case of bird flu in poultry in the country's east — its ninth outbreak since Oct. 19.
Chinese health worker disinfects a motorcycle at the entrance to a bird flu-hit village in Jingshan County, central China's Hubei province November 13, 2005. [Reuters]
The news, announced on government television, came as experts from the World Health Organization were in central China to help determine whether bird flu killed a 12-year-old girl and sickened two other people in a village that suffered an outbreak in poultry last month.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494546.htm
North Korea proposed five-step plan to disarm at latest talks
North Korea proposed a five-step plan to abandon its nuclear weapons programs at the latest round of disarmament talks that ended inconclusively last week, South Korea's top official on relations with the nation said Monday.
North Korea insists on end to US sanctions
North Korea is insisting the United States lift sanctions against eight companies as South Korea voiced optimism the row would not sidetrack six-way nuclear talks.
China: Little progress on N. Korea talks
By day's end, little progress had been made, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, adding that "but all the six parties are working earnestly
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/focus/world_koreantalk_page.html
Take H5N1 seriously, but no need for panic
(HK Edition)
Updated: 2005-11-14 05:48
The world has good reasons to take seriously the spreading cases of influenza, especially since H5N1 can be fatal, but that doesn't mean we all have to panic. Prior pandemics, such as those that occurred in 1918, 1957 and 1968, have demonstrated that when the bird-derived influenza virus enters the human body, it can adapt to become transmissible among humans themselves. It was reported, for example, in 1918 that a kitchen staff member of the US Army fell sick with flu one day, and 500 other soldiers contracted the same illness two days later. A week later, the flu spread around the US and one month later became a pandemic affecting the entire world. Forty million people died as a result.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494485.htm
Greenpeace releases shoppers' guide on GM
By Yuan Wu (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-14 05:15
Coca-Cola has been named along with 106 brands in a Greenpeace guide of companies that have committed not to use GM (genetically modified) ingredients.
The shoppers' guide was released by Greenpeace in Beijing yesterday.
"In China, we use high fructose corn syrup produced from non-biotech corn, sugar cane and beet, for which biotech versions are not being commercially grown," Coca Cola told Greenpeace China.
It is the second shoppers' guide Greenpeace has compiled for consumers in China.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494376.htm
Environmentalists vie for Green Figures awards
By Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-14 05:15
Competition in an online poll to elect China's top 5 environmentalists is heating up.
Voters are currently faced with a shortlist of 20 nominees, but by the end of the month five will have been selected as China's Green Figures of 2005.
The list of 20 candidates came out last week, based on 35,823 Internet votes, letters and phone calls to the organizing committee.
The five winners will be announced at the opening ceremony of China's Environmental Cultural Festival at the end of this month .
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494375.htm
Properly using funds for greener energy
China Daily Updated: 2005-11-14 05:18
Going green has become a new consensus among the government, corporations and the public, and initiatives are being taken by major developed countries to shift to a more diversified energy consumption portfolio.
Calls from the Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference 2005 (IREC) last week best illustrate that consensus. The world has realized the danger of relying primarily on fossil energy when the environment and global energy security are both undergoing fast changes.
The fact that one topic of bilateral talks between President Hu Jintao and German leaders is renewable energy is the latest sign of North-South co-operation in the field of new energy sources, as called on by the IREC.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494359.htm
France extending emergency order to Feb.
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-14 21:05
The French Cabinet approved a bill Monday to extend the country's state of emergency for three months, while youths set schools ablaze and waged other scattered arson attacks across France.
A firefighter stands near a car set ablaze in the La Reynerie housing project of Toulouse, southern France, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005. France's worst rioting since the 1960s seems to be nearing an end, the national police chief said Sunday, with fewer cars torched nationwide. [AP]
Though the unrest is abating, the bill, if approved by parliament as expected, would allow a 12-day state of emergency to be prolonged until mid-February if needed. The emergency measures empower regions to impose curfews on minors, conduct house searches and take other steps to prevent unrest.
"It is a measure of protection and precaution," President Jacques Chirac said.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494538.htm
Gays in Guangdong show unity and pride
Updated: 2005-11-11 10:13
Zheng Yuantao: Proud to be gay.
On Monday, Zheng Yuantao and a dozen other gay men attended a speech in Guangzhou by Li Yinhe, a renowned researcher in homosexual studies, entitled "Emotion, sex and social reform."
Their appearance, as unashamedly homosexual men, attracted considerable public attention.
"I am a gay man," Zheng Yuantao told China Daily yesterday.
Zheng said he believes he has an obligation to be forthright about his sexuality, and is thought to be the first gay man in China to broadcast his sexual orientation.
"I announced my homosexuality to the public on last World AIDS Day (December 1) on a local television programme," Zheng said.
After that, he was interviewed on a talk show in Tianjin, a city in North China.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/11/content_493911.htm
New Castle - Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal
Colleges stay credible when crime reports are reliable and timely
One of the best ways to fight crime is to shed light on it. Let people know something's going on and they're likely to take steps to protect themselves.
Most police departments in Delaware want to get that sort of news out to the citizens. Security forces on colleges campuses, however, sometimes need a nudge.
A recent incident at Delaware State University illustrates the problem. A man who was living on campus has been charged with assaulting two students. Critics slammed the college for being so slow in warning students, teachers and staff of possible dangers.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051114/OPINION11/511140332/1004
Walkable = Livable
Planning agency calls on residents to advocate walkable neighborhoods
Brandywine Hundred resident Don Carbaugh walks his dog around the neighborhood at least once a day, but the pair don't often find the courage to traverse the intersection of Marsh and Silverside roads.
Although it's less than half a mile from his house and there are plenty of destinations to visit -- a drug store, grocery store, Starbucks, bagel shop -- Carbaugh steers clear. With no sidewalks or crosswalks and cars zipping by from four directions, the busy retail area is difficult to maneuver on foot.
"My guess is, if it were safer, if you didn't feel like you were taking your life into your own hands, there'd be more pedestrian traffic," said Carbaugh, 65, who lives in a town house on Marsh Woods Lane.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051114/NEWS/511140348
Pike Creek fire displaces 30
• Suspect sought in Newark shooting
• Teen shot in fight about basketball
• Hornets win, clinch winning season
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051114/NEWS11/51114003
The Boston Globe
World forest losses slowing but still alarming -UN
By Crispian Balmer November 14, 2005
ROME (Reuters) - Some 32.5 million acres of forests are destroyed around the world each year, an area the size of Greece, although the net loss of trees has finally slowed thanks mainly to new plantations, the United Nations said on Monday.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its Global Forest Resources Assessment was the most exhaustive such survey undertaken, covering 229 countries and territories.
Taking into account plantations, landscape restoration and the natural expansion of some forests, the FAO said the net loss of forest area between 2000-2005 was some 18.25 million acres a year against 22.25 million acres in the 1990-2000 period.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/14/un_says_world_forest_losses_slowing_but_still_alarming/
Court rules against special ed. parents
November 14, 2005
WASHINGTON --The Supreme Court ruled Monday that parents who demand better special education programs for their children have the burden of proof in the challenges.
The 6-2 decision, written by retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, said that if parents challenge a program, they have the burden in an administrative hearing of showing that the program is insufficient. If schools bring a complaint, the burden rests with them, O'Connor wrote.
The ruling is a loss for a Maryland family that contested the special education program designed for their son with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/11/14/court_rules_against_special_ed_parents/
Court lets stand law denying felons a vote
By James Vicini November 14, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court let stand on Monday a Florida law that generally bars convicted felons from voting, even after they have completed their term of prison, probation and parole.
The high court rejected an appeal which argued that the law could be challenged under a section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits voter disqualification based on race.
Every state in the nation, except for Maine and Vermont, prohibit, to one degree or another, felons from voting. Fourteen states, including Florida, generally bar felons from voting even after they have served their sentences and have completed their terms of probation and parole.
Approximately 5 million felons who have been released from prison are legally disenfranchised, civil rights experts have estimated. About 1.4 million black men remain permanently disenfranchised.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/11/14/court_lets_stand_law_denying_felons_a_vote/
Abused by the Senate
November 14, 2005
PEOPLE IN the custody of the federal government should not be without basic human rights. The Senate needs to rescind its vote last week that would prevent 750 so-called ''illegal combatants" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from appealing their imprisonment in federal court.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, offered this proposal because many inmates have filed suit in response to a Supreme Court decision saying they could challenge their detentions. ''It is not fair to our troops fighting in the war on terror to be sued in every court in the land by our enemies," he said.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/11/14/abused_by_the_senate/
Dartmouth to avoid investing in companies with ties to Sudan
November 14, 2005
HANOVER, N.H. --Dartmouth College has voted to avoid investment in six companies closely tied to the Sudanese government, a country that the U.S. government has accused of staging a genocidal campaign in the nation's Darfur region.
The college's board of trustees reached the decision during its quarterly meeting over the weekend, College President James Wright and Chair of the Board of Trustees William Neukom said.
The college currently does not hold stock in any of the companies, they said.
"The practical effect of this would be that our various fund managers," Wright said, "will be instructed not to purchase in these companies."
Earlier this year, Harvard University decided to sell an estimated $4.4 million stake in PetroChina, whose parent company is tied to the Sudanese government.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/11/14/dartmouth_to_avoid_investing_in_companies_with_ties_to_sudan/
Putin reshuffle sparks succession speculation
By Richard Balmforth November 14, 2005
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin promoted his two closest allies -- his chief-of-staff and his defense minister -- in a government reshuffle on Monday that made both of them strong contenders to succeed him in 2008.
In televised comments, Putin said chief Kremlin aide Dmitry Medvedev, also chairman of gas giant Gazprom, had become first deputy prime minister in the government of Mikhail Fradkov.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, a close political confidant, will take on the extra job of deputy prime minister, a rank already held by key liberal economic strategist Alexander Zhukov.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/14/putin_reshuffle_sparks_succession_speculation/
A look at the highest-paid college presidents
By The Associated Press November 14, 2005
A look at the compensation (salary plus benefits) of the highest-paid college presidents.
Private Universities (fiscal 2004)
School Compensation
1. Donald E. Ross Lynn University (Fla.) $5,042,315
2. Audrey K. Doberstein Wilmington College (Del.) $1,370,973
3. E. Gordon Gee Vanderbilt University $1,326,786
4. John R. Silber Boston University $1,253,352
5. John M. McCardell Middlebury College $1,213,141
------
Note: Figures for all five presidents include some deferred compensation. Doberstein, Silber and McCardell have all retired or taken other jobs.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/11/14/a_look_at_the_highest_paid_college_presidents/
Colleges make presidents millionaires
By Justin Pope, AP Education Writer November 14, 2005
Curious where those extra tuition dollars are going? One place to look would be the pockets of college presidents.
Five presidents have cracked the $1 million compensation barrier, including John R. Silber, the now-retired president of Boston University, according to an annual survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education to be released Monday, and more are sure to follow. Nine earned more than $900,000 -- a figure none broke in last year's report.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/11/14/ranks_of_millionaire_college_presidents_up/
New dams said to destroy water sources
By Sam Cage, Associated Press Writer November 13, 2005
GENEVA --New dams intended to provide cheaper power and support irrigation systems are destroying important water sources and causing economic disruption, a leading environmental group said in a report released Monday.
The report by the World Wide Fund for Nature noted that dams can destroy wetlands, which hold water like sponges and cannot be replicated by manmade storage facilities.
"The world's ailing rivers and the communities that depend on them face a bleak future without prompt action," WWF said in the report, which assessed the environmental effects of six dam projects around the world.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/11/13/new_dams_said_to_destroy_water_sources/
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Students rebuffing military recruiters
More high schoolers in state opt out of lists
By Maria Sacchetti and Jenna Russell / Boston Globe
More than 5,000 high school students in five of the state's largest school districts have removed their names from military recruitment lists, a trend driven by continuing casualties in Iraq and a well-organized peace movement that has urged students to avoid contact with recruiters.
The number of students removing their names has jumped significantly over the past year, especially in school systems with many low-income and minority students, where parents and activists are growing increasingly assertive in challenging military recruiters' access to young people.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4857
"Resistance is Fertile"; A stroll down counter-recruitment memory lane
A MichaelMoore.com exclusive...
On January 20th, thousands of high school and college students walked out of classes across the country in protest of Bush's inauguration. At Seattle Central Community College, students surrounded two on-campus U.S. Army recruiters and made it clear they weren't welcome at the learning institution. After a ten-minute standoff, the recruiters retreated from their table and were escorted from the college by security guards.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2706
NOVEMBER 17, 2005 ..... ACROSS THE COUNTRY
http://216.69.129.146/nyspc/doa/notyoursoldier.asp
NOV. 17 PROTEST THE MILITARY RECRUITERS!
Thu.Nov.17.2005@5:00PM to Thu.Nov.17.2005@7:00PM
DEMONSTRATION AT ARMED FORCES RECRUITING CENTER IN SILVER SPRING SET FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 5PM – 7PM
Sgt. Thomas Kelt, a U.S. Army recruiter, left this message on a young man’s cell phone: "Hey Chris, this is Sgt. Kelt with the Army man. I think we got disconnected. Okay, I know you were on your cell probably and just had a bad connection or something like that. I know you didn't hang up on me. Anyway, by federal law you got an appointment with me at 2 o'clock this afternoon at Greenspoint Mall, okay? That's the Greenspoint Mall Army Recruiting Station at 2 o'clock. You fail to appear and we'll have a warrant. Okay? So give me a call back."
http://www.dawndc.net/float.php?annc_id=264§ion_id=1
National Stand Down Day - Nov. 18, 2005
End The Iraq War - Demonstrations and Nonviolent Resistance at Recruiting Stations Across the Country
Young Americans sign on to go into harm’s way to defend their country if necessary, but instead they are being turned into harm’s ministers in a war that has claimed more then 100,000 Iraqi lives and nearly 2,000 Americans. The President and Congress have breached a sacred trust with our soldiers and abused their oath to defend the Constitution by leading young Americans to kill and die in a war based on lies.
As the Bush Administration refuses to make plans to bring our troops home, join us for “National Stand Down Day,” as we halt the machinery that takes young Americans off to this illegal and endless war in Iraq.
The Iraq Pledge of Resistance,
founded in September of 2002, is a nationwide network of activists and organizations committed to ending the war in Iraq through nonviolent, Gandhian and Kingian resistance.
http://www.iraqpledge.org/nov18.htm
A National Call for Nonviolent Resistance
to the Continuing War in Iraq
“The great initiative in this war is ours;
the initiative to stop it must be ours.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King
The war in Iraq continues to escalate, with more and more killed every day. The human toll has been enormous, claiming over 1,500 American lives and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives, while wounding, maiming and psychologically scarring hundreds of thousands more. This is not a war of liberation, or against terrorism. This is a war of empire building and corporate profiteering that threatens to destabilize Iraq for many years to come, while sowing new seeds of hate against the U.S. and fueling the cycle of violence and revenge.
The war in Iraq is a war based on lies. It is a war which violates both the U.S. Constitution and our obligations under international law. Characterized by the use of torture, collective punishment, mass bombardment and the destruction of civilian areas, it is a war that shames us morally before the world. And it is a war that is devouring hundreds of billions of dollars, robbing us of resources desperately needed in our own country for health care, housing, education, and jobs.
http://www.iraqpledge.org/national_call.htm
Three U.S. troops killed in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three U.S. service members have died in separate incidents in Iraq while insurgents targeted Iraqi security forces, authorities said Sunday.
A roadside bomb killed two U.S. Marines during "combat operations" in Amiriya, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west-southwest of Baghdad, the Marines said.
The military statement gave no details about the attack, which happened Saturday, the same day a U.S. soldier died in a vehicle accident near Rawa.
Rawa is 140 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad in Anbar province, near the Syrian border.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4860
Find your School District Superintendent
To create an Opt Out form for your child, we need to identify your local superintendent. Enter your email and zip code below to continue to the next step.
http://www.leavemychildalone.org/index.cfm?event=showContent&contentid=11
Fahrenheit 911 Recruitment Clip
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/f911recruiters.mov
Libby May Have Tried to Mask Cheney's Role
By Carol D. Leonnig and Jim VandeHei / Washington Post
In the opening days of the CIA leak investigation in early October 2003, FBI agents working the case already had in their possession a wealth of valuable evidence. There were White House phone and visitor logs, which clearly documented the administration's contacts with reporters.
And they had something that law enforcement officials would later describe as their "guidebook" for the opening phase of the investigation: the daily, diary-like notes compiled by I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, then Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, that chronicled crucial events inside the White House in the weeks before the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame was publicly disclosed.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4861
Ellsberg Warns Iraq Is Similar to Vietnam
By Rosa Cirianni / Associated Press
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. - The former Defense Department official who leaked secret documents about the Vietnam War said Saturday that he sees many similarities between that conflict and the one in Iraq.
Daniel Ellsberg, 74, became famous for his release of the Pentagon Papers, which indicated the government had deceived the public about whether the war could be won and the extent of casualties.
He spoke to a crowd of more than 400 people at a New Jersey high school, telling them that the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq were both based on lies, referring to the such as the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4859
At Peace With Its Purpose
88-Year-Old Quaker Group Takes Aim at War
By Robert Strauss / Washington Post
PHILADELPHIA -- When Mary Ellen McNish walks out of the office in her low-slung, understated brick building, she looks up at the peaceful statue atop the tall building down the street.
"What other city has William Penn, the great man of peace, atop City Hall? Where else would be a better place to promote peace?" asked McNish, the general secretary of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which for nearly a century has been the point organization for promoting peace in conflicts or potential conflicts around the world.
Now, as the Iraq war grows more and more unpopular, the AFSC is again tromping at the front, unfurling the banner of peace.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4858
Poll: Most Americans Say Bush Not Honest
By Will Lester / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Two crucial pillars of President Bush's public support — perceptions of his honesty and faith in his ability to fight terrorism — have slipped to their lowest point in the AP-Ipsos poll.
While the CIA leak investigation, the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina and high energy costs have all taken their toll, the polling found the Iraq war at the core of Americans' displeasure with the president.
All of those concerns are cutting into traditional Bush strengths.
Almost six in 10 now say Bush is not honest, and a similar number say his administration does not have high ethical standards.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4850
Talk host's towering rant: S.F. not worth saving
By Joe Garofoli / San Francisco Chronicle
Conservative talk-show host Bill O'Reilly is ready to scratch San Francisco off the map of the United States. Gone. Coit Tower? Terrorists can blow it up, and the rest of the country shouldn't care.
The Fox News talk-show host and one-man conservative media juggernaut has concluded that the United States and San Francisco just don't go together anymore. Voting to oppose military recruitment in public schools and to ban handgun ownership, as San Franciscans did Tuesday, means the city should be cut off from federal dollars. And then some.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4855
The Nation's Homophobe ! Bill O'Reilly !
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/bringemon_oreilly.mov
Can't blame the nation's problems on O'Reilly's Factor. Or can we?
O'Reilly Blasted for Coit Tower Comments
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Supervisor Chris Daly is firing back at Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly for comments he made on his radio show Wednesday that encouraged al-Qaida to "blow up" Coit Tower.
O'Reilly reacted to San Franciscans' approval of Proposition I, which discourages military recruiters on public high school and college campuses.
He advised President George W. Bush to react by withdrawing any military protection for the city. "...If al-Qaida comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead," O'Reilly said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4854
O’Reilly Responds: “What I Said Isn’t Controversial. What I Said Needed to Be Said.”
Appearing yesterday on a conservative San Francisco radio show, Bill O’Reilly offered his first public comments since being criticized for saying he would approve of an al Qaeda terrorist attack on the California city.
O’Reilly not only stood by his comments, but claimed they “needed to be said”:
I mean, look, everybody knows what’s going on there. What I said isn’t controversial. What I said needed to be said. I’m sitting here and I’m looking at a city that has absolutely no clue about what the world is. None. You know, if you had been hit on 9/11 instead of New York, believe me, you would not have voted against military recruting. Yet the left-wing, selfish, Land of Oz philosophy that the media and the city politicians have embraced out there is an absolute intellectual disgrace.
Full transcript below (or listen to the audio):
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/11/12/oreilly-responds/
NOTHING BILL O'REILLY SAYS NEEDS TO BE SAID ! BIGGEST LOUD MOUTH PERVERT ON THE PLANET !
continued ...
"Okeydoke"
History
Today is Monday, Nov. 14, the 318th day of 2005. There are 47 days left in the year.
1851, Herman Melville's novel "Moby-Dick" was first published.
1889, inspired by Jules Verne, New York World reporter Nellie Bly (Elizabeth Cochrane) set out to travel around the world in less than 80 days. (She made the trip in 72 days.)
1900, Aaron Copland, one of America's leading composers of the 20th century, was born in New York City.
1900 The Washington Society of Colored Dentists, the first organization for Colored dentists is founded.
1915 Booker T. Washington, educator and writer, dies in Tuskegee, AL. He will be honored with a U.S. Postal stamp for the 100th anniversary of his birth
1922, the British Broadcasting Corporation began its domestic radio service.
1935, President Roosevelt proclaimed the Philippine Islands a free commonwealth.
1940, during World War II, German planes destroyed most of the English town of Coventry.
1943, an American torpedo was mistakenly fired at the battleship USS Iowa, which was carrying President Roosevelt and his joint chiefs to the Tehran conference; the torpedo exploded harmlessly in the Iowa's wake.
1956 During a mass meeting of the Montgomery Improvement Association (MIA), it is decided to discontinue boycott as soon as the Supreme Court's decision is implemented.
1968, Yale University announced it was going co-educational.
1969, Apollo 12 blasted off for the moon.
1972, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above the 1,000 level for the first time, ending the day at 1,003.16.
1973, Britain's Princess Anne married Captain Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey. (They divorced in 1992, and Anne remarried.)
Ten years ago: The U.S. government instituted a partial shutdown, closing national parks and museums while government offices operated with skeleton crews.
U.S. Rep. Enid Greene Waldholtz, R-Utah, filed for divorce from her husband, Joe, who was under federal investigation for possible campaign financing improprieties. (Joe Waldholtz spent 22 months in federal prison.)
Five years ago: Florida Secretary of State Katherine Harris certified George W. Bush's fragile 300-vote lead over Al Gore, hours after a judge refused to lift a 5 p.m. deadline; however, the judge gave Harris the authority to accept or reject follow-up manual recount totals.
Pioneering CBS Radio newsman Robert Trout died in New York at age 91.
One year ago: Mahmoud Abbas, the temporary successor to Yasser Arafat, escaped unharmed when militants firing assault rifles burst into a mourning tent for the deceased Palestinian leader in Gaza, killing two security guards.
Usher was honored with four trophies at the American Music Awards in Los Angeles, including favorite male soul-R&B artist, best pop-rock album, best pop-rock artist and best soul-R&B album
Missing in Action
1965 MC CLELLAND PAUL T. JR. WEST STAYTON OR
1967 KMETYK JONATHAN P. NIAGARA FALLS NY KIA 11/12/67 NVA STOLE BODY IN AMBUSH 11/14/67
1967 SULLIVAN TIMOTHY B. SPRINGFIELD MA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1970 KLUGG JOSEPH R. OKEMOS MI
November 13
1964 BLOOM DARL R. MORRISDALE PA AIR COLLISION NO PARA SEEN
1965 JENKINS HARRY T. WASHINGTON DC 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV DECEASED
1968 ERSKINE JACK D. VC SKETCHES OF ERSKINE FOUND
1969 RAY RONALD E. PORT ARTHUR TX
1970 BANCROFT WILLIAM W. INDIANAPOLIS IN
1970 WRIGHT DAVID I. ANNAPOLIS MD
November 12
1965 HUNTING PETER M REMAINS RETURNED 11/13/65
1966 FROSIO ROBERT CLARENCE WARRINGTON FL
1966 JONES JAMES GRADY BIRMINGHAM AL
1967 CAYCE JOHN D. SAN ANTONIO TX
1967 ROARK JAMES D. ABINGDON VA
1969 BODAHL JON KEITH BOISE ID
1969 DENNANY JAMES E. MATTAWAN MI
1969 HELMICH GERALD ROBERT MANCHESTER NH
1969 SMITH HARRY WINFIELD BATON ROUGE LA
1969 TUCCI ROBERT L. DETROIT MI
The China Daily
Anhui reports newest outbreak of bird flu
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-14 21:59
China on Monday reported a new case of bird flu in poultry in the country's east — its ninth outbreak since Oct. 19.
Chinese health worker disinfects a motorcycle at the entrance to a bird flu-hit village in Jingshan County, central China's Hubei province November 13, 2005. [Reuters]
The news, announced on government television, came as experts from the World Health Organization were in central China to help determine whether bird flu killed a 12-year-old girl and sickened two other people in a village that suffered an outbreak in poultry last month.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494546.htm
North Korea proposed five-step plan to disarm at latest talks
North Korea proposed a five-step plan to abandon its nuclear weapons programs at the latest round of disarmament talks that ended inconclusively last week, South Korea's top official on relations with the nation said Monday.
North Korea insists on end to US sanctions
North Korea is insisting the United States lift sanctions against eight companies as South Korea voiced optimism the row would not sidetrack six-way nuclear talks.
China: Little progress on N. Korea talks
By day's end, little progress had been made, said Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang, adding that "but all the six parties are working earnestly
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/focus/world_koreantalk_page.html
Take H5N1 seriously, but no need for panic
(HK Edition)
Updated: 2005-11-14 05:48
The world has good reasons to take seriously the spreading cases of influenza, especially since H5N1 can be fatal, but that doesn't mean we all have to panic. Prior pandemics, such as those that occurred in 1918, 1957 and 1968, have demonstrated that when the bird-derived influenza virus enters the human body, it can adapt to become transmissible among humans themselves. It was reported, for example, in 1918 that a kitchen staff member of the US Army fell sick with flu one day, and 500 other soldiers contracted the same illness two days later. A week later, the flu spread around the US and one month later became a pandemic affecting the entire world. Forty million people died as a result.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494485.htm
Greenpeace releases shoppers' guide on GM
By Yuan Wu (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-14 05:15
Coca-Cola has been named along with 106 brands in a Greenpeace guide of companies that have committed not to use GM (genetically modified) ingredients.
The shoppers' guide was released by Greenpeace in Beijing yesterday.
"In China, we use high fructose corn syrup produced from non-biotech corn, sugar cane and beet, for which biotech versions are not being commercially grown," Coca Cola told Greenpeace China.
It is the second shoppers' guide Greenpeace has compiled for consumers in China.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494376.htm
Environmentalists vie for Green Figures awards
By Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-14 05:15
Competition in an online poll to elect China's top 5 environmentalists is heating up.
Voters are currently faced with a shortlist of 20 nominees, but by the end of the month five will have been selected as China's Green Figures of 2005.
The list of 20 candidates came out last week, based on 35,823 Internet votes, letters and phone calls to the organizing committee.
The five winners will be announced at the opening ceremony of China's Environmental Cultural Festival at the end of this month .
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494375.htm
Properly using funds for greener energy
China Daily Updated: 2005-11-14 05:18
Going green has become a new consensus among the government, corporations and the public, and initiatives are being taken by major developed countries to shift to a more diversified energy consumption portfolio.
Calls from the Beijing International Renewable Energy Conference 2005 (IREC) last week best illustrate that consensus. The world has realized the danger of relying primarily on fossil energy when the environment and global energy security are both undergoing fast changes.
The fact that one topic of bilateral talks between President Hu Jintao and German leaders is renewable energy is the latest sign of North-South co-operation in the field of new energy sources, as called on by the IREC.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494359.htm
France extending emergency order to Feb.
(AP)
Updated: 2005-11-14 21:05
The French Cabinet approved a bill Monday to extend the country's state of emergency for three months, while youths set schools ablaze and waged other scattered arson attacks across France.
A firefighter stands near a car set ablaze in the La Reynerie housing project of Toulouse, southern France, Sunday, Nov. 13, 2005. France's worst rioting since the 1960s seems to be nearing an end, the national police chief said Sunday, with fewer cars torched nationwide. [AP]
Though the unrest is abating, the bill, if approved by parliament as expected, would allow a 12-day state of emergency to be prolonged until mid-February if needed. The emergency measures empower regions to impose curfews on minors, conduct house searches and take other steps to prevent unrest.
"It is a measure of protection and precaution," President Jacques Chirac said.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/14/content_494538.htm
Gays in Guangdong show unity and pride
Updated: 2005-11-11 10:13
Zheng Yuantao: Proud to be gay.
On Monday, Zheng Yuantao and a dozen other gay men attended a speech in Guangzhou by Li Yinhe, a renowned researcher in homosexual studies, entitled "Emotion, sex and social reform."
Their appearance, as unashamedly homosexual men, attracted considerable public attention.
"I am a gay man," Zheng Yuantao told China Daily yesterday.
Zheng said he believes he has an obligation to be forthright about his sexuality, and is thought to be the first gay man in China to broadcast his sexual orientation.
"I announced my homosexuality to the public on last World AIDS Day (December 1) on a local television programme," Zheng said.
After that, he was interviewed on a talk show in Tianjin, a city in North China.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/11/content_493911.htm
New Castle - Wilmington (Delaware) News Journal
Colleges stay credible when crime reports are reliable and timely
One of the best ways to fight crime is to shed light on it. Let people know something's going on and they're likely to take steps to protect themselves.
Most police departments in Delaware want to get that sort of news out to the citizens. Security forces on colleges campuses, however, sometimes need a nudge.
A recent incident at Delaware State University illustrates the problem. A man who was living on campus has been charged with assaulting two students. Critics slammed the college for being so slow in warning students, teachers and staff of possible dangers.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051114/OPINION11/511140332/1004
Walkable = Livable
Planning agency calls on residents to advocate walkable neighborhoods
Brandywine Hundred resident Don Carbaugh walks his dog around the neighborhood at least once a day, but the pair don't often find the courage to traverse the intersection of Marsh and Silverside roads.
Although it's less than half a mile from his house and there are plenty of destinations to visit -- a drug store, grocery store, Starbucks, bagel shop -- Carbaugh steers clear. With no sidewalks or crosswalks and cars zipping by from four directions, the busy retail area is difficult to maneuver on foot.
"My guess is, if it were safer, if you didn't feel like you were taking your life into your own hands, there'd be more pedestrian traffic," said Carbaugh, 65, who lives in a town house on Marsh Woods Lane.
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051114/NEWS/511140348
Pike Creek fire displaces 30
• Suspect sought in Newark shooting
• Teen shot in fight about basketball
• Hornets win, clinch winning season
http://www.delawareonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051114/NEWS11/51114003
The Boston Globe
World forest losses slowing but still alarming -UN
By Crispian Balmer November 14, 2005
ROME (Reuters) - Some 32.5 million acres of forests are destroyed around the world each year, an area the size of Greece, although the net loss of trees has finally slowed thanks mainly to new plantations, the United Nations said on Monday.
The U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) said its Global Forest Resources Assessment was the most exhaustive such survey undertaken, covering 229 countries and territories.
Taking into account plantations, landscape restoration and the natural expansion of some forests, the FAO said the net loss of forest area between 2000-2005 was some 18.25 million acres a year against 22.25 million acres in the 1990-2000 period.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/14/un_says_world_forest_losses_slowing_but_still_alarming/
Court rules against special ed. parents
November 14, 2005
WASHINGTON --The Supreme Court ruled Monday that parents who demand better special education programs for their children have the burden of proof in the challenges.
The 6-2 decision, written by retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, said that if parents challenge a program, they have the burden in an administrative hearing of showing that the program is insufficient. If schools bring a complaint, the burden rests with them, O'Connor wrote.
The ruling is a loss for a Maryland family that contested the special education program designed for their son with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/11/14/court_rules_against_special_ed_parents/
Court lets stand law denying felons a vote
By James Vicini November 14, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Supreme Court let stand on Monday a Florida law that generally bars convicted felons from voting, even after they have completed their term of prison, probation and parole.
The high court rejected an appeal which argued that the law could be challenged under a section of the Voting Rights Act of 1965, which prohibits voter disqualification based on race.
Every state in the nation, except for Maine and Vermont, prohibit, to one degree or another, felons from voting. Fourteen states, including Florida, generally bar felons from voting even after they have served their sentences and have completed their terms of probation and parole.
Approximately 5 million felons who have been released from prison are legally disenfranchised, civil rights experts have estimated. About 1.4 million black men remain permanently disenfranchised.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/11/14/court_lets_stand_law_denying_felons_a_vote/
Abused by the Senate
November 14, 2005
PEOPLE IN the custody of the federal government should not be without basic human rights. The Senate needs to rescind its vote last week that would prevent 750 so-called ''illegal combatants" at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, from appealing their imprisonment in federal court.
Senator Lindsey Graham, Republican of South Carolina, offered this proposal because many inmates have filed suit in response to a Supreme Court decision saying they could challenge their detentions. ''It is not fair to our troops fighting in the war on terror to be sued in every court in the land by our enemies," he said.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/11/14/abused_by_the_senate/
Dartmouth to avoid investing in companies with ties to Sudan
November 14, 2005
HANOVER, N.H. --Dartmouth College has voted to avoid investment in six companies closely tied to the Sudanese government, a country that the U.S. government has accused of staging a genocidal campaign in the nation's Darfur region.
The college's board of trustees reached the decision during its quarterly meeting over the weekend, College President James Wright and Chair of the Board of Trustees William Neukom said.
The college currently does not hold stock in any of the companies, they said.
"The practical effect of this would be that our various fund managers," Wright said, "will be instructed not to purchase in these companies."
Earlier this year, Harvard University decided to sell an estimated $4.4 million stake in PetroChina, whose parent company is tied to the Sudanese government.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2005/11/14/dartmouth_to_avoid_investing_in_companies_with_ties_to_sudan/
Putin reshuffle sparks succession speculation
By Richard Balmforth November 14, 2005
MOSCOW (Reuters) - Russian President Vladimir Putin promoted his two closest allies -- his chief-of-staff and his defense minister -- in a government reshuffle on Monday that made both of them strong contenders to succeed him in 2008.
In televised comments, Putin said chief Kremlin aide Dmitry Medvedev, also chairman of gas giant Gazprom, had become first deputy prime minister in the government of Mikhail Fradkov.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov, a close political confidant, will take on the extra job of deputy prime minister, a rank already held by key liberal economic strategist Alexander Zhukov.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/14/putin_reshuffle_sparks_succession_speculation/
A look at the highest-paid college presidents
By The Associated Press November 14, 2005
A look at the compensation (salary plus benefits) of the highest-paid college presidents.
Private Universities (fiscal 2004)
School Compensation
1. Donald E. Ross Lynn University (Fla.) $5,042,315
2. Audrey K. Doberstein Wilmington College (Del.) $1,370,973
3. E. Gordon Gee Vanderbilt University $1,326,786
4. John R. Silber Boston University $1,253,352
5. John M. McCardell Middlebury College $1,213,141
------
Note: Figures for all five presidents include some deferred compensation. Doberstein, Silber and McCardell have all retired or taken other jobs.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/11/14/a_look_at_the_highest_paid_college_presidents/
Colleges make presidents millionaires
By Justin Pope, AP Education Writer November 14, 2005
Curious where those extra tuition dollars are going? One place to look would be the pockets of college presidents.
Five presidents have cracked the $1 million compensation barrier, including John R. Silber, the now-retired president of Boston University, according to an annual survey by The Chronicle of Higher Education to be released Monday, and more are sure to follow. Nine earned more than $900,000 -- a figure none broke in last year's report.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2005/11/14/ranks_of_millionaire_college_presidents_up/
New dams said to destroy water sources
By Sam Cage, Associated Press Writer November 13, 2005
GENEVA --New dams intended to provide cheaper power and support irrigation systems are destroying important water sources and causing economic disruption, a leading environmental group said in a report released Monday.
The report by the World Wide Fund for Nature noted that dams can destroy wetlands, which hold water like sponges and cannot be replicated by manmade storage facilities.
"The world's ailing rivers and the communities that depend on them face a bleak future without prompt action," WWF said in the report, which assessed the environmental effects of six dam projects around the world.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/11/13/new_dams_said_to_destroy_water_sources/
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Students rebuffing military recruiters
More high schoolers in state opt out of lists
By Maria Sacchetti and Jenna Russell / Boston Globe
More than 5,000 high school students in five of the state's largest school districts have removed their names from military recruitment lists, a trend driven by continuing casualties in Iraq and a well-organized peace movement that has urged students to avoid contact with recruiters.
The number of students removing their names has jumped significantly over the past year, especially in school systems with many low-income and minority students, where parents and activists are growing increasingly assertive in challenging military recruiters' access to young people.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4857
"Resistance is Fertile"; A stroll down counter-recruitment memory lane
A MichaelMoore.com exclusive...
On January 20th, thousands of high school and college students walked out of classes across the country in protest of Bush's inauguration. At Seattle Central Community College, students surrounded two on-campus U.S. Army recruiters and made it clear they weren't welcome at the learning institution. After a ten-minute standoff, the recruiters retreated from their table and were escorted from the college by security guards.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2706
NOVEMBER 17, 2005 ..... ACROSS THE COUNTRY
http://216.69.129.146/nyspc/doa/notyoursoldier.asp
NOV. 17 PROTEST THE MILITARY RECRUITERS!
Thu.Nov.17.2005@5:00PM to Thu.Nov.17.2005@7:00PM
DEMONSTRATION AT ARMED FORCES RECRUITING CENTER IN SILVER SPRING SET FOR THURSDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 5PM – 7PM
Sgt. Thomas Kelt, a U.S. Army recruiter, left this message on a young man’s cell phone: "Hey Chris, this is Sgt. Kelt with the Army man. I think we got disconnected. Okay, I know you were on your cell probably and just had a bad connection or something like that. I know you didn't hang up on me. Anyway, by federal law you got an appointment with me at 2 o'clock this afternoon at Greenspoint Mall, okay? That's the Greenspoint Mall Army Recruiting Station at 2 o'clock. You fail to appear and we'll have a warrant. Okay? So give me a call back."
http://www.dawndc.net/float.php?annc_id=264§ion_id=1
National Stand Down Day - Nov. 18, 2005
End The Iraq War - Demonstrations and Nonviolent Resistance at Recruiting Stations Across the Country
Young Americans sign on to go into harm’s way to defend their country if necessary, but instead they are being turned into harm’s ministers in a war that has claimed more then 100,000 Iraqi lives and nearly 2,000 Americans. The President and Congress have breached a sacred trust with our soldiers and abused their oath to defend the Constitution by leading young Americans to kill and die in a war based on lies.
As the Bush Administration refuses to make plans to bring our troops home, join us for “National Stand Down Day,” as we halt the machinery that takes young Americans off to this illegal and endless war in Iraq.
The Iraq Pledge of Resistance,
founded in September of 2002, is a nationwide network of activists and organizations committed to ending the war in Iraq through nonviolent, Gandhian and Kingian resistance.
http://www.iraqpledge.org/nov18.htm
A National Call for Nonviolent Resistance
to the Continuing War in Iraq
“The great initiative in this war is ours;
the initiative to stop it must be ours.”
— Dr. Martin Luther King
The war in Iraq continues to escalate, with more and more killed every day. The human toll has been enormous, claiming over 1,500 American lives and more than 100,000 Iraqi lives, while wounding, maiming and psychologically scarring hundreds of thousands more. This is not a war of liberation, or against terrorism. This is a war of empire building and corporate profiteering that threatens to destabilize Iraq for many years to come, while sowing new seeds of hate against the U.S. and fueling the cycle of violence and revenge.
The war in Iraq is a war based on lies. It is a war which violates both the U.S. Constitution and our obligations under international law. Characterized by the use of torture, collective punishment, mass bombardment and the destruction of civilian areas, it is a war that shames us morally before the world. And it is a war that is devouring hundreds of billions of dollars, robbing us of resources desperately needed in our own country for health care, housing, education, and jobs.
http://www.iraqpledge.org/national_call.htm
Three U.S. troops killed in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq (CNN) -- Three U.S. service members have died in separate incidents in Iraq while insurgents targeted Iraqi security forces, authorities said Sunday.
A roadside bomb killed two U.S. Marines during "combat operations" in Amiriya, about 30 miles (48 kilometers) west-southwest of Baghdad, the Marines said.
The military statement gave no details about the attack, which happened Saturday, the same day a U.S. soldier died in a vehicle accident near Rawa.
Rawa is 140 miles (209 kilometers) northwest of Baghdad in Anbar province, near the Syrian border.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4860
Find your School District Superintendent
To create an Opt Out form for your child, we need to identify your local superintendent. Enter your email and zip code below to continue to the next step.
http://www.leavemychildalone.org/index.cfm?event=showContent&contentid=11
Fahrenheit 911 Recruitment Clip
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/f911recruiters.mov
Libby May Have Tried to Mask Cheney's Role
By Carol D. Leonnig and Jim VandeHei / Washington Post
In the opening days of the CIA leak investigation in early October 2003, FBI agents working the case already had in their possession a wealth of valuable evidence. There were White House phone and visitor logs, which clearly documented the administration's contacts with reporters.
And they had something that law enforcement officials would later describe as their "guidebook" for the opening phase of the investigation: the daily, diary-like notes compiled by I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, then Vice President Cheney's chief of staff, that chronicled crucial events inside the White House in the weeks before the identity of CIA operative Valerie Plame was publicly disclosed.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4861
Ellsberg Warns Iraq Is Similar to Vietnam
By Rosa Cirianni / Associated Press
MAPLEWOOD, N.J. - The former Defense Department official who leaked secret documents about the Vietnam War said Saturday that he sees many similarities between that conflict and the one in Iraq.
Daniel Ellsberg, 74, became famous for his release of the Pentagon Papers, which indicated the government had deceived the public about whether the war could be won and the extent of casualties.
He spoke to a crowd of more than 400 people at a New Jersey high school, telling them that the Vietnam War and the war in Iraq were both based on lies, referring to the such as the claim that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4859
At Peace With Its Purpose
88-Year-Old Quaker Group Takes Aim at War
By Robert Strauss / Washington Post
PHILADELPHIA -- When Mary Ellen McNish walks out of the office in her low-slung, understated brick building, she looks up at the peaceful statue atop the tall building down the street.
"What other city has William Penn, the great man of peace, atop City Hall? Where else would be a better place to promote peace?" asked McNish, the general secretary of the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC), which for nearly a century has been the point organization for promoting peace in conflicts or potential conflicts around the world.
Now, as the Iraq war grows more and more unpopular, the AFSC is again tromping at the front, unfurling the banner of peace.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4858
Poll: Most Americans Say Bush Not Honest
By Will Lester / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Two crucial pillars of President Bush's public support — perceptions of his honesty and faith in his ability to fight terrorism — have slipped to their lowest point in the AP-Ipsos poll.
While the CIA leak investigation, the mishandling of Hurricane Katrina and high energy costs have all taken their toll, the polling found the Iraq war at the core of Americans' displeasure with the president.
All of those concerns are cutting into traditional Bush strengths.
Almost six in 10 now say Bush is not honest, and a similar number say his administration does not have high ethical standards.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4850
Talk host's towering rant: S.F. not worth saving
By Joe Garofoli / San Francisco Chronicle
Conservative talk-show host Bill O'Reilly is ready to scratch San Francisco off the map of the United States. Gone. Coit Tower? Terrorists can blow it up, and the rest of the country shouldn't care.
The Fox News talk-show host and one-man conservative media juggernaut has concluded that the United States and San Francisco just don't go together anymore. Voting to oppose military recruitment in public schools and to ban handgun ownership, as San Franciscans did Tuesday, means the city should be cut off from federal dollars. And then some.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4855
The Nation's Homophobe ! Bill O'Reilly !
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/bringemon_oreilly.mov
Can't blame the nation's problems on O'Reilly's Factor. Or can we?
O'Reilly Blasted for Coit Tower Comments
SAN FRANCISCO (KRON) -- Supervisor Chris Daly is firing back at Fox News commentator Bill O'Reilly for comments he made on his radio show Wednesday that encouraged al-Qaida to "blow up" Coit Tower.
O'Reilly reacted to San Franciscans' approval of Proposition I, which discourages military recruiters on public high school and college campuses.
He advised President George W. Bush to react by withdrawing any military protection for the city. "...If al-Qaida comes in here and blows you up, we're not going to do anything about it. We're going to say, look, every other place in America is off limits to you, except San Francisco. You want to blow up the Coit Tower? Go ahead," O'Reilly said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4854
O’Reilly Responds: “What I Said Isn’t Controversial. What I Said Needed to Be Said.”
Appearing yesterday on a conservative San Francisco radio show, Bill O’Reilly offered his first public comments since being criticized for saying he would approve of an al Qaeda terrorist attack on the California city.
O’Reilly not only stood by his comments, but claimed they “needed to be said”:
I mean, look, everybody knows what’s going on there. What I said isn’t controversial. What I said needed to be said. I’m sitting here and I’m looking at a city that has absolutely no clue about what the world is. None. You know, if you had been hit on 9/11 instead of New York, believe me, you would not have voted against military recruting. Yet the left-wing, selfish, Land of Oz philosophy that the media and the city politicians have embraced out there is an absolute intellectual disgrace.
Full transcript below (or listen to the audio):
http://thinkprogress.org/2005/11/12/oreilly-responds/
NOTHING BILL O'REILLY SAYS NEEDS TO BE SAID ! BIGGEST LOUD MOUTH PERVERT ON THE PLANET !
This is not from Michael's Site.
O'Reilly Hit With Sex Harass Suit
Female Fox coworker details lewd behavior of cable TV star
OCTOBER 13--Hours after Bill O'Reilly accused her of a multimillion dollar shakedown attempt, a female Fox News producer fired back at the TV star today, filing a lawsuit claiming that he subjected her to repeated instances of sexual harassment and spoke often, and explicitly, to her about phone sex, vibrators, threesomes, masturbation, the loss of his virginity, and sexual fantasies. Below you'll find a copy of Andrea Mackris's complaint, an incredible page-turner that quotes O'Reilly, 55, on all sorts of lewd matters. Based on the extensive quotations cited in the complaint, it appears a safe bet that Mackris, 33, recorded some of O'Reilly's more steamy soliloquies. For example, we direct you to his Caribbean shower fantasies. While we suggest reading the entire document, TSG will point you to interesting sections on a Thailand sex show, Al Franken, and the climax of one August 2004 phone conversation. (22 pages)
http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/1013043mackris1.html
22 pages of Bill O'Reilly's sexual fantasies
October 13, 2004 02:21 PM
We've all been waiting for this moment for a very long time. Finally, Bill O'Reilly, the sex freak, has been exposed. The Smoking Gun's got the goods:
Hours after Bill O'Reilly accused her of a multimillion shakedown attempt, a female Fox News producer fired back at the TV star today, filing a lawsuit claiming that he subjected her to repeated instances of sexual harassment and spoke often, and explicitly, to her about phone sex, vibrators, threesomes, masturbation, the loss of his virginity, and sexual fantasies.
UPDATE: Here's the 22 pages in a printable PDF (1.7MB).
http://www.jimgilliam.com/2004/10/22_pages_of_bill_oreillys_sexual_fantasies.php
The Moscow Times
Khodorkovsky Sets Out Vision for 2020
By Catherine Belton
Staff Writer
Mikhail Khodorkovsky attacked President Vladimir Putin's regime in a withering missive from his east Siberian prison camp that said time was up for the "parasitic" policies of the current elite and, for the first time, presented what appeared to be his own manifesto for the presidency.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/11/14/002.html
Russians Killed in Afghan Il-76 Crash
The Associated Press
TBILISI, Georgia -- A Soviet-built cargo aircraft crashed into mountains near the Afghan capital Friday and at least eight people were killed, officials said. The plane had been leased to a Pakistani-based airline by a Georgian company, company and aviation officials in Georgia said Saturday.
A spokesman for the NATO-led force in Afghanistan said 10 people were on board, while Aijaz Faizi, manager of Pakistani-based Royal Airlines, said there were only eight: five Russians, two Ukrainians and a Pakistani.
The 20-year-old Il-76 was carrying cargo for the U.S.-led coalition when it crashed into mountains near Afghanistan's capital, Kabul, on Friday. A police commander at the crash site said there were no survivors.
Russian magazines and rubles were scattered around the blackened wreckage of the plane, which was near a few houses on the mountainside some 30 kilometers northwest of Kabul.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/11/14/014.html
Iran Rejects Uranium Enrichment in Russia
By Ali Akbar Dareini
The Associated Press
TEHRAN, Iran -- The head of Iran's nuclear agency ruled out a compromise proposal that uranium enrichment for his country's controversial nuclear program be carried out in Russia, saying Saturday that enrichment must be done in Iran.
European negotiators and the United States were reportedly willing to accept the arrangement as a compromise to allow Iran to move ahead with its nuclear program while ensuring it does not produce nuclear weapons. Enrichment can produce material for bombs and for nuclear reactor fuel.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/11/14/011.html
20,000 Azeris Protest Election Result
The Associated Press
Demonstrators waving orange flags during an opposition rally in Baku on Sunday. The protest lasted two hours.
BAKU, Azerbaijan -- More than 20,000 opposition supporters crammed into a Baku square on Sunday demanding a rerun of last weekend's disputed parliamentary elections in the second mass protest in recent days.
Hoping to emulate demonstrations that propelled opposition leaders to power in three other former Soviet republics in recent years, opposition groups were counting on Sunday's rally to build pressure on the government for a new election.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/11/14/015.html
Global Eye
The White Death
By Chris Floyd
Published: November 11, 2005
This week, the broadcast of a shattering new documentary provided fresh confirmation of a gruesome war crime covered by this column nine months ago: the use of chemical weapons by U.S. forces during the frenzied destruction of Fallujah in November 2004.
Using filmed and photographic evidence, eyewitness accounts and the direct testimony of U.S. soldiers who took part in the attacks, the documentary -- "Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre" -- catalogs the American use of white phosphorus shells and a new, "improved" form of napalm that turned human beings into "caramelized" fossils, with their skin dissolved and turned to leather on their bones. The film was produced by RAI, the Italian state network run by a government that backed the war.
Vivid images show civilians, including women and children, who had been burned alive in their homes, even in their beds. This illegal use of chemical weapons -- at the order of the Bushist brass -- and the killing of civilians are confirmed by former U.S. soldiers interviewed on camera. "I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use white phosphorus on Fallujah," said one soldier, quoted in The Independent. "In military jargon, it's known as Willy Pete. Phosphorus burns bodies; in fact it melts the flesh all the way down to the bone. ... I saw the burned bodies of women and children. Phosphorus explodes and forms a cloud. Anyone within a radius of 150 meters is done for."
...'''Let's give the last word to Jeff Engelhardt, one of the ex-servicemen featured in the documentary, who recently issued this plea to his fellow U.S. soldiers on Fight to Survive, a new dissident web site run by Iraqi War vets:
"I hope someday you find solace for the orders you have had to execute, for the carnage you helped take part in, and for the pride you wear supporting this bloodbath. Until then, you can only hope for an epiphany, something that stands out as completely immoral, that convinces you of the inhumanity of this war. I don't know how much more proof you need. The criminal outrage of Abu Ghraib, the absolute massacre of Fallujah, the stray .50 caliber bullets or 40mm grenades or tank rounds fired in highly packed urban areas, 500-pound bombs dropped on innocent homes, the use of 25mm depleted uranium rounds, the inhumane use of white phosphorus, the hate and the blood and the misunderstandings ... this is the war and the system that you support."
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/11/11/120.html
Decide for yourselves
Fight To Survive
this site is the mouthpiece for a group of soldiers who are fighting in a war they oppose for a president they didn't elect while the petrochemical complex turns the blood of their fallen comrades into oil
http://ftssoldier.blogspot.com/
continued ...
Morning Papers - continued ...
Thanksgiving is on the Way
Turkey Chili Recipe
In preparation for Thanksgiving, and in anticipation of turkey leftovers, we've been experimenting with various turkey dishes that use cooked turkey. This recipe is an easy one for turkey chili using turkey leftovers. (My mom makes great chili beans if you want a chili that starts with ground turkey). Note that this turkey chili recipe makes a lot of chili. We had so much leftover after making this batch that we used a bunch of it as the sauce and filling for enchiladas (which, by the way, is a terrific way to use up extra chili).
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001571turkey_chili.php
San Francisco Chronicle
Katrina levee breach dredges up canal debate
Peripheral project rejected in 1982 -- new proposals met with tepid response
Greg Lucas, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
Sacramento -- Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans and fears that a catastrophic break is destined somewhere along the 1,100 miles of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have revived the idea of building a canal to ship water around the delta.
Twenty-three years ago the notion of what was then called the Peripheral Canal spawned a brutal civil war over water between Northern and Southern California capped by a resounding rejection of the concept at the ballot box.
But now the idea is back.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/14/MNGDFFO16A1.DTL
U.S. Had Iraqi With Same Name As Bomber
Monday, November 14, 2005
(11-14) 05:19 PST BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) --
American forces detained and later released an Iraqi with the same name as one of the suicide attackers who struck three hotels in Amman, Jordan, last week, the U.S. military said Monday.
Jordanian authorities said Safaa Mohammed Ali, 23, was among the suicide attackers who struck last Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt, SAS Radisson and Day's Inn hotels, killing at least 57 people.
A statement by the U.S. command said someone by that name was detained in November 2004 in connection with the American assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. The command said it could not confirm whether the person detained was the same man who took part in the Amman attack.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/14/international/i050437S22.DTL
U.S., Iraqi Troops Kill 37 Insurgents
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
(11-14) 07:14 PST BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) --
U.S. and Iraqi troops trying to stem the flow of insurgent fighters from Syria launched a dawn assault Monday on a border town, killing 37 militants. Police in Baghdad said a car bomb detonated near one of their patrols outside a gate leading into the fortified Green Zone, killing two South Africans.
Operation Steel Curtain entered a new phase when U.S. and Iraqi forces moved into the Euphrates River valley town of Obeidi, about 185 miles west of Baghdad.
"Five targets were struck by coalition airstrikes resulting in an estimated 37 insurgents killed. The insurgents were engaging coalition forces with small arms fire at the time of the strikes," the statement said. "Preliminary reports indicate an estimated 25 insurgents have already been captured and are currently detained."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/14/international/i043430S19.DTL
Stones Deliver With A Bang
Joel Selvin, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
(11-14) 05:57 A.M. PDT San Francsico (SF Chronicle) --
What does Mick Jagger have left to prove?
The 62 year-old vocalist for the Rolling Stones has been world famous since he was a youth. His accomplishments have been indisputable. If there is anyone in the world who could coast on his reputation a little after all these years, Mick Jagger might be that guy.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/11/14/DDstones14.DTL
2 astronauts devise asteroid collision plan
'Tractor beam' could push rogue rock off its path to Earth
Guy Gugliotta, Washington Post
Monday, November 14, 2005
Two NASA astronauts have figured out a way to create a real-life version of a Star Wars "tractor beam" to keep an asteroid from crashing into the Earth.
Simply by hovering nearby for perhaps a year, the astronauts say, the spacecraft's own gravity could minutely slow the asteroid's progress or speed it up, a process that 10 or 20 years later would cause the rogue rock to miss Earth by a comfortable margin.
"The beauty of this idea is that it's incredibly simple," astrophysicist-astronaut Edward Lu said. Because momentum doesn't dissipate in space, with enough time only a small early nudge is needed to cause a major orbital change.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/14/MNG3EFNQHO1.DTL
Services cut for students as high-pay jobs boom
2,275 university employees earned more than $200,000 during the last fiscal year
Tanya Schevitz, Todd Wallack, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
The University of California may have cut student services and maintenance, but not the number of high-paid jobs created over the past two years.
Payroll records show that 2,275 university employees earned more than $200,000 last fiscal year, up 30 percent over two years. The number of employees making at least $300,000 annually climbed 54 percent to 496 last year. Some employees got raises. Others were hired or promoted to new posts with increased salaries.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/14/MNGDFFO1641.DTL
Selling California to Asia, seeking re-election at home
POLITICS: Trip coverage could help court Asian Americans in 2006 campaign
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
It is billed as an official mission, but California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's six-day trip to China that starts today also serves another distinctly political purpose: an unofficial beginning to Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election campaign.
The trade mission to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong allows the battered California governor to set a course for some new, and potentially valuable, allies, political observers said.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/14/MNGDFFO16E1.DTL
The Jordan Times
Sunni Arabs step up calls for halt to US, Iraqi operations
BAGHDAD (AP) — Sunni Arab politicians stepped up demands Sunday for an end to US and Iraqi military operations, claiming they threaten Sunni participation in next month's elections — a key US goal. The US command announced that three more American troops have been killed.
Meanwhile, some 1,100 Iraqi lawyers said they have withdrawn from Saddam Hussein's defence team over the slayings of two colleagues representing co-defendants of the ousted leader. Main attorneys for Saddam and his seven co-defendants had already threatened to boycott the next trial session on November 28.
US commanders have said offensive operations, especially those in the western province of Anbar near the Syrian border, are aimed at encouraging Sunni Arabs to vote in the December 15 parliamentary elections without fear of intimidation by insurgents opposed to the political process.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/news/news1.htm
Would-be female suicide bomber arrested
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah announced Sunday that authorities arrested a woman who was a member of the suicide bombers who carried out attacks on three Amman hotels last week.
"There is a fourth bomber, a woman, who failed to blow herself up at Radisson SAS Hotel along with her husband and she's in custody," the King told a media conference at Le Meridien Hotel.
Iraq's Al Qaeda, led by Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the almost simultaneous blasts at the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn hotels — which killed 57 people and injured 100. The statement said four Iraqis, including a husband and wife, carried out the attacks.
In a televised confession on JTV Sunday evening, the woman, identified as Sajida Mubarak Atrous Al Rishawi, explained how she tried to blow herself up alongside her husband, Ali Hassan Al Shumari, at Radisson SAS last Wednesday.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews1.htm
Full text of failed woman attacker's confession
Sajida Atrous Al Rishawi
confesses Sunday on JTV
(Reuters photo)
AMMAN (AP) — Following is the full text of the confession of the would-be Iraqi woman bomber broadcast Sunday on JTV:
"Sajida Mubarak Atrous [Al Rishawi] , born in 1970, an Iraqi national, living in Ramadi.
On November 5, I accompanied my husband to Jordan with a forged Iraqi passport, under the name of Ali Hussein Ali and Sajida Abdel Qader Latif.
We waited and a white car arrived with a driver and a passenger.
We rode with them and entered Jordan [from Iraq].
My husband arranged our trip from there, I don't know.
In Jordan, we rented an apartment.
He had two explosive belts.
He put one on me and wore the other.
He taught me how to use it, how to pull the [primer cord] and operate it.
He said it was to carry attacks on hotels in Jordan.
We rented a car and entered the hotel on November 9.
My husband and I went inside the hotel, he went to one corner and I went to another.
There was a wedding at the hotel with children, women and men inside.
My husband detonated [his bomb], I tried to explode [my belt] but it wouldn't.
I left, people fled running and I left running with them.”
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews3.htm
Anti-terror fight won't stop — King
Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher shows reporters photos of an explosive belt, left, and metal balls attached to the belt which were worn by Sajida Atrous Al Rishawi (AFP photo by Khalil Mazrawi)
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday met with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who expressed confidence in Jordan's ability to thwart terrorism.
“We have had very good cooperation for many years. Jordan has a very good security team, a very good anti-terrorism system in place,” Solana told the Associated Press in a telephone interview before he left for Israel.
King Abdullah thanked the EU for its supportive stand, stressing that the crime will strengthen the Kingdom in its fight against terrorism, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews2.htm
Proud of our security services
We knew it would happen, but it was nonetheless a great relief when it actually happened.
Jordanians' long placed trust in their intelligence services and law enforcement agencies has, once again, not been disappointed.
News of the apprehension of a fourth would-be suicide bomber yesterday made us all proud. Not because we want revenge: All grieving families know fully well that nothing will ever give them back what was so brutally taken away on Wednesday night, and each citizen knows that the horror of those massacres cannot be undone.
But knowing that our state is successfully getting to the bottom of these heinous attacks, unravelling the terror plot that shook our nation and shattered so many families, helps us get back on our feet and on with our lives confident that Jordan is still one step ahead in the war on terror.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/opinion/opinion1.htm
As reality of terror hits home, remaining Al Qaeda support withers
By Francesca Sawalha
A police vehicle passes Sunday by citizens carrying a giant national flag during a silent march against terrorism in Amman (AP photo by Amr Nabil)
AMMAN — Wednesday night's terror attacks further eroded whatever ranks of sympathisers Al Qaeda might have still had in the Kingdom, but did not dilute widespread opposition against US policies, analysts say.
Politicians and commentators agree Osama Ben Laden's network enjoyed some popularity amongst certain, mainly poor and ultrareligious segments which approve of the insurgency against US occupation in Iraq.
But the massacre of innocent, mainly Arab and Muslim civilians in last week's unprecedented suicide bombings was an eye-opener for all Jordanians who used to condone Ben Laden's and his lieutenant Abu Mussab Zarqawi's operations against the US military.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews4.htm
Leading tourism organisations switch conferences to Amman in show of support
Revenues generated by tourism in the first half of this year reached JD420.1 million, compared to JD379.5 million in the same period of 2004
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — Two of the world's leading tourism and travel organisations plan to relocate their conferences to Amman in a unified show of support for the Kingdom following Wednesday's triple suicide attacks, an official said Sunday.
Minister of Tourism Alia Hattough-Bouran said the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) plan to shift the two conferences, originally slated to take place in Europe, to the capital early next year.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews6.htm
Weddings go ahead at bombed hotel
By Amirah Ajlouni
AMMAN — Nimer Qubti and Suha Jildah were not afraid to have their wedding at the Days Inn on Saturday evening, as 150 guests joined them in celebration and solidarity.
The marriage was the second at the hotel since Wednesday's bombings, which killed 57 people including several at the Days Inn. Joy and sadness mixed at the ceremony, but the tragedy a few days earlier would not keep the couple from going on with their lives explained Essa Qubti, the groom's father.
Elia Turjuman, the bride's brother-in-law, said: “If we postponed the wedding that would mean we gave in to the terrorists, and we will not do that.” The families say they were not afraid to have the wedding at the hotel and management assured them that security was stringent.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews10.htm
Jordan marks 70th birthday of late King Hussein
AMMAN (JT) — Jordan today marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of the late King Hussein, who reigned for nearly five decades.
King Hussein, born on Nov. 14, 1935 to King Talal Ben Abdullah and Queen Zein Al Sharaf, was proclaimed King of Jordan on Aug. 11, 1952.
A Regency Council was appointed until King Hussein's formal accession to the Throne on May 2, 1953, when he assumed his constitutional powers on reaching the age of 18.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews5.htm
Monday, November 14, 2005
Source: The Department of Meteorology
It will be fair with winds easterly moderate becoming brisk in the afternoon. In Aqaba, it will be fair with winds northerly moderate and seas calm.
Min./Max. temp.
Amman 07/21
Aqaba 12/24
Deserts 05/22
Jordan Valley 13/25
Hilly Areas 09/18
The Chicago Tribune
Innocence Lost. What happened to the children of Liberia's Civil War?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/broadband/chi-liberia-flash-htmlstory,1,6087354.htmlstory?coll=chi-news-hed
High winds down power lines, walls, trees
Tribune staff report
Published November 14, 2005, 9:07 AM CST
Hundreds of people were without electricity this morning after wind gusts exceeding 50 m.p.h. Sunday blacked out thousands, knocked down part of a former police station in the western suburbs and uprooted or damaged dozens of trees in Chicago.
About 100 crews for Commonwealth Edison Co. worked through the night to restore power to areas hit by gusty conditions. A total of 140,000 customers were without power at various times Saturday and Sunday, and roughly 1,000 customers mostly in the northern suburbs were still in the dark as of 8 a.m. today.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051114gusts,1,827765.story?coll=chi-news-hed
I wonder if she is pregnant.
Pa. Teen Missing After Parents Slain
By MARTHA RAFFAELE
Associated Press Writer
Published November 14, 2005, 8:54 AM CST
LITITZ, Pa. -- Police searched across the East on Monday for an 18-year-old man and his girlfriend, whose parents were found shot to death in their home.
Police said David G. Ludwig killed 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden's parents after they and their daughter argued about her curfew. The girl was last seen Sunday morning at the family's home in Warwick Township, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-parents-slain-abduction,1,7529133.story?coll=chi-news-hed
War veteran from Chicago dies in fight with soldier
Published November 14, 2005
COLORADO -- An Iraq War veteran from Chicago was killed last week in Colorado Springs during a fight with a fellow soldier, officials said.
Army Spec. Piotr Szczypka, 21, who was based at Ft. Carson, Colo., died early Friday after he and another soldier brawled with a third soldier outside an apartment complex.
About 4:40 a.m. Friday, police said, the men began fighting after their separate groups of companions had become involved in a shouting match.
During the fight, Spec. Timothy Parker, 22, knocked Szczypka unconscious and cut the face of another soldier with an unidentified object, police said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0511140183nov14,1,7163856.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Win, 'D' City
Vasher's 108-yard dash, defense help Bears survive 4 turnovers
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 13, 2005, 10:29 PM CST
It's well-documented that politicians' hot air, not weather conditions, is why Chicago is called the Windy City.
The nickname lived up to both meanings—correct or incorrect—Sunday at litter-strewn Soldier Field, where the goal posts shook more than they were dented.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-051113bearsgamer,1,6732132.story?coll=chi-news-hed
With Costs Up, the Pool Guy Is Facing a Liquidity Crisis
By Elizabeth Douglass
Times Staff Writer
Published November 14, 2005
Pity the pool man.
The profit is being drained from his chlorinated world because of the high price of energy. It's boosting his expenses on all fronts: the gasoline that powers the pickups, the chemicals that burn away algae, even the nets that whisk away leaves and dead bugs.
To compensate, pool service technicians — that's what the industry calls pool cleaners — are cautiously raising prices, trying to stay afloat without losing customers to the constant allure of do-it-yourself savings.
Many pool guys — they're almost always men — are surviving by reworking routes and taking night jobs. Some are hanging up their skimmers for good.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-fi-poolman14nov14,1,471469.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Mariah Wins at Violence-Free Vibe Awards
BY SOLVEJ SCHOU
Associated Press Writer
Published November 14, 2005, 8:03 AM CST
CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Mariah Carey walked away with four honors at the Vibe Awards, a celebration of hip-hop and R&B that went smoothly after last year's ceremony was marred by a brawl and stabbing.
Carey won Artist of the Year, R&B Voice of the Year, Best R&B Song for "We Belong Together" and Album of the Year for her comeback hit, "The Emancipation of Mimi."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-ap-vibe-awards,1,3228833.story?coll=chi-entertainmentfront-hed
Paul McCartney Sings to Space Station Crew
By Associated Press
Published November 13, 2005, 8:32 PM CST
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It was "Good Day Sunshine" for the international space station crew Sunday morning. NASA astronaut Bill McArthur and Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev were treated to a live wake-up call of the Beatles classic in a first-ever concert linkup to the space station.
On Earth, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney performed the hit and another song, "English Tea," on Saturday night before a cheering crowd as part of his 11-week "US" tour.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-ap-space-station-mccartney,1,3688939.story?coll=chi-entertainmentfront-hed
continued …
Turkey Chili Recipe
In preparation for Thanksgiving, and in anticipation of turkey leftovers, we've been experimenting with various turkey dishes that use cooked turkey. This recipe is an easy one for turkey chili using turkey leftovers. (My mom makes great chili beans if you want a chili that starts with ground turkey). Note that this turkey chili recipe makes a lot of chili. We had so much leftover after making this batch that we used a bunch of it as the sauce and filling for enchiladas (which, by the way, is a terrific way to use up extra chili).
http://www.elise.com/recipes/archives/001571turkey_chili.php
San Francisco Chronicle
Katrina levee breach dredges up canal debate
Peripheral project rejected in 1982 -- new proposals met with tepid response
Greg Lucas, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
Sacramento -- Hurricane Katrina's devastation of New Orleans and fears that a catastrophic break is destined somewhere along the 1,100 miles of levees in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta have revived the idea of building a canal to ship water around the delta.
Twenty-three years ago the notion of what was then called the Peripheral Canal spawned a brutal civil war over water between Northern and Southern California capped by a resounding rejection of the concept at the ballot box.
But now the idea is back.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/14/MNGDFFO16A1.DTL
U.S. Had Iraqi With Same Name As Bomber
Monday, November 14, 2005
(11-14) 05:19 PST BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) --
American forces detained and later released an Iraqi with the same name as one of the suicide attackers who struck three hotels in Amman, Jordan, last week, the U.S. military said Monday.
Jordanian authorities said Safaa Mohammed Ali, 23, was among the suicide attackers who struck last Wednesday at the Grand Hyatt, SAS Radisson and Day's Inn hotels, killing at least 57 people.
A statement by the U.S. command said someone by that name was detained in November 2004 in connection with the American assault on the insurgent stronghold of Fallujah. The command said it could not confirm whether the person detained was the same man who took part in the Amman attack.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/14/international/i050437S22.DTL
U.S., Iraqi Troops Kill 37 Insurgents
By BASSEM MROUE, Associated Press Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
(11-14) 07:14 PST BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) --
U.S. and Iraqi troops trying to stem the flow of insurgent fighters from Syria launched a dawn assault Monday on a border town, killing 37 militants. Police in Baghdad said a car bomb detonated near one of their patrols outside a gate leading into the fortified Green Zone, killing two South Africans.
Operation Steel Curtain entered a new phase when U.S. and Iraqi forces moved into the Euphrates River valley town of Obeidi, about 185 miles west of Baghdad.
"Five targets were struck by coalition airstrikes resulting in an estimated 37 insurgents killed. The insurgents were engaging coalition forces with small arms fire at the time of the strikes," the statement said. "Preliminary reports indicate an estimated 25 insurgents have already been captured and are currently detained."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/14/international/i043430S19.DTL
Stones Deliver With A Bang
Joel Selvin, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
(11-14) 05:57 A.M. PDT San Francsico (SF Chronicle) --
What does Mick Jagger have left to prove?
The 62 year-old vocalist for the Rolling Stones has been world famous since he was a youth. His accomplishments have been indisputable. If there is anyone in the world who could coast on his reputation a little after all these years, Mick Jagger might be that guy.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/11/14/DDstones14.DTL
2 astronauts devise asteroid collision plan
'Tractor beam' could push rogue rock off its path to Earth
Guy Gugliotta, Washington Post
Monday, November 14, 2005
Two NASA astronauts have figured out a way to create a real-life version of a Star Wars "tractor beam" to keep an asteroid from crashing into the Earth.
Simply by hovering nearby for perhaps a year, the astronauts say, the spacecraft's own gravity could minutely slow the asteroid's progress or speed it up, a process that 10 or 20 years later would cause the rogue rock to miss Earth by a comfortable margin.
"The beauty of this idea is that it's incredibly simple," astrophysicist-astronaut Edward Lu said. Because momentum doesn't dissipate in space, with enough time only a small early nudge is needed to cause a major orbital change.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/14/MNG3EFNQHO1.DTL
Services cut for students as high-pay jobs boom
2,275 university employees earned more than $200,000 during the last fiscal year
Tanya Schevitz, Todd Wallack, Chronicle Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
The University of California may have cut student services and maintenance, but not the number of high-paid jobs created over the past two years.
Payroll records show that 2,275 university employees earned more than $200,000 last fiscal year, up 30 percent over two years. The number of employees making at least $300,000 annually climbed 54 percent to 496 last year. Some employees got raises. Others were hired or promoted to new posts with increased salaries.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/14/MNGDFFO1641.DTL
Selling California to Asia, seeking re-election at home
POLITICS: Trip coverage could help court Asian Americans in 2006 campaign
Carla Marinucci, Chronicle Political Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005
It is billed as an official mission, but California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger's six-day trip to China that starts today also serves another distinctly political purpose: an unofficial beginning to Schwarzenegger's 2006 re-election campaign.
The trade mission to Beijing, Shanghai and Hong Kong allows the battered California governor to set a course for some new, and potentially valuable, allies, political observers said.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/11/14/MNGDFFO16E1.DTL
The Jordan Times
Sunni Arabs step up calls for halt to US, Iraqi operations
BAGHDAD (AP) — Sunni Arab politicians stepped up demands Sunday for an end to US and Iraqi military operations, claiming they threaten Sunni participation in next month's elections — a key US goal. The US command announced that three more American troops have been killed.
Meanwhile, some 1,100 Iraqi lawyers said they have withdrawn from Saddam Hussein's defence team over the slayings of two colleagues representing co-defendants of the ousted leader. Main attorneys for Saddam and his seven co-defendants had already threatened to boycott the next trial session on November 28.
US commanders have said offensive operations, especially those in the western province of Anbar near the Syrian border, are aimed at encouraging Sunni Arabs to vote in the December 15 parliamentary elections without fear of intimidation by insurgents opposed to the political process.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/news/news1.htm
Would-be female suicide bomber arrested
By Alia Shukri Hamzeh
AMMAN — His Majesty King Abdullah announced Sunday that authorities arrested a woman who was a member of the suicide bombers who carried out attacks on three Amman hotels last week.
"There is a fourth bomber, a woman, who failed to blow herself up at Radisson SAS Hotel along with her husband and she's in custody," the King told a media conference at Le Meridien Hotel.
Iraq's Al Qaeda, led by Abu Mussab Al Zarqawi, claimed responsibility for the almost simultaneous blasts at the Grand Hyatt, Radisson SAS and Days Inn hotels — which killed 57 people and injured 100. The statement said four Iraqis, including a husband and wife, carried out the attacks.
In a televised confession on JTV Sunday evening, the woman, identified as Sajida Mubarak Atrous Al Rishawi, explained how she tried to blow herself up alongside her husband, Ali Hassan Al Shumari, at Radisson SAS last Wednesday.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews1.htm
Full text of failed woman attacker's confession
Sajida Atrous Al Rishawi
confesses Sunday on JTV
(Reuters photo)
AMMAN (AP) — Following is the full text of the confession of the would-be Iraqi woman bomber broadcast Sunday on JTV:
"Sajida Mubarak Atrous [Al Rishawi] , born in 1970, an Iraqi national, living in Ramadi.
On November 5, I accompanied my husband to Jordan with a forged Iraqi passport, under the name of Ali Hussein Ali and Sajida Abdel Qader Latif.
We waited and a white car arrived with a driver and a passenger.
We rode with them and entered Jordan [from Iraq].
My husband arranged our trip from there, I don't know.
In Jordan, we rented an apartment.
He had two explosive belts.
He put one on me and wore the other.
He taught me how to use it, how to pull the [primer cord] and operate it.
He said it was to carry attacks on hotels in Jordan.
We rented a car and entered the hotel on November 9.
My husband and I went inside the hotel, he went to one corner and I went to another.
There was a wedding at the hotel with children, women and men inside.
My husband detonated [his bomb], I tried to explode [my belt] but it wouldn't.
I left, people fled running and I left running with them.”
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews3.htm
Anti-terror fight won't stop — King
Deputy Prime Minister Marwan Muasher shows reporters photos of an explosive belt, left, and metal balls attached to the belt which were worn by Sajida Atrous Al Rishawi (AFP photo by Khalil Mazrawi)
AMMAN (JT) — His Majesty King Abdullah on Sunday met with EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana, who expressed confidence in Jordan's ability to thwart terrorism.
“We have had very good cooperation for many years. Jordan has a very good security team, a very good anti-terrorism system in place,” Solana told the Associated Press in a telephone interview before he left for Israel.
King Abdullah thanked the EU for its supportive stand, stressing that the crime will strengthen the Kingdom in its fight against terrorism, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews2.htm
Proud of our security services
We knew it would happen, but it was nonetheless a great relief when it actually happened.
Jordanians' long placed trust in their intelligence services and law enforcement agencies has, once again, not been disappointed.
News of the apprehension of a fourth would-be suicide bomber yesterday made us all proud. Not because we want revenge: All grieving families know fully well that nothing will ever give them back what was so brutally taken away on Wednesday night, and each citizen knows that the horror of those massacres cannot be undone.
But knowing that our state is successfully getting to the bottom of these heinous attacks, unravelling the terror plot that shook our nation and shattered so many families, helps us get back on our feet and on with our lives confident that Jordan is still one step ahead in the war on terror.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/opinion/opinion1.htm
As reality of terror hits home, remaining Al Qaeda support withers
By Francesca Sawalha
A police vehicle passes Sunday by citizens carrying a giant national flag during a silent march against terrorism in Amman (AP photo by Amr Nabil)
AMMAN — Wednesday night's terror attacks further eroded whatever ranks of sympathisers Al Qaeda might have still had in the Kingdom, but did not dilute widespread opposition against US policies, analysts say.
Politicians and commentators agree Osama Ben Laden's network enjoyed some popularity amongst certain, mainly poor and ultrareligious segments which approve of the insurgency against US occupation in Iraq.
But the massacre of innocent, mainly Arab and Muslim civilians in last week's unprecedented suicide bombings was an eye-opener for all Jordanians who used to condone Ben Laden's and his lieutenant Abu Mussab Zarqawi's operations against the US military.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews4.htm
Leading tourism organisations switch conferences to Amman in show of support
Revenues generated by tourism in the first half of this year reached JD420.1 million, compared to JD379.5 million in the same period of 2004
By Dalya Dajani
AMMAN — Two of the world's leading tourism and travel organisations plan to relocate their conferences to Amman in a unified show of support for the Kingdom following Wednesday's triple suicide attacks, an official said Sunday.
Minister of Tourism Alia Hattough-Bouran said the World Tourism Organisation (WTO) and the World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC) plan to shift the two conferences, originally slated to take place in Europe, to the capital early next year.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews6.htm
Weddings go ahead at bombed hotel
By Amirah Ajlouni
AMMAN — Nimer Qubti and Suha Jildah were not afraid to have their wedding at the Days Inn on Saturday evening, as 150 guests joined them in celebration and solidarity.
The marriage was the second at the hotel since Wednesday's bombings, which killed 57 people including several at the Days Inn. Joy and sadness mixed at the ceremony, but the tragedy a few days earlier would not keep the couple from going on with their lives explained Essa Qubti, the groom's father.
Elia Turjuman, the bride's brother-in-law, said: “If we postponed the wedding that would mean we gave in to the terrorists, and we will not do that.” The families say they were not afraid to have the wedding at the hotel and management assured them that security was stringent.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews10.htm
Jordan marks 70th birthday of late King Hussein
AMMAN (JT) — Jordan today marks the 70th anniversary of the birth of the late King Hussein, who reigned for nearly five decades.
King Hussein, born on Nov. 14, 1935 to King Talal Ben Abdullah and Queen Zein Al Sharaf, was proclaimed King of Jordan on Aug. 11, 1952.
A Regency Council was appointed until King Hussein's formal accession to the Throne on May 2, 1953, when he assumed his constitutional powers on reaching the age of 18.
http://www.jordantimes.com/mon/homenews/homenews5.htm
Monday, November 14, 2005
Source: The Department of Meteorology
It will be fair with winds easterly moderate becoming brisk in the afternoon. In Aqaba, it will be fair with winds northerly moderate and seas calm.
Min./Max. temp.
Amman 07/21
Aqaba 12/24
Deserts 05/22
Jordan Valley 13/25
Hilly Areas 09/18
The Chicago Tribune
Innocence Lost. What happened to the children of Liberia's Civil War?
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/specials/broadband/chi-liberia-flash-htmlstory,1,6087354.htmlstory?coll=chi-news-hed
High winds down power lines, walls, trees
Tribune staff report
Published November 14, 2005, 9:07 AM CST
Hundreds of people were without electricity this morning after wind gusts exceeding 50 m.p.h. Sunday blacked out thousands, knocked down part of a former police station in the western suburbs and uprooted or damaged dozens of trees in Chicago.
About 100 crews for Commonwealth Edison Co. worked through the night to restore power to areas hit by gusty conditions. A total of 140,000 customers were without power at various times Saturday and Sunday, and roughly 1,000 customers mostly in the northern suburbs were still in the dark as of 8 a.m. today.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-051114gusts,1,827765.story?coll=chi-news-hed
I wonder if she is pregnant.
Pa. Teen Missing After Parents Slain
By MARTHA RAFFAELE
Associated Press Writer
Published November 14, 2005, 8:54 AM CST
LITITZ, Pa. -- Police searched across the East on Monday for an 18-year-old man and his girlfriend, whose parents were found shot to death in their home.
Police said David G. Ludwig killed 14-year-old Kara Beth Borden's parents after they and their daughter argued about her curfew. The girl was last seen Sunday morning at the family's home in Warwick Township, about 60 miles west of Philadelphia.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-parents-slain-abduction,1,7529133.story?coll=chi-news-hed
War veteran from Chicago dies in fight with soldier
Published November 14, 2005
COLORADO -- An Iraq War veteran from Chicago was killed last week in Colorado Springs during a fight with a fellow soldier, officials said.
Army Spec. Piotr Szczypka, 21, who was based at Ft. Carson, Colo., died early Friday after he and another soldier brawled with a third soldier outside an apartment complex.
About 4:40 a.m. Friday, police said, the men began fighting after their separate groups of companions had become involved in a shouting match.
During the fight, Spec. Timothy Parker, 22, knocked Szczypka unconscious and cut the face of another soldier with an unidentified object, police said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0511140183nov14,1,7163856.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Win, 'D' City
Vasher's 108-yard dash, defense help Bears survive 4 turnovers
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
Published November 13, 2005, 10:29 PM CST
It's well-documented that politicians' hot air, not weather conditions, is why Chicago is called the Windy City.
The nickname lived up to both meanings—correct or incorrect—Sunday at litter-strewn Soldier Field, where the goal posts shook more than they were dented.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/football/bears/cs-051113bearsgamer,1,6732132.story?coll=chi-news-hed
With Costs Up, the Pool Guy Is Facing a Liquidity Crisis
By Elizabeth Douglass
Times Staff Writer
Published November 14, 2005
Pity the pool man.
The profit is being drained from his chlorinated world because of the high price of energy. It's boosting his expenses on all fronts: the gasoline that powers the pickups, the chemicals that burn away algae, even the nets that whisk away leaves and dead bugs.
To compensate, pool service technicians — that's what the industry calls pool cleaners — are cautiously raising prices, trying to stay afloat without losing customers to the constant allure of do-it-yourself savings.
Many pool guys — they're almost always men — are surviving by reworking routes and taking night jobs. Some are hanging up their skimmers for good.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/la-fi-poolman14nov14,1,471469.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Mariah Wins at Violence-Free Vibe Awards
BY SOLVEJ SCHOU
Associated Press Writer
Published November 14, 2005, 8:03 AM CST
CULVER CITY, Calif. -- Mariah Carey walked away with four honors at the Vibe Awards, a celebration of hip-hop and R&B that went smoothly after last year's ceremony was marred by a brawl and stabbing.
Carey won Artist of the Year, R&B Voice of the Year, Best R&B Song for "We Belong Together" and Album of the Year for her comeback hit, "The Emancipation of Mimi."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-ap-vibe-awards,1,3228833.story?coll=chi-entertainmentfront-hed
Paul McCartney Sings to Space Station Crew
By Associated Press
Published November 13, 2005, 8:32 PM CST
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- It was "Good Day Sunshine" for the international space station crew Sunday morning. NASA astronaut Bill McArthur and Russian cosmonaut Valery Tokarev were treated to a live wake-up call of the Beatles classic in a first-ever concert linkup to the space station.
On Earth, former Beatle Sir Paul McCartney performed the hit and another song, "English Tea," on Saturday night before a cheering crowd as part of his 11-week "US" tour.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/entertainment/sns-ap-space-station-mccartney,1,3688939.story?coll=chi-entertainmentfront-hed
continued …
Morning Papers - continued ...
Sydney Morning Herald
Suspects 'stopped near reactor'
Six of eight suspected Sydney terrorists attended jihad training camps in country NSW earlier this year, a NSW court document alleges.
Three of the eight men charged after last week's counter-terrorism raids in NSW were also stopped near Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in December 2004, the document says.
An access lock for a gate to a reservoir of the reactor had recently been cut, and the three gave different versions of the day's events to police, it says.
The men were also allegedly stockpiling hundreds of litres of chemicals used to manufacture a highly volatile explosive called TATP.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/suspects-stopped-near-reactor/2005/11/14/1131816839506.html?oneclick=true
Sedition provisions to stay in anti-terror laws
Prime Minister John Howard has ruled out removing sedition clauses from the government's counter-terrorism package, despite warnings they could limit free speech by the opposition and Labor premiers.
Their concerns were echoed today by legal and human rights groups at a Senate committee hearing on the anti-terror bill.
The sedition provisions make it an offence to promote ill-will or hostility between groups, urge violence against the government or assist "an enemy at war" with Australia.
Those convicted face up to seven years' jail.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sedition-provisions-to-stay/2005/11/14/1131951093907.html
Australia offers aid if North Korea abandons nukes
Australia is ready to provide North Korea with massive aid if the communist country gives up its nuclear program, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.
"Once the North verifiably abandons its nuclear programs, Australia is willing to provide significant development aid, energy assistance and nuclear safeguards expertise to assist dismantlement," Mr Downer told a news conference in Seoul.
Mr Downer was in the South Korean capital en route to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Pusan, South Korea's second largest city.
Yesterday, he held talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/australia-offers-aid-if-north-korea-abandons-nukes/2005/11/14/1131951093357.html
Bouncer's assault costs club $37,000
The owners of a Brisbane nightclub have been ordered to pay more than $37,000 in damages to a customer assaulted by one of the club's bouncers.
In what is believed to be a precedent-setting judgment, The Beat nightclub has been ordered to pay 33-year-old Gavin Patrick Ryan $37,452 after one of its security guards - Vaivasa Aperu - king hit him.
Brisbane District Court judge Charles Brabazon today found The Beat should be held financially accountable for the actions of its employees.
"There is a finding of vicarious liability," said Judge Brabazon.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bouncers-assault-costs-club-37000/2005/11/14/1131816857410.html
Surfer bitten by shark off Florida coast
A surfer dangling his feet into the sea off Florida's east coast has been bitten by a shark.
The 18-year-old man was surfing in water up to 2.4 metres deep near the New Smyrna Beach jetty on Saturday when the shark swam up and bit him, Scott Petersohn, a spokesman for the Volusia County Beach Patrol, said.
"This was a case of mistaken identity," Petersohn told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
"The guy's foot dangling in the water looks a lot like a fish."
The man, who was not identified, suffered puncture wounds on his right foot, Petersohn said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/surfer-bitten-by-shark-off-florida-coast/2005/11/14/1131816852722.html
American tourist killed by elephant
An American tourist had been trampled to death by an elephant on a South African game farm, police said on Sunday.
The incident happened on Thursday evening on a private farm in the Vaalwaters region of the northern Limpopo province, police Superintendent Ronel Otto said.
The victim, identified as 31-year-old Loren Mummy, was on a game drive with two friends from Scotland, whose identities were not released.
The group, accompanied by a guide, spotted a herd of elephants and decided to approach on foot, Superintendent Otto said. Police suspect they got too close to an elephant calf and an adult female charged at them.
"The guide tried to intervene but apparently the elephant just pushed him away and trampled Mummy," she said.
Ms Mummy was born in South Africa but emigrated when she was 18. Superintendent Otto did not know her home town in the United States.
US embassy officials could not be reached for comment.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/american-tourist-killed-by-elephant/2005/11/14/1131816832731.html
Bird flu mutation more resistant
Hanoi: Scientists in Vietnam, where bird flu has killed 42 people, said the deadly H5N1 virus had mutated into a more dangerous form that could breed more effectively in mammals.
The online newspaper VnExpress quoted Cao Bao Van, the director of the Molecule Biology Department of the Pasteur Institute, Vietnam's centre of bird flu research, as saying the decoding of 24 samples of the virus taken from poultry and humans showed significant antigen variation. An antigen is a foreign substance that stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies.
Dr Van said the study showed a shift involving significant antigenic changes of the influenza surface proteins, the HA and NA molecules.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/bird-flu-mutation-more-resistant/2005/11/13/1131816809180.html
Sculpture by the Sea
http://media.smh.com.au/?rid=17398&sy=smh&source=smh.com.au%2F&t=16L0ML&ie=1&player=wm7&rate=220&flash=1
Los Angeles Times
Judges' Inaction, Inattention Leave Many Seniors at Risk
Probate courts are supposed to watch conservators' conduct and discipline those who abuse their authority. They've failed dismally in this vital role.
By Jack Leonard, Robin Fields and Evelyn Larrubia, Times Staff Writers
Emmeline Frey was wheeled toward the bench, escorted by a family friend. She was 93 years old and frail, suffering from dementia and a broken hip.
In San Diego County's busy Probate Court, it was up to Judge Thomas R. Mitchell to decide how to preserve the $1 million she had amassed pinching pennies over a lifetime. On the recommendation of Frey's attorney, he appointed a professional conservator named Donna Daum.
Frey's affairs were now in the hands of a caretaker acting under court supervision. Her money should have been safe.
It was not.
Daum gave her son, a car salesman turned financial advisor, more than $500,000 of Frey's savings to invest. Over the next four years, the investments lost more than $100,000 in value while the son collected commissions.
Mitchell, who described himself as the "super father" of the seniors who entered his courtroom, never questioned what Daum was doing with her client's money or why her son was involved.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-conserve14nov14,0,3305612.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Guardians for Profit
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-conservators-series,0,7048390.special?coll=la-home-headlines
When a Family Matter Turns Into a Business
Conservators are supposed to protect the elderly and infirm. But some neglect their clients, isolate them -- even plunder their assets.
By Robin Fields, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard, Times Staff Writers
Helen Jones sits in a wheelchair, surrounded by strangers who control her life.
She is not allowed to answer the telephone. Her mail is screened. She cannot spend her own money.
A child of the Depression, Jones, 87, worked hard for decades, driving rivets into World War II fighter planes, making neckties, threading bristles into nail-polish brushes. She saved obsessively, putting away $560,000 for her old age.
Her life changed three years ago, when a woman named Melodie Scott told a court in San Bernardino that Jones was unable to manage for herself. Without asking Jones, a judge made Scott — someone she had never met — her legal guardian.
Scott is a professional conservator.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-conserve13nov13,0,2846858.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Once a Neocon always a Neocon. This could easily be as much a federal strategy as a California strategy to stimulate the economy. California's economic influence is considerable. If the federal government under the Repuglican leadership is running out of appropriation bills could be influencing the borrowing and spending patterns in Red States.
Massive State Bond Possible
At a cost some peg at $50 billion or more, Schwarzenegger seeks an infrastructure program reminiscent of the Pat Brown era.
By Evan Halper, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO — Coming off a losing campaign to curb state spending, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is promoting a statewide public works program that may be financed by a bond sale so large it would dwarf previous state borrowings.
The governor hopes to join with Democratic leaders and businesses to address Californians' growing frustration with clogged roadways, polluted water, hospital shortages, overcrowded schools and, in the wake of the devastation in New Orleans, inadequate disaster preparedness.
Schwarzenegger is seizing an issue with wide bipartisan support in an effort to restore his image as a moderate, although his plan threatens to cause tension with some conservative allies who have long warned against more government borrowing.
If he succeeds, Schwarzenegger could reposition himself in the model of former Gov. Pat Brown, who by the time he left office in 1967 had created a legacy of roads, waterways and universities that continue to help drive the state economy today.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sacto14nov14,0,6247774.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Five questions non-Muslims would like answered
By Dennis Prager, Dennis Prager's nationally syndicated radio show is heard daily in Los Angeles on KRLA-AM (870). He may be contacted through his website: www.dennisprager.com.
THE RIOTING IN France by primarily Muslim youths and the hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims.
Here are five of them:
(1) Why are you so quiet?
Since the first Israelis were targeted for death by Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of your religion and Palestinian nationalism, I have been praying to see Muslim demonstrations against these atrocities. Last week's protests in Jordan against the bombings, while welcome, were a rarity. What I have seen more often is mainstream Muslim spokesmen implicitly defending this terror on the grounds that Israel occupies Palestinian lands. We see torture and murder in the name of Allah, but we see no anti-torture and anti-murder demonstrations in the name of Allah.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-prager13nov13,0,1142056.story?track=hpmostemailedlink
$500,000 question
What exactly can you get for L.A.'s median price of half-a-million bucks? Try a bidding war for a starter home in your second-choice neighborhood and a throbbing headache.
By Darrell Satzman, Special to The Times
HALF-a-million dollars doesn't buy what it used to.
Prospective buyers looking in that ballpark a decade ago were a semi-exclusive group with their pick of the best Los Angeles County neighborhoods and a huge inventory of lovely, single-family homes.
Nowadays, $500,000 is right around the median price of a home in the county — and buyers in that range know all too well that the middle of the road is not an easy place to be. In many neighborhoods, it buys only a starter home or condominium, and the competition for those properties is strong.
http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/la-re-median13nov13,0,5413359.story?track=hpmostemailedlink
Your government on drugs
STARTING TUESDAY, RETIREES can sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Besides some luck and patience, they'll need an actuarial advisor, a personal pharmacist, a high-speed computer connection and maybe a sharp 12-year-old to help them navigate the Medicare website.
Oh, and one more thing: They could also use a government with the sense to change the program if it doesn't work. It has the potential to be catastrophic for the U.S. Treasury, if not for retirees' health.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-medicare14nov14,0,891180.story?coll=la-home-oped
Fixing a mistake in Iraq
THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT THIS month belatedly got around to reversing one of the worst errors of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran the country after the invasion: the disbanding of the Iraqi army. Some officers had been called back into service earlier, but the transitional government issued a near-blanket invitation to officers up to the rank of major to apply for reinstatement.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-iraq14nov14,0,6193702.story?coll=la-home-oped
New Zealand Herald
DNA tests helping to save NZ dolphins
14.11.05
Research which analyses the DNA of New Zealand bottlenose dolphins may help with the long-term conservation of the species.
Gabriela de Tezanos Pinto, a PhD student based at the University of Auckland's School of Biological Sciences, said analysis of DNA would reveal if there were any connections between different populations of dolphins in New Zealand and around the Pacific Ocean and help with the management of the dolphins.
Three small and isolated populations had been identified in the coastal waters of New Zealand - Northland, Marlborough Sound and Fiordland.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10355002
Big British plans for bio-diesel in New Zealand
14.11.05 1.00pm
The company that created the world's largest biodiesel plant, is investigating building a biodiesel refinery in New Zealand.
Argent Energy vice-chairman Jim Walker told Glasgow's Sunday Herald that the company has scaled up plans to invest in a further two plants in the United Kingdom and possibly a third in New Zealand.
The company has just reactivated plans to float in the first half of 2006, following a new ruling that by 2010 about 5 per cent of fuel sold on UK forecourts must come from a renewable source.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10355129
Peters' first steps as Foreign Minister may surprise
14.11.05 1.00pm
By Ian Llewellyn
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is concerned about the decline in the number of Chinese students in New Zealand and will discuss the issue with China in one of his first overseas meetings in the new job.
Mr Peters arrives for the Apec (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation) meeting in Pusan, South Korea, today along with Trade Ministers Phil Goff and Jim Sutton.
The New Zealand First leader has a popular image of being anti-immigration and in particular anti-Asian immigration, but he says this is misconstrued and is concerned about the decline in the number of Chinese students studying English in New Zealand over the past few years.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10355128
French unrest seems to wane
14.11.05 1.00pm
By Sophie Louet
PARIS - France's worst rioting in nearly 40 years seemed to be waning today, police said, though youths torched vehicles in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
Cars set ablaze in France were down by a quarter on Saturday (Sunday morning NZT) on the previous night and fears that violence would grip central Paris proved unfounded after rallies were banned in the capital.
"Things could calm down very, very quickly," national police service chief Michel Gaudin told reporters in Paris.
But in Toulouse, scene of serious clashes with police last week, attackers torched seven vehicles and partly destroyed a school, driving a burning car against its gate, police said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355135
Coroner hears details of death of youngster at CYF camp
14.11.05 4.00pm
The disappearance of an Auckland teenager at a Child Youth and Family camp last year went unreported to police for four days because camp coordinators thought he had just run away to family, a South Auckland coroners court heard today.
Otis Auelua, 13, was found dead in the sea off Matauri Bay, Northland, on December 15. He disappeared on December 9 but was not reported missing for four days.
Witness Niki Elkington, a camp coordinator who had taught Otis and five others to snorkel the morning of Otis' disappearance, said he and three other coordinators searched for Otis after he failed to turn up for lunch.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10355158
Wellington scuttled in Cook Strait
14.11.05
It took just under two minutes to turn a frigate into an artificial reef yesterday - around about the time the HMNZS Wellington took to sink gracefully to the sea floor off the coast of its namesake city.
The flag on the bow was the last thing to sink out of sight into the churning water - ending a history of three decades afloat as a ship in both the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10355094
Immunisation race starts in quake-hit Pakistan
14.11.05 1.00pm
By Zeeshan Haider
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Doctors in earthquake struck Kashmir have begun a campaign to immunise 800,000 children against potentially killer diseases, measles, tetanus, whooping cough, diptheria and polio before the bitter Himalayan winter bites.
Children living in remote mountain villages, cut off by landslides, were particularly vulnerable due to malnutrition because they have access to inadequate food supplies.
"We're doing everything we can to immunise every child in the region," Dr. Tamur Mueenuddin, in charge of health issues for UNICEF in Muzaffarabad, said from the ruined capital of Pakistani Kashmir.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355131
African leaders tell Liberia to shun violence
14.11.05 11.20am
MONROVIA - African leaders appealed to the people of Liberia to stay peaceful and shun violence in a dispute over a presidential run-off in which Harvard-trained economist Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf finished first.
The 67-year-old former finance minister is poised to become Africa's first elected female head of state after official voting returns showed her obtaining an unbeatable lead over millionaire soccer star George Weah in a poll last week.
But former AC Milan striker Weah, 39, whose supporters stoned police in Monrovia on the weekend, is calling for a rerun. He says the run-off vote was riddled with fraud.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355132
Namibia to rebury hundreds found in mass graves
14.11.05 8.20am
WINDHOEK - Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba visited on Sunday the site of two apartheid-era mass graves discovered last week and said the remains would be given a dignified reburial.
Pohamba said he wanted those who served in apartheid South Africa's occupation army and their Namibian collaborators to come forward with any information that could help identify the bodies, buried close to the northern town of Eenhana, near the Angolan border.
Dozens of people, possibly hundreds, were in the graves, a senior government official said. However, a final figure could only be given once forensic teams finished examining the graves.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355110
Jordan hotel bomber confesses on TV
14.11.05 8.00am
AMMAN - An Iraqi woman confessed on Jordanian television on Sunday that she had tried to blow herself up alongside her husband in an Amman hotel last week in one of three attacks that killed more than 50 people.
The woman, identified by police as Sajida al-Rishawi, appeared in a headscarf and a long black coat describing her attempts to detonate an explosives-laden belt at a wedding celebration in the Radisson hotel.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355106
Report exposes fishing piracy
14.11.05
By Kathy Marks
SYDNEY - The world's fish stocks are being plundered by pirates using "flags of convenience" to mask their illicit activities, according to a joint report by environmentalists and unionists.
Fishing vessels using those flags - often purchased online for less than $1000 - are responsible for illegal fishing worth $1.7 billion a year, the report concludes. They also endanger the marine environment and treat their crews inhumanely, sometimes keeping them in chains while at sea.
The report - commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Australian Government and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) - found that 15 per cent of the world's large-scale fishing fleet - or 2800 vessels - flies a flag of convenience or of unknown origin.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355003
continued …
Suspects 'stopped near reactor'
Six of eight suspected Sydney terrorists attended jihad training camps in country NSW earlier this year, a NSW court document alleges.
Three of the eight men charged after last week's counter-terrorism raids in NSW were also stopped near Sydney's Lucas Heights nuclear reactor in December 2004, the document says.
An access lock for a gate to a reservoir of the reactor had recently been cut, and the three gave different versions of the day's events to police, it says.
The men were also allegedly stockpiling hundreds of litres of chemicals used to manufacture a highly volatile explosive called TATP.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/suspects-stopped-near-reactor/2005/11/14/1131816839506.html?oneclick=true
Sedition provisions to stay in anti-terror laws
Prime Minister John Howard has ruled out removing sedition clauses from the government's counter-terrorism package, despite warnings they could limit free speech by the opposition and Labor premiers.
Their concerns were echoed today by legal and human rights groups at a Senate committee hearing on the anti-terror bill.
The sedition provisions make it an offence to promote ill-will or hostility between groups, urge violence against the government or assist "an enemy at war" with Australia.
Those convicted face up to seven years' jail.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/sedition-provisions-to-stay/2005/11/14/1131951093907.html
Australia offers aid if North Korea abandons nukes
Australia is ready to provide North Korea with massive aid if the communist country gives up its nuclear program, Foreign Minister Alexander Downer said today.
"Once the North verifiably abandons its nuclear programs, Australia is willing to provide significant development aid, energy assistance and nuclear safeguards expertise to assist dismantlement," Mr Downer told a news conference in Seoul.
Mr Downer was in the South Korean capital en route to the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum in Pusan, South Korea's second largest city.
Yesterday, he held talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Ban Ki-Moon.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/australia-offers-aid-if-north-korea-abandons-nukes/2005/11/14/1131951093357.html
Bouncer's assault costs club $37,000
The owners of a Brisbane nightclub have been ordered to pay more than $37,000 in damages to a customer assaulted by one of the club's bouncers.
In what is believed to be a precedent-setting judgment, The Beat nightclub has been ordered to pay 33-year-old Gavin Patrick Ryan $37,452 after one of its security guards - Vaivasa Aperu - king hit him.
Brisbane District Court judge Charles Brabazon today found The Beat should be held financially accountable for the actions of its employees.
"There is a finding of vicarious liability," said Judge Brabazon.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/bouncers-assault-costs-club-37000/2005/11/14/1131816857410.html
Surfer bitten by shark off Florida coast
A surfer dangling his feet into the sea off Florida's east coast has been bitten by a shark.
The 18-year-old man was surfing in water up to 2.4 metres deep near the New Smyrna Beach jetty on Saturday when the shark swam up and bit him, Scott Petersohn, a spokesman for the Volusia County Beach Patrol, said.
"This was a case of mistaken identity," Petersohn told the Daytona Beach News-Journal.
"The guy's foot dangling in the water looks a lot like a fish."
The man, who was not identified, suffered puncture wounds on his right foot, Petersohn said.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/surfer-bitten-by-shark-off-florida-coast/2005/11/14/1131816852722.html
American tourist killed by elephant
An American tourist had been trampled to death by an elephant on a South African game farm, police said on Sunday.
The incident happened on Thursday evening on a private farm in the Vaalwaters region of the northern Limpopo province, police Superintendent Ronel Otto said.
The victim, identified as 31-year-old Loren Mummy, was on a game drive with two friends from Scotland, whose identities were not released.
The group, accompanied by a guide, spotted a herd of elephants and decided to approach on foot, Superintendent Otto said. Police suspect they got too close to an elephant calf and an adult female charged at them.
"The guide tried to intervene but apparently the elephant just pushed him away and trampled Mummy," she said.
Ms Mummy was born in South Africa but emigrated when she was 18. Superintendent Otto did not know her home town in the United States.
US embassy officials could not be reached for comment.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/american-tourist-killed-by-elephant/2005/11/14/1131816832731.html
Bird flu mutation more resistant
Hanoi: Scientists in Vietnam, where bird flu has killed 42 people, said the deadly H5N1 virus had mutated into a more dangerous form that could breed more effectively in mammals.
The online newspaper VnExpress quoted Cao Bao Van, the director of the Molecule Biology Department of the Pasteur Institute, Vietnam's centre of bird flu research, as saying the decoding of 24 samples of the virus taken from poultry and humans showed significant antigen variation. An antigen is a foreign substance that stimulates the immune system to produce antibodies.
Dr Van said the study showed a shift involving significant antigenic changes of the influenza surface proteins, the HA and NA molecules.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/health/bird-flu-mutation-more-resistant/2005/11/13/1131816809180.html
Sculpture by the Sea
http://media.smh.com.au/?rid=17398&sy=smh&source=smh.com.au%2F&t=16L0ML&ie=1&player=wm7&rate=220&flash=1
Los Angeles Times
Judges' Inaction, Inattention Leave Many Seniors at Risk
Probate courts are supposed to watch conservators' conduct and discipline those who abuse their authority. They've failed dismally in this vital role.
By Jack Leonard, Robin Fields and Evelyn Larrubia, Times Staff Writers
Emmeline Frey was wheeled toward the bench, escorted by a family friend. She was 93 years old and frail, suffering from dementia and a broken hip.
In San Diego County's busy Probate Court, it was up to Judge Thomas R. Mitchell to decide how to preserve the $1 million she had amassed pinching pennies over a lifetime. On the recommendation of Frey's attorney, he appointed a professional conservator named Donna Daum.
Frey's affairs were now in the hands of a caretaker acting under court supervision. Her money should have been safe.
It was not.
Daum gave her son, a car salesman turned financial advisor, more than $500,000 of Frey's savings to invest. Over the next four years, the investments lost more than $100,000 in value while the son collected commissions.
Mitchell, who described himself as the "super father" of the seniors who entered his courtroom, never questioned what Daum was doing with her client's money or why her son was involved.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-conserve14nov14,0,3305612.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Guardians for Profit
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-conservators-series,0,7048390.special?coll=la-home-headlines
When a Family Matter Turns Into a Business
Conservators are supposed to protect the elderly and infirm. But some neglect their clients, isolate them -- even plunder their assets.
By Robin Fields, Evelyn Larrubia and Jack Leonard, Times Staff Writers
Helen Jones sits in a wheelchair, surrounded by strangers who control her life.
She is not allowed to answer the telephone. Her mail is screened. She cannot spend her own money.
A child of the Depression, Jones, 87, worked hard for decades, driving rivets into World War II fighter planes, making neckties, threading bristles into nail-polish brushes. She saved obsessively, putting away $560,000 for her old age.
Her life changed three years ago, when a woman named Melodie Scott told a court in San Bernardino that Jones was unable to manage for herself. Without asking Jones, a judge made Scott — someone she had never met — her legal guardian.
Scott is a professional conservator.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-conserve13nov13,0,2846858.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Once a Neocon always a Neocon. This could easily be as much a federal strategy as a California strategy to stimulate the economy. California's economic influence is considerable. If the federal government under the Repuglican leadership is running out of appropriation bills could be influencing the borrowing and spending patterns in Red States.
Massive State Bond Possible
At a cost some peg at $50 billion or more, Schwarzenegger seeks an infrastructure program reminiscent of the Pat Brown era.
By Evan Halper, Times Staff Writer
SACRAMENTO — Coming off a losing campaign to curb state spending, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is promoting a statewide public works program that may be financed by a bond sale so large it would dwarf previous state borrowings.
The governor hopes to join with Democratic leaders and businesses to address Californians' growing frustration with clogged roadways, polluted water, hospital shortages, overcrowded schools and, in the wake of the devastation in New Orleans, inadequate disaster preparedness.
Schwarzenegger is seizing an issue with wide bipartisan support in an effort to restore his image as a moderate, although his plan threatens to cause tension with some conservative allies who have long warned against more government borrowing.
If he succeeds, Schwarzenegger could reposition himself in the model of former Gov. Pat Brown, who by the time he left office in 1967 had created a legacy of roads, waterways and universities that continue to help drive the state economy today.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-sacto14nov14,0,6247774.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Five questions non-Muslims would like answered
By Dennis Prager, Dennis Prager's nationally syndicated radio show is heard daily in Los Angeles on KRLA-AM (870). He may be contacted through his website: www.dennisprager.com.
THE RIOTING IN France by primarily Muslim youths and the hotel bombings in Jordan are the latest events to prompt sincere questions that law-abiding Muslims need to answer for Islam's sake, as well as for the sake of worried non-Muslims.
Here are five of them:
(1) Why are you so quiet?
Since the first Israelis were targeted for death by Muslim terrorists blowing themselves up in the name of your religion and Palestinian nationalism, I have been praying to see Muslim demonstrations against these atrocities. Last week's protests in Jordan against the bombings, while welcome, were a rarity. What I have seen more often is mainstream Muslim spokesmen implicitly defending this terror on the grounds that Israel occupies Palestinian lands. We see torture and murder in the name of Allah, but we see no anti-torture and anti-murder demonstrations in the name of Allah.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-op-prager13nov13,0,1142056.story?track=hpmostemailedlink
$500,000 question
What exactly can you get for L.A.'s median price of half-a-million bucks? Try a bidding war for a starter home in your second-choice neighborhood and a throbbing headache.
By Darrell Satzman, Special to The Times
HALF-a-million dollars doesn't buy what it used to.
Prospective buyers looking in that ballpark a decade ago were a semi-exclusive group with their pick of the best Los Angeles County neighborhoods and a huge inventory of lovely, single-family homes.
Nowadays, $500,000 is right around the median price of a home in the county — and buyers in that range know all too well that the middle of the road is not an easy place to be. In many neighborhoods, it buys only a starter home or condominium, and the competition for those properties is strong.
http://www.latimes.com/classified/realestate/news/la-re-median13nov13,0,5413359.story?track=hpmostemailedlink
Your government on drugs
STARTING TUESDAY, RETIREES can sign up for the new Medicare prescription drug benefit. Besides some luck and patience, they'll need an actuarial advisor, a personal pharmacist, a high-speed computer connection and maybe a sharp 12-year-old to help them navigate the Medicare website.
Oh, and one more thing: They could also use a government with the sense to change the program if it doesn't work. It has the potential to be catastrophic for the U.S. Treasury, if not for retirees' health.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-medicare14nov14,0,891180.story?coll=la-home-oped
Fixing a mistake in Iraq
THE IRAQI GOVERNMENT THIS month belatedly got around to reversing one of the worst errors of the U.S.-led Coalition Provisional Authority, which ran the country after the invasion: the disbanding of the Iraqi army. Some officers had been called back into service earlier, but the transitional government issued a near-blanket invitation to officers up to the rank of major to apply for reinstatement.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-iraq14nov14,0,6193702.story?coll=la-home-oped
New Zealand Herald
DNA tests helping to save NZ dolphins
14.11.05
Research which analyses the DNA of New Zealand bottlenose dolphins may help with the long-term conservation of the species.
Gabriela de Tezanos Pinto, a PhD student based at the University of Auckland's School of Biological Sciences, said analysis of DNA would reveal if there were any connections between different populations of dolphins in New Zealand and around the Pacific Ocean and help with the management of the dolphins.
Three small and isolated populations had been identified in the coastal waters of New Zealand - Northland, Marlborough Sound and Fiordland.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10355002
Big British plans for bio-diesel in New Zealand
14.11.05 1.00pm
The company that created the world's largest biodiesel plant, is investigating building a biodiesel refinery in New Zealand.
Argent Energy vice-chairman Jim Walker told Glasgow's Sunday Herald that the company has scaled up plans to invest in a further two plants in the United Kingdom and possibly a third in New Zealand.
The company has just reactivated plans to float in the first half of 2006, following a new ruling that by 2010 about 5 per cent of fuel sold on UK forecourts must come from a renewable source.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10355129
Peters' first steps as Foreign Minister may surprise
14.11.05 1.00pm
By Ian Llewellyn
Foreign Minister Winston Peters is concerned about the decline in the number of Chinese students in New Zealand and will discuss the issue with China in one of his first overseas meetings in the new job.
Mr Peters arrives for the Apec (Asia Pacific Economic Co-operation) meeting in Pusan, South Korea, today along with Trade Ministers Phil Goff and Jim Sutton.
The New Zealand First leader has a popular image of being anti-immigration and in particular anti-Asian immigration, but he says this is misconstrued and is concerned about the decline in the number of Chinese students studying English in New Zealand over the past few years.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10355128
French unrest seems to wane
14.11.05 1.00pm
By Sophie Louet
PARIS - France's worst rioting in nearly 40 years seemed to be waning today, police said, though youths torched vehicles in the southwestern city of Toulouse.
Cars set ablaze in France were down by a quarter on Saturday (Sunday morning NZT) on the previous night and fears that violence would grip central Paris proved unfounded after rallies were banned in the capital.
"Things could calm down very, very quickly," national police service chief Michel Gaudin told reporters in Paris.
But in Toulouse, scene of serious clashes with police last week, attackers torched seven vehicles and partly destroyed a school, driving a burning car against its gate, police said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355135
Coroner hears details of death of youngster at CYF camp
14.11.05 4.00pm
The disappearance of an Auckland teenager at a Child Youth and Family camp last year went unreported to police for four days because camp coordinators thought he had just run away to family, a South Auckland coroners court heard today.
Otis Auelua, 13, was found dead in the sea off Matauri Bay, Northland, on December 15. He disappeared on December 9 but was not reported missing for four days.
Witness Niki Elkington, a camp coordinator who had taught Otis and five others to snorkel the morning of Otis' disappearance, said he and three other coordinators searched for Otis after he failed to turn up for lunch.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10355158
Wellington scuttled in Cook Strait
14.11.05
It took just under two minutes to turn a frigate into an artificial reef yesterday - around about the time the HMNZS Wellington took to sink gracefully to the sea floor off the coast of its namesake city.
The flag on the bow was the last thing to sink out of sight into the churning water - ending a history of three decades afloat as a ship in both the Royal Navy and the Royal New Zealand Navy.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10355094
Immunisation race starts in quake-hit Pakistan
14.11.05 1.00pm
By Zeeshan Haider
MUZAFFARABAD, Pakistan - Doctors in earthquake struck Kashmir have begun a campaign to immunise 800,000 children against potentially killer diseases, measles, tetanus, whooping cough, diptheria and polio before the bitter Himalayan winter bites.
Children living in remote mountain villages, cut off by landslides, were particularly vulnerable due to malnutrition because they have access to inadequate food supplies.
"We're doing everything we can to immunise every child in the region," Dr. Tamur Mueenuddin, in charge of health issues for UNICEF in Muzaffarabad, said from the ruined capital of Pakistani Kashmir.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355131
African leaders tell Liberia to shun violence
14.11.05 11.20am
MONROVIA - African leaders appealed to the people of Liberia to stay peaceful and shun violence in a dispute over a presidential run-off in which Harvard-trained economist Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf finished first.
The 67-year-old former finance minister is poised to become Africa's first elected female head of state after official voting returns showed her obtaining an unbeatable lead over millionaire soccer star George Weah in a poll last week.
But former AC Milan striker Weah, 39, whose supporters stoned police in Monrovia on the weekend, is calling for a rerun. He says the run-off vote was riddled with fraud.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355132
Namibia to rebury hundreds found in mass graves
14.11.05 8.20am
WINDHOEK - Namibian President Hifikepunye Pohamba visited on Sunday the site of two apartheid-era mass graves discovered last week and said the remains would be given a dignified reburial.
Pohamba said he wanted those who served in apartheid South Africa's occupation army and their Namibian collaborators to come forward with any information that could help identify the bodies, buried close to the northern town of Eenhana, near the Angolan border.
Dozens of people, possibly hundreds, were in the graves, a senior government official said. However, a final figure could only be given once forensic teams finished examining the graves.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355110
Jordan hotel bomber confesses on TV
14.11.05 8.00am
AMMAN - An Iraqi woman confessed on Jordanian television on Sunday that she had tried to blow herself up alongside her husband in an Amman hotel last week in one of three attacks that killed more than 50 people.
The woman, identified by police as Sajida al-Rishawi, appeared in a headscarf and a long black coat describing her attempts to detonate an explosives-laden belt at a wedding celebration in the Radisson hotel.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355106
Report exposes fishing piracy
14.11.05
By Kathy Marks
SYDNEY - The world's fish stocks are being plundered by pirates using "flags of convenience" to mask their illicit activities, according to a joint report by environmentalists and unionists.
Fishing vessels using those flags - often purchased online for less than $1000 - are responsible for illegal fishing worth $1.7 billion a year, the report concludes. They also endanger the marine environment and treat their crews inhumanely, sometimes keeping them in chains while at sea.
The report - commissioned by the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), the Australian Government and the International Transport Workers Federation (ITF) - found that 15 per cent of the world's large-scale fishing fleet - or 2800 vessels - flies a flag of convenience or of unknown origin.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10355003
continued …
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)