A lone Mongolian Guard stands his watch as the presidential motorcade passed.
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
American Research Group
Bush Job Approval Rating
Overall
Approve 38%
Disapprove 55%
Undecided 7%
Economy
Approve 34%
Disapprove 59%
Undecided 7%
George W. Bush's Job Approval Ratings Remain Unchanged As
Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Say National Economy is Getting Worse
George W. Bush's overall job approval ratings remain unchanged from a month ago as nearly two-thirds of Americans say that the national economy is getting worse according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 38% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 55% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 34% approve and 59% disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 39% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 55% disapprove. When it comes to the way Bush is handling the economy, 35% of registered voters approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 59% disapprove.
A total of 65% of Americans say the national economy is getting worse, which is up from 53% in September. When asked about the national economy a year from now, 51% say it will be worse.
http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/
San Francisco Chronicle
Iraq's factions urge a schedule for troop pullout
100 Sunni, Shiite, Kurdish leaders reach agreement at end of Arab League meeting
Hassan M. Fattah, New York Times
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Cairo -- For the first time, Iraq's political factions collectively called for a timetable for withdrawal of foreign forces Monday as the Bush administration battled pressure at home to commit to a pullout schedule.
The announcement, at the conclusion of a reconciliation conference here backed by the Arab League, was a public reaching-out by Shiites, who now dominate Iraq's government, to Sunni Arabs on the eve of parliamentary elections that have been put on shaky ground by weeks of sectarian violence.
In Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney sought to damp down what has become a bitter and personal fight in Washington over the Iraq war, offering praise for a senior House Democrat who has called for the full withdrawal of troops and saying that an "energetic debate" over the war was part of a healthy society.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/22/MNGQ0FSCCP1.DTL
'Dirty Bomb' Suspect Padilla Indicted
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
(11-22) 08:04 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --
Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for three years as an "enemy combatant" suspected of plotting a "dirty bomb" attack in this country, has been indicted on charges that he conspired to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas.
A federal grand jury in Miami returned the indictment against Padilla and four others. While the charges allege Padilla was part of a terrorism conspiracy, they do not include the government's earlier allegations that he planned to carry out attacks in the United States.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was expected to discuss the indictment at a news conference in Washington.
Padilla, a Brooklyn-born Muslim convert, has been held as an "enemy combatant" in Defense Department custody for more than three years. The Bush administration had resisted calls to charge and try him in civilian courts.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/11/22/national/w071342S29.DTL
WORLD VIEWS: Bush offends China; French riots catalyze the Right; Pinochet 'forgets' the past
Edward M. Gomez, special to SF Gate
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Politically, economically and, increasingly, militarily, China is huge news. It's the world's manufacturing plant and a potentially vast market for other countries' goods. Still, for all the Bush team's usual made-for-the-cameras moments -- Bush cycling with Chinese athletes, Bush attending a church service in Beijing -- the president came home from his eight-day East Asia tour with no breakthroughs to boast of.
In fact, he may even have alienated his hosts. In a speech delivered in Kyoto, Japan, just before arriving in China, Bush said: "We encourage China to continue down the road of reform and openness. ... By meeting the legitimate demands of its citizens for freedom and openness, China's leaders can help their country grow into a modern, prosperous, and confident nation." The American leader then lauded Taiwan -- which Beijing regards as a renegade province of mainland China -- for "embracing freedom at all levels," delivering "prosperity to its people" and creating "a free and democratic Chinese society." (China Post, Taiwan)
http://sfgate.com/columnists/worldviews/
Pastor Falls to His Death at Nat'l Park
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
(11-22) 05:13 PST Sequoia National Park, Calif. (AP) --
A minister accused of sexually abusing two teenage parishioners fell 400 feet to his death at Sequoia National Park, officials said.
The Rev. Santos Teixeira's death Sunday was under "uncertain circumstances," requiring the National Park Service to notify the FBI of its investigation, Alexandra Picavet, a Sequoia National Park spokeswoman, said Monday.
Picavet said park investigators have yet to determine the manner of death and cautioned it was standard procedure to notify the FBI about the case, which happened on federal land.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/22/national/a051310S43.DTL
Rates of HIV infection drop in a few nations
U.N. counts over 40.3 million cases around the world
Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
A United Nations count of HIV infections around the world topped 40.3 million this year, but there are signs that rates may be starting to decline in a few hard-hit regions -- a small, hopeful sign in the 25-year battle against the disease.
On Monday, for the first time in a decade, the U.N. affiliate that tracks the epidemic reported continuous reductions in the number of people living with the virus in a handful of countries in the Caribbean and Africa.
"We are encouraged by the gains that have been made in some countries and by the fact that sustained HIV prevention programs have played a key part in bringing down infections,'' said Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/22/MNGQ0FSCCN1.DTL
The war at home
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
REP. John Murtha, a Vietnam veteran known for his hawkishness and expertise on military matters, did not start this rising wave of discontent with the U.S. occupation of Iraq. But his scathing assessment of the war last week -- along with his demand for a near-term withdrawal of troops -- appears to be a turning point on Capitol Hill.
The Bush administration knew what it meant to lose John Murtha as an ally on a foreign war. Its first instinct was to strike back with ferocity. A White House spokesman accused the 73-year-old western Pennsylvania Democrat of assuming the "policy positions of (film director) Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party."
House Republicans thought they could outmaneuver Murtha and other war critics by condensing and twisting his position into a resolution they knew would get shot down: It called for an immediate U.S. withdrawal of troops. Democrats wisely failed to take the bait -- the overwhelming majority opposed the resolution, which failed on a 403-3 vote.
The tensions over Iraq were laid bare in the vitriolic House debate. Newly elected Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, relayed what she claimed was a message to Murtha from a Marine constituent of hers that "cowards cut and run -- Marines never do."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/11/22/EDGB2FQVL91.DTL
People Daily
Saudi Arabia and China pledged on Sunday in Riyadh to make efforts to boost energy cooperation in various fields.
During talks between Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi and Zhang Guobao,Chinese vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, both sides fully affirmed the positive results yielded by Sino-Saudi joint ventures, such as oil, petrochemical and natural gas projects.
They also discussed some mining and refining projects involving Chinese firms in the Arab kingdom.
Zhang, who heads a Chinese energy delegation on a three-day working visit to Saudi Arabia, arrived in Riyadh on Friday.
http://english.people.com.cn/200511/21/eng20051121_222886.html
Chinese naval fleet arrives in Pakistani port
A Pakistani military band and a folk art troupe perform to welcome the arrival of a Chinese naval fleet at the military port of Karachi in south Pakistan Nov. 21, 2005. The Chinese fleet composed of the "Shenzhen" missile destroyer and the "Weishanhu" ocean supplier arrived in Karachi Nov. 21 for a three-day visit to Pakistan. It will also visit India and Thailand.
http://english.people.com.cn/200511/22/eng20051122_223040.html
China Daily
China gears up for high-speed rail plan
(CNN/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 15:22
Six Japanese companies led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries are in the final stages of talks to supply China with 60 high-speed trains, according to Japanese media reports.
China may choose Japan's Shinkansen bullet train for part of its high-speed rail expansion plans. [AFP]
To improve its railway network, China is planning to spend more than $80 billion for a high-speed system covering about 12,000 km (7,500 miles), Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported.
Germany's Siemens has already won an order for 60 eight-car trains from China, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday.
It said a contract worth 669 million euros ($785 million) was signed in Berlin during a state visit to Germany by China's President Hu Jintao a week ago.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_496989.htm
Water stoppage in Harbin sparks panic buying
By Li Fangchao (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 06:05
HARBIN: An unexpected stoppage of water supply sparked rumours of a contaminated river and led to a run on city supermarkets storing bottled water yesterday.
Bottled water is sold out in almost all supermarkets and shops as Harbin citizens rushed to stock up following the government announcement about a cut in water supply. [China Daily]
Starting from noon today, the city's water supply will be cut off for four days due to water main maintenance and repair, said a statement issued by the municipal government of the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
It is the first time that water supply will be cut off citywide for so long.
Harbin, the province's economic, cultural and political center, has a population of about 4 million (excluding the suburban areas), according to Harbin statistical information network.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_496761.htm
China tightens bird-flu measures further
(AP/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 07:17
China ordered already strict anti-bird flu measures tightened on Monday following two new outbreaks in poultry, while Romania said it would destroy 2,000 farm birds after finding the virus in hens and North Korea tightened border controls.
"There is a growing threat to human health," Yin Chengjie, a deputy Chinese agriculture minister, said at a news conference.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_496818.htm
'Snakeheads' more cunning, say officials
By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 06:10
More than 4,000 people who tried to illegally exit or enter China were arrested in the first half of this year, prompting authorities to signal their concern about human smugglers, called "snakeheads", who are becoming more and more cunning.
During the first half of 2005, statistics indicated that the exit and entry administration departments arrested 4,174 people in illegal attempts to enter or exit the country, and nabbed 95 suspects who organized, transported and helped illegal emigrants.
The figure for 2005 is expected to be higher than that of the previous year, which witnessed the seizure of 5,975 suspects in total.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_496864.htm
Nation to become No.2 trading country
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-22 16:52
Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng forecast that China will overtake Germany to become the world's second largest trading country in 2008 if foreign trade could maintain a 15 percent annual growth.
In a speech at Beijing University on Monday, he even predicted that China will likely replace the United States to become the world's top trading country sometime between 2015 and 2020,
So far, Gao said China's output of 172 sorts of commodities ranks first in the world, with the output of tractors and containers accounting for above 80 percent of the world's total, and that of watches and radio cassettes, 60 percent.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_497002.htm
Three risks to shape Chinese economy in 2006
(People's Daily Online )
Updated: 2005-11-22 17:08
At the special forum of "Forecast on the Future Development of World Economy" opened on Nov. 21, Frank Gong, chief China economist with JPMorgan Chase in Hong Kong noted that uncertainties in global economy, RMB reform as well as banking system will become three major risk factors to shape China's economy next year.
Gong said that the future development of US' economy will determine the risks of global economy, especially whether the US could bear the duel pressures of oil price hike and soaring interests rates. If high oil price and high interests rate go on for next year, the environment of global market economy will undergo massive changes. "US Federal Reserve will definitely raise the interests rates, however, current oil price is undergoing a relatively long period of climbing. By taking that kind of situation into consideration, it is an inevitable tendency the price of oil and commodity will continue to rise," further added Gong.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_497010.htm
The Boston Globe
Report: Ocean noise harms dolphins, whales
By Paul Chavez, Associated Press Writer November 22, 2005
LOS ANGELES --Increasing levels of ocean noise generated by military sonar, shipping, and oil and gas exploration are threatening dolphins and whales that rely on sound for mating, finding food and avoiding predators, according to a new report.
The report released Monday by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that the affects of ocean noise on marine life range from long-term behavioral change to hearing loss to death.
The report, a follow-up to a 1999 study, included details from necropsies performed on beached whales suspected of being exposed to Navy sonar.
Scientists who examined more than a dozen whales that beached in the Canary Islands in September 2002 found bleeding around the brain and ears and lesions in the animals' livers and kidneys.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/11/22/report_ocean_noise_harms_dolphins_whales/
Researchers: Usinc acid caused elk deaths
November 21, 2005
RAWLINS, Wyo. --Wyoming wildlife biologists and federal researchers have identified the chemical responsible for the death of hundreds of elk in southern Wyoming last year.
They say usinc acid, a substance found in lichen the elk ate, is responsible for the deaths of perhaps as many as 600 elk in a die-off that began in February 2004.
"It started with a couple of coyote hunters finding an elk that was alive but couldn't get up," said Terry Kreeger, supervisor of veterinary services at the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish. "Our people went out and found other elk down. They've look at you, but they couldn't move. You could pat them on the head."
Wildlife workers eventually found 327 dead elk on the prairie, Game and Fish biologist Greg Hiatt said. About 80 percent of them here cow elk.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/11/21/researchers_usinc_acid_caused_elk_deaths/
U.N. claims breast feeding saves 6M babies
November 21, 2005
GENEVA --Breast feeding is saving the lives of 6 million babies a year, but more than twice that could be saved if more mothers would use the time-honored method, the U.N. children's agency said Tuesday.
Thirty-nine percent of infants in developing countries are exclusively breast fed, UNICEF said, blaming "lack of awareness amongst mothers, and lack of support from health workers and communities."
A total of 1.3 million lives could be saved each year if mothers followed its recommendation of exclusive breast feeding up until six months, then complementary feeding for at least two years, Miriam Labbok of UNICEF said in a statement. UNICEF said breast milk gives a baby ideal nourishment and disease immunity.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/11/21/un_claims_breast_feeding_saves_6m_babies/
British man diagnosed with mad cow disease
November 22, 2005
HOUSTON --A man from Great Britain has been diagnosed with the human form of mad cow disease, the second documented U.S. case of the illness, the federal Centers for Disease Control said Monday.
The man in all likelihood contracted variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United Kingdom. But because his symptoms began while he was living in Houston, he will be listed as a U.S. case, as is customary.
"Almost certainly, this case represents a continuation of the outbreak that is going on in the United Kingdom," said Lawrence B. Schonberger, a CDC medical epidemiologist.
Earlier this year, the man returned to Great Britain, where he is receiving medical treatment for the fatal illness. He lived in Houston four years.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/11/22/british_man_diagnosed_with_mad_cow_disease/
U.S. seeks details on Canada bird flu case
By Libby Quaid, AP Food And Farm Writer November 22, 2005
WASHINGTON --U.S. officials need details on a Canadian case of bird flu to decide whether to continue a ban on poultry from British Columbia.
Canadian officials said the case of flu, confirmed Sunday, wasn't the virulent form in Southeast Asia blamed for more than 60 human deaths. Still, the U.S. on Monday banned imports of poultry from mainland British Columbia to prevent the spread of the virus to U.S. flocks.
Canadian officials plan to report to the U.S. within 24 hours, according to Canada's chief veterinary officer, Dr. Brian Evans.
Depending on the results, the U.S. could restrict imports from a smaller, regional area, U.S. Agriculture Department spokesman Jim Rogers said.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/11/22/us_bans_poultry_from_british_columbia/
China reports 3 new bird flu outbreaks
A cook prepares ducks for one of the most famous Chinese dish "Peking Duck" Tuesday Nov. 22, 2005 in Shanghai, China. China will step up measures to combat its "serious epidemic" of bird flu but has no plan to shut its borders to contain the disease, said a foreign ministry official Tuesday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
November 22, 2005
BEIJING --China's Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday announced three new outbreaks of bird flu, two in the west and one in the south, resulting in the killing of nearly 175,000 birds, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
An outbreak in Urumqi, the capital of the far western region of Xinjiang, killed 38 birds on Nov. 16, prompting the culling of 8,388 birds, Xinhua said. Another in Ningxia province's Yinchuan city on Nov. 17 killed 230 poultry, with 66,800 culled.
On the same day in the southern province of Yunnan, 2,500 birds died in the city of Chuxiong, and authorities later put 99,400 birds to death, Xinhua said.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/other/articles/2005/11/22/china_reports_3_new_bird_flu_outbreaks/
Skills shortage plagues manufacturers
November 22, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 80 percent of U.S. manufacturers say they cannot find enough qualified workers to meet customer demands, according to an industry study released on Tuesday.
While some 3.4 million factory jobs have been lost since 1998, the National Association of Manufacturers said employers are now struggling to find enough high-skilled machinists, technicians and engineers to keep production lines humming.
Of more than 800 manufacturers surveyed, 13 percent reported a severe shortage of qualified workers, while 68 percent experienced a moderate shortage.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/11/22/skills_shortage_plagues_manufacturers/
Univ. of Kansas takes up creation debate
November 22, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. --Creationism and intelligent design are going to be studied at the University of Kansas, but not in the way advocated by opponents of the theory of evolution.
A course being offered next semester by the university religious studies department is titled "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies."
"The KU faculty has had enough," said Paul Mirecki, department chairman.
"Creationism is mythology," Mirecki said. "Intelligent design is mythology. It's not science. They try to make it sound like science. It clearly is not."
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/11/22/univ_of_kansas_takes_up_creation_debate/
Report: Bush talked of bombing Al-Jazeera
President Bush steps off Air Force One after returning from Ulan Bator, Mongolia Monday, Nov. 21, 2005 at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. Bush wrapped up an eight day, four country tour of Asia which took him to Japan, South Korea, China, and Mongolia. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
By Robert Barr, Associated Press Writer November 22, 2005
LONDON --A civil servant has been charged under Britain's Official Secrets Act for allegedly leaking a government memo that a newspaper said Tuesday suggested that Prime Minister Tony Blair persuaded President Bush not to bomb the Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera.
The Daily Mirror reported that Bush spoke of targeting Al-Jazeera's headquarters in Doha, Qatar, when he met Blair at the White House on April 16, 2004. The Bush administration has regularly accused Al-Jazeera of being nothing more than a mouthpiece for anti-American sentiments.
The Daily Mirror attributed its information to unidentified sources. One source, said to be in the government, was quoted as saying that the alleged threat was "humorous, not serious," but the newspaper quoted another source as saying that "Bush was deadly serious, as was Blair."
Blair's office declined to comment on the report, stressing it never discusses leaked documents.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/22/report_bush_talked_of_bombing_al_jazeera/
October jobless rate rises to 4 percent
November 22, 2005
MONTPELIER, Vt. --Vermont's unemployment rose for the fourth consecutive month in October to 4 percent.
Last month's jobless rate was an increase of three-tenths of a percentage point from September.
"An influx of people in the labor force the last two months has contributed to the modest increase in unemployment," Patricia A. McDonald, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor, said Tuesday. "Job growth has been modest recently, making it difficult for some workers to find employment opportunities."
The total number of jobs dropped by 200 in October. The leisure and the hospitality industry added 300 jobs but the retail trade lost a similar amount. Retail jobs increased by less than usual last month, officials said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/11/22/october_jobless_rate_rises_to_4_percent/
Marlboro wants entire town to join evacuation
November 22, 2005
MARLBORO, Vt. --The entire town of Marlboro wants to be included in emergency planning in the case of a disaster at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
Only a small part of Marlboro now lies within the 10-mile radius of the plant's emergency planning area, which has an evacuation and notification procedure in place in case of an emergency.
Barbara Farr of the Vermont Emergency Management division told Marlboro officials during a meeting Monday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Nuclear Regulatory Commission must approve Marlboro's inclusion in the plan.
She said she expects to hear their decision soon.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/11/22/marlboro_wants_entire_town_to_join_evacuation/
continued ...
Bush Job Approval Rating
Overall
Approve 38%
Disapprove 55%
Undecided 7%
Economy
Approve 34%
Disapprove 59%
Undecided 7%
George W. Bush's Job Approval Ratings Remain Unchanged As
Nearly Two-Thirds of Americans Say National Economy is Getting Worse
George W. Bush's overall job approval ratings remain unchanged from a month ago as nearly two-thirds of Americans say that the national economy is getting worse according to the latest survey from the American Research Group. Among all Americans, 38% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 55% disapprove. When it comes to Bush's handling of the economy, 34% approve and 59% disapprove.
Among Americans registered to vote, 39% approve of the way Bush is handling his job as president and 55% disapprove. When it comes to the way Bush is handling the economy, 35% of registered voters approve of the way Bush is handling the economy and 59% disapprove.
A total of 65% of Americans say the national economy is getting worse, which is up from 53% in September. When asked about the national economy a year from now, 51% say it will be worse.
http://americanresearchgroup.com/economy/
San Francisco Chronicle
Iraq's factions urge a schedule for troop pullout
100 Sunni, Shiite, Kurdish leaders reach agreement at end of Arab League meeting
Hassan M. Fattah, New York Times
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Cairo -- For the first time, Iraq's political factions collectively called for a timetable for withdrawal of foreign forces Monday as the Bush administration battled pressure at home to commit to a pullout schedule.
The announcement, at the conclusion of a reconciliation conference here backed by the Arab League, was a public reaching-out by Shiites, who now dominate Iraq's government, to Sunni Arabs on the eve of parliamentary elections that have been put on shaky ground by weeks of sectarian violence.
In Washington, Vice President Dick Cheney sought to damp down what has become a bitter and personal fight in Washington over the Iraq war, offering praise for a senior House Democrat who has called for the full withdrawal of troops and saying that an "energetic debate" over the war was part of a healthy society.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/22/MNGQ0FSCCP1.DTL
'Dirty Bomb' Suspect Padilla Indicted
By MARK SHERMAN, Associated Press Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
(11-22) 08:04 PST WASHINGTON, (AP) --
Jose Padilla, a U.S. citizen held for three years as an "enemy combatant" suspected of plotting a "dirty bomb" attack in this country, has been indicted on charges that he conspired to "murder, kidnap and maim" people overseas.
A federal grand jury in Miami returned the indictment against Padilla and four others. While the charges allege Padilla was part of a terrorism conspiracy, they do not include the government's earlier allegations that he planned to carry out attacks in the United States.
Attorney General Alberto Gonzales was expected to discuss the indictment at a news conference in Washington.
Padilla, a Brooklyn-born Muslim convert, has been held as an "enemy combatant" in Defense Department custody for more than three years. The Bush administration had resisted calls to charge and try him in civilian courts.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/11/22/national/w071342S29.DTL
WORLD VIEWS: Bush offends China; French riots catalyze the Right; Pinochet 'forgets' the past
Edward M. Gomez, special to SF Gate
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
Politically, economically and, increasingly, militarily, China is huge news. It's the world's manufacturing plant and a potentially vast market for other countries' goods. Still, for all the Bush team's usual made-for-the-cameras moments -- Bush cycling with Chinese athletes, Bush attending a church service in Beijing -- the president came home from his eight-day East Asia tour with no breakthroughs to boast of.
In fact, he may even have alienated his hosts. In a speech delivered in Kyoto, Japan, just before arriving in China, Bush said: "We encourage China to continue down the road of reform and openness. ... By meeting the legitimate demands of its citizens for freedom and openness, China's leaders can help their country grow into a modern, prosperous, and confident nation." The American leader then lauded Taiwan -- which Beijing regards as a renegade province of mainland China -- for "embracing freedom at all levels," delivering "prosperity to its people" and creating "a free and democratic Chinese society." (China Post, Taiwan)
http://sfgate.com/columnists/worldviews/
Pastor Falls to His Death at Nat'l Park
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
(11-22) 05:13 PST Sequoia National Park, Calif. (AP) --
A minister accused of sexually abusing two teenage parishioners fell 400 feet to his death at Sequoia National Park, officials said.
The Rev. Santos Teixeira's death Sunday was under "uncertain circumstances," requiring the National Park Service to notify the FBI of its investigation, Alexandra Picavet, a Sequoia National Park spokeswoman, said Monday.
Picavet said park investigators have yet to determine the manner of death and cautioned it was standard procedure to notify the FBI about the case, which happened on federal land.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/11/22/national/a051310S43.DTL
Rates of HIV infection drop in a few nations
U.N. counts over 40.3 million cases around the world
Sabin Russell, Chronicle Medical Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
A United Nations count of HIV infections around the world topped 40.3 million this year, but there are signs that rates may be starting to decline in a few hard-hit regions -- a small, hopeful sign in the 25-year battle against the disease.
On Monday, for the first time in a decade, the U.N. affiliate that tracks the epidemic reported continuous reductions in the number of people living with the virus in a handful of countries in the Caribbean and Africa.
"We are encouraged by the gains that have been made in some countries and by the fact that sustained HIV prevention programs have played a key part in bringing down infections,'' said Dr. Peter Piot, executive director of the Joint United Nations Program on HIV/AIDS, or UNAIDS.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/11/22/MNGQ0FSCCN1.DTL
The war at home
Tuesday, November 22, 2005
REP. John Murtha, a Vietnam veteran known for his hawkishness and expertise on military matters, did not start this rising wave of discontent with the U.S. occupation of Iraq. But his scathing assessment of the war last week -- along with his demand for a near-term withdrawal of troops -- appears to be a turning point on Capitol Hill.
The Bush administration knew what it meant to lose John Murtha as an ally on a foreign war. Its first instinct was to strike back with ferocity. A White House spokesman accused the 73-year-old western Pennsylvania Democrat of assuming the "policy positions of (film director) Michael Moore and the extreme liberal wing of the Democratic party."
House Republicans thought they could outmaneuver Murtha and other war critics by condensing and twisting his position into a resolution they knew would get shot down: It called for an immediate U.S. withdrawal of troops. Democrats wisely failed to take the bait -- the overwhelming majority opposed the resolution, which failed on a 403-3 vote.
The tensions over Iraq were laid bare in the vitriolic House debate. Newly elected Rep. Jean Schmidt, R-Ohio, relayed what she claimed was a message to Murtha from a Marine constituent of hers that "cowards cut and run -- Marines never do."
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/11/22/EDGB2FQVL91.DTL
People Daily
Saudi Arabia and China pledged on Sunday in Riyadh to make efforts to boost energy cooperation in various fields.
During talks between Saudi Oil Minister Ali Naimi and Zhang Guobao,Chinese vice minister of the National Development and Reform Commission, both sides fully affirmed the positive results yielded by Sino-Saudi joint ventures, such as oil, petrochemical and natural gas projects.
They also discussed some mining and refining projects involving Chinese firms in the Arab kingdom.
Zhang, who heads a Chinese energy delegation on a three-day working visit to Saudi Arabia, arrived in Riyadh on Friday.
http://english.people.com.cn/200511/21/eng20051121_222886.html
Chinese naval fleet arrives in Pakistani port
A Pakistani military band and a folk art troupe perform to welcome the arrival of a Chinese naval fleet at the military port of Karachi in south Pakistan Nov. 21, 2005. The Chinese fleet composed of the "Shenzhen" missile destroyer and the "Weishanhu" ocean supplier arrived in Karachi Nov. 21 for a three-day visit to Pakistan. It will also visit India and Thailand.
http://english.people.com.cn/200511/22/eng20051122_223040.html
China Daily
China gears up for high-speed rail plan
(CNN/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 15:22
Six Japanese companies led by Kawasaki Heavy Industries are in the final stages of talks to supply China with 60 high-speed trains, according to Japanese media reports.
China may choose Japan's Shinkansen bullet train for part of its high-speed rail expansion plans. [AFP]
To improve its railway network, China is planning to spend more than $80 billion for a high-speed system covering about 12,000 km (7,500 miles), Japan's Yomiuri newspaper reported.
Germany's Siemens has already won an order for 60 eight-car trains from China, the state-run Xinhua news agency reported Tuesday.
It said a contract worth 669 million euros ($785 million) was signed in Berlin during a state visit to Germany by China's President Hu Jintao a week ago.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_496989.htm
Water stoppage in Harbin sparks panic buying
By Li Fangchao (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 06:05
HARBIN: An unexpected stoppage of water supply sparked rumours of a contaminated river and led to a run on city supermarkets storing bottled water yesterday.
Bottled water is sold out in almost all supermarkets and shops as Harbin citizens rushed to stock up following the government announcement about a cut in water supply. [China Daily]
Starting from noon today, the city's water supply will be cut off for four days due to water main maintenance and repair, said a statement issued by the municipal government of the capital of Northeast China's Heilongjiang Province.
It is the first time that water supply will be cut off citywide for so long.
Harbin, the province's economic, cultural and political center, has a population of about 4 million (excluding the suburban areas), according to Harbin statistical information network.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_496761.htm
China tightens bird-flu measures further
(AP/China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 07:17
China ordered already strict anti-bird flu measures tightened on Monday following two new outbreaks in poultry, while Romania said it would destroy 2,000 farm birds after finding the virus in hens and North Korea tightened border controls.
"There is a growing threat to human health," Yin Chengjie, a deputy Chinese agriculture minister, said at a news conference.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_496818.htm
'Snakeheads' more cunning, say officials
By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-11-22 06:10
More than 4,000 people who tried to illegally exit or enter China were arrested in the first half of this year, prompting authorities to signal their concern about human smugglers, called "snakeheads", who are becoming more and more cunning.
During the first half of 2005, statistics indicated that the exit and entry administration departments arrested 4,174 people in illegal attempts to enter or exit the country, and nabbed 95 suspects who organized, transported and helped illegal emigrants.
The figure for 2005 is expected to be higher than that of the previous year, which witnessed the seizure of 5,975 suspects in total.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_496864.htm
Nation to become No.2 trading country
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2005-11-22 16:52
Vice Minister of Commerce Gao Hucheng forecast that China will overtake Germany to become the world's second largest trading country in 2008 if foreign trade could maintain a 15 percent annual growth.
In a speech at Beijing University on Monday, he even predicted that China will likely replace the United States to become the world's top trading country sometime between 2015 and 2020,
So far, Gao said China's output of 172 sorts of commodities ranks first in the world, with the output of tractors and containers accounting for above 80 percent of the world's total, and that of watches and radio cassettes, 60 percent.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_497002.htm
Three risks to shape Chinese economy in 2006
(People's Daily Online )
Updated: 2005-11-22 17:08
At the special forum of "Forecast on the Future Development of World Economy" opened on Nov. 21, Frank Gong, chief China economist with JPMorgan Chase in Hong Kong noted that uncertainties in global economy, RMB reform as well as banking system will become three major risk factors to shape China's economy next year.
Gong said that the future development of US' economy will determine the risks of global economy, especially whether the US could bear the duel pressures of oil price hike and soaring interests rates. If high oil price and high interests rate go on for next year, the environment of global market economy will undergo massive changes. "US Federal Reserve will definitely raise the interests rates, however, current oil price is undergoing a relatively long period of climbing. By taking that kind of situation into consideration, it is an inevitable tendency the price of oil and commodity will continue to rise," further added Gong.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-11/22/content_497010.htm
The Boston Globe
Report: Ocean noise harms dolphins, whales
By Paul Chavez, Associated Press Writer November 22, 2005
LOS ANGELES --Increasing levels of ocean noise generated by military sonar, shipping, and oil and gas exploration are threatening dolphins and whales that rely on sound for mating, finding food and avoiding predators, according to a new report.
The report released Monday by the Natural Resources Defense Council found that the affects of ocean noise on marine life range from long-term behavioral change to hearing loss to death.
The report, a follow-up to a 1999 study, included details from necropsies performed on beached whales suspected of being exposed to Navy sonar.
Scientists who examined more than a dozen whales that beached in the Canary Islands in September 2002 found bleeding around the brain and ears and lesions in the animals' livers and kidneys.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/11/22/report_ocean_noise_harms_dolphins_whales/
Researchers: Usinc acid caused elk deaths
November 21, 2005
RAWLINS, Wyo. --Wyoming wildlife biologists and federal researchers have identified the chemical responsible for the death of hundreds of elk in southern Wyoming last year.
They say usinc acid, a substance found in lichen the elk ate, is responsible for the deaths of perhaps as many as 600 elk in a die-off that began in February 2004.
"It started with a couple of coyote hunters finding an elk that was alive but couldn't get up," said Terry Kreeger, supervisor of veterinary services at the Wyoming Department of Game and Fish. "Our people went out and found other elk down. They've look at you, but they couldn't move. You could pat them on the head."
Wildlife workers eventually found 327 dead elk on the prairie, Game and Fish biologist Greg Hiatt said. About 80 percent of them here cow elk.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/11/21/researchers_usinc_acid_caused_elk_deaths/
U.N. claims breast feeding saves 6M babies
November 21, 2005
GENEVA --Breast feeding is saving the lives of 6 million babies a year, but more than twice that could be saved if more mothers would use the time-honored method, the U.N. children's agency said Tuesday.
Thirty-nine percent of infants in developing countries are exclusively breast fed, UNICEF said, blaming "lack of awareness amongst mothers, and lack of support from health workers and communities."
A total of 1.3 million lives could be saved each year if mothers followed its recommendation of exclusive breast feeding up until six months, then complementary feeding for at least two years, Miriam Labbok of UNICEF said in a statement. UNICEF said breast milk gives a baby ideal nourishment and disease immunity.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/11/21/un_claims_breast_feeding_saves_6m_babies/
British man diagnosed with mad cow disease
November 22, 2005
HOUSTON --A man from Great Britain has been diagnosed with the human form of mad cow disease, the second documented U.S. case of the illness, the federal Centers for Disease Control said Monday.
The man in all likelihood contracted variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease in the United Kingdom. But because his symptoms began while he was living in Houston, he will be listed as a U.S. case, as is customary.
"Almost certainly, this case represents a continuation of the outbreak that is going on in the United Kingdom," said Lawrence B. Schonberger, a CDC medical epidemiologist.
Earlier this year, the man returned to Great Britain, where he is receiving medical treatment for the fatal illness. He lived in Houston four years.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/11/22/british_man_diagnosed_with_mad_cow_disease/
U.S. seeks details on Canada bird flu case
By Libby Quaid, AP Food And Farm Writer November 22, 2005
WASHINGTON --U.S. officials need details on a Canadian case of bird flu to decide whether to continue a ban on poultry from British Columbia.
Canadian officials said the case of flu, confirmed Sunday, wasn't the virulent form in Southeast Asia blamed for more than 60 human deaths. Still, the U.S. on Monday banned imports of poultry from mainland British Columbia to prevent the spread of the virus to U.S. flocks.
Canadian officials plan to report to the U.S. within 24 hours, according to Canada's chief veterinary officer, Dr. Brian Evans.
Depending on the results, the U.S. could restrict imports from a smaller, regional area, U.S. Agriculture Department spokesman Jim Rogers said.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/11/22/us_bans_poultry_from_british_columbia/
China reports 3 new bird flu outbreaks
A cook prepares ducks for one of the most famous Chinese dish "Peking Duck" Tuesday Nov. 22, 2005 in Shanghai, China. China will step up measures to combat its "serious epidemic" of bird flu but has no plan to shut its borders to contain the disease, said a foreign ministry official Tuesday. (AP Photo/Eugene Hoshiko)
November 22, 2005
BEIJING --China's Ministry of Agriculture on Tuesday announced three new outbreaks of bird flu, two in the west and one in the south, resulting in the killing of nearly 175,000 birds, the official Xinhua News Agency reported.
An outbreak in Urumqi, the capital of the far western region of Xinjiang, killed 38 birds on Nov. 16, prompting the culling of 8,388 birds, Xinhua said. Another in Ningxia province's Yinchuan city on Nov. 17 killed 230 poultry, with 66,800 culled.
On the same day in the southern province of Yunnan, 2,500 birds died in the city of Chuxiong, and authorities later put 99,400 birds to death, Xinhua said.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/other/articles/2005/11/22/china_reports_3_new_bird_flu_outbreaks/
Skills shortage plagues manufacturers
November 22, 2005
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - More than 80 percent of U.S. manufacturers say they cannot find enough qualified workers to meet customer demands, according to an industry study released on Tuesday.
While some 3.4 million factory jobs have been lost since 1998, the National Association of Manufacturers said employers are now struggling to find enough high-skilled machinists, technicians and engineers to keep production lines humming.
Of more than 800 manufacturers surveyed, 13 percent reported a severe shortage of qualified workers, while 68 percent experienced a moderate shortage.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/11/22/skills_shortage_plagues_manufacturers/
Univ. of Kansas takes up creation debate
November 22, 2005
LAWRENCE, Kan. --Creationism and intelligent design are going to be studied at the University of Kansas, but not in the way advocated by opponents of the theory of evolution.
A course being offered next semester by the university religious studies department is titled "Special Topics in Religion: Intelligent Design, Creationism and other Religious Mythologies."
"The KU faculty has had enough," said Paul Mirecki, department chairman.
"Creationism is mythology," Mirecki said. "Intelligent design is mythology. It's not science. They try to make it sound like science. It clearly is not."
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2005/11/22/univ_of_kansas_takes_up_creation_debate/
Report: Bush talked of bombing Al-Jazeera
President Bush steps off Air Force One after returning from Ulan Bator, Mongolia Monday, Nov. 21, 2005 at Andrews Air Force Base outside Washington. Bush wrapped up an eight day, four country tour of Asia which took him to Japan, South Korea, China, and Mongolia. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)
By Robert Barr, Associated Press Writer November 22, 2005
LONDON --A civil servant has been charged under Britain's Official Secrets Act for allegedly leaking a government memo that a newspaper said Tuesday suggested that Prime Minister Tony Blair persuaded President Bush not to bomb the Arab satellite station Al-Jazeera.
The Daily Mirror reported that Bush spoke of targeting Al-Jazeera's headquarters in Doha, Qatar, when he met Blair at the White House on April 16, 2004. The Bush administration has regularly accused Al-Jazeera of being nothing more than a mouthpiece for anti-American sentiments.
The Daily Mirror attributed its information to unidentified sources. One source, said to be in the government, was quoted as saying that the alleged threat was "humorous, not serious," but the newspaper quoted another source as saying that "Bush was deadly serious, as was Blair."
Blair's office declined to comment on the report, stressing it never discusses leaked documents.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2005/11/22/report_bush_talked_of_bombing_al_jazeera/
October jobless rate rises to 4 percent
November 22, 2005
MONTPELIER, Vt. --Vermont's unemployment rose for the fourth consecutive month in October to 4 percent.
Last month's jobless rate was an increase of three-tenths of a percentage point from September.
"An influx of people in the labor force the last two months has contributed to the modest increase in unemployment," Patricia A. McDonald, commissioner of the Vermont Department of Labor, said Tuesday. "Job growth has been modest recently, making it difficult for some workers to find employment opportunities."
The total number of jobs dropped by 200 in October. The leisure and the hospitality industry added 300 jobs but the retail trade lost a similar amount. Retail jobs increased by less than usual last month, officials said.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/11/22/october_jobless_rate_rises_to_4_percent/
Marlboro wants entire town to join evacuation
November 22, 2005
MARLBORO, Vt. --The entire town of Marlboro wants to be included in emergency planning in the case of a disaster at the Vermont Yankee nuclear power plant.
Only a small part of Marlboro now lies within the 10-mile radius of the plant's emergency planning area, which has an evacuation and notification procedure in place in case of an emergency.
Barbara Farr of the Vermont Emergency Management division told Marlboro officials during a meeting Monday that the Federal Emergency Management Agency and Nuclear Regulatory Commission must approve Marlboro's inclusion in the plan.
She said she expects to hear their decision soon.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2005/11/22/marlboro_wants_entire_town_to_join_evacuation/
continued ...
November 19, 2005.
This photo was taken in Canada.
The photographer is from Alberta but does not state where in Canada the picture was taken. If it was Alberta then it seems a little to south for what appears to me to be the formation of a 'vortex street.' It is normally seen as an unusual event high in the Arctic. That is my understanding.
Western Canada.
The Rocky Mountains extend into Canada.
British Columbia is west of the Rockies and Alberta is east of them. In BC they are called The Columbia Moutains. The provinces further north along the Rockies are the Northern Territory on the east and the Yukon Territory on the west. The Yukon Territory shares a border with Alaska. This area lies between the Pacific Ocean and another large body of water, Hudson Bay.
November 22, 20005.
Where do people get the nerve?
Michael Scanlon, left, a former partner of lobbyist Jack Abramoff and ex-spokesman for former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, was accused on Friday of conspiring with Abramoff to defraud Indian tribes and engage in a corrupt scheme that lavished trips, sports tickets and campaign donations on a member of Congress.
The Arab New
SAGIA to Set Up Offices in Cities Abroad
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
JEDDAH, 21 November 2005 — The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) plans to open offices in China, the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries in its bid to attract investments in infrastructure projects worth billions of riyals.
SAGIA chief Amr Al-Dabbagh said the Kingdom was seeking some $120 billion investments in power generation, transmission and distribution in its bid to double electricity generation capacity to 60,000 megawatts within 20 years.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73490&d=21&m=11&y=2005
Focus on Empowerment of Women
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
King Abdullah meets with top officials of the Ministry of Economy and Planning. (SPA)
JEDDAH, 22 November 2005 — Saudi Arabia’s new five-year plan, which was approved by the Council of Ministers yesterday, focuses on the empowerment of women, privatization of state-owned corporations, setting up of strategic industries, and the development of mining and tourism sectors.
The Cabinet meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, also expressed its happiness over the approval given by the WTO General Council to Saudi Arabia’s accession to the organization as its 149th member.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73518&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Sharon Quits Likud, Seeks Early Poll
Hisham Abu Taha, Arab News
GAZA CITY, 22 November 2005 — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday asked Israel’s president to dissolve Parliament, pushing for an early election just hours after deciding to leave his hard-line Likud party and to form a new centrist party.
In a big gamble, Sharon said he quit the party he helped found in 1973 because he didn’t want to waste time with political wrangling and didn’t want to squander the opportunities created by the summer’s Gaza pullout, bitterly opposed by Likud hard-liners. Life in Likud had become “insufferable,” Sharon told a news conference.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=73521&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Editorial: Sharon’s Gambit
22 November 2005
Apparent differences over his occupied territories policy have caused Ariel Sharon to break with the right-wing Likud party he founded. However, if this old political fox wins power again with his new National Responsibility party, will it really presage a return to the road map to peace or is he trying to conceal his hard-line Zionism in the guise of centrist politics?
The one thing certain about the political contest Sharon has provoked is that it is anything but the “snap” election referred to by unthinking commentators. It could be over three months before Israelis get to vote. Thereafter, based on past experience, whatever the outcome, it could be weeks longer before the political wheeling and dealing is over and a stable coalition government formed. Thus it could be April or May at the earliest before there is a new Israeli administration with whom the Palestinians can resume negotiations. By then George W. Bush’s Iraqi troubles will have become far worse and his administration weakened. With midterm elections looming in November, the White House may find itself diverted from taking the necessary strong lead to broker a just peace deal.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=73543&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Ship of the Desert
Raid Qusti & Naif Al-Shehri Arab News
Ask anyone what comes to mind when they hear the word “desert” and it is likely to be “camels.” In fact, there is nothing strange about that. One of the most adaptable creatures, the camel can withstand the heat and harsh conditions of the desert. Not for nothing is it known as “the ship of the desert.”
For thousands of years, Arabs depended upon camels as the means to travel from place to place as well as to carry food and merchandise of all kinds by caravan from one end of the Arabian Peninsula to the other in addition to all over the Middle East and North Africa.
Almighty God called upon mankind to learn from the miracles of his creations and has referred to the camel in the Holy Qur’an. “Do they not look at camels, how they are created?” Verse 18, Surat Al-Ghashiya
Almighty God called upon mankind to learn from the miracles of his creations and has referred to the camel in the Holy Qur’an. “Do they not look at camels, how they are created?” Verse 18, Surat Al-Ghashiya
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=21§ion=0&article=73352&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Iraq: Why No Outrage?
Linda Heard, sierra12th@yahoo.co.uk
When as a child I watched movies of World War II, I often felt sick to my stomach at man’s inhumanity to man. But in the cosseted world of childhood and at a time when the world was relatively a peaceful place it was easy to believe that those atrocities were born of a different and more brutal age — one that would never return at least not in the so-called “civilized” West.
Today I am sickened once more at the hurt Western governments force others to endure under the faux banner of democracy and freedom. With horrific stories coming out of Afghanistan and Iraq on almost a daily basis I have come to one conclusion: during the post-World War II and post-Vietnam decades, our politicians and our generals have learned absolutely nothing. And, perhaps even worse, we the public are unwitting conspirators with our culture of acceptance and silence.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=73539&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Muslim Brotherhood Claims Major Gains
Hicham Safieddine & Serene Assir, Arab News
CAIRO, 22 November 2005 — Muslim Brotherhood claimed further gains yesterday in the latest round of Egypt’s parliamentary elections, maintaining their record-breaking first phase momentum despite widespread voter intimidation and violence.
Some 500 Brotherhood supporters were arrested on Sunday in five of the nine provinces where elections were held. There were reports of intervention by security forces in favor of NDP candidates. “Security forces directly attacked Ikhwan members and supporters,” says Nigad El Borai of the National Coalition for Monitoring Elections on Sunday.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=73526&d=22&m=11&y=2005
The Washington Post
Fueling Growth Of a Humble Crop
Biodiesel Energy Industry Sparks Interest in Maryland Soybeans
By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page B01
Larry Jarboe's quest for energy independence began years ago in the mangrove swamps of the Florida Keys, with a 15-foot canoe he bought for $75 at Sears. He installed an electric trolling motor to chase lobsters and realized along the way that "it was a really great way to live and very clean."
After that came the homemade electric riding lawnmower, the solar-powered electric Toyota MR2 with lightning bolt on the side (known as the "Green Hornet"), the electric bicycle and the wood-and-gas-powered sawmill. Now Jarboe, a Republican St. Mary's County commissioner, has laid his hopes on a hard vegetable the size of a pencil eraser grown throughout Southern Maryland: the soybean.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101542.html
Abramoff Partner Pleads Guilty
Scanlon Admits He Conspired to Bribe Lawmaker
By James V. Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A01
A onetime congressional staffer who became a top partner to lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to bribe a congressman and other public officials and agreed to pay back more than $19 million he fraudulently charged Indian tribal clients.
The plea agreement between prosecutors and Michael Scanlon, a former press secretary to then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), provided fresh detail about the alleged bribes. The document also indicated the nature of testimony Scanlon is prepared to offer against a congressman it calls "Representative #1" -- who has been identified by attorneys in the case as Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100719.html
Bush Administration Grants Leeway on 'No Child' Rules
By Nick Anderson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A01
The Bush administration has begun to ease some key rules for the controversial No Child Left Behind law, opening the door to a new way to rate schools, granting a few urban systems permission to provide federally subsidized tutoring and allowing certain states more time to meet teacher-quality requirements.
The Education Department's actions could signal a new phase for school improvement efforts nearly four years after the law's enactment. Taken together, these actions amount to a major response to critics who have called No Child Left Behind rigid and unworkable. They also help the administration combat efforts to amend the law in Congress.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101732.html
No Way Out for Bush and Co.
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A29
As visual metaphors go, it was a lavishly gilded lily of an image, a hanging curveball across the plate, a George Tenet-style slam-dunk: A weary President Bush, trying to escape a news conference in Beijing on Sunday, strides away from the microphone to a pair of locked doors, which he pulls and tugs in vain. No exit , the image screamed. No way out. Of course, George Bush will inevitably get out of the mess he has made -- he leaves office in three years and two months, not that anyone's counting. But the rest of us will be left with his handiwork: crushing national debt, rising economic inequality, a poisoned political atmosphere and, oh, yes, the war in Iraq. We're the ones trapped in the dark with no exit sign in sight.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100970.html
Planned Closings Stun GM Employees
'They're Calling It "Shock and Awe" '
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page D01
Twenty minutes before yesterday's announcement that General Motors Corp. would cut 30,000 jobs and shut down all or part of 12 facilities, Chris "Tiny" Sherwood heard that his beloved Lansing, Mich., plant would be among those closed.
The news had a particular sting for Sherwood. Lansing Metal Center is among the plants he represents as president of United Auto Workers Local 652. It is also the same plant where he started his career in 1967.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101477.html
Planned Closings Stun GM Employees
'They're Calling It "Shock and Awe" '
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page D01
Twenty minutes before yesterday's announcement that General Motors Corp. would cut 30,000 jobs and shut down all or part of 12 facilities, Chris "Tiny" Sherwood heard that his beloved Lansing, Mich., plant would be among those closed.
The news had a particular sting for Sherwood. Lansing Metal Center is among the plants he represents as president of United Auto Workers Local 652. It is also the same plant where he started his career in 1967.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101477.html
Chavez Pushes Petro-Diplomacy
High Oil Profit Leads to Venezuela's Plan to Subsidize Heating in United States
By Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A22
The plea came in a letter from a group of U.S. senators to nine big oil companies: With huge increases in winter heating bills expected, the letter read, we want you to donate some of your record profits to help low-income people cover those costs.
But the lawmakers received only one response. It came from Citgo Petroleum Corp., a company controlled by the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez, a nettlesome adversary of the United States who has accused the Bush administration of plotting to assassinate him and invade his oil-rich country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101800.html
In Kosovo, Two Peoples Look Across Bitter Divide
Talks Address Future Of U.N.-Run Region
By Daniel Williams
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A22
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro -- Six years after the end of warfare here, fear and suspicion still enforce a strict separation of Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, but for the first time both sides are beginning to picture a future in which they might -- just might -- live together.
Talks began Monday in Pristina on the future legal status of an area that has been under the administration of the United Nations since U.S.-led bombing forced out Serbian forces in 1999. Anti-Serb riots in March 2004 stoked fear here and in foreign capitals of new violence between the two populations, and possibly even between Serbia and Kosovo, prompting the U.S. and European governments to endorse the talks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101717.html
Woodward Talks of Admission, Apology
Author Says He Realized He Would Be 'Dragged Into This'
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A09
Bob Woodward said yesterday that he notified his editor at The Washington Post of his involvement in the CIA leak case because he realized he "was going to be dragged into this."
In an interview with CNN's Larry King, Woodward, a Post assistant managing editor and best-selling author, detailed the events that led him to apologize to Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. for not notifying him earlier that a senior Bush administration official had told him about CIA operative Valerie Plame in June 2003.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101378.html
Shortage of Immigrant Workers Alarms Growers in West
Stricter Border Control, Working Conditions Cited as Fewer Mexicans Cross for Harvest
By Sonya Geis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A03
CALEXICO, Calif. -- Hours before dawn, Chuck Clunn stood on a street corner in this dusty border town and shook his head, dismayed at the small number of men milling in the dark. Workers usually swarm streets near the border crossing in the early morning hours, but today Clunn and other labor contractors looking for farmworkers found a crowd half the size they had been hoping for.
"This is usually just people everywhere. Last year the whole town was moving," Clunn said. Now, he said, the foremen say, "Hey, man, we have plenty of generals, but there's no Indians."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101357.html
Number of People With HIV Doubled in Past Decade, U.N. Finds
By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A24
JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 21 -- The number of people infected with the virus that causes AIDS has doubled in the past decade to 40 million, and there is no end in sight as the pandemic continues to outpace efforts to prevent new infections and treat those already sick, according to a new U.N. report released Monday.
The annual report from UNAIDS noted some hopeful signs, including modest decreases in infection rates in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Burkina Faso and the growing availability of lifesaving antiretroviral drugs, even in some of the world's poorest countries. There are some indications that efforts to curb risky behavior such as multiple sexual partners has succeeded in some countries, U.N. officials said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100717.html
Kenyans Calmly Vote on New Charter
Quiet Prevails After Tumultuous Campaign; Changes Would Boost President
By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A22
NAIROBI, Nov. 21 -- With the streets of this capital eerily quiet, Kenyans voted peacefully Monday on a new draft constitution after a turbulent month of campaigning divided East Africa's largest nation and split political leaders along tribal lines.
Tens of thousands of Kenyans, some with babies on their backs, stood in long but orderly lines at voting stations. There were few reports of violence, after a stormy campaign in which nine people were killed during rallies by opponents of the constitutional changes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100702.html
D.C. School Abandons Charter Bid for Chance at Autonomy
By V. Dion Haynes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page B02
Leaders at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School are dropping their proposal to become a charter school in exchange for an agreement from Superintendent Clifford B. Janey to enter into talks aimed at giving the Northwest Washington school more autonomy, Wilson parents and teachers said yesterday.
The committee of parents and staff that makes key decisions about the school's operations had been considering switching to charter school status for the past year. Members said they were deeply dissatisfied with the central administration, which had been slow to fix Wilson's computer and maintenance problems and had ordered them last year to cut $400,000 from the school's budget because of a systemwide shortfall.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101426.html
Chick Lit
Sex and the city -- and the boardroom and the 'burbs, for that matter.
By Claudia Deane
Sunday, November 20, 2005; Page BW13
I am not over "Sex and the City," so I was primed for Lipstick Jungle (Hyperion, $24.95), City author Candace Bushnell's new novel. And the lady does not disappoint.
Bushnell is still writing about cozy meals with the girls in Manhattan eateries, the possibility of true love and, of course, boy-cut pants with sequins and other fabulous fashions. But she's also taking her shot at two topics wearily familiar to many Washingtonians: being a powerful woman in a man's world and the elusive work-life balance.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701443.html
'War' Marches to DVD
By Jen Chaney
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Monday, November 21, 2005; 11:11 AM
"War of the Worlds: 2-Disc Limited Edition" (List price: $39.99)
Release Date: Nov. 22
The extras on the "War of the Worlds" DVD are all business. Don't expect to hear the name Katie Holmes or see Tom Cruise leaping off the cushions of Oprah Winfrey's comfy couch. If all the TomKat hype often overshadowed last summer's release of the sci-fi remake, this dual-disc set makes sure to keep the focus where director Steven Spielberg undoubtedly always intended: on the film itself.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100507.html
The New Zealand Herald
Lakes dry but Commission sure of no blackouts
22.11.05 4.00pm
The Electricity Commission today expressed confidence about no blackouts or brownouts next winter despite low hydro lake levels due to the dry spring.
"Even if we get close to the lowest historical dry spell, we are still not anticipating that we will be in trouble this winter," commission chairman Roy Hemmingway told Radio New Zealand.
"We are predicting that we will not be in that situation, even if we get a quite dry summer."
However, critics say there is insufficient spare capacity to ride out a dry year coinciding with a breakdown at a major power plant.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10356455
Semi-naked models drive motorists to distraction
22.11.05 3.20pm
LONDON - Almost a quarter of motorists admit they have been so distracted by roadside billboards of semi-naked models that they have dangerously veered out of their lane.
In new research, one in five male drivers said their eyes were diverted from the road by posters of scantily clad women - such as the saucy cleavage shots of model Eva Herzigova in her notorious adverts for Wonderbra.
However only one in 10 women were put off by the sight of a semi-dressed male model.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356453
Iraq, Iran hold historic talks
22.11.05 4.20pm
TEHRAN - Jalal Talabani, the first Iraqi president to visit Iran for nearly four decades, received assurances on Monday that Tehran supported its neighbour's transition to democracy.
Shi'ite Muslim Iran has repeatedly been accused of meddling in post-war Iraq, with Western and Iraqi officials charging Iran with allowing weapons and insurgents to cross its borders.
But Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said such accusations were unfounded and voiced by those who did not want better ties between Baghdad and Tehran, who fought each other to a standstill in a 1980-1988 war.
"Such accusations will definitely not affect the expansion of relations between Iran and Iraq," he told reporters after a meeting with Talabani, the first Iraqi leader to visit Tehran since the late 1960s.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356454
Leslie says events in Bali turned her life upside down
22.11.05 1.00pm
SYDNEY - Convicted drug user Michelle Leslie has arrived back in Australia, saying the events of the last three months have turned her life upside down.
The Australian model briefly addressed a huge media pack after touching down at Sydney International Airport today from Singapore.
The 24-year-old catwalk beauty was freed from Bali's Kerobokan prison on Saturday after serving three months behind bars following the discovery of two ecstasy tablets in her handbag.
"The events of the last few months have just really turned my life upside," Leslie told reporters.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356414
UN extends mandate of EU peacekeepers in Bosnia
22.11.05 1.00pm
UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council today renewed for an additional year the mandate of the European peacekeeping force in Bosnia.
Renewal through November 20, 2006, came in a resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council on the 10th anniversary of the Dayton accords ending the war in Bosnia.
Nearly 7000 European Union troops took over peacekeeping duties in Bosnia from a Nato-led force last December.
The resolution aims to ensure the continuity of the peace process and of "the generally positive developments" in the region, said Russian Ambassador Andrei Denisov, the council president for November.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356436
Protesters block nuclear waste shipment
22.11.05 12.20pm
By Tony Paterson
BERLIN - Riot police equipped with water cannons and tear gas removed hundreds of protesters attempting to block the delivery of atomic waste from France to a storage depot near the north German town of Gorleben yesterday.
Police said they had arrested 26 protesters and confiscated 79 farmers' tractors that formed a barricade along the route, delaying delivery of the waste by several hours.
Protest groups said a number of activists had been injured.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356428
Friars of Assisi lose their independence
22.11.05 1.00pm
By Peter Popham
ROME - The friars of the shrine of St Francis of Assisi, the world-famous centre of inter-religious dialogue and Christian pacifism, have been brought to heel by Pope Benedict XVI.
The mendicant friars, who welcome millions of pilgrims every year to the burial place of St Francis, have at a stroke lost the autonomy that made them one of the boldest and most adventurous institutions in the Catholic Church.
Italian commentators on the right and left have hailed the move or roundly condemned it.
The daily newspaper La Repubblica called it "a shocking initiative".
The friars were granted autonomy by Pope Paul VI in 1969, and the picturesque shrine of the saint in the Umbrian hills has since become renowned for its annual peace marches, drawing thousands of participants, and for two Assisi peace conferences, in 1986 and 2002, which caused outrage among conservative Catholics.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356433
Woodward rebuked in CIA leak case
21.11.05 1.00pm
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON - The Washington Post's ombudsman has rebuked journalist Bob Woodward for withholding what he knew about the CIA leak probe from his editor and for making public statements that were dismissive of the investigation without disclosing his own involvement.
One of the best-known investigative reporters in the United States, Woodward revealed last week that he testified under oath to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that a senior Bush administration official told him in mid-June 2003 about CIA operative Valerie Plame's position at the spy agency.
Fitzgerald announced a few days later in court papers that his two-year criminal investigation into who leaked Plame's identity would be going back before a federal grand jury, a sign he may seek new or revised charges.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356249
Civilians, including child, killed by US troops
22.11.05 9.20am
BAGHDAD - US troops fearing a car bomb attack fired on a crowded minivan and killed at least three civilians including a child north of Baghdad on Monday.
The US army's 3rd Infantry Division said its troops had opened fire after first trying to wave the minivan to a stop and then firing warning shots.
"These tragedies only happen because Zarqawi and his thugs are out there driving around with car bombs," said Major Steve Warren, a spokesman for US forces in Baquba, in reference to the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Two men and a child were killed and three people were wounded, Warren said. Survivors disputed the military's account, insisting that five family members, including two children, died and four were wounded as bullets tore through the van.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356406
Chemical trader faces Iraq war crimes trial
22.11.05
AMSTERDAM - A Dutch businessman is to face trial accused of complicity in war crimes and genocide for selling chemicals to Iraq knowing Saddam Hussein would use them for poison gas attacks.
Frans van Anraat, 63, is charged with supplying thousands of tonnes of agents for poison gas that Saddam used against Iran and the Kurdish population of Halabja in the 1980s.
Prosecutor Fred Teeven told a pre-trial hearing at a high-security court in Rotterdam that Van Anraat continued to supply chemicals after the Halabja attack, which killed 5000 people 17 years ago this week.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356367
'We don't do torture', says CIA
22.11.05 5.20am
CIA interrogators use "unique" methods to obtain "vital" information from prisoners, but obey laws against torture, CIA Director Porter Goss has said.
"This agency does not do torture. Torture does not work," Goss said in USA Today. "We use lawful capabilities to collect vital information."
Vice-President Dick Cheney is working in Congress to exempt the CIA from proposed laws banning cruel and inhuman treatment.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356355
Unearthing memories from Nazi field
22.11.05
By Kathy Marks
As they sat in a sloping field at the Majdanek death camp in spring 1943, waiting to be selected for work or extermination, the Polish Jews - survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising - took part in one final act of defiance.
Using their hands, they dug deep into the soil, burying their most precious possessions: watches, rings, gold coins, items of sentimental value.
"We knew it was the end of the line," said Adam Frydman, who was transported to Majdanek, aged 20, with his father and brother. "We could see the chimney burning, and we could smell the burning flesh. We thought, 'If we're going to die, why should we give our things to the Germans?"'
An estimated 170,000 people died at Majdanek: Russian prisoners of war and Polish dissidents as well as Jews. For 62 years the empty field at the camp, on the outskirts of Lublin, lay undisturbed. Only those who survived knew what the earth concealed.
Pasted from <http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356322
continued …
SAGIA to Set Up Offices in Cities Abroad
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
JEDDAH, 21 November 2005 — The Saudi Arabian General Investment Authority (SAGIA) plans to open offices in China, the United States, Britain, Germany and other countries in its bid to attract investments in infrastructure projects worth billions of riyals.
SAGIA chief Amr Al-Dabbagh said the Kingdom was seeking some $120 billion investments in power generation, transmission and distribution in its bid to double electricity generation capacity to 60,000 megawatts within 20 years.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73490&d=21&m=11&y=2005
Focus on Empowerment of Women
P.K. Abdul Ghafour, Arab News
King Abdullah meets with top officials of the Ministry of Economy and Planning. (SPA)
JEDDAH, 22 November 2005 — Saudi Arabia’s new five-year plan, which was approved by the Council of Ministers yesterday, focuses on the empowerment of women, privatization of state-owned corporations, setting up of strategic industries, and the development of mining and tourism sectors.
The Cabinet meeting at Al-Yamamah Palace in Riyadh, chaired by Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, also expressed its happiness over the approval given by the WTO General Council to Saudi Arabia’s accession to the organization as its 149th member.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=1§ion=0&article=73518&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Sharon Quits Likud, Seeks Early Poll
Hisham Abu Taha, Arab News
GAZA CITY, 22 November 2005 — Prime Minister Ariel Sharon yesterday asked Israel’s president to dissolve Parliament, pushing for an early election just hours after deciding to leave his hard-line Likud party and to form a new centrist party.
In a big gamble, Sharon said he quit the party he helped found in 1973 because he didn’t want to waste time with political wrangling and didn’t want to squander the opportunities created by the summer’s Gaza pullout, bitterly opposed by Likud hard-liners. Life in Likud had become “insufferable,” Sharon told a news conference.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=73521&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Editorial: Sharon’s Gambit
22 November 2005
Apparent differences over his occupied territories policy have caused Ariel Sharon to break with the right-wing Likud party he founded. However, if this old political fox wins power again with his new National Responsibility party, will it really presage a return to the road map to peace or is he trying to conceal his hard-line Zionism in the guise of centrist politics?
The one thing certain about the political contest Sharon has provoked is that it is anything but the “snap” election referred to by unthinking commentators. It could be over three months before Israelis get to vote. Thereafter, based on past experience, whatever the outcome, it could be weeks longer before the political wheeling and dealing is over and a stable coalition government formed. Thus it could be April or May at the earliest before there is a new Israeli administration with whom the Palestinians can resume negotiations. By then George W. Bush’s Iraqi troubles will have become far worse and his administration weakened. With midterm elections looming in November, the White House may find itself diverted from taking the necessary strong lead to broker a just peace deal.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=73543&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Ship of the Desert
Raid Qusti & Naif Al-Shehri Arab News
Ask anyone what comes to mind when they hear the word “desert” and it is likely to be “camels.” In fact, there is nothing strange about that. One of the most adaptable creatures, the camel can withstand the heat and harsh conditions of the desert. Not for nothing is it known as “the ship of the desert.”
For thousands of years, Arabs depended upon camels as the means to travel from place to place as well as to carry food and merchandise of all kinds by caravan from one end of the Arabian Peninsula to the other in addition to all over the Middle East and North Africa.
Almighty God called upon mankind to learn from the miracles of his creations and has referred to the camel in the Holy Qur’an. “Do they not look at camels, how they are created?” Verse 18, Surat Al-Ghashiya
Almighty God called upon mankind to learn from the miracles of his creations and has referred to the camel in the Holy Qur’an. “Do they not look at camels, how they are created?” Verse 18, Surat Al-Ghashiya
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=21§ion=0&article=73352&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Iraq: Why No Outrage?
Linda Heard, sierra12th@yahoo.co.uk
When as a child I watched movies of World War II, I often felt sick to my stomach at man’s inhumanity to man. But in the cosseted world of childhood and at a time when the world was relatively a peaceful place it was easy to believe that those atrocities were born of a different and more brutal age — one that would never return at least not in the so-called “civilized” West.
Today I am sickened once more at the hurt Western governments force others to endure under the faux banner of democracy and freedom. With horrific stories coming out of Afghanistan and Iraq on almost a daily basis I have come to one conclusion: during the post-World War II and post-Vietnam decades, our politicians and our generals have learned absolutely nothing. And, perhaps even worse, we the public are unwitting conspirators with our culture of acceptance and silence.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=7§ion=0&article=73539&d=22&m=11&y=2005
Muslim Brotherhood Claims Major Gains
Hicham Safieddine & Serene Assir, Arab News
CAIRO, 22 November 2005 — Muslim Brotherhood claimed further gains yesterday in the latest round of Egypt’s parliamentary elections, maintaining their record-breaking first phase momentum despite widespread voter intimidation and violence.
Some 500 Brotherhood supporters were arrested on Sunday in five of the nine provinces where elections were held. There were reports of intervention by security forces in favor of NDP candidates. “Security forces directly attacked Ikhwan members and supporters,” says Nigad El Borai of the National Coalition for Monitoring Elections on Sunday.
http://www.arabnews.com/?page=4§ion=0&article=73526&d=22&m=11&y=2005
The Washington Post
Fueling Growth Of a Humble Crop
Biodiesel Energy Industry Sparks Interest in Maryland Soybeans
By Joshua Partlow
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page B01
Larry Jarboe's quest for energy independence began years ago in the mangrove swamps of the Florida Keys, with a 15-foot canoe he bought for $75 at Sears. He installed an electric trolling motor to chase lobsters and realized along the way that "it was a really great way to live and very clean."
After that came the homemade electric riding lawnmower, the solar-powered electric Toyota MR2 with lightning bolt on the side (known as the "Green Hornet"), the electric bicycle and the wood-and-gas-powered sawmill. Now Jarboe, a Republican St. Mary's County commissioner, has laid his hopes on a hard vegetable the size of a pencil eraser grown throughout Southern Maryland: the soybean.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101542.html
Abramoff Partner Pleads Guilty
Scanlon Admits He Conspired to Bribe Lawmaker
By James V. Grimaldi and Susan Schmidt
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A01
A onetime congressional staffer who became a top partner to lobbyist Jack Abramoff pleaded guilty yesterday to conspiring to bribe a congressman and other public officials and agreed to pay back more than $19 million he fraudulently charged Indian tribal clients.
The plea agreement between prosecutors and Michael Scanlon, a former press secretary to then-House Majority Whip Tom DeLay (R-Tex.), provided fresh detail about the alleged bribes. The document also indicated the nature of testimony Scanlon is prepared to offer against a congressman it calls "Representative #1" -- who has been identified by attorneys in the case as Rep. Robert W. Ney (R-Ohio).
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100719.html
Bush Administration Grants Leeway on 'No Child' Rules
By Nick Anderson
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A01
The Bush administration has begun to ease some key rules for the controversial No Child Left Behind law, opening the door to a new way to rate schools, granting a few urban systems permission to provide federally subsidized tutoring and allowing certain states more time to meet teacher-quality requirements.
The Education Department's actions could signal a new phase for school improvement efforts nearly four years after the law's enactment. Taken together, these actions amount to a major response to critics who have called No Child Left Behind rigid and unworkable. They also help the administration combat efforts to amend the law in Congress.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101732.html
No Way Out for Bush and Co.
By Eugene Robinson
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A29
As visual metaphors go, it was a lavishly gilded lily of an image, a hanging curveball across the plate, a George Tenet-style slam-dunk: A weary President Bush, trying to escape a news conference in Beijing on Sunday, strides away from the microphone to a pair of locked doors, which he pulls and tugs in vain. No exit , the image screamed. No way out. Of course, George Bush will inevitably get out of the mess he has made -- he leaves office in three years and two months, not that anyone's counting. But the rest of us will be left with his handiwork: crushing national debt, rising economic inequality, a poisoned political atmosphere and, oh, yes, the war in Iraq. We're the ones trapped in the dark with no exit sign in sight.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100970.html
Planned Closings Stun GM Employees
'They're Calling It "Shock and Awe" '
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page D01
Twenty minutes before yesterday's announcement that General Motors Corp. would cut 30,000 jobs and shut down all or part of 12 facilities, Chris "Tiny" Sherwood heard that his beloved Lansing, Mich., plant would be among those closed.
The news had a particular sting for Sherwood. Lansing Metal Center is among the plants he represents as president of United Auto Workers Local 652. It is also the same plant where he started his career in 1967.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101477.html
Planned Closings Stun GM Employees
'They're Calling It "Shock and Awe" '
By Amy Joyce
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page D01
Twenty minutes before yesterday's announcement that General Motors Corp. would cut 30,000 jobs and shut down all or part of 12 facilities, Chris "Tiny" Sherwood heard that his beloved Lansing, Mich., plant would be among those closed.
The news had a particular sting for Sherwood. Lansing Metal Center is among the plants he represents as president of United Auto Workers Local 652. It is also the same plant where he started his career in 1967.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101477.html
Chavez Pushes Petro-Diplomacy
High Oil Profit Leads to Venezuela's Plan to Subsidize Heating in United States
By Justin Blum
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A22
The plea came in a letter from a group of U.S. senators to nine big oil companies: With huge increases in winter heating bills expected, the letter read, we want you to donate some of your record profits to help low-income people cover those costs.
But the lawmakers received only one response. It came from Citgo Petroleum Corp., a company controlled by the Venezuelan government of President Hugo Chavez, a nettlesome adversary of the United States who has accused the Bush administration of plotting to assassinate him and invade his oil-rich country.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101800.html
In Kosovo, Two Peoples Look Across Bitter Divide
Talks Address Future Of U.N.-Run Region
By Daniel Williams
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A22
PRISTINA, Serbia and Montenegro -- Six years after the end of warfare here, fear and suspicion still enforce a strict separation of Serbs and Albanians in Kosovo, but for the first time both sides are beginning to picture a future in which they might -- just might -- live together.
Talks began Monday in Pristina on the future legal status of an area that has been under the administration of the United Nations since U.S.-led bombing forced out Serbian forces in 1999. Anti-Serb riots in March 2004 stoked fear here and in foreign capitals of new violence between the two populations, and possibly even between Serbia and Kosovo, prompting the U.S. and European governments to endorse the talks.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101717.html
Woodward Talks of Admission, Apology
Author Says He Realized He Would Be 'Dragged Into This'
By Howard Kurtz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A09
Bob Woodward said yesterday that he notified his editor at The Washington Post of his involvement in the CIA leak case because he realized he "was going to be dragged into this."
In an interview with CNN's Larry King, Woodward, a Post assistant managing editor and best-selling author, detailed the events that led him to apologize to Executive Editor Leonard Downie Jr. for not notifying him earlier that a senior Bush administration official had told him about CIA operative Valerie Plame in June 2003.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101378.html
Shortage of Immigrant Workers Alarms Growers in West
Stricter Border Control, Working Conditions Cited as Fewer Mexicans Cross for Harvest
By Sonya Geis
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A03
CALEXICO, Calif. -- Hours before dawn, Chuck Clunn stood on a street corner in this dusty border town and shook his head, dismayed at the small number of men milling in the dark. Workers usually swarm streets near the border crossing in the early morning hours, but today Clunn and other labor contractors looking for farmworkers found a crowd half the size they had been hoping for.
"This is usually just people everywhere. Last year the whole town was moving," Clunn said. Now, he said, the foremen say, "Hey, man, we have plenty of generals, but there's no Indians."
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101357.html
Number of People With HIV Doubled in Past Decade, U.N. Finds
By Craig Timberg
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A24
JOHANNESBURG, Nov. 21 -- The number of people infected with the virus that causes AIDS has doubled in the past decade to 40 million, and there is no end in sight as the pandemic continues to outpace efforts to prevent new infections and treat those already sick, according to a new U.N. report released Monday.
The annual report from UNAIDS noted some hopeful signs, including modest decreases in infection rates in Zimbabwe, Kenya and Burkina Faso and the growing availability of lifesaving antiretroviral drugs, even in some of the world's poorest countries. There are some indications that efforts to curb risky behavior such as multiple sexual partners has succeeded in some countries, U.N. officials said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100717.html
Kenyans Calmly Vote on New Charter
Quiet Prevails After Tumultuous Campaign; Changes Would Boost President
By Emily Wax
Washington Post Foreign Service
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page A22
NAIROBI, Nov. 21 -- With the streets of this capital eerily quiet, Kenyans voted peacefully Monday on a new draft constitution after a turbulent month of campaigning divided East Africa's largest nation and split political leaders along tribal lines.
Tens of thousands of Kenyans, some with babies on their backs, stood in long but orderly lines at voting stations. There were few reports of violence, after a stormy campaign in which nine people were killed during rallies by opponents of the constitutional changes.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100702.html
D.C. School Abandons Charter Bid for Chance at Autonomy
By V. Dion Haynes
Washington Post Staff Writer
Tuesday, November 22, 2005; Page B02
Leaders at Woodrow Wilson Senior High School are dropping their proposal to become a charter school in exchange for an agreement from Superintendent Clifford B. Janey to enter into talks aimed at giving the Northwest Washington school more autonomy, Wilson parents and teachers said yesterday.
The committee of parents and staff that makes key decisions about the school's operations had been considering switching to charter school status for the past year. Members said they were deeply dissatisfied with the central administration, which had been slow to fix Wilson's computer and maintenance problems and had ordered them last year to cut $400,000 from the school's budget because of a systemwide shortfall.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112101426.html
Chick Lit
Sex and the city -- and the boardroom and the 'burbs, for that matter.
By Claudia Deane
Sunday, November 20, 2005; Page BW13
I am not over "Sex and the City," so I was primed for Lipstick Jungle (Hyperion, $24.95), City author Candace Bushnell's new novel. And the lady does not disappoint.
Bushnell is still writing about cozy meals with the girls in Manhattan eateries, the possibility of true love and, of course, boy-cut pants with sequins and other fabulous fashions. But she's also taking her shot at two topics wearily familiar to many Washingtonians: being a powerful woman in a man's world and the elusive work-life balance.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/17/AR2005111701443.html
'War' Marches to DVD
By Jen Chaney
washingtonpost.com Staff Writer
Monday, November 21, 2005; 11:11 AM
"War of the Worlds: 2-Disc Limited Edition" (List price: $39.99)
Release Date: Nov. 22
The extras on the "War of the Worlds" DVD are all business. Don't expect to hear the name Katie Holmes or see Tom Cruise leaping off the cushions of Oprah Winfrey's comfy couch. If all the TomKat hype often overshadowed last summer's release of the sci-fi remake, this dual-disc set makes sure to keep the focus where director Steven Spielberg undoubtedly always intended: on the film itself.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100507.html
The New Zealand Herald
Lakes dry but Commission sure of no blackouts
22.11.05 4.00pm
The Electricity Commission today expressed confidence about no blackouts or brownouts next winter despite low hydro lake levels due to the dry spring.
"Even if we get close to the lowest historical dry spell, we are still not anticipating that we will be in trouble this winter," commission chairman Roy Hemmingway told Radio New Zealand.
"We are predicting that we will not be in that situation, even if we get a quite dry summer."
However, critics say there is insufficient spare capacity to ride out a dry year coinciding with a breakdown at a major power plant.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10356455
Semi-naked models drive motorists to distraction
22.11.05 3.20pm
LONDON - Almost a quarter of motorists admit they have been so distracted by roadside billboards of semi-naked models that they have dangerously veered out of their lane.
In new research, one in five male drivers said their eyes were diverted from the road by posters of scantily clad women - such as the saucy cleavage shots of model Eva Herzigova in her notorious adverts for Wonderbra.
However only one in 10 women were put off by the sight of a semi-dressed male model.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356453
Iraq, Iran hold historic talks
22.11.05 4.20pm
TEHRAN - Jalal Talabani, the first Iraqi president to visit Iran for nearly four decades, received assurances on Monday that Tehran supported its neighbour's transition to democracy.
Shi'ite Muslim Iran has repeatedly been accused of meddling in post-war Iraq, with Western and Iraqi officials charging Iran with allowing weapons and insurgents to cross its borders.
But Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said such accusations were unfounded and voiced by those who did not want better ties between Baghdad and Tehran, who fought each other to a standstill in a 1980-1988 war.
"Such accusations will definitely not affect the expansion of relations between Iran and Iraq," he told reporters after a meeting with Talabani, the first Iraqi leader to visit Tehran since the late 1960s.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356454
Leslie says events in Bali turned her life upside down
22.11.05 1.00pm
SYDNEY - Convicted drug user Michelle Leslie has arrived back in Australia, saying the events of the last three months have turned her life upside down.
The Australian model briefly addressed a huge media pack after touching down at Sydney International Airport today from Singapore.
The 24-year-old catwalk beauty was freed from Bali's Kerobokan prison on Saturday after serving three months behind bars following the discovery of two ecstasy tablets in her handbag.
"The events of the last few months have just really turned my life upside," Leslie told reporters.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356414
UN extends mandate of EU peacekeepers in Bosnia
22.11.05 1.00pm
UNITED NATIONS - The UN Security Council today renewed for an additional year the mandate of the European peacekeeping force in Bosnia.
Renewal through November 20, 2006, came in a resolution adopted unanimously by the 15-nation council on the 10th anniversary of the Dayton accords ending the war in Bosnia.
Nearly 7000 European Union troops took over peacekeeping duties in Bosnia from a Nato-led force last December.
The resolution aims to ensure the continuity of the peace process and of "the generally positive developments" in the region, said Russian Ambassador Andrei Denisov, the council president for November.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356436
Protesters block nuclear waste shipment
22.11.05 12.20pm
By Tony Paterson
BERLIN - Riot police equipped with water cannons and tear gas removed hundreds of protesters attempting to block the delivery of atomic waste from France to a storage depot near the north German town of Gorleben yesterday.
Police said they had arrested 26 protesters and confiscated 79 farmers' tractors that formed a barricade along the route, delaying delivery of the waste by several hours.
Protest groups said a number of activists had been injured.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356428
Friars of Assisi lose their independence
22.11.05 1.00pm
By Peter Popham
ROME - The friars of the shrine of St Francis of Assisi, the world-famous centre of inter-religious dialogue and Christian pacifism, have been brought to heel by Pope Benedict XVI.
The mendicant friars, who welcome millions of pilgrims every year to the burial place of St Francis, have at a stroke lost the autonomy that made them one of the boldest and most adventurous institutions in the Catholic Church.
Italian commentators on the right and left have hailed the move or roundly condemned it.
The daily newspaper La Repubblica called it "a shocking initiative".
The friars were granted autonomy by Pope Paul VI in 1969, and the picturesque shrine of the saint in the Umbrian hills has since become renowned for its annual peace marches, drawing thousands of participants, and for two Assisi peace conferences, in 1986 and 2002, which caused outrage among conservative Catholics.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356433
Woodward rebuked in CIA leak case
21.11.05 1.00pm
By Adam Entous
WASHINGTON - The Washington Post's ombudsman has rebuked journalist Bob Woodward for withholding what he knew about the CIA leak probe from his editor and for making public statements that were dismissive of the investigation without disclosing his own involvement.
One of the best-known investigative reporters in the United States, Woodward revealed last week that he testified under oath to special prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald that a senior Bush administration official told him in mid-June 2003 about CIA operative Valerie Plame's position at the spy agency.
Fitzgerald announced a few days later in court papers that his two-year criminal investigation into who leaked Plame's identity would be going back before a federal grand jury, a sign he may seek new or revised charges.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356249
Civilians, including child, killed by US troops
22.11.05 9.20am
BAGHDAD - US troops fearing a car bomb attack fired on a crowded minivan and killed at least three civilians including a child north of Baghdad on Monday.
The US army's 3rd Infantry Division said its troops had opened fire after first trying to wave the minivan to a stop and then firing warning shots.
"These tragedies only happen because Zarqawi and his thugs are out there driving around with car bombs," said Major Steve Warren, a spokesman for US forces in Baquba, in reference to the leader of al Qaeda in Iraq, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi.
Two men and a child were killed and three people were wounded, Warren said. Survivors disputed the military's account, insisting that five family members, including two children, died and four were wounded as bullets tore through the van.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10356406
Chemical trader faces Iraq war crimes trial
22.11.05
AMSTERDAM - A Dutch businessman is to face trial accused of complicity in war crimes and genocide for selling chemicals to Iraq knowing Saddam Hussein would use them for poison gas attacks.
Frans van Anraat, 63, is charged with supplying thousands of tonnes of agents for poison gas that Saddam used against Iran and the Kurdish population of Halabja in the 1980s.
Prosecutor Fred Teeven told a pre-trial hearing at a high-security court in Rotterdam that Van Anraat continued to supply chemicals after the Halabja attack, which killed 5000 people 17 years ago this week.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356367
'We don't do torture', says CIA
22.11.05 5.20am
CIA interrogators use "unique" methods to obtain "vital" information from prisoners, but obey laws against torture, CIA Director Porter Goss has said.
"This agency does not do torture. Torture does not work," Goss said in USA Today. "We use lawful capabilities to collect vital information."
Vice-President Dick Cheney is working in Congress to exempt the CIA from proposed laws banning cruel and inhuman treatment.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356355
Unearthing memories from Nazi field
22.11.05
By Kathy Marks
As they sat in a sloping field at the Majdanek death camp in spring 1943, waiting to be selected for work or extermination, the Polish Jews - survivors of the Warsaw Ghetto uprising - took part in one final act of defiance.
Using their hands, they dug deep into the soil, burying their most precious possessions: watches, rings, gold coins, items of sentimental value.
"We knew it was the end of the line," said Adam Frydman, who was transported to Majdanek, aged 20, with his father and brother. "We could see the chimney burning, and we could smell the burning flesh. We thought, 'If we're going to die, why should we give our things to the Germans?"'
An estimated 170,000 people died at Majdanek: Russian prisoners of war and Polish dissidents as well as Jews. For 62 years the empty field at the camp, on the outskirts of Lublin, lay undisturbed. Only those who survived knew what the earth concealed.
Pasted from <http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10356322
continued …
Morning Papers - concluding
Zoos
Dog Parks And Zoos A Boost To Quality Of Life
Published on 11/21/2005
Letters To The Editor:
I love dogs and I can honestly say that my life would not be complete without them.
On Oct. 30, in celebration of my friend's birthday, we brought our dogs to the park designed especially for them.
We had a marvelous time; I felt like a child again. It was exhilarating watching our dogs running and happily playing together, and making new friends.
It felt so safe to be able to let the dogs off their leashes, and have them enjoy absolute freedom in the fenced in area's provided for them.
It was also nice to converse with the other dog owners. Responsible and kind people who own dogs are some of the nicest people (providing they are indeed responsible and kind to their dogs.)
Dog parks are free of cost, and people of all ages can enjoy them.
What I would really like also to see built in this area is a zoo. I can remember going to the Bates Woods zoo and visiting Rocky the gorilla and all the other critters.
I also used to love taking my daughter to Mohegan Park in Norwich and traveling to Roger Williams Park in Providence and the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
The zoo would also help to provide safe homes for the overabundance of wildlife.
Maybe someday the zoo will happen, but for now the dogs and their proud owners are having a memorable time at the parks.
Diane L. Amburn
Waterford
http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=2d304c52-4955-47d3-b86e-70eec8d15714
Activists promote preserve for elephants
BY JULIE STOIBER
Knight Ridder Newspapers
PHILADELPHIA - Watching elephants in the wild is an experience so powerful that wildlife author Douglas H. Chadwick describes it as "a whole different level of being alive."
It's an experience most of us won't have, though, since elephants' natural habitats are far away, in Africa and Asia.
And so we visit zoos, many of which are rethinking exactly how the world's largest land mammals should be shown. Last month, for example, the Philadelphia Zoo announced that it did not have the money to build a new savanna for Petal, Dulary, Bette and Kallie, but said it hoped someday to replace the quarter-acre elephant exhibit and 1,800-square-foot barn.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/13223720.htm
Zoo forced to take tiger and giraffe off menu
Associated Press in Bangkok
Tuesday November 22, 2005
Visitors to the Chiang Mai Night Safari zoo in northern Thailand will not get to taste tiger, lion, elephant and giraffe as previously planned, after critics said the menu would encourage wildlife trafficking in a region notorious for smuggling endangered species.
Now only farm-reared alligator and ostrich will be served to VIPs at the zoo's grand opening next year, project director Plodprasop Suraswadi said. "Any animal that is on display [at the zoo] will not be on the menu because it will cause confusion and misunderstanding about the intentions of the Chiang Mai Night Safari," he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1647978,00.html
Reindeer arrive at San Francisco Zoo
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO -- Some of Rudolph's cousins are paying an early visit to San Francisco. Four reindeer arrived at the San Francisco Zoo this weekend.
They're part of the zoo's "Reindeer Romp" exhibit which closes on New Year's Day. There are no red noses among the reindeer, but they do have some impressive antlers. Unlike Dasher, Dancer and Blizten, these reindeer don't fly. The four white-and-brown females were trucked from a reindeer farm in central Oregon.
The reindeer, which weigh between 250 and 275 pounds, were greeted by an excited crowd when they emerged from their horse trailer.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Reindeer.html
FW Zoo hopes new elephant will improve breeding
02:46 PM CST on Monday, November 21, 2005
From Staff Reports
Casey, a 33-year-old bull elephant, is on a three-year loan to the Fort Worth Zoo.
A five-ton special delivery arrived in North Texas last week as an early Christmas present for the Fort Worth Zoo.
Casey, a 33-year-old bull elephant belonging to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, was brought to the zoo by an 18-wheeler equipped with a 40-foot trailer designed for elephant transport.
Zoo officials hope the elephant, on loan from the circus for three years, will help increase reproduction rates among the female Asian elephants housed there.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/112205dnmetelephant.80d71015.html
Arthritis Case Adds to Debate: Are Zoos Good Home for Elephants?
By Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005; Page B04
An ailing elephant at the National Zoo is giving a local focus to a growing debate about whether zoos offer a suitable environment for elephants, particularly if the animals are often confined to small spaces.
Toni, one of four Asian elephants at the animal park, is receiving treatment for arthritis in her legs. The zoo said in September that if the condition worsens, she might have to be euthanized -- a possibility that has prompted two animal rights groups to push to have Toni moved to an elephant sanctuary, where she would have more room to exercise and be on softer ground.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/13/AR2005111301152.html
Reno zoo officials seek donations to feed animals over winter
Nov 21, 2005, 08:51 AM Est
Please feed the animals.
That's what Sierra Safari Zoo officials want the public to do as they try to raise 50-thousand dollars to feed about 200 animals over the winter.
The financially strapped Reno zoo, which is closed over the winter, has issued an appeal for donations.
Among the zoo's occupants are lions, tigers, monkeys and alligators.
It's also one of the few facilities in the country to display a liger, a cross between a lion and tiger.
The zoo, a nonprofit organization, raised about 40-thousand dollars during its last winter fundraiser.
Zoo officials say they rely on donations to get through the winter since they receive no state assistance.
http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4147590&nav=8faO
Oregon Zoo Hosts Annual Turkey Trot For Thanksgiving
Portland, Oregon - The Oregon Zoo invites runners and walkers of all ages to the annual Turkey Trot on Thursday, November 24. The Thanksgiving Day event, organized by the Oregon Road Runners Club (ORRC), includes a 4-mile run and fitness walk beginning at 8 a.m. and a 1-kilometer Tot Trot beginning at 9:30 a.m. A portion of the proceeds from the Turkey Trot will go to the Oregon Zoo to fund animal care and conservation programs.
http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=320539&cp=10997
Feeding the animals coming back to zoos
TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Zoos across the country are warming up to the idea of letting visitors feed the animals as a marketing and educational tool.
At Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Fla., visitors pay $2 to feed crackers to giraffes, the Dallas Morning News reports.
That's done from platform that puts the visitors at eye level with the giraffes.
Zoo CEO Lex Salisbury said it provides a great experience that gets kids up close to the tall animal, witness the 18-inch tongue and smell its breath.
Chuck Siegel, deputy director of animal management at the Dallas Zoo, would like to make it more educational.
That zoo is contemplating a change from the past where feeding an animal was prohibited.
He wants to incorporate it with a guided tour or class.
Animal feeding was once common in zoos but ended when biologists worried about the affect on animals' health.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051112-124850-7778r
Memphis Zoo looks to renegotiate panda contract
Nov 21, 2005, 05:29 PM EST
After three years, Le Le and YaYa are clearly comfortable in their home away from home at the Memphis Zoo, but keeping the Panda's at the zoo costs a lot of cash.
The Zoo pays the Chinese government $1.1 million a year to keep the pandas in Memphis. The price that does not include the cost of research and upkeep for the animals.
Memphis Zoo Director Chuck Brady told Action News 5 Monday the zoo is a non-profit organization, but they do have a bottom line.
http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=4150223
Zoo owner appeals to Senate for help
Published on Nov 21 , 2005
A zoo owner filed a complaint with the Senate yesterday, saying the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department still had in its possession a number of wild animals confiscated from his zoo two years ago, despite charges against him having been dropped.
The department yesterday countered it did not intend to prolong the case, but that it was still trying to determine the animals' ownership and therefore the legal process was not yet complete. Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo managing director Uthane Youngpraphakorn yesterday submitted an appeal and evidence to Senate tourism committee chair Suradech Yasawasdi in his latest attempt to retrieve the wild animals, including two orang-utans, seized in November 2003, when the zoo was raided and he was charged with illegal possession of wildlife.
http://202.60.196.117/breaking/read.php?lang=en&newsid=96122
Panda-Viewing Tickets Available Today
From Staff Reports
Monday, November 21, 2005; 9:07 AM
The public can begin signing up today for free, timed-entry tickets to see the National Zoo's giant panda cub.
Tai Shan will go on limited public view beginning Dec. 8. The tickets will be available online starting at 9 a.m. today. The Web site, run by Friends of the National Zoo, has detailed instructions on how to reserve and print the tickets. People who don't have access to the Internet can obtain tickets by calling the zoo between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. weekdays at 202-633-4486.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100372.html
Wildlife endangered
By HILARY CHIEW
Ever wondered how rare, endangered and totally protected animals, such as orang utans, tigers, elephants, gibbons, pangolins, slow lorises, cockatoos and macaws end up in theme parks and private zoos?
Well, there is this thing called Special Permit under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. It basically grants permission to keep totally protected species and is designed to regulate the collection of both local and foreign species by private individuals, theme parks and zoos.
The Natural Resources and Environment Minister approves or rejects applications for the permits based on the advice of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director-general. The latter apparently does so through a Special Permit Committee filled up by divisional directors.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/11/22/lifefocus/12573232&sec=lifefocus
Shakeup at Fresno's Chaffee Zoo Board
November 21, 2005 - They've been at the center of a controversy at the Chaffee Zoo. Now, two members of the zoo board say they're resigning, with another saying he's not going anywhere.
The shakeup of Fresno's Chaffee Zoo Corporation board has begun. Two of the three zoo board members under fire announced their resignations on Monday.
Mike Woods and Dave Cowin say they will be leaving their positions on the zoo board after several calls for their resignation, including from Fresno County Supervisors. But, chairman Jay Weed says he's staying on.
Dave Cowin served as treasurer for the Chaffee Zoo Society. He has now resigned that position and will step down from the Zoo Corporation board of directors December 31st.
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=3646602
Zoos join effort to keep avian flu under control
Chicago Tribune
Published Monday, November 14, 2005
CHICAGO - As the nation and the city try to gird for the possible invasion of a deadly and all but invisible avian flu, zoos nationwide are volunteering for duty as sentinels.
There are others keeping watch, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which monitors farm animals for the disease, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, which looks at wildlife.
But the 210 accredited zoos in the United States are particularly useful because at least one is located near every major population center and they house diverse animal populations that are under close daily observation by keepers alert to abrupt health changes.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Nov/20051114News028.asp
continued ...
Dog Parks And Zoos A Boost To Quality Of Life
Published on 11/21/2005
Letters To The Editor:
I love dogs and I can honestly say that my life would not be complete without them.
On Oct. 30, in celebration of my friend's birthday, we brought our dogs to the park designed especially for them.
We had a marvelous time; I felt like a child again. It was exhilarating watching our dogs running and happily playing together, and making new friends.
It felt so safe to be able to let the dogs off their leashes, and have them enjoy absolute freedom in the fenced in area's provided for them.
It was also nice to converse with the other dog owners. Responsible and kind people who own dogs are some of the nicest people (providing they are indeed responsible and kind to their dogs.)
Dog parks are free of cost, and people of all ages can enjoy them.
What I would really like also to see built in this area is a zoo. I can remember going to the Bates Woods zoo and visiting Rocky the gorilla and all the other critters.
I also used to love taking my daughter to Mohegan Park in Norwich and traveling to Roger Williams Park in Providence and the Bronx Zoo in New York City.
The zoo would also help to provide safe homes for the overabundance of wildlife.
Maybe someday the zoo will happen, but for now the dogs and their proud owners are having a memorable time at the parks.
Diane L. Amburn
Waterford
http://www.theday.com/eng/web/news/re.aspx?re=2d304c52-4955-47d3-b86e-70eec8d15714
Activists promote preserve for elephants
BY JULIE STOIBER
Knight Ridder Newspapers
PHILADELPHIA - Watching elephants in the wild is an experience so powerful that wildlife author Douglas H. Chadwick describes it as "a whole different level of being alive."
It's an experience most of us won't have, though, since elephants' natural habitats are far away, in Africa and Asia.
And so we visit zoos, many of which are rethinking exactly how the world's largest land mammals should be shown. Last month, for example, the Philadelphia Zoo announced that it did not have the money to build a new savanna for Petal, Dulary, Bette and Kallie, but said it hoped someday to replace the quarter-acre elephant exhibit and 1,800-square-foot barn.
http://www.contracostatimes.com/mld/cctimes/news/nation/13223720.htm
Zoo forced to take tiger and giraffe off menu
Associated Press in Bangkok
Tuesday November 22, 2005
Visitors to the Chiang Mai Night Safari zoo in northern Thailand will not get to taste tiger, lion, elephant and giraffe as previously planned, after critics said the menu would encourage wildlife trafficking in a region notorious for smuggling endangered species.
Now only farm-reared alligator and ostrich will be served to VIPs at the zoo's grand opening next year, project director Plodprasop Suraswadi said. "Any animal that is on display [at the zoo] will not be on the menu because it will cause confusion and misunderstanding about the intentions of the Chiang Mai Night Safari," he said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/conservation/story/0,13369,1647978,00.html
Reindeer arrive at San Francisco Zoo
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SAN FRANCISCO -- Some of Rudolph's cousins are paying an early visit to San Francisco. Four reindeer arrived at the San Francisco Zoo this weekend.
They're part of the zoo's "Reindeer Romp" exhibit which closes on New Year's Day. There are no red noses among the reindeer, but they do have some impressive antlers. Unlike Dasher, Dancer and Blizten, these reindeer don't fly. The four white-and-brown females were trucked from a reindeer farm in central Oregon.
The reindeer, which weigh between 250 and 275 pounds, were greeted by an excited crowd when they emerged from their horse trailer.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Reindeer.html
FW Zoo hopes new elephant will improve breeding
02:46 PM CST on Monday, November 21, 2005
From Staff Reports
Casey, a 33-year-old bull elephant, is on a three-year loan to the Fort Worth Zoo.
A five-ton special delivery arrived in North Texas last week as an early Christmas present for the Fort Worth Zoo.
Casey, a 33-year-old bull elephant belonging to the Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey Circus, was brought to the zoo by an 18-wheeler equipped with a 40-foot trailer designed for elephant transport.
Zoo officials hope the elephant, on loan from the circus for three years, will help increase reproduction rates among the female Asian elephants housed there.
http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/112205dnmetelephant.80d71015.html
Arthritis Case Adds to Debate: Are Zoos Good Home for Elephants?
By Karlyn Barker
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, November 14, 2005; Page B04
An ailing elephant at the National Zoo is giving a local focus to a growing debate about whether zoos offer a suitable environment for elephants, particularly if the animals are often confined to small spaces.
Toni, one of four Asian elephants at the animal park, is receiving treatment for arthritis in her legs. The zoo said in September that if the condition worsens, she might have to be euthanized -- a possibility that has prompted two animal rights groups to push to have Toni moved to an elephant sanctuary, where she would have more room to exercise and be on softer ground.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/13/AR2005111301152.html
Reno zoo officials seek donations to feed animals over winter
Nov 21, 2005, 08:51 AM Est
Please feed the animals.
That's what Sierra Safari Zoo officials want the public to do as they try to raise 50-thousand dollars to feed about 200 animals over the winter.
The financially strapped Reno zoo, which is closed over the winter, has issued an appeal for donations.
Among the zoo's occupants are lions, tigers, monkeys and alligators.
It's also one of the few facilities in the country to display a liger, a cross between a lion and tiger.
The zoo, a nonprofit organization, raised about 40-thousand dollars during its last winter fundraiser.
Zoo officials say they rely on donations to get through the winter since they receive no state assistance.
http://www.krnv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4147590&nav=8faO
Oregon Zoo Hosts Annual Turkey Trot For Thanksgiving
Portland, Oregon - The Oregon Zoo invites runners and walkers of all ages to the annual Turkey Trot on Thursday, November 24. The Thanksgiving Day event, organized by the Oregon Road Runners Club (ORRC), includes a 4-mile run and fitness walk beginning at 8 a.m. and a 1-kilometer Tot Trot beginning at 9:30 a.m. A portion of the proceeds from the Turkey Trot will go to the Oregon Zoo to fund animal care and conservation programs.
http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=320539&cp=10997
Feeding the animals coming back to zoos
TAMPA, Fla., Nov. 12 (UPI) -- Zoos across the country are warming up to the idea of letting visitors feed the animals as a marketing and educational tool.
At Lowry Park Zoo in Tampa, Fla., visitors pay $2 to feed crackers to giraffes, the Dallas Morning News reports.
That's done from platform that puts the visitors at eye level with the giraffes.
Zoo CEO Lex Salisbury said it provides a great experience that gets kids up close to the tall animal, witness the 18-inch tongue and smell its breath.
Chuck Siegel, deputy director of animal management at the Dallas Zoo, would like to make it more educational.
That zoo is contemplating a change from the past where feeding an animal was prohibited.
He wants to incorporate it with a guided tour or class.
Animal feeding was once common in zoos but ended when biologists worried about the affect on animals' health.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20051112-124850-7778r
Memphis Zoo looks to renegotiate panda contract
Nov 21, 2005, 05:29 PM EST
After three years, Le Le and YaYa are clearly comfortable in their home away from home at the Memphis Zoo, but keeping the Panda's at the zoo costs a lot of cash.
The Zoo pays the Chinese government $1.1 million a year to keep the pandas in Memphis. The price that does not include the cost of research and upkeep for the animals.
Memphis Zoo Director Chuck Brady told Action News 5 Monday the zoo is a non-profit organization, but they do have a bottom line.
http://www.wmcstations.com/Global/story.asp?S=4150223
Zoo owner appeals to Senate for help
Published on Nov 21 , 2005
A zoo owner filed a complaint with the Senate yesterday, saying the National Park, Wildlife and Plant Conservation Department still had in its possession a number of wild animals confiscated from his zoo two years ago, despite charges against him having been dropped.
The department yesterday countered it did not intend to prolong the case, but that it was still trying to determine the animals' ownership and therefore the legal process was not yet complete. Samut Prakan Crocodile Farm and Zoo managing director Uthane Youngpraphakorn yesterday submitted an appeal and evidence to Senate tourism committee chair Suradech Yasawasdi in his latest attempt to retrieve the wild animals, including two orang-utans, seized in November 2003, when the zoo was raided and he was charged with illegal possession of wildlife.
http://202.60.196.117/breaking/read.php?lang=en&newsid=96122
Panda-Viewing Tickets Available Today
From Staff Reports
Monday, November 21, 2005; 9:07 AM
The public can begin signing up today for free, timed-entry tickets to see the National Zoo's giant panda cub.
Tai Shan will go on limited public view beginning Dec. 8. The tickets will be available online starting at 9 a.m. today. The Web site, run by Friends of the National Zoo, has detailed instructions on how to reserve and print the tickets. People who don't have access to the Internet can obtain tickets by calling the zoo between 11 a.m. and 1 p.m. weekdays at 202-633-4486.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2005/11/21/AR2005112100372.html
Wildlife endangered
By HILARY CHIEW
Ever wondered how rare, endangered and totally protected animals, such as orang utans, tigers, elephants, gibbons, pangolins, slow lorises, cockatoos and macaws end up in theme parks and private zoos?
Well, there is this thing called Special Permit under the Wildlife Protection Act 1972. It basically grants permission to keep totally protected species and is designed to regulate the collection of both local and foreign species by private individuals, theme parks and zoos.
The Natural Resources and Environment Minister approves or rejects applications for the permits based on the advice of the Department of Wildlife and National Parks (Perhilitan) director-general. The latter apparently does so through a Special Permit Committee filled up by divisional directors.
http://thestar.com.my/lifestyle/story.asp?file=/2005/11/22/lifefocus/12573232&sec=lifefocus
Shakeup at Fresno's Chaffee Zoo Board
November 21, 2005 - They've been at the center of a controversy at the Chaffee Zoo. Now, two members of the zoo board say they're resigning, with another saying he's not going anywhere.
The shakeup of Fresno's Chaffee Zoo Corporation board has begun. Two of the three zoo board members under fire announced their resignations on Monday.
Mike Woods and Dave Cowin say they will be leaving their positions on the zoo board after several calls for their resignation, including from Fresno County Supervisors. But, chairman Jay Weed says he's staying on.
Dave Cowin served as treasurer for the Chaffee Zoo Society. He has now resigned that position and will step down from the Zoo Corporation board of directors December 31st.
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=3646602
Zoos join effort to keep avian flu under control
Chicago Tribune
Published Monday, November 14, 2005
CHICAGO - As the nation and the city try to gird for the possible invasion of a deadly and all but invisible avian flu, zoos nationwide are volunteering for duty as sentinels.
There are others keeping watch, including the U.S. Department of Agriculture, which monitors farm animals for the disease, and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife, which looks at wildlife.
But the 210 accredited zoos in the United States are particularly useful because at least one is located near every major population center and they house diverse animal populations that are under close daily observation by keepers alert to abrupt health changes.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2005/Nov/20051114News028.asp
continued ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)