The Rooster
Monday, December 26, 2005
Morning Papers - It's Origins
Rooster "Cock-A-Doodle-Do"
"Okeydoke"
History
Today is Monday, Dec. 26, the 360th day of 2005. There are five days left in the year.
The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today.
This is Boxing Day.
1522 One of the first slave revolts occurs on a sugar plantation owned by Christopher Columbus’ son in Hispaniola.
1776, the British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
1799, former President George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
1893, Chinese leader Mao Zedong was born in Hunan province.
1894 Author Jean Toomer is born. He will publish his experimental novel "Cane" of the Harlem Renaissance. His novel is considered a masterpiece.
1898 First Black musical comedy is written and produced by Bob Cole. He will co-produce a musical comedy called "A Trip to CoonTown" with William F. Johnson and "The Shoo Fly Regiment" with J. Rosamond Johnson.
1908 Controversial Black boxer Jack Johnson wins the World Heavyweight Boxing title when he defeats Tommy Burns. He will become the inspiration for the play, "The Great White Hope."
1917, during World War I, the U.S. government took over operation of the nation's railroads.
1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
1944, in the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division.
1966 KWANZAA, a 7-day holiday celebrating African American culture, created by Maulana Karenga, begins this day with Umoja (oo-MOH-jah)
1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo.
1975, the Soviet Union inaugurated the world's first supersonic transport service with a flight of its Tupolev-144 airliner from Moscow to Alma-Ata.
1980, Iranian television footage was broadcast in the United States, showing a dozen of the American hostages sending messages to their families.
2003, an earthquake struck the historic Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 26,000 people.
Ten years ago:
Israel turned dozens of West Bank villages over to the Palestinian Authority in a smooth transfer of power.
Five years ago:
Michael McDermott, an employee at an Internet firm in Wakefield, Mass., shot and killed seven co-workers. (McDermott was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.)
Veteran stage and screen actor Jason Robards died in Bridgeport, Conn., at age 78.
One year ago:
More than 200,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a tsunami triggered by the world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years beneath the Indian Ocean.
An unmanned cargo ship docked at the international space station, ending a shortage that forced astronauts to ration supplies.
Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts broke Dan Marino's single-season touchdown pass record when he threw his 48th and 49th of the season against San Diego. (The Colts defeated San Diego in overtime, 34-31.)
Legendary Reggie White, a 43-year-old NFL star, dies unexpectedly in North Carolina. The All-Pro defensive player played with three different National Football League teams before retiring after a 15-year career in football. He was an ordained minister and was called "Minister of Defense.
Missing in Action
1961 FRYETT GEORGE FREDRICK LONG BEACH CA 06/24/62 RELEASED RET-ADDRESSED AS SIR GEORGE/ALIVE 98
1969 TROWBRIDGE DUSTIN C. WAYNE IL
1971 GUENTHER LYNN THE DALLAS OR 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV INJURED ALIVE IN 98
1971 KOONS DALE F. EATON OH "DEAD, PHOTO OF ID" REM RET 1/03/90
1971 STOLZ LAWRENCE G. HAUBSTADT IN "DEAD, PHOTO OF ID" REMAINS RETURNED 1/03/90
1972 COOK JAMES R. WILMINGTON NC 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV INJURED ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 HUDSON ROBERT M. SHAWNEE MISSION KS 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 LABEAU MICHAEL M. LINCOLN PARK MI 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 MORRIS ROBERT J. JR. ST CHARLES MO 09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
1972 VAVROCH DUANE P. TAMA IA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 WIMBROW NUTTER J. WHALEYSVILLE MD 09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
December 25
1965 BAILON RUBEN
1965 O'LAUGHLIN STEPHEN M. SALMA AL REMAINS RECOVERED 6/03/73
1967 BURNS FREDERICK J. MERRICK NY "01/02/69 DIC, ON PRG DIC LIST" " REMAINS RETURNED 1994, ID 04/95"
1967 KOONCE TERRY T. SAN ANTONIO TX
1968 KING CHARLES D. MUSCATINE IA
1968 MEHRER GUSTAV A. "LEOBEN, AUSTRIA" 03/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98
1972 RICKMAN DWIGHT G. JOPLIN MO BURIED AT CRASH WITH VIET OBSERVER
December 24
1965 CHRISTIANO JOSEPH ROCHESTER NY MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 COLWELL WILLIAM K. GLENCOVE NY MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 EILERS DENNIS L. CEDAR RAPIDS IA MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 HASSENGER ARDEN K. LEBANON OR MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 JEFFORDS DERRELL B. PHOENIX AZ DAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 THORNTON LARRY C IDAHO FALLS ID MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1967 POWERS VERNIE H. BALTIMORE MD
1968 BROWNLEE CHARLES R. ALAMOSA CO
1970 LUNDY ALBRO L. JR. SHERMAN OAKS CA
1971 FINN WILLIAM R. METAIRIE LA
1971 TUCKER TIMOTHY M. LAS ANIMAS CO
1972 CLARK PHILLIP S. JR. FAIRCHILD AFB WA GOOD CHUTE AND VOICE CONTACT REMAINS RETURNED 03/88
1972 JACKSON PAUL V. III HAMPTON VA
1972 RIESS CHARLES F. EAST ST. LOUIS IL 03/28/73 RELEASED BY PL
RIA Novosti
Update: Gas poisoning in St. Petersburg not a terrorist attack - governor
ST. PETERSBURG, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - All the people affected by the gas, now identified as mercaptan, dispersed in trade centers in St. Petersburg have received medical aid and have been released from hospitals, St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko said Monday, emphasizing that the incident was not a terrorist attack.
"All the people who asked for medical assistance after being affected by the unknown substance dispersed in several trade centers in St. Petersburg were given medical aid and sent home," Matviyenko said.
She said experts were still trying to identify the gas, but could confirm that the incident was not an act of terrorism.
Devices containing capsules with an unidentified gas were planted in three Maxidom trade centers and went off in two of them.
About 80 people, including several policemen, asked for medical assistance.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42718568.html
140 patients exposed to HIV+ blood test negative
VORONEZH, December 13 (RIA Novosti) - So far, 140 out of the 208 recipients of albumin injections produced from HIV-infected blood in central Russia have tested negative, the local health department said Tuesday.
Mikhail Ivanov, a senior department official, told a Voronezh news conference that local albumin production had been suspended but that the region had about two metric tons of reserve medicine that would last at least six months.
Ivanov said that, contrary to media reports, the city had not received any orders from the Federal Service for the Oversight of Public Health and Social Affairs to cancel the regional blood bank's license to produce albumin.
As for the HIV+ donor, a 35-year-old woman, Ivanov said she had left the city with her children.
"We have no right to look for her under the law," Ivanov said.
Ramil Khabriyev, the head of the service, said earlier that the woman, who was a regular donor, had tested HIV-negative when she last donated blood on May 5.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051213/42473021.html
Putin orders completing GLONASS satellite system before 2008
Adds paragraphs 7, 8 and background
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he wanted Russia's GLONASS global navigation satellite system ready before 2008.
"The GLONASS system should be created before 2008, as it was originally planned," Putin told government members. "We have the possibility. Let us see what can be done in 2006-2007."
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said three new satellites had been successfully put into orbit Sunday to expand the navigation system.
He said 19 out of 24 GLONASS satellites were currently in orbit.
"I am convinced that by 2008, all the 24 satellites will be in orbit as part of the GLONASS federal target program," Ivanov said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42711260.html
Putin ratifies Russia-N.Korea agreement on investment protection
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws ratifying the agreements between Russia and North Korea, Russia and Laos and Russia and Mongolia on the encouragement and mutual protection of capital investment, the Kremlin press service said Monday.
The laws were adopted by the lower house of the Russian parliament December 9 and approved by the upper house December 14.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42720454.html
Gold and currency reserves hit $173 bln
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves have reached $173 billion, a senior Central Bank official said Monday.
"The gold and foreign currency reserves have been growing fast on the back of a strong positive balance of trade and payments and have reached $173 billion as of today," First Deputy Chairman Alexei Yulyukayev said.
The reserves have increased by $50 billion since the start of the year and would have grown by $70 billion if not for foreign debt payments.
The increase in gold and currency reserves has expanded the monetary base by 24%, whereas money supply has increased 40%, according to the bank official.
Ulyukayev said these changes had promoted higher liquidity in the banking sector but had not stoked inflationary pressures.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42706873.html
Russia to donate 50 APCs, 2 helicopters to Palestine
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is expected to donate 50 armored personnel carriers (APCs) and two Mi-17 transport helicopters to Palestine, a source close to the negotiations said Monday.
"We will supply the equipment to Palestine as aid," the source said.
The arrangement, including financing, has already been agreed on by all the ministries involved. However, it is not yet clear when the deliveries will take place, the source said.
Relevant issues have also been agreed on with Israel, the source added.
In February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "We supplied military equipment to the Palestinians earlier. They recently approached us with a request for more equipment, including APCs. This request is being studied, and the Russian leaders are in support of it."
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42703727.html
Russia's Middle East policy to gather momentum in 2006
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Marianna Belenkaya.) The Middle East was a major part of Russia's foreign policy in 2005, which saw a number of crucial events in its relations with the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visits to Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian National Authority, and Russia was granted observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
In 2006, Russia will take the rotating chair of the G8, which advanced the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA) at its summit in the Untied States in 2004.
Russia will organize several functions within this program, which may help formulate goals and opportunities in the region more clearly. Russia's Middle East policy should become more transparent, so that the West and the East stop wondering about its goals in the region.
Unfortunately, in 2005 Russia had to answer many embarrassing questions. All sides wondered where it was leaning, toward the West or the East, Israel or the Arab (Islamic) world.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20051226/42714199.html
Europeans to offer Moscow's initiative to Tehran
Moscow. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov). - Iran is to conduct a difficult dialog with the EU on the Iranian nuclear program.
The talks will be resumed on December 21 in Vienna and focus on one subject - the Europeans will offer Moscow's initiative to Tehran -- to take the process of uranium enrichment outside the country. In the opinion of the majority of experts, such a variant would undoubtedly contribute to restoring trust in the Iranian nuclear program as one designed to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
What position will Iran take at the talks? Is Tehran prepared for a compromise?
So far, Tehran has been insisting on its legitimate right to produce nuclear fuel for its own nuclear power plant situated on its territory. Iran has rejected all accusations of allegedly using the peaceful nuclear program as a cover for creating a nuclear bomb. The Iranians see projects to create joint uranium enrichment ventures in third countries as a direct threat to the development of national science. Last Sunday, Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani stated that "the current problem between the U.S.A. and the West on the one hand, and Iran on the other, is not a nuclear bomb. These countries want Iran to remain, like some of its neighbors in the region, a consumer of technologies provided, not to produce these technologies." Perhaps, the talks will be a success, if the sides find a solution that would not raise obstacles to Iranian specialists' research, on whatever territory.
The current round of the Vienna talks may turn out to be decisive before the adoption of the final verdict on the Iranian nuclear file. In March next year, the IAEA Board of Governors must decide whether to submit the Iranian nuclear file to the U.N. Security Council, as demanded by the U.S.A., or close it.
However, in experts' opinion, the next round of Iran-EU talks beginning this week will not yield any tangible results. In that case, it is beyond doubt that the U.S.A. and the West intend to put pressure on Russia, which has been supporting Iran's peaceful nuclear program, not to use its right of veto during the examination of the imposition of international sanctions against Iran.
A special - and currently, increasingly prominent - place has traditionally been allotted to Russia in the solution to the Iranian nuclear problem. Russia supports Iran's peaceful nuclear program and actively cooperates with it in the military, security, nuclear energy and other fields.
The prevailing opinion is that Russia should become the country where a joint uranium enrichment venture should be created and that respective offers have been made to Iran. Admittedly, Iranian parliament speaker Golamali Haddad-Adel, who visited Moscow last week, told the press that "Tehran has not received such offers from Moscow but would welcome talks on this subject".
Tehran does not conceal that it considers the forthcoming talks to be "important and difficult" and Iran's future nuclear policy will be built depending on the results of these talks.
Upholding Iran's right to create a full nuclear cycle, a few days ago Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signed the law denying international inspectors access to Iranian nuclear facilities in the event of the aggravation of the international controversy over its nuclear program. It should be recalled that so far inspectors have been actively working, without encountering any obstacles.
Under this law, the Iranian government must take respective measures in case the IAEA submits the conflict over Iran's nuclear program to the examination of the U.N. Security Council. It is hard to say whether this law will be really effective. However, it is clear that by signing this law President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated the possibility of Iran suspending the implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Meanwhile, this Protocol obliges signatories to ensure the transparency of their nuclear technologies.
In the opinion of Russian sources close to the negotiating process, Moscow's position on the Iranian nuclear issue will remain intact - the IAEA must remain the main mechanism of solving the Iranian nuclear issue. However, the sources state that it would be advisable for Tehran to remember that apart from the rights granted by the IAEA regime, there are also obligations.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20051220/42586821.html
Russia set to launch communications satellite
MOSCOW, December 19 (RIA Novosti) - A rocket carrying two satellites will be launched from the northern Plesetsk space center Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for the Russian Federal Space Agency said Monday.
"The carrier rocket will orbit the Gonets-1M communications satellite to provide services for security agencies and another satellite ordered by the Defense Ministry whose functions were not specified," the source said.
Gonets-1M will ensure the rapid transmission of brief messages, e-mail and other kinds of communications. The satellite's service life is slated for seven years and its orbit can be corrected if necessary.
Russia's security agencies will use Gonets to improve efficiency and reliability, provide confidential communications, and ensure automated data collection, including on the transportation of hazardous cargoes. Moreover, it will allow the creation of reliable closed-data networks for anti-terrorism purposes.
Russian Insurance Center, a space insurer, has underwritten the launch, covering third party liability.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051219/42557489.html
Russian pundit predicts Russia-Ukraine "gas war"
KIEV, November 23 (RIA Novosti) - Director of the Russian Political Research Institute Sergei Markov said Wednesday that a "gas war" between Russia and Ukraine is inevitable after the postponement of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov's visit to Ukraine.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov had originally planned to visit Ukraine on November 23, but during a phone conversation with Ukraine's Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov, agreed to determine a new date for the meeting after coordinating the issue of Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine and its transit via Ukrainian territory in 2006.
"The Ukrainian leadership is counting on the fact that Russia has its interests and Ukraine has its strength: a gas pipe to Europe and support from its European partners and the United States. The Ukrainian leadership is therefore maintaining a very rigid stance and in fact the talks are collapsing," Markov said.
"Ukraine is leading things to a gas war and wants all issues to be resolved through a harsh standoff," he said.
http://en.rian.ru/business/20051123/42187461.html
Ukraine, U.S. sign nuclear waste storage construction contract
KIEV, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's National Nuclear Power Generating Company Energoatom and Holtec International, a U.S. corporation involved in some nuclear waste disposal projects in Ukraine, signed a contract Monday for the construction of a dry nuclear waste storage facility in Ukraine.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20051226/42720326.html
Ukraine set to announce draft resolution on gas transit Dec. 27
KIEV, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine will announce its position on the draft protocol to the Russia-Ukraine intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the natural gas sector December 27, Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov said Monday.
"I cannot say we are about to adopt an intergovernmental agreement, but we will discuss the draft protocol to the agreement and inform the mass media," Yekhanurov's press service quoted him as saying.
He said he would inform President Viktor Yushchenko on the Russian-Ukrainian natural gas talks Tuesday.
Under a 2001 agreement for 2003-2013 between Russia and Ukraine, the volumes of Russian gas transit via Ukraine and transit payments should be specified in annual intergovernmental protocols for a specific period.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20051226/42719839.html
Ukrainian-Iraqi trade up 67-fold in 7 years
KIEV, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian-Iraqi trade has grown 67-fold from $1.5 million to $100 million since 1998, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Monday.
Ukrainian-Iraqi relations "could be much more closer," Yushchenko said after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari.
Yushchenko proposed improving bilateral military, technical, engineering and energy cooperation.
"I expect today's talks with the Iraqi prime minister to launch real economic cooperation," he said.
The president also met with Ukrainian servicemen who had been deployed in Iraq 2.5 years ago and are to be withdrawn from the country by December 29.
Yushchenko said Ukrainian peacekeepers had fulfilled their mission in Iraq and helped promote trade and economic and political relations with the country.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20051226/42719420.html
Putin dismisses First Deputy Foreign Minister Loshchinin
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed First Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Loshchinin in order to transfer him to another position, the Kremlin press service said Monday.
Putin appointed Loshchinin the permanent representative of Russia to the UN Office, the Disarmament Conference and other international organizations in Geneva. Diplomat Leonid Skotnikov previously held the post, the press service said.
Skotnikov will be appointed Russia's representative to the International Court of Justice, the UN's highest judicial body.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42719710.html
Schroeder accepts, Evans declines
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator Nina Kulikova.) Donald Evans, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, has declined the Russian authorities' offer to chair the board of Rosneft, a major state-owned oil company, report The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times.
Is it good or bad news for the Russian expert community? On the one hand, the possibility of Evans becoming the chairman of Rosneft, which the leading Russian and foreign newspapers reported last week, promised quite a few benefits to Russia. On the other hand, it was a questionable offer.
If Evans accepted it on the eve of Rosneft's initial public offering (IPO), the Kremlin would have presented this as proof of Western principles in the company's management. This would have improved the company's standing harmed by the acquisition of the former Yukos assets, as well as the reputation of Russia, which badly needs its companies to be seen as reliable partners.
The invitation of such a skilled and influential specialist to Rosneft's board shows that the Russian company is trying to work according to international standards, publicly and transparently.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20051220/42585215.html
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Celebrating pride and unity
By JOHN BLAKE /
Published on: 12/26/05
"A single straw is easily broken, but woven together, a mat is very strong."
That is one of Jeanette Vaughn's favorite proverbs, a phrase she often recites when explaining the meaning of Kwanzaa, one of her favorite holidays.
The Atlanta storyteller says that Kwanzaa, the week-long African-American holiday that starts today, celebrates community. The veneration that Rosa Parks elicited after her death in October made Vaughn think of Kwanzaa.
"The Montgomery bus boycott is such an excellent example of all the Kwanzaa principles coming together," says Vaughn, who has performed Kwanzaa presentations for the last five years. "For over a year, no African-Americans used the bus system. They pooled their resources to buy cars. There's strength in unity."
http://www.ajc.com/holiday/content/holidayguide/events/stories/kwanzaa122605.html
Remembrance of rededication of the Temple
Published on: 12/24/05
Hanukkah — the eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem — begins at sundown on Sunday, coinciding with Christmas for the first time since 1978.
Around Atlanta, families will celebrate by lighting one of the eight candles on the menorah on each night. Several community singalongs are planned as well as the lighting of community menorahs in Duluth and Marietta.
A special menorah is used for Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, an eight-day commemoration of the rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the Syrians.
The holiday commemorates the Maccabees, a group of Jewish men who defied Hellenistic Syrian conquerors and reclaimed the Temple more than 2,000 years ago.
Antiochus, the Greek king of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods, and in 168 B.C., the Jews' holy Temple was seized and dedicated to the worship of Zeus.
But a small band of Jews fought back, eventually led by Judas Maccabaeus. They defeated the Syrians against overwhelming odds and refurbished the Temple.
But when the sacred lamp was rekindled, there was only enough oil to last one day. Miraculously, the lamp burned for eight days, giving them time to purify new oil.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/holidayguide/events/stories/24hanukkah.html
Mora apologizes for outburst
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/26/05
Flowery Branch — Falcons coach Jim Mora extended a public apology to any members of the flagship radio station he may have upset during and after a postgame interview following Saturday's 27-24, overtime loss at Tampa Bay.
"If I offended anyone, I apologize," Mora said a Monday news conference from team headquarters. "That wasn't my intent."
Mora admitted throwing a radio headset onto the ground when radio analyst Dave Archer asked him about possibly running a play on fourth-and-two with just more than a minute left in overtime instead of punting, ending the live interview. The equipment nearly hit two radio station employees, according to team and radio employees. Archer was in the studio on the media level, several flights above the locker room.
Team officials said there would be no disciplinary action taken.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/1205/27mora.html
UGA police will begin arresting students for underage drinking
Associated Press
Published on: 12/25/05
ATHENS — Starting next year, underage students caught drinking at the University of Georgia will be arrested and sent to jail.
The change represents a tougher stance on underage drinking after years of simply giving out citations.
Do you agree with UGA's plan to arrest underage drinkers?
Yes, it's the best way to teach these kids a lesson.
No. Drinking is just a part of college life, regardless of age.
Voter Limit: Once per Hour
The new policy is aimed at changing campus culture and increasing students' sense of responsibility, UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said.
"What I want is that someone think about their actions," he said. "I'm not running a Gestapo."
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/1205/26ugadrink.html
Mother Accidentally Runs Over Daughter
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — A woman backing out of a driveway to get Christmas candy accidentally ran over her 6-year-old daughter and killed her, police said.
Cordelia Quistorf, 24, did not realize the girl had gone outside, police said.
Quistorf's other daughter and two sons were in the car with her.
Detective Ed Worthman said no charges were expected.
December 26, 2005 - 1:55 p.m. EST
Copyright 2005, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/BRF_Girl_Killed.html
Delta flight attendant hurt during shaky trip to Philly
Published on: 12/26/05
A flight attendant on a Delta flight to Philadelphia was hurt Sunday afternoon when the plane encountered heavy turbulence, according to the airline.
Paramedics treated the injured employee on Flight 476, which originated from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and then stopped in Atlanta before landing in Pennsylvania at 3:42 p.m., said Kip Smith, a spokesman for the airline.
No passengers were hurt, and the company did not release any further details.
— Charles Yoo
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/1205/26metdelta.html
One Police Officer Dead, Another Missing
By MATTHEW VERRINDER
Associated Press Writer
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Two police officers in an emergency truck plunged more than 40 feet off an open drawbridge in thick fog. One was killed; the other was missing and feared dead.
The vehicle fell into the Hackensack River on Sunday night, after the officers crossed the Lincoln Highway Bridge and placed flares to warn motorists that the bridge's safety warning system was not operating, said Police Chief Robert Troy.
In this undated photo provided by CNN, Jersey City police officer Shawn Carson, 40, is shown. Carson was one of two Jersey City, N.J., police officers in an emergency truck that plunged about 45 feet into the Hackensack River from an open drawbridge shrouded in dense fog, Christmas night Sunday, Dec. 25, 2005. Officials said Monday that the body of Officer Carson was recovered Christmas night and authorities continued to scour the Hackensack River on Monday for Officer Robert Nguyen, 30. (AP Photo/Jersey City Police via CNN)
Listen Now: Healy says this tragedy feels personal
Before the officers turned around and drove back across the river, the bridge's middle span was raised to allow a tugboat to go under.
"They dropped off the cones and the flares, wished everyone a Merry Christmas and were joking around. From what I've heard they were all in good spirits," Mayor Jerramiah Healy said.
"The horrible irony is they were responding to the very situation that caused their demise. The bridge operator wanted cones and flares and our police department was the first to respond."
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Officers_River_Plunge.html
'3 strikes' law a loser with mother
By By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/26/05
Ashley Stokes Plunkett should have turned 20 years old on Dec. 1.
For her mother, Debbie Plunkett, the happiest part of the day was learning that someone had been arrested and charged with murdering her.
It is a measure of how upside down her world has become since her daughter died June 21 that Plunkett felt "elated" to hear the news from detectives at the DeKalb County Police Department.
But her emotions took another turn when she learned that the suspect, Selwyn Henry of Decatur, had been released from his fifth stay in a Georgia prison just seven months earlier.
Henry, 32, now is being held without bond in the DeKalb jail.
Regardless of whether he is ultimately found guilty, Plunkett could not understand why he was a free man.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/dekalb/1205/26ashley.html
College grads' literacy shows 'appalling' drop
Test finds many cannot interpret tables, food labels
By LOIS ROMANO
Washington Post
Published on: 12/26/05
Literacy experts and educators say they are stunned by the results of a recent adult literacy assessment that shows the reading proficiency of college graduates has declined in the past decade, with no obvious explanation.
"It's appalling — it's really astounding," said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at California State University at Fresno. "Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder."
While more Americans are graduating from college, and more than ever are applying for admission, far fewer are leaving higher education with the skills needed to comprehend routine data, such as reading a table about the relationship between blood pressure and physical activity, according to the federal study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Experts could not definitively explain the drop.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/1205/26natliteracy.html
Schwarzenegger Name Removed From Stadium
By WILLIAM J. KOLE
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria — Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium.
The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams.
The stadium at Graz, Austria, on Monday Dec, 26, 2005, after the name of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was removed from the stadium overnight. Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown Graz, removed his name from the soccer stadium overnight, complying with the California governor's demand in a bitter dispute over his death penalty stance. Schwarzenegger had written to the mayor of Graz a week ago, asking that his name be removed after local activists called for the stadium to be renamed because of Schwarzenegger's refusal to block the execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams in California.(AP Photo/Markus Leodolter)
Late Sunday night or early Monday, authorities in the southern Austrian city unbolted the 20 letters spelling out the action star-turned-politician's name from Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. They timed the work to take advantage of the Christmas lull to avoid attracting attention "and keep the media from taking photos," a local city hall official who declined to be named told Austrian television.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Europe/Austria_Schwarzenegger.html
Discovery in Portugal solves centuries-old religious riddle
By BARRY HATTON
Associated Press
Published on: 12/26/05
Porto, Portugal — A chance discovery during renovation of a building in this Atlantic port city has revealed a dark secret from Portugal's past: a 16th-century synagogue.
Built at a time when Portugal's Jews had been forced to convert to Catholicism or risk being burned at the stake, the house of worship was hidden behind a false wall in a four-story house that the Rev. Agostinho Jardim Moreira, a Roman Catholic priest, was converting into a home for his old-age parishioners. A scholar of Porto's Jewish history, he says that as soon as the workers told him of the wall, "I knew there had to be some kind of Jewish symbol behind it."
A man walks past a building in Porto, northern Portugal where a medieval holy ark, where a synagogue's Torah scrolls are kept, was recently found during refurbishing work.
His hunch was confirmed when the wall came down to reveal a carved granite repository, about 5 feet tall, arched at the top and facing east toward Jerusalem. It was the ark where the medieval Jews kept their Torah scrolls. Pieces of decorative green tiles in the ark further confirmed its age when experts dated their glazing to a method used in the 16th century.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/1205/26natsecretsynagogue.html
Teddy Roosevelt shows set off Wildlife Week at Pigeon Forge
By PAULA CROUCH THRASHER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/25/05
Nebraska actor Mark Klemetsrud will portray President Theodore Roosevelt in a pair of one-man shows, "Rancher, Hunter, Cowboy" and "Conservation President," Jan. 7-8 during Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
The 16th annual observation Jan. 7-15 will attract nature lovers of all ages to east Tennessee for nine days of free programs celebrating the natural attractions in and around the Great Smoky Mountains.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/travel/articles/stories/1205/25trgoing.html
Breaking up the SAT
By Patti Ghezzi Thursday, December 22, 2005, 02:10 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So counselors are urging the College Board to allow students to take portions of the SAT separately, meaning a students who is satisfied with her math and writing scores but wants to retake verbal could take - and pay for - only the verbal portion.
In a letter to the College Board, counselors and other educators who work with high school students noted that for decades the subject tests have been offered separately. Why not the core sections, math, writing and verbal? Even students who get a perfect score on one portion of the test have to retake that portion if they want another crack another portion.
Their proposal would make the SAT more fair for students who cannot afford to retake the $41.50 test over and over.
Also, students would be less likely to make mistakes because of because of fatigue and hunger. The entire test lasts more than three hours.
Students, parents, teachers … should kids be allowed to take portions of the SAT separately?
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/education/entries/2005/12/22/breaking_up_the.html
Jerusalem Post
Doctors to fix hole in Sharon's heart
By JUDY SIEGEL AND GIL HOFFMAN
Talkbacks for this article: 18
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will in two weeks undergo a catheterization to insert a clam shell-shaped clamp on two sides of a small hole in his heart. The procedure will prevent the formation of more blood clots and greatly reduce his risk of a recurrent stroke.
This was announced by Prof. Chaim Lotan, chief of cardiology at Jerusalem's Hadassah-University Hospital at Ein Kerem, and Prof. Tamir Ben-Hur, the hospital's chief of neurology, both of whom were responsible for the 77-year-old prime minister's treatment during his day-and-a-half hospitalization after a mild stroke last week. Lotan will head the team chosen to perform the procedure, which is usually carried out under partial or complete sedation.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309647572&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Israel to enforce off-limits zone in Gaza Strip
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Israel will enforce a new off-limits zone in the Gaza Strip with artillery, helicopter and gunboat fire, its latest response to rocket attacks on Israeli towns, defense officials said Friday.
If enforced, the aerial barrage would mark some of the toughest military response in Gaza since it withdrew from the coastal strip in September.
Palestinian officials on Friday promised to send in more security forces to the border area to prevent the rocket attacks.
Deputy defense minister, Zeev Boim, said the no-go zone was part of Israel's stepped up response to the rocket fire, which has intensified since the Gaza withdrawal. Israel has already launched missiles and artillery fire at suspected launching areas and killed several terrorists in recent months.
Israel hopes the Palestinians "will get the message and that this will stop the rocket squads," Boim told Israel Radio. "If we must, we will have to tighten the screw further."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309637665&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
IDF changes Kassam response policy
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN AND JPOST.COM STAFF
Talkbacks for this article: 65
A new IDF protocol for defending Israel from Kassam attacks dictates that IAF planes will aerially monitor Gaza Strip districts from which Kassam rockets are most frequently launched and open fire if suspicious activity is spotted.
The protocol has not, however, been implemented and still requires more specific delineation of the areas to monitored so as to not harm innocent civilians, Army Radio reported.
Despite the mandate to refrain from harming civilians, potential air force targets will be populated areas, and not open territory, as have seen the thrust of much of the recent IDF response to Kassam and mortar fire.
The IDF said that it would notify civilians in targeted areas a number of hours prior to carrying out the missions.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1134309627917&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Survivors recount plot to kill Nazis
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
A group of elderly Holocaust survivors came forward Friday with accounts of a death squad they formed after World War II to take revenge on their Nazi persecutors, recounting a brazen operation in which they poisoned hundreds of SS officers.
In a broadcast on Channel Two TV, the survivors - some of whom fought in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising - recalled hunting down SS officers in the dead of night. Disguised as British or American officers, they would drag the SS men out of their homes and execute them, they said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309638128&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Churches owe J'lem around NIS 300m
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
The Vatican and an array of Christian churches in Jerusalem owe the Jerusalem Municipality hundreds of millions of shekels in overdue property tax, with the State of Israel and the Vatican in negotiations over the repayment of the debt, city officials said this week.
According to law, properties that are used as houses of prayer are exempt from paying property tax (arnona).
But the churches, which owe vast amounts of properties in Jerusalem, are required to pay property tax for buildings they own that are not used for worship, such as hostels and schools, the city said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309633370&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Netanyahu outlines plan for limited territorial concessions
By GIL HOFFMAN
Talkbacks for this article: 16
Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu started off his party's campaign on Monday with a show of unity at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds in the first meeting of the Likud central committee since his election as party leader a week ago.
The central committee nearly unanimously passed Netanyahu's proposals to reserve the second slot on the Likud list for Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and to delay the elections for the Likud's Knesset list from January 3 to January 12.
Netanyahu outlined his positions on diplomatic and socioeconomic issues without getting heckled by a crowd that regularly attacked his predecessor, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"The time has come for a party to say what Israel will keep and not what we should give away," Netanyahu said. "There are three different approaches: Keeping all the land, which I think would be a mistake; withdrawing from nearly all the land, which Ehud Barak, Sharon and Amir Peretz support and I think is dangerous; and our policy, which is defensible borders for Israel."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309652745&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Tenders issued for 228 W. Bank homes
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
Talkbacks for this article: 4
The Housing Ministry published tenders on Monday morning for the construction of 150 housing units in Beitar Illit, and another 78 in Efrat's Givat Hazayit neighborhood.
Peace Now representatives counted 1,131 tenders for housing units in the West Bank since the beginning of 2005.
The left-wing organization claimed that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was allowing the construction in order to gain votes.
Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Sharon, said plans for the latest construction began more than five years ago and would take place in existing communities.
Gissin also noted that the construction would be in settlements that Israel plans to retain after a final peace settlement with the Palestinians.
"These are the large settlement blocs, they will be strengthened," he said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309652019&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Israelis return home in record numbers
By JESSICA FREIMAN
Some 5,700 emigrants have returned to live in Israel in 2005, according to the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. This figure represents a significant jump from the 5,000 returning citizens in 2004, and eclipses the 3,052 new immigrants from North America this year.
But those were only the registered ones.
"We estimate that there are an additional 5,000 returning Israeli citizens who came back in 2005 who did not register with us," ministry spokesperson Tamar Abramowitz said.
Asked what drove some 10,000 Israelis who had left to make their lives elsewhere give Israel a second chance, Abramowitz replied, "They have come to the conclusion that Israel is the only place that they can truly feel at home. A common theme among many returning citizens is that they would prefer to raise their children in Israel."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309653673&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
J'lem mayor faces questioning for dirty city
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
In a burgeoning scandal, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski is reportedly facing questioning by the Environment Ministry's 'green police' for ignoring directives to clean public sites in the city.
Earlier this year, the Environment Ministry opened a criminal investigation against Lupolianski for failing to properly clean the city, in the wake of an amalgamation of waste and garbage at five city sites, which include the city's main Givat Shaul cemetery.
The investigation was launched after the mayor ignored five clean-up orders signed by the Environment Ministry's Jerusalem district director Shoni Goldberger.
Lupolianski spokesman Gidi Schmerling said Sunday that two of the five dirty garbage sites in question have already been cleaned, while three additional locations will be cleared within the next three weeks.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309646371&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Terrorists threaten to upgrade missiles
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Talkbacks for this article: 30
Three armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip on Monday threatened to continue their attacks on Israel and said they have long-range missiles capable of reaching more Israeli towns and cities.
One of the groups belongs to Fatah, the ruling party headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The two others are the Popular Resistance Committees, an alliance of various armed groups, and al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309652347&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Court rules Fatah can submit united list
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAMALLAH, West Bank
A Palestinian court decided Monday that the ruling party can still submit a single list for the parliamentary elections, ending the split and reducing the threat of a Hamas victory.
Earlier this month, Fatah's disgruntled young guard broke away and presented its own list of candidates under the name "Future." Eager to bring the young guard back into the fold, PA and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas agreed to award top slots to many of the younger activists who had done well in Fatah primaries.
Initially, Abbas had given many of these spots to oldtimers, who will now have to compete in districts, where their re-election is not secured
Meanwhile, a poll released on Monday indicated that Hamas would earn the greatest number of seats if the Fatah factions remained split.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309652642&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The Boston Globe
Scientists: Coral reefs spared worst of tsunami's effects
By Bob Salsberg, Associated Press Writer December 26, 2005
BOSTON --Doctor Gregory Stone was on a diving expedition off Fiji on December 26, 2004, when the first sketchy reports reached his ship about the undersea earthquake that had spawned a catastrophic tsunami in South Asia. Amid his horror over the human toll, another thought quickly formed in the scientist's mind: What would be the impact of this natural disaster on the region's stunningly beautiful and ecologically critical coral reefs?
Several months later Stone, vice president of global marine programs for the New England Aquarium, traveled with a team to Phuket, the Thai resort island that became well-known to the world in the days after the tsunami. Over the next two weeks, the team made approximately 500 dives at 56 sites, surveying the reefs to determine how badly they had been damaged and how long they might take to recover.
They found destruction, but also hope.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/12/26/scientists_coral_reefs_spared_worst_of_tsunamis_effects/
Summary: Alaska researchers study reindeer
By The Associated Press December 25, 2005
ROAST RUDOLPH: Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks say reindeer has great potential as livestock. The meat is prized for its rich flavor, tenderness and low fat content.
SUBSISTENCE ROOTS: Siberian reindeer were introduced to Alaska in the late 1800s as an alternative food source for Alaska Natives after numbers of native subsistence animals dwindled.
FUGITIVE HERDS: Scores of domesticated reindeer have run off with their wild, migrating cousins from the Western Arctic caribou herd.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/12/25/summary_alaska_researchers_study_reindeer/
Families in need
December 26, 2005
IN MASSACHUSETTS, children who engage in self-injuring but not illegal behavior can be legally declared a Child in Need of Services. Under varying circumstances, parents, police, and school officials can file CHINS petitions with the courts in cases where children run away from home, refuse to attend school, chronically break school rules, or resist obeying their parents. Parents surrender oversight to court officials, and they may lose custody of their children.
The designation was created in 1973. Now, a bill in the State House would obliterate CHINS -- to make way for a better system.
An overhaul is crucial. More than a judge's attention, what many troubled children and their families need are comprehensive social services. Pain drives a lot of youthful offenses. Counseling can lead to understanding, recovery, and behavior that improves life. And some parents who file for CHINS do so out of desperate need for services they can't find access to any other way.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/12/26/families_in_need/
N.H. Republicans drift from national party
Delegation breaks on major issues
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff December 26, 2005
WASHINGTON -- With signs pointing to a resurgent Democratic Party in New Hampshire, the state's all-Republican congressional delegation is becoming increasingly at odds with the national Republican Party in a state that was long a GOP bellwether, according to an analysis of votes and other actions in Congress over the past year.
Congressmen Jeb Bradley and Charles Bass voted for expanded stem cell research and opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and Bradley notably declined to endorse Bush's Social Security plan.
Senator John E. Sununu opposed Bush's plan for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, joined a filibuster to insert civil liberties protections into the USA Patriot Act, and voted against his party leadership on several major spending bills.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/12/26/nh_republicans_drift_from_national_party/
Attacks, protests erupt in Iraq
Post-election period of relative peace ends
By Louise Roug and Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times December 26, 2005
BAGHDAD -- A rash of roadside bombings and shootings and a series of bitter demonstrations across Iraq yesterday ended a relatively peaceful stretch since parliamentary elections a week and a half ago.
In the capital city, insurgents set an American tank ablaze, causing an undisclosed number of casualties, and elsewhere in the country explosions and assassinations killed Iraqi civilians and security forces.
The violence occurred after more than a week of discontent and acrimony among some voters over the preliminary results of the Dec. 15 balloting for the first permanent national government since the US-led 2003 invasion.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/12/26/attacks_protests_erupt_in_iraq/
Ex-hostage says abductors treated her OK
By Mariam Fam, Associated Press Writer December 26, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq --A German woman freed after being held hostage in Iraq for more than three weeks said in an interview broadcast Monday that she was treated well by her kidnappers.
Susanne Osthoff, an aid worker and archaeologist, told the Arabic-language Al-Jazeera satellite channel that her abductors weren't trying to get a ransom. Rather, they were demanding that schools, hospitals and other humanitarian projects built in Sunni Arab areas, she said.
"Thank God, I am still alive," Osthoff, 43, said in Arabic, a black scarf wrapped around her head.
Osthoff, the first German to be kidnapped in Iraq, disappeared with her Iraqi driver in northern Iraq on Nov. 25. Her release was announced Dec. 18. The driver is also believed to have been let go.
The German government expressed concern Monday that Osthoff has not ruled out going back to Iraq and appealed to her not to return.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/12/26/ex_hostage_says_abductors_treated_her_ok/
Accidental acetaminophen poisonings rise
By Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer December 26, 2005
WASHINGTON --Think popping extra pain pills can't hurt? Think again: Accidental poisonings from the nation's most popular pain reliever seem to be rising, making acetaminophen the leading cause of acute liver failure.
Use it correctly and acetaminophen, best known by the Tylenol brand, lives up to its reputation as one of the safest painkillers. It's taken by some 100 million people a year, and liver damage occurs in only a small fraction of users.
But it's damage that can kill or require a liver transplant, damage that frustrated liver specialists insist should be avoidable.
The problem comes when people don't follow dosing instructions -- or unwittingly take too much, not realizing acetaminophen is in hundreds of products, from the over-the-counter remedies Theraflu and Excedrin to the prescription narcotics Vicodin and Percocet.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/12/26/accidental_acetaminophen_poisonings_rise/
14 years after evil empire, a stable Russia
By Graham Allison December 26, 2005
FOURTEEN YEARS ago yesterday, the Soviet Union disappeared. Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR on Christmas Day 1991. Boris Yeltsin became independent Russia's first president. The Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, dissolved itself. The iconic hammer and sickle flag that had flown over the Kremlin for seven decades came down. What Ronald Reagan rightly called the ''evil empire" was erased from the map. In its place emerged Russia and 14 other newly independent states.
As former Czech president Vaclav Havel observed, ''Things have changed so fast we have not yet taken time to be astonished." Nowhere is this truer than on the territory of the former Soviet Union.
Who could have imagined the evil empire disappearing -- without war?
Who could have imagined a revolution that buried communism -- without blood? Recall: Crane Brinton's classic, ''The Anatomy of Revolution," requires blood for a genuine revolution.
Who could have imagined US victory over its Cold War rival -- with a whimper rather than a bang? The tectonic collapse of one pole of a bipolar international system with so few aftershocks?
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/26/14_years_after_evil_empire_a_stable_russia/
Poisoned politics
By Cathy Young December 26, 2005
EVEN AS the war in Iraq goes on and the war with a global terror network shows no signs of abating, our domestic political scene seems to have become a war zone as well.
It's happening on political websites, where ''debate" often consists of trading invective and where opponents are ridiculed with slurs like ''libs" and ''repugs." It's happening in mainstream politics, too. Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean slams Republicans as ''brain-dead" people many of whom ''have never made an honest living in their lives." Republican master strategist and senior Bush adviser Karl Rove slams liberals as wimps whose reaction to Sept. 11 was to ''offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."
Everyone seems to agree that there is far too much nastiness in American political discourse today. And everyone seems eager to blame the other side for it.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/26/poisoned_politics/
Staying the course
By James Carroll December 26, 2005
AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE was proving itself inadequate to the challenge. The president appointed a special commission to make recommendations. The year was 1954. The commission chairman was James Doolittle, the retired bomber general who had led the first air raid against Tokyo.
''It is now clear," he stated in his report to President Eisenhower, ''that we are facing an implacable enemy whose avowed objective is world domination by whatever means and whatever cost. There are no rules in such a game. Hitherto acceptable norms of human conduct do not apply. If the United States is to survive, longstanding concepts of 'fair play' must be reconsidered. We must develop effective espionage and counter-espionage services, and must learn to subvert, sabotage, and destroy our enemies by more clever, more sophisticated, and more effective methods than those used against us. It may be necessary that the American people be made acquainted with, understand, and support this fundamentally repugnant philosophy."
Sound familiar? Again and again, in the year now ending, the American people have been told by their leaders that strategies based on a new ''repugnant philosophy" are required if the nation is to survive the challenge facing it. Forbidden incendiary weapons must be used in urban settings. Prisoners of war must be deprived of Geneva protections. Aggressive interrogations of enemies must approach torture. Commitments to provide US combat forces with adequate protective gear must be forsworn. Extrajudicial kidnapping of bad people must be justified. Allies must be pressured into joining secret networks of detention camps.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/26/staying_the_course/
A maritime museum for Boston
By Henry A. Lachance December 26, 2005
''MOST AMERICAN seaports, including Boston, have shamefully neglected the splendid history of their maritime efforts."
That statement was made by historian Samuel Eliot Morison in his classic ''Maritime History of Massachusetts," and for Boston the sentence rings as true today as in 1921, when that matchless volume was first published.
A most important era of American maritime history, spanning nearly three centuries of wooden shipbuilding in Massachusetts Bay, began in 1631 when colonial governor John Winthrop built and launched his little 30-ton trader ''Blessing of the Bay" from his seat at Medford on the Mystic River, and continued to the end of the great Age of Sail at the turn of the 20th century.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/26/a_maritime_museum_for_boston/
What Bush could learn from Lincoln
By Robert Kuttner December 24, 2005
MY CHRISTMAS present to George W. Bush is a copy of Doris Kearns Goodwin's splendid study of Lincoln and his Cabinet, ''Team of Rivals." President Bush believes in redemption, and so do I. Here are just a few things Bush might profitably learn from our first Republican president.
Lincoln assumed the presidency at a time when the nation was horribly divided, not into culturally warring ''blue" states and ''red" ones, but into a real civil war between blues and grays -- the states that stayed in the Union and those that seceded. Even among the unionists, Lincoln's own Republican Party and Cabinet were bitterly rent between those who wanted to accelerate emancipation and punish the South and those who gave top priority to keeping the Republic whole.
Lincoln's priority, always, was to preserve the Union and to reduce the sectional and ideological bitterness. As Goodwin brilliantly shows, he did so by the force of his personality and the generosity of his spirit. Lincoln had an unerring sense of when public opinion was ready for partial, then full abolition of slavery, and he would not move until he felt he had the people behind him. He governed by listening and persuading.
By contrast, Bush's entire presidency is about eking out narrow victories, not about building national consensus. Even when he prevails, Bush wins by manipulation and stealth. His legacy is deepened division and bitterness.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/24/what_bush_couldlearn_from_lincoln/
continued …
"Okeydoke"
History
Today is Monday, Dec. 26, the 360th day of 2005. There are five days left in the year.
The seven-day African-American holiday Kwanzaa begins today.
This is Boxing Day.
1522 One of the first slave revolts occurs on a sugar plantation owned by Christopher Columbus’ son in Hispaniola.
1776, the British suffered a major defeat in the Battle of Trenton during the Revolutionary War.
1799, former President George Washington was eulogized by Col. Henry Lee as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen."
1893, Chinese leader Mao Zedong was born in Hunan province.
1894 Author Jean Toomer is born. He will publish his experimental novel "Cane" of the Harlem Renaissance. His novel is considered a masterpiece.
1898 First Black musical comedy is written and produced by Bob Cole. He will co-produce a musical comedy called "A Trip to CoonTown" with William F. Johnson and "The Shoo Fly Regiment" with J. Rosamond Johnson.
1908 Controversial Black boxer Jack Johnson wins the World Heavyweight Boxing title when he defeats Tommy Burns. He will become the inspiration for the play, "The Great White Hope."
1917, during World War I, the U.S. government took over operation of the nation's railroads.
1941, Winston Churchill became the first British prime minister to address a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
1944, in the World War II Battle of the Bulge, the embattled U.S. 101st Airborne Division was relieved by units of the 4th Armored Division.
1966 KWANZAA, a 7-day holiday celebrating African American culture, created by Maulana Karenga, begins this day with Umoja (oo-MOH-jah)
1972, the 33rd president of the United States, Harry S. Truman, died in Kansas City, Mo.
1975, the Soviet Union inaugurated the world's first supersonic transport service with a flight of its Tupolev-144 airliner from Moscow to Alma-Ata.
1980, Iranian television footage was broadcast in the United States, showing a dozen of the American hostages sending messages to their families.
2003, an earthquake struck the historic Iranian city of Bam, killing at least 26,000 people.
Ten years ago:
Israel turned dozens of West Bank villages over to the Palestinian Authority in a smooth transfer of power.
Five years ago:
Michael McDermott, an employee at an Internet firm in Wakefield, Mass., shot and killed seven co-workers. (McDermott was later convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to life in prison without parole.)
Veteran stage and screen actor Jason Robards died in Bridgeport, Conn., at age 78.
One year ago:
More than 200,000 people, mostly in southern Asia, were killed by a tsunami triggered by the world's most powerful earthquake in 40 years beneath the Indian Ocean.
An unmanned cargo ship docked at the international space station, ending a shortage that forced astronauts to ration supplies.
Peyton Manning of the Indianapolis Colts broke Dan Marino's single-season touchdown pass record when he threw his 48th and 49th of the season against San Diego. (The Colts defeated San Diego in overtime, 34-31.)
Legendary Reggie White, a 43-year-old NFL star, dies unexpectedly in North Carolina. The All-Pro defensive player played with three different National Football League teams before retiring after a 15-year career in football. He was an ordained minister and was called "Minister of Defense.
Missing in Action
1961 FRYETT GEORGE FREDRICK LONG BEACH CA 06/24/62 RELEASED RET-ADDRESSED AS SIR GEORGE/ALIVE 98
1969 TROWBRIDGE DUSTIN C. WAYNE IL
1971 GUENTHER LYNN THE DALLAS OR 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV INJURED ALIVE IN 98
1971 KOONS DALE F. EATON OH "DEAD, PHOTO OF ID" REM RET 1/03/90
1971 STOLZ LAWRENCE G. HAUBSTADT IN "DEAD, PHOTO OF ID" REMAINS RETURNED 1/03/90
1972 COOK JAMES R. WILMINGTON NC 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV INJURED ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 HUDSON ROBERT M. SHAWNEE MISSION KS 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 LABEAU MICHAEL M. LINCOLN PARK MI 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 MORRIS ROBERT J. JR. ST CHARLES MO 09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
1972 VAVROCH DUANE P. TAMA IA 02/12/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1972 WIMBROW NUTTER J. WHALEYSVILLE MD 09/30/77 REMAINS RETURNED BY SRV
December 25
1965 BAILON RUBEN
1965 O'LAUGHLIN STEPHEN M. SALMA AL REMAINS RECOVERED 6/03/73
1967 BURNS FREDERICK J. MERRICK NY "01/02/69 DIC, ON PRG DIC LIST" " REMAINS RETURNED 1994, ID 04/95"
1967 KOONCE TERRY T. SAN ANTONIO TX
1968 KING CHARLES D. MUSCATINE IA
1968 MEHRER GUSTAV A. "LEOBEN, AUSTRIA" 03/73 RELEASED BY PRG ALIVE IN 98
1972 RICKMAN DWIGHT G. JOPLIN MO BURIED AT CRASH WITH VIET OBSERVER
December 24
1965 CHRISTIANO JOSEPH ROCHESTER NY MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 COLWELL WILLIAM K. GLENCOVE NY MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 EILERS DENNIS L. CEDAR RAPIDS IA MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 HASSENGER ARDEN K. LEBANON OR MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 JEFFORDS DERRELL B. PHOENIX AZ DAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1965 THORNTON LARRY C IDAHO FALLS ID MAYDAY HEARD SEARCH NEG
1967 POWERS VERNIE H. BALTIMORE MD
1968 BROWNLEE CHARLES R. ALAMOSA CO
1970 LUNDY ALBRO L. JR. SHERMAN OAKS CA
1971 FINN WILLIAM R. METAIRIE LA
1971 TUCKER TIMOTHY M. LAS ANIMAS CO
1972 CLARK PHILLIP S. JR. FAIRCHILD AFB WA GOOD CHUTE AND VOICE CONTACT REMAINS RETURNED 03/88
1972 JACKSON PAUL V. III HAMPTON VA
1972 RIESS CHARLES F. EAST ST. LOUIS IL 03/28/73 RELEASED BY PL
RIA Novosti
Update: Gas poisoning in St. Petersburg not a terrorist attack - governor
ST. PETERSBURG, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - All the people affected by the gas, now identified as mercaptan, dispersed in trade centers in St. Petersburg have received medical aid and have been released from hospitals, St. Petersburg Governor Valentina Matviyenko said Monday, emphasizing that the incident was not a terrorist attack.
"All the people who asked for medical assistance after being affected by the unknown substance dispersed in several trade centers in St. Petersburg were given medical aid and sent home," Matviyenko said.
She said experts were still trying to identify the gas, but could confirm that the incident was not an act of terrorism.
Devices containing capsules with an unidentified gas were planted in three Maxidom trade centers and went off in two of them.
About 80 people, including several policemen, asked for medical assistance.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42718568.html
140 patients exposed to HIV+ blood test negative
VORONEZH, December 13 (RIA Novosti) - So far, 140 out of the 208 recipients of albumin injections produced from HIV-infected blood in central Russia have tested negative, the local health department said Tuesday.
Mikhail Ivanov, a senior department official, told a Voronezh news conference that local albumin production had been suspended but that the region had about two metric tons of reserve medicine that would last at least six months.
Ivanov said that, contrary to media reports, the city had not received any orders from the Federal Service for the Oversight of Public Health and Social Affairs to cancel the regional blood bank's license to produce albumin.
As for the HIV+ donor, a 35-year-old woman, Ivanov said she had left the city with her children.
"We have no right to look for her under the law," Ivanov said.
Ramil Khabriyev, the head of the service, said earlier that the woman, who was a regular donor, had tested HIV-negative when she last donated blood on May 5.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051213/42473021.html
Putin orders completing GLONASS satellite system before 2008
Adds paragraphs 7, 8 and background
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Monday that he wanted Russia's GLONASS global navigation satellite system ready before 2008.
"The GLONASS system should be created before 2008, as it was originally planned," Putin told government members. "We have the possibility. Let us see what can be done in 2006-2007."
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said three new satellites had been successfully put into orbit Sunday to expand the navigation system.
He said 19 out of 24 GLONASS satellites were currently in orbit.
"I am convinced that by 2008, all the 24 satellites will be in orbit as part of the GLONASS federal target program," Ivanov said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42711260.html
Putin ratifies Russia-N.Korea agreement on investment protection
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin signed laws ratifying the agreements between Russia and North Korea, Russia and Laos and Russia and Mongolia on the encouragement and mutual protection of capital investment, the Kremlin press service said Monday.
The laws were adopted by the lower house of the Russian parliament December 9 and approved by the upper house December 14.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42720454.html
Gold and currency reserves hit $173 bln
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's gold and foreign currency reserves have reached $173 billion, a senior Central Bank official said Monday.
"The gold and foreign currency reserves have been growing fast on the back of a strong positive balance of trade and payments and have reached $173 billion as of today," First Deputy Chairman Alexei Yulyukayev said.
The reserves have increased by $50 billion since the start of the year and would have grown by $70 billion if not for foreign debt payments.
The increase in gold and currency reserves has expanded the monetary base by 24%, whereas money supply has increased 40%, according to the bank official.
Ulyukayev said these changes had promoted higher liquidity in the banking sector but had not stoked inflationary pressures.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42706873.html
Russia to donate 50 APCs, 2 helicopters to Palestine
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russia is expected to donate 50 armored personnel carriers (APCs) and two Mi-17 transport helicopters to Palestine, a source close to the negotiations said Monday.
"We will supply the equipment to Palestine as aid," the source said.
The arrangement, including financing, has already been agreed on by all the ministries involved. However, it is not yet clear when the deliveries will take place, the source said.
Relevant issues have also been agreed on with Israel, the source added.
In February, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said: "We supplied military equipment to the Palestinians earlier. They recently approached us with a request for more equipment, including APCs. This request is being studied, and the Russian leaders are in support of it."
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42703727.html
Russia's Middle East policy to gather momentum in 2006
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Marianna Belenkaya.) The Middle East was a major part of Russia's foreign policy in 2005, which saw a number of crucial events in its relations with the region. Russian President Vladimir Putin made his first visits to Egypt, Israel, and the Palestinian National Authority, and Russia was granted observer status in the Organization of the Islamic Conference (OIC).
In 2006, Russia will take the rotating chair of the G8, which advanced the Broader Middle East and North Africa Initiative (BMENA) at its summit in the Untied States in 2004.
Russia will organize several functions within this program, which may help formulate goals and opportunities in the region more clearly. Russia's Middle East policy should become more transparent, so that the West and the East stop wondering about its goals in the region.
Unfortunately, in 2005 Russia had to answer many embarrassing questions. All sides wondered where it was leaning, toward the West or the East, Israel or the Arab (Islamic) world.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20051226/42714199.html
Europeans to offer Moscow's initiative to Tehran
Moscow. (RIA Novosti political commentator Pyotr Goncharov). - Iran is to conduct a difficult dialog with the EU on the Iranian nuclear program.
The talks will be resumed on December 21 in Vienna and focus on one subject - the Europeans will offer Moscow's initiative to Tehran -- to take the process of uranium enrichment outside the country. In the opinion of the majority of experts, such a variant would undoubtedly contribute to restoring trust in the Iranian nuclear program as one designed to develop nuclear energy for peaceful purposes.
What position will Iran take at the talks? Is Tehran prepared for a compromise?
So far, Tehran has been insisting on its legitimate right to produce nuclear fuel for its own nuclear power plant situated on its territory. Iran has rejected all accusations of allegedly using the peaceful nuclear program as a cover for creating a nuclear bomb. The Iranians see projects to create joint uranium enrichment ventures in third countries as a direct threat to the development of national science. Last Sunday, Iran's Supreme National Security Council Secretary Ali Larijani stated that "the current problem between the U.S.A. and the West on the one hand, and Iran on the other, is not a nuclear bomb. These countries want Iran to remain, like some of its neighbors in the region, a consumer of technologies provided, not to produce these technologies." Perhaps, the talks will be a success, if the sides find a solution that would not raise obstacles to Iranian specialists' research, on whatever territory.
The current round of the Vienna talks may turn out to be decisive before the adoption of the final verdict on the Iranian nuclear file. In March next year, the IAEA Board of Governors must decide whether to submit the Iranian nuclear file to the U.N. Security Council, as demanded by the U.S.A., or close it.
However, in experts' opinion, the next round of Iran-EU talks beginning this week will not yield any tangible results. In that case, it is beyond doubt that the U.S.A. and the West intend to put pressure on Russia, which has been supporting Iran's peaceful nuclear program, not to use its right of veto during the examination of the imposition of international sanctions against Iran.
A special - and currently, increasingly prominent - place has traditionally been allotted to Russia in the solution to the Iranian nuclear problem. Russia supports Iran's peaceful nuclear program and actively cooperates with it in the military, security, nuclear energy and other fields.
The prevailing opinion is that Russia should become the country where a joint uranium enrichment venture should be created and that respective offers have been made to Iran. Admittedly, Iranian parliament speaker Golamali Haddad-Adel, who visited Moscow last week, told the press that "Tehran has not received such offers from Moscow but would welcome talks on this subject".
Tehran does not conceal that it considers the forthcoming talks to be "important and difficult" and Iran's future nuclear policy will be built depending on the results of these talks.
Upholding Iran's right to create a full nuclear cycle, a few days ago Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad signed the law denying international inspectors access to Iranian nuclear facilities in the event of the aggravation of the international controversy over its nuclear program. It should be recalled that so far inspectors have been actively working, without encountering any obstacles.
Under this law, the Iranian government must take respective measures in case the IAEA submits the conflict over Iran's nuclear program to the examination of the U.N. Security Council. It is hard to say whether this law will be really effective. However, it is clear that by signing this law President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has stated the possibility of Iran suspending the implementation of the Additional Protocol to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. Meanwhile, this Protocol obliges signatories to ensure the transparency of their nuclear technologies.
In the opinion of Russian sources close to the negotiating process, Moscow's position on the Iranian nuclear issue will remain intact - the IAEA must remain the main mechanism of solving the Iranian nuclear issue. However, the sources state that it would be advisable for Tehran to remember that apart from the rights granted by the IAEA regime, there are also obligations.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20051220/42586821.html
Russia set to launch communications satellite
MOSCOW, December 19 (RIA Novosti) - A rocket carrying two satellites will be launched from the northern Plesetsk space center Tuesday evening, a spokesperson for the Russian Federal Space Agency said Monday.
"The carrier rocket will orbit the Gonets-1M communications satellite to provide services for security agencies and another satellite ordered by the Defense Ministry whose functions were not specified," the source said.
Gonets-1M will ensure the rapid transmission of brief messages, e-mail and other kinds of communications. The satellite's service life is slated for seven years and its orbit can be corrected if necessary.
Russia's security agencies will use Gonets to improve efficiency and reliability, provide confidential communications, and ensure automated data collection, including on the transportation of hazardous cargoes. Moreover, it will allow the creation of reliable closed-data networks for anti-terrorism purposes.
Russian Insurance Center, a space insurer, has underwritten the launch, covering third party liability.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051219/42557489.html
Russian pundit predicts Russia-Ukraine "gas war"
KIEV, November 23 (RIA Novosti) - Director of the Russian Political Research Institute Sergei Markov said Wednesday that a "gas war" between Russia and Ukraine is inevitable after the postponement of Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov's visit to Ukraine.
Russian Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov had originally planned to visit Ukraine on November 23, but during a phone conversation with Ukraine's Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov, agreed to determine a new date for the meeting after coordinating the issue of Russian natural gas supplies to Ukraine and its transit via Ukrainian territory in 2006.
"The Ukrainian leadership is counting on the fact that Russia has its interests and Ukraine has its strength: a gas pipe to Europe and support from its European partners and the United States. The Ukrainian leadership is therefore maintaining a very rigid stance and in fact the talks are collapsing," Markov said.
"Ukraine is leading things to a gas war and wants all issues to be resolved through a harsh standoff," he said.
http://en.rian.ru/business/20051123/42187461.html
Ukraine, U.S. sign nuclear waste storage construction contract
KIEV, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's National Nuclear Power Generating Company Energoatom and Holtec International, a U.S. corporation involved in some nuclear waste disposal projects in Ukraine, signed a contract Monday for the construction of a dry nuclear waste storage facility in Ukraine.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20051226/42720326.html
Ukraine set to announce draft resolution on gas transit Dec. 27
KIEV, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine will announce its position on the draft protocol to the Russia-Ukraine intergovernmental agreement on cooperation in the natural gas sector December 27, Prime Minister Yuriy Yekhanurov said Monday.
"I cannot say we are about to adopt an intergovernmental agreement, but we will discuss the draft protocol to the agreement and inform the mass media," Yekhanurov's press service quoted him as saying.
He said he would inform President Viktor Yushchenko on the Russian-Ukrainian natural gas talks Tuesday.
Under a 2001 agreement for 2003-2013 between Russia and Ukraine, the volumes of Russian gas transit via Ukraine and transit payments should be specified in annual intergovernmental protocols for a specific period.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20051226/42719839.html
Ukrainian-Iraqi trade up 67-fold in 7 years
KIEV, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Ukrainian-Iraqi trade has grown 67-fold from $1.5 million to $100 million since 1998, Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko said Monday.
Ukrainian-Iraqi relations "could be much more closer," Yushchenko said after a meeting with Iraqi Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jafari.
Yushchenko proposed improving bilateral military, technical, engineering and energy cooperation.
"I expect today's talks with the Iraqi prime minister to launch real economic cooperation," he said.
The president also met with Ukrainian servicemen who had been deployed in Iraq 2.5 years ago and are to be withdrawn from the country by December 29.
Yushchenko said Ukrainian peacekeepers had fulfilled their mission in Iraq and helped promote trade and economic and political relations with the country.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20051226/42719420.html
Putin dismisses First Deputy Foreign Minister Loshchinin
MOSCOW, December 26 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin dismissed First Deputy Foreign Minister Valery Loshchinin in order to transfer him to another position, the Kremlin press service said Monday.
Putin appointed Loshchinin the permanent representative of Russia to the UN Office, the Disarmament Conference and other international organizations in Geneva. Diplomat Leonid Skotnikov previously held the post, the press service said.
Skotnikov will be appointed Russia's representative to the International Court of Justice, the UN's highest judicial body.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20051226/42719710.html
Schroeder accepts, Evans declines
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator Nina Kulikova.) Donald Evans, former U.S. Secretary of Commerce, has declined the Russian authorities' offer to chair the board of Rosneft, a major state-owned oil company, report The Wall Street Journal and The Financial Times.
Is it good or bad news for the Russian expert community? On the one hand, the possibility of Evans becoming the chairman of Rosneft, which the leading Russian and foreign newspapers reported last week, promised quite a few benefits to Russia. On the other hand, it was a questionable offer.
If Evans accepted it on the eve of Rosneft's initial public offering (IPO), the Kremlin would have presented this as proof of Western principles in the company's management. This would have improved the company's standing harmed by the acquisition of the former Yukos assets, as well as the reputation of Russia, which badly needs its companies to be seen as reliable partners.
The invitation of such a skilled and influential specialist to Rosneft's board shows that the Russian company is trying to work according to international standards, publicly and transparently.
http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20051220/42585215.html
Atlanta Journal Constitution
Celebrating pride and unity
By JOHN BLAKE /
Published on: 12/26/05
"A single straw is easily broken, but woven together, a mat is very strong."
That is one of Jeanette Vaughn's favorite proverbs, a phrase she often recites when explaining the meaning of Kwanzaa, one of her favorite holidays.
The Atlanta storyteller says that Kwanzaa, the week-long African-American holiday that starts today, celebrates community. The veneration that Rosa Parks elicited after her death in October made Vaughn think of Kwanzaa.
"The Montgomery bus boycott is such an excellent example of all the Kwanzaa principles coming together," says Vaughn, who has performed Kwanzaa presentations for the last five years. "For over a year, no African-Americans used the bus system. They pooled their resources to buy cars. There's strength in unity."
http://www.ajc.com/holiday/content/holidayguide/events/stories/kwanzaa122605.html
Remembrance of rededication of the Temple
Published on: 12/24/05
Hanukkah — the eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Temple in Jerusalem — begins at sundown on Sunday, coinciding with Christmas for the first time since 1978.
Around Atlanta, families will celebrate by lighting one of the eight candles on the menorah on each night. Several community singalongs are planned as well as the lighting of community menorahs in Duluth and Marietta.
A special menorah is used for Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, an eight-day commemoration of the rededication of the Temple by the Maccabees after their victory over the Syrians.
The holiday commemorates the Maccabees, a group of Jewish men who defied Hellenistic Syrian conquerors and reclaimed the Temple more than 2,000 years ago.
Antiochus, the Greek king of Syria, outlawed Jewish rituals and ordered the Jews to worship Greek gods, and in 168 B.C., the Jews' holy Temple was seized and dedicated to the worship of Zeus.
But a small band of Jews fought back, eventually led by Judas Maccabaeus. They defeated the Syrians against overwhelming odds and refurbished the Temple.
But when the sacred lamp was rekindled, there was only enough oil to last one day. Miraculously, the lamp burned for eight days, giving them time to purify new oil.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/holidayguide/events/stories/24hanukkah.html
Mora apologizes for outburst
By STEVE WYCHE
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/26/05
Flowery Branch — Falcons coach Jim Mora extended a public apology to any members of the flagship radio station he may have upset during and after a postgame interview following Saturday's 27-24, overtime loss at Tampa Bay.
"If I offended anyone, I apologize," Mora said a Monday news conference from team headquarters. "That wasn't my intent."
Mora admitted throwing a radio headset onto the ground when radio analyst Dave Archer asked him about possibly running a play on fourth-and-two with just more than a minute left in overtime instead of punting, ending the live interview. The equipment nearly hit two radio station employees, according to team and radio employees. Archer was in the studio on the media level, several flights above the locker room.
Team officials said there would be no disciplinary action taken.
http://www.ajc.com/sports/content/sports/falcons/1205/27mora.html
UGA police will begin arresting students for underage drinking
Associated Press
Published on: 12/25/05
ATHENS — Starting next year, underage students caught drinking at the University of Georgia will be arrested and sent to jail.
The change represents a tougher stance on underage drinking after years of simply giving out citations.
Do you agree with UGA's plan to arrest underage drinkers?
Yes, it's the best way to teach these kids a lesson.
No. Drinking is just a part of college life, regardless of age.
Voter Limit: Once per Hour
The new policy is aimed at changing campus culture and increasing students' sense of responsibility, UGA Police Chief Jimmy Williamson said.
"What I want is that someone think about their actions," he said. "I'm not running a Gestapo."
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/1205/26ugadrink.html
Mother Accidentally Runs Over Daughter
SHEBOYGAN, Wis. — A woman backing out of a driveway to get Christmas candy accidentally ran over her 6-year-old daughter and killed her, police said.
Cordelia Quistorf, 24, did not realize the girl had gone outside, police said.
Quistorf's other daughter and two sons were in the car with her.
Detective Ed Worthman said no charges were expected.
December 26, 2005 - 1:55 p.m. EST
Copyright 2005, The Associated Press. The information contained in the AP Online news report may not be published, broadcast or redistributed without the prior written authority of The Associated Press.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/BRF_Girl_Killed.html
Delta flight attendant hurt during shaky trip to Philly
Published on: 12/26/05
A flight attendant on a Delta flight to Philadelphia was hurt Sunday afternoon when the plane encountered heavy turbulence, according to the airline.
Paramedics treated the injured employee on Flight 476, which originated from Fort Lauderdale, Fla., and then stopped in Atlanta before landing in Pennsylvania at 3:42 p.m., said Kip Smith, a spokesman for the airline.
No passengers were hurt, and the company did not release any further details.
— Charles Yoo
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/1205/26metdelta.html
One Police Officer Dead, Another Missing
By MATTHEW VERRINDER
Associated Press Writer
JERSEY CITY, N.J. — Two police officers in an emergency truck plunged more than 40 feet off an open drawbridge in thick fog. One was killed; the other was missing and feared dead.
The vehicle fell into the Hackensack River on Sunday night, after the officers crossed the Lincoln Highway Bridge and placed flares to warn motorists that the bridge's safety warning system was not operating, said Police Chief Robert Troy.
In this undated photo provided by CNN, Jersey City police officer Shawn Carson, 40, is shown. Carson was one of two Jersey City, N.J., police officers in an emergency truck that plunged about 45 feet into the Hackensack River from an open drawbridge shrouded in dense fog, Christmas night Sunday, Dec. 25, 2005. Officials said Monday that the body of Officer Carson was recovered Christmas night and authorities continued to scour the Hackensack River on Monday for Officer Robert Nguyen, 30. (AP Photo/Jersey City Police via CNN)
Listen Now: Healy says this tragedy feels personal
Before the officers turned around and drove back across the river, the bridge's middle span was raised to allow a tugboat to go under.
"They dropped off the cones and the flares, wished everyone a Merry Christmas and were joking around. From what I've heard they were all in good spirits," Mayor Jerramiah Healy said.
"The horrible irony is they were responding to the very situation that caused their demise. The bridge operator wanted cones and flares and our police department was the first to respond."
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/National/Officers_River_Plunge.html
'3 strikes' law a loser with mother
By By DAVID SIMPSON
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/26/05
Ashley Stokes Plunkett should have turned 20 years old on Dec. 1.
For her mother, Debbie Plunkett, the happiest part of the day was learning that someone had been arrested and charged with murdering her.
It is a measure of how upside down her world has become since her daughter died June 21 that Plunkett felt "elated" to hear the news from detectives at the DeKalb County Police Department.
But her emotions took another turn when she learned that the suspect, Selwyn Henry of Decatur, had been released from his fifth stay in a Georgia prison just seven months earlier.
Henry, 32, now is being held without bond in the DeKalb jail.
Regardless of whether he is ultimately found guilty, Plunkett could not understand why he was a free man.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/metro/dekalb/1205/26ashley.html
College grads' literacy shows 'appalling' drop
Test finds many cannot interpret tables, food labels
By LOIS ROMANO
Washington Post
Published on: 12/26/05
Literacy experts and educators say they are stunned by the results of a recent adult literacy assessment that shows the reading proficiency of college graduates has declined in the past decade, with no obvious explanation.
"It's appalling — it's really astounding," said Michael Gorman, president of the American Library Association and a librarian at California State University at Fresno. "Only 31 percent of college graduates can read a complex book and extrapolate from it. That's not saying much for the remainder."
While more Americans are graduating from college, and more than ever are applying for admission, far fewer are leaving higher education with the skills needed to comprehend routine data, such as reading a table about the relationship between blood pressure and physical activity, according to the federal study conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics.
Experts could not definitively explain the drop.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/1205/26natliteracy.html
Schwarzenegger Name Removed From Stadium
By WILLIAM J. KOLE
Associated Press Writer
VIENNA, Austria — Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown of Graz quietly and under cover of darkness removed giant metal letters spelling out his name on a soccer stadium.
The California governor had asked for his name to be stricken from the 15,300-seat arena after critics in his birthplace, where opposition to capital punishment runs high, scorned him for refusing to block this month's execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams.
The stadium at Graz, Austria, on Monday Dec, 26, 2005, after the name of California governor Arnold Schwarzenegger was removed from the stadium overnight. Officials in Arnold Schwarzenegger's hometown Graz, removed his name from the soccer stadium overnight, complying with the California governor's demand in a bitter dispute over his death penalty stance. Schwarzenegger had written to the mayor of Graz a week ago, asking that his name be removed after local activists called for the stadium to be renamed because of Schwarzenegger's refusal to block the execution of convicted killer Stanley Tookie Williams in California.(AP Photo/Markus Leodolter)
Late Sunday night or early Monday, authorities in the southern Austrian city unbolted the 20 letters spelling out the action star-turned-politician's name from Arnold Schwarzenegger Stadium. They timed the work to take advantage of the Christmas lull to avoid attracting attention "and keep the media from taking photos," a local city hall official who declined to be named told Austrian television.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/shared-gen/ap/Europe/Austria_Schwarzenegger.html
Discovery in Portugal solves centuries-old religious riddle
By BARRY HATTON
Associated Press
Published on: 12/26/05
Porto, Portugal — A chance discovery during renovation of a building in this Atlantic port city has revealed a dark secret from Portugal's past: a 16th-century synagogue.
Built at a time when Portugal's Jews had been forced to convert to Catholicism or risk being burned at the stake, the house of worship was hidden behind a false wall in a four-story house that the Rev. Agostinho Jardim Moreira, a Roman Catholic priest, was converting into a home for his old-age parishioners. A scholar of Porto's Jewish history, he says that as soon as the workers told him of the wall, "I knew there had to be some kind of Jewish symbol behind it."
A man walks past a building in Porto, northern Portugal where a medieval holy ark, where a synagogue's Torah scrolls are kept, was recently found during refurbishing work.
His hunch was confirmed when the wall came down to reveal a carved granite repository, about 5 feet tall, arched at the top and facing east toward Jerusalem. It was the ark where the medieval Jews kept their Torah scrolls. Pieces of decorative green tiles in the ark further confirmed its age when experts dated their glazing to a method used in the 16th century.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/stories/1205/26natsecretsynagogue.html
Teddy Roosevelt shows set off Wildlife Week at Pigeon Forge
By PAULA CROUCH THRASHER
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Published on: 12/25/05
Nebraska actor Mark Klemetsrud will portray President Theodore Roosevelt in a pair of one-man shows, "Rancher, Hunter, Cowboy" and "Conservation President," Jan. 7-8 during Wilderness Wildlife Week in Pigeon Forge, Tenn.
The 16th annual observation Jan. 7-15 will attract nature lovers of all ages to east Tennessee for nine days of free programs celebrating the natural attractions in and around the Great Smoky Mountains.
http://www.ajc.com/news/content/travel/articles/stories/1205/25trgoing.html
Breaking up the SAT
By Patti Ghezzi Thursday, December 22, 2005, 02:10 PM
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
So counselors are urging the College Board to allow students to take portions of the SAT separately, meaning a students who is satisfied with her math and writing scores but wants to retake verbal could take - and pay for - only the verbal portion.
In a letter to the College Board, counselors and other educators who work with high school students noted that for decades the subject tests have been offered separately. Why not the core sections, math, writing and verbal? Even students who get a perfect score on one portion of the test have to retake that portion if they want another crack another portion.
Their proposal would make the SAT more fair for students who cannot afford to retake the $41.50 test over and over.
Also, students would be less likely to make mistakes because of because of fatigue and hunger. The entire test lasts more than three hours.
Students, parents, teachers … should kids be allowed to take portions of the SAT separately?
http://www.ajc.com/blogs/content/shared-blogs/ajc/education/entries/2005/12/22/breaking_up_the.html
Jerusalem Post
Doctors to fix hole in Sharon's heart
By JUDY SIEGEL AND GIL HOFFMAN
Talkbacks for this article: 18
Prime Minister Ariel Sharon will in two weeks undergo a catheterization to insert a clam shell-shaped clamp on two sides of a small hole in his heart. The procedure will prevent the formation of more blood clots and greatly reduce his risk of a recurrent stroke.
This was announced by Prof. Chaim Lotan, chief of cardiology at Jerusalem's Hadassah-University Hospital at Ein Kerem, and Prof. Tamir Ben-Hur, the hospital's chief of neurology, both of whom were responsible for the 77-year-old prime minister's treatment during his day-and-a-half hospitalization after a mild stroke last week. Lotan will head the team chosen to perform the procedure, which is usually carried out under partial or complete sedation.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309647572&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Israel to enforce off-limits zone in Gaza Strip
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Israel will enforce a new off-limits zone in the Gaza Strip with artillery, helicopter and gunboat fire, its latest response to rocket attacks on Israeli towns, defense officials said Friday.
If enforced, the aerial barrage would mark some of the toughest military response in Gaza since it withdrew from the coastal strip in September.
Palestinian officials on Friday promised to send in more security forces to the border area to prevent the rocket attacks.
Deputy defense minister, Zeev Boim, said the no-go zone was part of Israel's stepped up response to the rocket fire, which has intensified since the Gaza withdrawal. Israel has already launched missiles and artillery fire at suspected launching areas and killed several terrorists in recent months.
Israel hopes the Palestinians "will get the message and that this will stop the rocket squads," Boim told Israel Radio. "If we must, we will have to tighten the screw further."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309637665&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
IDF changes Kassam response policy
By ARIEH O'SULLIVAN AND JPOST.COM STAFF
Talkbacks for this article: 65
A new IDF protocol for defending Israel from Kassam attacks dictates that IAF planes will aerially monitor Gaza Strip districts from which Kassam rockets are most frequently launched and open fire if suspicious activity is spotted.
The protocol has not, however, been implemented and still requires more specific delineation of the areas to monitored so as to not harm innocent civilians, Army Radio reported.
Despite the mandate to refrain from harming civilians, potential air force targets will be populated areas, and not open territory, as have seen the thrust of much of the recent IDF response to Kassam and mortar fire.
The IDF said that it would notify civilians in targeted areas a number of hours prior to carrying out the missions.
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Survivors recount plot to kill Nazis
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
A group of elderly Holocaust survivors came forward Friday with accounts of a death squad they formed after World War II to take revenge on their Nazi persecutors, recounting a brazen operation in which they poisoned hundreds of SS officers.
In a broadcast on Channel Two TV, the survivors - some of whom fought in the Warsaw Ghetto uprising - recalled hunting down SS officers in the dead of night. Disguised as British or American officers, they would drag the SS men out of their homes and execute them, they said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309638128&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Churches owe J'lem around NIS 300m
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
The Vatican and an array of Christian churches in Jerusalem owe the Jerusalem Municipality hundreds of millions of shekels in overdue property tax, with the State of Israel and the Vatican in negotiations over the repayment of the debt, city officials said this week.
According to law, properties that are used as houses of prayer are exempt from paying property tax (arnona).
But the churches, which owe vast amounts of properties in Jerusalem, are required to pay property tax for buildings they own that are not used for worship, such as hostels and schools, the city said.
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Netanyahu outlines plan for limited territorial concessions
By GIL HOFFMAN
Talkbacks for this article: 16
Likud chairman Binyamin Netanyahu started off his party's campaign on Monday with a show of unity at the Tel Aviv Fairgrounds in the first meeting of the Likud central committee since his election as party leader a week ago.
The central committee nearly unanimously passed Netanyahu's proposals to reserve the second slot on the Likud list for Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom and to delay the elections for the Likud's Knesset list from January 3 to January 12.
Netanyahu outlined his positions on diplomatic and socioeconomic issues without getting heckled by a crowd that regularly attacked his predecessor, Prime Minister Ariel Sharon.
"The time has come for a party to say what Israel will keep and not what we should give away," Netanyahu said. "There are three different approaches: Keeping all the land, which I think would be a mistake; withdrawing from nearly all the land, which Ehud Barak, Sharon and Amir Peretz support and I think is dangerous; and our policy, which is defensible borders for Israel."
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Tenders issued for 228 W. Bank homes
By JPOST.COM STAFF AND AP
Talkbacks for this article: 4
The Housing Ministry published tenders on Monday morning for the construction of 150 housing units in Beitar Illit, and another 78 in Efrat's Givat Hazayit neighborhood.
Peace Now representatives counted 1,131 tenders for housing units in the West Bank since the beginning of 2005.
The left-wing organization claimed that Prime Minister Ariel Sharon was allowing the construction in order to gain votes.
Raanan Gissin, spokesman for Sharon, said plans for the latest construction began more than five years ago and would take place in existing communities.
Gissin also noted that the construction would be in settlements that Israel plans to retain after a final peace settlement with the Palestinians.
"These are the large settlement blocs, they will be strengthened," he said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1134309652019&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Israelis return home in record numbers
By JESSICA FREIMAN
Some 5,700 emigrants have returned to live in Israel in 2005, according to the Ministry of Immigrant Absorption. This figure represents a significant jump from the 5,000 returning citizens in 2004, and eclipses the 3,052 new immigrants from North America this year.
But those were only the registered ones.
"We estimate that there are an additional 5,000 returning Israeli citizens who came back in 2005 who did not register with us," ministry spokesperson Tamar Abramowitz said.
Asked what drove some 10,000 Israelis who had left to make their lives elsewhere give Israel a second chance, Abramowitz replied, "They have come to the conclusion that Israel is the only place that they can truly feel at home. A common theme among many returning citizens is that they would prefer to raise their children in Israel."
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J'lem mayor faces questioning for dirty city
By ETGAR LEFKOVITS
In a burgeoning scandal, Jerusalem Mayor Uri Lupolianski is reportedly facing questioning by the Environment Ministry's 'green police' for ignoring directives to clean public sites in the city.
Earlier this year, the Environment Ministry opened a criminal investigation against Lupolianski for failing to properly clean the city, in the wake of an amalgamation of waste and garbage at five city sites, which include the city's main Givat Shaul cemetery.
The investigation was launched after the mayor ignored five clean-up orders signed by the Environment Ministry's Jerusalem district director Shoni Goldberger.
Lupolianski spokesman Gidi Schmerling said Sunday that two of the five dirty garbage sites in question have already been cleaned, while three additional locations will be cleared within the next three weeks.
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Terrorists threaten to upgrade missiles
By KHALED ABU TOAMEH
Talkbacks for this article: 30
Three armed Palestinian groups in the Gaza Strip on Monday threatened to continue their attacks on Israel and said they have long-range missiles capable of reaching more Israeli towns and cities.
One of the groups belongs to Fatah, the ruling party headed by Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas. The two others are the Popular Resistance Committees, an alliance of various armed groups, and al-Quds Brigades, the armed wing of Islamic Jihad.
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Court rules Fatah can submit united list
By ASSOCIATED PRESS
RAMALLAH, West Bank
A Palestinian court decided Monday that the ruling party can still submit a single list for the parliamentary elections, ending the split and reducing the threat of a Hamas victory.
Earlier this month, Fatah's disgruntled young guard broke away and presented its own list of candidates under the name "Future." Eager to bring the young guard back into the fold, PA and Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas agreed to award top slots to many of the younger activists who had done well in Fatah primaries.
Initially, Abbas had given many of these spots to oldtimers, who will now have to compete in districts, where their re-election is not secured
Meanwhile, a poll released on Monday indicated that Hamas would earn the greatest number of seats if the Fatah factions remained split.
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The Boston Globe
Scientists: Coral reefs spared worst of tsunami's effects
By Bob Salsberg, Associated Press Writer December 26, 2005
BOSTON --Doctor Gregory Stone was on a diving expedition off Fiji on December 26, 2004, when the first sketchy reports reached his ship about the undersea earthquake that had spawned a catastrophic tsunami in South Asia. Amid his horror over the human toll, another thought quickly formed in the scientist's mind: What would be the impact of this natural disaster on the region's stunningly beautiful and ecologically critical coral reefs?
Several months later Stone, vice president of global marine programs for the New England Aquarium, traveled with a team to Phuket, the Thai resort island that became well-known to the world in the days after the tsunami. Over the next two weeks, the team made approximately 500 dives at 56 sites, surveying the reefs to determine how badly they had been damaged and how long they might take to recover.
They found destruction, but also hope.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2005/12/26/scientists_coral_reefs_spared_worst_of_tsunamis_effects/
Summary: Alaska researchers study reindeer
By The Associated Press December 25, 2005
ROAST RUDOLPH: Researchers at the University of Alaska Fairbanks say reindeer has great potential as livestock. The meat is prized for its rich flavor, tenderness and low fat content.
SUBSISTENCE ROOTS: Siberian reindeer were introduced to Alaska in the late 1800s as an alternative food source for Alaska Natives after numbers of native subsistence animals dwindled.
FUGITIVE HERDS: Scores of domesticated reindeer have run off with their wild, migrating cousins from the Western Arctic caribou herd.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2005/12/25/summary_alaska_researchers_study_reindeer/
Families in need
December 26, 2005
IN MASSACHUSETTS, children who engage in self-injuring but not illegal behavior can be legally declared a Child in Need of Services. Under varying circumstances, parents, police, and school officials can file CHINS petitions with the courts in cases where children run away from home, refuse to attend school, chronically break school rules, or resist obeying their parents. Parents surrender oversight to court officials, and they may lose custody of their children.
The designation was created in 1973. Now, a bill in the State House would obliterate CHINS -- to make way for a better system.
An overhaul is crucial. More than a judge's attention, what many troubled children and their families need are comprehensive social services. Pain drives a lot of youthful offenses. Counseling can lead to understanding, recovery, and behavior that improves life. And some parents who file for CHINS do so out of desperate need for services they can't find access to any other way.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/12/26/families_in_need/
N.H. Republicans drift from national party
Delegation breaks on major issues
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff December 26, 2005
WASHINGTON -- With signs pointing to a resurgent Democratic Party in New Hampshire, the state's all-Republican congressional delegation is becoming increasingly at odds with the national Republican Party in a state that was long a GOP bellwether, according to an analysis of votes and other actions in Congress over the past year.
Congressmen Jeb Bradley and Charles Bass voted for expanded stem cell research and opposed drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and Bradley notably declined to endorse Bush's Social Security plan.
Senator John E. Sununu opposed Bush's plan for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage, joined a filibuster to insert civil liberties protections into the USA Patriot Act, and voted against his party leadership on several major spending bills.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/12/26/nh_republicans_drift_from_national_party/
Attacks, protests erupt in Iraq
Post-election period of relative peace ends
By Louise Roug and Borzou Daragahi, Los Angeles Times December 26, 2005
BAGHDAD -- A rash of roadside bombings and shootings and a series of bitter demonstrations across Iraq yesterday ended a relatively peaceful stretch since parliamentary elections a week and a half ago.
In the capital city, insurgents set an American tank ablaze, causing an undisclosed number of casualties, and elsewhere in the country explosions and assassinations killed Iraqi civilians and security forces.
The violence occurred after more than a week of discontent and acrimony among some voters over the preliminary results of the Dec. 15 balloting for the first permanent national government since the US-led 2003 invasion.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/12/26/attacks_protests_erupt_in_iraq/
Ex-hostage says abductors treated her OK
By Mariam Fam, Associated Press Writer December 26, 2005
BAGHDAD, Iraq --A German woman freed after being held hostage in Iraq for more than three weeks said in an interview broadcast Monday that she was treated well by her kidnappers.
Susanne Osthoff, an aid worker and archaeologist, told the Arabic-language Al-Jazeera satellite channel that her abductors weren't trying to get a ransom. Rather, they were demanding that schools, hospitals and other humanitarian projects built in Sunni Arab areas, she said.
"Thank God, I am still alive," Osthoff, 43, said in Arabic, a black scarf wrapped around her head.
Osthoff, the first German to be kidnapped in Iraq, disappeared with her Iraqi driver in northern Iraq on Nov. 25. Her release was announced Dec. 18. The driver is also believed to have been let go.
The German government expressed concern Monday that Osthoff has not ruled out going back to Iraq and appealed to her not to return.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/12/26/ex_hostage_says_abductors_treated_her_ok/
Accidental acetaminophen poisonings rise
By Lauran Neergaard, AP Medical Writer December 26, 2005
WASHINGTON --Think popping extra pain pills can't hurt? Think again: Accidental poisonings from the nation's most popular pain reliever seem to be rising, making acetaminophen the leading cause of acute liver failure.
Use it correctly and acetaminophen, best known by the Tylenol brand, lives up to its reputation as one of the safest painkillers. It's taken by some 100 million people a year, and liver damage occurs in only a small fraction of users.
But it's damage that can kill or require a liver transplant, damage that frustrated liver specialists insist should be avoidable.
The problem comes when people don't follow dosing instructions -- or unwittingly take too much, not realizing acetaminophen is in hundreds of products, from the over-the-counter remedies Theraflu and Excedrin to the prescription narcotics Vicodin and Percocet.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2005/12/26/accidental_acetaminophen_poisonings_rise/
14 years after evil empire, a stable Russia
By Graham Allison December 26, 2005
FOURTEEN YEARS ago yesterday, the Soviet Union disappeared. Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as president of the USSR on Christmas Day 1991. Boris Yeltsin became independent Russia's first president. The Supreme Soviet, the highest governmental body of the Soviet Union, dissolved itself. The iconic hammer and sickle flag that had flown over the Kremlin for seven decades came down. What Ronald Reagan rightly called the ''evil empire" was erased from the map. In its place emerged Russia and 14 other newly independent states.
As former Czech president Vaclav Havel observed, ''Things have changed so fast we have not yet taken time to be astonished." Nowhere is this truer than on the territory of the former Soviet Union.
Who could have imagined the evil empire disappearing -- without war?
Who could have imagined a revolution that buried communism -- without blood? Recall: Crane Brinton's classic, ''The Anatomy of Revolution," requires blood for a genuine revolution.
Who could have imagined US victory over its Cold War rival -- with a whimper rather than a bang? The tectonic collapse of one pole of a bipolar international system with so few aftershocks?
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/26/14_years_after_evil_empire_a_stable_russia/
Poisoned politics
By Cathy Young December 26, 2005
EVEN AS the war in Iraq goes on and the war with a global terror network shows no signs of abating, our domestic political scene seems to have become a war zone as well.
It's happening on political websites, where ''debate" often consists of trading invective and where opponents are ridiculed with slurs like ''libs" and ''repugs." It's happening in mainstream politics, too. Democratic National Committee chairman Howard Dean slams Republicans as ''brain-dead" people many of whom ''have never made an honest living in their lives." Republican master strategist and senior Bush adviser Karl Rove slams liberals as wimps whose reaction to Sept. 11 was to ''offer therapy and understanding for our attackers."
Everyone seems to agree that there is far too much nastiness in American political discourse today. And everyone seems eager to blame the other side for it.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/26/poisoned_politics/
Staying the course
By James Carroll December 26, 2005
AMERICAN INTELLIGENCE was proving itself inadequate to the challenge. The president appointed a special commission to make recommendations. The year was 1954. The commission chairman was James Doolittle, the retired bomber general who had led the first air raid against Tokyo.
''It is now clear," he stated in his report to President Eisenhower, ''that we are facing an implacable enemy whose avowed objective is world domination by whatever means and whatever cost. There are no rules in such a game. Hitherto acceptable norms of human conduct do not apply. If the United States is to survive, longstanding concepts of 'fair play' must be reconsidered. We must develop effective espionage and counter-espionage services, and must learn to subvert, sabotage, and destroy our enemies by more clever, more sophisticated, and more effective methods than those used against us. It may be necessary that the American people be made acquainted with, understand, and support this fundamentally repugnant philosophy."
Sound familiar? Again and again, in the year now ending, the American people have been told by their leaders that strategies based on a new ''repugnant philosophy" are required if the nation is to survive the challenge facing it. Forbidden incendiary weapons must be used in urban settings. Prisoners of war must be deprived of Geneva protections. Aggressive interrogations of enemies must approach torture. Commitments to provide US combat forces with adequate protective gear must be forsworn. Extrajudicial kidnapping of bad people must be justified. Allies must be pressured into joining secret networks of detention camps.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/26/staying_the_course/
A maritime museum for Boston
By Henry A. Lachance December 26, 2005
''MOST AMERICAN seaports, including Boston, have shamefully neglected the splendid history of their maritime efforts."
That statement was made by historian Samuel Eliot Morison in his classic ''Maritime History of Massachusetts," and for Boston the sentence rings as true today as in 1921, when that matchless volume was first published.
A most important era of American maritime history, spanning nearly three centuries of wooden shipbuilding in Massachusetts Bay, began in 1631 when colonial governor John Winthrop built and launched his little 30-ton trader ''Blessing of the Bay" from his seat at Medford on the Mystic River, and continued to the end of the great Age of Sail at the turn of the 20th century.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/26/a_maritime_museum_for_boston/
What Bush could learn from Lincoln
By Robert Kuttner December 24, 2005
MY CHRISTMAS present to George W. Bush is a copy of Doris Kearns Goodwin's splendid study of Lincoln and his Cabinet, ''Team of Rivals." President Bush believes in redemption, and so do I. Here are just a few things Bush might profitably learn from our first Republican president.
Lincoln assumed the presidency at a time when the nation was horribly divided, not into culturally warring ''blue" states and ''red" ones, but into a real civil war between blues and grays -- the states that stayed in the Union and those that seceded. Even among the unionists, Lincoln's own Republican Party and Cabinet were bitterly rent between those who wanted to accelerate emancipation and punish the South and those who gave top priority to keeping the Republic whole.
Lincoln's priority, always, was to preserve the Union and to reduce the sectional and ideological bitterness. As Goodwin brilliantly shows, he did so by the force of his personality and the generosity of his spirit. Lincoln had an unerring sense of when public opinion was ready for partial, then full abolition of slavery, and he would not move until he felt he had the people behind him. He governed by listening and persuading.
By contrast, Bush's entire presidency is about eking out narrow victories, not about building national consensus. Even when he prevails, Bush wins by manipulation and stealth. His legacy is deepened division and bitterness.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/12/24/what_bush_couldlearn_from_lincoln/
continued …
Defenders of the Fraud
Colin Powell at the United Nations lying to the presence of Iraq's Weapons of Mass Destruction.
First, "Bin Laden Determined to Attack Within the United States" did nothing to stop the attacks of September 11, 2001.
Then, the testimony before the UN to justify an invasion into a PROVEN to be disarmed country by UN 'on the ground' Inspectors; was based in embellished OLD evidence and ABSENCE of good bookkeeping by Saddam Hussein. It mislead the country into war.
Then a vicious attack on the security of OUR nation by justifying an invasion into Iraq on fraudulent British claims in the State of the Union speech.
Then revealing the identity of Former US Ambassador Joseph Wilson's spouse, Valerie Plame, now an 'outed' CIA Agent involved in a sting operation to discover Weapons of Mass Destruction globally.
The 'outing' of a Pakistani Deep Cover Agent involved within the inner circle of al Qaeda by CNN whom's sources are still not revealed although most likely Karl Rove.
The journalist entanglements of Plamegate and the lies to Judith Miller leading to the Iraq invasion.
Now, the spying on private citizens of this country.
Colin Powell was in the State Department and he most assuredly will deny any and all knowledge of wrong doing at any levels.
I wasn't born yesterday. I don't believe him and if it weren't for invasion of privacy I would love to know how many 911 Victim Families were spyed on.
WE DID NOT BRING THE ATTACKS OF SEPTEMBER 11, 2001. BUT, EVIDENTLY OUR GOVERNMENT DOESN'T BELIEVE THAT !!
Morning Papers - continued ...
Gulf News
Tsunami challenges still lie ahead, says Annan
Agencies
Banda Aceh, Indonesia: Mourners from across the world wept, prayed and observed moments of silence along ravaged Indian Ocean coastlines yesterday to remember those killed by one of nature's deadliest disasters.
A year after the tsunami, a huge recovery operation has brought hope to hundreds of thousands of survivors. But the sorrow, pain and trauma remain strong along with fears that monster waves could come again.
http://www.gulfnews.com/home/main_story/10007643.html
World leaders give condolences
AP
Banda Aceh: World leaders have sent condolence messages one year after the Indian Ocean tsunami struck a dozen countries, leaving more than 216,000 dead or missing.
"Tens of thousands of you are still living in inadequate shelters and have little access to information about your future...I want you to know that I won't be satisfied until you have decent homes and job opportunities, so that your children can go out with a [new] sense of security. I will stay the course, and will work with you to sustain a promise of a brighter future," wrote Former US President Bill Clinton, UN special envoy for tsunami recovery, in a message to survivors.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Indonesia/10007568.html
A 5-star retreat for women
By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
An exclusive health and leisure centre in the UAE with a range of facilities to rival the best in the Middle East, the Sharjah Ladies Club is a world of fitness and fun.
Whether you have a family, a career or both, everyone needs private time and the Sharjah Ladies Club gives women this private world, a world of physical and mental enlightenment.
Shaikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Vice-President of the club, said its mission was to offer health and well-being, recreation and entertainment, social activities, sports and new skills.
"Our mission is simple. To provide an exclusive retreat where women can relax and recharge in idyllic surroundings," she said.
http://www.gulfnews.com/tabloid/Leisure/10007472.html
When a child is born
By Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
Christmas Day was made extra special for three Dubai families as they were each handed their little bundles of joy.
The overjoyed new mums and dads all said they couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present.
Renee Kearney and Matthew Smith were the first to spring into action as Renee started to feel uncomfortable at around 10pm on Christmas Eve.
However, the Canadian couple were not convinced that little Ava Beatrice was on the way.
Renee explained: "We had already had a scare about two weeks ago when I thought she was on the way. But the doctors sent us home and said that pregnancy was just uncomfortable!"
"So when I felt some movement we just thought we would be sent home again ? we didn't even take the [overnight] bag with us."
But almost 12 hours later, at 1.50pm, Ava was born, weighing in at 8lbs 13oncs.
http://www.gulfnews.com/tabloid/People/10007470.html
India and Iran to hold talks on $7b gas link
Reuters
Mumbai: India and Iran will hold talks this week in New Delhi to discuss the progress of a proposed $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline and a separate liquefied natural gas deal between the two nations.
Iran's deputy oil minister, Mohammad Hadi Nejad Hosseinian, is scheduled to participate in these discussions tomorrow and Thursday, after arriving in India this evening.
"The biggest challenge before us today is to find a way as to how do we structure the project in a consensual way," an official from the Indian oil ministry, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters yesterday.
http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Oil_and_Gas/10007488.html
Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour jailed
Agencies
Cairo: Leading government opponent and former presidential candidate Ayman Nour has been sentenced by an Egyptian court to five years in jail on charges of forgery.
Nour, leader of the Ghad (tomorrow party) was held for questioning in January. The rules of the Egyptian election stipulated that hundreds of supporting signatures had to be gathered before a party could run. The Egyptian authorities allege that many of the signatures on Nour?s application were forged.
Nour's lawyer, Amir Salem said they would appeal the case. "This verdict will go into the dustbin of history," Salem shouted, adding that they would take the case to the court cassation, which is the highest appeal body.
Hundreds of supporters, led by Nour's wife Gameela Ismail, chanted "Down with Hosni Mubarak, Mubarak's rule is illegal." About one hundred supporters slept in the street the night before the trial but were prevented from entering the court house by hundreds of police guards.
Nour, who has been on hunger strike for the past two weeks in protest to his detention says the trial is an attempt by the state to destroy him politically.
Nour's detention drew international criticism and there is mounting pressure on US President George W. Bush to take action on Nour's behalf.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Egypt/10007071.html
Washington's outrage over Nour's sentence rings hollow
By Linda S. Heard, Special to Gulf News
Leader of Egypt's Al Ghad Party Ayman Nour was sentenced to five years for forgery last Saturday, which the Bush administration apparently finds "deeply troubling".
"The conviction of Mr Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom and the rule law," reads a White House statement.
These fine sentiments, echoed by human rights groups, are to be commended, and if they emanated, say, from Sweden, the tone of this column would be congratulatory, as it generally believed that Nour's trial was nothing little than a piece of political theatre.
However, in light of recent revelations concerning the US government's human rights abuses, the statement smacks of the pot calling the kettle black.
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10007498.html
Ten killed as quake strikes Iran
Agencies
Tehran: A powerful earthquake measuring at least 5.9 on the Richter scale struck Qeshim island off Iran's southern coast, killing at least ten people and damaging four villages.
The main hospital on Qeshim was full of wounded people.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10000851.html
UAE rocked by Iran quake
Staff Report
Dubai: The Dubai area has experienced tremors emanating from an earthquake in southern Iran.
The quake measuring 6.1 on the richter scale, had its epicentre in the south of Iran.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/United_Arab_Emirates/10000853.html
UAE meteorology body confirms tremors
WAM
Dubai: Shaikha Mouza Al Mualla, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Communication, and the UAE?s Permanent Representative of the World Meteorology Organization, said a medium tremor was felt by people in most areas of the UAE on Sunday, especially in the northern emirates.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/United_Arab_Emirates/10000852.html
Counsel says he saw marks of torture on Saddam
AP
Amman: Saddam Hussain was severely tortured by US forces, the deposed leader's chief Iraqi lawyer, Khalil Dulaimi, claimed yesterday, adding that he had seen the bruises.
The United States has strenuously denied maltreating Saddam, and the Iraqi judge who investigated the fallen president said that until last week he had always said 'no' when asked if he had been abused.
Dulaimi, who still regards Saddam as the president of Iraq, said yesterday the torture was revealed to him during a brief interview with Saddam last week, when he led the defence team in the Baghdad trial hearings Wednesday and Thursday.
"The president was tortured severely
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10007030.html
Diplomat among six Sudanese abducted in Iraq
Agencies
Baghdad: A Sudanese diplomat and five other Sudanese were kidnapped yesterday as they left prayers at a mosque, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
One of those kidnapped was able to briefly telephone the country's mission after he was taken.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10007037.html
Talks held to develop biblical park in Galilee
AP
Occupied Jerusalem: Israel is offering evangelical Christians a chunk of the Holy Land.
Fourteen hectares of rolling hills and rocky shores of the Sea of Galilee, tucked between key sites in Jesus' ministry, would be leased to an association of evangelists led by American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, Israeli tourism officials say.
The potential deal for turning over biblical lands to develop a tourist destination underlines how ties have strengthened in recent years between Israel and evangelical Christian groups that support the Jewish state.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10007005.html
US monitors Muslim sites for radiation
Agencies
Washington: Fearing an attack from Al Qaida, US authorities have been covertly monitoring radiation levels at Muslim sites across America.
US News and World Report magazine reported the program on Friday. It said monitoring was conducted at more than 100 Muslim sites in the Washington area - including Maryland and Virginia suburbs. At least five other cities, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, New York and Seattle were also heavily monitored when threat levels rose. Sites monitored included mosques homes and businesses.
According to US News and World Report, the nuclear surveillance programme was set up after the attacks of 11 September 2001.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/U.S.A_/10007070.html
European arrest warrants issued for CIA agents
AP
Rome: A judge has issued European arrest warrants for 22 purported CIA operatives in connection with the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric from a Milan street in 2003, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Prosecutor Armando Spataro said the warrants allowed for the arrest of the suspects in any of the 25 European Union member countries.
Previously, Italy had issued arrest warrants for the 22 inside Italy.
Daria Pesce, a lawyer for one of the 22 accused, played down the significance of the warrants but acknowledged they meant that the suspects could no longer travel to Europe without risking arrest.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Italy/10007045.html
UN budget talks focus on ending reform impasse
Reuters
United Nations: A group of wealthy countries, including the United States, proposed a UN budget compromise that diplomats said could end an impasse over management reforms opposed by developing nations.
"It is still a question whether we will have a budget deal by Christmas, but a path has been laid out and we are going to keep negotiating," French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere told reporters after all-day talks. "There is no Plan B."
The negotiations were due to resume in the morning and diplomats predicted that without an agreement yesterday, the talks likely would drag on right up to a December 31 deadline for the 2006 budget to be in place.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/United_Nations/10006983.html
Duma approves NGO Bill
AP
Moscow: Russia's lower house of parliament approved a much-criticised Bill yesterday that imposes strict curbs on non-governmental organisations, a measure that rights groups and others say could deal a damaging blow to struggling civil society under President Vladimir Putin.
The State Duma voted in favour of the Bill 357-20 with seven abstentions in the third of three required readings. The legislation, which has been rushed through parliament, is expected to be approved early next week by the equally compliant upper house before being signed into law by Putin.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Russia/10006954.html
Unauthorised spying won't solve the problem
By Gary Hart, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
Three weeks after I took the oath of office in the Senate in 1975, then-Majority Leader Mike Mansfield appointed me to a newly created committee the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities, which soon came to be known as the "Church Committee", after its chairman, the late Senator Frank Church of Idaho. Out of 11 members, I was by far the youngest.
The Senate had impanelled the committee because of increasing reports of abuse of authority by the country's myriad intelligence agencies under the Nixon administration as well as previous administrations. For two years, the committee investigated broadly the CIA, FBI, DIA and NSA were all within its purview and finally, in 1976, it issued a series of recommendations designed to prevent future abuses.
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10006965.html
Chicago Tribune
A matriarch's quandary: Saving a family adrift
By Kim Barker
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published December 26, 2005
NAGAPATTINAM, India -- Valliammai watches as the gold wedding necklace is tied around her daughter's neck, as the silver rings are slipped on her toes. She cries because her husband is not there.
She wears a pink sari with rose trim, one of the only saris she rescued from the tsunami. A fake gold necklace has left a bumpy rash on her neck. It is all she could afford, a poor replacement for her own wedding necklace, which she pawned for $12 to buy food.
"I don't have anybody," Valliammai says on this day in March. "There is nobody to help me. I'm all alone."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512260191dec26,1,348305.story?coll=chi-news-hed
2 more deaths bring area's cold toll to 7
Published December 26, 2005
CHICAGOLAND -- Autopsies confirmed that two men in the Chicago area died Saturday of hypothermia, bringing the Chicagoland total of cold weather-related deaths this season to at least seven.
David Webster, 56, of Oak Forest was pronounced dead in Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, said a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office. The cause of death was hypothermia and coronary atherosclerosis.
The second man, whose name is not known and who is believed to have been homeless, was pronounced dead of hypothermia and alcohol intoxication at 8 p.m. Saturday, the spokesman said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260223dec26,1,6381988.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Brief power outage hits nearly 15,400
Published December 26, 2005
WEST SUBURBS -- Nearly 15,400 ComEd customers in the west suburbs lost power early Christmas morning after electrical crews encountered problems while reconfiguring circuits.
The planned work at the Forest Park substation affected 15,390 customers in Berwyn, Forest Park, Maywood, North Riverside, Riverside and Oak Park, ComEd spokesman Luis Diaz said.
Workers were switching electrical loads at the substation at 1 a.m. when the outage occurred. Electricity was restored by 4 a.m., Diaz said.
He added that he did not know what caused the power outage. Its cause is under investigation.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260233dec26,1,6840741.story?coll=chi-news-hed
4 killed, dozens hurt in train derailment
Items compiled from Tribune news services
Published December 26, 2005
TOKYO, JAPAN -- An express train traveling through strong winter winds derailed in northern Japan, killing four people and injuring more than 30, officials said Monday.
Five cars of the six-car express train derailed Sunday evening, three of them toppling onto their sides in Yamagata prefecture, about 180 miles north of Tokyo, officials said. The train was going from northern Akita to Niigata prefecture.
The survivors' injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Yamagata police spokesman Yoshikatsu Oe said. It was unclear how many passengers were on the train.
Two men and two women were killed, officials said. Rescuers planned to lift the wreckage later in the day to see if any other passengers remained beneath.
Transport Ministry official Hiromi Mishima said the cause of the derailment was not known.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260183dec26,1,610224.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Candle sales flicker, but far from going out
The market for candles has seen some shadows since the bright 1990s, and makers are turning to less traditional outlets and developing new products in hopes of adding spark to their business
By David Sharp
Associated Press
Published December 26, 2005
Kathy Higgins has holiday candles in her living room. They're on windowsills. They're next to beds and in both bathrooms. They're on the dining room table, the buffet table, and the coffee table in her Cumberland, Maine, home.
This is the season for candles, with a third of annual sales coming during a two-month period capped by the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's holidays.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0512260240dec26,1,4528549.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Amusement Park Attendance Up 4.2 Percent
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press Writer
Published December 25, 2005, 9:43 AM CST
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Powered by strong investment in new rides, the 50th anniversary of Disneyland and hurricanes that spared the theme park capital of Orlando, attendance at North America's 50 most popular amusement parks rose 4.2 percent in 2005.
An estimated 176 million visitors went to North America's most popular parks, according to an annual survey being released Monday by the trade
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-theme-park-attendance,1,6552885.story?coll=chi-business-hed
5 Killed in Va. Murder-Suicide Shootings
By Associated Press
Published December 26, 2005, 10:59 AM CST
GREAT FALLS, Va. -- A man shot to death four people on Christmas Day in suburban Washington before killing himself, police said.
The man killed his mother in a house they shared in McLean and then traveled about eight miles to a house in Great Falls where he shot two men and a woman and then himself, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing police sources.
The Fairfax County Police Department would not confirm the name of the gunman nor his relationship to one of the female victims when contacted Monday by The Associated Press.
The gunman apparently knew all of the victims, police said, but investigators did not report a motive for the shootings.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-five-shot,1,3278304.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Iraq Violence Leaves at Least 2 Dozen Dead
By MARIAM FAM
Associated Press Writer
Published December 26, 2005, 2:55 PM CST
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Violence increased across Iraq after a short lull following the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections, with at least two dozen people killed in shootings and bombings mostly targeting the Shiite-dominated security services. The dead included a U.S. soldier killed by a grenade in Baghdad.
The violence came as three Iraqi opposition groups threatened to stage another wave of protests and resort to civil disobedience if allegations of fraud are not properly investigated.
The three blocs include the secular Iraqi National List, headed by former Shiite Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, and two leading Sunni Arab groups.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-iraq,1,1372776.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Michael Moore Today
NSA spy program broader than Bush admitted
‘Pattern analysis’ performed on main U.S. telecommunication channels
Reuters
NEW YORK - The volume of information gathered from telephone and Internet communications by the National Security Agency without court-approved warrants was much larger than the White House has acknowledged, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Citing current and former government officials, the Times said the information was collected by tapping directly into some of the U.S. telecommunication system’s main arteries. The officials said the NSA won the cooperation of telecommunications companies to obtain access to both domestic and international communications without first gaining warrants.
A former telecommunications technology manager told the Times that industry leaders have been storing information on calling patterns and giving it to the federal government to aid in tracking possible terrorists since the Sept. 11 attacks.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5279
Judges on Surveillance Court To Be Briefed on Spy Program
By Carol D. Leonnig and Dafna Linzer / Washington Post
The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program, according to several intelligence and government sources.
Several members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in interviews that they want to know why the administration believed secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails of U.S. citizens without court authorization was legal. Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court.
"The questions are obvious," said U.S. District Judge Dee Benson of Utah. "What have you been doing, and how might it affect the reliability and credibility of the information we're getting in our court?"
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5258
December 24th, 2005 1:58 am
Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report
By Eric Lichtblau and James Risen / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 - The National Security Agency has traced and analyzed large volumes of telephone and Internet communications flowing into and out of the United States as part of the eavesdropping program that President Bush approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to hunt for evidence of terrorist activity, according to current and former government officials.
The volume of information harvested from telecommunication data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the officials said. It was collected by tapping directly into some of the American telecommunication system's main arteries, they said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5277
Alito Defended Ordering Domestic Wiretaps
By Donna Cassata / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito defended the right of government officials to order domestic wiretaps for national security when he worked at the Reagan Justice Department, an echo of President Bush's rationale for spying on U.S. residents in the war on terror.
Then an assistant to the solicitor general, Alito wrote a 1984 memo that provided insights on his views of government powers and legal recourse — seen now through the prism of Bush's actions — as well as clues to the judge's understanding of how the Supreme Court operates.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5269
Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
By Barton Gellman / Washington Post
The Bush administration requested, and Congress rejected, war-making authority "in the United States" in negotiations over the joint resolution passed days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to an opinion article by former Senate majority leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) in today's Washington Post.
Daschle's disclosure challenges a central legal argument offered by the White House in defense of the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. It suggests that Congress refused explicitly to grant authority that the Bush administration now asserts is implicit in the resolution.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5274
Secret wiretaps could hurt prosecutions, experts warn
By Ted Bridis / Associated Press
Washington - The Bush administration's decision to sometimes bypass the secretive U.S. court that governs terrorism wiretaps could threaten cases against terror suspects that rely on evidence uncovered during the disputed eavesdropping, some legal experts cautioned.
These experts pointed to this week's unprecedented resignation from the government's spy court by U.S. District Judge James Robertson as an indicator of the judiciary's unease over domestic wiretaps ordered without warrants under a highly classified domestic spying program authorized by President Bush.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5261
Survey noted on December 24, 2005. 8:49 am est
Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment?
* 142796 responses
Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial.
85%
No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching "high crimes and misdemeanors."
5%
No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching.
8%
I don't know.
2%
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904/
Letters IMPEACH BUSH
After considering his latest TV performance in defending his latest scandal, I write today to sound the alarm that our President is officially out of control. Though I had not considered it a serious possibility, after reflecting on it I agree with those who say it is time to get rolling with our impeachment option.
This is not about Bush's stalwart though factually weak defense of the truly out of control spying on Americans. This is about the "tact" that they decided to use and the fact that they had the full year granted to them by the New York Times to prepare how they would answer the public for their deed.
Make no mistake about how drastic it was either. It was (is) widespread spying on mostly innocent people in hope of nabbing a few evil ones, and it was (and is) being done without any true checks or oversight.
With that being the reality, the defense they could have chosen could have been either a reasonable or a radical one.
Predictably they chose the latter. The simple strategy of it was as obvious as if we were watching it unfold on the TV version of the West Wing.
"Okay, team, it's go time, let's go on the offensive! Say damn right we did it and we're not apolozing, and we're going to continue to do it whether anyone likes it or not! Remind them some more about 9/11!
"And don't forget, tell Americans to doubt any political enemies who even want to make anything of it.
"And don't forget, imply treason and defeatism of any who would be part of shedding light on it too!"
It is arrogance totally unchecked from the one person who holds the most power in his hands of any person in the world - at a time when America and the world are far more volatile and uncertain than ever.
As their nonsense goes on and on, impeachment is where I am today. Starting with the top Neocon (by proxy or not) - the 43rd President of the United States.
Let's roll, America!
Al Kernan
Churchville
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/13471621.htm
Demand Censure and Accountability for Misconduct by Bush and Cheney in Iraq War
Dear Friend:
Today I released a staff Report entitled, “The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Coverups in the Iraq War.”
In response to the Report – which finds substantial evidence of federal legal violations by numerous members of the Bush Administration --
I have introduced a resolution creating a Select Committee with subpoena authority to investigate the misconduct of the Bush Administration with regard to the Iraq war and report on possible impeachable offenses; as well as Resolutions proposing both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney should be censured by Congress based on the uncontroverted evidence of their abuse of power.
To read the Report, sign up as a citizen cosponsor of these efforts, or make a contribution and obtain a signed copy of a book version of the report to be published in the coming months, please go to the Iraq Report Action Center on my web site.
Iraq Report Action Center
In addition to highlighting the devastating arrogance, hubris, and wrongheadedness of the Bush Administration, the Report also highlights the danger of one party rule in Washington and inability of the Republican Congress to operate as any sort of check or balance on the Administration. It is important that we as a nation say “never again” to going to war under false pretenses, and covering up official wrongdoing. Thank you for helping me look at these problems, and please pass on this email to friends and colleagues who may be interested in this issue as well.
Forward to a Friend
Thank you for your help and your continued stand for a better democracy.
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
http://www.conyersforcongress.com/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=1999990633.191619.40&gen=1
Stand with Congressman Conyers
Demand Censure for Bush-Cheney Misconduct
Investigate Impeachable Offenses
I am taking steps against the Bush Administration’s handling of the Iraq War and its collection of intelligence. I am going to need you to stand with me in fighting for accountability.
http://johnconyers.com/
Join me, below, in sending the:
Letter Advising the President of Censure
and
Steps to Begin Special Committee Investigation
Dear Mr. President:
We are brave, proud, patriotic citizens of the United States.
We love our country and are writing to express our profound disappointment with you and your administration for your conduct surrounding the Iraq War, the collection and use of intelligence, and your disrespect for the laws of this great nation.
We are calling upon Congress to form a Special Committee to investigate your administration's abuses of power and report any offenses which rise to the level of impeachment.
We are also calling upon Congress to immediately censure you and Vice-President Cheney.
We have great love for our country and faith in the government institutions provided for in our constitution.
We believe that the integrity of our nation is at stake and have supported these steps only after your administration has refused to come clean with the American people at every opportunity.
Respectfully,
John Conyers
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=SUPERFORMS&SEC={29336D51-F9AE-474D-8C08-8D69902D5149}
Meet John Conyers, Jr.
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={E940C74E-A879-4117-A446-AFA0E11A5EC1}
Welcome to Michigan's 14th District
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=NONE&SEC={086753D7-9CB7-408E-9925-398CC694DF93}
Rumsfeld: U.S. to Reduce Troops in Iraq
By Robert Burns / Associated Press
FALLUJAH, Iraq - Just days after Iraq's elections, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Friday announced the first of what is likely to be a series of U.S. combat troop drawdowns in Iraq in 2006.
Rumsfeld, addressing U.S. troops at this former insurgent stronghold, said President Bush has authorized new cuts below the 138,000 level that has prevailed for most of this year.
Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the cut, but the Pentagon said the reductions would be about 7,000 troops, about the size of two combat brigades. The Pentagon has not announced a timetable for troop reductions, but indications are that the force could be cut significantly by the end of 2006.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5278
Unable to End 'Unlawful' Detention, Judge Says
By Josh White / Washington Post
A federal judge in Washington ruled yesterday that the continued detention of two ethnic Uighurs at the U.S. prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is "unlawful," but he decided he had no authority to order their release.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson criticized the government's detention of Abu Bakker Qassim and Adel Abdu Hakim, who have been jailed at Guantanamo for four years; they have been cleared for release because the government has determined they are not enemy combatants and are not a threat to the United States. But Robertson said his court has "no relief to offer" because the government has not found a country to accept the men and because he does not have authority to let them enter the United States.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5273
Nuclear Monitoring of Muslims Done Without Search Warrants
By David E. Kaplan / USNews
In search of a terrorist nuclear bomb, the federal government since 9/11 has run a far-reaching, top secret program to monitor radiation levels at over a hundred Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area, including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites in at least five other cities, U.S. News has learned. In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned the legality of the operation, according to these accounts.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5268
Bush pardons Denver attorney
MDC counsel, now 49, was sentenced in '84 cocaine case
By Tillie Fong and Hector Gutierrez / Rocky Mountain News
A Denver lawyer was pardoned Tuesday by President Bush for drug-related crimes she committed more than two decades ago. Wendy St. Charles, now 49, was among 11 people who received presidential pardons.
In 1984, she was sentenced to four years in prison in Illinois for conspiracy to conduct a narcotics enterprise and distribution of cocaine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5276
Language of the Heart
...a message from Cindy Sheehan
I have been in Europe for 2 weeks now. I have been toasted by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, and greeted by Foreign Ministers, a Vice President and members of the various Parliaments. Those stories are for another article.
My highest honor both here in the States and in Europe now is meeting with the families of children murdered in George Bush's War of Terror against the world.
No matter if we all speak differently accented English, Spanish, or the heavy Glaswegian accent of my Scottish sister in sorrow, Rose Gentle, whose gentle-giant son, Gordon, was killed by Blair and Bush in Iraq in July of 2004, our hearts all speak the same idiom of pain and we sing the same lament of futile loss.
In Scotland, as we were meeting with Ministers of Parliament and urging them to stand up to the government in London and withdraw Scottish troops from Iraq, I met a woman named Sue Smith whose son Philip was killed in Iraq this past July. Her voice vibrated and fluctuated with incalculable loss as she spoke of the betrayal that she felt at burying her son too early and for the lies of her Prime Minister: a co-war criminal with George Bush. The wound in her heart was fresh and openly bleeding. In her wounded eyes I saw my heart as it was about a year ago.
At the International Peace Conference in London, I met Shaun Brierly's dad, Peter. Shaun was in the British Army and he was killed in Iraq in March of 2003 in the very early days of the war. Peter lugged my heavy satchel around London with quiet good humor. In his heavy Yorkshire accent he tried to describe to me what losing his son has done to him and his family. We drank a pint in a pub to our boys and to our hurt but especially to our hearts' resolve to end this war and expose the villains who mislead our countries so shamelessly. Through our blinked back tears we promised each other we would stay strong.
Also at the Peace Conference were Reg Keys and John Miller. Reg's son Tom was KIA along with John's son Simon. We attended a few events together and I teased them about the suits they were wearing and they teased me about my "gym clothes." Reg stood against Tony Blair for Prime Minister of the UK last year and made a respectable showing. John and Reg are hanging in together with their pain. It is so hard for Dads. It is easier for us Moms to express our heart pain as the Dads try to head their heartache off at the pass. I also met Ann Laurence who described her beautiful English countryside home to me and showed me pictures of her handsome son, Marc. She had a quiet voice and eyes filled with heaviness and tears ready to overflow at any moment.
In Spain, I met two women whose sons were callously murdered by the policies of our two governments: Governments and leaders who hand in jaded hand took our countries to an impossible and immoral invasion and occupation of an innocent and mostly defenseless country.
Maribel Permuy is the mother of slain Spanish cameraman, Jose Couso. Jose was murdered in the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003 along with other journalists. With new evidence coming out how George Bush wanted to kill Aljazeera journalists and with the targeting of Giuliana Sgrena and her rescuers, I find it so hard to believe that Jose's murder was an accident. In fact, a Spanish magistrate has indicted the three US troops who fired a missile at the hotel. The one who should be indicted, though, is George Bush. Maribel speaks not one word of English and I speak very little Spanish, but our hearts are connected in sorrow and also hope. I am called "Madre Coraje" (Mother Courage) in Spain and Latin American countries. However, Maribel is Madre Mas Coraje. She has steely and uncompromising resolve to see justice done for her son Jose. Her unconditional and undying love for Jose and her other children gives her the strength to fight against her government and mine. We laughed and cried so much together, I wonder how we could have communicated any better if we spoke the same language?
I also met Pilar Mahon in Madrid. Her son, Daniel, was killed in the terrorist bombings of March 11, 2004. The day I met her would have been Daniel's 22nd birthday. Her nose and eyes were red from a day of mourning her son. She could barely speak, but when she did, her voice rose in anger against George Bush and Spain's former President Aznar who took our countries to an unnecessary war based on the pipe dreams of the heartless neocons who are even now holding tenuously onto their power base. The same falsehoods of "fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here" killed both Casey and Daniel. I get filled with outrage when I meet people like Pilar who should be celebrating her son's birthday and Christmas but who spend days weeping at their child's final resting place. In spite of her constant longing for Daniel, Pilar is leading the fight in Spain for the rights of the families affected by the March 11th terrorist attack.
There are so many people in this world who will be celebrating sorrow filled holidays this year. Christmas is so hard for us, not only because our children are dead, but because we remember the Christmases past that were filled with joy and happiness. It is so painful to remember the Christmas mornings when the kids would get up before the sun came up and beg Mom and Dad to get up so they could open what Santa brought them. It is too painful to get out the decorations and hang the one sock that will remain empty for eternity. So most of us skip the traditional Christmas and do whatever we can to support each other through the devastation that our lives have become. Devastation that is so needless and avoidable. Our hearts go out to all families who are experiencing the pain of loss instead of the joy of togetherness this year.
George Bush and the other purveyors of pain can take a day off from spying on Americans without due process to celebrate the holidays with their families. Dick "the Grinch" Cheney made a "surprise" visit to Iraq the other day. His black heart feels no pain for the tragic loss of life that his greed has caused. How dare he show his face in a country which is destroyed by his insatiable quest for black gold and his obscene lust for profits for his company Halliburton and the other war profiteers?
The pain that these people have caused the world is inestimable. The people of the world want an accounting of the pain and for the people who seem to be getting off scot-free to be brought to some kind of justice for the damage they have wrought on humanity.
This Christmas as you fill your children's or grandchildren's stockings, wrap and unwrap presents, cook your holiday meals, light your Menorah or dance around your Festivus pole, or however you celebrate your holidays, please remember the families who will be trying to enjoy the holiday season with a part of them missing. But most of all, please remember the people (American and Iraqi) in harm's way in Iraq for the old lies and the new lies that seem to surface with the same frequency as a Republican corruption scandal.
In conclusion, this is an excerpt of an email I received from a mother in Iraq whose son, Zaydoun Mamoun Fadhil Al-Samarai, a Shi'a insurgent was involved in the same battle in which Casey was killed. Zaydoun was later killed.
We, my friend, in the march of pain could work together, each from where she is toward putting an end to the blood shed and toward peace and love to prevail, instead of war.
We could, my lady, work together toward peace and toward putting an end to the blood shed and give all mothers a hope for happiness because we experience pain when we lost our sons. Because, he who did not experience pain cannot understand happiness.
I will be very happy when the war ends so we can celebrate in my town, Samara, which witnessed the birth of my oldest son, Zaydoun, whom I thought he would morn me when I die, but, unfortunately, I mourned him one month before his wedding.
I am conveying his fiancée's greeting, who is still mourning him.
At the end, please accept my deepest sympathies, from a mother who lost her son to another mother who lost her son.
I hope to be able to meet with you on the march for peace and love.
George Bush, et al, has taught too many people in this world the language of pain by their lies and their doctrines of preemptive killing for profit.
We need to learn a new language of peace and love that we can speak, even shout, at our leaders who only understand the language of greed and murder.
Peace, shalom, paz, salaam.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=570
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Snowy owls make a rare visit
Birds usually found in Arctic pop up in Western Washington
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BELLEVUE -- Snowy owls are being spotted throughout the region, apparently making one of their rare migrations south.
Paul Talbott, owner of the general contracting company TCI Inc., watched a snowy owl for several hours one day last week while it sat on a second-story ledge just feet from his downtown Bellevue office.
"It's a gorgeous bird," Talbot said. "He just sat there all day long. His head kept turning about 360 degrees. He'd shake the water off his head when it rained."
Although the bird disrupted his work routine, Talbot said it was worth it.
"Like my business manager said, 'That's the best Christmas present I could have had,' " he said. "There was a steady flow of people who wanted to see it. How could I refuse?"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253418_owl26.html
Gray whales arrive off Oregon coast a week early
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DEPOE BAY, Ore. -- Whale watching season appears to have opened a week early on the Oregon Coast.
Gray whales already have been spotted heading south on their 6,000-mile trek from Alaska to Mexico. Some 20,000 will make the trip through February.
The migration will peak during the next few weeks, when about 30 whales will pass the coast each hour.
"We've had calm seas recently, which makes the whales easier to spot," said Morris Grover, the ranger in charge of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department's Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay. The whales arrived about a week earlier than usual, he said.
The 28th annual Winter Whale Watch Week begins today and runs through next Monday. About 200 trained volunteers will help whale watchers at 28 locations dotted along the coast, part of the parks department's Whale Watching Spoken Here program.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253438_whales26.html
'Emotional support' service dog missing
By HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Gatsby, all 4 1/2 pounds of him, is more than just a cute and cuddly Yorkshire terrier. He's a certified emotional support animal and a vital link to his owners' son.
Since their college-age son died two years ago, Bruce and Sharon Gallagher have relied on Gatsby to help them deal with their grief. But now Gatsby is missing, having escaped beneath a privacy fence at the home where the Gallaghers were staying on a holiday visit to Seattle.
"We're just frantic," Bruce Gallagher said. "We've just been crying our eyes out."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253440_lostdog26.html
Permafrost could be melting, study finds
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Climate change could thaw the top 11 feet of permafrost in most areas of the Northern Hemisphere by 2100, altering ecosystems across Alaska, Canada and Russia, according to a federal study.
Using supercomputers in the United States and Japan, the study calculated how frozen soil would interact with air temperatures, snow, sea ice changes and other processes. The most extreme scenario involved the melting of the top 11 feet of permafrost, or earth that remains frozen year-round.
"If that much near-surface permafrost thaws, it could release considerable amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and that could amplify global warming," said lead author David Lawrence, with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "We could be underestimating the rate of global temperature increase."
The study was published Dec. 17 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and presented earlier in the month at a science conference in San Francisco.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Permafrost_Study.html
Nun Bun stolen from Tenn. coffeehouse
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- When Bob Bernstein arrived at his coffeehouse to assess the scene of an early Christmas morning break-in, the one thing he noticed missing was the cinnamon bun that bears a striking likeness to Mother Teresa.
Bernstein said he believes that the culprit is someone angry over the shop displaying the world-famous pastry, which has been preserved with shellac. A jar of money next to the Nun Bun was not stolen.
"They went right for the bun," he said. "Unfortunately I think it's somebody who wanted to take it to destroy it."
The Nun Bun gained worldwide attention in 1996 when a customer nearly took a bite of it before recognizing the revered nun in the folds of flaky pastry.
The bun was featured on world news programs, "The Late Show" with David Letterman and was even mentioned on episodes of "The Nanny" and "Mad About You."
The shop, Bongo Java, sold T-shirts, prayer cards and mugs with the bun's image before Mother Teresa wrote a personal letter to the coffeehouse asking the sales be stopped.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120AP_Nun_Bun.html
Tsunamis: Waves of learning
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
A year after the tsunami, the Pacific Northwest looks ahead to its own vulnerability and that of other coastal areas.
The advance of science is one of the ways people in this country, Asia and around the world have sought to make some good come out of the tsunami that swept the shores of 11 countries on Dec. 26, 2004.
More than 200,000 people died in the waves along South Asian and African shores that followed a giant earthquake off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island. Surviving relatives, friends and people from many countries planned to take part in memorials today.
In the past year, the quest for better tools to predict tsunamis and warn people has made considerable progress. Congress authorized $40 million to expand a network of warning buoys.
In Seattle, where much of the cutting-edge research has occurred, scientists at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration labs are developing ways to reduce the time needed to predict when or where tsunamis will hit from hours to minutes. As a scientist told Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Tom Paulson, "We are trying to get down to less than 10 minutes."
The worldwide field of tsunami research has grown to thousands. Their work will mean that when tsunamis inevitably strike the Northwest and elsewhere, tens or hundreds of thousands of people will have a better chance at surviving one of nature's most fearsome events.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/253276_waved.asp
Holocaust Deniers: A truth all too real
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Even folks who think the moon landing was broadcast from a Hollywood studio seem to believe World War II atrocities happened. But the voices of Holocaust denial have risen again in recent weeks, this time from Middle Eastern leaders out of touch with a reality of the war that still influences world events.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spoken of the "myth" of the murder of 6 million European Jews by Adolf Hitler's Germany. The leader of Egypt's main Islamic opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, wrote similarly last week.
Seattle still counts eyewitnesses to the Nazis' systematic murder of not only millions of Jews but also Gypsies, other minorities, Christian activists and political opponents. But defending the historical record should not fall to the survivors or to America's greatest generation.
The children and grandchildren of those who experienced the horrors of World War II must make their voices heard over the shouts of Holocaust deniers in the Middle East or the strange circles of U.S. and European neo-Nazi movements. And, since one of America's strengths is diversity, Islamic leaders here have a particular opportunity to help set the record straight.
Those who seek to distort the past would prevent the world from learning the lessons of history. The consequences of refusing to learn this lesson could bring horrors better left unimagined.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/253274_denialed.asp
New council takes control in Mogadishu
By OSMAN HASSAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Warlords and civilians installed a council Sunday to govern Somalia's capital, an action that further fragments the nation but could bring the city under the control of a single group after 14 years of anarchy.
The swearing-in of the 64 new legislators formalized a break with Somalia's transitional government, which was formed last year under President Abdullahi Yusuf after lengthy peace talks in Kenya.
Somalia has been without a central government since warlords in 1991 ousted a dictatorship. They then turned on each other, carving the nation of 8.2 million into a patchwork of fiefdoms.
The new council contains mainly members of the Hawiye clan that dominates the capital of about 2 million people, which previously was divided under the control of rival warlords. There was no immediate comment from Yusuf, whose transitional government is based in Jowhar, north of Mogadishu.
The U.N. envoy to Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, warned last month that Somalia could become a terrorist haven because it is a failed state where extremist Islamic groups are growing.
A 1992 attempt by the U.N. to intervene in Somalia yielded some success, but deteriorated in October 1993 when U.S. troops tried to capture one of the most powerful warlords, Farah Aidid. That battle, featured in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down," left 18 U.S. soldiers dead.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Somalia_New_Administration.html
New Congo constitution all but approved
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- A draft constitution viewed as a crucial step toward lasting peace in Congo appeared likely to pass Saturday as vote counting from last weekend's referendum neared completion.
With 75 percent of Congo's 40,000 polling centers reporting, 83 percent of Congolese had voted in favor of the proposed charter, while 17 percent had voted against it, according to electoral commission Chairman Apollinaire Malu-Malu.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo_Referendum.html
Congo troops battle Ugandan rebels
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- Thousands of Congolese troops backed by U.N. peacekeepers battled Ugandan rebels hiding in Congo's restive east, leaving 35 rebels and one U.N. soldier dead, the U.N. said.
Some 3,500 troops supported by 600 Indian peacekeepers fought the rebels Sunday near the eastern city of Beni, U.N. spokesman Hans-Jakob Reichen said.
The fighting was part of a sweep by Congolese forces in a region largely outside state control since a 1998-2002 war that drew in armies from six neighboring nations. Government troops are trying to re-establish authority nationwide before elections next year, battling homegrown militia fighters and rebels from neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo.html
Kidnappings plague residents across Haiti
By ALFRED DE MONTESQUIOU
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Quesnel Durosier walked out of a bank with $3,500 tucked into his sock, buoyed by thoughts of his upcoming wedding. Seconds later, a car cut him off, gunmen sprang out and shoved him into the car along with a woman passer-by. What followed was a nightmare of torture and death threats for these latest victims of a wave of attacks that has made impoverished Haiti the kidnapping capital of the Americas.
Everyone is a target - schoolchildren, foreign aid workers and pedestrians in the upscale and heavily guarded Petionville district of the capital, where Durosier and the unidentified woman were snatched.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Haiti_Kidnappings.html
Chile court won't drop Pinochet charges
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Chile's top court on Monday refused to drop charges against Gen. Augusto Pinochet for the disappearance of six dissidents during his military regime, and ruled that the former dictator must remain under house arrest.
A panel of the court voted 3-2 to reject the appeal filed by the defense lawyers for the 90-year-old former ruler, said one of the judges, Alberto Chaigneau.
It was a new setback for Pinochet in his long fight in the courts against human rights and corruption charges.
He has been under house arrest since Nov. 24, when Judge Victor Montiglio indicted him for the six disappearances. Monday's decision by the Supreme Court means that Pinochet will almost certainly have to spend New Year under arrest at his suburban Santiago mansion.
The six dissidents were part of 119 who were either killed and went missing in 1975, two years after Pinochet seized power in a bloody coup, a case known as Operation Colombo.
Pinochet faces charges for nine of the victims in two separate criminal suites filed by relatives. An appeal is still pending for the other three and a ruling is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday.
Pinochet's regime had claimed they had all been killed in clashes between rival opposition groups.
Pinochet has faced hundreds of criminal suites stemming from the human rights abuses during his 1973-990 regime, and although he has been indicted in four cases, the charges have been eventually been dropped by the courts on health grounds. He has been diagnoses a mild dementia, has sustained several strokes, suffers from diabetes and arthritis and has a pacemaker.
He's currently also under indictment on tax evasion charges related to secret bank accounts he owns abroad, estimated by a judicial investigation at $28 million.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Chile_Pinochet.html
Congo troops battle Ugandan rebels
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- Thousands of Congolese troops backed by U.N. peacekeepers battled Ugandan rebels hiding in Congo's restive east, leaving 35 rebels and one U.N. soldier dead, the U.N. said.
Some 3,500 troops supported by 600 Indian peacekeepers fought the rebels Sunday near the eastern city of Beni, U.N. spokesman Hans-Jakob Reichen said.
The fighting was part of a sweep by Congolese forces in a region largely outside state control since a 1998-2002 war that drew in armies from six neighboring nations. Government troops are trying to re-establish authority nationwide before elections next year, battling homegrown militia fighters and rebels from neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo.html
American nun shuns luxury for Mexican jail
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Sister Antonia Brenner, 79, known as the "prison angel," speaks to a large group of prisoners in a holding cell at the La Mesa State Penitentiary as a guard walks behind her Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005, in Tijuana, Mexico. Brenner, who was raised in Beverly Hills, Calif., but abandoned her life of rare privilege, has lived and worked in the notorious Mexican jail since 1977.(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
TIJUANA, Mexico -- The cell at the end of the dark hallway barely fits a cot, a desk and a folding chair. This is home for Sister Antonia Brenner, an American nun who was raised in Beverly Hills but abandoned a life of privilege to live in a notorious Mexican jail.
Her neighbors are no longer Hollywood stars, but murderers, drug runners and human smugglers. They know her as "angel de la carcel" - the prison angel.
Brenner, 79, looks puzzled when asked what motivated her riches-to-rags choice nearly 30 years ago.
"I don't understand why people are so amazed," she says. "To give help is easy. To ask for it is hard."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Prison_Angel.html
A Jewish mom's letter to Santa
By MEREDITH MOSS
COX NEWS SERVICE
Dear Mr. Claus:
I imagine this letter will come as a bit of a shock because most of your mail these days is penned by a small fry. But you'll probably be relieved to discover that it's not another request for "Star Wars" spaceships, Barbie dolls or soccer balls.
And although I pride myself on being a good Jewish mother, I am not writing to encourage you to have a hot bowl of chicken soup before you climb aboard your sleigh.
This is, nevertheless, a request. I know that you're extremely busy making personal appearances and filling gift orders, but I'd like to ask that you take a few minutes out this time of year to consider my child. For although you are often unaware of him, he is confronted with you regularly.
You are, after all, America's No. 1 December Superstar. You're featured in animated television specials, in store windows; we see you smiling from the covers of books, records and greeting cards. You are jovial and merry, a happy symbol of Christmas.
But my family is Jewish and does not participate in a Christmas celebration. And for Jewish children, especially if they attend public school and live in a predominantly Christian neighborhood, this may pose a dilemma.
Now you will tell me that you have a Jewish friend who hands out a Christmas stocking, and that there are Jewish children who stand in line to sit on your lap. I won't deny that. That occurs because Jewish individuals are free to respond to you in any way they choose, and some of us believe joining in such non-religious aspects of Christmas is pleasant and harmless.
But most of us deal with you in a different way. American ethnic groups are relishing the beauty of their own traditions. We are learning that being a minority can mean being special. And we are transmitting that pride to our children.
As a Jew, I have my own meaningful holidays, my own beautiful traditions. Although I am delighted to have my child share in the fun of stringing popcorn for a Christian friend's Christmas tree, I would not feel comfortable erecting one in my own home. Out of respect for my gentile friends, I would not separate their symbol from the occasion it was designed to symbolize.
I believe that avoidance is not the answer. Imagine trying to avoid Christmas in America! It simply can't be done. Last year, for example, on our way to the downtown Holiday Festival, we boarded the RTA bus. It turned out to be the Christmas Bus. There you sat, surrounded by packages and holly, giving away candy canes and chatting with the children.
You motioned to my little boy. "It's OK," I said, "go ahead."
"And what would you like for Christmas?" you boomed, as you pulled him up on your lap.
"I don't celebrate Christmas, I celebrate Hanukkah," responded my preschooler, eager to continue the conversation.
"Sorry about that," you said, as you dumped him from your lap.
Santa, you probably don't remember the incident, but I always will remember my son's crestfallen face. Because ours is also a gift-giving holiday, you might simply have asked him what he was hoping to receive. And "Happy Hanukkah" easily can be substituted for your usual "Merry Christmas" greeting.
How would you feel if I labeled Christmas the "Christian's Hanukkah?" Sounds funny, huh?
Neither is Hanukkah the "Jewish Christmas." It is a distinct holiday. Although both fall in the winter months and may coincide, that's where the similarity ends.
Our "Feast of Lights," as Hanukkah often is called, is a holiday that celebrates the importance of religious freedom. More than 2,000 years ago, a small band of Jews led by Judah the Macabee, miraculously recaptured their temple from the Syrians who outnumbered them. The Jews re-established their right to worship as they pleased.
Today, Jews around the world commemorate the event with the lighting of the menorah (a candelabrum) and kindle an additional candle for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. The holiday is a joyous one. Small gifts are given to the children each night; there are songs and festive family gatherings and parties.
Let me close with the story of our most surprising encounter.
A couple of years ago when your business at an area mall wasn't so hot, you waddled down from your Santa's House and approached my little boy and his friend.
"And what do you want for Christmas?" you inquired with your cheery voice and a "Ho, ho, ho!"
"We don't celebrate Christmas, we're Jewish," explained my son's friend.
"I am, too!" you said, with your eyes twinkling. "Which synagogue do you belong to?"
Happy Hanukkah, Santa,
A Jewish Mom
P.S. Wear your warmest socks and a cozy scarf!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/253243_jewishmomtosanta.html?source=mypi
continued …
Tsunami challenges still lie ahead, says Annan
Agencies
Banda Aceh, Indonesia: Mourners from across the world wept, prayed and observed moments of silence along ravaged Indian Ocean coastlines yesterday to remember those killed by one of nature's deadliest disasters.
A year after the tsunami, a huge recovery operation has brought hope to hundreds of thousands of survivors. But the sorrow, pain and trauma remain strong along with fears that monster waves could come again.
http://www.gulfnews.com/home/main_story/10007643.html
World leaders give condolences
AP
Banda Aceh: World leaders have sent condolence messages one year after the Indian Ocean tsunami struck a dozen countries, leaving more than 216,000 dead or missing.
"Tens of thousands of you are still living in inadequate shelters and have little access to information about your future...I want you to know that I won't be satisfied until you have decent homes and job opportunities, so that your children can go out with a [new] sense of security. I will stay the course, and will work with you to sustain a promise of a brighter future," wrote Former US President Bill Clinton, UN special envoy for tsunami recovery, in a message to survivors.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Indonesia/10007568.html
A 5-star retreat for women
By Bassma Al Jandaly, Staff Reporter
An exclusive health and leisure centre in the UAE with a range of facilities to rival the best in the Middle East, the Sharjah Ladies Club is a world of fitness and fun.
Whether you have a family, a career or both, everyone needs private time and the Sharjah Ladies Club gives women this private world, a world of physical and mental enlightenment.
Shaikha Bodour Bint Sultan Al Qasimi, Vice-President of the club, said its mission was to offer health and well-being, recreation and entertainment, social activities, sports and new skills.
"Our mission is simple. To provide an exclusive retreat where women can relax and recharge in idyllic surroundings," she said.
http://www.gulfnews.com/tabloid/Leisure/10007472.html
When a child is born
By Kelly Crane, Staff Reporter
Christmas Day was made extra special for three Dubai families as they were each handed their little bundles of joy.
The overjoyed new mums and dads all said they couldn't have asked for a better Christmas present.
Renee Kearney and Matthew Smith were the first to spring into action as Renee started to feel uncomfortable at around 10pm on Christmas Eve.
However, the Canadian couple were not convinced that little Ava Beatrice was on the way.
Renee explained: "We had already had a scare about two weeks ago when I thought she was on the way. But the doctors sent us home and said that pregnancy was just uncomfortable!"
"So when I felt some movement we just thought we would be sent home again ? we didn't even take the [overnight] bag with us."
But almost 12 hours later, at 1.50pm, Ava was born, weighing in at 8lbs 13oncs.
http://www.gulfnews.com/tabloid/People/10007470.html
India and Iran to hold talks on $7b gas link
Reuters
Mumbai: India and Iran will hold talks this week in New Delhi to discuss the progress of a proposed $7 billion Iran-Pakistan-India pipeline and a separate liquefied natural gas deal between the two nations.
Iran's deputy oil minister, Mohammad Hadi Nejad Hosseinian, is scheduled to participate in these discussions tomorrow and Thursday, after arriving in India this evening.
"The biggest challenge before us today is to find a way as to how do we structure the project in a consensual way," an official from the Indian oil ministry, who did not wish to be identified, told Reuters yesterday.
http://www.gulfnews.com/business/Oil_and_Gas/10007488.html
Egyptian opposition leader Ayman Nour jailed
Agencies
Cairo: Leading government opponent and former presidential candidate Ayman Nour has been sentenced by an Egyptian court to five years in jail on charges of forgery.
Nour, leader of the Ghad (tomorrow party) was held for questioning in January. The rules of the Egyptian election stipulated that hundreds of supporting signatures had to be gathered before a party could run. The Egyptian authorities allege that many of the signatures on Nour?s application were forged.
Nour's lawyer, Amir Salem said they would appeal the case. "This verdict will go into the dustbin of history," Salem shouted, adding that they would take the case to the court cassation, which is the highest appeal body.
Hundreds of supporters, led by Nour's wife Gameela Ismail, chanted "Down with Hosni Mubarak, Mubarak's rule is illegal." About one hundred supporters slept in the street the night before the trial but were prevented from entering the court house by hundreds of police guards.
Nour, who has been on hunger strike for the past two weeks in protest to his detention says the trial is an attempt by the state to destroy him politically.
Nour's detention drew international criticism and there is mounting pressure on US President George W. Bush to take action on Nour's behalf.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Egypt/10007071.html
Washington's outrage over Nour's sentence rings hollow
By Linda S. Heard, Special to Gulf News
Leader of Egypt's Al Ghad Party Ayman Nour was sentenced to five years for forgery last Saturday, which the Bush administration apparently finds "deeply troubling".
"The conviction of Mr Nour, the runner-up in Egypt's 2005 presidential elections, calls into question Egypt's commitment to democracy, freedom and the rule law," reads a White House statement.
These fine sentiments, echoed by human rights groups, are to be commended, and if they emanated, say, from Sweden, the tone of this column would be congratulatory, as it generally believed that Nour's trial was nothing little than a piece of political theatre.
However, in light of recent revelations concerning the US government's human rights abuses, the statement smacks of the pot calling the kettle black.
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/region/10007498.html
Ten killed as quake strikes Iran
Agencies
Tehran: A powerful earthquake measuring at least 5.9 on the Richter scale struck Qeshim island off Iran's southern coast, killing at least ten people and damaging four villages.
The main hospital on Qeshim was full of wounded people.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iran/10000851.html
UAE rocked by Iran quake
Staff Report
Dubai: The Dubai area has experienced tremors emanating from an earthquake in southern Iran.
The quake measuring 6.1 on the richter scale, had its epicentre in the south of Iran.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/United_Arab_Emirates/10000853.html
UAE meteorology body confirms tremors
WAM
Dubai: Shaikha Mouza Al Mualla, Assistant Undersecretary of the Ministry of Communication, and the UAE?s Permanent Representative of the World Meteorology Organization, said a medium tremor was felt by people in most areas of the UAE on Sunday, especially in the northern emirates.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/United_Arab_Emirates/10000852.html
Counsel says he saw marks of torture on Saddam
AP
Amman: Saddam Hussain was severely tortured by US forces, the deposed leader's chief Iraqi lawyer, Khalil Dulaimi, claimed yesterday, adding that he had seen the bruises.
The United States has strenuously denied maltreating Saddam, and the Iraqi judge who investigated the fallen president said that until last week he had always said 'no' when asked if he had been abused.
Dulaimi, who still regards Saddam as the president of Iraq, said yesterday the torture was revealed to him during a brief interview with Saddam last week, when he led the defence team in the Baghdad trial hearings Wednesday and Thursday.
"The president was tortured severely
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10007030.html
Diplomat among six Sudanese abducted in Iraq
Agencies
Baghdad: A Sudanese diplomat and five other Sudanese were kidnapped yesterday as they left prayers at a mosque, Sudan's Foreign Ministry said yesterday.
One of those kidnapped was able to briefly telephone the country's mission after he was taken.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Iraq/10007037.html
Talks held to develop biblical park in Galilee
AP
Occupied Jerusalem: Israel is offering evangelical Christians a chunk of the Holy Land.
Fourteen hectares of rolling hills and rocky shores of the Sea of Galilee, tucked between key sites in Jesus' ministry, would be leased to an association of evangelists led by American religious broadcaster Pat Robertson, Israeli tourism officials say.
The potential deal for turning over biblical lands to develop a tourist destination underlines how ties have strengthened in recent years between Israel and evangelical Christian groups that support the Jewish state.
http://www.gulfnews.com/region/Middle_East/10007005.html
US monitors Muslim sites for radiation
Agencies
Washington: Fearing an attack from Al Qaida, US authorities have been covertly monitoring radiation levels at Muslim sites across America.
US News and World Report magazine reported the program on Friday. It said monitoring was conducted at more than 100 Muslim sites in the Washington area - including Maryland and Virginia suburbs. At least five other cities, Chicago, Detroit, Las Vegas, New York and Seattle were also heavily monitored when threat levels rose. Sites monitored included mosques homes and businesses.
According to US News and World Report, the nuclear surveillance programme was set up after the attacks of 11 September 2001.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/U.S.A_/10007070.html
European arrest warrants issued for CIA agents
AP
Rome: A judge has issued European arrest warrants for 22 purported CIA operatives in connection with the alleged kidnapping of an Egyptian cleric from a Milan street in 2003, a prosecutor said yesterday.
Prosecutor Armando Spataro said the warrants allowed for the arrest of the suspects in any of the 25 European Union member countries.
Previously, Italy had issued arrest warrants for the 22 inside Italy.
Daria Pesce, a lawyer for one of the 22 accused, played down the significance of the warrants but acknowledged they meant that the suspects could no longer travel to Europe without risking arrest.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Italy/10007045.html
UN budget talks focus on ending reform impasse
Reuters
United Nations: A group of wealthy countries, including the United States, proposed a UN budget compromise that diplomats said could end an impasse over management reforms opposed by developing nations.
"It is still a question whether we will have a budget deal by Christmas, but a path has been laid out and we are going to keep negotiating," French Ambassador Jean-Marc de la Sabliere told reporters after all-day talks. "There is no Plan B."
The negotiations were due to resume in the morning and diplomats predicted that without an agreement yesterday, the talks likely would drag on right up to a December 31 deadline for the 2006 budget to be in place.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/United_Nations/10006983.html
Duma approves NGO Bill
AP
Moscow: Russia's lower house of parliament approved a much-criticised Bill yesterday that imposes strict curbs on non-governmental organisations, a measure that rights groups and others say could deal a damaging blow to struggling civil society under President Vladimir Putin.
The State Duma voted in favour of the Bill 357-20 with seven abstentions in the third of three required readings. The legislation, which has been rushed through parliament, is expected to be approved early next week by the equally compliant upper house before being signed into law by Putin.
http://www.gulfnews.com/world/Russia/10006954.html
Unauthorised spying won't solve the problem
By Gary Hart, Los Angeles Times-Washington Post
Three weeks after I took the oath of office in the Senate in 1975, then-Majority Leader Mike Mansfield appointed me to a newly created committee the Select Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence Activities, which soon came to be known as the "Church Committee", after its chairman, the late Senator Frank Church of Idaho. Out of 11 members, I was by far the youngest.
The Senate had impanelled the committee because of increasing reports of abuse of authority by the country's myriad intelligence agencies under the Nixon administration as well as previous administrations. For two years, the committee investigated broadly the CIA, FBI, DIA and NSA were all within its purview and finally, in 1976, it issued a series of recommendations designed to prevent future abuses.
http://www.gulfnews.com/opinion/columns/world/10006965.html
Chicago Tribune
A matriarch's quandary: Saving a family adrift
By Kim Barker
Tribune foreign correspondent
Published December 26, 2005
NAGAPATTINAM, India -- Valliammai watches as the gold wedding necklace is tied around her daughter's neck, as the silver rings are slipped on her toes. She cries because her husband is not there.
She wears a pink sari with rose trim, one of the only saris she rescued from the tsunami. A fake gold necklace has left a bumpy rash on her neck. It is all she could afford, a poor replacement for her own wedding necklace, which she pawned for $12 to buy food.
"I don't have anybody," Valliammai says on this day in March. "There is nobody to help me. I'm all alone."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0512260191dec26,1,348305.story?coll=chi-news-hed
2 more deaths bring area's cold toll to 7
Published December 26, 2005
CHICAGOLAND -- Autopsies confirmed that two men in the Chicago area died Saturday of hypothermia, bringing the Chicagoland total of cold weather-related deaths this season to at least seven.
David Webster, 56, of Oak Forest was pronounced dead in Advocate South Suburban Hospital in Hazel Crest, said a spokesman for the Cook County medical examiner's office. The cause of death was hypothermia and coronary atherosclerosis.
The second man, whose name is not known and who is believed to have been homeless, was pronounced dead of hypothermia and alcohol intoxication at 8 p.m. Saturday, the spokesman said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260223dec26,1,6381988.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Brief power outage hits nearly 15,400
Published December 26, 2005
WEST SUBURBS -- Nearly 15,400 ComEd customers in the west suburbs lost power early Christmas morning after electrical crews encountered problems while reconfiguring circuits.
The planned work at the Forest Park substation affected 15,390 customers in Berwyn, Forest Park, Maywood, North Riverside, Riverside and Oak Park, ComEd spokesman Luis Diaz said.
Workers were switching electrical loads at the substation at 1 a.m. when the outage occurred. Electricity was restored by 4 a.m., Diaz said.
He added that he did not know what caused the power outage. Its cause is under investigation.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260233dec26,1,6840741.story?coll=chi-news-hed
4 killed, dozens hurt in train derailment
Items compiled from Tribune news services
Published December 26, 2005
TOKYO, JAPAN -- An express train traveling through strong winter winds derailed in northern Japan, killing four people and injuring more than 30, officials said Monday.
Five cars of the six-car express train derailed Sunday evening, three of them toppling onto their sides in Yamagata prefecture, about 180 miles north of Tokyo, officials said. The train was going from northern Akita to Niigata prefecture.
The survivors' injuries did not appear to be life-threatening, Yamagata police spokesman Yoshikatsu Oe said. It was unclear how many passengers were on the train.
Two men and two women were killed, officials said. Rescuers planned to lift the wreckage later in the day to see if any other passengers remained beneath.
Transport Ministry official Hiromi Mishima said the cause of the derailment was not known.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-0512260183dec26,1,610224.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Candle sales flicker, but far from going out
The market for candles has seen some shadows since the bright 1990s, and makers are turning to less traditional outlets and developing new products in hopes of adding spark to their business
By David Sharp
Associated Press
Published December 26, 2005
Kathy Higgins has holiday candles in her living room. They're on windowsills. They're next to beds and in both bathrooms. They're on the dining room table, the buffet table, and the coffee table in her Cumberland, Maine, home.
This is the season for candles, with a third of annual sales coming during a two-month period capped by the Christmas, Hanukkah, Kwanzaa and New Year's holidays.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0512260240dec26,1,4528549.story?coll=chi-business-hed
Amusement Park Attendance Up 4.2 Percent
By MIKE SCHNEIDER
Associated Press Writer
Published December 25, 2005, 9:43 AM CST
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Powered by strong investment in new rides, the 50th anniversary of Disneyland and hurricanes that spared the theme park capital of Orlando, attendance at North America's 50 most popular amusement parks rose 4.2 percent in 2005.
An estimated 176 million visitors went to North America's most popular parks, according to an annual survey being released Monday by the trade
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/sns-ap-theme-park-attendance,1,6552885.story?coll=chi-business-hed
5 Killed in Va. Murder-Suicide Shootings
By Associated Press
Published December 26, 2005, 10:59 AM CST
GREAT FALLS, Va. -- A man shot to death four people on Christmas Day in suburban Washington before killing himself, police said.
The man killed his mother in a house they shared in McLean and then traveled about eight miles to a house in Great Falls where he shot two men and a woman and then himself, The Washington Post reported on Monday, citing police sources.
The Fairfax County Police Department would not confirm the name of the gunman nor his relationship to one of the female victims when contacted Monday by The Associated Press.
The gunman apparently knew all of the victims, police said, but investigators did not report a motive for the shootings.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/sns-ap-five-shot,1,3278304.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Iraq Violence Leaves at Least 2 Dozen Dead
By MARIAM FAM
Associated Press Writer
Published December 26, 2005, 2:55 PM CST
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Violence increased across Iraq after a short lull following the Dec. 15 parliamentary elections, with at least two dozen people killed in shootings and bombings mostly targeting the Shiite-dominated security services. The dead included a U.S. soldier killed by a grenade in Baghdad.
The violence came as three Iraqi opposition groups threatened to stage another wave of protests and resort to civil disobedience if allegations of fraud are not properly investigated.
The three blocs include the secular Iraqi National List, headed by former Shiite Prime Minister Ayad Allawi, and two leading Sunni Arab groups.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/sns-ap-iraq,1,1372776.story?coll=chi-news-hed
Michael Moore Today
NSA spy program broader than Bush admitted
‘Pattern analysis’ performed on main U.S. telecommunication channels
Reuters
NEW YORK - The volume of information gathered from telephone and Internet communications by the National Security Agency without court-approved warrants was much larger than the White House has acknowledged, The New York Times reported Saturday.
Citing current and former government officials, the Times said the information was collected by tapping directly into some of the U.S. telecommunication system’s main arteries. The officials said the NSA won the cooperation of telecommunications companies to obtain access to both domestic and international communications without first gaining warrants.
A former telecommunications technology manager told the Times that industry leaders have been storing information on calling patterns and giving it to the federal government to aid in tracking possible terrorists since the Sept. 11 attacks.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5279
Judges on Surveillance Court To Be Briefed on Spy Program
By Carol D. Leonnig and Dafna Linzer / Washington Post
The presiding judge of a secret court that oversees government surveillance in espionage and terrorism cases is arranging a classified briefing for her fellow judges to address their concerns about the legality of President Bush's domestic spying program, according to several intelligence and government sources.
Several members of the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court said in interviews that they want to know why the administration believed secretly listening in on telephone calls and reading e-mails of U.S. citizens without court authorization was legal. Some of the judges said they are particularly concerned that information gleaned from the president's eavesdropping program may have been improperly used to gain authorized wiretaps from their court.
"The questions are obvious," said U.S. District Judge Dee Benson of Utah. "What have you been doing, and how might it affect the reliability and credibility of the information we're getting in our court?"
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5258
December 24th, 2005 1:58 am
Spy Agency Mined Vast Data Trove, Officials Report
By Eric Lichtblau and James Risen / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Dec. 23 - The National Security Agency has traced and analyzed large volumes of telephone and Internet communications flowing into and out of the United States as part of the eavesdropping program that President Bush approved after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks to hunt for evidence of terrorist activity, according to current and former government officials.
The volume of information harvested from telecommunication data and voice networks, without court-approved warrants, is much larger than the White House has acknowledged, the officials said. It was collected by tapping directly into some of the American telecommunication system's main arteries, they said.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5277
Alito Defended Ordering Domestic Wiretaps
By Donna Cassata / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Supreme Court nominee Samuel Alito defended the right of government officials to order domestic wiretaps for national security when he worked at the Reagan Justice Department, an echo of President Bush's rationale for spying on U.S. residents in the war on terror.
Then an assistant to the solicitor general, Alito wrote a 1984 memo that provided insights on his views of government powers and legal recourse — seen now through the prism of Bush's actions — as well as clues to the judge's understanding of how the Supreme Court operates.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5269
Daschle: Congress Denied Bush War Powers in U.S.
By Barton Gellman / Washington Post
The Bush administration requested, and Congress rejected, war-making authority "in the United States" in negotiations over the joint resolution passed days after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, according to an opinion article by former Senate majority leader Thomas A. Daschle (D-S.D.) in today's Washington Post.
Daschle's disclosure challenges a central legal argument offered by the White House in defense of the National Security Agency's warrantless wiretapping of U.S. citizens and permanent residents. It suggests that Congress refused explicitly to grant authority that the Bush administration now asserts is implicit in the resolution.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5274
Secret wiretaps could hurt prosecutions, experts warn
By Ted Bridis / Associated Press
Washington - The Bush administration's decision to sometimes bypass the secretive U.S. court that governs terrorism wiretaps could threaten cases against terror suspects that rely on evidence uncovered during the disputed eavesdropping, some legal experts cautioned.
These experts pointed to this week's unprecedented resignation from the government's spy court by U.S. District Judge James Robertson as an indicator of the judiciary's unease over domestic wiretaps ordered without warrants under a highly classified domestic spying program authorized by President Bush.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5261
Survey noted on December 24, 2005. 8:49 am est
Do you believe President Bush's actions justify impeachment?
* 142796 responses
Yes, between the secret spying, the deceptions leading to war and more, there is plenty to justify putting him on trial.
85%
No, like any president, he has made a few missteps, but nothing approaching "high crimes and misdemeanors."
5%
No, the man has done absolutely nothing wrong. Impeachment would just be a political lynching.
8%
I don't know.
2%
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/10562904/
Letters IMPEACH BUSH
After considering his latest TV performance in defending his latest scandal, I write today to sound the alarm that our President is officially out of control. Though I had not considered it a serious possibility, after reflecting on it I agree with those who say it is time to get rolling with our impeachment option.
This is not about Bush's stalwart though factually weak defense of the truly out of control spying on Americans. This is about the "tact" that they decided to use and the fact that they had the full year granted to them by the New York Times to prepare how they would answer the public for their deed.
Make no mistake about how drastic it was either. It was (is) widespread spying on mostly innocent people in hope of nabbing a few evil ones, and it was (and is) being done without any true checks or oversight.
With that being the reality, the defense they could have chosen could have been either a reasonable or a radical one.
Predictably they chose the latter. The simple strategy of it was as obvious as if we were watching it unfold on the TV version of the West Wing.
"Okay, team, it's go time, let's go on the offensive! Say damn right we did it and we're not apolozing, and we're going to continue to do it whether anyone likes it or not! Remind them some more about 9/11!
"And don't forget, tell Americans to doubt any political enemies who even want to make anything of it.
"And don't forget, imply treason and defeatism of any who would be part of shedding light on it too!"
It is arrogance totally unchecked from the one person who holds the most power in his hands of any person in the world - at a time when America and the world are far more volatile and uncertain than ever.
As their nonsense goes on and on, impeachment is where I am today. Starting with the top Neocon (by proxy or not) - the 43rd President of the United States.
Let's roll, America!
Al Kernan
Churchville
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/13471621.htm
Demand Censure and Accountability for Misconduct by Bush and Cheney in Iraq War
Dear Friend:
Today I released a staff Report entitled, “The Constitution in Crisis: The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution and Coverups in the Iraq War.”
In response to the Report – which finds substantial evidence of federal legal violations by numerous members of the Bush Administration --
I have introduced a resolution creating a Select Committee with subpoena authority to investigate the misconduct of the Bush Administration with regard to the Iraq war and report on possible impeachable offenses; as well as Resolutions proposing both President Bush and Vice-President Cheney should be censured by Congress based on the uncontroverted evidence of their abuse of power.
To read the Report, sign up as a citizen cosponsor of these efforts, or make a contribution and obtain a signed copy of a book version of the report to be published in the coming months, please go to the Iraq Report Action Center on my web site.
Iraq Report Action Center
In addition to highlighting the devastating arrogance, hubris, and wrongheadedness of the Bush Administration, the Report also highlights the danger of one party rule in Washington and inability of the Republican Congress to operate as any sort of check or balance on the Administration. It is important that we as a nation say “never again” to going to war under false pretenses, and covering up official wrongdoing. Thank you for helping me look at these problems, and please pass on this email to friends and colleagues who may be interested in this issue as well.
Forward to a Friend
Thank you for your help and your continued stand for a better democracy.
Sincerely,
John Conyers, Jr.
http://www.conyersforcongress.com/mail/util.cfm?gpiv=1999990633.191619.40&gen=1
Stand with Congressman Conyers
Demand Censure for Bush-Cheney Misconduct
Investigate Impeachable Offenses
I am taking steps against the Bush Administration’s handling of the Iraq War and its collection of intelligence. I am going to need you to stand with me in fighting for accountability.
http://johnconyers.com/
Join me, below, in sending the:
Letter Advising the President of Censure
and
Steps to Begin Special Committee Investigation
Dear Mr. President:
We are brave, proud, patriotic citizens of the United States.
We love our country and are writing to express our profound disappointment with you and your administration for your conduct surrounding the Iraq War, the collection and use of intelligence, and your disrespect for the laws of this great nation.
We are calling upon Congress to form a Special Committee to investigate your administration's abuses of power and report any offenses which rise to the level of impeachment.
We are also calling upon Congress to immediately censure you and Vice-President Cheney.
We have great love for our country and faith in the government institutions provided for in our constitution.
We believe that the integrity of our nation is at stake and have supported these steps only after your administration has refused to come clean with the American people at every opportunity.
Respectfully,
John Conyers
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=SUPERFORMS&SEC={29336D51-F9AE-474D-8C08-8D69902D5149}
Meet John Conyers, Jr.
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=B_BASIC&SEC={E940C74E-A879-4117-A446-AFA0E11A5EC1}
Welcome to Michigan's 14th District
http://johnconyers.com/index.asp?Type=NONE&SEC={086753D7-9CB7-408E-9925-398CC694DF93}
Rumsfeld: U.S. to Reduce Troops in Iraq
By Robert Burns / Associated Press
FALLUJAH, Iraq - Just days after Iraq's elections, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Friday announced the first of what is likely to be a series of U.S. combat troop drawdowns in Iraq in 2006.
Rumsfeld, addressing U.S. troops at this former insurgent stronghold, said President Bush has authorized new cuts below the 138,000 level that has prevailed for most of this year.
Rumsfeld did not reveal the exact size of the cut, but the Pentagon said the reductions would be about 7,000 troops, about the size of two combat brigades. The Pentagon has not announced a timetable for troop reductions, but indications are that the force could be cut significantly by the end of 2006.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5278
Unable to End 'Unlawful' Detention, Judge Says
By Josh White / Washington Post
A federal judge in Washington ruled yesterday that the continued detention of two ethnic Uighurs at the U.S. prison facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, is "unlawful," but he decided he had no authority to order their release.
U.S. District Judge James Robertson criticized the government's detention of Abu Bakker Qassim and Adel Abdu Hakim, who have been jailed at Guantanamo for four years; they have been cleared for release because the government has determined they are not enemy combatants and are not a threat to the United States. But Robertson said his court has "no relief to offer" because the government has not found a country to accept the men and because he does not have authority to let them enter the United States.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5273
Nuclear Monitoring of Muslims Done Without Search Warrants
By David E. Kaplan / USNews
In search of a terrorist nuclear bomb, the federal government since 9/11 has run a far-reaching, top secret program to monitor radiation levels at over a hundred Muslim sites in the Washington, D.C., area, including mosques, homes, businesses, and warehouses, plus similar sites in at least five other cities, U.S. News has learned. In numerous cases, the monitoring required investigators to go on to the property under surveillance, although no search warrants or court orders were ever obtained, according to those with knowledge of the program. Some participants were threatened with loss of their jobs when they questioned the legality of the operation, according to these accounts.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5268
Bush pardons Denver attorney
MDC counsel, now 49, was sentenced in '84 cocaine case
By Tillie Fong and Hector Gutierrez / Rocky Mountain News
A Denver lawyer was pardoned Tuesday by President Bush for drug-related crimes she committed more than two decades ago. Wendy St. Charles, now 49, was among 11 people who received presidential pardons.
In 1984, she was sentenced to four years in prison in Illinois for conspiracy to conduct a narcotics enterprise and distribution of cocaine, according to the U.S. Department of Justice.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=5276
Language of the Heart
...a message from Cindy Sheehan
I have been in Europe for 2 weeks now. I have been toasted by the Mayor of London, Ken Livingston, and greeted by Foreign Ministers, a Vice President and members of the various Parliaments. Those stories are for another article.
My highest honor both here in the States and in Europe now is meeting with the families of children murdered in George Bush's War of Terror against the world.
No matter if we all speak differently accented English, Spanish, or the heavy Glaswegian accent of my Scottish sister in sorrow, Rose Gentle, whose gentle-giant son, Gordon, was killed by Blair and Bush in Iraq in July of 2004, our hearts all speak the same idiom of pain and we sing the same lament of futile loss.
In Scotland, as we were meeting with Ministers of Parliament and urging them to stand up to the government in London and withdraw Scottish troops from Iraq, I met a woman named Sue Smith whose son Philip was killed in Iraq this past July. Her voice vibrated and fluctuated with incalculable loss as she spoke of the betrayal that she felt at burying her son too early and for the lies of her Prime Minister: a co-war criminal with George Bush. The wound in her heart was fresh and openly bleeding. In her wounded eyes I saw my heart as it was about a year ago.
At the International Peace Conference in London, I met Shaun Brierly's dad, Peter. Shaun was in the British Army and he was killed in Iraq in March of 2003 in the very early days of the war. Peter lugged my heavy satchel around London with quiet good humor. In his heavy Yorkshire accent he tried to describe to me what losing his son has done to him and his family. We drank a pint in a pub to our boys and to our hurt but especially to our hearts' resolve to end this war and expose the villains who mislead our countries so shamelessly. Through our blinked back tears we promised each other we would stay strong.
Also at the Peace Conference were Reg Keys and John Miller. Reg's son Tom was KIA along with John's son Simon. We attended a few events together and I teased them about the suits they were wearing and they teased me about my "gym clothes." Reg stood against Tony Blair for Prime Minister of the UK last year and made a respectable showing. John and Reg are hanging in together with their pain. It is so hard for Dads. It is easier for us Moms to express our heart pain as the Dads try to head their heartache off at the pass. I also met Ann Laurence who described her beautiful English countryside home to me and showed me pictures of her handsome son, Marc. She had a quiet voice and eyes filled with heaviness and tears ready to overflow at any moment.
In Spain, I met two women whose sons were callously murdered by the policies of our two governments: Governments and leaders who hand in jaded hand took our countries to an impossible and immoral invasion and occupation of an innocent and mostly defenseless country.
Maribel Permuy is the mother of slain Spanish cameraman, Jose Couso. Jose was murdered in the Palestine Hotel on April 8, 2003 along with other journalists. With new evidence coming out how George Bush wanted to kill Aljazeera journalists and with the targeting of Giuliana Sgrena and her rescuers, I find it so hard to believe that Jose's murder was an accident. In fact, a Spanish magistrate has indicted the three US troops who fired a missile at the hotel. The one who should be indicted, though, is George Bush. Maribel speaks not one word of English and I speak very little Spanish, but our hearts are connected in sorrow and also hope. I am called "Madre Coraje" (Mother Courage) in Spain and Latin American countries. However, Maribel is Madre Mas Coraje. She has steely and uncompromising resolve to see justice done for her son Jose. Her unconditional and undying love for Jose and her other children gives her the strength to fight against her government and mine. We laughed and cried so much together, I wonder how we could have communicated any better if we spoke the same language?
I also met Pilar Mahon in Madrid. Her son, Daniel, was killed in the terrorist bombings of March 11, 2004. The day I met her would have been Daniel's 22nd birthday. Her nose and eyes were red from a day of mourning her son. She could barely speak, but when she did, her voice rose in anger against George Bush and Spain's former President Aznar who took our countries to an unnecessary war based on the pipe dreams of the heartless neocons who are even now holding tenuously onto their power base. The same falsehoods of "fighting them over there, so we don't have to fight them over here" killed both Casey and Daniel. I get filled with outrage when I meet people like Pilar who should be celebrating her son's birthday and Christmas but who spend days weeping at their child's final resting place. In spite of her constant longing for Daniel, Pilar is leading the fight in Spain for the rights of the families affected by the March 11th terrorist attack.
There are so many people in this world who will be celebrating sorrow filled holidays this year. Christmas is so hard for us, not only because our children are dead, but because we remember the Christmases past that were filled with joy and happiness. It is so painful to remember the Christmas mornings when the kids would get up before the sun came up and beg Mom and Dad to get up so they could open what Santa brought them. It is too painful to get out the decorations and hang the one sock that will remain empty for eternity. So most of us skip the traditional Christmas and do whatever we can to support each other through the devastation that our lives have become. Devastation that is so needless and avoidable. Our hearts go out to all families who are experiencing the pain of loss instead of the joy of togetherness this year.
George Bush and the other purveyors of pain can take a day off from spying on Americans without due process to celebrate the holidays with their families. Dick "the Grinch" Cheney made a "surprise" visit to Iraq the other day. His black heart feels no pain for the tragic loss of life that his greed has caused. How dare he show his face in a country which is destroyed by his insatiable quest for black gold and his obscene lust for profits for his company Halliburton and the other war profiteers?
The pain that these people have caused the world is inestimable. The people of the world want an accounting of the pain and for the people who seem to be getting off scot-free to be brought to some kind of justice for the damage they have wrought on humanity.
This Christmas as you fill your children's or grandchildren's stockings, wrap and unwrap presents, cook your holiday meals, light your Menorah or dance around your Festivus pole, or however you celebrate your holidays, please remember the families who will be trying to enjoy the holiday season with a part of them missing. But most of all, please remember the people (American and Iraqi) in harm's way in Iraq for the old lies and the new lies that seem to surface with the same frequency as a Republican corruption scandal.
In conclusion, this is an excerpt of an email I received from a mother in Iraq whose son, Zaydoun Mamoun Fadhil Al-Samarai, a Shi'a insurgent was involved in the same battle in which Casey was killed. Zaydoun was later killed.
We, my friend, in the march of pain could work together, each from where she is toward putting an end to the blood shed and toward peace and love to prevail, instead of war.
We could, my lady, work together toward peace and toward putting an end to the blood shed and give all mothers a hope for happiness because we experience pain when we lost our sons. Because, he who did not experience pain cannot understand happiness.
I will be very happy when the war ends so we can celebrate in my town, Samara, which witnessed the birth of my oldest son, Zaydoun, whom I thought he would morn me when I die, but, unfortunately, I mourned him one month before his wedding.
I am conveying his fiancée's greeting, who is still mourning him.
At the end, please accept my deepest sympathies, from a mother who lost her son to another mother who lost her son.
I hope to be able to meet with you on the march for peace and love.
George Bush, et al, has taught too many people in this world the language of pain by their lies and their doctrines of preemptive killing for profit.
We need to learn a new language of peace and love that we can speak, even shout, at our leaders who only understand the language of greed and murder.
Peace, shalom, paz, salaam.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=570
Seattle Post Intelligencer
Snowy owls make a rare visit
Birds usually found in Arctic pop up in Western Washington
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
BELLEVUE -- Snowy owls are being spotted throughout the region, apparently making one of their rare migrations south.
Paul Talbott, owner of the general contracting company TCI Inc., watched a snowy owl for several hours one day last week while it sat on a second-story ledge just feet from his downtown Bellevue office.
"It's a gorgeous bird," Talbot said. "He just sat there all day long. His head kept turning about 360 degrees. He'd shake the water off his head when it rained."
Although the bird disrupted his work routine, Talbot said it was worth it.
"Like my business manager said, 'That's the best Christmas present I could have had,' " he said. "There was a steady flow of people who wanted to see it. How could I refuse?"
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253418_owl26.html
Gray whales arrive off Oregon coast a week early
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
DEPOE BAY, Ore. -- Whale watching season appears to have opened a week early on the Oregon Coast.
Gray whales already have been spotted heading south on their 6,000-mile trek from Alaska to Mexico. Some 20,000 will make the trip through February.
The migration will peak during the next few weeks, when about 30 whales will pass the coast each hour.
"We've had calm seas recently, which makes the whales easier to spot," said Morris Grover, the ranger in charge of the Oregon Parks and Recreation Department's Whale Watching Center in Depoe Bay. The whales arrived about a week earlier than usual, he said.
The 28th annual Winter Whale Watch Week begins today and runs through next Monday. About 200 trained volunteers will help whale watchers at 28 locations dotted along the coast, part of the parks department's Whale Watching Spoken Here program.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253438_whales26.html
'Emotional support' service dog missing
By HECTOR CASTRO
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER
Gatsby, all 4 1/2 pounds of him, is more than just a cute and cuddly Yorkshire terrier. He's a certified emotional support animal and a vital link to his owners' son.
Since their college-age son died two years ago, Bruce and Sharon Gallagher have relied on Gatsby to help them deal with their grief. But now Gatsby is missing, having escaped beneath a privacy fence at the home where the Gallaghers were staying on a holiday visit to Seattle.
"We're just frantic," Bruce Gallagher said. "We've just been crying our eyes out."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/253440_lostdog26.html
Permafrost could be melting, study finds
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
ANCHORAGE, Alaska -- Climate change could thaw the top 11 feet of permafrost in most areas of the Northern Hemisphere by 2100, altering ecosystems across Alaska, Canada and Russia, according to a federal study.
Using supercomputers in the United States and Japan, the study calculated how frozen soil would interact with air temperatures, snow, sea ice changes and other processes. The most extreme scenario involved the melting of the top 11 feet of permafrost, or earth that remains frozen year-round.
"If that much near-surface permafrost thaws, it could release considerable amounts of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, and that could amplify global warming," said lead author David Lawrence, with the National Center for Atmospheric Research. "We could be underestimating the rate of global temperature increase."
The study was published Dec. 17 in the journal Geophysical Research Letters and presented earlier in the month at a science conference in San Francisco.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1110AP_Permafrost_Study.html
Nun Bun stolen from Tenn. coffeehouse
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- When Bob Bernstein arrived at his coffeehouse to assess the scene of an early Christmas morning break-in, the one thing he noticed missing was the cinnamon bun that bears a striking likeness to Mother Teresa.
Bernstein said he believes that the culprit is someone angry over the shop displaying the world-famous pastry, which has been preserved with shellac. A jar of money next to the Nun Bun was not stolen.
"They went right for the bun," he said. "Unfortunately I think it's somebody who wanted to take it to destroy it."
The Nun Bun gained worldwide attention in 1996 when a customer nearly took a bite of it before recognizing the revered nun in the folds of flaky pastry.
The bun was featured on world news programs, "The Late Show" with David Letterman and was even mentioned on episodes of "The Nanny" and "Mad About You."
The shop, Bongo Java, sold T-shirts, prayer cards and mugs with the bun's image before Mother Teresa wrote a personal letter to the coffeehouse asking the sales be stopped.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1120AP_Nun_Bun.html
Tsunamis: Waves of learning
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
A year after the tsunami, the Pacific Northwest looks ahead to its own vulnerability and that of other coastal areas.
The advance of science is one of the ways people in this country, Asia and around the world have sought to make some good come out of the tsunami that swept the shores of 11 countries on Dec. 26, 2004.
More than 200,000 people died in the waves along South Asian and African shores that followed a giant earthquake off the coast of Indonesia's Sumatra Island. Surviving relatives, friends and people from many countries planned to take part in memorials today.
In the past year, the quest for better tools to predict tsunamis and warn people has made considerable progress. Congress authorized $40 million to expand a network of warning buoys.
In Seattle, where much of the cutting-edge research has occurred, scientists at National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration labs are developing ways to reduce the time needed to predict when or where tsunamis will hit from hours to minutes. As a scientist told Seattle Post-Intelligencer reporter Tom Paulson, "We are trying to get down to less than 10 minutes."
The worldwide field of tsunami research has grown to thousands. Their work will mean that when tsunamis inevitably strike the Northwest and elsewhere, tens or hundreds of thousands of people will have a better chance at surviving one of nature's most fearsome events.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/253276_waved.asp
Holocaust Deniers: A truth all too real
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD
Even folks who think the moon landing was broadcast from a Hollywood studio seem to believe World War II atrocities happened. But the voices of Holocaust denial have risen again in recent weeks, this time from Middle Eastern leaders out of touch with a reality of the war that still influences world events.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has spoken of the "myth" of the murder of 6 million European Jews by Adolf Hitler's Germany. The leader of Egypt's main Islamic opposition group, the Muslim Brotherhood, wrote similarly last week.
Seattle still counts eyewitnesses to the Nazis' systematic murder of not only millions of Jews but also Gypsies, other minorities, Christian activists and political opponents. But defending the historical record should not fall to the survivors or to America's greatest generation.
The children and grandchildren of those who experienced the horrors of World War II must make their voices heard over the shouts of Holocaust deniers in the Middle East or the strange circles of U.S. and European neo-Nazi movements. And, since one of America's strengths is diversity, Islamic leaders here have a particular opportunity to help set the record straight.
Those who seek to distort the past would prevent the world from learning the lessons of history. The consequences of refusing to learn this lesson could bring horrors better left unimagined.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/opinion/253274_denialed.asp
New council takes control in Mogadishu
By OSMAN HASSAN
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Warlords and civilians installed a council Sunday to govern Somalia's capital, an action that further fragments the nation but could bring the city under the control of a single group after 14 years of anarchy.
The swearing-in of the 64 new legislators formalized a break with Somalia's transitional government, which was formed last year under President Abdullahi Yusuf after lengthy peace talks in Kenya.
Somalia has been without a central government since warlords in 1991 ousted a dictatorship. They then turned on each other, carving the nation of 8.2 million into a patchwork of fiefdoms.
The new council contains mainly members of the Hawiye clan that dominates the capital of about 2 million people, which previously was divided under the control of rival warlords. There was no immediate comment from Yusuf, whose transitional government is based in Jowhar, north of Mogadishu.
The U.N. envoy to Somalia, Francois Lonseny Fall, warned last month that Somalia could become a terrorist haven because it is a failed state where extremist Islamic groups are growing.
A 1992 attempt by the U.N. to intervene in Somalia yielded some success, but deteriorated in October 1993 when U.S. troops tried to capture one of the most powerful warlords, Farah Aidid. That battle, featured in the book and movie "Black Hawk Down," left 18 U.S. soldiers dead.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Somalia_New_Administration.html
New Congo constitution all but approved
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- A draft constitution viewed as a crucial step toward lasting peace in Congo appeared likely to pass Saturday as vote counting from last weekend's referendum neared completion.
With 75 percent of Congo's 40,000 polling centers reporting, 83 percent of Congolese had voted in favor of the proposed charter, while 17 percent had voted against it, according to electoral commission Chairman Apollinaire Malu-Malu.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo_Referendum.html
Congo troops battle Ugandan rebels
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- Thousands of Congolese troops backed by U.N. peacekeepers battled Ugandan rebels hiding in Congo's restive east, leaving 35 rebels and one U.N. soldier dead, the U.N. said.
Some 3,500 troops supported by 600 Indian peacekeepers fought the rebels Sunday near the eastern city of Beni, U.N. spokesman Hans-Jakob Reichen said.
The fighting was part of a sweep by Congolese forces in a region largely outside state control since a 1998-2002 war that drew in armies from six neighboring nations. Government troops are trying to re-establish authority nationwide before elections next year, battling homegrown militia fighters and rebels from neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo.html
Kidnappings plague residents across Haiti
By ALFRED DE MONTESQUIOU
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti -- Quesnel Durosier walked out of a bank with $3,500 tucked into his sock, buoyed by thoughts of his upcoming wedding. Seconds later, a car cut him off, gunmen sprang out and shoved him into the car along with a woman passer-by. What followed was a nightmare of torture and death threats for these latest victims of a wave of attacks that has made impoverished Haiti the kidnapping capital of the Americas.
Everyone is a target - schoolchildren, foreign aid workers and pedestrians in the upscale and heavily guarded Petionville district of the capital, where Durosier and the unidentified woman were snatched.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Haiti_Kidnappings.html
Chile court won't drop Pinochet charges
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
SANTIAGO, Chile -- Chile's top court on Monday refused to drop charges against Gen. Augusto Pinochet for the disappearance of six dissidents during his military regime, and ruled that the former dictator must remain under house arrest.
A panel of the court voted 3-2 to reject the appeal filed by the defense lawyers for the 90-year-old former ruler, said one of the judges, Alberto Chaigneau.
It was a new setback for Pinochet in his long fight in the courts against human rights and corruption charges.
He has been under house arrest since Nov. 24, when Judge Victor Montiglio indicted him for the six disappearances. Monday's decision by the Supreme Court means that Pinochet will almost certainly have to spend New Year under arrest at his suburban Santiago mansion.
The six dissidents were part of 119 who were either killed and went missing in 1975, two years after Pinochet seized power in a bloody coup, a case known as Operation Colombo.
Pinochet faces charges for nine of the victims in two separate criminal suites filed by relatives. An appeal is still pending for the other three and a ruling is expected to be announced as early as Tuesday.
Pinochet's regime had claimed they had all been killed in clashes between rival opposition groups.
Pinochet has faced hundreds of criminal suites stemming from the human rights abuses during his 1973-990 regime, and although he has been indicted in four cases, the charges have been eventually been dropped by the courts on health grounds. He has been diagnoses a mild dementia, has sustained several strokes, suffers from diabetes and arthritis and has a pacemaker.
He's currently also under indictment on tax evasion charges related to secret bank accounts he owns abroad, estimated by a judicial investigation at $28 million.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Chile_Pinochet.html
Congo troops battle Ugandan rebels
By ANJAN SUNDARAM
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
KINSHASA, Congo -- Thousands of Congolese troops backed by U.N. peacekeepers battled Ugandan rebels hiding in Congo's restive east, leaving 35 rebels and one U.N. soldier dead, the U.N. said.
Some 3,500 troops supported by 600 Indian peacekeepers fought the rebels Sunday near the eastern city of Beni, U.N. spokesman Hans-Jakob Reichen said.
The fighting was part of a sweep by Congolese forces in a region largely outside state control since a 1998-2002 war that drew in armies from six neighboring nations. Government troops are trying to re-establish authority nationwide before elections next year, battling homegrown militia fighters and rebels from neighboring Rwanda and Uganda.
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1105AP_Congo.html
American nun shuns luxury for Mexican jail
By ELLIOT SPAGAT
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
Sister Antonia Brenner, 79, known as the "prison angel," speaks to a large group of prisoners in a holding cell at the La Mesa State Penitentiary as a guard walks behind her Thursday, Dec. 15, 2005, in Tijuana, Mexico. Brenner, who was raised in Beverly Hills, Calif., but abandoned her life of rare privilege, has lived and worked in the notorious Mexican jail since 1977.(AP Photo/Lenny Ignelzi)
TIJUANA, Mexico -- The cell at the end of the dark hallway barely fits a cot, a desk and a folding chair. This is home for Sister Antonia Brenner, an American nun who was raised in Beverly Hills but abandoned a life of privilege to live in a notorious Mexican jail.
Her neighbors are no longer Hollywood stars, but murderers, drug runners and human smugglers. They know her as "angel de la carcel" - the prison angel.
Brenner, 79, looks puzzled when asked what motivated her riches-to-rags choice nearly 30 years ago.
"I don't understand why people are so amazed," she says. "To give help is easy. To ask for it is hard."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1102AP_Prison_Angel.html
A Jewish mom's letter to Santa
By MEREDITH MOSS
COX NEWS SERVICE
Dear Mr. Claus:
I imagine this letter will come as a bit of a shock because most of your mail these days is penned by a small fry. But you'll probably be relieved to discover that it's not another request for "Star Wars" spaceships, Barbie dolls or soccer balls.
And although I pride myself on being a good Jewish mother, I am not writing to encourage you to have a hot bowl of chicken soup before you climb aboard your sleigh.
This is, nevertheless, a request. I know that you're extremely busy making personal appearances and filling gift orders, but I'd like to ask that you take a few minutes out this time of year to consider my child. For although you are often unaware of him, he is confronted with you regularly.
You are, after all, America's No. 1 December Superstar. You're featured in animated television specials, in store windows; we see you smiling from the covers of books, records and greeting cards. You are jovial and merry, a happy symbol of Christmas.
But my family is Jewish and does not participate in a Christmas celebration. And for Jewish children, especially if they attend public school and live in a predominantly Christian neighborhood, this may pose a dilemma.
Now you will tell me that you have a Jewish friend who hands out a Christmas stocking, and that there are Jewish children who stand in line to sit on your lap. I won't deny that. That occurs because Jewish individuals are free to respond to you in any way they choose, and some of us believe joining in such non-religious aspects of Christmas is pleasant and harmless.
But most of us deal with you in a different way. American ethnic groups are relishing the beauty of their own traditions. We are learning that being a minority can mean being special. And we are transmitting that pride to our children.
As a Jew, I have my own meaningful holidays, my own beautiful traditions. Although I am delighted to have my child share in the fun of stringing popcorn for a Christian friend's Christmas tree, I would not feel comfortable erecting one in my own home. Out of respect for my gentile friends, I would not separate their symbol from the occasion it was designed to symbolize.
I believe that avoidance is not the answer. Imagine trying to avoid Christmas in America! It simply can't be done. Last year, for example, on our way to the downtown Holiday Festival, we boarded the RTA bus. It turned out to be the Christmas Bus. There you sat, surrounded by packages and holly, giving away candy canes and chatting with the children.
You motioned to my little boy. "It's OK," I said, "go ahead."
"And what would you like for Christmas?" you boomed, as you pulled him up on your lap.
"I don't celebrate Christmas, I celebrate Hanukkah," responded my preschooler, eager to continue the conversation.
"Sorry about that," you said, as you dumped him from your lap.
Santa, you probably don't remember the incident, but I always will remember my son's crestfallen face. Because ours is also a gift-giving holiday, you might simply have asked him what he was hoping to receive. And "Happy Hanukkah" easily can be substituted for your usual "Merry Christmas" greeting.
How would you feel if I labeled Christmas the "Christian's Hanukkah?" Sounds funny, huh?
Neither is Hanukkah the "Jewish Christmas." It is a distinct holiday. Although both fall in the winter months and may coincide, that's where the similarity ends.
Our "Feast of Lights," as Hanukkah often is called, is a holiday that celebrates the importance of religious freedom. More than 2,000 years ago, a small band of Jews led by Judah the Macabee, miraculously recaptured their temple from the Syrians who outnumbered them. The Jews re-established their right to worship as they pleased.
Today, Jews around the world commemorate the event with the lighting of the menorah (a candelabrum) and kindle an additional candle for each of the eight nights of Hanukkah. The holiday is a joyous one. Small gifts are given to the children each night; there are songs and festive family gatherings and parties.
Let me close with the story of our most surprising encounter.
A couple of years ago when your business at an area mall wasn't so hot, you waddled down from your Santa's House and approached my little boy and his friend.
"And what do you want for Christmas?" you inquired with your cheery voice and a "Ho, ho, ho!"
"We don't celebrate Christmas, we're Jewish," explained my son's friend.
"I am, too!" you said, with your eyes twinkling. "Which synagogue do you belong to?"
Happy Hanukkah, Santa,
A Jewish Mom
P.S. Wear your warmest socks and a cozy scarf!
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/lifestyle/253243_jewishmomtosanta.html?source=mypi
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