The Jerusalem Post
Security Council tells Hamas to accept peace with Israel
The UN Security Council told Hamas on Friday that a future Palestinian government must recognize Israel and commit itself to a negotiated settlement of the Mideast conflict culminating in two independent states living side-by-side in peace.
The council commented for the first time on the Islamic group's surprise victory in the Jan. 25 Palestinian elections in a presidential statement that was delayed because of Qatar's demand for more criticism of Israel.
It congratulated the Palestinian people "on an electoral process that was free, fair and secure" and commended all parties involved in preparing and conduction the election.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622544970&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Strongman Dahlan takes on Hamas
Former Palestinian Authority security Chief Muhammed Dahlan on Wednesday warned Hamas against trying to take control over the PA security forces, saying the new cabinet would be subordinate to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas and the PLO.
Together with several hundred Fatah activists in the Gaza Strip, Dahlan is spearheading a campaign designed to prevent Hamas from controlling the security forces and finances of the PA.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1138622528495&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Hamas leaders plan visit to S. America
Leaders from Hamas are planning a South American tour, including visits to Venezuela, Brazil, Argentina and Bolivia, Venezuela's vice president said Friday.
Vice President Jose Vicente Rangel said he did not foresee any political problems with the visit by Hamas, even though many Western nations are still weighing whether to cut aid to Palestinians after the terrorist group's decisive victory in last week's parliamentary elections.
"I don't see any inconvenience that a movement which just had a landslide election victory, that is the product of the political will of an entire people, can't do a political tour," said Rangel, a close ally of President Hugo Chavez.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622544456&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
It's never get that far. Israel can defend against Iran.
The United States would come to Israel's defense if attacked by Iran said President George W. Bush Wednesday night.
Bush went on to denounce Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, saying, "I am concerned about a person that, one, tries to rewrite the history of the Holocaust, and two, has made it clear that his intentions are to destroy Israel.
"Israel is a solid ally of the United States, we will rise to Israel's defense if need be. So this kind of menacing talk is disturbing. It's not only disturbing to the United States, it's disturbing for other countries in the world as well," he added.
Asked if he meant the United States would rise to Israel's defense militarily, Bush said: "You bet, we'll defend Israel."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622528647&pagename=JPost/JPArticle/ShowFull
Bush: We won't talk to Hamas
US President George W. Bush, in a special news conference at the White House, stressed that the US would not negotiate with Hamas, which it regards as a terror organization, though he would not spell out how the US is planning to deal with the future Palestinian Authority cabinet after the Hamas election victory.
"I've made it very clear that the United States does not support political parties that want to destroy our ally Israel, and that people must renounce that part of their platform," he said.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1137605922036&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Bush denounces aid to Israel's enemy
President George W. Bush says the United States would cut off aid to the next Palestinian government unless election winner Hamas abolishes the militant arm of its party and stops demanding the destruction of Israel.
"And if they don't, we won't deal with them," Bush said in an interview aired Friday on "The CBS Evening News."
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?c=JPArticle&cid=1137605931762&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Amona violence leaves 67 in hospital
Security forces and right-wing protesters clashed violently on Wednesday as the evacuation of the Amona outpost in the West Bank was completed. Soldiers and policemen razed all nine of the structures after spending over three hours emptying them of protestors.
At least 219 people were wounded in violent clashes, including MKs Aryeh Eldad and Efi Eitam. Eldad broke his arm but remained on the scene; Eitam was taken to the hospital. Hours later, 67 people remained hospitalized, one in serious condition, four in moderate condition and the rest lightly injured.
A 15-year-old protester remained in very serious condition with a fractured skull, and was placed on a respirator and put under a medically induced coma. Doctors said that the boy was not in danger of suffering permanent brain damage.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622515177&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
Egypt to demand Hamas disarmament
Egypt sounded a lot like Israel during Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni's visit to Cairo Wednesday, with top Egyptian officials saying that Hamas must recognize Israel and stop terrorism, and that there can be no negotiations under fire.
Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman told Israeli journalists accompanying Livni on her eight-hour visit that Hamas's inclusion into a PA government would be dependent on the organization stopping violence, recognizing Israel's right to exist and keeping all previous agreements with Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1138622523534&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull
The Moscow Times
People making wishes as they attach coins to ice sculptures Thursday on Ploshchad Revolyutsii. Temperatures near minus 20 C are expected this weekend.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/indexes/01.html
Yeltsin, 75, Enjoys Kremlin Bash
By Stephen Boykewich
Staff Writer
Boris Yeltsin meeting with Patriarch Alexy II near Moscow on Wednesday.
Six years after handing over the reins of power to a then-little known Vladimir Putin, a chipper-looking Boris Yeltsin was due to return to the Kremlin on Wednesday to celebrate his 75th birthday with an invited 250 guests, including his former counterparts U.S. President Bill Clinton and German Chancellor Helmut Kohl.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/02/02/002.html
Pinning Hopes on Krasnaya Polyana's Slopes
It has the support of President Vladimir Putin and a dream to host the 2014 Winter Olympics.
The Krasnaya Polyana skiing development near Sochi promises to rival the Alps with quality slopes and lodgings for ski enthusiasts and serious competitors alike, said officials associated with Gazprom, Interros and other companies that are pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the 62,000-hectare area.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/02/03/002.html
Georgian minister calls for joint investigation into missile incident
RIA NOVOSTI. February 3, 2006, 10:09 PM
TBILISI, February 3 (RIA Novosti, Marina Kvaratskhelia) - The Georgian Interior Minster said Friday that Russian special services would cooperate in the investigation of the incident involving an anti-aircraft missile.
"I am sure that Russian special services will cooperate with us," Vano Merabishvili said.
It was reported earlier that a Strela-1 guided missile launcher, set up in a tree, was found Friday night in eastern Georgia near the conflict zone between Georgia and the self-proclaimed republic of South Ossetia. The Georgian Interior Ministry later said that it had been an Igla antimissile system aimed at the Georgian president's regular flight route.
The ministry said its operatives had received information about a heat-seeking missile located near a railway station in the town of Kareli in eastern Georgia February 2.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Report Warns of Nationalist Threat
By Stephen Boykewich
Staff Writer
Nationalists are growing more radical and working more closely together to carry out an increasing number of hate-based attacks, a report warned Thursday.
Extremist violence rose sharply last year, with 28 people being killed and 366 injured in a record 179 attacks, said the report by Sova, a research center that tracks extremism. Violence was less frequent but more deadly in 2004, with 46 killed and 233 injured in 119 attacks.
Two people have already died in 21 attacks so far this year, said Galina Kozhevnikova, the report's author.
"Needless to say, this is a very disturbing development," Kozhevnikova said at a news conference.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/02/03/003.html
Teaching Nationalists a New Trick
The demand for nationalism, chauvinism and indeed racism is very high on the Russian political market these days. But will these sentiments forever hinder the country's progress toward democracy and its rapprochement with the West? No, and in fact one day they may become the engine that drives Russia into political modernity.
The current Kremlin administration is very good at playing the nationalist card. Symbolic gestures like restoring the Soviet anthem or stating that the collapse of the Soviet Union was the greatest geopolitical catastrophe of the 20th century play a huge role in sending President Vladimir Putin's ratings soaring above all potential competitors.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/02/03/006.html
Kiriyenko Says Russia Needs Another 40 Nuclear Reactors
By Vladimir Isachenkov
The Associated Press
Atomic energy chief Sergei Kiriyenko
Russia's atomic energy chief said Wednesday that the nation needs to build dozens of nuclear reactors in a massive effort that would require restoring production links with related facilities in other ex-Soviet nations.
Sergei Kiriyenko, head of the Federal Atomic Energy Agency, said Russia needed to build about 40 new nuclear reactors in order to bring the share of nuclear energy in the nation's energy balance to 25 percent, news agencies reported.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/02/02/043.html
Bush's whitewashing address
RIA NOVOSTI. February 1, 2006, 9:50 PM
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Vladimir Simonov.) -- The annual address of the U.S. President to the nation is entitled "State of the Union Address." But the fifth address delivered by President George W. Bush on Tuesday January 31 seemed like an attempt to whitewash his administration's actions.
There was a lady in the audience representing those in whose eyes the president would have liked to look his best. A few minutes before the address, police detained Cindy Sheehan, an anti-war activist and mother of a soldier killed in Iraq. She was handcuffed and taken outside for wearing an anti-war T-shirt.
Americans' rejection of the Bush policy in Iraq is not the only factor behind the critical fall of the president's rating to 41% in the last 12 months. His administration's clumsy efforts following Hurricane Katrina, a series of corruption scandals involving the pillars of the Republican Party, disclosure of a network of secret prisons in Europe, and lastly the president's personal involvement in the anti-constitutional program of telephone tapping provided the background against which the president had to deliver a masterpiece address aimed at giving a new lease on life to his waning popularity.
Bill Clinton managed to appease and charm the enraged country at the height of the Monica Lewinsky scandal. Unfortunately, George Bush failed to repeat his predecessor's feat on January 31.
He did not tell Americans anything substantial about the painful Iraqi problem. He again announced an imminent victory of the U.S.-led military coalition. "I am confident in our plan for victory; I am confident in the skill and spirit of our military. Fellow citizens, we are in this fight to win, and we are winning," Bush said. He argued, "A sudden withdrawal of our forces from Iraq would abandon our Iraqi allies to death and prison (...) and show that a pledge from America means little."
In fact, he has said this so many times before that a repetition of these words did not warm the souls of tens of millions of Americans who share Cindy Sheehan's grief.
Worse still, Bush could not explain the shocking failure of the U.S. Middle Eastern policy of the last few days. The idea of spreading the American model of freedom there has resulted in the victory of a terrorist organization at the election in Palestine. Hamas would not have rallied such nationwide support but for the U.S. military campaign in Iraq.
The president called on Hamas to "recognize Israel, disarm and reject terrorism, and work for lasting peace." However, the audience seemed to think that it was too good to become reality soon.
Skeptics say that the U .S. State Department seems to have embraced the teaching of Karl Marx and is waiting for "the social being to determine consciousness." The American administration is waiting for Hamas fighters with portable mine-throwers to change under the weight of responsibility of power into harmless state officials in protective sleeves.
George Bush was fantastically lucky this time: he did not confuse Iraq and Iran. He described the latter as "a nation now held hostage by a small clerical elite that is isolating and repressing its people."
The president deemed it possible to appeal to Iranians over the heads of their leaders, who were elected in a democratic, even if slightly faulty, procedure. He decided to speak directly to Iranian people: "America respects you, and we respect your country," he said. "We respect your right to choose your own future and win your own freedom." Freedom from their current leaders, apparently.
That revolutionary appeal, just as the rest of the address, was broadcast live in Farsi, one of the main languages in Iran. After this faux pas, no one can encourage the Iranian leadership to continue nuclear program talks with the Untied States, Russia and the European Trio.
The rest of Bush's speech was full of generalizations and grandiose but, experts say, unsubstantiated projects. In particular, the president admitted to America's addiction to Middle Eastern oil and suggested replacing "more than 75 percent of our oil imports from the Middle East by 2025." Market analysts were shocked, as they know that in 20 years from now every fourth barrel of oil will be produced in the Middle East.
Bush praised the American economy, which "is preeminent," he said, "but we cannot afford to be complacent." In a dynamic world economy, we are seeing new competitors, like China and India, he said. Such deliberations sounded out of place at a time of a colossal budget deficit.
The first reactions of Bush's colleagues to his address are super-critical. No matter what he was speaking about - catastrophe in Iraq, the mess he made of the budget or the horrendous cost of corruption that is eating away at the administration - all of this spoke "more of a state of his personal self-denial," said Congressman Lloyd Dogget (D - TX)
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Moscow rabbi urges return of sacred Jewish books
RIA NOVOSTI. February 1, 2006, 9:02 PM
MOSCOW, February 1 (RIA Novosti) - The rabbi of a Moscow synagogue has asked Russia's authorities to return thousands of "Jewish sacred objects" seized by Soviet authorities.
"There are 12,000 books of the Lubavitcher Rebbe nearby, in the Lenin Library. This is the heritage of Lubavitcher Hasids," Yitzhak Kogan told a news conference in the synagogue. The books should be moved back into the possession of Hasidic Jews, he said.
Kogan was referring to the Schneersons' library in Lubavichi (on the territory of the present Smolensk Region), which was the center of a branch of the Hasidic movement.
Most of the items from the library, built up by the Schneerson dynasty over a 200 year period, were confiscated by Soviet authorities and have since been kept in the Lenin Library.
In the early 1990s Jewish activists held regular pickets near the library in an attempt to get the manuscripts back. They are reported to believe that the manuscripts would give them new mystic evidence, as well as prophesies about the future, and would help them to extend the influence of the Lubavitcher movement worldwide.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Groundhog Predicts More Winter
The Associated Press
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pennsylvania -- In a decades-old tradition, Americans looked to a groundhog to predict whether they should expect another six weeks of winter weather. The creature's involuntary answer appeared to be yes.
The groundhog, dubbed Punxsutawney Phil for the town in which he burrows, saw his shadow. According to the tradition, if the hibernating animal sees his shadow on Feb. 2, one can expect six more weeks of chilly weather. If he doesn't see his shadow, warmer weather is near.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/02/03/253.html
Tuscaloosa News
Fires investigated as possible hate crimes
Three Bibb County churches destroyed, two damaged
CENTREVILLE Edith Wilson stood by Friday as her husband tried to save the church where they met and married.“It just makes your faith stronger," she said as she looked at the smoldering rubble that was once Rehobeth Baptist Church. “We’ll build back bigger and stronger. Something like this isn’t going to keep our church down."
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060204/NEWS/602040345/1007
Filmmakers criticized for hiring gay actor
WASHINGTON Christian ministers were enthusiastic at the early private screenings of “End of the Spear," made by Every Tribe Entertainment, an evangelical film company. But days before the film’s premiere, a controversy erupted over the casting of a gay actor that has all but eclipsed the movie and revealed fault lines among evangelicals.The film relates the true story of five American missionaries who were killed in 1956 by an indigenous tribe in Ecuador. The missionaries’ families ultimately converted the tribe to Christianity, and forgave and befriended the killers. The tale inspired evangelicals 40 years ago with its message of redemption and grace, and the film company expected a similar reception.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060204/NEWS/602040304/1005
Jefferson County to get mine entrance
TUSCALOOSA Jim Walter Resources plans to move the entrance for its No. 7 mine from Brookwood to Jefferson County by 2008, bringing more than $25 million in the next 20 years to that county.The move will have little immediate effect on the $2 million in coal tax revenues that Tuscaloosa County gets each year. That’s because the coal tax is determined by which county the coal is mined or “severed" from, not where the mine entrance is located.The new entrance will be located near County Road 99, just across the Jefferson County Line. The No. 7 Mine, which produces about 2.5 million tons of coal a year, is being expanded to the east towards Jefferson County. The expansion will nearly double the mine’s production by 2008.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060204/NEWS/602040346/1007
Officials say court-ordered mine inspections complete
Court-ordered inspections of more than a dozen coal mines in western Jefferson County have been completed and the reports submitted to the judge who ordered the safety checks, officials said Friday.Jefferson County Circuit Judge Dan King ordered the inspections last week, giving officials 10 days to inspect mines west of Birmingham, an area with some of the nation's deepest underground coal operations.King's order came with his ruling in a miners' union lawsuit where he found that the state had not adequately inspected coal mines.Debbie Herbert, a spokeswoman for the state Department of Industrial Relations, said the inspections were completed Thursday night and the reports were submitted to King on Friday.Herbert said her department was not releasing any information from the inspectors' reports.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060203/APN/602031044
Alabama lands federal labor grants
MONTGOMERY U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine Chao on Wednesday announced a $15 million regional economic development grant for 17 west Alabama and 19 eastern Mississippi counties.
She said the money is part of a larger $195 million grant for economic development regions in 13 states.There was no immediate explanation of how the grants would be distributed.The labor department said the Economic Transformation of Rural West Alabama-East Mississippi Alliance is a partnership in thirty-six counties in the two states.Counties in Alabama that will receive grants are Tuscaloosa, Choctaw, Clarke, Conecuh, Dallas, Fayette, Greene, Hale, Lamar, Lowndes, Marengo, Monroe, Perry, Pickens, Sumter, Walker and Wilcox.Chao said the $15 million will be awarded over three years.
http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060202/NEWS/602020333/1001
The Globe and Mail
Poll shows upbeat electorate in SA
Two-thirds of South Africans believe the country is going in the right direction and nearly 80% are satisfied with the performance of President Thabo Mbeki, a survey revealed on Thursday.
Seven out of every 10 think that the national government is doing a good job, says a Markinor survey.
Only slightly more than four out of every 10 think Deputy President Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka is doing good work.
Unemployment and the lack of job creation were still the major criticisms levelled at the government, according to findings from Markinor's biannual Government Performance Barometer.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=263133&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__national/sa_good_news/
Smart dart may stop LAPD's staple pursuit
… But now the police pursuit could be history. The Los Angeles police department announced it is to test a sticky dart, called a "pursuit management system" by its manufacturer. The dart, more of a gooey ball fitted with a global positioning system, is fired from a compressed air gun fitted to the radiator of a police car. In theory, it will stick to a suspect vehicle, allowing police to avoid the danger of a high-speed pursuit
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=263310&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
HIV/Aids barometer - January 2006
The worsening humanitarian situation in Zimbabwe is making children more vulnerable to abuse, according to child rights NGOs. "For instance, because of the hike in schools fees many children are visiting schools -- it makes them more vulnerable at the hands of teachers who exploit them," said Witness Chikoko.
Cartoon controversy spreads
Governments across Europe, the Middle East and Asia were reluctantly sucked into the Danish cartoon row on Friday as hundreds of thousands of Muslims took to the streets to protest.
The dispute spread to London for the first time. More than 500 people, led by the extremist group al-Ghuraba, formerly al-Mujahiroun, marched to the Danish embassy in Knightsbridge carrying banners calling on Muslims to "massacre" those who insult Islam and chanting: "Britain, you will pay, 7/7 on its way."
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=263307&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
Indonesian Muslims storm Danish embassy building
Hardline Indonesian Muslims stormed into an office block housing the Danish embassy on Friday protesting cartoons portraying the Prophet Muhammad in Denmark, as others demanded death for the cartoonist.
About 100 members of the Front of the Defenders of Islam (FPI) massed outside the building, chanting: "Let's go jihad! We're ready for jihad!". One of their banners said: "Let's slaughter the Danish ambassador!"
The group, mostly wearing their trademark white uniforms with skullcaps, broke through security guards to enter the building's lobby, where they smashed lamps and threw eggs, but were quickly ejected by police and their own leaders.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=263238&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
A neglected tropical disease on the march
As illnesses go, Buruli ulcer does not receive the attention given to conditions such as HIV/Aids or bird flu: the World Health Organisation (WHO) has even termed it a "neglected tropical disease".
In the conflict-torn nation of Côte d'Ivoire, however, matters are somewhat different.
A survey issued by the National Programme for the Fight against Mycobacterial Ulcers (Programme national de lutte contre les ulcères à mycobactéries, PNUM) has shown that there were 22 000 cases of the disease in the country last year -- a marked increase against the number recorded in 1997 (4 642). Just over 10 000 cases of Buruli ulcer were recorded in 1991. (Mycobacteria are known to cause several serious illnesses apart from Buruli ulcer. These include tuberculosis and leprosy.)
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=262912&area=/insight/insight__africa/
Bush speech an 'obstinate bid for popularity'
World commentators have characterised United States President George Bush's State of the Union speech as an obstinate bid to regain popularity with unrealistic promises, suggesting on Wednesday that his pledge to break the US's dependence on Mideast oil offered the only surprise in an otherwise bland speech.
Activists, politicians and newspaper critics reacted with a yawn to the annual address, noting that the hours-long speech lacked fresh ideas and catchy phrases like "axis of evil". But several praised Bush for recognising that the US's gas-guzzling days must end.
"Many people have said it is amazing that an oil man would do that. But the oil man is the president and the president has low ratings," said Robert McGeehan, a fellow in American Foreign Policy at the Royal Institute of International Affairs. "Americans love motor cars, and high petrol prices have affected them."
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=263014&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
World powers agree on Iran resolution
World powers including Russia agreed on Wednesday on a draft resolution asking the United Nations atomic watchdog to report Iran to the UN Security Council over nuclear work that could be weapons-related, according to a text obtained by Agence France-Presse.
The resolution was to be introduced later in the day to the watchdog International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), whose 35-nation board of governors is to meet in Vienna on Thursday to consider whether to bring the Iranian issue before the Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions, a diplomat said.
The five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany agreed in London on Tuesday to bring Iran before the council over its disputed nuclear programme, but, in a compromise with Iranian ally and trading partner Russia, put off UN action until at least the next IAEA meeting in March.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlePage.aspx?articleid=263030&area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/
27 January 2006
Shake-up: An Iranian Shi'ite woman holds prayer beads at the weekly Friday prayers at Tehran University. Iranian hard-line cleric Ayatollah Mohammad Emami Kashani said that Islamist Palestinian group Hamas's election victory is a quake that will shake all the way up to the White House. (Behrouz Mehri, AFP)
http://www.mg.co.za/weekwas.aspx?picId=16
25 January 2006
Crossing paths: An Orthodox Jewish man and a Palestinian pass one another on a narrow street in the Old City of East Jerusalem on Tuesday, a day before the Palestinian elections. Israel and its Western allies have warned the rise of Hamas could be a further obstacle to a peaceful settlement unless the group renounces violence.
http://www.mg.co.za/weekwas.aspx?picId=24
24 January 2006
Now what have we here?: Swiss senator Dick Marty – who is looking into allegations of secret, CIA-run prisons in Europe -- peers under a table during a press conference at the Council of Europe in Strasbourg on Tuesday. Marty said that "a great deal" of evidence pointed towards the existence of a United States system of "outsourcing" torture. (Olivier Morin, AFP) Read more
http://www.mg.co.za/weekwas.aspx?picId=26
Troops in Afghanistan until at least 2010
British and other foreign troops will be in Afghanistan until at least the end of 2010, according to a plan agreed at an international conference which began on Tuesday in London.
Representatives from almost 70 countries backed the plan to try to secure peace in Afghanistan, where attacks by the Taliban and other groups have been increasing, and to rebuild a country ruined by 27 years of intense conflict. About 1 600 people were killed in attacks last year.
John Reid, the British defence secretary, announced last week that the British contingent of 1 000 in Afghanistan is to rise to 5 700 this summer in what he described as the start of a three-year deployment.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=262994
British ambassador defends diplomat in spying row
The British ambassador to Moscow made a defiant response to spying allegations levelled at four of his diplomats on Tuesday, two hours after President Vladimir Putin said he would raise the issue with British Prime Minister Tony Blair at their next meeting.
Anthony Brenton said that Marc Doe, a second political secretary accused by the Russian Federal Security Service, the FSB, of being one of four MI6 agents at the embassy, was a "respected member" of his staff and remained in Moscow, despite the flurry of allegations that he now faces.
The FSB has accused the four of using a transmitter hidden in a rock to communicate with Russian agents. It said Doe's role as a United Kingdom liaison officer with Russian non-governmental organisations proved such groups were funded by foreign intelligence agencies and justified a new law restricting them.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__international_news/&articleid=262986
Condom taboo in Zanzibar hampers fight against Aids
Campaigns to fight HIV/Aids often focus on the "ABC" strategy -- or Abstinence, Be faithful and use Condoms. However, on the ultra-conservative, predominantly Muslim island of Zanzibar, condoms remains taboo and is rarely incorporated into public awareness messages.
"We believe that advocating the use of condoms is promoting illegal sex, mainly among the youth," said Fadhil Soraga, secretary at the office of Zanzibar's mufti, or senior Muslim scholar. "The proper campaign is A and B."
While public talks or advertising campaigns about HIV/Aids in Zanzibar may advise people to "Abstain, Be faithful," these messages carefully omit condom use as way to prevent HIV/Aids.
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/breaking_news__africa/&articleid=262988
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
SICKO
Send Me Your Health Care Horror Stories... An Appeal from Michael Moore
Friends,
How would you like to be in my next movie? I know you've probably heard I'm making a documentary about the health care industry (but the HMOs don't know this, so don't tell them — they think I'm making a romantic comedy).
If you've followed my work over the years, you know that I keep a pretty low profile while I'm making my movies. I don't give interviews, I don't go on TV and I don't defrost my refrigerator. I do keep my website updated on a daily basis (there's been something like 4,000,000 visitors just this week alone) and the rest of the time I'm... well, I can't tell you what I'm doing, but you can pretty much guess. It gets harder and harder sneaking into corporate headquarters, but I've found that just dying my hair black and wearing a skort really helps.
Back to my invitation to be in my movie. Have you ever found yourself getting ready to file for bankruptcy because you can't pay your kid's hospital bill, and then you say to yourself, "Boy, I sure would like to be in Michael Moore's health care movie!"?
Or, after being turned down for the third time by your HMO for an operation they should be paying for, do you ever think to yourself, "Now THIS travesty should be in that 'Sicko' movie!"?
Or maybe you've just been told that your father is going to have to just, well, die because he can't afford the drugs he needs to get better – and it's then that you say, "Damn, what did I do with Michael Moore's home number?!"
Ok, here's your chance. As you can imagine, we've got the goods on these bastards. All we need now is to put a few of you in the movie and let the world see what the greatest country ever in the history of the universe does to its own people, simply because they have the misfortune of getting sick. Because getting sick, unless you are rich, is a crime – a crime for which you must pay, sometimes with your own life.
About four hundred years from now, historians will look back at us like we were some sort of barbarians, but for now we're just the laughing stock of the Western world.
So, if you'd like me to know what you've been through with your insurance company, or what it's been like to have no insurance at all, or how the hospitals and doctors wouldn't treat you (or if they did, how they sent you into poverty trying to pay their crazy bills) ...if you have been abused in any way by this sick, greedy, grubby system and it has caused you or your loved ones great sorrow and pain, let me know.
Send me a short, factual account of what has happened to you – and what IS happening to you right now if you have been unable to get the health care you need. Send it to michael@michaelmoore.com. I will read every single one of them (even if I can't respond to or help everyone, I will be able to bring to light a few of your stories).
Thank you in advance for sharing them with me and trusting me to try and do something about a very corrupt system that simply has to go.
Oh, and if you happen to work for an HMO or a pharmaceutical company or a profit-making hospital and you have simply seen too much abuse of your fellow human beings and can't take it any longer – and you would like the truth to be told – please write me at michael@michaelmoore.com. I will protect your privacy and I will tell the world what you are unable to tell. I am looking for a few heroes with a conscience. I know you are out there.
Thank you, all of you, for your help and your continued support through the years. I promise you that with "Sicko" we will do our best to give you not only a great movie, but a chance to bring down this evil empire, once and for all.
In the meantime, stay well. I hear fruits and vegetables help.
Yours,
Michael Moore
michael@michaelmoore.com
www.michaelmoore.com
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/message/index.php?messageDate=2006-02-03
This Saturday...
"There is no escaping it: the whole disastrous course of this Bush regime must be STOPPED...We must, and can, aim to create a political situation where the Bush regime's program is repudiated, where Bush himself is driven from office, and where the whole direction he has been taking society is reversed. We, in our millions, must and can take responsibility to change the course of history. The future is unwritten. WHICH ONE WE GET IS UP TO US." --from the Call to Drive Out the Bush Regime
http://www.worldcantwait.net/
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Reporting Options: Restricted / Unrestricted Reporting
Search SARC Roster for Contact information
Sexual Assault is the most under reported crime in our society and in the military. While the Department of Defense prefers complete reporting of sexual assaults to activate both victims’ services and law enforcement actions, it recognizes that some victims desire only medical and support services and no command or law enforcement involvement. The Department believes its first priority is for victims to be protected, treated with dignity and respect, and to receive the medical treatment, care and counseling that they deserve. Under DoD’s Confidentiality Policy, sexual assault victims are offered two reporting options- Restricted reporting and Unrestricted reporting.
http://www.sexualassault.army.mil/response_care/restricted_unrestricted_reporting.htm
The New York Times
Cartoons Force Danish Muslims to Examine Loyalties
COPENHAGEN, Feb. 2 — As a Danish citizen of Pakistani descent, a onetime television anchor and now a prominent author married to a Dane, Rushy Rashid has led what could be depicted as a high-profile life.
But, she said, nothing has forced her to define her attitude to fellow Muslims quite so much as Denmark's bitter dispute with much of the Islamic world over a newspaper's decision to print unflattering cartoons depicting the Prophet Muhammad — a dispute that has spread to many other European countries.
"For the first time I feel I have to stand up as a Muslim," she said in an interview on Thursday, referring to her concern that the voice of Denmark's 200,000 Muslim immigrants — a small minority in a land of 5.4 million — has been monopolized by what she depicted as a minority led by radical imams with ties in the Middle East.
"Up to now I have stood up as a woman, as a journalist, as a writer," she added. "But for the first time I have to stand up and say I don't like what's happening. I don't approve of the fact that one group of Muslims talk for the whole community."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/international/europe/04denmark.html?hp&ex=1139115600&en=538f5038dc967f36&ei=5094&partner=homepage
High-Rises That Have Low Impact on Nature
By ROBIN POGREBIN
Published: February 2, 2006
With its curtain wall and faceted crystal design, the Bank of America building rising at 1 Bryant Park in Manhattan probably seems unremarkable to New Yorkers accustomed to looming glass skyscrapers. But it's not architecture with a capital A that makes the tower unusual.
It is the double-wall technology that dissipates the sun's heat; ventilation that runs under the floor rather than through overhead ducts; carbon-dioxide monitors that assure adequate fresh air; and a system that collects and reuses rainwater and wastewater, saving 10.3 million gallons of water each year.
Planners expect the $1 billion building, designed by Cook + Fox Architects with the Durst Organization as developer, to be the first skyscraper to earn a top environmental rating from a coalition of building industry leaders when it opens in 2008.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/02/arts/design/02gree.html
A Turning Point for New York Courts
Published: February 4, 2006
The myth that New Yorkers choose their top trial judges by democratic election was exploded last week by a 77-page federal court decision striking down the clubhouse-controlled selection process for violating the rights of candidates and voters.
Judge John Gleeson of the United States District Court in Brooklyn laid out in damning detail the state's system — unique in the nation — of letting party leaders anoint candidates for State Supreme Court judgeships at sharply controlled nominating conventions held out of public view. The voters' role has been limited to ratifying their (often mediocre) choices. A telling statistic: From 1994 to 2002, 568 candidates were nominated around the state for seats on the State Supreme Court. Not a single challenger to the clubhouse favorite won his party's nomination.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/opinion/04sat4.html
Increasingly, Internet's Data Trail Leads to Court
Who is sending threatening e-mail to a teenager? Who is saying disparaging things about a company on an Internet message board? Who is communicating online with a suspected drug dealer?
These questions, and many more like them, are asked every day of the companies that provide Internet service and run Web sites. And even though these companies promise to protect the privacy of their users, they routinely hand over the most intimate information in response to legal demands from criminal investigators and lawyers fighting civil cases.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/technology/04privacy.html?hp&ex=1139029200&en=61a0495af42b17ed&ei=5094&partner=homepage
As Tribal Leaders, Women Still Fight Old Views
By MONICA DAVEY
Published: February 4, 2006
PINE RIDGE, S.D.— Political life has been tense for Cecelia Fire Thunder since a little over a year ago, when she defeated Russell Means to become the top leader of the Oglala Sioux tribe, often remembered for its male leaders of long ago, men like Crazy Horse and Red Cloud.
Mr. Means, an American Indian activist and actor, challenged Ms. Fire Thunder's election in a federal lawsuit. Months later came the calls from some tribe members for her impeachment, amid complaints she had unilaterally made questionable financial choices and ignored the wishes of respected elders.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/national/04tribe.html?hp&ex=1139029200&en=7d4d8bfba26130ed&ei=5094&partner=homepage
U.S. Compromises on Wording of Iran Nuclear Resolution
By ELAINE SCIOLINO
Published: February 4, 2006
VIENNA, Feb. 3 — The 35-nation board of the International Atomic Energy Agency put off a vote on a landmark resolution on Iran's nuclear program on Friday, largely because of American opposition to a clause indirectly criticizing Israel's nuclear weapons status, according to several diplomats.
But late Friday evening the dispute was apparently resolved after the Americans backed down and accepted compromise language, an American official said.
In Washington, R. Nicholas Burns, under secretary of state for political affairs, said the way had been cleared for the adoption of the resolution on Saturday. "The I.A.E.A. board is now poised to adopt a very important resolution declaring the international community's lack of confidence in Iran," he said. "This is a major development on this issue."
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/international/europe/04iran.html
Kansas' Top Court Limits Abortion Record Search
By JODI RUDOREN
Published: February 4, 2006
WICHITA, Kan., Feb. 3 — The Kansas Supreme Court restricted on Friday an unusual and divisive investigation by Attorney General Phill Kline into illegal abortions and child rape, ruling that the names and personal information of 90 women and girls must be removed from the records he is seeking from two abortion clinics.
While granting most of the clinics' requests in a lawsuit seeking to keep the records private, the court did not prevent Mr. Kline from obtaining the records, leaving that decision to a lower court judge.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/national/04kansas.html
Halliburton Subsidiary Gets Contract to Add Temporary Immigration Detention Centers
By RACHEL L. SWARNS
Published: February 4, 2006
WASHINGTON, Feb. 3 — The Army Corps of Engineers has awarded a contract worth up to $385 million for building temporary immigration detention centers to Kellogg Brown & Root, the Halliburton subsidiary that has been criticized for overcharging the Pentagon for its work in Iraq.
KBR would build the centers for the Homeland Security Department for an unexpected influx of immigrants, to house people in the event of a natural disaster or for new programs that require additional detention space, company executives said. KBR, which announced the contract last month, had a similar contract with immigration agencies from 2000 to last year.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/04/national/04halliburton.html
Aspen Gay Ski Week: Was That Liza on the Black Diamond Run?
By DENNY LEE
Published: February 3, 2006
Serena Williams, or at least her drag-queen stunt double, didn't stand a chance. Sporting three blond wigs, a leather corset and faux diamonds the size of cough drops, Miss Elaine Lancaster sashayed down Aspen Mountain and made downhill skiing look as effortless as runway modeling.
As the transvestite skier ascended the outdoor stage, the subdued spectators put down their champagne flutes and erupted into applause. Whether they were cheering for athletic technique or sartorial grace wasn't clear. But the judges, a bit tipsy by now, sprinkled confetti in the air and granted a perfect 10.
"The bigger the hair, the closer to God," declared Miss Lancaster, a drag performer from Miami whose real name is James Davis. The Chanel sunglasses came off, but the milelong eyelashes stayed on. "I'm the queen of Aspen."
http://travel2.nytimes.com/2006/02/03/travel/03aspen.html
Going Condo in Harlem
NEW PROJECTS Town houses in Harlem that are being renovated include, from left to right: 737 St. Nicholas Avenue near 146th Street, to be a two-family house; 203 West 122nd Street, which will be condos; 517 West 149th Street, far left in the photo, condos under construction; and 106 West 123rd Street and 132 West 123rd Street, all condos.
By JOSH BARBANEL
Published: February 5, 2006
RICHARD SHIU'S brownstone on West 123rd Street was once an abandoned wreck, but now he looks on proudly as would-be buyers trek up the stairs to stare at the gas-burning fireplaces and mantels, the high ceilings and granite counters and the roof deck with clear views of the Midtown Manhattan skyline.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/02/05/realestate/05cov.html
The Scotsman
Gordon Alexander Pritchard, a corporal in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, died in a roadside bomb attack in the port town of Umm Qasr, one of the least violent areas under British control.
Corporal's death is tragic milestone in an unwanted war
GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN AND FRANK URQUHART
Key points
• Corporal Gordon Alexander Pritchard 100th UK serviceman to die in Iraq
• 31-year-old father of three from Edinburgh died in roadside bomb attack
• 67 of 100 killed after Bush declared 'mission accomplished' in March 2003
Key quote
"It's a tragedy when we lose any soldier, but we have to understand why it's important that we see this through. What is happening in Afghanistan and Iraq is that the people of those countries want to leave behind terrorism and extremism and they want to embrace democracy." - TONY BLAIR
Story in full A FATHER of three young children yesterday became the 100th British serviceman to die in Iraq since the start of the war in 2003.
Gordon Alexander Pritchard, a corporal in the Royal Scots Dragoon Guards, died in a roadside bomb attack in the port town of Umm Qasr, one of the least violent areas under British control.
The death of the 31-year-old, from Edinburgh, was greeted with sadness by Tony Blair. But the Prime Minister said it would not change his determination to maintain Britain's presence in Iraq.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=160342006
Blair had met 100th soldier killed in Iraq
GETHIN CHAMBERLAIN
CHIEF NEWS CORRESPONDENT
Key points
• Blair met Corporal Gordon Pritchard just weeks before his death
• Straw and Blair set out conflicting visions of future in Iraq
• Milestone death has reignited debate over UK involvement
Key quote
"We are in active discussions about how we draw down our troops on a province-by-province basis as we and the Iraqi government are convinced it is safe for them and for us to do so. I think we will see, over the next 12 months, some good news in that respect." - JACK STRAW, FOREIGN SECRETARY
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=166362006
Ecstasy deaths warning as ministers poised to review drug classification system
MICHAEL HOWIE
Key points
• Review of drugs classification system expected shortly
• Grading to be based on drug's effect on society rather than individual
• Many argue current classification sends wrong messages to drug users
Key quote
"Ecstasy use is widespread among young people. My view is that the drug's class A rating devalues the serious risks associated with heroin and cocaine." - DAME RUTH RUNCIMAN, POLICE FEDERATION REPORT AUTHOR
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=165742006
Red Sea ferry was declared safe seven months ago
STEPHEN MCGINTY
THE ferry that sank in the Red Sea yesterday morning claiming the lives of hundreds, passed a safety test less than a year ago.
The London shipping paper Lloyds List said the ship, which sank suddenly in the early hours with more than 1,300 on board, had passed a structural survey test conducted by the International Safety Management Code last June.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=179642006
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