Cheney Observer

Many conspirators seen behind Foley scandal

11.00am Friday October 6, 2006
By David Alexander

WASHINGTON - Ask some Republicans what is behind the scandal that forced a congressman from their party to resign for sending dirty emails to underage boys and they'll give you a list of the usual suspects.
They have fingered Democrats, accused associates of former President Bill Clinton, named liberal billionaire George Soros and questioned the role of the media.
And they've wondered about the motives of the anonymous individuals who gave the emails to reporters and the mysterious self-described "nobody" who first published them on the internet at a website called StopSexPredators.
Speaker Dennis Hastert, the top Republican in the House of Representatives who is struggling to keep his job in the face of fury over the scandal, accepted responsibility today but not before pointing the finger elsewhere.
"The people who want to see this thing blow up are ABC News and a lot of Democratic operatives, people funded by George Soros," Hastert told the Chicago Tribune.
Operatives associated with Clinton knew about the allegations and may have been behind the disclosure of the emails so close to the November congressional elections, Hastert added, offering no evidence.
"All I know is what I hear and what I see," he said.
The scandal broke last week when ABC News revealed Republican Rep. Mark Foley of Florida had sent lewd emails to underage male congressional assistants. Hastert came under fire for failing to investigate Foley's behaviour aggressively when concerns initially surfaced.
Republican Majority Leader John Boehner noted some of the emails had been given to the St. Petersburg Times newspaper in Florida, which decided not to publish them. He wondered about the public release of the documents so close to the elections.
"The timing of their release is concerning, at a minimum," he said in a letter.
"Did ABC's source delay release of Foley's messages to maximize their political impact?" he asked, calling for the former congressman to be held accountable along with anyone else "who may have suppressed proof of his crimes."
Meanwhile, the mysterious blogger who first posted some of the emails on the StopSexPredators website fended off queries about his identity.
"I am not Karl Rove, Mark Foley, or John Boehner," he wrote at the site, referring to the presidential aide, the disgraced congressman and the House majority leader.
"I am not employed in Democratic politics. I am not 'funded' by George Soros," the blogger said. "I'm nobody that anybody should care about. So, please, go about your day as if I don't exist."

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10404623


Bolivia's Morales, Saddam on US no-fly list

12.20pm Friday October 6, 2006

NEW YORK - Bolivian President Evo Morales, Saddam Hussein and 14 of the 19 dead September 11 hijackers are among the names on the US no-fly list designed to stop terrorists boarding planes, 60 Minutes said today.
The CBS news program said in a statement it had obtained a March copy of the secret US government list of 44,000 people, used to screen airline passengers for potential terrorists.
Former FBI agent Jack Cloonan told the show, to be broadcast next week, that the list was hastily assembled after the September 11 attacks and was bungled.
"When we heard the name list or no-fly list ... the eyes rolled back in my head, because we knew what was going to happen," he says.
While the list includes such unlikely would-be terrorists as Nabih Berri, Lebanon's parliamentary speaker, many others were not on the list, 60 Minutes reports. It noted the 11 British suspects recently charged with plotting to blow up airliners with liquid explosives were not on it, despite being under surveillance for more than a year.
A spokesman for the Department of Homeland Security had no immediate comment.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10404636



Who's Who in The Goebbels Zoo
by Anton Chaitkin
The Cheney faction and its financier sponsors, intent on a catastrophic war escalation and anti-Constitutional measures to retain power, have assembled a political dirty-tricks cartel, centered on the Vice President's wife, Lynne Cheney, and Wall Street operative John Train.
Made up of nominally separate but absolutely interlocked groups, this cartel is attempting to impose a gestapo over American education that would wipe out resistance.
The Bruin Standard, a throwaway right-wing monthly paper distributed by outsiders at the University of California at Los Angeles (UCLA), is headlined with an attack on LaRouche taking up most of the current issue. Author Garin Hovannisian, the paper's editor, explains how he spied on the LaRouche Youth Movement to gather his material. Hovannisian does not identify to what movement he himself belongs.
This and similar attacks in the Daily Free Press distributed at Boston University, and in the "alternative" papers The Weekly Dig in Boston and The Stranger in Seattle, led EIR's research team to the origin of the attacks from within the Cheney-Train cartel.
In early 2005, components of the cartel campaigned for government and academic authorities to take action to fire or otherwise suppress teachers critical of the Bush-Cheney Administration. As a direct result, in mid-2005, the Republican majority in control of the Pennsylvania state House of Representatives set up a Subcommittee on Academic Freedom [!] in Higher Education. Representatives from several of the groups comprising the Cheney apparatus testified to the committee.
Upon investigation, the underlying reality of these groups was easily ascertained.
The Campus Gestapo
Outlined here are the several interlocked pieces of the cartel campaigning for a gestapo on campus and elsewhere, arranged in order by the period of their origin. The accompanying box describes the Cheney cartel's "bottom-feeders," who are grabbing control over sections of the media on and off campus.
* Young America's Foundation, the nominally independent tax-exempt arm of Young Americans for Freedom. This movement, founded in 1960 by William F. Buckley, Jr., runs student cadre in order to crush liberal and dissident teachers, such as in the recent rightist agitation on Pennsylvania campuses.

http://www.larouchepub.com/other/2006/3341goebbels_zoo.html



Michael Moore Today

http://www.michaelmoore.com/


Study Claims Iraq's 'Excess' Death Toll Has Reached 655,000
By David Brown / Washington Post
A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred.
The estimate, produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government.
It is more than 20 times the estimate of 30,000 civilian deaths that President Bush gave in a speech in December. It is more than 10 times the estimate of roughly 50,000 civilian deaths made by the British-based Iraq Body Count research group.
The surveyors said they found a steady increase in mortality since the invasion, with a steeper rise in the last year that appears to reflect a worsening of violence as reported by the U.S. military, the news media and civilian groups. In the year ending in June, the team calculated Iraq's mortality rate to be roughly four times what it was the year before the war.
Of the total 655,000 estimated "excess deaths," 601,000 resulted from violence and the rest from disease and other causes, according to the study. This is about 500 unexpected violent deaths per day throughout the country.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8080


Book: Bush Aides Called Evangelicals 'Nuts'
White House advisors sought the support of conservative Christians but mocked them in private, writes a onetime administration official.
By Peter Wallsten / Los Angeles Times
WASHINGTON — A new book by a former White House official says that President Bush's top political advisors privately ridiculed evangelical supporters as "nuts" and "goofy" while embracing them in public and using their votes to help win elections.
The former official also writes that the White House office of faith-based initiatives, which Bush promoted as a nonpolitical effort to support religious social-service organizations, was told to host pre-election events designed to mobilize religious voters who would most likely favor Republican candidates.
The assertions by David Kuo, a top official in the faith-based initiatives program, have rattled Republican strategists already struggling to persuade evangelical voters to turn out this fall for the GOP.
Some conservatives lamented Thursday that the book, "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction," also comes in the midst of the scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley, another threat to conservative turnout in competitive House and Senate races.
The book is scheduled to be in stores Monday, but the White House responded to its assertions Thursday.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8099



GOP vows not to oust criminal until after elections

Rep. Bob Ney pleads guilty to Abramoff bribery charge
WASHINGTON (AP) -- Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty Friday in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, the first lawmaker to confess to crimes in a scandal that has stained the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration.
Standing before Judge Ellen S. Huvelle, Ney pleaded guilty to conspiracy and making false statements. He acknowledged taking money, gifts and favors in return for official actions on behalf of Abramoff and his clients.
The 52-year-old lawmaker faces a maximum of 10 years in prison. Huvelle said prosecutors had agreed to recommend a term of 27 months, and said federal guidelines suggest a fine of between $5,000 and $60,000.
Ney did not immediately resign from Congress, and within minutes, Republican and Democratic leaders vowed to expel him unless he steps down.
Beleaguered GOP leaders, struggling to overcome fallout from a separate scandal involving former Rep. Mark Foley and teenage male pages, said they would make Ney's ouster the "first order of business" in a post-election session.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8097


A Soldier Hoped to Do Good, but Was Changed by War
Associated Press
By Laurie Goodstein / New York Times
FORT BRAGG, N.C., Oct. 12 — Sgt. Ricky Clousing went to war in Iraq because, he said, he believed he would simultaneously be serving his nation and serving God.
But after more than four months on the streets of Baghdad and Mosul interrogating Iraqis rounded up by American troops, Sergeant Clousing said, he began to believe that he was serving neither.
He said he saw American soldiers shoot and kill an unarmed Iraqi teenager, and rode in an Army Humvee that sideswiped Iraqi cars and shot an old man’s sheep for fun — both incidents Sergeant Clousing reported to superiors. He said his work as an interrogator led him to conclude that the occupation was creating a cycle of anti-American resentment and violence. After months of soul-searching on his return to Fort Bragg, Sergeant Clousing, 24, failed to report for duty one day.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8100


Resistance Growing Up at School
By Ali Al-Fadhily and Dahr Jamail / IPS
KHALDIYA, Oct 12 - The bomb went off just outside the school as the IPS correspondent stood speaking to children and teachers within.
The headmaster smiled. "You will hear many of these every day if you stay here another day or two," he said. "The resistance will not stop until the last American leaves."
The children too took no notice of the blast, which shook the doors and windows of the half-destroyed school in this town near Fallujah, 70km west of Baghdad.
The children are growing up in occupied Iraq -- and they are resisting it.
"Americans are bad," said 11-year-old Mustafa. "They killed my family." The family were killed in Operation Phantom Fury of November 2004 as they tried to flee the city, teachers said. That operation killed thousands and destroyed much of Fallujah and towns around it.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8101


Documents Reveal Scope of U.S. Database on Antiwar Protests
By Eric Lichtblau / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Oct. 12 — Internal military documents released Thursday provided new details about the Defense Department’s collection of information on demonstrations nationwide last year by students, Quakers and others opposed to the Iraq war.
The documents, obtained by the American Civil Liberties Union under a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit, show, for instance, that military officials labeled as “potential terrorist activity” events like a “Stop the War Now” rally in Akron, Ohio, in March 2005.
The Defense Department acknowledged last year that its analysts had maintained records on war protests in an internal database past the 90 days its guidelines allowed, and even after it was determined there was no threat.
A department spokesman said Thursday that the “questionable data collection” had led to a tightening of military procedures to ensure that only information relevant to terrorism and other threats was collected. The spokesman, Maj. Patrick Ryder, said in response to the release of the documents that the department “views with great concern any potential violation” of the policy.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8098


Marine Sergeant Comes Forward to Report Abuse at Guantanamo Bay
By Brian Ross and Vic Walter / ABC News
The Pentagon says it is fully cooperating with a brand new investigation into allegations of prisoner abuse at Guantanamo Bay.
The allegations come from a Marine Corps sergeant, 23-year-old Heather Cerveny, who spent a week at the base in late September as a legal aide to a military lawyer representing detainees.
In a sworn affidavit filed with the Pentagon Inspector General, Sgt. Cerveny says she met several Navy prison guards at a club on the base where, over drinks, they described harsh physical abuse.
"One sailor specifically said, 'I took the detainee by the head and smashed his head into the cell door,'" Sgt. Cerveny tells ABC News in an exclusive interview.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8093



Report: Head of U.K. army urges Iraq pullout
Says British troops’ presence exacerbates situation in Iraq and elsewhere
Associated Press
LONDON - Britain’s new army commander said British troops in Iraq are making the situation worse and must leave the country soon and he called Prime Minister Tony Blair’s policies “naive,” according to an interview published Thursday.
Gen. Richard Dannatt said the British military should “get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems,” according to the interview with the Daily Mail released on the tabloid’s Web site.
“Whatever consent we may have had in the first place” from the Iraqi people “has largely turned to intolerance,” he said, according to the report.
The Defense Ministry and Blair’s office said they could not immediately comment.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8095


Vote the Bastards Out!
I was at a concert this weekend in California to raise money for the National Veterans Foundation. I'm an Air Force veteran, and I have great respect for the military. I like to support the soldiers whenever I can. But I don't support this war in Iraq.
I was against the war before it started. I always thought it was a terrible decision, badly thought out, badly planned, and then horribly executed.
I want to see our troops come home right away, and so do most Americans. Unfortunately, too many politicians in both parties refuse to listen.
So when will the troops come home? When we won't put up with it anymore--when we change our government. And how will we do that? By voting the bastards out! On November 7th, you should vote for anyone who's against the war and vote against anyone who's for the war. It's that simple.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=742



Former Soldier Walks For Peace
By Lauren Waddell / Brigham Young University News
Marshall Thompson, military journalist for the U.S. Army in Iraq.
Former military journalist turned peace activist Marshall Thompson passed through Provo and Orem Tuesday, Oct. 10, 2006, the eighth day of his 26-day journey from the Utah's northern border with Idaho border to its southern border with Arizona.
Accompanying him was a small group of supporters, which ranged from six to 15 people throughout the day.
From student activists to older women walking with canes, a wide range of supporters and allies gathered with Thompson for his cause.
"The main thing is, he's not alone," said Larry Cannon, a returned soldier and current University of Utah student. "The majority of vets want to see a peaceful resolution. And really, they [the soldiers] are fighting for our rights; someone needs to fight for theirs."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8096


DAY 9
October 11
Today, Marshall walked through some of Spanish Fork Canyon, and he does not have access to the internet so I am writing on his behalf. I spoke with him on the phone this evening and he seemed to be in good spirits. He said, “It was a beautiful walk. Lot’s of people honked and waved.” When I asked about his feet he said, “They’re looking good. My blisters are almost gone.” He appreciates all the blister advice he received. It seemed to work.
Marshall doesn’t like to complain so he wouldn’t tell you this, but he is experiencing a lot of pain in his feet aside from the blisters. After about an hour of pain each morning as he walks, he says his feet go numb and he is able to finish the days. Although, the last couple of days have been especially hard. One foot is giving him a lot of problems and he said that he had to limp the last few miles of his 20.5 mile walk through the canyon today. He is optimistic and thinks he will be able to work through the pain and cross the border on schedule. I’m his wife, so it’s my job to worry. I hope he’s right.
Marshall was a little discouraged, however, by the stories in the news today. The New York Times did a story about a new Iraqi casualty estimate that numbered over 600,000.
Additionally, the AP ran a story today that revealed plans by the Bush administration to “keep current troop levels in Iraq for another four years, a new indication that conditions there are too unstable to foresee an end to the war.” These news stories just reinforced our dedication to doing all we can to push for a responsible withdrawal of troops so that no more lives are lost.
Several people have e-mailed recently telling us of their plans to join Marshall through central Utah. He looks forward to meeting you.

Thanks again for all your support,
Kristen (Marshall’s wife)

http://www.soldierspeace.com/journal/day9.htm


Marshall’s Walking Itinerary:
Everyone is welcome to walk with Marshall where there are sidewalks (in the cities and towns). Keep in mind that the times listed are approximations so please try to arrive early and check the website for any updates or changes. We encourage you to bring signs that promote peace, such as PEACE IN IRAQ, PLAN FOR PEACE, RESPONSIBLE WITHDRAWAL, etc. We will be walking in pairs (single file). (T-shirts Now Available)

http://www.soldierspeace.com/route.htm


Call for Massive Sit-In in DC
We Want our Country Back and
The Troops Home from Iraq
Massive Sit-in, White House
November 7th and 8th
A message from Cindy Sheehan:
Good comes from the bottom up---crap rolls down hill. I am tired of getting crapped on by our government---when will it be enough for you? We are covered with crap and our leaders aren’t going to clean it up---we have to.
Gold Star Families for Peace is planning on convening on the White House on Election Day and the day after (Nov. 7 & 8).
We hope that there are enough Americans who are willing to stand up and be counted with us to demonstrate to BushCo and Congress, Inc. that we are tired of having our rights taken away from us faster than our bombs destroyed Babylon. We are tired of having our young people die and kill innocent people to enhance corporate America’s bottom line. We are tired of the constant drip, drip, drip of the wearing away of everything that we hold dear.
I withdrew my consent to be governed by maniacs long ago. I withdraw my consent to be hauled off to Guantanamo and be stashed away for matriotically dissenting from this crime-ridden regime.
Are you sick and tired of being sick and tired of the corruption and heartache?

http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=740


Web Sites for The Secretaries of State
and/or Directors of Elections
The following links will take you to the official sites of the Secretaries of State and/or Directors of Elections in the 55 states and territories. If these offices do not have an official Web site, you will be taken to the official Web site for that state.
The appearance of external hyperlinks does not constitute endorsement by the United States Federal Government, United States Department of Defense or the Federal Voting Assistance Program of the linked web sites, or the information, products or services contained therein. The Federal Voting Assistance Program does not exercise any editorial control over the information you may find at these locations. Such links are provided consistent with the stated purpose of this DoD Web site.

http://www.fvap.gov/links/statelinks.html


Top U.S. Officer in Iraq Sees Spike in Violence
By David S. Cloud / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Oct. 11 — The senior American commander in Iraq said Wednesday that violence in Baghdad had reached its highest levels in recent weeks, despite the assignment of thousands more American and Iraqi troops to the capital in August.
The comments, by Gen. George W. Casey Jr. at a Pentagon briefing with reporters, came as President Bush, at a Rose Garden news conference, said he was open to modifying strategy in Iraq if military commanders determined that a new approach was required.
Mr. Bush met with General Casey earlier in the day.
General Casey suggested at the briefing that broad changes were not necessary, though he added, “We constantly review our strategy.”

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8087


Report: Head of U.K. army urges Iraq pullout
Says British troops’ presence exacerbates situation in Iraq and elsewhere
Associated Press
LONDON - Britain’s new army commander said British troops in Iraq are making the situation worse and must leave the country soon and he called Prime Minister Tony Blair’s policies “naive,” according to an interview published Thursday.
Gen. Richard Dannatt said the British military should “get ourselves out sometime soon because our presence exacerbates the security problems,” according to the interview with the Daily Mail released on the tabloid’s Web site.
“Whatever consent we may have had in the first place” from the Iraqi people “has largely turned to intolerance,” he said, according to the report.
The Defense Ministry and Blair’s office said they could not immediately comment.
Dannatt’s comments are certain to infuriate Blair, who is President Bush’s key ally in the Iraq war.
It is highly unusual for a sitting British military commander to publicly criticize the government’s foreign policy.
Blair’s policies called ‘naive’
Dannatt, who took over as army commander in late August, described Blair’s Iraq policies as “naive.”
“We are in a Muslim country, and Muslims’ views of foreigners in their country are quite clear,” he said. “As a foreigner, you can be welcomed by being invited in a country, but we weren’t invited certainly by those in Iraq at the time.”
Dannatt was severely critical of British and American planning for postwar Iraq, describing the rationale behind the invasion as flawed.
“I think history will show that the planning for what happened after the initial successful war fighting phase was poor, probably based more on optimism than sound planning,” he said.
“The original intention was that we put in place a liberal democracy that was an exemplar for the region, was pro West and might have a beneficial effect on the balance within the Middle East.
“That was the hope, whether that was a sensible or naive hope history will judge. I don’t think we are going to do that. I think we should aim for a lower ambition.”

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8095


Iraq pullout resolution on ballot
Question to appear in 139 communities
By Jonathan Saltzman and David Abel / Boston Globe
Voters in more than one-third of Massachusetts' cities and towns will get a rare chance to register their opinion on the war in Iraq next month when they consider a ballot question on whether the United States should immediately withdraw all troops.
The nonbinding question asks voters in all or parts of 139 municipalities whether their state representative should be instructed to vote in favor of a resolution calling on President Bush and Congress to end the war and bring the soldiers home.
The American Friends Service Committee, one of several groups that organized volunteers to fan out across the state to collect signatures in the spring and summer to get the question on ballots, said yesterday that more voters can consider the Nov. 7 ballot question than any other advisory policy issue in state history.
The question, which was approved for the ballot in recent weeks by Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly and Secretary of the Commonwealth William F. Galvin , will be considered by communities as far west as Hancock in the Berkshires and as far east as Provincetown, as large as Boston and as small as Gill, and as conservative by reputation as Orange and as liberal as Cambridge. About 22 percent of the state's registered voters will get the chance to have their say, organizers estimated.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/the06fix/index.php?id=278


U.S. casualties surge amid worsening Iraq violence
By Will Dunham / Reuters
WASHINGTON - U.S. military casualties have surged in Iraq in recent weeks, with U.S. troops engaging in perilous urban sweeps to curb sectarian violence in Baghdad while facing unrelenting violence elsewhere.
At least 44 U.S. troops have been killed so far in October. At the current pace, the month would be the deadliest for U.S. forces since January 2005. After falling to 43 in July, the U.S. toll rose in August and September before spiking this month. The war's average monthly U.S. death toll is 64.
The number of U.S. troops wounded in combat also has surged, with September's total of more than 770 the highest since November 2004, when U.S. forces launched a ground offensive to clear insurgents from Falluja.
Army Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, briefing in Baghdad on Thursday, attributed the rising casualties to insurgent violence that coincides with the current Islamic holy month of Ramadan, as well as more aggressive operations in Baghdad.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8089



Today almost 20,000 people, including Cher, Yoko Ono, Kate Hudson, Samuel L. Jackson & Susan Sarandon have pledged their peace vote! Click here to sign your pledge today!

Be A Peacemaker! Be a Peacemaker by getting 100 others to sign the pledge. You can ask your relatives, neighbors, coworkers. Or ask people at church, community events, political rallies, farmers’ markets, shopping malls. Great gifts for the first 100 to send in their 100 pledges! Click here to learn more.

http://www.givepeaceavote.org/article.php?list=type&type=165



Oil imports push trade deficit higher
By Martin Crutsinger / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - America's trade deficit unexpectedly jumped to a new record in August, providing ammunition for Democrats to attack Republican trade policies in the closing weeks of the fall elections.
The gap between what the U.S. exports and what it imports rose by 2.7 percent to $69.9 billion, marking the second straight month it has set a new record, the Commerce Department reported Thursday. Wall Street had been looking for a slight improvement in August.
The deterioration was led by another record foreign oil bill, which pushed imports up to an all-time high, swamping a solid increase in exports, which also set a record. The politically sensitive trade deficit with China also set a monthly record at $22 billion.
With oil prices falling from the $77 per barrel level set in July to less than $60 per barrel this week, analysts said the August figure could be the peak for the deficits. But they cautioned that any improvement will come slowly given the huge gap between what America imports and what U.S. companies are able to sell overseas.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=8090



Ha, Ha, Ha America

http://www.atomfilms.com/contentPlay/videoAutoPlay.jsp?id=haha_america&refCode=&brand=filmmaker

The Impeachment Project

http://www.freewayblogger.com/impeachment_project2.htm



San Francisco Chronicle

A candidate who actually answers questions -- now that's a real fantasy
Man of the Year: Comedy-thriller.
Starring Robin Williams, Laura Linney, Christopher Walken and Jeff Goldblum. Directed by Barry Levinson. (PG-13. 115 minutes. At Bay Area theaters. For complete movie listings and show times, and to buy tickets for select theaters, go to sfgate.com/movies.)
Those expecting a penetrating satire from Barry Levinson, along the lines of his "Wag the Dog" (1997), may be disappointed by "Man of the Year," in which a comedian becomes president through a voting machine error. The movie touches on many of the currents and anxieties of the day, but its touch is gentle, even careful, and the story makes promises it doesn't quite deliver on.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/13/DDGKVLNJE31.DTL


Police Find 4 Bodies Along Fla. Highway
By STEPHEN MAJORS, Associated Press Writer
(10-13) 14:08 PDT PORT ST. LUCIE, Fla. (AP) --
Police on Friday found what appeared to be a family of four gunned down overnight along an isolated stretch of highway: a woman clutching two children in a forlorn effort to protect them, with a man's body nearby.
Investigators believe the victims' vehicle had pulled to the side of Florida's Turnpike before someone else in the vehicle shot them and drove away sometime between 1:30 and 3 a.m., Sheriff Ken Mascara said.
The sheriff would not say whether investigators knew of a motive or had any suspects.
A passer-by spotted the bodies around 8 a.m. in Port St. Lucie, about 100 miles north of Miami, and alerted the Florida Highway Patrol. The bodies were in a grassy area near a golf club, several miles from the nearest rest stop.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/13/national/a134718D16.DTL



Rep. Ney Pleads Guilty; GOP Vows Ouster
By PETE YOST, Associated Press Writer
(10-13) 14:28 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --
Rep. Bob Ney pleaded guilty Friday in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling investigation, the first lawmaker to confess to crimes in an election-year scandal that has stained the Republican-controlled Congress and the Bush administration.
Beleaguered GOP leaders said Ney will be expelled from the House if he doesn't quit by the time they return to Washington after the Nov. 7 elections.
Appearing before Judge Ellen Segal Huvelle on charges of conspiracy and making false statements, Ney acknowledged taking trips, tickets, meals and campaign donations from Abramoff in return for official actions on behalf of his clients.
Ney, an Ohio Republican, faces up to 10 years in prison. The Justice Department recommended 27 months behind bars. Ney's lawyers plan to recommend him for a Bureau of Prisons alcohol treatment program, which could cut dramatically the time he serves behind bars.
Huvelle set sentencing for Jan. 19.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/13/national/w090204D61.DTL



White House Denies Book's Allegations
By JENNIFER LOVEN, Associated Press Writer
(10-13) 13:49 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --
A former Bush aide claims that evangelical Christians were embraced for political gain at the White House but derided privately as "nuts,""ridiculous" and "goofy."
The allegations — denied by the White House on Friday — are in a new book by David Kuo, a conservative Christian who was deputy director of President Bush's Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives until 2003.
The book describes Kuo's frustration at what he felt was lackluster enthusiasm in the White House for the program, which seeks to steer more federal social service contracts to religious organizations. Details from the book, "Tempting Faith: An Inside Story of Political Seduction," were reported by MSNBC ahead of Monday's publication date.
Kuo singled out staffers in the office of Karl Rove, Bush's top political adviser and deputy chief of staff, as particularly condescending toward evangelical Christians, viewing them as necessary to help win elections but ridiculing them behind the scenes.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2006/10/13/national/w134959D64.DTL



Deadly Snowstorm Clobbers Western N.Y.
By CAROLYN THOMPSON, Associated Press Writer
(10-13) 13:27 PDT Buffalo, N.Y. (AP) --
Buffalo lay all but paralyzed Friday after a record-breaking early snowstorm whited out the brilliant colors of fall, buried pumpkins and apples and caught this city famous for its wintry weather flat-flooted. At least three deaths were blamed on the storm.
The heavy, wet snow snapped tree limbs all over western New York, leaving some 380,000 homes and businesses without power.
A state of emergency was in effect across the region, banning all nonessential travel. Branches and power lines lay draped across cars and houses, and normally busy downtown streets were still, blanketed by up to 2 feet of snow.
"I thought it was kind of pretty but eerie," said Ann Goff, who walked to her job at a Buffalo supermarket in the middle of the night. "It was scary listening to the cracking of the branches."
The snow, delivered in a fury of thunder and lightning, blanketed Buffalo and surrounding areas Thursday night and early Friday. A 105-mile stretch of the New York State Thruway was closed for hours, and food and water had to be delivered by snowmobile to stranded motorists.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2006/10/13/national/a130352D08.DTL



Report: Missing Vt. Student's Body Found
By JOHN CURRAN, Associated Press Writer
(10-13) 13:39 PDT Burlington, Vt. (AP) --
A woman's body was recovered in a town east of Burlington on Friday, police said, and a television station reported it was that of missing University of Vermont student Michelle Gardner-Quinn.
Gardner-Quinn, 21, has been missing since Oct. 7 when she disappeared as she walked from downtown Burlington toward her dormitory at the university. Her body was found near Huntington Gorge, a popular swimming spot in Richmond, WCAX-TV reported, citing only official sources.
Burlington Deputy Police Chief Michael Schirling said a woman's body had been found, but he would not confirm that it was Gardner-Quinn's. A news conference was expected where additional details were to be released.
Police have not reported any arrests in the case, although they have been focusing on a man whose cellular telephone Gardner-Quinn borrowed as she walked at 2:34 a.m. Oct. 7. A jewelry store surveillance camera captured them walking together.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2006/10/13/national/a131707D10.DTL



N. Korea Air Sample Has No Radioactivity
By ROBERT BURNS, AP Military Writer
(10-13) 14:44 PDT WASHINGTON, (AP) --
Results from an initial air sampling after North Korea's announced nuclear test showed no evidence of radioactive particles that would be expected from a successful nuclear detonation, a U.S. government intelligence official said Friday.
The test results do not necessarily mean the North Korean blast was not a nuclear explosion, the official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to disclose the sampling results.
Nonetheless, the readings reinforce uncertainty about the size and success of Monday's underground explosion, which North Korea has trumpeted as a nuclear test. It also keeps alive lingering questions about whether it was in fact a nuclear blast. Data from seismic sensors have already indicated the explosion was smaller than expected.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/13/national/w093930D57.DTL


Air America Radio Files for Chapter 11
By SETH SUTEL, AP Business Writer
(10-13) 13:51 PDT New York (AP) --
Air America Radio filed for bankruptcy reorganization Friday, in the latest patch of turbulence to befall the liberal talk radio network that launched two years ago headlined by the comedian and author Al Franken.
The network will continue to operate with funding from its investor group, led by RealNetworks Inc. CEO Robert Glaser, who owns 36.7 percent of the company, and two other former board members.
The company also named a new CEO Friday, Scott Elberg, a radio executive who joined the company in May 2005 following stints at the New York area radio station WKTU and other places.
Air America had dismissed rumors just one month ago that it was planning to file for bankruptcy protection. Spokeswoman Jaime Horn said Friday the filing became necessary only recently after negotiations with a creditor broke down.
Court documents showed that MultiCultural Radio Broadcasting Inc., a creditor with whom the network had tussled in its early days, had Air America's bank accounts frozen.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/10/13/financial/f080332D74.DTL



Apology strategy is effective, operatives in both parties say
C.W. Nevius
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger sat down with The Chronicle's editorial board this week. Frankly, some of us weren't expecting much. Schwarzenegger is only occasionally available, and when one of his people told us he would be 25 minutes late, we thought that would be a good excuse to cut into his scheduled time.
"Oh no,'' one of his people said, "he's going to give you a full hour.''
And he did. Some of what he said was political boilerplate. There was some ducking and dodging and a little filibustering to elude tough questions. (He didn't want to answer one about gay marriage, for example.)
But I couldn't help but be struck by something he said several times. Sometimes, in fact, he brought it up more than once without even being asked. It is a simple statement really, but it is rarely heard in the political arena:
I was wrong. I made a mistake.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2006/10/13/MNGT8LOM7N1.DTL



Blue Shield ads try edgy approach
In an unpopular industry, an effort to stand apart
You've seen this advertisement many times: A doctor exuding Marcus Welby-style kindness and wisdom reassures a patient. It's the traditional warm-and-fuzzy message when health insurance companies try to woo customers.
Now though, Blue Shield of California is breaking with that formula. Consider one of its new commercials:
The head of a young, blond woman pops up on the screen against a white background. "My doctor didn't accept my new health insurance. So that meant a new stranger was going to be seeing me naked," she explains. "I'm somewhat comfortable with myself in the nude, but not in a cold room with fluorescent lighting. But he takes my insurance."
A written message, "We (shield) you from," precedes such vignettes of health-care horror stories, with Blue Shield's logo substituting for the word "shield." It's Blue Shield's first television advertising campaign in six years. Commercials began airing last week.

http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/10/13/BUGDOLO4RL1.DTL



The Hollywood way
IN MANY ways, Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has made an impressive adjustment to political life. He does his homework, as demonstrated by his command of the issues in a wide-ranging interview with our editorial board on Wednesday. He forges bipartisan alliances and learns by his mistakes, as shown in his recovery from the special-election debacle.
But at least one aspect of Schwarzenegger has never left Hollywood: A star's assumption that he can control his image by rationing media access on his terms.
Schwarzenegger agreed to debate challenger Phil Angelides just once -- in a decidedly bland format and at just about the least attractive time for viewers. Asked about that Wednesday, the governor thought one debate was more than sufficient. Funny, some public servants think they have a duty to test their mettle and ideas in front of voters. San Jose mayoral candidates Cindy Chavez and Chuck Reed, for example, are debating 16 times.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/10/13/EDG6PKDVIU1.DTL



How to stop the trafficking
THE CHRONICLE'S series this week on the growing business of illegal human trafficking has shed some much-needed light on the fact that the sex trade is not a victimless enterprise. With its international population and laissez-faire attitude toward sex work, San Francisco has made itself one of the illegal sex trade's prime targets. That can't continue. For the sake of You Mi, who told her haunting story to reporter Meredith May, and thousands of women like her, as a city we must find the public will and the political solutions to tackle this horrible situation.
It's not going to be easy. International sex trafficking is an $8 billion industry full of ruthless players. Traffickers can abuse their victims and threaten their families, while we have to play by the rules. And the rules are daunting for us. Policemen can't make prostitution arrests unless they see money being exchanged for sex. Even in the event of arrests, many exploited women fear their owners and refuse to talk. City officials can't shut down massage parlors until they've had ample violations under the health and safety code. And once a business has been shut down, it's easy for the owner to start it up again -- even in the same place.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/10/13/EDG6PKDVIQ1.DTL



The Moscow Times

Fame, Death Threats for Nobel Finalist
By Carl Schreck
Staff Writer
Yusupova, nominated for this year's Nobel Peace Prize, is accustomed to death threats. "These people are so weak and helpless," she says of her enemies.
The call came in on Lidia Yusupova's cell phone at 9 a.m., Thursday morning.
"The number was blocked, and the man was speaking Chechen," Yusupova said. "He said I might not be alive long enough to collect the award."
Yusupova, a Grozny lawyer who has spent the past several years gathering evidence of human rights abuses in Chechnya and fighting for victims, was nominated earlier this month for the Nobel Peace Prize. On Friday, the Nobel Committee will announce the winner in Oslo.
She declined to speculate on who placed the anonymous call, but she takes death threats in stride.
"I told him that if he were a real man he would come and threaten me to my face," said Yusupova, who is temporarily living in Moscow. "It's always amusing to me. These people are so weak and helpless that all they can do is make anonymous threats."
Yusupova, 46, garnered the nomination for her work at the Grozny office of the human rights group Memorial. She is one of 191 nominees this year; oddsmakers say she has a good chance of winning.
Last month, Centrebet, an Australian online sports-betting service, put Yusupova's odds at 12-to-1. Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, who signed a peace agreement last year with Aceh separatist rebels, is the odds-on favorite: His chances are 3-to-1. Finnish President Martti Ahtisaari, who brokered the agreement, is 4-to-1.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/13/002.html



Odds Are Good for Foreign Casinos
By Maria Levitov
Staff Writer
Binder, who manages Molodaya Gvardiya, above, calls the legislation unfair.
When the state takes control of the gambling industry, foreigners will have an advantage over Russians thanks to Kremlin legislation that will make investments, well, a big gamble.
The legislation, expected to cruise through the State Duma next month, will empower the state to handpick companies to operate inside four zones where gambling will remain legal after 2009.
Russian companies, however, said Thursday that the legislation lacked clarity, meaning big risks that they could not afford to take.
Storm International, which operates the Super Slots chain and several casinos, including Moscow's Shangri La and Jazz Town, has called off plans for an initial public offering. "On Tuesday, I had to say stop, because now we'll have South Africans, Australians and Americans buying into mega complexes inside these zones," Storm CEO Michael Boettcher said.
Foreign gambling giants, many of which are listed, "can afford to throw money around," he said.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/13/001.html



Lawmakers Tread Where Spartak Reigned
By Kevin O'Flynn
Staff Writer
Tatyana Denisenko, right, and other residents are protesting government plans to bulldoze the 74-year-old field.
The Krasnaya Presnya football field is one of Moscow's few green spaces, beloved by local residents, nightingales -- and, more recently, the Presidential Property Department.
The stadium, located a short walk from the White House, has figured prominently in socialist and democratic uprisings and housed storied football clubs.
Now government officials want the site so they can build a 300,000-square-meter complex that would house the State Duma and the Federation Council.
The appeal of the Krasnya Presnya site is clear. To the left is the U.S. Embassy; the White House and Hotel Ukraine stand in front; and in the back is an apartment building, which, like the Hotel Ukraine, is one of the Stalin-era skyscrapers, known as the Seven Sisters.
Its grand surroundings notwithstanding, the sports facility is in a desperate state. The track surrounding the field makes the average Moscow street look like the Autobahn; the field is bumpy and overgrown.
Still, the facility is in constant use.
On a recent weekday morning, a teacher from a nearby school cleared leaves with his students before beginning exercises. Runners circled the track. Boys played football on the field.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/13/003.html



Chevron Pipeline Set to Expand
By Miriam Elder
Staff Writer
The government is close to giving the go-ahead for the expansion of the Chevron-managed pipeline that ships oil from Kazakhstan to the Black Sea, a top Chevron official said Thursday, casting off concerns that the Kremlin's recent moves against foreign participation in the energy sector would harm the U.S. oil major's project.
Yet the company is still battling the courts over hundreds of millions of dollars in back tax claims against the Caspian Pipeline Consortium, or CPC, Chevron Neftegas president Ian MacDonald said in an interview.
MacDonald refused to comment on Gazprom's decision this week to exclude foreign partners from developing the huge Shtokman gas field. Chevron was short-listed for participation in the project, along with U.S. company ConocoPhillips, Norway's Statoil and Norsk Hydro, and France's Total.
Total spokeswoman Patricia Marie also declined to comment, saying: "As we did not receive notification or direct communication, it is premature to react."
Menno Gruvel, Total's senior vice president for continental Europe and Central Asia, on Thursday said Total would only participate in Shtokman if it were offered partnership in the project.
President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday that while Gazprom would be the sole owner of Shtokman, it could still invite foreign companies to participate as contractors.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/13/042.html



One Answer Poses So Many Questions
Editorial
To Our Readers
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Gazprom's announcement this week that it would develop the Shtokman gas field on its own made it clear that the Kremlin is determined to enter into energy cooperation only on its own terms.
President Vladimir Putin underscored this when he commented that Russia "will be the sole subsoil owner and user of the field."
But the decision to shut out partners has created some issues and further complicated several others.
The first and most simple concerns Gazprom's ability to develop the field on its own, given that it has no experience in underwater gas extraction. Putin said the firm was ready to take on contractors to help with development.
A second question is what this will mean for the timeframe of the field's development. A planned liquefied natural gas production facility has already been put on the back burner, and the opening of the field itself will now likely be delayed by the lack of a partner with the necessary technical expertise.
The target dates for opening other fields, like the Yemal Peninsula and Yuzhno-Russkoye projects, have already been put back and are unlikely to move ahead any faster as Gazprom takes on an even heavier load. This at a time when Gazprom's ability to meet foreign and domestic supply contracts is being questioned not just by energy analysts, but by members of the government.
Why Gazprom even bothered to announce a shortlist of five companies for the tender if none of the offers met the requirements remains a mystery.
Who will be interested in working as contractors after the experience of the ditched tender remains to be seen. One of the five on the shortlist, Total, said Thursday that it would not be interested.
Who could blame the French company? After long expressing the desire to work with foreign firms, and maintaining this summer that it was close to choosing a partner, Gazprom's snap announcement seemed to come out of the blue.
A final question is what effect the decision -- which eliminates the United States for now as a destination for gas from Shtokman -- will have on negotiations with Washington over accession to the World Trade Organization.
There is little question, though, that geopolitics played a big role. The energy card is always the first out of the Kremlin's hand, no matter if the issue is gas supplies to Ukraine and other former Soviet states or Russia's presidency of the Group of Eight this year. This could explain state moves to gain control over more of the country's energy assets.
True, gains and losses are associated with any decision, economic or political. When economics and politics are wound as tightly together as they are in global energy markets today, the balance between the two is difficult to compute.
Gazprom and the Kremlin appear to have given the political the priority over the economic in the Shtokman case. What the economic costs of the decision ultimately turn out to be will give us a better idea about whether the trade-off was worth it.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/13/005.html


Unexplored Territory
An ambitious new festival aims to break down the walls between music, theater, film and even comic books.
By Anna Malpas
Published: October 13, 2006
Defying classification, the Territoriya festival brings Italian mask makers, the writer of the "G.I. Joe" comic books and an unsigned New York indie band to Moscow this week for 10 days of cultural illumination.
The new festival is organized by an all-star cast, featuring Greek conductor Teodor Currentzis -- who once called himself the savior of classical music in a newspaper interview -- alongside top actors Chulpan Khamatova and Yevgeny Mironov, and the director Kirill Serebrennikov.
Borrowing the design of the Moscow metro map in its posters and brochures, the festival aims to bring contemporary art to the people through free or inexpensive events. Metro chief Dmitry Gayev is on the board of trustees, and the opening and closing ceremonies will be held in the subway, although they are not open to the general public.

http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/13/101.html



NGOs Scrambling to Meet Deadline
By Oksana Yablokova
Staff Writer
Two foreign NGOs are being told to stop their work while dozens of others are unsure whether they will be able to continue as an Oct. 18 registration deadline nears.
Foreign NGOs that miss Wednesday's deadline will be forced to suspend their activities and begin the registration process all over again with the Justice Ministry's Federal Registration Service.
The registration requirements are part of a nongovernmental organization measure signed into law by President Vladimir Putin in January; the requirements do not apply to Russian NGOs.
The law, which came into effect in April, has sparked widespread criticism in the West.
Putin tried to put the law's effects into perspective earlier this week at a forum in Dresden, Germany, saying the vast majority of the 400 foreign NGOs that had filed applications had not been denied their registration.
It is unknown which groups have been denied.
A secretary for presidential spokeswoman Natalya Timakova refused to make the spokeswoman available for an interview Thursday.
Officials at the Federal Registration Service could not be reached for comment Thursday.
Andrew Somers, president of the American Chamber of Commerce in Russia, said his organization was in the final stages of renewing its registration; all that was left was for Alexei Zhafyarov, head of the NGO department in the Federal Registration Service, to sign the paperwork. Somers also said that, to his knowledge, 80 NGOs had already had their registrations renewed and that he had not heard of any rejections.
"We have found the agency very cooperative," Somers said Thursday. He praised Zhafyarov for meeting with representatives from 70 foreign NGOs last month to answer questions.
Ivan Safranchuk, director of the Moscow office of the Washington-based Center for Defense Information, said he only submitted his paperwork last week because the rules for applying for registration were not issued until mid-July.
The center's lawyers had found nothing particularly difficult with the process besides the requirement for detailed information about all the founders of the NGO, including those who are no longer affiliated with it, Safranchuk said.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/13/011.html



Governing by Means of Self-Delusion
Editorial
In his first public comments on the killing of Anna Politkovskaya, President Vladimir Putin played down the importance of the investigative journalist.
"She had minimal influence on political life in Russia," Putin told reporters on Tuesday following a meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel in Dresden, Germany. "This murder does much more harm to Russia and Chechnya than any of her publications."
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http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2006/10/12/005.html


RIA Novosti

Russia's environment watchdog to probe LUKoil operation in Komi
MOSCOW, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's environmental protection agency will investigate the compliance of the country's largest crude producer LUKoil [RTS: LKOH] with environmental regulations in its operations in the Republic of Komi in the northwest Urals, the agency's press service said Thursday.
A special commission led by Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources, is heading to the region to conduct an investigation at LUKoil's production sites.
LUKoil said last year it had completed its mid-term environmental program in the Komi Republic for the ecological rehabilitation of polluted areas and the prevention of oil spills, after allocating 4.6 billion rubles ($160 million) in 2000-2005 for the project.
The environmental commission will inspect the company's compliance with oil production license agreements, and the condition of state forest areas, and soil and water reserves at oil extraction sites. Experts will make a preliminary report on the probe on October 13.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061012/54762331.html



Environmental damage from Sakhalin II to be assessed in 2007
USINSK (Komi Republic) October 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's environmental watchdog said Friday the entire ecological damage from the Sakhalin II oil and gas project in the country's Far East will be evaluated in late summer 2007.
The vast hydrocarbon project, led by Anglo-Dutch oil major Shell, has met with strong opposition from environmental groups and authorities over accusations of inadequate safety, massive volumes of waste disposal, seismic threats, erosion, and threats to marine life. The Ministry of Natural Resources withdrew a key permit for the project in September.
Oleg Mitvol, head of the Federal Service for the Oversight of Natural Resources, said: "Sakhalin Energy, which is running the project, received approval for a feasibility study for one project, but is doing something entirely different there."
However, he said there is no question of revoking the license for development of Sakhalin deposits, and that Russia will honor is obligations.
The environmental watchdog chief said an expert group consisting of representatives of relevant government agencies, as well as environmentalists, will go to the Sakhalin island next spring.
The Russian authorities' annulment of the 2003 Sakhalin Environmental Expert Review (SEER), following action from prosecutors, was met with protests from British, Dutch, U.S. and Japanese officials.
Environmental experts arrived in late September at the port of Korsakov, in southern Sakhalin, to inspect the area where excavation work was conducted earlier by project organizer Sakhalin Energy, under Sakhalin II.
Mass deaths of fish and crab have been reported in the area, and inspectors earlier established that a Sakhalin Energy vessel dumped a mixture of methylene dichloride and lubricating oil into the bay.
The Sakhalin II project, which is run by the Sakhalin Energy Investment Company in which Royal Dutch Shell holds a majority stake, comprises an oil field with associated gas, a natural gas field with associated condensate production, a pipeline, a liquefied natural gas plant and an LNG export terminal. The two fields hold reserves totaling 150 million metric tons of oil, and 500 billion cubic meters of natural gas.

http://en.rian.ru/business/20061013/54797665.html



Journalist Anna Politkovskaya murdered in Moscow

Chechen PM Kadyrov said he never persecuted murdered journalist
GROZNY, October 11 (RIA Novosti) - The prime minister of Chechnya said Wednesday he had no grounds to persecute journalist Anna Politkovskaya, killed last week in Moscow.
Politkovskaya, 48, known for her staunch criticism of the Kremlin and its military campaign in Chechnya, was gunned down in her apartment block in Moscow last Saturday. She also criticized Chechen Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov's policies, and often said he should be 'in the dock' instead of in his current post.
"Politkovskaya's works never disturbed me at all, did not affect my work, but on the contrary helped me, and I have never had a reason to persecute her," Kadyrov said.
He added he was accustomed that Chechnya is blamed for every incident that occurs in Russia.
"If a gas canister explodes, people start looking for a 'Chechen trace', and we are accustomed to it. But I believe we must stop making baseless accusations," he said.
The violent death of Politkovskaya, laid to rest in Moscow Tuesday, prompted world leaders and international human rights activists to call on the Russian authorities to ensure that this and other high-profile murders of journalists are solved.
Politkovskaya was also the author of two books on Chechnya, A Dirty War: A Russian reporter in Chechnya (2001), and Putin's Russia (2004).
According to Western press freedom organizations, Russia is one of the world's most dangerous countries for journalists.
The murder of Politkovskaya brings to at least 43 the number of journalists killed for their work in Russia since 1993, making the country, along with Iraq, one of the world's most dangerous for reporters.
The 2004 murder of Forbes Russia editor Paul Klebnikov was also blamed at the time on Chechens, but two ethnic Chechen men subsequently accused and tried for the crime were acquitted.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061011/54720848.html


Russia's Putin pledges thorough inquiry into journalist murder
DRESDEN, October 10 (RIA Novosti) - Russian President Vladimir Putin said Tuesday he would see to it that a thorough inquiry is carried out into the recent murder of a prominent investigative journalist.
Speaking to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, Putin described the killing of Anna Politkovskaya as an "abominable crime," and said he would do his best to bring those behind it to justice.
"Whoever committed the crime and whatever motives those people were guided by, this is a crime abominable in its cruelty, and it must not go unpunished," Putin said.
Politkovskaya, 48, known for her staunch criticism of Russia's military campaign in Chechnya, was gunned down in her apartment block in Moscow last Saturday.
The Russian Prosecutor General is overseeing an official investigation, with the main theory linking the murder to the journalist's work.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061010/54692032.html


Anna Politkovskaya's anti-cynicis
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Kolesnikov) - Anna Politkovskaya's assassination resembles other high-profile murders of journalists, from Dmitry Kholodov to Paul Khlebnikov. They were all investigative reporters. Politkovskaya had a famous name and wrote on a sensitive subject, Chechnya.
Any investigation is dangerous, and even more so when it comes to the once rebellious republic. The murder of a journalist is a clear signal that the situation in Chechnya is far from being normal. Formally, the war is over, but it's still too early to forget about it. Anna was not merely killed by a contract assassin - she was killed in action during "peaceful times". This war will continue to affect its former and current participants for a long time to come; its inertia has proved to be too powerful.
Anna Politkovskaya wrote about human-rights issues, and her articles were very passionate - working in the field of human rights inevitably stirs up emotions and involves a journalist in the personal destinies of the people whom he or she describes and protects. This kind of journalism has the right to be naive and high-flown because it is not cynical by definition. It is not motivated by higher interests, and it does not reconcile itself to the inevitable and unjust course of events.
In one of her recent articles on Russian politics, Anna used the word "anti-cynicism". Absence of cynicism, as well as the struggle against it, was typical of her style and guided everything she wrote.
The murder of a public figure is meant to be breaking news and to demonstrate something. Such crimes are always high-profile, cloaked in a veil of secrecy, and have a wide range of suspects. They are difficult to solve both for practical and political reasons. This is what those behind such murders always hope for.
The easiest thing would be to accuse the current Chechen authorities, specifically Prime Minister Ramzan Kadyrov. Many of Anna's articles were directed against him. But such a simplistic idea gives way to a more logical conclusion - the murder is in the interests of those who want to lay the blame on the Chechen leader.
There are already many theories, and perhaps there will be more. Most probably, the investigation will lead nowhere. This would be very sad because a human life is too high a price for one more reminder of Russia's moral, political, and social problems.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061009/54654161.html


Anna Politkovskaya: the nation's conscience
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Boris Kaimakov) - Anna Politkovskaya was banned from Russian television - but, paradoxically, everyone knew her face.
She wrote mainly for the Novaya Gazeta broadsheet but, just as paradoxically, remained a household name even for those who read nothing but glossy magazines. Faces of popular television stars enter our homes every day but still remain alien to our hearts and minds. Anna's face reflected a brain and a personality far out of the ordinary. It takes many generations to produce such intellect-imbued features as hers.
It took satanic hatred to send three bullets through the head of that woman. No use to rage against the murderer - the man is beyond good and evil.
Anna's death shook the whole world but not the people who use the tragedy as a chance to appear once again on TV and show they are "in". They do not mean to demonstrate their political stances - they have none. All they say is:
"Yes, it's a pity, though I personally did not share her views, I always wanted to tell her that her writing harmed the country. But I was not her enemy, her enemies were in Chechnya, in the fishing mafia, in the government, in the military, in the terrorists' gangs. With so many enemies, how did she manage to survive so long?"
That is a good question. Anna lived on the razor's edge. She never made do with streaks of information leaking from the corridors of power. She based her sensational reports on her own investigations. A brave journalist, she fully realized the danger, unlike certain reporters-cum-parliament-members who bark at people they are set on in those corridors of power.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061012/54759105.html



Lavrov blames Tbilisi for crisis in Georgian-Abkhaz relations
MOSCOW, October 13 (RIA Novosti) - The current crisis in relations between Georgia and its self-proclaimed republic of Abkhazia is due to Tbilisi's illegal actions in the Kodori Gorge, Russia's foreign minister said Friday.
The UN Security Council unanimously adopted a resolution proposed by Russia on Georgia Friday, urging the country to refrain from provocative actions in Abkhazia, and extending the Russian peacekeeping mission in Abkhazia until April 15, 2007.
"The resolution [of the UN Security Council on Georgia] says unambiguously that the reason for the current aggravation of the Georgian-Abkhaz relations is Tbilisi's illegal actions in the Kodori Gorge," Sergei Lavrov told journalists.
Lavrov demanded that illegal arms depots be immediately withdrawn from the gorge.
The Kodori Gorge in northern Georgia, controlled by Abkhazia in its lower section and Tbilisi in the upper part, has been at the center of tensions between the former Soviet republic and the breakaway region since late July, when Georgia conducted what it called a police operation there to disarm a rebellious militia leader.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061013/54800366.html


Russia submits new resolution on Georgia to UN Security Council
MOSCOW, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - Russia has submitted a new draft resolution on the situation in Georgia to the UN Security Council, taking into account German proposals, a Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman said Thursday.
Russia recently raised the issue of Georgia's "provocative actions" in its breakaway territories with the Security Council, but its initial draft resolution was rejected by the U.S. and Great Britain. Tensions between the Russia and Georgia have escalated since a spying row in late September.
"We included proposals from another draft resolution, which was earlier presented by Germany," Maria Zakharova, press secretary for Russia's mission to the UN, said.
She said Russia has proposed putting the new draft resolution to a vote on Friday.
In its draft resolution on Georgia on October 3, Russia proposed extending the mandate of the peacekeeping forces in the Georgia-Abkhazia conflict zone and urged Georgia to pull out troops from the Kodori Gorge.
The U.S. ambassador to the UN said he would not back the Russian draft resolution, because it was unbalanced. On October 4, a second draft resolution was submitted.
According to Vitaly Churkin, Russia's ambassador to the UN, the alternative draft was introduced by European members of the Security Council, the so-called Group of Georgia's Friends.
A resolution adopted on August 31 stressed the importance of close and effective cooperation between the military observers of the UN mission to Georgia and the CIS peacekeeping force as a key stabilizing factor in the conflict zone.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20061012/54766790.html


Georgia puts up barriers on Russia's way to WTO
TBILISI, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - A regular round of multilateral talks on Russia's accession to the World Trade Organization has been postponed indefinitely because of the position of the Georgian delegation, Georgia's Foreign Ministry said Thursday.
The small mountainous ex-Soviet republic, which is already a WTO member, is entangled in a furious tit-for-tat row with Russia, which began when Georgian authorities arrested Russian officers on spying charges in late September. Tensions had already been strained between the neighbors, with Russia imposing trade restrictions earlier in the year.
"The Russian Federation has banned imports into its territory of Georgian products - wines, mineral waters, plant products. The situation has been aggravated after the recent introduction of economic sanctions, which actually means an economic blockade of Georgia on the part of Russia," the ministry said.
Russia has cut off transport and postal links with Georgia, deported hundreds of Georgians, closed down several Georgian restaurants and casinos, and threatened to ban money transfers to the country.
Although Tbilisi released the Russian servicemen early in the dispute, tensions between the countries remain high, and Russia has evacuated most of its diplomats and hundreds of its citizens from its southern neighbor.
Russia, the largest economy outside the world's largest trade body, has completed bilateral talks with 57 of the 60 members the 149-nation WTO. Negotiations are continuing with the U.S., Moldova and Georgia.
Geneva is hosting multilateral consultations on Russia's accession to the world's largest trade body.
In view of the strained situation, and with Russia still not responding to proposals on bilateral talks on WTO accession, the Georgian delegation said it would be impossible to set a date for a regular round of WTO accession talks.
"The chairman of the working group, Stefan Johannesson, drew attention to the fact that proceeding from the consensus principle used in the WTO, Georgia's position cannot be disregarded, and called on the Russian delegation for an intensive dialogue with Georgia on access of its production to its [Russian] market," the ministry said.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20061012/54768072.html


Gref expects Russia to complete WTO talks with U.S. in two week
MOSCOW, October 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will complete talks with the United States on its accession to the World Trade Organization in two weeks, Russia's economics minister said Friday.
Russia, the largest economy outside the world's leading trade body, has completed bilateral talks with 57 of the 60-member Working Party of the WTO. Negotiations are continuing with the U.S., Moldova and Georgia.
"I think we will reach a final agreement in two weeks' time," German Gref said.
Gref said the parties have yet to compromise on the issue of veterinary regulations for deliveries of beef and pork from the United States.
"We are completing the audit of U.S. veterinary regulations," Gref said.
Negotiations with the U.S. broke down in July over differences on agriculture, specifically meat. The development was unexpected, since the main point of contention throughout the talks had been access of financial services companies to the Russian market and the lack of intellectual property rights protection in Russia.
Moscow wanted to sign a protocol with Washington at Russia's debut summit of the Group of Eight nations, but the deadline was moved back to October.
The U.S. currently enjoys concessions under bilateral agreements signed in 2005, which will remain in force until 2009. The agreements raise quotas on U.S. supplies of poultry meat to 1.2 billion metric tons, of beef to 450,000 tons and of pork to 502,000 tons.
Russia's economics ministry warned that it will review the meat quotas for the U.S. if WTO talks in October fail.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061013/54786797.html


Georgia vs. Russia: divorce is inevitable, but why make it so messy
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Yuri Filippov) - The high-profile scandal in Georgia, accompanied by the arrest and subsequent release of Russian officers, the blocking of a Russian military base, Moscow's recall of diplomats in Tbilisi, and Russia's financial and economic sanctions against Georgia have raised a question which goes beyond the recent deterioration in Georgian-Russian relations.
The problem is that 15 years after the Soviet Union's disintegration, the post-Soviet republics have not established a stable system of relations between themselves. Russia's relations are particularly bad with these unfortunate countries, whose economies are extremely weak and depend completely on the outside world. In addition, they are pursuing an unpredictable political course and have serious territorial problems.
Georgia occupies the first place on this list. It is stunningly poor even by post-Soviet standards, has a weak and corrupt regime, and is in permanent conflict with its self-proclaimed autonomous republics, Abkhazia and South Ossetia.
Moldova is another bright example. Having long ago lost control over Transdnestr, it is bogged down in an economic crisis and unemployment and has lost any prospect of becoming even a third-rate European country for decades to come.
Ukraine could also be listed in this group with some reservations. The situation is slowly getting better, but the country is still highly vulnerable to political crises and ethnic and cultural conflicts along the East-West divide, not to mention its unbalanced economy in need of energy sources, which it does not have and will not have in the foreseeable future.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061005/54544578.html


Russia may use Air Force to protect its peacekeepers in Georgia
MOSCOW, October 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russia may use its Air Force in the event of a Georgian attack on Russian peacekeepers stationed in the Georgian breakaway regions of South Ossetia and Abkhazia, the Russian Air Force commander said Friday.
Commenting on recent tensions between Russia and Georgia last Sunday, Sergei Ivanov, the Russian defense minister and a deputy prime minister, said Russia would not remain indifferent in the event Georgia attacked Russian peacekeepers or citizens, either in South Ossetia or in Abkhazia.
"If the minister said that we [Russia] would certainly take adequate measures, than he probably meant the use of air, naval and land forces," Vladimir Mikhailov said.
South Ossetia and Abkhazia declared independence from Georgia following the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991, unleashing bloody conflicts in the region. Russia mediated ceasefire agreements between the sides, and Russian peacekeepers have been deployed in the conflict zones ever since.
On Friday, Russia asked the UN Security Council to draft a resolution on Georgia demanding an extension of the mandate for its peacekeepers in Abkhazia until April 15, 2007.
Since President Mikheil Saakashvili came to power in Georgia on the back of the 2003 "Rose Revolution," both the government and parliament have sought to remove Russian peacekeepers from the conflict zones of the two self-proclaimed republics, and to force the withdrawal of Russian troops from two Soviet-era bases that are due to close in 2008.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20061013/54790519.html



Russian shipbuilder to start making 4th-generation submarine
ST. PETERSBURG, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - Admiralty Shipyards, a St. Petersburg-based company, said Thursday it would start the construction of a fourth-generation diesel-electric submarine in November.
"The Project-677 or Lada-class diesel submarine, whose keel will be laid on November 10, will be named after a city of Russian naval glory - Sevastopol," a company source said. "It is to be launched in 2010."
The Sevastopol will be the third Project-677 submarine designed by the Rubin design bureau.
The shipyard said in early August it had started the second round of sea trials of the St. Petersburg, a Project-677 or Lada-class submarine.
The submarine, whose export version is known as the Amur 1650, features a new anti-sonar coating for the hull, an extended cruising range, and advanced anti-ship and anti-submarine weaponry.
A second Lada-class submarine, the Kronshtadt, which is also the first in production series, is also being built at the shipyard.
Admiralty Shipyards is a state-owned company that specializes in the design, production and modernization of civil and naval surface ships and submarines.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061012/54760836.html


Yefremov: the weapons designer who outwitted the Pentagon
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin) - The late Veniamin Yefremov, general designer of the Almaz-Antei Air Defense Concern, developed a number of unique weapons systems that the United States, the United Kingdom and France still lack.
Yefremov's trick
The two-volume Large Encyclopedic Dictionary offers a brief five-line entry on Yefremov, who is referred to as a Soviet scientist in the sphere of automation, a member of the Soviet Academy of Sciences since 1984 and Hero of Socialist Labor since 1976. According to the Dictionary, Yefremov authored scientific papers on computerized automation processes.
The new edition of "Who's Who in Russia," which offers slightly more information about him, says Yefremov, a full-time member of the Russian Academy of Sciences, general designer of NPO Antei and recipient of the Lenin and State Prizes, graduated from the Electrical Engineering Institute of Communications in Moscow in 1951 and mostly specialized in radiolocation and control-and-guidance systems.
These vague entries provide very little insight into Yefremov's background. Few people seem to know the definition of NPO Antei. And "scientific papers on computerized automation processes" is not very informative either. It appears that Yefremov's biography has been deliberately distorted so that nobody can learn much about his career.
This is quite understandable because Yefremov worked in a particularly sensitive sector of Russia's defense industry since 1945.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061003/54490651.html


Russian scientists deny comet will collide with Earth soon
ST. PETERSBURG, October 12 (RIA Novosti) - Scientists from Russia's central observatory near St. Petersburg have denied a prediction that a giant comet will collide with the Earth in late October, a spokesman for the Pulkovo Observatory said Thursday.
Some media reported earlier this month that Russian astronomer Nikolai Fedorovsky has predicted an October 28 collision of a huge comet with the Earth, which will allegedly unleash devastating tsunamis, earthquakes and avalanches.
Sergei Smirnov, an observatory spokesman said: "Our research does not support media reports that a comet will collide with the Earth in late October."
Smirnov said the astronomer Fedorovsky, who even failed to name the scientific institute he belongs to, is simply seeking publicity.
He said astronomers currently observe potentially dangerous celestial bodies using special search systems.
Smirnov said objects larger than 100 meters in diameter or more are considered dangerous. If one were to hit the Earth, it would cause a regional disaster comparable to the explosion of the Tunguska meteorite in Siberia in 1908.
Objects larger than one kilometer in diameter would cause a continental catastrophe, he added.
"A collision with an object larger than 10 kilometers in diameter would cause a global disaster," Smirnov said. "Such disasters occur once in dozens of millions of years, and are followed by serious climatic changes."
He said a large asteroid could approach the Earth in 2028, and said that if it then changes orbit, the possibility of a collision on its next rendezvous with the Earth in 2030 would increase.

http://en.rian.ru/science/20061012/54748387.html

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