Shanghai Daily
Wet weather in forecast this week
Ning Bo
2006-01-16 Beijing Time
IT should be wet most of this week, but the weather will dry up by the weekend, according to the Shanghai Meteorological Bureau.
Rain is expected from today until Friday, and the weekly average temperature should hover around 6 degrees Celsius.
Temperatures could drop to zero or minus 1 degree during the week, the bureau said yesterday.
Weathermen attributed the rain to active movement of a wet, warm front in the city and neighboring provinces, which also contributed to the stable mercury level.
Today's temperatures are expected to hover between 5 and 9 degrees.
It's going to get a little colder tomorrow, with a forecast high of 7 degrees.
High winds are also forecast for downtown Shanghai on Wednesday.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/16/236209/Wet_weather_in_forecast_this_week.htm
China to join talks on Iran nuke issue
2006-01-16 Beijing Time
AMERICAN, European and Chinese officials are expected to gather in London today on whether to bring Iran before the UN Security Council over its nuclear program.
Britain, France and Germany declared last week that talks with Iran over the program had reached a "dead end" and said it was time to refer the matter to the Security Council, which has the power to impose sanctions. The United States backs that position.
Representatives from Russia and China are also attending the London meeting, and their governments have been warier of a referral.
China has warned that such a move would escalate the confrontation. Support from Russia, deeply involved in building Iranian nuclear power reactors, is also uncertain.
It is unclear whether China or Russia might use their veto powers to thwart Security Council action, or whether there are enough votes at the council for it to impose sanctions.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/16/236296/China_to_join_talks_on_Iran_nuke_issue.htm
City's economic growth at least 9% in 5 years
SHANGHAI is targeting an annual economic growth rate of at least 9 percent over the next five years as it hones its competitive edge as an international metropolis, Mayor Han Zheng said yesterday as he delivered a draft of the city's 11th Five-Year Plan to more than 800 members of the Shanghai People's Congress.
Han also estimated that the city's gross domestic product will increase by more than 10 percent this year and the energy used to generate each 10,000 yuan (US$1,234) in GDP should be reduced by around 4.4 percent compared with last year's level.
"For the next five years, we will focus on improving the city's international competitiveness," Han told Congress members at the Shanghai Exhibition Center yesterday.
The Shanghai People's Congress, the city's top legislative body, holds a plenary session each year to discuss and vote on the city's key economic and social development plans.
A final vote is expected on Friday.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/16/236265/City__039_s_economic_growth_at_least_9__in_5_years.htm
Education, science to lead spending growth
MUNICIPAL government spending would increase by 8.3 percent this year, according to a draft of the city budget debated by the Shanghai People's Congress yesterday.
The congress will vote on the budget on Friday when the city's top legislative body ends its annual meeting.
Spending would hit 179.8 billion yuan (US$22.5 billion) this year, with the budget for education, and science and technology growing quickly.
The budget calls for the city to spend 18.2 billion yuan on education this year, an increase of 10.5 percent from 2005, and 1.59 billion yuan on science and technology, a 9.9 percent increase.
The spending increase is an indication that Shanghai will continue to follow a sustainable development strategy by relying on advanced knowledge.
Infrastructure construction will be the single largest expenditure for the government this year, at 38.8 billion yuan, an increase of 8.3 percent from last year.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/17/236573/Education__science_to_lead_spending_growth.htm
Bomb explodes in Shenzhen Carrefour
Winny Wang
2006-01-17 Beijing Time
A BOMB blew up in a Carrefour supermarket in southern China's Shenzhen City yesterday afternoon, South Metropolitan Daily reported today.
Nearly 1,000 customers were evacuated as dozens of policemen cordoned off the scene and searched for other bombs. Police later detonated a second bomb found in the store.
No injuries or deaths were reported.
A supermarket employee said that, before the explosion, a phone caller warned Carrefour the store would be bombed unless certain demands were met.
The caller said a bomb would be placed in a storage cabinet.
Meanwhile, another store near Carrefour -- Vanguard Super Department -- evacuated hundreds of customers.
An employee said police found two bombs in the detergent section on the second floor, but the store would not officially confirm this.
The Vanguard store reopened at 5pm yesterday.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/17/236618/Bomb_explodes_in_Shenzhen_Carrefour.htm
Truck explodes on New York expressway
Winny Wang
2006-01-17 Beijing Time
A TANKER truck carrying 8,000 gallons of diesel fuel exploded in the Queens borough of New York yesterday, shutting down the nearby subway line and expressway, Xinhua news agency reported.
The traffic department said the truck overturned and exploded on the six-lane Brooklyn-Queens Expressway near Roosevelt Avenue after the driver lost his control of the vehicle. He escaped after the explosion and was injured slightly.
The Associated Press said the explosion caused a temporary overpass over the tanker to collapse.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/17/236586/Truck_explodes_on_New_York_expressway.htm
Hu promises to aid Taiwan businessmen
2006-01-16 Beijing Time
PRESIDENT Hu Jintao said better assistance and services will be provided to Taiwan compatriots to do business on the mainland.
Hu made the remarks on Saturday during a meeting with representatives of Taiwan businessmen in Xiamen, Fujian Province.
Hu said the mainland welcomes more Taiwan people to do business, adding that businesses cooperation between the mainland and Taiwan benefits people on both sides of the Taiwan Strait.
Hu is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission.
He praised the development of the Haicang Taiwan Businessmen-Investment Zone in which 69 Taiwan companies have made major investments, mainly in electronics, petrochemical and mechanical fields.
The achievements of Taiwan entrepreneurs in the zone showed that they could receive better economic rewards and their businesses could benefit economies on both sides, said Hu.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/16/236251/Hu_promises_to_aid_Taiwan_businessmen.htm
Protest blocks Guangdong highway
2006-01-16 Beijing Time
PROTESTERS who blocked a Guangdong Province highway for four days to demand higher land compensation ended the blockade yesterday.
The highway reopened after the protesters, in Sanjiao township of Zhongshan City in south China, dispersed about noon, a municipal government spokesman said.
He said two policemen and three villagers were injured in the chaos when protesters threw rocks and firecrackers at police.
The protesters smashed the windshield and headlights of a police car, the spokesman said.
He said police decided against using tear gas, electronic batons or water cannon to avoid more-serious injuries.
They managed to disperse the protesters and onlookers after some of the instigators of the violence were detained.
More than 50 protesters from Panlong village gathered last Wednesday in front of the government office of Sanjiao township, blocking Nansan Road, which links Zhongshan and the township.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/16/236261/Protest_blocks_Guangdong_highway.htm
Buyers snub diamond
INVESTORS snubbed a 19.305-carat diamond at an auction yesterday in Shanghai.
No one bid on the stone although several investors showed interest in a pre-auction exhibition.
The diamond was expected to fetch up to 10 million yuan (US$1.24 million).
The auction was scheduled to start at 2pm yesterday at Jin Jiang Tower, but was delayed until 3pm. The auctioneer awaited one possible buyer's decision to pay a 1 million yuan deposit.
The interested buyer, a jeweler from Zhejiang Province, decided not to participate in the auction due to the price, said Xu Xiaoping, general manager of Shanghai Min'an Auction Co.
"High-end jewelry auctions are still new in China," Xu said. "That may be the main reason the precious stone was not sold at the auction."
Buyers may be more interested if the diamond was at a luxury jewelry exhibit, rather than at an auction — known more for selling confiscated assets and artistic items in China, Xu said.
"Wealthy individuals may buy jewelry from big jewelers but not at an auction house," he added.
Min'an exhibited the diamond and other jewelry pieces for two days prior to the auction.
Three to five would-be buyers showed interest and asked Min'an to open the showcase for a closer look.
Xu said he is now considering helping his client sell the diamond at a jewelry show in April. He declined to give more details.
According to Xu, the owner of the diamond is an overseas Chinese, who purchased it in South Africa for US$1.5 million.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/17/236534/Buyers_snub_diamond.htm
`Brokeback Mountain' wins
THE cowboy romance "Brokeback Mountain" led the Golden Globes today with four prizes, including best dramatic film and the directing honor for Ang Lee, while Felicity Huffman failed Chinese actress Zhang Ziyi winning the best actress in a dramatic film, according to the Associated Press.
It was a triumphant night for films dealing with homosexuality and transsexuality, AP said. Along with the victories for "Brokeback Mountain," acting honors went to Felicity Huffman in a gender-bending role as a man preparing for sex-change surgery in "Transamerica" and Philip Seymour Hoffman as gay author Truman Capote in "Capote."
Zhang Ziyi was nominated for best actress for her role in "Memoirs of a Geisha."
"I know as actors our job is usually to shed our skins, but I think as people our job is to become who we really are and so I would like to salute the men and women who brave ostracism, alienation and a life lived on the margins to become who they really are," Huffman said.
The Johnny Cash biography "Walk the Line" won the Globe for best musical or comedy film and earned acting honors for stars Joaquin Phoenix and Reese Witherspoon.
Director Lee's "Brokeback Mountain," the story of two rugged Western family men (Heath Ledger and Jake Gyllenhaal) concealing their affair, has emerged as a front-runner for the Oscars, which occasionally have handed out top acting prizes for performers in homosexual or gender-bending roles but have never given the best-picture Oscar to a gay-themed film.
http://www.shanghaidaily.com/art/2006/01/17/236617/_Brokeback_Mountain__039__wins.htm
The New York Times
Wind and Cold Are Blamed in Three Deaths
By MICHELLE O'DONNELL and ANAHAD O'CONNOR
Published: January 16, 2006
A sudden wintry chill marked by harsh winds and icy snowfall descended on the New York region over the weekend, downing trees, causing power failures in tens of thousands of homes and apparently contributing to the deaths of three men found frozen outdoors.
The storm, which began pounding the Northeast late Saturday, caught the area off guard, depositing up to six inches of snow in some areas. On Friday, many people, dressed in light layers, enjoyed balmy temperatures that were still as high as 57 degrees in Central Park at 4:30 a.m. Saturday.
Yet as the day progressed, snow fell and temperatures began dropping steadily, and continued falling yesterday. By midnight last night, the temperature reached a low of 16 degrees, according to the National Weather Service. With the wind chill factored in, it felt close to zero across the region, Michael Silva, a Weather Service meteorologist, said. Tomorrow will be somewhat warmer, but another storm - probably rain - is possible tomorrow night, forecasters said.
It was the sudden drop on Saturday that appeared to have claimed the lives of at least two men in Brooklyn, the police said. The bodies of the men, one in his 50's and the other in his 60's, were found yesterday afternoon, frozen solid, in a lot at Moultrie and Calyer Streets in Greenpoint, where a group of men often sought shelter.
"They come in and sleep sometimes," said Antonio Hernandez, 52, a security guard at a nearby building. "Yesterday there were five sleeping right there, all men."
The men were known to drink and to cook meals in the lot, neighbors said. They slept under an awning supported by four steel poles, though without walls they had little protection from the wind and frigid air.
They had lived in a sturdier structure in the rear of the lot, but some teenagers burned it down, said Adam Zbiaowski, 15, who lives in the neighborhood. They had also lived in a vacant house a few blocks away that was demolished, Adam said.
The body of a third man, covered in snow, was discovered yesterday afternoon on a sidewalk on Conduit Boulevard near Cross Bay Boulevard in Queens, the police said. The cause of death was not yet known, but officers said the man, Lennox Hunte, 59, of Brooklyn, appeared to have suffered from hypothermia.
Across the region, the cold forced many to seek shelter, whether rich or poor. At homeless shelters in northern New Jersey, volunteers said they had a marked increase in the number of people seeking a warm bed.
And in Connecticut, where a power failure left about 39,000 customers without electricity, mainly in Fairfield County and other southwest parts of the state, the 373 rooms at the Greenwich Hyatt Regency sold out last night as residents sought shelter. "Our typical Sunday night is not a busy night," Tom Delaney, the general manager of the Hyatt, said. "People are eating dinner, putting the kids to bed. It's a very comfortable scene in the hotel."
In New York, New Jersey and Connecticut, the power failures were caused by wind gusts that surpassed 50 miles an hour, wreaking widespread damage and leaving more than 50,000 customers without power for some period of time from Saturday until early today, utilities said. But Connecticut was the hardest hit. Residents said many people were forced to rely on backup generators to heat their homes. "We have crews out there and they'll be working throughout the night until all the power is restored," said Mary B. Ingarra, a spokeswoman for Connecticut Light and Power.
In New Jersey, about 1,500 people lost power statewide, according to officials with Public Service Electric and Gas.
The extreme weather caused widespread power failures throughout Westchester and Queens, said Joseph Petta, a spokesman for Con Edison. About 12,700 customers lost power in Westchester and 1,300 in Flushing, Queens.
And even though the cold had been around for a good 24 hours by 8:30 last night, when Rob Walker, 32, went out to walk his girlfriend's dog in Jersey City, it still caught him off guard, as he stood outside on Washington Street without a hat or scarf. "I figured that we'd only be out for a few minutes, but until she goes we don't go back in," he said grimacing against the wind. "At this point, I'd rather get back inside and deal with the mess there than stand out here frozen to the bone."
In Greenpoint, Brooklyn, where the wind off the East River made it feel below zero, the bodies of the two men lay frozen under a blue plastic tarp as detectives combed the lot.
"I've got three shirts on under my jacket - it's real cold," said Mr. Hernandez, the security guard, as he made his rounds to check the doors of the building. He looked across the street at the lot where the men had lived. "Those people don't have much protection from the cold," he said.
John Holl and Matthew Sweeney contributed reporting for this article.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/16/nyregion/16power.html?emc=eta1
Spy Agency Data After Sept. 11 Led F.B.I. to Dead Ends
By LOWELL BERGMAN, ERIC LICHTBLAU, SCOTT SHANE and DON VAN NATTA Jr.
Published: January 17, 2006
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 - In the anxious months after the Sept. 11 attacks, the National Security Agency began sending a steady stream of telephone numbers, e-mail addresses and names to the F.B.I. in search of terrorists. The stream soon became a flood, requiring hundreds of agents to check out thousands of tips a month.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/politics/17spy.html?hp&ex=1137560400&en=998d7190aee080f7&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Spotlight on Lobbying Swings to Little-Known Congressman
By ANNE E. KORNBLUT
Published: January 17, 2006
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 - Until recently, Representative Bob Ney was little more than an obscure, sometimes eccentric, lawmaker from Ohio.
He had made his biggest public splash in 2003, when he ordered the House cafeteria to start calling French fries "freedom fries" because France had opposed the war in Iraq. Fluent in Farsi - an interest that grew out of having an exchange student live with his family - Mr. Ney lived for a time in Iran as a teacher, and later taught in Saudi Arabia.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/politics/17ney.html?hp&ex=1137560400&en=883599cd26da3e2d&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Recent Outcast Is Back in Favor in Ukraine Race
By STEVEN LEE MYERS
Published: January 17, 2006
KIEV, Ukraine, Jan. 14 - A campaign ad, broadcast repeatedly on television here, shows a man basking in the adulation of flag-waving crowds reminiscent of the protests that overturned the fraudulent election for president in 2004. But he is not Viktor A. Yushchenko, who rode those protests to the presidency, vowing to turn Ukraine into a free and prosperous democracy.
He is the man Mr. Yushchenko defeated, Viktor F. Yanukovich, the chosen heir of a discredited and unpopular government, who would have been president but for those huge street demonstrations and international diplomatic pressure.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/international/europe/17ukraine.html?hp&ex=1137560400&en=96488ae2bfbdbbfd&ei=5094&partner=homepage
Disarray Among the Palestinians
Published: January 17, 2006
One critical question lost in the hubbub over who will succeed Ariel Sharon is whether there will be any valid authority left among the Palestinians when the Israelis sort out their politics. A report last week by Steven Erlanger of The New York Times paints an alarming picture of a bankrupt, powerless and divided Palestinian Authority.
Fatah, the late Yasir Arafat's movement, is split, while the militant and political group Hamas is gaining strength by the day. The teeming Gaza Strip, recently evacuated by Israeli settlers, is on the verge of civil war. For some Israelis, this is proof that they don't have a negotiating partner and ought to move ahead with Mr. Sharon's plan to separate Israelis and Palestinians by putting a security barrier around areas that Israel wishes to keep and withdrawing from the areas it doesn't want. But reality isn't that simple. Israel has a stake in keeping Palestinians from descending further into chaos.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/opinion/17tue1.html?hp
Liberia's Harvard-Trained 'Queen' Is Sworn in as Leader
By LYDIA POLGREEN
Published: January 17, 2006
MONROVIA, Liberia, Jan. 16 - Greeted by shouts of "Queen of Africa!" and standing before the bullet-scarred capitol of this war-torn nation, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, a Harvard-trained banker and stalwart survivor of Liberia's brutal politics, took the presidential oath of office on Monday, becoming Africa's first woman to be elected a head of state.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/international/africa/17liberia.html
Two Groups Planning to Sue Over Federal Eavesdropping
By ERIC LICHTBLAU
Published: January 17, 2006
WASHINGTON, Jan. 16 - Two leading civil rights groups plan to file lawsuits Tuesday against the Bush administration over its domestic spying program to determine whether the operation was used to monitor 10 defense lawyers, journalists, scholars, political activists and other Americans with ties to the Middle East.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/politics/17nsa.html
As in Sharon's Case, Handling of Stroke Has Many Variables
By LAWRENCE K. ALTMAN, M.D.
Published: January 17, 2006
The life-threatening stroke that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon suffered early this month has focused attention on the treatment of strokes, in particular the use of anticoagulants and clot-dissolving drugs.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/health/17docs.html
At the Globes, 'Brokeback Mountain' Takes Top Awards
By SHARON WAXMAN
Published: January 17, 2006
LOS ANGELES, Jan. 16 - A groundbreaking film about a love affair between two cowboys took top awards at the 63rd Golden Globes on Monday, a ceremony that dealt almost entirely with low-budget, art house films that have not yet broken through to blockbuster-size audiences.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/01/17/movies/redcarpet/17glob.html
The New Zealand Herald
Gore calls for special inquiry into US eavesdropping
17.01.06 1.00pm
WASHINGTON - Former Vice President Al Gore has called for an independent counsel to investigate whether President George W Bush broke the law in authorizing domestic eavesdropping without court approval.
US Attorney General Alberto Gonzales plans to testify in Senate hearings, expected next month, to give the administration's legal justification for the secret domestic eavesdropping operation.
"A special counsel should be immediately appointed by the attorney general to remedy the obvious conflict of interest that prevents him from investigating what many believe are serious violations of law by the president," Gore said in a speech to The American Constitution Society and The Liberty Coalition.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10364080
Whaling protest boat out of fuel
17.01.06 10.00am
The Sea Shepherd anti-whaling protestors have been forced to pull out of the Southern Ocean due to a lack of fuel.
The group's flaghsip, the Farley Mowat, has been chasing the Japanese whaling fleet for six weeks.
Its skipper Paul Watson said last night: "We are disappointed to have to leave, but we now have no alternative, as we no longer have the fuel resources to stay.
"We have over-stretched our fuel and now have just enough to reach the nearest port."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10364077
TV in the bedroom halves your sex life
17.01.06 3.20pm
ROME - Thinking of buying a TV for the bedroom? Think again - it could ruin your sex life.
A study by an Italian sexologist has found that couples who have a TV set in their bedroom have sex half as often as those who don't.
"If there's no television in the bedroom, the frequency (of sexual intercourse) doubles," said Serenella Salomoni whose team of psychologists questioned 523 Italian couples to see what effect television had on their sex lives.
On average, Italians who live without TV in the bedroom have sex twice a week, or eight times a month. This drops to an average of four times a month for those with a TV, the study found.
For the over-50s the effect is even more marked, with the average of seven couplings a month falling to just 1.5 times.
The study found certain programmes are far more likely to impede passion than others. Violent films will put a stop to sexual relations for half of all couples, while reality shows stem passion for a third of couples.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10364073
Anglicans could have woman spiritual head
17.01.06 2.20pm
LONDON - A Church of England report yesterday paved the way for a female Archbishop of Canterbury but said that having a woman as spiritual leader of the world's Anglicans was still a long way off.
As a first step, women bishops could be ordained by the year 2012, it added, but not before an elaborate compromise is worked out to placate opponents.
The issue of whether women should be allowed to break through the so-called "stained glass ceiling" to take senior jobs in the church has provoked heated debate.
It has been running alongside the other current major Anglican controversy: the ordination of gay priests.
Two years of deepening differences among the world's 77 million Anglicans were sparked by the ordination of gay American bishop Gene Robinson and the blessing of same sex marriages in Canada.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10364112
Masai drive starving herds into streets of Nairobi
17.01.06 1.00pm
By Meera Selva
NAIROBI - Nairobi's city centre has clogged up with an unusual kind of traffic as hundreds of Masai herdsmen drive their cattle into town to escape the drought that has dried up most of their usual grazing grounds.
The city's grass verges, roundabouts and playing fields are filled with hungry-looking cows and goats, tended by teenage boys wearing traditional red robes over dusty synthetic trousers.
It is an annual sight.
The Masai have always considered Nairobi to be an essential part of their traditional grazing routes - the name of the city itself means "place of cool waters".
In the dry season, hundreds of herdsmen leave their villages and drive their animals to the city, often walking for several days.
Some years, the migration is a political statement to remind Kenya's urban elite that the Masai still exist and that they are staking a claim to the city, where a high altitude and generous rainfall combine to provide year-round greenery.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10364104
Court hears of mass refugee bid from Buddhist temple
17.01.06 4.00pm
By Tony Stickley
Hundreds of people from a Buddhist temple in Auckland applied en masse for refugee status, a court was told today.
John Boggs, an intelligence analyst with the New Zealand Immigration Service, said claims from Thais escalated in 1998/99.
He was appearing as a Crown witness at the Auckland District Court today in the case of John Hikuwai, who is charged with immigration offences.
It was the top country for people seeking refugee status for the following four years, Mr Boggs said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10364124
Australian growers prepare apples plan
17.01.06 4.00pm
Australian orchardists are working on their response to the latest plan to allow New Zealand apples into Australia.
Biosecurity Australia late last year announced a draft framework for trans-Tasman imports, in a move that has been strongly opposed by growers, who are concerned about the disease fireblight.
Apple and Pear Australia lobby chairman Daryl Ashton said the new document was different to previous draft risk assessments.
He told ABC Radio: "It's taken the emphasis off fireblight a little but there's a lot more concentration on seven other insect pests, so that's a whole new ball game compared to the previous IRA [import risk analysis] where there wasn't as much attention on those particular pests and disease.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10364120
Water conservation urged as firefighters tackled mill blaze
17.01.06 3.10pm UPDATE
Kaitaia residents were urged to use as little water as possible today while firefighters battled a large timber mill blaze.
The call was made to allow the fire service to use all the water they needed.
The blaze was brought under control this afternoon, though the cause remained a mystery. There had been concerns about the fire spreading to gas cylinders at the site.
Auckland fire communications shift manager Jaron Phillips said they were alerted to the fire at the Juken New Zealand Triboard Mill, just north of Kaitaia, at 10.20am today.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10364099
Hoffman, Huffman win top Globe awards
17.01.06 5.45pm - UPDATE
BEVERLY HILLS - Philip Seymour Hoffman won the award for best actor in a film drama for his portrayal of novelist Truman Capote in "Capote" and Felicity Huffman won the best actress in a film drama for her portrayal of a man on the verge of becoming a woman through a sex change operation in "Transamerica" at the Golden Globe Awards in Hollywood today.
"Brokeback Mountain'' was named the best film drama.
George Clooney was named best supporting actor in a drama and Reese Witherspoon took the award for best actress in a film musical or comedy for her portrayal of country singer June Carter in "Walk the Line".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=604&objectid=10364118
Stand-in named after Saddam judge insists on quitting
17.01.06 8.00am
BAGHDAD - The judge trying Saddam Hussein has refused to withdraw his resignation, forcing the court named a stand-in to preside over next week's hearings while efforts continue to persuade Judge Rizgar Amin to return.
Amin's complaints of government interference have rocked the US-sponsored court, whose ability to stage a fair trial amid sectarian and ethnic conflict had already been thrown into doubt by the killings of two defence lawyers and talk of intimidation.
"We sent a delegation from the court to convince him but it was not successful," the chief prosecutor in the trial, Jaafar al-Moussawi, told Reuters after a mission led by another senior judge to Amin's Kurdish home city of Sulaimaniya.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10364066
Big Brother spy technology used to save last of the big cats
17.01.06
By Justin Huggler
DELHI - India is to fit hidden cameras in the depths of the jungle and fit tigers with radio collars tracked by satellite in an attempt to bring one of the world's most endangered species back from the brink of extinction.
The whole set-up is part of a major new effort by India to protect its dwindling population of wild tigers from poachers.
Under the scheme, every wild tiger in India will be issued its own photo-ID card - which will be kept by the Wildlife Institute of India so it can identify the tigers from sightings and verify they are still alive.
The new system is being launched as part of a national tiger census, amid fears that the tiger will be driven to extinction in the wild within little more than a generation.
India, which is home to the majority of tigers left in the wild, has come in for heavy criticism after it emerged last year that the tiger population had been hit hard by illegal poachers, right under the noses of wildlife officials.
The Government was forced to admit that 122 tigers had been slaughtered by poachers between 1999 and 2003. In the most notorious instance, it emerged that the world-renowned Sariska tiger reserve had lost all 28 of its tigers to poachers, and was empty.
Although the international trade in tiger skins and parts is banned, there is a lucrative black market. A single tiger skin can fetch as much as US$18,000 ($25,700), while a tiger penis, used in traditional Chinese medicine for virility, sells for US$25,000 per kg - prices for which poachers are prepared to take serious risks.
Before independence in 1947, India had some 40,000 tigers. Today, the Government estimates there are 3700 left, but some conservationists believe the true number may be as low as 2000. Until now there has been no way of tracking individual tigers in India. The authorities have relied on physical sightings and pugmarks, or paw prints, to gauge the size of the wild population.
Once the census is complete, hidden cameras in India's national parks will monitor the tigers' movements.
"This will get us information such as levels of density and levels of disturbance, which will give us a clear idea of what is really happening on the ground," said the institute's Qamar Qureshi, known in India as Tiger-man. "If photography is done intensively, we'll know what is happening to the population."
A DYING BREED
* Before independence in 1947, about 40,000 tigers roamed wild in India.
* Today, the Government estimates there are 3700 left.
* Some conservationists believe the true number may be as low as 2000.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10363980
continued …
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Opposite Ends of Earth
January 17, 2006.
This is New Zealand and southeast Australia.
Scott Base, Antarctica is a New Zealand station.
This is a peripheral reach of the vortex over Antarctica. It is bringing high latitude heat over the Ice Continent.
Opposite ends of Earth are experiencing the same stress.
Am I getting though to anyone? This is serious.
This isn't a healthy Earth. Earth is working hard to return balance to the biosphere. Humans have to do their part. We do have brains? Some would say, God Given Brains. Do I have to say more?
January 17, 2006. 0930.
Alaskan Satellite.
GOES Alaska SECTOR IR Image.
This is a vortex. It's center is over a coastal plain. It is taking hot air over terra firma to the Arctic Circle and bringing cooler air out to sea displacing millions of heat calories over Earth's Ice Reserves.
It's cooling the oceans. The oceans maintain the cooler temperatures of the land. When the Ice Cube of the North Pole is gone Earth won't have that capacity anymore.
Is Texas and Oklahoma below 36 North Latitude near ocean waters?
There is the reason why the Pacific Northwest is drenched with water. This is happening CONSISTENTLY across this continent.
Why is the northern mid continent states freezing and heavy with winter percipitation?
This is not normal. The jet stream meandering around this planet is normal. We haven't seen normal in how long? The record setting hurricanes are not normal either.
And the USA has no policy to control carbon dioxide emissions. That is gross negligence by the Executive Branch of this country to bring this country's issues before the legislature for a bill that will protect us and provide for the common good. The legislature needs to address this issue and override any veto. That won't happen in a corrupt Senate and House. We need to replace the corrupt Republicans with Democracts or Independants with a conscience that will legislate regarding these problems. The drowning of the Northwest. The drought and fires of the Prairie States are all serious problems. America has to take back control of itself from the corruption that exists within it's federal government. This is not an option.
Morning Papers - concluded
The weather in Antarctica (Crystal Wind Chime) is above zero:
Scott Base
Cloudy
2.0°
Updated Tuesday 17 Jan 9:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
25 °F / -4 °C
Mostly Cloudy
Humidity:
93%
Dew Point:
23 °F / -5 °C
Wind:
Calm
Pressure:
29.17 in / 988 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Mostly Cloudy 7500 ft / 2286 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
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