Lawyers Vow Legal Action in Cartoons RowP.K. Abdul Ghafour & Abdul Maqsood Mirza, Arab News
JEDDAH, 4 February 2006 — Lawyers in Saudi Arabia and other Arab countries have decided to forge an alliance in defense of Islam following the publication of cartoons denigrating the Prophet Muhammad (peace be upon him) in some European newspapers.
The lawyers wanted to take legal action against those who insult and demean the Prophet. “I have contacted our colleagues in Egypt, the United Arab Emirates and Jordan. They have all supported the idea,” Al-Madinah daily quoted lawyer Sulaiman Al-Sanie, who spearheaded the campaign.
January 25, 2006. A Palestinian and Hebrew living together in the same community before the Palestinian elections. Will it continue? 
The left-wing government in Norway apologizes to Muslims worldwide for the publication of twelve Muhammad cartoons [see them here] in the Norwegian newspaper Magazinet. Oslo sent out instructions to all the Norwegian embassies on how to respond to queries about the cartoons. Unlike the Danish government, the Norwegian government is not concerned about safeguarding the right to freedom of expression. Foreign Minister, Jonas Gahr Støre, a leading member of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s Workers’ Party, wrote the following e-mail to the Norwegian embassies:I am sorry that the publication of a few cartoons in the Norwegian paper Magazinet has caused unrest among Muslims. I fully understand that these drawings are seen to give offence by Muslims worldwide. Islam is a spiritual reference point for a large part of the world. Your faith has the right to be respected by us.The cartoons in the Christian paper Magazinet are not constructive in building the bridges which are necessary between people with different religious and ethnic backgrounds. Instead they contribute to suspicion and unnecessary conflict.Let it be clear that the Norwegian government condemns every expression or act which expresses contempt for people on the basis of their religion or ethnic origin. Norway has always supported the fight of the UN against religious intolerance and racism, and believes that this fight is important in order to avoid suspicion and conflict. Tolerance, mutual respect and dialogue are the basis values of Norwegian society and of our foreign policy.Freedom of expression is one of the pillars of Norwegian society. This includes tolerance for opinions that not everyone shares. At the same time our laws and our international obligations enforce restrictions for incitement to hatred or hateful expressions.Opposition politicians reacted to this message with indignation. Jon Lilletun, the spokesman on foreign policy for the Christian-democrat Kristelig Folkeparti, points out that it is not the ministry’s task to express an opinion on the content of the cartoons. Carl I. Hagen, the leader of the Progress Party, fears that freedom of expression is being swept under the carpet.Magazinet published the cartoons in support of the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, which after publishing the drawings last September has been threatened with revenge by Muslim extremists. According to Islam it is blasphemy to depict Muhammad. The Danish government has consistently refused to give in to demands from Islamic countries that it apologize for the publication of the cartoons and introduce censorship.As we noted before it is striking to see how Norwegian politics differs from Danish politics. The Norwegian Foreign Minister’s e-mail was meant to be confidential and not to be disclosed to the Norwegian public, “because,” as the Foreign Ministry wrote, “that would look rather stupid in the Norwegian press.” Apparently Muslims abroad are more deserving of respect than one’s own citizens.
Boston Globe
Islamic anger widens at Mohammed cartoons
Europeans face protests, threats
By Colin Nickerson, Globe Staff February 3, 2006
BERLIN -- An extraordinary row over newspaper cartoons depicting the Prophet Mohammed intensified yesterday, with street demonstrations from North Africa to Pakistan to Indonesia, threats of violence against Europeans in the Middle East, and diplomatic protests by Muslim nations.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/02/03/islamic_anger_widens_at_mohammed_cartoons_1138959659/
In my opinion, this could easily 'front' for a bio-weapons lab. I don't like it.
Biosafety lab in South End gets final OK
The federal government gave final approval yesterday to Boston University's plan to build a high-security research laboratory in the South End, where scientists will work with some of the world's deadliest viruses and bacteria.
http://www.boston.com/news/globe/
BU may start construction this month
By Stephen Smith, Globe Staff February 3, 2006
The federal government gave final approval yesterday to Boston University's plan to build a high-security research laboratory in the South End, where scientists hunting for vaccines and drugs will work with some of the world's deadliest viruses and bacteria, such as Ebola, anthrax, and plague.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/03/biosafety_lab_in_south_end_gets_final_ok/
Regulators debate cutting fishing days at sea to rebuild stocks
By Clarke Canfield, Associated Press Writer February 1, 2006
PORTLAND, Maine --New England fishery regulators debated proposed regulations Wednesday that would cut fishermen's days-at-sea allotments by as much as 40 percent in an effort to help fish populations recover.
The New England Fishery Management Council was discussing seven alternatives late Wednesday that included reducing how many days fishermen can fish, changing the way days-at-sea are counted and other measures. The plan aims to rebuild declining populations of cod, yellowtail and winter flounder, and white hake in New England waters.
The meeting was expected to last into the night.
Regulators and fishermen said none of the alternatives were appealing and all would cause economic distress and induce safety problems with no guarantees that they would meet their objective.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/02/01/regulators_debate_cutting_fishing_days_at_sea_to_rebuild_stocks/
Plea in nightclub fire case spells uncertain future for co-defendants
By Eric Tucker, Associated Press Writer February 1, 2006
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --The announcement that a former tour manager for a rock band would plead guilty in a nightclub fire that killed 100 people prompts the crucial question of what the deal means for the two other men charged in the deadly 2003 blaze.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/02/01/plea_in_nightclub_fire_case_spells_uncertain_future_for_co_defendants/
Boston to host 2006 WNBA draft
February 1, 2006
BOSTON --The WNBA will hold its annual draft in Boston this year, marking the first time in the league's 10-year history the event will be held outside New Jersey.
The draft will be held at the Boston Convention and Exhibition Center on April 5, the day after the women's college basketball championship game is play at Boston's TD Banknorth Garden.
In addition, coaches and general managers will evaluate the skills of about 40 top college seniors at the league's annual pre-draft camp April 3 at Emmanuel College in the city's Fenway section.
"With our pre-draft camp in town and with our draft taking place less than 24 hours after an NCAA national champion is crowned, Boston will be the Mecca of women's basketball during the first week of April," WNBA president Donna Orender said Wednesday.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/01/boston_to_host_2006_wnba_draft_pre_draft_camp/
U.S. aims for nuclear workers' safety
By Nancy Zuckerbrod, Associated Press Writer February 1, 2006
WASHINGTON --The Energy Department, for the first time, plans to start fining contractors who violate basic safety rules at the nation's nuclear weapons plants.
Currently the government can fine contractors if they expose workers to radiation hazards but cannot fine them for exposing employees to toxic chemicals or other industrial hazards.
A new rule to be published by the government next week seeks to resolve that inconsistency.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/02/01/us_aims_for_nuclear_workers_safety/
Gas traces found on school milk cartons
January 31, 2006
COLUMBIA, S.C. --Traces of gasoline and a chemical used in moth balls have been found on milk cartons in two Barnwell County schools, health officials say.
The odor was so strong that officials don't think any students drank the milk from the contaminated cartons, Department of Health and Environmental Control spokesman Thom Berry said.
"It was so strong and so distinct -- nobody wanted to drink it," Berry said.
The milk was noticed the first week of January at Barnwell Primary and Barnwell Elementary schools. Administrators contacted law enforcement and health department officials, and other districts stopped serving milk for a day, including Lexington 1.
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/01/31/gas_traces_found_on_school_milk_cartons/
Sony scraps four-legged robot pet Aibo
TOKYO --The world's first mass-marketed robot, Sony's Aibo, recognizes its owners' faces and is programmed for sympathy, like a canine companion. Its eyes light up in red to show anger, green to convey happiness. It even learns its own name.
Aibo owners tend to be fiercely loyal, too. The robots have even been hacked by tinkerers seeking to add their own modifications. But none of that prevented Sony Corp. from announcing last week that it was scrapping the four-legged robot pet as part of the company's bid to reverse flagging fortunes and cut costs.
Like so many things Sony has made over the years, the Aibo is a niche product. And since Sony is pulling the plug on robot production as part of a major restructuring, so goes the Aibo.
http://www.boston.com/business/technology/articles/2006/02/01/sony_scraps_four_legged_robot_pet_aibo/
Operator of bus in Rita blast charged
MCALLEN, Texas --A tour company has been charged with conspiracy and other crimes in the deaths of 23 nursing home residents whose bus caught fire and exploded as they were trying to flee Hurricane Rita.
In an indictment unsealed Wednesday, Global Limo, Inc., and owner James H. Maples are accused of conspiring to falsify driver time records and failing to inspect the company's bus fleet to make sure the buses were safe.
Maples, 65, was arrested Wednesday at his McAllen home. He was scheduled to appear before a U.S. magistrate Wednesday afternoon.
The bus caught fire Sept. 23 on a freeway near Dallas as it was evacuating residents of Brighton Gardens nursing home from Houston as Hurricane Rita churned in the Gulf of Mexico. The driver and some passengers escaped, but others were trapped when oxygen tanks on board fed the flames and exploded.
Those killed accounted for nearly a quarter of the roughly 100 people whose deaths were attributed to the hurricane.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/02/01/operator_of_bus_in_rita_blast_charged/
Women sue Wal-Mart over emergency contraceptionThree women from the Boston area today sued Wal-Mart for failing to stock and dispense an emergency contraception pill called Plan B.
Sam Perkins, an attorney representing the women, said Wal-Mart violated regulations of the Board of Registration in Pharmacy by not stocking the drug. His suit, filed under the state's Consumer Protection Act, demands Wal-Mart dispense Plan B and pay attorney fees.
Wal-Mart officials say they know of no Massachusetts regulation or law requiring a pharmacy to stock every drug, but the retailer said it would stock Plan B if directed to do so by the state pharmacy board or Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly. Wal-Mart says it doesn't stock emergency contraception at any of its pharmacies nationally for "business reasons."
http://www.boston.com/business/ticker/
Study: Compact Cars, SUVs Have Highest Fatality Rates
WASHINGTON — People love compact cars as gas prices soar, but there's a sobering cost: The U.S. government says they have the highest fatality rate.
Compacts had a fatality rate of 17.76 per 100,000 vehicles in 2004, followed by compact pickup trucks with 16.87 and subcompact vehicles with 16.85, according to a report Monday by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration. Large vans had the lowest rate, 9.34, while pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles had rates of about 15 deaths.
http://www.cars.com/go/news/Story.jsp?section=news&subject=recent&story=013106storyaAP&aff=boston
Punching horse may land man in deep doodoo
February 1, 2006
OROVILLE, Calif. --A 24-year-old man could be shoveling horse manure as part of his punishment for punching a police horse.
Butte County Superior Court Judge Stephen Benson sentenced Robert William Huff, of Chico, to 20 hours of community service and 24 hours in jail after he pleaded no contest Tuesday to a charge of assaulting a police horse.
The horse, named "Bailey," was helping police control fraternity party crowds last Labor Day when Huff allegedly backhanded it in the face. Huff's attorney, William Short, said the horse had stepped on Huff's foot and was he was trying to get it off.
"There was never any malicious intent," Short said.
District attorney Mike Ramsey said he hopes Huff's probation will be spent "shoveling horse manure at the Chico police mounted unit's training grounds."
http://www.boston.com/news/odd/articles/2006/02/01/police_horse_may_end_up_getting_last_laugh/
BBC
'Many dead' as Egypt ferry sinks
The al-Salam Boccaccio '98 had a capacity of more than 1,400. Photo: Yvan Perchoc
Many people are feared to have died after an Egyptian ferry carrying about 1,400 people sank in the Red Sea.
Fourteen bodies and 100 survivors have been pulled from the water, as rescue boats battled poor weather to scour the area before darkness fell.
The al-Salam Boccaccio '98 sank about 80km (50 miles) off Egypt during an overnight trip from Duba, Saudi Arabia.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4678368.stm
Shipping disasters timeline
The BBC News website looks at the world's major peacetime shipping disasters over the past 20 years.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4678192.stm
Rocket attack on Israeli kibbutz
A Palestinian homemade rocket has hit a house on a kibbutz in southern Israel injuring at least three people, among them a child, Israeli sources say.
Kibbutz Karamiah is about 9km (6 miles) north of the Gaza Strip border.
Meanwhile Israeli forces clashed with Hezbollah guerrillas in a disputed area where the borders of Israel, Lebanon and Syria meet.
Reports said that Hezbollah had attacked an Israeli army position in the area, known as the Shebaa Farms.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4678258.stm
Trial date set in CIA leak case
A US judge has set a trial date of next January for a top White House aide who faces charges relating to the leaking of a CIA agent's identity to the press.
Jury selection for the trial of Lewis Libby starts on 8 January 2007, pushing the case back beyond crucial mid-term elections in November.
The delay stems from the defence lawyer's engagement in another trial.
Valerie Plame's identity was leaked in 2003. Her husband, a former diplomat had criticised the US Iraq war policy.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4678724.stm
Muhammad cartoon row intensifies
Some of the cartoons depict the Prophet Muhammad as a terrorist
Newspapers across Europe have reprinted caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad to show support for a Danish paper whose cartoons have sparked Muslim outrage.
Seven publications in France, Germany, the Netherlands, Italy and Spain all carried some of the drawings.
Their release in Denmark has led to protests in Arab nations, diplomatic sanctions and death threats.
Islamic tradition bans depictions of the Prophet, but media watchdogs defend press freedom to publish the images.
Reporters Without Borders said the reaction in the Arab world "betrays a lack of understanding" of press freedom as "an essential accomplishment of democracy."
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4670370.stm
'Scant help' for tsunami victims
Aid agencies have accused governments in five countries hit by the Asian tsunami of failing to provide housing, relief or work to all the victims.
The UN-backed report said coastal dwellers were being discouraged or even stopped from returning to their land.
The authors visited 50,000 people in towns and villages in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, the Maldives and Thailand.
The report, by Action Aid and two other charities, was released at the UN headquarters in New York.
The horrifying images from the tsunami provoked a massive international response with money pouring in from governments and individuals alike.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/4671884.stm
Enron chiefs 'involved in fraud'
Enron's former chairman Ken Lay says he knew nothing of the fraud
The chairman and chief executive of the collapsed energy firm Enron were highly involved with the company, the first prosecution witness has told a court.
Enron's founder and chairman Ken Lay and chief executive Jeffrey Skilling are on trial for massive fraud.
The two men deny the charges and claim they knew nothing of the company's problems and debts of $40bn (£23bn).
However, former head of investor relations Mark Koenig implicated men as he testified for the prosecution.
The firm's sudden collapse in 2001 was the biggest corporate scandal in recent US history.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/4671920.stm
Key Iran nuclear decision delayed
The UN's nuclear watchdog has put off until Saturday a meeting on whether to report Iran to the UN Security Council.
Diplomats believe the motion to report Tehran over its nuclear activities - which the EU and US say still leaves room for diplomacy - will be passed.
No reason has been given for the delay. Russia has reportedly decided to back the move if the threat of sanctions is withheld for at least another month.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4676136.stm
Key nations' stances on Iran
The UN's nuclear regulator, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), is holding an emergency meeting on 2 February to discuss Iran's nuclear programme.
At a meeting in London on 30 January, the five permanent members of the Security Council - the US, Russia, China, Britain and France - agreed that the IAEA should report to the council its decisions on steps required of Iran under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
But they agreed that the Security Council itself should wait until March and a further IAEA report on Iran before deciding whether to "reinforce the authority of the IAEA process" - that is, whether to become actively involved. The IAEA agreed in principle last September that the issues fell within the council's authority.
Iran argues that it is now in compliance and should be allowed to make its own fuel under IAEA inspection as permitted under the NPT. It says it has no intention of making nuclear weapons.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4662676.stm
Iran row hits Belgian spy chief
Iran is under huge pressure to halt its nuclear research
The head of Belgium's state security service has resigned amid allegations that his department failed to disclose nuclear technology transfers to Iran.
Koen Dassen stepped down after it emerged that warnings from the CIA about such transfers had gone unheeded.
A Belgian firm, Epsi, allegedly sold Iran an isostatic press, which can strengthen nuclear weapons components.
An international embargo bans nuclear technology transfers to Iran, which denies plans to build an atomic bomb.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/4666852.stm
Iran moves to ease oil concerns
Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh says oil exports remain separate
Iran has moved to reassure the West that it does not plan to reduce its oil exports if the UN introduces sanctions against its nuclear ambitions.
Its oil minister Kazem Vaziri Hamaneh said the issues were entirely separate.
Speaking ahead of a meeting of the oil producers' cartel Opec, he said "from our point of view there's no link between the two".
Global oil prices have risen in recent weeks due to growing international concern about Iran's nuclear plans.
Mixed oil prices
The permanent members of the United Nations (UN) Security Council have agreed that the nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), must report back on Iran's position.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/4664590.stm
Kenyan 'graft' minister resigns
David Mwiraria was accused of warning off investigations into Anglo Leasing
Kenyan Finance Minister David Mwiraria has resigned after being linked to a corruption scandal that has shaken the Kenyan government.
The multimillion dollar "Anglo Leasing" corruption scam involved contracts for a company that existed in name only.
Mr Mwiraria, who is one of President Mwai Kibaki's key allies, has said the allegations against him are false.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/africa/4670120.stm
Colombian paramilitaries disarm
The fighters handed over their weapons in the presence of officials
More than 20,000 paramilitaries have now laid down their arms in Colombia following the latest disarmament drive under the peace process, officials say.
Over 2,500 fighters of the Central Bolivar Bloc surrendered their weapons at a ceremony in the town of Santa Rosa, north of Bogota.
The government believes this faction controlled a coca production area.
Under the peace process, those who have committed crimes and agree to disarm face reduced prison terms.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/americas/4671256.stm
Infertility link in iceman's DNA
Oetzi, the prehistoric man frozen in a glacier for 5,300 years, could have been infertile, a new study suggests.
Genetic research, published in the American Journal of Physical Anthropology, also confirms that his roots probably lie in Central Europe.
Oetzi's body was found in the melting ice of the Schnalstal glacier in the Italian Alps in 1991.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/sci/tech/4674866.stm
Magazine quiz: Salt
For a complete archive of past quizzes, including the Curriculum tests and our weekly news quiz 7 days 7 questions, visit the Magazine index and scroll down the page.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk/4669650.stmcontinued …
January 31, 2006. Manchester, Massachusetts. No this is not a new variety boathouse.
"Tsotsi." (Kindly click on title)Still another great film nominated for an Oscar. This time in the Best Foreign Language Film category.
Los Angeles Times
IAEA Likely to OK Iran Resolution
The U.N. atomic agency report to the Security Council would give Tehran a month to provide information on its nuclear program.
By Alissa J. Rubin and John Daniszewski, Times Staff Writers
VIENNA — European and U.S. diplomats expressed confidence Thursday that they would win the votes necessary to report concerns about Iran's nuclear research program to the United Nations Security Council.
With the support of oncereluctant Russia and China, there was little doubt that the International Atomic Energy Agency's board of governors would approve the resolution. All countries with veto power on the Security Council — the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China — now support the measure.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-iran3feb03,1,2450441.story?coll=la-headlines-world&ctrack=1&cset=true
Dutch Hesitations Create Hitch in Afghan Mission
The U.S. seeks a bigger NATO presence to lessen its combat burden. Some in Holland worry about dangers to troops.
By Paul Richter, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — When NATO voted in December to shoulder a larger and far riskier assignment in Afghanistan, an alliance born in the Cold War seemed suddenly to be entering a new and ambitious stage. But the resistance of the usually steadfast Dutch has thrown the mission into doubt, as well as the broader, long-term plans of the Bush administration to rely more heavily on its traditional partners in military operations around the world.
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization, which now has 9,000 troops patrolling generally safer parts of Afghanistan, agreed to take on the larger part of the burden from U.S. forces and to send troops into the nation's south, where Taliban fighters have been stepping up insurgent operations.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-usdutch2feb02,0,7386414.story?coll=la-home-world
Officials Closemouthed on Eavesdropping
Testifying to a Senate panel, intelligence chiefs say the NSA program has helped disrupt plots.
By Greg Miller, Times Staff Writer
WASHINGTON — The nation's top intelligence officials resisted pressure to provide more details about a controversial domestic eavesdropping program during congressional testimony Thursday, but said without elaborating that the operation had enabled authorities to disrupt potential terrorist plots.
National Intelligence Director John D. Negroponte and other senior officials declined to respond to questions about the surveillance program, refusing to say in a public session how many Americans had been targeted or how many e-mails and phone calls had been intercepted.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-intel3feb03,0,1746825.story?coll=la-home-nation
Not the Majority Leader They Expected
John A. Boehner defeats front-runner Roy Blunt as the party seeks to show a strong commitment to ethics reform.
By Mary Curtius and Richard Simon, Times Staff Writers
WASHINGTON — In choosing Rep. John A. Boehner of Ohio as the new House majority leader Thursday, Republicans sought to put a new face on a party reeling from scandals and worried about maintaining its congressional majority.
In an upset, Boehner won a tense closed-door vote that went to a second ballot.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-na-leader3feb03,0,2948324.story?coll=la-home-nation
Shooting Shocks Deputy's Friends
Ivory John Webb, the San Bernardino County lawman who fired on a senior airman Sunday night in Chino, is known as level-headed.
By Lance Pugmire, Times Staff Writer
Friends and family of the San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy who opened fire on an Air Force security officer in a video-recorded shooting described the deputy Thursday as level-headed and "by-the-book."
Deputy Ivory John Webb, a standout football player at Carson High School who also played for the University of Iowa, entered law enforcement in the long shadow of his father, a respected former police chief in Compton.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-highspeed3feb03,0,487550.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Greatest of Teese
Burlesque queen and fetishist has become fashion's "It" girl.
By Booth Moore, Times Staff Writer
It's Friday afternoon in the picket-fence suburb of Chatsworth. The sun is low as an iron gate parts to reveal a steep driveway leading to a classic, low-slung ranch house.
The front door opens and there is Dita Von Teese — a porcelain doll, not a raven hair out of place. Her scarlet fingernails are filed into pointy talons, her lipstick and beauty mark perfect.
http://www.latimes.com/features/lifestyle/cl-et-fashion3feb03,0,1624895.story?coll=la-homepage-calendar-widget
Sirius Shock: Pirates Hit Howard Stern Show
By Dawn C. Chmielewski, Times Staff Writer
Sirius Satellite Radio Inc., which liberated radio shock jock Howard Stern from the federal decency standards that he felt had shackled him, is finding that freedom's just another word for $500 million to lose.
Since Jan. 9, when Stern debuted on Sirius, pirated versions of the shows have been made available for free via several online file-sharing networks just hours after Stern signs off. The New York-based broadcaster signed Stern to a five-year, half-billion-dollar contract in 2004.
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/la-fi-free2feb02,0,7066536.story?track=hpmostemailedlink
'It's Like You’re Climbing Everest'By Erika Hayasaki
Eleven boys thought they’d leave high school as they entered it — together — on graduation day.
They were wrong.
http://www.latimes.com/news/education/la-me-dropouts-series,0,7942897.special
Anger Over Cartoons of Muhammad Escalates
By Sebastian Rotella, Times Staff Writer
PARIS — Protests erupted in the Muslim world and militants issued threats against Europeans on Thursday in response to the publication in Western media of controversial caricatures of the prophet Muhammad.
Debate over the drawings, which were first published in September by a Danish newspaper, is being seen as a collision between freedom of expression and religious sensitivities in European nations, where Muslim populations have struggled to fit in.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-muhammad3feb03,0,4651147.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Hussein Half Brother Named in Torture
With most defendants absent, two women tell court Barzan Ibrahim Hasan abused them.
By Richard Boudreaux, Times Staff Writer
BAGHDAD — As Saddam Hussein and other key defendants boycotted their trial, two women testified Wednesday that the former dictator's intelligence chief had supervised and taken part in torture sessions where they were stripped naked, given electric shocks, hung from the ceiling and beaten.
The accounts were the most chilling so far in court proceedings in which the defendants' tirades have often overshadowed the victims of their alleged crimes. It was the most damaging testimony yet against Barzan Ibrahim Hasan, who is Hussein's half brother, in the courtroom drama that began in October.
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/la-fg-saddam2feb02,0,6343524.story?coll=la-home-world
Don't gouge Exxon
IT'S NOT NECESSARILY TRUE that Exxon Mobil is richer than God, but in 2005 the company accomplished something nearly as impressive: It made more money than Wal-Mart.
Exxon's earnings announcement Monday makes it the most profitable company in U.S. history and the biggest company in the country by sales. And Exxon isn't alone in capitalizing on soaring crude oil prices — most of its brethren among the world's oil giants are reporting record profits as well. You'd expect oil executives to be flipping their Stetsons over their good fortune; instead, they're nervously dialing their lobbyists and taking out ads explaining that they're really not making all that much money after all.
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-ed-oil01feb01,0,1768293.story?coll=la-home-oped
How not to help Hamas
PALESTINIANS RECEIVE MORE international aid, per capita, than any people in the world. The upset victory by Hamas in the Palestinian elections offers a rare opportunity, for the United States and for the international community, to rethink what that aid could realistically accomplish — and under what conditions humanitarian aid could be provided to Palestinians without the risk that it would be siphoned to Hamas.
President Bush is right to threaten to cut off U.S. aid to a Palestinian government controlled by Hamas. U.S. law and common decency preclude taxpayer money from going to a terrorist group that has vowed to annihilate Israel. (Most of the $1.7 billion in U.S. aid after the 1993 Oslo agreement didn't go to the government, but the Palestinian Authority had been slated to get $150 million from the U.S. this year.)
http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/editorials/la-ed-hamas31jan31,0,822387.story?coll=la-news-comment-editorials
Postal Killer's Rampage Began With Ex-Neighbor's Slaying
By Steve Chawkins and Michael Muskal, Times Staff Writers
GOLETA, Calif. -- When Eddie Blomfield was unable to contact his girlfriend, he dashed to her condominium, opened the door and saw that his worst fears were real.
Beverly Graham was motionless on the floor. Blomfield reached down to touch her leg. "It was ice cold," the salesman said this morning as he and relatives mourned Graham, believed to be the first person shot by a former postal worker who went on a killing spree Monday night.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-020106postal_lat,0,5232565.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Airman's Shooting Sparks FBI Inquiry
By Lance Pugmire and Matt Lait, Times Staff Writers
Responding to a dramatic videotape of a police shooting, federal officials opened an investigation Tuesday into the conduct of a San Bernardino County sheriff's deputy who opened fire on a man who appeared to be following the deputy's order to get off the ground.
A grainy videotape of the shooting in Chino was broadcast repeatedly on television Tuesday. The quality of the tape is poor, and it is difficult to clearly hear all the exchanges between the deputy and 21-year-old Elio Carrion during the seconds before the shooting.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-highspeed1feb01,0,7570035.story?coll=la-home-headlines
Testimony Asserts Enron Earnings Reports Were Manipulated
By Thomas S. Mulligan and Jesus Sanchez, Times Staff Writers
Enron Corp. was under tremendous pressure to satisfy Wall Street's financial targets and, on at least two occasions, the company changed its quarterly earnings reports to match or exceed those expectations, the company's investor relations chief said today as the first witness in the corporate corruption case.
Former Enron investors relations chief and government witness Mark E. Koenig described how the defendants, former Chairman Kenneth L. Lay and Chief Executive Jeffrey K. Skilling, were aware of altering financial results — even by a penny or two a share — to please analysts and investors. Failure to meet those results would likely trigger a sell-off of Enron shares.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-020106enron_lat,0,2497196.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews
LAPD Chief Overruled on Teen's Death
By Richard Winton and Rong-Gong Lin II, Times Staff Writers
The Los Angeles Police Commission on Tuesday rejected the recommendation of Police Chief William J. Bratton and ruled that the officer who fatally shot a 13-year-old after a brief chase violated department rules and should face discipline.
The decision marks the first major test of a panel that Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa appointed last summer to provide tougher oversight of the Los Angeles Police Department. Many of the previous civilian commissions have been criticized as a rubber stamp for the chief.
http://www.latimes.com/news/local/la-me-lapd1feb01,0,4801279.story?coll=la-home-headlines&track=morenews
She Built a Legacy by Preserving One
The wife of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. was influential in the civil rights movement and carried it on with dignity and fortitude.
By Elaine Woo, Times Staff Writer
Coretta Scott King, the dignified and determined widow of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., who assumed her murdered husband's burden as chief symbol of the civil rights movement and fiercely guarded his legacy — often in ways that drew pointed criticism — has died. She was 78.
King, who had heart problems and had suffered a major stroke in August, died at 1 a.m. Tuesday at Santa Monica Health Institute, an alternative medicine center in Rosarito Beach, Mexico, said Lorena Blanco of the U.S. Consulate in Tijuana. Doctors at the clinic told Associated Press that King was fighting advanced ovarian cancer when she arrived there Thursday. She died of respiratory failure.
http://www.latimes.com/news/obituaries/la-me-king1feb01,0,4046052.story?coll=la-homepage-calendar-widget
United Finally Flies Out of Bankruptcy
From Associated Press
CHICAGO — United Airlines finally left bankruptcy today, a leaner and more cost-efficient carrier after a painful restructuring that began in 2002 and lasted a record 1,150 days.
The nation's No. 2 airline announced it had filed its exit documents in U.S. Bankruptcy Court this afternoon, officially ending the longest and costliest bankruptcy of any airline.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-020106united_wr,0,329922.story?coll=la-home-business
Major Market Indexes Slip After Fed Decision
But nearly all are positive for the month, historically a good sign for the entire year. Treasury bond yields barely budge.
By Tom Petruno, Times Staff Writer
Wall Street ended Tuesday close to where it began: still confident that the Federal Reserve is nearly done tightening credit.
Confidence in market darling Google, however, took a hit after the Internet giant reported weaker-than-expected earnings after regular trading ended.
http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-markets1feb01,0,5010655.story?coll=la-home-business
Stay out of the water? No way
Some surfers are so devoted to their sport that they ignore sewage-related beach closures, but the risks of infection are real.
By Hugo Martín, Times Staff Writer
In Southern California, surfing can be a contact sport.
Paddle out of almost any beach and there's a chance you'll come in contact with a sewage spill, big-city runoff, a red tide or, sometimes, floating cattle.
http://www.latimes.com/features/health/la-he-surf30jan30,0,6678989.story?coll=la-home-health
Beer and present danger
The president's State of the Union address might go down a little easier if you mix it with a few drinks.
By Heather Havrilesky, HEATHER HAVRILESKY is a television critic for Salon.com.
DESPITE THE HYPE, tonight's State of the Union address is certain to disappoint. Sure, President Bush will do his best to work us into a frenzy, as he did in his most recent televised address, with his talk of a vast cabal of brutal forces afoot, "unconstrained by conscience," opposed to "our deepest values," determined to view the world as a "giant battlefield."
But even as he spoke of this very exciting giant battlefield, the president just sat there at his desk, staring blankly into the TelePrompTer. Is that any way to build suspense? Why weren't there flames shooting into the sky on either side of his head? Why didn't the camera crew get some extreme close-ups with a shaky, hand-held camera? Did Karl Rove forget to cue the nerve-jangling, clock-ticking sound from "24"?
http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/opinion/la-oe-havrilesky31jan31,0,1625008.story?track=hpmostemailedlink
Hot off the global griddle
Arepas, clayudas and cornmeal pancakes -- you'll flip over their amazing textures and flavors.
By Barbara Hansen and Susan LaTempa, Times Staff Writers
GRIDDLE cakes are elemental. Like porridge and roasted meat, they're ancient preparations, seemingly slapped together at the fireside for as long as humans have gathered around that fire to eat. But in cooking, elemental never means unchanging. Corn griddle cakes, for example, simple folk food in dozens of cultures, come in many guises. Venezuelan or Columbia arepas. Oaxacan clayudas. Indonesian bregedel jagung. All-American cornmeal pancakes.
They may be basic, but they can have amazing flavor and texture, whatever the country of origin.
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-corncakes1feb01,0,529059.story?coll=la-home-food
Done right, it'll wow 'em
The latest batch of Bloody Marys has lemon, heat and lots of style.
By Leslee Komaiko, Special to The Times
THERE'S nothing like a great Bloody Mary. Tangy and spicy, earthy and rich, refreshing yet deeply satisfying, there's a reason the drink endures as a classic.
It seems simple enough — just a blend of tomato juice, horseradish, Tabasco, Worcestershire sauce and vodka, garnished with a celery stick — but it's actually a tricky drink to make well.
http://www.latimes.com/features/food/la-fo-bloodymary1feb01,0,2718255.story?coll=la-home-food
New Zealand Herald
Bid to tag shark fails
02.02.06 1.00pm
Scientists last night issued a fresh warning about a great white shark seen cruising Taranaki's coastline after attempts to tag it with a satellite tracker failed.
Marine scientist Clinton Duffy and former New Plymouth marine biologist Demian Chapman attempted to tag the shark with pop-off satellite tags to monitor its movements.
It would have enabled them to learn more about the species, the Taranaki Daily News reported today.
But their five-hour mission, which finished at 10pm, failed to lure the shark.
However, during the mission Mr Duffy did see a great white at least 4m long dive out of the water near Seal Rock, off Port Taranaki.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10366486
NZ soldiers destroy opium in Afghanistan
02.02.06 10.00am
New Zealand soldiers working on the reconstruction of war-torn Afghanistan have destroyed nearly two tonnes of opium.
The troops are part of the New Zealand Defence Force Provincial Reconstruction Team (NZPRT) in the Bamyan province.
The 1746kg of opium resin was seized by the Afghan national drugs police from caves near Bamyan before it could be smuggled across the Afghan border and processed into heroin, said the defence force.
Its destruction was supervised by New Zealand police superintendent Tom Ireland, who is based in Bamyan with the NZPRT as mentor to the local police chief.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10366478
Ship missing with more than 1300 aboard
04.02.06 12.40am
CAIRO - Coastal stations have lost contact with a ferry carrying some 1310 mainly Egyptian passengers from the Saudi port of Jeddah to Safaga on Egypt's Red Sea coast, security sources said on Friday.
The ferry should have reached Safaga at 2am local but did not arrive, they said.
They named the ferry as the 6650-ton Al Salam 89, which is owned by the Egyptian company el-Salam Maritime Transport. According to the company's website, the vessel can carry about 1400 passengers.
Most of the passengers are Egyptians working in Saudi Arabia, rather than pilgrims returning from the annual pilgrimage to Mecca, the sources said.
A sister ship, Al Salam 95, sank in the Red Sea in October after a collision with a Cypriot commercial vessel. In that case almost all of the passengers were rescued.
A search and rescue plane spotted a lifeboat with passengers near where the Egyptian ferry disappeared, an Egyptian health ministry official said from the Red Sea port of Safaga.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10366828
'Nothing wrong with plane' before crash landing
03.02.06 1.00pm
By Ian Stuart
A former air force aircraft that crash landed at Ohakea today on its way to the Wellington rugby sevens tournament had no faults, pilot Paul Jones says.
He said the former air force Devon, made a heavy landing at the Ohakea air force base as it came in to land.
It had been forced down by the weather on a flight to Wellington, where the nine passengers intended to go to the rugby tournament.
Mr Jones, 44, one of the syndicate members who owned the aircraft, told NZPA that no one was hurt and the aircraft would be repaired.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10366689
Earthquake sirens sound in Napier again
03.02.06 12.00pm
Large crowds attended today's 75th anniversary service commemorating the 1931 earthquake with Prime Minister Helen Clark speaking at the Napier event.
About 300 people who survived the disaster were expected to be among the gatherings in both Napier and Hastings.
People were taking up their seats on the grassed area in front of the Sound Shell from 9.15 and by 9.45 there were already about 300 people assembled. Many were dressed in the '30s styles.
The service got under way at 10.30am after a concert by the Napier Tech Band, and at the conclusion of speeches from Mayor Barbara Arnott and the Prime Minister, the Veronica Bell, which had been set up on the Sound Shell stage, was rung to mark the moment, at 10.46am, the quake struck.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10366666
US dentists sue to stop NZ-trained workers
03.02.06 1.00pm
By Kent Atkinson
The American Dental Association (ADA) has filed a lawsuit in Anchorage, Alaska, to stop New Zealand-trained dental workers treating Inuit and Indians in remote villages in the state.
In a lawsuit filed in the state's Superior Court, the association said the dental aides trained at Otago University's dental school were performing extractions, surgeries and other irreversible procedures, allegedly in violation of state licensing laws.
Much of the work has been done in rural villages, where there are no dentists and where the rate of tooth decay is two-and-a-half times that of the rest of the nation. Among those being treated are Athabascan and Tsimshian Indians and Inupiat and Yupik Eskimos.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10366670
Doctor queries brothel ethics
03.02.06
A Far North doctor's decision to turn his former clinic into a brothel could breach the Hippocratic oath, a medical professional says.
GP Neil Benson is planning his new brothel venture at Coopers Beach where he closed his clinic last April.
Whangarei GP David Atkinson questions whether Dr Benson is breaching the oath, which is taken by physicians to observe medical ethics and "abstain from every voluntary act of mischief and corruption".
"What is legal is not always of the highest propriety in principle when you're caring for people who are suffering from all types of abuse in life, especially sexual abuse."
He said many prostitutes had been victims of sexual abuse and their "suffering could be exploited".
Dr Benson disagreed.
"Alcohol creates social issues but does that mean a doctor can't own shares in a brewery or a tavern? Of course not," he said. "I don't think running a brothel the way I propose to is something not to be proud of."
His decision has the backing of the Prostitutes Collective national co-ordinator Catherine Healy.
"Somebody who has had experience in what we would perceive as a compassionate environment is a good thing," she said.
"It's a good sign sex workers are not being considered pariahs not worthy of having places to work from that are safe."
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10366570
Chavez expels US military official accused of spying
03.02.06 1.00pm
CARACAS, Venezuela - Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez has expelled a US Embassy military attache after authorities accused him of espionage for trying to persuade Venezuelan officers to hand over state secrets.
The expulsion worsens already rocky relations between the United States and the world's No. 5 oil exporter, as Chavez aggressively promotes his socialist revolution to counter US influence in South America.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10366685
UN calls for standards in new 45-nation human rights body
03.02.06 1.00pm
UNITED NATIONS - Proposals for a long-awaited UN Human Rights Council call for 45 members and beefed up standards for any nation wanting a seat on the new body, according to a draft resolution circulated today.
World leaders agreed at a UN summit in September to create a new body to replace the 53-member Geneva-based Human Rights Commission, known for giving seats to countries such as Sudan and Zimbabwe and blocking criticism of rights abusers.
The aim of the 191-member General Assembly is to approve the document by February 15 so that the new council, which will also sit in Geneva, is ready to take over from the commission that is to have its final session, beginning in mid-March.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10366686
Anonymous end for Katrina victims
03.02.06 7.20am
No names will adorn their headstones, no family will be here to mourn their passing. They are anonymous victims of Hurricane Katrina.
A man and woman whose identities remain a nagging mystery were to be buried next to each other today in a city-owned cemetery. Nobody came forward to claim the bodies, which were found in different places about a week after the August 29 hurricane. Fingerprints, dental records and DNA tests failed to yield any results.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10366605
Peru and Yale University dispute status of Inca treasures
03.02.06 1.00pm
By Rupert Cornwell
WASHINGTON - Yale University is embroiled in an escalating dispute with Peru over the return of treasures from the world famous Incan site of Machu Picchu, currently on display at the Ivy League University as part of its permanent collection.
Over the years there have been fitful attempts to find a solution to the contested ownership.
It now threatens to come to a head later this year, with the departure from office of Alejandro Toledo, Peru's first indigenous President, who has pledged his best efforts to recover the treasures before he steps down in July.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10366660continued ...
The Woodland Park Zoo 'Artist Elephant.' This is for real. The elephant is an artist.
January 29, 2006. Dana Point, California. This is a live and very close up picture of a sea anemone.
Tai shan and Mei Xiang. He's getting to be a big boy.
The World's Smallest Vertebrate, Paedocrypris progenetica
Frank Batten Sr. to donate $7 million to Virginia Zoo
By DEBBIE MESSINA, The Virginian-Pilot
© February 3, 2006
NORFOLK — Frank Batten Sr., a media executive and philanthropist, has donated $7 million to the Virginia Zoo, the largest single gift to a municipal
project in the city’s history.
The $7 million grant will be combined with $6.2 million from the city and an additional $1 million in private donations to help finance the first phase of the zoo’s new master plan, which would bring tapirs, lemurs and gibbons to Norfolk.
The Virginia Zoological Society is working to raise $3.8 million more to bring the total to $18 million .
Announcing the gift Thursday , Mayor Paul Fraim said Batten’s donation “clearly validates the zoo’s commitment to excellence” and should spur more donations.
http://home.hamptonroads.com/stories/story.cfm?story=99013&ran=61791
Punxsutawney Phil over the last 119 years has seen his shadow 96 times and missed it 14 times. There are no records for 9 years.
http://usatoday.feedroom.com/ifr_main.jsp?nsid=b76f413e9:1092e9cb743:426f&st=1138953721752&mp=FLV&cpf=false&fr=020306_030200_76f413e9x1092e9cb743x4270&rdm=70652.0702766546
Tulsa Zoo Prairie Dogs Agree With Punxsutawney Phil
Thursday was Groundhog Day. The day when we throw scientific weather forecasting out the window and leave the prognostication to a sleeping groundhog in Pennsylvania.
Not to be outdone, Tulsa has is own fury-some forecasters out at the Tulsa Zoo. News on 6 reporter Rick Wells checked in with them and says those guys in the Punxsutawney groundhog club really get stirred up about this.
http://www.kotv.com/main/home/stories.asp?whichpage=1&id=98159
Hogle Zoo Animals Have Their Say of Weather for Groundhog Day
Dina Freedman Reporting
It's Groundhog Day where "rascally rodents" in several US cities search for their shadows to predict whether winter is in its waning days or not. For the 7th straight year, the granddaddy of them all, Punxsutawney Phil, saw his shadow. Winter's with us, he says, till mid-March.
http://www.ksl.com/?nid=148&sid=158331
PETA seeks sanctuary for US National Zoo elephants
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - An animal rights group on Thursday appealed to the U.S. National Zoo in Washington to send its three remaining Asian elephants to an animal sanctuary and close its elephant exhibit.
The appeal came a day after the zoo put down an arthritic Asian elephant who was said to have been in worsening pain. The elephant named Toni was 40. Elephants can live to be 60 or older.
"Toni was clearly in bad shape and had been suffering for a long time. If she had been sent to a sanctuary years ago, her quality of life and health would have vastly improved," People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, or PETA, said in a letter to the director of the Smithsonian Institution's National Zoo.
http://today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-01-27T012404Z_01_N26270849_RTRUKOC_0_US-LIFE-ELEPHANT-PETA.xml
Out and about at the zoo
RYAN HAWK
An elephant at the Woodland Park Zoo paints part of a limited series of paintings using Seahawks colors.
Got any plans for Sunday afternoon? Most of us will be mesmerized, and hopefully thrilled, at home, at a party or a favorite sports pub watching our hometown Seahawks play in their first-ever Super Bowl. Fair-weather fans and newbies are welcome to join in on the fun; just cheer along when everyone else does, and, if football totally mystifies you, the halftime show with the Rolling Stones is bound to be entertaining.
If you can't work up any interest at all in the game, it's a great day to get out and about. Think of all the local museums, malls and movie theaters that will be a lot quieter than usual this Sunday. Choice parking spots, short or nonexistent lines and peace and quiet most likely await you in nearly any place without a TV.
Woodland Park Zoo is a great place to get away from football mania. The zoo provides mostly covered and indoor zoo attractions, but if you think you've found a haven from Super Bowl hoopla, you're in for a surprise. Not only is the zoo sporting a 100-foot tall "12th Man" banner in the North Meadow, some of the Seahawks' biggest fans are zoo residents.
The zoo's elephants have taken paintbrush in trunk to create a limited series of paintings using Seahawks colors to commemorate Super Bowl XL on 11-by-14-inch and 10-by-20-inch canvases. One of the paintings will be presented to the Hawks after the Super Bowl, and the others will be on sale on eBay and at the ZooStore, with proceeds to benefit the zoo's animal care, conservation and education programs. For more information, call 206-684-4800 or see www.zoo.org.
Other activities around town this weekend include the opening celebration of the "Toi Maori" exhibit at the Burke Museum of Natural History and Culture and the Vietnamese Lunar New Year Tet Festival at Seattle Center, both on Saturday and Sunday.
Personally, I'm with the elephants — go Seahawks!
— Madeline McKenzie, Seattle Times staff
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/traveloutdoors/2002776564_nwwfastbreak02.html
Zoo hails its best January
Feb 2 2006
Daily Post
CHESTER Zoo has had it busiest January ever in records going back 70 years.
More than 30,000 people visited the zoo during what is normally one of the quieter months of the year.
A combination of fine winter weather and competitive prices has helped the Zoo achieve these record figures.
Chester Zoo's Marketing Manager Sharon Leeson said the zoo is a "year-round attraction" and the recently introduced off-peak admission rate had proved popular.
She said: "The winter visit to the zoo is a lovely one and an ideal opportunity to wrap up warm and get lots of fresh air and exercise. It is also a fantastic opportunity to get closer to the animals and go home having learnt something new."
http://icliverpool.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0100regionalnews/tm_objectid=16656174&method=full&siteid=50061&headline=zoo-hails-its-best-january-name_page.html
Rhinoceros calf born at San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park makes debut
By: North County Times wire services
ESCONDIDO -- A critically endangered Indian rhinoceros calf born at the San Diego Zoo's Wild Animal Park in Escondido made her public debut Thursday.
The baby rhino, named Lali, which means "darling girl" in Hindi, was born Dec. 3 to a first-time mother, Gari.
The pair spent eight weeks in private quarters to allow them to bond before keepers introduced the calf to the park's 15 other Indian rhinoceros, the largest population of the species in the nation.
Lali, the 50th Indian rhinoceros born at the Wild Animal Park since 1978, weighs about 180 pounds, but will grow to as much as 5,000 pounds when she is an adult, park officials said.
The cub's sire has fathered a dozen calves at the 1,800-acre park.
Once widespread throughout Southeast Asia, Indian rhinoceroses are endangered and now found only in India and Nepal.
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2006/01/27/news/sandiego/16_14_281_26_06.txt
Zoo workers watch over pregnant gorilla
By BILL RADFORD THE GAZETTE
Like any expectant mom, Kwisha will need some things when her little bundle of joy arrives.
You know, the usual. Baby wipes and diapers for baby. Dried fruits, unsalted nuts, burlap and sidewalk chalk for mom.
Kwisha, a 13-year-old western lowland gorilla at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, is expected to give birth in the next six weeks or so. The zoo is holding a baby shower for her Saturday and is accepting donations, with a list of gift suggestions posted online at www.cmzoo.org.
The Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, one of a few accredited zoos in the nation that operate without local tax support, relies on admissions, membership dues, grants and donations for funding.
The proud papa is Rafiki, 21, who arrived at the zoo last March to breed with the zoo’s female gorillas. The last gorilla birth at the zoo was on New Year’s Eve 1996.
An ultrasound during a checkup last fall revealed Kwisha’s pregnancy, which was confirmed by a pregnancy test. A gorilla’s gestation period is about nine months, the same as a human’s.
Dina Bredahl, area supervisor for primates at the zoo, said Kwisha is normally lean, with nothing like the “gigantic belly” she has now.
“At night, she seems a little bit uncomfortable,” Bredahl said. “She’s tossing and turning a lot.”
Volunteers are maintaining a round-the-clock baby watch, using remote television monitors trained on the most likely spots for Kwisha to have her baby, such as an inside ledge where the female gorillas usually sleep.
Bredahl figures there’s about a 50-50 chance Kwisha will care for her baby on her own. She didn’t have the best role model: Her mom at the Cincinnati Zoo abandoned Kwisha when she was 3 months old. After that, Kwisha was raised by humans and a Barney doll.
If Kwisha abandons her baby, zookeepers will be ready to intervene. The bestcase scenario? “She takes care of the baby, she figures out how to nurse in the first couple of days, and she ends up being a great mom,” Bredahl said.
And what does a gorilla do with burlap and sidewalk chalk? Sean Anglum, the public relations manager for the zoo, said the burlap serves many purposes, including nesting material. As for the chalk, even a busy mother gorilla has a need to express her artistic side.
YOU’RE INVITED . . .
The baby shower for Kwisha the gorilla will be at 2 p.m. Saturday at the Primate World exhibit at the Cheyenne Mountain Zoo. Space is limited; call 633-9925, ext. 111, to register.
Visitors to the zoo also can drop off gifts at the Primate World building from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturday or 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. any day at the zoo’s admission gate. Or mail to: Gorilla Baby Shower, Cheyenne Mountain Zoo, 4250 Cheyenne Mountain Zoo Road, Colorado Springs, CO 80906. Needed items are listed at www.cmzoo.org. Topping the list are Target, Sam’s Club and Wal-Mart gift cards, which will be used to buy formula, diapers and other supplies.
Zoo admission is $12 for ages 12 to 64; $10 for seniors; $6, children 3 to 11; and free for children under 3.
http://www.gazette.com/display.php?id=1314072&secid=1
Future of the Zoo
Des Moines, January 26, 2006 - The Des Moines Blank Park Zoo will celebrate it's 40th anniversary this spring and on Thursday night, board members voted to make the current zoo a whole lot bigger. Board members say the zoo's current location doesn't leave room for expansion, but an area just to the East would allow the zoo to grow. This is much more than just a bigger zoo. Imagine an African safari experience on the south side of Des Moines. It's a real possibility, after the Blank Park Zoo board decided to vote big.
http://www.whotv.com/Global/story.asp?S=4417547&nav=2HAB
Elephant rescued from Ghaziabad sent to Delhi Zoo
New Delhi, January 26: AN ELEPHANT ,allegedly being mistreated by its mahout, was rescued by a local NGO in Ghaziabad today.
The police said activists from People For Animals caught the mahout beating the elephant on its head with an iron-spike in Ghaziabad.
PFA activists took the animal to a nearby police station. the mahout was not able to produce any licence for the animal, the police said. keeping an elephant without a licence is a punishable offence. The elephant is a Schedule I animal and only a few are legally allowed to be kept in captivity.
The animal was later handed over to the Forest Department, who took it to the Delhi Zoo. Zoo officials were not available to comment on the condition of the elephant.
A PFA spokesperson, however, said the animal had been found in a malnourished state. ‘‘It was dehydrated, and also had injuries on its feet,” he said.
http://cities.expressindia.com/fullstory.php?newsid=167259
The Museums, Zoos and Parks Industry is Highly Labor-Intensive with Average Annual Revenue per Employee at about $70,000
DUBLIN, Ireland--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 27, 2006--Research and Markets (http://www.researchandmarkets.com/reports/c31761) has announced the addition of Museums, Zoos, and Parks - Industry Profile to their offering.
The Museums, Zoos, and Parks industry includes about 4,000 museums, 500 zoos and 500 nature parks, with combined annual revenue close to $9 billion; national parks and museums are not included. Large institutions with more than $100 million of annual revenue include the San Diego Zoo, Metropolitan Museum of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Museums account for about 70 percent of industry revenue, zoos for 20 percent. Most museums, zoos and parks are non-profit institutions. The industry is fragmented, because most institutions operate a single facility.
http://home.businesswire.com/portal/site/google/index.jsp?ndmViewId=news_view&newsId=20060127005193&newsLang=en
AZA Elephant Care and Conservation Speak Louder than Extremist Hype
To: National Desk, Environment Reporter
Contact: Jane Ballentine of American Zoo and Aquarium Association, 301-562-0777, ext. 252
SILVER SPRING, Md., Feb. 2 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The Citizen Petition filed today with the U.S. Department of Agriculture by an animal rights group is yet another transparent attempt to generate controversy where there is none, said the American Zoo and Aquarium Association.
These extremists have targeted elephants as the first, but not the last, species they want to ban from zoos. In fact, they have plainly stated that their goal is to close all zoos.
"Elephant care in AZA-accredited zoos is based upon advanced science and husbandry knowledge, plus an unparalleled commitment to providing the best care for the animals," said Kristin L. Vehrs, AZA's interim executive director. "While animal rights extremists have launched an orchestrated public campaign using distorted information to serve their own agenda, AZA elephant experts have continued to use science, research and their years of direct animal care expertise to continually improve elephant care and conservation, both in zoos and in the wild."
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=60449
Swiss zoo animals live the good life
Pampered zoo animals in the Swiss city of Zurich gobbled up 500 tonnes of fresh food prepared by a dedicated gourmet chef last year, including 21 tonnes of meat, 714 garlic bulbs and 11 135 kiwi fruit.
More traditional dishes were also on offer for the 4 000 animals, including about 155 tonnes of hay, nearly four tonnes of leeks and more than 30 tonnes of apples or carrots, zoo management said in a press release on Monday.
The Zurich menagerie displayed a definite sweet tooth, licking up 145 litres of maple and raspberry sirup, and 250 kilo-pots of honey.
About 6 000 tea bags helped with digestion and 20kg of popcorn filled the gaps.
The chief glutton of 2005 was Maxi the male elephant, who ploughed through 150kg of food a day.
At the other end of the animal kingdom, a small South American frog -- Dendrobates reticulatus est -- snapped up just two or three vinegar flies a day.
However, that serving was not as elaborate as other delicacies conjured up by zoo chef Andre Schatz and his team, which were then strategically placed to give animals the task of finding their meal.
The spectacled bears had to climb a tree to find their raspberry syrup, and Zurich's elephants were obliged to crack open their coconuts with their feet, so they did not lose some of their natural instincts.
The zoo's solitary anteater did not get its ants on a plate, but instead spent several hours a day licking its way to them through a hollow tree trunk.
Zoo authorities said they will ensure that their animals have a balanced cuisine but they will be put on a diet if they overindulge in the gourmet goods. -- AFP
http://www.mg.co.za/articlepage.aspx?area=/breaking_news/other_news/&articleid=262758
Seahawks mania at the zoo
Woodland Park Zoo has jumped into Seahawks mania.
In a salute to the hometown team's berth in the Super Bowl and the "12th Man" madness, the zoo has painted a 100-foot-tall "#12" that spans its North Meadow, at the north end of the zoo, off North 59th Street and Phinney Avenue North.
Some of the zoo's facilities-and-exhibits crew worked in the rain Thursday to complete the full-day painting project.
"We wanted to get into the spirit of celebrating their victory to the Super Bowl and let them know all their fans at the zoo are behind them," said zoo President Deborah Jensen.
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2002770871_here30m.html
Critically Ill Amur Leopard Condition Worsens At Oregon Zoo, Vets Decide To Euthanize
PORTLAND, Oregon - Recently, Oregon Zoo veterinarians euthanized Andrea, the female Amur leopard, who was suffering from an aggressive form of terminal cancer. Her vets and zookeepers were by her side when she died. The staff is deeply saddened by her passing.
http://www.whitecitynews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=327287&cp=11038
Hedgehog Day Is Coming To The Oregon Zoo February 2
PORTLAND, Oregon - Pennsylvania's "Punxsutawney Phil" and Canada's "Wiarton Willie" may be better known, but at the Oregon Zoo, it's the hedgehog that predicts a prolonged winter or an early spring.
http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=327288&cp=10997
Interim zoo director announced
Updated: 1/30/2006 5:09 PM
By: News 10 Now Staff
The Rosamond Gifford Zoo announces a new interim director.
Chuck Doyle will take over for Dr. Anne Baker. Doyle is the Zoo's General Curator and has been with Rosamond for the past 28 years.
Dr. Baker is leaving the zoo to take over as director of the Toledo Zoo.
She starts her new position in April.
The search to find a replacement for Baker is expected to begin in the coming days.
http://news10now.com/content/top_stories/default.asp?ArID=58503
Zoo turning into a park of continental proportions
On this weekday morning, crisp and sunny, the sky pure blue, the giraffes, remarkably graceful, meander over to snack from a basket perched high on the fence of their enclosure.
Lemurs break the peace with a screeching argument that reverberates around the neighborhood, from the rhinos slumbering in the mud at the far reaches of the African Rainforest to the orangutans plotting their next bit of mischief in the rocky home that they continually dismantle.
After a couple of tough years of steeply declining attendance, after the massacre of all but one of the flamingo population by stray dogs, after the tree damage from Hurricane Katrina, a hint of spring - of rebirth and hope - suffuses the air.
http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060129/COL0202/601290369/1023/FEAT05
Ex-zoo vet's sister named to panel
New watchdog group to review data surrounding upcoming levies
By TAD VEZNER
BLADE STAFF WRITER
A newly formed group demanding more details of efforts to fix problems at the Toledo Zoo has appointed the sister of the zoo's former veterinarian as one of its spokesmen.
Debra Reichard Klein, the sister of Dr. Tim Reichard, who was fired in February as the zoo's chief veterinarian, is a spokesman of Citizens for a Responsible Zoo, a group of about 10 local citizens and zoo volunteers formed in December.
Dr. Reichard's firing triggered a controversy that, in turn, sparked the creation of a Lucas County task force to examine zoo operations.
The task force issued a report in July with 123 recommendations for change.
http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060127/NEWS38/601270342/-1/NEWS
Oakland Zoo Seeks Giant Pandas
Oakland zoo optimistic about geting panda bear pair from China
Sitting up on round, rotund haunches, and legs straight out in front, looking so cuddly and innocent, Bai Yun and Shi Shi nonchalantly munch on long stalks of bamboo as if nothing else could possibly matter. They do not seem to be aware that perhaps millions of viewers worldwide can only see them by watching them via the Internet on Panda-cam, transmitting from two participating zoos in America. But soon, Bay Area residents may be able to see them in the flesh.
The Oakland City Zoo in California is optimistic about being the place that will receive a pair of giant pandas from China for research and display this year. Although a study developed by the Hausrath Economics Group proves that the gift makes great economic sense concerning zoo attendance, the transaction between the Beijing Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens and the Oakland Zoo is not yet a done deal.
The local zoo's Panda Project, with the help of the Oakland China Wildlife Preservation Foundation, has raised a lot of local support from financers and businesses. Time and materials, and even designs for the panda exhibit, are being enthusiastically donated and put into place. Oakland City Councilmember Henry Chang (At-Large) stated in an Inside Bay Area news article that about $1.2 million will be raised for the project.
Willie Yee, Chang's chief of staff, said that, "By the fall of this year, Oakland Zoo in Knowland Park will be all ready for the bears to come." Only four other U.S. zoos have pairs of giant pandas—San Diego, Memphis, Atlanta, and Washington, D.C.
Giant pandas are among the rarest mammals in the world. They are endangered animals protected by the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Flora and Fauna. The giant panda is considered in danger of extinction throughout a significant portion of its range of habitat. This protection also prohibits giant pandas from being imported into the U.S. except under certain conditions. Since 1987, China has imposed the death penalty for anyone convicted of killing a giant panda.
Of the roughly 1,600 remaining pandas in the world, more than 140 pandas live in captivity with 80 percent living in 6 small fragments of forest within a small isolated area in the southwestern province of Sichuan, China. These forests have lost more than half of the natural vegetation and no longer provide suitable habitat for the pandas.
Spokesperson for the San Diego Zoo, Yadira Galindo, explained that all zoos receiving pandas have two stipulations for the gift. "To receive pandas, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service must first allow the loan from China, and secondly, an ongoing research project agreement between the zoo and China has to be in place before receiving them," she said.
With four pandas, the San Diego Zoo has the largest population of giant pandas outside of Mainland China. In an effort to lessen the decline of wild populations, the Zoo, working with the World Wildlife Fund, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, the China Wildlife Conservation Association, and the Chinese Association of Zoological Gardens, contributes more than $1 million each year to China. Part of this money is designated for projects of wild habitat protection.
http://www.theepochtimes.com/news/6-1-28/37471.html
Zoo Director Hiring Process Moving Forward
January 28, 2006 - Officials at Fresno's Chaffee Zoo are narrowing down the list of candidates for a new zoo director.
The third of four candidates was at the zoo Friday meeting with staff members and the zoo corporation board.
In addition to finding a new director, the zoo board will also be replacing three former board members. So far, 35 Fresno County residents have applied for the openings.
"I feel very hopeful," said board secretary Cheryl Assemi. "We've got excellent candidates; we have got a lot of community interest in the board. We have a lot of good people to choose from. I'm feeling very good."
A fourth zoo director candidate will be visiting the zoo later this month. A decision on a finalist and the zoo board openings is expected to be made in February.
http://abclocal.go.com/kfsn/story?section=local&id=3854666continued ...
