The Rooster
"Cock-A-Doodle-Do"
"Okeydoke"
Thursday, February 16, 2006
Save the Whales
In a photo released by the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration, a snarled humpback whale can be seen dragging line and a plastic buoy, that was lodged in its mouth which is part of the debris that wildlife scientists freed from the whale, Sunday, Feb. 12, 2006, near Lanai, Hawaii. Each year, an estimated five thousand humpbacks migrate to warmer Hawaiian waters from their North Pacific feeding grounds to give birth, mate and socialize. (AP Photo/NOAA, Ed Lyman)
Morning Papers - It's Origins
The Olympics
United States
http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_NOC_USA.html
Russian Fed.
http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_NOC_RUS.html
Germany
http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_NOC_GER.html
Austria
http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_NOC_AUT.html
Torino 2006, The virtual village
http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/torino2006/index_uk.asp
The Boston Globe
Fish and Game says ice remains dangerous
February 15, 2006
LACONIA, N.H. --It's been colder in New Hampshire this week, but the Fish and Game Department says don't be fooled -- the lakes and ponds still are not frozen solid.
Fish and Game Lt. Jim Goss says the ice on the largest lake, Winnipesaukee, is the worst he has seen.
Conservation officers are concerned that potentially thousands of anglers will head for the ice for the weekend's Great Rotary Fishing Derby with a false sense of security.
The ice has thickened in some areas, but Goss says conditions are unpredictable and dangerous, with areas of open water.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/02/15/fish_and_game_says_ice_remains_dangerous/
Official: Irrawaddy dolphins may disappear
By Ker Munthit, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia --Cambodia's population of Irrawaddy dolphins could vanish within a decade unless strict enforcement is undertaken to protect the endangered species, a conservation official warned Wednesday.
Phai Somany, senior officer of the Cambodian Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project, raised the alarm after receiving news about the deaths of two baby dolphins.
Their demise brought to 14 the number that have died since the beginning of this year, including four this week, he said.
"This is a very sad news. We are declaring an emergency on this, asking all local authorities to cooperate in trying to reduce the mortality rate," Phai Somany said. "Without strengthening our conservation work, I dare to say that the dolphins will disappear from the Mekong River in the near future, in 10 years at the longest."
The two latest deaths followed those of two other calves -- aged between 4 weeks and 2 months -- that were discovered floating in the river on Monday.
The cause of their deaths was not immediately known, but officials have said environmental pollution and illegal fishing nets were probably behind the recent deaths of at least eight other Irrawaddy dolphins in Cambodian waters.
The World Wildlife Fund has also called the deaths a "serious situation" that threatens the future of the animals.
It was estimated earlier this month that only 80-100 Irrawaddy dolphins are left in the Mekong River, which runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The WWF said the remaining dolphins are restricted to a 120-mile stretch of the river between the Cambodia-Laos border and the Cambodian town of Kratie, upstream from the capital, Phnom Penh.
Sam Kim Lorn, chief fisheries officer in Kratie province, said the dolphin death toll this year has already surpassed last year's total of eight.
He said illegal fishing nets were the cause of most dolphin deaths and that authorities were conducting day-and-night patrols of the river to crack down on the problem.
River pollution and disease could also have been factors in the recent deaths, he said.
The WWF has no estimates of how many Irrawaddy dolphins are left in the world. The animals are also found in waters around the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Australia.
Samples from some of Cambodia's dead dolphins have been sent for testing in Canada to try to determine the exact causes of their deaths, but the results are not yet available, Phai Somany said.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/official_irrawaddy_dolphins_may_disappear/
Gov't extends comment period on bear plan
February 15, 2006
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK --The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday that it will give the public more time to comment on the agency's proposal to lift special protections for grizzly bears around Yellowstone National Park.
The comment period, which was to have expired Wednesday, now will run through March 20.
Chris Servheen, Fish and Wildlife's grizzly bear recovery coordinator in Missoula, said the agency received several requests for extensions, including some who said the proposal was too complex. So far, the agency has received more than 120,000 comments, many of those e-mail form letters.
Last fall, Fish and Wildlife declared the Yellowstone-area grizzlies recovered and proposed removing them from protections under the Endangered Species Act. The agency says the bear population has grown from 4 percent to 7 percent a year since the mid-'90s and that more than 600 grizzlies now live in that region.
Some environmentalists worry that not enough has been done, or is yet known, to ensure a thriving population if protections were lifted.
Janet Barwick, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, welcomed the extension, saying there are several technical documents related to the proposal that need to be examined.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/govt_extends_comment_period_on_bear_plan/
Tangled whale freed off Hawaiian island
LANAI CITY, Hawaii --A 40-foot humpback whale wiggled off into the deep without a look back after ocean researchers and volunteers freed it from a tangle of abandoned fishing lines and other debris, possibly saving its life.
Whale watchers were looking for another dangerously entangled whale in waters around Hawaii on Wednesday, but experts warned against anyone trying to do the job themselves. Disentangling whales requires a special permit.
The rescue on Monday, using poles to untangle fishing lines and debris, occurred in waters off the island of Lanai, about 60 miles southeast of Honolulu, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/tangled_whale_freed_off_hawaiian_island/
Alaska ordinance to prevent eagle feeding
HOMER, Alaska --Hundreds of bald eagles that gather at the Homer spit each winter for handouts won't be so lucky now that the city council has passed an ordinance barring the feeding of eagles.
The city council adopted the ordinance on Monday. It passed on a 4-2 vote.
Homer acted one month after the state Board of Game declined to regulate the practice of eagle feeding. The state regulators said the problems were local and the jurisdiction federal.
The new law bars deliberate feeding of eagles, ravens, crows and gulls beginning next winter. It provides an exception for 82-year-old Jean Keene, the famous "Eagle Lady" who has been feeding eagles on the Spit for 25 years. But even Keene's program must end by 2010, the City Council ruled.
"We're still going to have eagles in Homer," said Councilman Val McLay, who consulted with Keene in working out the final compromise.
The first groups to be affected will be guided photography "safaris" that come to Homer in late winter and sometimes draw eagles into wide-angle camera range with baitfish. McLay said he delayed enforcement of the ordinance so that photographers with reservations could still come this year.
"You don't have to have hundreds of eagles to take a photograph," said McLay, who heard protests from out-of-town photographers about his proposal.
Opposition in Homer to eagle feeding has grown in recent years. Critics say eagles waiting for handouts are unnatural and demeaning. They say the crowding is unhealthy for the eagles -- not to mention unsafe for small pets and birds such as sea ducks.
Government biologists generally frowned on the practice but stopped short of calling for regulation.
Supporters called the eagle feeding a novelty whose alleged harms have never been studied, much less proved. They also pointed to the small economic boost to winter tourism.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/alaska_ordinance_to_prevent_eagle_feeding/
Brazil's president creates forest reserves
By Michael Astor, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil --President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has created two new national parks in the Amazon rain forest and expanded another to protect an environmentally sensitive region where the government plans a major highway project.
Silva signed a decree placing 3.7 million acres of rain forest off limits for development.
"This is very important and should be celebrated," said Environment Minister Marina Silva, who is not related to the president.
President Silva also created four national forests where sustainable logging will be permitted and an environmental protection zone where development is allowed under strict regulation.
In total, the decree granted some form of environmental protection to 16 million acres -- an area roughly twice the size of Massachusetts -- on the western side of the so-far unpaved BR-163 highway.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/brazils_president_creates_forest_reserves/
Scientists may have found new fish species
By Miranda Leitsinger, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico --Scientists have discovered what they believe is a new fish species and at least 20 types of previously unknown seaweeds during a recent expedition to one of the Caribbean's most diverse marine areas -- a coral-covered underwater mountain off the Dutch island of Saba.
It could take a year before researchers confirm the findings, which local fishermen, working with the Dutch Antilles government, are hoping to use to lobby authorities to steer oil tankers away from the Saba Bank Atoll to protect their livelihoods and the rich underwater life.
During their two weeks at the atoll, divers braved 12-foot seas to plunge 100 feet underwater twice daily to collect marine samples. Their efforts turned up unique striped patterns on the seaweeds and one fish that researchers believe is new to science: a goby with orange spots.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/scientists_may_have_found_new_fish_species/
Study links power plants to deaths, asthma
By Alex Dominguez, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
BALTIMORE --Emissions from six Maryland power plants, three of them owned by an Atlanta-based company, are responsible each year for about 700 premature deaths nationwide, according to a report released Wednesday by the Maryland Nurses Association.
The association, which is supporting one of two competing clean-air proposals pending before state lawmakers, announced the findings along with officials from several other health and environmental groups that are supporting the Healthy Air Act.
Jonathan Levy, the Harvard University School of Public Health assistant professor who conducted the study, said he used previous research to estimate the health impact of the six plants based on 2004 emissions estimates and census data.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2006/02/15/study_links_power_plants_to_deaths_asthma/
Ohio evolution lesson plan eliminated
By Carrie Spencer Ghose, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio --Disputed teaching material used by Ohio public school students that questions evolutionary theory is headed back to the state committee that wrote the first version.
The Ohio Board of Education voted 11-4 Tuesday to delete a science standard and correlating lesson plan that encourages students to seek evidence for and against evolution. Critics had called the material an opening to teach intelligent design, which holds that life is so complex it must have been created by a higher authority.
"It is deeply unfair to the children of this state to mislead them about science," said board member Martha Wise, who pushed to eliminate the material.
The 2002 science standards said students should be able to "describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory." The standards included a disclaimer that they do not require the teaching of intelligent design.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/02/15/ohio_evolution_lesson_plan_eliminated/
Entwistle due in U.S. to face charges in deaths of wife, baby
By Denise Lavoie, AP Legal Affairs Writer February 15, 2006
BOSTON --A British man accused of killing his wife and infant daughter in their suburban Boston home was expected to arrive in the United States on Wednesday afternoon to face murder charges.
A plane carrying Neil Entwistle, 27, left London's Gatwick Airport earlier Tuesday and was expected to stop briefly in Bangor, Maine, to pass through U.S. Customs. It will then continue on to Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, northwest of Boston, said Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs the civilian air field at Hanscom.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/15/massachusetts_murder_suspect_flown_out_of_britain/
Entwistle's lawyer used to the spotlight, high profile cases
By Brooke Donald, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
BOSTON --The lawyer representing accused killer Neil Entwistle has made a career out of representing high profile defendants.
Veteran Boston defense attorney Elliot Weinstein defended one of four men sentenced to life in prison in the 2001 slaying of a Harvard Square homeless woman. He also represented a Cambodian immigrant charged with kidnapping, raping and murdering a 5-year-old girl. Another case had him defending a Quincy man accused of killing and dismembering his wife.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/15/entwistles_lawyer_used_to_the_spotlight_high_profile_cases/
Sago Mine survivor learning to speak again
By Vicki Smith, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
CHARLESTON, W.Va. --The survivor of the Sago Mine disaster is slowly learning to speak again, answering questions and learning to articulate words at a rehabilitation hospital, a family spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Randal L. McCloy Jr., 26, sometimes responds with a single word, but also uses phrases to answer relatives and therapists, said Aly Goodwin Gregg, a spokeswoman for McCloy's family. Some of his communication is clear, but much is still difficult to understand.
"His family is ecstatic with what's coming now," Gregg said. "It's wonderful to say, 'Do you want more chicken fingers?' and for him to be able to say no."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/02/15/sago_mine_survivor_learning_to_speak_again/
Iraqi TV airs appeal for US reporter's release
February 15, 2006
BOSTON (Reuters) - Iraqi state television has aired video clips put together by the Christian Science Monitor urging the release of its reporter Jill Carroll, less than a week after her captors renewed threats to kill her, the newspaper said on Wednesday.
The Boston-based newspaper said the broadcasts on al-Iraqiya television began airing on Tuesday and included interviews with Iraqis who say they are concerned about her capture and regard the 28-year-old as one of their daughters.
"We've tried to get information out in Baghdad," said David Cook, Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor. "This is one more way for us to communicate with the people in the city, in essence saying 'please help us find Jill'."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/02/15/iraqi_tv_airs_appeal_for_us_reporters_release/
Caracas seeks UN Security Council seat, irking US
By Irwin Arieff February 15, 2006
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Venezuela is stepping up a previously low-key drive for a seat on the U.N. Security Council beginning next year, U.N. diplomats said on Wednesday, prompting criticism from U.S. Ambassador John Bolton.
"I don't think it would be conducive to an effective and well-functioning Security Council," Bolton told reporters when asked about the campaign by Venezuela, whose president, Hugo Chavez, has been positioning himself as the standard-bearer for growing anti-U.S. sentiment in Latin America.
Candidates for a seat on the 15-nation council, the pre-eminent U.N. body on matters of war, peace and international security, are often unopposed as they are selected in advance by U.N. regional groupings.
The 191-nation U.N. General Assembly formally elects five nations to two-year terms on the council every year. The United States is one of five permanent members, with Britain, France, Russia and China.
Venezuela, in shifting its drive for a council seat into high gear in recent weeks, is directly challenging Guatemala, a fellow member of the group of Latin American and Caribbean states.
While Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, first signaled its interest in running in 2004, Guatemala declared its candidacy two years earlier, the diplomats said.
Chavez, a self-styled socialist revolutionary allied with Cuba, has clashed frequently with the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, which he accuses of trying to topple his government. Venezuela, for example, has strongly backed Iran in a dispute with Western powers over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Washington in turn accuses Chavez of becoming a negative influence in the region and undermining Venezuelan democracy.
Venezuelan authorities this month accused the naval attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas of spying and expelled him from the country. The United States responded by sending home a Venezuelan diplomat.
Bolton said that while Washington traditionally did not disclose how it voted in the General Assembly, where council members are elected by secret ballot, "I don't think there is any mistake that Venezuela would not contribute to the effective operation of the Security Council."
"I think we can see that from their actions in the past six months in the General Assembly, which have been unhelpful," he said. Venezuela last September condemned as "grotesque" and illegal a U.N. blueprint for enhancing international cooperation that was adopted at the close of a summit of world leaders in New York.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2006/02/15/caracas_seeks_un_security_council_seat_irking_us/
Iran open to helping Venezuela nuclear program
February 15, 2006
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Iran is open to helping Venezuela develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, but the two OPEC members have not yet held talks about such cooperation, an Iranian lawmaker said on Wednesday.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an ardent critic of the U.S. government, is backing Iran's right to develop nuclear fuel despite international community opposition to Tehran pursuing its atomic program.
"Although we have not had any conversations until now with Venezuelan authorities, we would be willing to study the possibility," Iran's parliament speaker, Gholamali Haddadadel, said when asked by reporters in Caracas whether Tehran could offer cooperation to Venezuela.
Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, last year said it was interested in developing nuclear technology with the possible help of Argentina, Brazil or Iran for civilian energy and medical purposes.
Venezuela had a small research reactor that was closed more than a decade ago and is now used for food irradiation and sterilization. Experts say nuclear development could take Venezuela as long as 10 years of investment and training.
The Iranian delegation visiting Venezuela to boost ties between the two nations signed a joint statement ratifying "the right of all nations to make peaceful use nuclear energy" and condemned the "imperialism" of foreign powers.
Iran on Tuesday confirmed that it had restarted uranium enrichment that it insists will only be used for peaceful civilian purposes despite U.S. and European fears that the technology would be used to create nuclear weapons.
Venezuela joined Syria and Cuba this month at the International Atomic Energy Agency in opposing the U.N. watchdog's decision to send the Iran nuclear energy dispute to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions.
Chavez's growing ties to Iran have only made Washington more wary of the former army colonel turned populist president, whom the U.S. accuses of using the nation's oil wealth to destabilize democracy in the region.
The Venezuelan leader counters that the United States is meddling in democracies in the region, and accuses the U.S. State Department of sponsoring a brief coup against him in 2002. He has promised a socialist revolution to end poverty and promote the integration of Latin American nations,
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2006/02/15/iran_open_to_helping_venezuela_nuclear_program/
Sinn Fein leader to march in Holyoke parade
February 15, 2006
HOLYOKE, Mass. --Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish Republican Army-linked Sinn Fein party, is slated to march in the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Adams, who has helped guide his party into Ireland's political mainstream by negotiating a peace between Britain and Ireland, was invited to walk the three-mile parade route on March 19 by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass.
Adams is now involved in talks to restore a power sharing government in Northern Ireland.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/15/sinn_fein_leader_to_march_in_holyoke_parade/
Revised complaint filed in nightclub fire civil case
By Eric Tucker, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Nearly 270 people affected by the state's deadliest nightclub fire added several more defendants to their lawsuit on Wednesday, including members of the band whose pyrotechnics sparked the blaze and manufacturers of flammable foam that fed the flames.
The amended lawsuit filed on behalf of fire survivors and relatives of those killed alleges that carelessness and negligence by the defendants was to blame for the fire's 100 deaths and dozens of injuries.
The suit replaces a massive complaint originally filed in July 2004, and comes just days before a three-year deadline to bring a claim stemming from the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at The Station.
The fire at the West Warwick club started during a rock band's pyrotechnic display when sparks ignited flammable foam placed around the stage as soundproofing.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/02/15/new_complaint_filed_in_nightclub_fire_civil_case/
Cheney says he has power to declassify info
By Pete Yost, Associated Press Writer February 16, 2006
WASHINGTON --Vice President Dick Cheney disclosed Wednesday that he has the power to declassify sensitive government information, authority that could set up a criminal defense for his former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Cheney's disclosure comes a week after reports that Libby testified under oath he was authorized by superiors in 2003 to disclose highly sensitive prewar information to reporters. The information, about Iraq and alleged weapons of mass destruction, was used by the Bush administration to bolster its case for invading Iraq.
At the time of Libby's contacts with reporters in June and July 2003, the administration including Cheney, who was among the war's most ardent proponents, faced growing criticism. No weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq, and Bush supporters were anxious to show that the White House had relied on prewar intelligence projecting a strong threat from such weapons.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/02/16/cheney_says_he_has_power_to_declassify_info/
Bomb-sniffing dog dies in accidental fall
February 16, 2006
HOUSTON --An explosives-sniffing dog died Wednesday after falling more than 50 feet during a security sweep to prepare for the NBA All-Star Game.
Mikey, a 4-year-old black Laborador serving with the Lufkin Police Department, jumped from a ramp to chase a bird and fell, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a news release.
Mikey broke away from the grasp of his handler, Lufkin police Officer Paul Jackson, when Jackson was trying to put the dog into a kennel during a water break.
"This is a tragic accident that has saddened all of us," said Donnie Carter, the ATF's special agent in charge for Houston.
An ATF medic treated Mikey at the scene until he was taken to an emergency veterinary clinic, where he was pronounced dead.
Mikey graduated in July 2004 from the ATF Canine Training Center in Virginia.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/02/16/bomb_sniffing_dog_dies_in_accidental_fall/
Drought forces Somalis to drink own urine: Oxfam
By Andrew Cawthorne February 16, 2006
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Drought in Somalia is putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk, with some forced to drink their own urine or walk the equivalent of two marathon races to find water, a relief agency said on Thursday.
With east Africa facing its worst drought for years, arid Somalia is one of the worst-affected countries, with pastoralist families forced to exist on a twentieth of the daily water supply recommended by minimum standards, Oxfam said.
"Many families are surviving on just a 20-liter jerry can of water for three days. This is equivalent to 830 ml, or three glasses of water, per person per day for drinking, cooking and washing," the British-based agency said.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2006/02/16/drought_forces_somalis_to_drink_own_urine_oxfam/
Baghdad car bombs kill seven Iraqis
BAGHDAD, Iraq --Two car bombs exploded in Baghdad on Thursday, killing seven Iraqis and wounding at least 14, police said.
One of the bombs targeted a passing U.S. military patrol in northern Baghdad's Shula neighborhood, police Maj. Moussa Abdul Karim said. Six Iraqis were killed and 11 wounded.
The bombing was followed by clashes between gunmen and U.S. soldiers that lasted about 10 minutes before the militants fled in three cars, Karim said.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/02/16/baghdad_car_bomb_kills_six_iraqis/
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Site of the Week
Nation Student Writing Contest
Sponsored by the BIL Charitable Trust to recognize and reward the best in student writing and thinking.
We're looking for original, thoughtful, provocative student voices to tell us what issue is of most concern to their generation. Essays should not exceed 800 words and should be original, unpublished work that demonstrates fresh, clear thinking and superior quality of expression and craftsmanship. We'll select five finalists and one winner, who will be awarded a $500 cash prize and a Nation subscription. The winning essay will be published in the magazine and featured on our website. The five finalists will be awarded $100 each and subscriptions, and their entries will be published online. The contest is open to students at American high schools and to undergraduates at American colleges and universities. Entries (only one per student) will be accepted through March 31. A winner will be announced by May 31. Please send entries to studentprize@thenation.com.
http://www.thenation.com/about/student_writing_contest.mhtml
Hunter shot by Cheney has 'minor heart attack'
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (CNN) -- The fellow hunter who was shot and wounded by Vice President Dick Cheney has suffered a "minor heart attack" after a piece of birdshot migrated to his heart, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.
Harry Whittington, 78, is in stable condition in intensive care and will remain hospitalized for up to seven days, hospital officials said.
"Some of the bird shot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart ... in what we would say is a minor heart attack," said Peter Banko, administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5853
If they waited 14 hours to tell us Cheney shot a man, how long would they wait to tell us the man is dead?
SPEAK OUT FOR PEACE!
Join us for an evening PEACE RALLY in The Woodlands
Cindy Sheehan
And
The Gold Star
Families
For Peace
February 19, 2006
Sunday 7:00 p.m.
Montgomery College Theatre
Building D
Montgomery College
3200 College Park Dr.
The Woodlands, TX
Event sponsors include the North Houston Peace Group, Gold Star Families for Peace, Potlucks for Peace and Concerned Citizens of Montgomery County.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5828
Barbara's Tea Party
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/presdayflyer.jpg
Download Flyer
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/presdayflyer.pdf
Republicans Criticize Bush Mideast Policy
By Anne Gearan / Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Republican senators criticized the Bush administration Wednesday over its policies in Iraq, Iran and the Palestinian territories, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's first testimony on Capitol Hill in months exposed her to a tough grilling from some members of her own party.
"I don't see, Madame Secretary, how things are getting better. I think things are getting worse. I think they're getting worse in Iraq. I think they're getting worse in Iran," Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., told Rice as she appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5857
Hinchey blasts Bush during Cornell visit
By Evan Axelbank / News10Now
Congressman Hinchey was in familiar form Monday night.
He unleashed relentless attacks on the Bush administration for over an hour to an audience of 80 Cornell Democrats. He zeroed in on what he says is a lack of Congressional oversight on issues like Iraq and the CIA name leak case.
He said, "This Congress is in almost complete abject compliance with the administration."
Local Republicans say back off.
"This is a steady drumbeat from Maurice Hinchey, who is less interested in fighting terrorism and more interested in fighting with the president," said Mark Finkelstein, the Tompkins Co. G.O.P. vice-chairman.
The Hurricane Katrina report expected Wednesday and some Republican skepticism of warrantless spying has Hinchey more optimistic.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5856
US Muslim scholar says Iran attack would be insane
By Talal Malik / Reuters
LONDON - A prominent American Muslim scholar who advised President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks said any U.S.-led attack on Iran would be crazy and throw the Middle East into political turmoil.
"I think it's insane," 45-year-old Hamza Yusuf told Reuters late on Monday. "Iran is a huge country and it can potentially set the entire region in flames."
Referring to Iran's nuclear program, which is at the heart of its dispute with the United States and other countries, Yusuf said if other countries were allowed to have nuclear power then Tehran should be allowed to develop it too.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5855
February 14th, 2006 1:22 pm
U.S. Has Royalty Plan to Give Windfall to Oil Companies
By Edmund L. Andrews / New York Times
Feb. 14, 2006 — The federal government is on the verge of one of the biggest giveaways of oil and gas in American history, worth an estimated $7 billion over five years.
New projections, buried in the Interior Department's just-published budget plan, anticipate that the government will let companies pump about $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from federal territory over the next five years without paying any royalties to the government.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5852
UN report calls for closure of Guantánamo
· Prison breaks conventions on torture, say envoys
· Violent force-feeding of hunger strikers criticised
By Suzanne Goldenberg / Guardian
UN inquiry into conditions at Guantánamo Bay has called on Washington to shut down the prison, and says treatment of detainees in some cases amounts to torture, UN officials said yesterday.
The report also disputes the Bush administration's legal arguments for the prison, which was sited at the navy base in Cuba with the purpose of remaining outside the purview of the US courts, and says there has been insufficient legal process to decide whether detainees continued to pose a threat to the US.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5851
February 14th, 2006 3:39 pm
Investigators Have Profile in Church Arson
By Jay Reeves / Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Investigators believe a pair of men in their 20s or 30s, likely "bosom buddies," are responsible for a string of church fires in rural Alabama, as authorities confirmed the latest blaze at a Baptist church was the 10th case of arson.
The latest fire severely damaged Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippi line. The white, wood-frame church sat about 150 yards off a two-lane county road and had an alarm system that alerted officials to the blaze.
"It's definitely arson," state fire marshal spokesman Ragan Ingram said Sunday.
Fire marshals are investigating whether the Saturday afternoon blaze was linked to the other nine this month, which all were set in the pre-dawn hours. Last week, Gov. Bob Riley said the nine earlier church fires appear linked.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5854
The War is Killing My Friends and I'm Sick of It
From: SPC Fish
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 12:22 AM
To: soldiers@michaelmoore.com
Subject: I can't sleep
Thank you! Thank you for caring about us, speaking for us, and telling the truth. A British coalition soldier gave me his copy of Fahrenheit 9/11 while I was serving in Afghanistan. That soldier was involved in a suicide car bomb this month and we took care of him at the hospital. I just got back yesterday and looked you up. I've always been a liberal girl, and it ticks me off to no end that Bush is going to try to take away my rights and screw America over with his Christian-influenced "leadership." And what makes me even more angry is that all my friends and my husband are serving in a bullshit war in Iraq. I served in another bullshit war as a nurse in Kandahar.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/willtheyevertrustusagain/index.php?id=36
continued ...
United States
http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_NOC_USA.html
Russian Fed.
http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_NOC_RUS.html
Germany
http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_NOC_GER.html
Austria
http://www.torino2006.org/ENG/IDF/MDL/MDL_NOC_AUT.html
Torino 2006, The virtual village
http://www.olympic.org/uk/games/torino2006/index_uk.asp
The Boston Globe
Fish and Game says ice remains dangerous
February 15, 2006
LACONIA, N.H. --It's been colder in New Hampshire this week, but the Fish and Game Department says don't be fooled -- the lakes and ponds still are not frozen solid.
Fish and Game Lt. Jim Goss says the ice on the largest lake, Winnipesaukee, is the worst he has seen.
Conservation officers are concerned that potentially thousands of anglers will head for the ice for the weekend's Great Rotary Fishing Derby with a false sense of security.
The ice has thickened in some areas, but Goss says conditions are unpredictable and dangerous, with areas of open water.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/02/15/fish_and_game_says_ice_remains_dangerous/
Official: Irrawaddy dolphins may disappear
By Ker Munthit, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
PHNOM PENH, Cambodia --Cambodia's population of Irrawaddy dolphins could vanish within a decade unless strict enforcement is undertaken to protect the endangered species, a conservation official warned Wednesday.
Phai Somany, senior officer of the Cambodian Mekong Dolphin Conservation Project, raised the alarm after receiving news about the deaths of two baby dolphins.
Their demise brought to 14 the number that have died since the beginning of this year, including four this week, he said.
"This is a very sad news. We are declaring an emergency on this, asking all local authorities to cooperate in trying to reduce the mortality rate," Phai Somany said. "Without strengthening our conservation work, I dare to say that the dolphins will disappear from the Mekong River in the near future, in 10 years at the longest."
The two latest deaths followed those of two other calves -- aged between 4 weeks and 2 months -- that were discovered floating in the river on Monday.
The cause of their deaths was not immediately known, but officials have said environmental pollution and illegal fishing nets were probably behind the recent deaths of at least eight other Irrawaddy dolphins in Cambodian waters.
The World Wildlife Fund has also called the deaths a "serious situation" that threatens the future of the animals.
It was estimated earlier this month that only 80-100 Irrawaddy dolphins are left in the Mekong River, which runs through China, Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam.
The WWF said the remaining dolphins are restricted to a 120-mile stretch of the river between the Cambodia-Laos border and the Cambodian town of Kratie, upstream from the capital, Phnom Penh.
Sam Kim Lorn, chief fisheries officer in Kratie province, said the dolphin death toll this year has already surpassed last year's total of eight.
He said illegal fishing nets were the cause of most dolphin deaths and that authorities were conducting day-and-night patrols of the river to crack down on the problem.
River pollution and disease could also have been factors in the recent deaths, he said.
The WWF has no estimates of how many Irrawaddy dolphins are left in the world. The animals are also found in waters around the Philippines, Thailand, Myanmar, Indonesia and Australia.
Samples from some of Cambodia's dead dolphins have been sent for testing in Canada to try to determine the exact causes of their deaths, but the results are not yet available, Phai Somany said.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/official_irrawaddy_dolphins_may_disappear/
Gov't extends comment period on bear plan
February 15, 2006
YELLOWSTONE NATIONAL PARK --The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service said Wednesday that it will give the public more time to comment on the agency's proposal to lift special protections for grizzly bears around Yellowstone National Park.
The comment period, which was to have expired Wednesday, now will run through March 20.
Chris Servheen, Fish and Wildlife's grizzly bear recovery coordinator in Missoula, said the agency received several requests for extensions, including some who said the proposal was too complex. So far, the agency has received more than 120,000 comments, many of those e-mail form letters.
Last fall, Fish and Wildlife declared the Yellowstone-area grizzlies recovered and proposed removing them from protections under the Endangered Species Act. The agency says the bear population has grown from 4 percent to 7 percent a year since the mid-'90s and that more than 600 grizzlies now live in that region.
Some environmentalists worry that not enough has been done, or is yet known, to ensure a thriving population if protections were lifted.
Janet Barwick, of the Natural Resources Defense Council, welcomed the extension, saying there are several technical documents related to the proposal that need to be examined.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/govt_extends_comment_period_on_bear_plan/
Tangled whale freed off Hawaiian island
LANAI CITY, Hawaii --A 40-foot humpback whale wiggled off into the deep without a look back after ocean researchers and volunteers freed it from a tangle of abandoned fishing lines and other debris, possibly saving its life.
Whale watchers were looking for another dangerously entangled whale in waters around Hawaii on Wednesday, but experts warned against anyone trying to do the job themselves. Disentangling whales requires a special permit.
The rescue on Monday, using poles to untangle fishing lines and debris, occurred in waters off the island of Lanai, about 60 miles southeast of Honolulu, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Association (NOAA).
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/tangled_whale_freed_off_hawaiian_island/
Alaska ordinance to prevent eagle feeding
HOMER, Alaska --Hundreds of bald eagles that gather at the Homer spit each winter for handouts won't be so lucky now that the city council has passed an ordinance barring the feeding of eagles.
The city council adopted the ordinance on Monday. It passed on a 4-2 vote.
Homer acted one month after the state Board of Game declined to regulate the practice of eagle feeding. The state regulators said the problems were local and the jurisdiction federal.
The new law bars deliberate feeding of eagles, ravens, crows and gulls beginning next winter. It provides an exception for 82-year-old Jean Keene, the famous "Eagle Lady" who has been feeding eagles on the Spit for 25 years. But even Keene's program must end by 2010, the City Council ruled.
"We're still going to have eagles in Homer," said Councilman Val McLay, who consulted with Keene in working out the final compromise.
The first groups to be affected will be guided photography "safaris" that come to Homer in late winter and sometimes draw eagles into wide-angle camera range with baitfish. McLay said he delayed enforcement of the ordinance so that photographers with reservations could still come this year.
"You don't have to have hundreds of eagles to take a photograph," said McLay, who heard protests from out-of-town photographers about his proposal.
Opposition in Homer to eagle feeding has grown in recent years. Critics say eagles waiting for handouts are unnatural and demeaning. They say the crowding is unhealthy for the eagles -- not to mention unsafe for small pets and birds such as sea ducks.
Government biologists generally frowned on the practice but stopped short of calling for regulation.
Supporters called the eagle feeding a novelty whose alleged harms have never been studied, much less proved. They also pointed to the small economic boost to winter tourism.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/alaska_ordinance_to_prevent_eagle_feeding/
Brazil's president creates forest reserves
By Michael Astor, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
RIO DE JANEIRO, Brazil --President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva has created two new national parks in the Amazon rain forest and expanded another to protect an environmentally sensitive region where the government plans a major highway project.
Silva signed a decree placing 3.7 million acres of rain forest off limits for development.
"This is very important and should be celebrated," said Environment Minister Marina Silva, who is not related to the president.
President Silva also created four national forests where sustainable logging will be permitted and an environmental protection zone where development is allowed under strict regulation.
In total, the decree granted some form of environmental protection to 16 million acres -- an area roughly twice the size of Massachusetts -- on the western side of the so-far unpaved BR-163 highway.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/brazils_president_creates_forest_reserves/
Scientists may have found new fish species
By Miranda Leitsinger, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico --Scientists have discovered what they believe is a new fish species and at least 20 types of previously unknown seaweeds during a recent expedition to one of the Caribbean's most diverse marine areas -- a coral-covered underwater mountain off the Dutch island of Saba.
It could take a year before researchers confirm the findings, which local fishermen, working with the Dutch Antilles government, are hoping to use to lobby authorities to steer oil tankers away from the Saba Bank Atoll to protect their livelihoods and the rich underwater life.
During their two weeks at the atoll, divers braved 12-foot seas to plunge 100 feet underwater twice daily to collect marine samples. Their efforts turned up unique striped patterns on the seaweeds and one fish that researchers believe is new to science: a goby with orange spots.
http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2006/02/15/scientists_may_have_found_new_fish_species/
Study links power plants to deaths, asthma
By Alex Dominguez, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
BALTIMORE --Emissions from six Maryland power plants, three of them owned by an Atlanta-based company, are responsible each year for about 700 premature deaths nationwide, according to a report released Wednesday by the Maryland Nurses Association.
The association, which is supporting one of two competing clean-air proposals pending before state lawmakers, announced the findings along with officials from several other health and environmental groups that are supporting the Healthy Air Act.
Jonathan Levy, the Harvard University School of Public Health assistant professor who conducted the study, said he used previous research to estimate the health impact of the six plants based on 2004 emissions estimates and census data.
http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2006/02/15/study_links_power_plants_to_deaths_asthma/
Ohio evolution lesson plan eliminated
By Carrie Spencer Ghose, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
COLUMBUS, Ohio --Disputed teaching material used by Ohio public school students that questions evolutionary theory is headed back to the state committee that wrote the first version.
The Ohio Board of Education voted 11-4 Tuesday to delete a science standard and correlating lesson plan that encourages students to seek evidence for and against evolution. Critics had called the material an opening to teach intelligent design, which holds that life is so complex it must have been created by a higher authority.
"It is deeply unfair to the children of this state to mislead them about science," said board member Martha Wise, who pushed to eliminate the material.
The 2002 science standards said students should be able to "describe how scientists continue to investigate and critically analyze aspects of evolutionary theory." The standards included a disclaimer that they do not require the teaching of intelligent design.
http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2006/02/15/ohio_evolution_lesson_plan_eliminated/
Entwistle due in U.S. to face charges in deaths of wife, baby
By Denise Lavoie, AP Legal Affairs Writer February 15, 2006
BOSTON --A British man accused of killing his wife and infant daughter in their suburban Boston home was expected to arrive in the United States on Wednesday afternoon to face murder charges.
A plane carrying Neil Entwistle, 27, left London's Gatwick Airport earlier Tuesday and was expected to stop briefly in Bangor, Maine, to pass through U.S. Customs. It will then continue on to Hanscom Air Force Base in Bedford, northwest of Boston, said Phil Orlandella, a spokesman for the Massachusetts Port Authority, which runs the civilian air field at Hanscom.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/15/massachusetts_murder_suspect_flown_out_of_britain/
Entwistle's lawyer used to the spotlight, high profile cases
By Brooke Donald, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
BOSTON --The lawyer representing accused killer Neil Entwistle has made a career out of representing high profile defendants.
Veteran Boston defense attorney Elliot Weinstein defended one of four men sentenced to life in prison in the 2001 slaying of a Harvard Square homeless woman. He also represented a Cambodian immigrant charged with kidnapping, raping and murdering a 5-year-old girl. Another case had him defending a Quincy man accused of killing and dismembering his wife.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/15/entwistles_lawyer_used_to_the_spotlight_high_profile_cases/
Sago Mine survivor learning to speak again
By Vicki Smith, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
CHARLESTON, W.Va. --The survivor of the Sago Mine disaster is slowly learning to speak again, answering questions and learning to articulate words at a rehabilitation hospital, a family spokeswoman said Wednesday.
Randal L. McCloy Jr., 26, sometimes responds with a single word, but also uses phrases to answer relatives and therapists, said Aly Goodwin Gregg, a spokeswoman for McCloy's family. Some of his communication is clear, but much is still difficult to understand.
"His family is ecstatic with what's coming now," Gregg said. "It's wonderful to say, 'Do you want more chicken fingers?' and for him to be able to say no."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/02/15/sago_mine_survivor_learning_to_speak_again/
Iraqi TV airs appeal for US reporter's release
February 15, 2006
BOSTON (Reuters) - Iraqi state television has aired video clips put together by the Christian Science Monitor urging the release of its reporter Jill Carroll, less than a week after her captors renewed threats to kill her, the newspaper said on Wednesday.
The Boston-based newspaper said the broadcasts on al-Iraqiya television began airing on Tuesday and included interviews with Iraqis who say they are concerned about her capture and regard the 28-year-old as one of their daughters.
"We've tried to get information out in Baghdad," said David Cook, Washington bureau chief of The Christian Science Monitor. "This is one more way for us to communicate with the people in the city, in essence saying 'please help us find Jill'."
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/02/15/iraqi_tv_airs_appeal_for_us_reporters_release/
Caracas seeks UN Security Council seat, irking US
By Irwin Arieff February 15, 2006
UNITED NATIONS (Reuters) - Venezuela is stepping up a previously low-key drive for a seat on the U.N. Security Council beginning next year, U.N. diplomats said on Wednesday, prompting criticism from U.S. Ambassador John Bolton.
"I don't think it would be conducive to an effective and well-functioning Security Council," Bolton told reporters when asked about the campaign by Venezuela, whose president, Hugo Chavez, has been positioning himself as the standard-bearer for growing anti-U.S. sentiment in Latin America.
Candidates for a seat on the 15-nation council, the pre-eminent U.N. body on matters of war, peace and international security, are often unopposed as they are selected in advance by U.N. regional groupings.
The 191-nation U.N. General Assembly formally elects five nations to two-year terms on the council every year. The United States is one of five permanent members, with Britain, France, Russia and China.
Venezuela, in shifting its drive for a council seat into high gear in recent weeks, is directly challenging Guatemala, a fellow member of the group of Latin American and Caribbean states.
While Venezuela, the world's fifth-largest oil exporter, first signaled its interest in running in 2004, Guatemala declared its candidacy two years earlier, the diplomats said.
Chavez, a self-styled socialist revolutionary allied with Cuba, has clashed frequently with the administration of U.S. President George W. Bush, which he accuses of trying to topple his government. Venezuela, for example, has strongly backed Iran in a dispute with Western powers over Tehran's nuclear ambitions.
Washington in turn accuses Chavez of becoming a negative influence in the region and undermining Venezuelan democracy.
Venezuelan authorities this month accused the naval attaché at the U.S. Embassy in Caracas of spying and expelled him from the country. The United States responded by sending home a Venezuelan diplomat.
Bolton said that while Washington traditionally did not disclose how it voted in the General Assembly, where council members are elected by secret ballot, "I don't think there is any mistake that Venezuela would not contribute to the effective operation of the Security Council."
"I think we can see that from their actions in the past six months in the General Assembly, which have been unhelpful," he said. Venezuela last September condemned as "grotesque" and illegal a U.N. blueprint for enhancing international cooperation that was adopted at the close of a summit of world leaders in New York.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2006/02/15/caracas_seeks_un_security_council_seat_irking_us/
Iran open to helping Venezuela nuclear program
February 15, 2006
CARACAS, Venezuela (Reuters) - Iran is open to helping Venezuela develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes, but the two OPEC members have not yet held talks about such cooperation, an Iranian lawmaker said on Wednesday.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, an ardent critic of the U.S. government, is backing Iran's right to develop nuclear fuel despite international community opposition to Tehran pursuing its atomic program.
"Although we have not had any conversations until now with Venezuelan authorities, we would be willing to study the possibility," Iran's parliament speaker, Gholamali Haddadadel, said when asked by reporters in Caracas whether Tehran could offer cooperation to Venezuela.
Venezuela, the world's No. 5 oil exporter, last year said it was interested in developing nuclear technology with the possible help of Argentina, Brazil or Iran for civilian energy and medical purposes.
Venezuela had a small research reactor that was closed more than a decade ago and is now used for food irradiation and sterilization. Experts say nuclear development could take Venezuela as long as 10 years of investment and training.
The Iranian delegation visiting Venezuela to boost ties between the two nations signed a joint statement ratifying "the right of all nations to make peaceful use nuclear energy" and condemned the "imperialism" of foreign powers.
Iran on Tuesday confirmed that it had restarted uranium enrichment that it insists will only be used for peaceful civilian purposes despite U.S. and European fears that the technology would be used to create nuclear weapons.
Venezuela joined Syria and Cuba this month at the International Atomic Energy Agency in opposing the U.N. watchdog's decision to send the Iran nuclear energy dispute to the U.N. Security Council, which could impose sanctions.
Chavez's growing ties to Iran have only made Washington more wary of the former army colonel turned populist president, whom the U.S. accuses of using the nation's oil wealth to destabilize democracy in the region.
The Venezuelan leader counters that the United States is meddling in democracies in the region, and accuses the U.S. State Department of sponsoring a brief coup against him in 2002. He has promised a socialist revolution to end poverty and promote the integration of Latin American nations,
http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2006/02/15/iran_open_to_helping_venezuela_nuclear_program/
Sinn Fein leader to march in Holyoke parade
February 15, 2006
HOLYOKE, Mass. --Gerry Adams, leader of the Irish Republican Army-linked Sinn Fein party, is slated to march in the city's St. Patrick's Day Parade.
Adams, who has helped guide his party into Ireland's political mainstream by negotiating a peace between Britain and Ireland, was invited to walk the three-mile parade route on March 19 by U.S. Rep. Richard Neal, D-Mass.
Adams is now involved in talks to restore a power sharing government in Northern Ireland.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2006/02/15/sinn_fein_leader_to_march_in_holyoke_parade/
Revised complaint filed in nightclub fire civil case
By Eric Tucker, Associated Press Writer February 15, 2006
PROVIDENCE, R.I. --Nearly 270 people affected by the state's deadliest nightclub fire added several more defendants to their lawsuit on Wednesday, including members of the band whose pyrotechnics sparked the blaze and manufacturers of flammable foam that fed the flames.
The amended lawsuit filed on behalf of fire survivors and relatives of those killed alleges that carelessness and negligence by the defendants was to blame for the fire's 100 deaths and dozens of injuries.
The suit replaces a massive complaint originally filed in July 2004, and comes just days before a three-year deadline to bring a claim stemming from the Feb. 20, 2003, fire at The Station.
The fire at the West Warwick club started during a rock band's pyrotechnic display when sparks ignited flammable foam placed around the stage as soundproofing.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2006/02/15/new_complaint_filed_in_nightclub_fire_civil_case/
Cheney says he has power to declassify info
By Pete Yost, Associated Press Writer February 16, 2006
WASHINGTON --Vice President Dick Cheney disclosed Wednesday that he has the power to declassify sensitive government information, authority that could set up a criminal defense for his former chief of staff, I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby.
Cheney's disclosure comes a week after reports that Libby testified under oath he was authorized by superiors in 2003 to disclose highly sensitive prewar information to reporters. The information, about Iraq and alleged weapons of mass destruction, was used by the Bush administration to bolster its case for invading Iraq.
At the time of Libby's contacts with reporters in June and July 2003, the administration including Cheney, who was among the war's most ardent proponents, faced growing criticism. No weapons of mass destruction had been found in Iraq, and Bush supporters were anxious to show that the White House had relied on prewar intelligence projecting a strong threat from such weapons.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/02/16/cheney_says_he_has_power_to_declassify_info/
Bomb-sniffing dog dies in accidental fall
February 16, 2006
HOUSTON --An explosives-sniffing dog died Wednesday after falling more than 50 feet during a security sweep to prepare for the NBA All-Star Game.
Mikey, a 4-year-old black Laborador serving with the Lufkin Police Department, jumped from a ramp to chase a bird and fell, the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives said in a news release.
Mikey broke away from the grasp of his handler, Lufkin police Officer Paul Jackson, when Jackson was trying to put the dog into a kennel during a water break.
"This is a tragic accident that has saddened all of us," said Donnie Carter, the ATF's special agent in charge for Houston.
An ATF medic treated Mikey at the scene until he was taken to an emergency veterinary clinic, where he was pronounced dead.
Mikey graduated in July 2004 from the ATF Canine Training Center in Virginia.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/02/16/bomb_sniffing_dog_dies_in_accidental_fall/
Drought forces Somalis to drink own urine: Oxfam
By Andrew Cawthorne February 16, 2006
NAIROBI (Reuters) - Drought in Somalia is putting hundreds of thousands of people at risk, with some forced to drink their own urine or walk the equivalent of two marathon races to find water, a relief agency said on Thursday.
With east Africa facing its worst drought for years, arid Somalia is one of the worst-affected countries, with pastoralist families forced to exist on a twentieth of the daily water supply recommended by minimum standards, Oxfam said.
"Many families are surviving on just a 20-liter jerry can of water for three days. This is equivalent to 830 ml, or three glasses of water, per person per day for drinking, cooking and washing," the British-based agency said.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/africa/articles/2006/02/16/drought_forces_somalis_to_drink_own_urine_oxfam/
Baghdad car bombs kill seven Iraqis
BAGHDAD, Iraq --Two car bombs exploded in Baghdad on Thursday, killing seven Iraqis and wounding at least 14, police said.
One of the bombs targeted a passing U.S. military patrol in northern Baghdad's Shula neighborhood, police Maj. Moussa Abdul Karim said. Six Iraqis were killed and 11 wounded.
The bombing was followed by clashes between gunmen and U.S. soldiers that lasted about 10 minutes before the militants fled in three cars, Karim said.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/02/16/baghdad_car_bomb_kills_six_iraqis/
Michael Moore Today
http://www.michaelmoore.com/
Site of the Week
Nation Student Writing Contest
Sponsored by the BIL Charitable Trust to recognize and reward the best in student writing and thinking.
We're looking for original, thoughtful, provocative student voices to tell us what issue is of most concern to their generation. Essays should not exceed 800 words and should be original, unpublished work that demonstrates fresh, clear thinking and superior quality of expression and craftsmanship. We'll select five finalists and one winner, who will be awarded a $500 cash prize and a Nation subscription. The winning essay will be published in the magazine and featured on our website. The five finalists will be awarded $100 each and subscriptions, and their entries will be published online. The contest is open to students at American high schools and to undergraduates at American colleges and universities. Entries (only one per student) will be accepted through March 31. A winner will be announced by May 31. Please send entries to studentprize@thenation.com.
http://www.thenation.com/about/student_writing_contest.mhtml
Hunter shot by Cheney has 'minor heart attack'
CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas (CNN) -- The fellow hunter who was shot and wounded by Vice President Dick Cheney has suffered a "minor heart attack" after a piece of birdshot migrated to his heart, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.
Harry Whittington, 78, is in stable condition in intensive care and will remain hospitalized for up to seven days, hospital officials said.
"Some of the bird shot appears to have moved and lodged into part of his heart ... in what we would say is a minor heart attack," said Peter Banko, administrator at Christus Spohn Hospital Corpus Christi-Memorial.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5853
If they waited 14 hours to tell us Cheney shot a man, how long would they wait to tell us the man is dead?
SPEAK OUT FOR PEACE!
Join us for an evening PEACE RALLY in The Woodlands
Cindy Sheehan
And
The Gold Star
Families
For Peace
February 19, 2006
Sunday 7:00 p.m.
Montgomery College Theatre
Building D
Montgomery College
3200 College Park Dr.
The Woodlands, TX
Event sponsors include the North Houston Peace Group, Gold Star Families for Peace, Potlucks for Peace and Concerned Citizens of Montgomery County.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5828
Barbara's Tea Party
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/presdayflyer.jpg
Download Flyer
http://www.michaelmoore.com/_images/splash/presdayflyer.pdf
Republicans Criticize Bush Mideast Policy
By Anne Gearan / Associated Press
WASHINGTON — Republican senators criticized the Bush administration Wednesday over its policies in Iraq, Iran and the Palestinian territories, as Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's first testimony on Capitol Hill in months exposed her to a tough grilling from some members of her own party.
"I don't see, Madame Secretary, how things are getting better. I think things are getting worse. I think they're getting worse in Iraq. I think they're getting worse in Iran," Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., told Rice as she appeared before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5857
Hinchey blasts Bush during Cornell visit
By Evan Axelbank / News10Now
Congressman Hinchey was in familiar form Monday night.
He unleashed relentless attacks on the Bush administration for over an hour to an audience of 80 Cornell Democrats. He zeroed in on what he says is a lack of Congressional oversight on issues like Iraq and the CIA name leak case.
He said, "This Congress is in almost complete abject compliance with the administration."
Local Republicans say back off.
"This is a steady drumbeat from Maurice Hinchey, who is less interested in fighting terrorism and more interested in fighting with the president," said Mark Finkelstein, the Tompkins Co. G.O.P. vice-chairman.
The Hurricane Katrina report expected Wednesday and some Republican skepticism of warrantless spying has Hinchey more optimistic.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5856
US Muslim scholar says Iran attack would be insane
By Talal Malik / Reuters
LONDON - A prominent American Muslim scholar who advised President George W. Bush after the September 11 attacks said any U.S.-led attack on Iran would be crazy and throw the Middle East into political turmoil.
"I think it's insane," 45-year-old Hamza Yusuf told Reuters late on Monday. "Iran is a huge country and it can potentially set the entire region in flames."
Referring to Iran's nuclear program, which is at the heart of its dispute with the United States and other countries, Yusuf said if other countries were allowed to have nuclear power then Tehran should be allowed to develop it too.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5855
February 14th, 2006 1:22 pm
U.S. Has Royalty Plan to Give Windfall to Oil Companies
By Edmund L. Andrews / New York Times
Feb. 14, 2006 — The federal government is on the verge of one of the biggest giveaways of oil and gas in American history, worth an estimated $7 billion over five years.
New projections, buried in the Interior Department's just-published budget plan, anticipate that the government will let companies pump about $65 billion worth of oil and natural gas from federal territory over the next five years without paying any royalties to the government.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5852
UN report calls for closure of Guantánamo
· Prison breaks conventions on torture, say envoys
· Violent force-feeding of hunger strikers criticised
By Suzanne Goldenberg / Guardian
UN inquiry into conditions at Guantánamo Bay has called on Washington to shut down the prison, and says treatment of detainees in some cases amounts to torture, UN officials said yesterday.
The report also disputes the Bush administration's legal arguments for the prison, which was sited at the navy base in Cuba with the purpose of remaining outside the purview of the US courts, and says there has been insufficient legal process to decide whether detainees continued to pose a threat to the US.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5851
February 14th, 2006 3:39 pm
Investigators Have Profile in Church Arson
By Jay Reeves / Associated Press
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - Investigators believe a pair of men in their 20s or 30s, likely "bosom buddies," are responsible for a string of church fires in rural Alabama, as authorities confirmed the latest blaze at a Baptist church was the 10th case of arson.
The latest fire severely damaged Beaverton Freewill Baptist Church in northwest Alabama, near the Mississippi line. The white, wood-frame church sat about 150 yards off a two-lane county road and had an alarm system that alerted officials to the blaze.
"It's definitely arson," state fire marshal spokesman Ragan Ingram said Sunday.
Fire marshals are investigating whether the Saturday afternoon blaze was linked to the other nine this month, which all were set in the pre-dawn hours. Last week, Gov. Bob Riley said the nine earlier church fires appear linked.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=5854
The War is Killing My Friends and I'm Sick of It
From: SPC Fish
Sent: Monday, October 24, 2005 12:22 AM
To: soldiers@michaelmoore.com
Subject: I can't sleep
Thank you! Thank you for caring about us, speaking for us, and telling the truth. A British coalition soldier gave me his copy of Fahrenheit 9/11 while I was serving in Afghanistan. That soldier was involved in a suicide car bomb this month and we took care of him at the hospital. I just got back yesterday and looked you up. I've always been a liberal girl, and it ticks me off to no end that Bush is going to try to take away my rights and screw America over with his Christian-influenced "leadership." And what makes me even more angry is that all my friends and my husband are serving in a bullshit war in Iraq. I served in another bullshit war as a nurse in Kandahar.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/books-films/willtheyevertrustusagain/index.php?id=36
continued ...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)