Volcanic Activity and Recent Tephras in the Kuril Islands:

With all the volcanism of the Kurils, can it be a group of islands with similar properties as Iceland in it's geothermal energy potential?

(Click here)

Thank you

A question of sovereignty

Foreign Minister of Japan Urged to Go Halves in Kuril Islands

Japan’s Foreign Minister Taro Aso came up with informal proposal to halve with Russia the South Kuril Islands and draw the line there, ITAR-TASS reported.

Taro Aso voiced the proposal on Wednesday, during the debate in the Foreign Committee of the lower House of Japan’s parliament. According to the minister, if the northern territories are halved, Japan will have 25 percent of Iturup and some portion of other three islands. It makes no sense to speak of two, three or four islands without thinking of their area, the minister made clear.

For decades, Japan has been endeavoring to get back the so-called northern territories, i.e. the South Kuril’ Iturup, Kunashir, Shikotan and Habomai. The standing of Russia is to stick to the Soviet-Japanese Joint Declaration of 1956, where Moscow agreed to part with the smaller portion of the territory in favor of Japan.

State sets record for tornadoes in 2006

April 16th, 2006 Illinois Easter Tornado Outbreak (click on)

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. The National Weather Service says Illinois has again set a record for tornadoes.The 126 tornadoes so far this year are six more than the state record set just three years ago. And this year's tornado total dwarfs the 19 that hit the Land of Lincoln just last year.
The weather service says this year's tornadoes were blamed in just one death, compared with none last year and nine in 2004.

Weather experts downplayed the possibility that global warming played a role in this year's record number. They say better detection -- not climate change -- may explain the increase.
Meteorologist Chris Miller also says mild winter weather in January and February, along with a vigorous storm track over Illinois early in the spring, played key roles in the active tornado season statewide.

Morning Papers - continued ...

Miami Herald

16 Saudis sent home from Guantánamo
RIYADH, Saudi Arabia - (AP) -- Sixteen Saudi Arabians were released from the U.S. prison at Guantánamo Bay and returned home today, the kingdom's interior minister said.
The 16 arrived in the kingdom on a private Saudi plane and will be ''subject to the Saudi system,'' the interior minister said without elaborating. It was not immediately known when they were released from Guantánamo.
''Their release was the outcome of efforts exerted by Saudi authorities,'' Prince Nayef bin Abdul Aziz told Saudi's official news agency.
The United States began using the Guantánamo Bay Navy Base in southeast Cuba in January 2002 to hold people suspected of having links to al Qaeda or the Taliban.
Since May, about 44 Saudis, including the 16, have been released and sent home.
Some 759 people have been held over the years at Guantánamo. Of those, 136 have been Saudis, making them the second-largest number of Guantánamo prisoners, behind the 218 Afghans that have been held there.
The detention of Saudis at Guantánamo has been an irritant in the relationship between the Bush administration and the Saudi kingdom.
In Washington, the Pentagon confirmed the transfer this morning -- in a statement issued about six hours after the Saudis disclosed it.
''With today's transfer, approximately 100 detainees remain at Guantánamo who the U.S. government has determined eligible for transfer or release through a comprehensive series of review processes,'' the Defense Department said.
Diplomatic discussions are under way to determine how the U.S. military might transfer them off the remote Navy base.
''The United States does not desire to hold detainees for any longer than necessary,'' the statement said. ``The department expects that there will continue to be other transfers and releases of detainees.''

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16238433.htm


Sentencing of former PBS&J employees delayed
BY PATRICK DANNER
pdanner@MiamiHerald.com
Sentencing has been delayed until Feb. 16 for the three former PBS&J employees who pleaded guilty to their roles in a $36 million embezzlement scheme at the engineering firm.
Ex-Chief Financial Officer W. Scott DeLoach of Aventura and former subordinates Maria M. Garcia of Hialeah and Rosario Licata of Davie originally had been scheduled to be sentenced on Friday by senior U.S. District Judge James Lawrence King.
Each could face up to 20 years in prison.
Court documents indicate that PBS&J executives intend to speak at the sentencing.
The three embezzled the money to fund lavish lifestyles. DeLoach bought a multimillion-dollar home in Aventura and property in the Florida Keys. Garcia bought sports cars, jewelry and ownership interest in a restaurant. Licata purchased real estate in Florida and Nicaragua and engaged in high-stakes gambling.
As part of an agreement with prosecutors, DeLoach is responsible for paying PBS&J at least $18.5 million. Garcia must repay at least $9.8 million and Licata at least $6.7 million.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16239545.htm


Lethal injection takes 34 minutes to kill inmate
Convicted murdered Angel Diaz was executed, but his death seemed to take longer than other lethal-injection executions.

STARKE - Angel Nieves Diaz, the self-styled ''Daddy of Death'' for the Machete Men Puerto Rican terror gang who was implicated in at least three murders and two brutal prison breaks, spent his last moments Wednesday inveighing against the taking of a life -- his own.
''The state of Florida is killing an innocent person,'' Diaz said from the gurney on Death Row. ``The state of Florida is committing a crime, because I am innocent. The death penalty is not only a form of vengeance, but also a cowardly act by humans. I'm sorry for what is happening to me and my family who have been put through this.''
What happened to him next looked agonizing. Grimacing, Diaz took 34 minutes to die from the drugs pumped through him. At times he seemed to be squinting and at other times he appeared to be flexing his jaw.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16234500.htm


Gunbattle prompts Gaza crossing shutdown
IBRAHIM BARZAK
Associated Press
RAFAH, Gaza Strip - Hamas militants, angry that Israel had blocked the Palestinian prime minister's return to Gaza, burst into the Rafah border terminal Thursday and engaged in a gunbattle with guards before it was closed.
After dark, two loud explosions rocked the area and police said militants blew a hole in the border fence about a half-mile from the crossing. More gunfire was heard, as witnesses said Hamas gunmen were firing at the Egyptian side, drawing return fire from Egyptians and presidential guards from the rival Fatah movement.
Masked gunmen in three cars and a bulldozer stormed the terminal, destroying computers and furniture inside, the witnesses said. At least five people were wounded.
The border violence came amid rising tensions between Prime Minister Ismail Haniyeh's Hamas faction and its political rival, Fatah.
In Gaza City, police arrested a Hamas-linked militant in the murder of a security chief's three boys, shot Monday as they arrived at school. The militant's allies retaliated for the arrests by kidnapping a security officer.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16239543.htm


Mortgage fraud is rampant in Florida
Florida tops the nation in mortgage fraud, particularly with borrowers fudging information on their loan applications.
This is the third in an occasional series of reports exploring costly consumer snares, scams and crime associated with South Florida's surging real estate market.
Fudging on that loan application may seem innocuous enough: exaggerating income a little; boosting a credit score; hiding some down payment help from the lender.
After all, the borrower probably has every intention of paying the loan. And the mortgage broker who looks the other way is just helping someone realize their dream of homeownership.
But what may seem like harmless lying is fraud. Its motive: hoodwinking banks to fund loans, so borrowers can squeeze into the homes that suit their fancy.
While mortgage fraud often takes the form of complicated criminal schemes, lying to the lender -- called origination fraud because it takes place at the loan's origin -- actually is the most common. And in Florida, origination fraud is rampant. Mortgage giant Fannie Mae reported in September that the state had the highest rates in the nation of misrepresentations on mortgage applications reviewed since August 2005.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16234532.htm


'Dentist' was a fake, police say
Anselmo Fraga-Marrero had an unconventional way of making ends meet: According to police, he ran an illegal dentist office out of a Westchester home.
Fraga-Marrero, 40, did not have a license to practice dentistry in the state of Florida. He did have professional dentistry equipment and an assortment of prescription drugs, Miami-Dade police say.
Fraga-Marrero was arrested Tuesday at his office in the 2000 block of Southwest 82nd Avenue. He is charged with practicing healthcare without a license and possessing drugs with intent to dispense, both felonies.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16239105.htm


S.D. Sen. Johnson in critical condition
WASHINGTON - Democratic Sen. Tim Johnson was in critical condition recovering from emergency brain surgery Thursday, creating political drama over whether his illness could cost Democrats newly won control of the Senate.
The South Dakota senator, 59, suffered from bleeding in the brain caused by a congenital malformation, the U.S. Capitol physician said. He described the surgery as successful.
The condition, usually present at birth, causes tangled blood vessels that can burst unexpectedly later in life.
Democrats hold a fragile 51-49 margin in the new Senate that convenes Jan. 4. If Johnson leaves the Senate, the Republican governor of South Dakota could appoint a Republican to fill the remaining two years of Johnson's term - keeping the Senate in GOP hands with Vice President Dick Cheney's tie-breaking power.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16232626.htm


Sister act: Mama Lila's Bistro is their dream come true
As the Valderrama sisters tell the story, their parents dreamed of having children but couldn't at first. So they tried really hard. And once the first was born, it seems they forgot to stop trying.
Rosa, now 32, Elisa, 31, Lili, 30, and Roberta, 29, spent their early years in Lima, moving to Miami with their parents in 1982. And last summer they realized a dream of their own, opening Mama Lila's Bistro, a charming, casual eatery in Coral Gables.
''We always wanted to work together,'' Lili says.
A restaurant seemed a natural given the big role food and hospitality played in their family life. Besides, says Elisa, Peru ``is a culture obsessed with food.''
''Even more than political scandals,'' Lili adds.
''You have to hide your recipes,'' Rosa chimes in.
''When you meet Peruvians here,'' Elisa explains, ``you start bonding over food.''
Elisa is the only one of the four who set out to pursue a restaurant career, studying culinary arts at the Art Institute of Fort Lauderdale.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/living/16227626.htm


Israelis dig 'Borat,' jokes in Hebrew
ARON HELLER
Associated Press
JERUSALEM - Like moviegoing masses around the world, Israelis have crowded theaters to watch the hit spoof "Borat." But they are laughing for another reason: They actually understand what the anti-Semitic, misogynist Kazakh journalist is saying.
Few realize that comedian Sacha Baron Cohen's wacky comedic creation, Borat Sagdiyev, is not speaking Kazakh or even gibberish, but rather Hebrew, the biblical language of the Jewish people.
The 35-year-old British comedian is no stranger to Israel. He is an observant Jew, his mother was born in Israel and his grandmother still lives in Haifa. In high school, he belonged to a Zionist Jewish youth group, Habonim Dror, and upon graduation spent a year working and studying on a kibbutz, or collective farm, in northern Israel. He has since returned for several visits, his Hebrew is excellent and his understanding of Israeli culture superb.
The irony of a Hebrew-speaking anti-Semite is not lost on the admiring Israeli audience, which has made the movie a huge hit here.
"It is extremely funny and kind of cool to realize that you are understanding something no one else does," said Gaby Goldman, 33, of Tel Aviv. "It's not just the Hebrew but also the way he speaks. He sounds almost Israeli, he sounds like one of us."

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16239832.htm


Lists of best-selling books
Associated Press
USA TODAY BEST-SELLERS
Key: F-Fiction; NF-Nonfiction; H-Hardcover; P-Paperback
1. "For One More Day" by Mitch Albom (Hyperion) (F-H)
2. "You: On A Diet: The Owner's Manual for Waist Management" by Michael F. Roizen, Mehmet C. Oz (Free Press) (NF-H)
3. "Next" by Michael Crichton (HarperCollins) (NF-H)
4. "Eragon" by Christopher Paolini (Knopf Books for Young Readers) (F-P)
5. "Cross" by James Patterson (Little, Brown) (F-H)
6. "Hannibal Rising" by Thomas Harris (Delacorte) (F-H)
7. "The Audacity of Hope" by Barack Obama (Crown) (NF-H)
8. "The Innocent Man: Murder and Injustice in a Small Town" by John Grisham (Doubleday) (NF-H)
9. "The Memory Keeper's Daughter" by Kim Edwards (Penguin) (F-P)
10. "Dear John" by Nicholas Sparks (Warner) (F-H)
11. "The Iraq Study Group Report: The Way Forward - A New Approach" by James A. Baker, Lee H. Hamilton (Vintage) (NF-P)

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16239969.htm


Morales resigns as head of Dade Democratic Party
The Miami-Dade Democratic Party is looking for chairman No. 5 in as many years. Jimmy Morales resigned, saying he didn't have enough time to devote to the job.
BY TANIA VALDEMORO AND BETH REINHARD
breinhard@MiamiHerald.com
Less than two years after he was recruited amid high hopes to lead the Miami-Dade Democratic Party, Chairman Jimmy Morales is stepping down.
His resignation did not come as a surprise. After the former county commissioner lost a bruising mayoral race, he took the party post as a steppingstone to become state chairman but dropped out of the running at the last minute. Then Morales appeared to position himself as a running mate for Democratic gubernatorial candidate Jim Davis, but was passed over.
Morales, whose four-year term as party chairman does not expire until December 2008, said he would continue serving until a special election can be held in January.
The local party chairman serves as the ambassador to visiting statewide and national candidates and oversees fundraising, grass-roots organization and candidate recruitment in Florida's largest county.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16234494.htm


Huizenga protégé sued for $11.7 million
Wayne Huizenga is suing former business partner Richard Rochon, once president of Huizenga Holdings, for $11.7 million in unpaid loans.
BY ALEXANDRA CLOUGH
Palm Beach Post
Billionaire businessman H. Wayne Huizenga is suing his former right-hand man Richard Rochon, claiming Rochon owes him $11.7 million in unpaid loans used to pay for a luxury yacht and a Boca Raton mansion.
The lawsuit alleges that Rochon, once president of Huizenga Holdings -- the Fort Lauderdale umbrella company for many of Huizenga's acquisitions and start-up companies -- is refusing to pay back the debt despite promising to do so.
Rochon said through a spokesman that he didn't believe the lawsuit has merit. Stan Smith, a Rochon spokesman, said, ``We were surprised and disappointed that Mr. Huizenga filed this lawsuit against Mr. Rochon, who devoted 17 years of his professional life to Mr. Huizenga.''
Indeed, woven into the lawsuit, filed on Dec. 4 in Palm Beach County Circuit Court, is the story of two men whose mentor-protégé relationship blossomed into a close and powerful business alliance.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16233229.htm


New park turns into insatiable green monster
BY FRED GRIMM
fgrimm@MiamiHerald.com
A 109-acre wasteland of naked dirt and scrubland in the midst of one of Broward County's poorest ZIP codes makes for a better metaphor than a park.
The land was supposed to have been the county's grandest regional park when it opened last month. Except it wasn't anywhere near completion. Instead, the planned park, with construction bogged down by cost overruns, hurricane delays and three years of bureaucratic snags, is only the county's priciest park.
It would take a forensic accountant to sort out blame for the overruns created by disagreements among the contractor, county and the city of Lauderhill, but the costs are daunting. Late Tuesday night, the Broward County Commission wrestled with what Commissioner John Rodstrom called ``the mother of all change orders.''
The commissioners were told they needed to find another $9 million to salvage the park. That meant another $9 million atop a previous $1.2 million addition to the original $35.5 million construction contract. And it had been a ferocious debate back in 2001 when the county paid $15.5 million for the first 96 acres of the land.
GRANDIOSE PLANS
This unbuilt park, with plans for a cricket stadium, an $8 million field house, a fountain, clock tower, water park and designer picnic pavilions was, as Rodstrom put it Tuesday night, ''sucking up'' more than a quarter of the $200 million county voters had approved for parks in a 2000 bond issue.
The change order would come from money earmarked for other park projects in other regions of the county.
''It's unfair to the other districts,'' Rodstrom complained.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/16234131.htm


What happened to smaller government?
OUR OPINION: RUBIO'S SPENDING SPREE NOT FISCALLY RESPONSIBLE
New Florida House Speaker Marco Rubio should have paid more attention the advice in his book 100 Ideas for Florida's Future, particularly the warning: ''Do not unnecessarily expand the role of government.'' We would add: Do not unnecessarily increase recurring expenses by adding expensive political staffers -- and not reducing staff elsewhere.
Yet that's exactly what Mr. Rubio has done -- along with pricey renovations to the House chambers. One month into his new job, he has spent $2.5 million in taxpayer money. Bills passed or crises resolved: zero.
Not a good example
Part of the problem is that Mr. Rubio has sold himself as a new breed of politician, one who is more inclusive, transparent and interested in innovative ways to improve Florida government. He lived up to that image in his committee appointments this week. Democrats, who are in the minority, have broader access to power than they've had in years of Republican-dominated Legislatures. But Mr. Rubio's early spending spree blew it. It wasn't fiscally responsible and doesn't set a good example.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16234572.htm


Next year, junior must declare a major
OUR OPINION: CHANGE IN SEMANTICS AND BRAGGING RIGHTS FOR POLITICIANS
Beginning next school year, parents and teachers throughout Florida will be sitting down with their children or students and having serious conversations about picking a ''major area of interest'' while in high school. This is not a joke. The Florida Legislature passed a bill this year that requires high-school freshmen to choose a major course of study, just as do college students.
Just talking points
If you are the parent of a 14-year-old, you know that children this age seldom know what they want to do tomorrow, much less what to chose as a career track. You may also conclude that state lawmakers have taken leave of their senses.
Actually, they haven't. Understood in its entirety, the new majors program doesn't require much more than what is currently required of students. The options offered are pretty much the same that are available as electives under current guidelines. In fact, the state hasn't allocated additional funds for teachers, resources, curriculum or support for the majors program.
The idea is to give potential high-school drop-outs more incentives to stay in school; and to improve Florida's dismal high-school graduation rate, which currently is among the worst in the nation at 71.9 percent.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/opinion/16234571.htm


Ria Novosti

Russian prosecutors ready to help Germany on "Kovtun case"
MOSCOW, December 13 (RIA Novosti) - Russian prosecutors are ready to help Germany investigate the so-called "Kovtun case," the spokesman for the Prosecutor General's office said Wednesday.
A former FSB officer, Alexander Litvinenko died November 23 in a London hospital from a lethal dose of the radioactive substance polonium-210.
Dmitry Kovtun, a former colleague turned businessman, met with Litvinenko in the British capital shortly before he fell ill and was himself later diagnosed with radioactive poisoning.
The spokesman said the office has not yet received an official request for legal assistance from Germany, although it was reported Tuesday that Germany had made one.
"In case [such a] request arrives, the Prosecutor General's office will consider it in line with the norms of international and Russian laws. If need be, we will assist our German colleagues," he said.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061213/56884368.html


No evidence that Kovtun was in Berlin last night - German police
BERLIN, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - Police in the German city of Hamburg said Thursday there is no evidence that Dmitry Kovtun, a key witness in the murder case of Russian security service defector Alexander Litvinenko, was in Berlin last night.
A German newspaper said Thursday, citing law enforcement sources, that KGB officer-turned-businessman Kovtun made a phone call to his former mother-in-law, living in Hamburg, on December 12 from Berlin.
Police confirmed that that the signal came from Berlin, but called it a false trail.
"There actually was a signal from Berlin, and Hamburg police checked this during the night. However, this signal turned out to be a false trail. There is no proof that Mr. Kovtun was in Berlin at this or any other time," a police report said.
Alexander Litvinenko, a Federal Security Service defector and outspoken Kremlin critic with ties to exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, died November 23 in a London hospital from a lethal dose of radioactive polonium-210.
Kovtun met with Litvinenko in the British capital shortly before he fell ill, and was himself later diagnosed with radioactive poisoning by doctors in Moscow.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061214/56922540.html


Litvinenko case witness Lugovoi says medical tests to be delayed
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - Businessman Andrei Lugovoi, a key witness in the case of a Russian security service defector's murder, said Thursday the results of his medical examination will not be known on Friday, as previously expected.
"The results will not be known soon, definitely not on Friday," he said.
Alexander Litvinenko, a former Federal Security Service officer and outspoken Kremlin critic with ties to exiled Russian oligarch Boris Berezovsky, died November 23 in a London hospital from a lethal dose of radioactive polonium-210.
Lugovoi is currently in hospital in Moscow.
Lugovoi and another witness Dmitry Kovtun, both businessmen and former security agents, met with Litvinenko around the time he fell ill, and have already been questioned by Russian and British investigators probing the Litvinenko case.
Kovtun, diagnosed with radioactive poisoning by doctors in Moscow, told RIA Novosti Thursday that he will not be discharged from hospital soon.
"It may take several weeks," he said.
He also denied western media reports that he visited Berlin recently. "This is easy to check," he said.
A German newspaper said earlier on Thursday, citing law enforcement sources, that Kovtun made a phone call to his former mother-in-law, living in Hamburg, on December 12 from Berlin.
Police confirmed that that the signal came from Berlin, but called it a false trail.
Police in Hamburg launched an investigation into Kovtun after traces of radiation were detected at several sites he visited between October 28 and November 1, including at his ex-wife's apartment. German prosecutors are investigating the businessman, who has a German residence permit, on suspicion of illegally transporting nuclear materials.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061214/56942691.html


Ex-FSB officer denies he accused group of Litvinenko murder
MOSCOW, December 13 (RIA Novosti) - A former security service officer said Wednesday he never accused an organization of former Russian intelligence officers of being involved in the poisoning of defector Alexander Litvinenko.
The Western media earlier quoted Yevgeny Limarev as saying that Honor and Dignity, a foundation of veterans of Russia's intelligence and diplomatic services, might have been involved in the November 23 death by radiation poisoning of Litvinenko, who defected from Russia in 2000 and was known as an outspoken Kremlin opponent.
A spokesman for the foundation dismissed the allegations last week.
"That is groundless, unsubstantiated information," he said, adding that the group is considering a lawsuit against the media outlets that made the allegations.
Limarev told the Ekho Moskvy radio station that the documents, which Mario Scaramella, an Italian security consultant, handed to Litvinenko during their meeting November 1, the presumed date of his poisoning, contained no information which could have led to the elimination of the Russian defector.
He said the documents concerned Scaramella himself and the head of the Mitrokhin Commission, a parliamentary body set up by former Italian premier Silvio Berlusconi to investigate the activities of Soviet and post-Soviet spies in Italy.
Scaramella was admitted to hospital in late November after testing positive in tests for the radioactive isotope polonium-210, which killed Litvinenko.
But doctors said the level of radiation in Scaramella's body was not dangerous and discharged him.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061213/56890615.html


Ukraine's president blames conflict on prime minister - 1

KIEV, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's president confirmed Thursday that there is a growing conflict between him and the governing coalition led by the pro-Russian prime minister, and blamed the situation on the premier.
The power struggle between Western-leaning President Viktor Yushchenko and Viktor Yanukovych, who he defeated two years ago in presidential polls but appointed premier in August, has intensified in recent weeks, with parliament's sacking of president-appointed Cabinet ministers.
Viktor Yushchenko told a news conference, "I agree that relations between the president and the premier are becoming more and more strained on a number of issues. I want to stress that I am not the author of these conflicts."
As of January 1, 2006, Ukraine shifted from a presidential-parliamentary to a parliamentary-presidential form of governance, after amendments adopted by the Supreme Rada in December 2004 came into force. As a result, some presidential powers were transferred to the country's parliament and to the Cabinet.
In late November, Yushchenko said the Constitution needed amending.
"I am convinced that presidential powers should be enhanced. They demand a greater balance, especially in relations with the government," he told three leading Ukrainian television channels.
Ukraine's parliament voted in early December to sack Foreign Minister Borys Tarasyuk, a key supporter of the president, on a request from Yanukovych.
However, the president signed a decree ordering the minister remain in his post.
He said at the time that Tarasyuk's dismissal is the result of the recent constitutional reforms transferring presidential powers to parliament and the government.
"Parliamentary powers have expanded somewhat. We are now at a stage where these relations have not yet been clearly formulated, so there are attempts to play on somebody else's turf," he said. "That is the only explanation I can offer for the attempts to fire some Cabinet ministers."
Under Ukrainian law, the president appoints the ministers of foreign affairs and defense.
The motion to fire Tarasyuk was passed by the 450-assembly with 247 votes in favor, well clear of the necessary 226 votes.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20061214/56942029.html


Russia approves increase of Sakhalin-1 budget to $19.3 bln
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - The government has approved a $6.5 billion increase in the overall budget of the Sakhalin-1 oil and gas project in Russia's Far East, to $19.3 billion, the Industry and Energy Ministry said Thursday.
The government also approved a spending level of $1.193 billion in 2007, as proposed by the project operator, the ministry said in a statement.
The project, operated by Exxon Neftegas Limited, a subsidiary of U.S. oil major Exxon, on the Sakhalin Island's northeastern shelf under a production sharing agreement (PSA), is expected to bring in around $52.2 billion to the Russian budget by 2054, when it is scheduled to end.
Apart from the U.S. company, which owns 30%, Sakhalin-1 international consortium comprises Russia's state-owned Rosneft (20%), India's ONGC (20%), and Japan's SODECO (30%).
The consortium is developing the Arkutun-Dagi, Odoptu, and Chaivo deposits with recoverable reserves estimated at 2.3 billion barrels of oil and 485 billion cubic meters (17.1 trillion cubic feet) of natural gas.
The ministry said in a statement that the Sakhalin-1 budget has been adjusted by $6.5 billion to include spending on the Chaivo deposits' first stage.

http://en.rian.ru/business/20061214/56942645.html


Russians develop unique self-propelled gun
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti military commentator Viktor Litovkin) - Do you know what the word "Msta" means? If not, you can surf the Internet, and you will find that the Msta is a 445-km river flowing through the Tver and Novgorod Regions in western Russia. This river flows into Lake Ilmen and links it with Lake Mstino.
The Msta River basin, with an area of 23,200 square kilometers, is part of the Vyshny Volochok water system. Moreover, the river itself is navigable 134 kilometers from its mouth.
However, the word "Msta" takes on an entirely different meaning if you ask a Russian artillery officer about it. He will tell you that the 152-mm Msta-S (index 2S19) is a self-propelled howitzer, and the Msta-B (index 2A65) is a towed artillery system.
Both guns are intended to destroy tactical nuclear artillery and mortar batteries, tanks and other armored vehicles, as well as military personnel, air-defense weapons, anti-ballistic missiles and command centers. They can also destroy field fortifications and hinder the movement of enemy reserves miles behind the frontline.
These artillery pieces can hit visible targets point blank and from indirect firing positions; invisible targets are also easily destroyed.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061207/56607837.html


Modernization of Russia's missile forces

http://en.rian.ru/trend/missile/


UPDATE: Aso's Kurils proposal unrealistic, but may spur talks - experts
MOSCOW/TOKYO, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - Russian experts believe the Japanese foreign minister's new proposal to divide the Kuril islands could reinvigorate talks on the long-standing territorial row with Russia, but doubt it is a realistic option.
The 60-year-old dispute over four southern islands annexed by the Soviet Union at the end of the Second World War has prevented Russia and Japan from signing a peace treaty that would formally end their WWII hostilities, and has been a major obstacle to closer cooperation between the two nations in areas such as energy.
Addressing parliament Wednesday, Taro Aso said splitting the islands by total area in two equal halves would give Japan a quarter of the largest, northernmost island, Etorofu, and the three smaller ones.
Tokyo has long insisted that all four islands must be returned, and analysts said the idea of allowing Russia to retain control over 75% of Etorofu is unlikely to be accepted by either the ruling elite or the public.
During the Soviet era, the Japanese government rejected a Russian plan to divide the islands by number, with the two southernmost islands going to Tokyo and the remaining two to Moscow.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061214/56929323.html


IAEA says Israel's nuclear status none of its concern
VIENNA, December 13 (RIA Novosti) - The UN nuclear watchdog said Wednesday it will not respond to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert's remark implying that Israel has nuclear weapons, something the Jewish state has never officially admitted.
In an interview with the SAT-2 television channel ahead of his visit to Germany Monday, Olmert said: "Iran openly, explicitly and publicly threatens to wipe Israel off the map. Can you say that this is on the same level, when you aspire to have nuclear weapons, as America, France, Israel, Russia?"
The remark, made against the backdrop of an Iran-hosted conference on the Holocaust, was widely interpreted as confirming Israel's nuclear power status, but Olmert's aides later dismissed that reading as unfounded.
Independent analysts have said Israel holds between 80 and 200 nuclear warheads, and may be the world's sixth-largest nuclear power, but Israeli authorities have never confirmed nor denied possessing a nuclear arsenal.
Israel and the West suspect Iran of pursuing a nuclear weapons program, and Olmert's hint was probably intended to deter the Islamic Republic from using its potential nuclear capability against Israel, some have argued.
Many analysts believe, however, that public confirmation of Israel's assumed nuclear status could trigger an arms race across the Middle East, undermining the global non-proliferation regime.
Sergei Markov of Russia's Public Chamber, for one, believes that Israel's going public about its nuclear arsenal would come as no revelation, and is unlikely to entail any sanctions on the part of the UN nuclear watchdog, but that it could represent a serious setback for non-proliferation.
"This may lead to a further softening of the nuclear non-proliferation regime, which, unfortunately, would be a very dangerous development indeed," Markov told RIA Novosti.
Iran and other regional foes of Israel have repeatedly accused the West of double standards in trying to prevent them from acquiring nuclear capabilities while turning a blind eye to Israel's alleged arsenal.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20061213/56876337.html


Russia against distortion of Holocaust history at Iran conference
MOSCOW, December 13 (RIA Novosti) - Moscow has protested against the distortion of history and attempts to conceal the truth regarding Nazi crimes, including the Holocaust, a spokesman for the Russian Foreign Ministry said Wednesday.
A conference on the Holocaust, the genocide of millions of Jews during World War II, was held in Tehran December 11-12 under the auspices of the Iranian Foreign Ministry. The organizers have called into question the reality of the Holocaust.
The decision to hold the conference was made following statements by Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who promised to wipe Israel off the map and called the Holocaust "a myth."
Commenting on the event, spokesman Mikhail Kamynin said: "Russia shares the UN General Assembly's determination not to admit the denial of the Holocaust."
He said Russia was a co-author of last year's UN General Assembly resolution that declared January 27 International Day of Commemoration in Memory of the Victims of the Holocaust.
"We support the efforts of state and public organizations to draft educational programs designed to prevent genocide in the future," he added.
Kamynin said Russia condemns previous statements by the Iranian leadership contesting Israel's right to exist and calling in question the number of Jews killed during WWII.
Ahmadinejad also proposed that countries that feel a sense of guilt over the deaths of Jews turn over some of their territory to Israel to resolve the Palestinian problem.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061213/56887230.html


Nuclear anti-Zionism
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Kolesnikov) - On December 11 and 12, Iran, whose nuclear program is a thorn in the side of progressive humankind, played host to an "academic" conference organized by the Tehran-based Institute for Political and International Studies (IPIS), part of the country's foreign ministry.
The two-day gathering of anti-Zionists, anti-Semites, and even people with Ku Klux Klan views like David Duke, had a politically correct title (if this is possible at all when referring to such sensitive issues): "Review of the Holocaust: Global Vision." The questions submitted for discussion, and published on the IPIS site, included such topics as the following: "Freedom of speech and the stance of Holocaust denials in the West"; "Gas chambers: denial or confirmation"; and "Nazism and Zionism: cooperation or hostility."
Demagogy about the Holocaust as a "political instrument" and its vague and clear aspects conceals yet another of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's cynical PR actions, based on the denial of the genocide of six million European Jews and even the very existence of gas chambers.
Six months ago, he staged a show of cartoons about the Holocaust, but at that time he did not care one bit about the "scholarly" aspects of the problem. On this occasion, the slogan of the 1979 revolution about "erasing Israel from the face of the Earth," which he brought back to life, was surrounded by a quasi-academic aura. The organizers urged the renunciation of Western taboos and restrictions on discussing the issue in Europe, denied accusations of anti-Semitism as a strictly Western phenomenon, observed with cynical sadness that the conference coincided with International Human Rights Day, and listened with exaggerated attention to speeches by ultra-Orthodox rabbis with anti-Zionist views.
Is it surprising that the organizers would not disclose the names of its 67 participants from 30 countries without their personal permission? It is indecent to argue against the verdict of the Nuremberg Trials and commit what is punishable by law in Austria, Germany, and France.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061213/56889220.html


Europe's gas blackmail: bluff or reality?
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov has reproached the West for resorting to unscrupulous competition. Speaking to the students of Moscow State University, unfamiliar with political correctness of diplomats, the minister did not try to conceal his concern about "ideologization of international relations." Feeling that the audience did not quite understand the wording, Lavrov switched to the language of economic negotiators. Speaking of the West accusing Russia of gas blackmail, he said, "Here transpires the West's intention to get access to Russian energy without giving anything in return."
It is no secret that Moscow, having realized its aspiration to become an energy super power, is reviewing principles of relations with consumers of its energy. After the January price hike for Ukraine it became clear that the Kremlin was willing to sustain huge political losses in order to uphold its economic claims even to its closest neighbors. A price compromise with Kiev was found fairly fast, due to a large extent to pressure from Western consumers of Russian gas.
Now Moscow is very likely to take up the price issue with Belarus as well. Perhaps Lavrov was not referring to Minsk when he spoke of the need to give something in return, but it is obvious that Gazprom does not agree to the Belarusian stand on pipelines. Minsk wants to restrict the role of the Russian monopolist exporter in managing its pipelines, which obviously irritates Moscow. It is now speaking openly of the need to increase gas prices for Belarus.
The Kremlin's tough energy dialogue with its neighbors has led to a wave of accusations in the West. Russia is said to be blackmailing Europe because of its political ambitions. Apparently, the new economic reality has made some European countries return to the forgotten rhetoric of the Cold War.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061213/56866777.html


Shtokman reverse
MOSCOW. (Dr. Igor Tomberg, for RIA Novosti) - The Russian government has again given foreign companies hope of joining the Shtokman project. However, they will be able to develop one of the world's largest gas fields only if they make "interesting proposals" to Gazprom in return.
The Russian state-controlled monopoly wants to gain access to end gas consumers in the United States and Europe.
Late last week Russian President Vladimir Putin announced that Western partners' proposals on the Shtokman field in the Barents Sea could be considered again. "At talks with its potential partners, Gazprom is seeking access to end consumers of natural gas in the U.S. and Europe in return for a stake in the development of Europe's largest gas field," said Putin in an interview with Mexican publisher Mario Vasquez Rana. "It has not succeeded so far, but the issue has not been dismissed finally. It can be considered again if we receive interesting proposals from foreign partners."
The president's aide Igor Shuvalov in Washington and Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko in Moscow also spoke about the possibility and desirability of foreign companies' involvement in the Shtokman project about the same time.
So far, foreign companies have not made any proposals that would be as interesting as Shtokman, Khristenko said. "This means that we can attract partners in a different capacity: as contractors in the project's vital elements or as participants, but in a different format and on different terms," he said. Shuvalov said that Shtokman would be developed together with foreign firms, but Gazprom would be the only license holder.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061214/56938925.html



Topol-M mobile ICBMs crucial for national security -- Putin
IVANOVO, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin said Thursday the deployment of mobile Topol-M intercontinental ballistic missile systems contributes a great deal to Russia's national security.
"This is a significant step forward in improving our defense capabilities," he said while inspecting the first regiment of mobile Topol-M ICBMs, put on active duty this month in the Ivanovo region in Central Russia.
Vladimir Putin said last month that developing Russia's strategic forces is the main priority on the national defense agenda.
"Maintaining a strategic balance will mean that our strategic deterrent forces should be able to guarantee the neutralization of any potential aggressor, no matter what modern weapons systems he possesses," the president told a meeting with top military officials.
He called for the creation of cutting-edge strategic weapons, and emphasized quality over quantity.
Russia currently has five missile regiments equipped with silo-based Topol-M missiles, and one regiment equipped with mobile Topol-M systems. The total number of Topol-M ICBMs, including three silo-based systems to be deployed at the Tatishchevo base, will reach 48 by the end of the year, according to Russia's Strategic Forces Command.
Defense Minister Sergei Ivanov said earlier that Russia is planning to purchase 69 silo-based and mobile Topol-M ballistic missile systems in the next decade.
As of January 1, Russia possessed 927 nuclear delivery vehicles and 4,279 nuclear warheads for strategic offensive weapons, while the United States owns 1,255 and 5,966, respectively, according to the Russian Defense Ministry.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20061214/56931286.html


Russia and NATO - the second epilogue
MOSCOW. (Sergei Karaganov for RIA Novosti) - NATO's summit in Riga in late November mostly focused on explaining the need for its switchover to a new strategy.
NATO wants to concentrate on operations outside its zone of responsibility with a view to ensuring international security and stability in the interests of its members, and in response to emerging global challenges.
The second tacit goal is to justify NATO's existence in the eyes of the societies and elites of its old members, who are getting wary of its expansion.
Afghanistan was the main subject at the forum. NATO's operation to stabilize the situation there is suffering serious setbacks. The old members of the alliance have got used to a comfortable life under U.S. protection, and are not too enthusiastic about sending their troops to Afghanistan. Moreover, they insist that their troops should abstain from military operations.
Judging by the media coverage in this country, the problem of relations with Russia was almost dominating at the summit, and NATO's attitude to us was hostile. This is not true. Allied documents, and speeches of NATO officials describe relations with Russia in respectful and constructive manner. NATO's participation in ensuring energy security was mentioned only indirectly, and informally the officials discussed it in the context of protecting sea routes and pipelines from acts of terror. Russia was not even mentioned.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061212/56833186.html


AvtoVAZ board elects defense export monopoly chief as chairman
MOSCOW, December 14 (RIA Novosti) - The board of directors of AvtoVAZ [RTS: AVAZ] has elected the head of Russia's state-controlled arms exporter as chairman, the country's largest carmaker said Thursday.
Rosoboronexport Director General Sergei Chemezov replaced Vladimir Artyakov, who has been appointed the CEO of AvtoVAZ group's management company.
The head of Russia's Federal Industry Agency, Boris Alyoshin, was elected deputy chairman of the board of directors.
AvtoVAZ produced 721,500 cars in 2005. Domestic sales reached 704,000 cars, and export sales amounted to 96,500 cars during last year.


Polonium incident: a rehearsal for a dirty bomb?
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti commentator Tatyana Sinitsyna) - The ado around the polonium incident in London has a certain quirk to it which I find annoying. Why is everyone talking about the victims (real and potential) and piquant details of secondary importance, when there is something far more important to worry about?
Nuclear physicist Alexander Borovoi, a professor at the Kurchatov Institute research center, pinpointed my cause of concern: "The worst part of the story is that it was like a rehearsal for a dirty bomb. The incident shows that something dangerous is cooking in the terrorist kitchen, with menacing ideas and plans that can generally be described as a crime."
"Litvinenko or one of his close friends have somehow got hold of polonium," Borovoi said. "From them we can trace a connection to those whose dream is to get hold of a dirty bomb - terrorists."
It is a fact that terrorist number one, Osama bin Laden, once bought from shady arms dealers three containers with weapons-grade fissionable materials. The world was saved then only because the dealers cheated bin Laden by selling him medical wastes, which also set off the Geiger meter.
We were probably lucky this autumn too, because something apparently went amiss in London. Polonium doesn't forgive lax attitudes.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061214/56931137.html


Russian business makes up for lost time
MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti economic commentator Alexander Yurov) As many as four U.S. companies have come under control of Russian capital in the past two years.
Late last month it was announced that Russia's Evraz Group was buying a 65% stake in Oregon Steel Mills, a U.S. steel maker, for $2.3 billion. This caused some agitation among foreign observers, who saw hidden dangers in this development.
However, there is nothing extraordinary about Russian businesses looking for and finding ways to enter foreign markets. This is fully in line with the general global trends.
Importantly, this is not the first transaction between American and Russian companies. Earlier this year, Evraz Group paid $110 million for a 73% stake in Strategic Minerals Corporation. In 2004, the oil producer LUKoil acquired 100% of Mobil for $266 million. Before that, Severstal dished out $286 million for Rouge Steel.
As for the deal between Evraz and Oregon Steel, it is the first time that a Russian company is willing to spend such a huge sum on production assets in the United States. Perhaps, this is why the excitement around it is even bigger than the one caused by Chinese Lenovo's intention to take over IBM. The Chinese company eventually paid $1.5 billion for the asset.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061214/56910499.html


Corruption in Russia and the West
Two events coincided this Wednesday, as if giving new meaning to each other. Thomas Ganswindt, a former executive and member of the board of Siemens, Europe's biggest multi-profile company, was arrested in Germany. Jeffrey Skilling, ex-CEO of Enron, was sentenced in the United States to 24 years in prison. At one time, his former energy company was America's seventh largest.
For Enron, this was an ignominious end to its corporate history. For Siemens, this was just a prelude to a monumental scandal, which is likely to be very similar to the trials faced by the American company. Put together, these two events create a gloomy picture of a global corruption epidemic, against which no effective cure has yet been found.
First, the Enron case. Like Enron's late ex-chairman of the board, Kenneth Lay, Jeffrey Skilling was indicted on dozens of charges. He was accused of swindling, conspiring to commit wire and securities fraud, making false statements to auditors, insider trading, etc. For more than 15 years, Enron's top managers lived like kings - building villas from Corinthian marble, multiplying their fleet of corporate jets, and replacing Maseratis with Lamborghinis. But in 2001, everything came tumbling down like a house of cards.
That year, auditors found hundreds of millions of dollars missing in Enron's accounting reports. The cornered Enron admitted having a hidden debt of $31.8 billion and declared bankruptcy, resulting in 21,000 job losses. A drop in the value of its securities affected hundreds of thousands of shareholders, and the American business community has still not been able to overcome the shock.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20061213/56892548.html


The Albuquerque Tribune

Gunmen abduct dozens
BAGHDAD, Iraq — Gunmen in military uniforms kidnapped dozens of people today from a major commercial area in central Baghdad, the second mass abduction in the capital in a month.
The attackers drove up to the busy al-Sanak area in about 10 sport utility vehicles and began rounding up shop owners and bystanders. Two police officers said 50 to 70 people were abducted.
The al-Sanak area - one of the capital's main commercial districts - holds stores selling auto spare parts, agricultural equipment and the small power generators that are ubiquitous in Baghdad due to severe power shortages.
The stores are owned by a mix of Shiites, Sunnis and others and it was not immediately clear why the area was targeted. But suspicion fell on militias, which are believed to have infiltrated police forces and have killed hundreds in sectarian violence, personal vendettas and kidnappings for ransom.
After victims in previous mass kidnappings were rounded up, the culprits turned out to be those belonging to one or the other Islamic sect.
Iraqi security forces sealed off the area and were interviewing witnesses, while panicked store owners closed their shops and fled the area.
A spokesman for the Defense Ministry, which oversees the army, said the Interior Ministry, which oversees the police, is in charge of the area, but stressed the difficulties in controlling the distribution of uniforms.
"Anyone can buy military or police uniforms from the market although we have issued orders to confiscate these uniforms and punish the owners," spokesman Mohammed al-Askari said. "This issue (uniforms) can't be controlled as each soldier has more than one uniform."
Meanwhile, officers were on high alert today after receiving tips that militants were moving bombs into the Shiite Sadr City slum.
A car bomb killed two policemen who were trying to defuse it in Sadr City on Wednesday night.
Four civilians were wounded in the blast at 11:30 p.m. on al-Fallah St. in the sprawling district in eastern Baghdad, police Capt. Mohammed Ismail said. He said explosives experts successfully defused a second car bomb in the same area.
Another police officer said authorities had stepped up security in Sadr City after receiving tips that 10 car bombs had entered the area and militants were trying to smuggle more in.
The officer, who spoke on condition of anonymity for security reasons, said the number of police patrols and checkpoints had been increased and police were intensifying searches of cars entering the district.
The Interior Ministry confirmed that it had received tips about car bombs aimed at Sadr City from people calling into a terror hot line.
Sadr City, which houses some 2.5 million people, is a stronghold of the Mahdi Army, a militia that is loyal to anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr and has been blamed in some of the country's worst sectarian violence.
Elsewhere in the capital today, gunmen stormed a boys' school in the southwestern Alam neighborhood, killing a Shiite guard, police said.
Two mortar shells also landed on a rural area on the edge of the predominantly Sunni neighborhood of Dora in southern Baghdad, wounding three people and causing a huge fire, police said.
The capital has seen a series of attacks since a Feb. 22 bombing of a Shiite shrine in Samarra set off a cycle of retaliatory violence between the majority sect and disaffected Sunnis, who were dominant under Saddam Hussein but lost power with his ouster.
Many victims of past kidnappings have been found among the dozens of bullet-riddled bodies that turn up daily on the streets of Baghdad, often bearings the signs of torture.


New company brings jobs to Albuquerque
Mayor Martin Chavez this morning will announce the pending arrival of a new company bringing about 250 jobs to the Journal Center office building recently vacated by AOL.
A news conference is scheduled for 11:15 a.m. at 6301 Jefferson St. N.E., the former site of AOL's customer call center.
Chavez spokeswoman Deborah James said the mayor is expected to announce the arrival of Convergys Corp., a Cincinnati company that provides billing, customer service and human resources services.
AOL vacated its call center on Saturday, taking with it about 900 jobs as part of the Dulles, Va., company's restructuring plan. In total, AOL planned to lay off about 5,000 workers as the company moves away from a subscriber-based revenue stream to one more reliant on online advertising.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/new-company-brings-jobs-albuquerque/


Migrant abuse in Mexico targeted
MEXICO CITY — Mexican President Felipe Calderon has acknowledged that many of the illegal migrants from Central and South America who pass through Mexico on their way to the United States are abused by criminals and by authorities.
Pledging to ensure that the rights of Mexicans abroad are protected, he also acknowledged responsibility for migrants in Mexico.
"Just as we demand respect for the human rights of our countrymen, we have the ethical and legal responsibility to respect the human rights and the dignity of those who come from Central and South America and who cross our southern border," Calderon said Wednesday during the presentation of human rights awards to several Mexican activists.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/migrant-abuse-mexico-targeted/


Lawrence Spohn: 14th Amendment protection
No state shall make or enforce any law which shall abridge the privileges or immunities of citizens of the United States; nor shall any state deprive any person of life, liberty or property without due process of law; nor deny to any person within its jurisdiction the equal protection of the laws.
That's the essence of the 14th Amendment, appended to the greatest political document ever written, the Constitution of the United States of America. It speaks to our equality under law and guarantees it. No exceptions. No excuses. No end runs.
It's the law of the land, down to the state and hamlet level; yet, it is not being followed. And so far, politicians, governments and the courts have allowed that to stand.
Indeed, plenty of states are routinely breaking the 14th Amendment, overtly or indirectly - including the great state of New Mexico. The Constitution is ignored when it comes to Americans of the same sex who want to marry each other and enjoy all those privileges and immunities granted heterosexual married couples - including the right to parent children, whether from their own genes or someone else's.
In fact, some religious fanatics - who applauded President Bush's pursuit this election cycle of a constitutional amendment banning same-sex marriage - were horrified at the recent revelation Vice President Dick Cheney's daughter, Mary, an open lesbian engaged in a 15-year relationship, is now pregnant with plans to raise the child in her same-sex household.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/lawrence-spohn-14th-amendment-protection/


Charter school loses pupils over move
Parents are leaving Ralph J. Bunche Academy in the midst of a fight over the charter school's pending move.
"It's unfortunate. They are going to lose a lot of kids," said Peaches Russ, the parent-teacher organization president. "I'm pulling mine."
The academy governing board on Wednesday decided to move the school - the first in the state to cater to black and multicultural students - from the God's House Church building in the Northeast Heights to the Yale Boulevard Southeast campus of Youth Build, another charter school.
The move is subject to review and approval by the Albuquerque Board of Education. District officials scheduled a special meeting of the board's Policy Committee on Dec. 20 to consider the matter.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/charter-school-loses-pupils-over-move/


El Vado Motel's fate delayed with meetings
El Vado Motel's fate is still up in the air, but two thing are sure: A final decision could be months away, and the meetings leading up to that decision are likely to be contentious.
A hearing on the Route 66 motel Wednesday lasted an unusually long three and a half hours before the Landmarks and Urban Conservation Commission called it quits and put off the remaining witnesses and closing arguments until Jan. 10.
El Vado owner Richard Gonzales wants to tear down the motel - which the City Council declared an official landmark in February - and redevelop the property.
The reason for the marathon meeting? Attorney John Kelly, who represents Gonzales, said he had an obligation to put a thorough argument on the record so the points could be rehashed on appeal to the City Council and the courts, if needed.
Assistant City Attorney Beatrice Brickhouse asked for equal time to present the other side.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/el-vado-motels-fate-delayed-meetings/


Commentary: Mexican War is history lesson for today
Ron BrileyThursday, December 14, 2006
Seeking historical parallels for the American experience in Iraq, commentators on the political right often evoke the World War II imagery of Americans liberating oppressed peoples from the yoke of tyranny.
On the other hand, critics of the war in Iraq often equate the Bush administration's invasion and occupation of Iraq with the quagmire of the Vietnam War.
These polar opposites from the more recent past often obscure our view of the invasion and occupation of Mexico from 1846 to 1848 - a history which should give us pause as we contemplate what to do about the mess in Iraq.
Then President James K. Polk misled the American people and Congress when he asserted that a Mexican attack upon the forces of General Zachary Taylor constituted the shedding of "American blood upon American soil." In reality, Taylor's army encamped along the Rio Grande was in disputed territory claimed by both Mexico and the United States.
Nevertheless, the Polk administration attained its Declaration of War, and American forces moved quickly to occupy the lightly populated and defended Mexican outposts of New Mexico and California. When this seizure failed to convince the Mexican government to acquiesce in the territorial demands of the United States, Polk ordered Taylor to advance into northern Mexico.
Taylor's army of occupation in northern Mexico encountered considerable opposition from a Mexican insurgency fueled by the failure of American troops to provide security and stability. One of Taylor's major problems was his reliance upon volunteer forces, many of them from Texas, who were not subject to the discipline of the American military justice system.
Assaults, rapes and murders perpetuated against the Mexican citizenry increased when volunteers replaced the regulars as occupation forces. When Taylor took little action to discipline the volunteers, Mexican public opinion turned against the occupying forces.
Guerrilla attacks against the Americans increased and gained support among the populace. In response to these attacks upon American troops and supply lines by irregular Mexican forces, Taylor announced that any Mexican who attacked the army of occupation would be tried by American military tribunals.
In addition, Taylor ordered that local populations and leaders would be held responsible for any partisan activity in their region. While these punitive actions were successful in limiting partisan raids by the end of 1847, they did not exactly win the hearts and minds of the Mexican people.
Meanwhile, to the south General Winfield Scott's area of control extended some 280 miles from the port of Vera Cruz to Mexico City, straddling Mexico's National Highway. Scott's goal was to capture Mexico City, defended by a large force under Santa Anna, and force the Mexican government to accept American terms.
Scott pursued a policy of gaining the support of the Mexican people by maintaining stability and punishing any atrocities committed against Mexican civilians by occupying forces. Scott issued General Order No. 20, which made rape, murder, assault, robbery, desecration of churches, and destruction of private property court-martial offenses for all Mexicans, regular American troops and volunteers.
While the regular Mexican army deserted the capital, citizens rose up against the invaders. The use of close range artillery brought the insurgency in Mexico City to a rapid and bloody conclusion.
Meanwhile, partisans continued to harass convoys, infiltrate American units and kill any stragglers. Increasingly frustrated, Scott instituted a scorched-earth policy to deny the guerrillas sanctuary. Ultimately, Scott equated the guerrillas with murderers and ordered that no quarter be given, retreating from the earlier policy.
With the collapse of the regular Mexican army, rebellions against the central government occurred throughout the country, and these outbreaks often targeted the American army of occupation. A truce signed on Mar. 6, 1848, curtailed hostilities against occupying U.S. forces, which agreed to support the existing government against peasant rebellions.
The history of the American military occupation in Mexico suggests that similar mistakes were made when the United States rushed into Iraq without an adequate plan to deal with the civilian population after toppling the regime. Any good will for ousting Saddam Hussein was quickly squandered as the occupying forces were unable to provide essential services and security for the Iraqi people.
The resentment against an army of occupation has fueled support for the insurgency, and now the occupying force finds it increasingly difficult to not be drawn into sectarian disputes bordering on a civil war.
We should have looked to the American experience as an occupying power in Mexico, from 1846 to 1848, to foresee the problems we now face in the present occupation of Iraq.
Briley is an Albuquerque history teacher and writer.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/commentary-mexican-war-history-lesson-today/


Mary Penner: 1920 census offers a goldmine to genealogists
One California newspaper put it this way: "12:01 a.m., 1-17-1920 - It is the moment when the crack of doom sounds for Demon Rum in this country."
The midnight hour signaled the beginning of Constitutional prohibition in America. Americans could not manufacture, sell, or transport alcohol.
The year 1920 marked another Constitutional milestone. On Aug. 26, 1920, the 19th Amendment, granting women the right to vote, became law.
In addition to these 1920 dramas, census-takers, following the Constitutional mandate to count the population, showed up at Americans' doorsteps and politely probed the populace for personal details.
Breaking from its usual summer or spring timeframe, the 14th federal population enumeration date was Jan. 1.
The January census date was problematic. While it was easier to count farm animals in the uneventful dead of winter, it proved much more difficult to count people.
Icy roads, bitter cold, and outright blizzards slowed down the census-takers, making it difficult for them to find our hibernating ancestors at the end of snowy white country lanes.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/mary-penner-1920-census-offers-goldmine-genealogis/


Drama `Babel' leads Golden Globe nominees
BEVERLY HILLS, Calif. — Helen Mirren, Leonardo DiCaprio and Clint Eastwood were among the multiple Golden Globe nominees today in the motion-picture category, while the multinational ensemble drama "Babel" led all contenders with seven nominations, including best dramatic picture.
The best TV drama contenders are "24," "Big Love," "Grey's Anatomy," "Heroes" and "Lost."
The Globes are presented by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association, and are considered a forecast for how the Academy Awards might play out.
Here are the nominees for the 64th annual Golden Globe Awards:
Motion pictures
Picture, Drama: "Babel," "Bobby," "The Departed," "Little Children," "The Queen"
Actress, Drama: Penelope Cruz, "Volver"; Judi Dench, "Notes on a Scandal"; Maggie Gyllenhaal, "Sherrybaby"; Helen Mirren, "The Queen"; Kate Winslet, "Little Children"
Actor, Drama: Leonardo DiCaprio, "Blood Diamond"; Leonardo DiCaprio, "The Departed"; Peter O'Toole, "Venus"; Will Smith, "The Pursuit of Happyness"; Forest Whitaker, "The Last King of Scotland"

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/drama-babel-leads-golden-globe-nominees/


New software may foil fraud
PITTSBURGH — Carnegie Mellon University researchers are relying on an adage to develop anti-fraud software for Internet auction sites: It's not what you know; it's whom you know.
At sites like eBay, users warn each other if they have a bad experience with a seller by rating their transactions. But the CMU researchers said savvy fraudsters get around that by conducting transactions with friends or even themselves, using alternate user names to give themselves high satisfaction ratings - so unsuspecting customers will still try to buy from them.
The CMU software looks for patterns of users who have repeated dealings with one another, and alerts other users that there is a higher probability of having a fraudulent transaction with them.

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/new-software-may-foil-fraud/


Joseph Crumb: I might consider riding a trolley again
It happened suddenly, in the middle of the night. But it wasn't unexpected. There had been phone calls, threatening letters in the mail.
So, I noticed when the trolley rolled, rickety, back down the street past my house, because my beloved forest green two-door RAV4 had been repossessed.
I stood there, hanging glumly from the ceiling strap. "Oh well," I thought, "At least I have the trolley."
I was like the ruffian played by Ludacris in the movie "Crash." "You actually expect me to get on a bus?" I didn't take much to buses. After all, only the desperate, or the impoverished, or those highly principled, socially conscious types who are obsessed with mass transit ride the bus.
But the trolley in Pittsburgh was different. The trolley had class. It was regal. It rarely had to stop for traffic lights and owned its own way. It had its own tunnel under Mt. Washington and its own bridge over the Monongahela River.
The trolley also made unique and often pleasant sounds: "whooshes" when it pulled in to a stop; and, a friendly "ding, ding, ding" when it approached any spot where a pedestrian might be.
For 2 1/2 years I rode the trolleys in Pittsburgh. Problem was, it didn't go everywhere. The trolley didn't run out to the East End, the Oakland neighborhood home of the main branch of the Carnegie Library, the city's major hospitals, the University of Pittsburgh, Carlow and Chatham Colleges, or Carnegie Mellon University. And, it didn't go to the airport.
When any of those were my destinations, I'd find myself on the bus, morose as Ludacris, often standing, squeezed tightly between two aisle seats and no room to read.
So for those streetcar visionaries in Albuquerque, a word to the wise: If you build it, don't go half-baked. Build it everywhere, especially to the West Side. And be realistic. Don't expect a streetcar system to pay for itself through ridership fares. Mass transit needs government subsidies.
I've had a car for several years now. And being neither desperate nor impoverished (nor particularly principled), I never ride the bus in Albuquerque. But a trolley?

http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2006/dec/14/joseph-crumb-i-might-consider-riding-trolley-again/

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