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The Boston Globe

14 dead as storms sweep through Fla.

This NOAA satellite image taken Friday, Feb. 2, 2007 at 2:15 AM EST shows the active weather in the East as a mass of clouds can be seen just off the eastern seaboard is associated with a frontal system. Heavy rain and strong thunderstorms have developed in Florida and a Tornado Watch is in effect for the central portion of the state. Light snow showers are noted in the Tennessee Valley. (AP PHOTO/WEATHER UNDERGROUND)

By Jim Ellis, Associated Press Writer | February 2, 2007
LADY LAKE, Fla. --At least 14 people were killed early Friday as thunderstorms and at least one tornado struck central Florida, flattening homes and a church, causing power outages and lifting a tractor trailer into the air, officials said.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/02/severe_thunderstorms_kill_2_in_florida/


CDC practices for the 'Big One'
By Mike Stobbe, AP Medical Writer | February 1, 2007
ATLANTA --This was the Big One, a deadly flu epidemic. But fortunately it was a fake. So when U.S. health officials made some missteps in their largest-ever drill to prepare for a national outbreak of a deadly new flu, no one died.
Some information was wrong because people misstated facts as they passed them on -- like a game of telephone gone slightly awry. Some information was classified, so some key public health experts didn't have all the facts.
And there was an ice storm -- for real -- that hit the Atlanta area and caused the U.S. Centers for Disease Control to stop the exercise early so employees wouldn't be caught in the weather.
Disaster planning has become a common concept in government, but it's relatively new at the CDC. "We haven't had a tradition in public health" of doing such drills, said Glen Nowak, a CDC spokesman.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/diseases/articles/2007/02/01/cdc_practices_for_the_big_one/



White House press center reopens after evacuation

February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The temporary White House press corps headquarters near the U.S. presidential residence reopened on Friday shortly after its evacuation because of a security alert.
Witnesses said the press briefing room had been ordered evacuated in mid-briefing. A White House spokesman said a Secret Service dog had sniffed out a possible threat in a car outside the building.


Building by White House ordered to empty
February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON --A federal building near the White House was evacuated for about a half hour Friday because of a bomb scare, interrupting the White House's morning press briefing.
The White House Conference Center on Jackson Place is serving as the temporary offices of several of President Bush's press aides as well as reporters covering the president.
White House spokesman Tony Fratto had begun his 9:30 a.m. briefing for reporters when he was interrupted by Deputy Press Secretary Scott Stanzel and a security officer. Stanzel said everyone must leave the building.
A car checked by a bomb-sniffing dog had tested positive, Stanzel said. Later, Secret Service spokeswoman Kim Bruce said nothing amiss was found in the vehicle, which was driven by a State Department contractor and had been stopped at the entrance to the White House complex.
During the investigation, nearby streets were blocked off, but the White House itself wasn't evacuated.


Turner Broadcasting accepts blame, promises restitution
E-mail says that marketer asked silence
By Michael Levenson and Raja Mishra, Globe Staff | February 2, 2007
Turner Broadcasting System yesterday accepted full responsibility for the guerrilla marketing campaign that caused a scare in Boston.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/02/turner_broadcasting_accepts_blame_promises_restitution/


As suspects smirk, friends cite gentle side
By Maria Cramer and John R. Ellement, Globe Staff | February 2, 2007
The two young men charged with perpetrating a hoax that gripped the city launched into a smirking, rambling performance - art skit yesterday as reporters sought to question them about the terrorism scare. As their chagrined lawyer looked on, Sean Stevens, 28, of Charlestown and Peter Berdovsky, 27, announced they would respond only to questions about human hair.

"What I'm wondering right now is whether or not the Beatles' hair style . . . did it actually go into the '70s or was it all stuck in the '60s?" Berdovsky asked quizzically.
Stevens and Berdovsky refused to address the havoc their work created, the inconvenience to commuters, and the massive police deployment that officials say cost more than $1 million.
"I feel like my hair is pretty perfect," said Berdovsky, flipping back his dreadlocks in front of a phalanx of cameras.
But friends and family say that despite the bravado, the techno-savvy Charlestown roommates were terrified Wednesday as they watched Boston and State Police swarm the city in response to the publicity stunt.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2007/02/02/as_suspects_smirk_friends_cite_gentle_side/


Punxsutawney Phil predicts early spring
February 2, 2007
PUNXSUTAWNEY, Pa. --A new pair of hands pulled Punxsutawney Phil from his stump this year, so it was only fitting that the groundhog offered a new prediction.
Phil did not see his shadow on Friday, which, according to German folklore, means folks can expect an early spring instead of six more weeks of winter.
Since 1886, Phil has seen his shadow 96 times, hasn't seen it 15 times and there are no records for nine years, according to the Punxsutawney Groundhog Club. The last time Phil failed to see his shadow was in 1999.
More than 15,000 revelers milled about in a misty snow waiting for the prediction, as fireworks exploded overhead and the "Pennsylvania Polka" and other music blared in the background.
Sammi Gainor, 17, said she and her father first attended the ceremony about four years ago. "Since then it's really been just good memories of things I do together with my dad," she said.
"It's just kind of fun seeing people go so crazy about a groundhog," Richard Gainor said.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/02/punxsutawney_phil_predicts_early_spring/



Friday, February 2, 2007
State revenues up in January
Massachusetts revenues were up in January, totaling just over $2 billion, an increase of $130 million or 6.7 percent compared with January 2006.
So far this year, the state has taken in $10.81 billion, an increase or $431 million or 4.2 percent over the same period last fiscal year. Revenues so far this year are also $95 million higher than expectations.
"January is our third or fourth largest month for tax collections because of withholding for year-end bonuses, income tax estimated payments and sales tax payments on holiday season purchases," said Revenue Commissioner Alan LeBovidge.
While withholding and estimated payments were below target, LeBovidge said, strong corporate collections, including a one-time $37 million corporate settlement, let the state meet its expected monthly revenue goal. (AP)


Raytheon gets $59.6M for Patriot anti-missile system
The U.S. Army on Thursday awarded a $59.6 million contract boost to Raytheon Co. for Patriot anti-missile anti-aircraft system.
Raytheon will provide technology upgrades on the PAC2 system.
The company will perform the work in Andover, Mass., by April 30, 2009. (AP)


84 workers at copper plant facing layoffs
February 2, 2007
ANSONIA, Conn. --Ansonia Copper and Brass Co. will be laying off about half its workers at in the next few months, the copany president announced Thursday.
Company president Ray McGee said 84 employees would be laid off effective April 2. Around 160 people work at the factory.
McGee said rising utility costs, particularly natural gas and oil, forced the company to close production in some of the higher energy using areas.
The company has a second location in Waterbury with about 50 additional employees, but McGee said that operation will not be affected.
Earlier this week, the parent company of The New Haven Copper Co. mill in Seymour said it would be shutting down the plant in March.
Olin Corp. said the shutdown will result in the loss of 41 union and 14 nonunion jobs.


Churches form compact to support traditional marriage
February 2, 2007
RAYMOND, N.H. --Fifteen pastors in central-southern New Hampshire have signed a compact to support and affirm traditional marriage.
The pastors met at the New Life Assembly of God on Thursday with state Health and Human Services Commissioner John Stephen to explain the "Community Marriage Policy" and seek his support.
The Rev. Ken Bosse, the church's pastor, said the group began meeting a year ago, concerned about the number of failed marriages they were seeing, and decided to draft a set of standards for couples seeking to marry in their churches.
"Marriage is not the problem," Bosse said. "It's that people don't know how to work a marriage."
The pastors want to see better preparation before marriage, including six months' notice and four months of pre-marital counseling. They also plan to train mature couples to act as mentors, help separated couples reconcile and support couples with blended families, he said.
Stephen, who attended with two staff members, said his department wants to work with the faith community.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2007/02/02/churches_form_compact_to_support_traditional_marriage/



Allen, Collins take different tacks on Iraq
February 2, 2007
PORTLAND, Maine --Democratic Rep. Tom Allen supports a House resolution to remove U.S. troops from Iraq by year's end, while support is growing in the Senate for a resolution sponsored by Republican Sen. Susan Collins that opposes a surge of troops but does not set a timetable for their withdrawal from Iraq.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/maine/articles/2007/02/02/allen_collins_take_different_tacks_on_iraq/


Support needs could double 'surge' forces
Report pegs cost at up to $27b
By Bryan Bender, Globe Staff | February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON -- President Bush's plan to send 21,500 more combat troops to Iraq might require as many as 28,000 additional troops to provide critical support during the deployment, making the "surge" in US military forces far larger than previously predicted, a government assessment concluded yesterday.
The assessment from the nonpartisan Congressional Budget Office said the addition of almost 50,000 more troops could cost up to $27 billion to sustain over the next year -- depending on the size of the force and duration of the deployment. That would be more than three times the largest estimate of the troop expansion's cost provided by the Bush administration.
The report arrived as the Army general who just relinquished the top command in Iraq told a Senate panel that he had recommended that less than half of the 21,500 combat troops be added.
"I did not want to bring one more American soldier into Iraq than was necessary to accomplish the mission," said Army General George Casey , who has been nominated to serve as the Army chief of staff, explaining to the Senate Armed Services Committee yesterday why he recommended that the administration send only two additional brigades rather than the five ordered by Bush.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/02/02/support_needs_could_double_surge_forces/



Gates says U.S. not planning Iran war
By Lolita Baldor, Associated Press Writer | February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON --Defense Secretary Robert Gates said Friday that the decision to send a second U.S. carrier to the Persian Gulf region does not mean the United States is planning for a war with Iran.
Gates told Pentagon reporters the U.S. is trying to stem Iranian involvement in ongoing violence by Iraqi insurgents, and said there are continuing concerns about Iran's move toward nuclear power. But he quickly added that the movement of the carrier is to demonstrate that America is committed to the Gulf region.
He also said that he has not seen any credible proof yet that any Iranians were involved in the ambush last week in Karbala that left five soldiers dead.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2007/02/02/gates_says_us_not_planning_iran_war/


Military says helicopter down in Iraq
By Pauline Jelinek, Associated Press Writer | February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON --A U.S. military helicopter went down in Iraq Friday, the third in the past two weeks, an officer confirmed.
Maj. David Small, a spokesman at U.S. Central Command in Tampa, Fla., said he had no details on possible casualties, what mission the helicopter was supporting, nor how many were in the crew.
Two other military helicopters and one civilian helicopter have crashed in Iraq in the last two weeks. All were believed shot down, although the military says it has not confirmed that.


U.S. not planning for war with Iran, Gates says
February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The United States is not planning for a war with Iran and instead is trying to stop them from contributing to the violence in Iraq, Defense Secretary Robert Gates said on Friday.
"The President has made clear, the Secretary of State has made clear, I've made clear ... we are not planning for a war with Iran," he told reporters.
The Bush administration has repeatedly warned Iran against fueling violence in Iraq, and U.S. forces there have detained a number of Iranian officials in raids since December.
"What we are trying to do is, in Iraq, counter what the Iranians are doing to our soldiers, their involvement and activities, particularly these explosively-formed projectiles that are killing our troops and we're trying to get them to stop their nuclear enrichment," Gates said.
The Pentagon has moved a second aircraft carrier into the Gulf as part of its effort to pressure Iran and show that the United States will stay active in the region.
Iran has long been at odds with the United States and Europe, pushing ahead with plans to enrich uranium as part of what Tehran says is a peaceful energy program. Washington and the others fear that Iran instead has been trying to develop nuclear weapons.


U.S. intelligence calls Iraq violence "civil war"
By David Morgan | February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. intelligence has concluded key elements of Iraq's violence could be described as a "civil war," a term Bush administration officials have been reluctant to use until now, a new report said on Friday.
The report, reflecting the consensus views of the American espionage community, also suggested President George W. Bush's new strategy for controlling Iraqi violence must show progress within 12-18 months or risk further deterioration.
"The intelligence community judges that the term 'civil war' does not adequately capture the complexity of the conflict in Iraq," according to the National Intelligence Estimate (NIE) report, parts of which were obtained by Reuters.
"Nonetheless, the term 'civil war' accurately describes key elements of the Iraqi conflict, including the hardening of ethno-sectarian identities, a sea change in the character of the violence and population displacements."
The NIE's declassified key judgments were due to be released by the office of U.S. intelligence chief John Negroponte later on Friday.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2007/02/02/us_intelligence_says_civil_war_describes_iraq/


Mankind to blame for global warming say scientists
By Gerard Wynn and Alister Doyle | February 2, 2007
PARIS (Reuters) - Mankind is to blame for global warming, the world's top climate scientists said on Friday, sending governments a "crystal clear" warning they must take urgent action to avert severe and irreversible damage.
The United Nations panel, which groups 2,500 scientists from more than 130 nations, predicted more droughts, heatwaves and a slow gain in sea levels that could last for more than 1,000 years even if greenhouse gas emissions were capped.
The panel's report predicts a "best estimate" that temperatures would rise by between 1.8 and 4.0 Celsius (3.2 and 7.8 Fahrenheit) in the 21st century.
"Faced with this emergency, now is not the time for half measures. It is the time for a revolution, in the true sense of the term," French President Jacques Chirac said. "We are in truth on the historical doorstep of the irreversible."
The scientists said it was "very likely" -- or more than 90 percent probable -- that human activities led by burning fossil fuels explained most of the warming in the past 50 years.
That is a toughening from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change's (IPCC) last report in 2001, which judged a link as "likely," or 66 percent probable.
Possible signs include drought in Australia, record high winter temperatures in Europe and dwindling fish catches in lake Chad, which is shrinking after years of poor rainfall.
Many governments, U.N. agencies and environmental groups urged a widening of the U.N.'s Kyoto Protocol, which binds 35 industrial nations to cut emissions by 2012 but excludes top emitters led by the United States, China and India.
"The signal we've received from the scientists today is crystal clear and it's important that the political response is also crystal clear," said Yvo de Boer, head of the U.N. Climate Secretariat.
He wants an emergency environment summit of world leaders this year to push for wider action. Kyoto has been weakened since the United States pulled out in 2001 and emissions by many backers of Kyoto are far above target.
ARCTIC MELT
A 21-page summary of IPCC findings for policy makers outlines wrenching change such as a possible melting of Arctic sea ice in summers by 2100 and says it is "more likely than not" that greenhouse gases have made tropical cyclones more intense.
The report projects a rise in sea levels of between 18 and 59 centimeters (7 and 23 inches) in the 21st century -- and said bigger gains cannot be ruled out if ice sheets in Antarctica and Greenland thaw.
Rising seas threaten low-lying islands, coasts of countries such as Bangladesh and cities from Shanghai to Buenos Aires.
Temperatures rose 0.7 degrees in the 20th century and the 10 hottest years since records began in the 1850s have been since 1994. Greenhouse gases are released mainly by burning fossil fuels in power plants, factories and cars.
The head of the U.S. delegation defended Bush's policies that brake the rise of emissions rather than cap them. Democrats who control both houses of Congress want tougher action.
"The president has put in place a comprehensive set of policies to address what he has called the 'serious challenge' of climate change," said Sharon Hays, Associate Director of the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy.
Bush says Kyoto-style caps would harm the economy and that Kyoto should include developing nations. He focuses instead on big investments in hydrogen and biofuels.
The president of Kiribati, a group of 33 Pacific coral atolls threatened by rising seas, said time was running out.
"The question is, what can we do now? There's very little we can do about arresting the process," President Anote Tong said.
Some leading scientists had criticized a draft for cutting the range for the rise in sea levels from a 2001 forecast of between 9 and 88 cm.
Rajendra Pachauri, the head of the IPCC, said the impact of climate change was already dangerous for some.
"Small island states will say we've already gone past the state of danger. Where you have the poorest people in the world (dependent on) rain-fed agriculture, for them also it's dangerous," he told Reuters.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/02/02/un_climate_panel_says_warming_is_man_made_1170428167/


How language on climate change has evolved
By The Associated Press | February 2, 2007
A brief look at how language on climate change has evolved, gradually showing that man-made factors are to blame:
"Most of the observed increase in globally averaged temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic greenhouse gas concentrations ... The observed widespread warming of the atmosphere and ocean, together with ice mass loss, support the conclusion that it is extremely unlikely that global climate change of the past fifty years can be explained without external forcing, and very likely that it is not due to known natural causes alone." -- Report of Working Group 1, IPCC Fourth Assessment Report, released Friday, Feb. 2, 2007.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/02/02/how_language_on_climate_change_has_evolved/


Bacterial disease eyed in sea lion deaths
February 1, 2007
CORVALLIS, Ore. --Scientists say a bacterial disease that can affect mammals, including humans, may be behind an increase in sea lions found dead on Oregon beaches recently.
But more volunteers are looking for marine mammals, which also could be partly behind the higher figures, said Jim Rice, an Oregon State University research assistant who coordinates the Oregon Marine Mammal Stranding Network.
"I think 90 (California sea lions) is a pretty good estimate for what we've had this past year," Rice said. He said the die-off isn't large considering the increase in the sea lion population since it became federally protected in 1972.
But he said leptospirosis and other diseases are reasons for people and dogs to avoid the dead animals on shore.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/02/01/bacterial_disease_eyed_in_sea_lion_deaths/


Climate report won't signal policy change
By Seth Borenstein, AP Science Writer | February 2, 2007
PARIS --It was a U.S. government scientist who helped push through the strong language in the upcoming international report on global warming.
But that doesn't signal a change in President Bush's policy about greenhouse gas emissions.
The climate change report coming out Friday -- an agreement by officials from 113 governments, including the United States -- is very different from the 1997 Kyoto Protocol that Bush has long opposed.
"I think it's hard to take the U.S. action on this as a signal of them changing policy," said John Reilly, associate director of research at the MIT Joint Program on the Science and Policy of Global Change.
The report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change sums up what scientists say is happening and what that means for the future. The document recommends no actions to slow global warming.
The head of the U.S. delegation welcomed the strong language.

http://www.boston.com/news/science/articles/2007/02/02/climate_report_wont_signal_policy_change/


Deutsche Bahn picks Bombardier trains
February 2, 2007
BERLIN, Germany --Canadian transport group Bombardier Inc. said Friday it has been selected by Deutsche Bahn AG to supply 321 new trains in a deal worth about 1.2 billion euros ($1.6 billion).
Bombardier Transportation participated in a pan-European tender with its new TALENT trains, the parent company said in a statement. The entire vehicle fleet will be developed and manufactured at Bombardier sites in Germany.
Contract signing is expected to take place soon. The new TALENT trains are scheduled to be deployed on regional lines throughout Germany starting in 2009.
"The new train incorporates leading-edge design concepts that offer unparalleled flexibility," said Andre Navarri, president of Bombardier Transportation.



U.N. envoy unveils Kosovo proposal
By Garentina Kraja, Associated Press Writer | February 2, 2007
PRISTINA, Serbia --A U.N. envoy on Friday unveiled a long-awaited plan for Kosovo, a proposal recommending internationally supervised statehood for the contested province where separatists fought a bloody war with Serbia in the late 1990s.
The plan was quickly rejected by Serbian President Boris Tadic, who said it "opens the possibility of independence" for the region that the Serbs claim as the heart of their ancient homeland.
The proposal does not mention the word "independence," but gives Kosovo the go-ahead to adopt its own constitution, the ability to negotiate international agreements, and a right to apply for membership in international organizations, according to an executive summary.
Parts of the plan call for a multiethnic Kosovo "governing itself democratically and with full respect for the rule of law." It also would protect Serbian Orthodox Church sites and the Serbian language in the province dominated by ethnic Albanians who are secular Muslims.
Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said the province's leaders were convinced the process soon would lead to "Kosovo becoming an independent state" and pledged that it would guarantee security and rights for its minority Serbs.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/02/02/un_envoy_unveils_kosovo_proposal/


San Francisco mayor apologizes for affair
Confirms reports of liaison with key aide's wife
By Lee Romney, Los Angeles Times | February 2, 2007
SAN FRANCISCO -- Mayor Gavin Newsom yesterday confirmed reports that he had an affair with the wife of his reelection campaign manager and apologized.
In a packed news conference, Newsom emerged to offer a brief, somber apology, taking no questions. "I want to make it clear that everything you've heard and read is true, and I'm deeply sorry about that," Newsom said. "I've hurt someone I care deeply about -- Alex Tourk and his friends and family. And that is something I have to live with."
Saying he is recommitted to the business of governing, Newsom went on to apologize to City Hall and the citizens of San Francisco. "My personal lapse of judgment aside, I am committed to restoring their trust and confidence. . . . We will now be working aggressively to advance our agenda in the city."
Newsom did not respond to questions from reporters and left the room.
He issued his apology after Tourk, his re election campaign manager and former deputy chief of staff, abruptly submitted his resignation late Wednesday, citing personal reasons.
Tourk had been one of the mayor's closest advisers, designing one of the Newsom administration's signature accomplishments: massive bimonthly gatherings, known as Project Homeless Connect and emulated nationwide, where the homeless are directed to services.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/02/02/san_francisco_mayor_apologizes_for_affair/


Michigan court: No same-sex benefits
By David Eggert, Associated Press Writer | February 2, 2007
LANSING, Mich. --Public universities and local governments can't provide health insurance to the partners of gay employees without violating the state constitution, the Michigan Court of Appeals ruled Friday.
A three-judge panel said a 2004 voter-approved ban on gay marriage also applies to same-sex domestic partner benefits.
"The marriage amendment's plain language prohibits public employers from recognizing same-sex unions for any purpose," the court wrote.
The decision reverses a 2005 ruling from a county judge who said universities and government agencies could provide the benefits.
A constitutional amendment passed by Michigan voters in November 2004 made the union between a man and a woman the only agreement recognized as a marriage "or similar union for any purpose." Those six words led to the court fight over benefits for gay couples.


Newark teachers' plea: Stop the killings
By Wayne Parry, Associated Press Writer | February 2, 2007
NEWARK, N.J. --Advertisements by teachers unions typically feature smiling instructors leaning over fresh-faced youngsters. But a half-dozen new billboards in New Jersey's largest city offer a far darker message.
"HELP WANTED," they read. "STOP THE KILLINGS IN NEWARK NOW!"
Depending on who is counting, there were either 106 or 113 people slain in Newark last year -- the highest number in more than a decade. Before officials in the troubled school system can think about tackling problems inside the classroom, they have to worry about safely getting students and teachers into those classrooms, teachers union officials say.
"Some people don't like the shock, but it's a lot less shocking than stepping over a body, or looking down the barrel of a gun," Joseph Del Grosso, president of the Newark Teachers Union, said of the billboards scattered downtown that were paid for by the group. "We tried more subtle ways of bringing attention to the problem, but they didn't work."

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/02/02/newark_teachers_plea_stop_the_killings/


Urban schools' diploma rates lag
Nearly 40% don't graduate on time
By Tracy Jan, Globe Staff | February 2, 2007
Nearly 40 percent of the state’s urban high school students do not graduate within four years, according to state data released yesterday. More than one-fifth have dropped out, but many others stayed in school in hopes of graduating in five or six years.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/02/02/urban_schools_diploma_rates_lag_1170403289/


'I don't want anyone to end up like me'
By Jackie MacMullan, Globe Staff | February 2, 2007
It has all unraveled; his career, his marriage, his health, his reputation. Former Patriots linebacker Ted Johnson was once a Super Bowl champion and a fan favorite, admired for his jarring hits and thoughtful approach to a violent game.
But now he is a struggling ex-athlete who has become unreliable and unreachable -- making promises and commitments he does not keep -- the subject of steamy tabloid gossip, shunned for an alleged domestic abuse incident involving his wife.
Johnson, 34, suffers from such severe depression that some mornings he literally cannot pull himself out of bed. When the crippling malaise overtakes him, he lies in a darkened room, unwilling to communicate with his closest family members.
The 10-year NFL veteran believes his current state is a direct result of a career in which he absorbed "countless" head injuries, including back-to-back concussions suffered within days during the 2002 season, when he says the Patriots didn't give him proper time to recover.
He has tried to make himself well. He has been in counseling, taken antidepressants (Prozac and Wellbutrin). When they made him feel sluggish, he began taking Adderall, an amphetamine. He developed an addiction to the stimulant and was admitted to McLean Hospital in the summer of 2005 to receive psychiatric care. The doctors took films of his brain, he said, but they were not conclusive.

http://www.boston.com/sports/football/patriots/articles/2007/02/02/i_dont_want_anyone_to_end_up_like_me/


Committee recommends better coordinating early education programs
By Ross Sneyd, Associated Press Writer | February 1, 2007
MONTPELIER, Vt. --Vermont's early childhood education programs need better coordination but should still be funded by tax dollars, a special committee recommended Thursday.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2007/02/01/committee_recommends_better_coordinating_early_education_programs/



Patrick considering education consolidation
By Glen Johnson, AP Political Writer | February 1, 2007
BOSTON --Gov. Deval Patrick, who is conducting a wide-ranging review of public schooling in Massachusetts, is considering consolidating the educational hierarchy under a single, Cabinet-level secretary of education, according to a top lawmaker and government aides.
Currently, education leadership in the state is split among three agencies, each with its own board of directors: the Department of Early Education and Care, which handles children prior to kindergarten; the Department of Education, which handles students through Grade 12, and; the Board of Higher Education, which oversees the 29 state campuses of higher education in Massachusetts.
Rep. Kevin Murphy, the Lowell Democrat who serves as House chairman of the Joint Committee on Higher Education, said he has been told one idea is to merge the boards under a single leader. Such a change would require legislative approval.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/higher/articles/2007/02/01/patrick_considering_education_consolidation/


A harsh reality for dropouts
February 2, 2007
News about high school dropouts is rarely good, but new data and a devastating, highly detailed new report paint a bleak picture. Even though 80 percent of Massachusetts students graduate from high school in four years, some schools and districts are struggling. They've graduated fewer than half the freshmen who entered in 2002, creating a festering problem that policymakers must solve.
The data about the class of 2006 come from the Massachusetts Department of Education. And the worst findings are not surprising. Urban areas lag with a graduation rate of 62.3 percent. Minority students, especially boys, are less likely to graduate. The rate for black males is 57.5 percent. For Hispanic males it's 51.2 percent.
True, some students will graduate in five years instead of four. Others will get equivalency diplomas. But 11.7 percent have dropped out. They face a long list of threats, according to the report from Northeastern University's Center for Labor Market Studies.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/02/02/a_harsh_reality_for_dropouts/


Berlusconi wants Italy govt out after vote blunder
By Silvia Aloisi | February 2, 2007
ROME (Reuters) - The centre-right opposition demanded on Friday that Prime Minister Romano Prodi resign after his coalition suffered an embarrassing blow in a parliamentary vote over a U.S. airbase in Italy.
Prodi's lawmakers could not agree on Thursday on a Senate motion in support of Defense Minister Arturo Parisi's decision to allow the expansion of the base, opposed by many on the left of the nine-party coalition.
Sensing a chance to put the Prodi government, which has a one-seat majority in the Senate, in an awkward position, the center right stepped in and presented its own motion of support for Parisi. The opposition won by 152 votes to 146.
Centre-right leader Silvio Berlusconi said the vote had exposed how vulnerable the government was to internal squabbles constantly dividing its Catholics-to-communists members.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2007/02/02/berlusconi_wants_italy_govt_out_after_vote_blunder/


Sex issues may signal other health risks
By Maria Cheng, AP Medical Writer | February 1, 2007
LONDON --Doctors shouldn't shy away from asking patients about their sex lives, a new research paper advises. Researchers say problems in the bedroom can translate into serious medical conditions, and ignoring sexual dysfunction may mean missing early indicators for heart failure, depression or other ailments, according to a paper published in Friday's issue of The Lancet.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/health/men/articles/2007/02/01/sex_issues_may_signal_other_health_risks/


The Big Dig slur
February 2, 2007
Senator Jim DeMint of South Carolina said in the Senate this week that the federal contribution to the Big Dig was pork-barrel spending. DeMint's argument -- a ploy in a successful effort to attach business-friendly amendments to the minimum wage bill -- is simply not true. The Big Dig is hardly a bridge to nowhere or an out-of-the-way museum, like some of the special interest projects approved by Congress. It is an essential part of the Interstate Highway System, like the 844 miles of expressways in DeMint's state.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2007/02/02/the_big_dig_slur/


Michael Moore Today

http://www.michaelmoore.com/


"You know, these things have to take shape..." -- Rep. Keith Ellison
February 2nd, 2007 3:36 am
Ellison says he won't pursue impeaching President Bush - for now
By Rob Hotakainen / McClatchy Newspapers
WASHINGTON - If campaign talk means anything, there'd be at least one sure vote on the House Judiciary Committee to impeach President Bush if the matter ever came up.
It would come from freshman Democratic Rep. Keith Ellison, the Minneapolis lawyer and former state legislator who got a plum assignment when he was named to the storied House panel earlier this month. It has jurisdiction over impeachment.
At a rally last October, Ellison said Bush has been "running amok" and needed to be reined in: "There is one way that you can truly hold this president accountable, and it's impeachment."
But for the time being anyway, Ellison seems in no hurry to push the matter.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9131


February 2nd, 2007 2:20 am
Iraq at Risk of Further Strife, Intelligence Report Warns
By Karen DeYoung and Walter Pincus / Washington Post
A long-awaited National Intelligence Estimate on Iraq, presented to President Bush by the intelligence community yesterday, outlines an increasingly perilous situation in which the United States has little control and there is a strong possibility of further deterioration, according to sources familiar with the document.
In a discussion of whether Iraq has reached a state of civil war, the 90-page classified NIE comes to no conclusion and holds out prospects of improvement. But it couches glimmers of optimism in deep uncertainty about whether the Iraqi leaders will be able to transcend sectarian interests and fight against extremists, establish effective national institutions and end rampant corruption.
The document emphasizes that although al-Qaeda activities in Iraq remain a problem, they have been surpassed by Iraqi-on-Iraqi violence as the primary source of conflict and the most immediate threat to U.S. goals. Iran, which the administration has charged with supplying and directing Iraqi extremists, is mentioned but is not a focus.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9130


February 1st, 2007 2:02 pm
Goodbye, Molly I.
By Anthony Zurcher / Creators Syndicate
Molly Ivins is gone, and her words will never grace these pages again -- for this, we will mourn. But Molly wasn't the type of woman who would want us to grieve. More likely, she'd say something like, "Hang in there, keep fightin' for freedom, raise more hell, and don't forget to laugh, too."
If there was one thing Molly wanted us to understand, it's that the world of politics is absurd. Since we can't cry, we might as well laugh. And in case we ever forgot, Molly would remind us, several times a week, in her own unique style.
Shortly after becoming editor of Molly Ivins' syndicated column, I learned one of my most important jobs was to tell her newspaper clients that, yes, Molly meant to write it that way. We called her linguistic peculiarities "Molly-isms." Administration officials were "Bushies," government was in fact spelled "guvment," business was "bidness." And if someone was "madder than a peach orchard boar," well, he was quite mad indeed.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9125


'Stand Up Against the Surge' ...by Molly Ivins
Creators Syndicate
The purpose of this old-fashioned newspaper crusade to stop the war is not to make George W. Bush look like the dumbest president ever. People have done dumber things. What were they thinking when they bought into the Bay of Pigs fiasco? How dumb was the Egypt-Suez war? How massively stupid was the entire war in Vietnam? Even at that, the challenge with this misbegotten adventure is that WE simply cannot let it continue.
It is not a matter of whether we will lose or we are losing. We have lost. Gen. John P. Abizaid, until recently the senior commander in the Middle East, insists that the answer to our problems there is not military. "You have to internationalize the problem. You have to attack it diplomatically, geo-strategically," he said.
His assessment is supported by Gen. George W. Casey Jr., the senior American commander in Iraq, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff, who only recommend releasing forces with a clear definition of the goals for the additional troops.
Bush's call for a "surge" or "escalation" also goes against the Iraq Study Group. Talk is that the White House has planned to do anything but what the group suggested after months of investigation and proposals based on much broader strategic implications.
About the only politician out there besides Bush actively calling for a surge is Sen. John McCain. In a recent opinion piece, he wrote: "The presence of additional coalition forces would allow the Iraqi government to do what it cannot accomplish today on its own — impose its rule throughout the country. ... By surging troops and bringing security to Baghdad and other areas, we will give the Iraqis the best possible chance to succeed." But with all due respect to the senator from Arizona, that ship has long since sailed.
A surge is not acceptable to the people in this country — we have voted overwhelmingly against this war in polls (about 80 percent of the public is against escalation, and a recent Military Times poll shows only 38 percent of active military want more troops sent) and at the polls.
We know this is wrong. The people understand, the people have the right to make this decision, and the people have the obligation to make sure our will is implemented.
Congress must work for the people in the resolution of this fiasco. Ted Kennedy's proposal to control the money and tighten oversight is a welcome first step. And if Republicans want to continue to rubber-stamp this administration's idiotic "plans" and go against the will of the people, they should be thrown out as soon as possible, to join their recent colleagues.
Anyone who wants to talk knowledgably about our Iraq misadventure should pick up Rajiv Chandrasekaran's "Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone." It's like reading a horror novel. You just want to put your face down and moan: How could we have let this happen? How could we have been so stupid?
As The Washington Post's review notes, Chandrasekaran's book "methodically documents the baffling ineptitude that dominated U.S. attempts to influence Iraq's fiendish politics, rebuild the electrical grid, privatize the economy, run the oil industry, recruit expert staff or instill a modicum of normalcy to the lives of Iraqis."
We are the people who run this country. We are the deciders. And every single day, every single one of us needs to step outside and take some action to help stop this war. Raise hell. Think of something to make the ridiculous look ridiculous. Make our troops know we're for them and trying to get them out of there. Hit the streets to protest Bush's proposed surge. If you can, go to the peace march in Washington on Jan. 27. We need people in the streets, banging pots and pans and demanding, "Stop it, now!"


February 1st, 2007 2:18 pm
Who Needs Breasts, Anyway?
Sunday, February 10th, 2002
By Molly Ivins
Having breast cancer is massive amounts of no fun. First they mutilate you; then they poison you; then they burn you. I have been on blind dates better than that.
One of the first things you notice is that people treat you differently when they know you have it. The hushed tone in which they inquire, "How are you?" is unnerving. If I had answered honestly during 90% of the nine months I spent in treatment, I would have said, "If it weren't for being constipated, I'd be fine." In fact, even chemotherapy is not nearly as hard as it once was, although it still made all my hair fall out. My late friend Jocelyn Gray found the ultimate proof that there is no justice: "Not just my hair, but my eyebrows, my eyelashes--every hair on my body has fallen out, except for these goddam little mustaches at the corner of my mouth I have always hated."

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9126


January 31st, 2007 2:03 am
Marine’s Mother Interrupts Senate Hearing
KWTX-TV
Tina Richards, the mother of a US Marine who has already done two tours in Iraq interrupted a Senate hearing Tuesday to beg Senators not to send her son for a third tour.
As Senator Orrin Hatch, a strong supporter of the Bush Administration's policy in Iraq, was telling members of the Senate Judiciary Committee that when considering a resolution opposing the President's plan to send even more soldiers to Iraq, "we must also consider the message that we are sending to our troops," a woman in a tee shirt reading "Military Families Speak Out" interrupted him.
"Stop the surge," said Richards, who identified herself as the mother of a US Marine who after returning from his second tour in Iraq was now being recalled for yet another.
"Don't send my son back please," said Richards while Judiciary Committee chairman Senator Russell Feingold, D-Wisconsin, attempted to gavel the hearing to order.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9118


January 30th, 2007 11:32 pm
Congress can halt Iraq war, experts tell lawmakers
By Susan Cornwell / Reuters
WASHINGTON - The U.S. Congress has the power to end the war in Iraq, a former Bush administration attorney and other high-powered legal experts told a Senate hearing on Tuesday.
Facing mounting opposition over his Iraq troop increase plan, President George W. Bush insisted it would be "too extreme" if lawmakers pass a resolution condemning his Iraq policy.
Four out of five experts called before the Senate Judiciary Committee said Congress could go even further and restrict or stop U.S. involvement in Iraq if it chose.
"I think the constitutional scheme does give Congress broad authority to terminate a war," said Bradford Berenson, a Washington lawyer who was a White House associate counsel under Bush from 2001 to 2003.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9113


January 31st, 2007 12:25 am
Senators Assert Right to Block Bush on Iraq
By John O’Neil / New York Times
Democrats on the Senate Judiciary Committee began laying the constitutional groundwork today for an effort to block President Bush’s plan to send more troops to Iraq and place new limits on the conduct of the war there, perhaps forcing a withdrawal of American forces from Iraq.
They were joined by Senator Arlen Specter, the Pennsylvania Republican who led the panel for the last two years, in asserting that Mr. Bush cannot simply ignore Congressional opposition to his plan to send 21,500 additional troops to Iraq.
“I would respectfully suggest to the president that he is not the sole decider,” Mr. Specter said. “The decider is a joint and shared responsibility.”

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9114


"The decider is a joint and shared responsibility.” -- Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA)
U.S. Senate Roll Call Votes 107th Congress - 2nd Session
as compiled through Senate LIS by the Senate Bill Clerk under the direction of the Secretary of the Senate
Vote Summary
Question: On the Joint Resolution (H.J.Res. 114 )
Vote Number : 237
Required for Majority : ½
Measure Number : H J Res. 114 ( http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/bdquery/z?d107:HJ114: )
Measure Title : A joint resolution to authorize the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq.
Vote Date : October 11, 2002, 12:50 AM
Vote Result : Joint Resolution Passed
Vote Counts : Yeas – 77 Nays – 23


Wednesday, January 31st, 2007
'IMPEACHMENT FOR THE PEOPLE' ...by Howard Zinn
Courage is in short supply in Washington, D.C. The realities of the Iraq War cry out for the overthrow of a government that is criminally responsible for death, mutilation, torture, humiliation, chaos. But all we hear in the nation’s capital, which is the source of those catastrophes, is a whimper from the Democratic Party, muttering and nattering about “unity” and “bipartisanship,” in a situation that calls for bold action to immediately reverse the present course.
These are the Democrats who were brought to power in November by an electorate fed up with the war, furious at the Bush Administration, and counting on the new majority in Congress to represent the voters. But if sanity is to be restored in our national policies, it can only come about by a great popular upheaval, pushing both Republicans and Democrats into compliance with the national will.
The Declaration of Independence, revered as a document but ignored as a guide to action, needs to be read from pulpits and podiums, on street corners and community radio stations throughout the nation. Its words, forgotten for over two centuries, need to become a call to action for the first time since it was read aloud to crowds in the early excited days of the American Revolution: “Whenever any form of government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the right of the people to alter or abolish it and institute new government.”

http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=817


Link of the Week

“Alive in Baghdad”
Each year since the war began, Ramadan has become a less and less happy time for Iraqis.
Often now when wishing an Iraqi Eid Sa’eed at the end of Ramadan, one shouldn’t be surprised to here the cynical refrain “There is no Eid in Iraq.” Or at the beginning of Ramadan, one should wish a Ramadan Ma’brok, a congratulations for the beginning of Ramadan. Although an Iraqi might thank you, they will also often mention their sadness or worries for Ramadan.
While the mainstream press is quick to mention that Ramadan is often a time of high death tolls and increased militancy among the insurgency, this is only part of the story.
Ramadan is often the happiest time for all Muslims, but for Iraqis, they just hope to get by, to make it to prayer, and to survive to see a better Ramadan, to have a happy Eid.

http://www.aliveinbaghdad.org/

Weekly Radio Testimonies

http://aliveinbaghdad.org/category/video/

Living in an war zone and spending much of your day under curfew means you’ll end up with a lot of time on your hands. Many young people in Baghdad end up doing what others their age all over the world do, and that’s play video games. Wisam explains to us the difficulties inherent in playing videogames, what his favorites are and some analysis of his current situation as well.
Although we attempted to shoot a number of other interviews, to produce a piece with a wider perspective of the role videogames have begun to play in the lives of Iraqi youth, due to the security situation we were unable to find others willing to talk on camera.

http://aliveinbaghdad.org/2006/12/18/baghdad-is-like-grand-theft-auto/


Casualties in Iraq

http://www.antiwar.com/casualties/

Deaths : 3085


Since the USA Government doesn’t do body counts, “We don’t do body counts.” General Tommy Franks.:

October 11th, 2006 1:20 am
Study Claims Iraq's 'Excess' Death Toll Has Reached 655,000
By David Brown / Washington Post
A team of American and Iraqi epidemiologists estimates that 655,000 more people have died in Iraq since coalition forces arrived in March 2003 than would have died if the invasion had not occurred.
The estimate, produced by interviewing residents during a random sampling of households throughout the country, is far higher than ones produced by other groups, including Iraq's government.
It is more than 20 times the estimate of 30,000 civilian deaths that President Bush gave in a speech in December. It is more than 10 times the estimate of roughly 50,000 civilian deaths made by the British-based Iraq Body Count research group.

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


New York Times

http://www.nytimes.com/


Climate Panel Issues Urgent Warning to Curb Gases

PARIS, Feb. 2 —The world is already committed to centuries of warming, shifting weather patterns and rising seas from the atmospheric buildup of gases that trap heat, but the warming can be substantially blunted by prompt action, an international network of climate experts said today.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/science/earth/02cnd-climate.html?hp&ex=1170478800&en=7f0ce59ee7d312e5&ei=5094&partner=homepage


Panel’s Report

http://www.ipcc.ch/SPM2feb07.pdf


Severe Storms Strike Central Florida

Severe thunderstorms, and possibly tornados, ripped through central Florida early today, killing at least 14 people and tearing up houses, trees and power lines and blowing tractor-trailers off Interstate 4.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/us/02cnd-storm.html?hp&ex=1170478800&en=646208a71a7e5e15&ei=5094&partner=homepage


An Afghan’s Path From Ally of U.S. to Drug Suspect

By JAMES RISEN
Published: February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — In April 2005, federal law enforcement officials summoned reporters to a Manhattan news conference to announce the capture of an Afghan drug lord and Taliban ally. While boasting that he was a big catch — the Asian counterpart of the Colombian cocaine legend Pablo Escobar — the officials left out some puzzling details, including why the Afghan, Haji Bashir Noorzai, had risked arrest by coming to New York.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/world/asia/02afghan.html?hp&ex=1170478800&en=71bb58af18892e05&ei=5094&partner=homepage



Intelligence Report Predicts Worsening Cycle of Violence

By MARK MAZZETTI
Published: February 2, 2007
WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 — A much-anticipated assessment of Iraq by America’s intelligence agencies describes a worsening cycle of chaos in the country, and forecasts that the sectarian strife will continue to fracture the country without bold actions by Iraqi politicians.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/world/middleeast/02cnd-intel.html?hp&ex=1170478800&en=491eb97eea8c48bd&ei=5094&partner=homepage


So Far, Obama Can’t Take Black Vote for Granted

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — He is hailed by his supporters as the hope of an increasingly multicultural nation, a political phenomenon who can wow white voters while carrying the aspirations of African-Americans all the way to the White House.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/us/politics/02obama.html?hp&ex=1170478800&en=258a5c83f02ad44e&ei=5094&partner=homepage


Florida to Shift Voting System With Paper Trail

DELRAY BEACH, Fla., Feb. 1 — Gov. Charlie Crist announced plans on Thursday to abandon the touch-screen voting machines that many of Florida’s counties installed after the disputed 2000 presidential election. The state will instead adopt a system of casting paper ballots counted by scanning machines in time for the 2008 presidential election.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/us/02voting.html?hp&ex=1170478800&en=9f5342a78ef82375&ei=5094&partner=homepage


Late for Court: Connecticut Case Draws Scrutiny

By ALISON LEIGH COWAN
Published: February 2, 2007
NORWALK, Conn., Feb. 1 — Some call the “failure to appear” charge a prosecutor’s best friend because it is relatively easy to prove and can swiftly bring a defendant to the bargaining table. Others see the long-accepted but little-discussed practice of punishing late or absentee defendants as a crutch for overworked judges to maintain decorum and keep criminal cases from clogging their courtrooms.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/nyregion/02appear.html?hp&ex=1170478800&en=b5d1771a6f2006ab&ei=5094&partner=homepage


Clashes Between Hamas and Fatah Escalate

GAZA (Reuters) - Fighting between Palestinian factions escalated across Gaza on Friday, killing at least 14 people as Hamas overran compounds used by President Mahmoud Abbas's forces and two major universities were set ablaze.
``Gaza is being burned down,'' Arafat Abu Eyad said from his balcony overlooking the smoldering buildings.
At the urging of Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, Abbas of Fatah and Hamas leader Khaled Meshaal agreed to hold talks in the holy Muslim city of Mecca, most likely on Tuesday, a senior Palestinian diplomat said.
Eight fighters loyal to Abbas, three Hamas gunmen, a woman and two children were killed on Friday in a second day of fierce clashes in the Gaza Strip that shattered a three-day-old ceasefire between Fatah and the ruling Islamist movement.
http://www.nytimes.com/reuters/world/international-palestinians.html?

hp&ex=1170478800&en=f6e0cdbbaf97c882&ei=5094&partner=homepage


Fewer Jobs Added; Jobless Rate Climbs

WASHINGTON (AP) -- The nation's unemployment rate climbed to a four-month high of 4.6 percent as somewhat wary employers added fewer new jobs in January. Wage gains were more modest.
The newest report on the economy, released Friday by the Labor Department, suggested that the jobs market got off to a slower start in 2007 yet still remains in decent shape. The more subdued job growth -- 111,000 positions -- is consistent with the expectation that growth in the economy as a whole will moderate this year.
The tally of new jobs added last month fell short of economists expectations for a gain of around 150,000 positions. Analysts also had said they anticipated that the overall unemployment rate would have held steady at 4.5 percent, the rate that was registered in December.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/business/AP-Economy.html


British to Show Al Gore Movie in Schools

LONDON (AP) -- Former U.S. Vice President Al Gore's global warming documentary will be sent to every secondary school in England as part of a campaign to tackle climate change, the government said Friday.
Environment Secretary David Miliband and Education Secretary Alan Johnson announced plans to distribute Gore's film, ''An Inconvenient Truth,'' on the day the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report was published in Paris. The report by leading scientists, said global warming has started and is ''very likely'' caused by humans.
''The debate over the science of climate change is well and truly over, as demonstrated by the publication of today's report by the IPCC,'' Miliband said. ''Our energies should now be channeled into how we respond in an innovative and positive way in moving to a low-carbon future.''
In the film, Gore warns that unless action is taken to reduce carbon emissions soon, global warming will have disastrous implications for the environment.

http://www.nytimes.com/aponline/arts/AP-Britain-Inconvenient-Truth.html


Bolivia’s Only Ski Resort Is Facing a Snowless Future

CHACALTAYA, Bolivia, Jan. 28 — The lodge here at what bills itself as the world’s highest ski resort has fraying black-and-white photos evoking memories of the years when this country had an Olympic ski team.
Bolivia’s die-hard skiers still boast about the place, asking where else one can ski above the clouds at a dizzying 17,388 feet with a view of Lake Titicaca on the horizon.
Where else, they ask, would the après-ski tradition include coca tea and soup made from the grain of the quinoa plant?
Their pride in the ski resort here, the only one in Bolivia, soon gives way to a grim acceptance that the glacier that once surrounded the lodge with copious amounts of snow and ice is melting fast.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/world/americas/02bolivia.html


Exxon and Shell Report Record Profits for 2006

By CLIFFORD KRAUSS
HOUSTON, Feb. 1 — Oil prices have fallen, but Exxon Mobil and Royal Dutch Shell left their smaller competitors in the dust and reported record annual profits Thursday.
By making $180 million a day between them, the two largest publicly traded oil companies displayed their ability to ramp up production worldwide over the year, even in unstable places like Chad and Nigeria. Growth may be slowing and is likely to continue to do so in the future, but these two companies showed they could navigate the year’s volatile energy prices that caused smaller companies to stumble in their fourth-quarter profits.
The expanding profits at Exxon Mobil and Shell, however, may also make them big targets for the Democratic Congress whose leaders want oil companies to pay higher taxes and work to curb global warming.
Analysts said that with oil prices rebounding again with more frigid weather, the entire industry is almost assured of seeing strong profits again this year.
Production in Mexico and Venezuela is declining because of politics, poor management, investment shortfalls and aging fields. And in Russia, production is slowing because of tensions between the government and foreign oil and gas companies over big investments. With worldwide crude inventories full, Saudi Arabia is keeping production in check to maintain its influence over pricing.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/business/02oil.html


Compromise Senate Measure Rebuffing Bush’s Iraq Buildup Gathers Support

WASHINGTON, Feb. 1 — A revised Senate resolution criticizing President Bush’s troop buildup in Iraq drew new support Thursday as two authors of a sterner resolution of disapproval said they would accept the compromise, fashioned by Senator John W. Warner.
Senators Joseph R. Biden Jr., Democrat of Delaware, and Chuck Hagel, Republican of Nebraska, said they would back Mr. Warner’s alternative, which declares that “the Senate disagrees with the ‘plan’ to augment our forces by 21,500,” calls on the president to consider other alternatives and urges him to limit the American role in countering sectarian violence.
“The bottom line of our resolutions is the same: Mr. President, don’t send more Americans into the middle of civil war,” said Mr. Biden, one of the authors of the initial resolution, which was approved last week by the Foreign Relations Committee, which he leads.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/washington/02cong.html


Iraq Suicide Bombers Kill 60 and Wound 150 in Market in Southern City

BAGHDAD, Feb. 1 — Twin suicide bombers struck a market jammed with people in the southern Iraqi town of Hilla on Thursday, killing at least 60, wounding 150 and spraying body parts so far that the police were still scouring rooftops for them late in the night.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/world/middleeast/02iraq.html


Missing Molly Ivins

By PAUL KRUGMAN
Molly Ivins, the Texas columnist, died of breast cancer on Wednesday. I first met her more than three years ago, when our book tours crossed. She was, as she wrote, “a card-carrying member of The Great Liberal Backlash of 2003, one of the half-dozen or so writers now schlepping around the country promoting books that do not speak kindly of Our Leader’s record.”
I can’t claim to have known her well. But I spent enough time with her, and paid enough attention to her work, to know that obituaries that mostly stressed her satirical gifts missed the main point. Yes, she liked to poke fun at the powerful, and was very good at it. But her satire was only the means to an end: holding the powerful accountable.
She explained her philosophy in a stinging 1995 article in Mother Jones magazine about Rush Limbaugh. “Satire ... has historically been the weapon of powerless people aimed at the powerful,” she wrote. “When you use satire against powerless people ... it is like kicking a cripple.”
Molly never lost sight of two eternal truths: rulers lie, and the times when people are most afraid to challenge authority are also the times when it’s most important to do just that. And the fact that she remembered these truths explains something I haven’t seen pointed out in any of the tributes: her extraordinary prescience on the central political issue of our time.
I’ve been going through Molly’s columns from 2002 and 2003, the period when most of the wise men of the press cheered as Our Leader took us to war on false pretenses, then dismissed as “Bush haters” anyone who complained about the absence of W.M.D. or warned that the victory celebrations were premature. Here are a few selections:
Nov. 19, 2002: “The greatest risk for us in invading Iraq is probably not war itself, so much as: What happens after we win? ... There is a batty degree of triumphalism loose in this country right now.”
Jan. 16, 2003: “I assume we can defeat Hussein without great cost to our side (God forgive me if that is hubris). The problem is what happens after we win. The country is 20 percent Kurd, 20 percent Sunni and 60 percent Shiite. Can you say, ‘Horrible three-way civil war?’ ”
July 14, 2003: “I opposed the war in Iraq because I thought it would lead to the peace from hell, but I’d rather not see my prediction come true and I don’t think we have much time left to avert it. That the occupation is not going well is apparent to everyone but Donald Rumsfeld. ... We don’t need people with credentials as right-wing ideologues and corporate privatizers — we need people who know how to fix water and power plants.”
Oct. 7, 2003: “Good thing we won the war, because the peace sure looks like a quagmire. ...
“I’ve got an even-money bet out that says more Americans will be killed in the peace than in the war, and more Iraqis will be killed by Americans in the peace than in the war. Not the first time I’ve had a bet out that I hoped I’d lose.”
So Molly Ivins — who didn’t mingle with the great and famous, didn’t have sources high in the administration, and never claimed special expertise on national security or the Middle East — got almost everything right. Meanwhile, how did those who did have all those credentials do?
With very few exceptions, they got everything wrong. They bought the obviously cooked case for war — or found their own reasons to endorse the invasion. They didn’t see the folly of the venture, which was almost as obvious in prospect as it is with the benefit of hindsight. And they took years to realize that everything we were being told about progress in Iraq was a lie.
Was Molly smarter than all the experts? No, she was just braver. The administration’s exploitation of 9/11 created an environment in which it took a lot of courage to see and say the obvious.
Molly had that courage; not enough others can say the same.
And it’s not over. Many of those who failed the big test in 2002 and 2003 are now making excuses for the “surge.” Meanwhile, the same techniques of allegation and innuendo that were used to promote war with Iraq are being used to ratchet up tensions with Iran.
Now, more than ever, we need people who will stand up against the follies and lies of the powerful. And Molly Ivins, who devoted her life to questioning authority, will be sorely missed.

http://select.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/opinion/02krugman.html?hp


Spitzer Signals Concern Over Sale of Housing Tract
Tenants’ groups girding for a fight over the sale of Starrett City, the sprawling low- and middle-income housing complex on the south shore of Brooklyn, have a powerful new ally: Gov. Eliot Spitzer.
State officials say that the new governor, who campaigned in part on the need to preserve and expand the city’s stock of housing for working and middle-class New Yorkers, wants Starrett City to remain pretty much what it is today, an economically and racially mixed housing complex that is successful.
Affordable housing has emerged as a thorny political issue with the recent $5.4-billion sale of two middle-class complexes, Stuyvesant Town and Peter Cooper Village in Manhattan, and skyrocketing rents across the city.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/nyregion/02starrett.html


In an Enclave of Serious Wine Lovers, a Mesmerizing Theft

ATHERTON, Calif. — It was perhaps the most Californian of crimes. Behind the electronic gates and freshly clipped hedges of an exclusive cul-de-sac, the thieves worked in the dead of night, ignoring watches, laptops and other ho-hum booty to cart away the ultimate prize: 450 bottles of wine, including a rare $11,000 1959 magnum from the Château Pétrus in Bordeaux, France.

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/01/us/01wine.html?em&ex=1170565200&en=bad5971bd08d4be3&ei=5087%0A


Even Before Its Release, World Climate Report Is Criticized as Too Optimistic

In its 2001 assessment, its third, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change estimated that in the next hundred years sea level would rise globally by at least a few inches and perhaps as much as three feet, a catastrophe for low-lying coastal areas and island nations.
In Paris today the panel will issue its fourth assessment, and people familiar with its deliberations say it will moderate its gloom on sea level rise, lowering its worst-case estimate.
In theory that is good news, because rising seas

http://www.nytimes.com/2007/02/02/science/02oceans.html


RIA Novosti


U.S. sensitive to Russian concerns on missile defense - diplomat

MOSCOW, February 2 (RIA Novosti) - The United States will take into account Russia's concerns regarding its plans to deploy elements of an anti-missile defense system in Europe, a high-ranking U.S. diplomat said Friday on condition of anonymity.
The State Department diplomat, currently on a visit to Moscow, said the United States will consider the concerns of countries near Poland and the Czech Republic, where America intends to deploy its missile defense systems, including Russia's position.
Washington officially proposed January 20 placing a radar network in the Czech Republic, and two days later announced plans to begin formal talks with Poland on the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems on its territory.
The diplomat said that a final decision on the deployment of the system in Eastern Europe has not been made yet, and that the United States has only just begun talks with Poland and the Czech Republic.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20070202/60117308.html


Russia will respond effectively to U.S. missile defense in EU

MOSCOW, February 1 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will develop an effective response to United States plans to deploy missile defense systems in Poland and the Czech Republic, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday.
"We must think, and are thinking, of ways to ensure our national security," Putin said at an annual Kremlin live televised news conference with Russian and foreign journalists. "All our responses will be asymmetric but highly effective," he said.
Washington officially proposed January 20 placing a radar network in the Czech Republic, and two days later announced plans to start formal talks with Poland on the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems on its territory.
The U.S. argued that defenses in Europe could intercept possible intercontinental ballistic missiles from 'rogue' regimes, such as Iran and North Korea.
But Putin said Washington's arguments to deploy anti-missile systems closer to Russian borders were not convincing.
"Our specialists do not think that missile defense systems being deployed in East European countries are meant to prevent threats from Iran or from terrorists," Putin said. "What kind of terrorists? Do terrorists have ballistic [missile] weapons?"

http://en.rian.ru/world/20070201/60051680.html


Wrap: Putin's press marathon spotlights U.S. missile shield plans, NPT

MOSCOW, February 1 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin's annual encounter with Russian and foreign journalists in the Kremlin Thursday highlighted Moscow's security concerns, tensions with post-Soviet neighbors, and nuclear non-proliferation issues.
At the televised news conference running for three and a half hours, his sixth since coming to power in 2000, the president highlighted concerns over the United States' plans to deploy a missile shield in Central Europe, a part of Moscow's former backyard now within the European Union.
Washington officially proposed placing a radar network in the Czech Republic 12 days ago, and soon after that announced plans to start formal talks with Poland on the deployment of anti-ballistic missile systems on its territory, arguing the defenses could intercept possible intercontinental ballistic missiles from 'rogue' regimes, such as Iran and North Korea.
Putin called Washington's arguments unconvincing and pledged to amend the country's military strategy, in view of the new developments: "We must think - we are thinking - of ways to ensure our national security. All our responses will be asymmetric, but highly effective."

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070201/60066308.html


New weapons-buying executive body to start work in 2008

MOSCOW, January 2 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will introduce a new executive body responsible for the procurement of weaponry and other equipment for all security-related agencies in the country on January 1, 2008.
The Federal Agency for the Procurement of Weaponry, Military and Special Equipment and Materiel will be a civilian governing body, and will supervise procurement of supplies for all security-related ministries and agencies in Russia.
The president held a meeting with the government Friday, at which the Cabinet submitted a draft of a presidential decree on setting up the new agency to Vladimir Putin for approval.
According to the draft, the agency will be primarily involved in concluding state contracts with companies for defense orders, financing state contracts, and ensuring their fulfillment. The agency will also be entrusted with forming a unified pricing policy for purchasing of military equipment.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070202/60125601.html


Serbia will never recognize Kosovo's independence - president - 1

BELGRADE, February 2 (RIA Novosti) - Serbia will never recognize Kosovo's independence, President Boris Tadic told Belgrade's Fonet news agency Friday.
The president, speaking after a meeting with United Nations envoy Martti Ahtisaari, said that any decision on Kosovo's independence imposed from the outside would contradict the main principles of international law.
Plans for Serbia and its predominantly Albanian region Kosovo presented by the UN envoy have been interpreted by both sides as suggesting a division of the territories, and foreseeing eventual independence for Kosovo.
The Serbian leader said the document submitted by Ahtisaari to Serbian and Kosovar leaders, "does not unambiguously state the 'independence' of Kosovo, and does not mention the territorial integrity of Serbia. Mainly because of this, but also partly because of certain other provisions of the document, the plan opens up the possibility of Kosovo's separation from Serbia."

http://en.rian.ru/world/20070202/60125307.html


Plus diversification of the entire country

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti Department of Socio-Political Materials) - Vladimir Putin's sixth news conference has not produced any sensations, which is a good thing as it testifies to a reasonably high level of economic stability.
Some of the questions which were asked during three hours, 30 minutes, and 20 seconds were so specialized that the event reminded a televised consultation with a lawyer. Diversification was the key word. It was used in two contexts - the need to overcome Russia's economic dependence on energy sources, and a search for alternative energy transportation routes.
Putin qualified the former as the main avenue of economic development, and used the latter to bring up transit countries, which Russia has paid 4.2 billion dollars. This makes the task of diversifying routes of Russian gas supplies to major European consumers even more urgent.
Economy
The president concentrated on economic issues. Putin believes that the main problem is a huge gap in incomes, despite statistically meaningful, considerable social achievements - the growth of average wages and salaries, incomes, and pensions. High economic growth rates are a natural way of resolving this problem. This is why Putin has not given up the goal of doubling the GDP - he insists that the economy should average a seven percent annual growth.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070202/60104320.html


Gas OPEC: economic advantages and political drawbacks

MOSCOW. (Igor Tomberg for RIA Novosti) - At the meeting with Secretary of the Russian Security Council Igor Ivanov in Tehran over the past weekend, Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said: "Our countries could set up an OPEC-type organization on gas cooperation."
Judging from the initial response, the majority of analysts think that this proposal is rooted in politics rather than economics.
This is not the first time the idea has been put forward. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad offered to Russian President Vladimir Putin at their meeting in Shanghai in June 2006 to establish what he described as cooperation "in fixing gas prices, and major flows in the interests of global stability."
Indicatively, the same idea was discussed during the recent Algerian visit of Viktor Khristenko, Minister of Industry and Energy: Algeria and Qatar could join the two countries. The resources of this potential cartel are very impressive - they account for more than 30% of the world's gas production, and their aggregate proven reserves exceed 60% of the total, which is comparable to OPEC's respective share in the global oil reserves - about 68%. The would-be cartel could include other members as well.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070201/60049415.html


Oriental satellite killer: case No.1 (Part 3)

MOSCOW. (RIA Novosti political commentator Andrei Kislyakov) - Had a Bit of Fun? Time to Stop ... Is there anyone who can honestly say that he had never committed mischief as a child? I don't think such a paragon of virtue would be easy to find.
But my mind refuses to accept the verdict of Major-General Vyacheslav Fateyev, a Russian military expert, who described the recent Chinese tests of anti-satellite weapons as an "act of hooliganism."
Early hints of the upcoming tests appeared in the central Chinese press last August. Experts from the state defense university, writing in the Renmin Ribao newspaper, said that the People's Liberation Army of China should be ready not only to protect the country's territorial integrity, but also to fight any potential threat from space.
It is out of the question that the Chinese watchdog agencies suffered a lapse and allowed someone to update the national defense doctrine, which dealt only with operations inside the home territory.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070201/60060424.html


Russia to build a space observatory
MOSCOW. (Yury Zaitsev for RIA Novosti) - In 2011, Russia plans to orbit a new astrophysical observatory as part of its Federal Space Program (2006-2015). The project, called Spektr-Rentgen-Gamma (SRG), integrates a Russian X-ray observatory (ART) and two European programs.
ART is a combination of X-ray telescopes with coded aperture and a gamma burst detector. It was conceived in the late 1980s but never implemented because of lack of funding.
Of the European components the first is ROSITA (seven X-ray mirror telescopes), and the second, Lobster (a wide-field X-ray monitor). They were supposed to be delivered to the International Space Station as part of the Columbus module aboard a U.S. shuttle, but the Columbia disaster intervened.

http://en.rian.ru/analysis/20070202/60135448.html


Orange snow in West Siberia not toxic - emergencies ministry - 1

NOVOSIBIRSK, February 2 (RIA Novosti) - The yellow-orange snow that fell in a West Siberian region Wednesday contains no toxic substances, experts said Friday.
"Experts have established that the substances in the snow are not toxic, but the iron content in the snow samples was four times above the norm," the press service of the local emergencies situations department said.
A public warning was issued in West Siberia's Omsk Region Thursday after polluted snow, yellowed and oil-stained, fell over an area of about 1,500 square kilometers (1,000 square miles), affecting some 49 communities with a population of at least 27,000.
Local residents have been warned against melting the snow for water and stepping on it wherever possible, the Emergency Situations Ministry said.
Experts said it was too early to talk about the cause of the phenomena.
"Snow samples have been sent for further tests in labs in Moscow and Krasnoyarsk, and we have also sent an inquiry to Kazakhstan about the possibility of industrial pollution," an emergency service official said. Kazakhstan is located southwest of the Omsk Region.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070202/60091814.html


PM Yanukovych proposes merging Ukrainian, Russian energy assets

KIEV, February 1 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's prime minister proposed Thursday merging his country's energy assets with those of Russia on a parity basis, after the Russian leader said Ukraine could be granted access to Russia's oil and gas fields.
Russia has vast hydrocarbon reserves while Ukraine controls pipelines that pump them Moscow's main client, the European Union.
"I think this option is promising," Viktor Yanukovych was quoted by the government press service as saying. The premier called on the ex-Soviet neighbors to develop a new model for cooperation in energy security.
Yanukovych's statement came in response to Russian President Vladimir Putin's announcement earlier in the day that Ukraine might be granted access to Russian oil and gas fields if a joint gas transport consortium is set up.
Ukrainian Energy Minister Yuriy Boiko said Kiev and Moscow are discussing ways of integrating in the energy sector on Ukraine's initiative, a process that Putin described as "revolutionary" in his annual news conference in the Kremlin.

http://en.rian.ru/world/20070201/60068539.html


Ukraine president cautious about gas consortium with Russia

KIEV, February 2 (RIA Novosti) - Ukraine's president called Friday for a careful approach to proposals to merge Russian and Ukrainian gas assets into a consortium, and said it was premature to talk about specific figures.
President Viktor Yushchenko's statement follows proposals to consider merging energy assets of the former Soviet allies, and the Russian leader's suggestion Thursday that Ukraine could be granted access to Russian oil and gas fields if it agreed to a gas consortium.
"We must discuss principles of organizing these [new] relations and implementing these initiatives, but I would not specify any percentages or stakes today because it is all still a distant prospect," Yushchenko said.
The president's comments contrast sharply with those made Thursday by his political rival, Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych, who gave his broad support to the idea to merge Russia's vast hydrocarbon reserves and Ukraine's pipelines leading to Europe, Moscow's main customer.
The Western-leaning Ukrainian president said the country's gas pipeline system was its strategic asset, monopolized and run by the state under law. "Any modifications of this established model must be carefully considered," he said.

http://en.rian.ru/russia/20070202/60119504.html