Michael Moore Today


http://www.michaelmoore.com/


GOP hopefuls stand by their man
Republicans back Iraq war in first debate
By John Whitesides / Reuters
SIMI VALLEY, California - Republican White House contenders offered a strong show of support for the military mission in Iraq during their first debate on Thursday and said U.S. troops should not come home until the war was won.
In the early stages of a 90-minute debate at the presidential library of conservative Republican hero Ronald Reagan, most of the 10 Republican candidates in the 2008 race rallied around the war effort led by President George W. Bush.
"We must win in Iraq. If we withdraw, there will be chaos, there will be genocide, and they will follow us home," said Arizona Sen. John McCain, who has led the charge in support of the war and backs Bush's plan to increase troop levels in Iraq.


http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9741

"I'm the commander guy."-- George W. Bush


Iraqi Blocs Opposed to Draft Oil Bill
By Edward Wong and Sheryl Gay Stolberg / New York Times
ERBIL, Iraq, May 2 — Kurdish and Sunni Arab officials expressed deep reservations on Wednesday about the draft version of a national oil law and related legislation, misgivings that could derail one of the benchmark measures of progress in Iraq laid down by President Bush.
The draft law, which establishes a framework for the distribution of oil revenues, was approved by the Iraqi cabinet in late February after months of negotiations. The White House was hoping for quick passage to lay the groundwork for a political settlement among the country’s ethnic and sectarian factions. But the new Kurdish concerns have created doubts about the bill even before Parliament is to pick it up for debate.
The issue comes at a delicate moment for Mr. Bush, who on Wednesday began negotiations with Congressional Democrats over a new war-spending measure.


http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9743


The Republican Debate Clip Show
http://wonkette.com/politics/disinherit-the-wind-dept%27/the-republican-debate-clip-show-257744.php


Tommy Thompson: Sure, go ahead. Fire the gays. by Joe Sudbay (DC) ·
5/03/2007 09:48:00 PM ET


It wouldn't be a Republican debate without some gay bashing. Tommy Thompson delivered:


http://americablog.blogspot.com/2007/05/tommy-thompson-sure-go-ahead-fire-gays.html


Acalanes students walk out for war protest
About 35 Acalanes High School students walked off campus Tuesday morning to protest the Iraq war and call for troops to be withdrawn.
The group left school at lunch and crossed the street to the southwest corner of Pleasant Hill and Deer Hill roads in Lafayette. For about 40 minutes, they stood on the vacant lot holding signs reading "Bring the troops home" and "Draft Bush."
"As non-voting citizens, the way to enact change is through protest and activism," said student Kennan Cronen.
The protest was not "just to be able to skip school," he added.
The gathering was peaceful until a student with a different point of view walked over, took a piece of paper from which an organizer had been reading aloud and ripped it.
"You're all hypocrites," he said before tearing up at least two signs and pushing a few students.


http://www.contracostatimes.com/ci_5793516


Bush Veto Incites Protest Over 101
Anti-War Activists Elicit Honks of Support, Police Lectures
A the very least, Santa Barbara residents opposed to the current U.S. war in Iraq learned that a surprising number of truck drivers are leaning to the left these days, judging by the number of air horns that sounded.
Planned by MoveOn.org, a rally on the Micheltorena overpass Wednesday evening allowed about 80 activists to vent their frustration about President George Bush's recent veto of congressional legislation that would have set a date for a pullout of American troops from Iraq.


http://www.independent.com/news/2007/may/02/bush-veto-incites-protest-over-101/


Peace coalition protests war, Bush veto
By Michael Yoder, StaffIntelligencer Journal
Published: May 03, 2007 2:05 AM EST
LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. - Members of Congress failed to override President Bush's veto of the $124 billion war-spending bill that called for a troop withdrawal from Iraq, but that didn't stop local activists from expressing their displeasure.
A group of 25 members of Lancaster Coalition for Peace and Justice turned out on the steps of the Lancaster County Courthouse Wednesday night to protest Bush's veto and to call for an end to the bloodshed in Iraq. The group marched around the city block carrying protest signs and mock coffins draped in American flags.
The protest lasted about an hour.
The glances of people in their automobiles driving by on King Street greeted the protesters, along with an occasional honk of support or the shaking of heads in disapproval.


http://local.lancasteronline.com/4/203676


Residents protest war, Bush, veto
End the war now! Friends for Peace! War is not the answer! Bring the troops home! Impeach Cheney, then Bush!
Those are just a sampling of the signs that were held up during a rally at the corner of Market and Patrick streets Wednesday evening to protest the war in Iraq and President Bush's recent veto of a bill that would have set a timeline to bring the troops home.
About 100 people turned out, waving signs, banging drums and bells, flashing the peace sign, and chanting, "No more war!"
The protesters were greeted mainly with a positive response as many drivers honked their horns and waved as they passed by. One woman even yelled out "Bush sucks!" as she drove away.


http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/news/display.htm?storyID=59680


War critics protest along McGalliard
MUNCIE -- Skip Ullman held a sign suggesting the $442 billion spent on the Iraq War could have been better spent on children's health care, Hurricane Katrina victims and student college loans.
"I keep seeing all these kids getting killed and for what reason?" asked Ullman, an electrician at Borg-Warner Automotive. "Because Bush and Cheney want oil."
Kresha Warnock, a Ball State University instructor, said she just wanted the troops home after her son, David, who serves in the Army infantry, was seriously injured last December, when the Humvee he was driving ran over a roadside bomb, killing another infantryman riding in the vehicle.
"I believe this war was entered into under false pretenses," she said.


http://www.thestarpress.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070503/NEWS01/705030350/1002


U.S. examines Iraq battlefield ethics
By Pauline Jelinek / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A new Pentagon survey of troops in Iraq found that only 40 percent of Marines and 55 percent of Army soldiers would report a member of their unit for killing or wounding an innocent civilian.
In the first internal military study of battlefield ethics in Iraq, officials said Friday they also found that only a third of Marines and roughly half of soldiers said they believed that noncombatants should be treated with dignity.
The study also found that long and repeated deployments were increasing troop mental health problems. And it showed that more than 40 percent of Marines and soldiers said torture should be allowed to save the lives of troops.


http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9749


Family exhumes body of local soldier to look for clues into her mysterious death
(KMOV) -- News 4 is taking you behind the scenes of the investigation into the death of a local soldier.
The death of Private Lavena Johnson is clouded in controversy and allegations of a cover up.
News 4's Matt Sczesny was there as investigators exhumed the body of Private Johnson and conducted a new autopsy.
For almost two years, Private Lavena Johnson's body has been at Jefferson Barracks Cemetary.
Her family believes some secret about her death is still there, waiting to be found.


http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9746


LaVena Johnson autopsy results: "inconclusive"


Last night's KMOV-TV story (including video) on the case of Pfc. LaVena Johnson - an account of her body's exhumation and autopsy - provided little progress in the attempt to clarify the cause of her death in Iraq in 2005. The autopsy team, which included St. Louis chief medical examiner Dr. Michael Graham and St. Louis County medical examiner Dr. Mary Case, reported inconclusive findings after a three-hour examination. The process will now move to include the weapon - an M-16 rifle - which may have fatally wounded LaVena. More findings will be posted as they are made available.


http://www.lavenajohnson.com/


Help find the truth about the death of Pfc. LaVena Johnson


http://www.ipetitions.com/petition/pfc_lavena_johnson/


London Show to Bring the Troops Home
The Scala, Monday June 4, doors open 7.00pmsupported by Ed Harcourt, Frank Turner, Mark Thomas & MC Mark SteelA benefit for the Stop the War Coalitionwww.stopwar.org.uk


http://www.nightwatchmanmusic.com/


Meet Blackwater USA, the powerful private army that the U.S. government has quietly hired to operate in international war zones and on American soil. With its own military base, a fleet of twenty aircraft, and twenty-thousand troops at the ready, Blackwater is the elite Praetorian Guard for the "global war on terror"--yet most people have never heard of it.


http://www.nationbooks.org/book.mhtml?t=scahill


Letter From Atlanta
Like many of you reading this, I just stood on the sidelines and watched.Oh, I cheered: “We’re all wearing the blue dress now.” was an early favorite.Where would I find the cardboard? Where can I find a projector? When do I have time to do it? What if I got caught? I had every excuse. I had good intentions, but just couldn’t commit to doing one.


http://freewayblogger.blogspot.com/2007/05/letter-from-atlanta.html


'Please Don't Throw Me in that Veto Patch' ...by Mike Ferner
As expected, Resident Bush immediately vetoed the Democrats “$100 Billion for the War and An Illusion of Withdrawal Bill” otherwise known as HR1591, but now this? MoveOn and the DemBoosters are ringing some kind of dizzy alarm: “Emergency Iraq Rally…show our leaders we mean business…tell Congress this is the key moment to stand strong against the President's veto.”
Come again?!
For all the wrong reasons The Pretender has briefly delayed the next payment of war money and created a momentary crisis among the Empire's leadership. OK, so don't pin a medal on the guy, but at least define the current state of affairs as one to take advantage of: get serious about occupying local Congressional offices, tying up traffic, shutting down universities – resisting as if…well, as if lives depended on it.


http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=873


Husband Says Army Didn't Deliver as Promised
By Kelli O'Hara / WECT
CAROLINA BEACH -- Former soldier Tony Snider feels slighted -- he's angry about how his wife, Julie, was recruited by the Army.
He says she isn't getting everything she was promised, such as a signing bonus that never materialized.
"It's not about the money or the rank, it's about a promise," he said.
Snider isn't the only one criticizing the methods the military uses to find new troops.
Critics say, with the Iraq war raging, standards have been loosened and recruits manipulated in order to meet goals.


http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/latestnews/index.php?id=9747


From a mother who lost a son in Iraq
Logan, Utah Herald Journal
To the editor:
Ruben Navarrette’s recent column on Pat Tillman and Jessica Lynch sure brought life crashing towards me. As the mother of the last man to die after the Jan. 20, 2007, Karbala, Iraq, attack, I can say that having a son die in Iraq is not the kind of sacrifice that brings warmth to the heart. It does not inspire the soul. But it does capture the imagination. I imagine the horror he went through being kidnapped, transported around Iraq for an hour and a half, then executed.
That raid was well planned. The local Karbala army and police knew the attack was coming and did nothing to help our soldiers. The vendors that normally work the area did not come to work that day. The construction workers that usually work long daily hours did not come to work. During the raid, the governor of Karbala Province was heard on the radio demanding that no one react to the attack without his direct order. The head of the Karbala police would not allow American soldiers into his office during the attack, although it had one of the best views of the area. Another high-ranking Karbala police officer was heard talking and laughing on his cell phone after the attack. He was describing the attack as if he witnessed it.


http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=874


Haaretz

U.S. official: Demands not being imposed on anyone
By Avi Issacharoff and Aluf Benn, Haaretz Correspondents
Deputy U.S. State Department spokesman Tom Casey said Friday that the United States would not enforce the demands listed in a document presented to Israel and the Palestinian Authority, detailing actions for both sides to implement. He also said that there is no deadlines for taking the recommended actions."These are suggestions and ideas that we have circulated, it's not any kind of formal agreement nor is it something that is being enforced on anybody," he told reporters.
"There is no effort to try and say 'Next week, you'll do this, the week after that, you'll do that,'" Casey said. "The idea would be to do these in fairly quick order, though."He said the measures are related to implementing phase one of the road map peace plan for the region.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/855602.html


Benchmark Document / Israel concerned by Washington's demands
By Avi Issacharoff and Aluf Benn
Senior officials fear a confrontation with Washington over a document of benchmarks it has presented to Israel and the Palestinian Authority setting a detailed timetable for measures each side must implement. The document sets a schedule for removing roadblocks and opening passages in the territories and upgrading the Palestinian forces loyal to PA chairman Mahmoud Abbas. Israel is also urged to approve requests for weapons, munitions and equipment required by defense forces loyal to Abbas. U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is to arrive on May 15 to discuss implementing the plan.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/855660.html


EU coordinates payments with Palestinian gov't
By Reuters
The European Union and Palestinian Finance Minister Salam Fayyad have agreed to start making regular partial payments to Palestinian workers at the same time each month, European officials said yesterday. Palestinian officials said the coordinated payments, expected to begin arriving in accounts within a few days, would make it easier for government workers to cope with a year-old economic embargo of the Hamas-led government, because they would receive more money on a schedule closer to a normal salary.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/855668.html


PA officials deny reports Abbas may resign over int'l sanctions
By Reuters
A senior official in Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party said Friday afternoon that though Abbas is increasingly concerned about an ongoing international boycott of the Palestinian government, he has has not threatened to resign or call early elections over the impasse, despite earlier reports to the contrary.Abbas met Wednesday and Thursday with leading Fatah members.One of the Fatah officials, Nabil Shaath, denied reports that in these meetings, Abbas threatened to resign or call early elections if the sanctions aren't lifted soon.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/855834.html


The conspicuously absent issue
By Ze'ev Schiff
While the Winograd Committee report is only partial, some important issues are missing and others are not dealt with sufficiently. The committee did a thorough job, and poked into hidden corners, but one still gets the feeling that the phrasing of the report was done under pressure. It is good the committee insisted on publishing an interim report first, and left the testimony of the prime minister, defense minister and chief of staff for the next stage. That was the logically correct order, and it is a pity the High Court was dragged into a petty dispute over this.
One issue that is conspicuously absent is the way the conflict on the Palestinian front affected the Second Lebanon War - a subject the committee did not address at all. The confrontation with the Palestinians has been going on for years, and generations of Israel Defense Forces soldiers focused on it, as if it were Israel's major struggle and all future battles would be modeled on it. This kind of thinking negatively affected the army's performance in Lebanon.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/855676.html


Peres' responsibility
By Haaretz Editorial
Had Ehud Olmert displayed last summer an iota of the wisdom and judgment he is exhibiting during the struggle for his political career, the prime minister would have saved the Israel Defense Forces and the Israeli people the heavy losses and serious damage caused by the Second Lebanon War. However, Olmert's energetic handling of the mini-crisis in Kadima does not in any way diminish his direct responsibility for the serious crisis that occured on the northern border. His success at dousing the budding uprising in the coalition does not lessen the responsibility of its members for the implications of the continued presence of the prime minister and defense minister in their offices.


http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/855674.html


Jerusalem Post


Conference on Iran crisis adjourns in deep deadlock
Under fire for stalling a 130-nation nuclear meeting, Iran on Friday accused the US of being the real culprit, as the conference adjourned for the weekend in deep deadlock over Teheran's opposition to language of the gathering's agenda.
With the dispute in its fifth day, several non-Iranian diplomats at the conference said it could be dissolved without progress by Monday unless differences were resolved.
At issue is Teheran's refusal to accept a phrase calling for the "need for full compliance with" the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty.
That position has delayed adoption of the agenda since the conference opened Monday. Teheran argues the language could lead it to become a target at the meeting because of its refusal to heed UN Security Council demands to cease uranium enrichment and other parts of its nuclear program that could be misused to make nuclear weapons.


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178198613115&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


US confirms efforts to ease ME tensions
The State Department confirmed Friday that US officials have recommended a series of steps that Israel and the Palestinians could take to ease continuing tensions.
"We've circulated some ideas on this," said deputy State Department spokesman Tom Casey, commenting on Israeli press reports and statements by the chief Palestinian Authority negotiator, Saeb Erekat. Casey said there were no deadlines for taking the recommended actions.
They include calls for Israel to ease the burden on the Palestinian people by removing roadblocks and other barriers to give them better trade and business access, he said. They also call for the Palestinians to ensure that any Israeli moves are not met with an increase in attacks, he added.

http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178198612299&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Iranian FM: US worsening Iraq situation
Iran's foreign minister on Friday said the US-led occupation of Iraq has caused pain and suffering and worsened the situation in the war-torn country.
Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters that the world should not be dominated by one or two powers, and blamed the United States' policies in Iraq for bolstering the deteriorating situation there.
"The polices of the occupation forces in Iraq are basically flawed, and the policies have failed, and we must try to correct these policies," Mottaki said.
Mottaki was in this Red Sea resort for an international conference on the future of Iraq that brought together Iraq's neighbors and other world powers including the US.
Mottaki's speech angered the Iraqi delegation, led by Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who has sought to bridge the disputes between Teheran and Washington and - more broadly - rally all the deeply divided nations of the region behind a plan to stabilize Iraq.


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178198611638&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Palestinian journalists increasingly targeted
Attacks on Palestinian journalists in the West Bank and Gaza Strip increased significantly last month, according to a report published Thursday.
Meanwhile, a Palestinian human rights group announced that 30 Palestinians were killed in internal fighting in the Palestinian territories during April - 22 in the Gaza Strip and eight in the West Bank.
It said at least 14 Palestinians were kidnapped by Palestinian gunmen during the same period and that some were brutally tortured or shot in the lower parts of the body.
The report about the journalists was published by the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms.


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178198609639&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


Editor's Notes: A searing indictment
For page after relentless page it continues, exposing, layer after horrifying layer, a picture of Israel's military and political capabilities so dismal, so complacent and amateurish, as to defy belief. "It can't really be this bad, can it?" you find yourself saying as you turn the pages. And then comes yet another clause, highlighting yet another untenable reality, to confirm that, yes, it really can be.
And this, remember, is only the interim report of the Winograd Committee into the failings related to the Second Lebanon War. This is the critique of that part of the war that was widely supported by the public.
Having had six years to prepare, Israelis had reasonably assumed the IDF was ready and waiting with an effective response to Hizbullah. Chillingly and caustically, Winograd divests us of that misguided confidence, and heaps mountains of blame on those who left us so vulnerable. The final report, cataloguing the stubborn maintenance of the failed hit-and-hope response even as 4,000 Katyushas fell and 163 Israelis were killed, awaits us in the summer.


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178198606909&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


PM aides downplay 'irrelevent' TA rally
The key to Prime Minister Ehud Olmert remaining in power lies not with the politicians in his party and coalition or the masses in Kikar Rabin, but with the five members of the Winograd Committee, sources close to Olmert said Thursday.
Olmert's associates downplayed the rally, saying it was "irrelevant" as long as there was no chance of the Knesset unseating the prime minister. They said the unity among Right and Left in the square was meaningless if the two sides could not agree on an alternative to Olmert.


http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1178198609364&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull


The Jordan Times


King reiterates Palestinian state top Jordanian priority
AMMAN (JT) — King Abdullah on Thursday reiterated that establishing an independent Palestinian state is a top Jordanian priority.
The King told a group of Palestinian thinkers and opinion leaders at a meeting that Jordan is committed to exerting diplomatic and political efforts to revive the Middle East peace process and push for resuming Palestinian-Israeli negotiations, the Jordan News Agency, Petra, reported.
The Monarch said Jordanian, Palestinian and Israeli opinion leaders play an important role to promote peace and help realise Mideast peoples’ aspiration for ending the conflict.
He called on the thinkers to explain to their Israeli counterparts that Arabs are strongly committed to peace.
The King added that gathering momentum in the Israeli society was necessary for backing international peace efforts.
King Abdullah said the 2002 Arab Peace Initiative, which enjoys Arab consensus, provides a suitable launchpad for Palestinian-Israeli negotiations that would lead to tangible results.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news1.htm



Why Arabs are unimpressed by the Winograd report
Rami G. Khouri
A combination of vindication, disdain and renewed concerns about Israeli militarism are the dominant reactions in the Arab world to the preliminary report of the Winograd Commission released on April 30 in Israel. The commission harshly rebuked three senior Israeli political and military leaders for their conduct during last summer’s 34-day war with Lebanon’s Hizbollah Party, leaving Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Defence Minister and Labour Party leader Amir Peretz in dismal shape before Israeli public opinion.
The former army chief of staff, Dan Halutz, had already resigned in disgrace after the war.
The Arab sense of vindication stems from the feeling that Israel had performed poorly in the war and had not achieved its primary strategic objectives: smashing Hizbollah, removing the armed Lebanese resistance movement from the south of Lebanon, returning the two kidnapped Israeli soldiers in Hizbollah’s hands, reaffirming Israel’s deterrence posture with the entire Arab world and Iran, and ensuring that all wars with the Arabs are fought in Arab lands, not in Israel.
Arab analysts were quick to recall Monday that Israel had also been forced to accept a UN-mandated ceasefire in August, after failing to win on the battlefield.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion2.htm


France’s path not taken
By Hans-Werner Sinn
The new president of France, be it Nicolas Sarkozy or Ségolène Royal, will face a tough challenge when it comes to putting the French economy back on its feet.
While the world economy is booming for the fourth consecutive year, with a historically unprecedented growth rate of about 5 per cent, the French economy is limping. In 2006, it grew by only 2.2 per cent, while growth rates of only 2.1 per cent and 1.9 per cent can be expected for 2007 and 2008, respectively, according to a recent
forecast by the German Economic Research Institutes. This is significantly below the average of the old EU countries for these three years — 2.7 per cent, 2.6 per cent, and 2.4 per cent, respectively.
France is currently one of Europe’s laggards, only slightly ahead of Italy and Portugal. Even Germany is performing better. With a growth rate of 2.7 per cent, the German economy clawed its way back to the average of the old EU countries in 2006, and it can be expected to grow at 2.4 per cent in 2007 and 2008, far faster than France.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion6.htm


War is becoming old fashioned
Jonathan Power
Are the great powers really as war-prone as the traditional balance of power theorists, like former secretary of state, Henry Kissinger, and Chicago professor, John Mearsheimer, argue?
I think the evolution of history in all its complexity tells us something else. Even though human beings have made war as far back as we know, this doesn’t predetermine our future, and it doesn’t necessarily prove there will be more of the same.
We should wind the historical clock back to the 15th century. It is then that we can take advantage of the late Evan Luard’s fascinating study of war in European societies. He divided up the history of warfare into five periods: The Age of Dynasties (1400 to 1559), the Age of Religions (1559-1648), the Age of Sovereignty (1649-1789), the Age of Nationalism (1789-1917) and the Age of Ideology, from 1917 onwards.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion5.htm


Ill timed
The International Criminal Court has, all of a sudden, decided to use its authority and take to task a Sudanese minister and a general in the armed forces of the country.
The ICC came into being in 1998 with much fanfare and hope that it will more effectively bring to account crimes perpetrators across the globe. Yet, the international tribunal was mostly idle since it became operational, about five years ago. Now it decided to make its presence felt by seizing upon the Darfur conflict.
Why the court hibernated for such a long time despite the fact that crimes against humanity and war crimes have been taking place in many regions of the world is anybody’s guess.
To be sure, in Darfur, grave human rights violations have indeed been committed, including the kind that could qualify as crimes against humanity. But the resolution of the conflict there can be best attained by political means, and by securing Khartoum’s cooperation, not by prosecuting two Sudanese officials.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/opinion/opinion1.htm


Harvard’s Women’s Leadership Board offers scholarships to Jordanian students
AMMAN (JT) — The Women’s Leadership Board (WLB) at Harvard University on Thursday announced two fellowships for Jordanian students in honour of Her Majesty Queen Rania’s visit.
The fellowships are for undergraduate women to study at Harvard Summer School, which caters to students from over 50 countries. The programme will allow the selected students to expand their academic experience, benefit from exchange and exposure to different countries and cultures and enhance their leadership skills through special seminars in communication, strategic thinking and networking.
“Thanks to these summer internships, which combine education with empowerment, bright young Jordanian women are set to gain valuable leadership skills… learning from women like you and perhaps sharing some of their stories,” Queen Rania said.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews1.htm


Higher costs cut profit of International Tobacco and Cigarettes Company
By Samir Ghawi
AMMAN — The International Tobacco and Cigarettes Company (ITCC) attributed the sharp drop in consolidated profit last year to higher operational costs of the parent firm.
The financial statements and closing accounts covered three subsidiaries for the first time.
The 15th annual report showed a net profit after provisions, tax and minority interests at JD0.40 million at the end of 2006 compared to JD3.20 million the previous year.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/economy/economy1.htm


Rice meets Syrian FM, greets Iranian as world rallies for Iraq
50 states adopt International Compact for stabilising violence-ravaged country in 5 years
…Delegates overwhelmingly adopted the International Compact with Iraq (ICI), whose goal Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri Maliki explained was "to rebuild a unified, democratic and federal Iraq and to distribute its wealth fairly"….


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news2.htm


'Killed Qaeda man not group chief’


BAGHDAD (AFP) — The US military killed a senior Al Qaeda figure this week in Iraq but the dead man was not the group's chief as was claimed by Iraqi officials, spokesman Major General William Caldwell said on Thursday.
Caldwell told reporters that US forces killed Al Qaeda in Iraq's "senior information minister", whom he identified as Muharib Abdul Latif Juburi, early on Tuesday just north of Baghdad. He played key roles in the kidnapping and murder of US peace activist Tom Fox and American journalist Jill Carroll in 2006 among other high-profile actions, Caldwell said.
Previously, Iraqi officials had reported that the dead man was Abu Ayyub Masri, the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq.
But Caldwell said that US officials would have immediately been able to identify Masri's corpse, and that they were positive they had in fact killed Abdul Latif, a lesser but still senior figure.
"We killed him on a target objective at 1:42am west of Taji on May 1," Caldwell said. "This is the individual that has caused some confusion and was the senior Al Qaeda person killed." "His was the only body we took at the site," he added.
"DNA testing and photo identification confirmed this yesterday (Wednesday)." Caldwell said the confusion arose when Abdul Latif's body was released for burial to a tribal member who was subsequently arrested at a police checkpoint as he left the city with the corpse.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news3.htm


Tens of thousands tell Olmert to resign over war report
TEL AVIV (AP) — Tens of thousands of protesters streamed to a central Tel Aviv square after sundown Thursday, demanding the resignation of Prime Minister Ehud Olmert because of a scathing inquiry report about the way he ordered and handled last summer's bloody, costly but inconclusive war in Lebanon.
Olmert remained defiant, hoping to beat back a rising wave of calls to step down. A day after his popular foreign minister, Tzipi Livni, joined the chorus, Olmert's aides felt she had not dealt him a mortal political blow. But they admitted that a large-scale public protest campaign could bring him down.
Thursday's turnout appeared to top 100,000, though police refused to estimate the crowd's size.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news4.htm


Sudan, Chad sign reconciliation deal in Riyadh
RIYADH (AFP) — Sudanese President Omar Bashir and Chadian President Idriss Deby Itno signed a reconciliation accord in the Saudi capital on Thursday aimed at ending tensions between their two countries.
The televised signing took place at a summit hosted by Saudi Arabia's King Abdullah, with the deal committing each of the parties to refrain from supporting rebels in the other country.
The meeting had begun as press reports from Khartoum said the two sides had agreed in principle to form a joint border force and to deploy observers.
Relations between the two countries nosedived after deadly border clashes between Sudanese and Chadian soldiers on April 9, in and around the war-torn Darfur region.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news5.htm


Iran ex-nuke negotiator arrested


TEHRAN (AP) — Iranian authorities have arrested the country's former nuclear negotiator, an ally of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's predecessor and key rival, and he reportedly could face an espionage charge.
The hardline president, meanwhile, insisted his country will not retreat "even an iota" on its nuclear programme.
The Iranian state-run news agency said Hossein Mousavian was arrested Monday in the capital, Tehran. Iran did not officially release any details about the specific charges against him. But the semiofficial Fars news agency — which is deemed close to the elite Revolutionary Guards — said Mousavian could face espionage charges.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news6.htm


After trip to Lebanon, top UN lawyer reports deadlock in Hariri tribunal negotiations
UNITED NATIONS (AP) — The UN's top lawyer said he has failed to persuade Lebanon's rival factions to approve an international tribunal in the assassination of a former prime minister, prompting the US to warn that the Security Council could create one without Lebanese approval.
Nicolas Michel, the undersecretary general for legal affairs, told the council Wednesday that on a trip to Lebanon last month, he found the anti-Syria, Western-backed ruling coalition and the pro-Syria opposition deadlocked over the tribunal. The opposition insists on a veto-wielding share in a new Cabinet before any action on the tribunal, which must be approved by the parliament.
Michel said the two sides "expressed support in principle for the establishment of the tribunal" but could not reach an agreement.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news8.htm


Baghdadi leaves fractured but virile insurgency
By Joseph KraussAgence France-Presse
BAGHDAD — The death of Iraqi militant leader Abu Omar Baghdadi is the latest blow to Al Qaeda’s bid to carry the mantle of a relentless Sunni rebellion amid challenges from rival insurgents.
Thursday’s announcement by the Iraqi government that Baghdadi had been killed came two days after a similar claim, as yet unverified, that Al Qaeda in Iraq kingpin Abu Ayyoub Masri had been killed in an internal feud.
But it is far from clear whether the infighting that has erupted within the Sunni insurgency will weaken it or simply give it an equally uncompromising but more nationalist face.
Baghdadi’s death was reported just as three Iraqi insurgent groups launched a merger in an explicit challenge to his “Islamic State of Iraq” — the umbrella group aimed at uniting Sunnis under the banner of radical Islam.
“In order to confront local, regional, and international challenges, an agreement has been concluded between three groups, the Islamic Army in Iraq, the Army of the Mujahedeen and the Ansar Al Sunna to form a united front,” the group said in a statement posted on a jihadi website.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/news/news9.htm


PM criticises attempts to undermine Jordanian position
AJLOUN (JT) — Prime Minister Marouf Bakhit on Thursday said it was unfortunate that some Jordanians would repeat accusations made by certain Israeli parties.
During a meeting with dignitaries and citizens of the Ajloun Governorate yesterday, Bakhit said it was also unfortunate that some political forces and leaders of parties, including the Islamic Action Front, would repeat Israeli statements that seek to instill doubt and undermine Jordan’s position on the Palestinian question.
Bakhit told the gathering that His Majesty King Abdullah stood before the US Congress and addressed US Congressmen in a clear and powerful manner in support of the Palestinian question, like no other Arab or Muslim leader has done before.
In his address, the King highlighted the great injustice suffered by the Palestinians, stressing that the Palestinian question is the core issue that needs to be solved as soon as possible.


http://www.jordantimes.com/fri/homenews/homenews2.htm


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