The Rooster
"Okeydoke"
Saturday, December 01, 2007
Nation's temperatures at highest level since 1951
Photo taken on September 20, 2007 shows an unidentified man walking past a group of glaciers in Bomi County, Southwest China's Tibet Autonomous Region. [Xinhua]
By Sun Xiaohua (China Daily)Updated: 2007-12-01 08:48
Chinese meteorologists said the country's average temperature in the first 11 months was 11.3 C, 1.2 C higher than the same period in an average year.
It was also the highest temperature since 1951.
"It is the 11th year for the country to experience an abnormally high temperature against the global backdrop of climate change," said China Meteorological Administration (CMA) spokeswoman Jiao Meiyan.
In November, the national average temperature was 3.5 C, 1 C higher than previous years....
Chinese meteorologists said the country's average temperature in the first 11 months was 11.3 C, 1.2 C higher than the same period in an average year.
It was also the highest temperature since 1951.
"It is the 11th year for the country to experience an abnormally high temperature against the global backdrop of climate change," said China Meteorological Administration (CMA) spokeswoman Jiao Meiyan.
In November, the national average temperature was 3.5 C, 1 C higher than previous years....
China Daily
Premier Wen revisits AIDS-suffering villages
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-01 21:31
ZHENGZHOU -- Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao paid his second visit to China's worst AIDS-hit villages in Henan Province, a day before the 20th World AIDS Day.
It was Wen's fifth face-to-face talks with AIDS patients or their family members since 2003.
"What's your name?"
"Zhang Shuwan."
"Do you remember how your parents were dying?"
"No, I don't."
This was a dialog between the visiting Premier and Zhang Shuwan, a 10-year-old girl, whose parents died of AIDS seven years ago, at the Chinese Red Ribbon Home, an orphanage at the Wangying Village of Lugang Township in Shangcai County on Friday morning.
Wen was accompanied by Henan's Communist Party chief Xu Guangchun and Governor Li Chengyu.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-12/01/content_6292466.htm
BOCOG replaces ticketing chief
(China Daily)
Updated: 2007-12-01 08:47
The Beijing Organizing Committee for the Games of the XXIX Olympiad (BOCOG) has appointed a new head of ticketing after chaotic scenes during last month's ticket sales
BOCOG's new head of ticketing Zhu Yan.
BOCOG was forced to suspend the second round of ticket sales following a booking system breakdown because of high demand.
Zhu Yan was introduced, at a press conference on Friday, to replace Rong Jun as director of the Olympic ticketing center.
Zhu, who previously worked for the Beijing municipal government, said each person could book a maximum of eight tickets for the Games during the second stage.
"In order to let more people enjoy the Olympic Games, we will limit the number of tickets that each person can buy from 50 to eight," Zhu said.
"Each person can submit just one booking form for no more than two competition sessions, and for each session people can apply for no more than four tickets."
The second phase of ticket sales will begin on December 10 and conclude on December 30, using a lottery system similar to that used in the first phase.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/olympics/2007-12/01/content_6292004.htm
Hostage-taker at Hillary office gives up
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-01 08:09
A distraught man wearing what appeared to be a bomb walked into a Hillary Rodham Clinton campaign office Friday and demanded to speak to the candidate about access to mental health care. The hostage drama dragged on for nearly six hours until he peacefully surrendered.
Shortly after releasing the last of at least five hostages unharmed, 47-year-old Leeland Eisenberg walked out of the storefront office, put down a homemade bomb-like package and was immediately surrounded by SWAT team with guns drawn. Clad in gray slacks, white dress shirt and a red tie, he was put on the ground and handcuffed.
Clinton was in the Washington area the whole time, but the confrontation brought her campaign to a standstill just five weeks before the New Hampshire primary, one of the first tests of the presidential campaign season. She canceled all appearances, as did her husband, former US President Bill Clinton, and the security around her was increased as a precaution.
"Everything stopped, and it had to because we had nothing on our minds except the safety of these young people who work for me," Clinton told reporters shortly after the standoff ended.
She traveled Friday night to Rochester, where she thanked law enforcement officials for their help. She said she knew of no previous contact between Eisenberg and her campaign.
"It appears he was someone who needed help and sought attention in absolutely the wrong way," she said.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-12/01/content_6291979.htm
UBS: China's economy is not overheated
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-01 16:26
Investors' concerns over a growth "hangover" from domestic over-investment are unwarranted, said a UBS report released earlier this week about China's macroeconomic trends in 2008.
Jonathan Anderson, UBS' senior analyst on global emerging markets, made this comment in "The 2008 China Macro Almanac" amid worries that the country's economy is set to overheat, with its double-digit gross domestic product (GDP) and a monthly consumer price index (CPI) of more than six percent.
"The current high headline CPI inflation rate is mostly due to temporary supply-related spikes in a few goods categories," said the report, adding that the CPI would fall throughout the first half of 2008.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-12/01/content_6292339.htm
Venezuela warns to cut oil exports to US
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-01 11:08
Caracas - Venezuela's President Hugo Chavez said on Friday he will cut oil sales to the United States if the American government interferes in Sunday's referendum on the proposed constitutional reform.
Chavez told supports at a rally that the state oil company will halt sales to the United States on Monday if Washington interferes with the vote.
"There will not be a single drop of oil for the United States," Chavez told hundreds of thousands of cheering supporters in downtown Caracas. "And if they want to come and take our oil they will face 100 years of war in Venezuela."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-12/01/content_6292193.htm
Condoms no longer proof of prostitution
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-01 09:13
Public security departments have stopped using condoms as evidence in prostitution cases, according to an official with the AIDS prevention committee under the State Council.
"Now police departments at all levels no longer use condoms as proof of illegal sex activities in entertainment venues," Han Mengjie, also secretary of the National Center for AIDS Control and Prevention, said on Friday in an online interview with Xinhuanet.com.
Police departments have gradually adapted to the change after health authorities called for condoms to be provided in public places to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS, said Han.
According to national surveillance figures, the rate of regular condom use among prostitutes rose from 14.7 percent in 2001 to 41.4 percent in 2006.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-12/01/content_6292045.htm
The US congressional commission is a Big Fake !
China role in peaceful world questioned
By Carol Giacomo,
the Associated Press
Despite its rising power and wealth, China may not be willing or ready to play a responsible role in an international system aimed at encouraging peace and stability, a commission set up by the U.S. Congress said in a report released on Monday.
The U.S.-China Economic and Security Review Commission accused China of failing "to meet the threshold test of international responsibility in the area of non-proliferation" by aiding Iran's nuclear, missile and chemical programs and refusing to effectively use its leverage to bring North Korea back into nuclear weapons negotiations.
It said China in recent years has allowed the transfer of weapons and technology across its territory from North Korea to Iran and even if Beijing wanted to control such transfers, this would be very difficult.
Beijing's adherence to World Trade Organization obligations remains "spotty and halting" five years after attaining membership while its hunt for oil and gas holdings overseas could "substantially effect U.S. energy security," the report added.
This is the fourth annual report of the commission, created by Congress to examine the national security implications of the U.S.-China bilateral trade and economic relationship.
The commission has been controversial because of concerns its members tend to be overly critical of China.
Most American experts believe the rising Asian superpower could go either way, becoming a U.S. adversary or a responsible "stakeholder" strengthening a stable international system.
http://bbs.chinadaily.com.cn/viewthread.php?gid=2&tid=540593&extra=page%3D1
China's stock market value shrinks 3.11% in a week
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-01 13:57
The combined market value of stocks on the Shanghai and Shenzhen bourses fell 3.11 percent this past week to 29 trillion yuan, according to statistics from stock exchanges.
Market value of the bigger Shanghai stock market reached 24.3 trillion yuan while that of the Shenzhen market came to 4.7 trillion yuan.
Market capitalization, or the market value of all companies' outstanding shares, declined 1.68 percent on Friday compared with last Friday to 7.9 trillion yuan, statistics show.
By November 30, a total of 1,512 companies with 1,598 stocks were traded on the two bourses.
Many Chinese investors experienced a hard time in the past six weeks, during which the Shanghai Composite Index tumbled from 6,092 points to 4,803 points on Wednesday.
Chinese share prices were sharply lower on Friday as the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index plunged 2.63 percent following Thursday's strong gains of more than four percent. (One US dollar equals 7.4 yuan.)
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/china/2007-12/01/content_6292236.htm
Vice premier ecnourages nuclear power tech growth
(Xinhua)
Updated: 2007-12-01 10:24
Chinese Vice Premier Zeng Peiyan said Friday that China should reach world-class level in the construction of nuclear power plants as soon as possible.
Zeng made the remark when addressing a ceremony at which the State Nuclear Power Technology Corp signed ordering contracts and cooperative agreements with nine manufacturers including China First Heavy Industries Co.
China should waste no time improving its mastery of the third generation nuclear power technology by combining foreign expertise with self-innovation, he said.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/bizchina/2007-12/01/content_6292155.htm
US plans new spy satellite program
(AP)
Updated: 2007-12-01 14:48
Washington - The US is pursuing a multibillion-dollar program to develop the next generation of spy satellites, the first major effort of its kind since the Pentagon canceled the ambitious and costly Future Imagery Architecture system two years ago, The Associated Press has learned.
The new system, known as BASIC, would be launched by 2011 and is expected to cost US$2 billion to US$4 billion, according to US officials familiar with the program. They discussed details on condition of anonymity because the information is classified.
Photo reconnaissance satellites are used to gather visual information from space about adversarial governments and terror groups, such as construction at suspected nuclear sites or militant training camps. Satellites also can be used to survey damage from hurricanes, fires and other natural disasters.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-12/01/content_6292268.htm
US withdraws Mideast resolution at UN
(Agencies)
Updated: 2007-12-01 11:04
United Nations - In an about face, the United States on Friday withdrew a UN resolution endorsing this week's agreement by Israeli and Palestinian leaders to try to reach a Mideast peace settlement by the end of 2008, apparently after Israel objected.
US Deputy Ambassador Alejandro Wolff informed the Security Council that the United States was pulling the resolution from consideration less than 24 hours after US Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad introduced it.
Khalilzad had said he needed to consult with the Israelis and Palestinians on the text of the resolution to ensure that it was what they wanted following the decisions by Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert at the Mideast peace conference in Annapolis, Md.
Wolff said the US had held intensive consultations in the past few days "and the upshot was that there were some unease with the idea" of a resolution.
Diplomats said Israel, a close US ally, did not want a resolution, which would bring the Security Council into the fledgling negotiations with the Palestinians. The diplomats, speaking on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the issue, said Khalilzad introduced the draft resolution without getting broad support from the Israelis, Palestinians and the Bush administration.
"It's not the proper venue," Israel's deputy ambassador Daniel Carmon said after Friday's council meeting. "We feel that the appreciation of Annapolis has other means of being expressed than in a resolution.
"We were not the only ones to object," Carmon said.
He added that the Americans had told the Israelis that the Palestinians also objected.
Abbas, speaking to reporters in the Tunisian capital, Tunis, said Friday that while he didn't know the details of the draft resolution it was a sign of the seriousness of the United States, which he also perceived at the Annapolis conference.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/world/2007-12/01/content_6292179.htm
Jodie Foster to get leadership award
Updated: 2007-11-30 07:23
LOS ANGELES - Jodie Foster needs to make more room on her trophy shelf.
The 45-year-old star will add the Sherry Lansing Leadership Award to her collection of Oscars, Golden Globes and other awards.
Lansing, former chief of Paramount Pictures, will present Foster with the award Tuesday at The Hollywood Reporter's 16th annual Women in Entertainment breakfast.
The actress-director-producer "has consistently maintained a sensibility and quality that is not easily sustained in this industry," publisher John Kilcullen said Thursday. "She clearly embodies the qualities of excellence and achievement that this award was created to honor."
Previous recipients include Barbara Walters and Meryl Streep.
Foster's film credits include "Taxi Driver," "The Accused," "The Silence of the Lambs" and this year's "The Brave One."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/entertainment/2007-11/30/content_6289198.htm
Stay away from the flu this winter
(zjol.com.cn)
Updated: 2007-11-28 10:17
With winter fast approaching, flu season is here. People can easily catch the flu bug and they try to fight it with western medicine, traditional Chinese medicine or some homemade secret recipes. Yet some of these strategies are ineffective or even harmful. The best way to counter the flu is to protect us from contracting it. So here are eight good habits to protect people from contracting flu from the very beginning.
Four ineffective ways to fight the flu
*Sweating leads to good health
Some think sweating is a way to get rid of the flu. People who have contracted flu cover up in quilts or drink hot fresh ginger water to sweat the virus out of their bodies. Yet sweating doesn’t necessarily lead to better health. Sweating too much can lead to a risk of dehydration, which can result in an imbalance in electrolytes thus intensifying the flu.
*Eating more or eating less leads to recovery
Some people believe that people with the flu should eat more fat to get extra nutrition. This thinking is wrong. When people catch a cold, their stomach activity slows down and high-fat and high-protein food increases pressure on the digestion system. Others believe that people who have the flu should eat less as they don’t have as big an appetite. Yet eating less can lead to less energy, which can lead to a longer recovery time.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/citylife/2007-11/28/content_6284527.htm
The Chicago Tribune
Traffic snarled, flights canceled as storm hits (Video)
Damaged cars litter the icy shoulders of eastbound I-80 east of Parker Road near Joliet, IL on Saturday, December 1, 2007. The season's first major snow storm pelted much of the Midwest with ice, snow and sleet. (Tribune photo by Scott Strazzante / December 1, 2007)
By Gerry Smith Tribune staff reporter
5:13 PM CST, December 1, 2007
The area's first winter storm hit today, causing fender-benders and spin-outs on the area's highways and roads and the cancellation of about 400 flights at O'Hare International Airport.
Snow, sleet and freezing rain continued to fall across much of the Midwest by 4:30 p.m. as the National Weather Service issued a "winter storm warning" for northern Illinois that was in effect from 2 p.m. to midnight.
Other flights at O'Hare airport were delayed between 40 to 60 minutes as of 4 p.m., according to Karen Pride, a spokeswoman for the Aviation Department. At Midway Airport, 28 flights were canceled and passengers should expect some delays, Pride said.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/weather/chi-071201weather,0,5928108.story?coll=chi_breaking_500
Amtrak crash a mystery as NTSB investigation begins
By Emma Graves Fitzsimmons Tribune staff reporter
1:49 PM CST, December 1, 2007
National Transportation Safety Board investigators arrived in Chicago Saturday morning to begin piecing together the details of how an Amtrak train collided with a freight train on Friday, injuring 62 people with three remaining in area hospitals.
"Our teams are out in the field looking for information," Robert Sumwalt, vice chairman of the NTSB, a federal agency that's leading the investigation into the crash.
Sumwalt said investigators plan to interview the two train engineers on Saturday, and begin gathering data from the so called "black box" event recorder aboard each Amtrak train so the data can be analyzed.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-071201ntsb-crash-story,0,7007971.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout
Mega Millions jackpot increases to $73 million
Associated Press
7:02 AM CST, December 1, 2007
ATLANTA - The jackpot in the multi-state Mega Millions lottery drawing has grown to $82 million.
The rollover occurred because none of the tickets sold for Friday's $70 million drawing matched all five lotto numbers and the Mega Ball number. The next drawing will be Tuesday night.
There were four second-prize winners from Friday night's drawing, matching five numbers to win $250,000 apiece. One of those tickets was sold in Illinois -- at a service station in Naperville. Another 24 players, including five from Illinois, matched four of the five lotto numbers, plus the Mega Ball number. Those tickets are each worth $10,000.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-ap-il-lot-megamillionsr,0,7861275.story?coll=chi_tab01_layout
At purity dances, virgin belles ring
These formal soirees for dads and daughters include dining, gowns and pledges to protect and abstain
By Dahleen Glanton
Tribune national correspondent
December 2, 2007
PEORIA — It was an evening for couples—girls in formal gowns, tiaras and curly updos, escorted by their dads, in tuxedos or dressy suits and ties.
They dined on roast beef and waltzed to classical music in a ballroom decorated with draped crosses and a mannequin in a white wedding gown. They listened as a guest speaker warned of the dangers of premarital sex. Then they stood at their tables, looked each other in the eye and vowed that they would remain pure.
He signed a pledge to be the protector of her purity and to live his own life with integrity. She gave her father a gold key to her heart, and asked him to hold on to it until her wedding day, when he would hand it over to her husband. They walked down the aisle with locked arms and she laid a white rose beside a cross, sealing her commitment.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-purity_bddec02,0,7143764.story
GOP insider granted immunity
Prosecutors want lawyer to take stand in Rezko trial
By Jeff Coen and John Chase Tribune staff reporters
December 1, 2007
With the criminal trial of political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko less than three months away, prosecutors are seeking the testimony of a GOP insider to help their case.
The U.S. attorney's office is attempting to compel the testimony of Jeffrey Ladd, a heavyweight lawyer for health-care companies who has dealt with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, one of two boards Rezko has been accused of illegally influencing.
U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve on Friday approved a request by prosecutors to extend immunity from prosecution to Ladd. If Ladd chooses to not testify, he could be held in contempt of court.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rezko1dec01,1,1043929.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Kosovo to sever ties with Serbia 'very soon,' president declares
The Associated Press
12:59 PM CST, December 1, 2007
SKOPJE, Macedonia - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said Saturday that the province will declare independence from Serbia shortly.
"At this moment, I cannot define the precise date when Kosovo will proclaim independence, but I can say it will happen very soon," Sejdiu said after talks with Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski.
"For us, there is no alternative to independence," said Sejdiu during his one-day visit to the neighboring country.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-ap120107-kosovo,1,4661315.story?ctrack=2&cset=true
Tribune deal gets go-ahead from FCC
Cross-ownership exemptions granted
By Phil Rosenthal Tribune media columnist
December 1, 2007
Tribune Co. gets to keep the Chicago Tribune, WGN-Ch. 9 and WGN-AM 720 permanently as part of a Federal Communications Commission action Friday that removes a major regulatory hurdle to billionaire Sam Zell's $8.2 billion effort to take the media concern private.
Over the objection of the two Democrats on the five-member panel, the FCC signed off on the Tribune transaction, keeping Zell and Tribune on track to finalize their deal by year's end.
"We appreciate today's action by the FCC, which allows our transaction to move forward," Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement. "We look forward to implementing the new ownership structure that will enable us to focus all of our energy and resources on Tribune's future."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat_fcc1201dec01,0,6966257.story
Legacy of tax-fed patronage must end
County deserves quality services, not bloated bureaucracy
By Jesse Jackson Jr. Tribune staff reporter
December 1, 2007
The truth shall make you free, the Bible tells us.
Well, here it is: John Stroger, who is beloved and remains in our prayers, managed one of the largest fraud-ridden bureaucracies known to man, Cook County government.
That massive bureaucracy was handed down by vested interest to his son, Todd, whose sole focus is to protect a huge patronage army—an army fed by increasingly overtaxed citizens, who, ironically, are rewarded with a steady erosion of the health care and county services they deserve.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-071201jackson-oped,0,1409738.story
The St. Petersburg Times
Berezovsky Convicted In Absentia
By Steve Gutterman
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — Tycoon and Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky was convicted in absentia Thursday of embezzling millions of dollars from the national airline, Aeroflot, and reportedly sentenced to six years in prison.
Berezovsky, a former Kremlin insider who fled to Britain and has become one of President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal foes, said the charges were part of a politically motivated campaign against him.
“This was not a trial but pure farce,” he told The Associated Press by telephone.
Reading the verdict in footage on NTV television, a Moscow district court judge said Berezovsky was found guilty of embezzling money from Aeroflot through fraud. He was charged with embezzling 214 million rubles — nearly $9 million at the current exchange rate — in the 1990s.
The court later sentenced Berezovsky to six years in prison, Russian news agencies reported, but Britain has rejected Russian requests for his extradition.
Russia will again appeal to Britain to hand Berezovsky over, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported, citing Russian prosecutors.
Berezovsky said he would consider the six years or so that he has spent in Britain, unable to return to his homeland because he faces prosecution in 11 criminal cases, as punishment.
A court-appointed attorney defended Berezovsky, who told his lawyers to steer clear of the trial.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24001
Dissidents Fear Soviet Comeback
By Galina Stolyarova
Staff Writer
Grigory Dukor / Reuters
Opposition leader Garry Kasparov (r) is applauded by fellow activists following his release from jail in Moscow on Thursday.
There was talk of gulags, hunting down dissidents and the Stalinist junta at an opposition meeting on Pionerskaya Square on Wednesday as liberal politicians, veteran dissidents and human rights advocates spoke out against what they see as a tragic return to authoritarian rule and even a Soviet-style police state.
The event, organized by the Union of Right Forces, a liberal party, drew more than 1,000 participants.
One speaker at the meeting, a Soviet-era dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, who plans to run against pro-Kremlin candidates in the presidential election in March next year, drew a parallel with resistance in the days of the U.S.S.R.
He addressed the apathy of some of his potential supporters who he said might stay at home on polling day on the grounds that they felt that “the authorities are too strong and the opposition too weak and fragmented, and hence there is no sense fighting for a cause that has already been lost.”
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23995
Putin: Vote For United Russia
By Michael Stott
Reuters
Kremlin/ria-Novostireuters
President Vladimir Putin speaks during a nationwide TV broadcast on Thursday, ahead of State Duma elections on Sunday.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin told voters on Thursday to support his party in Sunday’s parliamentary election, hours before one of his most vocal critics warned Russia was heading for dictatorship.
Putin’s United Russia party is set to win a large majority of the votes in the poll, which opponents say is unfair.
“I ask you to turn out for the elections on Dec. 2 and vote for United Russia,” Putin said in a brief, pre-recorded television address broadcast to the nation.
Putin, running as No. 1 on United Russia’s election list, said by voting for the party citizens would opt for “stability and continuity” rather than the chaos of the 1990s.
“We cannot allow the return to power of those who once tried but failed to rule the country,” he said in a clear reference to his political opponents from liberal parties.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23996
Twenty Years After a Cultural Revolution
By Leon Aron
For The St. Petersburg Times
Twenty years after Mikhail Gorbachev initiated glasnost, it is clear that, like every fateful “tipping point” in human history, the change has furnished enough material for scholars to plumb for many years. It may be too early to appreciate what glasnost has contributed, its depth, its passions and, yes, even its significance. But we can try.
Glasnost, or openness, goes at least as far back as 1841, when Russia’s first great liberal reformer, Count Mikhail Speransky, invoked this word among his recommendations for the “governing of Siberia” in an article published two years after his death.
What was this phenomenon — entirely nonviolent but so deadly for the Soviet regime — all about in 1987? Lines around the block for newspapers and magazines? People signing up on waiting lists in libraries for books and article reprints? The printouts and subscriptions to the most daring publications — Moskovskiye Novosti, Ogonyok, Literaturnaya Gazeta, Izvestia, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Argumenty i Fakty — doubling, quadrupling and doubling again? The country literally coming to a standstill as an estimated 70 percent of the adult population watched the Congress of People’s Deputies sessions in June 1989, the first uncensored and public political debate in 72 years?
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24002
Strikes Going Up Alongside Rises in Cost of Living
By Tai Adelaja
Staff Writer
MOSCOW — Sergei Guzev, a train driver from the Vladimir region, said he had always been against the idea of going on strike — until rising inflation made it difficult for him to meet basic family expenses.
“As a father of two, I can hardly keep up with day-care costs and school bills,” Guzev said. “What’s the whole point of working if my family cannot subsist on my so-called above-average salary?” In his hometown of Petushki, prices for basic foodstuffs have now risen to the level of those in Moscow, 120 kilometers away, he said.
Earning a monthly salary of 27,000 rubles ($1,100) — twice the national average — for a 60-hour week, Guzev, 35, should by rights be seeing some of the benefits of the country’s oil-fueled boom trickling down his way. Instead, he is one of a growing number of workers turning to grassroots labor unions as a wave of strikes — some unofficial — spreads across the country.
On Wednesday, members of Guzev’s union used unorthodox methods to hold a work-to-rule, a few days after a court declared their strike action illegal.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23997
Parties Strike Deal In Ukraine
By Anya Tsukanova
Agence France Presse
KIEV — The two parties that led Ukraine’s Orange Revolution on Thursday reached a coaliton deal, setting the stage for pro-Western Yulia Tymoshenko to return as prime minister.
The party of President Viktor Yushchenko and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc signed an agreement on forming the new government, interim speaker Roman Zvarych told parliament.
Applause broke out in the parliament chamber and some deputies presented Tymoshenko with a large bouquet of blue and yellow flowers representing Ukraine’s national colours.
“I believe that we will succeed in forming an effective government and provide hope for systematic and deep reforms in the country,” said Tymoshenko, wearing her characteristic blonde braids.
Tymoshenko was Yushchenko’s ally in the Orange Revolution, when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets in November 2004 for 17 days to protest rigged elections that handed victory to a pro-Moscow candidate.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23999
Russian Art Auction Raises $81 Million
Combined Reports
Sotheby’s / Reuters
Goncharova’s painting “Bluebells” which sold for $6.2 million at Sotheby’s.
Christie’s International in London held the highest-grossing Russian art auction Wednesday, raising $81 million, exceeding the $80 million raised by Russian art sales at Sotheby’s on Monday and Tuesday this week. Christie’s top presale estimate for the day was $64 million, commission not included. There were 413 lots and seven lots went for more than $2 million each.
“There were many fine works on sale, the results were strong, but there’s still potential for prices to go higher,” said Sergei Tabalov, a collector and dealer from Kiev, Ukraine, who at past auctions has gone home with top lots. “Prices for Russian art have risen at least 750 percent over the past decade.”
The day’s most expensive lot was a gold and enamel Faberge Egg owned by the Rothschild family of bankers. It fetched $18.5 million including commission, the most ever paid for a Russian art object. The buyer was Alexander Ivanov, director of the Russian National Museum, a private gallery in Moscow.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24000
Kudrin Says Arrest Hurts Talks
By Miriam Elder
Staff Writer
MOSCOW — Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin warned on Wednesday that the arrest of his deputy Sergei Storchak on embezzlement charges was starting to harm the ministry’s activities.
Kudrin also said he had requested a meeting with Storchak, who was arrested two weeks ago while Kudrin was attending an international conference. Storchak was charged on Friday with attempting to embezzle $43 million from the state budget.
“I need this meeting, and I need it urgently,” Kudrin said in remarks broadcast by all the state television channels on their evening news programs.
After his detention on Nov. 15, FSB officers raided Storchak’s home and offices, seizing key documents, Kudrin said. “The delay of the meeting is beginning to negatively affect the negotiating process ... as Storchak had up-to-date information on several issues,” he said. As deputy finance minister, Storchak is chief debt negotiator and overseer of the $148 billion oil stabilization fund.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24004
Volkswagen Opens Kaluga Plant
By Chad Thomas and Denis Maternovsky
Bloomberg
Grigory Sysoyev / Itar-Tass
Kaluga Governor Anatoly Artamanov, left, with VW’s Russia chief, Friedrich-Wilhelm Lenz, at the new plant on Wednesday.
KALUGA — Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, opened a factory in Russia on Wednesday as it seeks to triple its share of the country’s market over the next three years and joins rivals Ford and Renault in beginning production in one of the fastest growing car markets.
“By 2010, 45 million Russian households will be able to afford an automobile,” chief executive Martin Winterkorn said at the factory’s inauguration in Kaluga, 160 kilometers southwest of Moscow. This country “has huge potential, and we are going to use it.”
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24007
Gazprom Plans To Construct Largest Storage Unit in Europe
Bloomberg
FRANKFURT — Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas exporter, plans to build Europe’s largest storage facility for the fuel to supply a new pipeline under the Baltic Sea.
The facility in Hinrichshagen, northeastern Germany, will hold as much as 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, Burkhard Woelki, spokesman for Gazprom’s German unit, said by telephone Wednesday from Berlin. Construction will start in 2009 and cost 420 million euros ($620 million), he said.
Gazprom’s Nord Stream pipeline is scheduled to start carrying natural gas 1,200 kilometers under the Baltic to Germany in 2010 as the Russian exporter seeks to avoid transit countries like Belarus and Ukraine. Gazprom, which feeds one-quarter of Europe’s gas demand, wants to plug directly into markets in northwestern Europe and raise export capacity by one-third.
The Wingas storage facility in Rehden, northern Germany, can hold 4.2 billion cubic meters of gas.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24009
Musharaff Sworn in as Pakistani President
By Sadaqat Jan
The Associated Press
Adrees Latif / Reuters
Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf (r) salutes before being sworn in as President in Islamabad on Thursday.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pervez Musharraf embarked on a new five-year term as Pakistan’s civilian president Thursday, but he gave no indication of when emergency rule will be lifted — a key demand of both his domestic rivals and the United States.
The inauguration ceremony came a day after he ended a four-decade military career as part of his long-delayed pledge not to serve as both president and army chief.
Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar administered the oath to a solemn-looking Musharraf, dressed in long black tunic adorned only with a pin of Pakistan’s green and white flag.
“This is a milestone in the transition of Pakistan to the complete essence of democracy,” Musharraf told an audience of government officials, foreign diplomats and military generals at the state palace in Islamabad.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24012
UN Fears For Health in Iraq
Agence France Presse
BAGHDAD — The United Nations on Thursday said it feared an outbreak of cholera in Baghdad where at least 101 cases have been reported in the past three weeks.
“While national caseloads are declining, we are increasingly concerned about a possible outbreak in Baghdad,” said the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) quoting data from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“The capital accounts for 79 percent of all new cases and is now up to 101 cases, the vast majority reported in the past three weeks,” UNICEF said.
Sadr City, Madaien and Baladiyat are among the Baghdad neighbourhoods most affected by the bacterial disease, it said.
“UNICEF is working with WHO to try to limit the spread in the capital and treat the sick as Iraq’s rainy season sets in,” the agency added.
The Iraqi health ministry recently reported the deaths of two children in a Baghdad orphanage due to cholera, while six others were also reported sick.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24013
December 2, 2007
PEORIA — It was an evening for couples—girls in formal gowns, tiaras and curly updos, escorted by their dads, in tuxedos or dressy suits and ties.
They dined on roast beef and waltzed to classical music in a ballroom decorated with draped crosses and a mannequin in a white wedding gown. They listened as a guest speaker warned of the dangers of premarital sex. Then they stood at their tables, looked each other in the eye and vowed that they would remain pure.
He signed a pledge to be the protector of her purity and to live his own life with integrity. She gave her father a gold key to her heart, and asked him to hold on to it until her wedding day, when he would hand it over to her husband. They walked down the aisle with locked arms and she laid a white rose beside a cross, sealing her commitment.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-purity_bddec02,0,7143764.story
GOP insider granted immunity
Prosecutors want lawyer to take stand in Rezko trial
By Jeff Coen and John Chase Tribune staff reporters
December 1, 2007
With the criminal trial of political fundraiser Antoin "Tony" Rezko less than three months away, prosecutors are seeking the testimony of a GOP insider to help their case.
The U.S. attorney's office is attempting to compel the testimony of Jeffrey Ladd, a heavyweight lawyer for health-care companies who has dealt with the Illinois Health Facilities Planning Board, one of two boards Rezko has been accused of illegally influencing.
U.S. District Judge Amy St. Eve on Friday approved a request by prosecutors to extend immunity from prosecution to Ladd. If Ladd chooses to not testify, he could be held in contempt of court.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/chi-rezko1dec01,1,1043929.story?ctrack=1&cset=true
Kosovo to sever ties with Serbia 'very soon,' president declares
The Associated Press
12:59 PM CST, December 1, 2007
SKOPJE, Macedonia - Kosovo President Fatmir Sejdiu said Saturday that the province will declare independence from Serbia shortly.
"At this moment, I cannot define the precise date when Kosovo will proclaim independence, but I can say it will happen very soon," Sejdiu said after talks with Macedonian President Branko Crvenkovski.
"For us, there is no alternative to independence," said Sejdiu during his one-day visit to the neighboring country.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-ap120107-kosovo,1,4661315.story?ctrack=2&cset=true
Tribune deal gets go-ahead from FCC
Cross-ownership exemptions granted
By Phil Rosenthal Tribune media columnist
December 1, 2007
Tribune Co. gets to keep the Chicago Tribune, WGN-Ch. 9 and WGN-AM 720 permanently as part of a Federal Communications Commission action Friday that removes a major regulatory hurdle to billionaire Sam Zell's $8.2 billion effort to take the media concern private.
Over the objection of the two Democrats on the five-member panel, the FCC signed off on the Tribune transaction, keeping Zell and Tribune on track to finalize their deal by year's end.
"We appreciate today's action by the FCC, which allows our transaction to move forward," Dennis FitzSimons, Tribune chairman, president and chief executive, said in a statement. "We look forward to implementing the new ownership structure that will enable us to focus all of our energy and resources on Tribune's future."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-sat_fcc1201dec01,0,6966257.story
Legacy of tax-fed patronage must end
County deserves quality services, not bloated bureaucracy
By Jesse Jackson Jr. Tribune staff reporter
December 1, 2007
The truth shall make you free, the Bible tells us.
Well, here it is: John Stroger, who is beloved and remains in our prayers, managed one of the largest fraud-ridden bureaucracies known to man, Cook County government.
That massive bureaucracy was handed down by vested interest to his son, Todd, whose sole focus is to protect a huge patronage army—an army fed by increasingly overtaxed citizens, who, ironically, are rewarded with a steady erosion of the health care and county services they deserve.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/opinion/chi-071201jackson-oped,0,1409738.story
The St. Petersburg Times
Berezovsky Convicted In Absentia
By Steve Gutterman
The Associated Press
MOSCOW — Tycoon and Kremlin critic Boris Berezovsky was convicted in absentia Thursday of embezzling millions of dollars from the national airline, Aeroflot, and reportedly sentenced to six years in prison.
Berezovsky, a former Kremlin insider who fled to Britain and has become one of President Vladimir Putin’s most vocal foes, said the charges were part of a politically motivated campaign against him.
“This was not a trial but pure farce,” he told The Associated Press by telephone.
Reading the verdict in footage on NTV television, a Moscow district court judge said Berezovsky was found guilty of embezzling money from Aeroflot through fraud. He was charged with embezzling 214 million rubles — nearly $9 million at the current exchange rate — in the 1990s.
The court later sentenced Berezovsky to six years in prison, Russian news agencies reported, but Britain has rejected Russian requests for his extradition.
Russia will again appeal to Britain to hand Berezovsky over, the RIA-Novosti news agency reported, citing Russian prosecutors.
Berezovsky said he would consider the six years or so that he has spent in Britain, unable to return to his homeland because he faces prosecution in 11 criminal cases, as punishment.
A court-appointed attorney defended Berezovsky, who told his lawyers to steer clear of the trial.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24001
Dissidents Fear Soviet Comeback
By Galina Stolyarova
Staff Writer
Grigory Dukor / Reuters
Opposition leader Garry Kasparov (r) is applauded by fellow activists following his release from jail in Moscow on Thursday.
There was talk of gulags, hunting down dissidents and the Stalinist junta at an opposition meeting on Pionerskaya Square on Wednesday as liberal politicians, veteran dissidents and human rights advocates spoke out against what they see as a tragic return to authoritarian rule and even a Soviet-style police state.
The event, organized by the Union of Right Forces, a liberal party, drew more than 1,000 participants.
One speaker at the meeting, a Soviet-era dissident Vladimir Bukovsky, who plans to run against pro-Kremlin candidates in the presidential election in March next year, drew a parallel with resistance in the days of the U.S.S.R.
He addressed the apathy of some of his potential supporters who he said might stay at home on polling day on the grounds that they felt that “the authorities are too strong and the opposition too weak and fragmented, and hence there is no sense fighting for a cause that has already been lost.”
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23995
Putin: Vote For United Russia
By Michael Stott
Reuters
Kremlin/ria-Novostireuters
President Vladimir Putin speaks during a nationwide TV broadcast on Thursday, ahead of State Duma elections on Sunday.
MOSCOW — Russian President Vladimir Putin told voters on Thursday to support his party in Sunday’s parliamentary election, hours before one of his most vocal critics warned Russia was heading for dictatorship.
Putin’s United Russia party is set to win a large majority of the votes in the poll, which opponents say is unfair.
“I ask you to turn out for the elections on Dec. 2 and vote for United Russia,” Putin said in a brief, pre-recorded television address broadcast to the nation.
Putin, running as No. 1 on United Russia’s election list, said by voting for the party citizens would opt for “stability and continuity” rather than the chaos of the 1990s.
“We cannot allow the return to power of those who once tried but failed to rule the country,” he said in a clear reference to his political opponents from liberal parties.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23996
Twenty Years After a Cultural Revolution
By Leon Aron
For The St. Petersburg Times
Twenty years after Mikhail Gorbachev initiated glasnost, it is clear that, like every fateful “tipping point” in human history, the change has furnished enough material for scholars to plumb for many years. It may be too early to appreciate what glasnost has contributed, its depth, its passions and, yes, even its significance. But we can try.
Glasnost, or openness, goes at least as far back as 1841, when Russia’s first great liberal reformer, Count Mikhail Speransky, invoked this word among his recommendations for the “governing of Siberia” in an article published two years after his death.
What was this phenomenon — entirely nonviolent but so deadly for the Soviet regime — all about in 1987? Lines around the block for newspapers and magazines? People signing up on waiting lists in libraries for books and article reprints? The printouts and subscriptions to the most daring publications — Moskovskiye Novosti, Ogonyok, Literaturnaya Gazeta, Izvestia, Komsomolskaya Pravda, Argumenty i Fakty — doubling, quadrupling and doubling again? The country literally coming to a standstill as an estimated 70 percent of the adult population watched the Congress of People’s Deputies sessions in June 1989, the first uncensored and public political debate in 72 years?
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24002
Strikes Going Up Alongside Rises in Cost of Living
By Tai Adelaja
Staff Writer
MOSCOW — Sergei Guzev, a train driver from the Vladimir region, said he had always been against the idea of going on strike — until rising inflation made it difficult for him to meet basic family expenses.
“As a father of two, I can hardly keep up with day-care costs and school bills,” Guzev said. “What’s the whole point of working if my family cannot subsist on my so-called above-average salary?” In his hometown of Petushki, prices for basic foodstuffs have now risen to the level of those in Moscow, 120 kilometers away, he said.
Earning a monthly salary of 27,000 rubles ($1,100) — twice the national average — for a 60-hour week, Guzev, 35, should by rights be seeing some of the benefits of the country’s oil-fueled boom trickling down his way. Instead, he is one of a growing number of workers turning to grassroots labor unions as a wave of strikes — some unofficial — spreads across the country.
On Wednesday, members of Guzev’s union used unorthodox methods to hold a work-to-rule, a few days after a court declared their strike action illegal.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23997
Parties Strike Deal In Ukraine
By Anya Tsukanova
Agence France Presse
KIEV — The two parties that led Ukraine’s Orange Revolution on Thursday reached a coaliton deal, setting the stage for pro-Western Yulia Tymoshenko to return as prime minister.
The party of President Viktor Yushchenko and the Yulia Tymoshenko Bloc signed an agreement on forming the new government, interim speaker Roman Zvarych told parliament.
Applause broke out in the parliament chamber and some deputies presented Tymoshenko with a large bouquet of blue and yellow flowers representing Ukraine’s national colours.
“I believe that we will succeed in forming an effective government and provide hope for systematic and deep reforms in the country,” said Tymoshenko, wearing her characteristic blonde braids.
Tymoshenko was Yushchenko’s ally in the Orange Revolution, when hundreds of thousands of Ukrainians took to the streets in November 2004 for 17 days to protest rigged elections that handed victory to a pro-Moscow candidate.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=23999
Russian Art Auction Raises $81 Million
Combined Reports
Sotheby’s / Reuters
Goncharova’s painting “Bluebells” which sold for $6.2 million at Sotheby’s.
Christie’s International in London held the highest-grossing Russian art auction Wednesday, raising $81 million, exceeding the $80 million raised by Russian art sales at Sotheby’s on Monday and Tuesday this week. Christie’s top presale estimate for the day was $64 million, commission not included. There were 413 lots and seven lots went for more than $2 million each.
“There were many fine works on sale, the results were strong, but there’s still potential for prices to go higher,” said Sergei Tabalov, a collector and dealer from Kiev, Ukraine, who at past auctions has gone home with top lots. “Prices for Russian art have risen at least 750 percent over the past decade.”
The day’s most expensive lot was a gold and enamel Faberge Egg owned by the Rothschild family of bankers. It fetched $18.5 million including commission, the most ever paid for a Russian art object. The buyer was Alexander Ivanov, director of the Russian National Museum, a private gallery in Moscow.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24000
Kudrin Says Arrest Hurts Talks
By Miriam Elder
Staff Writer
MOSCOW — Finance Minister Alexei Kudrin warned on Wednesday that the arrest of his deputy Sergei Storchak on embezzlement charges was starting to harm the ministry’s activities.
Kudrin also said he had requested a meeting with Storchak, who was arrested two weeks ago while Kudrin was attending an international conference. Storchak was charged on Friday with attempting to embezzle $43 million from the state budget.
“I need this meeting, and I need it urgently,” Kudrin said in remarks broadcast by all the state television channels on their evening news programs.
After his detention on Nov. 15, FSB officers raided Storchak’s home and offices, seizing key documents, Kudrin said. “The delay of the meeting is beginning to negatively affect the negotiating process ... as Storchak had up-to-date information on several issues,” he said. As deputy finance minister, Storchak is chief debt negotiator and overseer of the $148 billion oil stabilization fund.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24004
Volkswagen Opens Kaluga Plant
By Chad Thomas and Denis Maternovsky
Bloomberg
Grigory Sysoyev / Itar-Tass
Kaluga Governor Anatoly Artamanov, left, with VW’s Russia chief, Friedrich-Wilhelm Lenz, at the new plant on Wednesday.
KALUGA — Volkswagen, Europe’s largest carmaker, opened a factory in Russia on Wednesday as it seeks to triple its share of the country’s market over the next three years and joins rivals Ford and Renault in beginning production in one of the fastest growing car markets.
“By 2010, 45 million Russian households will be able to afford an automobile,” chief executive Martin Winterkorn said at the factory’s inauguration in Kaluga, 160 kilometers southwest of Moscow. This country “has huge potential, and we are going to use it.”
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24007
Gazprom Plans To Construct Largest Storage Unit in Europe
Bloomberg
FRANKFURT — Gazprom, the world’s biggest natural gas exporter, plans to build Europe’s largest storage facility for the fuel to supply a new pipeline under the Baltic Sea.
The facility in Hinrichshagen, northeastern Germany, will hold as much as 5 billion cubic meters of natural gas, Burkhard Woelki, spokesman for Gazprom’s German unit, said by telephone Wednesday from Berlin. Construction will start in 2009 and cost 420 million euros ($620 million), he said.
Gazprom’s Nord Stream pipeline is scheduled to start carrying natural gas 1,200 kilometers under the Baltic to Germany in 2010 as the Russian exporter seeks to avoid transit countries like Belarus and Ukraine. Gazprom, which feeds one-quarter of Europe’s gas demand, wants to plug directly into markets in northwestern Europe and raise export capacity by one-third.
The Wingas storage facility in Rehden, northern Germany, can hold 4.2 billion cubic meters of gas.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24009
Musharaff Sworn in as Pakistani President
By Sadaqat Jan
The Associated Press
Adrees Latif / Reuters
Pakistan’s President Pervez Musharraf (r) salutes before being sworn in as President in Islamabad on Thursday.
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pervez Musharraf embarked on a new five-year term as Pakistan’s civilian president Thursday, but he gave no indication of when emergency rule will be lifted — a key demand of both his domestic rivals and the United States.
The inauguration ceremony came a day after he ended a four-decade military career as part of his long-delayed pledge not to serve as both president and army chief.
Chief Justice Abdul Hameed Dogar administered the oath to a solemn-looking Musharraf, dressed in long black tunic adorned only with a pin of Pakistan’s green and white flag.
“This is a milestone in the transition of Pakistan to the complete essence of democracy,” Musharraf told an audience of government officials, foreign diplomats and military generals at the state palace in Islamabad.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24012
UN Fears For Health in Iraq
Agence France Presse
BAGHDAD — The United Nations on Thursday said it feared an outbreak of cholera in Baghdad where at least 101 cases have been reported in the past three weeks.
“While national caseloads are declining, we are increasingly concerned about a possible outbreak in Baghdad,” said the United Nations International Children’s Fund (UNICEF) quoting data from the World Health Organisation (WHO).
“The capital accounts for 79 percent of all new cases and is now up to 101 cases, the vast majority reported in the past three weeks,” UNICEF said.
Sadr City, Madaien and Baladiyat are among the Baghdad neighbourhoods most affected by the bacterial disease, it said.
“UNICEF is working with WHO to try to limit the spread in the capital and treat the sick as Iraq’s rainy season sets in,” the agency added.
The Iraqi health ministry recently reported the deaths of two children in a Baghdad orphanage due to cholera, while six others were also reported sick.
http://www.sptimes.ru/index.php?action_id=2&story_id=24013
continued...
Morning Papers - continued...
Voice of America
New Ebola Strain Blamed for Killing 16 in Uganda
By Alisha Ryu
Nairobi
30 November 2007
Health officials in Uganda say they have identified a strain of the deadly Ebola virus as the likely killer of at least 16 people in the west of the country since late August. But as VOA Correspondent Alisha Ryu reports from our East Africa Bureau in Nairobi, officials are baffled and worried by what they believe is a new strain of the hemorrhagic fever.
The director general of Uganda's health services, Dr. Sam Zaramba, tells VOA that scientists in South Africa and the United States conducted numerous laboratory tests to determine the cause of the deaths across 14 villages in the western district of Bundibugyo.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2007-11-30-voa27.cfm
The Jakarta Post
UN chief wants Bali climate change conference to launch negotiations for new accords
UNITED NATIONS (AP): Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon wants the two-week U.N. climate conference that starts next week to launch negotiations for a new post-Kyoto accord, the U.N. said Thursday.
Ban will fly to the Indonesian resort island to attend the last three days of the conference, which runs from Dec. 3-14, U.N. spokeswoman Michele Montas said.
"He feels we need a breakthrough in Bali as a critical first step," she said. "If we are to meet the challenge of global warming, we need a new and comprehensive agreement that all nations can embrace."
Ban does not expect world leaders to reach a new global agreement to succeed the 1997 Kyoto accord to combat global warming which expires in 2012, Montas said.
But Ban expects the meeting of parties to the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change "to agree to an agenda of issues and set a timetable for reaching such an accord, before the Kyoto protocol expires," she said.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/climate/index.php?menu=stories&detail=5
Global, regional warming to blame for Jakarta floods
Yuli Tri Suwarni, The Jakarta Post, Bandung
Jakarta's regular floods can be partially blamed on global and regional warming, a scientist has said.
"This will get worse in the years to come. It has been estimated that by 2050, 25 percent of Jakarta will be inundated," said Armi Susandi, a climate change expert at the Bandung Institute of Technology (ITB) on Wednesday.
He added that poor city planning, bad zoning systems and a lack of infrastructure were contributing to the problem.
Armi has studied flooding in Jakarta since 2005. He received his Ph.D on climate change in 2004 from the University of Hamburg, Germany.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/climate/index.php?menu=stories&detail=4
Planet's future at stake as delegates gather in Bali for climate conference
BALI(AP): The future of the planet may be at stake.
Delegates from 190 countries gather on the resort island of Bali over the next two weeks to try to head off a scientific forecast of catastrophic floods and droughts, melting ice caps, disappearing coastlines and deadly heat waves.
As they begin negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol, which expires in 2012, they will largely tinker with and test phrasings and nuance. Some words - "commitments," "binding," "voluntary" - could set off storms of argument before the conference ends Dec. 14.
But that is to be expected when drawing together nations rich and poor with very different political and historical backgrounds, said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environmental Program, adding that the main thing is that dialogue is taking place.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071201120853&irec=2
Israel cancels plan to attend Bali climate change conference
TEL AVIV (Antara): Environmental Protection Minister Gideon Ezra has announced Israel would not be officially represented at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali next month.
Ezra, who was earlier scheduled to head an Israeli delegation to Indonesia, said he had decided to cancel the trip due to the high security costs.
Environmental organizations blasted Ezra for his decision.
"This is the most important conference on the environmental issue preoccupying the world," said Tzipi Isar-Itzik, director of the Israel Union for Environmental Defense.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071124171636&irec=57
Two commercial ferries hit coral reef
Hasrul, The Jakarta Post, Kendari
Two commercial ferries plunged into the coral reef around the Pulau Hari coast in South Konawe regency, Southeast Sulawesi, on Friday, forcing the evacuation of more than 400 passengers.
About 450 passengers on the two ferries, which provided a daily service from the South Sulawesi capital of Kendari to the port of Bau Bau, were left shocked after the accident.
The Sagori Ekspres and the MV SuperJet 15 crashed into the coral reef at the same time about 15 miles from Kendari port at 8 a.m.
Waami, passenger on the MV Superjet 15, said that he heard and felt a hard crash on the ship's side.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20071201.A07&irec=6
Strong quake jolts western Indonesia
JAKARTA (AP): A powerful earthquake struck westernIndonesia on Saturday, geological agencies said, but there were no immediate reports of damage or injuries.
The tremor had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and was centered 100 kilometers from Sibolga, North Sumatra province, the U.S. Geological Survey. It struck 35 kilometers beneath the earth's surface. It earlier put the magnitude at 6.1.
The Indonesian geological agency put the quake's strength at 6.3 and said it hit at a depth of 18 kilometers. The agency did not issue a tsunami warning because the quake was too close to the coast line, said local meteorologist Ali Imron. (**)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071201102101&irec=4
Quake jolts West Sumatra
PADANG (Antara): A 5.2 magnitude earthquake jolted the western coast of West Sumatra province at 7.05 a.m. Thursday.
Meteorology and Geophysics Agency spokesman Nasrul said the epicenter was located 63 km Southwest of Muko Muko regency in Bengkulu province, at a depth of 10 km below sea level.
He said no casualties and or damage from the tremor had been reported but that it had been felt by many residents in Pesisir Selatan, Padang and Mentawi isles regencies.
The agency has recorded at least 18 tremblors with a magnitude of 5 and higher, all of which it said had occurred in the province and surrounding regions during November. (**)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071129110824&irec=23
Strong earthquake shakes Sumatra
JAKARTA (JP): A strong earthquake rocked Sumatra early Sunday, forcing residents to flee their homes.
There were no immediate reports of injuries or damage.
The temblor, which measured 6.2 on the Richter Scale, was centered 28 kilometers from Bengkulu, Suhardjono, an official at the Geophysics and Meteorology Agency, said.
People in the region felt the tremor for around 30 seconds in the region, El-Shinta radio reported.(***)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071125154747&irec=50
Powerful quake hits Aceh
BANDA ACEH (Antara): A powerful earthquake measuring 6.0 on the Richter scale jolted the Nanggroe Aceh Darussalam provincial capital Banda Aceh and the west coast of the province around 6 a.m. Friday.
Meteorology and Geophysics Agency spokesman Nyakmu Yasir said the agency had yet to receive any reports of casualties or damages.
Nyakmu said the epicenter was located around 113 kilometers southwest of Banda Aceh, at a depth of 16 kilometers.
He said the quake was felt by people in Banda Aceh, West Aceh and Aceh Jaya districts.
Aceh has been jolted by series of temblors following a powerful undersea 8.9 magnitude earthquake and subsequent tsunami in December 2004, which killed at least 200,000 people and left thousands more missing. (**)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071123101436&irec=66
Thousands evacuated as the Philippines, Vietnam brace for powerful typhoons
MANILA, Philippines (AP) - Officials stepped up the evacuation of tens of thousands of people from coastal villages and riversides Friday as a powerful typhoon stalled off the eastern Philippines.
Typhoon Mitag was "stationary" 200 kilometers east of the island province of Catanduanes in the Bicol region, said Prisco Nilo, the head of the country's weather bureau. The storm was packing winds of 175 kph and gusts of 210 kph.
Nilo told President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo and other officials that the typhoon "appears to have not moved," making it difficult to predict its direction. But he said "the most logical" direction the storm would take was toward Bicol, making landfall Saturday on Catanduanes.
He warned of storm surges and a rise in the sea level in areas directly affected by the typhoon and heavy rains and strong winds elsewhere.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071123204226&irec=59
Asian leaders focus on climate change
SINGAPORE (AP): Asian countries including some of the world's biggest polluters - China, India and Australia - opened a summit Wednesday to pledge new protections against the devastation of climate change and global warming.
Japan was expected to announce a major initiative to help keep Asia green.
The one-day East Asia Summit was being held a day after contentious debate over military-ruled Myanmar, which overshadowed the announcement of a landmark charter to eventually turn Southeast Asia into an EU-style economic bloc.
The summit includes the 10 members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, plus China, India, Japan, South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.
The debate over the human rights crisis in Myanmar was set aside as the leaders of the 16 countries filed into a conference room at a luxury hotel in downtown Singapore.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071121111415&irec=75
WHO official says Asia should remain alert for bird flu, but some countries unprepared
TOKYO (AP): Some Asian countries have yet to devise a plan on how to respond to a bird flu outbreak, a disease that continues to be a threat for the whole region, a World Health Organization health official warned Saturday.
Preparedness in some Asian developing countries remains inadequate, said Dr. Shigeru Omi, western Pacific director of the World Health Organization.
"There have been outbreaks of bird flu among birds in many countries. It's not something you can just pick up on one country as being threatened," Omi said in an interview with The Associated Press.
It was important for countries to improve the quality of sanitation for the general public and livestock, as well as to report incidents to authorities promptly, Omi said.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071124185158&irec=54
Philippines' Arroyo to make state visit to Spain, travel to France and Britain
MANILA (AP): Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo was set to fly Saturday to Europe, where she will make a state visit to Spain and travel to France and Britain, officials said.
Arroyo's state visit to Spain - which comes after a failed attempt to trigger a "people power" revolt against her - is the first by a Philippine leader in 45 years. The last Philippine president to make a state visit there was Arroyo's father, Diosdado Macagapal, in 1962, a statement issued by her office said.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071201160907&irec=0
US pledges US$8 million for AIDS in RI
JAKARTA (Antara): The US government will allocate US$8 million dollars per year to help Indonesia deal with HIV/AIDS, a press statement from the US embassy said Friday.
The statement said that the money would be allocated for HIV/AIDS programs in 79 priority regencies in seven provinces -- Papua, North Sumatra, East Java, Jakarta, Riau Islands, West Java and Central Java.
According to the statement, the money is part of the president's emergency fund for dealing with AIDS both through preventive action, such as behavioral change, and providing medication and services to infected people.
Indonesia has around 210.000 HIV/AIDS cases, according to official figures, with 5,500 having died of AIDS so far. (**)
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071201110041&irec=3
UN delegation wants peacekeeping mission in East Timor extended
DILI, East Timor (AP): A U.N. delegation will recommended that the United Nations extend its peacekeeping mission in troubled East Timor when it runs out next year, an official said Friday.
"East Timor still needs a lot of international assistance," South Africa's ambassador to the U.N. Security Council, Dumisani Kumalo, said in the capital of Dili after meeting political leaders during a weeklong visit.
The U.N. oversaw East Timor's transition to independence in 2002 after the former Portuguese colony's bloody split from Indonesia in 1999. It had been winding down its operations when violence flaredagain last year.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailgeneral.asp?fileid=20071130200641&irec=6
Crude futures drop to lowest level in a month on OPEC supply expectations, falling demand
NEW YORK (AP): Crude oil prices dipped to their lowest levels in more than a month Friday, falling below $89 a barrel as investors sold amid signs of weakening demand and expectations that OPEC will boost production next week.
The slide in oil may mean consumers will see relief at the pump soon, analysts said. Gasoline and heating oil futures also dropped.
It was quite a turnaround for crude, which began the week pushing $100 a barrel but ended it by falling to its lowest levels since Oct. 25.
Light, sweet crude for January delivery fell $2.30 to settle at $88.71 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude prices are more than $10 below Monday's high of $99.11 a barrel and the all-time high of $99.29 a barrel set last week. Prices continued falling Friday after the Nymex closed, dropping as low as $88.45 in electronic trading.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detaillbus.asp?fileid=20071201115346&irec=0
Circle-line train to ease traffic jam
The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
An innercity circle train was launched Friday to ease traffic congestion in the capital.
The air-conditioned cars, which run on the Ciliwung Blue Line and can carry up to 400 passengers per trip from Manggarai, South Jakarta, are expected to encourage commuters to leave their automobiles at home.
"(Governor) Fauzi Bowo proposed the idea of operating the train to President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, saying it could help solve the traffic problem," Transportation Minister Jusman Syafii Djamal told reporters after officiating the launch ceremony.
State-owned railway company PT Kareta Api has prepared 32 cars for the new line, but currently only four are in use due to a lack of drivers.
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20071201.@02&irec=1
Regions told to get serious in HIV/AIDS fight
Irawaty Wardany, The Jakarta Post, Jakarta
The National Aids Commission has asked regional administrations nationwide to pay serious attention to efforts to prevent the spread of HIV/AIDS.
"We are facing difficulties convincing the regional administrations to implement the HIV/AIDS prevention programs because most of them are yet to see AIDS as a serious threat," the commission's program deputy Sri Kusyuniati told a conference Friday.
"We will do more lobbying of regional administrations so that they will allocate a larger part of the budget and implement the prevention programs."
http://www.thejakartapost.com/detailheadlines.asp?fileid=20071201.A04&irec=3
continued...
Ames snow ordinance is in effect today
December 1, 2007
1830z
The city of Ames snow ordinance went into effect at midnight Friday. Snow routes are marked by red, white and blue signs, and cars parked on snow routes will be ticketed and towed. All cars should be moved to off-street parking or to streets that are not designated snow routes. It is important to remember the snow ordinance remains in effect until the streets are completely plowed from curb to curb and it has stopped snowing.
To assist in the plowing efforts, all Ames residents are asked to remove parked cars from residential streets. However, only those on snow routes are required to move them.
To assist in the plowing efforts, all Ames residents are asked to remove parked cars from residential streets. However, only those on snow routes are required to move them.
Cedar Rapids Gazette
Militant Raid on Iraqi Village Kills 13
By LORI HINNANT
Associated Press Writer
BAGHDAD (AP) -- Dozens of suspected al-Qaida militants showered a Shiite village with mortar rounds early Saturday, then stormed the streets, killing at least 13 Iraqis, torching homes and forcing hundreds of families to flee, police said.
Some villagers fought back, leaving three gunmen dead in the heart of one of Iraq's most violent regions.
Even with nationwide violence ebbing to the lowest levels since January 2006, American commanders have warned that security is precarious in northern Iraqi regions such as Diyala - where Saturday's attack took place - as al-Qaida and other militants have moved there to avoid coalition operations.
The militant attack on Dwelah, about 45 miles north of Baghdad in Diyala, began about 6:30 a.m. with the mortar rounds, then 50 to 60 suspected al-Qaida fighters streamed in and opened fire, a police officer said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/I/IRAQ?SITE=IACED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Updated December 01. 2007 2:12PM
Travel not advised in Eastern Iowa
The Gazette
The Iowa Department of Transportation is advising against travel on Interstate 80 east of Des Moines, and the Des Moines International Airport will be closed until this afternoon, as an icy winter storm strengthens its hold on the state today.
Travel is also not being advised in Linn County, according to Linn County Sheriff Don Zeller.
According to the Iowa State Patrol, travel is not advised on I-80 from Highway 169, just west of Des Moines, east to the Illinois border, and on I-35 from the Missouri border to just north of U.S. 20.
The weather predictions seem to be on target for today, and a call from Mark Bowden, Gazette Executive Editor, confirmed things are getting a little dicey outside.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/NEWS/712010022/1002/NEWS
Dec 1, 4:20 PM EST
Snow and Ice Hit Midwest States
By NAFEESA SYEED
Associated Press Writer
DES MOINES, Iowa (AP) -- Snow and ice plastered a wide area of the Midwest on Saturday, disrupting campaigning by presidential hopefuls, making highways hazardous and closing Des Moines' airport.
The National Weather Service posted winter storm and ice warnings across parts of Nebraska, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, the eastern Dakotas, Illinois and northern Michigan, although some warnings were lifted by midday. Six to 16 inches of snow was forecast in parts of Minnesota.
Much of Iowa was hit by snow, sleet and freezing rain.
Officials decided to close Des Moines International Airport after a United Airlines plane slid off a taxiway as it was heading to a runway for a flight to Chicago's O'Hare, said airport spokesman Roy Criss. He said none of the 44 passengers was injured.
The airport reopened by mid-afternoon. "We've had some cancellations but quite a few flights are gearing up - they're late but there going to be taking off," Criss said.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/W/WINTER_STORM?SITE=IACED&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Hunting accidents dramatically decrease in Iowa
By Orlan Love
The Gazette
orlan.love@gazettecommunications.com
With the shotgun deer season opening today, Iowa hunters are on track for their safest hunting year ever.
With no deaths and just 10 hunting-related gunshot injuries so far, 2007 could be even safer than last year's record-low totals of no deaths and 14 injuries in 19 incidents.
Search the database of the hunting accidents in Iowa
Since 2004, the state has had just one hunting-related gunshot fatality — a record that stands in marked contrast with the carnage of 40 years earlier, when 66 hunters died of gunshot wounds from 1964 to 1967.
Many factors have contributed to the dramatic improvement — chief among them the education of a generation of hunters through mandated safety classes and an accident investigation program designed to determine the specific causes of each accident so they can be incorporated into the 1,800 hunter education courses taught each year in Iowa.
Still, accidents happen, even to graduates of hunter safety classes like James Knebel, 57, of rural Homestead, who fired the shotgun slug that killed Iowa's last hunting-related gunshot victim, his 31-year-old son, Scott Knebel of North Liberty, on Dec. 4, 2005.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071201/NEWS/712010002/1001/NEWS
How much University of Iowa trash is recyclable?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=z-Rz634kF-g&eurl=http://www.gazetteonline.com/
Edwards calls for 'smart, safe' trade
By James Q. Lynch
The Gazette
james.lynch@gazettecommunications.com
IOWA CITY - Just in time for the Christmas shopping season, Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards has laid out "a concrete and common-sense" product safety reform agenda for keeping American children and families safe.
In Iowa City last night, the former North Carolina senator called for "smart and safe" trade policies to protect American workers from low-cost labor competition overseas and lift up workers around the world.
Written properly, trade policies should be a tool of the nation's foreign policy, Edwards told more than 400 in a speech to the Iowa City Foreign Relations Council at the hotel Vetro.
For Edwards, it's personal.
"I did see what happened when the mill in my hometown closed," he said, referring to the mill where his father worked. Edwards said it closed because of unfair trade practices. "I take this very seriously."
Those weren't the only jobs lost, Edwards said. Under the Bush administration, he said, 5 million jobs have been lost to unfair trade practices, especially NAFTA.
http://www.gazetteonline.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20071130/IOWACAUCUS/711300027/1063
Ames Tribune
Dodd seeks firefighter union support
By Luke Jennett, Staff Writer
12/01/2007
By Nirmalendu Majumdar/The Tribune
Democratic presidential candidate U.S. Sen. Chris Dodd, D-Conn., is greeted by Ames firefighters after he arrived for a campaign stop with Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., Friday in downtown Ames.
Democratic presidential hopeful Chris Dodd appeared at the American Legion Hall Friday in Ames to ask for caucus-day support from members of the International Association of Firefighters.
"Look, I know I'm not as well-known as some of the other candidates, and I'm not as well-financed," he said. "But I believe that if I can get the vote I think I can out of Iowa, believe me, I'll be a household name in 24 hours."
Dodd, a U.S. senator from Connecticut, appeared with U.S. Rep. Patrick Kennedy, D-R.I., and International Association of Firefighters general president Harold Schaitberger as part of the rolling "Firefighters for Dodd" bus tour that has been snaking its way across Iowa since starting Thursday in Council Bluffs.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19075047&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Ames turns tables on Urbandale in second half
By Jeff Stell, Staff Writer
12/01/2007
Urbandale scored 26 points in the first half of Friday's game with Ames in the Ames High gym but failed to reach even half of that total in the second half.
Advertisement
That tells the story of the Little Cyclones' 50-38 triumph. Trailing 26-22 at halftime, the Little Cyclones (3-1) put the clamps on the J-Hawks in the final two periods, outscoring them by a 28-12 margin. The J-Hawks made just five of 22 shots in the second half.
"The biggest thing is we just defended a lot smarter in the second half, and the kids were a lot more focused," Ames coach Joel Sullivan said. "We didn't give up layups, and we didn't give up open looks. We were fortunate that when Urbandale had open looks, they were missing them."
The Little Cyclones used a 15-0 run in the third quarter to outscore the J-Hawks 15-4 in that period. Trisha Nesbitt had six points in the quarter and all five Little Cyclone starters had a basket.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19075108&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554325&rfi=6
Reflection of lights
12/01/2007
By Nirmalendu Majumdar/The Tribune
The holiday light display is reflected on the pond at Reiman Gardens in Ames.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19075051&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Clinton knows politics is about compromise
By Dan Gearino
11/30/2007
NEWTON - After a speech on renewable energy, Hillary Clinton had time for a few questions.
Her campaign soon would be in damage-control mode because of one of those questions. A young woman stood up and asked about global warming. She later told her college newspaper the question had been planted by Clinton's staff.
But it was another question on that November afternoon, clearly not planted, that may say more about Clinton and her presidential campaign. A man asked how she would fix inequities in current trade deals.
She said there are no simple solutions, which wasn't the answer some in the audience wanted, here in a city that has just been abandoned by appliance-maker Maytag.
"What I am looking for is not a stale debate between, 'We're for trade' or 'We're against trade,' because I still think trade can be beneficial to America. I'm looking for smart trade," Clinton said, part of a much longer answer.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19074648&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Davenport man riles Ron Paul supporters in YouTube debate
By: Ed Tibbetts, Quad-City Times
11/30/2007
Mark Strauss, the Davenport man who got to ask a question on the nationally televised CNN/YouTube Democratic presidential debate this summer, made yet another appearance at the GOP version Wednesday.
Strauss, a 49-year-old manufacturer's representative, plaintively told Republican hopeful Ron Paul he couldn't win the nomination and asked whether he would "let America down by not running as an independent."
His question, like all the others, was submitted by video.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19073322&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
12-year-old charged in armed robbery
By: Luke Jennett
11/30/2007
Deandre Williams, of Ames, has been referred to Story County Juvenile Court on charges of first-degree robbery, a class B felony.
Cmdr. Jim Robinson of the Ames Police Department said the incident occurred at 1:17 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 24. The victim, Chelsea McMillen, called police and reported that she was selling trees at 413 Northwestern Ave. when she was approached by a group of male juveniles, which she described as being between the ages of 10 and 12. One member of the group displayed a knife at McMillen and demanded money.
The group fled northbound with an undisclosed amount of cash. A follow-up investigation by Ames police led to the arrest of Williams.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19073315&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Commission backs change to land use plan
By: Laura Millsaps
11/29/2007
Planning and Housing Director Steve Osguthorpe gave the Ames City Council what it wanted, and Wednesday night the Planning and Zoning Commission changed direction yet again.
The commission recommended the City Council approve changes to the land use policy plan that would allow for the possibility of a proposed Fareway grocery store and convenience store at Stange and Bloomington roads.
However, the commission removed from the proposed changes some of the restrictive language the City Council had specifically requested of city staff, sending yet another version of land use plan amendments to the City Council.
The commission voted 6-1 in favor of recommending the amended text to the City Council. Commission member Norman Cloud voted against the recommendation.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19068709&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Racist fliers found at ISU and Slater
By: Luke Jennett
11/28/2007
Handwritten fliers bearing racist terms were found on the Iowa State University campus Monday, as well as in the doorways of two residences in Slater.
Advertisement
The flier, pinned to a bulletin board at ISU's Davidson Hall Monday and in a magazine rack at the ISU Armory this morning, is a photocopy of a hand-written note saying, "Vote for Edwards, Not the Bitch or the Nigger. Vote for the White Man!" This same note was found in the doorways of two residences in Slater.
The flier is signed with the name of a local man, saying the message was "paid for" by him and noting that he was a graduate of Harvard University in 1977. Authorities say they have not yet linked the fliers to the purported author.
The Tribune has chosen not to reveal alleged author's name at this time.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19066068&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Many agree discussion on racism is a good beginning
By: Laura Millsaps
11/28/2007
By Laura Millsaps
Staff Writer
It's a start.
Many members of the public who spoke at Tuesday night's Ames City Council meeting, dubbed "The changing cultural face of Ames,"said the community discussion was a good beginning, but more conversations must follow to welcome newcomers to the community and address racism.
The Council Chambers overflowed to the courtroom area and then to the city's auditorium, where the meeting was televised. A crowd of about 200 residents heard presentations by Ames Housing Director Vanessa Baker-Latimer, Ames Community School Superintendent Linda Beyea and Ames Police Chief Chuck Cychosz.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19066074&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554432&rfi=6
Unspoken assumptions, latent elitism
11/29/2007
Here's the latest attack in the minor mass hysteria that has seized Ames over a handful of black people new to town: check their job status.
We realize that noting skin color would brand us as racist. Socio-economic status is double-speak. The crime surge is real but you can't label every black person a criminal. So let's zero in on whether they have jobs. That's neutral, right? If they are productive members of the community, great. Let them stay. But if they're just here for a handout, buy them a bus ticket.
Whoa.
Everybody who comes to Ames has to have a job?
How about trailing spouses?
What about adult children?
Senior citizens?
How much does this job have to pay? Minimum wage? Above the poverty line? Does part-time count?
Are social services available only to some people? Those who can show they were born in Iowa? Or this county?
What about all the folks that Vic Moss helps out down at the Emergency Residence Project? Or the ones who eat the free meals at the Methodist Church?
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19068756&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554335&rfi=6
Can online support translate to the polls?
11/28/2007
Leave it up to the students at Iowa State University and Barack Obama will be the next president of the United States. That's if, of course, students come out to vote.
A survey by an ISU sociology class shows that nearly three-quarters are already registered and more than half of them plan to caucus. Among those surveyed who also are registered and who say they will vote, 47 percent are Democrats and 31 percent are Republicans.
Among the Democrats, 58 percent say they would support Obama. Hillary Clinton, next in line, pulls only 14 percent, and John Edwards gets support from 11 percent.
That kind of interest is echoed in other classes at ISU, where graduate students also have been measuring the number of "friends" the candidates have in online social networking sites, such as Facebook or MySpace.
In the virtual world, Obama once again is the clear leader. He has more friends than anyone.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19066103&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554335&rfi=6
Eby: Obama will need to turn up the heat
By Charlotte Eby
11/30/2007
Democrat Barack Obama is gaining ground among Iowa caucus-goers at what could end up being just the right time.
An ABC News/Washington Post poll had Obama overtaking Hillary Clinton for the lead in November. That poll found Iowa voters were looking for fresh ideas and had "lingering doubts about Hillary Clinton's honesty and forthrightness."
Other polls show a dead heat in the race with a month to go before the Iowa caucuses.
The best evidence Obama is gaining ground is that Clinton has gone on the attack in Iowa. She's continually criticized Obama's health care plan as not being completely universal.
Rival John Edwards joined the criticism against Obama, saying Obama's plan would leave many Americans uninsured, unlike his own plan, which would mandate health care coverage.
Obama has mostly shrugged off their critiques, explaining that his plan would not require people who cannot afford health care to get it.
He's been relaxed rather than defensive in the face of the recent attacks, a tactic that could either help him paint the picture of a confident front-runner or hurt his standing if they continue unanswered.
Some had written off Obama earlier this fall. His support appeared to have reached a plateau in Iowa. A shaky debate performance had others wondering whether he was ready for the heat of battle against Clinton.
http://www.midiowanews.com/site/tab1.cfm?newsid=19074647&BRD=2700&PAG=461&dept_id=554336&rfi=6
continued...
Russia made choices that has brought it to global prominence. Russia is communist. Solidarity to purpose is not unusal or ridiculed.
Speaking for the EU, the UK noted that if it were not for Russia, the Kyoto Protocol (click here) would not have entered into force, and expressed regrets that Russia felt its concerns had not been addressed.
Putin’s Last Realm to Conquer: Russian Culture (click here)
Russian Federation, for the Arctic Council, encouraged Parties to consider issues related to the Arctic region in their work on mitigation and on reducing the impacts of, and vulnerability to, climate change.
Russia is itself again. Different. Touch by collapse of the Soviet Era. But, itself again. By choice, facilitated through wealth. I didn't think Putin put the oil in the ground or did he? God Putin, I guess !
ALP faces whale of a decision
Fighters … Aussies Carly McDermott and Stephen Bennett are crew members on the anti-whaling ship Robert Hunter.
Photo: Craig Sillitoe
Frank WalkerDecember 2, 2007
ONE of the first decisions of the new Labor Government when it meets tomorrow will be how to fulfil its election promise to send the Australian Navy south to monitor Japanese whale hunters.
Incoming environment minister Peter Garrett will raise the issue when cabinet holds its first meeting tomorrow after being sworn in by Governor-General Michael Jeffery.
During the election campaign Labor pledged to send the navy or long-range aircraft to gather evidence against Japanese whale hunters in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary to use in court action.
"It will be one of the first things raised when cabinet meets," a spokesman for Mr Garrett said. "Using the navy is about heightening the pressure on Japan to stop killing whales."
Meanwhile two young Australians are prepared to risk their lives to stop the whale hunt when their anti-whaling ship leaves for the Southern Ocean on Wednesday....
ONE of the first decisions of the new Labor Government when it meets tomorrow will be how to fulfil its election promise to send the Australian Navy south to monitor Japanese whale hunters.
Incoming environment minister Peter Garrett will raise the issue when cabinet holds its first meeting tomorrow after being sworn in by Governor-General Michael Jeffery.
During the election campaign Labor pledged to send the navy or long-range aircraft to gather evidence against Japanese whale hunters in the Southern Ocean whale sanctuary to use in court action.
"It will be one of the first things raised when cabinet meets," a spokesman for Mr Garrett said. "Using the navy is about heightening the pressure on Japan to stop killing whales."
Meanwhile two young Australians are prepared to risk their lives to stop the whale hunt when their anti-whaling ship leaves for the Southern Ocean on Wednesday....
Sydney Morning Herald
The 20th World Aids Day, and what's changed?
1:20PM Saturday December 01, 2007
A student hands out ribbons at Edwardes College in Peshawar, Pakistan. Photo / Reuters
Does the news that the United Nations overestimated the number of HIV infections mean the world has turned the tide on AIDS?
Not according to the most of the media coverage ahead of the 20th World Aids Day today.
The fact that the United Nations got it wrong about the number of people living with the virus is simply "a sampling error", writes Donald McNeil in the International Herald Tribune.
The UN and the World Health Organisation "have eaten a lot of crow" for the mistake of miscalculating the number of infected, comments Los Angeles Times.
But the good news is that the pandemic has peaked, the papers say, most likely in the late 1990s. But that doesn't mean the world can relax and get complacent about AIDS. Even if the estimate of 2.5 million new infections this year is 40 per cent lower than the estimate for 2006, that's "not a particularly happy plateau," McNeil quotes Dr. Robert Gallo, who discovered the AIDS virus.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/category/story.cfm?c_id=204&objectid=10479486
Iemma stands firm on Koperberg claims
John Kidman
December 2, 2007
Advertisement
NSW Premier Morris Iemma has vowed to stand by his Environment Minister Phil Koperberg, despite explosive new allegations that the former Rural Fire Service chief beat his wife and stepdaughter.
Details of the claims are reportedly contained in a 10-page affidavit authored by Mr Koperberg's ex-wife, Katherine, in 1987.
Katherine Koperberg is said to allege in the document that she was repeatedly struck across the face and pushed against a wall.
Her then-20-year-old daughter, Paula, who was Mr Koperberg's stepdaughter, was also repeatedly hit, one of the blows allegedly knocking a filling from one of her teeth to the floor.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/iemma-backs-koperberg/2007/12/01/1196394691712.html
Rejection for Islamic school
Heath Gilmore
December 2, 2007
A SYDNEY council is set to reject a proposed Islamic college as tension about religious educational facilities escalates across the city.
Bankstown City Council will determine the development application for the 1200-student Al Amanah Islamic College at Bass Hill on Tuesday night.
Nearly 2500 submissions were received from residents - 1829 against, 649 in support.
Council staff have recommended that the development - a primary and secondary school, a 30-place child-care centre with two residences for caretakers, a reception and convention hall, a sporting hall and an indoor pool - be refused.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/rejection-for-islamic-school/2007/12/01/1196394682295.html
Greenies pay less to park
Heath Gilmore
December 2, 2007
CAR owners committed to lowering the environmental impacts of their vehicles will pay less for parking permits under a new City of Sydney proposal.
The proposed incentive scheme goes before the council's finance committee tomorrow to encourage greater usage of vehicles with lower greenhouse gas emissions.
Existing fees for residents and businesses, which range from $43 to $85, could be halved if the vehicle has a four-star environmental rating. Four fee rates are proposed for the 22,000 available permits: very low impact (50 per cent of the standard fee), low impact (75 per cent); medium impact (100 per cent); and high impact (double the standard fee).
http://www.smh.com.au/news/environment/greenies-pay-less-to-park/2007/12/01/1196394682292.html
Clinton office hostage drama
2007-12-01 08:15:51
A man claiming to have a bomb holds hostages at Hillary Clinton's campaign office in a small town in New Hampshire.(00:46)
http://media.smh.com.au/?category=Breaking%20News&rid=33702
No survivors in Turkish air crash
2007-12-01 08:41:21
A Turkish passenger plane has crashed near the town of Isparta killing all those on board.(01:13)
http://media.smh.com.au/?category=Breaking%20News&rid=33702
McDonald's ad made a meal of driving safety
Christine Sams
December 2, 2007
A McDONALD'S advertisement showing a carload of male teenagers ordering a drive-through meal is off the air after an investigation by an industry watchdog.
The advertisement, which shows a P-plater who drives his friends to the fast food restaurant after getting his licence, will not be screened again following claims it promoted unsafe driving.
After airing between November 4 and 12 it was investigated by the Advertising Standards Bureau.
"I think it was one of the most complained about for the month,"Advertising Standards Bureau chief executive officer Fiona Jolly said.
"The complaints made about this ad were that it depicted young boys driving in a manner that wasn't safe. The board noted that a carload of kids in the middle of the day isn't illegal but the board felt that the depiction of the kids really was contrary to all the public safety messages that are out there at the moment to young men on safe driving and safe behaviour in cars. They really felt that this was an ad that did breach the code."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/mcdonalds-ad-made-a-meal-of-driving-safety/2007/12/01/1196394682307.html
Powers gather on Iran atomic plans but Tehran remains defiant
December 2, 2007
Advertisement
Iran said it would defend its right to nuclear technology as senior officials from the world's most powerful countries gathered yesterday to discuss imposing sanctions against it over its nuclear programme.
The five permanent United Nations Security Council members and Germany agreed in September to delay passing further UN sanctions against Iran until the end of November, pending reports on a probe by the UN nuclear watchdog and an European Union mediation effort.
But EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana said he was disappointed after a Friday meeting in London with Iranian chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili, which had been seen as a last chance to avert United States pressure for more UN sanctions against Iran over its disputed atomic programme.
Senior officials from the six powers, Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and the United States, were scheduled to begin morning talks in Paris .
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/powers-gather-on-iran-atomic-plans-but-tehran-remains-defiant/2007/12/01/1196394690258.html
Chavez warns US in bid for more power
December 2, 2007
VENEZUELAN President Hugo Chavez has threatened to cut off oil supplies to the US if the superpower interferes in a referendum this weekend over whether he can run for re-election indefinitely.
Mr Chavez also sought to fire up his backers for the tight vote by threatening to end diplomatic ties with Spain unless the former colonial power's King Juan Carlos apologised for telling him to shut up at a recent summit meeting.
The self-styled socialist revolutionary issued the warnings yesterday at a massive rally closing the campaign.
Mr Chavez has frequently issued threats about stopping crude sales to its top customer.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/chavez-warns-us-in-bid-for-more-power/2007/12/01/1196394682748.html
Water torture
December 2, 2007
Whether it's from the heavens above or sanitation below, water is a constant source of danger to the people of Bangladesh, writes Larry Elliott.
Advertisement
Charles Dickens would have felt at home in the streets of Dhaka. The barefoot children waiting for their mothers and sisters to come home from the textile mills, the chimneys of the brick factories vaguely visible in the smog. And the stench.
Like Victorian London, the shanty towns of Bangladesh's capital reek of excrement dropped from makeshift hanging toilets perched precariously on bamboo stilts a couple of metres above the mire. Bangladesh is the object of the world's pity as it deals with the cyclone that killed more than 3000 people. Yet when the television appeals are over, when attention has switched to another country stricken by flood, famine or earthquake, the stench of raw sewage will remain. And it will still be the second-biggest killer of children after respiratory illnesses. Two hundred perish every hour as a result of living conditions that would cause an outcry if they occurred in the West, and should cause an outcry for being allowed to happen anywhere.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/water-torture-for-people-of-bangladesh/2007/12/01/1196394682754.html
Support for Rio merger
December 1, 2007
The world's sixth largest steelmaker, Tata Steel Ltd of India, has backed BHP Billiton's proposed merger with Rio Tinto, saying it is a necessary outcome.
THE world's sixth largest steelmaker, Tata Steel Ltd of India, has backed BHP Billiton's proposed merger with Rio Tinto, saying it is time for the industry to consolidate.
Tata managing director B. Muthuraman said that while there was concern a combined entity could drive up market prices for iron ore, a merger was a necessary outcome.
"It is a natural thing to happen," said Mr Muthuraman.
"It is good for the commodity industry, which has had serious cycles over the last 25 to 50 years. It is time, I think, that both the steel industry as well as the commodity industry consolidate assets."
http://business.smh.com.au/support-for-rio-merger/20071201-1eai.html
WHO WE ARE: A weekly column about Australia
by David Dale
Published in The Sun-Herald, 2/12/2007
At my primary school, a decade or three ago, we had to do this chant, with appropriate gestures, before the headmaster addressed the weekly assembly: "I love my Queen, I honour my God, and I salute the flag". On election night, a week ago, there was a fair bit of flag saluting, in the form of assertions about the greatness of our nation. But where was God and where was the Queen? And was their absence a sign that Australia has achieved political maturity?
Lets deal with the deity first. Both leaders were photographed going to church on Sunday, but in their speeches on Saturday, they gave God no credit or blame. This would have been unthinkable in the United States. If Kevin Rudd was a US politician, he'd have thanked the Lord for his success, while John Howard would have said the result was the Lord's will and he'd seek consolation through prayer. But they didn't, because we're not that kind of country. Our politicians can get by without divine intervention.
In last year's census, 70 per cent per cent of Australians nominated a religion (64 per cent a Christian variety). But only 19 per cent of Australians attend church at least once a month. And only 40 per cent of the people who get married do it in church.
http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/
Look Left, look Right, look …
Alan Ramsey
December 1, 2007
The soaring influence of Julia Gillard. The rise and rise of John Faulkner and Penny Wong. The ascendancy of Anthony Albanese over Martin Ferguson. The depth of the Labor Left and the immense authority of a prime minister firmly of the Right. All are in play in the new Labor government to be sworn in on Monday. Plus, the national capital gives Kevin Rudd the biggest Labor vote in the country - and he dumps both its shadow ministers! Lots of strands in the new beginning.
In the old ending, too.
John Howard lost everything, except Janette: the election, his government, his leadership, even his own seat. Peter Costello has withdrawn into backbench obscurity for the next three years.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/look-left-look-right-look-/2007/11/30/1196394619997.html
Unions can rebuild and we'll all be better for it
Adele Horin
December 1, 2007
The Liberal Party's desperate attempt to demonise unions and vilify their leaders left most electors bemused rather than terrified, it appears.
Thuggish union power is ancient history and, as a result, the scare campaign failed to get the expected traction. Young people in ACTU focus groups were puzzled by the depiction of unionists as "fanatics" and "extremists" who stormed into dress shops and itched to control the levers of government. They hadn't seen a decent strike in years, thanks to Howard government laws that de-fanged the unions. In the workplaces where young people congregate, unions are more often absent than intimidating.
Nor did the fear tactics resonate with older people. They expected no resurgence in union militancy under stern Kevin Rudd. If some voters scurried back to the Liberal fold under the hammering of scary advertisements it was not nearly enough to keep that "70 per cent union-dominated" front bench from triumphing.
It was a do-or-die election for the unions. Three more years of Howard, and the bosses' free-for-all would have become entrenched in the culture. The Labor victory has dealt unions back into the game. It gives them a chance to rebuild. Yet it hardly signals the return of the salad days. The revival of the unions is in their owns hands.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/unions-can-rebuild-and-well-all-be-better-for-it/2007/11/30/1196394614560.html
Skeletons should come tumbling out of the closet
Mike Carlton
December 1, 2007
If the new Rudd government follows hallowed custom, one of its first tasks in power will be to rummage through the cupboards of its departed predecessor, looking for skeletons.
There should be plenty of them after almost 12 years. A good many of the more incriminating documents will have been shredded or carted away by frantic Coalition ministers in the panic that followed the election result, but a thorough forensic search will surely turn something up. It always does when governments change.
The departmental files on the fanciful Iraq war intelligence or the AWB scandal might be a fruitful field for study and I suspect there is much more we could learn about the Immigration Department's carefree practice of banging people away behind the razor wire of the detention centres if it didn't like the look of them.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/looking-for-skeletons/2007/11/30/1196394614566.html
Google to bid in wireless auction
December 1, 2007 - 9:24AM
Taking a bigger step into wireless, Google said on Friday it plans to bid in the government's auction of airwaves in January to acquire bandwith for mobile devices.
The Federal Communications Commission auction of spectrum in the 700 megahertz (MHz) band is part of the nationally mandated switch to digital television in 2009.
The internet search giant for months has signaled its interest in the auction, which begins January 24, which will free up spectrum airwaves for more efficient wireless Internet service for consumers.
"We believe it's important to put our money where our principles are," Eric Schmidt, Google chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/google-to-bid-in-wireless-auction/2007/12/01/1196394690436.html
How Lori Drew became America's most reviled mother
December 1, 2007
A 13-year-old's suicide highlights the risks to teens of predatory behaviour online, writes Ian Munro.
Vulnerable … Tina and Ron Meier's daughter, Megan, killed herself after being dumped by "Josh", in reality a female neighbour.
Photo: Peter Newcomb/The New York Times
Advertisement
It is an odd sensibility that gave Lori Drew comfort at the funeral of the 13-year-old girl to whose suicide she almost certainly contributed.
But there is much that is odd about Lori Drew. Drew, then 47, told police she felt better when she learned Megan Meier had previously considered suicide, before she hung herself in a wardrobe of her Missouri home a year ago.
That would suggest Drew considered it somehow less reprehensible to anonymously torment a mentally unsettled teenager than someone of sterner stuff.
In any case, Megan's mother, Tina Meier, said there was nothing to suggest her daughter would have taken her own life. But an internet "romance" with a boy called Josh Evans changed all that.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/frail-egos-caught-in-killer-net/2007/11/30/1196394672124.html
Australians unleash true selves online
Asher Moses
November 30, 2007
Online interaction has given rise to a generation of Australians who are more comfortable with their online personas then their true self.
Advertisement
Australians are facing an online identity crisis, using the web and social networking sites to unleash their alter egos, new research suggests.
Symantec's Identity Survey, conducted by Woolcott Research, found Australians typically had more than 10 virtual identities. They included profiles on sites like MySpace and YouTube, email accounts, game avatars and characters in virtual worlds.
"This is what we used to call multiple personality disorder," said Andrew Fuller, a clinical psychologist and fellow of the University of Melbourne's Department of Psychiatry.
Of the 596 respondents, one in five felt their online identities were closer to their "true self" than their real-world identity. When narrowing the results down to "power users" of social networking sites, dating sites, virtual worlds or gaming sites, the figure jumps to 40 per cent.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/australians-unleash-true-selves-online/2007/11/30/1196394603400.html
Kiwi teen named as cyber gang mastermind
November 30, 2007 - 4:48PM
Police questioned the suspected teenage kingpin of an international cyber crime network accused of infiltrating 1.3 million computers and skimming millions of US dollars from victims' bank accounts, officials said Friday.
Working with the FBI and police in the Netherlands, New Zealand police raided the home of the 18-year-old in the North Island city of Hamilton and took him into custody along with several computers, said Martin Kleintjes, head of the police electronic crime centre.
He was later released without charge after being questioned, though police said he was still part of their investigation.
The case is part of an international crackdown on hackers who allegedly assume control of thousands of computers and amass them into centrally controlled clusters known as botnets.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/security/kiwi-teen-named-as-cyber-gang-mastermind/2007/11/30/1196037116019.html
How Lori Drew became America's most reviled mother
December 1, 2007
A 13-year-old's suicide highlights the risks to teens of predatory behaviour online, writes Ian Munro.
Vulnerable … Tina and Ron Meier's daughter, Megan, killed herself after being dumped by "Josh", in reality a female neighbour.
Photo: Peter Newcomb/The New York Times
Advertisement
It is an odd sensibility that gave Lori Drew comfort at the funeral of the 13-year-old girl to whose suicide she almost certainly contributed.
But there is much that is odd about Lori Drew. Drew, then 47, told police she felt better when she learned Megan Meier had previously considered suicide, before she hung herself in a wardrobe of her Missouri home a year ago.
That would suggest Drew considered it somehow less reprehensible to anonymously torment a mentally unsettled teenager than someone of sterner stuff.
In any case, Megan's mother, Tina Meier, said there was nothing to suggest her daughter would have taken her own life. But an internet "romance" with a boy called Josh Evans changed all that.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/frail-egos-caught-in-killer-net/2007/11/30/1196394672124.html
The new orient express
December 1, 2007
Radical new routes from the Top End will improve links between Asia and Australia. Clive Dorman reports.
There used to be a novelty signpost on the Darwin beachfront that pointed out Darwin is roughly the same distance from some of Asia's big cities as it is from Melbourne and Sydney. It's unlikely Jetstar's strategic planners ever saw the sign but they've been working feverishly with modern distance-measuring programs to formulate a radically new way of linking Australia and Asia.
From 2009, using small jets and Darwin as a stopover, Jetstar will begin flying from Australia's east-coast cities to Asian cities where demand does not justify non-stop services with bigger planes.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/the-new-orient-express/2007/11/29/1196037053808.html
Woman tells of rape in a hospital toilet
Ben Cubby
December 1, 2007
"I THOUGHT the hospital was a safe place, but to be raped in hospital by another patient, it is terrible, the last thing I ever expected."
These are the chilling words of a young woman who was allegedly dragged into a toilet at Westmead Hospital and sexually assaulted by a male patient, the latest in a string of shocking incidents in hospitals to come to light.
The pain remains raw a year after the alleged assault took place because the woman, who asked not to be identified, is forced to keep returning to Westmead to receive treatment for her blood condition.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/30/1196394622513.html
Luhrmann's company in dispute over hired boats
On a mission ... Darren Foster protests outside Fox Studios.
Photo: Jacky Ghossein
Eammon Duff
December 2, 2007
BAZ LUHRMANN'S production company has been accused of being "un-Australian" after refusing to pay $16,000 to a contractor for supplying props and equipment for the director's epic new movie.
While filming Australia in north Queensland, Bazmark Films asked Darren Foster to provide a historic sailing boat. The hire charge was paid but the boat was returned minus its rare hand-carved wooden figurehead made in the 1930s.
Mr Foster, a marine salvage operator, is also still waiting to be paid for the hire and upgrade of a barge that was due to store props and equipment during location shooting in Bowen.
Mr Foster has threatened to take the company to court. The boat was used as a backdrop in a scene shot on the Bowen waterfront. Mr Foster says the production company asked him to supply the barge to store equipment during filming but, at the last minute, said it was not required.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/luhrmanns-company-in-dispute/2007/12/01/1196394681137.html
Sexperts: When sex gets boring
2007-10-30 00:05:00
Halle Berry's partner is said to have become bored of sex when the couple were trying to get pregnant. This week Brooke Hemphill investigates the drama of fertility.(04:15)
http://media.smh.com.au/?category=Sexperts&rid=33364
Sexual Education 101
2007-11-20 00:05:00
From church, the web and to porn, adults are getting their sex education from many different sources. Brooke Hemphill looks into what's available.(03:46)
http://media.smh.com.au/?category=Sexperts&rid=33364
Published in The Sun-Herald, 2/12/2007
At my primary school, a decade or three ago, we had to do this chant, with appropriate gestures, before the headmaster addressed the weekly assembly: "I love my Queen, I honour my God, and I salute the flag". On election night, a week ago, there was a fair bit of flag saluting, in the form of assertions about the greatness of our nation. But where was God and where was the Queen? And was their absence a sign that Australia has achieved political maturity?
Lets deal with the deity first. Both leaders were photographed going to church on Sunday, but in their speeches on Saturday, they gave God no credit or blame. This would have been unthinkable in the United States. If Kevin Rudd was a US politician, he'd have thanked the Lord for his success, while John Howard would have said the result was the Lord's will and he'd seek consolation through prayer. But they didn't, because we're not that kind of country. Our politicians can get by without divine intervention.
In last year's census, 70 per cent per cent of Australians nominated a religion (64 per cent a Christian variety). But only 19 per cent of Australians attend church at least once a month. And only 40 per cent of the people who get married do it in church.
http://blogs.smh.com.au/sit/
Look Left, look Right, look …
Alan Ramsey
December 1, 2007
The soaring influence of Julia Gillard. The rise and rise of John Faulkner and Penny Wong. The ascendancy of Anthony Albanese over Martin Ferguson. The depth of the Labor Left and the immense authority of a prime minister firmly of the Right. All are in play in the new Labor government to be sworn in on Monday. Plus, the national capital gives Kevin Rudd the biggest Labor vote in the country - and he dumps both its shadow ministers! Lots of strands in the new beginning.
In the old ending, too.
John Howard lost everything, except Janette: the election, his government, his leadership, even his own seat. Peter Costello has withdrawn into backbench obscurity for the next three years.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/look-left-look-right-look-/2007/11/30/1196394619997.html
Unions can rebuild and we'll all be better for it
Adele Horin
December 1, 2007
The Liberal Party's desperate attempt to demonise unions and vilify their leaders left most electors bemused rather than terrified, it appears.
Thuggish union power is ancient history and, as a result, the scare campaign failed to get the expected traction. Young people in ACTU focus groups were puzzled by the depiction of unionists as "fanatics" and "extremists" who stormed into dress shops and itched to control the levers of government. They hadn't seen a decent strike in years, thanks to Howard government laws that de-fanged the unions. In the workplaces where young people congregate, unions are more often absent than intimidating.
Nor did the fear tactics resonate with older people. They expected no resurgence in union militancy under stern Kevin Rudd. If some voters scurried back to the Liberal fold under the hammering of scary advertisements it was not nearly enough to keep that "70 per cent union-dominated" front bench from triumphing.
It was a do-or-die election for the unions. Three more years of Howard, and the bosses' free-for-all would have become entrenched in the culture. The Labor victory has dealt unions back into the game. It gives them a chance to rebuild. Yet it hardly signals the return of the salad days. The revival of the unions is in their owns hands.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/unions-can-rebuild-and-well-all-be-better-for-it/2007/11/30/1196394614560.html
Skeletons should come tumbling out of the closet
Mike Carlton
December 1, 2007
If the new Rudd government follows hallowed custom, one of its first tasks in power will be to rummage through the cupboards of its departed predecessor, looking for skeletons.
There should be plenty of them after almost 12 years. A good many of the more incriminating documents will have been shredded or carted away by frantic Coalition ministers in the panic that followed the election result, but a thorough forensic search will surely turn something up. It always does when governments change.
The departmental files on the fanciful Iraq war intelligence or the AWB scandal might be a fruitful field for study and I suspect there is much more we could learn about the Immigration Department's carefree practice of banging people away behind the razor wire of the detention centres if it didn't like the look of them.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/looking-for-skeletons/2007/11/30/1196394614566.html
Google to bid in wireless auction
December 1, 2007 - 9:24AM
Taking a bigger step into wireless, Google said on Friday it plans to bid in the government's auction of airwaves in January to acquire bandwith for mobile devices.
The Federal Communications Commission auction of spectrum in the 700 megahertz (MHz) band is part of the nationally mandated switch to digital television in 2009.
The internet search giant for months has signaled its interest in the auction, which begins January 24, which will free up spectrum airwaves for more efficient wireless Internet service for consumers.
"We believe it's important to put our money where our principles are," Eric Schmidt, Google chairman and chief executive, said in a statement.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/biztech/google-to-bid-in-wireless-auction/2007/12/01/1196394690436.html
How Lori Drew became America's most reviled mother
December 1, 2007
A 13-year-old's suicide highlights the risks to teens of predatory behaviour online, writes Ian Munro.
Vulnerable … Tina and Ron Meier's daughter, Megan, killed herself after being dumped by "Josh", in reality a female neighbour.
Photo: Peter Newcomb/The New York Times
Advertisement
It is an odd sensibility that gave Lori Drew comfort at the funeral of the 13-year-old girl to whose suicide she almost certainly contributed.
But there is much that is odd about Lori Drew. Drew, then 47, told police she felt better when she learned Megan Meier had previously considered suicide, before she hung herself in a wardrobe of her Missouri home a year ago.
That would suggest Drew considered it somehow less reprehensible to anonymously torment a mentally unsettled teenager than someone of sterner stuff.
In any case, Megan's mother, Tina Meier, said there was nothing to suggest her daughter would have taken her own life. But an internet "romance" with a boy called Josh Evans changed all that.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/frail-egos-caught-in-killer-net/2007/11/30/1196394672124.html
Australians unleash true selves online
Asher Moses
November 30, 2007
Online interaction has given rise to a generation of Australians who are more comfortable with their online personas then their true self.
Advertisement
Australians are facing an online identity crisis, using the web and social networking sites to unleash their alter egos, new research suggests.
Symantec's Identity Survey, conducted by Woolcott Research, found Australians typically had more than 10 virtual identities. They included profiles on sites like MySpace and YouTube, email accounts, game avatars and characters in virtual worlds.
"This is what we used to call multiple personality disorder," said Andrew Fuller, a clinical psychologist and fellow of the University of Melbourne's Department of Psychiatry.
Of the 596 respondents, one in five felt their online identities were closer to their "true self" than their real-world identity. When narrowing the results down to "power users" of social networking sites, dating sites, virtual worlds or gaming sites, the figure jumps to 40 per cent.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/australians-unleash-true-selves-online/2007/11/30/1196394603400.html
Kiwi teen named as cyber gang mastermind
November 30, 2007 - 4:48PM
Police questioned the suspected teenage kingpin of an international cyber crime network accused of infiltrating 1.3 million computers and skimming millions of US dollars from victims' bank accounts, officials said Friday.
Working with the FBI and police in the Netherlands, New Zealand police raided the home of the 18-year-old in the North Island city of Hamilton and took him into custody along with several computers, said Martin Kleintjes, head of the police electronic crime centre.
He was later released without charge after being questioned, though police said he was still part of their investigation.
The case is part of an international crackdown on hackers who allegedly assume control of thousands of computers and amass them into centrally controlled clusters known as botnets.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/security/kiwi-teen-named-as-cyber-gang-mastermind/2007/11/30/1196037116019.html
How Lori Drew became America's most reviled mother
December 1, 2007
A 13-year-old's suicide highlights the risks to teens of predatory behaviour online, writes Ian Munro.
Vulnerable … Tina and Ron Meier's daughter, Megan, killed herself after being dumped by "Josh", in reality a female neighbour.
Photo: Peter Newcomb/The New York Times
Advertisement
It is an odd sensibility that gave Lori Drew comfort at the funeral of the 13-year-old girl to whose suicide she almost certainly contributed.
But there is much that is odd about Lori Drew. Drew, then 47, told police she felt better when she learned Megan Meier had previously considered suicide, before she hung herself in a wardrobe of her Missouri home a year ago.
That would suggest Drew considered it somehow less reprehensible to anonymously torment a mentally unsettled teenager than someone of sterner stuff.
In any case, Megan's mother, Tina Meier, said there was nothing to suggest her daughter would have taken her own life. But an internet "romance" with a boy called Josh Evans changed all that.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/web/frail-egos-caught-in-killer-net/2007/11/30/1196394672124.html
The new orient express
December 1, 2007
Radical new routes from the Top End will improve links between Asia and Australia. Clive Dorman reports.
There used to be a novelty signpost on the Darwin beachfront that pointed out Darwin is roughly the same distance from some of Asia's big cities as it is from Melbourne and Sydney. It's unlikely Jetstar's strategic planners ever saw the sign but they've been working feverishly with modern distance-measuring programs to formulate a radically new way of linking Australia and Asia.
From 2009, using small jets and Darwin as a stopover, Jetstar will begin flying from Australia's east-coast cities to Asian cities where demand does not justify non-stop services with bigger planes.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/news/the-new-orient-express/2007/11/29/1196037053808.html
Woman tells of rape in a hospital toilet
Ben Cubby
December 1, 2007
"I THOUGHT the hospital was a safe place, but to be raped in hospital by another patient, it is terrible, the last thing I ever expected."
These are the chilling words of a young woman who was allegedly dragged into a toilet at Westmead Hospital and sexually assaulted by a male patient, the latest in a string of shocking incidents in hospitals to come to light.
The pain remains raw a year after the alleged assault took place because the woman, who asked not to be identified, is forced to keep returning to Westmead to receive treatment for her blood condition.
http://www.smh.com.au/articles/2007/11/30/1196394622513.html
Luhrmann's company in dispute over hired boats
On a mission ... Darren Foster protests outside Fox Studios.
Photo: Jacky Ghossein
Eammon Duff
December 2, 2007
BAZ LUHRMANN'S production company has been accused of being "un-Australian" after refusing to pay $16,000 to a contractor for supplying props and equipment for the director's epic new movie.
While filming Australia in north Queensland, Bazmark Films asked Darren Foster to provide a historic sailing boat. The hire charge was paid but the boat was returned minus its rare hand-carved wooden figurehead made in the 1930s.
Mr Foster, a marine salvage operator, is also still waiting to be paid for the hire and upgrade of a barge that was due to store props and equipment during location shooting in Bowen.
Mr Foster has threatened to take the company to court. The boat was used as a backdrop in a scene shot on the Bowen waterfront. Mr Foster says the production company asked him to supply the barge to store equipment during filming but, at the last minute, said it was not required.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/film/luhrmanns-company-in-dispute/2007/12/01/1196394681137.html
Sexperts: When sex gets boring
2007-10-30 00:05:00
Halle Berry's partner is said to have become bored of sex when the couple were trying to get pregnant. This week Brooke Hemphill investigates the drama of fertility.(04:15)
http://media.smh.com.au/?category=Sexperts&rid=33364
Sexual Education 101
2007-11-20 00:05:00
From church, the web and to porn, adults are getting their sex education from many different sources. Brooke Hemphill looks into what's available.(03:46)
http://media.smh.com.au/?category=Sexperts&rid=33364
continued...
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)