Flawless launch for Europe's automated space freighter (click on title to entry)
Craft ferries supplies to orbiting astronauts
20-tonne vehicle will take over role of Nasa's shuttle
A space freighter loaded with crucial supplies and an ageing copy of a Jules Verne novel thundered into orbit in the early hours of yesterday on its maiden voyage to the International Space Station.
Officials celebrated what they described as a flawless launch of the 20-tonne Automated Transfer Vehicle as it lit up the night sky before clearing the thick cloud cover that hung over the European Space Agency's damp, forest-bordered spaceport near Kourou in French Guiana at 4.03GMT.
Unusually, the take-off had to be timed to the second, to ensure the ATV would be released into an orbit that exactly matches that of the space station. Seconds after launch, the rocket turned north-east on to a trajectory that took it over the southern tip of Britain and onwards towards the Pacific.
"It was a perfect launch: everything was right on the spot to the point that it was boring, and that is exactly what we hoped for. We have separated from the rocket, we have the solar panels deployed, and we have power," said Alan Thirkettle, the European Space Agency's programme manager for the International Space Station....
Releasing it's dissendents, post election.
Interesting.
Congratulations.
There is a good chance Russia would have fallen under the influence and pressure of Western capitalism losing its ability to guarantee the world's nations their sovereignty if 'the oil greed' of Russia's oligarchs was allowed to dominate its domestic policies. No matter those that hate the reality, Putin saved Russia. There is no doubt in my mind. He did it well and in the ONLY way possible.
Russia to recognize Kosovo only if Serbia agrees - Putin
19:26
08/ 03/ 2008
NOVO-OGARYOVO, March 8 (RIA Novosti) - President Vladimir Putin said Saturday Russia could recognize Kosovo's independence only in line with international law, and if Serbia agrees to that.
Asked at a press conference after a meeting with German Chancellor Angela Merkel whether Russia could later recognize Kosovo's independence, Putin said: "This variant exists, but it lies in the framework of international law."
He said it could happen "with consent of all parties, in this case, Serbia." "Should such a compromise be found, we will agree with it," the outgoing Russian leader said.
Serbia's breakaway province of Kosovo unilaterally declared independence on February 17. So far over 25 states, including the United States, Australia, Japan and major European countries, have formally recognized the Republic of Kosovo.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080308/100983311.html
Russia's Putin says Khodorkovsky pardon possible
19:50
08/ 03/ 2008
NOVO-OGARYOVO, March 8 (RIA Novosti) - Outgoing Russian President Vladimir Putin did not rule out Saturday that jailed ex-Yukos CEO Mikhail Khodorkovsky could be pardoned by president-elect Dmitry Medvedev.
When asked by a German journalist at a press conference after his meeting with Chancellor Angela Merkel whether Khodorkovsky could be pardoned under Medvedev, Putin said: "In line with the law, this procedure is in the competence of the head of state," he said.
Khodorkovsky, the founder of what was once Russia's largest oil producer, is serving an eight-year term for fraud and tax evasion in Siberia. New embezzlement charges have been brought against him recently.
The former Yukos CEO has repeatedly maintained his innocence, saying the case against him is political.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080308/100985090.html
Russia downplays Tu-142 flight over U.S. aircraft carrier
13:14
06/ 03/ 2008
MOSCOW, March 6 (RIA Novosti) - The Russian Navy is surprised by the commotion raised in Western media over the flight of a Russian military plane in the vicinity of a U.S. aircraft carrier, the Navy spokesman said on Thursday.
Western media earlier cited U.S. officials as saying that a Russian bomber came within three to five nautical miles and flew 2,000 feet (610 meters) above the USS Nimitz aircraft carrier off the Korean coast. A similar incident occurred less than a month ago.
"Some Western media reports that called the flight of the Tu-142 plane in the vicinity of the American aircraft carrier 'an incident' are surprising," Capt. 1st Rank Igor Dygalo said.
Tu-142 Bear-F is the maritime reconnaissance/strike version of the Tu-95 Bear strategic bomber, designed mainly for anti-submarine warfare (ASW).
Dygalo said the plane, assigned to Russia's Pacific Fleet, was on a routine patrol flight over the Sea of Japan, conducted in strict compliance with international regulations on the use of airspace over neutral waters.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080306/100809284.html
Russian-U.S. venture signs new Proton-M launch deal
13:25
03/ 03/ 2008
MOSCOW, March 3 (RIA Novosti) - Russian-American joint venture International Launch Services (ILS) has signed a contract to launch two U.S. commercial satellites, the Khrunichev State Research and Production Center said on Monday.
ILS, owned by the Khrunichev Center, RSC Energia, and U.S. firm Space Transport Inc. provides spacecraft launch services on board Proton-M carrier rockets. The company received $1.5 billion in new launch orders in 2007.
"The contract is for the launch of two satellites for the SIRIUS Satellite Radio constellation," a Khrunichev spokesman said.
One of the satellites, the SIRIUS FM-6, is currently under construction at Space Systems/Loral, a U.S. company, and is expected to be launched in the fourth quarter of 2010.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080303/100485920.html
Israel agrees ceasefire with Palestinian gunmen in Gaza - website
18:16
09/ 03/ 2008
TEL AVIV, March 9 (RIA Novosti) - Israel and armed Palestinian factions in the Gaza Strip have reached a ceasefire agreement, an Israeli website said on Sunday, referring to sources in the Palestinian enclave.
The agreement on the ceasefire came into effect this weekend, during which only one rocket was fired at Israel's southern towns, Ynet said.
In turn, Israel suspended army raids and air strikes on Gaza, which have claimed the lives of more than 120 Palestinians since late February, the website said.
"Throughout the weekend, and for the first time in many weeks, not a single army aircraft has been sighted over Gaza," Ynet quoted a Palestinian source as saying.
Meanwhile, representatives of armed Palestinian groupings in the Gaza Strip on Sunday confirmed the media reports that they were holding ceasefire talks with Israel.
However, representatives of Hamas and Islamic Jihad called as premature the reports that specific ceasefire accords had been reached.
Israel earlier said missile strikes and raids against militants in Gaza were carried out in an effort to halt Palestinian rocket attacks on Israel's southern cities and towns.
http://en.rian.ru/world/20080309/101008434.html
Palestinian gunman kills 8. Video
A Palestinian gunman opened fire in a Jewish religious school in Jerusalem killing at least eight people, emergency services said. (24 sec./0.93Mb, shows: 1584)
http://en.rian.ru/video/20080307/100892631.html
Liquidity stays strong in Russian banks despite global pressures
16:10
24/ 01/ 2008
DAVOS, January 24 (RIA Novosti) - Russia's finance minister said on Thursday that the country's banks are not suffering from low liquidity, and should be able to cope with any upcoming upsets on world markets.
"The liquidity problem on the markets has been settled... The interbank credit rate last year averaged at 4.5%, and in January (2008) it was already at 2%. We believe that there are currently no problems," Alexei Kudrin told foreign policymakers and business leaders at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.
However the finance chief, who is also a deputy prime minister, said that Russian banks could suffer from a liquidity crunch if the global economic problems sparked by the U.S. subprime mortgage meltdown are aggravated in the near future.
"We expect certain problems [with Russian banks' liquidity], if the international crisis events are exacerbated, but on the whole I think we are prepared for this situation, and can cope with it," Kudrin said.
http://en.rian.ru/russia/20080124/97667835.html
Iran and Iraq
Official: Iraq, China Nearing Oil Deal
By SINAN SALAHEDDIN – 1 hour ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — Iraq and China are close to re-signing a $1.2 billion oil deal that was called off after the 2003 U.S. invasion, an Iraqi Oil Ministry official said Thursday.
Iraq sits on more than 115 billion barrels of oil, the world's third-largest reserves, but violence and sabotage have crippled efforts to use the resource to fund the country's reconstruction.
As security improves, Iraq is trying to bring in foreign companies to help increase crude output from the current 2.5 million barrels a day to 3 million barrels a day by the end of 2008, and 4.5 million barrels a day by the end of 2013.
Saddam Hussein's government signed a deal with the state-owned China National Petroleum Corp. to develop the billion-barrel al-Ahdab oil field, despite U.N. sanctions that barred direct dealings with Iraq's oil industry.
Beijing was waiting for the sanctions to end when the U.S. invasion overthrew Saddam. The two countries restarted talks in October 2006.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5iCEc0mC6H4Q10upv7IrAkPWLnUwgD8V80RIG0
Iran team leaves without US talks on Iraq
7 hours ago
BAGHDAD, March 6, 2008 (AFP) — An Iranian delegation left Baghdad for home on Thursday without holding talks with officials from archfoe the United States on the security situation in Iraq, an Iranian official said.
"The delegation has left Baghdad because the Americans refused to conduct any negotiations," the official close to Tehran's negotiators told AFP.
Delegation head Reza Amiri Moghaddam had been quoted by the Iranian media as saying a new round of talks would be held on Thursday in Baghdad, but both US and Iraqi officials denied any such dialogue had been scheduled.
"The government of Iraq was busy with the visit of the Iranian president and there was no time to fix the date for the talks. There were no talks fixed for today," Iraqi government spokesman Ali al-Dabbagh told AFP.
US embassy spokesman Philip Reeker also said there were "no trilateral talks today."
Iran and the United States held three rounds of talks about Iraq last year despite mounting tensions over the Iranian nuclear programme. The two foes have had no diplomatic relations since 1980.
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5iTdbeYfeLR4OTQEVnXCKcesTpgrA
US/Iraqi Raid Kills 11 in Northern Iraq
3 hours ago
BAGHDAD (AP) — U.S. and Iraqi forces killed 11 suspected insurgents and detained 44 others in raids targeting al-Qaida in central and northern Iraq, the U.S. military said Thursday. Three Iraqi troops were killed in one of the operations.
The Tal Afar Special Weapons and Tactics team, made up of U.S. forces and Iraqi SWAT teams, on Sunday targeted a cell responsible for assassinations and bombing attacks in the Tal Afar area in Iraq's Ninevah province, the military said in a statement.
During the raid, several fighters opened fire on the Iraqi and U.S. troops, killing the three Iraqi soldiers and wounding three others.
The U.S.-Iraqi team killed nine suspected insurgents. Three Iraqi civilians were wounded and treated at the scene and eight suspected cell members were detained for questioning, including two who were wounded and evacuated to a military hospital for treatment, the military said.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5gfaT2USoEuuC588S8QJwwncVp2jQD8V7VF680
March 5, 2008, 8:56PM
Turks launch air, artillery strikes on Kurds in Iraq
By ASSO AHMED and ALEXANDRA ZAVIS
Los Angeles Times
SULAYMANIYA, IRAQ — Turkey unleashed air and artillery strikes against Kurdish guerrillas in northern Iraq on Wednesday, officials here said, five days after the Turks completed a major ground offensive in the mountainous border region.
Turkey declared at the time that it had achieved its goal of denying the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a free hand to attack its territory from sanctuaries in Iraq's semi-autonomous Kurdish region. But U.S. and Turkish military analysts were skeptical that the operation would have more than a temporary effect.
On Wednesday, Turkish warplanes crossed about 15 miles inside Iraq to bomb targets in the Dashti Barzji area, north of the city of Dahuk, said Capt. Mohammed Ali, a member of the Kurdish security forces in northern Iraq.
Artillery strikes were reported around Amadiya in the same area, he said.
The attacks took place in sparsely populated region and caused no civilian casualties, Ali said.
Ahmed Denis, a PKK spokesman, confirmed that the attack occurred and that the group has a presence in the area, but said he had received no reports of damage or casualties.
Turkey did not immediately confirm Wednesday's attacks.
Domestic critics had accused Turkish President Abdullah Gul and Prime Minister Recip Tayyip Erdogan of bowing to pressure from the U.S. to wrap up the ground offensive as quickly as possible, charges denied by the Turkish government.
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/world/5596256.html
State: UN Mandate in Iraq Not Needed
By ANNE FLAHERTY – 17 hours ago
WASHINGTON (AP) — The administration can keep troops in Iraq into next year even after the current U.N. mandate governing operations there expires and without Congress' permission, a senior State Department official told a Democratic lawmaker on Wednesday.
In a letter to Rep. Gary Ackerman, D-N.Y., David Satterfield said military operations can continue "beyond the end of this year under the laws passed by Congress and the president's authority as commander in chief."
Satterfield's statement reaffirms the administration's position that it does not need international or congressional approval to conduct military operations around the world, particularly when going after terrorists. Democrats counter that the president's assertion is in violation of the Constitution and hurts the U.S. image abroad.
"It's ludicrous to think that we have entry into any country because there's an individual there that we don't like," Ackerman said in an interview.
Particularly if the U.N. mandate expires, "I think the world would see our place in Iraq as totally illegitimate at that point," he said.
http://ap.google.com/article/ALeqM5hcWJu9bbzrJZ7uNHjvMn0BuTGqHQD8V7J69O0
Mass grave with 100 bodies discovered north of Baghdad, Iraq
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, March 8th 2008, 1:27 PM
BAGHDAD - A mass grave containing about 100 bodies was discovered just north of Baghdad Saturday in an a part of Diyala province that for years has seen intense fighting between Sunni al-Qaida in Iraq extremists and Shiites.
The grisly discovery came as Iraq's Sunni parliament speaker called on Iraqi Shiites and Kurds to work together with the minority he represents to deal with the challenges faced by the country — including an election law that would help reconcile Iraq's often warring sects and splinter groups.
The grave, near Khalis — about 80 kilometers (50 miles) north of Baghdad — is still being investigated, but the military said the skeletal remains appear to have been in the grave for a long time.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/03/08/2008-03-08_mass_grave_with_100_bodies_discovered_no.html
Bush vetoes torture ban; interrogation methods 'valuable tool' in war on terror
THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Saturday, March 8th 2008, 12:10 PM
WASHINGTON - President Bush said Saturday he vetoed legislation that would ban the CIA from using harsh interrogation methods such as waterboarding to break suspected terrorists because it would end practices that have prevented attacks.
"The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror," Bush said in his weekly radio address taped for broadcast Saturday. "So today I vetoed it," Bush said. The bill provides guidelines for intelligence activities for the year and includes the interrogation requirement. It passed the House in December and the Senate last month.
"This is no time for Congress to abandon practices that have a proven track record of keeping America safe," the president said.
http://www.nydailynews.com/news/us_world/2008/03/08/2008-03-08_bush_vetoes_torture_ban_interrogation_me.html
continued...
The Boston Globe does an exception job of reporting climate change by adapting complicated scientific concepts into everyday understanding reflected in its title "Climate at the 45th parrallel." I find the understanding the Globe brings to its readership on this subject quite exceptional.
The Albuquerque Tribune
Bill Slakey: As Trib closes, many questions remain unasked
By Bill Slakey (Contact)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
When people ask me what's great about working for a newspaper, my best answer is a simple one: We get paid to ask questions.
We're like teenagers in love with this city and this state, and we want to know everything. When something strikes our curiosity, we ask "Why?" or "Why not?" and we don't stop until we get a decent answer.
Except for today. Today, once and for all, we stop.
For this last issue of The Trib, I had hoped to publish a time capsule of sorts - a sampler of the day's events that would say "This was Albuquerque in February 2008."
But then it struck me: There's a better picture out there, one made up of the questions we won't get to answer and the stories we won't get to tell. It's a fragmented picture of theories and ideas and preoccupations that makes sense to my journalist's heart. And unlike The Trib, it'll never be finished.
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/feb/23/bill-slakey-trib-closes-many-questions-remain-unas/
Jeffry Gardner: End of The Trib is part of the demise of serious journalism
By Jeffry Gardner
Saturday, February 23, 2008
I finally went to see the movie "No Country for Old Men," filmed largely in New Mexico. Magnifico. If you haven't seen it, go.
Without spoiling the ending, one of the key story lines winding throughout the movie is the rapidly changing nature of crime racing past Sheriff Bell, a man from a long line of men who pledged to combat it. Bell was sadly and brilliantly played by Tommy Lee Jones.
Set in 1980, Bell is honest, decent and polite. He fights fairly. He is, in essence, a dinosaur, as dated as a rotary phone, as out of fashion as a powder-blue leisure suit.
At one point in the movie, Bell is seated in a coffee shop reading a newspaper. No cell phone, no flat screen TVs, no laptops. Nothing but a cup of coffee and the previous day's events afforded in cold black-and-white.
Just 28 years ago. The Stone Age.
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/feb/23/jeffry-gardner-end-trib-part-demise-serious-journa/
N.M. online journalists, bloggers predict how news will morph on the Web
The times of The Tribune
By Michael Amedeo
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Dorie Leggett programs her new "smartphone" at a Satellite coffee shop in Uptown Albuquerque. With new mobile devices, readers can log onto media Web sites in a new, digital world that portends major changes for established media like newspapers.
Newspaper workers
Total of newspaper employees nationwide:
1997: 423,600
1998: 425,400
1999: 424,500
2000: 422,600
2001: 406,700
2002: 388,900
2003: 381,300
2004: 375,600
2005: 370,000
2006: 361,000
2007 (October): 345,900
Source: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics
Newspaper circulation
Total daily paid newspaper circulation (excludes Sunday circulation):
1940: 41.1 million
1950: 53.8 million
1960: 58.9 million
1970: 62.1 million
1980: 62.2 million
1984 (highest circulation): 63.3 million
1990: 62.3 million
2000: 55.8 million
2005: 53.4 million
2006: 52.3 million
Source: Newspaper Association of America
Internet users
Number of adult Internet users getting news on the Internet in an average day
March 2000: 19 million
February 2001: 25 million
March 2002: 27 million
February 2003: 34 million
February 2004: 35 million
January 2005: 41 million
Source: Pew Internet & American Life Project
When 17-year-old University of New Mexico freshman John Perry wants news about Albuquerque, he doesn't pick up a paper. Instead, he visits four Web sites, one of which is run by volunteers, employs no journalists and isn't trying to be a news organization.
It's called Duke City Fix , and even though Perry enjoys the group blog about Albuquerque, he says it can't supply news like the other three traditional news sites he visits.
That has him worried as the news industry faces declining revenues and staff cuts.
"Bloggers, we get a lot of information from the media ourselves," he said. "If the news media is not really reporting that, how are we going to find out? There are a lot of interesting stories I've only gotten from The Tribune and nowhere else."
The closing of The Tribune is the Albuquerque example of a news industry that's in turmoil nationwide. Local news junkies, independent online journalists and bloggers say they're concerned about a growing information void, even as some of them are taking steps to fill it.
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/feb/23/nm-online-journalists-bloggers-predict-how-news-wi/
For 40 years, one man has brought Tribune readers the world's stories
By Tamara N. Shope (Contact)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
Rick Hindley says his long journalistic career, particularly his news editor's job, is based on two things: Experience, having done it enough times. The corollary to that is organization.
Manual typewriters.
That's the way Rick Hindley wanted this story to start.
He wants this story to be about the changes in journalism he's seen in his more than 40 years as an editor at The Tribune.
And it will. A little.
But this story is really about Hindley, a man who can speak, quite capably, on subjects as diverse as World War II, Middle East affairs and Civil War weaponry.
And yet, Hindley is the same man who also knows what Lindsay Lohan is doing this Saturday night. He's keeping tabs on Britney Spears' meteoric meltdown. And he'll be the first to know if Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes' marriage falls to pieces. After all, he was all over the Nicole Kidman thing.
Rick Hindley is the very embodiment of encyclopedic knowledge. But more than that: In a business that's transforming with every new news cycle, and at a newspaper that has lost its battle against that change, he stands like a looming oak, a tangible vestige of the old way. The right way.
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/feb/23/40-years-one-man-has-brought-tribune-readers-world/
Ice, snow cause Albuquerque schools to close for day
Blowing snow and freezing rain have combined to turn a large swath of New Mexico - including Albuquerque - into an ice rink.
Albuquerque Public Schools had earlier announced a two-hour delay, but around 7:30 a.m. the decision was made to cancel classes altogether, said spokeswoman Monica Armenta. "It's just too icy out there," she said.
Classes at the University of New Mexico are delayed for two hours, said spokeswoman Karen Wentworth.
For much of the night, I-40 was closed from 98th Street to the Arizona border because of blowing snow and ice on the road, the state Department of Transportation reported. The interstate reopened around 6 a.m.
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/jan/29/ice-snow-cause-albuquerque-schools-open-late-close/
Nationwide housing slump hasn't hit Albuquerque
By Tamara N. Shope (Contact)
Saturday, February 23, 2008
By the numbers
Here is a snapshot of the Albuquerque housing market in 2007:
Average home sale price
Citywide: $247,089
University Area: $318,812
Downtown: $210,884
Near North Valley: $276,272
Northeast Heights: $185,143
North Albuquerque Acres: $651,313
Foreclosure filings by ZIP code
87104: 24
87107: 82
87114: 198
87121: 477
87109: 33
Home ownership rate
New Mexico: 72 percent
United States: 68.9 percent
Sources: New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority, RealtyTrac and the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors
Albuquerque's insulating bubble of economic diversity has fended off the worst of the national housing crisis, experts say.
Though industry reports show an increasing disparity between home prices and family wages, other market trends show this is a good time to be a homeowner or a homebuyer in Albuquerque.
Just don't expect to find a killer deal on a foreclosure. While foreclosure rates are skyrocketing nationwide, they've dropped in New Mexico.
The New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority and the Greater Albuquerque Association of Realtors say the city has not suffered the dramatic sell-offs that other cities have, in large part because Albuquerque has not seen the job layoffs and home price inflation of other communities.
"We have a strong economy, a strong market," said Joseph Montoya of the New Mexico Mortgage Finance Authority. "Statistically speaking, we're not doing so bad."
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/feb/23/nationwide-housing-slump-hasnt-hit-albuquerque/
Saddam didn't expect U.S. attack
Dictator faked having WMD's to frighten Iran
Lily Hindy, Associated Press
Saturday, January 26, 2008
*Note: The Tribune does not create and is not responsible for the blogosphere's headlines and stories. These links to blogs talking about ABQTrib.com are automatically generated. Use them at your own risk.
NEW YORK — Saddam Hussein allowed the world to believe he had weapons of mass destruction to deter rival Iran and did not think the United States would stage a major invasion, according to an FBI interrogator who questioned the Iraqi leader after his capture.
Saddam expected only a limited aerial attack by the United States and thought he could remain in control, FBI Special Agent George Piro told CBS's "60 Minutes" program in an interview to be broadcast Sunday.
"He told me he initially miscalculated . . . President Bush's intentions," said Piro. "He thought the United States would retaliate with the same type of attack as we did in 1998 . . . a four-day aerial attack."
"He survived that one and he was willing to accept that type of attack," Piro said.
The Associated Press spoke to a close aide of Saddam's in August 2003, who said Saddam did not expect a U.S. invasion and deliberately kept the world guessing about his weapons program, although he already had gotten rid of it.
Saddam publicly denied having unconventional weapons before the U.S. invasion, but prevented U.N. inspectors from working in the country from 1998 until 2002, and when they finally returned in November 2002, they often complained Iraq wasn't fully cooperating.
http://www.abqtrib.com/news/2008/jan/26/saddam-didnt-expect-us-attack/
The Boston Globe
Rookie congressman to fill Hastert seat
CHICAGO—Voters in former House Speaker Dennis Hastert's district will choose a new congressman in a special election Saturday, but there's one thing they won't replace: his clout.
Hastert funneled millions of dollars to the district during his 21 years in Washington, but his retirement means his seat will go to either Democrat Bill Foster or Republican Jim Oberweis -- two wealthy businessmen with no seniority on Capitol Hill.
"That's something he (Hastert) had to earn. It will be a learning curve for whoever gets in there," said William Barclay, an alderman in the Chicago suburb of Geneva.
Democrats are eager to grab a seat Republicans have easily held for years, but the GOP is not prepared to give it up anytime soon.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/07/rookie_congressman_to_fill_hastert_seat/
China: Terrorists targeted Olympics
BEIJING—Chinese police killed alleged terrorists plotting to attack the Beijing Olympics, while a flight crew managed to prevent an apparent attempt to crash a Chinese jetliner in a separate case just last week, officials said Sunday.
Wang Lequan, the top Communist Party official in the western region of Xinjiang, said materials seized in a January raid in the regional capital, Urumqi, had described a plot with a purpose "specifically to sabotage the staging of the Beijing Olympics."
"Their goal was very clear," Wang told reporters in Beijing.
Wang cited no other evidence and earlier reports on the raid had made no mention of Olympic targets.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2008/03/09/china_terrorists_targeted_olympics_1205066455/
When Science Meets the Soul
Maria and Jose Azevedo had to choose: allow their baby to die a preventable death or save him while acting against their religion. The doctor who helped guide them shares their story.
By Dr. Darshak Sanghavi
March 9, 2008
ALTHOUGH MARIA and Jose Azevedo didn't know it back then - after all, they were children who lived on separate continents - their lives would be both changed and linked by the most mundane of events: a knock at the door.
As a daughter of Portuguese immigrants, Maria was raised a devout Catholic (her step-grandmother, named Trinity, used to teach catechism), but her family life growing up in New Jersey was marred by an abusive father. When Maria was 8, her mother invited a Jehovah's Witness proselytizing door-to-door into the home. Soon, her mother, Maria, and her sister began studying regularly with Witnesses, who questioned the existence of the Trinity and hell. Maria's father was not happy about that. "Whatever rage he had just became worse," Maria says. Still, Maria formally declared herself a Witness when she turned 13.
Thousands of miles away on the Ivory Coast in West Africa, Jose grew up in a French-speaking family that later immigrated to Connecticut. Jose's father had converted years earlier, also after a Witness came to his door, and Jose became baptized as a Witness at 17. Several years later, he met Maria at a convention for Witnesses in Monroe, New York. Soon they were writing letters back and forth and dated for two years. At Maria's high school graduation party in 1993, Jose proposed. She said yes. They had a son, Giovanni, and later moved to Fitchburg, where Jose started a floor-sanding business.
http://www.boston.com/bostonglobe/magazine/articles/2008/03/09/when_science_meets_the_soul/
Alcohol industry ties may test McCain
Concerns on taxes, drinking age raised
By Michael Kranish
Globe Staff / March 9, 2008
PHOENIX - The Anheuser-Busch distribution plant stretches for acres, capped by a giant Budweiser sign gleaming in the desert sun. It is here that much of the fortune of Senator John McCain's family is made. His wife, Cindy, is chairwoman of the board. His son from his first marriage, Andrew, is chief financial officer. McCain himself once served as the company's chief publicist.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/09/alcohol_industry_ties_may_test_mccain/
Obama defeats Clinton in Wyoming
Caucuses give front-runner seven delegates
By Mead Gruver
Associated Press / March 9, 2008
CASPER, Wyo. - Barack Obama captured the Wyoming Democratic caucuses yesterday, seizing a bit of momentum in the close, hard-fought race with Hillary Clinton for the party's presidential nomination.
Obama generally has outperformed Clinton in caucuses, which reward organization and voter passion more than do primaries. The Illinois senator has now won 13 caucuses to Clinton's three.
Obama had 58 percent of the vote to Clinton's 41 percent, with all 23 Wyoming counties reporting.
Obama won seven delegates and Clinton won five. In the overall race for the nomination, Obama led 1,578 to 1,468, according to the latest tally by the Associated Press. It will take 2,025 delegates to win the Democratic nomination.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/09/obama_defeats_clinton_in_wyoming/
Surging costs of groceries hit home
Bread, eggs, milk prices up sharply
By Robert Gavin
Globe Staff / March 9, 2008
American families, already pinched by soaring energy costs, are taking another big hit to household budgets as food prices increase at the fastest rate since 1990.
After nearly two decades of low food inflation, prices for staples such as bread, milk, eggs, and flour are rising sharply, surging in the past year at double-digit rates, according to the Labor Department. Milk prices, for example, increased 26 percent over the year. Egg prices jumped 40 percent.
Escalating food costs could present a greater problem than soaring oil prices for the national economy because the average household spends three times as much for food as for gasoline. Food accounts for about 13 percent of household spending compared with about 4 percent for gas.
http://www.boston.com/business/personalfinance/articles/2008/03/09/surging_costs_of_groceries_hit_home/
Midwest cleans up after record snowfall
By Matt Leingang
Associated Press Writer / March 9, 2008
COLUMBUS, Ohio—Highway and utility crews worked overtime Sunday to recover from the huge storm that buried Ohio and other parts of the Midwest in snow and tore down power lines elsewhere.
More than 20 inches of snow fell from Friday through Saturday at Columbus, eclipsing the city's previous record of 15.3 inches set in February 1910, the National Weather Service said. Elsewhere on Saturday, 14 inches fell at Milan, Ind.; and up to a foot fell at Louisville, Ky., Buffalo, N.Y., Cleveland, Cincinnati, and parts of Tennessee. Arkansas collected a foot of snow Friday.
Many churches in the Columbus area canceled Sunday services because roads were still slippery.
Cleveland Hopkins International Airport, which shut down Saturday, reopened Sunday but flight delays and cancelations were expected as airlines tried to get their schedules back on track, spokesman Todd Payne said.
Delays also were expected at Port Columbus International Airport, where 90 percent of flights were canceled Saturday.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/09/record_snow_buries_columbus/
Discounts lurk in unlikely places
By Kytja Weir
Globe Correspondent / March 9, 2008
As automobile insurance companies start offering Massachusetts drivers new options starting April 1, deal-seekers can begin shopping for the best rates.
But drivers may not realize they can lower their premiums through unusual discounts that have nothing to do with their driving record or how much coverage they want. Does the driver take the MBTA? Does the car have automatic seat belts and headlights that burn during the day? What about an alarm? Does the driver belong to a PTA group that qualifies for a discount rate? Or is the driver a student who gets good grades?
Drivers need to ask agents lots of questions to make sure they are comparing similar policies and taking advantage of every discount they can, said Kevin Kroner, the Massachusetts Division of Insurance's director of external relations.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/03/09/discounts_lurk_in_unlikely_places/
Hondas top list of best autos once again
By Jim Mateja
Special To Cars.Com / March 9, 2008
For the second year in a row, Consumer Reports has named Honda the automaker selling the best vehicles in the United States, based on factors ranging from reliability to vehicle comfort.
Toyota and Subaru ranked second and third, followed by BMW, Mazda, Nissan, and Volkswagen. No domestic nameplate was listed. Consumer Reports also named top cars according to vehicle segment, including:
Green Car: Toyota Prius
Small Sedan: Hyundai Elantra
Family Sedan: Honda Accord
Fun Car: Mazda MX-5 Miata
Small SUV: Toyota RAV4
Pickup: Chevy Silverado Crew Cab
The magazine also lists the best and worst used autos from the past 10 years. Of the 65 "Best" used-car buys, only four are domestics. On the "Worst" list, 24 of the 34 models named are from US automakers.
http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2008/03/09/hondas_top_list_of_best_autos_once_again/
Former president settles into low-profile role
Clinton extols wife's credentials, stays on message
By Brian C. Mooney
Globe Staff / March 9, 2008
For Bill Clinton, the last three days were another three-state slog around the country to help his wife's campaign for the Democratic presidential nomination: multiple stops in Wyoming, Pennsylvania, and Mississippi.
They also extended a long stretch without a YouTube-worthy moment or sharp remarks that could feed the chattering class and the 24-hour news cycles of the cable networks. The former president has settled into his role as surrogate in chief, extolling the policies and virtues of Hillary Clinton and avoiding snipes aimed at Barack Obama, his wife's foe.
He told voters at Pass Christian High School on the Gulf Coast of Mississippi yesterday that a Clinton-Obama ticket would be "an almost unstoppable force."
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/09/former_president_settles_into_low_profile_role/
Ex-Scout leader left trail of allegations
Pleads not guilty in rape case
By Sally Jacobs
Globe Staff / March 9, 2008
When Richard Gilmore saw the notice in the newspaper two years ago, the 78-year-old grandfather felt his temples pound. It could not be.
The story was as benign as it was brief: Howard W. Curtis, the former director of the Haverhill Public Library, had been selected to run the Beverly Public Library. But to Gilmore, it was blood-chilling.
Three decades earlier, Curtis had been the assistant scoutmaster of the Boy Scout troop in which Gilmore's son Ted was a member. When the boy revealed to his family years later that Curtis had sexually abused him, Gilmore wrote a searing letter to the Scout organization. Within months, Curtis had quit his job and left town.
Now, unbelievably, he was back. Gilmore picked up his pen again.
"In simple language, Curtis is a pedophile, and should not be placed in a position where he would be in daily contact with children," Gilmore, a father of six, wrote to a Beverly library trustee.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/09/ex_scout_leader_left_trail_of_allegations/
One woman's dream ends in bankruptcy
By Jenn Abelson
Globe Staff / March 9, 2008
After a sleepless night, Judy George sent a frantic e-mail at 5:52 am to Domain Home employees to tell them the Norwood furniture chain would collapse unless she quickly found an investor to save the company she started 22 years ago.
The message displayed the trademark dramatic flair of a businesswoman known as a public relations whiz, a design guru, and a mentor to women entrepreneurs in Boston. But it was missing the unwavering confidence that had brought George back from failure before, and fueled her rise to the top of the furniture industry.
"I was told late last night that . . . the company has no money," George, 67, wrote in the Jan. 17 e-mail. "I've been sobbing lately and I'm afraid I couldn't compose myself. You see Domain is the other half of me and I feel like I'm being torn apart."
Weakened by a slow housing market that sapped furni ture sales, and saddled with debt after the 2007 purchase of the company by a New Jersey investor who failed on promises to turn the chain around, Domain filed for bankruptcy protection on Jan. 18. Three weeks later, when George was unable to find a new investor, liquidators took control of the company. Within weeks, its 27 shops will shutter.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/03/09/one_womans_dream_ends_in_bankruptcy/
Death in Cell 49
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/prisons/
Climate Change on the 45th Parrellel
http://www.boston.com/news/specials/climate_change/
THE 45TH PARALLEL WARMING WHERE WE LIVE
Carbon confusion
Buying emission offsets is a challenge for consumers
Everyday, more and more environmentally conscious people flock to websites such as e-BlueHorizons.com in hopes of paying to offset their carbon emissions. Though popular, these "offsets" are not yet regulated, and consumers can't always be sure what they are buying. The video above is the story of one environmentalist, her $150, and the dubious ends to which it was put. (Video by Dina Rudick / Globe Staff)
By Beth Daley, Globe Staff March 12, 2007
This is the second in a series of occasional articles examining climate change, its effects, and possible solutions.
BARNET, VT. -- Sara Demetry thought she had found a way to atone for her personal contribution to global warming.
The psychotherapist clicked on a website that helped her calculate how much heat-trapping carbon dioxide she and her fiance emitted each year, mostly by driving and heating their home. Then she paid $150 to e-BlueHorizons.com, a company that promises to offset emissions.
But Demetry's money did not make as much difference as she thought it would. While half of it went to plant trees to absorb carbon dioxide, the other half went to a Bethlehem, N.H., facility that destroys methane -- a gas that contributes to global warming. The facility has been operating since 2001 -- years before the company began selling offsets -- and Demetry's money did not lead the company to destroy any more methane than it would have anyway.
Moreover, the project received a "dirty dozen" award from a New England environmental group in 2004 because it burns the methane as fuel to incinerate contaminated water from the landfill, emitting tons of pollution each year in the process. This method of destroying methane can emit more pollution than other burning methods.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/03/13/carbon_confusion/
Deep-water wind farm plans in the offing
March 9, 2008
A developer is planning a deep-water wind farm 23 miles off the coast of Martha's Vineyard. The project by Blue H USA could avoid some of the concerns about aesthetics and possible interference with maritime business expressed about the controversial Cape Wind project. That project is proposed for much closer to shore in Nantucket Sound. The Blue H project has a long way to go to receive the proper permits, however. Blue H plans to detail the project tomorrow, the same day a public hearing starts on Cape Wind's proposal to build 130 wind turbines in the sound. Cape Wind opponents say the Blue H project sounds promising; however, a Cape Wind spokesman said his company's site makes the most economic sense and would have the least environmental impact. (AP)
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2008/03/09/deep_water_wind_farm_plans_in_the_offing/
Serbian leaders clash, dismiss government
Kosovo, EU membership at center of crisis
By Dusan Stojanovic
Associated Press / March 9, 2008
BELGRADE - Serbia's government collapsed yesterday over an impasse between the nationalist prime minister and the pro-Western president on how Kosovo's independence affects the Balkan country's pursuit of European Union membership.
"The government, which does not have united policies, cannot function," Prime Minister Vojislav Kostunica said as he announced the fall of his Cabinet. "That's the end of the government."
Kostunica said he will convene a session of the caretaker government tomorrow, which will propose to President Boris Tadic to dissolve the Parliament and call new elections for May 11.
Tadic said in a statement that he will call early elections because they are a "democratic way to overcome the political crisis." But he disputed Kostunica's suggestion that their clash was over Kosovo, the Serbian medieval heartland that proclaimed independence last month with the backing of the United States and several European Union nations.
"Kosovo is of course an integral part of our country," Tadic said.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/03/09/serbian_leaders_clash_dismiss_government/
Social issues polarize Spain before vote
Masses mourn an assassinated local politician
By John Ward Anderson
Washington Post / March 9, 2008
MADRID - Four years ago Tuesday, Islamic extremists detonated 10 bombs aboard four commuter trains in Madrid, killing 191 people in Spain's worst-ever terrorist attack. Coming three days before national elections, the explosions sparked a voter backlash against the sitting conservative government, which was thrown out of office.
Today, the vanquished Popular Party and its leader, Mariano Rajoy, still believe that they were robbed of the election and that the victor, Socialist Workers' Party leader José Luis Rodríguez Zapatero, is an accidental prime minister who lacks legitimacy.
Accidental or not, Zapatero embarked on a four-year program to liberalize divorce, marriage, and other social laws, an agenda that deeply divided the country and prompted bitter clashes with the Catholic Church, one of Spain's most powerful institutions.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2008/03/09/social_issues_polarize_spain_before_vote/
Pakistani lawyers seek judges' release
Anti-Musharraf group plans a week of protests
By Jane Perlez
New York Times News Service / March 9, 2008
RAWALPINDI, Pakistan - Beside racks of meat and barrows of oranges in the alleys of the old town here, Aitzaz Ahsan, leader of the lawyers movement in Pakistan, was back on the campaign trail yesterday, calling for the release of top justices from house arrest.
Newly free after four months in detention, Ahsan said the recent parliamentary elections were not enough proof that President Pervez Musharraf's government was dedicated to democracy.
He said the next step had to be the release of the former chief justice, Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, who was fired along with the rest of the Supreme Court during a state of emergency imposed by Musharraf on Nov. 3. Chaudhry and nine other justices remain under house arrest.
http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2008/03/09/pakistani_lawyers_seek_judges_release/
Lawmakers consider restrictions on spay/neuter program
March 9, 2008
CONCORD, N.H.—Vouchers that help cover the cost of spaying and neutering animals would be restricted to low-income pet owners under a bill being considered by lawmakers.
Under the current system, anyone who adopts a pet from a shelter is given a discount voucher regardless of their income. The bill, sponsored by Rep. Roger Wells, R-Hampstead, would restrict access to those who receive some sort of public assistance such as welfare or food stamps.
"We need to put the money where it's most needed. I don't think we really need to be subsidizing the people who can well afford it," Wells said.
With the voucher, a pet owner pays $40 for the surgery. The veterinarian and the state split the rest of the cost, which varies by animal, with the state paying 80 percent.The program typically runs out of money about six weeks before the end of the fiscal year in June, prompting state veterinarian Steve Crawford to ask lawmakers to look at other ways to fund the program.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2008/03/09/lawmakers_consider_restrictions_on_spayneuter_program/
Memories of hundreds of lost ski areas live on through Web site
March 9, 2008
CONWAY, N.H.—What began with a teenage boy's curiosity has grown into a 10-year-old effort to document hundreds of New England's lost ski areas, including more than 170 in Massachusetts.
Jeremy Davis makes a living in meteorology in New York, but has spent his free time over the last decade maintaining the New England Lost Ski Areas Project, a Web site devoted to preserving the history of defunct ski areas. The seeds were planted in 1991, when at age 14, Davis took a family ski trip to New Hampshire's Mount Washington Valley.
On their way to Cranmore and Black Mountain, the family passed by the former Mount Whittier Ski area in Ossipee, which closed in 1985. And at Black Mountain in Jackson, he saw the old trails of Tyrol Ski Area, which closed in 1981.
"I wondered what I could find out about that one, and others. I started looking for stuff -- old guidebooks and maps in antique stores and used book shops -- but there wasn't much information out there at all," said Davis, who is speaking at the New England Ski Museum's annual conference on Sunday.
http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2008/03/09/memories_of_hundreds_of_lost_ski_areas_live_on_through_web_site/
Drugs in water could affect human cells
By Jeff Donn
AP National Writer / March 9, 2008
Troubled by drugs discovered in European waters, poisons expert and biologist Francesco Pomati set up an experiment: He exposed developing human kidney cells to a mixture of 13 drugs at levels mimicking those found in Italian rivers.
There were drugs to fight high cholesterol and blood pressure, seizures and depression, pain and infection, and cancer, all in tiny amounts.
The result: The pharmaceutical blend slowed cell growth by up to a third -- suggesting that scant amounts may exert powerful effects, said Pomati, who works at the University of New South Wales in Sydney, Australia.
Taken alone, this was a modest study. But in fact Pomati's work is part of a body of emerging scientific studies that indicate that over time, humans could be harmed by ingesting drinking water contaminated with tiny amounts of pharmaceuticals.
In another recently published study, Pomati discovered that some of those pharmaceuticals could amplify -- or reverse -- the effects of some others.
http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2008/03/09/drugs_in_water_could_affect_human_cells/
Ohio Valley Socked by Blizzard; East Coast May Flood (Update1)
By Nancy Kercheval and Linda Shen
March 8 (Bloomberg) -- A winter blizzard with wind gusts as high as 40 miles per hour moved through the Ohio Valley after dumping as much as 18 inches of snow in Arkansas, as areas east of the Appalachian Mountains braced for flooding.
Snow and ice shut down Cleveland Hopkins International Airport today until tomorrow, according to the Federal Aviation Administration. Thunderstorms and fog are causing delays of two to four hours for flights to John F. Kennedy International Airport and LaGuardia Airport in New York, Newark Liberty International Airport and Philadelphia International Airport, according to the FAA Web site.
New York's Long Island and southern Connecticut are expecting as much as 5 inches (13 centimeters) of rain before the storms move out, the National Weather Service reported.
``Overall, this might be one of the worst storms this season,'' said meteorologist Michael Sager at AccuWeather.Com in State College, Pennsylvania. ``Other storms had more tornadoes or more snowfall, but this one has a little bit of everything.''
The ground, already saturated from rainfall earlier this week, and streams and rivers -- nearing overflow levels from rainfall and melting snow -- will contribute to the threat of flooding along the Interstate-95 corridor from the mid-Atlantic region to Maine, according to AccuWeather.com.
Whiteouts
The possibility of tornadoes dissipated by midday, Sager said. At least 15 tornadoes were reported yesterday when severe storms hit the southeastern states including Florida and South Carolina....
My, my.
