Morning Papers - continued...

The Boston Globe

Partisan showdown looms on filibusters
Frist calls GOP justified in changing Senate rules
By Michael Kranish, Globe Staff April 25, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Senate majority leader Bill Frist said yesterday that Republicans are justified in trying to prevent Democrats from using filibusters against judicial nominees, and his vote-counting ally said the GOP has enough votes to end the filibuster tactic.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/04/25/partisan_showdown_looms_on_filibusters/
Outcry of 'stuck kids' goes to court
Suit challenges mental care rules
By Carey Goldberg, Globe Staff April 25, 2005
BROCKTON -- She has always been a fighter, the Brockton store clerk and single mother says. But when it comes to getting her handsome 12-year-old son the right help for his bipolar disorder, she is frustrated to tears: The state system will provide a psychiatric hospital bed when he falls into crisis, but not the at-home treatment that could keep him from needing hospitalization.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/massachusetts/articles/2005/04/25/outcry_of_stuck_kids_goes_to_court/

Mentally ill sent to Mental health courts
By Samira Jafari, Associated Press Writer April 25, 2005
MONTGOMERY, Ala. -- At 16, Kimberly Hudson was diagnosed with bipolar disorder, but medication was not prescribed because of her age. The next few years were a nightmare of mood swings that she tempered with marijuana and cocaine, until drug and theft charges landed her in court.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/04/25/mentally_ill_sent_to_mental_health_courts/

U.S. prison population soars in 2003, '04
By Siobhan McDonough, Associated Press Writer April 25, 2005
WASHINGTON -- While the U.S. crime rate has fallen over the past decade, the number of people in prison and jail is outpacing the number of inmates released, the government reports.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2005/04/25/us_prison_population_soars_in_2003_04/

THIS IS A HUGE JOKE. The Repuglicans have absolutely no respect for the USA Constitution. They rather burn it rather than abide by it.

GOP stressing Constitution in judge battle
By David Espo, AP Special Correspondent April 25, 2005
WASHINGTON -- Buffeted by poor poll numbers, Senate Republicans are stressing the Constitution rather than religion or retribution against activist judges as the reason to deny Democrats the right to block votes on President Bush's court nominees.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2005/04/25/gop_stressing_constitution_in_judge_battle/

Last Syria Units Pack to Leave Lebanon After 29 Yrs
By Lin Noueihed April 25, 2005
BEIRUT (Reuters) - The last Syrian forces packed to leave Lebanon on Monday, effectively ending its 29-year military and intelligence domination of its tiny neighbor.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2005/04/25/last_syria_units_pack_to_leave_lebanon_after_29_yrs_1114420315/

Shortchanged colleges
April 25, 2005
THE STATE'S public colleges and universities are educating 262,000 students, but the schools lack the capacity to fully accomplish their missions.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/04/25/shortchanged_colleges/

Backsliding in Haiti
April 25, 2005
FOURTEEN MONTHS ago, armed rebels overthrew the elected Haitian government of Jean-Bertrand Aristide, the former slum priest who had a checkered record of governance but the support of much of the country's desperately poor population. Since then, neither an interim appointed government nor a force of 7,500 United Nations peacekeeping soldiers and police officers has been able to create the stability needed for economic growth and the development of strong public and private institutions. Elections this fall could produce a government with more credibility, but Haiti will need the peacekeepers and other international assistance long after the elections.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/04/25/backsliding_in_haiti/

A vaccine Catch-22
April 25, 2005
THE PANIC over the flu vaccine shortage last fall showed a fault line in the nation's system for supplying the best weapons against infectious diseases. Last Sunday The Washington Post revealed that there is also a deep flaw in the government's program for ensuring a stockpile of childhood vaccines.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/editorials/articles/2005/04/25/a_vaccine_catch_22/

The China Daily

Officials react angrily to US moves on yuan
By Xu Binglan (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-04-25 06:10
BOAO: China's top financial officials reacted to re-emerging calls from across the Pacific to force China to revalue its currency by saying it was China's own business and others should mind their own.
The remarks won wide support from international financial officials at the Boao Forum for Asia.
China sees its domestic development as the most important aspect in deciding its foreign exchange policy and does not "pay attention solely to the trade deficit of certain countries," Wen Benhua, deputy director of the State Administration of Foreign Exchange, said yesterday in a panel discussion at the forum.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/25/content_437097.htm

China, Japan mend fences, pitfalls ahead
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-25 08:53
The leaders of China and Japan pulled their relations back from the brink at a weekend meeting, but analysts said bitter memories of Japan's wartime history and rivalry for influence will keep ties fragile.
Chinese President Hu Jintao and Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi appear to have papered over their countries' worst row in three decades during talks in Jakarta Saturday, a day after Koizumi made an unusually public apology for Japan's past atrocities in Asia, Reuters reported

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/25/content_437160.htm

China initiates five proposals on ties with Japan(Xinhua)Updated: 2005-04-24 08:47
Chinese President Hu Jintao said Japan should seriously reflect over its wartime history and properly handle the current difficult situation in the Sino-Japanese relations.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/24/content_436920.htm

Chen 'okays' opposition leader's visit
(chinadaily.com.cn)
Updated: 2005-04-25 09:17
Taiwan leader Chen Shui-bian has given his "blessing" to this week's landmark mainland visit by the island's major opposition leader, reversing earlier criticism of the trip, a senior Taiwan official said.
Chen had repeatedly accused Kuomintang (KMT) leader Lien Chan of being the mainland’s promotional tool.
Another opposition leader James Soong, chairman of the People First Party, has also accepted Beijing's invitation to visit the Chinese mainland. A group of officials from Soong's party flew to Beijing Sunday to discuss the arrangements for the trip.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/25/content_437188.htm

Taiwan parties prepare for mainland visit
By Xing Zhigang, Cao Desheng (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-04-25 06:06
Official talks between Taiwan's opposition People First Party (PFP) and the Communist Party of China (CPC) over the schedule of PFP Chairman James Soong's planned visit to the mainland began yesterday in Beijing.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/25/content_437082.htm

EU ups textile pressure on China
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-25 14:59
EU trade chief Peter Mandelson stepped up pressure on China to curb a "ruinous" surge in textile exports, urging it to take action or face possible EU steps to protect Europe's clothing industry.
Mandelson made the call as he gave details of the surge in Chinese imports since the end of a quota system in January, and confirmed plans to investigate specific areas where the European Union (EU) might impose import ceilings.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/25/content_437292.htm

China to be biggest US trading partner
(People's Daily Online)
Updated: 2005-04-25 14:02
It is probable that China will take over Canada this year to be the largest trading partner of the United States, said former US Trade Representative Charlene Barshefsky at a trade negotiation recently.
Continued investment from the US in factories in China over the recent years led to an explosive expansion of Sino-US trade.
In 2003, China surpassed Mexico to be the second exporter to the US.
Last year, the US imported from Canada US$256 billion of goods, mostly automobile, mineral ore and fuel, while its US$197-billion imports from China were mainly computer, sports goods and clothes.
China is now the third-largest trader in the world, after the US and Germany.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/25/content_437278.htm

Official: Iran to resume nuke enrichment
(Agencies)
Updated: 2005-04-25 08:25
Iran will resume uranium enrichment regardless of the outcome of its negotiations with three European powers over its nuclear program, a Foreign Ministry spokesman said Sunday.
Speaking to reporters five days before Iran is to resume nuclear talks with France, Britain and Germany, Hamid Reza Asefi said the Europeans appeared to be serious in seeking an agreement with Iran. But he added that any settlement had to respect Iran's right, as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, to enrich uranium.

http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-04/25/content_437124.htm

The Marietta Times

Awareness growing about global warming
By Connie Cartmell, ccartmell@mariettatimes.com
Paul Garrison had his fling with gas guzzling "dream" cars. Five years ago he opted for a "sensible" car of tomorrow and that's made all the difference.
"Almost every day someone asks me about my car," said Garrison, 69. "I was the first hybrid in Washington County. Now I'm seeing more every day."

http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0423202005_new01warm.asp

More blasting planned on Ohio 7 hillside
By Justin McIntosh, jmcintosh@mariettatimes.com
The Ohio 7 hillside stabilization project south of Marietta is getting ready to move forward with more blasting and the potential for more impact to nearby homes.
The $12 million project will move forward after the Ohio Department of Transportation finishes a utility relocation and after three homeowners in the Bramblewood Heights Road area finish moving.

http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0423202005_new02blast.asp

Vehicle break-ins continue in county
By Jessica Burchard, jburchard@mariettatimes.com
The number of reports of items being stolen from unlocked vehicles continues to increase around Washington County with the report of nearly 10 such thefts this week in New Matamoras.
The Washington County Sheriff's Office began an investigation into the New Matamoras thefts Thursday. They occurred at three different residences on Ohio 260. The sheriff believes the current string of thefts is related to those they've investigated over the last few months, but are uncertain if the same suspects are involved.

http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0423202005_new03breaki.asp

Treasurer touts new way to save
By Justin McIntosh, jmcintosh@mariettatimes.com
Jennette Bradley, Ohio's 45th treasurer, made a brief visit in Marietta Friday touting a new bond program recently made available to all state residents.
The Buckeye Savers Bond Program was previously only available to large institutional investors like insurance companies and mutual funds.

http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0423202005_new04treas.asp

Funds being raised to repair bridge
By Kate York, kyork@mariettatimes.com
Area volunteers are raising money for repairs to the Harmar Railroad Bridge, even as one-time ideas for renovating the bridge are discarded.
Members of the Historic Harmar Bridge Co., which owns the bridge linking downtown Marietta to the Harmar village, said ideas discussed last year to add side rails, decking and other features to the bridge are unlikely to ever happen.

http://www.mariettatimes.com/news/story/0423202005_new05bridg.asp

The Moscow Times

Armenia Remembers Victims of Genocide
YEREVAN, Armenia -- Hundreds of thousands of people clutching tulips, carnations and daffodils climbed a hill in Armenia's capital on Sunday to lay wreaths and remember the 1.5 million they say were killed 90 years ago in Ottoman Turkey.
From the top, the crowds could see the heights of Mount Ararat, now in eastern Turkey, the region where Armenia says its people were slaughtered in a deliberate genocide during the chaos surrounding the disintegration of the Ottoman Empire.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/25/251.html

Putin Allays TNK-BP Worries
President Vladimir Putin offered a show of support for the country's top oil exporter, TNK-BP, during a Kremlin meeting Friday with BP's chief executive, Lord Browne.
In a sign of possible upcoming relief for the oil major, which is grappling with a back tax claim of nearly $1 billion, Putin said he hoped the 50-50 joint venture between BP and Tyumen Oil would continue to grow at the same rapid rate it has since its creation in February 2003.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/25/001.html

Investors Weary of Presidential Promises
By Alex Fak
Staff Writer
While some investors hope that President Vladimir Putin will reiterate recent promises to business during his televised state of the nation address Monday, others say they will not be tuning in at all.
The reason is that the main changes investors want -- less state interference in business; property rights guarantees; banking reform; less red tape for small and medium-sized enterprises; and a diversified economy -- have all been promised by Putin in his previous five addresses.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/25/002.html

Tokyo Ready to Support WTO Bid
Japan's foreign minister said Friday that Tokyo was ready to formally endorse Moscow's bid to join the World Trade Organization by the end of this year, after the two sides signed a memorandum to boost trade.
Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura had met with Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko to discuss steps to increase two-way investment and trade, ahead of a vote on adding Russia to the WTO, the body that sets rules for global commerce.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/25/041.html

Unhedged Optimism
It's official: High oil prices are here to stay. Any doubts on this point were laid to rest when the government decided on April 7 to raise the cutoff oil price above which surplus revenues are channeled into the stabilization fund from $20 to $27 per barrel. In raising the cutoff price, the government is betting that average oil prices are going to remain well above long-term historical levels more or less indefinitely.

http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/04/25/006.html

The Cheney Observer

KAPLAN: Hearts, Minds, And Dollars
Apr 23, 2005
By David E. Kaplan
As war games go, this one was unique: the first-ever exercise on "strategic communications," its sponsors said. It was July 2003, and the government's leading players in winning the "war of ideas" against terrorism had gathered at National Defense University, in Washington, D.C. There were crisis managers from the White House, diplomats from the State Department, Pentagon specialists in psyops--psychological operations. Washington's quick victory over Saddam Hussein's Army that spring had done little to quell surging anti-Americanism overseas. Across the Muslim world--including U.S. allies like Indonesia and Jordan--polls showed Osama bin Laden a more trusted figure than George W. Bush.

http://www.jihadunspun.com/intheatre_internal.php?article=102483&list=/home.php

Pakistan, Saudi Arabia with US to fight global terrorism: Cheney
WASHINGTON, April 23 : US Vice President, Richard Cheney acknowledged Friday that "Pakistan and Saudi Arabia are working closely with the United States and our allies to fight global terrorism."
He said the United States "will continue" working with other governments to track down the terrorists, and to stop the proliferation of the world's most dangerous weapons.
Dick Cheney remarked this in his address to the Republican National Lawyers Association, held at the National Press Club. He said President Bush and "and I will never lose sight of our primary responsibility every day we serve in public office: We will do all that is necessary to protect the liberty and the lives of the American people. We will keep at the effort to defend the homeland and improve our intelligence capabilities."

http://www.pakistanlink.com/Headlines/Apr05/23/05.htm

Is work in Iraq worth the risk?
Halliburton reconsidering its $1.2 billion oil field contract
By DAVID IVANOVICH
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - Halliburton Co. is reconsidering whether its contract to rebuild southern Iraq's oil industry is worth all the risks involved.

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/business/energy/3149155

HALLIBURTON MAY EXIT DEAL
Bloomberg News
Halliburton Co., the largest U.S. contractor in Iraq, said Friday that it may withdraw from an agreement to help restore the war-torn nation's oil fields because of increasing attacks by insurgents. "We are evaluating the scope and all of our options on this contract," Chief Operating Officer Andrew Lane told analysts and investors Friday. Less work can be done because of the attacks, leading to "an unattractive risk-and-reward profile," he said.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/business/11471002.htm

Cheney joins fight in Senate on judges
He says he'd break tie to change rule on using filibusters
David D. Kirkpatrick, New York Times
Saturday, April 23, 2005
Washington -- Vice President Dick Cheney plunged the White House into the judicial confirmation battle Friday by saying he supported changing the Senate rules to stop the Democrats from using filibusters to block judicial nominees and would, if needed, provide the tie-breaking vote. In addition, Kentucky Sen. Mitch McConnell, the majority whip, asserted that Republicans would have the votes needed to execute that change.

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2005/04/23/MNGBQCDVPP1.DTL

Cheney comes to Bolton's defense
Douglas Jehl, New York Times
April 23, 2005 BOLT0423
WASHINGTON, D.C. -- As members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee agreed Friday to allocate two more weeks for its examination of John Bolton, Vice President Dick Cheney called for solidarity with the embattled nominee, who is seeking Senate confirmation as ambassador to the United Nations.
"If being occasionally tough and aggressive and abrasive were a problem, there are a lot of members of the United States Senate who wouldn't qualify," Cheney said in a speech to Republican lawyers.

http://www.startribune.com/stories/484/5364919.html

Cheney to vote to end filibusters
Published: Saturday, Apr. 23, 2005
WASHINGTON (AP) – Vice President Dick Cheney said Friday he would vote in the Senate to stop filibusters of judicial nominees if given the chance.
Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist, R-Tenn., wants to change Senate rules by banning judicial filibusters – a tactic in which opponents can prevent a vote on a nomination with just 41 votes in the 100-member body. Democrats have used the tactic to block confirmation votes on 10 of Bush’s nominees.

http://www.nashuatelegraph.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050423/NEWS03/50423010/-1/news

Putin delights in pouring oil on BP's troubled waters
THREADNEEDLE
BP BOSS Lord Browne has been seeking reassurances about the business climate in Russia at a meeting with president Vladimir Putin. But while he heard soothing noises from the Russian leader, he is too shrewd to mistake words for actions; and by his actions, Putin is saying Russia is still a risky place to put investors’ money.

http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=435092005

Iranians included in Rover interest
NICK BEVENS
FIRMS in the Middle East, India and Russia have expressed an interest in buying parts of stricken car company MG Rover.
Administrators called in to run the Longbridge-based car maker this month are evaluating the potential bids.
Joint administrator Tony Lomas said yesterday: "Interest has been expressed by potential buyers from Asia, the Middle East, India, Russia and China as well as from the UK. We have had over 200 expressions of interest."

http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=438652005&20050425095924

Start-ups show rise in 'love money' funding
JENNIFER HILL
INFORMAL investment in new business in Scotland has recovered faster than early-stage investment, after a post-11 September crash, according to a report to be unveiled tomorrow.
Hundreds of millions of pounds of informal investors’ money have flowed into new businesses north of the Border, the majority being "love money", the Hunter Centre for Entrepreneurship at Strathclyde University found.
Its Global Entrepreneurship Monitor (GEM) study revealed the annual amount of investment by individuals in new businesses owned by others was an estimated £390 million.

http://business.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=438932005

Annan Remark on Oil Sales Draws Nods of Agreement
By WARREN HOGE
Published: April 24, 2005

UNITED NATIONS, April 22 - When Secretary General Kofi Annan declared in an unguarded moment last week that Saddam Hussein made most of his money "on the American and British watch" rather than from the United Nations oil-for-food program, he was expressing a view that is widely held but seldom uttered at the organization as it tries to avoid clashing with Washington.
Speaking to former United Nations communications officials and thinking his comments were confidential, Mr. Annan said Mr. Hussein pocketed far more from sanctions-skirting oil sales to Jordan and Turkey, which were being monitored by the United States and Britain, than from the scandal-tainted relief program run by the Security Council. "They were the ones who had interdiction," he said. "Possibly they were also the ones who knew exactly what was going on, and the countries themselves decided to close their eyes to smuggling to Turkey and Jordan because they were allies."

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/international/middleeast/24nations.html

Report: ExxonMobil Spends Millions Funding Global Warming Skeptics
A new investigation by Mother Jones magazine has revealed that ExxonMobil has spent at least $8 million dollars funding a network of groups to challenge the existence of global warming. We speak with the author of the report, a member of one the organizations that receives money from Exxon and a journalist covering environmental and climate change issues. [includes rush transcript]
Today is the 35th anniversary of Earth Day. To commemorate the occasion we take a look at the debate over global warming.
A new investigation by Mother Jones magazine has revealed that ExxonMobil has spent at least $8 million dollars funding a network of groups to challenge the existence of global warming.

http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/04/22/1338256

Mobilize Against the “Poster Child for War Profiteering”
Halliburton Shareholders Meeting Protest In House
More and more revelations about contract abuse by Halliburton come out regularly. Just last week Rep. Henry Waxman issued a report that found Halliburton overcharging in Iraq now totaled more than $200 million, see: http://www.democrats.reform.house.gov/ . Activists in Houston are working with national groups, including Democracy Rising, to highlight corporate contract abuse by Halliburton when they hold their shareholders meeting this May 18. In the interview below with DemocracyRising’s Kevin Zeese, Scott Parkin, a Community Organizer for Houston Global Awareness describes their plans and how it fits into the overall goals of the organization.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=7687

Big Dig Called Safe for Cars, but Not So for Pocketbooks
By KATIE ZEZIMA
Published: April 24, 2005

BOSTON, April 23 - While officials say that the leak-prone Big Dig tunnel project is safe for motorists, they can give no assurance that taxpayers will not be soaked more to pay for repairs.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/national/24dig.html>

OAS Official Says Attacks on Journalists in the Americas Rising
Inter-American Commission cites 11 murders of media workers in 2004
20 April 2005
By Eric Green
Washington File Staff Writer
Washington -- Journalists in the Americas increasingly are being harassed and threatened and remain subject to assassinations, according to a human rights official of the Organization of American States (OAS). In an April 19 statement, the OAS official, Eduardo Bertoni, said 11 journalists were murdered in the Americas during 2004; in 2003,seven journalists were killed.

http://www.allamericanpatriots.com/m-news+article+storyid-9587.html

continued...

Morning Papers - concluding

New York Times

After the Tsunami, Rebuilding Paradise

By SETH MYDANS
Published: April 24, 2005

EVERY morning as the sky brightens over the Andaman Sea, workers in Phuket, Thailand, set out perfect lines of white plastic lounge chairs along the soft sand, punctuated by furled umbrellas ready to be opened as the sun begins to burn. Vendors arrive with their ice-cold water, coconuts and soft drinks. Masseuses spread their straw mats under the palm trees. Jet Ski operators gather by their polished machines.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/travel/24phuket.html?hp&ex=1114401600&en=554123043b7659ef&ei=5094&partner=homepage

21 Iraqis Killed in Attacks in Tikrit and Baghdad
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr.
Published: April 24, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 24 - Twin car bombs killed six Iraqi police officers and injured at least 30 at a police academy in Tikrit today. In Baghdad, 15 people were killed and at least 57 were hurt in two bomb blasts near a Shiite mosque, as insurgents continued their campaign of violence against Iraqis.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/24/international/middleeast/24cnd-iraq.html

Rice and Cheney Are Said to Push Iraqi Politicians on Stalemate
By RICHARD A. OPPEL Jr. and JOEL BRINKLEY
Published: April 25, 2005

BAGHDAD, Iraq, April 24 - Worried about a political deadlock in Iraq and a spike in mayhem from an emboldened insurgency, the Bush administration has pressed Iraqi leaders in recent days to end their stalemate over forming a new government, with Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Vice President Dick Cheney personally exhorting top Kurdish and Shiite politicians to come together.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/25/international/middleeast/25iraq.html?hp&ex=1114488000&en=68c00d8fb3221381&ei=5094&partner=homepage

A Tax Benefit for Big Donors Often Bypasses Idea of Charity
By STEPHANIE STROM

George B. Kaiser, a publicity-shy oilman who built a fortune estimated at $4 billion by snapping up busted petroleum businesses in Oklahoma, set aside roughly $1 billion for charitable endeavors from 2000 to the end of last year.
In exchange, he can now deflect taxes on much of his own income over the next several years.
But it turns out that only $3.4 million of the money he set aside has gone to charities. The rest is sitting in an obscure philanthropic entity called a supporting organization, so named because it is created to support a specific charity or charities.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/25/business/25taxes.html?ei=5094&en=d42ec720d18aa73c&hp=&ex=1114488000&partner=homepage&pagewanted=print&position=

Soyuz Capsule Lands
By REUTERS
Published: April 25, 2005

ARKALYK, Kazakhstan, Monday, April 25 (Reuters) - A Russian Soyuz capsule bumped down on the Kazakh steppe early on Monday, bringing a Russian, an American and an Italian astronaut safely back to Earth from the International Space Station.
The landing, under a nearly full moon two hours before daybreak, was complicated by flooding on the steppe that covers much of this Central Asian state.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/04/25/science/25russia.html

The Cheney Observer Revisited

Inside Tom DeLay's pep rally for Senate Republicans
By Jim Shea
The Hartford Courant
Last week, House Majority Leader Tom ''The Hammer'' DeLay met with Senate Republicans to whip up support for his ethical lapses.

Because the meeting was closed to the public, we're not exactly sure how he did this, but we assume it took the form of a pep rally.

http://www.sltrib.com/opinion/ci_2681774

The Japan Times

Scientists, academics urge major nuclear powers to dispose of weapons
A seven-member group of Japanese scientists and academics has urged the world's five major nuclear powers to stick to a global treaty on nuclear nonproliferation and work toward the complete abolition of nuclear arms.
The Committee of Seven for World Peace Appeal, which includes Nobel physics prize laureate Masatoshi Koshiba, also urged the Japanese government to again examine the situation regarding nuclear weapons and appeal for peace as the only country to have suffered atomic bombings.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050422f2.htm

Factories contain 1.7 million toxic time bombs
About 1.7 million electric devices containing toxic polychlorinated biphenyl are being kept at factories nationwide, according to officials of the environment and industry ministries.
Production of the substance has been banned since 1972.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050422f1.htm

37 killed, more than 230 injured in Hyogo train accident
KOBE (Kyodo) At least 37 people were killed and nearly 240 others were injured when four cars of a seven-car express train derailed and two of them slammed into an apartment building Monday morning in Amagasaki, Hyogo Prefecture, police and firefighters said.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050425h1.htm

Machimura blasts China's textbooks as 'extreme'
The Associated Press
Chinese textbooks are "extreme" in their interpretation of history, Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura said Sunday, a day after China's president demanded Tokyo do more to improve relations damaged by new Japanese textbooks that allegedly whitewash wartime atrocities.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050425a2.htm

Koizumi gets boost with by-election wins
FUKUOKA (Kyodo) Former LDP Vice President Taku Yamasaki, one of Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi's few political allies, secured a comeback to the House of Representatives in a by-election Sunday.

http://www.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/getarticle.pl5?nn20050425a1.htm

The Vermillion Plain Talk

USD assistant women's BB Coach Becky Flynn-Jensen inducted into Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame
South Dakota women's basketball assistant coach Becky Flynn-Jensen was one of three Creighton's all-time greats inducted into the Creighton Athletics Hall of Fame on Tuesday, April 12 in Omaha, NE.
Keith DeFini and Scott Stahoviak were inducted with Flynn-Jensen in a banquet held at the Downtown Doubletree. With their induction, the Creighton Hall of Fame includes 51 members, including the 1968 induction of Major League Hall of Fame baseball player Bob Gibson.

http://www.plaintalk.net/stories/042205/spo_0422050061.html

Statewide tornado drill planned April 27
April 25-29 is Severe Weather Preparedness Week in South Dakota
Gov. Mike Rounds has declared April 25-29 Severe Weather Preparedness Week in South Dakota so that all citizens are aware of safety precautions they can take during the severe weather they often encounter in the state.

http://www.plaintalk.net/stories/042205/sta_0422050038.html

Renaudin will perform in Europe
By Amber Skjonsberg
Throughout the years at Wakonda School there have been foreign exchange students, some from China, Mexico, Germany, and even Kazakhstan. Now, this summer, WHS sophomore Jeanne Renaudin will be traveling to Europe but she won't be going as an exchange student. She will be traveling across the Atlantic Ocean to represent the Wakonda High School Band by participating in a tri-state band.

http://www.plaintalk.net/stories/042205/wak_0422050123.html

We're obligated to take care of our own Editorial
by the Plain Talk
Last January, Gov. Mike Rounds took time to meet with media representatives in Vermillion.
He held a lengthy, detailed discussion covering a variety of topics he hoped the state Legislature would address in the upcoming 2005 session.

http://www.plaintalk.net/stories/042205/opi_0422050032.html

Vermillion is CAPITAL for a day
By David Lias
Plain Talk
As everyone who resides in South Dakota knows, Pierre seems to be a long ways from nearly everywhere.
So Vermillion citizens made sure to take full advantage of all that was offered locally Wednesday afternoon when the city was dubbed Capital for a Day.

http://www.plaintalk.net/stories/042205/loc_0422050001.html

The World According to Wal-Mart

Wal-Mart ex-exec target of U.S. probe
Grand jury looks at allegations of anti-union activity
By Becky Yerak and Stephen Franklin
Tribune staff reporters
Published April 23, 2005
Additional material published April 24, 2005:
CORRECTIONS AND CLARIFICATIONS.
A story on Page 1 of the Saturday Business section incorrectly said that Wal-Mart confirmed it is the subject of a grand jury investigation. It is former Vice Chairman Tom Coughlin and his activities at Wal-Mart that are the subject of the grand jury investigation.
Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has been on a mission to rehabilitate its public image, suffered a setback Friday when it confirmed it is the subject of a federal grand jury investigation.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/chi-0504230093apr23,1,2361284.story?coll=chi-business-hed

Striking Shenzhen Workers at Japanese-owned Wal-Mart Supplier Firm Demand Right to Unionize

[In recent weeks, a number of protests directed against Japan have erupted throughout China. The most widely reported have been sparked by anger at new Japanese school textbooks that elide discussion of World War II atrocities, by territorial conflicts over the Diaoyutai/Senkaku islands, and by the Japanese bid for a permanent Security Council seat. Participants in those protests appear to have been overwhelmingly from the ranks of students and intellectuals. The strike at the Japanese-owned Uniden factory in Shenzhen, Guangdong carries the protest movement to a new level. It is significant as one of the first actions by workers in opposition to Japanese labor practices, as well as being an action that could simultaneously impact on the American giant firm Wal-Mart that has thus far resisted Chinese government pressures to permit a union.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=17&ItemID=7713

Bowen: Recuse Wal-Mart chiefs
BY CHRISTOPHER LEONARD
Posted on Saturday, April 23, 2005
Email this story Printer-friendly version
When Jared Bowen asks the Wal-Mart board of directors to rehire him next week, he will ask Wal-Mart’s senior officers to stay out of the decision making, according to Bowen’s attorney, Steve Kardell.
Kardell said he will ask the board of directors to form an independent committee to consider Bowen’s case, excluding such members as Wal-Mart Chief Executive Officer H. Lee Scott and retired executive Jack Shewmaker.

http://www.nwanews.com/story.php?paper=adg§ion=Business&storyid=114304

County considers anti-Wal-Mart resolution
BY KRISTEN CATES
THE SOUTHERN
MURPHYSBORO - While plans for a proposed Wal-Mart Supercenter moving to the Illinois 13 and Country Club Road neighborhood haven't moved forward, the argument over who supports the megastore and who is opposed rages on.
Friends for Fair Growth, a growing grassroots organization aimed at putting the brakes on Wal-Mart's plans to move to a heavily wooded, rural family neighborhood, has circulated petitions and has now received more than 1,000 signatures of support.

http://www.southernillinoisan.com/articles/2005/04/23/top/102347.txt

Reports blast 'double-dipping' by Wal-Mart

Retailer, which has gotten $50M in subsidies, has Florida's highest number of Medicaid-eligible workers.

By Susan Lundine and Christine Selvaggi Baumann
Orlando Business Journal
Updated: 8:00 p.m. ET April 17, 2005

Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which has reaped millions of dollars in government subsidies to expand its operations in Florida, is potentially the state's biggest user of the Medicaid system.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/7541854/

Wal-Mart is changing its style
By Anne D'Innocenzio
The Associated Press
NEW YORK — When Teresa McDowell shops at Wal-Mart, she sticks to buying basic household products and groceries, never crossing the aisle to pick up furniture or clothing.
"I'm pretty much an Abercrombie, Gap, J. Crew, Banana Republic person," the Atlanta resident said.

http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/living/2002242737_walmartfashions18.html

Moye wins Wal-Mart Bass Fishing League Bulldog Division Tournament

http://www.bassresource.com/bass_fishing_123/BFL_oconee_05.html

Robbery, Biting At Wal-Mart

A case of robbery and biting at the Wal-mart Supercenter on Broadway in Tyler. Police say 20-year-old Bennie Earl Black was suspected of shoplifting a pellet gun and was confronted by an employee. Black is then accused of biting the employee on the hand. He's also charged with attempting to flee from police while officers interviewed witnesses and possession of marijuana.

http://www.kltv.com/Global/story.asp?S=3227167&nav=1TjDYoL0

Traffic light mayslow Wal-Mart plans in Raynham
By Kevin Tocci, ENTERPRISE CORRESPONDENT
RAYNHAM — The Planning Board wants Wal-Mart to make Center Street a priority before it approves plans for a super-center on Route 138.
Wal-Mart has offered Raynham $100,000 for a new fire truck and $400,000 that would assist the North Raynham Water District in building a new well on King Philip Street. The super-center is proposed for 160 Broadway where the former Par 3 golf course occupied 25.6 acres.

http://enterprise.southofboston.com/articles/2005/04/18/news/news/news03.txt

Haaretz

Amending past wrongs
By Haaretz Editorial
At the ceremony Thursday in the sculpture garden of the President's Residence in Jerusalem, Russian President Vladimir Putin will unveil a sculpture by the artist Zurab Tseritely. The sculpture, which represents the destruction of the Jewish people, is a gift from the Russian president, who wishes in this manner to express solidarity with the Holocaust of the Jewish people.
This is no small matter. The Soviet Union lost more than 25 million people in World War II and for decades refused to look upon the Holocaust as something unique in human history. By his gift, Putin wants to say he is sensitive to one of the founding events in the Jewish people's revival in the modern era. The Russian president's gesture is particularly important in view of the recent increase in anti-Semitic incidents in Russia.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/pages/ShArt.jhtml?itemNo=568533&contrassID=2&subContrassID=4&sbSubContrassID=0

PM: Ezer Weizman was symbol of Israeli sabra
By Ran Reznick, David Ratner and Jonathan Lis, Haaretz Correspondents, and News Agencies
Former president Ezer Weizman, in many ways a larger-than-life figure who played a key role in establishing the Israel Air Force and in forging peace with Egypt, died Sunday evening at his home in Caesarea, at the age of 80.
His successor, President Moshe Katsav said Monday that along with all of Israel, he was "in pain and in shock" over Weizman's passing.
"Ezer was a symbol and example of the Israeli sabra," Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said on learning that Weizman, who had been in declining health in recent months, had passed away. "Every station in his life was a cornerstone in the building of this country," Sharon said in a statement.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/568496.html

PA to Israel: Coordinate pullout with us or face problems
By Aluf Benn and Arnon Regular, Haaretz Correspondents
The Palestinian Authority is demanding that Israel coordinate with it the line to which it will withdraw under the Gaza Strip disengagement plan, and not make a unilateral decision on the matter. The demand was raised by PA Civil Affairs Minister Mohammed Dahlan in meetings with senior Israeli officials before the Passover holiday.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/568541.html

Hamas official to leaders abroad: Move to Gaza after pullout
By Amos Harel, Haaretz Correspondent, and Haaretz Service
The head of Hamas in the Gaza Strip on Monday called on leaders of the militant Islamic group who live abroad to return to Palestinian territory after Israel withdraws from Gaza, Israel Radio reported.
Mahmoud a-Zahar also said he would not agree to give up arms, the radio said.
Hamas leaders living abroad, mostly in Syria, include Khaled Meshal, head of Hamas' political department and one of the group's most influential leaders abroad.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/568735.html

Lebanon pro-Syria security chief resigns ahead of Syrian exit
By Haaretz Service and News Agencies
Lebanon's powerful pro-Syrian security chief submitted his resignation on Monday, hours before the last Syrian military and intelligence forces were due to leave the country.
"Security chiefs are usually appointed with politics and change when it changes," Jamil al-Sayyed, head of the General Security, said in his resignation letter.

http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/568774.html

Michael Moore Today

THE MICHAEL MOORE FREEDOM OF SPEECH SCHOLARSHIP
AT CAL STATE SAN MARCOS
On September 13th, 2004 Cal State San Marcos President Karen Haynes announced her decision to rescind a speaking invitation Michael Moore had received from the student body on the grounds that the speaker was too "political." The student government responded to Ms. Haynes' decision by raising money themselves and organizing the 10,000 person rally at the Del Mar Fairgrounds on October 12, 2004, as part of Moore's 63-city "Slacker Uprising Tour." In honor of those courageous students, "The Michael Moore Freedom of Speech Scholarship at Cal State San Marcos" is established.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/takeaction/sanmarcos.php

http://www.michaelmoore.com/

Students Move
To Ban Military Recruiters
"It's a real conflict of interest for the feeling of the whole school...which is to allow every kind of knowledge to grow...and to have people be themselves." --Leah Rathy, Walnut Hills junior
April 22nd, 2005 3:34 am
Students Move To Ban Military Recruiters
By Bill Price / WPCO Cincinnati
A Cincinnati public high school is considering banning military recruiters from campus.
The Student Congress at Walnut Hills High voted last week to ban recruiters because they feel the military discriminates against gays.
The vote wasn't causing controversy among Walnut Hills students when 9News visited Thursday. In fact, we found many students here didn't even know their student government had taken a stand on the issue.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2332

Red Lake School Lost Aid Due to Signature
By Frederic J. Frommer / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A missing signature disqualified a grant proposal for mental health and conflict resolution aid for the Minnesota school district where a student last month killed seven people, federal officials confirmed Thursday.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2338

Rice Accused of Suppressing Terror Info
By Barry Schweid / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - A senior House Democrat who has been sharply critical of State Department reporting on terrorism is accusing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice of denying Congress and the public important information about the number of incidents.
"There appears to be a pattern in the administration's approach to terrorism data: favorable facts are revealed while unfavorable facts are suppressed," Rep. Henry A. Waxman of California said in a letter to the department's acting inspector general, Cameron R. Hume.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2345

Senate GOP Sets Up Filibuster Showdown
Two Bush Nominees, Both Women, Sent to Floor for Test Between Republicans and Democrats
By Charles Babington and Dan Balz / Washington Post
Moving the Senate closer to a historic confrontation, the Republican-controlled Judiciary Committee yesterday endorsed two of President Bush's most controversial nominees to federal appellate court, and Democrats vowed once again to use the filibuster to block their confirmation.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2339

Cheney Weighs in on Judicial Filibusters
By Jesse J. Holland / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Vice President Dick Cheney warned Democrats Friday that he will cast the tie-breaking vote to ban filibusters of President Bush's judicial nominees if the Senate deadlocks on the question.
Republicans are moving the Senate toward a final confrontation with Democrats over judicial nominations. Internal GOP polling shows that most Americans don't support Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist's plan to ban judicial filibusters — a tactic in which opponents can prevent a vote on a nomination with just 41 votes in the 100-member Senate.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2344

Bush Hopes Saudis Will Help;
"Gasoline prices are high, we haven't yet entered the summer driving season, and what is the president going to do about it?"

Bush Encounters Hurdles on Energy Agenda
By Tom Raum / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Running for president five years ago, George W. Bush pledged to jawbone energy-exporting nations to keep oil prices low and to win passage of legislation to spur more domestic energy production. Delivering on either count has proved difficult for the Texas oilman.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2347


"...it is wrong that the leader of the United States must ask favors from a foreign prince."

Democrats Hit Bush on Gas Prices, Energy Plan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Bush should not be forced to ask for favors from Saudi Arabia to help lower near-record prices at American gas pumps, a senior Democratic congressman said on Saturday.
U.S. Rep. Ed Markey of Massachusetts blamed the Bush administration's "failed energy policy" for the high cost of oil and called for a plan that focused on renewable technologies, energy efficiency and conservation rather than an expansion of oil and gas drilling in the United States.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2349

Bush Bill Would Raise Gas Prices

Dems: Energy Bill Would Raise Gas Prices
By Lolita C. Baldor / Associated Press
WASHINGTON - The energy bill that passed the House on Thursday will raise gasoline prices and subsidize oil companies but fail to reduce the country's dependence on foreign oil, Rep. Edward Markey, D-Mass., said Saturday.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2350

AP Cameraman Killed by Gunfire in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq - A television cameraman working for The Associated Press was killed Saturday when gunfire broke out after an explosion in the northern city of Mosul. An AP photographer was wounded in the same incident.
AP identified the victims as Associated Press Television News cameraman Saleh Ibrahim and photographer Mohamed Ibrahim, no relation to the deceased. Saleh Ibrahim was in his early 30s and was a father of five.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2355

http://www.michaelmoore.com/


Videos Show Downing of Helicopter, Killing in Iraq
Footage on the Internet and TV shows crash and the slaying of crewman who survived it.
By Solomon Moore / Los Angeles Times
BAGHDAD — Video recordings showing the downing of a commercial helicopter in central Iraq and the execution of the sole surviving crew member emerged Friday on the Internet and an Arab satellite news channel.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2356

Four Car Bombings in Iraq Leave 21 Dead
Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents exploded two car bombs in a Baghdad market and two more in Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Sunday, killing a total of 21 Iraqis and wounding 73 in one of the bloodiest days since Iraq's historic elections.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2365

April 24th, 2005 1:27 pm
5 Killed in Border Clashes in Afghanistan
By Stephen Graham / Associated Press
KABUL, Afghanistan - U.S. and Afghan soldiers backed by warplanes and artillery battled suspected insurgents in clashes near the border with Pakistan, and four fighters and one Afghan soldier were killed, the U.S. military said Sunday.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2358

Afghanistan woman stoned to death
BBC
A woman has been stoned to death in Afghanistan, reportedly for committing adultery.
The killing is said to have taken place in the Urgu district of north-eastern Badakhshan province.
A local Afghan government official confirmed the death, and said the government would investigate the case.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2363

April 24th, 2005 2:54 pm
US police handcuff five-year-old
BBC
A lawyer has threatened to sue police officers who handcuffed an allegedly uncontrollable five-year-old after she acted up at a Florida kindergarten.
The officers were called by the school after a teacher and assistant principal failed to calm down the little girl.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2362

Hundreds mourn, celebrate human rights activist
Sean Penn: Ruzicka was his hero
LAKEPORT, California (AP) -- An American activist who was killed by a car bomb in Iraq earlier this month was remembered Saturday for her dedication to humanitarian causes and her personal mission of counting civilian casualties of war.
Many of the more than 600 mourners, including friends, family, colleagues and journalists who traveled from around the world for her funeral, shared memories of Marla Ruzicka's boundless energy that helped her accomplish much in her 28 years.

http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=2364

The Chicago Tribune

BULLS 103, WIZARDS 94
GAME 2: AT UNITED CENTER, 7:30 P.M. WEDNESDAY
New-timers' day
By K.C. Johnson
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 24, 2005, 11:24 PM CDT
The chant started in the far reaches of the 300 level, those United Center sections that have been barren during the wasteland of the past six seasons.
The chant cascaded downward, bathing the Bulls—and one in particular—in love as they put the finishing touches on Sunday's 103-94 victory over Washington in Game 1 of the Eastern Conference quarterfinals.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-050424bullsgamer,1,1019853.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Schools would prefer `keep your children in class' day
Annual children's visit to workplace Thursday is opposed by districts nationwide that call it `a lost instruction day'
By James Kimberly
Tribune staff reporter
Published April 24, 2005
One Naperville school district is warning parents that kids who participate in "Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work" day next year will be charged an unexcused absence.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/business/content/education/chi-0504240270apr24,1,2966384.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Schwarzenegger loses aura of invincibility
Governor regroups as approval tumbles
By Vincent J. Schodolski
Tribune national correspondent
Published April 24, 2005
LOS ANGELES -- He never used to lose. They could throw anything at him, even a mechanically or electronically superior female cyborg and he would triumph. But Arnold Schwarzenegger is discovering that he is in California, not in "California: The Movie."

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0504240267apr24,1,5984425.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Holding on, letting go
IN VIETNAM: WAR HAPPENED, WE'RE MOVING FORWARD
IN AMERICA: CONFLICT STILL PROVOKES ANGER, AMBIGUITY
By Michael A. Lev, Tribune foreign correspondent, Michael Tackett, senior correspondent, and Tim Jones, national correspondent
Published April 24, 2005
The Vietnam War was a searing conflict that cost 58,000 American lives. Thirty years later, for many Americans the war still echoes in college classrooms, within families and in the nation's political campaigns. But for most Vietnamese, the "American War" that killed an estimated 1 million people or more is their parents' war, only one chapter in the country's long history of armed struggle. The conflict with the U.S. is no longer an issue; the Vietnamese have largely moved on.

http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0504240313apr24,1,2642081.story?coll=chi-news-hed

Global Warming/Climate Change - Some are a little dated but important

Climate Change Is Melting Antarctic Glaciers

Posted April 24, 2005 12:00AM
An in-depth study using aerial photographs spanning the past half century of all 244 marine glaciers on the west side of the Antarctic finger-like peninsula pointing up to South America found that 87 percent of them were in retreat -- and the speed was rising.

Most of the glaciers on the Antarctic peninsula are in headlong retreat because of climate change, according to a leading scientist.
An in-depth study using aerial photographs spanning the past half century of all 244 marine glaciers on the west side of the finger-like peninsula pointing up to South America found that 87 percent of them were in retreat -- and the speed was rising.

http://www.sci-tech-today.com/story.xhtml?story_id=120006Q6NWM0

Plea to farmers on climate change
Farmers in the UK are being urged to consider how they will cope with the effects of climate change.
The government says changing weather patterns could have severe implications for crops and livestock.
Government scientists have been looking at possible consequences of global warming as far ahead as 2080, but say the effects could be seen far sooner.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/4252419.stm

Climate change leading to severe erosion in parks
Last updated Feb 10 2005 04:52 PM AST
CBC News
CHARLOTTETOWN – It's been an especially bad year for erosion at Prince Edward Island National Park because of severe winter storms.
Park officials spoke about coastal erosion before a special committee on climate change on Thursday in Charlottetown.
A storm surge on Boxing Day eroded as much as 10 metres of shoreline in some areas of the park. It tore away dunes, and took large chunks from the bottoms of cliffs.

http://pei.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=pei-coastal-erosion-20050210

EU sets out global climate change mitigation agenda

New business and community resilience measures will be necessary.
The European Commission has set out a road-map for reducing the increase in global warming and for mitigating its impacts.
Climate change is a real threat that calls for a long-term, global response states the EC. The Kyoto Protocol, which comes into force on 16th February 2005 and legally obliges industrialised countries to meet targets with regard to their emissions of greenhouse gases is just a first step in its mitigation.

http://continuitycentral.com/news01742.htm

Global climate change dispute heats up prior to Kyoto treaty
Environmental group says Earth's temperature could rise by 2026
By Sam Hodgson, Senior Staff Writer
Published: Thursday, February 10, 2005

Leading international scientists gathered at the Hadley Centre for Climate Prediction and Research in Exeter, U.K., Feb. 1-3, to further scientific understanding and encourage international debate about global climate change.
At the conference, the World Wildlife Fund proposed that by the year 2026, the Earth could become an average 3.6 degrees Fahrenheit higher than pre-industrial levels, according to The Associated Press.

http://www.thedailyaztec.com/news/2005/02/10/City/Global.Climate.Change.Dispute.Heats.Up.Prior.To.Kyoto.Treaty-858372.shtml


Climate change impacting Nebraska, says Hagel
By Robert Pore
robert.pore@theindependent.com

While global climate change is impacting Nebraska, it will also provide opportunities for the state's economy, said Sen. Chuck Hagel, R-Neb., Wednesday.

One of the opportunities Nebraska has in meeting the challenge of reducing greenhouse emissions, which are a contributing factor to global climate change, is the development of the state's energy potential through environmentally friendly renewable fuels, such as ethanol, biodiesel and wind power.

http://www.theindependent.com/stories/021005/new_climate10.shtml

The New Zealand Herald

'It was at Gallipoli that our young nations came of age'

Turkish honour guards are silhouetted behind a fluttering New Zealand flag during an international service at a Turkish memorial in Gallipoli. Picture / Reuters

25.04.05 2.15pm UPDATE

HELLES, Turkey - New Zealanders and Australians have poured into Anzac Cove for the 90th anniversary of one of World War One’s most vicious battles.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122229

Solo sailor recovers after dramatic rescue

25.04.05 1.00pm

A French solo sailor was today recovering after being rescued from high seas off Cape Reinga overnight.
His crippled sloop Teno Zaranza was towed into the safety of Spirits Bay in the Far North late this morning by the container ship Pacific Explorer which responded to a mayday call.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122234

Wintry weather grips the country

25.04.05 11.00am UPDATE

Desert Road is now open after ice and snow closed the road earlier today as the first blast of wintry weather for the year continued to grip much of the country on the Anzac holiday weekend.
Snow, hail and high winds have affected many regions.
The Rimutaka Hill road, north of Wellington, is open but motorists have been advised to take extreme care as a light dusting of snow and slushy conditions create driving hazards.

http://www.nzherald.co.nz/index.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10122214

The weather in Antarctica is (Crystal Ice Chime) is:

Scott Base

Cloudy

-27.0°

Updated Monday 25 Apr 8:59PM

The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:

37 °F / 3 °C
Clear

Humidity:
81%

Dew Point:
32 °F / 0 °C

Wind:
Calm

Pressure:
30.13 in / 1020 hPa

Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers

UV:
0 out of 16

Clouds (AGL):
Clear -

end

Pacific Global Satellite. April 23, 2005. It is a cooler Southern Hemisphere. 

The worst heat transfer to date occurred on February 4, 2005. It is this type of heat transfer to both poles that sublimes the ice Earth uses to stay cool enough for the biotic life it supports. This is a Global Warming process. It is directly related to carbon dioxide levels. The carbon dioxide levels are directly related to human activity. 

The first comprehensive study of glaciers around the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula reveals the real impact of recent climate change.
Results from the study by researchers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published this week in the journal Science, show that over the last 50 years 87% of 244 glaciers studied have retreated, and that average retreat rates have accelerated.
 

The Process of Sublimination is when a solid substance changes to gas without first becoming liquid.  

Conclusive Evidence to Global Warming

Antarctic glaciers retreating

Analysis of more than 2,000 aerial photographs dating from 1940 and more than 100 satellite images from the 1960s by Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and the US Geological Survey show glaciers along the Antarctic Peninsula retreating at an increasingly rapid pace and almost 90 per cent have melted significantly in the past 50 years.

It is unclear, however, whether the increased temperature causing the shrinkage is a natural regional effect or a result of global warming, said the scientists who conducted the study, published this week in the journal Science reports ABCnews.

Scientists worry about the melting of the ice sheets because the extra water may increase sea levels, which in turn could mean more flooding damage to coastal areas during storms.
They calculated that 87 percent of the 244 glaciers going out to sea from the peninsula have retreated during the last 50 years and that the pace of shrinkage has accelerated in the last decade. Until now, scientists were uncertain whether the glaciers were growing or melting.

http://thebosh.com/archives/2005/04/antarctic_glaci.php

Antarctic Peninsula's Rivers of Ice Shrinking

From Times Staff and Wire Reports
The first comprehensive survey of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula shows that the rivers of ice are shrinking, mostly because of warming of the local climate.

Researchers from the British Antarctic Survey and the U.S. Geological Survey analyzed more than 2,000 aerial photographs dating from 1940 and more than 100 satellite images taken since the 1960s. They calculated that 87% of the 244 glaciers have retreated over the last 50 years and that the pace of shrinkage has accelerated over the last decade, they reported this week in the journal Science.

http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/nation/la-sci-briefs23.5apr23,1,3325337.story?coll=la-headlines-nation

Antarctic Peninsula glaciers in widespread retreat, study finds

The first comprehensive study of glaciers around the coast of the Antarctic Peninsula reveals the real impact of recent climate change.

Results from the study by researchers at British Antarctic Survey (BAS) and U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) published this week in the journal Science, show that over the last 50 years 87% of 244 glaciers studied have retreated, and that average retreat rates have accelerated.

http://www.physorg.com/news3830.html

Antarctic glaciers are getting smaller faster
By Mark Henderson

GLACIERS in part of Antarctica are in dramatic retreat as a result of climate change, the first comprehensive survey of the region has revealed.
Scientists have discovered that 87 per cent of the 244 marine glaciers in the Antarctic Peninsula have shrunk over the past 50 years, and the rate at which they are melting is accelerating.

http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,3-1579574,00.html


Antarctic Peninsula bears brunt of global warming

AM - Friday, 22 April , 2005 08:28:00
Reporter: Kirsten Aiken

TONY EASTLEY: A comprehensive study of the history of glaciers on the Antarctic Peninsula indicates that the region is experiencing atmospheric warming at a rate up to five times the global average.

The British Antarctic Survey found nearly all of the Peninsula's 244 glaciers have retreated over the past 50 years. If the trend continues, and there's no reason that the BAS says that it won't, sea levels around the world could rise and flood low-lying cities.
London reporter Kirsten Aiken asked the British Antarctic Survey's Principal Investigator, David Vaughan, what the implications were from increased Antarctic melts.

http://www.abc.net.au/am/content/2005/s1351249.htm

Antarctic Peninsula weathers severe climate changes

The World Today - Friday, 22 April , 2005 12:22:00
Reporter: Karen Percy

ELEANOR HALL: British scientists in the Antarctic say they now have proof of the dramatic effects of climate change.

The British Antarctic Survey Group has just published research in the journal Science which shows that in the last half century almost 90 per cent of the glaciers in the Antarctic have retreated.

And they say it's no coincidence that during that time there's been a two-degree rise in the region's temperature.

Karen Percy compiled this report.

http://www.abc.net.au/worldtoday/content/2005/s1351604.htm

The Pastor John MacArthur. The Fraud.

The Sustained and Solicitous Religious Bigotry of CNN

The only consistent member of the 'Religous Friday' panel thus far is Dr. John MacArthur, Christian pastor of Grace Community Church in Southern California. One thing you will learn about Dr. John MacArthur is that his first two years of college was spent at the exclusively caucasian, christian evagelical school of Bob Jones University.

This was the second friday CNN has indulged the teaching of this bigot. He continues to profess his exclusive relationship to hold the key to 'eternity.' He claims all other religions inept in moral authority.

An exerpt from April 22, 2005 show of Larry King Live, from the transcript:


KING: Hudson, North Carolina. Hello.

CALLER: Yes, sir. My question to the panel, is do they believe that there is a God that represents the good, you know, that they keep talking about? And a devil which represents the evil that they talk about? And that you must choose the Lord, Jesus Christ, as you're savior in order to go to heaven. And if you reject the Lord Jesus Christ as your savior, that you will die and go to a devil's hell.

KING: No matter what good you do in life?

CALLER: No matter what good that we do in life, we can never be good enough.

KING: What, John MacArthur, what if you don't know about Jesus Christ -- an Aborigines.

MACARTHUR: Well, first of all let me say, what she said is a reflection of Biblical Christianity, so it is accurate. If you don't know about the truth, there's no other way to be saved. That's why the Bible commands us to go into all the world and preach the gospel to every preacher.

MARGOLIS: What if someone dedicates their life to helping homeless children, and people in third world countries and they happen to be Jewish and they don't accept Christ as their savior.

DEEPAK: Then they go to hell. Then they go to hell, just like you and me.

MARGOLIS: Yes, right. But you know what, there's the law -- I believe in the law of karma, what comes around goes around. And if you're good now, it will come back. And if you do something negative it comes back to you as well.

MACARTHUR: Let me clarify this.

Let me just clarify this real simply.

OK, there's two religions in world.

Just two.

One is the true Christian religion of divine accomplishment.

You can't be good enough, nobody can.

You only get there through Christ, goodness being applied to you when you believe in his death and resurrection.

Every other system in the world, Hindu, Muslim, Spiritist, you name it, believes that you get there by your works.

Those are the only two.

Make your choice.

You can pick from all the religions of the world, that's all the same thing.

Christianity stands alone based upon the authority of scripture.

THE AUTHORITY OF SCRIPTURE? As if any other religion has no scripture to stand on? I guess the Old Testament isn't scripture then, according to Mr. MacArthur? He is a bigot through and through with no tolerance or interest in other faiths. He disregards them as insignificant. His 'attitude' of superiority shows through every time. That arrogance is NOTHING I understand about Christianity. It's bigoted plain and simple.

As a result of that arrogance there is no humanity exhibited by MacArthur. Char Margolis and Deepak Chopra indulged the 'delusion' of MacArthur by stating of themselves they will go to hell along with everyone else that does not believe in Jesus Christ and take him as their lord and savior. Mr. MacArthur, nor Father Jim Keiter, felt a need to bring those two people into a better light from their self-depricating statements. It was just fine for them to ridicule themselves without any acknowledgement to their statements except for Mr. MacArthur to continue to embellish his only belief in a savior of exclusivity. He is a horrible man as are those that share his beliefs.

KEITER: You have to be careful, though, to say that Jesus Christ is my personal lord and savior and then believe that I'm going to be saved and I can do whatever I want is not true.

MACARTHUR: That's right.

KEITER: We believe in Jesus Christ, but then our actions need to exhume and show that we believe in Jesus Christ and how we live and how we act definitely has to display that, not just the statement.

MACARTHUR: You know what, I would go so far as to say that if they don't display that, then you're not a Christian, you don't have Christ, Christ doesn't reside in your life, you don't possess the Holy Spirit, because if you do, you will be transformed. You'll be a new creation.

HOW LONG WITH THE INDULGENCE OF BIGOTRY and RACISM pervade this programming? How long do people have to be unexpectedly insulted by this insistance of inflicting painful judgement on the majority of humanity?

The John MacArthur File

Exerpts:

"MacArthur's schooling was at Bob Jones University, Los Angeles Pacific College and Talbot Theological Seminary. He is senior pastor of the large Grace Community Church of Panorama City, California and is speaker on the popular "Grace to You' broadcast, He has stirred controversy and gained fame by taking nontraditional positions on the blood of Christ, lordship salvation and the eternal sonship of Christ. He appears to delight in purporting to know more than the historic theologians on these questions. It is not my purpose to analyze these positions. I will leave that to others."

"...He has spoken for R.C. Sproul, Jerry Falwell and various General Association of Regular Baptist Churches...."

"...I list these names to show that his speaking engagements range from supposed fundamentalists to confessed new evangelicals,

MacArthur has stated, concerning himself and his Grace Community Church staff, that they consider themselves evangelicals, not fundamentalists. In this light, it is rather strange that MacArthur is a member of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America. Grace Community Church was host to the 1990 National Convention of this group. The prospect of this invitation caused some stir among the more fundamental brethren of that fellowship. Consequently, at the group's 1989 convention in Limerick, Pennsylvania, a question and answer session was held with Dr. MacArthur. The panel members quizzed him about the blood of Christ, lordship salvation and Christ's eternal sonship. The group decided that he was not heretical. Sad to say he was not quizzed about his new evangelical connections and engagements. I have not studied MacArthur's writings enough to call him heretical, but a glance at his itineraries demonstrates that he is by all means new evangelical.

I was a member of the Independent Fundamental Churches of America in 1963 and contended on the convention floor that to eliminate criticism of ecumenism and new evangelicalism from the Voice magazine, the group's organ, would open the door for independent men who had no conviction of separation to enter the group and hold ministerial credentials there. In Dr. John MacArthur I offer you Exhibit A."

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The Happy Heinies

This administration is all about money.

They cater to the "ID" in every Freudian ego.

Either indulge it where there is money, in this case, the restaurant industry OR suppress it where the constituency wants to victimize in the name of God, namely contraception and abortion.

As long as the constituency is happy is matters not their longevity as there are lots of babies growing up in 'Go forth and multiple."

It is better if all those increasing longevity numbers are cut short anyway as SSI is a thing of the past. The thing about this '?moral?' issues is that one cannot confess it in the Confessional. Irresponsible behavior that adds pounds, increases cholesterol and diminishes fitness has no religious compensation except perhaps for THE LAST RIGHTS !!