September 5, 2005. The Great Sand Dunes, Colorado.
Friday, September 16, 2005
President Putin blasts USA for attack into Iraq without UN approval - report page down
September 15, 2005.
Russia's President Vladimir Putin addressed the United Nations. He was compelling. He is annoyed with the United States to say the least. The United States needs to engage with every other country in the world in Non-Proliferation.
Morning Papers - continued ...
China Daily
Hu calls for a harmonious world at summit
By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-16 05:59
NEW YORK: Multilateralism, mutually beneficial co-operation and the sprit of inclusiveness should be upheld in realizing common security and prosperity and in building a harmonious world, President Hu Jintao said yesterday.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478349.htm
US envoy: Nuke talks still 'in business'
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 17:03
BEIJING - The chief U.S. envoy to talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program met Friday with his North Korean counterpart in an effort to break a stalemate. Afterward he declared the negotiations still "in business."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478554.htm
China offers revised disarmament proposal
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 18:47
The chief U.S. envoy to talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program met Friday with his North Korean counterpart as host China proposed a compromise aimed at ending a stalemate, the Associated Press reported.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478565.htm
More commitment for poverty alleviation
China Daily Updated: 2005-09-16 06:00
President Hu Jintao on Wednesday announced China's five-component package to aid less-developed nations at the summit on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.
The package, which included tariff-free trade, debt relief, preferential credits as well as medical support and personnel training, is much bigger and more comprehensive than the programmes China had allocated itself for the same purposes.
As a developing country, China, despite declining numbers, still has a large population living in poverty, and it is therefore offering what it can in this regard.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478373.htm
China's economic miracle will continue - OECD
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 15:49
China's 25-year economic miracle is likely to be sustained for "some time" and its booming economy should grow by 9.0 percent this year and 9.2 percent in 2006, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report says.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478536.htm
Concord Monitor
Family, friends mourn EEE victim
She's first in state to die this year
By JOELLE FARRELL
Monitor staff
September 13. 2005 4:15PM
Kelly Labell, 20, a receptionist at a Stratham Honda dealership, called in sick on Sept. 2, but she ended up coming in anyway to cover for an ill coworker. Her body ached with what she thought was the flu, and her head hurt so much that she cried a little, said Jim Lurvey, the general manager of the dealership, the Honda Barn and Nissan of Stratham.
A week later, Labell was dead. The Newton woman was the first person in the state to die this year from Eastern equine encephalitis, or Triple E, a mosquito-borne illness that kills about a third of the people it infects. Four other people contracted the disease this summer, but all, including a Concord man and a 4-year-old Goffstown boy, recovered.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/REPOSITORY/509130370/1221
Curb appeal? Not exactly
City admits gaffe in Mountain Road work
By ERIC MOSKOWITZ
Monitor staff
September 15. 2005 8:00AM
fter the paving crew departed Mountain Road this summer, the residents on the stretch south of Concord Country Club found that the gravel shoulders had been eliminated, with asphalt curbing left in their place. The curbs cut off passage for the pedestrians and bicyclists who had long relied on the shoulder for safety. They also ran across driveways, prohibited on-street parking and forced residents to step into the roadway to reach their mailboxes, which the city had moved close to the curb. Suffice it to say, people were upset.
But after surprising residents with the project, officials have mended relations with them. A series of front-lawn meetings led to a proposal to remove the curbs and extend the sidewalk on Mountain Road as far as Concord Country Club. The $120,000 plan, endorsed by the city administration, is awaiting approval by the city council.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050915/REPOSITORY/509150366/1031
British Authorities Detain Seven Men
By ED JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) -- British authorities detained seven foreigners Thursday for deportation as threats to national security, and the government backed a police proposal to hold terror suspects for up to three months without charge.
Civil rights activists condemned the idea of increasing detentions from the current 14 days, which was in legislation unveiled by Home Secretary Charles Clarke to toughen anti-terrorism laws after the deadly July 7 bombing attacks on London commuters.
If approved by Parliament, the Counter-Terrorism Bill also would outlaw "indirect incitement" of terrorism and "glorifying" violence - provisions aimed at extremist Islamic clerics accused of seducing youths into militant activities.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITAIN_TERROR_LAWS?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
FBI Experts Testify at Trial in Ireland
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
Associated Press Writer
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Arabic-language plans for a bomb hidden in a baby's milk bottle could produce an explosion strong enough to destroy an airliner, U.S. experts testified Wednesday in the trial of an Algerian man accused of links to al-Qaida.
Abbas Boutrab, 32, was arrested near Belfast in 2003 with 25 computer disks filled with instructions on building compact bombs and other weapons and on smuggling them onto a plane. He denies any terrorism links, insisting he downloaded the material from the Internet out of curiosity.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NIRELAND_AL_QAIDA_SUSPECT?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
World Leaders Sign Nuke Terrorism Treaty
By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- World leaders began signing a global treaty Wednesday making it a crime to possess radioactive material or weapons with the intention of committing a terrorist act or to damage a nuclear facility.
The Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism was the 13th anti-terrorism treaty to be adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but the first since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country sponsored the seven-year effort leading to the treaty's adoption by consensus in April, was the first leader to sign the document Wednesday morning at a desk in a makeshift hall on the sidelines of the U.N. summit.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_NUCLEAR_TERRORISM?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Main Points of Nuclear Terrorism Treaty
Main points of International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism:
-Outlaws possession of radioactive material with the intent of killing or seriously injuring someone or of causing substantial damage property or the environment.
-Makes it illegal to use or damage a nuclear facility with the intent of killing or seriously injuring someone, substantially damaging the environment, or coercing a person, organization or a state to do something.
-Does not cover nuclear attacks committed within a single state by citizens of that nation and no victim is from another country. Also excludes activities of military forces during armed conflict.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_NUCLEAR_TERRORISM_GLANCE?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Ice Cream Shop Terror Suspect Trial Starts
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- A Yemeni immigrant ice cream shop owner accused of illegally funneling $21.9 million overseas successfully fought to keep prosecutors from introducing evidence allegedly linking him to terrorist groups as his trial began Tuesday.
Abad Elfgeeh, 50, is accused of transmitting money around the world without a license from a dozen bank accounts linked to his Brooklyn storefront. Prosecutors have said his business was used by a Yemeni cleric convicted earlier this year of a scheme to fund al-Qaida and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERROR_WAR_ICE_CREAM_SHOP?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Two Plead Not Guilty to Terrorism Charges
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Two men pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges alleging they planned terrorist attacks against military facilities, the Israeli Consulate and other targets in the Los Angeles area.
Levar Haley Washington, 25, and Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, were ordered held without bail after their pleas in U.S. District Court.
"In the name of Allah, I plead not guilty," Washington said before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Nakazato.
Prosecutors contend the plot was orchestrated by Washington, Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana, 21, at the behest of Kevin James, an inmate of the California State Prison, Sacramento. James, 29, founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERRORISM_PROBE?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
International Herald Tribune
Democrats question Roberts on his candor
WASHINGTON Judge John Roberts Jr., the prospective chief justice of the United States, tried Thursday to win over wary Senate Democrats who questioned his candor and the depth of his commitment to minority rights.
Judge Roberts told one of the Democrats, a skeptical Senator Edward Kennedy, at his confirmation hearing that he did indeed believe in affirmative action, as demonstrated in part by his work as a private lawyer to guide minority students through the rigors of law school
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/scotus.php
Schröder assails his foe's tax proposals
NUREMBERG Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lit into his conservative opponents on Thursday as Germany's national campaign entered its final days, promising to balance the need to continue economic reform with the attention to equality and social justice that is popular among his Social Democrats.
In a wide-ranging stump speech that garnered the heartiest cheers when he promised to keep Germany out of war, Schröder hammered away at a proposal by the conservative Christian Democrats to sweep away deductions in favor of a simplified tax system.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/schroder.php
Bush Takes Responsibility; Evacuees Claim They Were Shot At
By Kevin Harris
Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
President Bush will address the nation from Louisiana on Thursday and offer a public already unsatisfied with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, an updated assessment on recovery efforts in the region, the White House announced yesterday.
The announcement came one day after Mike Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), resigned from his post amid a flurry of accusations from lawmakers and the public who said he and other state and local government officials were to slow in responding to the hurricane.
President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that some of the blame should fall on his shoulders. "Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a news conference from the White House. "To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."
http://www.thehilltoponline.com/media/paper590/news/2005/09/14/NationWorld/Bush-Takes.Responsibility.Evacuees.Claim.They.Were.Shot.At-984156.shtml
My Rebuttal
"THE PRESIDENCY OF CONS"
Mr. Bush in New Orleans
Time enough has gone by and the natives have complained enough. It is time to set down the 'acceptable' ground rules that fuels "The Party" and not the nation.
A huge spending program in the very place that is so confused whom is on their side they keep voting RED.
Governor Haley Barbour is the worst person to oversee any reconstruction effort of Mississippi as he is a PRACTICED BUBBA who will feed the 'Good Ole Boy' network without caring for the very people who were neglected in the first place.
Senator Obama has proposed an Oversight Committee to INSURE the best outcome for the people and not "The Party." Senator Vitter knows all too well how a corrupt system within a state can cause and enforce poverty and he has already spoken out against it. I applaud both of them to realize the country who cares has to work with the very government that DIDN'T act in the best interest of the people of the Gulf Coast.
Bush is a horrible president. Ophelia is a Global Warming Storm and one of the reasons he is dumping huge amounts of money into the PRIVATE sector is that the oil companies of the Lousiana Gulf needs to rebuild. Little of interest is the people EXCEPT from the selling point of the politics.
The USA is between a rock and a hard place. It has placed in leadership THE MOST EXPLOITIVE government it could have elected on the basis of fear. The fear they feel is nurtured and harvested by Bush on a regular basis. This is one of those times.
The people of the Gulf Coast does not need people who walk all over their polluted Mississippi Mud they need people who will rebuild the wetlands and levees as well as a 'shining' new 'gold plated' city fit for a Neocon King !
"Turning the funds over to state and local governments isn't the answer, either. F.D.R. actually made a point of taking control away from local politicians; then as now, patronage played a big role in local politics."
The Red States are among the most corrupt. This gives a chance for preceding Democrats to come to the forefront to take charge and any program that comes the way of the victims work in their favor. By making the governments 'toe the line' doing what is best for the people of the Gulf Coast including rebuilding the wetlands and levees they will make friends all along the way.
The Democrats have had to find ways of working with Red State Corruption and this is finally their chance to purge these states of it. It is what sends 'shivers' down the spine of the president and his veep and is what caused 'the staging' to 'His Base' yesterday evening. Every Southern Bubba loves the look of a Plantation house !
In developing a new economy for The Gulf Coast realizing the oil industry drilling sunk New Orleans in the first place they can firt contemplate the new 'idea' DC is circulating; what does one do with all that refuse? I can't get it out of my mind that the first plans anyone has for these areas is to first create a foundation for a huge landfill by bulldozing the ruins and filling in atop of all that.
It's a scary thought when one realizes Alabama already has the largest toxic landfills in the country while also realizing Bush has no respect for the environment at all. Literally what could happen here is to turn the Gulf Coast into a huge landfill to benefit the fifty states and providing an income trucking in tons upon tons of refuse only to leach to the Gulf Coast waters.
Realizing this is Bush compliments of every Southern and Bigoted Bubba via Rove anything is possible and probably will be.
The Moscow Times
Putin Calls Terror a Threat to Rights
Combined Reports
Rick Wilking / Reuters
President Vladimir Putin addressing the UN Assembly in New York on Thursday. He said the UN Security Council should focus on counter-terrorism efforts.
(image placeholder)
UNITED NATIONS -- Terrorism is the main threat to human rights and development, and the UN Security Council must be at the center of global efforts to fight it, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday in his address to a United Nations summit.
But governments alone are not enough to counter the threat, Putin said. Religious and civic groups as well as media, cultural and humanitarian organizations must all play a role, he said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/001.html
Russia Today Television Misses Launch Date
By Stephen Boykewich
Staff Writer
Sergey Ponomarev / AP
Yury Novosyolov, left, Margarita Simonyan and Michael Alexander speaking at Russia Today's offices on Thursday.
(image placeholder)
Russia Today, the state-funded English-language satellite television station, missed its planned launch date Thursday, and the station's directors worked to put a positive spin on what was instead the start of a round-the-clock technical rehearsal.
"Today, we're beginning the technical broadcast, but we don't want to give a definite date for the full launch now because of problems we may still encounter," Margarita Simonyan, Russia Today's 25-year-old editor, told reporters during a tour of the station's headquarters at the RIA-Novosti state news agency.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/002.html
Moscow will help Afghanistan whatever the election outcome - parliamentarian
RIA NOVOSTI. September 16, 2005, 8:43 PM
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will continue its assistance to Afghanistan regardless of the outcome of the September 18 parliamentary election, a member of Russia's upper house of parliament said Friday.
Mikhail Margelov, head of the foreign relations committee in the Federation Council, said the elections would legitimize democratic processes in Afghanistan, but would not bring "absolute stability."
It is unlikely that terrorist groups will stop operating in the country anytime soon, and its highland areas will remain a threat to regional security, Margelov said. This is why "the need for Russian involvement in Afghan internal processes will remain" in the years to come.
Margelov said Russia's objectives included hunting down remnants of the Taliban, preventing drug trafficking, and restoring stability to the country and the surrounding region
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Ex-President Yeltsin to have sutures removed Monday
RIA NOVOSTI. September 16, 2005, 8:05 PM
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - First Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who underwent surgery for a hip fracture last week, will have sutures removed Monday, Valery Zolotov, chief physician at the Kremlin hospital, said Friday.
Yeltsin is expected to be discharged from the hospital early next week.
Zolotov said the former president was in "quite a satisfactory condition" and in "good spirits."
The doctor said Yeltsin was exercising and could walk with the help of crutches several times a day.
Yeltsin broke his hip while on vacation in Italy September 7
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Yukos Gets Bankruptcy Notification
By Catherine Belton
Staff Writer
Judit Polner / Bloomberg
Cars lining up for gas in Samara in August 2004. Yukos received a letter from a Gazprom unit declaring it bankrupt.
(image placeholder)
Lawyers for Yukos were scrambling on Thursday to confirm whether a Gazprom subsidiary had filed a bankruptcy suit against the embattled oil major.
Gazprom subsidiary Orenburggeofizika said that Yukos had been declared bankrupt for nonpayment of debts, according to a letter to Yukos dated Sept. 14, a copy of which was obtained by The Moscow Times.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/041.html
Challenging Taboos
The first Russian staging of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" prompts some strong reactions from the audience.
By John Freedman
Published: September 16, 2005
I am of two sharply conflicted minds about Joel Lehtonen's production of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues." On one hand it strikes me as one of the lamest pieces of theater I have seen in some time; on the other I was appalled, even indignant, about the reception many afforded it on opening night last week.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/109.html
Field of Dreams
The organizers of a Kremlin-backed exhibition devoted to contemporary Russian sculpture hope to see more such works in Moscow's public places.
By Brian Droitcour
Published: September 16, 2005
Don't let the horses out to graze: There's contemporary art in that there field. For "ArtPole," an exhibition organized by Aidan Gallery, two dozen sculptures have been arranged in a grassy 500-square-meter field belonging to the First Stud Farm, 25 kilometers outside of Moscow along the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse. Kremlin support for the exhibition has given hope to its organizers and sympathizers, who lament the lack of contemporary art in Moscow's public places and want their city to have something like the sculpture-filled fountain in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/102.html
Training Girls for Victory
A U.S.-made documentary profiles the dilapidated club that gave rise to Russia's reigning female tennis stars.
By Anna Malpas
Published: September 16, 2005
When Philip Johnston made his documentary "Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis," he geared it to appeal to viewers in his native United States. But the film, which traces the careers of players such as Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova, has now been picked up by a Russian television channel and will be shown this weekend.
The 51-minute film is due to air on Ren-TV Saturday, the same day that the national team begins playing in the final of the international women's team competition, the Fed Cup. In his documentary, Johnston focuses on the fact that three team members -- Anastasia Myskina, Yelena Dementyeva and Dinara Safina -- trained together with Kournikova as children at the same dilapidated Moscow club, Spartak.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/107.html
continued …
Hu calls for a harmonious world at summit
By Jiang Zhuqing (China Daily)
Updated: 2005-09-16 05:59
NEW YORK: Multilateralism, mutually beneficial co-operation and the sprit of inclusiveness should be upheld in realizing common security and prosperity and in building a harmonious world, President Hu Jintao said yesterday.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478349.htm
US envoy: Nuke talks still 'in business'
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 17:03
BEIJING - The chief U.S. envoy to talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program met Friday with his North Korean counterpart in an effort to break a stalemate. Afterward he declared the negotiations still "in business."
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478554.htm
China offers revised disarmament proposal
(AP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 18:47
The chief U.S. envoy to talks on ending North Korea's nuclear weapons program met Friday with his North Korean counterpart as host China proposed a compromise aimed at ending a stalemate, the Associated Press reported.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478565.htm
More commitment for poverty alleviation
China Daily Updated: 2005-09-16 06:00
President Hu Jintao on Wednesday announced China's five-component package to aid less-developed nations at the summit on the 60th anniversary of the establishment of the United Nations.
The package, which included tariff-free trade, debt relief, preferential credits as well as medical support and personnel training, is much bigger and more comprehensive than the programmes China had allocated itself for the same purposes.
As a developing country, China, despite declining numbers, still has a large population living in poverty, and it is therefore offering what it can in this regard.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478373.htm
China's economic miracle will continue - OECD
(AFP)
Updated: 2005-09-16 15:49
China's 25-year economic miracle is likely to be sustained for "some time" and its booming economy should grow by 9.0 percent this year and 9.2 percent in 2006, an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report says.
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/english/doc/2005-09/16/content_478536.htm
Concord Monitor
Family, friends mourn EEE victim
She's first in state to die this year
By JOELLE FARRELL
Monitor staff
September 13. 2005 4:15PM
Kelly Labell, 20, a receptionist at a Stratham Honda dealership, called in sick on Sept. 2, but she ended up coming in anyway to cover for an ill coworker. Her body ached with what she thought was the flu, and her head hurt so much that she cried a little, said Jim Lurvey, the general manager of the dealership, the Honda Barn and Nissan of Stratham.
A week later, Labell was dead. The Newton woman was the first person in the state to die this year from Eastern equine encephalitis, or Triple E, a mosquito-borne illness that kills about a third of the people it infects. Four other people contracted the disease this summer, but all, including a Concord man and a 4-year-old Goffstown boy, recovered.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050913/REPOSITORY/509130370/1221
Curb appeal? Not exactly
City admits gaffe in Mountain Road work
By ERIC MOSKOWITZ
Monitor staff
September 15. 2005 8:00AM
fter the paving crew departed Mountain Road this summer, the residents on the stretch south of Concord Country Club found that the gravel shoulders had been eliminated, with asphalt curbing left in their place. The curbs cut off passage for the pedestrians and bicyclists who had long relied on the shoulder for safety. They also ran across driveways, prohibited on-street parking and forced residents to step into the roadway to reach their mailboxes, which the city had moved close to the curb. Suffice it to say, people were upset.
But after surprising residents with the project, officials have mended relations with them. A series of front-lawn meetings led to a proposal to remove the curbs and extend the sidewalk on Mountain Road as far as Concord Country Club. The $120,000 plan, endorsed by the city administration, is awaiting approval by the city council.
http://www.cmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050915/REPOSITORY/509150366/1031
British Authorities Detain Seven Men
By ED JOHNSON
Associated Press Writer
LONDON (AP) -- British authorities detained seven foreigners Thursday for deportation as threats to national security, and the government backed a police proposal to hold terror suspects for up to three months without charge.
Civil rights activists condemned the idea of increasing detentions from the current 14 days, which was in legislation unveiled by Home Secretary Charles Clarke to toughen anti-terrorism laws after the deadly July 7 bombing attacks on London commuters.
If approved by Parliament, the Counter-Terrorism Bill also would outlaw "indirect incitement" of terrorism and "glorifying" violence - provisions aimed at extremist Islamic clerics accused of seducing youths into militant activities.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/B/BRITAIN_TERROR_LAWS?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
FBI Experts Testify at Trial in Ireland
By SHAWN POGATCHNIK
Associated Press Writer
BELFAST, Northern Ireland (AP) -- Arabic-language plans for a bomb hidden in a baby's milk bottle could produce an explosion strong enough to destroy an airliner, U.S. experts testified Wednesday in the trial of an Algerian man accused of links to al-Qaida.
Abbas Boutrab, 32, was arrested near Belfast in 2003 with 25 computer disks filled with instructions on building compact bombs and other weapons and on smuggling them onto a plane. He denies any terrorism links, insisting he downloaded the material from the Internet out of curiosity.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/N/NIRELAND_AL_QAIDA_SUSPECT?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
World Leaders Sign Nuke Terrorism Treaty
By KIM GAMEL
Associated Press Writer
UNITED NATIONS (AP) -- World leaders began signing a global treaty Wednesday making it a crime to possess radioactive material or weapons with the intention of committing a terrorist act or to damage a nuclear facility.
The Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism was the 13th anti-terrorism treaty to be adopted by the U.N. General Assembly but the first since the Sept. 11 terror attacks on the United States.
Russian President Vladimir Putin, whose country sponsored the seven-year effort leading to the treaty's adoption by consensus in April, was the first leader to sign the document Wednesday morning at a desk in a makeshift hall on the sidelines of the U.N. summit.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_NUCLEAR_TERRORISM?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Main Points of Nuclear Terrorism Treaty
Main points of International Convention for the Suppression of Acts of Nuclear Terrorism:
-Outlaws possession of radioactive material with the intent of killing or seriously injuring someone or of causing substantial damage property or the environment.
-Makes it illegal to use or damage a nuclear facility with the intent of killing or seriously injuring someone, substantially damaging the environment, or coercing a person, organization or a state to do something.
-Does not cover nuclear attacks committed within a single state by citizens of that nation and no victim is from another country. Also excludes activities of military forces during armed conflict.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/UN_NUCLEAR_TERRORISM_GLANCE?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Ice Cream Shop Terror Suspect Trial Starts
By MICHAEL WEISSENSTEIN
Associated Press Writer
NEW YORK (AP) -- A Yemeni immigrant ice cream shop owner accused of illegally funneling $21.9 million overseas successfully fought to keep prosecutors from introducing evidence allegedly linking him to terrorist groups as his trial began Tuesday.
Abad Elfgeeh, 50, is accused of transmitting money around the world without a license from a dozen bank accounts linked to his Brooklyn storefront. Prosecutors have said his business was used by a Yemeni cleric convicted earlier this year of a scheme to fund al-Qaida and the Palestinian militant group Hamas.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERROR_WAR_ICE_CREAM_SHOP?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
Two Plead Not Guilty to Terrorism Charges
By JEREMIAH MARQUEZ
Associated Press Writer
SANTA ANA, Calif. (AP) -- Two men pleaded not guilty Monday to federal charges alleging they planned terrorist attacks against military facilities, the Israeli Consulate and other targets in the Los Angeles area.
Levar Haley Washington, 25, and Gregory Vernon Patterson, 21, were ordered held without bail after their pleas in U.S. District Court.
"In the name of Allah, I plead not guilty," Washington said before U.S. Magistrate Judge Arthur Nakazato.
Prosecutors contend the plot was orchestrated by Washington, Patterson and Hammad Riaz Samana, 21, at the behest of Kevin James, an inmate of the California State Prison, Sacramento. James, 29, founded the radical group Jamiyyat Ul-Islam Is-Saheeh, or JIS.
http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TERRORISM_PROBE?SITE=NHCON&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
International Herald Tribune
Democrats question Roberts on his candor
WASHINGTON Judge John Roberts Jr., the prospective chief justice of the United States, tried Thursday to win over wary Senate Democrats who questioned his candor and the depth of his commitment to minority rights.
Judge Roberts told one of the Democrats, a skeptical Senator Edward Kennedy, at his confirmation hearing that he did indeed believe in affirmative action, as demonstrated in part by his work as a private lawyer to guide minority students through the rigors of law school
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/scotus.php
Schröder assails his foe's tax proposals
NUREMBERG Chancellor Gerhard Schröder lit into his conservative opponents on Thursday as Germany's national campaign entered its final days, promising to balance the need to continue economic reform with the attention to equality and social justice that is popular among his Social Democrats.
In a wide-ranging stump speech that garnered the heartiest cheers when he promised to keep Germany out of war, Schröder hammered away at a proposal by the conservative Christian Democrats to sweep away deductions in favor of a simplified tax system.
http://www.iht.com/articles/2005/09/15/news/schroder.php
Bush Takes Responsibility; Evacuees Claim They Were Shot At
By Kevin Harris
Published: Wednesday, September 14, 2005
President Bush will address the nation from Louisiana on Thursday and offer a public already unsatisfied with the government's response to Hurricane Katrina, an updated assessment on recovery efforts in the region, the White House announced yesterday.
The announcement came one day after Mike Brown, the head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA), resigned from his post amid a flurry of accusations from lawmakers and the public who said he and other state and local government officials were to slow in responding to the hurricane.
President Bush acknowledged for the first time yesterday that some of the blame should fall on his shoulders. "Katrina exposed serious problems in our response capability at all levels of government," Bush said at a news conference from the White House. "To the extent the federal government didn't fully do its job right, I take responsibility."
http://www.thehilltoponline.com/media/paper590/news/2005/09/14/NationWorld/Bush-Takes.Responsibility.Evacuees.Claim.They.Were.Shot.At-984156.shtml
My Rebuttal
"THE PRESIDENCY OF CONS"
Mr. Bush in New Orleans
Time enough has gone by and the natives have complained enough. It is time to set down the 'acceptable' ground rules that fuels "The Party" and not the nation.
A huge spending program in the very place that is so confused whom is on their side they keep voting RED.
Governor Haley Barbour is the worst person to oversee any reconstruction effort of Mississippi as he is a PRACTICED BUBBA who will feed the 'Good Ole Boy' network without caring for the very people who were neglected in the first place.
Senator Obama has proposed an Oversight Committee to INSURE the best outcome for the people and not "The Party." Senator Vitter knows all too well how a corrupt system within a state can cause and enforce poverty and he has already spoken out against it. I applaud both of them to realize the country who cares has to work with the very government that DIDN'T act in the best interest of the people of the Gulf Coast.
Bush is a horrible president. Ophelia is a Global Warming Storm and one of the reasons he is dumping huge amounts of money into the PRIVATE sector is that the oil companies of the Lousiana Gulf needs to rebuild. Little of interest is the people EXCEPT from the selling point of the politics.
The USA is between a rock and a hard place. It has placed in leadership THE MOST EXPLOITIVE government it could have elected on the basis of fear. The fear they feel is nurtured and harvested by Bush on a regular basis. This is one of those times.
The people of the Gulf Coast does not need people who walk all over their polluted Mississippi Mud they need people who will rebuild the wetlands and levees as well as a 'shining' new 'gold plated' city fit for a Neocon King !
"Turning the funds over to state and local governments isn't the answer, either. F.D.R. actually made a point of taking control away from local politicians; then as now, patronage played a big role in local politics."
The Red States are among the most corrupt. This gives a chance for preceding Democrats to come to the forefront to take charge and any program that comes the way of the victims work in their favor. By making the governments 'toe the line' doing what is best for the people of the Gulf Coast including rebuilding the wetlands and levees they will make friends all along the way.
The Democrats have had to find ways of working with Red State Corruption and this is finally their chance to purge these states of it. It is what sends 'shivers' down the spine of the president and his veep and is what caused 'the staging' to 'His Base' yesterday evening. Every Southern Bubba loves the look of a Plantation house !
In developing a new economy for The Gulf Coast realizing the oil industry drilling sunk New Orleans in the first place they can firt contemplate the new 'idea' DC is circulating; what does one do with all that refuse? I can't get it out of my mind that the first plans anyone has for these areas is to first create a foundation for a huge landfill by bulldozing the ruins and filling in atop of all that.
It's a scary thought when one realizes Alabama already has the largest toxic landfills in the country while also realizing Bush has no respect for the environment at all. Literally what could happen here is to turn the Gulf Coast into a huge landfill to benefit the fifty states and providing an income trucking in tons upon tons of refuse only to leach to the Gulf Coast waters.
Realizing this is Bush compliments of every Southern and Bigoted Bubba via Rove anything is possible and probably will be.
The Moscow Times
Putin Calls Terror a Threat to Rights
Combined Reports
Rick Wilking / Reuters
President Vladimir Putin addressing the UN Assembly in New York on Thursday. He said the UN Security Council should focus on counter-terrorism efforts.
(image placeholder)
UNITED NATIONS -- Terrorism is the main threat to human rights and development, and the UN Security Council must be at the center of global efforts to fight it, President Vladimir Putin said Thursday in his address to a United Nations summit.
But governments alone are not enough to counter the threat, Putin said. Religious and civic groups as well as media, cultural and humanitarian organizations must all play a role, he said.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/001.html
Russia Today Television Misses Launch Date
By Stephen Boykewich
Staff Writer
Sergey Ponomarev / AP
Yury Novosyolov, left, Margarita Simonyan and Michael Alexander speaking at Russia Today's offices on Thursday.
(image placeholder)
Russia Today, the state-funded English-language satellite television station, missed its planned launch date Thursday, and the station's directors worked to put a positive spin on what was instead the start of a round-the-clock technical rehearsal.
"Today, we're beginning the technical broadcast, but we don't want to give a definite date for the full launch now because of problems we may still encounter," Margarita Simonyan, Russia Today's 25-year-old editor, told reporters during a tour of the station's headquarters at the RIA-Novosti state news agency.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/002.html
Moscow will help Afghanistan whatever the election outcome - parliamentarian
RIA NOVOSTI. September 16, 2005, 8:43 PM
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - Russia will continue its assistance to Afghanistan regardless of the outcome of the September 18 parliamentary election, a member of Russia's upper house of parliament said Friday.
Mikhail Margelov, head of the foreign relations committee in the Federation Council, said the elections would legitimize democratic processes in Afghanistan, but would not bring "absolute stability."
It is unlikely that terrorist groups will stop operating in the country anytime soon, and its highland areas will remain a threat to regional security, Margelov said. This is why "the need for Russian involvement in Afghan internal processes will remain" in the years to come.
Margelov said Russia's objectives included hunting down remnants of the Taliban, preventing drug trafficking, and restoring stability to the country and the surrounding region
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Ex-President Yeltsin to have sutures removed Monday
RIA NOVOSTI. September 16, 2005, 8:05 PM
MOSCOW, September 16 (RIA Novosti) - First Russian President Boris Yeltsin, who underwent surgery for a hip fracture last week, will have sutures removed Monday, Valery Zolotov, chief physician at the Kremlin hospital, said Friday.
Yeltsin is expected to be discharged from the hospital early next week.
Zolotov said the former president was in "quite a satisfactory condition" and in "good spirits."
The doctor said Yeltsin was exercising and could walk with the help of crutches several times a day.
Yeltsin broke his hip while on vacation in Italy September 7
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/doc/HotNews.html
Yukos Gets Bankruptcy Notification
By Catherine Belton
Staff Writer
Judit Polner / Bloomberg
Cars lining up for gas in Samara in August 2004. Yukos received a letter from a Gazprom unit declaring it bankrupt.
(image placeholder)
Lawyers for Yukos were scrambling on Thursday to confirm whether a Gazprom subsidiary had filed a bankruptcy suit against the embattled oil major.
Gazprom subsidiary Orenburggeofizika said that Yukos had been declared bankrupt for nonpayment of debts, according to a letter to Yukos dated Sept. 14, a copy of which was obtained by The Moscow Times.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/041.html
Challenging Taboos
The first Russian staging of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues" prompts some strong reactions from the audience.
By John Freedman
Published: September 16, 2005
I am of two sharply conflicted minds about Joel Lehtonen's production of Eve Ensler's "The Vagina Monologues." On one hand it strikes me as one of the lamest pieces of theater I have seen in some time; on the other I was appalled, even indignant, about the reception many afforded it on opening night last week.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/109.html
Field of Dreams
The organizers of a Kremlin-backed exhibition devoted to contemporary Russian sculpture hope to see more such works in Moscow's public places.
By Brian Droitcour
Published: September 16, 2005
Don't let the horses out to graze: There's contemporary art in that there field. For "ArtPole," an exhibition organized by Aidan Gallery, two dozen sculptures have been arranged in a grassy 500-square-meter field belonging to the First Stud Farm, 25 kilometers outside of Moscow along the Rublyovo-Uspenskoye Shosse. Kremlin support for the exhibition has given hope to its organizers and sympathizers, who lament the lack of contemporary art in Moscow's public places and want their city to have something like the sculpture-filled fountain in front of the Centre Pompidou in Paris.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/102.html
Training Girls for Victory
A U.S.-made documentary profiles the dilapidated club that gave rise to Russia's reigning female tennis stars.
By Anna Malpas
Published: September 16, 2005
When Philip Johnston made his documentary "Anna's Army: Behind the Rise of Russian Women's Tennis," he geared it to appeal to viewers in his native United States. But the film, which traces the careers of players such as Anna Kournikova and Maria Sharapova, has now been picked up by a Russian television channel and will be shown this weekend.
The 51-minute film is due to air on Ren-TV Saturday, the same day that the national team begins playing in the final of the international women's team competition, the Fed Cup. In his documentary, Johnston focuses on the fact that three team members -- Anastasia Myskina, Yelena Dementyeva and Dinara Safina -- trained together with Kournikova as children at the same dilapidated Moscow club, Spartak.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/09/16/107.html
continued …
Morning Papers - continued ...
The Philadelphia Inquirer
More homes in Pa. facing this winter with no heat
Report suggests the new law on shutoffs could leave many households without service.By Jeff GellesInquirer Staff Writer
About 100,000 households in Pennsylvania - 50 percent more than at the same time last year - are likely to lack utility service on Nov. 1, on the eve of a heating season in which consumers will face record oil and natural-gas prices, according to a report by a former member of the state Public Utility Commission.
If past patterns hold, that means more than 20,000 households could still be without heat by mid-December. But if Pennsylvania utilities exercise their new rights under a 2004 law easing limits on cold-weather shutoffs, the number could be much larger and "there could be catastrophic consequences for the Commonwealth," says the report by the former commissioner, Joseph Rhodes Jr.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/12657640.htm
Rendell targets tax relief
The governor is expected to call a rare, special session today.By Mario F. Cattabiani, Amy Worden and Angela CouloumbisInquirer Staff Writers
HARRISBURG - Gov. Rendell is expected today to call for a special legislative session to find a way to deliver property-tax relief, a problem that has plagued homeowners and confounded politicians for decades.
At a news conference at the Drexel Hill house of an elderly couple, Rendell is expected to push for fixes needed to make his signature property-tax plan, which is tied to slot machine revenue, workable.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/12657670.htm
Editorial Flight 93 MemorialThe critics are off base
Conservative blogs have been blistering the memorial design chosen to commemorate Flight 93, the fourth hijacked plane courageously diverted from its Washington target to crash in a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, 2001.
Critics have honed in on the crescent shape of one part of the memorial, declaring it a radical Islamic symbol honoring the terrorists instead of the heroes who gave their lives to save the U.S. Capitol or White House.
That's preposterous.
They're obviously overlooking what the Flight 93 families and memorial selection juries saw when they picked Los Angeles architect Paul Murdoch's design over 1,000 others submitted:
The tower with 40 wind chimes, commemorating the whispered cell-phone good-byes;
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/12657697.htm
Michael Moore Today
A Bright Spot in Bush World
Amid the Miserable Failures on the Same PlanetA Message from Cindy Sheehan
It has been one month and one week since I sat in a ditch in Crawford, Tx. I can hardly believe it when I think of it myself. So much has happened in that time, and really, so little.
I got to Camp Casey III in Covington, La today, after getting up at 3am to head for the airport. Now it is 3am the next day and we are driving in a car to try and find a hotel to sleep anywhere around Jackson, Miss. I was prepared to be shocked by what I saw in Louisiana, but I guess one can never really fully prepare for such devastation and tragedy. After living in a country your entire life it is so difficult to see such callous indifference on an immense scale. When I reflect on how the mother of the imbecile who is running our country said that the people who are in the Astrodome are happy to be there, it angers me beyond comparison. The people in LA who were displaced have nice, if modest homes that are perfectly fine. I wonder why the government made them leave at great expense and uproot families who have been living in their communities for generations.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=503
G.O.P. Split Over Big Plans for Storm Spending
By Carl Hulse / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 - The drive to pour tens of billions of federal dollars into rebuilding the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast is widening a fissure among Republicans over fiscal policy, with more of them expressing worry about unbridled spending.
On Thursday, before President Bush's speech about his vision of the post-storm recovery, fiscal conservatives from the House and Senate joined budget watchdog groups in demanding that the administration offer ways to offset the money being provided for the region and be more judicious in asking for taxpayer dollars. In his address from New Orleans, besides laying out a sweeping federal role in the recovery, the president emphasized the importance of private entrepreneurship to create jobs "and help break the cycle of poverty."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4117
Deaconess, 73, Jailed for Alleged Looting
By Kevin McGill and John Solomon / Associated Press
KENNER, La. - Merlene Maten undoubtedly stands out in the prison where she has been held since Hurricane Katrina. The 73-year-old church deaconess, never before in trouble with the law, now sleeps among hardened criminals. Her bail is a stiff $50,000.
Her offense?
Police say the grandmother from New Orleans took $63.50 in goods from a looted deli the day after Katrina struck.
Family and eyewitnesses have a different story. They say Maten is an innocent woman who had gone to her car to get some sausage to eat but was wrongly handcuffed by tired, frustrated officers who couldn't catch younger looters at a nearby store.
Not even the deli owner wants her charged.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4112
Dispute over CIA reform leads to departures
By Bill Gertz
WASHINGTON -- A senior official in the CIA's espionage branch will leave earlier than announced because of a dispute with CIA Director Porter J. Goss on reforms within the agency's spying branch, Bush administration officials said yesterday.
Robert Richer, the associate deputy director of operations, the No. 2 official in the CIA's clandestine service, had planned to retire from the agency effective November, according to a recent announcement to agency employees by Mr. Goss.
However, Mr. Richer now will enter the agency's retirement transition program within two weeks, said officials, who declined to be named.
A CIA spokesman refused to comment.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4111
World Leaders Shake Heads as Reforms to Check Nuclear Arms Spread Dumped
Agence France Presse
Kofi Annan has called it a disgrace and Australian Prime Minister John Howard termed it a major disappointment.
After months of wrangling, world leaders were shaking their heads over the dumping of proposed UN reforms to check nuclear weapons proliferation and disarmament.
Despite increasing concerns over illicit nuclear weapon networks and terrorists seeking weapons of mass destruction, negotiators working for months on a reform package to beef up the United Nations failed to agree on how to revamp global non-proliferation rules.
They adopted a watered-down package of reforms to be endorsed by the leaders of the world attending the 60th anniversary meeting of the global body.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4108
At U.N., Bush Links War on Terrorism to Anti-Poverty Efforts
President Tells World Leaders That U.S. Shares 'a Moral Duty' to Combat Root Causes of Resentment, Violence
By Peter Baker and Colum Lynch
UNITED NATIONS -- President Bush, reaching out to an audience he has antagonized in the past, told the assembled leaders of the world Wednesday that the United States shared "a moral duty" to combat not only terrorism but also the poverty, oppression and hopelessness that give rise to it.
Addressing the United Nations, Bush linked his campaign against terrorism to the anti-poverty agenda advanced by other nations, although he shied away from adopting some of the specific commitments sought by allies. He later took the U.S. seat at the Security Council for the first time in his presidency to emphasize his solidarity with other countries in the struggle against terrorism.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4102
New Zealand Herald
New Orleans centre and French Quarter to reopen
16.09.05 1.00pmBy Kieran Murray
NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans central business district and the historic French Quarter will reopen over the weekend, nearly three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, mayor Ray Nagin has said. He said business operators in the French Quarter tourist district, the central business district, and from the uptown and Algiers neighbourhoods would be allowed to return on Saturday and Sunday. Residents of those areas would be allowed to return in the following days in a phased process.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345846
Man used stockwhip on boys who ran over his dog
16.09.05 1.00pm
A Whangarei man has been jailed for using a stockwhip to teach two teenage brothers a lesson after they ran over his dog. Frank Kaire, 35, of Kamo, pleaded guilty in Whangarei District Court yesterday to two charges of assault with a weapon after admitting hitting one teen with a whip and narrowly missing the other. He was sentenced to six months' jail. The court was told the brothers, aged 14 and 15, were driving past Kaire's Pipiwai Rd home on November 29 when their vehicle hit Kaire's dog.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10345860
Gaza chaos triggers Palestinian political crisis
16.09.05 1.00pmBy Wafa Amr
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas faces a brewing political crisis as he scrambles to quell chaos in Gaza following Israel's withdrawal from the territory. Lawmakers submitted a request for a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie and his cabinet, all Abbas appointees, in protest at the failure of security forces to control lawlessness after 38 years of Israeli occupation. Abbas can ill afford further political instability as he struggles to impose order in the Gaza Strip, which is seen as a proving ground for Palestinian aspirations of statehood.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345844
Nigeria leader to sue magazine for libel over FBI raid
16.09.05 1.00pm
ABUJA - Nigeria's vice president has ordered his lawyers to sue a leading news magazine for libel over a story it published about an FBI raid on his house in the United States. Atiku Abubakar accused Newswatch Magazine of publishing "specious and spurious allegations of wrongdoing and malfeasance" against him in its September 12 edition, which carried extensive coverage of the FBI raid. "The vice president ... has instructed his lawyers to, forthwith, institute proceedings against Newswatch Magazine, its publishers and promoters, for substantial damages for severely libellous and defamatory statements," his office said in a statement.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345845
Time Warner, Microsoft in talks on AOL
16.09.05 1.00pmBy Kenneth Li
Time Warner and Microsoft Corp are discussing co-operation between their internet search and advertising networks, a source revealed today. "There have been talks on ways Microsoft and AOL assets can be better leveraged and they've taken place over the normal course of business ...," the source said, calling reports of a joint venture "way overblown." Although talks, which have taken place over several months, could advance, nothing was imminent, the source added.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10345827
Record price for Jag
14.09.05By Alastair Sloane
The XK140 Jaguar SE roadster that recently appeared in Superwheels was sold at a classic car auction in Australia for a record A$105,000 ($115,076). The price was A$30,000 ($32,879) more than auction house Shannons' price guide. The bidding began quietly before two enthusiasts turned it into a spirited contest around the A$90,000 ($98,652) mark, competing with A$1000 ($1096) bids until the hammer fell. A similar bidding war erupted for a 1931 Bentley roadster replica built in Australia on an Austin Sheerline chassis. It sold for A$60,000 ($65,763).
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/9/story.cfm?c_id=9&objectid=10345382
Mexico firework blasts lasted two hours
16.09.05 9.15am
A series of explosions ripped through a Mexican fireworks market today, sending a huge column of smoke into the air and scaring residents but a large-scale tragedy was avoided. The blasts, lasting for two hours, reduced the market in the town of Tultepec, west of the capital, to a charred ruin. "It just got bigger and bigger, fireworks, fireworks," sobbed a man on the scene, interviewed on the radio while searching for two missing brothers. Civil protection workers said around 100 people fought sporadic fires.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345836
US and North Korea clash at nuclear talks
16.09.05 12.20pmBy Brian Rhoads and Teruaki Ueno
BEIJING - The United States and North Korea clashed over a Pyongyang demand for light-water nuclear reactors for power generation at six-nation talks designed to end the communist country's atomic arms programmes. On the eve of a fourth day of talks on Friday, Washington said the North's stand was holding up an end to a three-year crisis that would allow aid and security guarantees for the impoverished state if it abandoned all nuclear programmes. "We are at a bit of a stand-off at this point. We have to see how this plays out," chief US negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters in Beijing where North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China are meeting.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345853
Darfur peace talks resume
16.09.05 16.20pmBy Estelle Shirbon
ABUJA - Negotiators for Sudan's government and for two Darfur rebel movements have launched a new round of peace talks in Nigeria. However, there are concerns that disunity among rebels could hinder progress. The sixth round of negotiations in a year started with a plenary session at which the top African Union (AU) mediator told the parties they had to make a much greater effort than previously to achieve peace. "While it is true that peace negotiations by their very nature are complicated and time consuming, the inter-Sudanese talks have been extremely difficult and at times seem to have been conducted with complete disregard to the imperatives of the situation on the ground in Darfur," said Baba Gana Kingibe.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345867
Australia, the shaky continent
16.09.05By Greg Ansley
CANBERRA - Australians may call New Zealand the Shaky Isles, but an earthquake that rumbled beneath the Northern Territory Outback this week has given new pause for thought. The quake, 4.4 on the Richter scale, was powerful enough to have been felt or heard up to 100km from its epicentre, about 27km southwest of Tennant Creek. The tremor was in fact nothing new. There have been 14 others around the Tennant Creek area this year, and in 1988 three much bigger quakes that, Geoscience Australia duty seismologist David Jepsen said, each released 1000 times more energy than this week's tremor.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345754
Canada's PM blasts Musharraf rape comments
16.09.05 1.20pm
OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin has condemned reported remarks by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in which he said many people in Pakistan felt that one way of making money or moving to Canada was to "get yourself raped". Pakistan is under fire for what human rights groups say is rampant violence against women. In one recent high-profile case, a woman who said she had been gang-raped fled to Britain and then sought permission to move to Canada. Martin said he had raised the matter with Musharraf during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations. "I stated unequivocally that comments such as that are not acceptable and that violence against women is also a blight that besmirches all humanity," Martin told a news conference at the United Nations.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345866
Child torturers jailed
16.09.05 9.20am
FLORIDA - A couple were sentenced to 15 years each in prison for torturing and starving five of their seven adopted children, including yanking out their toenails with pliers. John and Linda Dollar pleaded no contest to five counts of aggravated abuse of the children, who were so severely underfed that twin 14-year-old brothers weighed just 16kg and 17kg each - 36kg below normal. The couple also tortured the children with an electric cattle prod and bondage equipment.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345769
Pirates free UN crew with tsunami relief food
16.09.05 6.20am
Somali gunmen who hijacked a UN vessel with a 10-man crew carrying tsunami relief food have released the ship after nearly 11 weeks. Pirates hijacked the Kenyan MV Semlow on June 27 near the Harardheere area on its way to Bosasso port with 850 tonnes of rice donated by Germany and Japan. Negotiators had agreed to send the rice to the capital Mogadishu early on in talks but the pirates pressed more demands.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345771
Bin Laden 'allowed to flee'
16.09.05
KABUL - Osama bin Laden was provided safe passage to Pakistan in 2001 by Afghan commanders paid by al Qaeda and sympathetic to its cause, a senior Afghan has said. Lutfullah Mashal, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman, said commanders helped the al Qaeda leader escape Tora Bora as US aircraft and Afghan forces attacked his hideout near the border in late 2001. "The help was provided because of monetary aid availed by al Qaeda and also partly because of ideological issues," Mashal said. "Osama along with other al Qaeda people managed to go to Parachinar [in Pakistan]." He said commanders loyal to Maulvi Yunus Khalis had helped the al Qaeda leader escape. The whereabouts of Khalis, a top mujahideen leader, is unknown.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345758
Mum's milk richer after one year
16.09.05By Anne Harding
NEW YORK - Milk from mothers who have been breastfeeding their infants for more than a year is richer in fat and energy than milk from those who have been breastfeeding for just a few months, a study shows. Dr Dror Mandel of Tel Aviv University in Israel said the study was the first to look at the nutritional value of breast milk after prolonged breastfeeding. "It might be that because the infant is breastfed fewer times a day, the milk is more concentrated," he noted in an email interview.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345723
Breakfast cereal eaters found to weigh less
16.09.05
Women who favour cereal for breakfast tend to weigh less than their peers who opt for other breakfast foods or who skip the meal altogether, according to a new study. Whether cereal directly lends a hand in weight control is unclear, but the study authors speculate that the fibre, vitamins and minerals in many boxed cereals may play a role. Also unknown is why the potential benefit was limited to women. Among men, neither breakfast cereal nor breakfast consumption in general had an impact on weight.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345741
continued …
More homes in Pa. facing this winter with no heat
Report suggests the new law on shutoffs could leave many households without service.By Jeff GellesInquirer Staff Writer
About 100,000 households in Pennsylvania - 50 percent more than at the same time last year - are likely to lack utility service on Nov. 1, on the eve of a heating season in which consumers will face record oil and natural-gas prices, according to a report by a former member of the state Public Utility Commission.
If past patterns hold, that means more than 20,000 households could still be without heat by mid-December. But if Pennsylvania utilities exercise their new rights under a 2004 law easing limits on cold-weather shutoffs, the number could be much larger and "there could be catastrophic consequences for the Commonwealth," says the report by the former commissioner, Joseph Rhodes Jr.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/12657640.htm
Rendell targets tax relief
The governor is expected to call a rare, special session today.By Mario F. Cattabiani, Amy Worden and Angela CouloumbisInquirer Staff Writers
HARRISBURG - Gov. Rendell is expected today to call for a special legislative session to find a way to deliver property-tax relief, a problem that has plagued homeowners and confounded politicians for decades.
At a news conference at the Drexel Hill house of an elderly couple, Rendell is expected to push for fixes needed to make his signature property-tax plan, which is tied to slot machine revenue, workable.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/12657670.htm
Editorial Flight 93 MemorialThe critics are off base
Conservative blogs have been blistering the memorial design chosen to commemorate Flight 93, the fourth hijacked plane courageously diverted from its Washington target to crash in a Pennsylvania field on Sept. 11, 2001.
Critics have honed in on the crescent shape of one part of the memorial, declaring it a radical Islamic symbol honoring the terrorists instead of the heroes who gave their lives to save the U.S. Capitol or White House.
That's preposterous.
They're obviously overlooking what the Flight 93 families and memorial selection juries saw when they picked Los Angeles architect Paul Murdoch's design over 1,000 others submitted:
The tower with 40 wind chimes, commemorating the whispered cell-phone good-byes;
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/12657697.htm
Michael Moore Today
A Bright Spot in Bush World
Amid the Miserable Failures on the Same PlanetA Message from Cindy Sheehan
It has been one month and one week since I sat in a ditch in Crawford, Tx. I can hardly believe it when I think of it myself. So much has happened in that time, and really, so little.
I got to Camp Casey III in Covington, La today, after getting up at 3am to head for the airport. Now it is 3am the next day and we are driving in a car to try and find a hotel to sleep anywhere around Jackson, Miss. I was prepared to be shocked by what I saw in Louisiana, but I guess one can never really fully prepare for such devastation and tragedy. After living in a country your entire life it is so difficult to see such callous indifference on an immense scale. When I reflect on how the mother of the imbecile who is running our country said that the people who are in the Astrodome are happy to be there, it angers me beyond comparison. The people in LA who were displaced have nice, if modest homes that are perfectly fine. I wonder why the government made them leave at great expense and uproot families who have been living in their communities for generations.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/mustread/index.php?id=503
G.O.P. Split Over Big Plans for Storm Spending
By Carl Hulse / New York Times
WASHINGTON, Sept. 15 - The drive to pour tens of billions of federal dollars into rebuilding the hurricane-battered Gulf Coast is widening a fissure among Republicans over fiscal policy, with more of them expressing worry about unbridled spending.
On Thursday, before President Bush's speech about his vision of the post-storm recovery, fiscal conservatives from the House and Senate joined budget watchdog groups in demanding that the administration offer ways to offset the money being provided for the region and be more judicious in asking for taxpayer dollars. In his address from New Orleans, besides laying out a sweeping federal role in the recovery, the president emphasized the importance of private entrepreneurship to create jobs "and help break the cycle of poverty."
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4117
Deaconess, 73, Jailed for Alleged Looting
By Kevin McGill and John Solomon / Associated Press
KENNER, La. - Merlene Maten undoubtedly stands out in the prison where she has been held since Hurricane Katrina. The 73-year-old church deaconess, never before in trouble with the law, now sleeps among hardened criminals. Her bail is a stiff $50,000.
Her offense?
Police say the grandmother from New Orleans took $63.50 in goods from a looted deli the day after Katrina struck.
Family and eyewitnesses have a different story. They say Maten is an innocent woman who had gone to her car to get some sausage to eat but was wrongly handcuffed by tired, frustrated officers who couldn't catch younger looters at a nearby store.
Not even the deli owner wants her charged.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4112
Dispute over CIA reform leads to departures
By Bill Gertz
WASHINGTON -- A senior official in the CIA's espionage branch will leave earlier than announced because of a dispute with CIA Director Porter J. Goss on reforms within the agency's spying branch, Bush administration officials said yesterday.
Robert Richer, the associate deputy director of operations, the No. 2 official in the CIA's clandestine service, had planned to retire from the agency effective November, according to a recent announcement to agency employees by Mr. Goss.
However, Mr. Richer now will enter the agency's retirement transition program within two weeks, said officials, who declined to be named.
A CIA spokesman refused to comment.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4111
World Leaders Shake Heads as Reforms to Check Nuclear Arms Spread Dumped
Agence France Presse
Kofi Annan has called it a disgrace and Australian Prime Minister John Howard termed it a major disappointment.
After months of wrangling, world leaders were shaking their heads over the dumping of proposed UN reforms to check nuclear weapons proliferation and disarmament.
Despite increasing concerns over illicit nuclear weapon networks and terrorists seeking weapons of mass destruction, negotiators working for months on a reform package to beef up the United Nations failed to agree on how to revamp global non-proliferation rules.
They adopted a watered-down package of reforms to be endorsed by the leaders of the world attending the 60th anniversary meeting of the global body.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4108
At U.N., Bush Links War on Terrorism to Anti-Poverty Efforts
President Tells World Leaders That U.S. Shares 'a Moral Duty' to Combat Root Causes of Resentment, Violence
By Peter Baker and Colum Lynch
UNITED NATIONS -- President Bush, reaching out to an audience he has antagonized in the past, told the assembled leaders of the world Wednesday that the United States shared "a moral duty" to combat not only terrorism but also the poverty, oppression and hopelessness that give rise to it.
Addressing the United Nations, Bush linked his campaign against terrorism to the anti-poverty agenda advanced by other nations, although he shied away from adopting some of the specific commitments sought by allies. He later took the U.S. seat at the Security Council for the first time in his presidency to emphasize his solidarity with other countries in the struggle against terrorism.
http://www.michaelmoore.com/words/index.php?id=4102
New Zealand Herald
New Orleans centre and French Quarter to reopen
16.09.05 1.00pmBy Kieran Murray
NEW ORLEANS - The New Orleans central business district and the historic French Quarter will reopen over the weekend, nearly three weeks after Hurricane Katrina devastated the city, mayor Ray Nagin has said. He said business operators in the French Quarter tourist district, the central business district, and from the uptown and Algiers neighbourhoods would be allowed to return on Saturday and Sunday. Residents of those areas would be allowed to return in the following days in a phased process.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345846
Man used stockwhip on boys who ran over his dog
16.09.05 1.00pm
A Whangarei man has been jailed for using a stockwhip to teach two teenage brothers a lesson after they ran over his dog. Frank Kaire, 35, of Kamo, pleaded guilty in Whangarei District Court yesterday to two charges of assault with a weapon after admitting hitting one teen with a whip and narrowly missing the other. He was sentenced to six months' jail. The court was told the brothers, aged 14 and 15, were driving past Kaire's Pipiwai Rd home on November 29 when their vehicle hit Kaire's dog.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10345860
Gaza chaos triggers Palestinian political crisis
16.09.05 1.00pmBy Wafa Amr
RAMALLAH, West Bank - Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas faces a brewing political crisis as he scrambles to quell chaos in Gaza following Israel's withdrawal from the territory. Lawmakers submitted a request for a no-confidence vote against Prime Minister Ahmed Qurie and his cabinet, all Abbas appointees, in protest at the failure of security forces to control lawlessness after 38 years of Israeli occupation. Abbas can ill afford further political instability as he struggles to impose order in the Gaza Strip, which is seen as a proving ground for Palestinian aspirations of statehood.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345844
Nigeria leader to sue magazine for libel over FBI raid
16.09.05 1.00pm
ABUJA - Nigeria's vice president has ordered his lawyers to sue a leading news magazine for libel over a story it published about an FBI raid on his house in the United States. Atiku Abubakar accused Newswatch Magazine of publishing "specious and spurious allegations of wrongdoing and malfeasance" against him in its September 12 edition, which carried extensive coverage of the FBI raid. "The vice president ... has instructed his lawyers to, forthwith, institute proceedings against Newswatch Magazine, its publishers and promoters, for substantial damages for severely libellous and defamatory statements," his office said in a statement.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345845
Time Warner, Microsoft in talks on AOL
16.09.05 1.00pmBy Kenneth Li
Time Warner and Microsoft Corp are discussing co-operation between their internet search and advertising networks, a source revealed today. "There have been talks on ways Microsoft and AOL assets can be better leveraged and they've taken place over the normal course of business ...," the source said, calling reports of a joint venture "way overblown." Although talks, which have taken place over several months, could advance, nothing was imminent, the source added.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=5&ObjectID=10345827
Record price for Jag
14.09.05By Alastair Sloane
The XK140 Jaguar SE roadster that recently appeared in Superwheels was sold at a classic car auction in Australia for a record A$105,000 ($115,076). The price was A$30,000 ($32,879) more than auction house Shannons' price guide. The bidding began quietly before two enthusiasts turned it into a spirited contest around the A$90,000 ($98,652) mark, competing with A$1000 ($1096) bids until the hammer fell. A similar bidding war erupted for a 1931 Bentley roadster replica built in Australia on an Austin Sheerline chassis. It sold for A$60,000 ($65,763).
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/9/story.cfm?c_id=9&objectid=10345382
Mexico firework blasts lasted two hours
16.09.05 9.15am
A series of explosions ripped through a Mexican fireworks market today, sending a huge column of smoke into the air and scaring residents but a large-scale tragedy was avoided. The blasts, lasting for two hours, reduced the market in the town of Tultepec, west of the capital, to a charred ruin. "It just got bigger and bigger, fireworks, fireworks," sobbed a man on the scene, interviewed on the radio while searching for two missing brothers. Civil protection workers said around 100 people fought sporadic fires.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10345836
US and North Korea clash at nuclear talks
16.09.05 12.20pmBy Brian Rhoads and Teruaki Ueno
BEIJING - The United States and North Korea clashed over a Pyongyang demand for light-water nuclear reactors for power generation at six-nation talks designed to end the communist country's atomic arms programmes. On the eve of a fourth day of talks on Friday, Washington said the North's stand was holding up an end to a three-year crisis that would allow aid and security guarantees for the impoverished state if it abandoned all nuclear programmes. "We are at a bit of a stand-off at this point. We have to see how this plays out," chief US negotiator Christopher Hill told reporters in Beijing where North and South Korea, the United States, Japan, Russia and China are meeting.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345853
Darfur peace talks resume
16.09.05 16.20pmBy Estelle Shirbon
ABUJA - Negotiators for Sudan's government and for two Darfur rebel movements have launched a new round of peace talks in Nigeria. However, there are concerns that disunity among rebels could hinder progress. The sixth round of negotiations in a year started with a plenary session at which the top African Union (AU) mediator told the parties they had to make a much greater effort than previously to achieve peace. "While it is true that peace negotiations by their very nature are complicated and time consuming, the inter-Sudanese talks have been extremely difficult and at times seem to have been conducted with complete disregard to the imperatives of the situation on the ground in Darfur," said Baba Gana Kingibe.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345867
Australia, the shaky continent
16.09.05By Greg Ansley
CANBERRA - Australians may call New Zealand the Shaky Isles, but an earthquake that rumbled beneath the Northern Territory Outback this week has given new pause for thought. The quake, 4.4 on the Richter scale, was powerful enough to have been felt or heard up to 100km from its epicentre, about 27km southwest of Tennant Creek. The tremor was in fact nothing new. There have been 14 others around the Tennant Creek area this year, and in 1988 three much bigger quakes that, Geoscience Australia duty seismologist David Jepsen said, each released 1000 times more energy than this week's tremor.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345754
Canada's PM blasts Musharraf rape comments
16.09.05 1.20pm
OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Paul Martin has condemned reported remarks by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf in which he said many people in Pakistan felt that one way of making money or moving to Canada was to "get yourself raped". Pakistan is under fire for what human rights groups say is rampant violence against women. In one recent high-profile case, a woman who said she had been gang-raped fled to Britain and then sought permission to move to Canada. Martin said he had raised the matter with Musharraf during a meeting on the sidelines of the United Nations. "I stated unequivocally that comments such as that are not acceptable and that violence against women is also a blight that besmirches all humanity," Martin told a news conference at the United Nations.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345866
Child torturers jailed
16.09.05 9.20am
FLORIDA - A couple were sentenced to 15 years each in prison for torturing and starving five of their seven adopted children, including yanking out their toenails with pliers. John and Linda Dollar pleaded no contest to five counts of aggravated abuse of the children, who were so severely underfed that twin 14-year-old brothers weighed just 16kg and 17kg each - 36kg below normal. The couple also tortured the children with an electric cattle prod and bondage equipment.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345769
Pirates free UN crew with tsunami relief food
16.09.05 6.20am
Somali gunmen who hijacked a UN vessel with a 10-man crew carrying tsunami relief food have released the ship after nearly 11 weeks. Pirates hijacked the Kenyan MV Semlow on June 27 near the Harardheere area on its way to Bosasso port with 850 tonnes of rice donated by Germany and Japan. Negotiators had agreed to send the rice to the capital Mogadishu early on in talks but the pirates pressed more demands.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345771
Bin Laden 'allowed to flee'
16.09.05
KABUL - Osama bin Laden was provided safe passage to Pakistan in 2001 by Afghan commanders paid by al Qaeda and sympathetic to its cause, a senior Afghan has said. Lutfullah Mashal, Afghanistan's Interior Ministry spokesman, said commanders helped the al Qaeda leader escape Tora Bora as US aircraft and Afghan forces attacked his hideout near the border in late 2001. "The help was provided because of monetary aid availed by al Qaeda and also partly because of ideological issues," Mashal said. "Osama along with other al Qaeda people managed to go to Parachinar [in Pakistan]." He said commanders loyal to Maulvi Yunus Khalis had helped the al Qaeda leader escape. The whereabouts of Khalis, a top mujahideen leader, is unknown.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345758
Mum's milk richer after one year
16.09.05By Anne Harding
NEW YORK - Milk from mothers who have been breastfeeding their infants for more than a year is richer in fat and energy than milk from those who have been breastfeeding for just a few months, a study shows. Dr Dror Mandel of Tel Aviv University in Israel said the study was the first to look at the nutritional value of breast milk after prolonged breastfeeding. "It might be that because the infant is breastfed fewer times a day, the milk is more concentrated," he noted in an email interview.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345723
Breakfast cereal eaters found to weigh less
16.09.05
Women who favour cereal for breakfast tend to weigh less than their peers who opt for other breakfast foods or who skip the meal altogether, according to a new study. Whether cereal directly lends a hand in weight control is unclear, but the study authors speculate that the fibre, vitamins and minerals in many boxed cereals may play a role. Also unknown is why the potential benefit was limited to women. Among men, neither breakfast cereal nor breakfast consumption in general had an impact on weight.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&objectid=10345741
continued …
Morning Papers - concluding
Zoos
Zoo, aquarium dwellers need relief funds
September 15, 2005
BY JIM RITTER Staff Reporter
Every animal in the New Orleans zoo except two river otters and two birds survived Hurricane Katrina.
And while most of the fish died, the city's aquarium also escaped major damage.
The problem now is money. The Audubon Nature Institute, which oversees the zoo, aquarium and other nature museums and parks in New Orleans, expects to lose $25 million in visitor revenues during the next six months.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/hurricane/cst-nws-zoo15.html
THE DIFFERENCE IN REPORTNG THE SAME INCIDENT IS ASTOUNDING. THE SECOND ARTICLE WANTS TO TERROIZE PEOPLE WHILE THE WILDCAT IS HARDLY WILD AND MORE LIKE A KITTEN THAN A CAT. THEY OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED.
Wild Cat Escapes At San Diego Zoo
Last Updated:
09-15-05 at 2:59PM
A fun-filled day at the San Diego Zoo turned frantic Wednesday for zookeepers and visitors, when a wild cat briefly escaped its enclosure before being captured.
A female caracal – a medium-sized cat native to parts of Africa and Asia – slipped out of its exhibit at around 1 p.m. while a zookeeper was cleaning it. Apparently a hose got stuck in the exhibit's door, leaving it slightly open.
Zoo officials said they did not feel the need to close down the zoo or evacuate visitors.
http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.23369.html
Wildcat escapes from San Diego Zoo
A wildcat got about 45 minutes of freedom when it escaped from its enclosure at the San Diego Zoo. The escaped cat is an adult female Turkmenistan caracal, a small Asian animal that resembles a pint-sized mountain lion, but with tufted ears.
The cat was never in a public area, although some visitors saw keepers standing guard Wednesday in a roadway above the hillside, zoo officials said.
Keepers surrounded the caracal and brought her back to her enclosure. The caracal was not injured.
http://www.bakersfieldonline.us/news/read/3/46209
Zoo president says he'll raise money to keep animals in New Orleans
CHICAGO - The president of New Orleans' Audubon Nature Institute said Wednesday he's prepared to raise private funds to allow 5,000 animals and a pared-down staff of about 100 workers remain at the zoo while the city is rebuilt.
Ron Forman, appearing at the annual conference of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, said the effort could cost $25 million for the first six months.
"I'd like to think some of that will be federal moneys. But the needs are so great on the federal side ... the welfare effort for people is so vast that we're taking the position we're on our own," Forman said at a news conference. He wore donated clothes because he lost most of his in the hurricane.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/12645390.htm
Two campaigns to benefit zoos hit by Katrina
Beacon Journal staff report
Two campaigns will benefit zoos stricken by Hurricane Katrina.
The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is coordinating a fund-raising campaign to benefit the Audubon Nature Institute's zoo, aquarium and research center in New Orleans. The campaign is being conducted for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, an accrediting organization that will distribute the money.
Checks made payable to The Lincoln Park Zoological Society can be sent to Lincoln Park Zoo, P.O. Box 14903, Chicago IL 60614, attention: Hurricane Katrina Relief. Or visit http://www.lpzoo.org/
Also, the Akron Zoo wants to send $7,500 to Gulf Coast zoos, including the Audubon Nature Institute.
The zoo has pledged $2,500 from its Conservation Fund -- a fund supported by 1 percent of admissions revenue. The zoo is challenging the community to match that, and if matched, the zoo will commit another $2,500.
Checks made payable to the Akron Zoo can be sent to: Akron Zoo, 500 Edgewood Ave., Akron 44307, Attention: Disaster Relief Fund. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association will distribute the money.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/12640135.htm
Are elephants just a memory for some zoos?
Are elephants an endangered species in U.S. zoos?
In recent years, seven zoos have stopped displaying the largest and perhaps most popular land animal.
All three Lincoln Park elephants have died, and the zoo hasn't decided whether to replace them.
The Detroit zoo has shipped its two elephants to a California sanctuary so they would no longer suffer cold weather and cramped space.
San Francisco forced its zoo to relocate its elephants by requiring at least 15 acres of space. A similar ordinance, requiring 10 acres per elephant, is pending in the Chicago City Council.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-eleph14.html
PEOPLE ARE UPSET BY THE SHOOTING OF THE CHIMPS THAT ESCAPED
Zoo Reopens
Last chimp relocated
Zoo Nebraska reopened Wednesday in the aftermath of three chimps being shot.
Four chimps got loose over the weekend and three were killed. The remaining animal is now in Missouri.
Video from a Nebraska State Patrol cruiser camera shows a portion of the attempted capture of the animals.
The zoo director initially fired tranquilizer darts at the chimpanzees. He hit two of them but the tranquilizer failed to take effect.
Three of the four animals were ultimately shot to death.
http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/1851697.html
Letters, 9/14: The cruelty of zoos
The events that happened at the Royal zoo on Saturday are a grim reminder as to why it is wrong to confine animals (whether it be in a zoo or on the set of a Hollywood movie) that are better left in their natural environment.
If people can imagine for one second living in a confined area, being fed on a schedule, being forced to be viewed as a “display” and having people use you for a source of amusement, maybe they would think twice about inflicting the same fate on wild animals.
How would you feel if you were constantly screamed at, intimidated, stared at and harassed by children (and at times their caretakers)? Is that kind of life necessary or humane? I understand that it is the intention of most zoos to educate people about animals, but I truly wonder at what cost.
We have all seen the large animals that pace back and forth in their cage in the same pattern all day long. Is that a normal behavior in the wild, or are they showing symptoms of mental distress because of confinement?
Three beautiful and intelligent chimpanzees had to be shot to death because they became dangerous when they left their confinement. Chimps are strong and at times, aggressive animals, especially after a life of confinement and unnatural placement. Animals can and do have the capacity to experience mental distress and illness when they are used for human entertainment. It is as simple as that, and it is tragic that we allow and encourage it as a society.
Amanda Sack, Lincoln
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2005/09/15/letters/doc4327756a2482f637738736.txt
Zoo to have wildlife healthcare and research centre
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
The Singapore Zoo is expected to operate a wildlife healthcare and research centre by early next year.
The centre aims to be the first world-class diagnostic and treatment facility.
This will help the institution enhance its research in the breeding of zoo animals.
These are all in line with the Singapore Zoo's conservation efforts to breed endangered animals.
Since the beginning of this year, the zoo has successfully bred over 60 animals, 30 percent of which are endangered species.
The latest endangered new-born animal at the zoo is the Pygmy Hippo.
Less than two weeks old, zoo keepers will have to wait a couple more months before they can identify its gender.
Such new additions are significant to the Singapore Zoo because it shows the environment is conducive for the animals to reproduce.
Singapore Zoo's executive director, Fanny Lai, said: "One of the important things is we want to inspire people to be closer to nature. So nothing better than to display the animals in their natural habitat.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/168248/1/.html
Alaska zoo gets world's first elephant treadmill
15 Sep 2005 00:40:53 GMT
Source: Reuters
ANCHORAGE, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Anchorage zookeepers are installing a 16,000-pound (7.3-tonne) treadmill to keep an isolated elephant from getting fat during the long, cold Alaskan winters.
The 20-foot(6-meter)-long treadmill was designed specifically for Maggie, a 23-year-old female African elephant that has become the subject of a national debate over the proper care for captive pachyderms.
"It looks just like a big people treadmill," said Patrick Lampi, assistant director of the Alaska Zoo.
Because this is the first treadmill ever built for an elephant, zoo officials and an Idaho company studied mining equipment and treadmills used for race horses and racing camels, Lampi said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14683798.htm
IN KNOW THIS IS A GAME BUT IT MIGHT HAVE MERIT FOR SOME.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species
from Microsoft
"Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species" is the new expansion pack to the hugely popular, award-winning "Zoo Tycoon 2." With the expansion pack, players will get up close to some of the world's rarest animals while doing their part to bring these unique species back from the brink of extinction. Whether it's the playful orangutan or the mysterious Florida panther, these amazing animals will inhabit gamers' dream zoos while challenging their zoo skills. New transportation options such as sky trams and vehicle tours will get zoo guests close to the endangered animals while preserving the habitats built for them.
http://www.gameinfowire.com/game.asp?gid=1707
PRESS RELEASE:
Endangered Species Have a New Home at the Official Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species Web Site
September 15, 2005
Get a sneak peek at a Komodo Dragon or a fuzzy Koala – the Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species Web site is here! The official site features images and information straight from the creators of Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species, the upcoming expansion pack to the award-winning Zoo Tycoon 2 game for Windows. The Web site explores the new animals, transportation options and attractions that will help you build your ultimate zoo!
The new site also features Zoopedia pages with information derived from Microsoft Encarta that provide valuable and detailed information on all of the animals. The title is set for release in November. For more information please visit www.zootycoon2.com/endangeredspecies.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/press_release.php?aid=11563
continued …
Zoo, aquarium dwellers need relief funds
September 15, 2005
BY JIM RITTER Staff Reporter
Every animal in the New Orleans zoo except two river otters and two birds survived Hurricane Katrina.
And while most of the fish died, the city's aquarium also escaped major damage.
The problem now is money. The Audubon Nature Institute, which oversees the zoo, aquarium and other nature museums and parks in New Orleans, expects to lose $25 million in visitor revenues during the next six months.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/hurricane/cst-nws-zoo15.html
THE DIFFERENCE IN REPORTNG THE SAME INCIDENT IS ASTOUNDING. THE SECOND ARTICLE WANTS TO TERROIZE PEOPLE WHILE THE WILDCAT IS HARDLY WILD AND MORE LIKE A KITTEN THAN A CAT. THEY OUGHT TO BE ASHAMED.
Wild Cat Escapes At San Diego Zoo
Last Updated:
09-15-05 at 2:59PM
A fun-filled day at the San Diego Zoo turned frantic Wednesday for zookeepers and visitors, when a wild cat briefly escaped its enclosure before being captured.
A female caracal – a medium-sized cat native to parts of Africa and Asia – slipped out of its exhibit at around 1 p.m. while a zookeeper was cleaning it. Apparently a hose got stuck in the exhibit's door, leaving it slightly open.
Zoo officials said they did not feel the need to close down the zoo or evacuate visitors.
http://www.kfmb.com/stories/story.23369.html
Wildcat escapes from San Diego Zoo
A wildcat got about 45 minutes of freedom when it escaped from its enclosure at the San Diego Zoo. The escaped cat is an adult female Turkmenistan caracal, a small Asian animal that resembles a pint-sized mountain lion, but with tufted ears.
The cat was never in a public area, although some visitors saw keepers standing guard Wednesday in a roadway above the hillside, zoo officials said.
Keepers surrounded the caracal and brought her back to her enclosure. The caracal was not injured.
http://www.bakersfieldonline.us/news/read/3/46209
Zoo president says he'll raise money to keep animals in New Orleans
CHICAGO - The president of New Orleans' Audubon Nature Institute said Wednesday he's prepared to raise private funds to allow 5,000 animals and a pared-down staff of about 100 workers remain at the zoo while the city is rebuilt.
Ron Forman, appearing at the annual conference of the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, said the effort could cost $25 million for the first six months.
"I'd like to think some of that will be federal moneys. But the needs are so great on the federal side ... the welfare effort for people is so vast that we're taking the position we're on our own," Forman said at a news conference. He wore donated clothes because he lost most of his in the hurricane.
http://www.mercurynews.com/mld/mercurynews/12645390.htm
Two campaigns to benefit zoos hit by Katrina
Beacon Journal staff report
Two campaigns will benefit zoos stricken by Hurricane Katrina.
The Lincoln Park Zoo in Chicago is coordinating a fund-raising campaign to benefit the Audubon Nature Institute's zoo, aquarium and research center in New Orleans. The campaign is being conducted for the American Zoo and Aquarium Association, an accrediting organization that will distribute the money.
Checks made payable to The Lincoln Park Zoological Society can be sent to Lincoln Park Zoo, P.O. Box 14903, Chicago IL 60614, attention: Hurricane Katrina Relief. Or visit http://www.lpzoo.org/
Also, the Akron Zoo wants to send $7,500 to Gulf Coast zoos, including the Audubon Nature Institute.
The zoo has pledged $2,500 from its Conservation Fund -- a fund supported by 1 percent of admissions revenue. The zoo is challenging the community to match that, and if matched, the zoo will commit another $2,500.
Checks made payable to the Akron Zoo can be sent to: Akron Zoo, 500 Edgewood Ave., Akron 44307, Attention: Disaster Relief Fund. The American Zoo and Aquarium Association will distribute the money.
http://www.ohio.com/mld/ohio/news/12640135.htm
Are elephants just a memory for some zoos?
Are elephants an endangered species in U.S. zoos?
In recent years, seven zoos have stopped displaying the largest and perhaps most popular land animal.
All three Lincoln Park elephants have died, and the zoo hasn't decided whether to replace them.
The Detroit zoo has shipped its two elephants to a California sanctuary so they would no longer suffer cold weather and cramped space.
San Francisco forced its zoo to relocate its elephants by requiring at least 15 acres of space. A similar ordinance, requiring 10 acres per elephant, is pending in the Chicago City Council.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-eleph14.html
PEOPLE ARE UPSET BY THE SHOOTING OF THE CHIMPS THAT ESCAPED
Zoo Reopens
Last chimp relocated
Zoo Nebraska reopened Wednesday in the aftermath of three chimps being shot.
Four chimps got loose over the weekend and three were killed. The remaining animal is now in Missouri.
Video from a Nebraska State Patrol cruiser camera shows a portion of the attempted capture of the animals.
The zoo director initially fired tranquilizer darts at the chimpanzees. He hit two of them but the tranquilizer failed to take effect.
Three of the four animals were ultimately shot to death.
http://www.wowt.com/news/headlines/1851697.html
Letters, 9/14: The cruelty of zoos
The events that happened at the Royal zoo on Saturday are a grim reminder as to why it is wrong to confine animals (whether it be in a zoo or on the set of a Hollywood movie) that are better left in their natural environment.
If people can imagine for one second living in a confined area, being fed on a schedule, being forced to be viewed as a “display” and having people use you for a source of amusement, maybe they would think twice about inflicting the same fate on wild animals.
How would you feel if you were constantly screamed at, intimidated, stared at and harassed by children (and at times their caretakers)? Is that kind of life necessary or humane? I understand that it is the intention of most zoos to educate people about animals, but I truly wonder at what cost.
We have all seen the large animals that pace back and forth in their cage in the same pattern all day long. Is that a normal behavior in the wild, or are they showing symptoms of mental distress because of confinement?
Three beautiful and intelligent chimpanzees had to be shot to death because they became dangerous when they left their confinement. Chimps are strong and at times, aggressive animals, especially after a life of confinement and unnatural placement. Animals can and do have the capacity to experience mental distress and illness when they are used for human entertainment. It is as simple as that, and it is tragic that we allow and encourage it as a society.
Amanda Sack, Lincoln
http://www.journalstar.com/articles/2005/09/15/letters/doc4327756a2482f637738736.txt
Zoo to have wildlife healthcare and research centre
By May Wong, Channel NewsAsia
The Singapore Zoo is expected to operate a wildlife healthcare and research centre by early next year.
The centre aims to be the first world-class diagnostic and treatment facility.
This will help the institution enhance its research in the breeding of zoo animals.
These are all in line with the Singapore Zoo's conservation efforts to breed endangered animals.
Since the beginning of this year, the zoo has successfully bred over 60 animals, 30 percent of which are endangered species.
The latest endangered new-born animal at the zoo is the Pygmy Hippo.
Less than two weeks old, zoo keepers will have to wait a couple more months before they can identify its gender.
Such new additions are significant to the Singapore Zoo because it shows the environment is conducive for the animals to reproduce.
Singapore Zoo's executive director, Fanny Lai, said: "One of the important things is we want to inspire people to be closer to nature. So nothing better than to display the animals in their natural habitat.
http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/singaporelocalnews/view/168248/1/.html
Alaska zoo gets world's first elephant treadmill
15 Sep 2005 00:40:53 GMT
Source: Reuters
ANCHORAGE, Sept 14 (Reuters) - Anchorage zookeepers are installing a 16,000-pound (7.3-tonne) treadmill to keep an isolated elephant from getting fat during the long, cold Alaskan winters.
The 20-foot(6-meter)-long treadmill was designed specifically for Maggie, a 23-year-old female African elephant that has become the subject of a national debate over the proper care for captive pachyderms.
"It looks just like a big people treadmill," said Patrick Lampi, assistant director of the Alaska Zoo.
Because this is the first treadmill ever built for an elephant, zoo officials and an Idaho company studied mining equipment and treadmills used for race horses and racing camels, Lampi said.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/N14683798.htm
IN KNOW THIS IS A GAME BUT IT MIGHT HAVE MERIT FOR SOME.
Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species
from Microsoft
"Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species" is the new expansion pack to the hugely popular, award-winning "Zoo Tycoon 2." With the expansion pack, players will get up close to some of the world's rarest animals while doing their part to bring these unique species back from the brink of extinction. Whether it's the playful orangutan or the mysterious Florida panther, these amazing animals will inhabit gamers' dream zoos while challenging their zoo skills. New transportation options such as sky trams and vehicle tours will get zoo guests close to the endangered animals while preserving the habitats built for them.
http://www.gameinfowire.com/game.asp?gid=1707
PRESS RELEASE:
Endangered Species Have a New Home at the Official Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species Web Site
September 15, 2005
Get a sneak peek at a Komodo Dragon or a fuzzy Koala – the Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species Web site is here! The official site features images and information straight from the creators of Zoo Tycoon 2: Endangered Species, the upcoming expansion pack to the award-winning Zoo Tycoon 2 game for Windows. The Web site explores the new animals, transportation options and attractions that will help you build your ultimate zoo!
The new site also features Zoopedia pages with information derived from Microsoft Encarta that provide valuable and detailed information on all of the animals. The title is set for release in November. For more information please visit www.zootycoon2.com/endangeredspecies.
http://www.gamesindustry.biz/press_release.php?aid=11563
continued …
Morning Papers - concluded
The weather in Antarctica is (Crystal Ice Chime) is:
Scott Base
Overcast
-13.0°
Updated Friday 16 Sep 8:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
52 °F / 11 °C
Overcast
Humidity:
82%
Dew Point:
46 °F / 8 °C
Wind:
Calm
Pressure:
30.03 in / 1017 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Mostly Cloudy 3200 ft / 975 m
Overcast 4200 ft / 1280 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
September 16, 2005. UNISYS GOES EAST. It is my guess "Ophelia" my very well move out to sea enough to strengthen. It's energy source has extended directly to the equator and easily discerned. While it's spinning in it's RESIDENCE status it will be pushing huge amounts of tidal water against the coast causing further beach erosion. It's been awhile since New York City had a storm like this and all those large northern cities have substantial flooding with storms far less menacing than this. There is a distant chance "Ophelia" will revisit southern shores again as "Dennis" did but it's not likely. To show how bizarre this is the large aire masse near Africa is ususally where North American traditional hurricanes come from but instead of coming across the Atantic that heat energy has converted into a vortex flow that crosses Europe. Earth is completely out of balance.
September 13, 2005. Surf City, North Carolina. The repeatative waves were substantial. The beach erosion is as well. This is just more of the effects of Global Warming from carbon dioxide emissions. Bush has removed all safeguards on all emissions calling it an oil crisis. He is making the situation worse with a cure.
Thursday, September 15, 2005
There are security measure already established. Whether they are enforced is another question. THE VIEW FROM TIJUANA AT DUSK: Security beacons illuminate a stretch of Smuggler Gulch, just north of border fencing, and San Diego glitters in the distance. The federal government plans to use soil from a nearby mesa to fill the canyon.
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