Morning Papers - continued

The Cheney Observer

Karl Rove garners hisses, laughter - and applause
Says Republicans will maintain majorities in both houses of Congress
The clearest example of the breadth of political discourse in last week's Aspen Ideas Fest came with two of the week-long event's featured speakers: former President Bill Clinton and Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's deputy chief of staff.
Clinton enjoyed a warm reception Friday night, after the Atlantic Monthly's James Fallows introduced him as the most popular man on earth. Rove was met with tough questions from moderator Walter Isaacson, president and CEO of the Aspen Institute, and hisses from the audience.
Rove appeared to be on the defensive on questions about Guantanamo, the Valerie Plame affair, Iraq and other issues.

http://www.aspentimes.com/article/20060710/NEWS/107100027



Unknown court date puts former Rep. DeLay in limbo
By Jonathan E. Kaplan and Patrick O’Connor
While a federal appeals court considers whether former Rep. Tom DeLay (R-Texas) must stay on the ballot, the Texas secretary of state intends to file a brief with the 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals asking that it observe four crucial deadlines.
Under Texas election law, a candidate cannot be removed from the ballot with fewer than 74 days left before the election, a deadline that falls on Aug. 25 this year. Four days later, the candidate’s party must certify a replacement nominee. On Sept. 6, the secretary of state must certify the ballot. On Sept. 7, the secretary “strongly recommends that the ballot be sent to the printer,” said Scott Haywood, a spokesman for the secretary of state’s office.
That gives Republicans a likely timeframe for a ruling from the appellate court.
Without a quick decision on the recent ruling that forces DeLay to stay on the ballot, Republicans would not have much time to introduce a new candidate to voters. And DeLay would be able to mount only a brief campaign against the Democratic nominee, former Rep. Nick Lampson, who in turn would get a lengthy period during which to boost his name identification and sell his candidacy in the district while running unopposed.

http://www.thehill.com/thehill/export/TheHill/News/Frontpage/071306/limbo.html



Private equity groups to buy Dutch cable operator
Warburg Pincus and Cinven are in exclusive talks with Carlyle Group to acquire Casema, the Netherland's third largest cable operator, in a €2.1bn deal.
Warburg Pincus and Cinven are understood to have beaten competitive offers from Macquarie Bank, Australia's largest, UPC Netherlands and BC Partners, a rival buyout firm, according to people close to the situation.

http://msnbc.msn.com/id/13856862/



Karl Rove Courting Radical, Racist Mexican Group
by Jim Kouri, CPP
Karl Rove, President George W. Bush's political advisor, and Senator Sam Brownback (R-TX), are planning to meet with the the left-wing Mexican group La Raza this week.
La Raza is considered by many to be a radical racist group promoting hatred towards the "Gringo." In fact, La Raza means "The Race."
Former President Bill Clinton heads the list of speakers for the annual meeting of La Raza's national council. The Rev. Jesse Jackson will appear on a panel. Observers say they expect to see the likes of Clinton and Jackson meeting with a racist group of Mexicans, but they are surprised that two supposed conservative Republicans would give the group credibility by meeting with them.

http://www.therealitycheck.org/StaffWriter/jkouri071006a.htm



Lawsuit seeks to keep DeLay probe data secret
THE Associated Press
AUSTIN -- Travis County District Attorney Ronnie Earle has sued Attorney General Greg Abbott to keep secret some details about his investigation of former House Majority Leader Tom DeLay.
In March, the Houston Chronicle filed a request under Texas' open-records law for vouchers, hotel and airfare receipts, budget documents, memos and e-mails that describe the expenses for the DeLay inquiry and related investigations.
DeLay was indicted last year on conspiracy and money-laundering charges connected to the financing of 2002 legislative races. He resigned from Congress on June 9.
In an attempt to keep the details of his investigation out of public view, Earle appealed to Texas Attorney General Greg Abbott, arguing that releasing the information could compromise the prosecution.
The state's lawyer, who reviewed examples of the information, generally ruled that Earle didn't have to disclose secret information related to grand jury investigations. But the attorney general noted that the public records law requires disclosure of "information in an account, voucher or contract" relating to the expenditure of public monies, the Austin American-Statesman reported Tuesday.
Earle sued last week to overturn Abbott's opinion.
"The first obligation of law enforcement is the protection of the public," Earle said in a statement Monday. "This opinion makes that job harder."
Earle complained that releasing such documents would reveal information about investigations or prosecutions before a suspect or defendant could legally access it.
Austin lawyer David H. Donaldson Jr., a First Amendment specialist, said prosecutors might keep secret specific vouchers that would reveal the identity or location of an informant, but prosecutors should release documents showing how they are spending the public's money.

http://www.dfw.com/mld/dfw/news/state/15019941.htm



Diplomatic Deception: The Calm Before the Firestorm
Written by Chris Floyd
Monday, 10 July 2006
DK at Talking Points Memo has this exactly right: the new mainstream media meme of a "quieter, more diplomatic" Bush foreign policy is yet another steaming crock served up by Karl Rove and swallowed whole by the fat and sassy gluttons of the press. As DK and Kevin Drum point out, the Bush Administration's whimpering reactions to provocations by North Korea, to the alarming resurgence of the Taliban (who have essentially trapped the British Expeditionary Force in the south in a loose but deadly siege), to the horrific death spiral in the raging Iraqi civil war, to the continuing imbroglio with Iran, etc., don't stem from some deliberate choice of "letting diplomacy work" but are simply the result of the Bushists' own blithering incompetence and utter cluelessness about how to actually govern a country and conduct a coherent foreign policy.

http://www.chris-floyd.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=734&Itemid=1



Tom DeLay's saga continues with Republican seats
7/10/2006 12:44 PM
By: Harvey Kronberg
The bizarre saga of Tom DeLay took yet another twist last week. As you know, last year, DeLay filed to run for reelection despite his multiple legal and ethical controversies.
When drawing the new congressional map in 2003, an overconfident DeLay reduced the Republican profile of his district by 10 percent in order to fortify Republican opportunities in surrounding districts.
Texas Monthly reported that he ran an almost invisible primary with few yard signs and no radio or TV advertising. Instead, he successfully relied on direct mail and phone banks. Rather than stir up growing anti-DeLay sentiment, he turned down the volume on the race by communicating with only voters known to be loyal.
The strategy worked. He won his primary. But disturbed by worrisome polls and the damage his controversies might inflict on other Republicans, DeLay withdrew from the election, resigned from Congress and tried to have his name taken off the ballot.

WATCH THE VIDEO

DeLay’s saga continues
Although Tom DeLay has chosen not to run again, he remains at the center of political controversy.
Last week, Judge Sam Sparks agreed with Democrats. DeLay was too late. His name could not be replaced on the ballot by another GOP candidate.
Jubilant Democrats believe the decision is good for their side. Besides giving Democrat Nick Lampson a free ride in the congressional election, they believe DeLay's name on the ballot will help fundraising and keep their claims of a Republican "culture of corruption" on center stage.
DeLay has since teased that he might as well go ahead and run. As Texans learned a long time ago, he should never be underestimated.
But what of DeLay's redistricting experiment? It was supposed to elect seven new Republican Texans to Congress.
Well, they only got six new seats in 2004 because Democrat Chet Edwards survived. Meanwhile, the recent Supreme Court ruling on the DeLay map may cost Republican Henry Bonilla his seat plus possibly create one more opportunity for a Democratic gain, perhaps by putting Lloyd Doggett back in Austin. Plus, DeLay's own seat now looks to go to a Democrat.
When the dust settles after the election, it is entirely possible that the redistricting effort that ripped our state politics apart to produce seven new Republican seats really only boils down to a gain of three.

http://www.news8austin.com/content/headlines/?ArID=166197&SecID=2


Rove: Bush to veto DeGette bill (stem cell)
Denver Post ^ 10 july 2006 John Farrell
Posted on 07/10/2006 1:39:16 PM PDT by Notwithstanding
President Bush will likely cast the first veto of his presidency if the Senate, as expected, passes legislation to expand federal funding of embryonic stem-cell research, White House aide Karl Rove said today.
"The president is emphatic about this," Rove said in a meeting with the editorial board of The Denver Post.
The U.S. House of Representatives has already passed the legislation, co-sponsored by Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Denver, and Rep. Mike Castle, R-Del. If the Senate approves the bill this month it would go to the president's desk.

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1663285/posts



Rove: Colorado a swing state
'You can't take it for granted,' Bush aide says during visit
By Michael Malik And Stuart Steers, Rocky Mountain News
July 11, 2006
Karl Rove came to town Monday to appear at a fundraiser for the state Republican Party, and President Bush's top political adviser made it clear that Colorado has become a crucial swing state in national politics.
"It's a swing state, no ifs, ands or buts about it," Rove said in a meeting with the Rocky Mountain News editorial board. "It's a competitive state. You can't take it for granted."
Rove is a hero to Republicans and a villain to Democrats for his success at helping Bush win two terms in office. He appeared Monday night at a GOP pep rally at the Wildlife Experience museum in Parker.

http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/elections/article/0,2808,DRMN_24736_4835707,00.html


Novak confirms Rove was Plame source
PETE YOST
Associated Press
WASHINGTON - Now that Karl Rove won't be indicted, now that the president won't fire him, now that it really doesn't matter anymore, more details of the Valerie Plame leak investigation trickle out.
In his latest syndicated column, released Wednesday, columnist Robert Novak revealed his side of the story in the Plame affair, saying Rove was a confirming source for Novak's story outing the CIA officer, underscoring Rove's role in a leak that President Bush once promised to punish.
As Rove's legal problems grew a year ago, the president qualified his earlier pledge to fire anyone involved in the Plame leak, saying it would apply to "someone who committed a crime."
The columnist said he learned of Plame's CIA employment from a source he still refuses to publicly identify, and then confirmed with Rove and then-CIA spokesman Bill Harlow, whose roles in talking to Novak have been previously reported.

http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/15016083.htm



Rove heckled.
In an address to the National Council of La Raza’s annual conference yesterday, Karl Rove “drew scattered boos when he highlighted Bush’s recent approval of $1.9 billion in funding for more border security, including deployment of National Guard troops, and was disrupted twice by hecklers who unfurled antiwar and anti-Bush banners.” July 12, 2006 10:58 am Comment (60)

http://thinkprogress.org/2006/07/12/rove-heckled/



Valerie Plame Sues Cheney, Libby & Rove
July 13 - The CIA officer whose identity was leaked to reporters sued Vice President Dick Cheney, his former top aide and presidential adviser Karl Rove on Thursday, accusing them and other White House officials of conspiring to destroy her career.
In a lawsuit filed in U.S. District Court, Valerie Plame and her husband, Joseph Wilson, a former U.S. ambassador, accused Cheney, Rove and I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby of revealing Plame's CIA identity in seeking revenge against Wilson for criticizing the Bush administration's motives in Iraq.
Several news organizations wrote about Plame after syndicated columnist Robert Novak named her in a column on July 14, 2003. Novak's column appeared eight days after Wilson alleged in an opinion piece in The New York Times that the administration had twisted prewar intelligence on Iraq to justify going to war.

http://abclocal.go.com/kgo/story?section=nation_world&id=4363202



...Don't expect to see much about the Fund - Pillsbury Trial in the mainstream media. Notice who pays those media salaries. America's media has slowly over the last decade been acquired by the same corporate interests who funded the Bush campaigns. The American media is, in fact, a significant segment of the Bush Core Constituency.
Journalists may want to cover it but doing so could cost them their jobs.
So In New York, the city that witnessed the trial of John Peter Zenger in 1735 and so gave us the First Amendment, the issues of honesty by those entrusted with power is yet again on point. Honesty, integrity and simple justice are things all of us ordinary, unimportant, people grow hungrier for every single day. We know we are unimportant, we are not briefed by the White House.
When will Americans be ready to demand the honesty and justice for which we pay so dearly? When will New York weep for the honor and courage lost to the past?
I think that day is coming sooner than John Fund, Karl Rove, or George Bush realizes.
John was right about one thing. If you know the truth it will set you free.
Get off the Grids; Organize Locally; Build Coalition - and remember that honesty matters, Jesus, an person not briefed by any White House, said so.

http://howtheneoconsstolefreedom.blogspot.com

Melinda Pillsbury-Foster is the author of GREED: The NeoConning of America and A Tour of Old Yosemite. The former is a novel about the lives of the NeoCons with a strong autobiographical component. The latter is a non-fiction book about her father and grandfather. Ms. Pillsbury-Foster has been active in politics since the Goldwater Campaign. She left the Republican Party to join and become active in the Libertarian Party in 1973, working as an activist and party officer until she left the Libertarian Party in 1988. She is also the the founder of the Arthur C. Pillsbury Foundation (www.acpillsburyfoundation.com). She is the mother of four living children and one deceased.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/genera_melinda__060713_john_fund_and_the_tr.htm



Rove Secretly Runs The New York Times
Bill Smith 1 hour, 56 minutes ago
New York, New York (SatireNewsService) - In a stunning development that would appear to have broad implications for the independence of America's newspaper industry, New York Times Publisher, Edwin 'Pinch' Sulzberger today revealed that longtime
President Bush advisor Karl Rove has been secretly running the Times' news and editorial operation for almost four years.
According to well-placed insiders on the Times' Board of Directors, a shaken Sulzberger made that announcement in a hastily convened meeting of the Board of the Times' parent company, The New York Times Corp. Sulzberger reportedly told the board that the discovery was made last week.
"During an internal investigation, we reached the regrettable conclusion that Karl Rove has been running this newspaper since at least August, 2002," Sulzberger reportedly stated. "His intention is clear - to ruin the reputation of the newspaper and the party that our editorial policy supports."
Sulzberger reportedly continued: "I ordered an investigation to determine how the Times had come to publish detailed information about a top-secret government monitoring operation of the international financial transactions of al-Qaeda and other terrorist groups. The publication of this information clearly helps an enemy that killed thousands of people just a few blocks from here. Endangering Americans is something the Times would never intentionally do. Unfortunately this story fits a pattern of publication that has almost ruined the Times' reputation for probity and journalistic honesty as well as causing incalculable damage to the Democratic party that our editorial policy supports."

http://news.yahoo.com/s/realclearpolitics/20060714/cm_rcp/rove_secretly_runs_the_new_yor



POLICE STATE: Interview With Greg Palast
Greg Palast is the author of the New York Times bestsellers, Armed Madhouse and The Best Democracy Money Can Buy. His investigative journalism and television reports are frequently seen in the U.K.’s Observer and BBC’s Newsnight. In the U.S. he is virtually banned from the mainstream media, but can be found in Harper’s Magazine and throughout the Internet. Fresh back from his investigations into Mexico’s recent election, Palast just dropped us a line to fill us in on the news that you won’t hear from Anderson Cooper and the rest of the newsroom hairdo gang.
Interviewed by Dustin Glick
NYI: Do you feel that the U.S. has become a police state?
Greg Palast: Well, if you’re in Guantanamo, it’s a police state for you. Whatever happened to the story about the people being held incommunicado in the United States? What was it, 1,100 the ACLU was trying to uncover? The story just disappeared. So whoever was rotting in jail is still rotting. Now as for the war on terror, hey I have no problem going after Saudi Arabian hijackers, but I don’t see any investigation going in that direction. And by the way, that whole checking the checking accounts thing — believe it or not, Bin Laden doesn’t use his ATM card now. He has a feeling that they’re watching the checking accounts. This is bullshit — that’s not how they move their money and they

http://nyinquirer.typepad.com/nyinquirer/2006/07/police_state_in_1.html


The 'Kennedy Court'
The Supreme Court's 2005-06 term--the first to feature the newly confirmed Chief Justice, John Roberts Jr., and Justice Samuel Alito--began with a whimper and ended with a bang. The term's early months saw the Court issuing an unusually high number of unanimous opinions, even in such potentially controversial areas as abortion and gay rights, as the Court sought to decide cases extremely narrowly and thereby avoid controversy. But by the end of the term, controversy was front and center, as the Court divided sharply on its most significant cases, culminating in the stunning 5-to-3 decision, the last day of the term, declaring George W. Bush's military tribunals illegal.
In Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, the most important case of the term, the Court showed itself willing to do what neither Republicans nor Democrats in Congress have been able to do: Stand up to the President in the "war on terror." The Court's decision reaffirmed, as Justice John Paul Stevens put it, that "the Executive is bound to comply with the Rule of Law that prevails in this jurisdiction." The Court's capitalization of the "Rule of Law" underscored its effort to enforce the concept of legality on an Administration that has long since adopted the view that the law can impose little or no constraint on the President during wartime--whether it be the international laws of war, criminal prohibitions on torture and warrantless wiretapping of Americans, or the Uniform Code of Military Justice, a statute that establishes the rules for military trials.

http://www.thenation.com/doc/20060731/cole


Napolitano made the false -- and absurd -- claim that Wilson listed Plame's CIA employment in Who's Who entry
Summary: Fox News' Andrew P. Napolitano claimed that former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV "told Who's Who in America to put that his wife was a CIA operative." In fact, Wilson's entry in Who's Who mentioned his wife's name -- Valerie Elise Plame -- but not her occupation.
On the July 12 edition of Fox News' Fox & Friends First, Fox News senior judicial analyst Andrew P. Napolitano, a former New Jersey superior court judge, claimed falsely -- and absurdly -- that former ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV "told Who's Who in America to put that his wife was a CIA operative." In fact, Wilson's entry in Who's Who mentioned his wife's name -- Valerie Elise Plame -- but not her occupation, the disclosure of which gave rise to the appointment of special counsel Patrick J. Fitzgerald to investigate.

http://mediamatters.org/items/200607130005



Columnist names White House adviser in spy scandal
David Fickling and agencies
Wednesday July 12, 2006
The journalist at the centre of a criminal investigation into the naming of a CIA agent has revealed that top presidential aide Karl Rove played a major role in the affair.
Robert Novak, a conservative columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times newspaper, admitted publicly for the first time that Mr Rove, one of George Bush's closest advisers, had been among his sources for a story outing CIA agent Valerie Plame. Publicly naming a CIA operative is a criminal offence in the US.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/usa/story/0,,1818726,00.html



The Wilsons Launch Civil Suit Against Cheney, Rove, Libby
By E&P Staff
Published: July 13, 2006 4:15 PM ET
NEW YORK Valerie Plame Wilson, her husband Ambassador Joseph Wilson and their counsel, Christopher Wolf of Proskauer Rose LLP, will hold a news conference at 10 a.m. EDT on Friday at the National Press Club in Washington, DC 20045 to explain the filing of a civil lawsuit today against I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Vice-President Dick Cheney and Karl Rove, according to a statement by the lawyers.
The complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, obrtained by E&P, charges (as its heading puts it) "First and Fifth Amendment Violations, Civil Rights Conspiracy, Failure to Prevent Civil Rights Violations, Public Disclosure of Private Facts, and Civil Conspiracy."
According to some reports earlier this week, the three-year statute of limitations for filing such a case -- from the time columnist Robert Novak outed Valerie Wilson's classified CIA employment -- was about to run out.

http://www.mediainfo.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1002839168



Municipalities latch on to IntelliPark’s ‘smart’ meter
CEO of Bethesda company says he has a keen eye for inventions
Friday, July 14, 2006
Marketing guru Glen A. Hellman is always on the lookout for visionary inventors.
Which is not surprising, considering he hails from Edison, N.J.
Hellman, CEO of IntelliPark LLC of Bethesda, has yet to find another Thomas Edison, the town’s namesake. But at IntelliPark, Hellman has teamed up with Vince Yost, whose sonar-smart parking meter is starting to tap national marketing potential.
In 1995 Yost patented a radio frequency sensor for a parking meter that detects the arrival and departure of a car in a parking space. Even since, he has been pitching it, under a company called Intelligent Devices, to municipalities in New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Delaware. But new competitors with a range of different electronic parking meters are cropping up across the country

http://www.gazette.net/stories/071406/businew180342_31950.shtml



Gov. Romney Seeks Control of Big Dig Inquiry
By PAM BELLUCK
Published: July 13, 2006
BOSTON, July 13 — More problems with the Big Dig tunnels became apparent today, and Gov. Mitt Romney filed emergency legislation to take control of the investigation of the tunnel accident in which concrete slabs fell from the ceiling Monday and crushed a woman to death in her car.
“There should no longer be any doubt — the Turnpike Authority has failed to do its job,” Mr. Romney said of the independent agency that oversees the massive Boston highway project. “It’s hard to view Monday’s catastrophe as an accident.”
Mr. Romney’s move comes a day after Turnpike Authority officials said they found 60 problem areas in the eastbound side of the tunnel where bolts were loose or there were gaps between the roof and metal plates that hold up the concrete ceiling tiles.

http://www.nytimes.com/2006/07/13/us/13cnd-tunnel.html?hp&ex=1152849600&en=77ebb49b5c46ed9c&ei=5094&partner=homepage



Romney vetoes funding for LGBT, HIV/AIDS programs
Ethan Jacobs
ejacobs@baywindows.com
Gov. Mitt Romney signed the Fiscal Year 2007 (FY07) budget into law July 8 and included with that budget a list of vetoes and funding reductions that hit just about every LGBT and AIDS-related initiative receiving state funding. Romney vetoed the creation of a new legislative Commission on Gay and Lesbian Youth, cut all of the Safe Schools funding in the Department of Education (DOE), cut all of the Gay Men’s Domestic Violence Project (GMDVP) funding from the Department of Public Health (DPH), cut more than $700,000 in HIV/AIDS funding and cut funding to the LGBT Aging Project. Overriding those vetoes would require a two-thirds vote in both the House and Senate, but Romney attached about 200 vetoes and reductions to the budget, and it is unlikely lawmakers will get to vote on all of them before the session concludes at the end of the month. Advocates are scrambling to ask legislators to make overriding their particular vetoes a priority before the session ends.

http://baywindows.com/ME2/dirmod.asp?sid=&nm=&type=Publishing&mod=Publications%3A%3AArticle&mid=8F3A7027421841978F18BE895F87F791&tier=4&id=FFE8EE763F464D3095FAA78F46AD3EE5



Rep. Lynch Blasts Romney For Tunnel Response
(CBS4) BOSTON As inspections continue on the I-90 connector tunnel, Governor Romney is pushing forward with plans to remove Turnpike Chairman Matt Amorello from office. But Romney is also catching heat from Congressman Steven Lynch.
Early Thursday morning, in an interview with WBZ radio's Carl Stevens, Rep. Lynch blasted Romney for his response to the incident.
The South Boston Democrat tells WBZ that it's "disingenuous" for Romney to seek the removal of Amorello at the same time he's spending considerable time outside of the state, testing the waters for a presidential run.
"The Governor, with all due respect, has no credibility on this issue. The Governor ought to do something besides calling for people's resignations.....Roll up your sleeves and go to work on this. He spends two days a week in the state and complains Matt (Amorello) is not doing his job," said Lynch.

http://cbs4boston.com/topstories/local_story_194120959.html



Halliburton-KBR's LOGCAP-3 Iraq Contract Not Renewed
Posted 14-Jul-2006 03:47
The US Army says its five-year no-bid LOGCAP contract with Halliburton's KBR unit will be put up for bids after its current phase ends later this year. According to Army figures, KBR has received orders totaling $17.1 billion since the start of the current LOGCAP 3 contract, including about $15.4 billion in Iraq, for feeding, housing and providing fuel and other services to U.S. troops worldwide.
As DID has noted, KBR has found itself embroiled in controversy over its role, its prices, and audits of its work that have been unable to fully account for millions of dollars of those funds or justify all charges to the Pentagon's full satisfaction. The firm strongly denies any wrongdoing, and Army Secretary Francis Harvey recently praised their efforts. LOGCAP 4's new approach clearly acknowledges the controversies spawned, however, and early reports say that it will be very different...

http://www.defenseindustrydaily.com/2006/07/halliburtonkbrs-logcap3-iraq-contract-not-renewed/index.php



Frist, Vanderbilt scientists hang hopes on stem cell vote
By Jared Allen, jallen@nashvillecitypaper.com
July 13, 2006
While Washington, D.C., gears up for what is likely to be a close Senate vote on stem cell funding legislation, Vanderbilt researchers hold their breath for what may be their best chance yet to jump to the forefront of stem cell research.
Just before the July 4 congressional recess, Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist (R-Tenn.) made good on a year-old promise to allow a Senate vote on a stem cell bill that passed last year in the House of Representatives.
The House bill, which was sponsored by Reps. Mike Castle (R-Del.) and Diana DeGette (D-Colo.), would allow federal funding for research on donated embryos that would otherwise be destroyed by fertility clinics, and would lift the restriction that President Bush imposed on embryonic stem cell research in August of 2001. But just as soon as Frist announced his intention to hold a Senate vote, Bush issued a threat to veto the bill should it come to his desk.

http://www.nashvillecitypaper.com/index.cfm?section_id=9&screen=news&news_id=50943



Key Big Dig figures
July 13, 2006
Mitt Romney
Governor
Has blasted management of the project, especially that of Turnpike Authority chairman Matthew J. Amorello, but faces criticism himself for not asserting more authority over the project or getting tough with contractors.
Thomas F. Reilly
Attorney General
In January 2005, took over effort to gain compensation for the state for poor construction in the project. Announced he would seek $108 million from Bechtel/Parsons Brinckerhoff, the project manager, for problems and delays and was said to be close to a settlement with the firm last month. Has also launched criminal probe for potential negligent homicide charges as a result of Monday's collapse.

http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/13/key_big_dig_figures/



Belfast Telegraph

Global warming ‘will cancel out Western aid and devastate Africa’
By Andrew Grice
13 July 2006
Climate change could have a devastating impact on Africa, wiping out all the benefits from the measures to help the continent agreed by the world’s richest nations last year.
The warning will be issued by the British Gov-ernment today when it announces plans to bring poor countries into the next round of international discussions to combat global warming.
The serious threat posed to the developing world will be highlighted when Hilary Benn, the Secretary of State for International Development, publishes his first White Paper setting out his department’s strategy. It will warn that people in poor nations, while producing much lower carbon emissions than rich countries, could be the biggest victims of climate change.
They will have to cope with more droughts, more extreme temperatures and sudden and intense rainfall causing greater food insecurity, loss of income, higher death rates and more diseases. Research by the department to assess the impact on Africa by 2050, taking account of poverty forecasts, suggests that southern Africa and the Sahel, the Great Lakes areas and the coastal zones of eastern and western Africa will be particularly at risk.
In some parts of east Africa, higher rainfall and and temperatures will help crop production in the short term but there will be more frequent crop failures in the future. “What is clear is that Africa appears to have some of the greatest burdens of climate change impacts, certainly from the human health and agricultural perspective,” the research concluded.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=698520



Next winter to be 'milder but wetter'
By Fiona McIlwaine Biggins
14 July 2006
As the summer sun continues to shine, the first forecasts for the winter weather to come reveals we are likely to experience milder but wetter conditions than last year, according to Met Office long-range forecasters.
Each June, the sea surface temperature pattern in the North Atlantic gives a hint of what type of weather may predominate across Europe the following winter.
Following a period of gathering and assessing this data, Met Office experts reveal that early indications of what type of winter 2006-07 we might expect is likely to be milder than the long-term average and wetter than the country experienced last winter.
The Met Office uses a statistical method and a number of global forecasting models to provide information on the outlook for the winter.
At this stage, only the statistical method is available, so this is just a first look at the prospects.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=698660



Leukaemia girl travels to Germany for life-saving op
By Ruairi McLaren
14 July 2006
Toddler Ava Nixon was travelling to Germany this morning for a life-saving bone marrow transplant, after an operation in Bristol fell through this week.
The parents of the one-year- old Londonderry girl will travel with her to Stuttgart on this morning's potentially life-changing flight.
Ava suffers from a rare form of leukaemia and has endured months of gruelling chemotherapy.
The family will travel straight to the hospital from the airport in Germany, where samples will be taken to attempt to match her with a donor, most likely one of her parents.
After preparation, it is hoped the transplant can be carried out in two or three weeks time.
The family were initially awarded funding to go to Germany for the operation just days after the couple were informed by doctors that nothing more could be done for Ava.
Last week the family were told a place was available in Bristol now, with a potential full-donor match.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=698656



Ulster's superbug deaths quadruple
MRSA claimed 69 lives last year
By Nigel Gould
14 July 2006
MRSA-related deaths in Northern Ireland have quadrupled in just four years, the Belfast Telegraph can reveal today.
Figures show the feared antibiotic-resistant superbug played a part in the deaths of 69 people throughout the province during 2005. That compares to just 17 in 2001.
Overall between 2001 and 2005 there were no fewer than 186 MRSA-connected deaths.
Places of death include hospitals, nursing homes or the patient's residence.
In each case, MRSA was mentioned on the patient's death certificate - although it is not clear whether the bug was the primary cause of death or where the infection was initially picked up.
Craigavon Area Hospital, one of Ulster's leading acute units, was recorded as having the highest number of MRSA-related deaths during 2005.
Last year there the bug helped cause the deaths of nine people - compared to just one in 2001.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=698664



Staying together for the kids 'worse than divorce'
By Katie Nixon
14 July 2006
Staying together for the sake of the kids may be more damaging than divorce, an influential committee of MPs has been told.
The Education and Skills Select Committee was told yesterday by academics that pupils whose parents' relationship was in difficulty were at risk of under achieving, whether or not their parents separated.
Professor Bryan Rodgers of the Australian National University in Canberra told the committee that one in four children in the UK will now see their parents spilt up before they are 16. The research found that children from happy homes do best at school regardless of whether their parents were together or separated. And children who have a close relationship with the non-resident parent did better than expected at school.
The committee heard that the closeness of the parental relationship was often the most important factor in terms of achievement at school rather than the frequency of contact.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=698662



Challenges ahead for new chief of Ulster medicine
By Nigel Gould
14 July 2006
Northern Ireland has a new chief medical officer.
Dr Michael McBride, the current medical director of the Royal Hospitals Group, takes over from Dr Henrietta Campbell, who retired from the post earlier this year.
Congratulating Dr McBride on his appointment, Health Minister Paul Goggins said: "I welcome Michael McBride into his new job and I look forward to working with him on a range of important health issues which affect everyone in Northern Ireland.
"Introducing the smoking ban next year will be a key challenge and will help to save many lives.
"Tackling obesity, getting more people to exercise and eat healthily, suicide prevention, reducing heart related illnesses and tackling drug and alcohol problems are just some of the other challenges faced in improving the health and well-being of people living here. I wish him well."

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=698618



Hunger strike sports shirts spark fury
By Lisa Smyth
14 July 2006
Controversial GAA-style shirts designed to commemorate the hunger strikers should be removed from sale in the interests of community harmony, a DUP MP claimed last night.
The official supplier of GAA shirts, O'Neill's, has launched a commemorative jersey to mark the 25th anniversary of the campaign which led to the deaths of 10 republican prisoners.
The jerseys are currently available to buy in O'Neill's west Belfast shop on the Anderstown Road.
However, Jeffrey Donaldson called for the immediate withdrawal of the shirts from sale and said he was extremely disappointed that O'Neill's have produced a shirt which has the potential to prompt violence.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=698619



Israel widens bombing campaign as Lebanese militia groups retaliate
By Donald Macintyre and Eric Silver
14 July 2006
Israeli forces blockaded Lebanese ports and bombed runways at Beirut airport yesterday in a series of fierce reprisal attacks that Lebanese officials say have killed 55 civilians.
Tthe biggest military operation since Israel's withdrawal from Lebanon six years ago came in response to a raid by Hizbollah on Wednesday in which two soldiers were seized while on patrol on the Israeli side of the border. The most serious casualties were caused by a series of air raids on south Lebanon that Lebanese security officials say killed 55 people and wounded 110. Sources said 10 members of a single family were killed in Dweir village and seven from another family were killed in Baflay.
The Israeli military said Hizbollah guerrillas fired more than 100 Katyusha rockets in retaliation at towns and villages across the north of Israel, killing two women in what was the most serious barrage since the mid-1990s. One woman was killed in Nahariya and another woman died from her wounds in Safed.
The guerrilla group appeared last night to have dramatically exceeded the rocket's previous range by launching two at the coastal city of Haifa. Another landed in the suburbs. Danny Ayalon, Israeli ambassador to the US, said the attack was a "major, major, escalation" but Hizbollah's initial reaction was to deny its rockets had been fired at Haifa.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/story.jsp?story=698647



Storming start leaves Ports facing mission impossible
By Stuart McKinley
14 July 2006
An early goal in each half from Lithuanian league leaders, Kaunas, has left Portadown facing mission impossible in the UEFA Cup.
The Ports have only ever won once in Europe and that statistic never came under threat as the visitors ran out comfortable 3-1 winners.
They struck the opener with less than two minutes on the clock and when they doubled their lead in the ninth minute the tie was already slipping away from Ronnie McFall's side.
A third goal in the opening minute of the second-half killed off the Ports and Gary McCutcheon's strike midway through the second-half was merely a consolation effort.
Kaunas punished the Ports before the game had even sprung into life after Brendan Devenney conceded a free-kick.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/sport/football/story.jsp?story=698629



The Devil's Highway: Crossing the deadly frontier
Every year, more than a million Mexicans embark on a journey across the US border, lured by wages up to 20 times higher than at home - it is a perilous trek which many do not survive
14 July 2006
In the centre of the Mexican town of Altar, men with backpacks cluster in small groups, hiding from the blistering sun beneath trees, or else in the better-than-nothing shade of the shops that edge the plaza. The men are travellers, all residents of southern Mexico and elsewhere in Latin America, and all heading north to the US border just 90 miles across the desert. They were lured by the prospect of a new life and new opportunity, of jobs that pay 10 or 20 times what they earned in their villages, and the chance to send some of those wages home. If, that is, they could make it across the border.
Countless thousands of migrants pour through Altar every year. In the summer the numbers fall sharply, for in the months of July and August the migrants are competing not just with the border guards and their trucks and helicopters, their scanners and sniffer dogs, but also with the weather. Here on the US-Mexican border these months of high summer are known as the death season - the months when the relentless, burning sun makes every attempt at crossing the desert a potentially lethal endeavour. On this particular afternoon the temperature stood at a steady 104F (40C).
Last year was a record for deaths in the desert. At least 473 migrants died trying to cross into the US, 260 of them in the US Customs and Border Protection's (CBP) Tucson sector of south-eastern Arizona. Experts say this year's numbers are currently in line to break that record.

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/features/story.jsp?story=698668



Palestine funding puzzle
14 July 2006
The Palestine Centre for Human Rights is funded by Ireland and the EU, yet its statement on the current crisis attacks Israel, but not the attack on the Israeli Defence Forces by Hamas and other gangs.
Nor did it refer to the kidnapping of Cpl Gilad Shalit and it does not mention that this violates international law.
Should not steps be taken by the Dublin Government to ensure that bodies taking such a partisan and politicised stand are no longer funded by Ireland, or the EU?
TOM CAREW Dublin

http://www.belfasttelegraph.co.uk/news/letters/story.jsp?story=698639



Port Security

Naval militia to guard ports?
Plan pondered by Va. adjutant general as security measure
BY PETER BACQUE
TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER
Jul 9, 2006
Virginia's top military officer is mulling over establishing a state naval militia to guard the Old Dominion's seaports.
"The concept has merit," said Maj. Gen. Robert B. Newman Jr., the state's adjutant general. "I see the naval militia helping to contribute to port security."
Newman cautioned, however, that a state naval militia is only in the thinking-about stage.
"We would be receptive to hearing the general's thoughts on such a proposal," said Kevin Hall, Gov. Timothy M. Kaine's spokesman.
Virginia law already provides for a naval militia, made up of citizens - "organized, armed and equipped" - between the ages of 18 and 45.
Virginia naval reserve forces were periodically active from the late 19th century through the middle of the last century. The members of the Richmond-based First Company of the Virginia Naval Militia were called into federal naval service during World War II.
Several states still have such maritime militias.
Members of the New Jersey Naval Militia Joint Command were activated during rescue and recovery operations for the Sept. 11 attacks and remained on duty though January 2002.
New York's naval militia has about 4,500 members, including marines, and after Sept. 11 two of that state's militia boats patrolled the Hudson River to block water-borne attacks on a nuclear power plant.
At the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay, Hampton Roads is the home to the world's largest naval base, and the state owns three deepwater terminals there.
Annually, the Virginia Port Authority's terminals in Norfolk, Newport News and Portsmouth handle about 1.2 million containers carrying cargo worth more than $37 billion, making it the third-largest port in the eastern U.S.
"Security is an issue and we're always looking for ways to improve our security," port authority spokesman Joe Harris said.
Since the Sept. 11 attacks, the United States has dramatically strengthened port security, according to the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, spending $1.6 billion to guard the nation's harbors in 2005.
But the American Association of Port Authorities says that the nation's ports have received only 20 percent of what they sought in security funding over the past four years.
More than 80 percent of the world's trade travels by sea, and 90 percent of cargo moves in containers, so the oceans and their harbors offer America's enemies a way to travel and to produce mass casualties and massive economic damage, officials say.
Federal strategy calls for multilayered defenses - the U.S. Coast Guard, Customs and Border Protection, port authorities and terminal operators - to safeguard ports.
Virginia has been turned down for U.S. homeland-security grants to help protect Hampton Roads, Kaine press secretary Hall noted.
With active-duty resources stretched by the global war on terrorism, a reserve unit such as the naval militia is the way to go, Newman said in an interview Friday.
"It's the only way," he said, "to have requirements meet with capabilities."
Contact staff writer Peter Bacqué at pbacque@timesdispatch.com or (804) 649-6813.
Times-Dispatch librarian/researcher Kathy Albers contributed to this report.

http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1149189031325&path=!news&s=1045855934842


Forth ship-to-ship oil transfers approved
IAN SWANSON AND ALAN RODEN ( iswanson@edinburghnews.com)
CONTROVERSIAL ship-to-ship oil transfers in the Firth of Forth were today given the green light.
The decision was greeted with horror by environmental groups, who have warned oil spills could spoil public enjoyment of the Forth and devastate sensitive natural habitats.
And Fife councillors were considering possible legal action to stop the transfers.
The go-ahead for the plans came when the Maritime and Coastguard Agency today announced its intention to approve the contingency plan put forward by Forth Ports plc to deal with any oil spill. The decision is now expected to be rubber-stamped by Transport Secretary Douglas Alexander, paving the way for Forth Ports to agree plans by Melbourne Marine Services to transfer up to eight million tonnes of Russian crude oil every year.

http://news.scotsman.com/edinburgh.cfm?id=1027372006



Public hearings are scheduled to give the area ports' Clean Air Plan a second look
Groups want time to study the report that port officials want to finish by September.
By Donna Littlejohn
DAILY BREEZE
A series of monthlong public hearings begins Monday to take comments about the proposed Clean Air Plan released a little over a week ago by the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach.
But several interest groups say they'll need more time to digest the voluminous and ambitious plan that aims to cut port-related emissions by 50 percent in five years.
Port officials are hoping to complete any necessary modifications to the draft report in time to adopt a final plan in September.
"We're very concerned about the 30-day comment period," said Adrian Martinez, project attorney for the Natural Resources Defense Council. "The ports are dealing with a very well- educated public and we think the plan could be enhanced by having a robust public process."

http://www.dailybreeze.com/news/articles/3313726.html


Agulhas gets a pounding
By DEON VAN DER MERWE
MASSIVE waves whipped up by high winds and heavy swells pounded the stricken cargo carrier Safmarine Agulhas yesterday.
National Ports Authority spokesperson Terry Taylor said discharging of fuel and cargo was slowed down by the weather conditions.
“She was pivoting metres at a time, swinging from port to starboard, as massive swells and waves pounded her,” he said.
Crane lifting operations were interrupted periodically during the day as high winds caused containers to swing wildly in mid-air.
Last night, with 207 of the 277 containers taken ashore and a further 262 still in the holds, cargo discharging operations were stop-ped pending an expected improvement in the weather.
Conditions across East London, according to the SA Weather Service, were expected to be much calmer today.
The forecast said it would be sunny today, there was no storm warning and winds would be northerly, rising from seven knots in the morning to 12 knots in the afternoon.

http://www.dispatch.co.za/2006/07/08/Easterncape/agul.html



Cocco: DR ports are unique in Caribbean to expedite deliveries
SANTO DOMINGO. - Customs director, Miguel Cocco, said yesterday that the handling of new technologies and the acquisition of "X" rays to avoid delays in the Haina and Caucedo wharves will be paid off with the customs importation charge of 0,4%, which is going to reduce costs to importers as well.
He indicated, when speaking in a radio program, that many people want modernity without taking into account that it has a cost.
He said that the Tax Free zones are the ones that need most to quickly enter the American market and this can only be obtained with technology.
He insisted on differentiating a tax from a charge, in this case we are not talking about taxes.
"it is not a tax is a charge for a service that allows merchandise delivery in a 24 hour period after it’s arrival, this technology favors not only Dominican image abroad, but also favors monetary regeneration which, its the national investor’s main objective”, Cocco added.
He also asserted that, for the first time a port from the Caribbean and Central America obtains fast access to North American customs through the certification and procedures of verification of the exports in the country, without having to transfer in another nation with a cost from 28 to 30%.
By means of the certification the ship entering the U.S.A, instead, it will proceed directly to the purchasing center and then to distribution.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=15374



Lower Mainland ports to be integrated?
Jul, 08 2006 - 5:30 AM
VANCOUVER/CKNW(AM980) - Should Lower Mainland ports be integrated into one entity? That's what the federal Transport Minister wants to know.
Representatives of Minister Lawrence Cannon's office have met with representatives from the Vancouver, Fraser River, and North Fraser Port Authorities, to explore the opporunities for a single port entity.
Captain Gordon Houston, President and CEO of the Vancouver Port Authority, says there are number of reasons to consider it.
"The business with Asia-Pacific is growing at a rapid pace, and there's going to come a time when the population growth and the need to transport goods are going to come in more of a conflict then they are today," Houston said.
He says meetings on the issue will continue-- and input will be gathered from stakeholders.

http://www.cknw.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428218912&rem=42455&red=80121823aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm



Pakistan-U.S. discuss cooperation in management of Ports, Maritime
By Khalida Mazhar 'Pakistan Times' US Bureau Chief
WASHINGTON (US): Babar Khan Ghauri, Federal Minister Ports & Shipping held meetings with the U.S. Port authorities in Houston and discussed bilateral cooperation in the field of ports and martime, says a press release issued by Pakistan Consulate, Houston.
It says, the Federal Minister visited Houston Port Authority, and on the occasion, Chairman Jim Edmonds and John Patrick Horan, director of Trade at the Port Authority, gave a briefing about the Houston Port operations.
The two sides discussed possibility of exchange of expertise in the management of Ports.
The Federal Minister invited Chairman Houston Port, Jim Edmonds to visit Pakistan for enhancing interaction between ports of the two countries.
Possibility of establishing sister relations between ports of Houston and Karachi was also discussed, in the meeting, the press release states.
It says that the visit of the Minister to the Houston Port and his discussions with the port authorities have provided a good starting point for developing closer cooperation between Pakistan and the United States in the field of martime.
Consul General G. R. Baloch accompanied the Federal Minister during the visit.●

http://www.pakistantimes.net/2006/07/09/top8.htm



Dubai Ports plans $14.7b float
David Teather in London
July 11, 2006
DUBAI Ports World, the company that recently sealed a takeover of the British ports operator P&O, is drawing up plans for a stockmarket float in London that could value the business at as much as £6 billion ($14.7 billion).
DP World's move on the long established P&O gave it four more Australian terminals to add to its global tally: Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane and Fremantle. DP World already held Adelaide. Its rival in most of these stevedoring operations is Patrick Corp, recently taken over by Toll.

http://www.smh.com.au/news/business/dubai-ports-plans-147b-float/2006/07/10/1152383676434.html


Dubai Ports group interested
Well informed sources have revealed yesterday from the port of Algiers, the interest of foreign companies to get a part of the capital of Algiers’ port and enter as a partner to manage the containers, Dubai’s ports come at the top list of companies which have shown a predisposition and an important interest in addition to the Danish company “Mersk” and the French “CMIGMI”.
The same sources have indicated that the invitation to tender concerning this operation will be announced during one month after the end of the study on evaluation of the company of the port of Algiers, these changes intervene after the first operation which touched the port of Bejaia after the Singaporean company “Portic” has obtained 40% of the final capital of the port of Bejaia. This intervenes within the framework of the programme of separation of the activities of the ports.

http://www.elkhabar.com/FrEn/lire.php?ida=36183&idc=52



Dubai Ports World plans London flotation to raise 1 bln stg - reports
LONDON (AFX) - Dubai Ports World, the new owner of ports and shipping group P&O, is
planning a flotation in London to raise more than 1 bln stg, reports said.
Dubai plans to sell 20 pct of the company, which could be valued at as much as 6 bln stg, according to The Sunday Times.
The listing would comprise P&O's 29 ports, among them Tilbury in Essex and Antwerp in Belgium and a handful of other well-reputed ports that DPW already owned, including its flagship asset Jebel Ali, the largest port in Dubai, the newspaper said.

http://www.lse.co.uk/FinanceNews.asp?shareprice=&ArticleRef=15012&ArticleHeadline=Dubai_Ports_World_plans_London_flotation_to_raise_1_bln_stg__reports




Toll backs national ports reform
Transport giant Toll Holdings has leant its support to proposals from the Federal Treasurer Peter Costello, to bring the country's ports under a national regulator.
Mr Costello says the current state-by-state approach is too unwieldy, and control by the Federal Government makes more sense for the economy.
Toll chief executive Paul Little has told the ABC's Inside Business he sees merit in the proposal.
"I think I can see some of the benefits associated with reducing the fairly intense regulation that sits around port operations on a state-by-state basis," he said.
"There is no doubt that if you are able to overlay all port operations with one regulator, that would bring certain efficiencies going forward.
"Each port in Australia has got a different depth shipping channel, ships are getting bigger. All of those things need to be coordinated.
"Security needs to be coordinated. So I think there are certainly some arguments for looking at removing some of the overlap that exists today in regulation."
Mr Little says Toll has had considerable interest in the sale of its stake in freight company Pacific National.
The sale of its half-share was a condition of the Australian Competition and Consumer Commission's approval of Toll's bid to take over Patrick Corporation.
Mr Little he is not worried about getting a good price.
"There's been significant interest and from a fairly broad group which is somewhat surprising," he said.
"There's the trade buyers, the financial sponsors and the infrastructure groups, so I have no concerns about our ability to find a good partner and achieve the right price."
He says reports that Toll is hoping for $1.5 billion are incorrect.
"We've estimated $1.5 billion for the sale of all assets inclusive of Pacific National," he said.
"Pacific National's share of that yet to be determined, but probably closer to $1.2 billion, I would have thought."
He says the company, which announced this week it had gained 100 per cent of stevedoring business Patrick, is not considering a float at this stage.
"We've been given nine months by the ACCC to sell our 50 per cent stake," he said.
"We'll probably need all of that five months to get there and, of course, at the same time we are trying to improve the quality of that asset which had been run down during the acquisition of Patrick."
He did not rule out accepting a slightly lower price to get the right partner.
"I think the correct deal at the end of the day will see a mix of wanting a partner that complements their involvement in the board and in the company as the shareholder and obviously gives us the right price, so there is a mix of both considerations," he said.

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200607/s1682075.htm



Ports destroying state's mangrove cover: Study
[ 9 Jul, 2006 2106hrs IST
TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
SMS NEWS to 8888 for latest updates
GANDHINAGAR: Unplanned development of ports, jetties, refineries, salt works, cement industries and thermal plants along the state's 1,650 kilometre sea coast may result in swift degradation of the mangrove cover and steps need to be taken urgently for protection from disasters like cyclone and tsunami.
This Gujarat government study, conducted by forest official H S Singh on behalf of the state forest department, cautions that unfettered development have a 'negative impact' on sustainable yield of prawn and fish, too.

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1719284.cms



Congressional Staff Seminar on Ports Scheduled for Friday
7/10/2006 - Port Security News
The Port Security Council is launching a series of seminars this week to update Congressional staffers on issues relating to United States ports. The initial day-long seminar, focusing particularly on security, will take place Friday in the offices of the System Planning Corporation, 30th Floor, 1000 Wilson Blvd, Arlington, Va.
Topics include: What is a Port, How Supply Chains Work, Maritime Policy at Work, Current Port Security Legislation, Other Programs Affecting Ports, Port Security Grants, and the Future of Ports.
A second seminar will include a visit to the Port of Baltimore during the August Congressional recess, while a third, at a date yet to be determined, will cover incident response at U.S. ports.
Further information on Friday’s seminar can be obtained by contacting the Council’s Alison Williams at 703-351-8252 or alison.williams@portsecuritycouncil.us

http://portsecuritynews.com/news/templates/registered.asp?articleid=1147&zoneid=1


Letters Let's solve dredging impasse
DEAR GOV. Corzine:
I represent a substantial portion of the area along the Delaware River, including Tioga Marine Terminal. I believe as you do that our ports are crucial to the economic futures of Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
I urge you to help break the deadlock over the Delaware River dredging issue. Dredging to 45 feet will allow ports to accommodate larger ships and compete with ports in other sections of the United States. Failure to dredge will force companies to move to other ports. This will result in the loss of thousands of jobs, millions of dollars in tax revenue and hundreds of millions in economic activity.
I offer my assistance in finding ways to bridge the gap between our two great states.
State Sen. Michael Stack
5th Senatorial District
Soccer violence
So letter-writer Patrick O'Leary thinks Eagle fans are just as bad as European and South American soccer fans.
Well, correct me if I'm wrong, but no one has ever been killed at an Eagles game or any other sporting event in our fair city other than when the stands collapsed at the turn of the last century at a Phillies game.
People have been killed in Europe and South America in riots because of soccer games. I think they even killed the ref a couple of times in South America. So let's not get carried away.
Mark Dwyer, Philadelphia

http://www.centredaily.com/mld/centredaily/news/opinion/15003861.htm



Mombasa to record $51.4m profit, says ports boss
By ALLAN ODHIAMBO
Special Correspondent
The Kenya Port Authority (KPA) expects a rise in pre-tax profit from Ksh3.1 billion ($43 million) realised last year to Sh3.7 billion ($51.4 million) this financial year.
Cargo throughput at the port of Mombasa is also expected to climb to 13.7 million tonnes this year from the 13.29 million tonnes attained in 2005, thanks to a major modernisation programme at the facility.
KPA chairman Joseph Kibwana is optimistic that the authority will be able to deliver up to 420 moves per vessel per day as stated under a performance contract signed with the government for the year 2006/07.
He said KPA was well prepared for the challenge because of newly installed cargo handling equipment at the port that had already improved the rate of loading and offloading.
Addressing KPA clients during the just concluded Agricultural Society of Kenya (ASK) show in Nakuru, he said the focus would be on vessel turnaround time, total cargo throughput, container dwell time and port cargo clearance time in order to meet the requirements of the performance contract.

http://www.nationmedia.com/eastafrican/current/News/News1007068.htm



Case of rockash dumped in Dominican ports continues today.
SAN FRANCISCO, Dominican Republic.- The indicted in the case of the rockash dumped in the port at Arroyo Barril, Samana province (northeast), will return this Monday to court when the criminal trial resumes, in the Francisco Penal Chamber San, accused of allowing 59,000 tons of the toxic material to enter the country.
The hearing in the trial against the ex-Environment vice minister René Ledesma and the ex-director of the Dominican Port Authority, Rosendo Arsenio Borges, is slated for 11:00 a.m. and where is expected to testify the ex-Environment minister Frank Moya Pons, in whose administration the rockash’s import was authorized.
Also testifying is an expert witness from the Santo Domingo Autonomous University’s (UASD) Environmental Commission , and from the Dominican Academy of Sciences, who conducted tests on the material’s effects on the environment.
The trial was being heard in Samaná but was transferred here at the defense’s request, alleged a lack of security for its clients.
Last Tuesday the 4th, the collegiate court hearing the case had to reschedule it for today for time reasons.

http://www.dominicantoday.com/app/article.aspx?id=15401


Record cargo levels within reach at retail container ports
Jeff Berman, Senior Editor
Logistics Management July 10, 2006
WASHINGTON—Although record cargo levels are expected at major United States-based retail ports for the rest of this summer and into the fall, it will not result in congestion problems, which have previously hindered port operations, according to the recently-released July Port Tracker report by the National Retail Federation, a retail trade association, and Global Insight, a provider of economic and financial information.
The U.S.-based ports surveyed in the report, including Los Angles/Long Beach, Oakland, Tacoma, Seattle, New York/New Jersey, Hampton Roads, Charleston and Savannah, handled a cumulative 1.34 million Twenty-foot Equivalents (TEUs) of container traffic in May, which is the most recent month for which data is available. May’s total slightly edges out the 1.32 million TEUs handled by the surveyed ports in April, and is nine percent more than May 2005.

http://www.logisticsmgmt.com/article/CA6351034.html



DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (UPI) -- Dubai Ports World, which recently bought British ports operator P&O, is planning an initial public offering.
The company, an arm of the United Arab Emirates government, is considering including about 52 ports in the IPO, the Guardian reported Monday.
Since buying P&O, Dubai Ports World has continued to expand and is in the process of building a $500 million container terminal at Qingdao in eastern China. The company also owns Jebel Ali, the largest port in Dubai.

http://news.monstersandcritics.com/business/article_1179681.php/Dubai_Ports_World_mulls_IPO



L.A., Long Beach ports target air pollution with clean action plan
By: posted by Julia Kuzeljevich
LOS ANGELES & LONG BEACH, Calif.--The ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach have introduced the San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, a sweeping plan aimed at significantly reducing the health risks posed by air pollution from port-related ships, trains, trucks, terminal equipment and harbor craft.
The San Pedro Bay Ports Clean Air Action Plan, released in draft for public review and comments, was created with the cooperation and participation of the staff of the South Coast Air Quality Management District, California Air Resources Board and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

http://www.ctl.ca/issues/ISArticle.asp?id=57723&issue=07042006



IT student helps automate Ports of Auckland
Tuesday, 11 July 2006, 10:47 am
Press Release: Manukau Institute of Technology
Tuesday, 11 July 2006
MIT information technology student delivers manuals to help automate Ports of Auckland shipping processes
Imported used cars travel a long way to reach their new owners in New Zealand, but thanks to Sandhya Prasad the final leg of that arduous journey is set to become a whole lot simpler.
As the final-year practical project for her Bachelor of Information Systems degree at Manukau Institute of Technology, Sandhya developed a set of user manuals for a new software system that Ports of Auckland will use to plan and record vehicle movements on and off its wharves.
The software, called VENUS (Vehicle Entry User System), has been developed by Auckland-based Sandfield Associates and is designed to manage the import and export of used vehicles through New Zealand ports.

http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/ED0607/S00027.htm


Security boost for Indonesian ports
July 11, 2006 - 5:49PM
Security will be beefed up at major Indonesian airports and seaports under a joint project with Australia's immigration department.
Australian firm CPS Systems has won a $7.5 million contract to roll out passport readers, databases and name-matching software to identify suspicious people seeking to enter Indonesia.
The system will be used at airports in Jakarta, Denpasar, Surabaya and Medan, Batam sea port, and associated immigration offices.
The CEKAL system is Indonesia's version of Australia's Movement Alert List, which keeps tabs on people such as terrorists and criminals who pose a serious threat to the community.
Immigration officials will be able to cross-check the identities of people on arrival against alert lists, and lists of people granted visas or entry permits.
Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone said it would improve regional security.
"Better control of borders throughout our region will help curb potential terrorist movements and other threats to the safety and wellbeing of all people in our region," Senator Vanstone said in a statement.

http://www.theage.com.au/news/National/Security-boost-for-Indonesian-ports/2006/07/11/1152383734900.html


Senate OKs more port, border security funds
Tue Jul 11, 2006 6:14pm ET
By Richard Cowan
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate on Tuesday approved nearly $1 billion in additional funds to help secure America's borders and ports and debated revamping the troubled Federal Emergency Management Agency to improve its response to natural disasters or another domestic attack.
In an attempt to strengthen U.S. borders against smuggling of weapons of mass destruction and other illegal activities, the Senate approved an additional $648 million for port security. The money would pay for more inspectors and more advanced equipment to scan shipping containers.
Sen. Robert Byrd, a West Virginia Democrat, won the added port security money as part of a $32.8 billion domestic security spending bill for next year after describing "paper-thin security" at American ports now.

http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=politicsNews&storyID=2006-07-11T221408Z_01_N11180157_RTRUKOC_0_US-SECURITY-CONGRESS.xml&archived=False



July 12, 2006
Ports Association Backs Byrd Amendment That Would Boost Port Security by $648 Million
Washington, DC (HNN) – The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) has endorsed an amendment that U.S. Sen. Robert C. Byrd, D-WV, will offer to the Fiscal Year 2007 Homeland Security Appropriations Bill to provide $648 million to improve security at the nation’s seaports.

"This amendment represents a critical opportunity to make port security a higher priority for this nation," explained Association President Kurt Nagle.

The Byrd amendment, which is expected to come before the Senate for a vote as early as this afternoon of July 11, would provide resources for radiation portal monitors, container inspections, port inspections, and port security grants -- initiatives, experts warn, which are consistently underfunded in the White House budget.

"The bill that is before the Senate does not provide the necessary resources to secure the country’s seaports. My amendment would add $648 million to fill critical gaps in our paper-thin port security program," Byrd said.

"My port security plan would put the funding in place to inspect more of the ocean cargo headed to the United States. We would be able to scan more containers for nuclear devices -- the so-called ‘dirty bombs’ that could kill hundreds of Americans. We would hire more inspectors and more security teams to ensure that shipments entering our ports are safe," Byrd explained.

"In this post-9/11 world, the Congress and the White House must put the safety of our citizens first, and hollow rhetoric won’t get the job done." A similar Byrd amendment was adopted earlier this spring as part of the national security emergency supplemental bill, but the provision was then dropped in conference at the insistence of the House of Representatives and the White House.

The AAPA represents the leading public ports in the United States which handle most of the maritime cargo imported or exported from this country. The association sent a letter to all Senators urging them to support Byrd’s amendment.

The association highlighted the heightened port security concerns after this spring’s controversial Dubai Ports World deal to control six key Eastern Seaboard ports. As a result of that controversy, the House and Senate have started work to significant boost funding for port security. The AAPA also explained that the Byrd amendment would provide $400 million for the federal port security grant program, which the Bush Administration wants to eliminate completely.

Here is the letter from Kurt Nagle of the American Association of Port Authorities:

1010 Duke Street
Alexandria, VA 22314
(703) 684-5700

www.aapa-ports.org

July 10, 2006

TO: All Members of the United States Senate

FROM: Kurt Nagle, President and CEO, American Association of Port Authorities

SUBJ: Support Port Security Amendment on the Senate Floor

As a member of the United States Senate, I am writing to urge you to support an amendment to the Department of Homeland Security's (DHS) FY'07 appropriations bill being offered by Senator Byrd to increase funding for port security. This amendment represents a critical opportunity to make port security a higher priority for this nation. The American Association of Port Authorities (AAPA) represents the leading public ports in the U.S., handling most of the maritime cargo imported or exported from this country. We strongly endorse this amendment to provide an additional $648 million to enhance port security by providing: an increase in port security grants, additional port security inspectors at foreign and domestic ports, additional cargo container inspection equipment, and improved maritime security through expedited purchase of Coast Guard planes and boats.

Earlier this year, Congress and this nation focused its attention on the P&O Ports/Dubai Ports World transaction, which resulted in a nationwide debate on port security and calls for more security funding for this critical transportation asset. In response, the Senate and the House began working on legislation to strengthen maritime security. The Senate Greenlane Maritime Security Act (S. 2459-Collins/Murray) and the House SAFE Ports Act (H.R. 4954-Lungren/Harman) both call for significantly more funding for port security. The Senate-based emergency supplemental followed the recommendations in these bills, but much of the port security funding was eliminated due to concerns over the total spending level for the bill.

Senator Byrd's amendment is aimed at once again adopting the funding levels in the House and Senate bills and making port security a high priority for this country. AAPA is especially interested in properly funding the Port Security Grant program. The Byrd amendment would bring the funding level up to $400 million for the year. This would help pay for the very costly new regulations DHS has proposed following the Dubai Ports controversy to require all maritime workers and facilities to comply with new Transportation Worker Identification Credential or TWIC requirements. DHS estimates that 40 percent of the $1 billion cost of this regulation will fall on port facilities. By supporting this amendment, Congress will provide federal funds critical to help co-fund this new mandate.

With 99% of our international cargo by volume flowing through ports, we urge you to show the nation that port security is a priority in Congress by voting "yes" on this port security amendment.

http://www.huntingtonnews.net/state/060712-staff-byrd.html



State, local officials take tax-backed cruise at festival
Associated Press
RALEIGH, N.C. - About 200 state and local officials dined on seafood, sipped beer and wine, and listened to a steel drum band on a waterfront cruise that skirted long lines experienced by most visitors to the recent tall ships festival, The News & Observer of Raleigh reported Wednesday.
The total bill for the two-hour event aboard a state ferry diverted from its regular route isn't in yet, The News & Observer said.
Fuel and staffing for the ferry will cost taxpayers about $2,800 and the bill for the bands was about $1,200. The beer and wine was provided by economic development groups. The catering bill hasn't arrived for shrimp, scallops, sandwich wraps, fruit, pasta salad and dessert.
"I did not know it was going to be that lavish, with all the food and drink, when I got on," said state Rep. Pricey Harrison, D-Guilford. "It was really nice."
Harrison said the cruise didn't appear to be appropriate, now that she thinks about it. She has advocated stiffer rules for gifts and ethics for members of the Legislature.
"I guess it's making me nervous to be a part of a state-financed boondoggle like this," she said.
The ferry Floyd Lupton took the guests along the Beaufort waterfront and out into the harbor at Morehead City to glide close to the sailing vessels that drew some 160,000 people over five days.
Many of the 30,000 visitors who bought $30 adult tickets had to ride shuttle buses to the docks and stand in long lines in hot weather. Some didn't get to tour ships because they were overbooked.
The state Ports Authority organized the cruise aboard the ferry, which can't be rented by individuals. Every state legislator was invited and about a dozen showed up; other federal, state and local officials were invited.
Ports spokeswoman Karen Fox said the purpose of the cruise was to show off the port at Morehead City, where some of the larger vessels docked.
DOT spokesman Ernie Seneca said the department, which owns the ferries, will absorb the cost of the fuel and staff on the boat. Alcohol is allowed on board during private events, such as tourism and governmental cruises.
Fox said the Ports Authority hadn't received the catering bill, but did provide the cost of the band.
Officials aboard the cruise included Commerce Secretary Jim Fain and Administration Secretary Britt Cobb along with ports officials and local officials from the Morehead City area.
"It was a good time," said Rep. Marian McLawhorn, D-Pitt. She took her husband and five other family members. "I don't know why they invited us. I guess it was to show us about the cultural resources of the state."

http://www.charlotte.com/mld/observer/news/local/15017695.htm



Ports Authority starts breaking leases in Port Royal
(Beaufort-AP) July 12, 2006 - The State Ports Authority has started breaking some leases with businesses operating on property in Port Royal that is planned for a redevelopment project.
Governor Mark Sanford signed a bill two years ago to sell the Ports Authority property in Port Royal to a private developer. New shops, homes, parks and hotels are planned on the town's waterfront.
Ports Authority spokesman Byron Miller says the state has been working to break its leases with Port Royal Cement, Port Royal Drystack and fertilizer company Yari North America for more than two years.
Miller would not talk Tuesday about the status of those talks or any potential closing dates for the three businesses.
But a letter by Bobby Glover of Port Royal Drystack says the facility's lease with the state ends Aug. 31st.

http://www.wistv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5139661



Ports official regrets lavish cruise at tall ships festival
RALEIGH, N.C. An apology today from the state Ports Authority.
Agency chairman Carl Stewart says he "deeply regrets" sponsoring a ferry tour at the recent tall ships festival in Beaufort for about 200 state and local officials.
The officials dined on fancy food, and drank beer and wine for two hours aboard a state-owned ferry diverted from its regular route, all while other visitors waited in long lines amid sweltering heat.
In hindsight, Stewart says it probably wasn't a good idea to have such a lavish event.
About 160-thousand people attended the festival over five days.
Many visitors had to ride shuttle buses to the docks. Some didn't get to tour ships because they were overbooked.

http://www.wwaytv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=5143783&nav=menu70_2



Dubai Ports to invest in Egypt projects
Posted: 13-07-2006 , 06:22 GMT
Sources at Dubai Ports World have recently announced that the company intends to invest Dh32 billion ($8.7 billion) in several industrial development projects Egypt, including a new seaport and a container terminal with related infrastructure at Eastern Port Said. The newly-established holding company will invest $3.5 billion in the development of the container terminal, while $5.2 billion would be spent on establishing facilities to serve the port and ship and container movement through the Suez Canal, reported Khaleej Times.
According to the deputy chairman of the Egyptian Investment Authority, Mahmoud Atta Allah, the authority will soon conclude
its negotiations with DP World on developing the Eastern Port Said project.

http://www.albawaba.com/en/countries/Egypt/200727



Ports close as storm takes aim at Taiwan
TAIPEI (Reuters) - Taiwan braced on Thursday for the arrival of tropical storm Bilis, with heavy rains and strong winds already battering eastern parts of the island and forcing key ports, schools and offices to close.
By 0300 GMT, the eye of the storm, which killed four people in the Philippines, was about 190 km (118 miles) east of Taiwan and travelling northwest at 17 kph, with sustained winds of up to 90 kph and maximum gusts of 119 kph, Taiwan's Central Weather Bureau said.
Taiwan's two key ports, Keelung in the north and Kaohsiung in the south, halted operations, officials said.
A pedestrian is buffeted by heavy rains and strong winds from tropical storm Bilis in front of a train station in Taipei July 13, 2006. (REUTERS/Richard Chung)
County and city governments in the central parts of the island shut schools and offices but the capital Taipei was unaffected.

http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/7/13/worldupdates/2006-07-13T103216Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_-259381-2&sec=Worldupdates



Freight from Asia continues to snarl at West Coast ports
Staff
Purchasing July 13, 2006
"U.S. freight transportation capabilities are not keeping pace with demand,'' said John Bowe, president for the Americas of the APL unit of ocean carrier Neptune Orient Lines. In a recent story in the San Francisco Chronicle, he says, "Last year, ocean container ships sat for up to two weeks waiting to be offloaded. That compares with a standard unloading time of three or four days. And while things are better this year, many changes need to be made before the long-term outlook improves."
For example, the Port of Oakland's inbound traffic grew 20.4% last year over 2004, and 15.8% in 2004.
The Chronicle story also points out that Michael Eskew, CEO of UPS, recently told the Philadelphia World Affairs Council that product delays caused by road congestion alone shave an estimated $63 billion yearly off this country's economic output and "Port congestion is already a problem,'' he said. "It's only going to get worse, as ocean cargo volume is expected to double by 2020."
Piers Global Intelligence Solutions, a private data service that tracks imports and exports based on shipping documents, has predicted U.S. import growth of 9% this year and 7% in 2007 and U.S. export growth of 10% in 2006 and 9% in 2007.
But while carriers claim congestion at the ports, some reports say shippers are seeing ocean capacity lighten up. "We will see more and more vacant space on ships," said Mark Page, director of research for Drewry Shipping Consultants of London in a recent Los Angeles Times story. "For some time now, we have been receiving far too much in the way of ships and in very large ships in particular. Now, we are looking at three years to 3.5 years of overcapacity." Worldwide containership capacity will grow 14% this year and 11% in 2007, Page predicted.
© 2006, Reed Business Information, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc. All Rights Reserved.

http://www.purchasing.com/article/CA6350586.html?industryid=2150



Ports of Tacoma and Olympia to work on rail center
Kelly Kearsley; The News Tribune
Published: July 13th, 2006 06:24 PM
The ports of Tacoma and Olympia want to develop a joint rail center near Interstate 5 in Olympia.
Pending approval from both the ports’ commissions, such a facility would provide a place outside the ports for rail operations and make the movement of cargo in and out of the ports by train more efficient, Port of Tacoma director Tim Farrell said today.
To get the project started, the Port of Tacoma plans to buy 74 acres of industrial property two miles east of the interstate in Thurston County.
The property is now owned by Citifor Inc., a timber holding company.
Directors of both ports plan to discuss the project in detail Friday morning.

http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/updates/story/5943921p-5237901c.html



Lagos: XVII Regatta of the Ports of the Discoveries
On 15th and 16th July there will take place the XVII Regata dos Portos dos Descobrimentos, with the boats anticipated to leave at 11.00hrs on 15th from Lagos Marina.
The Regatta of the Ports of the Discoveries - Lagos and Palos de La Frontera - are annual events in which the starting and arrival points are alternated. The initiative aims to record the contribution of the two cities for the epic Maritime Discoveries.
On 27th October 1992, there took place the Twinning cerimony of Lagos with Palos de La Frontera, where the two municipalities sealed an undertaking to "maintain permanent ties, to favour and incentivate the exchange between their inhabitants in all fields, to develop a joint understanding together with the sentiment of universal fraternity and solidarity and to join forces to contribute to the success of these tasks of peace and prosperity".
Palos de La Frontera was the first city with which Lagos has twinned. The objective of the initiative was to reverse the growing distance between them and establish between them bases of understanding and an exchange of knowledge in the
diverse areas of the municipal scope.
From Palos, in 1492, Columbus and the Pinzón brothers departed on their celebrated journey which led them to the discovery of America. Lagos, as we know, was where the Infante D. Henrique resided and was the port of departure for
various Portuguese expeditions.
The XVII Regata dos Portos dos Descobrimentos is a joint organisation between the Municipal Council of Lagos and the Sailing Club of Lagos, and is one of the initiatives which resulted from the Twinning between the Municipalities of Lagos
and Palos de La Frontera.

http://regiao-sul.pt/en/news/news.php?id=1496



Glad tidings for regional ports skill gaps
By Lautaro Vargas, 14 July 2006
The Haven Gateway Partnership has answered the call for a skills gap in the ports sector by commissioning a consortium of three companies to develop a business plan by September this year for a Ports & Logistics Skills Academy.
The Academy will provide the skills necessary for the continued expansion of areas such as Port of Felixstowe’s Trinity Terminal
The Haven Gateway Partnership has answered the call for a skills gap in the ports sector by commissioning a consortium of three companies to develop a business plan by September this year for a Ports & Logistics Skills Academy.
The project will be managed by Ipswich-based Ignite Consulting as the lead partner in the consortium, which also includes Akenham and Poulsen Selleck.
The Haven Gateway’s massive ports, shipping and logistics sector is critical to the sub-region’s economy and the Partnership is committed to ensuring that the correct skills and training are available as the sector gets ready for substantial expansion through projects such as the Felixstowe South and Bathside Bay deepwater container terminal developments.
Haven Gateway project manager, Richard Morton, said: “We have identified that there is a skills need which is common in the port-related sector around the UK and we must tackle that. There is a willingness from employers to tell us exactly what they want and discuss what will be delivered and we are also talking to training providers.”
As well as looking at location, costing, funding and employers’ needs, the business plan will consider issues such as branding and marketing, Academy membership, communication and project management. The study is being funded by the East of England Development Agency through the Haven Gateway’s Investing in Communities programme.

http://www.businessweekly.co.uk/news/view_article.asp?article_id=10679

continued …

Orange Grove Farmers - Note the 'freeze' mark on the thermometer

July 11, 2006.

Dunnellon, Florida.

That was the temperature in the shade according to the photographer.

Failed Political Priorites regardless the Scientific Warnings

July 14, 2006.

Chester, Nebraska.

Photographer states :: NASTY LOOKING SKY. I should have expected bad weather after the pretty red sky this a.m. We've had numerous severe thunderstorm warnings tonight. We received 1.20" rain plus some hail which damaged our corn. The bluegreen in the sky means hail.

July 13, 2006.

Albia, Iowa.

Yes this is a daytime picture. When I look at this picture I see crop damage. I see farm equipment idle. I see commodities unfulfilled. If the economies of the world are to come to terms with their own needs and the simple fact feeding people need actual food stuffs rather than Wall Street number boards, then it is far past the point where Human Induced Global Warming IS the crisis of our times.

Photographer states :: Here it comes !! Severe thunderstorm rolls into Albia Iowa.

This is still more proof of the ionized troposphere. Storms of lightning with only ionized particles to sustain it.

July 13, 2006.

Hermosillo, Mexico.

Photographer states :: Electric dust storm. I took this pic in the roof of my house, my dog was watching the show, I know it looks so bad with the wires but that's all I got in this storm, it was so hard to keep the camera steady with 50 MPH winds (74 Km/h)

Morning Papers - continued

The Boston Globe


Hearing to address phone-jamming lawsuit request
July 13, 2006
MANCHESTER, N.H. --A judge gave New Hampshire Democrats the go-ahead today to question high-ranking Republicans as part of a phone jamming lawsuit against the Republican Party.
Democrats want to hear from individuals at the state and national level who might have had knowledge of the plan to jam Democrats' phone lines in 2002 -- a crime that led to convictions against three former G-O-P officials.
The case is scheduled to go to trial on November 27th. Lawyers say that's a tight timeframe given the number of people to be questioned and the possibility some may challenge the Democrats request to question them.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/new_hampshire/articles/2006/07/13/hearing_to_address_phone_jamming_lawsuit_request/



60 bad fixtures found in ceiling
Bolt problem in tunnel known since 1999, says attorney general
By Raja Mishra and Sean P. Murphy, Globe Staff July 13, 2006
Inspectors have found at least 60 faulty bolt fixtures that supported the ceiling of the Interstate 90 connector tunnel in the same section where concrete ceiling panels fell and crushed Milena Del Valle, state officials said yesterday.
Though the tunnel passed at least one previous safety inspection, the faulty bolt fixtures -- which Turnpike Authority officials yesterday called ``suspect" and ``compromised" -- went unnoticed until the 38-year-old's death Monday night spurred an unprecedented criminal investigation of the Big Dig's safety.
State officials were uncertain whether the faulty bolt fixtures found in the approximately 50 ceiling panels along 200 feet of the eastbound connector tunnel might have led to similar failures. The 60 potentially dangerous bolt fixtures make up about 10 percent of all bolt fixtures in that section.
Turnpike officials said there are probably more compromised bolt fixtures in the ceilings above the westbound and high-occupancy vehicle lanes of the connector tunnel.

http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/13/60_bad_fixtures_found_in_ceiling/



Need for heavy panels was debated
By Scott Allen, Globe Staff July 13, 2006
The engineer who oversaw completion of the Interstate 90 connector said in an interview with the Globe yesterday that he questioned the need for heavy concrete panels in the tunnel's drop ceiling when he came on the job, but that he didn't press the issue with senior Big Dig officials, because the ceiling work was already well underway and he was persuaded it was being done safely.
Several of the 2 1/2- to 3-ton slabs crashed to the roadway Monday night, killing a 38-year-old mother of three and closing the tunnel indefinitely.
Officials of the Massachusetts Turnpike Authority said yesterday that the concrete panels were part of the tunnel's ventilation system and needed to be heavy to remain still when powerful fans operated at full power.
But some have questioned whether the slabs were needed at all, since their main purpose was to improve air circulation and fresh air was already entering at the entrance to the tunnel 200 feet away.

http://www.boston.com/news/traffic/bigdig/articles/2006/07/13/need_for_heavy_panels_was_debated/


Big Dig Ceiling Collapse


http://www.boston.com/news/specials/big_dig_ceiling_collapse/


Israel claims hundreds of hits in Lebanon
Lebanese citizens inspect a damaged bridge that was destroyed late Wednesday when Israeli fighter jets targeted it, on the Awali River, north of the southern port city of Sidon, Lebanon, Thursday, July 13, 2006. Israeli forces intensified their attacks in Lebanon on Thursday, imposing a naval blockade on the country and pounding its only international airport and the Hezbollah TV station in Israel's heaviest air campaign against Lebanon for 24 years. (AP Photo/Mohammed Zaatari)
By Sam F. Ghattas, Associated Press Writer July 13, 2006
JERUSALEM --Israel has hit hundreds of targets in Lebanon as part of its effort to force the release of two soldiers captured by Hezbollah guerrillas, a top Israeli general said Thursday.
Israel intensified its attacks against Lebanon on Thursday, blasting Beirut's airport and two Lebanese army air bases near the Syrian border, and imposing a naval blockade. More than 50 people have died in violence following the capture of two Israeli soldiers by Hezbollah militants.
Warplanes punched holes in the runways of Beirut's international airport and two military air bases, attacks that could draw the Lebanese army into the conflict.
Israel has information that Lebanese guerrillas who captured two Israeli soldiers are trying to transfer them to Iran, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said. Spokesman Mark Regev did not disclose the source of his information.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/07/13/israeli_warplanes_attack_beirut_airport_1152787531/



U.N.'s Annan sends team to Middle East
July 13, 2006
UNITED NATIONS --U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan will send three veteran U.N. officials to the Middle East to try to defuse what he called a "major crisis" there, the United Nations said Thursday.
Annan was responding to a flare-up in violence that began two weeks ago when Israeli forces launched an offensive in the Gaza Strip to free a captured soldier. Israel then launched attacks against Lebanon on Wednesday after Hezbollah militants captured two Israeli soldiers.
The team will be led by Vijay Nambiar, Annan's special political adviser. It also includes U.N. Mideast envoy Alvaro de Soto and Terje Roed-Larsen, Anna's special envoy who has overseen implementation of a U.N. resolution demanding Syria end its sway over Lebanon.
"Mr. Nambiar will emphasize to all parties the secretary-general's call to exercise restraint and to do whatever possible to help contain the conflict," Annan's spokesman Stephane Dujarric said in a statement released in Rome, where Annan is visiting.
The three officials will head to Cairo for a meeting of the Arab League foreign ministers on Saturday and also travel to Israel, Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian territories, the U.N. said.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/07/13/uns_annan_sends_team_to_middle_east/


Guns galore as anarchy stalks Baghdad
By Mariam Karouny July 13, 2006
BAGHDAD (Reuters) - Seif has never fired a gun. He wouldn't know how one worked, he says. But that did not stop him buying both a pistol and an AK-47 assault rifle last month.
In Baghdad, it can seem everyone these days is armed, a mark of violence that is ever more anarchic and prompting efforts by the government, U.S. military, and even militia leaders, to curb rogue gunmen, especially among majority Shi'ites, who threaten what the prime minister has called the "last chance" for peace.
Terrified by the thought of being caught up in the sort of street violence seen in several Baghdad neighborhoods in the past week, when dozens of people have been gunned down by squads of militants, Seif typifies Baghdad's spreading gun culture.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/07/13/guns_galore_as_anarchy_stalks_baghdad/



Bush gets conflicting signals over Russia policy
By Matt Spetalnick July 13, 2006
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Fifteen years after the collapse of the Soviet Union, conflicting forces are once again vying to shape U.S. policy toward Moscow.
With language sometimes echoing Cold War mistrust, lawmakers from across the political spectrum are urging Washington to use this weekend's Group of Eight summit to get tough with Russia over what they see as backsliding on democracy.
Behind the scenes, however, American business interests are lobbying against anything that might offend Moscow's political sensibilities and endanger access to Russia's booming economy.
"Some of the rhetoric has gone too far," said Blake Marshall, executive vice-president of the U.S.-Russia Business Council, a Washington-based lobbying group. "When politics starts to get in the way of commerce, that's a concern to us."
The debate has yet to evoke the kind of ideological fervor it did during the Soviet era when American hawks and doves battled over policy, but new lines of engagement are emerging.
For President Bush, the challenge will be in coming to grips with those differing approaches when he meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin on Saturday before the G8 major-power summit opens in St. Petersburg.
White House aides see it as a difficult balancing act.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/07/13/bush_gets_conflicting_signals_over_russia_policy/



Putin, on defensive, criticizes Cheney
By Associated Press July 13, 2006
MOSCOW -- President Vladimir Putin yesterday called Vice President Dick Cheney's criticism of Russia ``an unsuccessful hunting shot," a comment that underlines tensions ahead of the Group of Eight summit this weekend.
Under fire from critics who say his country does not deserve to be in the G-8 because of democratic backsliding during his more than six years in power, Putin said the elite club of wealthy nations needs Russia because of its energy riches and nuclear might.
Putin reserved his most acerbic words for Cheney, who angered the Kremlin with a speech in May in the ex-Soviet republic of Lithuania in which he accused Russia of cracking down on religious and political rights.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/europe/articles/2006/07/13/putin_on_defensive_criticizes_cheney/



Revealing the road to 'The Dark Side'
By Scot Lehigh, Globe Columnist July 13, 2006
IF NEWSPAPERS are the first, the second draft of history on Iraq is in books and broadcast. Two new offerings might well be called the CIA's revenge, so devastating are their accounts of the Bush administration's pre-Iraq War conduct.
One is a ''Frontline'' production titled ''The Dark Side,'' so named for Vice President Dick Cheney's assertion that in combating terror, the administration would have to ''work the dark side.'' The other is ''The One Percent Doctrine,'' Ron Suskind's revealing new book about the way the Bush administration has conducted the war on terror.
That, too, takes its title from a Cheney comment, this time from his reported declaration that if there was even a 1 percent chance of a catastrophe occurring, the administration had to treat that possibility as a certainty when formulating a response.
These two impressive pieces of reporting reveal and reinforce a picture of an administration operating in a world where belief overrode evidence and ideology trumped analysis as it pressed for an ill-conceived war.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2006/07/13/revealing_the_road_to_the_dark_side/



Lawmakers delay vote on gay marriage measure
By Andrea Estes and Russell Nichols, Globe Staff July 13, 2006
With energetic demonstrators chanting in the street, state lawmakers yesterday delayed a vote on a proposed constitutional amendment to outlaw same-sex marriage until after the November election.
The joint legislative session voted, 100 to 91, to recess until Nov. 9, two days after Election Day. Legislators also defeated in a separate vote a move to reconvene next week.
Gay-marriage advocates said they had pushed for a postponement so they could persuade more legislators to vote against the proposed amendment and prevent it from reaching the ballot in 2008. But supporters of the ban were furious that the vote was put off.
``Profiles in courage," snapped Representative Philip Travis, Democrat of Rehoboth, a vocal opponent of same-sex marriage. ``They leave the building and don't take up the amendment until two days after they are reelected. Those who took a walk will be scrutinized. Everyone will want to know why they wanted to walk out."

http://www.boston.com/news/specials/gay_marriage/articles/2006/07/13/lawmakers_delay_vote_on_gay_marriage_measure/



Autism, mercury, and politics
By Robert Kennedy Jr. July 1, 2005
MOUNTING EVIDENCE suggests that Thimerosal, a mercury-based preservative in children's vaccines, may be responsible for the exponential growth of autism, attention deficit disorder, speech delays, and other childhood neurological disorders now epidemic in the United States.
Prior to 1989, American infants generally received three vaccinations (polio, measles-mumps-rubella, and diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis). In the early 1990s, public health officials dramatically increased the number of Thimerosal-containing vaccinations without considering the cumulative impact of the mercury load on developing brains.
In a 1991 memo, Dr. Maurice Hilleman, one of the fathers of Merck's vaccination programs, warned his bosses that 6-month-old children administered the shots on schedule would suffer mercury exposures 87 times the government safety standards. He recommended that Thimerosal be discontinued and complained that the US Food and Drug Administration, which has a notoriously close relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, could not be counted on to take appropriate action as its European counterparts had. Merck ignored Hilleman's warning, and for eight years government officials added seven more shots for children containing Thimerosal.

http://www.boston.com/news/globe/editorial_opinion/oped/articles/2005/07/01/autism_mercury_and_politics/



Party shuns Vermont Democrats in race
Seeks to clear way for independent in US Senate bid
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff July 13, 2006
WASHINGTON -- Vermont's Democratic Party is maneuvering to keep the Democratic candidates for the state's open US Senate seat off the November ballot, as party leaders seek to clear the way for independent Representative Bernard Sanders in his bid for the Senate.
State Democratic leaders are spearheading efforts to gather signatures to put Sanders on the ballot as a Democrat, even though Sanders has repeatedly said he would turn down the party's nomination if he wins the primary. At least three other candidates have announced their intention to run for the Democratic nomination in the Sept. 12 primary, but party leaders prefer Sanders to any of them.
Ian Carleton, the chairman of the Vermont Democratic Party, said the party's efforts to secure the nomination for Sanders is a concession to political reality: Polls indicate that Sanders is so popular in Vermont that no Democrat has a real chance of beating him.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/07/13/party_shuns_vermont_democrats_in_race/



Dozens evacuated as wildfire rages in Calif. desert
Sites of Hollywood Westerns spared
By Christina Almeida, Associated Press July 13, 2006
YUCCA VALLEY, Calif. -- Firefighters evacuated dozens of homes yesterday as a wildfire raced across 26,000 acres of desert and destroyed 30 homes and buildings in an area where Gene Autry, Roy Rogers, and others filmed Hollywood Westerns.
Historic buildings in the Old West movie-set area of Pioneertown had been spared but several other structures were destroyed, fire officials said yesterday.
Wind exceeding 40 miles per hour fanned the flames, and officials said they didn't expect the weather to change anytime soon.
Dozens were evacuated yesterday from communities in Little Morongo Canyon and Burns Canyon. As many as 1,000 people fled the flames Tuesday, authorities said. Firefighters had no estimate yesterday of when they might have the blaze under control.
``If we have more of the same with the high winds and high temperatures, it could be trouble," said Marc DeRosier, a captain with the California Department of Forestry.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2006/07/13/dozens_evacuated_as_wildfire_rages_in_calif_desert/



Kashmiri militants eyed in India blasts
Death toll rises to 200, officials say
By Tim Sullivan, Associated Press July 13, 2006
MUMBAI, India -- The prime minister praised this wounded city for its strength yesterday, vowing that ``no one can make India kneel," while a senior investigator said the Mumbai train attacks that killed at least 200 people could be linked to a Kashmiri militant group.
A Foreign Ministry official demanded that Pakistan dismantle all terrorist networks on land it controls -- but fell short of directly accusing India's nuclear-armed rival for the attacks.
Prime Minister Manmohan Singh highlighted the achievements of this city of 16 million, also known as Bombay, which staggered back to life despite attacks on the commuter train network Tuesday that killed at least 200 people and wounded more than 700.
``Your resilience and resolve will triumph over the evil designs of the merchants of death and destruction," Singh said in a televised speech. ``Let me say again, no one can make India kneel. No one can come in the path of our progress."

http://www.boston.com/news/world/asia/articles/2006/07/13/kashmiri_militants_eyed_in_india_blasts/



22 Iraqis are abducted and slain
Victims seized at bus station
By Joshua Partlow and Josh White, Washington Post July 13, 2006
BAGHDAD -- Gunmen kidnapped a group of people in the parking lot of a Baghdad bus station yesterday and killed 22 of them, according to Iraqi police and military officials. The execution-style slayings occurred on the same day Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Iraq and stressed the need to stem the sectarian violence that has killed scores of civilians in recent days.
The early morning raid took place in Muqdadiyah, about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad. The Iraqi military said four people were rescued but that the other captives had been killed by the time Iraqi soldiers arrived on the scene.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/middleeast/articles/2006/07/13/22_iraqis_are_abducted_and_slain/



Fenway for free
A sneak peek into how teens find the cheapest way to see Sox
Josh Earle,16, of Roslindale sneaks into the Red Sox game at Fenway Park by going under the fence on Van Ness St. and into Fenway through RemDawgs on Yawkey Way. Behind him is Sean Driscoll,16, of Hyde Park. (Globe Staff Photo / Stan Grossfeld)
By Stan Grossfeld, Globe Staff July 13, 2006
There was a little blood spilled sneaking into Fenway Park to see the great Pedro Martínez pitch against his old pals last month.
``It was worth it," says Josh Earle, a 16-year-old from Roslindale, dabbing his T-shirt on the minor cut he suffered on his palm while belly sliding under a chain link fence that separates RemDawg's hot dog stand and Fenway Park from the Free World. ``I had to get in to support him. I was one of those kids that painted his face red and held up `K' cards in the bleachers and screamed for Pedro."
Earle and his buddy, Sean Driscoll, 16, of Hyde Park, arrive at Fenway Park at 1 p.m. for a 7:05 game against the Mets. They know the game is sold out; the Sox' last 263 home games have been sold out. ``I've been coming to Fenway since I was born," says Earle. ``I don't have a job. The demand is so high for tickets I can't afford it."

http://www.boston.com/sports/baseball/redsox/articles/2006/07/13/fenway_for_free/


Women's fashion breaks loose
By Tina Cassidy, Globe Correspondent July 13, 2006
When the most recent J. Crew catalog arrived, a mindless glance at the first few pages was disorienting. Wait, was this Liz Lange's latest maternity offering for summer? Page after page carried baby-doll-style tops with ample pleats and fabric around the middle. Hours later, in the check-out at the grocery store, a headline on the cover of Star shouted, ``Reese: Not pregnant -- just bloated!" The poor petite Ms. Witherspoon , even if she was retaining water, was not helped by her billowy top with a drop drawstring waist; she looked so much like a sack of potatoes that her lawyer had to make an official statement declaring that she was not expecting.

http://www.boston.com/yourlife/fashion/articles/2006/07/13/womens_fashion_breaks_loose/



House panel backs bill on FBI ignoring crimes
Bulger-Flemmi case cited; agents would serve time
By Rick Klein, Globe Staff July 13, 2006
WASHINGTON -- A key House panel yesterday approved a bill that would send FBI agents to prison for up to five years if they ignore violent crimes committed by their confidential informants, a stern reaction to abuses involving a former agent and Boston gangsters James ``Whitey" Bulger and Stephen Flemmi.
The bill, approved on a voice vote by the House Judiciary Committee, would require FBI officials to give local authorities information about any ``serious violent felonies" -- including murder, sexual assault, kidnapping, and carjacking -- committed by their informants or other individuals.

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/washington/articles/2006/07/13/house_panel_backs_bill_on_fbi_ignoring_crimes/



Zoos

200 trees removed to make way for zoo's rain forest exhibit
Associated Press
EVANSVILLE, Ind. - Crews have removed at least 200 trees at the city's Mesker Park Zoo to make way for an $11 million Amazonian rain forest exhibit that will include 650 trees and plants typically found in the tropics.
The 10,000-square-foot exhibit will include 400 trees outside Amazonia, 100 inside and a new parking lot and zoo entrance shaded by another 150 trees of both hardy tropical varieties and native hardwoods. Many of them are already growing in greenhouses at the zoo.
The zoo director sees the project as good for trees.
"I remember watching them work and a guy with me said, 'What are you going to do when the tree-huggers find out about this?'" said Dan McGinn. "I said, 'You don't understand. We are the tree-huggers. We are replacing much, much more than we are taking out.'"

http://www.fortwayne.com/mld/newssentinel/news/local/14988301.htm



Daby Toure Brings Summer Enchantment To Oregon Zoo
PORTLAND, Oregon - Daby Touré would be a businessman if his father had gotten his way. But a guitar, some self-taught lessons and a determination to succeed have made him into the rising world music star he is today. Touré will enchant the Oregon Zoo crowd when he performs as part of the zoo's Wells Fargo Summer Concert Series presented by Fred Meyer on July 26.

http://www.medfordnews.com/articles/index.cfm?artOID=331534&cp=10997



$1 increase for adults: Zoo fee hike to help pay for elephant enclosure
Tucson Citizen
It will cost adults an extra dollar to see the Reid Park Zoo's two elephants.
Starting Aug. 1, zoo admission will rise from $5 to $6 after a unanimous vote by the City Council Thursday night. Children's admission fees will not increase from the current $2 per child between the ages of 2 and 14. Children younger than 2 are admitted free.
The increase is meant to pay for the construction of the Conservation Learning Center and the Africa Zone of the zoo, which includes the controversial enclosure for an Asian and an African elephant.

http://www.tucsoncitizen.com/daily/local/18382.php


One Man's Opinion - Chippewa Zoo
Rick Smith
Web Posted: 7/7/2006 2:46:31 PM
I think it’s time the city of Thunder Bay considered another upgrade at the Wildlife Exhibit at Chippewa Park. As part of their presentation they should issue a clarification of the reason those creatures are there in the first place. If it is true that they are there because they would not survive in the bush, that they are non-releasable because of injuries that, in fact, they are rescued birds and animals and not “captured” so they can be put on display then for Pete’s sake say so! A simple, single-page handout clarifying this and issuing something of a mission statement would go a long way toward eliminating the resentment that these poor creatures were “captured” replacing the negativity with a positive feeling of gratitude that they were rescued.
The two residents of the facility that I felt terribly sorry for were the bears. Their present accommodation is a vast improvement over the appalling “torture pit” of years ago but I would guess if any single negative response from the public outnumbers all others it would be prompted by the plight of the bears.
We did not spot a single moose – was this because some action was taken following reports of neglect leading to curled up hoofs and moose forced to walk on their tendons?
I’m sure a walk about with some knowledgeable, concerned folks would lead to a list of simple, inexpensive solutions to some problems and accentuate the positive, producing an appropriate attitude of gratitude.
This is Rick Smith and That’s One Man’s Opinion

http://www.tbsource.com/Editorials/index.asp?cid=84425


Second gorilla dies at D.C. National Zoo
Staff and agencies
07 July, 2006
Mon Jul 3, 10:14 PM ET
WASHINGTON - Another western lowland gorilla died at the National Zoo on Monday, days after the zoo‘s only other adult male died while veterinary specialists tried to implant a cardiac device.
Officials were awaiting a final pathology report that might provide more information about the cause of Mopie‘s death.
Though Kuja‘s heart function was found to be normal for his age during a routine physical in late March, members of the zoo staff reported the animal was lethargic and experienced appetite loss this month.
The animals are considered endangered with dwindling wild populations. Zoo officials have said one of the leading causes of death among adult male gorillas is heart disease.
On the Net:
Smithsonian Institution ‘s National Zoo: http://nationalzoo.si.edu

http://www.newsone.ca/hinesbergjournal/stories/index.php?action=fullnews&id=200940


City zoo on upswing; tops list of tourist draws
Tuesday, May 09, 2006
PATRICK HICKERSON
News staff writer
The Birmingham Zoo was Alabama's top stop in 2005 among admission-charging attractions, according to the state Bureau of Tourism and Travel.
The Birmingham Zoo tallied 449,807 visitors, followed by Visionland (now Alabama Adventure) with 345,000 and the U.S. Space and Rocket Center in Huntsville - the number-one attraction in 2003 and 2004 - with 320,000. The figures were compiled in April.
The McWane Science Center, which came in seventh place, was the remaining Birmingham-area attraction in the top 10 with 246,699 visitors.

http://www.al.com/news/birminghamnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1147166636302360.xml&coll=2



Popcorn Park Zoo offers discount
Posted by the Asbury Park Press on 05/9/06
LACEY: Visitors to Popcorn Park Zoo on West Lacey Road can receive discounted admission by showing their AAA membership cards, according to officials for the Associated Humane Societies, Inc., the group that operates the zoo.
The "Show Your Card and Save" program offers a $1 discount on adult admissions and 50 cents off for senior citizens and children younger than 2 years old. The 7-acre zoo, open 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, is a refuge for more than 200 sick, elderly and abused animals. For more information about the zoo, visit www.ahscares.org on the Web.
Joseph Cacchioli

http://www.app.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060509/NEWS02/605090398/1070/NEWS02


Zoo garage numbers assailed
By KATHY MULADY
P-I REPORTER
They give up their evenings and big parts of their weekends, take time off work, attend public meetings of all kinds and pore over numbers with city officials.
John Havard and Irene Wall live near Woodland Park Zoo and oppose the proposed parking garage, which would be situated in the center left of this photograph, between the meadow where the zoo stages concerts and Phinney Avenue North.
Their obsession: a four-level parking garage planned for Woodland Park Zoo that they say would be in the wrong place, wouldn't be used, has been assigned the wrong attendance figures and would lose money every year for 20 years.
The problem, garage critics say, is that the expected number of drivers wouldn't park there, so the garage wouldn't be able to cover its bills -- unless the zoo is planning to hold a lot more events. Even now, on days when there are plenty of $4 spaces in the zoo's parking lots, they note, many visitors prefer free street parking near the zoo.

http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/269512_zoogarage09.html


BBC

Norway's whale catch falls short
By Richard Black
Environment correspondent, BBC News website
Norway's fleet will harpoon just half of its quota this year
Norway's whaling fleet will catch only half of its quota this season.
The government set a quota of 1052 minke whales, but so far only 444 have been landed.
Industry spokesmen predict the final tally for the April to August season will be about 500, and say bad weather earlier in the year prevented hunting.
Western environmental groups say the industry is in crisis, with stores full of unsold meat and a lack of demand from the Norwegian public.
"Norway has some real headaches this summer," said Sue Fisher from the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society (WDCS).

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/science/nature/5175970.stm



Colombia volcano provokes alert
Officials are closely monitoring the volcano's activity
The Colombian authorities are urging several thousand people to leave their homes on the slopes and foothills of a volcano that is spewing ash and smoke.
A state of maximum alert is in force around the Galeras volcano in the south-west of the country.
About 2,000 people from nearby villages have so far been taken to shelters.
The last major eruption from Galeras, one of Colombia's most active volcanoes, killed nine people in 1993, including scientists monitoring it.
An explosion of rock and gas from the volcano on Wednesday prompted the local authorities

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/5176234.stm



Israel imposes Lebanon blockade
Bridges were targeted in overnight raids on south Lebanon
Israel is imposing an air and sea blockade on Lebanon as part of a major offensive after two soldiers were seized by the militant group Hezbollah.
Israeli warships have blocked Lebanese ports, and its international airport was closed after Israeli bombing.
A Lebanese cabinet minister said the Israeli response was disproportionate, and called for a ceasefire.
Raids on targets across south Lebanon have killed at least 35. Two have died in Hezbollah attacks on Israel.
The operation comes as Israel continues a separate offensive in the Gaza Strip. An Israeli soldier was captured there last month.
See map of crisis in Lebanon
The offensive in Lebanon follows a day of heavy fighting in which the Israelis suffered their worst losses on the border for several years.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5175160.stm



Iraq province power transferred
The handover was signalled by a ceremony in a sports stadium
Britain has handed over responsibility for security in one of Iraq's 18 provinces to local forces for the first time since the country was invaded.
An agreement transferring power in Muthanna was signed by Major General John Cooper, who commands coalition forces in southern Iraq.
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, who was present, said the handover "will bring happiness to all Iraqis".
It ends the long-term presence of coalition troops in the province.
UK Defence Secretary Des Browne said it was a "milestone" for the people of the region and of Iraq.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5175478.stm



'No evidence' of shot Iraqi boy
Claims British troops killed an Iraqi boy after firing baton rounds at a crowd have proved unfounded, according to the Ministry of Defence.
Local media said the 13-year-old was hit and killed in a fracas between troops and locals just south of Amara in south-east Iraq on Wednesday.
But an MoD spokesman said troops had combed hospitals in the area and found no record of any child being admitted.
There was "no substantial evidence" to back up the claims, he said.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5061422.stm



More Iraqi troops to patrol Basra
The Iraqi soldiers will tackle militias and police corruption
More Iraqi troops will patrol the streets of Basra - the centre of the UK operation in Iraq - it has been announced.
Defence Secretary Des Browne said agreement had been reached with Iraqi ministers on a new security plan.
This is intended to curb the city's militias and tackle police corruption.
Mr Browne, currently visiting the country, said: "I believe this plan can make a real difference to the lives of 1.5 million Basrawis."
As a result of the blueprint, security in the city will be given "a more visible Iraqi lead".
Defence minister Abdul Qader confirmed there would be a doubling of the number of routine patrols carried out by forces from the Iraq 10th Division.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/5102904.stm



Police detain 300 in Mumbai probe
Police investigating train blasts in the Indian city of Mumbai have detained about 300 people in a series of raids, and released sketches of suspects.
The raids have been carried out in the city and other parts of the state of Maharashtra amid tightened security.
But so far no formal arrests or charges have been made.
The number of people killed in Tuesday's attacks has reached 200, with more than 700 people still being treated in hospital.
The BBC's Zubair Ahmed in Mumbai says that homes, hotels, railway stations and hideouts of suspects have been targeted over the last two days in an attempt to find out who could have been responsible for the blasts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5176890.stm


Mumbai is 'bombed but not beaten'
By Monica Chadha
BBC News, Mumbai
Hospitals have becomes theatres of grief
As Mumbai slowly recovers from Tuesday's serial bomb attacks, hospitals in the city are struggling to cope with more than 700 people injured.
Relatives and friends have been left with the unhappy task of searching for their loved ones by scrutinising lists of survivors on display outside most hospital premises.
The medics not only have to help identify charred and mutilated corpses but have also to attend to the injured lying on blood-soaked beds.
In many hospitals distraught relatives are wandering around in shock at what has happened.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5173276.stm



Bush vows Iran diplomacy solution
The visit is being seen as highly significant
US President George Bush, who is visiting Germany, has said the dispute about Iran's nuclear programme can still be solved diplomatically.
He said it would be dangerous if Iran had nuclear weapons and said the world was united in opposing this.
German Chancellor Angela Merkel said Iran had not given a firm response to proposals on its energy concerns if it stopped enriching uranium.
Mrs Merkel added that a new course might be necessary.
Mrs Merkel has been showing Mr Bush round the historic Baltic port of Stralsund, part of her constituency.
She is hosting a wild boar roast for him later, in the village of Trinwillershagen.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5176848.stm



'Many die' in new Afghan fighting
Nato forces are battling Taleban fighters regularly in Helmand
At least 19 suspected Taleban militants have been killed in clashes in southern Afghanistan, officials say.
A Helmand province government spokesman said Taleban fighters attacked the village of Nawzad, targeting a garrison of Afghan and coalition troops.
Shopkeepers were surrounded and ordered to leave the centre of the village before the attack began, reports said.
Coalition forces launched air strikes, with reports saying 12 Taleban died in a car, with others killed elsewhere.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/5175276.stm



No advance in N Korea diplomacy
Mr Hill said talks in Pyongyang appeared to have failed
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the crisis over North Korea's missile tests appear to have made little headway with two sets of talks failing to progress.
Soon after a US envoy said China-North Korea talks had not had a breakthrough, inter-Korean talks collapsed.
But key nations remain at odds on what action to take, setting the scene for a showdown in the UN Security Council.
China says it will veto a Japanese resolution on the issue and, with Russia, has circulated a rival draft.
Japan is seeking a tough resolution - backed by the US, UK and France - that could lead to sanctions against North Korea. But China and Russia have proposed a softer draft that emphasises a diplomatic solution.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/asia-pacific/5174990.stm



3-in-1 HIV pill is licensed in US

A once-a-day HIV treatment combining three drugs in one pill, has been licensed for the first time by the US Food and Drug Administration.
Atripla, made by Bristol-Myers-Squibb and Gilead Sciences, contains efavirenz, tenofovir and emtricitabine got fast-track approval.
It is expected to be licensed in Europe next year.
HIV experts said patients were increasingly demanding combined treatments.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/health/5176408.stm



Bard's first folio fetches £2.8m

The First Folio contains 18 plays that had never been printed before
A rare complete copy of the First Folio of William Shakespeare's plays has sold for £2.8m at a Sotheby's auction.
The book, one of about 40 complete copies known to exist, was bought by an anonymous London book dealer.
The auctioneer hailed the book, containing 36 plays, as "the most important book in English literature".
The book, still in its 17th-Century binding, includes 36 plays, 18 of which were published for the first time, including Macbeth and Twelfth Night.
"This was a spectacular auction at Sotheby's. Sales like this are few and far between," said Charles Dupplin, book sales expert at specialist insurers Hiscox.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/entertainment/5175044.stm



'Moonie' archbishop rocks Vatican
Milingo renounced his marriage four months after the wedding
An African archbishop who scandalised the Catholic Church with a 'Moonie' marriage before returning to the fold looks set to shock the Vatican again.
Emmanuel Milingo has held a surprise news conference calling on the Catholic Church to allow priests to marry.
He has spent the last four years living quietly at a convent south of Rome following his return to the church.
In 2001, he married a woman in a mass wedding conducted by the Reverend Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/5176508.stm


Fifa opens inquiry over Materazzi
Materazzi scored Italy's first-half equaliser in the final
Italy defender Marco Materazzi faces disciplinary proceedings regarding his conduct in the World Cup final.
France skipper Zinedine Zidane was sent off in extra-time in Berlin for headbutting Materazzi in the chest.
Italy went on to win the title in a penalty shoot-out, but Zidane has since said he reacted to repeated provocation from his opponent.
Fifa has summoned the players to attend a hearing of its disciplinary committee on Thursday 20 July in Zurich.
A decision is expected later that day.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/football/world_cup_2006/teams/italy/5177140.stm


'Suicide' of World Cup official
Juergen Kiessling was known as Mr World Cup to his colleagues
Berlin's top World Cup official has died four days after shooting himself in the head just hours after the football tournament ended.
Juergen Kiessling, 65, was rushed to hospital from his house in Reinickendorf, a suburb of Berlin, after a neighbour heard the shot.
The motive for the incident is not clear, but reports said Mr Kiessling left two suicide notes.
Berlin hosted the World Cup final on Sunday, when Italy beat France.
Mr Kiessling was known as "Mister WM" (Mr World Cup) by colleagues in Berlin.
He was responsible for the hugely successful Fan Mile in Berlin city centre, a concourse where giant screens showed the matches to hundreds of thousands of fans who could not get tickets.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/5177440.stm


Greasing the wheels
By George Arney
BBC News, Moscow
Can corruption drive Russians to drink?
Denis is an alcoholic and a drug addict.
But the drugs, at least, are not his fault.
He started drinking at the age of 13. By 16, he was drinking so heavily that - to use his own words - he was "completely mad, nuts!"
He committed a serious crime - he'd prefer not to say what it was - and then spent a year in prison waiting to be put on trial. After that, being found guilty but "nuts", he spent another four years incarcerated inside a psychiatric hospital.
It was in the hospital that Denis became a drug addict.
Psychiatric nurses aren't very well paid anywhere. In Russia they're paid peanuts.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5169724.stm


Wolfowitz plea ahead of G8 summit
A deal could lift millions from poverty, the World Bank boss says
World Bank President Paul Wolfowitz has called on leaders to push for agreement on a deal to free up global trade at the forthcoming G8 summit in Russia.
In a letter to leaders of the top industrialized and developing nations, Mr Wolfowitz warned that "time was running out" for a deal to be reached.
Long-running negotiations on a trade deal have so far failed to bear fruit.
Leaders of the world's richest nations are preparing to meet in St Petersburg for the G8 summit this weekend.
They will be joined by leaders of the so-called +5 group of major developing nations - China, India, Brazil, South Africa and Mexico.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/5163974.stm



Philadelphia Inquirer

Chechen rebel who led attacks is killed
Russia's most-wanted man planned terror attacks that killed 800 people. There was a $10 million bounty on his head.
EKAZHEVO, Russia - Shamil Basayev, the Chechen rebel leader responsible for terror attacks that led to the deaths of more than 800 people, was killed yesterday when a dynamite-laden truck in his convoy exploded next to a muddy field in this village of redbrick houses.
The blast that killed Russia's most-wanted man, who had a $10 million bounty on his head, appeared to have been an accident, according to regional officials. Basayev died along with three other extremists in Ingushetia - a Russian republic plagued by sporadic spill-over violence from neighboring Chechnya, where Russian forces have battled separatists for a dozen years.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15009416.htm



Chechen rebel's mission won't die
By Jim Heintz
Associated Press
MOSCOW - Shamil Basayev was the face and the brains of the Chechen rebels, but his death yesterday is unlikely to be a fatal blow to the insurgency that has bloodied Russian troops for a dozen years.
Just as Basayev thrived for years after a Russian mine blew off one of his legs, the Chechen rebels have kept up their fight despite the loss of an array of charismatic and wily leaders. The violence has spread throughout Russia's poor and resentful, largely Muslim North Caucasus.
Russian politicians crowed that Basayev's demise would take away the man who was an inspiring catalyst for the small guerrilla bands that hide in Chechnya's woods and mountains in often-primitive encampments. The death was seen as a tactical victory for the Russian forces that Basayev had eluded for years.
There are conflicting reports of how Basayev died. Nikolai Patrushev, head of the Federal Security Service, said Basayev was killed as part of a special operation. But other officials, and the rebels, said he died when an explosives-laden truck blew up next to his car: An accident may have accomplished what Russia's military might was unable to do.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15009438.htm



Major Attacks Linked To Basayev
June 14, 1995 Shamil Basayev leads Chechen fighters in an attack on a hospital in Budyonnovsk, about 90 miles north of the Chechen border. About 1,000 people are held hostage and about 100 people are killed; dozens more die when Russian troops unsuccessfully storm the hospital June 17.
August 1999 Four apartment building bombings kill about 300 people in Moscow and two other Russian cities. Basayev denies responsibility; Russia cites the attacks as one of the motives for sending troops back into Chechnya for the second war in a decade.
Oct. 23, 2002 Chechen extremists take 800 people hostage at a Moscow theater. Two days later, Russian special forces storm the building and use narcotic gas to subdue the attackers; 129 hostages and 41 Chechen fighters are killed.
Dec. 27, 2002 A suicide truck bomb attack destroys the headquarters of

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15012762.htm



City faulted on disaster readiness
A task force is preparing to release a report Thursday calling for Phila. to beef up its inadequate emergency services for a "24-hour presence."
By Marcia Gelbart
Inquirer Staff Writer
A task force studying Philadelphia's protocol for dealing with a disaster such as Hurricane Katrina has determined that the city's emergency-management office is not on par with similar agencies in other cities.
The Philadelphia office needs to be strengthened so that it has a "24-hour presence," and should be led by a high-salaried executive with a background in emergency services, task force member James Eisenhower said last week.
Eisenhower, an unsuccessful 2004 Democratic candidate for state attorney general, mentioned those findings during an unrelated board meeting last week of the city's fiscal watchdog, the Pennsylvania Intergovernmental Cooperation Authority (PICA).
A broad final report of the 42-member task force on emergency preparedness, which was appointed by Mayor Street in September, is expected to be released at a City Hall news conference Thursday.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15009455.htm



Phila. unready for big disaster
Study says city would be "quickly overwhelmed."
By Jennifer Lin
The question weighed on the mind of every big-city mayor in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina: Could my city handle such a cataclysmic disaster?
The answer for Mayor Street is no.
A million-dollar analysis of the city's emergency readiness, which is to be released at a news conference today, has concluded that Philadelphia could be "quickly overwhelmed in a large-scale or catastrophic event."
The report by consultant James Lee Witt, head of the Federal Emergency Management Agency in the Clinton administration, said gaps in resources and procedures would make the city vulnerable in times of extreme distress.
While the city can handle big planned events - like the 2000 Republican National Convention or the 2005 Live 8 concert - a major emergency caused by nature or terrorists could turn Philadelphia into New Orleans.
The review, which began in January, found that the city:
Relies heavily on individual knowledge for emergency planning.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15025099.htm



Olmert, Hamas leader intensify verbal battle
No prisoner swap, the Israeli insisted. Mashaal said it was the only way. Talks may yet be alive.
By Michael Matza
Inquirer Staff Writer
JERUSALEM - Underscoring the dangerous stalemate between Israel and Hamas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert said he refuses to trade Palestinian prisoners for an Israeli soldier abducted last month by Hamas' military wing, while in Damascus, Hamas' political chief, Khaled Mashaal, said the only solution to the burgeoning crisis is a mediated "swap."
The language from both men was fierce and unequivocal.
"Khaled Mashaal is a terrorist with blood on his hands," Olmert said. "He is the head of an organization which openly, publicly and officially calls for the liquidation of the State of Israel... . He is not a partner" for anything, Olmert told reporters yesterday in his first foreign-media news conference since becoming prime minister.
Mashaal, using similar rhetoric to address Israel, said, "You want to liquidate the Palestinian people and place them on the margins of history... you will fail."

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/15009420.htm


Fears of Iraqi civil war climb with violence that kills 40
Two more bombings and shootings left Baghdad reeling. The new prime minister called for unity.
By Joshua Partlow and Bassam Sebti
Washington Post
BAGHDAD - A barrage of bombings and gunfire killed at least 40 people in Iraq yesterday, as sectarian warfare continued a day after Shiite Muslim militiamen had terrorized a Sunni Arab neighborhood in Baghdad.
Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki called on Iraqis to "unite as brothers" and stop the cycle of retaliatory violence.
But the killings that began Sunday morning - with mobs of gunmen pulling Sunnis out of their cars and storming their homes in the al-Jihad neighborhood - spread to Shiite enclaves in the capital and other cities across Iraq.
Many Iraqis expressed fear that the recent attacks were pushing the country past isolated killings into civil war.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/15009422.htm


Tape: Troops were killed because of rape
By Robert H. Reid
Associated Press
BAGHDAD - An al-Qaeda-linked group says it killed three U.S. soldiers last month and mutilated two of their bodies to avenge the rape-slaying of a young Iraqi by troops of the same unit, an institute that monitors extremist Web sites said today.
The Mujahedeen Shura Council made the claim in an Internet video that included the mutilated bodies of two of the soldiers attacked June 16 near Youssifiyah, according to a statement by the SITE Institute.
The institute released still pictures from the video showing two of the American dead, one of whom had been decapitated.
According to the institute, the statement by the insurgent group said the video was released as "revenge for our sister who was dishonored by a soldier of the same brigade."
Five U.S. soldiers have been charged in the March 12 alleged rape and killing of the young Iraqi and the slayings of three of her relatives. The U.S. military released the identities of the suspects yesterday.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/nation/15010648.htm


The Lightning Round
We'll take what we can get
Italy is the new world champion of soccer, having defeated France, which means South Philly has bragging rights for the next four years. May the celebration go on for as long as possible; Italy's fans deserve this joy that had eluded them since 1982.
Besides, who knows when another pro sports championship might arrive in South Philly? The 17-year locust shows up more often. If we must embrace a team from overseas for the opportunity to chant "We're Number One," we'll take it.
Despite Italy's hard-earned victory, the conclusion of World Cup 2006 did not show the "beautiful game" at its best. Retiring French star Zinedine Zidane, perhaps the finest player of his era, disgraced himself by head-butting an Italian opponent and getting ejected in his last game.
Ted Williams said farewell to baseball by hitting a home run in his final at-bat. Zidane chose to assault a man with his bald pate. Given that unsportsmanlike conduct, journalists were wrong to vote Zidane the tournament's best player.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/15009441.htm


'Reforming' FEMA will fail
Katrina exposed flaws in an overly centralized agency. Free markets would do the job better.
By Russell S. Sobel and Peter T. Leeson
The Senate succeeded last week in reconciling two bills intended to reform the Federal Emergency Management Agency, but the proposals do little more than tweak FEMA's organizational chart.
The bills ignore the real problem: FEMA's central-planning approach to organizing economic activity after a natural disaster.
The great weakness of central planning is its inability to respond quickly to changes and unforeseen circumstances. No centralized authority, no matter how well-intentioned its employees and well-functioning its internal operations, can overcome this problem. The superiority of markets over central planning is widely recognized around the world, except apparently by those responsible for American disaster relief policy.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/15009445.htm


Where have you gone, Babe Ruth?
Baseball needs a shot of innocence - a return to the kid-friendly days past when it was all about fun.
By B.G. Kelley
As baseball showcases its All-Stars tonight, there's no way to deny this: The game needs more fun.
Baseball is beleaguered by too many black-eye issues: steroid use; domestic abuse; the bottom-line mentality of team owners; agents and lawyers with little or no regard for the game; and unstable teams full of here-today-gone-tomorrow players who are too often greedy and surly.
Baseball needs to take a page out of its history. Remember Willie Mays playing stickball on the streets of New York with kids? Yogi Berra speaking unguardedly and with ceaseless delight about the game? Ernie Banks coming to the park and genuinely musing, "It's a great day, let's play two"? Richie Ashburn, the symbol of the 1950 pennant-winning Whiz Kids Phillies, signing autograph after autograph for kids?

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/15009446.htm



A Smaller Deficit
Editorial Worth a Bronx cheer
Score one for President Bush, but his budget team is still way behind.
The president said Tuesday that the federal deficit for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30 would be only $296 billion. That is good news; last year's deficit was $318 billion. And the Bush administration, never shy about managing expectations, had projected in February that this year's deficit would be a whopping $423 billion.
So a less catastrophic deficit is indeed a ray of sunshine.
But, in this week of the All-Star Game, Robert Bixby, executive director of the nonpartisan fiscal watchdog group Concord Coalition, put the news in perspective with a baseball analogy:
Suppose your team is trailing by eight runs. Then your side scores one run. That is good news. But you are still far behind, and opportunities to erase that deficit are dwindling.
Worse, it's as if Manager Bush glanced at the scoreboard, saw his team trailing 10-3 and pronounced that his pitching staff was doing great. No need to change strategy.
"We're not looking at tax and spending policies in a rational way," said Bixby.
The lower deficit is due in part to an increase in taxes paid by corporations, wealthy individuals and small business owners. It's another bit of evidence that, in this economy, high wage earners are benefitting at a greater pace, with bonuses and bigger salary hikes, than their lower-paid counterparts.
The wealthy are getting wealthier and opening a larger gap on the rest of America.
The president and supporters of his tax cuts claim that the latest revenue uptick proves that tax cuts "pay for themselves" by boosting the economy. It's wishful thinking, this absolutist version of "supply side" theory.
Without doubt, tax cuts can spur economic activity that generates revenue to offset the impact of tax cuts. While this "replacement effect" can vary, it's never 100 percent and rarely more than 50 percent.
The Bush tax cuts are a big reason the government is still operating at a large defict. The red ink is projected to get worse next year.
Fact is, economic growth since the tax cuts in 2001 hasn't been as strong as the growth in the economy in the years following the large Clinton-era income tax increase in 1993. For three consecutive years after the 2001 cuts, tax revenue declined. While revenue has increased over the past year, tax receipts are only now recovering to where they were in 2000.
A lot of factors go into the economy's health, many beyond government's control. What recent history suggests is that supply-siders overestimate the economic benefits of tax cuts, while trying to excuse or minimize the damage they do to the nation's fiscal health.
The last thing the nation should do is look at this budgetary blip and conclude that it justifies extending tax cuts that are set to expire.
"We still have a $300 billion deficit," Bixby said. "We're still not raising enough money to pay for the war, prescription drugs and all else."
We're still down seven runs, and it's getting late in the game.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/15025098.htm



Mind over matter
New technology turns thoughts into actions, offering hope to spinal-cord patients.
By Tom Avril
Inquirer Staff Writer
With the aid of electrodes implanted in his brain, a man paralyzed from the neck down was able to perform certain everyday activities - move a computer cursor, open e-mail, turn on a TV set - merely by imagining them.
The patient, whose spinal cord was injured when an attacker stabbed him in the neck, was even able to open and close a prosthetic hand, his thoughts translated into action by a computer system developed at Brown University.
The results, reported in today's issue of the journal Nature, offer hope that thousands of people with injured spinal cords could someday regain significant function by simply bypassing the injury. Authors predicted a commercial version of the system would be available in just a few years and would also work for victims of stroke and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, commonly called Lou Gehrig's disease.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15025100.htm

Video

http://press.nature.com/pdf/press_files/nature/13-07-2006/nature04970-s7.mov



Barbaro is resting but in guarded condition
By Mike Jensen
Inquirer Staff Writer
The surgeon treating injured Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro said yesterday that the horse was resting comfortably at the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center, but he is in guarded condition, "facing tough odds."
"Our entire staff is determined to do all they can for this magnificent horse," Dean Richardson, chief of surgery at New Bolton, said in a statement.
Richardson said all decisions are being made "in constant consultation" with owners Roy and Gretchen Jackson, who live several miles west of the Kennett Square facility and visit daily.
"Barbaro's condition is potentially serious, and we are aggressively seeking all treatment options," said Richardson, who performed surgery the day after Barbaro suffered "catastrophic" fractures in his right hind leg in the May 20 Preakness Stakes. "Today, we will focus on further diagnostics and keeping our patient comfortable."

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15025006.htm



D.A. need not tell how drug money is spent
Pennsylvania law says the confiscated cash may be spent for any "law enforcement" purpose - and the public need not be told where it went.
By Jeff Shields
Inquirer Staff Writer
The prosecutors and police officers marveled when Montgomery County District Attorney Bruce Castor six weeks ago piled a table high with $2.7 million in cash confiscated in a gambling arrest.
No one present that day had ever seen such a fortune - perhaps the largest seizure of its kind in state history. It was equal to almost a quarter of Castor's annual budget.
But even more amazing than the windfall itself: Castor can decide how the money is spent without ever telling the public what he did with it.
It's a quirk of state law that has observers scratching their heads. New Jersey, for example, requires quarterly reports of such seized assets.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15025068.htm


Experiments on prisoners recommended - with limits
Drugs and counseling could be studied, said an independent medical panel that stressed it wants to avoid repeating the Holmesburg horrors.
By Dawn Fallik
Inquirer Staff Writer
Thirty years ago, the federal government severely limited medical experimentation on prisoners after the discovery that pharmaceutical companies and medical researchers were using Philadelphia inmates as medical guinea pigs.
Now, an independent panel has suggested easing those restrictions. But with the lingering specter of Nazi experiments and the local Holmesburg Prison scandal, some say the door should remain shut.
"This is a dangerous cul-de-sac to go down again," said A. Bernard Ackerman, a New York dermatologist who worked at Holmesburg Prison as a second-year resident at the University of Pennsylvania during the trials. "There has to be experimentation in medicine, but populations that are aged, vulnerable or defective mentally should not be used."

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15025044.htm


Stores taking tax hike calmly
Buyers can beat Saturday's clock.
By Edward Colimore and Jan Hefler
Inquirer Staff Writers
In Cherry Hill, the Pet Shoppe alerted customers with a sign: "Sales Tax Increase Effective Saturday 15th. Buy Now and Save."
Other businesses, including Eckenhoff Buick in Cherry Hill, placed newspaper ads encouraging people to buy before Saturday.
And some merchants phoned customers, warning them about Saturday's sales-tax increase to 7 percent.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15025069.htm


Kean researcher's own past ends up in spotlight
By Cynthia Burton
Inquirer Staff Writer
A researcher working on Thomas H. Kean Jr.'s proposed film attacking U.S. Sen. Robert Menendez once sent out thousands of anonymous post cards and automated phone calls accusing a New Hampshire candidate's wife of being in an orgasm cult.
Christopher Lyon's resume includes work done for Republican state parties in New York and Virginia, more than one New Jersey congressman, former New Jersey gubernatorial candidate Bret Schundler, and now Kean, Menendez's challenger in New Jersey's U.S. Senate race.
Lyon researched Willie Horton, the furloughed killer who became an issue in the 1988 presidential race between Michael Dukakis and George H.W. Bush, and Bill Clinton's background while Clinton was governor of Arkansas.
Lyon, known as an "opposition researcher," is definitely not the kind of campaign worker politicians brag about. Yet his work often drives strategy in a tight race such as the one between Republican Kean and Democrat Menendez.
Lyon declined to comment.
Campaigns for everything from school board to the presidency hire such researchers. Menendez has one, too, who is digging into Kean's background. As a rule, the tighter a race, the more likely the candidates will attack each other.
What is unusual about Lyon is that he is being shoved from the musty record rooms and exhaustive Internet searches and into the light of controversy surrounding Kean's allegations about Menendez.
Kean says Menendez was no hero when he testified against a bribe-taking boss of Union City, N.J., almost a quarter-century ago. Former prosecutors said Menendez's testimony was a courageous act.
Lyon came into the light when he told a New York Times reporter about the Menendez movie.
Menendez campaign spokesman Matthew Miller said a candidate's background was a legitimate area of inquiry, but that it was the Kean campaign's "deliberate misrepresentation of information that is so objectionable."

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15026528.htm



Center Square The real coward
By Chris Satullo
Inquirer Columnist
The only bullets Karl Rove has ever dodged were legal.
Last week, after learning he would avoid indictment for his role in the sliming of an Iraq war critic, Rove had this to say about two men who risked death in service of country, John Murtha and John Kerry:
"Like too many Democrats, it strikes me that they are ready to give the green light to go to war, but when it gets tough and when it gets difficult they fall back on that party's pattern of cutting and running."
In any sentence with the names Kerry, Murtha and Rove, there is only one possible coward. It's not the Pennsylvania congressman nor the Massachusetts senator.
The only combat for which Rove ever volunteered was political. In that realm, he's mastered the coward's way, the sly attack from the hidden place, the anonymous flier full of innuendo, the invective by surrogates, the timely leak to the friendly writer. The shiv goes in the back, but the fingerprints are smudged.
Sadly, it works. So it gets rewarded and imitated.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/14842903.htm



Karl Rove's Role
Editorial He was a source, and in the wrong
The Valerie Plame case is one tangled mess. But one oft-disputed point is now clear:
Karl Rove, President Bush's chief political adviser, was a source for the newspaper column that initiated this mess. In 2003, Robert Novak told his readers that Plame, a CIA agent, was married to a vocal critic of Bush's misstatements about Iraqi WMD.
In a column this week, Novak said Rove was not the original source, but a confirming one. The columnist, who (unlike other journalists involved in this case) was never threatened with jail for shielding sources, still won't identify the first leaker to readers, except as an "administration official."
Novak also wrote that special counsel Patrick Fitzgerald, who investigated whether the Plame leak violated a federal law against outing CIA agents, figured out early on who Novak's sources had been. Novak said that, under subpoena, he only confirmed what the prosecutor suspected.
Novak's column is riddled with vague syntax that leaves mysteries unanswered. What's clear, though, is that Rove abetted the outing of Plame. No, Rove was not charged, as his apologists trumpet. Fitzgerald concluded that the facts of the case didn't fit the spy statute well enough. The only indictment, against White House aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, was for lying to a grand jury.
But is this really the feeble ethical reed to which the supposed party of "values voters" clings: "If they can't convict me, it's not wrong"?
The president originally said he'd fire any staffer responsible for the Plame leak. His press secretary denied that Rove was involved. Then, as the heat rose around Rove, the standard changed. Bush said he'd fire only those convicted of a crime.
Guess the president's first statement became "inoperative." Sound familiar?

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/15025116.htm

The Fishbowl

http://inkyfishbowl.wordpress.com/

Recipe Blueberry-Lavender Compote
Makes 3 cups
2 pints fresh blueberries
1/4 cup fresh lemon juice
1 teaspoon cornstarch
1/2 cup sugar
Pinch sea salt
1 teaspoon lavender blossoms (or dried culinary lavender)
1. Pick over berries, removing any stems, and give them a rinse.
2. In a saucepan large enough to accommodate the berries, mix the juice with the cornstarch, sugar and salt. Add the berries and lavender and cook over medium heat until the fruit gives up its juice and the liquid thickens, a matter of a few minutes.
3. Take off the heat and cool.
4. Serve over vanilla ice cream, bread pudding, lemon tart, pancakes, etc.
-From Local Flavors: Cooking and Eating From America's Farmers' Markets by Deborah Madison (Broadway 2002).
Per serving (based on 6): 128 calories, 1 gram protein, 31 grams carbohydrates, 26 grams sugar, 0.4 gram fat, no cholesterol, 33 milligrams sodium, 2 grams dietary fiber.

http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/15023879.htm


continued …

July 12, 2006.

Yucca Valley, California.

Photographer states :: Did some art style photography while in the middle of the Yucca Valley Fire last night and early this morning. Firefighters stand by as the fire gets near. Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News

July 12, 2006.

Yucca Valley, California.

Photographer states :: Did some art style photography while in the middle of the Yucca Valley Fire last night and early this morning. Local residents keep their eyes on the fire as the sun is block by the thick smoke. Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News

July 12, 2006.

Yucca Valley, California.

Photographer states :: Did some art style photography while in the middle of the Yucca Valley Fire last night and early this morning. A weathervane on top of a house as the fire gets near. Photo by Gene Blevins/LA Daily News

July 11, 2006.

Yucca Valley, California.

The Saw Tooth Fire.