When sleep returns without visions of hurricanes and vortices dancing in their heads. 
Thursday, October 27, 2005
A Floridian's Moment !
When sleep returns without visions of hurricanes and vortices dancing in their heads.
The Chicago White Sox Moment !
Bud Sellig the Baseball Commissioner presents the World Series Trophy to Jerry Reinsdorf, owner, Ken Williams, general manager and manager Ozzie Guillen of the Chicago White Sox.
Morning Papers - continued ...
Chicago Sun Times
Oz good as it gets
October 27, 2005
BY DOUG PADILLA Staff Reporter
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HOUSTON -- The White Sox will bring a championship back to 35th Street for the first time in 88 years, and this one will be a worldly affair.
The four-game World Series sweep was not just toasted on the South Side, it was celebrated in Tokyo, Caracas and Havana. There was reason for hugs and handshakes in the Dominican Republic, home to five Sox players. Even the Netherlands can feel good about this one because trainer Herm Schneider was born there and is a veteran of 26 previous seasons, all void of titles.
Venezuela's Freddy Garcia reached down and showed just why he's considered a big-game pitcher as he paced the 1-0 victory Wednesday over the Houston Astros with seven scoreless innings. His outing could've been dedicated to all the great Sox pitchers who never finished a season on top with the club.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/worldseries/cst-spt-sox27.html
A once-in-a-lifetime celebration
October 27, 2005
BY ANDREW HERRMANN AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters
Scott Podsednik described this year's White Sox as "25 guys pulling on the same rope.''
True enough -- but the speedy left fielder was a few million short on the count.
Fans, too, were pulling for the team, of course. And they were pulling for friends and family -- some who left this Earth without ever hearing the words World Champion and White Sox in the same breath.
They pulled for the buddies with whom they had their first beer (a Falstaff?) at Comiskey Park, or the date they split the churro with, or maybe the Old Man who taught them that a double play is 6-4-3 on the scorecard.
But they were also pulling for themselves.
Sports divert us from the routines of life -- the drudgeries of the 49th floor cubicle of the Sears Tower and the miseries of navigating the Ike. A double off the wall offers a coherence and clarity in a complicated 1040-form world.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/worldseries/cst-nws-soxwin27.html
'We haven't experienced this in forever'
October 27, 2005
BY SHAMUS TOOMEY, CHRIS FUSCO, CHERYL L. REED AND SCOTT FORNEK Staff Reporters
White Sox fans never stopped believin,' and Wednesday night it was time to kick back and hold on to the feelin.'
"Thank God," said Danny Humanicki, 37, of Franklin Park, as he cried tears of joy outside a bar near Cellular Field. "You always dream about it ... and when it happens, you feel like a baby."
It's a feelin' Chicago hasn't felt for 88 years -- two World Wars and 15 presidents ago. It's been so long since a Chicago team won the World Series that the last time around the mayor was a Republican.
And with the Sox winning their fourth game against Houston, Chicagoans from the South Side to the North Side were ready to party like it was 1917.
"In Chicago, we haven't experienced this in forever," said Kirk Vucsko, a 44-year-old salesman from Evergreen Park.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/worldseries/cst-nws-fanwin27.html
Long wait makes sweep in Series that much sweeter
October 27, 2005
The tension might have been more than any of us wanted to endure, and the thought of the White Sox losing any World Series games is unacceptable. But now that's it's over and the good guys won -- did they ever! -- wouldn't you have liked the fall classic to last longer? Didn't you want to bask in this stupendous season for a few more days? For long-suffering Sox fans, this was nirvana. For Chicagoans who have waited you know how long for this, it was manna from heaven and everything else good from above.
When all is said and done, who knows how the experts will rank the 2005 Chicago White Sox. Before last night's nail-biting defeat of the Houston Astros, a decent bunch you have to feel a bit sorry for, an ESPN analyst was heard comparing the South Siders to the best of the recent New York Yankees teams. But the Sox could well be Rodney Dangerfielded by posterity, lacking as they did any marquee superstars or flashy 20-game-winning studs and drawing such negligible Nielsen ratings.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/commentary/cst-edt-edits27.html
15th Daley cabinet member leaves
October 27, 2005
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Mayor Daley's revolving door took another turn Wednesday -- this time carrying $149,364-a-year Aviation Commissioner John Roberson, whose name turned up on a list of cooperating witnesses in the federal investigation of City Hall corruption.
Roberson becomes the 15th Daley cabinet member to leave or be shown the door in recent months in a housecleaning triggered by the Hired Truck, city hiring and minority contracting scandals.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-hare27.html
Foie gras proponent's restaurant vandalized
October 27, 2005
BY JANET RAUSA FULLER Staff Reporter
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A day after speaking out against the city's proposed ban on foie gras, chef Didier Durand arrived at his River North bistro Wednesday to an unwelcome sight: a shattered window splattered with a liquid resembling blood and busted-up flower boxes strewn on the sidewalk.
Police say Cyrano's Bistrot and Wine Bar at 546 N. Wells was vandalized between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Durand, who had spoken at a City Council committee meeting Tuesday about the proposed ban, suspects animal rights activists are behind the damage. The Health Committee voted in favor of the ban.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-foiegras27.html
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Sox on top of the world
By Mark Gonzales
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 27, 2005, 12:47 AM CDT
HOUSTON -- The White Sox completed their incredible conquest Wednesday night, eliminating the final demons that haunted the franchise since their last World Series title in 1917.
They completed their stunning run in a manner that mirrored their amazingly successful season, riding the pitching of Freddy Garcia and the bullpen to a 1-0 victory over Houston and completing a four-game sweep of the 2005 World Series.
"In sports, I haven't had a greater feeling," said general manager Ken Williams, whose transformation of a franchise to an emphasis on pitching and defense was rewarded greatly in the final game.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/cs-051026soxgamer,1,6398672.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
Philly.com
Newsmakers Janet sets it straight: 'I do not have a child'
By Annette John-Hall
Inquirer Staff Writer
Janet Jackson says she is not a mother. In a terse statement released yesterday, the 39-year-old singer denied a former brother-in-law's claim that she has a "secret" 18-year-old daughter with singer James DeBarge.
"I do not have a child and all allegations saying so are false," Jackson said in a statement released to the syndicated Access Hollywood TV show.
Since Friday, when Young DeBarge, Jackson's former brother-in-law, made the charge on New York's WQHT-FM ("Hot 97") radio, everybody's been buzzing about what was for many years repeated as an urban legend.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13005851.htm
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Holocaust land claim prevails in Germany
By Troy Graham
Inquirer Staff Writer
The highest court in Germany on Tuesday upheld the claim of a South Jersey great-grandmother to a valuable parcel of real estate plundered nearly 70 years ago by the Nazis.
Barbara Principe of Newfield, Gloucester County, and other heirs to the Wertheim department store fortune should start seeing the first of their compensation by early next year, Matthias Druba, the family's Berlin lawyer, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005924.htm
Gene mapping gets even more detailed
Scientists say they have isolated a million points that vary among people. The work could fine-tune disease treatments.
By Faye Flam
Inquirer Staff Writer
We are all 99.9 percent genetically identical, but scientists are rapidly mapping out that critical 0.1 percent that makes us different. Yesterday an international consortium announced it had isolated a million spots on the human genome that tend to vary from person to person - the first phase of a project called HapMap.
The project promises to predict who is more likely to suffer from common ailments such as diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and some cancers. Eventually, the knowledge gained from HapMap could lead to new therapies that better target the root causes of these illnesses.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005927.htm
Serving his country and gays
An Overbrook native agitates for acceptance.
By Alfred Lubrano
Inquirer Staff Writer
In Baghdad, they know him by the code name "Princess Leia."
As an agent for the State Department's diplomatic security service, Overbrook's own T.J. Lunardi is a gay patriot trained to crack a man's bones with his tapered fingers.
Most recently charged with protecting U.S. embassy officials in Iraq, Lunardi, 28, is home now, awaiting reassignment to Berlin. Sporting tattoos that say "queer" and "eternal hostility," Lunardi is an inside agitator, a guy pledged to flag and country but determined to effect change within the U.S. government for the gay cause.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005848.htm
The dogged prosecutor roiling D.C.
Friends and foes call leak probe vintage Fitzgerald.
By Shannon McCaffrey
Inquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - While an undergraduate at Amherst College, Patrick Fitzgerald spent his summers as a doorman at luxury apartment buildings on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
He wasn't always treated well by the elite who lived there, and it made an impression on the future prosecutor. Fitzgerald isn't in awe of the rich and the powerful, friends say.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005925.htm
Palestinian bomber kills five Israelis
The man blew himself up at a crowded market. Islamic Jihad said it was an act of vengeance.
By Aron Heller
Associated Press
HADERA, Israel - The bloodied body of a man in his 50s lay on the ground among scattered fruits and mangled metal shards. High above the open-air market, a section of a falafel stand's metal roof hung from a eucalyptus tree.
It was the deadliest attack in Israel in more than three months and had an immediate effect on the rapidly eroding relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
A 20-year-old Palestinian blacksmith blew himself up at the falafel stand in the central Israeli town of Hadera yesterday, killing five Israelis, wounding more than 30, and destroying a section of the open-air market.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005928.htm
Editorial Counting Votes and Bodies The promise and peril of Iraq
Two milestones occurred Tuesday in Iraq. The Independent Electoral Commission announced, after investigating fraud accusations, that voters in last week's referendum narrowly adopted a constitution. Also on Tuesday, the number of U.S. military deaths since the 2003 invasion of Iraq reached 2,000. One estimate places the number of Iraqis killed during that period at 30,000.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines milestone as "a significant point in development." Both the referendum and the body count were important points, to be sure. But the Bush administration needs to be careful about how it characterizes the significance of each.
The sharpest significance rests in the coffins of American soldiers who have died in the campaign to oust Saddam and secure Iraq.
With each explosion that shakes that nation and claims lives, U.S. public sentiment darkens toward our military presence there and President Bush's leadership of it.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005940.htm
Fla. is washing its hands of the poor
Froma Harrop
is a columnist for the Providence Journal
Let's get something straight right now. Few government programs are "unsustainable." A program is sustainable if government chooses to sustain it. Governments keep programs afloat by giving them money.
So when Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says his state's Medicaid program is "unsustainable," what he really means is that he doesn't want to find the money to cover its growing costs.
Bush has a radical plan to curb medical benefits for low-income Floridians - but it was not forced on him by matters beyond his control.
Florida does not tax its rich people. Governing magazine ranks it near bottom nationally for adequacy of revenues and tax fairness. Florida's long coastline is virtually paved in gold, yet the state has no personal income tax. More than 76 percent of its revenues come from sales taxes, which hit lower-income people hardest.
There was a proposal to make Florida's sales taxes less regressive. It would have applied a sales tax to the fees charged by lawyers, accountants and other advisers to the upper crust. Jeb Bush opposed it.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/13005942.htm
Light rail's success defies the doubters
By Donald Nigro
The NJ Transit Camden-Trenton River Line, up and running for about a year and a half, continues to increase in popularity. Ridership is up 29 percent from last year, with more than 6,000 passengers a day. This is helped in no small part by the line's low fares and the region's ever-increasing gasoline prices.
Unsupported fears of the River Line during the 1990s have proved wrong: It is clear that trains are not running over children, tying up traffic, or providing transportation for burglars.
The line, however, is spurring the revitalization of communities, increasing property values, and combating automobile congestion. This is no surprise for those aware of the capabilities of passenger rail service.
The planning of the River Line does have a dubious history. Before its conception, much consideration and study was given to rail lines running from Philadelphia to Glassboro and Mount Holly. These lines would have been much more heavily used than the River Line. Ridership was projected at 20,220 for a Glassboro line and 18,910 for a line to Mount Holly.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/opinion/local1/13007746.htm
Sydney Morning Herald
Eye on the Diva
October 27, 2005 - 1:42PM
Trainer Lee Freedman said there was still no decision on whether Makybe Diva would run in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup despite her pleasing work-out this morning.
Glen Boss rode the mare at Freedman's Mornington Peninsula property, and told waiting reporters he was happy with her work.
However, Freedman told radio station Sport 927 that people were getting ahead of themselves and that he would use every bit of time to make sure the mare was right.
He said he would take things day by day and, if she was to run in the Cup, factors such as the weather would come into consideration.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/horseracing/eye-on-the-diva/2005/10/27/1130382512026.html
Bring on the Diva, says Weld
By Craig Young
October 27, 2005
Two-time Melbourne Cup-winning Irish trainer Dermot Weld believes Makybe Diva should run in next Tuesday's big race. Brian Mayfield-Smith, who ended legendary trainer Tommy Smith's 33-year reign as premier trainer in Sydney, does not.
Weld was the first non-Australasian trainer to snare the Melbourne Cup when the great Vintage Crop took it back to Ireland in 1993. Nine years later Weld returned and won it with Media Puzzle.
This time Weld is hoping Vinnie Roe can go one better than last year when the stallion repelled all but Makybe Diva, which made it successive Melbourne Cups.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/horseracing/bring-on-the-diva-says-weld/2005/10/26/1130302841633.html
Hanging plea: no exceptions, says Singapore
October 27, 2005 - 1:53PM
Singapore's top envoy says a bid for clemency by an Australian man on death row had been given fair hearing and the Government could not make an exception.
Former Melbourne salesman, Nguyen Tuong Van, 25, was caught with 396 grams of heroin strapped to his body and in his hand luggage at Singapore's Changi airport in 2002.
He is expected to be executed in the next four to six weeks.
Joseph Koh, Singapore's high commissioner to Australia, said today Nguyen's plea for clemency had been dealt with fairly.
"He was given a fair hearing throughout the legal process and his appeal for clemency was carefully considered," Mr Koh said in a statement.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hanging-plea-no-exceptions-says-singapore/2005/10/27/1130382512377.html
Bird flu aid to be tackled in Geneva summit
October 27, 2005 - 11:20AM
Officials from all over the world will meet in Geneva in early November to discuss setting up a global fund to tackle the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus, a senior World Bank official said.
Jim Adams, the World Bank's chief for operations policy and country services, said the meeting - on November 7 to November 9 - would try to coordinate a global response to the H5N1 strain and identify shortcomings in veterinary and health systems.
"The intention is then to be prepared to go out more aggressively to raise some money to deal with those gaps," Adams told Reuters.
He said the trust fund would require initial donations of between $US300 million ($394.17 million) to $US500 million ($656.94 million) to help countries set up programs to deal with the risk of a pandemic of bird flu, which experts fear could eventually mutate enough to become transmissible among humans.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/bird-flu-aid-to-be-tackled-in-geneva-summit/2005/10/27/1130367986201.html
Microsoft chief promises tough battle against Google
October 27, 2005 - 2:58PM
Microsoft chief Bill Gates has promised an aggressive push into the fast-growing market for internet searches in the coming years, taking aim at archrival Google despite recent setbacks for the world's No. 1 software giant.
Making his first trip to Israel on Wednesday, Gates also said the vibrant local high-tech sector would play an important role in the global marketplace and pledged to strengthen co-operation with the country.
He offered $US1.4 million ($1.8 million), a relatively small sum, for local start-ups and pledged to connect tens of thousands of Israeli children to the internet.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/microsoft-chief-promises-tough-battle-against-google/2005/10/27/1130382515508.html
Google gunning for eBay, Craigslist?
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 12:47 PM
While we were all hyperventilating over the Australian launch of iTunes (self included), something potentially much more profound was being primed for launch by the guys at Google.
In a nutshell, Google looks like it's preparing the world for a new service which allows people to upload various types of content and then make it searchable.
Called Google Base (as in database), the service made a brief appearance at http://base.google.com/ before disappearing.
But that was long enough for Google watchers to grab screen shots of the site and launch a flurry of speculative posts about the purpose and impact of the new offering.
Google confirmed the service in an email to the SearchEngineWatch blog:
http://blogs.smh.com.au/newsblog/archives//002796.html
School orders students to remove blogs
Newark, New Jersey
October 27, 2005 - 10:45AM
A Roman Catholic high school has ordered its students to remove their online diaries from the internet, citing a threat from cyberpredators.
Students at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta appear to be heeding a directive from the principal, the Reverend Kieran McHugh.
McHugh told them in an assembly earlier this month to remove any personal journals they might have or risk suspension. Websites popular with teens include myspace.com and xanga.com.
Officials with the Diocese of Paterson say the directive is a matter of safety, not censorship. No one had been disciplined yet, diocesan spokeswoman Marianna Thompson said
http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/school-orders-students-to-remove-blogs/2005/10/27/1130367980065.html
Bush under a spell: cabal, cabal less toil but trouble, systems burn and dissent bubbles
October 27, 2005
Disaster is the result when a select few make decisions for the President, writes Lawrence B. Wilkerson.
IN PRESIDENT George Bush's first term, some of the most important decisions about US national security - including vital decisions about postwar Iraq - were made by a secretive, little-known cabal. It was made up of a very small group of people led by the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, and the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.
But I believe the decisions of this cabal were sometimes made with the full and witting support of the President, and sometimes with something less. More often than not, the then national security adviser Condoleezza Rice was simply steamrolled by this cabal.
Its insular and secret workings were efficient and swift - not unlike the decision-making one would associate with a dictatorship. This furtive process was camouflaged neatly by the dysfunction and inefficiency of the formal decision-making process, where decisions, if they were reached at all, had to wend their way through the bureaucracy with its dissenters, obstructionists and "guardians of the turf".
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/bush-under-a-spell-cabal-cabal-less-toil-but-trouble-systemsburn-and-dissent-bubbles/2005/10/26/1130302836884.html
Climbing the stairway to basic social norms
October 27, 2005
After decades of failed welfare policies, the tide has turned for Aborigines, Miranda Devine.
FOR some well-meaning white people, the solution to entrenched Aboriginal deprivation is more taxpayer money and some vague concept of "reconciliation" for which they will walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge at least once.
But after 30 years of failed socialist welfare policies, the tide has turned. Aboriginal leaders, most notably Noel Pearson, are preaching heresy to those progressives who have laid claim to being Aborigines' greatest champions. They are talking about concepts of mutual obligation, smashing welfare dependency, encouraging mobility of young people, land reform and, most controversially, about rebuilding moral capital in their broken-down communities.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/climbing-the-stairway-to-basic-social-norms/2005/10/26/1130302836875.html
Iraq - milestones and millstones
October 27, 2005
Iraq has just passed three historic markers on its perilous journey to an uncertain future - the opening of the trial of Saddam Hussein, the positive result of its constitutional referendum and the death of the 2000th American soldier since the war began in March 2003. The grim statistical reminder of the price in blood the US is paying for the ill-conceived invasion and continuing occupation of Iraq comes at a bad time for George Bush. The US President is under fire over several domestic scandals and blunders - his inadequate response to the New Orleans hurricane disaster, his controversial nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court, and an investigation into the "outing" of a former CIA agent which could destroy senior administration officials. Now the symbolic impact of the 2000th US fatality in an increasingly unpopular war - combined with the latest suicide bombings in Baghdad - could further undermine his sagging approval ratings.
Understandably, Mr Bush seized on the constitutional referendum result as a hopeful development on the credit side of the Iraqi ledger. Fair enough, too. In a ravaged country whose streets are among the most dangerous on Earth, a voter turnout of 63 per cent is remarkable. So is the fact that so many voters were from the alienated Sunni minority, most of whom boycotted last January's elections. Washington, London and the Iraqi interim government can claim that the overall 79-21 per cent vote for the constitution was an overwhelming endorsement.
http://www.smh.com.au/editorial/index.html
The Australian
Sit-down cash stops flowing
Patricia Karvelas
October 27, 2005
THE era of "sit-down" money for Aborigines in remote communities has ended, with Centrelink officers telling indigenous people those who do not work will lose their handouts.
Eight communities have been told in the past month they have to change or face the same penalties as the rest of the community: loss of dole payments.
Until now, about 8000 indigenous people have been exempt from mutual obligation programs because they live in areas where there is no locally accessible labour market program or education and training facilities.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17049192%255E601,00.html
Howard fights regional racism charge
By Lawrence Bartlett
October 27, 2005
PRIME Minister John Howard today fended off suggestions of racism as a row over work visas for impoverished Pacific islanders ended a 16-nation summit on a sour note.
Told at a news conference that Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister Rabbie Namaliu had accused Australia of having one law for Europeans and Americans and another for Pacific islanders, Mr Howard hit back.
"He misunderstands the crucial difference between backpackers coming to Australia and the sort of thing he wants.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17053887%255E1702,00.html
Qantas asked to bring Aussies home if bird flu strikes
Adam Cresswell and Katharine Murphy
October 27, 2005
AUSTRALIANS stranded in countries affected by bird flu will be flown home on specially commissioned Qantas flights if a global pandemic breaks out, under a deal being negotiated by the Howard Government.
Amid rising international concern at the possibility bird flu might jump to humans, Health Minister Tony Abbott yesterday provided new details of Australia's plan to tackle an outbreak.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17049189%255E601,00.html
Australia may help out with vaccine
Katharine Murphy and Dennis Shanahan
October 27, 2005
AUSTRALIA could consider giving up some of its stockpile of anti-viral drugs to neighbours at risk of a major bird flu outbreak.
Senior pandemic and disaster management co-ordinators from across APEC's 21 member economies will gather in Brisbane next Monday and Tuesday to test the region's preparedness for managing an avian flu pandemic.
A senior government official said yesterday the issue of Australia making some of its drug stockpile available to other economies was likely to be discussed at next week's meeting.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17048922%255E601,00.html
Tony Abbott: Back of the flu queue
October 27, 2005
OVER the past few weeks, as awareness of the possibility of a very severe pandemic has finally seeped into Australians' collective consciousness, complacency has given way to intense media interest and some public alarm.
Six months ago, the challenge was to alert people to a frightening possibility. Now, the challenge is to reassure them that a severe pandemic remains just a possibility, not a certainty, nor even a probability in the next few years, and that health authorities are doing everything they reasonably can to guard against the risk. Then, the public needed to know that infectious disease had not entirely lost its capacity to kill. Now, what's needed is a sense of proportion, even for worst-case scenarios.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17044556%255E7583,00.html
Sharon vows new offensive
By Matthew Tostevin in Jerusalem
October 27, 2005
ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed an open-ended offensive against Palestinian militants and Israeli aircraft struck the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a suicide bomber killed five Israelis.
The bombing on Wednesday in the coastal city of Hadera dealt a serious blow to an eight-month-old truce and international hopes for a revival of peacemaking after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month.
Mr Sharon said there could be no advance towards peace for now because of the "absolute failure of the Palestinian Authority in the fight against terrorism" as he promised to launch a major military operation.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17057220%255E1702,00.html
Wipe out Israel: Iran hardliner
October 27, 2005
TEHRAN: Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called yesterday for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
"The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world," Mr Ahmadinejad told a conference in Tehran titled The World without Zionism.
"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny," he said.
"The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17048254%255E601,00.html
Iran leader's words 'sickening'
October 27, 2005
EUROPEAN leaders have condemned statements by the Iranian President calling for Israel to be destroyed.
Speaking in the Iranian capital Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be "wiped off the map", the official IRNA news agency reported.
Support for the Palestinian cause is a central pillar of the Islamic Republic which officially refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist.
"Israel must be wiped off the map," Ahmadinejad told a conference called "The World without Zionism", attended by some 3,000 conservative students who chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America".
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17051351%255E601,00.html
Iran 'lets al-Qaeda roam free'
From correspondents in Berlin
October 27, 2005
IRAN is permitting around 25 high-ranking al-Qaeda members to roam free in the country's capital, including three sons of Osama bin Laden, a German monthly magazine reports.
Citing information from unnamed Western intelligence sources, the magazine Cicero said in a preview of an article appearing in its November edition that the individuals in question are from Egypt, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Europe.
They are living in houses belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the report said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17050611%255E601,00.html
Afghanistan bomb attack kills policeman
From correspondents in Kandahar
October 27, 2005
A BOMB fixed to a bicycle exploded in Afghanistan's volatile southern city of Kandahar on Thursday, killing a policeman and wounding two civilians, police said.
The explosives were detonated by remote-control as a police vehicle drove past, a police officer named only Amanullah said at the site of the blast in central Kandahar.
"One policeman was killed and two passers-by were wounded in the explosion, detonated remotely by the enemies of Afghanistan," the officer said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17056398%255E1702,00.html
1 killed, 8 wounded in Iraq blast
From correspondents in Baghdad
October 27, 2005
AN Iraqi was killed and eight others wounded early today by a suicide car bomb in central Iraq, security and hospital sources said.
"A suicide car bomb exploded as a US patrol passed by in Karrada, killing a civilian and wounding several others," an interior ministry source said.
The Ibn Nafiss hospital received eight wounded following the blast, a medical source said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17053155%255E1702,00.html
7 killed in Thai raids
From correspondents in Bangkok
October 27, 2005
FIVE villagers and two militants were killed overnight in Muslim southern Thailand when insurgents launched about 50 raids on remote villages in the restive region.
The Thai army said most of the attacks targeted members of civilian guards created by the government to provide emergency security against militants. "The attacks came at around 7pm to 8pm while all the men were praying at mosques. They left shotguns with their families at home," Colonel Acra Tiprote of the southern Army command said.
"We are hunting for the suspects with lots of help from villagers, both Buddhists and Muslims."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17053156%255E1702,00.html
Clinton urges solar power in Oz
October 27, 2005
FORMER US president Bill Clinton has urged Australia to make more use of solar energy to reduce greenhouse gases and global warming.
"Australia could generate enormous amounts of power from solar energy," Clinton said from the US in a video interview with former NSW premier Bob Carr at a Sydney leadership conference.
"Once you pay for the initial installations, it's essentially free."
The former president said he installed solar panels on the Clinton Library in the US which he said would pay for themselves inside two years.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17051715%255E1702,00.html
New Zealand Herald
Asian drug gangs use students as mules
28.10.05
By Helen Tunnah
Students from China are being used by organised crime to bring drugs into New Zealand, with an estimated $90 million of methamphetamine ingredients seized at borders in the last financial year.
And Customs says the booming number of seizures involving the ingredients is straining resources.
Of the 525 individual seizures of ingredients or precursors, such as pseudoephedrine tablets, made in 2004-2005, 98 per cent originated in China.
About 80 per cent of the people involved were short-stay students.
Customs' manager of drug investigations, Simon Williamson, said the involvement of a small number of students impacted on the reputation of the mainly law-abiding students coming here from China.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10352417
Bollard tightens screws by boosting interest rate
28.10.05
By Brian Fallow
Reserve Bank chief Alan Bollard yesterday followed through on his threat to raise interest rates in a bid to cool a "relentless" housing market.
He raised the official cash rate from 6.75 to 7 per cent and warned that further tightening of the screws could be ruled out only when he saw "a noticeable moderation in housing and consumer spending".
The money markets now rate as better than 50:50 the odds of a further rise on December 8.
Banks last night were holding floating mortgage rates steady but any move will push them beyond 9 per cent.
The official cash rate is the highest among developed countries, which helps to keep the NZ dollar high, hurting the export sector as well as pushing up the cost of business overdrafts.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10352420
21 million Americans have diabetes
28.10.05 5.20am
Nearly 21 million Americans have diabetes, most of them the type-2 variety associated with poor diet, too little exercise and being overweight, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday.
This represents about 7 per cent of the population - and more than 6 million of these people do not know they have the condition, the CDC said.
"Another 41 million people are estimated to have pre-diabetes, a condition that increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes - the most common form of the disease - as well as heart disease and stroke," the CDC said in a statement.
Diabetes is a lack of control of glucose, or blood sugar. Type-1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune condition in which the body mistakenly destroys the pancreatic cells that make insulin. It affects an estimated 2 million Americans.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352405
102-year-old scares off home intruder
28.10.05 4.00am
A 102-year-old man startled an intruder at his North Shore home when he reached for his Zimmer frame next to his bed, police said.
The man was woken by the intruder while in bed. The intruder bolted.
The break-in was on Saturday, October 15.
Police say the man is now seriously ill in hospital, but his condition is not related to the incident.
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10352403
Israel and New Zealand friends again
28.10.05 5.00am
Israel and New Zealand have formally drawn a line under a thorny diplomatic standoff, with New Zealand ambassador Jan Henderson presenting her credentials to Israel's top diplomat in Jerusalem.
"This is a return to normalisation of relations," Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said.
The ceremony came four months after the two countries restored diplomatic relations frozen by Wellington as part of the fallout over the conviction of two alleged Israeli spies for fraudulently trying to obtain New Zealand passports.
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http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10352395
Sharon vows broad offensive after bombing
28.10.05
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has vowed an open-ended offensive against Palestinian militants and Israeli aircraft struck the Gaza Strip after a suicide bomber killed five Israelis.
The bombing in the coastal city of Hadera dealt a serious blow to an eight-month-old truce and international hopes for a revival of peacemaking after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month.
Sharon said there could be no advance toward peace for now because of the "absolute failure of the Palestinian Authority in the fight against terrorism" as he promised to launch a major military operation.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352418
Pacific leaders agree to regional plan
28.10.05
By Maggie Tait
Prime Minister Helen Clark said yesterday she is pleased Pacific leaders have agreed to a regional plan she promoted to improve co-operation between small nations.
"A Pacific Plan has been adopted in its entirety and the leaders see that as a good path ahead," she told reporters after returning to Port Moresby following the Pacific Forum retreat on an island.
She also announced a raft of funding pledges from helping to combat Aids through to improving justice systems.
Topics raised at the forum included Aids, preparing for bird flu, immigration and trade deals.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352379
$12m to fight Aids in Islands
28.10.05
By Angela Gregory
Prime Minister Helen Clark has pledged $12 million towards fighting the spread of HIV/Aids in the Pacific region, as a conference in Auckland called for strong political leadership on the issue.
Clark made the announcement yesterday at the annual Pacific Forum meeting of the region's leaders in Papua New Guinea.
The $12 million package of support over the next three years will be targeted towards the Pacific regional HIV/Aids strategy and other initiatives.
In Auckland the Pacific Forum's social policy adviser Dr Helen Tavola told a conference that political leaders had been warned in 2002 they needed to show real leadership on the HIV/Aids issue because of the high potential risks to the region.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352378
Annan says quake shows need for global fund
27.10.05 1.00pm
GENEVA - Pakistan's scramble for earthquake aid shows the need for a permanent global fund to rush relief to disaster sites at a moment's notice, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
The Global Emergency Fund, already approved by world leaders at a UN summit in mid-September, will go before the 191-member General Assembly for final ratification in mid-November. The UN expects it to be operational by early 2006.
Annan, in Geneva to lead a fund-raising drive for victims of the Pakistan quake, said the way the international community still raised money for disaster relief -- always after the fact -- led to critical delays that cost lives and left some hotspots overlooked.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352270
Girl dies in China bird flu village, paper says
27.10.05 4.00pm
HONG KONG - A 12-year-old girl died after suffering flu-like symptoms in a village in central China where the mainland's third outbreak of bird flu in a week has been confirmed, the South China Morning Post said on Thursday.
He Yin and her 10-year-old brother fell ill about a week ago after eating a sick chicken that had died, the Hong Kong-based Post said, quoting their father, He Tieguang.
"We had dead chickens before and nobody has ever got sick because of that. So I thought it's okay," her father was quoted as saying.
So far there was no evidence linking her death to the outbreak of bird flu in the village in Hunan province and none of the adults in her family had shown any flu symptoms, the paper said. Doctors told her family she had died from fever.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352286
Global officials to meet on bird flu fund
27.10.05 2.20pm
By Lesley Wroughton
WASHINGTON - Officials from all over the globe will meet in Geneva in early November to discuss setting up a global fund to tackle the threat of the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus, a senior World Bank official said.
Jim Adams, the World Bank's vice president for operations policy and country services, said the meeting -- on November 7 to November 9 -- would try to co-ordinate a global response to the H5N1 strain and identify shortcomings in veterinary and health systems.
"The intention is then to be prepared to go out more aggressively to raise some money to deal with those gaps," Adams said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352276
Altruism lacking in chimpanzees
28.10.05
LONDON - Chimpanzees share many traits with humans but altruism, it seems, is not one of them.
Although chimps live in social groups and co-operate and hunt together, when it comes to helping non-related group members, they don't put up with any monkey business.
When given the opportunity to help themselves and other chimps they often choose the selfish option.
"This is the first experiment to show that chimps don't share the same concern for the welfare of others as do humans, who routinely donate blood ... volunteer for military duty and perform other acts that benefit perfect strangers," said Joan Silk, an anthropologist at UCLA in the United States.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352318
Breathalyser may catch bombers
28.10.05
United States scientists have developed a breathalyser based on drink-drive devices that can catch would-be bombers.
The minute chemical traces were exhaled by anyone who handled explosive material.
The new portable device can detect traces of explosive including TNT, dynamite and C-4 in the breath. Inventor Michael Phillips, from Menssana Research in New Jersey, told New Scientist it was originally intended for medical diagnosis and used to detect lung cancer.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352320
Smoking pot not a major cancer risk
27.10.05 3.20pm
NEW YORK - Although both marijuana and tobacco smoke are packed with cancer-causing chemicals, other qualities of marijuana seem to keep it from promoting lung cancer, according to a new report.
The difference rests in the often opposing actions of the nicotine in tobacco and the active ingredient, THC, in marijuana, says Dr Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
He reviewed the scientific evidence supporting this contention in a recent issue of Harm Reduction Journal.
Whereas nicotine has several effects that promote lung and other types of cancer, THC acts in ways that counter the cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke, Melamede explained in an interview with Reuters Health.
"THC turns down the carcinogenic potential," he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352266
Nelson Mandela reborn as a comic book hero
28.10.05
By Karla Adam
Nelson Mandela may not spin webs like Spiderman or dodge bullets like Batman but, for most South Africans, he is far more of a hero.
Now, his struggle against white domination is the subject of a series of comic books designed to re-awaken young South Africans to the history of their black population.
When Nic Buchanan decided to tell the tale of his country's most famous hero, he decided to enlist the help of young animators.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352402
US team stand by scrapper
28.10.05
By Jarrod Booker
Cycling star Hayden Roulston may be penalised but will get another chance with the world's top professional team after his third conviction for fighting in two years.
Roulston, 24, feared he may be dropped from the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team in the United States after he was convicted of disorderly behaviour for throwing punches in a brawl outside a Timaru bar 12 days ago.
The Discovery Channel team, featuring world cycling supremo Lance Armstrong, had warned Roulston not to get into trouble again after he punched two people while out celebrating his inclusion in the New Zealand Olympic team last year, according to his lawyer Jared Bell.
In the Ashburton District Court this week, Mr Bell said Roulston believed the latest conviction would "almost certainly spell the end of his involvement with that team".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10352312
Privates on parade for Prince Harry
28.10.05
LONDON - Britain's Prince Harry was forced to drop his trousers during a military parade to prove he did not have his girlfriend's name tattooed on his royal rear, a British newspaper has reported.
The 21-year-old son of Prince Charles is halfway through his British Army officer training course at the elite Sandhurst academy.
The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling daily, said Harry, third in line to the throne, was ordered to bare his bum after rumours spread he'd had blonde, Zimbawean-born girlfriend Chelsy Davy's name inked on.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352416
continued ...
Oz good as it gets
October 27, 2005
BY DOUG PADILLA Staff Reporter
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HOUSTON -- The White Sox will bring a championship back to 35th Street for the first time in 88 years, and this one will be a worldly affair.
The four-game World Series sweep was not just toasted on the South Side, it was celebrated in Tokyo, Caracas and Havana. There was reason for hugs and handshakes in the Dominican Republic, home to five Sox players. Even the Netherlands can feel good about this one because trainer Herm Schneider was born there and is a veteran of 26 previous seasons, all void of titles.
Venezuela's Freddy Garcia reached down and showed just why he's considered a big-game pitcher as he paced the 1-0 victory Wednesday over the Houston Astros with seven scoreless innings. His outing could've been dedicated to all the great Sox pitchers who never finished a season on top with the club.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/worldseries/cst-spt-sox27.html
A once-in-a-lifetime celebration
October 27, 2005
BY ANDREW HERRMANN AND CHRIS FUSCO Staff Reporters
Scott Podsednik described this year's White Sox as "25 guys pulling on the same rope.''
True enough -- but the speedy left fielder was a few million short on the count.
Fans, too, were pulling for the team, of course. And they were pulling for friends and family -- some who left this Earth without ever hearing the words World Champion and White Sox in the same breath.
They pulled for the buddies with whom they had their first beer (a Falstaff?) at Comiskey Park, or the date they split the churro with, or maybe the Old Man who taught them that a double play is 6-4-3 on the scorecard.
But they were also pulling for themselves.
Sports divert us from the routines of life -- the drudgeries of the 49th floor cubicle of the Sears Tower and the miseries of navigating the Ike. A double off the wall offers a coherence and clarity in a complicated 1040-form world.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/worldseries/cst-nws-soxwin27.html
'We haven't experienced this in forever'
October 27, 2005
BY SHAMUS TOOMEY, CHRIS FUSCO, CHERYL L. REED AND SCOTT FORNEK Staff Reporters
White Sox fans never stopped believin,' and Wednesday night it was time to kick back and hold on to the feelin.'
"Thank God," said Danny Humanicki, 37, of Franklin Park, as he cried tears of joy outside a bar near Cellular Field. "You always dream about it ... and when it happens, you feel like a baby."
It's a feelin' Chicago hasn't felt for 88 years -- two World Wars and 15 presidents ago. It's been so long since a Chicago team won the World Series that the last time around the mayor was a Republican.
And with the Sox winning their fourth game against Houston, Chicagoans from the South Side to the North Side were ready to party like it was 1917.
"In Chicago, we haven't experienced this in forever," said Kirk Vucsko, a 44-year-old salesman from Evergreen Park.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/worldseries/cst-nws-fanwin27.html
Long wait makes sweep in Series that much sweeter
October 27, 2005
The tension might have been more than any of us wanted to endure, and the thought of the White Sox losing any World Series games is unacceptable. But now that's it's over and the good guys won -- did they ever! -- wouldn't you have liked the fall classic to last longer? Didn't you want to bask in this stupendous season for a few more days? For long-suffering Sox fans, this was nirvana. For Chicagoans who have waited you know how long for this, it was manna from heaven and everything else good from above.
When all is said and done, who knows how the experts will rank the 2005 Chicago White Sox. Before last night's nail-biting defeat of the Houston Astros, a decent bunch you have to feel a bit sorry for, an ESPN analyst was heard comparing the South Siders to the best of the recent New York Yankees teams. But the Sox could well be Rodney Dangerfielded by posterity, lacking as they did any marquee superstars or flashy 20-game-winning studs and drawing such negligible Nielsen ratings.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/commentary/cst-edt-edits27.html
15th Daley cabinet member leaves
October 27, 2005
BY FRAN SPIELMAN City Hall Reporter
Mayor Daley's revolving door took another turn Wednesday -- this time carrying $149,364-a-year Aviation Commissioner John Roberson, whose name turned up on a list of cooperating witnesses in the federal investigation of City Hall corruption.
Roberson becomes the 15th Daley cabinet member to leave or be shown the door in recent months in a housecleaning triggered by the Hired Truck, city hiring and minority contracting scandals.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-hare27.html
Foie gras proponent's restaurant vandalized
October 27, 2005
BY JANET RAUSA FULLER Staff Reporter
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A day after speaking out against the city's proposed ban on foie gras, chef Didier Durand arrived at his River North bistro Wednesday to an unwelcome sight: a shattered window splattered with a liquid resembling blood and busted-up flower boxes strewn on the sidewalk.
Police say Cyrano's Bistrot and Wine Bar at 546 N. Wells was vandalized between 11 p.m. Tuesday and 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.
Durand, who had spoken at a City Council committee meeting Tuesday about the proposed ban, suspects animal rights activists are behind the damage. The Health Committee voted in favor of the ban.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-foiegras27.html
Chicago Tribune
http://www.chicagotribune.com/
Sox on top of the world
By Mark Gonzales
Tribune staff reporter
Published October 27, 2005, 12:47 AM CDT
HOUSTON -- The White Sox completed their incredible conquest Wednesday night, eliminating the final demons that haunted the franchise since their last World Series title in 1917.
They completed their stunning run in a manner that mirrored their amazingly successful season, riding the pitching of Freddy Garcia and the bullpen to a 1-0 victory over Houston and completing a four-game sweep of the 2005 World Series.
"In sports, I haven't had a greater feeling," said general manager Ken Williams, whose transformation of a franchise to an emphasis on pitching and defense was rewarded greatly in the final game.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/baseball/whitesox/cs-051026soxgamer,1,6398672.story?coll=chi-news-hed&ctrack=1&cset=true
Philly.com
Newsmakers Janet sets it straight: 'I do not have a child'
By Annette John-Hall
Inquirer Staff Writer
Janet Jackson says she is not a mother. In a terse statement released yesterday, the 39-year-old singer denied a former brother-in-law's claim that she has a "secret" 18-year-old daughter with singer James DeBarge.
"I do not have a child and all allegations saying so are false," Jackson said in a statement released to the syndicated Access Hollywood TV show.
Since Friday, when Young DeBarge, Jackson's former brother-in-law, made the charge on New York's WQHT-FM ("Hot 97") radio, everybody's been buzzing about what was for many years repeated as an urban legend.
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/13005851.htm
The Philadelphia Inquirer
Holocaust land claim prevails in Germany
By Troy Graham
Inquirer Staff Writer
The highest court in Germany on Tuesday upheld the claim of a South Jersey great-grandmother to a valuable parcel of real estate plundered nearly 70 years ago by the Nazis.
Barbara Principe of Newfield, Gloucester County, and other heirs to the Wertheim department store fortune should start seeing the first of their compensation by early next year, Matthias Druba, the family's Berlin lawyer, said in a telephone interview yesterday.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005924.htm
Gene mapping gets even more detailed
Scientists say they have isolated a million points that vary among people. The work could fine-tune disease treatments.
By Faye Flam
Inquirer Staff Writer
We are all 99.9 percent genetically identical, but scientists are rapidly mapping out that critical 0.1 percent that makes us different. Yesterday an international consortium announced it had isolated a million spots on the human genome that tend to vary from person to person - the first phase of a project called HapMap.
The project promises to predict who is more likely to suffer from common ailments such as diabetes, arthritis, heart disease and some cancers. Eventually, the knowledge gained from HapMap could lead to new therapies that better target the root causes of these illnesses.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005927.htm
Serving his country and gays
An Overbrook native agitates for acceptance.
By Alfred Lubrano
Inquirer Staff Writer
In Baghdad, they know him by the code name "Princess Leia."
As an agent for the State Department's diplomatic security service, Overbrook's own T.J. Lunardi is a gay patriot trained to crack a man's bones with his tapered fingers.
Most recently charged with protecting U.S. embassy officials in Iraq, Lunardi, 28, is home now, awaiting reassignment to Berlin. Sporting tattoos that say "queer" and "eternal hostility," Lunardi is an inside agitator, a guy pledged to flag and country but determined to effect change within the U.S. government for the gay cause.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005848.htm
The dogged prosecutor roiling D.C.
Friends and foes call leak probe vintage Fitzgerald.
By Shannon McCaffrey
Inquirer Washington Bureau
WASHINGTON - While an undergraduate at Amherst College, Patrick Fitzgerald spent his summers as a doorman at luxury apartment buildings on Manhattan's Upper East Side.
He wasn't always treated well by the elite who lived there, and it made an impression on the future prosecutor. Fitzgerald isn't in awe of the rich and the powerful, friends say.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005925.htm
Palestinian bomber kills five Israelis
The man blew himself up at a crowded market. Islamic Jihad said it was an act of vengeance.
By Aron Heller
Associated Press
HADERA, Israel - The bloodied body of a man in his 50s lay on the ground among scattered fruits and mangled metal shards. High above the open-air market, a section of a falafel stand's metal roof hung from a eucalyptus tree.
It was the deadliest attack in Israel in more than three months and had an immediate effect on the rapidly eroding relations between Israel and the Palestinian Authority.
A 20-year-old Palestinian blacksmith blew himself up at the falafel stand in the central Israeli town of Hadera yesterday, killing five Israelis, wounding more than 30, and destroying a section of the open-air market.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005928.htm
Editorial Counting Votes and Bodies The promise and peril of Iraq
Two milestones occurred Tuesday in Iraq. The Independent Electoral Commission announced, after investigating fraud accusations, that voters in last week's referendum narrowly adopted a constitution. Also on Tuesday, the number of U.S. military deaths since the 2003 invasion of Iraq reached 2,000. One estimate places the number of Iraqis killed during that period at 30,000.
Merriam-Webster's Collegiate Dictionary defines milestone as "a significant point in development." Both the referendum and the body count were important points, to be sure. But the Bush administration needs to be careful about how it characterizes the significance of each.
The sharpest significance rests in the coffins of American soldiers who have died in the campaign to oust Saddam and secure Iraq.
With each explosion that shakes that nation and claims lives, U.S. public sentiment darkens toward our military presence there and President Bush's leadership of it.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/13005940.htm
Fla. is washing its hands of the poor
Froma Harrop
is a columnist for the Providence Journal
Let's get something straight right now. Few government programs are "unsustainable." A program is sustainable if government chooses to sustain it. Governments keep programs afloat by giving them money.
So when Florida Gov. Jeb Bush says his state's Medicaid program is "unsustainable," what he really means is that he doesn't want to find the money to cover its growing costs.
Bush has a radical plan to curb medical benefits for low-income Floridians - but it was not forced on him by matters beyond his control.
Florida does not tax its rich people. Governing magazine ranks it near bottom nationally for adequacy of revenues and tax fairness. Florida's long coastline is virtually paved in gold, yet the state has no personal income tax. More than 76 percent of its revenues come from sales taxes, which hit lower-income people hardest.
There was a proposal to make Florida's sales taxes less regressive. It would have applied a sales tax to the fees charged by lawyers, accountants and other advisers to the upper crust. Jeb Bush opposed it.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/editorial/13005942.htm
Light rail's success defies the doubters
By Donald Nigro
The NJ Transit Camden-Trenton River Line, up and running for about a year and a half, continues to increase in popularity. Ridership is up 29 percent from last year, with more than 6,000 passengers a day. This is helped in no small part by the line's low fares and the region's ever-increasing gasoline prices.
Unsupported fears of the River Line during the 1990s have proved wrong: It is clear that trains are not running over children, tying up traffic, or providing transportation for burglars.
The line, however, is spurring the revitalization of communities, increasing property values, and combating automobile congestion. This is no surprise for those aware of the capabilities of passenger rail service.
The planning of the River Line does have a dubious history. Before its conception, much consideration and study was given to rail lines running from Philadelphia to Glassboro and Mount Holly. These lines would have been much more heavily used than the River Line. Ridership was projected at 20,220 for a Glassboro line and 18,910 for a line to Mount Holly.
http://www.philly.com/mld/inquirer/news/opinion/local1/13007746.htm
Sydney Morning Herald
Eye on the Diva
October 27, 2005 - 1:42PM
Trainer Lee Freedman said there was still no decision on whether Makybe Diva would run in Tuesday's Melbourne Cup despite her pleasing work-out this morning.
Glen Boss rode the mare at Freedman's Mornington Peninsula property, and told waiting reporters he was happy with her work.
However, Freedman told radio station Sport 927 that people were getting ahead of themselves and that he would use every bit of time to make sure the mare was right.
He said he would take things day by day and, if she was to run in the Cup, factors such as the weather would come into consideration.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/horseracing/eye-on-the-diva/2005/10/27/1130382512026.html
Bring on the Diva, says Weld
By Craig Young
October 27, 2005
Two-time Melbourne Cup-winning Irish trainer Dermot Weld believes Makybe Diva should run in next Tuesday's big race. Brian Mayfield-Smith, who ended legendary trainer Tommy Smith's 33-year reign as premier trainer in Sydney, does not.
Weld was the first non-Australasian trainer to snare the Melbourne Cup when the great Vintage Crop took it back to Ireland in 1993. Nine years later Weld returned and won it with Media Puzzle.
This time Weld is hoping Vinnie Roe can go one better than last year when the stallion repelled all but Makybe Diva, which made it successive Melbourne Cups.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/horseracing/bring-on-the-diva-says-weld/2005/10/26/1130302841633.html
Hanging plea: no exceptions, says Singapore
October 27, 2005 - 1:53PM
Singapore's top envoy says a bid for clemency by an Australian man on death row had been given fair hearing and the Government could not make an exception.
Former Melbourne salesman, Nguyen Tuong Van, 25, was caught with 396 grams of heroin strapped to his body and in his hand luggage at Singapore's Changi airport in 2002.
He is expected to be executed in the next four to six weeks.
Joseph Koh, Singapore's high commissioner to Australia, said today Nguyen's plea for clemency had been dealt with fairly.
"He was given a fair hearing throughout the legal process and his appeal for clemency was carefully considered," Mr Koh said in a statement.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/national/hanging-plea-no-exceptions-says-singapore/2005/10/27/1130382512377.html
Bird flu aid to be tackled in Geneva summit
October 27, 2005 - 11:20AM
Officials from all over the world will meet in Geneva in early November to discuss setting up a global fund to tackle the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus, a senior World Bank official said.
Jim Adams, the World Bank's chief for operations policy and country services, said the meeting - on November 7 to November 9 - would try to coordinate a global response to the H5N1 strain and identify shortcomings in veterinary and health systems.
"The intention is then to be prepared to go out more aggressively to raise some money to deal with those gaps," Adams told Reuters.
He said the trust fund would require initial donations of between $US300 million ($394.17 million) to $US500 million ($656.94 million) to help countries set up programs to deal with the risk of a pandemic of bird flu, which experts fear could eventually mutate enough to become transmissible among humans.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/bird-flu-aid-to-be-tackled-in-geneva-summit/2005/10/27/1130367986201.html
Microsoft chief promises tough battle against Google
October 27, 2005 - 2:58PM
Microsoft chief Bill Gates has promised an aggressive push into the fast-growing market for internet searches in the coming years, taking aim at archrival Google despite recent setbacks for the world's No. 1 software giant.
Making his first trip to Israel on Wednesday, Gates also said the vibrant local high-tech sector would play an important role in the global marketplace and pledged to strengthen co-operation with the country.
He offered $US1.4 million ($1.8 million), a relatively small sum, for local start-ups and pledged to connect tens of thousands of Israeli children to the internet.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/technology/microsoft-chief-promises-tough-battle-against-google/2005/10/27/1130382515508.html
Google gunning for eBay, Craigslist?
Wednesday, October 26, 2005 - 12:47 PM
While we were all hyperventilating over the Australian launch of iTunes (self included), something potentially much more profound was being primed for launch by the guys at Google.
In a nutshell, Google looks like it's preparing the world for a new service which allows people to upload various types of content and then make it searchable.
Called Google Base (as in database), the service made a brief appearance at http://base.google.com/ before disappearing.
But that was long enough for Google watchers to grab screen shots of the site and launch a flurry of speculative posts about the purpose and impact of the new offering.
Google confirmed the service in an email to the SearchEngineWatch blog:
http://blogs.smh.com.au/newsblog/archives//002796.html
School orders students to remove blogs
Newark, New Jersey
October 27, 2005 - 10:45AM
A Roman Catholic high school has ordered its students to remove their online diaries from the internet, citing a threat from cyberpredators.
Students at Pope John XXIII Regional High School in Sparta appear to be heeding a directive from the principal, the Reverend Kieran McHugh.
McHugh told them in an assembly earlier this month to remove any personal journals they might have or risk suspension. Websites popular with teens include myspace.com and xanga.com.
Officials with the Diocese of Paterson say the directive is a matter of safety, not censorship. No one had been disciplined yet, diocesan spokeswoman Marianna Thompson said
http://www.smh.com.au/news/breaking/school-orders-students-to-remove-blogs/2005/10/27/1130367980065.html
Bush under a spell: cabal, cabal less toil but trouble, systems burn and dissent bubbles
October 27, 2005
Disaster is the result when a select few make decisions for the President, writes Lawrence B. Wilkerson.
IN PRESIDENT George Bush's first term, some of the most important decisions about US national security - including vital decisions about postwar Iraq - were made by a secretive, little-known cabal. It was made up of a very small group of people led by the Vice-President, Dick Cheney, and the Defence Secretary, Donald Rumsfeld.
But I believe the decisions of this cabal were sometimes made with the full and witting support of the President, and sometimes with something less. More often than not, the then national security adviser Condoleezza Rice was simply steamrolled by this cabal.
Its insular and secret workings were efficient and swift - not unlike the decision-making one would associate with a dictatorship. This furtive process was camouflaged neatly by the dysfunction and inefficiency of the formal decision-making process, where decisions, if they were reached at all, had to wend their way through the bureaucracy with its dissenters, obstructionists and "guardians of the turf".
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/bush-under-a-spell-cabal-cabal-less-toil-but-trouble-systemsburn-and-dissent-bubbles/2005/10/26/1130302836884.html
Climbing the stairway to basic social norms
October 27, 2005
After decades of failed welfare policies, the tide has turned for Aborigines, Miranda Devine.
FOR some well-meaning white people, the solution to entrenched Aboriginal deprivation is more taxpayer money and some vague concept of "reconciliation" for which they will walk over the Sydney Harbour Bridge at least once.
But after 30 years of failed socialist welfare policies, the tide has turned. Aboriginal leaders, most notably Noel Pearson, are preaching heresy to those progressives who have laid claim to being Aborigines' greatest champions. They are talking about concepts of mutual obligation, smashing welfare dependency, encouraging mobility of young people, land reform and, most controversially, about rebuilding moral capital in their broken-down communities.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/climbing-the-stairway-to-basic-social-norms/2005/10/26/1130302836875.html
Iraq - milestones and millstones
October 27, 2005
Iraq has just passed three historic markers on its perilous journey to an uncertain future - the opening of the trial of Saddam Hussein, the positive result of its constitutional referendum and the death of the 2000th American soldier since the war began in March 2003. The grim statistical reminder of the price in blood the US is paying for the ill-conceived invasion and continuing occupation of Iraq comes at a bad time for George Bush. The US President is under fire over several domestic scandals and blunders - his inadequate response to the New Orleans hurricane disaster, his controversial nomination of Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court, and an investigation into the "outing" of a former CIA agent which could destroy senior administration officials. Now the symbolic impact of the 2000th US fatality in an increasingly unpopular war - combined with the latest suicide bombings in Baghdad - could further undermine his sagging approval ratings.
Understandably, Mr Bush seized on the constitutional referendum result as a hopeful development on the credit side of the Iraqi ledger. Fair enough, too. In a ravaged country whose streets are among the most dangerous on Earth, a voter turnout of 63 per cent is remarkable. So is the fact that so many voters were from the alienated Sunni minority, most of whom boycotted last January's elections. Washington, London and the Iraqi interim government can claim that the overall 79-21 per cent vote for the constitution was an overwhelming endorsement.
http://www.smh.com.au/editorial/index.html
The Australian
Sit-down cash stops flowing
Patricia Karvelas
October 27, 2005
THE era of "sit-down" money for Aborigines in remote communities has ended, with Centrelink officers telling indigenous people those who do not work will lose their handouts.
Eight communities have been told in the past month they have to change or face the same penalties as the rest of the community: loss of dole payments.
Until now, about 8000 indigenous people have been exempt from mutual obligation programs because they live in areas where there is no locally accessible labour market program or education and training facilities.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17049192%255E601,00.html
Howard fights regional racism charge
By Lawrence Bartlett
October 27, 2005
PRIME Minister John Howard today fended off suggestions of racism as a row over work visas for impoverished Pacific islanders ended a 16-nation summit on a sour note.
Told at a news conference that Papua New Guinea's Foreign Minister Rabbie Namaliu had accused Australia of having one law for Europeans and Americans and another for Pacific islanders, Mr Howard hit back.
"He misunderstands the crucial difference between backpackers coming to Australia and the sort of thing he wants.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17053887%255E1702,00.html
Qantas asked to bring Aussies home if bird flu strikes
Adam Cresswell and Katharine Murphy
October 27, 2005
AUSTRALIANS stranded in countries affected by bird flu will be flown home on specially commissioned Qantas flights if a global pandemic breaks out, under a deal being negotiated by the Howard Government.
Amid rising international concern at the possibility bird flu might jump to humans, Health Minister Tony Abbott yesterday provided new details of Australia's plan to tackle an outbreak.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17049189%255E601,00.html
Australia may help out with vaccine
Katharine Murphy and Dennis Shanahan
October 27, 2005
AUSTRALIA could consider giving up some of its stockpile of anti-viral drugs to neighbours at risk of a major bird flu outbreak.
Senior pandemic and disaster management co-ordinators from across APEC's 21 member economies will gather in Brisbane next Monday and Tuesday to test the region's preparedness for managing an avian flu pandemic.
A senior government official said yesterday the issue of Australia making some of its drug stockpile available to other economies was likely to be discussed at next week's meeting.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17048922%255E601,00.html
Tony Abbott: Back of the flu queue
October 27, 2005
OVER the past few weeks, as awareness of the possibility of a very severe pandemic has finally seeped into Australians' collective consciousness, complacency has given way to intense media interest and some public alarm.
Six months ago, the challenge was to alert people to a frightening possibility. Now, the challenge is to reassure them that a severe pandemic remains just a possibility, not a certainty, nor even a probability in the next few years, and that health authorities are doing everything they reasonably can to guard against the risk. Then, the public needed to know that infectious disease had not entirely lost its capacity to kill. Now, what's needed is a sense of proportion, even for worst-case scenarios.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17044556%255E7583,00.html
Sharon vows new offensive
By Matthew Tostevin in Jerusalem
October 27, 2005
ISRAELI Prime Minister Ariel Sharon vowed an open-ended offensive against Palestinian militants and Israeli aircraft struck the Gaza Strip on Thursday after a suicide bomber killed five Israelis.
The bombing on Wednesday in the coastal city of Hadera dealt a serious blow to an eight-month-old truce and international hopes for a revival of peacemaking after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month.
Mr Sharon said there could be no advance towards peace for now because of the "absolute failure of the Palestinian Authority in the fight against terrorism" as he promised to launch a major military operation.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17057220%255E1702,00.html
Wipe out Israel: Iran hardliner
October 27, 2005
TEHRAN: Iran's hardline President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad called yesterday for Israel to be "wiped off the map".
"The establishment of the Zionist regime was a move by the world oppressor against the Islamic world," Mr Ahmadinejad told a conference in Tehran titled The World without Zionism.
"The skirmishes in the occupied land are part of a war of destiny," he said.
"The outcome of hundreds of years of war will be defined in Palestinian land.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17048254%255E601,00.html
Iran leader's words 'sickening'
October 27, 2005
EUROPEAN leaders have condemned statements by the Iranian President calling for Israel to be destroyed.
Speaking in the Iranian capital Tehran, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Israel should be "wiped off the map", the official IRNA news agency reported.
Support for the Palestinian cause is a central pillar of the Islamic Republic which officially refuses to recognise Israel's right to exist.
"Israel must be wiped off the map," Ahmadinejad told a conference called "The World without Zionism", attended by some 3,000 conservative students who chanted "Death to Israel" and "Death to America".
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17051351%255E601,00.html
Iran 'lets al-Qaeda roam free'
From correspondents in Berlin
October 27, 2005
IRAN is permitting around 25 high-ranking al-Qaeda members to roam free in the country's capital, including three sons of Osama bin Laden, a German monthly magazine reports.
Citing information from unnamed Western intelligence sources, the magazine Cicero said in a preview of an article appearing in its November edition that the individuals in question are from Egypt, Uzbekistan, Saudi Arabia and Europe.
They are living in houses belonging to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, the report said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17050611%255E601,00.html
Afghanistan bomb attack kills policeman
From correspondents in Kandahar
October 27, 2005
A BOMB fixed to a bicycle exploded in Afghanistan's volatile southern city of Kandahar on Thursday, killing a policeman and wounding two civilians, police said.
The explosives were detonated by remote-control as a police vehicle drove past, a police officer named only Amanullah said at the site of the blast in central Kandahar.
"One policeman was killed and two passers-by were wounded in the explosion, detonated remotely by the enemies of Afghanistan," the officer said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17056398%255E1702,00.html
1 killed, 8 wounded in Iraq blast
From correspondents in Baghdad
October 27, 2005
AN Iraqi was killed and eight others wounded early today by a suicide car bomb in central Iraq, security and hospital sources said.
"A suicide car bomb exploded as a US patrol passed by in Karrada, killing a civilian and wounding several others," an interior ministry source said.
The Ibn Nafiss hospital received eight wounded following the blast, a medical source said.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17053155%255E1702,00.html
7 killed in Thai raids
From correspondents in Bangkok
October 27, 2005
FIVE villagers and two militants were killed overnight in Muslim southern Thailand when insurgents launched about 50 raids on remote villages in the restive region.
The Thai army said most of the attacks targeted members of civilian guards created by the government to provide emergency security against militants. "The attacks came at around 7pm to 8pm while all the men were praying at mosques. They left shotguns with their families at home," Colonel Acra Tiprote of the southern Army command said.
"We are hunting for the suspects with lots of help from villagers, both Buddhists and Muslims."
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17053156%255E1702,00.html
Clinton urges solar power in Oz
October 27, 2005
FORMER US president Bill Clinton has urged Australia to make more use of solar energy to reduce greenhouse gases and global warming.
"Australia could generate enormous amounts of power from solar energy," Clinton said from the US in a video interview with former NSW premier Bob Carr at a Sydney leadership conference.
"Once you pay for the initial installations, it's essentially free."
The former president said he installed solar panels on the Clinton Library in the US which he said would pay for themselves inside two years.
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,17051715%255E1702,00.html
New Zealand Herald
Asian drug gangs use students as mules
28.10.05
By Helen Tunnah
Students from China are being used by organised crime to bring drugs into New Zealand, with an estimated $90 million of methamphetamine ingredients seized at borders in the last financial year.
And Customs says the booming number of seizures involving the ingredients is straining resources.
Of the 525 individual seizures of ingredients or precursors, such as pseudoephedrine tablets, made in 2004-2005, 98 per cent originated in China.
About 80 per cent of the people involved were short-stay students.
Customs' manager of drug investigations, Simon Williamson, said the involvement of a small number of students impacted on the reputation of the mainly law-abiding students coming here from China.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10352417
Bollard tightens screws by boosting interest rate
28.10.05
By Brian Fallow
Reserve Bank chief Alan Bollard yesterday followed through on his threat to raise interest rates in a bid to cool a "relentless" housing market.
He raised the official cash rate from 6.75 to 7 per cent and warned that further tightening of the screws could be ruled out only when he saw "a noticeable moderation in housing and consumer spending".
The money markets now rate as better than 50:50 the odds of a further rise on December 8.
Banks last night were holding floating mortgage rates steady but any move will push them beyond 9 per cent.
The official cash rate is the highest among developed countries, which helps to keep the NZ dollar high, hurting the export sector as well as pushing up the cost of business overdrafts.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=3&ObjectID=10352420
21 million Americans have diabetes
28.10.05 5.20am
Nearly 21 million Americans have diabetes, most of them the type-2 variety associated with poor diet, too little exercise and being overweight, the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention reported on Wednesday.
This represents about 7 per cent of the population - and more than 6 million of these people do not know they have the condition, the CDC said.
"Another 41 million people are estimated to have pre-diabetes, a condition that increases the risk of developing type 2 diabetes - the most common form of the disease - as well as heart disease and stroke," the CDC said in a statement.
Diabetes is a lack of control of glucose, or blood sugar. Type-1 diabetes, or juvenile diabetes, is an autoimmune condition in which the body mistakenly destroys the pancreatic cells that make insulin. It affects an estimated 2 million Americans.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352405
102-year-old scares off home intruder
28.10.05 4.00am
A 102-year-old man startled an intruder at his North Shore home when he reached for his Zimmer frame next to his bed, police said.
The man was woken by the intruder while in bed. The intruder bolted.
The break-in was on Saturday, October 15.
Police say the man is now seriously ill in hospital, but his condition is not related to the incident.
Tools
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10352403
Israel and New Zealand friends again
28.10.05 5.00am
Israel and New Zealand have formally drawn a line under a thorny diplomatic standoff, with New Zealand ambassador Jan Henderson presenting her credentials to Israel's top diplomat in Jerusalem.
"This is a return to normalisation of relations," Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom said.
The ceremony came four months after the two countries restored diplomatic relations frozen by Wellington as part of the fallout over the conviction of two alleged Israeli spies for fraudulently trying to obtain New Zealand passports.
Tools
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&ObjectID=10352395
Sharon vows broad offensive after bombing
28.10.05
JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon has vowed an open-ended offensive against Palestinian militants and Israeli aircraft struck the Gaza Strip after a suicide bomber killed five Israelis.
The bombing in the coastal city of Hadera dealt a serious blow to an eight-month-old truce and international hopes for a revival of peacemaking after Israel's withdrawal from the Gaza Strip last month.
Sharon said there could be no advance toward peace for now because of the "absolute failure of the Palestinian Authority in the fight against terrorism" as he promised to launch a major military operation.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352418
Pacific leaders agree to regional plan
28.10.05
By Maggie Tait
Prime Minister Helen Clark said yesterday she is pleased Pacific leaders have agreed to a regional plan she promoted to improve co-operation between small nations.
"A Pacific Plan has been adopted in its entirety and the leaders see that as a good path ahead," she told reporters after returning to Port Moresby following the Pacific Forum retreat on an island.
She also announced a raft of funding pledges from helping to combat Aids through to improving justice systems.
Topics raised at the forum included Aids, preparing for bird flu, immigration and trade deals.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352379
$12m to fight Aids in Islands
28.10.05
By Angela Gregory
Prime Minister Helen Clark has pledged $12 million towards fighting the spread of HIV/Aids in the Pacific region, as a conference in Auckland called for strong political leadership on the issue.
Clark made the announcement yesterday at the annual Pacific Forum meeting of the region's leaders in Papua New Guinea.
The $12 million package of support over the next three years will be targeted towards the Pacific regional HIV/Aids strategy and other initiatives.
In Auckland the Pacific Forum's social policy adviser Dr Helen Tavola told a conference that political leaders had been warned in 2002 they needed to show real leadership on the HIV/Aids issue because of the high potential risks to the region.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352378
Annan says quake shows need for global fund
27.10.05 1.00pm
GENEVA - Pakistan's scramble for earthquake aid shows the need for a permanent global fund to rush relief to disaster sites at a moment's notice, UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan said today.
The Global Emergency Fund, already approved by world leaders at a UN summit in mid-September, will go before the 191-member General Assembly for final ratification in mid-November. The UN expects it to be operational by early 2006.
Annan, in Geneva to lead a fund-raising drive for victims of the Pakistan quake, said the way the international community still raised money for disaster relief -- always after the fact -- led to critical delays that cost lives and left some hotspots overlooked.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352270
Girl dies in China bird flu village, paper says
27.10.05 4.00pm
HONG KONG - A 12-year-old girl died after suffering flu-like symptoms in a village in central China where the mainland's third outbreak of bird flu in a week has been confirmed, the South China Morning Post said on Thursday.
He Yin and her 10-year-old brother fell ill about a week ago after eating a sick chicken that had died, the Hong Kong-based Post said, quoting their father, He Tieguang.
"We had dead chickens before and nobody has ever got sick because of that. So I thought it's okay," her father was quoted as saying.
So far there was no evidence linking her death to the outbreak of bird flu in the village in Hunan province and none of the adults in her family had shown any flu symptoms, the paper said. Doctors told her family she had died from fever.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352286
Global officials to meet on bird flu fund
27.10.05 2.20pm
By Lesley Wroughton
WASHINGTON - Officials from all over the globe will meet in Geneva in early November to discuss setting up a global fund to tackle the threat of the deadly H5N1 avian flu virus, a senior World Bank official said.
Jim Adams, the World Bank's vice president for operations policy and country services, said the meeting -- on November 7 to November 9 -- would try to co-ordinate a global response to the H5N1 strain and identify shortcomings in veterinary and health systems.
"The intention is then to be prepared to go out more aggressively to raise some money to deal with those gaps," Adams said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352276
Altruism lacking in chimpanzees
28.10.05
LONDON - Chimpanzees share many traits with humans but altruism, it seems, is not one of them.
Although chimps live in social groups and co-operate and hunt together, when it comes to helping non-related group members, they don't put up with any monkey business.
When given the opportunity to help themselves and other chimps they often choose the selfish option.
"This is the first experiment to show that chimps don't share the same concern for the welfare of others as do humans, who routinely donate blood ... volunteer for military duty and perform other acts that benefit perfect strangers," said Joan Silk, an anthropologist at UCLA in the United States.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352318
Breathalyser may catch bombers
28.10.05
United States scientists have developed a breathalyser based on drink-drive devices that can catch would-be bombers.
The minute chemical traces were exhaled by anyone who handled explosive material.
The new portable device can detect traces of explosive including TNT, dynamite and C-4 in the breath. Inventor Michael Phillips, from Menssana Research in New Jersey, told New Scientist it was originally intended for medical diagnosis and used to detect lung cancer.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352320
Smoking pot not a major cancer risk
27.10.05 3.20pm
NEW YORK - Although both marijuana and tobacco smoke are packed with cancer-causing chemicals, other qualities of marijuana seem to keep it from promoting lung cancer, according to a new report.
The difference rests in the often opposing actions of the nicotine in tobacco and the active ingredient, THC, in marijuana, says Dr Robert Melamede of the University of Colorado in Colorado Springs.
He reviewed the scientific evidence supporting this contention in a recent issue of Harm Reduction Journal.
Whereas nicotine has several effects that promote lung and other types of cancer, THC acts in ways that counter the cancer-causing chemicals in marijuana smoke, Melamede explained in an interview with Reuters Health.
"THC turns down the carcinogenic potential," he said.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352266
Nelson Mandela reborn as a comic book hero
28.10.05
By Karla Adam
Nelson Mandela may not spin webs like Spiderman or dodge bullets like Batman but, for most South Africans, he is far more of a hero.
Now, his struggle against white domination is the subject of a series of comic books designed to re-awaken young South Africans to the history of their black population.
When Nic Buchanan decided to tell the tale of his country's most famous hero, he decided to enlist the help of young animators.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352402
US team stand by scrapper
28.10.05
By Jarrod Booker
Cycling star Hayden Roulston may be penalised but will get another chance with the world's top professional team after his third conviction for fighting in two years.
Roulston, 24, feared he may be dropped from the Discovery Channel Pro Cycling Team in the United States after he was convicted of disorderly behaviour for throwing punches in a brawl outside a Timaru bar 12 days ago.
The Discovery Channel team, featuring world cycling supremo Lance Armstrong, had warned Roulston not to get into trouble again after he punched two people while out celebrating his inclusion in the New Zealand Olympic team last year, according to his lawyer Jared Bell.
In the Ashburton District Court this week, Mr Bell said Roulston believed the latest conviction would "almost certainly spell the end of his involvement with that team".
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=1&objectid=10352312
Privates on parade for Prince Harry
28.10.05
LONDON - Britain's Prince Harry was forced to drop his trousers during a military parade to prove he did not have his girlfriend's name tattooed on his royal rear, a British newspaper has reported.
The 21-year-old son of Prince Charles is halfway through his British Army officer training course at the elite Sandhurst academy.
The Sun, Britain's biggest-selling daily, said Harry, third in line to the throne, was ordered to bare his bum after rumours spread he'd had blonde, Zimbawean-born girlfriend Chelsy Davy's name inked on.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/section/story.cfm?c_id=2&ObjectID=10352416
continued ...
Morning Papers - concluding
Zoos
Johor Zoo greets birth of three lion cubs
BY OLIVIA LEE
JOHOR BARU: The Johor Zoo welcomed three new members to its growing family when an African lioness gave birth to three cubs on Tuesday morning.
Zoo manager Zakaria Razali said the cubs were healthy and made up African lions Tumba and Minah's third batch of cubs.
Tumba and Minah have been “residents” of the zoo since 2003.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/10/27/nation/12442632&sec=nation
Wellington Zoo Prepares for Huge Kids Party
Thursday, 27 October 2005, 11:51 am
Press Release: Wellington Zoo
Media Photo Opportunity
27 October 2005
Wellington Zoo Prepares for Huge Kids Party
Hundreds of children will be celebrating their youth at Wellington Zoo this Sunday 30 October as part of a national Children’s Day celebration, announced Wellington Zoo Events Co-ordinator, Marina Greco today.
Held annually, Children’s Day celebrations practise five key messages of giving time, praise and encouragement, listening and talking, love and affection and new experiences.
“Children’s Day is the biggest day of the year for Wellington Zoo and we’re going all out to give kids a fun time, lots of action and, at the same time, telling our conservation stories,” says Marina.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0510/S00185.htm
Ash Borer Invades Toledo Zoo
October 26, 2005 - Trees that provide important shade for animals are being cut down, because of the beetle infestation.
The emerald ash borer beetle has killed millions of trees in Michigan and Northwest Ohio. Now it's moved in on some of Toledo's most prized habitat. The Zoo's director of horticulture, Nancy Bucher, says the exotic beetles are causing a particularly challenging problem for them, because so many of the animals depend on the shade of the ash trees.
Using pesticides isn't an option, because the chemicals could harm the animals. The Zoo's already cut down two trees infested by the beetles, and the insects have been found on two others. If all 16 ash trees are affected, it could cost the Zoo up to $100,000 to cut them down and replace them with new shade trees.
"It may be next year when we start planting some replacements that we think are the most important. Then just seeing how the trees do for the next couple years," said Bucher.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=3574309
French trio tested for bird flu after Thai zoo trip
Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:38 PM ET
By Brian Rhoads
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said a fresh outbreak of bird flu was free of any human infections, but three people on a French island off Africa were being tested on Wednesday in what were thought to be the first suspected human cases outside Asia.
"These three people who all traveled to Thailand have visited a bird zoo where they had come into contact with birds," French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said of the tourists who were now back home on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion.
"Initial tests have been done there and these came out positive," he said, but fuller results would only be ready on Thursday. "For the moment, these are only suspected bird flu cases. Nothing is confirmed."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-10-26T213844Z_01_YUE450860_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-WRAP.xml&archived=False
Zoo turns bird park
Sulaiman Jaafar
KUALA KRAI, KELANTAN, Tues.
Residents here are disappointed with the State Government’s decision to shut down the town’s main landmark, the Kuala Krai Zoo, last June.
Since then, the zoo has undergone renovation and will open as a bird park in time for Hari Raya.
Guchil State Assemblyman Dr Shamsul Ikhwan Ashaari Azmi said the people were unhappy with the move as the zoo had been part of their lives since 1961.
It was then located behind the district court before moving to the present 6.8-hectare site, near the district hospital, in 1985.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/20051026081319/Article/indexb_html
Tiger cubs frolick for public at zoo
By FREDRICKA PAUL
The State News
The Potter Park Zoo, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. in Lansing, has three new Siberian tiger cubs. The cubs have been on view for the public for only a week. "They are playful for short periods of time, but they sleep a lot," said Jan Brigham, a zookeeper at Potter Park. The cubs were hand raised and bottle fed, but "we didn't want to make pets out of them," said Brigham.
JEANA-DEE ALLEN · The State News
The Potter Park Zoo, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. in Lansing, has three new Siberian tiger cubs. The cubs have been on view for the public for only a week. "They are playful for short periods of time, but they sleep a lot," said Jan Brigham, a zookeeper at Potter Park. The cubs were hand raised and bottle fed, but "we didn't want to make pets out of them," said Brigham.
Three of Potter Park Zoo's newest arrivals can finally come out to play.
The Amur, or Siberian tiger cubs were allowed outside on Oct. 20 for the first time since they were born.
The cubs, Zakhar and his two sisters Mifhka and Kumara, were born in March and have had some health difficulties in their young lives.
Zoo Director Gerald Brady said that the cubs' mother, Kendra, was sick and the cubs had to be taken away from her.
"We had to hand raise them. They had an exotic feline virus and they were very, very sick also," Brady said.
http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=32636
Severe damage could close Naples Zoo for two months
By Laura Layden (Contact)
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
The Naples Zoo will never be the same.
The landmark zoo and its historic gardens took a hit from Hurricane Charley last year. But that was nothing compared to Hurricane Wilma.
The damage from Wilma is so severe that the zoo could be closed for two months, while zoo staff clean up the mess and make it safe again for visitors.
"If we're open by Christmas I'll be happy," said David Tetzlaff, zoo director, during a media tour Tuesday.
He looked weary after days of little rest.
Wilma packed a powerful punch. It uprooted trees, split branches, knocked down fences and ruined exhibits at the zoo.
http://stormedition.naplesnews.com/news/2005/oct/26/severe_damage_could_close_naples_zoo_two_months/
Zoo Boo 2005
It's that time of year again!
Zoo Boo!
The Rio Grande Zoo celebrates it's annual Zoo Boo from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29.
Admission is free for up to four children in costume accompanied by one paying adult.
This event is sponsored by the City of Albuquerque, KASA-Fox-2, Univision Radio and the Range-FM.
Zoo Boo offers a safe alternative to traditional door-to-door Halloween activities.
Zoo Boo sponsor booths will be located throughout the zoo along the main walkways and trick-or-treat maps will be distributed to guide you through the zoo for trick-or-treating.
Besides treats, there will also be a Haunted House from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., a costume contest, costume parades, dancers, children's activities, games and an all-new Scary-oke! contest and much, much more!
KASA.com will be there taking Zoo Boo photos you will be able to view on the KASA.com website shortly after the event!
http://www.kasa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4026117&nav=29KH
A grand day for Zoo as US beckons
Ros Snowdon
Deputy City Editor
ZOO DIGITAL, the company that makes interactive DVDs for programmes such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and blockbuster films such as Madagascar, has signed a deal to make an interactive DVD game to link up with the new Wallace & Gromit blockbuster The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Zoo said the agreement was highly significant for the company as it marks the first time that a Zoo product has been published in the US.
Ian Stewart, Zoo's chief executive, said: "The Wallace & Gromit game is a landmark product for Zoo. Not only is it the world's first and most complex non-quiz interactive DVD game, but also because it marks the first time that Zoo has broken into the US market."
He added that following the release of the game the group hopes to agree further licensing deals in the North American market.
Yesterday's news follows an announcement earlier this month that Zoo has signed a deal with Walt Disney Pictures.
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1299&ArticleID=1231369
Japanese zoo proves to be a great crowd-pleaser
By KYOKO HASEGAWA
ASAHIYAMA, Japan - Surrounded by a crowd of admirers, 24-year-old Jack has no idea how close his home came to being shut down a decade ago as he dangles from a rope, scratching his shaggy red fur.
The orangutan plays happily at a zoo in northern Japan that was saved from the brink of closure and redesigned as a playground for animals that is now the country’s top wildlife attraction.
Dozens of visitors crowd around the cage of Jack, his 13-year-old mate Rian and their infant Momo as they clamber up a 17-meter (56-feet) pole designed to recreate the feel of a tree in the wild.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=20039
Monster zoo would give us (en)closure
HELEN MARTIN
THE young Iraqi man being interviewed on Channel 4 News was absolutely clear about what he thought should happen to Saddam Hussein.
Hanging, shooting, beheading or any other gruesome death the state might entertain simply wasn't good enough.
That would be too easy on Saddam. The people of Iraq, especially those who lost loved ones under his cruel regime, wanted more. Saddam had to suffer for a long time and endure, not the physical torture he so often imposed on others, but ritual humiliation - which would arguably be harder to bear for the arrogant dictator who still believes himself president.
The young man's suggestion was that Saddam be placed in a zoo.
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=2137012005
Tk 140m project for Dhaka Zoo uplift
10/25/2005
Authorities of the Dhaka Zoo have taken up a Tk 140 million (14 crore) project for its further development and to make it more attractive, reports BDNEWS.
Zoo sources said allocation of fund for the purpose has already been sought from the concerned ministry.
It is expected that if the project is implemented the earnings of the Zoo will be doubled.
Dhaka Zoo Curator Mofizur Rahman told the news agency that a meeting with the finance ministry had been held to discuss the allocation.
He expressed the hope that the livestock ministry would allocate the money very soon.
The project will include procurement of attractive animals, construction of walkway, setting up a zoo institute, introduction of zoo education, setting up restaurants and a theme park.
http://financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=10/25/2005§ion_id=3&newsid=4890&spcl=no
Zoo fans get educated on wolves
FELICIA HUNTER, Correspondent
BRIDGEPORT — In horror films, the image of a howling wolf can signal doom. But families visiting Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo Saturday discovered they had little to fear from the large canine.
"They've had a bad rap for a lot of years," said Tracy Benham, a volunteer coordinator at the zoo. "They do not attack people. They're very shy."
Benham, along with zoo docents Kristen Johnson and James Punteney, were conducting the first day of the zoo's Wolf Awareness Weekend. For three hours, visitors learned about the zoo's six wolves through discussions and observation, crafts, an ongoing video and rubber models and plaster casts of wolf skulls and paws.
Held annually, the event is being sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife, an animal conservation organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
http://connpost.com/news/ci_3144080
At the zoo, new baby makes 7
The new baby elephant born Tuesday at the Indianapolis Zoo brings the herd size to seven.
Kubwa, 29, is the baby's mother. The other elephant cows are Ivory, about 23 years old, who is pregnant and due in September; Tombi, about 28; and Sophi, the grande dame at 38.
Ajani, now 5, was born to Ivory and is a bull. In March, Indianapolis welcomed Maclean, a 20-year-old bull on loan from a central Florida zoo for about five years. He is Ajani's father, but the conception was achieved through artificial insemination.
Here are more details about the new baby and Kubwa:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051023/NEWS01/510230464
Delhi Zoo becomes a smoke-free zone
Bindu Shajan Perappadan
FOR THEIR SAKE: A smoke-free zone is expected to give zoo inmates a more natural environment. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan
NEW DELHI: The Capital's National Zoological Park or Delhi Zoo as it is popularly known has declared itself a smoke-free zone.
Though the move comes much after sanctuaries and other reserved areas in the country have done so, it is expected to give animals housed in the Zoo a more natural environment and allow visitors to enjoy a pollution-free green patch.
http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/24/stories/2005102412250100.htm
Mysore zoo inundated; wall collapses
DH News Service Mysore:
A wall collapsed and rain water gushed into the zoo, flooding several animal enclosures. But no damage has been caused to any animal in the zoo.
The century-old Chamarajendra Zoological Garden witnessed a flash flood, following overflowing of water from the nearby Karanje lake due to heavy rains that lashed Mysore on Saturday evening.
Rain water gushed into the zoo and inundated several of the animal enclosures.
Such was the impact of the overflowing water that a compound facing the lake on the Chamundi Hills side collapsed, creating panic among zoo authorities.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/oct242005/index20201420051023.asp
Mysore zoo flooded, animals safe
Abinanth Kumar
[ Monday, October 24, 2005 12:47:28 am
TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
MYSORE: Animals at the century-old Mysore zoo escaped death by the skin of their teeth when a neighbouring lake breached and its water flooded the zoo area on Saturday night. There was no sabbatical on Sunday at Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens.
Thanks to the overflowing Karanji Lake, water gushed into Anjaneya Temple located between the lake and zoo. Eight-foot-wide walls which are a bulwark for the Indian bison enclosure came crashing down. Before the zoo staff could gather its wits, the zoo was flooded.
In no time, water from the bison enclosure cracked the compound abutting the elephant enclosure, reducing the "walkthrough" reptiles' area into a pond.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1272436.cms
Even small zoos getting a neck up with interactivity
10/25/2005
Families are lining up on weekends to feed a long-necked furry friend at Chausuyama Zoo in Nagano city.
And when a mom holds her tot up to feed the giraffe, dad dutifully snaps away with his cellphone camera.
It's a new scene at the zoo, which like others have been hurting for visitors and trying just about anything-from more interaction with the animals to later hours-to bring the crowds back to the cash-strapped enterprises.
Since March, the Chausuyama Zoo has been focusing on experience-oriented events for visitors, such as pony rides and photo sessions with owls.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200510250112.html
Get A Scare At The Pittsburgh Zoo Boo
Oct 22, 2005 9:54 pm US/Eastern
Pittsburgh (KDKA) If you want a taste of Halloween early, it might not be a bad idea to head to the Pittsburgh Zoo this weekend.
The annual Zoo Boo is going on this weekend, Oct. 21-23 and Oct. 28-30 from 6pm to 9pm.
This year, the event will feature strolling entertainment and a new lay-out.
Families can safely trick-or-treat at candy stations along the Ghost Path, and even get a spooky hairdo at the PPG Aquaraium’s Monster Splash.
Admission is $6 per person; $3 for zoo members.
http://kdka.com/local/local_story_295154032.html
Zoo puts all its animals within reach
By JAMES HART
The Kansas City Star
If you’ve ever wanted to touch a zebra, this could be your big chance.
The Hedrick Educational Petting Zoo of Nickerson, Kan., has set up shop at the American Royal, and it’s unlike just about any petting zoo around. Forget the bunny rabbits. The cast list includes kangaroos, an emu, a camel and a few animals you might not have heard of — like the nilgai, a kind of antelope from India.
And a zebra. All of them waiting to be touched, and perhaps fed. (Petting zoos, of course, are just about the only entertainment venue that encourages the audience to touch the performers.)
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/12967454.htm
Zoo accepting plant donations
As the forecast noses toward a freeze, you may have plants that you'd like to see in a good home rather than blackened to mush. If so, give the Sedgwick County Zoo a call. It's accepting plants to keep in greenhouses for the winter for use around the zoo next year.
The zoo propagates some plants, and large ficus and hibiscus trees can be used in the winter holding barn for perching birds. Both big and small plants are accepted, and all donations are tax-deductible.
If you have a question about whether the zoo would want your plants, or if you would like to arrange for the zoo horticulture staff to pick up your donation, call Pete Logsdon at 266-8313 and leave a message with your name and number, and the type of plant donation.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/living/home/gardening/12965430.htm
concluding ...
Johor Zoo greets birth of three lion cubs
BY OLIVIA LEE
JOHOR BARU: The Johor Zoo welcomed three new members to its growing family when an African lioness gave birth to three cubs on Tuesday morning.
Zoo manager Zakaria Razali said the cubs were healthy and made up African lions Tumba and Minah's third batch of cubs.
Tumba and Minah have been “residents” of the zoo since 2003.
http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/10/27/nation/12442632&sec=nation
Wellington Zoo Prepares for Huge Kids Party
Thursday, 27 October 2005, 11:51 am
Press Release: Wellington Zoo
Media Photo Opportunity
27 October 2005
Wellington Zoo Prepares for Huge Kids Party
Hundreds of children will be celebrating their youth at Wellington Zoo this Sunday 30 October as part of a national Children’s Day celebration, announced Wellington Zoo Events Co-ordinator, Marina Greco today.
Held annually, Children’s Day celebrations practise five key messages of giving time, praise and encouragement, listening and talking, love and affection and new experiences.
“Children’s Day is the biggest day of the year for Wellington Zoo and we’re going all out to give kids a fun time, lots of action and, at the same time, telling our conservation stories,” says Marina.
http://www.scoop.co.nz/stories/AK0510/S00185.htm
Ash Borer Invades Toledo Zoo
October 26, 2005 - Trees that provide important shade for animals are being cut down, because of the beetle infestation.
The emerald ash borer beetle has killed millions of trees in Michigan and Northwest Ohio. Now it's moved in on some of Toledo's most prized habitat. The Zoo's director of horticulture, Nancy Bucher, says the exotic beetles are causing a particularly challenging problem for them, because so many of the animals depend on the shade of the ash trees.
Using pesticides isn't an option, because the chemicals could harm the animals. The Zoo's already cut down two trees infested by the beetles, and the insects have been found on two others. If all 16 ash trees are affected, it could cost the Zoo up to $100,000 to cut them down and replace them with new shade trees.
"It may be next year when we start planting some replacements that we think are the most important. Then just seeing how the trees do for the next couple years," said Bucher.
http://abclocal.go.com/wtvg/story?section=local&id=3574309
French trio tested for bird flu after Thai zoo trip
Wed Oct 26, 2005 5:38 PM ET
By Brian Rhoads
BEIJING (Reuters) - China said a fresh outbreak of bird flu was free of any human infections, but three people on a French island off Africa were being tested on Wednesday in what were thought to be the first suspected human cases outside Asia.
"These three people who all traveled to Thailand have visited a bird zoo where they had come into contact with birds," French Health Minister Xavier Bertrand said of the tourists who were now back home on the Indian Ocean island of Reunion.
"Initial tests have been done there and these came out positive," he said, but fuller results would only be ready on Thursday. "For the moment, these are only suspected bird flu cases. Nothing is confirmed."
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-10-26T213844Z_01_YUE450860_RTRUKOC_0_US-BIRDFLU-WRAP.xml&archived=False
Zoo turns bird park
Sulaiman Jaafar
KUALA KRAI, KELANTAN, Tues.
Residents here are disappointed with the State Government’s decision to shut down the town’s main landmark, the Kuala Krai Zoo, last June.
Since then, the zoo has undergone renovation and will open as a bird park in time for Hari Raya.
Guchil State Assemblyman Dr Shamsul Ikhwan Ashaari Azmi said the people were unhappy with the move as the zoo had been part of their lives since 1961.
It was then located behind the district court before moving to the present 6.8-hectare site, near the district hospital, in 1985.
http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Wednesday/National/20051026081319/Article/indexb_html
Tiger cubs frolick for public at zoo
By FREDRICKA PAUL
The State News
The Potter Park Zoo, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. in Lansing, has three new Siberian tiger cubs. The cubs have been on view for the public for only a week. "They are playful for short periods of time, but they sleep a lot," said Jan Brigham, a zookeeper at Potter Park. The cubs were hand raised and bottle fed, but "we didn't want to make pets out of them," said Brigham.
JEANA-DEE ALLEN · The State News
The Potter Park Zoo, 1301 Pennsylvania Ave. in Lansing, has three new Siberian tiger cubs. The cubs have been on view for the public for only a week. "They are playful for short periods of time, but they sleep a lot," said Jan Brigham, a zookeeper at Potter Park. The cubs were hand raised and bottle fed, but "we didn't want to make pets out of them," said Brigham.
Three of Potter Park Zoo's newest arrivals can finally come out to play.
The Amur, or Siberian tiger cubs were allowed outside on Oct. 20 for the first time since they were born.
The cubs, Zakhar and his two sisters Mifhka and Kumara, were born in March and have had some health difficulties in their young lives.
Zoo Director Gerald Brady said that the cubs' mother, Kendra, was sick and the cubs had to be taken away from her.
"We had to hand raise them. They had an exotic feline virus and they were very, very sick also," Brady said.
http://www.statenews.com/article.phtml?pk=32636
Severe damage could close Naples Zoo for two months
By Laura Layden (Contact)
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
The Naples Zoo will never be the same.
The landmark zoo and its historic gardens took a hit from Hurricane Charley last year. But that was nothing compared to Hurricane Wilma.
The damage from Wilma is so severe that the zoo could be closed for two months, while zoo staff clean up the mess and make it safe again for visitors.
"If we're open by Christmas I'll be happy," said David Tetzlaff, zoo director, during a media tour Tuesday.
He looked weary after days of little rest.
Wilma packed a powerful punch. It uprooted trees, split branches, knocked down fences and ruined exhibits at the zoo.
http://stormedition.naplesnews.com/news/2005/oct/26/severe_damage_could_close_naples_zoo_two_months/
Zoo Boo 2005
It's that time of year again!
Zoo Boo!
The Rio Grande Zoo celebrates it's annual Zoo Boo from noon to 4 p.m. Saturday, Oct. 29.
Admission is free for up to four children in costume accompanied by one paying adult.
This event is sponsored by the City of Albuquerque, KASA-Fox-2, Univision Radio and the Range-FM.
Zoo Boo offers a safe alternative to traditional door-to-door Halloween activities.
Zoo Boo sponsor booths will be located throughout the zoo along the main walkways and trick-or-treat maps will be distributed to guide you through the zoo for trick-or-treating.
Besides treats, there will also be a Haunted House from 12:30 to 3:30 p.m., a costume contest, costume parades, dancers, children's activities, games and an all-new Scary-oke! contest and much, much more!
KASA.com will be there taking Zoo Boo photos you will be able to view on the KASA.com website shortly after the event!
http://www.kasa.com/Global/story.asp?S=4026117&nav=29KH
A grand day for Zoo as US beckons
Ros Snowdon
Deputy City Editor
ZOO DIGITAL, the company that makes interactive DVDs for programmes such as Who Wants To Be A Millionaire and blockbuster films such as Madagascar, has signed a deal to make an interactive DVD game to link up with the new Wallace & Gromit blockbuster The Curse of the Were-Rabbit
Zoo said the agreement was highly significant for the company as it marks the first time that a Zoo product has been published in the US.
Ian Stewart, Zoo's chief executive, said: "The Wallace & Gromit game is a landmark product for Zoo. Not only is it the world's first and most complex non-quiz interactive DVD game, but also because it marks the first time that Zoo has broken into the US market."
He added that following the release of the game the group hopes to agree further licensing deals in the North American market.
Yesterday's news follows an announcement earlier this month that Zoo has signed a deal with Walt Disney Pictures.
http://www.yorkshiretoday.co.uk/ViewArticle2.aspx?SectionID=1299&ArticleID=1231369
Japanese zoo proves to be a great crowd-pleaser
By KYOKO HASEGAWA
ASAHIYAMA, Japan - Surrounded by a crowd of admirers, 24-year-old Jack has no idea how close his home came to being shut down a decade ago as he dangles from a rope, scratching his shaggy red fur.
The orangutan plays happily at a zoo in northern Japan that was saved from the brink of closure and redesigned as a playground for animals that is now the country’s top wildlife attraction.
Dozens of visitors crowd around the cage of Jack, his 13-year-old mate Rian and their infant Momo as they clamber up a 17-meter (56-feet) pole designed to recreate the feel of a tree in the wild.
http://www.abs-cbnnews.com/storypage.aspx?StoryId=20039
Monster zoo would give us (en)closure
HELEN MARTIN
THE young Iraqi man being interviewed on Channel 4 News was absolutely clear about what he thought should happen to Saddam Hussein.
Hanging, shooting, beheading or any other gruesome death the state might entertain simply wasn't good enough.
That would be too easy on Saddam. The people of Iraq, especially those who lost loved ones under his cruel regime, wanted more. Saddam had to suffer for a long time and endure, not the physical torture he so often imposed on others, but ritual humiliation - which would arguably be harder to bear for the arrogant dictator who still believes himself president.
The young man's suggestion was that Saddam be placed in a zoo.
http://news.scotsman.com/opinion.cfm?id=2137012005
Tk 140m project for Dhaka Zoo uplift
10/25/2005
Authorities of the Dhaka Zoo have taken up a Tk 140 million (14 crore) project for its further development and to make it more attractive, reports BDNEWS.
Zoo sources said allocation of fund for the purpose has already been sought from the concerned ministry.
It is expected that if the project is implemented the earnings of the Zoo will be doubled.
Dhaka Zoo Curator Mofizur Rahman told the news agency that a meeting with the finance ministry had been held to discuss the allocation.
He expressed the hope that the livestock ministry would allocate the money very soon.
The project will include procurement of attractive animals, construction of walkway, setting up a zoo institute, introduction of zoo education, setting up restaurants and a theme park.
http://financialexpress-bd.com/index3.asp?cnd=10/25/2005§ion_id=3&newsid=4890&spcl=no
Zoo fans get educated on wolves
FELICIA HUNTER, Correspondent
BRIDGEPORT — In horror films, the image of a howling wolf can signal doom. But families visiting Connecticut's Beardsley Zoo Saturday discovered they had little to fear from the large canine.
"They've had a bad rap for a lot of years," said Tracy Benham, a volunteer coordinator at the zoo. "They do not attack people. They're very shy."
Benham, along with zoo docents Kristen Johnson and James Punteney, were conducting the first day of the zoo's Wolf Awareness Weekend. For three hours, visitors learned about the zoo's six wolves through discussions and observation, crafts, an ongoing video and rubber models and plaster casts of wolf skulls and paws.
Held annually, the event is being sponsored by Defenders of Wildlife, an animal conservation organization headquartered in Washington, D.C.
http://connpost.com/news/ci_3144080
At the zoo, new baby makes 7
The new baby elephant born Tuesday at the Indianapolis Zoo brings the herd size to seven.
Kubwa, 29, is the baby's mother. The other elephant cows are Ivory, about 23 years old, who is pregnant and due in September; Tombi, about 28; and Sophi, the grande dame at 38.
Ajani, now 5, was born to Ivory and is a bull. In March, Indianapolis welcomed Maclean, a 20-year-old bull on loan from a central Florida zoo for about five years. He is Ajani's father, but the conception was achieved through artificial insemination.
Here are more details about the new baby and Kubwa:
http://www.indystar.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20051023/NEWS01/510230464
Delhi Zoo becomes a smoke-free zone
Bindu Shajan Perappadan
FOR THEIR SAKE: A smoke-free zone is expected to give zoo inmates a more natural environment. — Photo: V.V. Krishnan
NEW DELHI: The Capital's National Zoological Park or Delhi Zoo as it is popularly known has declared itself a smoke-free zone.
Though the move comes much after sanctuaries and other reserved areas in the country have done so, it is expected to give animals housed in the Zoo a more natural environment and allow visitors to enjoy a pollution-free green patch.
http://www.hindu.com/2005/10/24/stories/2005102412250100.htm
Mysore zoo inundated; wall collapses
DH News Service Mysore:
A wall collapsed and rain water gushed into the zoo, flooding several animal enclosures. But no damage has been caused to any animal in the zoo.
The century-old Chamarajendra Zoological Garden witnessed a flash flood, following overflowing of water from the nearby Karanje lake due to heavy rains that lashed Mysore on Saturday evening.
Rain water gushed into the zoo and inundated several of the animal enclosures.
Such was the impact of the overflowing water that a compound facing the lake on the Chamundi Hills side collapsed, creating panic among zoo authorities.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/oct242005/index20201420051023.asp
Mysore zoo flooded, animals safe
Abinanth Kumar
[ Monday, October 24, 2005 12:47:28 am
TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
MYSORE: Animals at the century-old Mysore zoo escaped death by the skin of their teeth when a neighbouring lake breached and its water flooded the zoo area on Saturday night. There was no sabbatical on Sunday at Sri Chamarajendra Zoological Gardens.
Thanks to the overflowing Karanji Lake, water gushed into Anjaneya Temple located between the lake and zoo. Eight-foot-wide walls which are a bulwark for the Indian bison enclosure came crashing down. Before the zoo staff could gather its wits, the zoo was flooded.
In no time, water from the bison enclosure cracked the compound abutting the elephant enclosure, reducing the "walkthrough" reptiles' area into a pond.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1272436.cms
Even small zoos getting a neck up with interactivity
10/25/2005
Families are lining up on weekends to feed a long-necked furry friend at Chausuyama Zoo in Nagano city.
And when a mom holds her tot up to feed the giraffe, dad dutifully snaps away with his cellphone camera.
It's a new scene at the zoo, which like others have been hurting for visitors and trying just about anything-from more interaction with the animals to later hours-to bring the crowds back to the cash-strapped enterprises.
Since March, the Chausuyama Zoo has been focusing on experience-oriented events for visitors, such as pony rides and photo sessions with owls.
http://www.asahi.com/english/Herald-asahi/TKY200510250112.html
Get A Scare At The Pittsburgh Zoo Boo
Oct 22, 2005 9:54 pm US/Eastern
Pittsburgh (KDKA) If you want a taste of Halloween early, it might not be a bad idea to head to the Pittsburgh Zoo this weekend.
The annual Zoo Boo is going on this weekend, Oct. 21-23 and Oct. 28-30 from 6pm to 9pm.
This year, the event will feature strolling entertainment and a new lay-out.
Families can safely trick-or-treat at candy stations along the Ghost Path, and even get a spooky hairdo at the PPG Aquaraium’s Monster Splash.
Admission is $6 per person; $3 for zoo members.
http://kdka.com/local/local_story_295154032.html
Zoo puts all its animals within reach
By JAMES HART
The Kansas City Star
If you’ve ever wanted to touch a zebra, this could be your big chance.
The Hedrick Educational Petting Zoo of Nickerson, Kan., has set up shop at the American Royal, and it’s unlike just about any petting zoo around. Forget the bunny rabbits. The cast list includes kangaroos, an emu, a camel and a few animals you might not have heard of — like the nilgai, a kind of antelope from India.
And a zebra. All of them waiting to be touched, and perhaps fed. (Petting zoos, of course, are just about the only entertainment venue that encourages the audience to touch the performers.)
http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascity/news/local/12967454.htm
Zoo accepting plant donations
As the forecast noses toward a freeze, you may have plants that you'd like to see in a good home rather than blackened to mush. If so, give the Sedgwick County Zoo a call. It's accepting plants to keep in greenhouses for the winter for use around the zoo next year.
The zoo propagates some plants, and large ficus and hibiscus trees can be used in the winter holding barn for perching birds. Both big and small plants are accepted, and all donations are tax-deductible.
If you have a question about whether the zoo would want your plants, or if you would like to arrange for the zoo horticulture staff to pick up your donation, call Pete Logsdon at 266-8313 and leave a message with your name and number, and the type of plant donation.
http://www.kansas.com/mld/eagle/living/home/gardening/12965430.htm
concluding ...
Morning Papers - concluded.
The weather in Antarctica is not recorded today.
Scott Base
--
--
Updated Thursday 27 Oct 9:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
34 °F / 1 °C
Overcast
PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH PATCHY FOG CONTINUING THROUGH 8 AM.VARIABLE WINDS LESS THAN 15 MPH.
Windchill:
30 °F / -1 °C
Humidity:
87%
Dew Point:
30 °F / -1 °C
Wind:
5 mph / 7 km/h from the North
Pressure:
29.77 in / 1008 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Overcast 300 ft / 91 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
Scott Base
--
--
Updated Thursday 27 Oct 9:59PM
The weather at Glacier Bay National Park (Crystal Wind Chime) is:
34 °F / 1 °C
Overcast
PARTLY CLOUDY SKIES WITH PATCHY FOG CONTINUING THROUGH 8 AM.VARIABLE WINDS LESS THAN 15 MPH.
Windchill:
30 °F / -1 °C
Humidity:
87%
Dew Point:
30 °F / -1 °C
Wind:
5 mph / 7 km/h from the North
Pressure:
29.77 in / 1008 hPa
Visibility:
10.0 miles / 16.1 kilometers
UV:
0 out of 16
Clouds:
Overcast 300 ft / 91 m
(Above Ground Level)
end
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Morning Papers - It's Origins
Rooster "Crowing"
"Okeydoke"
History
1774 1st Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia
1825 Erie Canal between Hudson River & Lake Erie opened
1868 White terrorists kill several blacks in St Bernard Parish La
1869 1st American steeplechase horserace (Westchester, NY)
1916 Margaret Sanger arrested for obscenity (advocating birth control)
1921 Solomon Porter Hood named minister to Liberia
1941 US savings bonds go on sale
1949 Pres Truman increases minimum wage from 40› to 75›
1955 Ngo Dinh Diem proclaims Vietnam a republic with himself as pres
1956 UN's International Atomic Energy Agency statute approved
1956 Vietnam promulgates its constitution
1957 Vatican Radio begins broadcasting
1960 AL's Washington Senators move to become Minnesota Twins
1962 Beatles tape "Please Please Me" & "Ask Me Why"
1964 Rolling Stones appear on the Ed Sullivan Show
1967 Shah of Iran crowns himself after 26 years on Peacock Throne
1970 "Doonesbury" comic strip debuts in 28 newspapers
1971 UN votes to replace Taiwan with China
1972 Guided tours of Alcatraz (by Park Service) begin
1972 Henry Kissinger declares "Peace is at hand" in Vietnam
1976 Transkei gains independence, not recognized outside of South Africa
1976 Trinidad & Tobago becomes a republic
1977 5th & final test of space shuttle Enterprise
1982 Steve Carlton became 1st pitcher to win 4 Cy Young awards
1984 "Baby Fae" gets baboon heart transplant, lives 21 days
1987 Head of Salvadoran Human Rights Comm assassinated by death squads
1988 Donald Trump bills Mike Tyson $2,000,000 for 4 month advisory service
1988 US-Soviet effort free 2 grey whales from frozen Arctic, Barrow, AK
Missing in Action
1966 MORRISON GLENN RAYMOND JR MASON CITY IA CACCF/CRASH/PILOT/TAY NINH REFNO 0506 VEH # 3167
1967 DANIELS VERLYNE W. REAMSVILLE KS 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1967 MC CAIN JOHN S. NORFOLK VA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98/US SENATOR
1967 RICE CHARLES D. SETAUKET NY 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1969 BYNUM NEIL S. VIAN OK
1969 WARREN GARY D. DES MOINES IA
1971 EVELAND MICKEY E. LOS ANGELES CA "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 FINGER SANFORD I. NEW YORK NY "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 GREEN THOMAS F. RAMONA CA "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 LAUTZENHEISER MICHAEL MUNCIE IN "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 NICKOL ROBERT A. BETHLEHEM PA "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 TRUDEAU ALBERT R. MILWAUKEE WI "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
October 25
1966 GREEN ROBERT B. LAMPASAS TX
1966 LEVAN ALVIN L. CATAWISSA PA
1967 HORINEK RAMON A. ATWOOD KS 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 KROMMENHOEK JEFFREY M. SIOUX CITY IA
1967 SMITH RICHARD EUGENE MARKS MS 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV " ""GENE"" ALIVE AND WELL 98"
1968 THOMPSON BENJAMIN A. SARALAND AL "LOST IN RIVER, PROB DROWNED"
1983 ARMS HERMAN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 BATTISTE JERALD T. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND O3/84
1983 BRACEY SEBE M. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CATES PATRICK B. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CHONG JACOB KIM JOO GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CLIFTON DAVID P. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 CUSICK JAMES F. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CHEN WEI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CHEN XIONG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CHENG SHO GUO GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 DIXON THOMAS J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 FLANAGAN JERALD J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 FURNESS NIGEL GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 FENG SHAO JIEN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 GANZINOTTI EDWARD LEONARD GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 GILMORE LA JUAN A. GLOMAR JAVA SEA NAME ALBERT G. REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 GITTINGS HENRY M. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 GITTINGS JAMES K. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 GREEN TERANCE C. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 GUAN JUN TIAN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 HIGGINS DAVID JR. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 HIGGINS TYRONNE GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 HUANG HONG XI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 HUANG RUI WEN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 HUANG YONG LIANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 JARVIS TIMOTHY GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 JENNINGS JOHN W. JR. GLOMAR JAVA SEA - REMAINS FOUND ON BOAT DECK SR19 MARCH 1984
1983 KOFAHL THOMAS J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 KONG FAN XIANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LAWRENCE JOHN W. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LEE TONG LONG TOMMY GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LIM EDGAR S. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND BOAT DECK SR20 03/84
1983 LOOKE GARY GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LAI GUO ZHEN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LI CHONG CHANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LI XUAN QIU GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LIANG ZHAN JUN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LIN JIE FENG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LIU BING GUANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 MC CURRY ROBERT M. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 MANFRIDA JERRY L. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND BOAT DECK PASSAGEWAY 03/84
1983 MILLER RAYMOND D. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 MYERS KENNETH W. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 MYERS LARRY K. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 MO XUE YI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 MO TIAN XUE GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 OULETT DONALD J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 PIERCE JOHN D. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 POPIEL PETER GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ROBINSON WALTER T. PRESCOTT AZ GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 REED CLARENCE GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 REYNOLDS JEWELL J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 REYNOLDS E.J. RUSSELL GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 ROGERS KENNETH B. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 SALZWEDEL LAWRENCE M. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SCHUG WILLIAM R. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SHOFF RICHARD E. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SLEEMAN CHRISTOPHER J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 SPENCER DELMAR A. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SULLIVAN GEORGE G. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SWANSON GUSTAF F. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SWANSON KEVIN C. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 SUN CHONG JIAN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 THOMAS MICHAEL W. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 TANG GUO DONG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 WANG JIANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 WANG YU FANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 WANG DONG CAI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 WU GUO RONG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 XIA JING SHENG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 XING XING GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 XU HUI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 XU MING RUI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 YUAN HUI GUANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHANG XING ZHEN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHANG YI HUA GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHEN JI CHANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHOU SHU RONG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHOU YAO WU GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHOU JIE FANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHU DA HUIA GLOMAR JAVA SEA
San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO
Schools chief ready to hire replacements
Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
San Francisco schools chief Arlene Ackerman said Tuesday she is prepared to hire workers to replace cafeteria workers, secretaries, custodians, guards and other members of the Service Employees Union International 790 who have threatened to strike if their contract demands aren't met.
Union leaders, who represent 1,200 workers in the district, said that such a rapid-fire mass hiring would place students at risk because there would be no time to perform legally required background checks on new, picket-line-crossing employees.
"She's willing to trade away the safety of our children for political leverage at the bargaining table," declared LaWanna Preston, the union's chief negotiator.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/26/BAGGAFE51N1.DTL
Was It Something I Ate?
What to do if you think a restaurant meal has made you sick
Janet Fletcher, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
You slurped the oysters, devoured the pork chop and ate every crumb of the apple pie -- yet another fine dinner at a favorite restaurant. But at 3 a.m., you awake in a sweat, your insides churning and one thought on your mind: "That [expletive] restaurant made me sick."
Not so fast. You're sick all right. But was it the oysters? Or that succulent pork chop? Can you even be sure the culprit was part of your meal?
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/26/FDGSJF7RI71.DTL
Son of Black Muslim leader shot dead
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
(10-26) 10:30 PDT OAKLAND -- The son of a well-known Black Muslim leader was shot and killed last night as he filled his car's tank at a gas station in North Oakland.
Antar Bey, 24, was shot at the Union 76 gas station at 55th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way just after 7:30 p.m. as he gassed up his black BMW 745, Oakland police said. He was gunned down as he stepped away from the car and spoke on his cell phone, police said.
Bey is the son and appointed successor of the late Yusuf Bey, who died of cancer in 2003. Police Lt. Lawrence Green said the slaying was either an attempted carjacking or an assassination-style "hit."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/26/MNGAEFE9KL5.DTL
FEMA Extends Brown's Contract by 30 Days
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
(10-26) 12:59 PDT Tallahassee, Fla. (AP) --
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday defended FEMA's decision to extend former director Michael Brown's post-resignation employment by another 30 days.
"It's important to allow the new people who have the responsibility ... to have access to the information we need to do better," Chertoff told The Associated Press as he flew to view Hurricane Wilma's damage in Florida.
"We don't want to sacrifice the real ability to get a full picture of Mike's experiences; we don't want to sacrifice that ability simply in order to make an image point," Chertoff said.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/10/26/national/w113749D14.DTL
Study: Walking As Good As Jogging
By NATALIE GOTT, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
(10-26) 11:13 PDT Raleigh, N.C. (AP) --
There's no need to run. Just going for a brisk walk — in the park, around the block or on a treadmill — may be enough to help keep your heart healthy, a small study suggests.
The study, which indicates roughly two to three hours of mild exercise a week at a moderate intensity can significantly cut the risk of cardiovascular disease, supports earlier research.
The findings may encourage people who are reluctant to exercise, said Brian Duscha, the lead author of the research published in the October issue of the journal Chest.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/10/26/national/a111339D55.DTL&type=health
Iran Leader Calls for Israel's Destruction
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
(10-26) 12:34 PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) --
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Wednesday that Israel is a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map" — fiery words that Washington said underscores its concern over Iran's nuclear program.
Ahmadinejad's speech to thousands of students at a "World without Zionism" conference set a hard-line foreign policy course sharply at odds with that of his moderate predecessor, echoing the sentiments of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution.
The United States said Ahmadinejad's remarks show that Washington's fears about Iran's nuclear program are accurate.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/10/26/international/i054029D43.DTL
Google to open online market?
System is seen as possible challenge to eBay, Craigslist
Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Google Inc. is reportedly testing a new Web-based service that would allow users to sell products online, a move some observers see as a challenge to eBay Inc., the dominant Internet auction service.
Plans for the Internet search giant's experimental service, called Google Base, apparently leaked after screen shots of the project appeared on several Web sites, according to published reports.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/26/BUG3CFDSTT1.DTL
OPINION: Conservatives Give Bush An Earful
Cinnamon Stillwell
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Leftist Bush-bashing is certainly nothing new, but recently the president has been getting an earful from his right flank as well. For some time now, a lively debate has been raging among conservatives over a variety of Bush administration policies and decisions.
For conservatives, criticism of the Bush administration centers not so much on style than on substance. Unlike the left's scattershot attacks, the president's appearance, past habits or religious beliefs are unlikely to figure in the equation. Disagreement exists over the war in Iraq, but conservatives are largely united in the belief that the war on terrorism is the preeminent struggle of our lifetime. Instead, contentiousness tends to center on domestic and security issues on which the administration seems inconsistent.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/10/26/cstillwell.DTL
Abortion issue's opponents wary of the fine print
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
The principal debate over Proposition 73 is whether doctors should have to notify a pregnant teen's parents before performing an abortion. But other controversies are lurking in the fine print.
One little-discussed provision of the Nov. 8 ballot measure would create a public scorecard for judges who rule on minors' abortions. Another would define abortion in the state Constitution as the killing of "a child conceived but not yet born.''
Sponsors of Prop. 73 say that both provisions are part of the machinery of the proposed parental-notification system and that neither is momentous. Some opponents say both are potential land mines.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/26/MNG1LFE5671.DTL
Dawn
Call to make UN rights council a real form of dialogue
By Our Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 25: Pakistan on Tuesday stressed that “all civilizations and faiths need to be represented” in the new human rights council so it can be a real forum for dialogue.
“Human rights should not become a source for cultural imperialism. We strongly support adequate representation of all cultures, faiths and continents”, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations declared during an intervention in the UN General Assembly’s consultations on the composition of the new human rights council
Mr Akram asserted “there should be no imposition of the views and perceptions of certain groups on rest of the membership.”
He observed that the current gaps and inadequacies in cultural and civilization representation in the council also need to be addressed. All civilizations and faiths need to be represented in the council so as it can be a real forum for dialogue”.
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top17.htm
Bomb material found at San Diego airport
WASHINGTON, Oct 25: Baggage screeners found bomb components in a carry-on piece of luggage at San Diego International Airport on Tuesday and cleared the area to investigate, Department of Homeland Security spokesmen said.
A department spokesman said the screeners found “all components of an IED” (improvised explosive device) in a piece of luggage. They then evacuated the commuter terminal of the airport and bomb specialists began to investigate, the spokesman said.
Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nico Melendez said an employee noticed a “suspicious item” in a piece of luggage as it was going through the X-ray machine.—Reuters
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top18.htm
Pakistani convicted in money transfer case
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
SAN FRANCIASCO, Oct 25: A federal jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, has convicted Mohammad Bajwa, a Pakistani-American, on charges connected to $6 million he helped people transfer to Pakistan and other countries.
Mohammad Bajwa, 39, from Herndon, Virginia, was convicted in the US District Court of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He was also convicted of wire fraud connected to a refinancing application he filed on a property mortgage.
Bajwa, owner of a construction company, New Superstar Corporation, was ordered to give up his home and $4 million.
He could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each charge when he is sentenced on Nov 29.
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top16.htm
Kashmiri leaders want to cross LoC
SRINAGAR, Oct 25: Police on Tuesday detained a Kashmiri leader after he set out to cross LoC to help quake victims in Pakistan. Nayeem Khan and 15 of his supporters were held near Mirgund, 20 kilometres north of Srinagar, while they were heading to the border sector of Uri, police said.
Mr Khan had declared last week that he would breach the Line of Control at Uri and cross over to Azad Kashmir to help the victims of earthquake. He had made it clear his group would not seek permission from the Indian government to cross the LoC.
Other Kashmiri leaders said they too wanted to cross the LoC to help quake victims in Azad Kashmir but they would wait until they got the go-ahead from the authorities. “I and my volunteers are eager to cross over to help our brothers in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir,” said Javed Mir, a former Mujahideen commander.—AFP
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top9.htm
Quake: Oxfam criticizes rich for slow response
GENEVA, Oct 26: Aid agency Oxfam on Wednesday criticised western governments for giving too little too late to quake-stricken Pakistan as donor countries prepared to meet at the United Nations in Geneva to rally rescue efforts.
Oxfam said many rich countries had donated less than what it called their “fair share” and others nothing at all, while thousands of survivors were stranded in some of world’s most rugged mountains without shelter or food as winter approached.
The comments were issued as officials from some 65 countries including the United States, Britain, France and Japan were gathering in Geneva to take stock of Pakistan relief efforts and see how they can be stepped up.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will address the meeting.
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top6.htm
Do we actually want people to randomly carry guns in the USA?
Cow slaughter backfires for man
Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:50 PM ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A man who twice missed while trying to shoot a friend's cow only to accidentally shoot a passer-by in the leg was fined Wednesday for what an Australian court described as a freak accident.
Rudolf Stadler, 61, agreed in April last year to shoot the troublesome cow which belonged to a friend who owns a hobby farm at Caboolture in tropical Queensland state.
Stadler lured the cow to a shed, and then took aim with his rifle. He missed. He took aim a second time, fired and missed again.
The second shot went through the back of the shed, a fence across a paddock and then through the door of a car being driven along a road behind the farm.
The bullet hit 46-year-old Carrie Tunning in the leg, the Brisbane District Court heard. Tunning, a passenger in the car, made a full recovery but Stadler was so distressed by the incident that he handed in his firearms license.
The court fined Stadler A$1,000 and banned him from obtaining another gun license for five years.
The cow was not so lucky, with Stadler eventually finding his mark.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2005-10-26T165003Z_01_WRI660488_RTRUKOC_0_US-AUSTRALIA-COW.xml
The Times of India
Chaos: Is it time to wind up from Bangalore?
NEW DELHI: Padma works as an international ticketing supervisor in one of Bangalore's top travel and tour operators and she rides a scooty to her office. For the past one week, it has been impossible to commute to her office, leave alone riding through the streets of Bangalore.
Rajeev rides a Bullet and he works in foreign language section of one the top multinational organizations. He is looking for the waters to recede.
So is every Bangalorean. Last Sunday night, it was impossible to reach the Bangalore airport as the rain pounded the city and the waters were rising.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1275976.cms
Bangalore Marooned and Governance Issues"
One feels sad to notice that two days of rain can bring cripple Bangalore day to day life and bring the government to its knees. Government is forced to take strong measures as to call holidays and advice people to stay indoors in order to prevent casualty. Administration is unaware to quantify the magnitude of damage at any given point of time. The government agency responsible for adequate action fail to own responsibility in times of crisis. The administration often lacks face in times of crisis for adequate information dissemination and status tracking. Co-ordination across various departments of the government is lacking. The inability of the government to withstand even the simple rainfall questions the governments capability for future calamities and crisis.
http://o3.indiatimes.com/eccentric
al-Qaeda man on prowl in Delhi
Sachin Parashar
[ Thursday, October 27, 2005 12:00:45 am
TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: An al-Qaeda terrorist, Mohammed Majoodi, has sneaked into the country with the intention of targeting US centres in major Indian metros, intelligence sources said.
It was Majoodi’s suspected presence here that had led the US state department to sound a terror alert for American establishments in India on October 10.
While establishments in the Capital like the US embassy, American Centre and United States Educational Foundation in India are high on terrorist hit lists, the alert about Majoodi has also been passed on to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai by intelligence agencies.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1276411.cms
The Gulf News
Bashar vows to prosecute Syrians linked to Hariri killling
Agencies
Washington: Syrian President Bashar Assad said he will bring to trial any Syrian linked to the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.
In a letter sent to Washington on Sunday, Assad said Syria had nothing to do with the February 14 car bombing that killed Hariri, The Washington Post said on Wednesday.
"I am ready to follow up action to bring to trial any Syrian who could be proved by concrete evidence to have had connection with this crime," Assad said in the letter.
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=188845
The stakes are too high for Syria
By George S. Hishmeh, Special to Gulf News
Syria has taken the right step, as reaffirmed by its representative at the UN Security Council session on Tuesday, Fayssal Mekedad, in agreeing to extend the term of the controversial UN mission investigating the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
After all, Hariri is best remembered, particularly in the Arab world, for his amazing generosity and down-to-earth leadership, especially in the facelift he gave to Beirut, the once-again glittering Lebanese capital.
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/OpinionNF.asp?ArticleID=188853
October 21, 2005
Do you think Syria is involved in the killing of Rafik Hariri?
Yes: 45.1%
No: 43.9%
Unsure: 11.0%
October 17, 2005
If found guilty, should Saddam Hussain be executed?
Yes: 44.9%
No: 49.3%
Unsure: 5.8%
http://www.gulf-news.com/Opinion/Polls/default.asp
The Moscow Times
Terror Victims Unite to Press Putin
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Igor Tabakov / MT
Nord Ost co-chair Karpova, left, and Beslan mother Ella Kesayeva speaking at a news conference Tuesday.
Survivors and relatives of those who died in Moscow's Dubrovka theater siege teamed up with Beslan mothers and other families affected by terrorist attacks on Tuesday to demand that President Vladimir Putin ensure fair investigations into the attacks.
The families, united under the auspices of the new Nord Ost nongovernmental organization, issued an appeal at a news conference for Putin to revisit "biased" official investigations into terrorist attacks.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/011.html
Bush could write a pardon for everyone indicted except himself and without a report required the Grand Jury could literally expire and the American people will never know the truth and remain at risk for all of the same happening again.
Global Eye
Flop Sweat
By Chris Floyd
Published: October 21, 2005
Having railed at the wanton criminality of the Bush faction for so long, this column naturally partakes of the general glee arising from the looming possibility of genuine, grade-A grand jury indictments for some of the gang's top thugs.
Of course, we all know that the fix is in: If anyone in the White House is actually indicted and convicted for the high crime of exposing the identity of an undercover agent -- in wartime, no less -- they will certainly be pardoned when George W. Bush finally limps away from the steaming, stinking, blood-soaked ruin of his presidency. Nobody will do any hard time; in the end, the whole sick crew will simply pass through the golden revolving door into the lifetime gravy train of corporate grease and right-wing lecture-circuit glory.
Still, it is heartening to see the fever-sweat of fear popping out on the brows of these swaggering world-shakers, these third-rate goons and half-wit cranks posing as great statesmen, if only for a little while. Fear has always been their weapon of choice: They've used it to foment aggressive war, to crush political opposition, to manipulate the electorate and to mask their own incompetence, corruption and greed. Now they're getting a taste of it themselves -- and they can't take it.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/21/120.html
Russia Rising as Energy Superpower on U.S. Demand
By Valeria Korchagina
Staff Writer
For MT
Heat exchange equipment on the site of Sakhalin-2 LNG project, which is expected to produce first gas in 2008.
The legendary sea-faring route from the United States across the Atlantic to Russia's northern city of Murmansk, through which vital supplies went to the Soviet Union some 60 years ago to help the country fight in World War II, is looking to get a new breath of life. This time, however, the traffic is going to be reversed, shipping liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from Russia to energy-hungry North America.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/046.html
Yukos Dogs Khristenko's U.S. Visit
By Stephen Boykewich and Valeria Korchagina
Staff Writers
Lawrence Jackson / AP
Viktor Khristenko speaking during an interview in Washington on Monday.
Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko, in Washington with top Russian business leaders to rebuild confidence in U.S.-Russia energy ties after the legal onslaught against Yukos, has been caught up in a lawsuit by U.S. shareholders in the shattered oil company.
A spokesman for the plaintiffs said Khristenko was served with the lawsuit just after meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday -- and hours after a speech asserting that Russia was not engaged in renationalizing its oil and gas sector.
Twelve shareholders of Yukos American Depositary Receipts filed suit against the Russian government, four state-owned energy giants and a host of high-ranking government officials on Monday, accusing them of securities fraud in the de facto renationalization of Yukos.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/001.html
Russia Demands Yukos Official's Extradition
The Associated Press
LONDON -- Lawyers for the Russian government opened an extradition case on Tuesday against a former executive of Yukos, claiming he committed fraud and perverted the course of justice.
Lawyer Peter Caldwell told Bow Street Magistrates' Court in central London that Alexander Temerko, a former senior vice president of Yukos Moscow, conspired to defraud the state-owned Rosneft oil company of its shares in a third company, Yeniseineftegaz.
A second count alleges that Temerko conspired to pervert the course of justice by providing false evidence about the allegations.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/048.html
GM Begins Wooing Local Scientists
By Anna Smolchenko
Staff Writer
General Motors is turning to Russian scientists for help in developing its new generation of electric vehicles, the company said Tuesday as it opened its new research center in Moscow.
The move makes GM the first foreign carmaker to set up a research-and-development presence in Russia.
"We are entering an era of increased technological collaboration with Russia," Alan Taub, executive director of Science at GM Research & Development laboratories, said at a news conference in Moscow.
GM declined to say how much money it was channeling into Russia. The company spent more than $5 billion on research and development, or R&D, in 2003, according to a recent report.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/041.html
LUKoil Seeks to Best CNPC's Kazakh Bid
By Dmitry Zhdannikov
Reuters
LUKoil said it was ready to match the $4.2 billion offer by Chinese oil firm CNPC for Toronto-listed Kazakh oil producer PetroKazakhstan.
It said in a statement Tuesday that it would make the offer if a Canadian court ruled this week not to approve the deal between CNPC and PetroKazakhstan because of an earlier suit by LUKoil.
Analysts said they doubted LUKoil wanted all of PetroKazakhstan and said they believed the statement was designed to put pressure on the court to support the Russian company in its long-running dispute over some of PetroKazakhstan's assets.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/042.html
The Scotsman
High oil prices help BP weather storms to report £2.46bn profits
MARTIN FLANAGAN
CITY EDITOR
SURGING oil prices allowed oil major BP to deliver a strong rise in third-quarter profits yesterday, with the performance likely to have been an estimated £440 million better but for the devastating US hurricane season.
BP said its underlying adjusted replacement cost profit, which strips out one-off items and gains or losses from changes in the value of fuel inventories - and is the measure closely watched by the City - rose to $4.4 billion (£2.46bn).
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=2145452005
Financial services tops McConnell agenda
DAVID BLACK
DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR
SCOTLAND'S financial services sector has given an enthusiastic welcome to First Minister Jack McConnell's decision to take a hands-on role in driving the industry forward - providing he actually delivers.
The Scottish Executive confirmed yesterday McConnell is to take over the chairmanship of the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB).
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=2145232005
Cheney drawn into row on exposure of CIA agent
RHIANNON EDWARD
DICK Cheney, the United States vice-president, yesterday found himself drawn uncomfortably deeper into a web of allegations over how a covert CIA operative came to be unmasked.
Previously undisclosed notes of a conversation between Mr Cheney and his chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on 12 June, 2003, have put the spotlight on the vice-president's possible role in the unmasking of Valerie Plame and appear to run counter to Mr Libby's testimony to a federal grand jury that he first learned about her from newspaper reporters.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2146292005
Shadow cast over independence of Scottish Financial Enterprise
SCRUTINEER
NICK BEVENS
JACK McConnell's unprecedented decision to take personal control of the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) raises searching questions.
Is it a political manoeuvre to highlight his commitment to Scottish business, after being so heavily criticised for doing nothing to endear himself to it in his first term?
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=2145432005
I included this article in skepticism. Not to be inflammatory. I don't understand how the 'eggs' would be considered infectious unless the virus is blood borne. That is not my understanding of this virus. I believe this view is extreme.
EU warns of bird flu danger in chicken and eggs
EBEN HARRELL
Key points
• EU warns against undercooked poultry but admits no evidence link
• EU bans import of live birds to prevent spread of avian flu
• Businesses accuse agency of scaremongering
Key quote
"[Cooking] protects from salmonella and other diseases. Avian flu is an added danger, even though there is no epidemiological data to prove it can be transmitted through food" - European Food Safety Agency official
Story in full FOOD safety advisers are to warn the public to avoid raw eggs and undercooked poultry to prevent the spread of bird flu in Europe.
The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has said it "can't exclude" the possibility that the deadly virus can be transmitted through foods.
Raw eggs are used in various popular recipes including mayonnaise. No details were available last night over whether the advice would apply to partially-cooked foods such as soft-boiled eggs.
Until now, British food safety advisers have ruled out the possibility of humans contracting the disease through consumption of eggs or poultry.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2146272005
Is Scotland earnestly looking at 'bird eggs' as a potential infection source? It occurred to me that eggs could have infection on the shells from contact of the hens that laid them if the hen was infected. Perhaps that is the missing link to it's quickly spreading and undetected record.
What is special about the current outbreaks in poultry?
The current outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, which began in South-east Asia in mid-2003, are the largest and most severe on record. Never before in the history of this disease have so many countries been simultaneously affected, resulting in the loss of so many birds.
The causative agent, the H5N1 virus, has proved to be especially tenacious. Despite the death or destruction of an estimated 150 million birds, the virus is now considered endemic in many parts of Indonesia and Viet Nam and in some parts of Cambodia, China, Thailand, and possibly also the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Control of the disease in poultry is expected to take several years.
The H5N1 virus is also of particular concern for human health, as explained below.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/avian_faqs/en/
continued …
"Okeydoke"
History
1774 1st Continental Congress adjourns in Philadelphia
1825 Erie Canal between Hudson River & Lake Erie opened
1868 White terrorists kill several blacks in St Bernard Parish La
1869 1st American steeplechase horserace (Westchester, NY)
1916 Margaret Sanger arrested for obscenity (advocating birth control)
1921 Solomon Porter Hood named minister to Liberia
1941 US savings bonds go on sale
1949 Pres Truman increases minimum wage from 40› to 75›
1955 Ngo Dinh Diem proclaims Vietnam a republic with himself as pres
1956 UN's International Atomic Energy Agency statute approved
1956 Vietnam promulgates its constitution
1957 Vatican Radio begins broadcasting
1960 AL's Washington Senators move to become Minnesota Twins
1962 Beatles tape "Please Please Me" & "Ask Me Why"
1964 Rolling Stones appear on the Ed Sullivan Show
1967 Shah of Iran crowns himself after 26 years on Peacock Throne
1970 "Doonesbury" comic strip debuts in 28 newspapers
1971 UN votes to replace Taiwan with China
1972 Guided tours of Alcatraz (by Park Service) begin
1972 Henry Kissinger declares "Peace is at hand" in Vietnam
1976 Transkei gains independence, not recognized outside of South Africa
1976 Trinidad & Tobago becomes a republic
1977 5th & final test of space shuttle Enterprise
1982 Steve Carlton became 1st pitcher to win 4 Cy Young awards
1984 "Baby Fae" gets baboon heart transplant, lives 21 days
1987 Head of Salvadoran Human Rights Comm assassinated by death squads
1988 Donald Trump bills Mike Tyson $2,000,000 for 4 month advisory service
1988 US-Soviet effort free 2 grey whales from frozen Arctic, Barrow, AK
Missing in Action
1966 MORRISON GLENN RAYMOND JR MASON CITY IA CACCF/CRASH/PILOT/TAY NINH REFNO 0506 VEH # 3167
1967 DANIELS VERLYNE W. REAMSVILLE KS 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98
1967 MC CAIN JOHN S. NORFOLK VA 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE IN 98/US SENATOR
1967 RICE CHARLES D. SETAUKET NY 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1969 BYNUM NEIL S. VIAN OK
1969 WARREN GARY D. DES MOINES IA
1971 EVELAND MICKEY E. LOS ANGELES CA "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 FINGER SANFORD I. NEW YORK NY "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 GREEN THOMAS F. RAMONA CA "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 LAUTZENHEISER MICHAEL MUNCIE IN "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 NICKOL ROBERT A. BETHLEHEM PA "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
1971 TRUDEAU ALBERT R. MILWAUKEE WI "CRASH, 4 REMAINS FOUND, NOT SUBJS"
October 25
1966 GREEN ROBERT B. LAMPASAS TX
1966 LEVAN ALVIN L. CATAWISSA PA
1967 HORINEK RAMON A. ATWOOD KS 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV ALIVE AND WELL 98
1967 KROMMENHOEK JEFFREY M. SIOUX CITY IA
1967 SMITH RICHARD EUGENE MARKS MS 03/14/73 RELEASED BY DRV " ""GENE"" ALIVE AND WELL 98"
1968 THOMPSON BENJAMIN A. SARALAND AL "LOST IN RIVER, PROB DROWNED"
1983 ARMS HERMAN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 BATTISTE JERALD T. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND O3/84
1983 BRACEY SEBE M. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CATES PATRICK B. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CHONG JACOB KIM JOO GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CLIFTON DAVID P. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 CUSICK JAMES F. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CHEN WEI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CHEN XIONG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 CHENG SHO GUO GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 DIXON THOMAS J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 FLANAGAN JERALD J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 FURNESS NIGEL GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 FENG SHAO JIEN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 GANZINOTTI EDWARD LEONARD GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 GILMORE LA JUAN A. GLOMAR JAVA SEA NAME ALBERT G. REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 GITTINGS HENRY M. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 GITTINGS JAMES K. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 GREEN TERANCE C. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 GUAN JUN TIAN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 HIGGINS DAVID JR. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 HIGGINS TYRONNE GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 HUANG HONG XI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 HUANG RUI WEN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 HUANG YONG LIANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 JARVIS TIMOTHY GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 JENNINGS JOHN W. JR. GLOMAR JAVA SEA - REMAINS FOUND ON BOAT DECK SR19 MARCH 1984
1983 KOFAHL THOMAS J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 KONG FAN XIANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LAWRENCE JOHN W. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LEE TONG LONG TOMMY GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LIM EDGAR S. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND BOAT DECK SR20 03/84
1983 LOOKE GARY GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LAI GUO ZHEN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LI CHONG CHANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LI XUAN QIU GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LIANG ZHAN JUN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LIN JIE FENG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 LIU BING GUANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 MC CURRY ROBERT M. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 MANFRIDA JERRY L. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND BOAT DECK PASSAGEWAY 03/84
1983 MILLER RAYMOND D. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 MYERS KENNETH W. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 MYERS LARRY K. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 MO XUE YI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 MO TIAN XUE GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 OULETT DONALD J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 PIERCE JOHN D. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 POPIEL PETER GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ROBINSON WALTER T. PRESCOTT AZ GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 REED CLARENCE GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 REYNOLDS JEWELL J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 REYNOLDS E.J. RUSSELL GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 ROGERS KENNETH B. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 SALZWEDEL LAWRENCE M. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SCHUG WILLIAM R. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SHOFF RICHARD E. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SLEEMAN CHRISTOPHER J. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 SPENCER DELMAR A. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SULLIVAN GEORGE G. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SWANSON GUSTAF F. GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 SWANSON KEVIN C. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 SUN CHONG JIAN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 THOMAS MICHAEL W. GLOMAR JAVA SEA REMAINS FOUND 03/84
1983 TANG GUO DONG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 WANG JIANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 WANG YU FANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 WANG DONG CAI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 WU GUO RONG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 XIA JING SHENG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 XING XING GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 XU HUI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 XU MING RUI GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 YUAN HUI GUANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHANG XING ZHEN GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHANG YI HUA GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHEN JI CHANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHOU SHU RONG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHOU YAO WU GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHOU JIE FANG GLOMAR JAVA SEA
1983 ZHU DA HUIA GLOMAR JAVA SEA
San Francisco Chronicle
SAN FRANCISCO
Schools chief ready to hire replacements
Nanette Asimov, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
San Francisco schools chief Arlene Ackerman said Tuesday she is prepared to hire workers to replace cafeteria workers, secretaries, custodians, guards and other members of the Service Employees Union International 790 who have threatened to strike if their contract demands aren't met.
Union leaders, who represent 1,200 workers in the district, said that such a rapid-fire mass hiring would place students at risk because there would be no time to perform legally required background checks on new, picket-line-crossing employees.
"She's willing to trade away the safety of our children for political leverage at the bargaining table," declared LaWanna Preston, the union's chief negotiator.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/26/BAGGAFE51N1.DTL
Was It Something I Ate?
What to do if you think a restaurant meal has made you sick
Janet Fletcher, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
You slurped the oysters, devoured the pork chop and ate every crumb of the apple pie -- yet another fine dinner at a favorite restaurant. But at 3 a.m., you awake in a sweat, your insides churning and one thought on your mind: "That [expletive] restaurant made me sick."
Not so fast. You're sick all right. But was it the oysters? Or that succulent pork chop? Can you even be sure the culprit was part of your meal?
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/26/FDGSJF7RI71.DTL
Son of Black Muslim leader shot dead
Jim Herron Zamora, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
(10-26) 10:30 PDT OAKLAND -- The son of a well-known Black Muslim leader was shot and killed last night as he filled his car's tank at a gas station in North Oakland.
Antar Bey, 24, was shot at the Union 76 gas station at 55th Street and Martin Luther King Jr. Way just after 7:30 p.m. as he gassed up his black BMW 745, Oakland police said. He was gunned down as he stepped away from the car and spoke on his cell phone, police said.
Bey is the son and appointed successor of the late Yusuf Bey, who died of cancer in 2003. Police Lt. Lawrence Green said the slaying was either an attempted carjacking or an assassination-style "hit."
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/26/MNGAEFE9KL5.DTL
FEMA Extends Brown's Contract by 30 Days
By LARA JAKES JORDAN, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
(10-26) 12:59 PDT Tallahassee, Fla. (AP) --
Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff on Wednesday defended FEMA's decision to extend former director Michael Brown's post-resignation employment by another 30 days.
"It's important to allow the new people who have the responsibility ... to have access to the information we need to do better," Chertoff told The Associated Press as he flew to view Hurricane Wilma's damage in Florida.
"We don't want to sacrifice the real ability to get a full picture of Mike's experiences; we don't want to sacrifice that ability simply in order to make an image point," Chertoff said.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/10/26/national/w113749D14.DTL
Study: Walking As Good As Jogging
By NATALIE GOTT, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
(10-26) 11:13 PDT Raleigh, N.C. (AP) --
There's no need to run. Just going for a brisk walk — in the park, around the block or on a treadmill — may be enough to help keep your heart healthy, a small study suggests.
The study, which indicates roughly two to three hours of mild exercise a week at a moderate intensity can significantly cut the risk of cardiovascular disease, supports earlier research.
The findings may encourage people who are reluctant to exercise, said Brian Duscha, the lead author of the research published in the October issue of the journal Chest.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/news/archive/2005/10/26/national/a111339D55.DTL&type=health
Iran Leader Calls for Israel's Destruction
By NASSER KARIMI, Associated Press Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
(10-26) 12:34 PDT TEHRAN, Iran (AP) --
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad declared Wednesday that Israel is a "disgraceful blot" that should be "wiped off the map" — fiery words that Washington said underscores its concern over Iran's nuclear program.
Ahmadinejad's speech to thousands of students at a "World without Zionism" conference set a hard-line foreign policy course sharply at odds with that of his moderate predecessor, echoing the sentiments of Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini, the founder of Iran's Islamic revolution.
The United States said Ahmadinejad's remarks show that Washington's fears about Iran's nuclear program are accurate.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2005/10/26/international/i054029D43.DTL
Google to open online market?
System is seen as possible challenge to eBay, Craigslist
Benjamin Pimentel, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Google Inc. is reportedly testing a new Web-based service that would allow users to sell products online, a move some observers see as a challenge to eBay Inc., the dominant Internet auction service.
Plans for the Internet search giant's experimental service, called Google Base, apparently leaked after screen shots of the project appeared on several Web sites, according to published reports.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2005/10/26/BUG3CFDSTT1.DTL
OPINION: Conservatives Give Bush An Earful
Cinnamon Stillwell
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
Leftist Bush-bashing is certainly nothing new, but recently the president has been getting an earful from his right flank as well. For some time now, a lively debate has been raging among conservatives over a variety of Bush administration policies and decisions.
For conservatives, criticism of the Bush administration centers not so much on style than on substance. Unlike the left's scattershot attacks, the president's appearance, past habits or religious beliefs are unlikely to figure in the equation. Disagreement exists over the war in Iraq, but conservatives are largely united in the belief that the war on terrorism is the preeminent struggle of our lifetime. Instead, contentiousness tends to center on domestic and security issues on which the administration seems inconsistent.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/gate/archive/2005/10/26/cstillwell.DTL
Abortion issue's opponents wary of the fine print
Bob Egelko, Chronicle Staff Writer
Wednesday, October 26, 2005
The principal debate over Proposition 73 is whether doctors should have to notify a pregnant teen's parents before performing an abortion. But other controversies are lurking in the fine print.
One little-discussed provision of the Nov. 8 ballot measure would create a public scorecard for judges who rule on minors' abortions. Another would define abortion in the state Constitution as the killing of "a child conceived but not yet born.''
Sponsors of Prop. 73 say that both provisions are part of the machinery of the proposed parental-notification system and that neither is momentous. Some opponents say both are potential land mines.
http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2005/10/26/MNG1LFE5671.DTL
Dawn
Call to make UN rights council a real form of dialogue
By Our Correspondent
UNITED NATIONS, Oct 25: Pakistan on Tuesday stressed that “all civilizations and faiths need to be represented” in the new human rights council so it can be a real forum for dialogue.
“Human rights should not become a source for cultural imperialism. We strongly support adequate representation of all cultures, faiths and continents”, Pakistan’s ambassador to the United Nations declared during an intervention in the UN General Assembly’s consultations on the composition of the new human rights council
Mr Akram asserted “there should be no imposition of the views and perceptions of certain groups on rest of the membership.”
He observed that the current gaps and inadequacies in cultural and civilization representation in the council also need to be addressed. All civilizations and faiths need to be represented in the council so as it can be a real forum for dialogue”.
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top17.htm
Bomb material found at San Diego airport
WASHINGTON, Oct 25: Baggage screeners found bomb components in a carry-on piece of luggage at San Diego International Airport on Tuesday and cleared the area to investigate, Department of Homeland Security spokesmen said.
A department spokesman said the screeners found “all components of an IED” (improvised explosive device) in a piece of luggage. They then evacuated the commuter terminal of the airport and bomb specialists began to investigate, the spokesman said.
Transportation Security Administration spokesman Nico Melendez said an employee noticed a “suspicious item” in a piece of luggage as it was going through the X-ray machine.—Reuters
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top18.htm
Pakistani convicted in money transfer case
By Abdus Sattar Ghazali
SAN FRANCIASCO, Oct 25: A federal jury in Greenbelt, Maryland, has convicted Mohammad Bajwa, a Pakistani-American, on charges connected to $6 million he helped people transfer to Pakistan and other countries.
Mohammad Bajwa, 39, from Herndon, Virginia, was convicted in the US District Court of operating an unlicensed money transmitting business. He was also convicted of wire fraud connected to a refinancing application he filed on a property mortgage.
Bajwa, owner of a construction company, New Superstar Corporation, was ordered to give up his home and $4 million.
He could face a maximum penalty of five years in prison for each charge when he is sentenced on Nov 29.
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top16.htm
Kashmiri leaders want to cross LoC
SRINAGAR, Oct 25: Police on Tuesday detained a Kashmiri leader after he set out to cross LoC to help quake victims in Pakistan. Nayeem Khan and 15 of his supporters were held near Mirgund, 20 kilometres north of Srinagar, while they were heading to the border sector of Uri, police said.
Mr Khan had declared last week that he would breach the Line of Control at Uri and cross over to Azad Kashmir to help the victims of earthquake. He had made it clear his group would not seek permission from the Indian government to cross the LoC.
Other Kashmiri leaders said they too wanted to cross the LoC to help quake victims in Azad Kashmir but they would wait until they got the go-ahead from the authorities. “I and my volunteers are eager to cross over to help our brothers in Pakistan and Azad Kashmir,” said Javed Mir, a former Mujahideen commander.—AFP
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top9.htm
Quake: Oxfam criticizes rich for slow response
GENEVA, Oct 26: Aid agency Oxfam on Wednesday criticised western governments for giving too little too late to quake-stricken Pakistan as donor countries prepared to meet at the United Nations in Geneva to rally rescue efforts.
Oxfam said many rich countries had donated less than what it called their “fair share” and others nothing at all, while thousands of survivors were stranded in some of world’s most rugged mountains without shelter or food as winter approached.
The comments were issued as officials from some 65 countries including the United States, Britain, France and Japan were gathering in Geneva to take stock of Pakistan relief efforts and see how they can be stepped up.
UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan will address the meeting.
http://www.dawn.com/2005/10/26/top6.htm
Do we actually want people to randomly carry guns in the USA?
Cow slaughter backfires for man
Wed Oct 26, 2005 12:50 PM ET
SYDNEY (Reuters) - A man who twice missed while trying to shoot a friend's cow only to accidentally shoot a passer-by in the leg was fined Wednesday for what an Australian court described as a freak accident.
Rudolf Stadler, 61, agreed in April last year to shoot the troublesome cow which belonged to a friend who owns a hobby farm at Caboolture in tropical Queensland state.
Stadler lured the cow to a shed, and then took aim with his rifle. He missed. He took aim a second time, fired and missed again.
The second shot went through the back of the shed, a fence across a paddock and then through the door of a car being driven along a road behind the farm.
The bullet hit 46-year-old Carrie Tunning in the leg, the Brisbane District Court heard. Tunning, a passenger in the car, made a full recovery but Stadler was so distressed by the incident that he handed in his firearms license.
The court fined Stadler A$1,000 and banned him from obtaining another gun license for five years.
The cow was not so lucky, with Stadler eventually finding his mark.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsarticle.aspx?type=oddlyEnoughNews&storyid=2005-10-26T165003Z_01_WRI660488_RTRUKOC_0_US-AUSTRALIA-COW.xml
The Times of India
Chaos: Is it time to wind up from Bangalore?
NEW DELHI: Padma works as an international ticketing supervisor in one of Bangalore's top travel and tour operators and she rides a scooty to her office. For the past one week, it has been impossible to commute to her office, leave alone riding through the streets of Bangalore.
Rajeev rides a Bullet and he works in foreign language section of one the top multinational organizations. He is looking for the waters to recede.
So is every Bangalorean. Last Sunday night, it was impossible to reach the Bangalore airport as the rain pounded the city and the waters were rising.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1275976.cms
Bangalore Marooned and Governance Issues"
One feels sad to notice that two days of rain can bring cripple Bangalore day to day life and bring the government to its knees. Government is forced to take strong measures as to call holidays and advice people to stay indoors in order to prevent casualty. Administration is unaware to quantify the magnitude of damage at any given point of time. The government agency responsible for adequate action fail to own responsibility in times of crisis. The administration often lacks face in times of crisis for adequate information dissemination and status tracking. Co-ordination across various departments of the government is lacking. The inability of the government to withstand even the simple rainfall questions the governments capability for future calamities and crisis.
http://o3.indiatimes.com/eccentric
al-Qaeda man on prowl in Delhi
Sachin Parashar
[ Thursday, October 27, 2005 12:00:45 am
TIMES NEWS NETWORK ]
NEW DELHI: An al-Qaeda terrorist, Mohammed Majoodi, has sneaked into the country with the intention of targeting US centres in major Indian metros, intelligence sources said.
It was Majoodi’s suspected presence here that had led the US state department to sound a terror alert for American establishments in India on October 10.
While establishments in the Capital like the US embassy, American Centre and United States Educational Foundation in India are high on terrorist hit lists, the alert about Majoodi has also been passed on to Hyderabad, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kolkata and Chennai by intelligence agencies.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/1276411.cms
The Gulf News
Bashar vows to prosecute Syrians linked to Hariri killling
Agencies
Washington: Syrian President Bashar Assad said he will bring to trial any Syrian linked to the murder of former Lebanese premier Rafiq Hariri.
In a letter sent to Washington on Sunday, Assad said Syria had nothing to do with the February 14 car bombing that killed Hariri, The Washington Post said on Wednesday.
"I am ready to follow up action to bring to trial any Syrian who could be proved by concrete evidence to have had connection with this crime," Assad said in the letter.
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/RegionNF.asp?ArticleID=188845
The stakes are too high for Syria
By George S. Hishmeh, Special to Gulf News
Syria has taken the right step, as reaffirmed by its representative at the UN Security Council session on Tuesday, Fayssal Mekedad, in agreeing to extend the term of the controversial UN mission investigating the assassination of the former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri.
After all, Hariri is best remembered, particularly in the Arab world, for his amazing generosity and down-to-earth leadership, especially in the facelift he gave to Beirut, the once-again glittering Lebanese capital.
http://www.gulf-news.com/Articles/OpinionNF.asp?ArticleID=188853
October 21, 2005
Do you think Syria is involved in the killing of Rafik Hariri?
Yes: 45.1%
No: 43.9%
Unsure: 11.0%
October 17, 2005
If found guilty, should Saddam Hussain be executed?
Yes: 44.9%
No: 49.3%
Unsure: 5.8%
http://www.gulf-news.com/Opinion/Polls/default.asp
The Moscow Times
Terror Victims Unite to Press Putin
By Francesca Mereu
Staff Writer
Igor Tabakov / MT
Nord Ost co-chair Karpova, left, and Beslan mother Ella Kesayeva speaking at a news conference Tuesday.
Survivors and relatives of those who died in Moscow's Dubrovka theater siege teamed up with Beslan mothers and other families affected by terrorist attacks on Tuesday to demand that President Vladimir Putin ensure fair investigations into the attacks.
The families, united under the auspices of the new Nord Ost nongovernmental organization, issued an appeal at a news conference for Putin to revisit "biased" official investigations into terrorist attacks.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/011.html
Bush could write a pardon for everyone indicted except himself and without a report required the Grand Jury could literally expire and the American people will never know the truth and remain at risk for all of the same happening again.
Global Eye
Flop Sweat
By Chris Floyd
Published: October 21, 2005
Having railed at the wanton criminality of the Bush faction for so long, this column naturally partakes of the general glee arising from the looming possibility of genuine, grade-A grand jury indictments for some of the gang's top thugs.
Of course, we all know that the fix is in: If anyone in the White House is actually indicted and convicted for the high crime of exposing the identity of an undercover agent -- in wartime, no less -- they will certainly be pardoned when George W. Bush finally limps away from the steaming, stinking, blood-soaked ruin of his presidency. Nobody will do any hard time; in the end, the whole sick crew will simply pass through the golden revolving door into the lifetime gravy train of corporate grease and right-wing lecture-circuit glory.
Still, it is heartening to see the fever-sweat of fear popping out on the brows of these swaggering world-shakers, these third-rate goons and half-wit cranks posing as great statesmen, if only for a little while. Fear has always been their weapon of choice: They've used it to foment aggressive war, to crush political opposition, to manipulate the electorate and to mask their own incompetence, corruption and greed. Now they're getting a taste of it themselves -- and they can't take it.
http://context.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/21/120.html
Russia Rising as Energy Superpower on U.S. Demand
By Valeria Korchagina
Staff Writer
For MT
Heat exchange equipment on the site of Sakhalin-2 LNG project, which is expected to produce first gas in 2008.
The legendary sea-faring route from the United States across the Atlantic to Russia's northern city of Murmansk, through which vital supplies went to the Soviet Union some 60 years ago to help the country fight in World War II, is looking to get a new breath of life. This time, however, the traffic is going to be reversed, shipping liquefied natural gas, or LNG, from Russia to energy-hungry North America.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/046.html
Yukos Dogs Khristenko's U.S. Visit
By Stephen Boykewich and Valeria Korchagina
Staff Writers
Lawrence Jackson / AP
Viktor Khristenko speaking during an interview in Washington on Monday.
Industry and Energy Minister Viktor Khristenko, in Washington with top Russian business leaders to rebuild confidence in U.S.-Russia energy ties after the legal onslaught against Yukos, has been caught up in a lawsuit by U.S. shareholders in the shattered oil company.
A spokesman for the plaintiffs said Khristenko was served with the lawsuit just after meeting with U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday -- and hours after a speech asserting that Russia was not engaged in renationalizing its oil and gas sector.
Twelve shareholders of Yukos American Depositary Receipts filed suit against the Russian government, four state-owned energy giants and a host of high-ranking government officials on Monday, accusing them of securities fraud in the de facto renationalization of Yukos.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/001.html
Russia Demands Yukos Official's Extradition
The Associated Press
LONDON -- Lawyers for the Russian government opened an extradition case on Tuesday against a former executive of Yukos, claiming he committed fraud and perverted the course of justice.
Lawyer Peter Caldwell told Bow Street Magistrates' Court in central London that Alexander Temerko, a former senior vice president of Yukos Moscow, conspired to defraud the state-owned Rosneft oil company of its shares in a third company, Yeniseineftegaz.
A second count alleges that Temerko conspired to pervert the course of justice by providing false evidence about the allegations.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/048.html
GM Begins Wooing Local Scientists
By Anna Smolchenko
Staff Writer
General Motors is turning to Russian scientists for help in developing its new generation of electric vehicles, the company said Tuesday as it opened its new research center in Moscow.
The move makes GM the first foreign carmaker to set up a research-and-development presence in Russia.
"We are entering an era of increased technological collaboration with Russia," Alan Taub, executive director of Science at GM Research & Development laboratories, said at a news conference in Moscow.
GM declined to say how much money it was channeling into Russia. The company spent more than $5 billion on research and development, or R&D, in 2003, according to a recent report.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/041.html
LUKoil Seeks to Best CNPC's Kazakh Bid
By Dmitry Zhdannikov
Reuters
LUKoil said it was ready to match the $4.2 billion offer by Chinese oil firm CNPC for Toronto-listed Kazakh oil producer PetroKazakhstan.
It said in a statement Tuesday that it would make the offer if a Canadian court ruled this week not to approve the deal between CNPC and PetroKazakhstan because of an earlier suit by LUKoil.
Analysts said they doubted LUKoil wanted all of PetroKazakhstan and said they believed the statement was designed to put pressure on the court to support the Russian company in its long-running dispute over some of PetroKazakhstan's assets.
http://www.themoscowtimes.com/stories/2005/10/26/042.html
The Scotsman
High oil prices help BP weather storms to report £2.46bn profits
MARTIN FLANAGAN
CITY EDITOR
SURGING oil prices allowed oil major BP to deliver a strong rise in third-quarter profits yesterday, with the performance likely to have been an estimated £440 million better but for the devastating US hurricane season.
BP said its underlying adjusted replacement cost profit, which strips out one-off items and gains or losses from changes in the value of fuel inventories - and is the measure closely watched by the City - rose to $4.4 billion (£2.46bn).
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=2145452005
Financial services tops McConnell agenda
DAVID BLACK
DEPUTY BUSINESS EDITOR
SCOTLAND'S financial services sector has given an enthusiastic welcome to First Minister Jack McConnell's decision to take a hands-on role in driving the industry forward - providing he actually delivers.
The Scottish Executive confirmed yesterday McConnell is to take over the chairmanship of the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB).
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=2145232005
Cheney drawn into row on exposure of CIA agent
RHIANNON EDWARD
DICK Cheney, the United States vice-president, yesterday found himself drawn uncomfortably deeper into a web of allegations over how a covert CIA operative came to be unmasked.
Previously undisclosed notes of a conversation between Mr Cheney and his chief of staff, Lewis "Scooter" Libby, on 12 June, 2003, have put the spotlight on the vice-president's possible role in the unmasking of Valerie Plame and appear to run counter to Mr Libby's testimony to a federal grand jury that he first learned about her from newspaper reporters.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2146292005
Shadow cast over independence of Scottish Financial Enterprise
SCRUTINEER
NICK BEVENS
JACK McConnell's unprecedented decision to take personal control of the Financial Services Advisory Board (FiSAB) raises searching questions.
Is it a political manoeuvre to highlight his commitment to Scottish business, after being so heavily criticised for doing nothing to endear himself to it in his first term?
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/business.cfm?id=2145432005
I included this article in skepticism. Not to be inflammatory. I don't understand how the 'eggs' would be considered infectious unless the virus is blood borne. That is not my understanding of this virus. I believe this view is extreme.
EU warns of bird flu danger in chicken and eggs
EBEN HARRELL
Key points
• EU warns against undercooked poultry but admits no evidence link
• EU bans import of live birds to prevent spread of avian flu
• Businesses accuse agency of scaremongering
Key quote
"[Cooking] protects from salmonella and other diseases. Avian flu is an added danger, even though there is no epidemiological data to prove it can be transmitted through food" - European Food Safety Agency official
Story in full FOOD safety advisers are to warn the public to avoid raw eggs and undercooked poultry to prevent the spread of bird flu in Europe.
The European Food Safety Agency (EFSA) has said it "can't exclude" the possibility that the deadly virus can be transmitted through foods.
Raw eggs are used in various popular recipes including mayonnaise. No details were available last night over whether the advice would apply to partially-cooked foods such as soft-boiled eggs.
Until now, British food safety advisers have ruled out the possibility of humans contracting the disease through consumption of eggs or poultry.
http://thescotsman.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=2146272005
Is Scotland earnestly looking at 'bird eggs' as a potential infection source? It occurred to me that eggs could have infection on the shells from contact of the hens that laid them if the hen was infected. Perhaps that is the missing link to it's quickly spreading and undetected record.
What is special about the current outbreaks in poultry?
The current outbreaks of highly pathogenic avian influenza, which began in South-east Asia in mid-2003, are the largest and most severe on record. Never before in the history of this disease have so many countries been simultaneously affected, resulting in the loss of so many birds.
The causative agent, the H5N1 virus, has proved to be especially tenacious. Despite the death or destruction of an estimated 150 million birds, the virus is now considered endemic in many parts of Indonesia and Viet Nam and in some parts of Cambodia, China, Thailand, and possibly also the Lao People’s Democratic Republic. Control of the disease in poultry is expected to take several years.
The H5N1 virus is also of particular concern for human health, as explained below.
http://www.who.int/csr/disease/avian_influenza/avian_faqs/en/
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