- 2008 PAST POST NEWS SERVICES -
(Dec 31 2008) - Liberty Post : Israel rules out temporary truce in Gaza assault :
JERUSALEM (AFP) -- Israel ruled out a temporary truce in Gaza on Wednesday, saying it would only mull a permanent ceasefire as jets pounded Hamas targets for a fifth day and the Islamists pummelled Israel with rockets. Protests mushroomed around the globe and world's top diplomats scrambled to find a way to stop one of Israel's deadliest-ever offensives on Gaza that has so far killed at least 390 Palestinians. As the Israeli security cabinet convened in Tel Aviv to consider international proposals of a truce, a senior government official told AFP the Jewish state would not agree to a French offer of a 48-hour lull.
(Dec 30 2008) - Tripoli Post : Masses Attack Egyptian Consulate in Aden :
ADEN, YEMEN -- Yemeni and Arab protesters, angered by Egyptian President Houssni Mubarak’s support of Israeli war crimes in Gaza and his participation of the blockade imposed on Gaza for over a year and a half, attacked the Egyptian consulate in the southern city of Aden, Yemen on Tuesday. The protest comes after more than 375 Palestinians were killed and more than 800 were wounded in four days of continuous Israeli air strikes on the enclave, of which Egypt is the only other neighbor. A witness said the protesters burned the Egyptian flag and hoisted a Palestinian banner on top of building.
(Dec 29 2008) - National Post : Child-tracking devices raise privacy issues :
CANADA -- From electronically leashed toddlers to test kits that promise to reveal the details of teens' sex lives, technology is offering parents increasingly sophisticated ways to track their child's every move. But as these products become more affordable and accessible, experts and parents worry that companies may be exploiting parents' fears and creating a generation of anxious and needy children. "The fear marketing in the parenting industry starts during pregnancy -- 'You have to do this, you have to do that,'" says Ann Douglas, the Peterborough, Ont.-based author of The Mother of All Parenting Books.
(Dec 28 2008) - Sunday Business Post : American nightmare :
U.S.A. -- Banks going bust, carmakers collapsing, interest rates being slashed to almost zero – the US economy endured the year from hell, writes Richard Curran. It was the year that America’s economy truly fell to earth. After years of record trading deficits, an artificially high dollar and poor bank regulation, something had to give. The contagion of the subprime crisis which had come to light in 2007 spread into a full-blown financial crisis that reverberated around the world.
(Dec 27 2008) - Denver Post : Bloody day in the Mideast :
GAZA CITY, GAZA STRIP -- Israeli warplanes retaliating for rocket fire from the Gaza Strip pounded dozens of security compounds across the Hamas-ruled territory in unprecedented waves of airstrikes today, killing nearly 200 people and wounding 270 others in the single bloodiest day of fighting in years. Most of those killed were security men, but civilians were also among the dead. Hamas said all of its security installations were hit and responded with several medium-range Grad rockets at Israel, reaching deeper than in the past.
(Dec 26 2008) - Jarkata Post : 3 Chinese navy ships leave for Somalia :
CHINA -- (AP) Chinese warships - armed with special force, guided missiles and helicopters - set sail Friday for anti-piracy duty off Somalia, the first time the communist nation has sent ships on a mission that could involve fighting so far beyond its territorial waters. The three vessels - two destroyers and a supply ship - may increase worries about growing Chinese military power. The mission will also challenge China's ability to cooperate with other naval forces patrolling the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest sea lanes.
(Dec 25 2008) - Seattle Post : Prison doctor quits over executions :
OLYMPIA -- The head doctor of the Washington Department of Corrections has resigned to avoid an ethical conflict over a pending state execution. Dr. Marc Stern told The Olympian newspaper that using doctors to prepare for an execution is unethical. He says the American Medical Association and the Society of Correctional Physicians back him up. They both oppose doctor involvement in executions. Stern says the only way he could find to take himself out of the execution plan for convicted murderer Darold Ray Stenson was to resign.
(Dec 24 2008) - Yemen Post : Al-Masder paper journalists' question postponed :
YEMEN -- Investigations with the editor in chief of Al-Masder, a weekly newspaper, and a staff writer, columnist Moneer Al-Mawri living in the United States of America, were postponed to next Saturday after the newspaper's lawyer Khalid Al-Anesi asked to give him enough time to study the complaint and response to it. On the wake of a report allegedly harming President Saleh, the Persecution of Press and Publications last week summoned the two journalists. The measure came after a complaint lodged by the General Secretariat of the ruling party GPC represented by the Department of Legal Affairs.
(Dec 23 2008) - New York Post : US Army ready if downtoen gets out of hand :
NEW YORK -- ARE you afraid that the eco nomic downturn could get out of hand? I mean, really out of hand? Well, don't worry. The US Army War College is on the case - ready to handle "unforeseen economic collapse" and the "rapid dissolution of public order in all or significant parts of the US." And you thought we were just dealing with a recession! In a report published Nov. 4 - just in time for the holiday season - the War College's Strategic Studies Institute posited a number of shocks that the country should be prepared for, including unrest caused by the economy's failure.
(Dec 22 2008) - Post Chronicle : Battle For Sri Lanka Rebel HQ Rages :
SRI LANKA -- Heavy fighting erupted on Monday as soldiers seized defenses around the separatist Tamil Tigers' self-proclaimed capital, killing at least 66 combatants, the military said. And as battles around the town of Kilinochchi intensified for a second week, President Mahinda Rajapaksa urged the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) to free civilians trapped in the war zone by year's end or else face listing as a terrorist group.
(Dec 21 2008) - Patriot Post : The Federal Money Machine :
WASH D.C. -- A new Capitol Visitor Center recently opened, just in time for the transformation of the Capitol building into a tomb for the antiquated idea that the legislative branch matters. The center is supposed to enhance the experience of visitors to Congress, although why there are visitors is a mystery. Congress' marginalization was brutally underscored when, after Congress did not authorize $14 billion for General Motors and Chrysler, the executive branch said, in effect: Congress' opinions are mildly interesting, so we will listen very nicely -- then go out and do precisely what we want.
(Dec 20 2008) - Norway Post : Joint Nordic initiative on Zimbabwe :
NORWAY -- In a joint statement the Foreign Ministers of the Nordic countries (Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway and Sweden) say that the misrule of Robert Mugabe must come to an end and respect for human rights be reinstated in Zimbabwe. They say the Nordic countries have a long tradition of engagement with Zimbabwe and other countries in Southern Africa. - Our strong partnership with countries in the region has historically been built on mutual trust, dialogue and the upholding of common values such as democratic principles and respect for human rights.
(Dec 19 2008) - China Post : Chen again released without bail :
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Taipei district court judge Chou Chan-chun again released former President Chen Shui-bian without bail yesterday. Chou upheld the release order he gave on Saturday. Chen was released without bail first before daybreak on Saturday, following an overnight hearing after his indictment on charges of graft and money laundering on Friday.
(Dec 18 2008) - African Post : Rwandan Massacre Mastermind Convicted :
TANZANIA -- A former Rwandan army colonel was convicted Thursday of genocide and crimes against humanity for masterminding the killings of more than half a million people in a 100-day slaughter in 1994. Survivors in Rwanda welcomed the watershed moment in a long search for justice. The U.N. courtroom in Tanzania was packed for the culmination of the trial of Theoneste Bagosora, the highest-ranking Rwandan official to be convicted in the genocide. Onlookers were silent as the 67-year-old was sentenced to life in prison.
(Dec 17 2008) - Jerusalem Post : A little boy named Adolf Hitler :
EASTON, Pennsylvania, -- The father of 3-year-old Adolf Hitler Campbell, denied a birthday cake with the child's full name on it by one New Jersey supermarket, is asking for a little tolerance. Heath Campbell and his wife, Deborah, are upset not only with the decision made by the nearby ShopRite, but also with an outpouring of angry Internet postings in response to a local newspaper article about the cake. Heath Campbell, who is 35, said in an interview Tuesday that people should look forward, not back, and accept change.
(Dec 16 2008) - Liberty Post : House Votes 113-0 To Begin Impeachment Proceedings on Blago : ILLINOIS -- Blagojevich Has No Plans To Resign, Appears Ready To Fight Charges. House Speaker Michael Madigan Monday formed a House committee to begin preparations to impeach embattled Gov. Rod Blagojevich. A resolution to being the impeachment proceedings passed unanimously, 113-0. The 21-member committee will work every day from now through the end of the session on Jan. 14 with the exception of Christmas Eve, Christmas Day and New Year's Eve and New Year's Day to move the impeachment ahead through the House. The House as a whole will then vote on whether or not to impeach the governor.
(Dec 15 2008) - Bangkok Post : Asean charter comes into force :
JARKARTA -- The Association of Southeast Asian Nations took a major step towards becoming an EU-style community on Monday with the passing into force of a new charter setting benchmarks for democracy. The charter sets out rules of membership, transforms Asean into a legal entity and envisages a single free trade area by 2015 for the region of 500 million people.
(Dec 14 2008) - Sunday Business Post : Lenihan to press ahead with bank capital injection : IRELAND -- The government is preparing to commit billions in cash to help recapitalise the banking sector. Senior officials from the National Treasury Management Agency and the Department of Finance are meeting over the weekend to further assess how much the main banks in particular may require. However, its plans for recapitalising the sector may still not be finalised.
(Dec 13 2008) - Courier Post : Closing arguments to begin in Fort Dix plot trial :
CAMDEN -- They watched jihadist videos, listed to incendiary Islamist speeches, and were secretly recorded by FBI informants talking about bringing a holy war to America. They bought guns and practiced shooting, and got a map of Fort Dix. Were five men who spent years in the comfortable Philadelphia suburb of Cherry Hill really planning a homegrown terrorist attack on U.S. soil? Or were the foreign-born Muslims just jihad sympathizers who talked tough but had no real intention of killing anyone ? Those are the questions the jury of eight women and four men must decide in the case against five New Jersey men accused of planning to kill soldiers at the Army's Fort Dix.
(Dec 12 2008) - Yorkshire Post : Sorry, says HBOS boss as angry shareholders back takeover : YORKSHIRE -- THE chairman of West Yorkshire-based HBOS apologised today for the ailing bank's plight as shareholders gathered to vote on the firm's £11.5 billion taxpayer bail-out and rescue takeover by rival Lloyds TSB. Dennis Stevenson said the board was sorry about the financial impact of the crisis on investors and said he was "neither happy nor proud" as chairman. HBOS shareholders overwhelmingly approved the takeover and an £11.5 billion taxpayer-funded boost. But many voiced criticisms of the HBOS board. One investor, Brian Lockley, said: "What I've heard so far reminds me of my old school reports - could do better."
(Dec 11 2008) - Denver Post : Joe the Plumber "angry" over why McCain backed bailout : TOLEDO, Ohio -- Turns out that "Joe the Plumber" isn't such a big fan of John McCain after all. America's most famous plumber said he was appalled by the Republican presidential candidate's reasons for supporting the government's $700 billion bank-rescue plan, and he said they nearly caused him to abandon McCain. Samuel Wurzelbacher said he asked McCain why he voted for the bank bailout and was stunned by some of the answers. "I was angry," Wurzelbacher told conservative radio host Glenn Beck on Tuesday. "In fact, I wanted to get off the bus after I talked to him."
(Dec 10 2008) - China Post : Chen’s former aide released on bail :
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Ma Yung-cheng, former deputy secretary-general to President Chen Shui-bian, was released on bail yesterday. The bail was set at NT$500,000 for Ma, who was arrested on charges of “illegally seizing public property” on November 4, and has since been held incommunicado at the Taipei detention house. Prosecutors of the Special Counsel asked the Taipei district court to terminate Ma’s detention. They said there was no need to detain him any longer. He was taken into custody because the charges pressed against him entail a prison term of more than five years, if convicted.
(Dec 09 2008) - Christian Post : Bush Not A Bible Literalist :
WASH D.C. (AP)-- President George W. Bush said his belief that God created the world is not incompatible with scientific proof of evolution. In an interview with ABC's "Nightline" on Monday, the president also said he probably is not a literalist when reading the Bible although an individual can learn a great deal from it, including the New Testament teaching that God sent his only son. Asked about creation and evolution, Bush said: "I think you can have both. I think evolution can — you're getting me way out of my lane here. I'm just a simple president. But it's, I think that God created the earth, created the world; I think the creation of the world is so mysterious it requires something as large as an almighty and I don't think it's incompatible with the scientific proof that there is evolution."
(Dec 08 2008) - New York Post : OBAMA'S HOLY HELL :
NEW YORK -- IF President-elect Barack Obama goes through with his campaign pledge to sign into law the Freedom of Choice Act, holy hell is going to break loose. FOCA may be the most radical social legislation in decades. It seeks to strip every last restraint from abortion - outlawing states' requirements for waiting periods, informed consent or parental consent; preventing health and safety regulation of abortion clinics and abortionists - and even ending restrictions on partial-birth abortion. With one stroke of the president's pen, it would nullify every one of the 330 or so federal, state and local abortion laws on the books, most of them supported by a majority of Americans.
(Dec 07 2008) - Kyiv Post : Thousands bid farewell to Russian patriarch :
MOSCOW -- Russian Orthodox Christians flocked to pay tribute to Patriarch Alexiy II on Sunday as he lay in state in a Moscow cathedral, thanking him for the revival of the faith after decades of communist repression. Alexiy II, enthroned in 1990 a year before the demise of the Soviet Union, died of heart failure on Friday. He was 79. Reviving Russia's main faith, he oversaw the construction of thousands of new churches and raised the prominence of Orthodoxy across the vast nation by building closer ties with the Kremlin. During his 18 years as leader of the world's largest Orthodox church, Alexiy helped heal an 80-year rift with a rival faction of the church in the West which had been set up by monarchists fleeing the atheist Bolsheviks.
(Dec 06 2008) - Jakarta Post : Powerful quake rocks East Timor :
DILI, East Timor -- A powerful earthquake struck off East Timor's coast Saturday, shaking buildings and sending screaming residents running into the streets, geological officials and witnesses said. The quake had a preliminary magnitude of 6.2 and struck 100 miles (160 kilometers) northwest of the capital, Dili, the U.S. Geological Survey said. It was centered 250 miles (408 kilometers) beneath the Banda Sea, it said. There was no threat of a tsunami because of the quake's depth, officials said.
(Dec 05 2008) - Patriot Post : The New Hollywood Blacklist :
U.S.A. -- Hollywood can still mount a soapbox and recall the dark days when people lost their jobs in show business for daring to take an unpopular political position that was outside the mainstream. Whenever they're criticized, they proclaim, "McCarthyism," accuse their critics of "blacklisting," and condemn the deplorable "intolerance." Hollywood has yet to accept, perhaps even to understand, that it is the entertainment industry that excels at this slanderous behavior. After California voters narrowly approved Proposition 8, which amended the state constitution to define marriage as between a man and a woman, it was revealed that Scott Eckern, the artistic director of the California Musical Theater in Sacramento, the state's largest nonprofit musical theater company, had donated $1,000 to the Yes on 8 campaign.
(Dec 04 2008) - Liberty Post : Supreme's to Look at Obama Citizenship Case :
WASH, D.C. -- In a highly unusual move, U.S. Associate Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas has asked his colleagues on the court to consider the request of an East Brunswick, N.J. attorney who has filed a lawsuit challenging President-elect Barack Obama’s status as a United States citizen. Thomas’s action took place after Justice David Souter had rejected a petition known as an application for a stay of writ of certiorari that asked the court to prevent the meeting of the Electoral College on Dec. 15, which will certify Obama as the 44th president of the United States and its first African-American president. The court has scheduled a Dec. 5 conference on the writ -- just 10 days before the Electoral College meets.
(Dec 03 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Police clear out settlers from 2nd building :
JERUSALEM, Hebron -- Border police and the IDF moved swiftly on Wednesday afternoon to clear out scores of settler teens who briefly took over an empty Hebron building, known as Beit Shapira, which is located a short distance away from the Cave of the Patriarchs. Before they were led out by the police, the teens stuck their heads out of the windows of the building to declare that they had entered to protest the pending evacuation of the disputed Beit HaShalom building on the outer edges of the city. "All of the land of Israel is ours," the teens shouted out. Their faces were covered in cloth masks.
(Dec 02 2008) - Bangkok Post : Problems abroad ... for Thailand :
THAILAND -- The political face-off between the People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) and the Somchai Wongsawat government has not only seriously caused great political instability, but also tremendously damaged the country's international standing and reputation. The political crisis is no longer limited within the domestic realm. It has far-reaching implications on Thailand's foreign affairs. As of Tuesday morning, a Thai court dissolved the ruling party and banned PM Somchai Wongsawat from politics, plunging the kingdom into further uncertainty.
(Dec 01 2008) - News Post : Pakistan High Commissioner summoned by MEA :
NEW DELHI -- The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) on Monday summoned the Pakistan High Commissioner, Shahid Malik, in the wake of Mumbai terror attacks. According to The News, Malik was summoned by Joint Secretary (Pakistan) in the MEA T C A Raghavan who issued a statement to him on the Mumbai strikes which is suspected to have been executed by “elements” based in Pakistan. Islamabad is denying Pakistan’s involvement in the Mumbai terror attacks but India is claiming to have enough proofs to show Pakistani links in the terror strikes.
(Nov 30 2008) - Mongolia Post : Mongolia & Russia Join for Military Training :
MONGOLIA -- Mongolia and Russia will hold a joint peacekeeping training exercise beginning November 1 in Mongolia. The month-long exercise, codenamed “Darkhan 1,” is aimed at enhancing the peacekeeping capability and the equipment of the nation’s armed forces. Some 250 Mongolian soldiers and 450 Russian soldiers will take part in the 30-day activity. “Russia will offer more than US$2.6 million for Mongolia’s armed forces to maintain the equipment, including military vehicles, armored cars and the equipment of artillery and communication,” a defense officer told Chinese news service Xinhua.
(Nov 29 2008) - Norway Post : Oil industry to step up oil spill preparedness :
NORWAY -- The Norwegian Clean Seas Association for Operating Companies (NOFO). is setting up a standing force of 50 traained persons, which will be ready to help prevent oil spills along the Norwegian coast, anywhere - anytime. At the same time, the industry will make clearer demands regarding the quality of products and services, as well as faster response from the municipalities' emergency preparedness organisations. This will cement a key factor in the work to ensure the best possible oil spill preparedness along the coast and in the beach zone.
(Nov 28 2008) - New York Post : Siege as Jewish Center in Mumbai said to be over : MUMBAI, India -- A fresh battle raged at the luxury Taj Mahal hotel Friday as commandos fired grenades at that Mumbai landmark while other forces ended a siege at another five-star hotel. Meanwhile, Indian commandos emerged from a besieged Jewish center with rifles raised in an apparent sign of victory after a daylong siege that saw a team rappel from helicopters and a series of explosions and fire rock the building and blow gaping holes in the wall. Initial reports said that five hostages were killed in the siege at the Jewish center.
(Nov 27 2008) - China Post : Bands of gunmen rampage in Mumbai - many dead :
MUMBAI, India -- Teams of gunmen stormed luxury hotels, a popular restaurant, a crowded train station and a Jewish group's headquarters in India's financial capital, killing at least 101 people, taking Westerners hostage and leaving parts of the city under siege Thursday, police said. A group of suspected Muslim militants claimed responsibility. Police and gunmen were exchanging occasional gunfire at two luxury hotels and dozens of people were believed held hostage or trapped in besieged buildings. Pradeep Indulkar, a senior official at the Maharashtra state Home Ministry said 101 people were killed and 287 injured.
(Nov 26 2008) - Christian Post : Some Fearful Christians Hope to Flee Iraq :
TAL KAEEF, Iraq – Young Christian women in tight jeans mingle easily with Arab matrons draped in black, head-to-toe robes. Both church spires and mosque minarets rise above the low-slung houses. Violence is rare. "The people here look out for each other — Arabs, Christians, Kurds, Yazidis. If all of Iraq was like this, it would be a great place," said 1st Lt. Jeremy Glosson, leading a U.S. Army patrol through Tal Kaeef's medieval-like alleys. And yet, many Christians here say they want to flee a town where their ancestors have lived for generations and, if possible, to abandon a country where their religion has survived for some 2,000 years — longer than in Europe — but one they fear is growing ever more violent.
(Nov 25 2008) - National Post : Somali pirates hijack steel-laden cargo ship :
NAIROBI -- Somali pirates have hijacked a Yemeni ship loaded with steel, officials said on Tuesday, and one of Asia's biggest shippers said it was diverting vulnerable vessels away from the dangerous Gulf of Aden. Scores of attacks this year have brought the pirates millions of dollars in ransoms, hiked up shipping insurance costs, sent foreign navies rushing to the area, and left about a dozen boats with more than 200 hostages still in pirate hands. Among them is a Saudi supertanker seized on Nov. 15 in the biggest ever hijacking at sea. Local sources said the gang holding it were demanding a US$15-million ransom.
(Nov 24 2008) - Birmingham Post : Jaguar (JLR) tight-lipped over bail-out plea :
U.K. -- Jaguar Land Rover (JLR) has refused to be drawn on speculation that it is in secret talks over a Government bail-out but admitted it was facing some of its toughest ever trading conditions. According to reports, the luxury car group - owned by Indian conglomerate Tata - had requested an emergency £1 billion loan to help it ride out the downturn in the global car market. Figures out last month saw new car sales fall in UK to their lowest levels for more than 40 years with other developed countries experiencing a similar decline in sales as the global economic downturn saw consumers rein in their spending.
(Nov 23 2008) - Denver Post : Apparent coup attempt in Guinea-Bissau :
BISSAU, Guinea-Bissau -- Mutinous soldiers fought their way into the fortified residence of Guinea-Bissau's president in a three-hour gunbattle Sunday but did not hurt the head of state, a top official said. The soldiers attacked President Joao Bernardo Vieira's home shortly after midnight, killing at least one of his guards and injuring several others before security forces were able to push them back, Interior Minister Cipriano Cassama said. The attackers did not reach the room Vieira was hiding in and neither he nor his wife was hurt, Cassama said. He declared "It's unacceptable that we should have another coup in this country."
(Nov 22 2008) - Palm Beach Post : Feds say trafficking-prostitution ring busted :
FLORIDA -- They spent the hours between the beatings and threats and forced sexual encounters cloaked in suburbia, stashed invisibly in quiet family homes. Now they are free, and the ring of smugglers who prosecutors say kidnapped them in Mexico and shuttled them to brothels across South Florida to service as many as 100 clients per week are behind bars. Federal agents this week charged five people with operating a prostitution gang that targeted girls as young as 14, smuggled them across the border and forced them into a "modern day form of slavery," the U.S. Attorney's Office said.
(Nov 21 2008) - Copenhagen Post : Pirates force Maersk off course :
SUEZ CANAL -- Piracy in the Gulf of Aden is forcing the world's largest shipper to sail its ships around the Cape of Good Hope on routes to and from Asia to Europe and North America. By bypassing the Suez Canal and Red Sea passageway A.P. Moller-Maersk ships will sail an extra 5,000 kilometres on routes to South-east Asia, adding two weeks to European travel times and eight days to North American travel times. Maersk indicated the rerouting will likely mean price hikes for its goods and services, despite the resulting delays. Søren Skou, member of Maersk's executive board, was uncertain whether plans to send more warships to the Gulf of Aden would reduce attacks by pirates.
(Nov 20 2008) - Kyiv Post : Russia gives NATO land bridge to Afghanistan :
MOSCOW -- Russia has granted NATO-member Germany permission to ship weapons and equipment for its force in Afghanistan overland through Russia, the Russian Foreign Ministry said on Thursday. The agreement showed Russia's willingness to cooperate with the Western military alliance over Afghanistan despite sharp disagreements over the war in Georgia, NATO enlargement and Washington's plans to build a missile shield in Europe. "The Federal Customs Service has issued a general permission for ... transit by rail through Russian territory of the Bundeswehr's arms, military equipment and military goods to Afghanistan," the Foreign Ministry said in a statement.
(Nov 19 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Indian navy sinks suspected pirate ship :
NEW DELHI -- An Indian naval vessel sank a suspected pirate "mother ship" in the Gulf of Aden and chased two attack boats into the night, officials said Wednesday, yet more violence in the lawless seas where brigands are becoming bolder and more violent. Separate bands of pirates also seized a Thai ship with 16 crew members and an Iranian cargo vessel with a crew of 25 in the Gulf of Aden, where Somalia-based pirates appear to be attacking ships at will, said Noel Choong of the International Maritime Bureau's piracy reporting center in Malaysia.
(Nov 18 2008) - News Post : IB to host top-level security meet on Nov. 22-23 :
NEW DELHI -- The Intelligence Bureau will host a two-day meeting of the Directors General of Police of all 28 states and 35 Joint Directors of IB in New Delhi on November 22-23. Prime Minister Dr. Manmohan Singh will be interacting with the top security and intelligence officers from across the country during the meeting. Home Minister Shivraj Patil will preside over the inaugural session of the meet. National Security Adviser M. K. Narayanan will also participate in the meeting.
(Nov 17 2008) - Liberty Post : Obama Declares War on Conservative Talk Radio :
WASH D.C. -- Barack Obama sought to silence his critics during his 2008 campaign. Now, with the ink barely dry on this November's ballots, Obama has begun a war against conservative talk radio. Obama is on record as saying he does not plan an exhumation of the now-dead "Fairness Doctrine". Instead, Obama's attack on free speech will be far less understood by the general public and accordingly, far more dangerous. The late community organizer Saul Alinsky taught his followers to strike hard from an unexpected direction, an approach known asAlinsky jujitsu.
(Nov 16 2008) - Bangkok Post : Japan to lead G20 plan for reform :
WASH D.C. -- World leaders at a crisis summit have agreed on an action plan to restore global growth, and Prime Minister Taro Aso has made an ambitious bid for Japan to take the lead in creating a new global financial mechanism. Aso wound up his visit here to attend a summit of the world's top leaders, which ended on Saturday by adopting an action plan to boost flagging global growth and prevent future financial upheaval. "Throughout this summit, I felt high expectations to Japan," Aso told a news conference. "The world is now entering a new era," Aso said. "I think Japan should take concrete action.
(Nov 15 2008) - Washington Post : Bush says summit leaders agree to cooperate :
WASH D.C. -- President George W. Bush said Saturday that agreement by leaders of the world's top economies to modernize financial regulation and cooperate more fully will help keep the global financial meltdown from getting worse. "Our economies are being hit very hard," Bush said at the conclusion of a weekend meeting of over 20 leaders of countries that account for 90 percent of the world's output. He said that the leaders had made great strides at the session toward "adapting our financial systems to the realities of the 21st century."
(Nov 14 2008) - New York Post : BAILOUT BOONDOGGLE :
NEW YORK, New York -- First came Wall Street and the insurance giant AIG. Now Detroit's Big Three automakers want a bailout. Barack Obama, Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi say that action cannot wait for the president-elect's inauguration, and a bailout bill may pass next week. Big mistake. Yes, the situation is dire: General Motors is bleeding green and may simply run out of money by the end of the year. GM, Ford and Chrysler want an additional $50 billion in emergency cash. And outright failure of any of the Big Three would have devastating consequences - and not only in Detroit.
(Nov 13 2008) - China Post : Chen gives up right to appeal :
TAIPEI, Taiwan -- Former President Chen Shui-bian will not appeal against a politically-motivated order by the Taipei District Court to have him detained incommunicado on corruption charges, his lawyer said yesterday. Chen decided to give up his right to challenge the detention at a higher court to protest the Kuomintang government's "political persecution and retaliation," said the former president's lawyer, Cheng Wen-lung. Chen also asked the court to release all other suspects currently detained because of their alleged involvement in his case, the lawyer said.
(Nov 12 2008) - Christian Post : Catholic Bishops Vow to Confront Obama on Abortion : BALTIMORE -- The nation's Roman Catholic bishops vowed Tuesday to forcefully confront the Obama administration over its support for abortion rights, saying the church and religious freedom could be under attack in the new presidential administration. In an impassioned discussion on Catholics in public life, several bishops said they would accept no compromise on abortion policy. Many condemned Catholics who had argued it was morally acceptable to back President-elect Obama because he pledged to reduce abortion rates. And several prelates promised to call out Catholic policy makers on their failures to follow church teaching.
(Nov 11 2008) - Norway Post : International conference on the Arctic :
MONACO -- An international ministerial conference on the Arctic is held in Monaco Monday and Tuesday, aimed at raising public awareness on the urgent need to protect the Arctic environment. It also aims to continue the momentum provided by the International Polar Year with regard to scientific research and international cooperation. The conference will notably facilitate the mobilization of political and institutional leaders, emphasising the urgency of acting to support a network of observation stations in the Arctic. The conference, under the chairmanship of the current European Union
(Nov 10 2008) - National Post : Transition from Bush to Obama could be rocky :
WASH D.C. -- They greeted each other like longtime colleagues, not political rivals whose differences over two wars and the faltering American economy had provided the fuel for a fiery presidential campaign. Making his first, historic visit to the White House since last week's election, president-elect Barack Obama cast his arm across President George W. Bush's shoulder and smiled broadly for the cameras. Then moments later, Bush clasped his successor's arm and ushered him into the Oval Office for an hour-long conservation both men were eager to keep private.
(Nov 09 2008) - Liberty Post : Twenty die in Russian nuclear sub accident :
MOSCOW (Reuters) -- Twenty people died and more than 20 were injured in an accident aboard a Russian nuclear submarine in the Pacific Ocean, the navy said Sunday, in the worst submarine disaster since the Kursk sank eight years ago. A Russian naval spokesman said 208 people were on board the submarine when an accident involving the activation of a fire extinguishing system occurred during sea trials. He said the nuclear reactor was intact and radiation levels were normal. The death toll makes it the worst mishap for the accident-prone Russian navy since the Kursk nuclear submarine sank in the Barents Sea in 2000 with the loss of all 118 sailors.
(Nov 08 2008) - Jakarta Post : Spain rejects asylum appeal from bin Laden's son :
SPAIN -- A lawyer for Osama bin Laden's son says Spain has rejected her client's final appeal for asylum and will deport him. Lawyer Bianca Sharma says officials were preparing to put Omar Osama bin Laden on a plane to Egypt later Saturday. The Interior Ministry could not be reached for comment. The younger bin Laden flew to Spain on Monday and remains in a transit area at Madrid's Barajas Airport. He claimed he would not be safe if returned to an Arab country, but Sharma told The Associated Press that argument was rejected.
(Nov 07 2008) - Birmingham Post : Bank of England presses panic button :
UNITED KINGDOM -- The speed with which financial markets are being gripped by the fear of global recession is underlined by the decision of the Bank of England yesterday to cut the UK base interest rate by one and a half per cent. The scale of the reduction shocked the City, which had expected no more than half a per cent, and was greeted with gasps by MPs in the House of Commons. It is not yet two months since the Chancellor, Alistair Darling, was ridiculed when he warned that economic conditions were the worst for more than 60 years
(Nov 06 2008) - Denver Post : Obama's record on firearms triggers run on sales in state : GRAND JUNCTION -- John Faulkner and his wife, Brenda, thought Wednesday was a good day to buy a handgun. "I'm 37 years old, and this is the first time in my life that I am really scared for our future," said Faulkner, an oil field worker, as he perused the collection of weaponry in A Pawn Shop here. At Aurora's Firing Line gun shop, Steve Wickham was also purchasing. "Anything I can get my hands on," he said as he cradled a $699 9mm handgun. Same thing in Lakewood: "I was selling guns before I even opened the door," said George Horne, owner of The Gun Room.
(Nov 05 2008) - Filipino Post : Malaysia's rowdy royals :
MALAYSIA -- An alleged beating of a member of Malaysia’s royal household and his friends by the grandson of the Sultan of Johor and his bodyguards last week looks set to renew debate over the indiscretions of the royalty and whether they are immune from prosecution, media reports said. Tunku Nadzimuddin Tunku Mudzaffar, the son of the eldest princess of the State of Negeri Sembilan royal household, filed a police report that he was hit with the butt of a pistol on his head and face by a grandson of the Sultan of Johor. The alleged offender was identified only as Tengku Ismail, and his father is one of the Sultan’s sons.
(Nov 04 2008) - Porterville Post : The More things CHANGE, the More they stay the same PORTERVILLE -- As always, the controlling political elite of both parties, controlled who they wanted us to vote for by controlling the media elite. That wasn’t much of a stretch for many of us, but for the rest of you hopeful hypnotic half-wits, you’ll need to step up and prove to us conservatives, that you will not take this Country down if Obama fails to keep his promises. Since you overlooked the ill’s of his immigration and his commie connections, you and only you will be held responsible for electing the greater of both evils and not the lesser. I hope and pray that your passive-aggressive agenda was due to your ignorance and not your arrogance. Time to repent !!!
(Nov 03 2008) - Frontier Post : Fragile success against opium economy :
GHANI KHEL -- A year ago, the province that surrounds this dusty town of onion farmers was Afghanistan's No. 2 producer of opium. Today, Nangarhar has eradicated opium entirely. It is the most dramatic reversal in a year offering the first hints of progress against opium, with harvests declining nationwide. Yet in the chalk-white fields above Ghani Khel, tribal elder Pat Zirak Mohammad predicts that Nangarhar's opium ban will not last. To grow anything other than poppy, his people need a dam to harness water from seasonal floods. But he is skeptical that the government will deliver.
(Nov 02 2008) - India Post : Largest meditation center to open in Tennessee :
NEW YORK -- In what could be a sign of America's changing spiritual composition, Mahima (a 39,000 square foot meditation center), is officially set to open its doors on November 8. Mahima, located amidst 1200 acres of green forests in the Cumberland Plateau of Tennessee, will be a resource for the science of yoga and will be the largest meditation center in the Western hemisphere. Prominent spiritual leader Sadhguru Jaggi Vasudev, the founder of Isha Foundation and the Isha Institute of Inner Sciences (IIIS) will consecrate the center.
(Nov 01 2008) - Liberty Post : Obama Warns He May Cease To Exist Unless America Believes In Him : INDIANAPOLIS -- Unless citizens throughout America keep him in their thoughts, say his name to themselves over and over, and otherwise believe in him with all their might, Barack Obama may cease to exist, the candidate warned supporters Thursday. “My fellow Americans, I am currently very strong and very, very real,” Sen. Obama told a cheering crowd of 12,000 at the Indiana State Fairgrounds. “Even here in Hoosier country, a traditional Republican stronghold, your faith has kept me from growing faint, becoming transparent, and slowly fading from view.”
(Oct 31 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Black Panther Tour of Musrara - Jerusalem : JERUSALEM, Musrara –- The social revolutions that hit the United States in the 1960's slowly spread across the Atlantic, reaching Israel in the 1970's and in 1971 the Israeli Black Panther movement was started in Jerusalem's own Musrara neighborhood. The Israeli Black Panthers fought the Ashkenazi establishment, demanding social justice for immigrants from Islamic lands (mizrachim). Retrace their steps and learn the movement's history on a tour of the Musrara neighborhood organized by activist Rotem Dan Mor. The tours meet at the Daila Social and Cultural Center.
(Oct 30 2008) - Frontier Post : The earthquake catastrophe :
PESHAWAR, Balochistan –- The earthquake catastrophe of Balochistan has in its trail left colossal death, destruction and grief. Scores of people have died; hundreds have been wounded, while innumerable homes, businesses and means of livelihood have been destroyed. Although the worst battering was taken by the Ziarat region, the calamity struck devastatingly the central and northern parts of the province. Our hearts go out to the grief-stricken people in this hour of their dire distress, who presently require immediate succour while latterly they would stand in pressing need of a big official helping hand to rebuild their ruined lives.
(Oct 29 2008) - Christian Post : Pakistani Quake Leaves 150 Dead, 15,000 Homeless : QUETTA, Pakistan –- A strong earthquake struck before dawn Wednesday in southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 150 people, injuring scores more and leaving an estimated 15,000 homeless, officials said. The death toll was expected to rise as reports arrived from remote areas of Baluchistan, the impoverished province bordering Afghanistan where the magnitude 6.4 quake struck. The worst-hit area appeared to be Ziarat, where hundreds of mostly mud and timber houses had been destroyed in five villages, Mayor Dilawar Kakar said.
(Oct 28 2008) - Prince George Post : State Police Lists Nuns as Terrorists in Database : BALTIMORE -- Dominican nuns Sister Ardeth Platte and Sister Carol Gilbert have spent more than 40 years protesting nuclear weapons and war, even doing time in federal prison for their actions. They say they have devoted their entire lives to nonviolent resistance. But after spending two weeks out of town, Sister Ardeth, 72, and Sister Carol, 60, returned to their Baltimore home to find letters and an email from the Maryland State Police saying they were wrongfully labeled as suspected terrorists in a federal database in 2005 - 2006.
(Oct 27 2008) - China Post : Microsoft’s anti-piracy blackscreens are making Chinese users see red : SHANGHAI, China –– An anti-piracy tactic by Microsoft that turns some computer users' screens black is setting off a wave of unexpected indignation among Chinese consumers, posing renewed problems for the software maker in the huge China market. In the days since Microsoft deployed an updated anti-piracy tool here, some Chinese have fumed about what they see as an invasion of privacy. Users of legitimate software have been turning their own screens black in protest. One authorized user complained to the police.
(Oct 26 2008) - Pittsburgh Post : Evangelical women view Palin as role model, stereotype breaker : PENN. Pittsburgh -- Christine Bass, who attends church in Alaska with Sarah Palin, feels insults hurled at the Republican vice-presidential candidate as if they were aimed at all evangelical women. She smarts when the governor is demeaned as "caribou Barbie," a nitwit suspected of being controlled by her husband. Since Sen. John McCain chose Ms. Palin as his running mate, critics have picked at everything from her unwed teenage daughter's pregnancy to the Republican Party's purchase of a $150,000 campaign wardrobe, to her North Country accent. Polls show her strongest supporters are evangelical women over 29.
(Oct 25 2008) - Puntland Post : Somali pirates hold whip in hand in standoff :
SOMALI COAST -- More than a month after Somali pirates seized a Ukrainian cargo ship carrying 33 battle tanks and crates filled with guns and ammunition, a delicate dance is under way: Three U.S. warships encircle the Faina, and no one has any idea when the standoff will end. The pirates, armed with AK-47s and rocket-propelled grenades, are staring down the globe's most powerful Navy, as they have done for the last few years with increasing success. This year has seen more than 60 such attacks, on a pace to make this year the worst ever for pirate attacks in the Gulf of Aden, one of the world's busiest shipping routes.
(Oct 24 2008) - Gwinnett Daily Post : Ballots printed again ... ? :
LAWRENCEVILLE -- Gwinnett officials reprinted 19,000 absentee ballots after officials found a problem with the forms. Officials, though, say the issue won't interfere with votes being counted in the Nov. 4 election. Elections Superintendent Lynn Ledford said officials discovered while testing routine equipment two weeks prior to the election that the ovals voters use to mark their choices are too thick for the optical scanning machines to read. Ledford said new requests for absentee ballots are being filled with the correct forms, but people who have already received their ballots can either fill them in and return them to the elections office in Lawrenceville by 7 p.m. Nov. 4 or bring the ballot to their polling place and vote electronically. Of the 19,000 ballots mailed to voters, 10,000 have already been returned.
(Oct 23 2008) - Paradise Post : Cast vote for parental rights :
PARADISE, CA -- I find it amazing that there is the need to write about this subject at all. Proposition 4 ensures our rights as parents to know about surgical and/or chemical procedures that third parties wish to perform on our children. What I find amazing is that some people object to parents knowing this information. They want to keep parents in the dark because ... well, I really don't know why. I know some people who are parents of daughters, and yet they are against requiring notification to parents. I'm betting if their minor child underwent a procedure like abortion without their knowledge or consent, they would be upset.
(Oct 22 2008) - Bangkok Post : Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra Convicted : THAILAND -- The Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Holders of Political Positions sentenced ousted prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra to two years in jail yesterday, convicting him of violating the National Counter Corruption Act in the Ratchadaphisek land purchase case. Five of the nine judges on the court bench found Thaksin guilty of breaching the law. However, seven of them acquitted his wife Khunying Potjaman because she is not a political post holder, and revoked a warrant for her arrest. A fresh warrant was issued for Thaksin.
(Oct 21 2008) - Copenhagen Post : Mobile phones to measure {TRACK} human traffic : COPENHAGEN -- Signals from mobile phones will allow the city to determine what areas are the busiest and receive the most traffic. Copenhagen is preparing to use one of society's most common technologies to get a handle on the city's ever-growing traffic. By monitoring signals from mobile telephones, the city believes it can determine where and when residents pass through specific streets and sites. Traffic authorities can thereby use the information to create a more flexible and efficient traffic plan. When mobile telephones are switched on, they emit a signal that is registered by telecommunication company TDC's central mobile phone data centre. By following the signals, people's movements around the city can be mapped.
(Oct 20 2008) - Liberty Post : Farrakhan Plans 'New Beginning' for Nation of Islam : CHICAGO -- The Nation of Islam, a secretive movement generally closed to outsiders, has planned a rare open-to-the public event at its Chicago-based headquarters in what the Minister Louis Farrakhan deemed a "new beginning" for the group. Hundreds of religious leaders of different faiths have been invited to the event planned for Sunday, a rededication of the group's historic Mosque Maryam on the city's South Side. Farrakhan is scheduled to speak. "We have restored Mosque Maryam completely, and we will dedicate it to the universal message of Islam, and the universal aspect of the teachings of the Honorable Elijah Muhammad," Farrakhan said in an invitation letter. "It represents for the Nation of Islam, a new beginning."
(Oct 19 2008) - Panama Post : The Lord of miracles :
PANAMA, Portobelo -- October 21st, for more than 300 years has been the date for the celebrations of the Nazareno (Nazarene) or as is best known the Black Christ of Portobelo. This colonial legacy is for very Panamanian one of the most rooted and attended religious celebrations of the year. Thousands of visitors arrive in this population that borders the Caribbean Sea. All go there wearing a violet color article, in buses, cars or walking to the church of San Felipe, where they venerate an image of a Christ that bears a cross and that has an impressive gaze. Oh, and whose skin is of a shiny black color. They arrive requesting some grace, or fulfilling an offering, a promise for a granted miracle.
(Oct 18 2008) - Tripoli Post : Libya Buys 4.23% Stake of UniCredit :
ITALY, Rome -- The Central Bank of Libya and two other Libyan entities acquired a combined 4.23% stake in Italian bank UniCredit SpA (UCG.MI), a UniCredit spokesman said Thursday, confirming earlier reports. According to the spokesman, the acquisition by Libyan interests - which aside from the Libyan central bank include sovereign fund Libyan Investment Authority and the Libyan Foreign Bank - is "friendly." The stake initially held by Libyan interests in the Italian bank was 0.87%, the UniCredit spokesman said, with the rest being purchased "over the last few days."
(Oct 17 2008) - Frontier Post : Two banks could face penalties in Hong Kong :
HONG KONG -- Two banks were referred for possible sanctions Friday in Hong Kong as part of an investigation into misleading sales tactics in connection with Lehman Brothers investments whose values are in doubt, authorities said. The Hong Kong Monetary Authority sent securities regulators 24 cases involving allegations of misconduct and "mis-selling" against the lenders, the agency said in a statement. Since the Wall Street firm filed for bankruptcy last month, thousands of Hong Kongers who bought Lehman-related products have staged street protests and pressured lawmakers in an effort to protect their investments.
(Oct 16 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Two banks could face penalties in Hong Kong :
STUTTGART, Germany -- A German engineer was sentenced to 5 1/2 years in prison Thursday after being convicted of supplying Libya with sensitive technology to use in its abandoned nuclear weapons program. Judge Juergen Niemeyer said Gotthard Lerch, 65, broke German export and weapons laws by getting uranium-enriching equipment - parts for a centrifuge system - to Libya between 1999 and 2003 despite knowing the North African nation was trying to build nuclear weapons. "Libya was a good distance away from the final stages of an atomic weapon," Niemeyer said of Libya's atomic program when Lerch provided the country with illegal nuclear secrets.
(Oct 14 2008) - New York Post : BAM'S SPEECH POLICE :
NEVADA, Elko –- 'I need you to go out and talk to your friends and talk to your neighbors," Barack Obama told a crowd in Elko, Nev. "I want you to talk to them, whether they are independent or whether they are Republican. I want you to argue with them and get in their face." Actually, Obama supporters are doing a lot more than getting into people's faces. They seem determined to shut people up. That's what Obama supporters, alerted by campaign e-mails, did when conservative Stanley Kurtz appeared on Milt Rosenberg's WGN radio program in Chicago. Kurtz had been researching Obama's relationship with unrepentant Weather Underground terrorist William Ayers.
(Oct 13 2008) - Christian Post : Megachurch Pastor 'Politicked' and Speaking Out : U.S.A. –- "I don't know about you but I'm politicked!" said the lead pastor of one of the largest churches in the country as he kicked off a controversial sermon series on faith and politics. "Many of us have been drinking deception for so long that we don't understand the implications and seriousness of the game," Pastor Ed Young of Fellowship Church in Grapevine, Texas, told congregants Sunday. "It's time for us to sober up, to step up and to get into the game."
(Oct 12 2008) - Washington Post : Danger Ahead for the Most Dangerous Place in the World : WASH D.C. –- Here's an alarming thought: Pakistan is in even scarier shape than most of the so-called experts are willing to admit. This nuclear-armed state of 168 million is no stranger to political upheaval, of course. But this time, things are different. Today's crisis -- marked by a rash of suicide bombings, the assassination of former prime minister Benazir Bhutto last December, inflation as high as 25 percent and a resurgent Taliban movement -- could spell doom for the Pakistani state.
(Oct 11 2008) - National Post : IMF warns of financial meltdown; U.S. urges patience : FRANCE -- The IMF warned Saturday that the global financial system was on the brink of meltdown, while France and Germany pushed ahead with a pan-European crisis response to try to prevent the worst global downturn in decades. At a joint news conference, French President Nicolas Sarkozy and German Chancellor Angela Merkel said they had "prepared a certain number of decisions" to present at a Sunday meeting of European leaders as they work feverishly to restore blocked credit markets to working order.
(Oct 10 2008) - Lancashire Evening Post : Local authorities face loss of £1bn : UNITED KINGDOM –- Local authorities have been facing up to potential losses of more than £1 billion invested in collapsed Icelandic banks. More than 100 councils - as well as police forces, fire services and transport authorities - have deposits running into millions of pounds each in the crisis-hit institutions. Private companies are thought to have in excess of £10bn in Icelandic accounts they are unable to access. Charities, too, have tens of millions of pounds on the line. Prime Minister Gordon Brown has hit out at the Icelandic government for its "totally unacceptable" response to the folding of institutions like Landsbanki and Glitnir.
(Oct 09 2008) - Kyiv Post : Volatility - As global economic storm clouds gather : LVIV, Ukraine –- Most of Ukraine’s 60-some palaces and castles are in the western part of the nation. And most are in various states of disrepair and dilapidation. As such, they provide apt metaphors for the state of Ukrainian President Victor Yushchenko’s political career. The pro-Western president isn’t doing so well these days in his own west, once a stronghold of his bedrock support. How bad is it? The performance of the Orange Revolution hero even has fresh university graduates pining for the good old days of ex-President Leonid Kuchma and ex-Prime Minister Victor Yanukovych.
(Oct 08 2008) - Asia Pacific Post : 'God's army' will battle Muslim rebels : PHILIPPINES -- Felimon Cayang says he is ready to die to save his native southern Philippine island from Muslim separatist rebels spreading terror through its Christian communities. The 48-year-old farmer and former tax collector leads a once feared group of Christian fighters that has regrouped after more than three decades to battle a Muslim insurgency on the bitterly divided island of Mindanao. His rag-tag army comprises about 450 farmers with no formal military training, but who have honed their fighting skills through years of combat experience here, a report in the Sydney Morning Herald said.
(Oct 07 2008) - China Post : China cancels military contacts with U.S. over Taiwan arms sale : WASHINGTON –– China has abruptly canceled a series of military and diplomatic contacts with the United States to protest a planned multi-billion dollar U.S. arms sale to Taiwan, American officials told The Associated Press. Beijing has notified the U.S. that it will not go forward with several senior level visits and other cooperative military-to-military plans, said Marine Maj. Stewart Upton, a Defense Department spokesman, on Monday. "In response to Friday's announcement of Taiwan arms sales, the People's Republic of China canceled or postponed several upcoming military-to-military exchanges," he said, lamenting that "China's continued politicization of our military relationship results in missed opportunities."
(Oct 06 2008) - Bangkok Post : Taliban said to be furious over US strike :
PAKISTAN -- The Taliban are furious about the latest apparent U.S. missile strike in Pakistan, indicating a senior militant may be among two dozen people killed, officials and residents said. The U.S. has ramped up cross-border strikes that target alleged al-Qaida and Taliban hideouts in Pakistan's tribal regions bordering Afghanistan. Pakistani leaders have often condemned such attacks as violations of their country's sovereignty. In the case of Friday's alleged American strike in the North Waziristan tribal region, government officials have been notably quiet. The Taliban, however, were reportedly responding with fury.
(Oct 05 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Protests get Jews for Jesus radio ad pulled in the North : ISRAEL -- A wave of irate protest silenced a Jews for Jesus radio campaign last week on a local radio station in the North. It took just a few hours for Kol Rega, which broadcasts to the Galilee and northern valleys, to cave in to pressure from listeners who phoned in to demand that the Jews for Jesus campaign be taken off the air. "Shortly after we broadcast it, we received dozens of angry phone calls from listeners telling us they were hurt by the crudeness of the ad," said Haim Hecht, manager of Kol Rega. "The truth is that even before it hurt my listeners the ad hurt me. It was simply too aggressive and blatantly missionary."
(Oct 04 2008) - Liberty Post : Islamic takeover of U.S. already under way :
U.S.A. -- (WND) Expert warns 'mainstream media' providing 'talking points' of Arab countries. An expert on terrorism is warning the United States should be fighting Islamization, which she believes already is under way. And author Brigitte Gabriel should know: She watched it happen in her native Lebanon. "Lebanon used to be the only majority Christian country in the Middle East," Gabriel told radio talk show host Andrea Shea King in a recent hour-long interview "Most people today do not know that. We were the majority, the Muslims were the minority, but as the years went by, the Muslims became the majority because of their birth rate, but also because of our open-border policy.
(Oct 03 2008) - Palm Beach Post : Hijackers off Somalia show no sign of giving up : MOGADISHU, Somalia -- Pirates holding a hijacked ship off Somalia gave no indication they planned to surrender, as six U.S. warships circled the vessel Friday with clearance from the Somali government to attack it, and a Russian frigate headed toward the standoff. Meanwhile, activists condemned Kenya's arrest of a Kenyan maritime official on Wednesday night who had been the first to tip off media that the weapons aboard the ship hijacked nine days ago were heading to Southern Sudan. His account was later confirmed by the U.S. Navy and Western intelligence sources.
(Oct 02 2008) - Connecticut Post : Palin stands her ground in debate with Biden :
ST. LOUIS -- Under intense scrutiny, Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin stood her ground Thursday night against a vastly more experienced Joe Biden, debating the economy, energy and global warming, then challenging him on Iraq, "especially with your son in the National Guard." The Alaska governor also noted that Biden had once said Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama wasn't ready to be commander in chief, "and I know again that you opposed the move that he made to try to cut off funding for the troops and I respect you for that."
(Oct 01 2008) - Christian Post : EU Lauded for Pressing Iran to Drop Apostasy Bill : EUROPE -- A Christian human rights group applauded the European Union for issuing a declaration to Iran that urged the repressive state to drop its draft apostasy bill and to release Christian converts from detention. “We warmly welcome this strong reaction from the EU to Iran’s proposed apostasy bill,” said Christian Solidarity Worldwide’s advocacy director, Tina Lambert, in a statement Tuesday. “If the legislation is passed by the Iranian parliament there will be dire consequences for thousands of Christians and Bahá’ís living in Iran.”
(Sept 30 2008) - Yorkshire Post : HBOS shares slump as takeover fears raised : SCOTLAND -- SHARES in Halifax Bank of Scotland dropped to a new low today amid fears Lloyds TSB is to re-price the terms of its takeover. Shares in the bank, which is being rescued by Lloyds in a Government-brokered deal, slumped to 113p at one point this morning, as traders reacted nervously to rumours Lloyds wants to re-price its £12.2 billion rescue deal. Today's new low follows an 18 per cent decline for HBOS yesterday. HBOS and Lloyds face a demanding shareholder ballot in which 75 per cent of those who vote must approve the merger.
(Sept 29 2008) - Kyiv Post : Bush tries to shore up Lithuania, Ukraine support : WASHINGTON -- U.S. President George W. Bush on Monday was conferring with leaders of the former Soviet republics of Lithuania and Ukraine in a bid to shore up support for the two emerging democracies as Russia's regional power grows. Another former Soviet republic, Georgia, last month tried to retake control of the breakaway pro-Moscow region of South Ossetia but was met with a large Russian military retaliation that sent worries rippling through the region. Bush praised Lithuania's President Valdas Adamkus for backing Georgia during the crisis, acknowledging that it was a difficult position for the country to take at the time.
(Sept 28 2008) - New York Post : BELGIUM'S $995B FORTIS BANK IN TALKS FOR A BAILOUT : EUROPE -- Belgium's Fortis Group, the $995 billion banking and insurance giant, is this weekend poised to become the latest European bank to fall victim to the credit crunch. The news comes as British mortgage bank Bradford & Bingley, and Wachovia, are both said to be in talks concerning a takeover to avoid costly bailouts. Fortis, Belgian's central bank, and the country's regulator are hoping to forge a bailout of the huge banking and insurance group, which has a market value of roughly $22 billion. Dutch banking giant ING and France's BNP Paribas are both involved in talks with Fortis about buying all or part of its business.
(Sept 28 2008) - Bangkok Post : Over 180,000 injured, sickened by flooding : (BangkokPost.com) -- The Ministry of Public Health reported that 18 people died and more than 180,000 were injured or sickened from the flood disaster in the last 17 days. According to Public Health spokesman Suphan Srithamma, the flood situation in 24 provinces are alleviating, but the five provinces of Phitsanulok, Lop Buri, Ayutthaya, Khon Kaen and Prachin Buri still need close attention. He said the Public Health Ministry is aiding the people who fell ill in the flood-hit areas while preventing water borne diseases such as diarrhea, leptospirosis, dengue hemorrhagic fever, and hepatitis B from spreading.
(Sept 27 2008) - Frontier Post : Pakistan warns US troops after exchange of fire :
ISLAMABAD (AP) -- Pakistan warned US troops not to intrude on its territory Friday, after the two anti-terror allies traded fire along the volatile border with Afghanistan. Thursday’s five-minute clash adds to already heightened tensions at a time the United States is stepping up cross-border operations against Taliban and al-Qaeda militants. The clash the first serious exchange with Pakistani forces acknowledged by the US follows a string of other alleged border incidents and incursions that have angered many here.
(Sept 26 2008) - Yorkshire Post : Bank of England acts to ease crisis :
U.K. -- CENTRAL banks including the Bank of England stepped up their efforts to ease the crisis in the global banking system today. The Bank of England (BoE) will lend 30 billion US dollars (£16.2bn) for a one-week period, with another 10 billion (£5.4bn) being made available on an overnight basis. It said the operations, which were mirrored by other central banks, were intended to ease funding pressure on banks at the end of the third quarter. The injection extends last week's initiative by the US Federal Reserve to use the Bank of England and the European Central Bank, as well as central banks in Switzerland, Japan and Canada, as conduits for dollar funds.
(Sept 25 2008) - Denver Post : Bailout deal breaks down; Bernanke back to Capitol : WASH D.C. -- Urgent efforts to lash together a $700 billion rescue plan for the national economy appeared to be stalling Thursday night, hours after key lawmakers had declared they had reached a deal. Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke sped to Capitol Hill to try to revive or rework the proposal that President Bush said must be quickly approved by Congress to stave off economic disaster. Congressional leaders were to meet with the economic chiefs into the night.
(Sept 24 2008) - China Post : The wreck of suspected U.S. drone found in Pakistan : ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The Pakistani army said Wednesday it had found the wreckage of a suspected U.S. spy plane near the Afghan border, but denied claims that it had been shot down. The incident comes amid strained ties between Washington and Islamabad over a series of missile strikes from American drones at suspected militants targets on the Pakistan side of the border. Three Pakistani intelligence officials earlier said troops and tribesmen had shot down the aircraft late Tuesday near Jalal Khel, a village in Pakistan's South Waziristan region.
(Sept 23 2008) - African Post : Corruption Creating Humanitarian Disaster :
BERLIN (Reuters) - Corruption in poor countries has created a humanitarian disaster which threatens to derail the global fight against poverty, Transparency International said. Releasing its annual Corruption Perceptions Index (CPI) on Tuesday, the anti-corruption watchdog said donor countries should address the problem by carefully targeting aid. Denmark, New Zealand and Sweden share the highest score at 9.3, followed Corruption creating humanitarian disaster.
(Sept 22 2008) - Jerusalem Post : When the oil stops flowing :
ISRAEL, Jerusalem -- It will come as a shock to most Americans and the media, but as the election reaches a crescendo on the issue of preparedness and energy, neither presidential candidate - nor anyone in local, state or federal government - has developed a contingency plan in the event of a protracted oil cut-off. It is not even being discussed. Government has prepared for hurricanes, anthrax, terrorism and every other disaster, but not the one threatened daily - a protracted oil stoppage, whether caused by terrorism, intervention in the Persian Gulf or a natural disaster. It is like seeing a hurricane developing without a disaster plan or evacuation route. Our allies have oil shortage interruption contingency plans, but America does not.
(Sept 21 2008) - Washington Post : Calling Out the Culprits Who Caused the Crisis : WASH D.C. -- Looking for someone to blame for the shambles in U.S. financial markets? As someone who owns both an investment bank and commercial banks, and also runs a hedge fund, I have sat front and center and watched as this mess unfolded. And in my view, there's no need to look beyond Wall Street -- and the halls of power in Washington. The former has created the nightmare by chasing obscene profits, and the latter have allowed it to spread by not practicing the oversight that is the federal government's responsibility.
(Sept 20 2008) - National Post : Congress gets $700B bailout plan : WASH D.C. -- The Bush administration on Saturday sent a US$700-billion financial markets rescue plan to Congress where Democrats immediately questioned its impact not only on Wall Street, but on homeowners and taxpayers as well. The plan to move toxic mortgage-related debt off the balance sheets of U.S. banks and other institutions, and into a massive government portfolio, represents an all-out attack on the worst financial crisis since the Great Depression. Under authority sought by the U.S. Treasury Department, the government could purchase as much as US$700-billion in mortgage-related assets from U.S.-headquartered institutions.
(Sept 19 2008) - Christian Post : Christians to 'Stand' against Human Trafficking : ALABAMA, Birmingham -- Christian ministries are uniting for a key event in Birmingham next month to raise awareness among churchgoers about human trafficking and other forms of modern day slavery. "The Stand," at Birmingham’s NEC, is an initiative of Hope for Justice, a movement of Christians dedicated to bringing about justice and righteousness. “Justice issues are not just for Christians, but for all right-minded people on this planet,” said Gary Sloan, the director of Stand partner, Operation Mobilization UK.
(Sept 18 2008) - Liberty Post : US Treasury to sell off bonds to help economy : WASH D.C. -- The US Treasury Wednesday announced it would sell 40 billion dollars in 35-day bonds to help the Federal Reserve as it battles to shore up the struggling economy. The announcement came on the heels of the Federal Reserve's decision late Tuesday to provide American International Group (AIG) with an 85-billion-dollar loan in return for a 79.9 percent stake in the company. In a statement the treasury said it was launching "a temporary supplementary financing program" at the request of the Fed, as it pumps money into the US economy.
(Sept 17 2008) - Yorkshire Post : Prime Minister Brown orders Omagh intelligence review : U.K. -- Prime Minister Gordon Brown has announced a review of intelligence material from the Omagh bombing after claims in a TV documentary that the bombers' phones were being tapped. Sir Peter Gibson, the Intelligence Services Commissioner, will examine all intercept material from the security and intelligence services and how it was shared. A BBC documentary claimed GCHQ was recording the bombers' calls before the 1998 atrocity, which killed 29 people.
(Sept 16 2008) - Copenhagen Post : Terror funded by money from Denmark : DENMARK -- A new report indicates that some of the money sent annually out of the country goes to militant groups such as Al-Qaeda. Individuals and organisations in Denmark are sending money abroad to fund terror groups, according to a new report from the Danish intelligence service's Centre for Terror Analysis. The report states that foreigners living in Denmark send an estimated 10 billion kroner to their native countries each year. And while most of that money is used toward perfectly legal activities, some goes to militant groups and terror organisations, including Al-Qaeda.
(Sept 15 2008) - New York Post : Stocks stumble amid new Wall Street landscape : NEW YORK (AP) -- Stocks tumbled and Treasury bond prices soared Monday as investors reacted to a stunning reshaping of the landscape of Wall Street that took out two storied names: Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc. and Merrill Lynch & Co. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 300 points, though the market's initial losses were not as steep as some investors had feared. Stocks posted big losses in markets across much of the globe as investors absorbed bankruptcy plans at Lehman and Merrill Lynch's forced sale to Bank of America for $50 billion in stock.
(Sept 14 2008) - Birmingham Post : Lehman Brothers heads for collapse :
NEW YORK, New York -- One of the world's largest investment banks is on the brink of collapse after talks to secure a rescue deal for Lehman Brothers broke down. Barclays had been the front-runner to bail out the ailing firm, but the UK bank walked after failing to obtain guarantees over Lehman's financial commitments, a source close to the negotiations said. A consortium led by Bank of America (BoA) followed soon after, leaving the likely prospect that Lehman would have to file for insolvency.
(Sept 13 2008) - Yorkshire Post : Thousands hit by XL chaos :
U.K. Britain -- THE holidays of nearly 300,000 people have been wrecked by the collapse of Britain's third largest tour operator amid warnings that 30 more airlines could also face financial ruin. Tens of thousands of passengers were frantically searching for alternative flights back to the UK last night after XL Leisure Group went into administration with debts of £143m. The tour operator had still been taking bookings only hours before calling in administrators in the early hours of yesterday after failing to secure a rescue package.
(Sept 12 2008) - Jakarta Post : Legend puts biblical Eve in Jiddah ? : JIDDAH, Saudi Arabia -- On a seltering August morning, a small group of Iranians crowded outside the green metal door of a cemetery. They wanted to go in to look at the remains of one particular tomb: the tomb of biblical Eve. Like hundreds of Muslims who visit Saudi Arabia for pilgrimage in nearby Mecca, the Iranians had heard the lend that Eve was buried in that spot. The two blue signs inscribed with "The Graveyard of our mother Eve" flanking the cemetery entrance appeared to add credibility to a story passed on by generations of Saudis but never scientifically proven.
(Sept 10 2008) - Denver Post : SCANDAL: Sex, drugs, energy deals probed at Denver office : WASHINGTON -- Government workers in Denver engaged in secret sex and drug abuse with oil company employees and accepted thousand of dollars in gifts while handling billions of dollars worth of energy contracts, federal investigators said today. Employees at the Minerals Management Service including the former head of the Denver division repeatedly and "without remorse" violated ethics rules over a four-year period, the Interior Department's Inspector General said. The three reports released today describe a widespread pattern of abuse as well as a pervasive belief that the rules didn't apply. In the Royalty in Kind division of Minerals Management Service, the report said, "between 2002 and 2006, nearly one-third of the
(Sept 09 2008) - Kyiv Post : Ukraine eye new pact on ties in 2009 :
PARIS -- Leaders of the European Union and Ukraine agreed on Tuesday to deepen ties, but the 27-nation EU stopped short of offering Kyiv a firm membership pledge. "We are convinced that in 2009 we will sign a very symbolic document cementing relations between Ukraine and the EU," Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko told a news conference after meeting French President Nicolas Sarkozy in Paris. Sarkozy told the same news conference that a declaration agreed with Yushchenko acknowledged Ukraine's EU aspirations and status as a European country, while promising to launch talks on visa-free arrangements for Ukrainian citizens.
(Sept 08 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Venezuela, Russia may hold joint naval exercises : CARACAS, Venezuela -- President Hugo Chavez said Sunday that Venezuelan and Russian ships could soon hold joint naval exercises in the Caribbean - a move that would likely raise concerns in Washington. "Russia's naval fleet is welcome here," Chavez said on his weekly broadcast program. "If it's possible, we'll stage an exercise in our Caribbean waters." Russian naval vessels are due to call on Venezuelan ports in late November or December, Chavez said. The socialist leader ridiculed any concerns US officials might have, saying, "Go ahead and squeal, Yankees."
(Sept 07 2008) - China Post : Widower of Bhutto wins Pakistan election :
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan -- The widower of slain former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto became Pakistan's new president Saturday after winning a landslide election victory that makes him a critical partner in the U.S.-led war against terrorism. Unofficial results announced after separate votes in the federal and provincial assemblies showed Asif Ali Zardari won an overwhelming majority, bolstered by public loyalty to his late wife and hopes that he can pull the country out of its economic doldrums.
(Sept 06 2008) - Bangkok Post : End of emergency near :
THAILAND -- The state of emergency could soon be lifted but anti-government protesters expect the move would do little to ease political tension. The People's Alliance for Democracy (PAD) still insists that Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej must resign before it will enter into talks with the government, leaving the stand-off simmering. Mr Samak said on Friday he was considering ending the state emergency he declared for Bangkok. He said it was becoming a pointless exercise as people refused to comply.
(Sept 05 2008) - Norway Post : Norway's Crown Princess returns to school : NORWAY -- Crown Princess Mette-Marit will this fall start part time studies at the Norwegian School of Management (BI) in Oslo, as part of a master management degree program. Norway's future queen has previously studied at the School of Oriental and African Studies (SOAS) in London, where she took courses in Development Experience, Theories of Development, HIV/AIDS and Development, and The Global Refugee Crisis. She has also followed lectures at the Faculty of Humanities at the University of Oslo.
(Sept 04 2008) - New York Post : Fiery Alaskan finally get GOP Started : ST. PAUL, Minnesota -- Storm delays, family infighting and general malaise finally behind them, Republicans at long last have themselves a convention. And they have Sarah Palin to thank for that. In the Midwest darkness here last night, she walked out on stage and a GOP star was born. After a week of being trashed and smeared from sea to shining sea, Palin did something no one could have imagined based on the caricature she and her family had become.
(Sept 03 2008) - Liberty Post : Fred Thompson Speaks On McCain's Service to Country : ST. PAUL, Minnesota -- Former Sen. Fred Thompson of Tennessee spoke to the Republican National Convention on Tuesday night. Here is the text of the speech: Sen. Thompson: Tonight our thoughts are still with our friends and fellow citizens in the Gulf Coast area, and our thanks go to those who have worked so hard to keep them safe. There can be no more important work than this. But what we are doing at this convention is also important to our country. We are going to nominate the next president and vice president of the United States of America.
(Sept 02 2008) - Jakarta Post : Indonesia to send aid to Laos : ASIA -- Indonesia is planning to send cash aids to help ease the burden of the people of Laos who suffer from a tropical storm and flood that happened late last month. “The president has instructed the Coordinating Minister for the People’s Welfare and the State Secretary to coordinate in sending aid to Laos,” said presidential spokesperson Dino Patti Djalal at the state palace on Tuesday. Six people had been killed and more than 200,000 people migrated due to flooding and landslides in Laos, where the Mekong River seen rising by 13 meters up, its highest level in at least 100 years after several months of unusually heavy rain.
(Sept 01 2008) - Lancashire Evening Post : EU 'united' against Russia, says PM : U.K. -- Gordon Brown has warned that there could be no more "business as usual" with Russia in the wake of Moscow's invasion of Georgia. The Prime Minister, attending an emergency EU Summit in Brussels to discuss the crisis, said all 27 member states were united in their condemnation of Russia's "aggression" against its smaller neighbour. Following talks with Georgian Prime Minister Lado Gurgenidze ahead of the main summit, Mr Brown promised humanitarian aid and reconstruction assistance to help Georgia rebuild following the Russian incursion.
(Aug 31 2008) - National Post : Canada sends aid ahead of Gustav : CANADA -- A Canadian Forces C-17 carrying a military medical team and emergency supplies was expected to arrive from CFB Trenton Sunday to assist U.S. forces preparing for Hurricane Gustav, which is expected to hit land here as early as Monday with a force comparable to the devastating Hurricane Katrina. The massive Globemaster left CFB Trenton at 12:42 p.m. Sunday afternoon bound for Louisiana, where thousands of people in New Orleans and across the U.S. Gulf Coast fled their homes as Hurricane Gustav barrelled through the Gulf of Mexico packing a punch potentially as powerful as Katrina, the storm that devastated the coastal city three years ago.
(Aug 30 2008) - Christian Post : McCain's VP Choice Reassures Evangelicals : OHIO -- John McCain's running mate was raised in a Pentecostal church, has called herself "as pro-life as any candidate can be" and already has energized conservative religious leaders who worried the Arizona senator would choose an abortion rights supporter. Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin is "straight out of veep central casting," said Richard Land of the Southern Baptist Convention's Ethics and Religion Liberties Commission. Land said he urged the McCain camp to consider the political unknown. Gary Bauer, one of McCain's most enthusiastic evangelical supporters, called it a "grand slam home run" that is "guaranteed to energize values voters."
(Aug 29 2008) - Kyiv Post : West faces stark choice over Georgia : UKRAINE-- Russia's invasion of Georgia presents the West with a difficult choice: Punish Moscow by kicking it out of clubs like the Group of Eight or pursue a strategy of placating it that could invite further bullying in places like Ukraine, the Baltic states or Moldova. So far, the West's actions have not matched its tough words. Other than canceling some joint military exercises and decrying Moscow's actions, European democracies and the United States have found little consensus, and Moscow has seized on the opening: On Tuesday, it formally recognized the independence of South Ossetia and another Georgian enclave, Abkhazia.
(Aug 28 2008) - The First Post : Credit crunch will get worse before it gets better : JACKSON HOLE, WI -- And no-one really knows where the grenades will be exploding, says Philip Delves Broughton. The agonies of the credit crunch carry on without any sign of relief. The groaning patient of the world economy has already endured sweats, shivers and acute stomach cramps. And sadly, we may only be halfway through. Every day brings more grim news. Yesterday, it was the Germans' turn to say they haven't seen a domestic economy this bad in 15 years. British companies are slashing dividends in order to brace for a period of economic famine.
(Aug 27 2008) - Christian Post : Angry N. Korea Threatens to Rebuild Nuclear Plants : WASH D.C. -- North Korea, angry that the United States has not removed it from a list of states that sponsor terrorism, said Tuesday it has stopped disabling its nuclear plants and is considering restoring them. The international community in response has condemned the rogue state, but did not act surprised that the notoriously difficult-to-work-with government had once again broken the agreement. "The United States will not take North Korea off the state sponsor of terrorism list until we have a protocol in place to verify the dismantling and accounting for Korea's nuclear program," said White House spokesman Tony Fratto, according to Agence France-Presse.
(Aug 26 2008) - Jerusalem Post : 'Possible plot to kill Obama uncovered' : DENVER, CO -- US federal law enforcement agencies arrested four people in the last two days on suspicion of plotting to assassinate US Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama, news agencies reported Tuesday. An interview with Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama appears on a television monitor at the site of the upcoming Democratic National Convention in Denver, Sunday. The main suspect in the alleged plot was arrested on Sunday and two rifles, ammunition and also controlled substances were found in his car.
(Aug 25 2008) - Phnom Pen Post : Thai troops close Ta Moan Thom to Cambodians again : CAMBODIA -- Official delegation refused entry over the weekend says the move violates a recent agreement to resolve border dispute. THAI soldiers refused to allow Cambodians from visiting the disputed Ta Moan Thom temple over the weekend, violating an agreement to withdraw armed forces from the 13th-century ruins, a military commander said Sunday. Ho Bunthy, deputy commander of Border Military Unit 402, said that Thai soldiers closed the gate to the temple Saturday and are not allowing Cambodians entry.
(Aug 07 2008) - China Post : Alaska-based F-22 Raptors, U.S. Air Force's most advanced fighter jet, get broken in on Guam : HICKAM AIR FORCE BASE, Hawaii -- The U.S. Air Force has been breaking in its new fleet of F-22s - the world's most advanced fighter jet - this summer by sending five of the planes from cool and dry Alaska to hot and humid Guam for the first time. The F-22 Raptors, which have unrivaled ability to fly at supersonic speeds for long periods and travel undetected by radar, have been operational for less than three years. Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska has been home to two F-22 squadrons since last year. It's only the second base to house the stealth fighters, after Langley Air Force Base in Virginia. The July 18-Aug. 2 deployment of five Raptors from the Elmendorf's 90th Fighter Squadron to the U.S. territory marked just the second time the F-22 has ventured outside the 50 states.
(Aug 06 2008) - Sun Post : Bankrupt Mervyn's will keep Manteca store for now : MANTECA — Though the Mervyn’s retail chain has recently filed for bankruptcy, the company will keep its Manteca store open for now, according to company spokespeople. The Hayward-based retailer, which operates 177 stores in seven southwestern states, filed for bankruptcy on July 29, allowing the corporation to hold off debt collectors while it tries to reorganize. Mervyn’s spokesman Andrew Siegel said the company is working on a restructuring plan under the supervision of the courts, but there is no telling yet which stores, if any, would be closed. The company will continue to redeem gift certificates and other promotions, Siegel said, and employees will continue to receive their regular wages and health and 401K benefits.
(Aug 03 2008) - Washington Post : Scientists Question FBI Probe On Anthrax : WASH D.C. -- Ivins Could Not Have Been Attacker, Some Say -- For nearly seven years, scientist Bruce E. Ivins and a small circle of fellow anthrax specialists at Fort Detrick's Army medical lab lived in a curious limbo: They served as occasional consultants for the FBI in the investigation of the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks, yet they were all potential suspects. Over lunch in the bacteriology division, nervous scientists would share stories about their latest unpleasant encounters with the FBI and ponder whether they should hire criminal defense lawyers, according to one of Ivins's former supervisors. In tactics that the researchers considered heavy-handed and often threatening, they were interviewed and polygraphed as early as 2002, and reinterviewed numerous times.
(Aug 02 2008) - Liberty Post : House Dems turn out the lights but GOP keeps talking : WASH D.C. -- Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and the Democrats adjourned the House, turned off the lights and killed the microphones, but Republicans are still on the floor talking gas prices. Minority Leader John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) and other GOP leaders opposed the motion to adjourn the House, arguing that Pelosi's refusal to schedule a vote allowing offshore drilling is hurting the American economy. They have refused to leave the floor after the adjournment motion passed at 11:23 a.m., and they are busy bashing Pelosi and her fellow Democrats for leaving town for the August recess.
(Aug 01 2008) - Post Bulletin : Why did DHS hire a fired MnDOT official ? : WASH D.C. -- Senator Amy Klobuchar is asking the Department of Homeland Security why it hired former Minnesota Department of Transportation emergency response director Sonia Pitt. Pitt was fired on Thursday by DHS after just two months as a transportation security specialist at the department's Transportation Safety Administration, following a Star Tribune story about her hiring. Pitt got the DHS job about six months after MnDOT fired her for work schedule improprieties, including continuing an East Coast trip after the collapse of the Interstate 35W bridge. Klobuchar, a Minnesota Democrat, sent a letter to Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff Friday asking whether the department knew about the circumstances of Pitt's firing by MnDOT -- and if so, why she was hired.
(Jul 31 2008) - Frontier Post : Under the Cover of ISI ? : PAKISTAN -- US-led India, Afghanistan and Israel have intensified the implementation of their covert strategic designs by manipulating Pakistan's multi-faceted crises which they have themselves created through their secret agencies CIA, RAW, Khad and Mossad. By taking new shifts in their propaganda campaign, they are acting upon anti-Pakistan agenda under the cover of tarnishing the image of our Inter-Services Intelligence agency (ISI). The plot reached apex when on July 26 this year, a notification was issued by some officials to bring ISI under the control of the interior ministry, but the same was reversed, surprisingly, with no time, indicating that it was the result of some misunderstanding.
(Jul 28 2008) - First Post : Suicide bombers: a message from al-Qaeda : IRAQ -- The attacks by women suicide bombers that have killed more than 55 people and wounded 300 in Kirkuk and Baghdad today send a simple, deadly message. They are a clear statement to Sunni moderates, Shia Arabs, Kurds, Americans and their allies that al-Qaeda is not finished in Iraq and they know how to attack their enemies. Both sets of attacks were carried out by women bombers using explosives in a body vest, and in one case a bomb in a shopping bag. They targeted a demonstration by Kurdish activists in Kirkuk, and in Baghdad attacked a Shia religious parade in memory of one of the founder-martyrs of the Shia sect.
(Jul 27 2008) - Denver Post : Air Force officer found shot dead in home :
WASHINGTON — (AP) The officer who commands the air wing at Elmendorf Air Force Base in Alaska has been found dead at his home. Brig. Gen. Thomas L. Tinsley, commander of the 3rd Wing, died of a gunshot wound Sunday night, the Air Force said. Lt. Col. Michael Paoli, an Air Force spokesman, said the death is under investigation, and there doesn't appear to be any indication of foul play at this time.
(Jul 26 2008) - Norway Post : Norway agrees to continue WTO negotiations : NORWAY -- Norway agreed late Friday evening to continue the WTO-negotiations in Geneva, aimed at reaching agreement on a new international trade agreement, despite opposition from Norwegian farmers. After four days of deadlock, the compromise emerged from a five-hour meeting Friday evening of representatives from the US, European Union, Australia, Brazil, India, China and Japan. It was then reviewed by ministers from some 35 countries. Norwegian Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Stoere says Norway will go along with the proposals. The proposed settlement, brokered by WTO chief Pascal Lamy, calls for cutting limits of European farm subsidies by 80% and US payments by 70%.
(Jul 21 2008) - Bangkok Post : State banks told to slash spreads : THAILAND -- Finance minister says profit is not their goal : Specialised state banks must cut their interest rate spreads to no higher than two percentage points, or half their current spreads, says Finance Minister Surapong Suebwonglee. He also ordered state banks to delay the implementation of the new global accounting standard known as IAS39 indefinitely. The new policies will apply to state banks such as the Government Housing Bank, the Bank for Agriculture and Agricultural Co-operatives and the Government Savings Bank.
(Jul 20 2008) - National Post : Do as Al says, not as Al does : CANADA -- On Thursday, former U. S. vice-president Al Gore delivered a major address calling on his country to abandon all fossil fuels within 10 years. By 2018, U. S. electricity and fuel should come entirely from "renewable energy and truly clean, carbon-free sources," he said. Tickets to the event encouraged attendees to "please use public transit, bicycling or other climate-friendly means" to reach the lecture hall. So how did Mr. Gore and his retinue arrive? In two Lincoln Town Cars and a full-sized SUV that sat idling with the air conditioners blasting while the Gore party was inside.
(Jul 13 2008) - Washington Post : Who killed Chandra Levy ? : WASH D.C. -- It was above 80 degrees, the start of another steamy summer day in Washington. At 8:58 on the morning of July 25, 2001, three D.C. police sergeants gathered 28 cadets along Glover Road in Rock Creek Park. They were looking for any trace of a government intern named Chandra Ann Levy. The 24-year-old woman from California, with hazel eyes and a head full of unruly brown curls, had left her Dupont Circle apartment and then simply disappeared. She had been missing for 85 days, and the search for her had captivated the city and the nation. Her laptop computer's history showed that she was interested in visiting the vast 1,750-acre park on the day she vanished.
(Jul 12 2008) - China Post : China says 'positive progress' made on North Korea nuclear talks : BEIJING -- Six-nation talks on disarming North Korea's nuclear program moved closer Saturday to an agreement on ways to verify the communist nation's declaration of its atomic materials. Top U.S. envoy Christopher Hill said a working group was working out the specifics of a verification protocol. "We're not asking for anything unusual. We're asking for things that are done all over the world. We want a basically standard kind of package on how you verify this type of nuclear program," he said Saturday.
(Jul 11 2008) - Copenhagen Post : Highest inflation increase in 24 years : COPENHAGEN -- Consumer prices have seen the highest increase in 24 years, according to new figures from Statistics Denmark. From June 2007 to June 2008, the price of food products rose 9.4 percent. This is the biggest increase in a year since 1984, according to TV2 News. Basic food staples like bread and corn, as well as dairy products, have seen a sharp increase in price over the last year and are hitting Danish wallets hard. The rising oil prices over the last year have also affected the transport sector with the cost of transport rising by 4.9 percent.
(Jul 10 2008) - Miami Sun Post : Make Me the President :
MIAMI -- Episode 27 : Shilling Politics Like Religion. For our reality series Make Me The President, we scoured the country to find the most power-hungry, Machiavellian and downright unattractive people in the United States of America (“The Greatest Nation On Earth”) to find the man, or woman, who could raise the most money, be willing to break the most promises and offer the most bland reason to become — The President.
(Jul 09 2008) - Pittsburgh Post : McCain calls for tough sanctions against Iran : PITTSBURGH -- Reacting to reports that Iran had tested missiles that could reach wide areas of the Middle East, presumptive Republican presidential nominee Sen. John McCain called for tough sanctions against the Tehran regime. "I am convinced that our European allies and friends are ready to impose significant, impactful and meaningful sanctions on the Iranians -- especially financial, and including trade and international financial systems and that those sanctions can be effective in modifying Iranian behavior," Mr. McCain said during a brief news conference in South Park after a tour of a Consol Energy Inc. research facility.
(Jul 04 2008) - Prague Post : Rice expected in Prague to sign radar treaty : PRAGUE -- "No to Bases" protesters plan march - United States Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is expected in Prague next week to sign a treaty that approves a U.S. anti-missile radar base on Czech territory, Czech Radio's Radiožurnál reported on Friday. Jirí Cunek, deputy prime minister, announced the visit after a government Security Council meeting. "July 8 is the definite date the agreement will be signed – at least one of them – not the SOFA," he said, alluding to the Status of Forces Agreement expected to govern the residence of American soldiers on Czech territory, which is still an issue of dispute. Czech officials approved a core agreement about the placement of the radar on May 21.
(Jun 28 2008) - National Post : Bush declares state of emergency for California wildfires : SAN FRANCISCO -- U.S. President George W. Bush declared a state of emergency in California on Saturday and ordered federal aid to help authorities battle more than 1,000 wildfires burning out of control. "We have over 1,000 fires burning in northern California alone, our resources are stretched extremely thin," said Cheri Patterson, a spokeswoman for the state's fire department, Calfire. "Our biggest concern is we don't have any of the fires under control," she told AFP, and welcomed the federal resources ordered by Mr. Bush.
(Jun 27 2008) - Christian Post : McCain Endorses Calif. Initiative to Protect Marriage : OHIO - Sen. John McCain endorsed on Thursday a ballot initiative in California that would overturn the recent state court ruling legalizing same-sex "marriage." "I support the efforts of the people of California to recognize marriage as a unique institution between a man and a woman, just as we did in my home state of Arizona. I do not believe judges should be making these decisions," the Republican presidential candidate said in a statement, according to ProtectMarriage.com. McCain's support for traditional marriage was welcomed by conservatives and pro-family groups especially at a time when many of them remain unsure of the Arizona senator and his stance on social issues.
(Jun 26 2008) - Liberty Post : Supreme Court Voids D.C. Gun Ban :
WASH D.C. — The Supreme Court ruled Thursday that Americans have a right to own guns for self-defense and hunting, the justices' first major pronouncement on gun rights in U.S. history. The court's 5-4 ruling struck down the District of Columbia's 32-year-old ban on handguns as incompatible with gun rights under the Second Amendment. The decision went further than even the Bush administration wanted, but probably leaves most firearms laws intact. The court had not conclusively interpreted the Second Amendment since its ratification in 1791. The amendment reads: "A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms, shall not be infringed."
(Jun 25 2008) - Huffinton Post : Obama Adviser On FISA: We'll Trust The Inspector General To Prevent Surveillance Abuses : WASH D.C. — Dennis McDonough, a foreign policy adviser to the Obama campaign, said in a conference call this morning that legislation expanding presidential power to conduct warrantless surveillance of Americans' communications is acceptable to Senator Obama because the United States Inspector General will ensure accountability. In other words, the Obama campaign's position is now that the duty and power to protect the Constitution from all enemies, foreign and domestic, now resides primarily not with the President, not with the Congress or the Courts, but with a bureaucrat created by administrative law whose job is to conduct internal investigations of government agencies.
(Jun 22 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Israel remains mum on massive rehearsal of attack against Iran : ISRAEL — Amid reports that the Israel Air Force recently conducted a massive drill as a "dress rehearsal" for an attack against Iran, The Jerusalem Post has learned that the IAF significantly increased the number of overseas drills it has participated in over the past two years. The long-range flight exercises, many of which have included mid-air refueling, have taken place in the United States, Canada, Europe and Sardinia, as well as throughout the Mediterranean Sea.
(Jun 21 2008) - Denver Post : Bush says Democrats keep blocking his energy plans : WASH D.C. — President Bush is accusing Democrats in Congress of blocking his energy proposals, saying they are partly to blame for high gasoline costs pinching Americans' budgets. In his Saturday radio address, Bush urged Congress to lift its long-standing ban on offshore oil and gas drilling to increase U.S. energy production. Democrats have rejected the idea. "This is a difficult time for many American families," Bush said. "Rising gasoline prices and economic uncertainty can affect everything from what food parents put on the table to where they can go on vacation." Bush said offshore drilling could yield up to 18 billion barrels of oil over time, although it would take years for production to start.
(Jun 20 2008) - Norway Post : Peace mediators meet in Oslo :
OSLO — This year’s peace mediators’ retreat will focus on dialogue and new opportunities for and perspectives on negotiations. It will be opened by Minister of the Environment and International Development Erik Solheim. Foreign Minister Jonas Gahr Støre and State Secretaries Raymond Johansen and Haaken A. Gudbrandsen will attends parts of the retreat. There will be around 100 participants, including Mohammad Khatami, former President of Iran, Jonathan Powell, former Chief of Staff to Tony Blair, Gareth Evans, President of the International Crisis Group, Lord Malloch Brown, British Minister for Africa, Asia and the UN, and Pampha Bhusal, Maoist and Government Minister in Nepal.
(Jun 19 2008) - First Post : The Bank of England must cut rates now : ENGLAND — Prices are rising and, worse still, the Government is demanding that we accept pay rises below the rate of inflation. Now the Bank of England is threatening to raise interest rates to control prices. That means less pay and possibly higher interest rates just when the cost of living seems to be rising exponentially. We face this worrying scenario because, according to classical economics, you constrain price rises and control inflation by limiting demand.
(Jun 16 2008) - Post Online : Alabama AG seizes voting records in 3rd county : MONTGOMERY, Ala. — The state attorney general's investigation of complaints about the June 3 primary election has spread to a third county with the seizure of voting records in Lowndes County. Attorney General Troy King announced Monday that agents from his office had served subpoenas on Lowndes County election officials and seized records including all those pertaining to absentee ballots
(Jun 15 2008) - New York Post : Rev. Sharpton Soaks Up Boycott Bucks : NEW YORK - BIZ GIANTS PAY OR FACE RACE RALLIES : Anheuser-Busch gave him six figures, Colgate-Palmolive shelled out $50,000 and Macy's and Pfizer have contributed thousands to the Rev. Al Sharpton's charity. Almost 50 companies - including PepsiCo, General Motors, Wal-Mart, FedEx, Continental Airlines, Johnson & Johnson and Chase - and some labor unions sponsored Sharpton's National Action Network annual conference in April. Terrified of negative publicity, fearful of a consumer boycott or eager to make nice with the civil-rights activist, CEOs write checks, critics say, to NAN and Sharpton - who brandishes the buying power of African-American consumers. In some cases, they hire him as a consultant.
(Jun 15 2008) - Post Chronicle : South Korean Truckers' Strike Slows Ports : SOUTH KOREA - A strike by South Korean truckers entered its third day Sunday, forcing the country's largest port to reduce its operations, officials said. The Port of Busan cut its freight-loading level by more than 75 percent of normal, Yonhap reported Sunday. Other ports had been forced to operate below 10 percent of capacity, the news agency reported. The strike has also forced industry to slow product shipments. LG Electronics Inc., the world's fourth-largest mobile phone maker, for instance, said Saturday it was forced to cease product shipments from its factory in South Gyeongsang Province. The truckers are calling on the government of President Lee Myung-bak to lower gasoline prices, and on their employers to raise fees.
(Jun 14 2008) - Jakarta Post : Assessing China's increasing global influence, military might : JAKARTA - With China's increasing military build-up, there is a growing concern about its strategic goals in the Asia-Pacific region and elsewhere in the world. The obvious questions are: Does it want to dominate the region? If not (as claimed by Beijing), why is it acting so rough and tough with its neighbors over contested sovereignty and ownership of South China Sea Islands and natural resources abounding them ? And if it were to continue on a course of bullying its neighbors, this could unleash a regional arms race. Which, in turn, would create regional instability and hinder Asia's economic prosperity of which China has been a major beneficiary.
(Jun 13 2008) - Charlotte Post : Sharpton tours scene of police shooting fatality : NORTH CAROLINA - The Rev. Al Sharpton was in Charlotte today to talk to the family of a man killed by police last month as well as tour the neighborhood where the fatality took place. Sharpton, a civil rights activist and founder of the National Action Network, held a press conference at the Government Center Friday morning before heading to a private meeting with the family of Aaron Winchester, 21, who was shot to death May 20 in the Lockwood neighborhood in north Charlotte by Charlotte-Mecklenburg Police Officer David Jester. With Sharpton were Melvin “Skip” Alston, president of the N.C. NAN and Willie Gary of Stuart, Fla., one of the nation’s top trial attorneys.
(Jun 12 2008) - Christian Post : Southern Baptists Remain Wary of McCain : INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - Four years ago, the Bush-Cheney re-election campaign hosted a reception for Southern Baptist pastors at a hotel across the street from their annual meeting. The country is electing a president again, the Baptists are meeting again and John McCain's campaign is nowhere to be seen at a gathering of 7,200 people, most of them staunch Republicans. The absence has some Southern Baptists wondering whether the Arizona senator wants their vote. Others are more sympathetic to a campaign still gearing up, a candidate not known for talking about his faith, and reticence McCain might feel over his recent rejection of two endorsements by high-profile, evangelical pastors.
(Jun 11 2008) - China Post : Protesters march over Asia, Europe fuel costs : MADRID -- Protesters marched in India, Hong Kong and Nepal over soaring oil prices on Tuesday and Spaniards stockpiled fuel and food, fearing shortages because of a truck drivers' strike that has halted deliveries. South Korean truck drivers also threatened to strike, increasing pressure on Asian governments struggling to prevent rising prices from breaking their budgets and avoid making the burden on the public so heavy it threatens political stability.
(Jun 10 2008) - Post Bulletin : Flood victims start cleaning up, but 'the water just keeps seeping in' : LANESBORO - Residents in several Fillmore County towns on Tuesday were cleaning up the muck left by weekend flooding. Virginia Wright-Peterson of the Rochester Chapter of American Red Cross traveled throughout the county Tuesday to assess damage and ended up at the home of Gary and Deb Danielson in Lanesboro. Their home is in the area known as "the flat," a low area along the South Branch of the Root River. The Danielsons had waist-deep water in their basement, which included two bedrooms, a family room and storage area. "It's all soaked," Deb Danielson said. "Right now, we're tearing out the Sheetrock and sorting out what can be salvaged and what has to be thrown in the garbage."
(Jun 09 2008) - Liberty Post : Mexican lawmaker rejects conditions on drug aid : MONTERREY, Mexico – A top Mexican lawmaker said Saturday that Mexico will reject any U.S. aid to fight drug traffickers that comes with conditions. Mexican congressional speaker Ruth Zavaleta said any conditions placed on the aid would be seen as an infringement on Mexican sovereignty. The Merida Initiative would provide US$1.4 billion over several years to help Mexico, Central America, the Dominican Republic and Haiti combat drug trafficking. But the U.S. House and Senate have imposed several conditions on the aid, including guarantees of civilian investigations into human rights abuses by the Mexican military.
(Jun 07 2008) - Palm Beach Post : Water drains from earthquake-formed lake in China : MIANYANG, China (AP) -- Water flowed slowly into a manmade spillway Saturday from a swollen lake formed by a landslide in China's devastating earthquake, easing the immediate threat of a flood that had led to the evacuation of more than 250,000 people. Engineers were monitoring bridges and river banks downstream to see if they would hold under the rush of water, and work crews were trying to dig a secondary channel to improve the flow, China Central Television and the Xinhua News Agency reported. Water had been building behind the landslide for nearly four weeks, creating a massive lake that had to be drained carefully to prevent a surge.
(Jun 06 2008) - National Post : Why Clinton shouldn't be on Obama's ticket : CANADA -- It’s not unusual for the winner of a U.S. presidential nomination to choose the runner-up as his running mate. John Kerry did it in 2004. Ronald Reagan did it in 1980. John F. Kennedy did it (under very different rules) in 1960. In these pairings, it is always the winner who reaches out to the loser. Never in modern U.S. history has a loser muscled in upon a winner. But there’s a first time for everything. On Wednesday, friends of Hillary Clinton launched an online petition drive to urge Barack Obama to choose the former First Lady.
(Jun 05 2008) - Kyiv Post : US commerce sec. warns Ukraine amid growing dispute over US company's oil contact : KIEV, Ukraine - US Commerce Secretary Carlos Gutierrez suggested Thursday that a growing dispute over the cancellation of a US company's oil exploration contracts could damage Ukraine's reputation with foreign investors. Gutierrez spoke to business leaders in Kiev a day after President Viktor Yushchenko ordered his top security advisory council to sort out the dispute involving the Texas-based Vanco Energy Co. He said the Vanco dispute could frighten away investors and that Ukraine needed a clear set of rules for investment.
(Jun 04 2008) - First Post : Tolerant Christianity is no good for keeping order among barbarous yobs and feral children living in the inner cities : ENGLAND -- The trouble with gentle, tolerant Christianity is that while it is quite enough to support a morality and social order serving gentle and tolerant people living in leafy suburbs, it is no good at all for keeping order among barbarous and illiterate yobs and feral children living in the inner cities. For them a more fundamental form of Christianity - one concerned to inculcate fear rather than love of God - is required, and if the Church of England does not supply this, the mutton-chopped Bishop of Rochester fears that Muslim fundamentalism might rush in to fill the gap.
(Jun 03 2008) - Copenhagen Post : Danish editors face trial in Jordan : COPENHAGEN -- Eleven Danes have been summoned to appear before the Jordanian pubic prosecutor to answer charges of blasphemy and threatening the national peace. They include the cartoonist who drew one of the Mohammed cartoons and editors from 10 of the 17 newspapers that reprinted them. The group behind the announcement is called The Prophet Unites Us, a union of Jordanian media organisations, organisations and private individuals. 'The public prosecutor decided to summon the Danes for a series of criminal offences. Now the Danes have to meet in Jordan,' said Zakaria al-Sheikh, the group's general secretary, to Politiken newspaper.
(Jun 02 2008) - New York Post : Bomb explodes outside Danish embassy in Pakistan : ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (AP) -- A huge car bomb exploded outside the Danish Embassy in the Pakistani capital on Monday, killing at least six people and wounding dozens more, officials and witnesses said. The blast echoed through Islamabad and left a crater more than three feet deep in the road in front of the main gate to the embassy. Glass, fallen masonry and dozens of wrecked vehicles littered the area. People, some bloodied, ran away in a state of panic.
(Jun 01 2008) - Bangkok Post : Japanese prime minister leaves for Europe for talks ahead of next month's G8 summit : JAPAN -- Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda left Sunday for Europe to hold talks with leaders from some Group of Eight industrial nations ahead of next month's summit in Japan. Fukuda said he hoped to have frank discussions about the economy, climate change, food security and other global concerns during his five-day tour of Germany, Britain and Italy. Japan is hosting the G-8 summit of industrialized nations in July, and those issues are expected to be major topics. Tokyo has said climate change will be at the center of the agenda.
(May 29 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Archbishop Desmond Tutu: Situation in Gaza Strip is 'scary' : GAZA CITY -- Archbishop Desmond Tutu on Thursday said he was shocked by conditions in the Gaza Strip after months of Israeli sanctions. "No people were in the streets. We were struck particularly by the absence of the sound of children playing or waving to (my) motorcade, like other countries," he said at a news conference, urging Israel to lift the blockade. Israel imposed the sanctions last year after Hamas seized control of Gaza. It has tightened the blockade in recent months in response to repeated rocket attacks by Palestinian terrorists.
(May 28 2008) - Denver Post : Farm bill shamelessly buries taxpayers : DENVER - One can't help but wonder if Nobel Prize-winning economist Milton Friedman was talking about the recently passed farm subsidy legislation when he famously declared, "There's no such thing as a free lunch." The so-called "farm bill" just approved by Congress will hand out a whopping $300 billion in taxpayer subsidies for everything from soybeans to salmon. The bill enjoys broad bipartisan support and unanimous approval from a broad coalition of Washington, D.C., interest groups. But this shouldn't come as much of a surprise to anyone, given that many of the special interests that have lined up to support the legislation are the same folks who will be on the receiving end of the subsidies that the government is now poised to shell out.
(May 27 2008) - Frontier Post : Zardari agrees to impeach Musharraf : LAHORE -- Pakistan Muslim League (N) Quaid and former Prime Minister Muhammad Nawaz Sharif has said that Asif Ali Zardari is in agreement to impeach President Pervez Musharraf. Addressing a big crowd held in connection with Youm-e-Takbir here at Awan-e-Iqbal Wednesday, he said He forgives what Musharraf had done with him and his family, but the nation will not pardon him for his deeds which led the country towards destruction. “Case of treason should be initiated against President Musharraf instead of giving him safe passage”, he said. He said the spirit of the people being developed guarantees the prosperous future of Pakistan and will change the situation and the system.
(May 26 2008) - Christian Post : Calif. Episcopal Church to Perform Same-Sex Weddings : Pasadena, CA -- An Episcopal church in California plans to perform marriage ceremonies for same-sex couples beginning mid-June. All Saints Episcopal Church in Pasadena, one of the largest congregations in the denomination, adopted last Thursday the "Resolution on Marriage Equality" in response to a California Supreme Court ruling that legalized gay "marriage." The 125-year-old congregation "will treat equally all couples presenting themselves for the rite of marriage," said the Rev. Canon J. Edwin Bacon Jr. in an announcement. "I am honored to serve a church where the leadership demonstrates such stirring courage to move beyond lip service about embodying God's inclusive love to actually committing our faith community to the practice of marriage equality," Bacon commented, according to Episcopal News Service.
(May 25 2008) - China Post : Chinese leader says quake death toll may top 80,000 : YINGXIU, China -- Rescuers rushed to reach 24 coal miners trapped underground by China's earthquake almost two weeks ago, officials said Saturday as the government sharply raised the death toll and warned it could exceed 80,000. It was not known if the miners were alive, but authorities were hoping for the best until they learned otherwise, said Wang Dexue, the deputy chief of the government's work safety department. "We have had the miracle in the past that a miner was found alive after being trapped underground for 21 days," Wang told a news conference in Beijing. "We are carrying out rescue work on the assumption that they are still alive. We absolutely will not give up." The 24 miners were trapped in three mines in Sichuan province, Wang said, without giving further details. Sichuan bore the worst of the May 12 quake -- China's biggest disaster in three decades.
(May 24 2008) - Umpqua Post : Oregon school board down to one member after recall vote : JEWELL, Ore. (AP) -- A troubled school district in northwest Oregon found itself down to one board member as a result of Tuesday's election. Two members were ousted in a recall vote, and two more members resigned in protest, leaving just Tania Skinner on the Jewell School Board. Jewell has been led by interim superintendents since October 2006, when John Seeley was put on paid from his posts as superintendent and principal. Seeley is on probation for criminal mistreatment of a daughter, and if he completes probation the charge will be dismissed. He remains employed with the district, although his job doesn't require him to be licensed and he's not allowed on school grounds.
(May 23 2008) - Post Newsline : US Ambassador Decries Child Trafficking, Lauds Guzang Fon : CAMEROON - The US Ambassador, Janet Garvey, has said her government will continue to support the fight against child trafficking and child abuse in Cameroon. She was speaking in Bali-Nyonga during her maiden tour to the Northwest Province to members of Nkumu Fed-Fed, a female dominated group based in Bali Subdivision that has been fighting child trafficking for close to two decades in the province. Garvey said from the review of the group's activities and going by the numerous achievements recorded, she was highly impressed that support from the US and other donor countries has been of great help to the victims of child abuse and child trafficking.
(May 22 2008) - Sun Post : Rural meth lab busted :
MANTECA CA. — An illegal alien was arrested Monday, May 19 on suspicion of cooking and selling methamphetamines out of his rural home, Manteca Interim Police Chief Dave Bricker said. Detectives served a search warrant at 27632 S. Union Road at 7 a.m. Monday. Their search turned up a small amount of meth, $1,000 cash and the components of a meth lab, such as glassware, chemicals and waste products, Bricker said. They arrested Rafael Garcia, a 40-year-old Manteca resident, for possessing and manufacturing the drug. Police also found shotgun shells, but no shotgun, and charged the man with felony possession of ammunition.
(May 21 2008) - Palm Beach Post : Teen's death spotlights risk of mixing energy drinks, booze : WEST PALM BEACH — At the Blue Martini in CityPlace, bartender Joe Giannini empties more cases of Red Bull than he can count each night, shaking the stimulant into $10 cocktails of vodka, whiskey or Bacardi Grand Melon. At HG Roosters on Belvedere Road, bartender Artie Vale mixes energy drinks with Jägermeister and calls it a Jägerbomb. What's the appeal ? "It makes you wide-awake drunk," Vale laughs. Energy drink-alcohol cocktails might seem perfect for those who want to stay up all night and party. But at what cost?
(May 19 2008) - First Post : Third World needs food, not shopping malls : UK - Labour’s big business love-in has perverted a fund set up to help the poor, says Richard Brooks. As global food shortages devastate some of the world's poorest countries, a British government-owned international development fund set up 60 years ago this month stands accused of deserting them. CDC, formerly the Commonwealth Development Corporation, was established by Clement Attlee's post-war government in the same year as the National Health Service and in the same spirit of social regeneration. But it passes its landmark anniversary disfigured by 11 years of transformation under New Labour ­ for which the world's poor are paying the price.
(May 18 2008) - Bohol Sunday Post : Show of force for Panglao's airport :
PHILIPPINES - FOR PANGLAO MAYOR Benedicto Alcala and the rest of the proponents of the ambitious Panglao Bohol International Airport, there is no turning back if the airport is the best thing that ever happens to the municipality's progress and development. Gov. Erico Aumentado is as bullish. Hampered by a cacophony of voices coming from a group belonging to the Boholanos for Truth, Accountability and Reform, the two prominent airport advocates refused to be distracted by all these noises that came from so-called concerned Boholanos. For Aumentado and Alcala. although they were not totally opposed for any further consultations, if given a choice, it was already too late in the day to halt the momentum of the project.
(May 16 2008) - Liberty Post : Mike Reagan "I Am Disgusted with California" : CALIFORNIA - Reacting to the decision of the California Supreme Court to ignore Proposition 22, which declares that “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California," and was passed with a whopping 61 percent of the vote, an outraged Michael Reagan urged California voters to join him in refusing to vote for any ballot measures in the State of California in the 2008 November election since the courts can simply nullify their votes whenever they want to. Reagan, whose father Ronald Reagan served two terms as California’s governor before winning the presidency in 1980, said "I am taking my ballot and mailing it directly to the Supreme Court of California at 350 McAllister Street San Francisco, CA 94102-4797 to allow the judges to decide for us. They’re going to do it anyway.”
(May 15 2008) - Copenhagen Post : Minister's dissention ushers in headscarf ban : COPENHAGEN - The government will introduce a bill making it illegal for judges to wear religious apparel. Judges in the nation's courts will be banned from wearing headscarves and other religious apparel under a proposal put forward by the government on Wednesday. The bill, which also stated that judges in all courts would be required to wear robes, has the support of a vast majority in parliament, including the Social Democrats, the largest opposition party. The proposal comes after nearly a month of debate unleashed by a Court Administration decision that it had no legal grounds to exclude Muslim women who wore headscarves from becoming judges. 'Judges that make decisions in court cases, probate courts and county courts need to appear fair and neutral. And we are ready to pass legislation to ensure that,' Lene Espersen, the justice minister, said.
(May 13 2008) - Christian Post : Christians Respond Promptly to China Earthquake : CHINA - The world watched in horror Monday as a jolting 7.9 magnitude earthquake – the latest in a series of global natural disasters – wreaked havoc across China’s southwestern Sichuan province. The earthquake, the worst natural disaster to strike the Middle Kingdom in over three decades, left an estimated 12,000 dead, with thousands more reportedly injured and desperately trapped under the debris of fallen buildings. Xinhua News Agency reported that 18,645 people were still buried in and around Mianyang, a city about 60 miles east of the epicenter. As condolences and aid began pouring in from other countries, Christian groups were among the first to respond. World Vision, which has a community development center just 200 kilometers from the earthquake’s epicenter, was just one of the many Christian organizations that said that it had relief and aid workers ready to deploy at any notice.
(May 12 2008) - Bangkok Post : A Major 7.8 Earthquake hits China : BEIJING CHINA - A 7.8-magnitude earthquake felt as far away as Bangkok killed more than 700 people and buried thousands in Sichuan province of southwest China. Authorities said they feared 5,000 or more were dead. and Chinese President Hu Jintao ordered "all-out" efforts to help 900 school children buried in rubble. At least four teenagers were confirmed dead after the earthquake caused school buildings to collapse and bury nearly 900 students at the Juyuan Middle School in Sichuan's Dujiangyan city, about 100 kilometres from the epicentre of the earthquake, the official Xinhua news agency quoted local officials as saying. Official Xinhua news agency quoted officials from the Sichuan provincial disaster relief headquarters as saying that 80 per cent of buildings in Beichuan had collapsed after the earthquake.
(May 10 2008) - Jerusalem Post : PM to petition High Court against Talansky's early testimony : JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ehud Olmert is trying to prevent New York Jewish businessman Morris Talansky from being questioned in the investigation of alleged illegal payments to the prime minister. Talansky is currently visiting Israel. Slideshow: Pictures of the week The lawyers representing Olmert and his former aide, Shula Zaken, are due on Sunday to ask the Supreme Court for permission to appeal against a Jerusalem District Court decision granting the state's request to question Talansky, Zaken's lawyer, Micha Fetman, told The Jerusalem Post on Saturday. Talansky, who was paid to raise donations for Israeli nonprofit institutions, is suspected of paying to or collecting large sums of money for Olmert over 15 years.
(May 09 2008) - Palm Beach Post : Teen use of pot can lead to dependency :
WASHINGTON - Depression, teens and marijuana are a dangerous mix that can lead to dependency, mental illness or suicidal thoughts, according to a White House report being released Friday. A teen who has been depressed at some point in the past year is more than twice as likely to have used marijuana as teens who have not reported being depressed - 25 percent compared with 12 percent, said the report by the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy.
(May 08 2008) - Washington Post : Police Chief Killed in Brazen Attack :
MEXICO CITY, - Gunmen assassinated Mexico's national police chief Thursday, blasting him with nine bullets outside his home in the capital and dealing a significant setback to the government's campaign against drug cartels. Edgar Eusebio Millán Gómez, the public face of Mexico's offensive against drug cartels, became the highest-ranking law enforcement official to be killed since the launch of the effort 17 months ago. The assassination could give new confidence to drug cartels blamed for 6,000 killings in the past 2 1/2 years, and embolden other anti-government groups in this violence-plagued nation. "This could have a snowball effect, even leading to the risk of ungovernability," Luís Astorga, a Mexico City-based sociologist and drug expert, said in an interview. "It indicates terrible things, a level of weakness in our institutions -- they can't even protect themselves."
(May 06 2008) - Post Chronicle : Cyclone Death Toll, Myanmar Catastrophic 22,000 : MYANMAR - A new report is claiming that the tropical cyclone that tore through the southeast Asian country of Myanmar may have killed as many as 22,000 people or more. The Cyclone in Myanmar was first reported to have killed a few hundred people, destroying thousands of homes and leaving some people "missing." Now, according to a new report, the death count could be a devastating 22,000 people, with 44,000 missing, as a result of the powerful cyclone.
(May 05 2008) - Kyiv Post : Ukraine marks 22nd anniversary of Chernobyl nuclear disaster : UKRAINE - Dozens of mourners gathered in the Ukrainian capital on Saturday to mark the 22nd anniversary of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster. Holding candles and portraits of relatives, the mourners laid flowers at a memorial to victims of the accident. Reactor No. 4 at Chernobyl, in what is now northern Ukraine, exploded on April 26, 1986, spewing radiation over a large swath of the former Soviet Union and much of northern Europe in the world's worst nuclear accident. An area roughly half the size of Italy was contaminated, forcing the resettlement of hundreds of thousands of people.
(May 04 2008) - Washington Post : Probe of USS Cole Bombing Unravels :
WASHINGTON - Almost eight years after al-Qaeda nearly sank the USS Cole with an explosives-stuffed motorboat, killing 17 sailors, all the defendants convicted in the attack have escaped from prison or been freed by Yemeni officials. Jamal al-Badawi, a Yemeni who helped organize the plot to bomb the Cole as it refueled in this Yemeni port on Oct. 12, 2000, has broken out of prison twice. He was recaptured both times, but then secretly released by the government last fall. Yemeni authorities jailed him again after receiving complaints from Washington. But U.S. officials have so little faith that he's still in his cell that they have demanded the right to perform random inspections.
(May 03 2008) - Jakarta Post : Soaring inflation may shave growth :
JAKARTA - Consumer prices rose to a 19-month high in April, sending jitters over possible sluggish growth in the economy as the central bank is left with less room to cut interest rates to spur economic activities. The Central Statistics Agency (BPS) announced Friday year-on-year inflation rose in April to 8.96 percent, higher than March’s 8.17 percent. Inflation during the first four months of the year accelerated to 4.01 percent, with some 0.57 percent in April, the agency said. The agency blamed higher kerosene prices as the main factor in fueling the soaring inflation. Danareksa Research Institute chief researcher Purbaya Yudhi Sadewa said inflation was caused mainly by the government’s failure to get consumers to switch from kerosene to gas for cooking.
(May 02 2008) - Denver Post : Police key in on jail space ... for DNC : DENVER - The Denver Sheriff Department is preparing to handle up to 3,000 arrests during the 2008 Democratic National Convention, the director of corrections said Thursday. Bill Lovingier, who is also the undersheriff in charge of the jails, spoke about a wide range of preparations for handling the possibility of mass arrests after criticisms by the Colorado American Civil Liberties Union were reported in The Denver Post. Lovingier said that in order to create holding space, an unspecified number of county jail inmates will be moved to jails in neighboring jurisdictions and city jail inmates will be transferred to the county jail.
(May 01 2008) - Christian Post : Christian Group Defends National Day of Prayer : WASHINGTON - A legal group that focuses on Christian religious freedom cases sent letters to the nation’s largest cities advising them of the right to participate in Thursday’s National Day of Prayer, and to assure them that attorneys are ready to defend those in any legal dispute. “Americans shouldn’t be forced to abandon their religious heritage simply to appease someone’s political agenda,” said Alliance Defense Fund chief counsel Benjamin Bull. “The U.S. Supreme Court has acknowledged that public prayer is ‘deeply embedded in the history and tradition of this country,’” he continued. “The National Day of Prayer has been a part of that. That is why ADF attorneys stand ready to defend the right of millions of Americans who wish to join together in prayer on May 1 without fear of legal attack from those who seek to silence their constitutional right to pray.”
(Apr 29 2008) - New York Post : Obama's Pastor of Disaster - On the loose :
WASHINGTON - Barack Obama's worst nightmare, the Rev. Jeremiah Wright, yesterday delivered his most brutal wallop to his pal's campaign as he hailed hatemonger Louis Farrakhan and accused the United States of committing terrorism. Wright called racial inflamer Farrakhan "one of the most important voices of the 20th and 21st century" and likened him to American icon stockbroker EF Hutton. "When LF speaks, black America listens," Wright said. "Louis Farrakhan is not my enemy. He didn't put me in chains, he did not put me in slavery, and he didn't make me this color." Wright, in a bombastic, nationally televised speech to the National Press Club, ripped the United States as a ruthless, modern-day Roman Empire trying to rule the world - and said it brought 9/11 on itself.
(Apr 27 2008) - Frontier Post : Karzai safe after fleeing gunfire at parade rally :
KABUL (Agencies): Afghan President Hamid Karzai escaped unharmed Sunday after militants attacked a high-profile military parade with rockets and gunfire, killing three people including an MP and wounding around 10. The extremist Taliban movement claimed responsibility for the attack which they said showed their ability to strike “wherever we want to” but saw three gunmen shot dead by security forces, the defence ministry said. Bullets hammered into the back of a stage where the president, Afghan dignitaries and senior international representatives were seated to review the country’s most important annual military parade. The attack erupted soon after Karzai had reached the platform following an inspection of troops and as a 21-gun salute was ringing out across the city to mark the 16th anniversary of the fall of the last communist government.
(Apr 26 2008) - Post Online : Release Me Or Be Exposed ... :
Republic of Cameroon -- The former Minister of Economy and Finance, Polycarpe Abah Abah, who is now languishing in pre-trial detention at the Kondengui Maximum Security Prison in Yaounde, has reportedly warned President Paul Biya to release him or face his wrath. Abah Abah, who will stand trial for allegedly embezzling FCFA 20 billion of state funds, reportedly said he will set the country afire if the authorities proceed to prosecute him. Security officials are said to have uncovered Abah Abah's message to President Biya when they seized his laptop, his telephone and other communication gadgets from him at the prison. All electronic equipment was also seized from the former Minister of Public Health, Urbain Olanguena Awono. Following the transfer of the two suspects from the Judicial Police headquarters at Elig-Essono to Kondengui Prison, the Attorney General at the Centre Provincial Court of Appeal ordered that security measures be tightened in that prison. It was during the execution of this order that security operatives seized communication gadgets from the two detainees.
(Apr 25 2008) - Palm Beach Post : Judge sentences Snipes to 3 yrs ... :
OCALA, Fla. (AP) -- Wesley Snipes was sentenced to three years in prison on tax charges Thursday, a victory for prosecutors who sought to make an example of the action star by aggressively pursuing the maximum penalty. Snipes' lawyers had spent much of the day in court offering dozens of letters from family members, friends - even fellow actors Woody Harrelson and Denzel Washington - attesting to the good character of the "Blade" star and asking for leniency. They argued he should get only probation because his three convictions were all misdemeanors and the actor had no previous criminal record. But U.S. District Judge William Terrell Hodges said Snipes exhibited a "history of contempt over a period of time" for U.S. tax laws, and granted prosecutors the three year sentence they requested - one year for each of Snipes' convictions of willfully failing to file a tax return.
(Apr 24 2008) - Prague Post : Secret Service -- Still watching you :
PRAGUE - Local intelligence agencies may soon have easier access to private data as the government prepares a bill enhancing the privileges of the secret services. Since gaining the preliminary approval of the National Security Council last month, the draft bill — which seeks to bolster the fight against terrorism by allowing secret service officials access to sensitive information including telephone records, bank accounts and cell phone conversations — has become a volatile topic of discussion for local politicians and privacy experts.The main proponents of the draft bill are the leaders of the governing Civic Democratic Party (ODS), whose chairman, Prime Minister Mirek Topolánek, heads the security council.
(Apr 23 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Jerusalem hopes spy case doesn't spiral : ISRAEL - Jerusalem remained tight-lipped Wednesday about the Tuesday arrest of Ben-Ami Kadish in the US for allegedly spying for Israel, hoping that the story - which for the most part remained on the inside pages of the major US newspapers - would not pick up much traction. Foreign Ministry spokesman Aryeh Mekel, one of a select few government officials talking about the issue on the record, said that Israel was not "specifically relating to this incident" and stressed that the alleged events happened in the early 1980s. "Since 1985, there has been strict adherence to the prime ministers' instructions against involvement in these kinds of activities," Mekel said, referring to a commitment made by the Israeli government to the US after the Jonathan Pollard affair.
(Apr 22 2008) - Copenhagen Post : Experts say : economic crisis will hit : DENMARK - Experts are predicting the recession that has hit the US will be acutely felt in Denmark starting as soon as next year. It is apparently still true that when the US sneezes the world catches a cold, as both Nordea Bank and the International Monetary Fund believe a weakening British pound and an ever-waning US dollar will hamper the world's economy, and Denmark won't be spared the rod. A new Nordea analysis indicates that several other factors have also contributed to a bleaker economic outlook for the next two years: the bottom of the Danish housing market having fallen out, American consumers shutting their pocketbooks, an ailing stock market and rising food and fuel prices.
(Apr 21 2008) - First Post : RAF boss rages over Prince William’s latest helicopter stunt : U.K. - The head of the RAF, Air Chief Marshall Sir Glenn Torphy, has been sent into a rage by Prince William's latest helicopter adventure - it was revealed yesterday that he'd flown a Chinook down to his girlfriend Kate Middleton's family home in Berkshire, performing a few stunts and then landing in a field opposite the house. Although the MoD has publicly defended William, claiming the trip was part of his "routine training", in private officials are understood to be furious about the way William is rapidly undermining the "good PR" that his four-month attachment had generated for the RAF.
(Apr 19 2008) - Liberty Post : Congress Set to Import More Foreign Workers : WASHINGTON - Now that big corporate lobbyists know they can't get amnesty for the millions of cheap laborers they have imported illegally, they are pushing to increase the number of so-called high-skilled workers by raising the cap of H-1B visas. The pressure is on the House of Representatives to pass an increase soon, most likely in the form of the SKIL Act (H.R. 1930), sponsored by Rep. John Shadegg (R-AZ), usually a conservative ally.
(Apr 18 2008) - Denver Post : Big Brother wants to get in your head : DENVER - Imagine a world of streets lined with video cameras that alert authorities to any suspicious activity. A world where police officers can read the minds of potential criminals and arrest them before they commit any crimes. A world in which a suspect who lies under questioning gets caught immediately because his brain has given him away. Though that may sound a lot like the plot of the 2002 Tom Cruise movie "Minority Report," it's not science fiction: We're not so far away from that world. But does it sound like a very safe place, or a very scary one? It's a question we should be asking as the federal government invests millions of dollars in emerging technology aimed at detecting and decoding brain activity. Though government funding focuses on military uses for these new technologies, they can and do end up in the hands of civilian law enforcement and in commercial applications.
(Apr 17 2008) - New York Post : Oklahoma sheriff charged with using inmates as sex slaves : ARAPAHO, Oklahoma - Authorities have charged a western Oklahoma sheriff with coercing and bribing female inmates so he could use them in a sex-slave operation run out of his jail. Custer County Sheriff Mike Burgess resigned Wednesday just as state prosecutors filed 35 felony charges against him, including 14 counts of second-degree rape, seven counts of forcible oral sodomy and five counts of bribery by a public official. Burgess, the top officer in the county of 26,000 since 1994, appeared in court Wednesday was released after posting $50,000 bail. "We are stunned," Undersheriff Kenneth Tidwell said Thursday.
(Apr 14 2008) - Kentucky Post : Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger - A Papal Paradox : KENTUCKY - For all of the respect and adulation he commands, Pope Benedict XVI remains a mysterious figure to many Americans. So when the pontiff sets foot on U.S. soil this week for the first time since he became leader of the Roman Catholic Church, he will be something of a papal paradox. He will arrive with all of the pageantry that befits a world leader. Yet he'll have the extraordinary task of helping Americans come to know him as the gentle and compassionate man who is beloved around the globe. "There's a great instinctive, reflexive affection for the pope," said David Gibson, author of a biography, "The Rule of Benedict." "He's a symbol of unity."
(Apr 13 2008) - Frontier Post : Mass grave unearthed in northern Afghanistan : MAZAR-I-SHARIF (Agencies): Afghan authorities have discovered a mass grave containing at least 100 bodies believed to be victims of a Taliban massacre in the 1990s, security officials said on Saturday. The grave was discovered in the northern province of Balkh, about 15 km (10 miles) from the city of Mazar-i-Sharif. Provincial security official Abdurrauf Taj said about 100 bodies had been found in the grave, which is about 100 metres (yards) from a residential area. "We expect the number may rise," Taj said. Residents of the area said they suspected the dead were members of the Hazara ethnic minority, massacred after the Taliban captured the area in the late 1990s.
(Apr 12 2008) - Christian Post : Schwarzenegger: No to Marriage Amendment : SAN DIEGO (AP) - Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said Friday that he would fight an initiative to amend the California Constitution to ban same-sex ''marriage'' if it qualifies for the November ballot. Schwarzenegger has vetoed bills that would allow gay marriage but said he opposes the sort of amendments that are being proposed by two competing groups. Such amendments are already on the books in 26 states, but the governor said it would be a "waste of time" to pursue one in California. "I will always be there to fight against that," Schwarzenegger said, prompting loud cheers and a standing ovation from about 200 people at the annual convention of the Log Cabin Republicans, the nation's largest gay Republican group.
(Apr 11 2008) - Post Bulletin : FEMA sets new limits for formaldehyde levels in trailers : WASHINGTON - After resisting for years, the Federal Emergency Management Agency is setting strict new limits on formaldehyde levels in the mobile homes it buys for disaster victims. Responding to safety concerns, the agency said Friday it will take "extraordinary precautions" by buying trailers with formaldehyde emissions comparable to that of conventional housing. The requirement will start with a new three-year contract to purchase up to 3,300 units and a smaller contract for units intended for disabled residents. Some will be available for this year's hurricane season.
(Apr 09 2008) - Post Gazette : Rove questions Democrats' strategies :
JOHNSTOWN - Republican political mastermind and former presidential adviser Karl Rove came to town this evening to raise money for Republicans and rally the GOP faithful for Sen. John McCain's candidacy -- but also had a few choice words about the Democratic contenders, who face off here in Pennsylvania's primary April 22. Mr. Rove noted that Mr. McCain is running ahead of the two Democrats in some polls, "which means [Pennsylvania] will be a really important state in the fall. This will be a battleground state."
(Apr 08 2008) - National Post : Who caused the world food crisis ? :
We are now by all accounts in the midst of a global food crisis: key grain prices were up 40% to 130% in the last year, people are protesting and hardship is mounting. But it could soon be worse. Governments and agencies all over the world are gearing up for a global "New Deal" on agriculture policy to solve the food crisis, which means the people who brought us the food crisis are the same people who now want to fix it. The World Bank reports that prices of staples have jumped 80% since 2005. The price of rice hit a 19-year high last month, and wheat rose to a 28-year high, twice the average price of the last 25 years. Factors behind the surge in prices are varied, including bad weather in some regions, soaring demand from growing populations, and US$100-a-barrel oil.
(Apr 06 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Hagee: We don't tell Israelis what to do :
"We do not seek to tell Israelis what to do," Pastor John Hagee told a group of reporters Monday, following claims made last week by the president of the Union for Reform Judaism suggesting that he and his organization, Christians United for Israel, were a threat to the country's security. Speaking from Israel, Hagee addressed a group of reporters in a joint conference call organized following statements made by Rabbi Eric Yoffie, who spoke at the annual convention of Central Conference of American Rabbis in Ohio. He urged Reform rabbis to distance themselves from Christian Zionists and targeted Hagee in particular for comments he made about Catholics, Muslims and his rejection of a two-state solution to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
(Apr 05 2008) - Jakarta Post : Water scarcity {In Jakarta} :
As many Jakartans begin to feel the effects of the water shortage, particularly during the dry season, authorities would do well to prepare against a widespread crisis. Plans by the Jakarta city administration to drastically increase groundwater fees is seen as an early step toward better management of water resources. But this is like a drop in the ocean, so to speak. The planned hike will increase the current groundwater fees by up to 600 percent. For instance, the current price for large industries of Rp 3,000 (33 US cents) per cubic meter will increase to Rp 16,000, an official from the city's mining agency said.
(Apr 04 2008) - Christian Post : Pro-Life Groups Mark 3rd Anniversary of Terri Schiavo's Death : The parents of Terri Schiavo held a memorial mass and dedication on the third anniversary of their daughter’s death this week as pro-life leaders renewed their vows to fight for the forces of life. The events surrounding Schiavo, who had been in what some doctors described as a “persistent, vegetated state” after incurring brain damage fifteen years earlier, and her death in 2005 after a court ordered her feeding tube removed, continues to bring new dimensions to pro-life issues.
(Apr 03 2008) - Liberty Post : Main street parade to honor Muhammad :
Muslim leaders at an encampment in the Catskill Mountains called "Islamberg" have been granted a permit by the city of Binghamton, N.Y., to hold a parade Saturday in honor of Muhammad's birthday. The holiday, called Milad-un-Nabi, will be celebrated by a group of families who live at the nearby property owned by Muslims of the Americas Inc. The city has scheduled the parade for 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the downtown area, including its main street. A report in the local Press & Sun-Bulletin said the celebration previously held on the group's own property this year is being expanded.
(Apr 02 2008) - Bangkok Post : Rice sales on the edge of crisis ? :
Retail giant Tesco Lotus called on the government Wednesday to assure the public there is more than enough rice on hand - or face panic buying over growing rumours of shortages. Commerce Minister Mingkwan Saengsuwan is scheduled to hold an emergency meeting with senior ministry officials to discuss the rice situation - but not before Saturday. Fears of rice-hoarding and insufficient supplies for daily sustenance, especially for the poor, are flooding Thailand as the ricebowl of the world and export giant struggles to meet domestic supplies.
(Mar 24 2008) - National Post : Post appeals Shawinigan case to Supreme Court : The National Post is asking the Supreme Court of Canada to hear an appeal that could define the rights of the media to protect confidential sources. The newspaper is filing a leave to appeal an Ontario Court of Appeal decision last month that ordered the National Post to hand over to the RCMP a document received from a confidential source in 2001. The document was connected to the newspaper's ongoing reporting of what was dubbed Shawinigate, about alleged conflicts of interest by then-prime minister Jean Chrétien and public money spent in his riding.
(Mar 24 2008) - Palm Beach Post : Bee plague worsening, anxious keepers say : It's been 16 months since Dave Hackenberg of Dade City became the first beekeeper in the country to say publicly that something was terribly wrong with his insects. In the intervening time following the identification of the malady now known as Colony Collapse Disorder, things haven't gotten any better for the nation's bees, which pollinate about one-third of U.S. crops — some $15 billion worth. In fact, things have gotten much worse. Their numbers are continuing to dwindle from the disorder. A survey of 22 apiarists from 10 states who took their bees to California to help get out the almond crop estimates about 37 percent of the 230,500 colonies managed by those beekeepers have been lost, said Jeff Pettis, a research entomologist at the U.S. Department of Agriculture's bee research lab in Beltsville, Md.
(Mar 22 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Feds to appeal ruling of ex-lobbyists :
Yet another delay is expected in the trial of two former pro-Israel lobbyists accused of disclosing US secrets after prosecutors told a judge they plan to appeal a critical ruling on how classified information will be introduced at trial. The ruling issued this week by US District Judge T.S. Ellis III is sealed, but a lawyer for one defendant portrayed prosecutors' decision to appeal, announced Friday, as the latest in a series of setbacks to the government's case. Steven Rosen and Keith Weissman, former lobbyists with the American Israel Public Affairs Committee, were accused in 2005 of illegally disclosing sensitive national defense information.
(Mar 21 2008) - Washington Post : My Trust in My Lord : by Author Ann Rice Look: I believe in Him. It’s that simple and that complex. I believe in Jesus Christ, the Second Person of the Blessed Trinity, the God Man who came to earth, born as a tiny baby and then lived over thirty years in our midst. I believe in what we celebrate this week: the scandal of the cross and the miracle of the Resurrection. My belief is total. And I know that I cannot convince anyone of it by reason, anymore than an atheist can convince me, by reason, that there is no God.
(Mar 18 2008) - Christian Post : McCain Pressed to Clarify Stance on Marriage : WASHINGTON – Presumptive Republican nominee John McCain was pressed by an influential conservative pro-family group Monday to clarify his stance on marriage and life as it relates to his party’s existing platform. McCain was asked to be more clear and firm on whether he supported the GOP’s platform supporting an amendment to the U.S. constitution that would define marriage as between one man and one woman.
(Mar 17 2008) - First Post : Return of Dr Death :
Dr Death stalks the bleak streets of suburban Detroit once more. This time, he promises not to kill. But he is still certain to muddy any rational debate on the question of how we should die in the 21st century. Jack Kevorkian, 80 in May, is the retired pathologist who earned his soubriquet in a 10-year campaign of 'mercy killing', assisting suicides as a form of euthanasia in defiance of the law.
(Mar 16 2008) - New York Post : JPMorgan to Buy Bear for $2 a Share :
NEW YORK (AP) -- Just four days after Bear Stearns Chief Executive Alan Schwartz assured Wall Street that his company was not in trouble, he was forced on Sunday to sell the investment bank to competitor JPMorgan Chase for a bargain-basement price of $2 a share, or $236.2 million. The stunning last-minute buyout was aimed at averting a Bear Stearns bankruptcy and a spreading crisis of confidence in the global financial system sparked by the collapse in the subprime mortgage market.
(Mar 14 2008) - Norway Post : Key policy interest rate unchanged :
Norway's Central Bank's Executive Board on Thursday decided to maintain its key policy rate unchanged at 5.25 per cent. However, there are signs that it may be raised further before the summer. Inflation has picked up markedly in recent months. Various measures of inflation show somewhat different developments, but on the whole underlying inflation is close to 2.5 per cent.
(Mar 13 2008) - Post Journal : Spitzer Resigns; Could Face Federal Charges :
On Saturday night, Gov. Eliot Spitzer was at the annual Gridiron Club dinner in Washington, where President Bush serenaded reporters with a funny song about leaving office. By then the governor knew full well he could be leaving first. A day earlier, federal prosecutors had told the governor he had been snared in a prostitution operation, according to senior Spitzer aides who spoke on condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the matter.
(Mar 11 2008) - Post Chronicle : RateMyCop.Com Has Police Infuriated :
Police agencies all over the country are infuriated with a new website called 'Rate My Cop' because they say it puts them in danger. RateMyCop.com, which has the names of thousands of officers, is designed for people to rate an officer they may have dealt with on several levels - but many believe the website is putting officers in danger. Vice president of the Latino Police Officers Association, officer Hector Basurto, said of the new site: "I'd like to see it gone. Having a Web site like this out there puts a lot of law enforcement in danger. It exposes us out there."
(Mar 08 2008) - Frontier Post : Kashmir admits to spying; Pak failed to get info :
Kashmir Singh, who was freed from Pakistani jail after 35 years, on Friday admitted that he was an Indian spy and did his best to serve the country, but deplored that successive governments at the Centre did nothing for his family. “After my arrest in 1974, the successive governments did nothing for my family. I did the duty assigned to me as a spy...but the government after my arrest did not bother to spend a single penny for my family,” a calm and composed looking Singh, who was accompanied by his wife Paramjeet Kaur, told reporters in Chandigarh.
(Mar 07 2008) - Denver Post : Stocks fall sharply to end week :
Wall Street ended a dreadful week with another big loss Friday after the government surprised investors with a report that employers eliminated 63,000 jobs last month. The news compounded fears that the U.S. economy, already hampered by an unrelenting credit crisis, is succumbing to recession. The Dow Jones industrial average fell 146 points, bringing its two-day slide to 370. This week's declines in the three major stock indexes to their lowest settlements since 2006 came despite the Federal Reserve's announcement that it would take steps to aid the credit markets.
(Mar 06 2008) - Miami Sun Post : An American Nightmare :
The Carlisle on the Ocean is a case study in everything that has led to the country’s real estate collapse — and then some. Colin Hendrick knew the Carlisle on the Ocean had problems, but he never imagined the tangled web of corruption and financial debauchery he’d uncover there. The Carlisle, built in 1965 at 9195 Collins Ave. in the village of Surfside, was converted to condominiums in 2004 — a period when bartenders traded in martini shakers for real estate licenses, flippers made fortunes overnight and anyone with the ability to sign on the dotted line was given exotic mortgages without even a down payment.
(Mar 05 2008) - Christian Post : Prison Fellowship: Moral Problem at Root of Crime : Recent study on all-time high incarceration rates highlights need for Christ-centered rehabilitation programs, says Prison Fellowship Vice President. Pat Nolan, vice president of Prison Fellowship, says a new study reporting incarceration rates at an all-time high and the national reincarceration rate unchanged shows the need for Christ-centered rehabilitation programs that teach inmates how to live with a "moral compass." The study released by the Pew Center on the States’ Public Safety Performance Project on Thursday reports that 1 in 100 Americans are in prison. That statistic translates to approximately 2.3 million adults in U.S. prisons at the beginning of 2008.
(Mar 04 2008) - National Post : The coming financial pandemic :
Can the U.S. financial crisis be contained within America's borders? Nouriel Roubini says no--and explains how the contagion will spread. For months, economists have debated whether the United States is headed toward a recession. Today, there is no doubt. The severe liquidity and credit crunch from the subprime mortgage bust is now spreading to broader credit markets, $100 barrels of oil are squeezing consumers and unemployment continues to climb. And with the housing market melting down, empty-pocketed Americans can no longer use their homes as ATMs to fund their shopping sprees. It's time to face the truth ...
(Mar 03 2008) - Liberty Post : National Guard to be pulled from border patrol :
The state said there will be a six month gap of vulnerability at the border when feds pull National Guard troops. State homeland security said the National Guard on the border will leave in July, six months earlier than expected. Officials said border agents won’t take over until December at the earliest, leaving more than 180 miles of border virtually unwatched. The original plan was to have the National Guard watch the border until 6,000 new agents could be properly trained.
(Mar 02 2008) - New York Post : Gizmo puts teens out on their ears :
The Mosquito has landed - and the city's teens and 20-somethings are about to get bitten. A pesky new security device aims to clear out young troublemakers from their hangouts in apartment-building lobbies and foyers by emitting an irritating high-frequency screech that can only be heard by young ears. The message: Buzz off. The British-made Mosquito, used in 3,500 locations in the UK, costs $1,400, weighs five pounds and looks like an innocuous wall-mounted speaker. But its obnoxious 85-decibel drone ranges as far as 60 feet and registers as a constant screech to most people between the ages of 13 and 25.
(Mar 01 2008) - Bangkok Post : Interpol issues global alert for terrorist fugitive :
Interpol said it has issued a worldwide security alert following the escape of an alleged Islamic terror leader from a jail in Singapore. The international police organization said Friday it put out an "Orange Notice" for Mas Selamat Kastari, a suspected commander of the al-Qaida-linked Jemaah Islamiyah's Singapore arm. Mas Selamat, 47, who is accused of once plotting to hijack a plane and crash it into Singapore's international airport, escaped from a detention center Wednesday. The Interpol notice was issued to the group's 186 national member bureaus following a request by Singapore, the agency said.
(Feb 28 2008) - Kyiv Post : Partnering to end modern-day slavery :
This year, the international community will commemorate the 60th anniversary since the United Nations (UN) adopted and proclaimed the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which stipulated that all people are born with equal dignity and rights. However it appears, regardless of all the effort put forth, slavery not only exists in the contemporary world but is prospering, even in countries that are considered free and democratic.
(Feb 26 2008) - Christian Post : They Love Jesus; They Don’t Like the Church :
This appears to be a growing sentiment among many younger Christians in America today. They love Jesus but they want little to do with His Church. It’s not that they don’t like the their local church or even other Christians—it’s that they don’t like how Christianity in America is frequently represented by many professing Evangelicals, which in their minds is often unloving, judgmental, arrogant, and hypocritical. Enlarge this Image This assertion finds support in the data revealed in Barna’s most recent research.
(Feb 21 2008) - Washington Post : Wall Street Bank Run :
It doesn't look like an old-fashioned bank run because it involves the biggest financial institutions trading paper assets so complicated that even top executives don't fully understand the transactions. But that's what it is -- a spreading fear among financial institutions that their brethren can't be trusted to honor their obligations. Frightened financiers are pulling back from credit markets -- going on strike, if you will -- to escape the unraveling daisy chain of securitized assets and promissory notes that binds the global financial system. As each financier tries to protect against the next one's mistakes, the whole system begins to sag.
(Feb 21 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Obama and the Jews :
Less than two weeks before the critical primary elections in Ohio and Texas, Democratic voters have made it very clear: Barack Hussein Obama is for real. Leading in the popular votes cast, delegates pledged and total delegates (meaning principally the back-room machers euphemistically referred to as "superdelegates"), Obama has a decent chance to become the 2008 Democratic candidate for President of the United States. Obama has become a rallying point for millions of disgruntled voters who yearn for a new style of politics in the world's greatest democracy. Since the Republican race is all but over and Senator John McCain will likely win the nomination of his party in Minneapolis in early September, it is not idle speculation to consider an Obama-McCain contest in the November general election. Such a contest has potentially enormous consequences for Israel and the Jews.
(Feb 20 2008) - Denver Post : U.S. won't alter Cuba policy :
WASHINGTON — The Bush administration is ruling out any changes in its Cuba policy — including lifting a five-decade trade embargo — deriding Fidel Castro's brother and heir apparent, Raul, as "dictator lite." Despite having openly wished for Castro's demise and the end of his rule for years, U.S. officials said Tuesday that Castro's decision to step down on his own terms leaves little hope for real democratic transition in communist Cuba during President Bush's final year in office, although it may open options for his successor in the White House.
(Feb 19 2008) - Norway Post : Burmese defector granted stay in Norway :
The high ranking Burmese officer who defected from the Burmese military regime during the riots last year, has been granted permission to stay in Norway. According to NRK, the defector arrived in Norway several weeks ago, and that he has been granted permission to stay. Deputy Undersecretary of State Thor Arne Aas says the officer and his son are now staying at a secret address, because the authorities are concerned for their safety. After he defected last fall, the officer fled to Burma, where NRK first met him at the Norwegian embassy in Bangkok, where he had sought refuge.
(Feb 17 2008) - National Post : Kosovo declares indepedence from Serbia :
PRISTINA, Serbia - Kosovo declared independence from Serbia on Sunday, ending a long chapter in the bloody breakup of Yugoslavia. Serbia responded immediately by calling its mainly Albanian breakaway province a false state and condemning the United States for supporting it. The proclamation was made by leaders of Kosovo's 90 percent ethnic Albanian majority, including former guerrillas who fought for independence in a 1998-99 war which claimed about 10,000 civilian lives. "We, the leaders of our people, democratically elected, through this declaration proclaim Kosovo an independent and sovereign state," said the text read out in parliament by Kosovo Prime Minister Hashim Thaci.
(Feb 15 2008) - Christian Post : Differences Testing Bonds of Christian Unity :
Leaders at a meeting of the world’s largest ecumenical body this week emphasized the importance of staying united during a time of many changes in Christianity. New expressions of the Christian faith, growing prominence of the global South, and increasing religious diversity are some of the factors that are contributing to a “rapidly changing ecclesial context” that is testing the bonds of Christian unity, pointed out the World Council of Churches (WCC) general secretary, the Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia, on Thursday. Amid the changing landscape, Kobia said the WCC must deepen the fellowship of existing member churches while at the same time reaching out to broaden the ecumenical movement.
(Feb 14 2008) - Jerusalem Post : French Freemasons to explore Israel :
The first local convention of French-speaking members of the ancient Freemasonry society will begin Thursday in Jerusalem, as 250 Freemasons descend on Israel. The gathering will last for one week. The Freemasons have been considered a secret and controversial society for hundreds of years, and some people trace its roots back to the days of King Solomon. The French speakers will visit major tourist sites in Jerusalem, the Dead Sea, Masada, the Kinneret and Tel Aviv. They will hold a symposium at the YMCA in Jerusalem on Freemasonry in the modern age and examine the latest archeological findings in the City of David.
(Feb 13 2008) - Washington Post : Archbishop Objects to Clinton Rally :
Archbishop Jose Gomez complained Wednesday about plans for a rally by Democratic Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton, an abortion rights supporter, at a Catholic university. The archbishop released a statement noting that Clinton and some other presidential candidates' support for abortion rights and embryonic stem-cell research were not in line with Catholic values. The Rev. Pat Rodgers, an archdiocese spokesman, said Gomez was responding to telephone calls and e-mails from concerned Catholics.
(Feb 13 2008) - Milpitas Post : Teacher on leave for showing abortion film :
A Milpitas science teacher has been placed on leave after showing parts of the graphic anti-abortion film "The Silent Scream" to five eighth-grade classes. On Jan. 23, after students at Russell Middle School finished a chemistry test on acids and bases, first-year teacher Randy Yang showed clips from the controversial film, which depicts an 11-week-old fetus being dismembered during an abortion. Some students did not like what they saw. "They're like, ÔEwww, that's gross, why do we have to see that?'" said eighth-grader Xhynah Cabugao. "Everybody was kind of disgusted." When some students asked why they had to watch, Xhynah said, the teacher told them to avert their eyes if they didn't want to see it.
(Feb 11 2008) - Denver Post : Afghan governor survives bomb attack :
KABUL, Afghanistan—The governor of an important and volatile southern province in Afghanistan escaped an apparent assassination attempt Monday after a bomb exploded by his vehicle convoy, officials said. The bomb, aimed at the convoy of Kandahar Gov. Asadullah Khalid, wounded three civilians, Khalid's office said in a statement. Khalid was not wounded. Kandahar is the former stronghold of the Taliban movement and is a major producer of opium poppies. The province has seen fierce fighting involving U.S., NATO and Taliban forces the last two years.
(Feb 08 2008) - Connecticut Post : Congress approves tax rebates :
Congress, facing the prospect of an election-year recession, passed an emergency plan Thursday that rushes rebates of $600 to $1,200 to most taxpayers and $300 checks to disabled veterans, the elderly and other low-income people. President Bush indicated he would sign the measure. House passage by a 380-34 vote came a few hours after Senate leaders ended a drawn-out stalemate over the bill. The plan, which adds $168 billion to the deficit over two years, is intended to provide cash for people to spend and tax relief for businesses to make new investments — boosts for an economy battered by a housing downturn and credit crunch
(Feb 07 2008) - New York Post : 50 Gambino Family mambers arrested :
More than 50 members of the Gambino family are in custody this morning, including members of the administration, in what is the largest roundup in recent history. An indictment that will be unsealed this morning in Brooklyn federal court will allege five murders and labor racketeering, among other charges. The defendants are expected to include the Gambino street boss, the underboss, the consigliere and a host of powerful capos. They will be arraigned today, along with dozens of made Gambino members and associates. The mobsters were picked up in an early-morning raid, sources said.
(Feb 07 2008) - National Post : By any means necessary :
David Suzuki says he wants anti-Kyoto politicians thrown in jail. No one knows how many forests have been felled to print all the stories that have been published about David Suzuki, Canada's much-honoured but continuously controversial environmental crusader. The dead trees probably number in the many thousands, a (supposedly) global-warming-causing harvest so plenteous as to lead one to assume that preacher Suzuki might have begun moderating his apocalyptic sermonizing, lest he trigger yet another round of clear-cutting. But no. Instead, Suzuki has lately pumped up his rhetoric with even more frantic language, apparently as part of an all-out, last-ditch attempt to persuade Canadians that the world is fast approaching an environmental meltdown. It's not clear whether he's changing any minds with his new bellicosity, but he has at least been doing his bit to keep the country's loggers busy.
(Feb 06 2008) - Prague Post : Voting could involve unprecedented secrecy :
The lengthy and complicated process of electing a new president of the Czech Republic has been in place since the Constitution’s 1992 adoption, but was only fully exercised during the first contested presidential election in 2003. Considering the way this year is shaping up between President Václav Klaus and challenger Jan Švejnar, the full extent of the three-round electoral proceedings could well get another workout. Article 58 of the Constitution states that in order to win the first round the candidate must have the majority of all possible votes in the two chambers of Parliament, which vote separately. This means winning 101 votes out of a possible 200 in the Chamber of Deputies, and 41 out of 81 in the Senate.
(Feb 06 2008) - Christian Post : Top NFL Draftee Endorses Christian Charity :
A top NFL draftee went teary-eyed Tuesday when he told a crowded room that before he catches a single football as a professional athlete, he wanted to endorse the Christian charity that offers life-changing surgeries to the most needy and hopeless in Africa. “I wanted this to be the first thing I did to begin my career as a professional athlete. I’m not even in the league yet, but I know how important it is to do the right things in the right way,” said Malcolm Kelly, who is expected to be in the top 10 picks for the 2008 NFL Draft. “Mercy Ships is all about that. They deliver free, life-changing medical assistance to people in Africa and third world countries that need help the most,” the 21-year-old, 6’4” Christian athlete said.
(Feb 06 2008) - Jerusalem Post : Self-defense, not occupation :
In my January 30 op-ed in The Jerusalem Post, I contended that our settlements weaken rather than strengthen us by seriously eroding both our own and the world's belief in the justice of our cause. That cause is asserting the right of the Jewish people to a sovereign state in their ancient homeland. In over 100 "talkbacks" on jpost.com, letters to the editor, and some personal communications, my views were mostly attacked, though occasionally supported. Let me address some of the criticisms of my argument. Security and strategic depth are the most salient objections to any withdrawal from the West Bank. The continued shelling of Sderot following Israel's exit from Gaza is regarded as the conclusive proof of the foolishness of any attempt to compromise with the Palestinians.
(Feb 06 2008) - Dover Post : County takes the lead on alternative energy :
The combination of typical cooking grease and tiny organisms is one county officials are banking on to help ease energy costs at the wastewater treatment facility near Frederica. “We’re in the forefront of this,” said James Newton, environmental program manager for the Kent County Department of Public Works. “California is successfully doing this now.” For years, the wastewater treatment center has received truckloads of grease from various restaurants and food service businesses. There was, however, a limit to how much the facility could handle and so they did not encourage the practice, said Director of Public Works Hans Medlarz.
(Mar 15 2007) - Denver Post : Fortress American : Parts 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | more
Gerardo Carbajal sits on a bench on the Mexico side of the Rio Grande, shivering. Caught that morning by the U.S. Border Patrol as he stepped out of the ice-cold river, he's exhausted, hungry, and he's going home. At just 17 years old, Carbajal has sneaked across the border six times before. "It's never been this hard," he said, confessing that he would return to his home in the Mexican state of Guanajuato rather than try again. Although he may not know exactly why, Carbajal knows this for sure: The border is changing.
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