Redwoods now part of wireless network

When biology professor Todd Dawson says "climb," his students ask, "how high?"

Shimmying up an enormous redwood tree is not a typical assignment for graduate students.

But it's part of the workload for some of Dawson's graduate students at the University of California at Berkeley.

The researchers are installing miniature weather monitoring stations -- only about the size of 35mm film canisters -- in the trees.

Inside that small package: sensors that measure light, temperature, humidity, and barometric pressure. Another layer is a sort of micro-sized PC to process and store that data, a low power radio and a small battery to transmit the readings. It's designed to function for about three months. There's also the option of a small solar power source, which could keep the monitor functioning indefinitely.

"The sensors are constantly collecting information," said Dawson. "We can program the software to average every five minutes, or every half hour of data," he said.

David Culler, a professor of computer science, and UC Berkeley graduate students developed the sensor boards and networking software for the devices.

Earlier equipment to do that same job was bulky and weighed about 30 pounds, and it had to be attached to thousands of feet of cable that was much more intrusive to the forest.


posted by Frodgie at 12:00 PM

 

Bush Assures Americans After Power Outage

Bush said he would order a review of "why the cascade was so significant." The outage hit states from New York to Michigan and hit major cities in Canada. Bush said he suspects that the U.S. electrical grid would need to be modernized.

"It's a serious situation," he said.

"I have been working with federal officials to make sure the response to this situation was quick and thorough and I believe it has been," Bush told reporters at a downtown hotel during a two-day California trip.

But, the president said, state and local officials have not asked the federal government for much help as of yet.

Bush credited local and state emergency officials with quickly getting a handle on the problem.

"We're better organized today to deal with an emergency than we were 2 1/2 years ago," he said.

He also said it "has been remarkable to watch on TV" how calmly individuals reacted.

Bush said the first priority would be to deal with the consequences of the blackout. "We're offering all the help they need to help people cope with the blackout," he said.

Bush pointed to the resumption of some flights at LaGuardia and Newark airports near New York as a sign the situation was beginning to come under control. Bush said it wasn't clear yet what caused the initial problem. "One thing I can say for certain, this was not a terrorist attack," he said.

Bush was notified about the outage by Deputy Chief of Staff Joe Hagin while he was having lunch with Marines at a military base in southern California.

Officials from the White House and National Security Council held a video conference call with officials from the departments of Energy, Homeland Security, Treasury, State, the FBI and other agencies, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said.


posted by Frodgie at 10:09 AM

 

Iraqis Offer Tips Over U.S. Blackout

BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraqis who have suffered for months with little electricity gloated Friday over a blackout in the northeastern United States and southern Canada and offered some tips to help Americans beat the heat.

From frequent showers to rooftop slumber parties, Iraqis have developed advanced techniques to adapt to life without electricity.


Daily highs have soared above 120 degrees recently as Iraq (news - web sites)'s U.S. administrators have been unable to get power back to prewar levels. Some said it was poetic justice that some Americans should suffer the same fate, if only briefly.


"Let them taste what we have tasted," said Ali Abdul Hussein, selling "Keep Cold" brand ice chests on a sidewalk. "Let them sit outside drinking tea and smoking cigarettes waiting for the power to come back, just like the Iraqis."


Here are some tips from the streets of Baghdad:


_ SLEEP ON THE ROOF. Without power — and hence without air conditioning — Iraqis have taken to climbing up stairs in the hot nights. Some install metal bed frames on rooftops, while others simply stretch out on thin mattresses. "It's cooler there," said Hadia Zeydan Khalaf, 38.


_ SIT IN THE SHADE. Many Iraqis head outside when the power's off. "We sit in the shade," said George Ruweid, 27, playing cards with friends on the sidewalk. Of the U.S. blackout, he said: "I hope it lasts for 20 years. Let them feel our suffering."


_ HEAD FOR THE WATER. "We go to the river, just like in the old days," said Saleh Moayet, 53.


posted by Frodgie at 9:47 AM

 

Lights returning in power gridlock

Officials in the dark about cause of electrical outage

NEW YORK (CNN) -- Power slowly flickered on across the northeastern United States and parts of southern Canada after the mysterious massive outage cut electricity Thursday afternoon from New York north to Toronto and west to Detroit -- an area home to some 50 million people.

Times Square, for many the glittering symbol of New York under normal circumstances, sprang back to life about 7:45 a.m. EDT.

The North American Electric Reliability Council (NERC), which monitors the power system, said that an approximate 41,100 megawatts of generated electricity, out of 61,800 megawatts lost, had been restored by 5 a.m. EDT. (Areas affected, Map, Interactive: U.S. power grids)

With most of his state back on line -- Long Island and parts of five New York City boroughs the exceptions -- New York Gov. George Pataki said that a power failure of this magnitude "shouldn't have happened." (Gallery: Images from the blackout)

"We have to have answers to this," he said. "We are an energy-dependent society."

Electric regulatory agencies have some "tough questions" to answer about where, how and why a cascading blackout shut down parts of the U.S. Midwest and Northeast and Canada, Pataki said Friday. (Newspapers struggle to print, air and rail travel recovering)

After the last major outage blacked out the city in 1977, a system of safeguards was put in place to prevent such events.


posted by Frodgie at 9:39 AM

 

System's Crash Was Predicted

Cook was speaking to Congress two years ago, and yesterday his prediction came crashingly true in what may have been the largest power blackout in history, a catastrophe for the industry that experts said has exposed the steadily growing vulnerability of the nation's nearly 200,000-mile network of high-voltage transmission lines.

The country's halting moves toward electricity deregulation over the past decade have dramatically increased the volume of power flowing on the grids.

But the transmission towers themselves remain the stepchildren of the nation's energy infrastructure. People don't want them in their back yards or on their farms. Energy companies aren't interested in building them. And while the system is linked together with advanced computer systems, much of the equipment that opens and closes connections around the nation's three major grids is 1950s vintage, officials said.

"We're a superpower with a Third World grid," New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, a former energy secretary, said yesterday.

Cook's organization, the North American Electric Reliability Council warned last year, "The nation is at . . . a crisis stage with respect to reliability of transmission grids." It calculated that $56 billion was needed to upgrade the nation's grids, but only $35 billion was likely to be invested.

For two years, the Bush administration and leaders of congressional energy committee have called for new legislation to help expand the transmission system, but a major energy bill has yet to get through Congress.

The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the agency that oversees transmission, has been trying for years to prod power companies into forming new, multi-state regional grids with authority over planning and system reliability measures. But utilities in the Southeast and Northwest fear that a more wide-open system would allow their cheaper power to be siphoned away from their customers. They have made war on FERC's plans and some members of Congress are trying to block the commission's transmission initiative from going forward until 2005 or 2007.

The Electric Power Research Institute in Palo Alto, Calif., estimated that while power demand has shot up 30 percent in the past 10 years, transmission capacity has increased by just 15 percent. That wouldn't have mattered much as recently as the 1970s, when most electricity was distributed within states or small regions. Today, when heat waves strike New York, power often courses southward from Canada, or eastward from the Dakotas. When weather is cool in Chicago and hot in New Orleans, electricity from the Windy City may help feed the Big Easy.


posted by Frodgie at 9:00 AM

 

U.S., Canada Power Outage Leaves Millions in Dark

As the lights went out on Broadway, officials ruled out sabotage, but could not agree on the cause of the blackout.

"The one thing I can say for certain is that this was not a terrorist act," President Bush told reporters.

The power grid failure spread as far as Detroit and Cleveland, and across the Canadian border to Toronto and Ottawa.

In New York, the blackout trapped thousands in crowded subways, forced millions of evacuated office workers onto the streets, darkened Broadway and hit late trading on U.S. financial markets.

It briefly closed the city's three main airports and jangled nerves among New Yorkers whose memories of the airliner hijacking attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, are still raw. People could be seen running through the city's downtown financial district.

"Everybody just flipped out," said nurse Mary Horan, stranded, with hordes of others, outside Grand Central Station. "Suddenly you start thinking about 9/11."

SPORADIC LOOTING

Authorities reported few blackout related incidents, but there was sporadic looting in Brooklyn, with 20 people arrested after breaking into a shoe store, five arrested for looting an equipment rental center and one for breaking into a phone store, police said.

In midtown Manhattan, ordinarily as bright and garish as a carnival, streets were pitch black and eerily quiet, despite huge crowds fruitlessly seeking shelter.

Many people were stranded without lodging and forced to make beds of newspaper

posted by Frodgie at 8:33 AM

 

For Raechel, 16, 'it's horrible to be heavy'

I would say go on a diet?

She has fought her weight all her young life, and her weight has always won. In desperation, the high school junior from Claremore, Okla., turned to one of the most controversial and radical options of all: laparoscopic gastric bypass surgery, which creates a much smaller stomach and rearranges the small intestine. (Related guidelines: Surgery different for teens)

She knew from the outset that she had a very slight chance of dying during the major operation and that her life would forever change. Raechel now will need to eat much smaller meals and will have to take vitamin and mineral supplements.

But she was determined. "I'd rather live with those than what I have to endure now," she says. "I have trouble walking and breathing. I have a very low self-image. It's horrible to be heavy."

Raechel, who is 5 feet 10, hopes this surgery will help her reach her goal of 190 pounds. She wants to go from a size 26 to a size 10. She wants softball coaches to see her skills and not her size. She wants a normal teenage life filled with dances, parties and marathon shopping trips for trendy clothes with her friends. She wants a life in which she controls her weight instead of her weight controlling her.

Raechel is part of a controversial trend as an increasing number of morbidly obese adolescents, those who are 120 or more pounds over a healthy weight, turn to gastric bypass, which can be performed laparoscopically or as an open surgery.

posted by Frodgie at 11:30 AM

 

Gay Congressman Opposes Gay Adoptions

Mark Foley Comes Out—in Support of Defense of Marriage Act

U.S. Rep. Mark Foley’s candidacy for the U.S. Senate took an unexpected turn in northern Florida last Wednesday.

Questioned by a Pasco County Republican leader about being too soft on gay rights issues, Foley defiantly pointed out that was not the case, reminding the audience that he not only opposed gay adoptions but had supported the Defense of Marriage Act in 1996.

Foley’s campaign has hit a number of roadblocks since New Times reporter Bob Norman did a front-page feature on his homosexuality. Foley has steadfastly maintained that issues relating to his sexuality are private questions that he refuses to answer.

Defending his stance in May, Foley announced that “rumormongers” and “Democratic activists” were trying to “drag him through the gutter.” His chief aide, P.R. specialist Kirk Fordham, pointedly accused Express publisher Norm Kent of “being the ringleader.”

Ironically, the positions Foley took on Wednesday came about because a Republican leader implied that he was being “soft on gay rights.” The official, Scott Factor, a Republican party treasurer, chastised Foley for voting against a law that would have prohibited the use of federal funds for an ordinance in San Francisco creating rights for domestic partners.

Foley defended his vote, saying Congress should not meddle with issues decided at the local level. It was at that moment though, that Foley, pictured today in The Express with his partner, Dr. Layne Nisenbaum of Palm Beach, announced he opposed gay adoptions.

Foley then volunteered to the crowd that he also supported the 1996 Defense of Marriage Act, which denies federal recognition of same-sex unions.

Even so, the Republican leader was unimpressed, telling the St. Petersburg Times that Foley is still “clearly in favor of gay rights, and he refuses to address that issue to a mostly conservative crowd.”
posted by Frodgie at 9:37 AM

 

Bush's Terminator

WASHINGTON -- Arnold Schwarzenegger's late decision to jump into the California recall election was made after weekend meetings to plan what was supposed to be a campaign for governor by Richard Riordan. The two men, non-conservatives and only nominal Republicans, are friends and political allies. But the multi-millionaire movie actor was disturbed by the demeanor of the multi-millionaire former mayor of Los Angeles.

As Schwarzenegger later related to associates, he was unpleasantly surprised by his old friend. In their private conversation, the 73-year-old Riordan duplicated his shaky performance in losing the 2002 Republican primary for governor. To Schwarzenegger, Riordan seemed so confused and disorganized he could not possibly be elected governor. That was the trigger to create the state's current uproarious scene, casting a long shadow on national politics.

Behind the pandemonium of candidates by the hundreds, the outlook for the Oct. 7 election is seen clearly within both political parties. Gov. Gray Davis, still railing against the recall, seems doomed as the first California governor removed in mid-term by the voters. The outcome then becomes a choice between two candidates, neither of which could win his own party's primary: self-styled "moderate" Republican Schwarzenegger and Democratic Lt. Gov. Cruz Bustamante. The advantages of Hollywood's Terminator suggest an unanticipated windfall for George W. Bush.


posted by Frodgie at 9:15 AM

 

Iran-Contra Revisited?

Our dangerous Iran policy continues.

The story was given sex appeal by the mention of the name of my old friend Manucher Ghorbanifar, unfairly but predictably cast in the role of the Peter Lorre of Iran-Contra, who was allegedly involved in the talks. And so the journalists in Washington ran around chasing their own very short tails for several days until they concluded a) that people talking to people isn't much of a story and b) it seems to be about turf, not anything serious, and c) it really doesn't lead anywhere.

Notice several points, please. First, the implication of the complaint about Pentagon officials' conversations is that it's okay for our diplomats to talk to the official representatives of the murderous mullahcracy in Tehran, with an eye to establishing some form of rapprochement, but it's not okay for midlevel Iran experts at DoD to talk to private Iranians to enhance our understanding about what's going on inside Iran, and what the Iranian regime is going, or planning to do, to Americans and our friends and allies. Why should that be so? One would think that any such conversations should be praised, not leaked to death.

Second, the leakers — and some of the more overzealous scribblers — suggested that somehow the Pentagon was repeating the errors of Iran-Contra by talking to Ghorbanifar. But the shoe is on the wrong foot here, for it's the State Department that has repeated one of Iran-Contra's momentous blunders by believing that there are "moderates" in Tehran with whom the United States can and should work.

Third, we are constantly told, most recently by Deputy Secretary of State Richard Armitage (who recently pronounced the incredible phrase "Iran is a democracy" and has never repented) that the State Department wants Iran to turn over top al Qaeda terrorists who are believed to be under Iranian-regime control. Why doesn't some reporter ask our diplomats the obvious questions: is it not correct that al Qaeda terrorists have been operating out of Iran? And if that is true, could that only have happened if the regime approved? And if the regime approves (as the State Department's own annual surveys of state-sponsored terrorism invariably document), then why on earth should anyone expect the regime to turn them over to us? After all, one of the effects of surrendering terrorists to us would be to enable us to further document Iran's role in the terror network. So just what do Armitage and the others expect to accomplish? After all, the Iranians have said publicly that they will not deliver anyone to our justice.


posted by Frodgie at 9:14 AM

 

Aspirin tested as next weapon against cancer

AP) -- Dutch scientists plan to test aspirin against a rare form of cancer after genetic testing suggested the common painkiller might also kill tumor cells.

The finding is the latest in a string of studies to show that aspirin and other anti-inflammatories may have cancer-fighting properties.

But researchers who did not participate in the experiments cautioned that aspirin research is in its earliest stages, and many potential anticancer aspects still need to be investigated, including dosage and side effects. Details of the experiments conducted at the Netherlands Cancer Institute in Amsterdam appear in Thursday's issue of Nature.

"There's no reason to begin or increase your aspirin consumption based on these studies," said Emory University biochemist Keith D. Wilkinson, who reviewed the research for the scientific journal.

The Dutch scientists focused on cylindromatosis, a genetic abnormality which causes benign tumors to grow in hair follicles and sweat gland cells. Without a normal tumor-suppressing CYLD gene, cells lack a biochemical instruction to die when they become old or damaged. Instead, the cells grow wildly and accumulate potentially cancerous changes.

To test aspirin's effect on this process, the researchers cultured human cells and silenced their CYLD gene to mimic the disease.

Then, they added a variety of different anti-inflammatory agents to the cultures, including sodium salicyate, a form of aspirin.


posted by Frodgie at 9:11 AM

 

California ballot official, ready to print

SACRAMENTO, California (CNN) -- California's Secretary of State said Wednesday that 135 candidates will appear on the October 7 ballot for the special election to decide whether to recall Gov. Gray Davis and who may replace him.

A total of 247 people had originally filed papers to be on the ballot, but 112 of them didn't qualify because they either did not pay the required $3,500 filing fee or did not turn in the necessary 65 signatures.

The race -- dubbed a "fascinating bit of political drama" by President Bush -- is shaping up to be the wildest election in the country this fall.

The field of candidates includes a celluloid action hero, the state's Democratic lieutenant governor, last year's GOP gubernatorial nominee and a pornographic publisher.

And a subplot emerged Wednesday with Democratic accusations of White House involvement in the recall, a charge rejected by the administration. (Full story)

Republican Arnold Schwarzenegger, the candidate attracting the most attention by virtue of his movie-star status, announced some changes to his campaign staff, even as the candidate himself stayed out of sight.

posted by Frodgie at 9:10 AM

 

Man charged with smuggling missile

Prosecutor: Suspect called Americans 'bastards' and bin Laden a hero

NEWARK, New Jersey (CNN) -- A British citizen accused of smuggling a shoulder-launched surface-to-air missile into the United States for use in a terrorist attack against a U.S. commercial airliner was charged Wednesday in federal court.

Hemant Lakhani was arrested Tuesday in a sting operation -- the result of an 18-month effort involving historic cooperation between intelligence officials in the United States and Russia. Britain also played a key role, U.S. officials said.

"The fact that we're able to sting this guy is a pretty good example of what we're doing in order to protect the American people," said President Bush at his ranch in Crawford, Texas.

Lakhani, who was born in India, could face 25 years in prison if he is convicted on the two counts against him: providing material support to terrorists and illegal weapons dealing.

According to federal prosecutors, the international arms dealer, who boasted of sales to terrorist groups, thought he had struck a deal to sell a missile to a Somali group looking to launch a "jihad" against a U.S. plane.


posted by Frodgie at 9:08 AM

 

Rebels hand over Liberian port

MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- Liberian rebels have officially handed over the capital's looting-ravaged port to a Nigerian-led peacekeeping force after 200 U.S. troops arrived to support the operation.

At noon Thursday, members of the rebel group Liberians United for Reconciliation and Democracy (LURD) handed over Monrovia's port area to the leader of the mainly Nigerian ECOMIL peace force, Brig. Gen Festus Okonkwo.

The handover came during a short ceremony attended by the U.S. ambassador and the leading rebel in the city.

"We have no reason to doubt the credibility of the Americans, and we have no reason to doubt the credibility of the peacekeepers, so we will leave as we have said. I'm leaving right now," said rebel commander Sekou Fofana.

"We are committed to the peace process," he said after the ceremony, held on a nearby bridge.

The U.S. troops arrived in nine helicopters. They will assist Nigerian peacekeepers and help stabilize the situation to make way for humanitarian aid, Pentagon officials said. (Gallery: U.S. Marines arrive at airport)


posted by Frodgie at 9:07 AM

 

U.S. soldier killed; Republican Guard leaders nabbed

A U.S. soldier was killed and another was wounded when their convoy hit a roadside bomb 15 miles south of Saddam Hussein's hometown of Tikrit on Wednesday, the military reported.

The victims were riding in an armored personnel carrier, second in a four-vehicle convoy, Maj. Josslyn Aberle, spokeswoman for the 4th Infantry Division, said.

The death brought to 59 the number of U.S. troops killed in action since May 1, when President Bush declared major combat over.

The military also reported killing two Iraqis in separate incidents in the Baqouba region, 45 miles northeast of Baghdad. Aberle said the two were killed after opening fire on U.S. troops. She gave no other details.

Officials with the 4th Infantry said they released 10 other men taken in a sweep through the outskirts of Tikrit Tuesday, keeping four in custody.

The military still had not released names but said the four included a Republican Guard corps-level chief of staff, a guard division commander and a paymaster for the militia. A fourth man kept in custody was not identified at all.

None of the identified detainees is among the 55 most-wanted Iraqis featured on the Army's deck of playing cards.

All those detained in the sweep were members of a family described as a pillar of support for the ousted regime, said U.S. Lt. Col. Steve Russell.

"They were trying to support the remnants of the former regime by organizing attacks, through funding and by trying to hide former regime members," Russell said.


posted by Frodgie at 9:51 AM

 

Predicted Net infection rampages around the world

STOCKHOLM, Sweden (AP) — An Internet-borne infection incapacitated tens of thousands of computers on Tuesday, snarling company networks and frustrating home users as it spread across the globe.
Security officials said the virus-like worm, dubbed "LovSan," "Msblast" or "Posa," was part of a coordinated electronic attack that exploited one of the most serious flaws yet discovered in Microsoft's Windows operating systems. Symantec, a leading tracker of Internet viruses and worms, rates the infection a 4 on their 1-5 scale; F-Prot, another anti-virus tracker, described the attack as being of "very high distribution.".

Maryland's Motor Vehicle Administration shut all its offices at noon as technicians cleaned the agency's network systems of the worm.

"There's no telephone service right now. There's no online service right now. There's no kiosk or express office service," spokeswoman Cheron Wicker said. "We are currently working on a fix and expect to be operational again in the morning."

The worm, which causes computers to mysteriously restart, was first widely reported in the United States on Monday and, while appearing not to delete files or otherwise incur permanent damage, knocked many computers offline. Non-Microsoft systems were not vulnerable.


posted by Frodgie at 9:49 AM

 

A gay archbishop responds to the Vatican

Pope John Paul II has felt it necessary to go beyond his critical statements of preceding months against legislative efforts to legalize same-sex marriages. He has now issued a document titled “Consideration Regarding Proposals to Give Legal Recognition to Unions Between Homosexual Persons” that will “outline a course of action for politicians and other lay people to oppose extending the rights accorded traditional couples.” The Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith, the ultra-conservative watchdog of Roman Catholic dogma, prepared this document. It is a clear declaration of war on the gay population of the world.

The church in the Middle Ages—as a way to exercise further control over people’s lives—constructed the institution of marriage. In doing so, it was named a Holy Sacrament, and it has been treated as such ever since. The church does not “marry” people; it “witnesses” the exchange of vows and blesses the union.

The institution of marriage is portrayed as being under attack by efforts to extend the blessings of marriage to same-sex couples. However, if one looks at marriage today, one finds a horrendous divorce rate among not only Catholics but across the religious spectrum. Marriage itself is a threat to its own existence and is not affected at all by the movement to legalize same-sex marriage. How does allowing more people to wed endanger a failing institution? Should not the church be searching for ways to encourage two people to promise themselves to each other for life, and then to remain together? Should not the church be addressing massive adultery that takes place in these marriages? Or is the Vatican afraid that if same-sex unions become legal and acceptable, that a good percentage of its clergy would be partnered?

The Vatican relies heavily on the central thesis that the essential ingredient for marriage is the ability to procreate, to be “fruitful and multiply.” This “fruitfulness” becomes an essential part of marriage. In the section of the document titled “From the Biological and Anthropological Order” the Vatican states, “Homosexual unions are totally lacking in the biological and anthropological elements of marriage and family which would be the basis, on the level of reason, for granting them legal recognition. Such unions are not able to contribute in a proper way to the procreation and survival of the human race.”

posted by Frodgie at 9:48 AM

 

Gay man joins California governor's race

An openly gay car salesman has joined the crowded California gubernatorial race, which includes Arnold Schwarzenegger, Gary Coleman, and Larry Flynt. Jim Vandeventer Jr., a Republican and former Beverly Hills BMW salesman, paid the $3,500 fee to be on the ballot. The California secretary of state notified him that his candidacy was verified, Vandeventer said Monday.

The 40-year-old Miami, Okla., native believes Gov. Gray Davis should be allowed to finish his second term. "Frankly, I think Davis has the personality of a cantaloupe, but things are turning around here. That's what no one wants to say," said Vandeventer, who considers himself 90% Democrat and 10% Republican, despite his registration. He accused the Bush administration of "hijacking the state" by backing movie star Arnold Schwarzenegger's run for the office.


posted by Frodgie at 9:47 AM

 

End of Davis Days
How Schwarzenegger can win.

In making the announcement with his pal Jay Leno, Schwarzenegger showed that he plays the Hollywood game as well as anyone ever has. When I was the press secretary for his successful initiative for after-school programs last year, I noticed that his gut instincts were often better than those of some cautious political consultants.

While most insiders, including me, thought the megastar would bow to the privacy concerns of his wife Maria Shriver, I believe he realized that if he passed up this golden opportunity, he would not be taken seriously as a potential candidate down the road. An action hero, after all, needs to be part of the action.

Now, of course, Schwarzenegger faces the much tougher terrain of a two-month sprint for the governorship, with hordes of reporters turning over rocks to try to unearth dirt about his past. Anchors and commentators wasted no time in ticking off the list of allegations, including his supposed womanizing. But Schwarzenegger shrewdly raised the sleaze issue himself on the Leno show, saying opponents would be throwing the kitchen sink at him. In fact, some media outlets received anonymous copies of the infamous Premiere magazine article, charging him with sexual improprieties, before the Tonight Show appearance. It's worth noting that when Schwarzenegger considered a gubernatorial run last year, Davis's camp blast-faxed the same piece to the press.

Schwarzenegger may face some built-in journalistic bias. When the media look at a Hollywood actor who doesn't do Shakespeare, they don't think there is a lot upstairs. If his handlers shield him too much from the political media, he'll have trouble. After years of being coddled by the likes of Entertainment Weekly and Us magazine, he needs to engage the less-adoring mainstream press.

But here's what many analysts are missing in evaluating whether Schwarzenegger's next starring role will be in Sacramento:

Arnold is the rock star of this campaign. The global media coverage will be intense (as I gathered in fending off an interview request from Good Morning Norway). All these sideshow candidates, from Larry Flynt and Gary Coleman, are bit players who won't detract from the Arnold extravaganza. But it's important for Schwarzenegger to capture a reasonable percentage of the vote to bolster his credibility if he wins.


posted by Frodgie at 9:45 AM

 

Schools use health report cards to fight kids' obesity

CHICAGO, Illinois (AP) -- A school program that sends home health report cards with student weight and fitness information has helped get parents of overweight children involved in trying to address the problem, a study found.

While the program studied at Boston-area schools did not change some unhealthful behaviors, the researchers say their results show health report cards might be a promising tool in the battle against the nation's childhood obesity epidemic.

"Parents who received health and fitness report cards were almost twice as likely to know or acknowledge that their child was actually overweight than those parents who did not get a report card," said Robert McGowan, physical education program leader at Cambridge Public Schools.

They also "were over twice as likely to plan weight-control activities for their overweight child," said McGowan, a study co-author.

The report appears in August's edition of Archives of Pediatrics & Adolescent Medicine, the journal's first-ever issue devoted exclusively to obesity research.

The issue aims to get more doctors involved in obesity prevention, treatment and research, said journal editor Dr. Frederick Rivara, a Seattle pediatrician.

posted by Frodgie at 9:37 AM

 

Three arrested in missile-smuggling case

WASHINGTON (CNN) -- A man who authorities say plotted to sell a surface-to-air missile to what he thought was a Muslim extremist is expected to appear in a New Jersey courtroom today after being nabbed with two others Tuesday in an elaborate FBI sting operation.

The arrests came at the end of a yearlong undercover operation in which U.S. agents, aided by Russian officials, posed as Muslim extremists to buy the missile, U.S. government sources said Tuesday.

The weapon arrived from Russia Tuesday afternoon at a port in Newark, New Jersey, with the full knowledge and cooperation of U.S. officials.

Officials said undercover agents received the weapon and arrested the man, identified by a senior U.S. government source as Hekmat Lakhani.

Lakhani, a British citizen of Indian descent, is an independent arms dealer who has sold weapons to terrorist cells, Muslim extremists, and "rogue nations," according to a source close to the investigation.

Later in the day, authorities arrested two Manhattan gem dealers who law enforcement sources said were thought to be the "money launderers" in the case, taking care of the cash between the buyer and the seller.


posted by Frodgie at 9:28 AM

 

Congress to restrict use of Special Ops

Congress is set to impose new restrictions on the use of Special Operations Forces that for the first time will require a presidential order before deploying commandos in routine but hidden activities.
The restrictions are contained in the classified Senate report accompanying the current version of the intelligence authorization bill for fiscal 2004.
The restrictions were added to the report by members of the Senate Intelligence Committee after consultations with Stephen Cambone, the defense undersecretary for intelligence, according to current and former U.S. officials and documents obtained by The Washington Times.
The new rules, if contained in the final version of the bill, would add a burden to the military's deployment of Special Operations Forces by requiring the Pentagon to first obtain a presidential "finding," or directive, similar to those required for covert-action intelligence operations.
Findings are declarations that the president "finds" a secret activity is in national interest.
A former special-operations officer said the committee language would redefine traditional military activity as a covert action.
"What that means is that things that special ops used to do will now require sending a finding to [Capitol Hill] before doing anything," said the former officer who spoke on the condition of anonymity.
posted by Frodgie at 9:26 AM

 

U.S. military plane crashes in South Korea

SEOUL, South Korea (AP) — A U.S. military transport plane on a maintenance test flight crashed Tuesday south of Seoul, killing the two Americans on board, the U.S. military said.
The C-12 Huron, a 10-seat turboprop plane, went down at 2:43 p.m. seven miles southwest of Camp Humphreys, a U.S. base, the military said.

The pilot and the co-pilot died, the U.S. Eighth Army said in a news release. Their names were withheld pending notification of their families.

South Korean police Lt. Sung Yol-gap said there were no casualties on the ground.

Speaking by telephone from Asan, a town near the crash site, Sung said the plane crashed in a rice paddy near a restaurant. It plowed through garlic patches into a storehouse, destroying a chicken coop, a tractor and other farming implements. The building caught fire.


posted by Frodgie at 8:58 AM

 

'Iceman' was murdered, science sleuths say

Scientists initially presumed that the Stone Age Iceman, nicknamed Otzi, was caught in a storm and froze to death. But a new team said Monday that Otzi's case instead has become the world's oldest, and coldest, murder case.

"We've been working round the clock for the last three weeks to get these results," DNA specialist Thomas Loy of the University of Queensland in Brisbane, Australia, told USA TODAY Monday by phone from a laboratory in Bolanzo, Italy. "It was very exciting when the blood samples came back positive for human DNA from four separate individuals."

Otzi's naturally mummified body, the oldest found so far, became a worldwide sensation in 1991 after two Austrian mountain climbers saw it in a thawing glacier at 10,500 feet on the Hauslabjoch Alpine pass at the Italian/Austria border. Nearby artifacts included a copper blade ax, a bearskin cap, shoes of bearskin and woven grass, a quiver of arrows, and a knife

In 2001, an Italian radiologist found an arrowhead embedded in Otzi's shoulder. Otzi had been hit from behind and managed to pull out only the shaft. That discovery led Eduard Egarter, Bolanzo's chief medical examiner and curator of Otzi's body, to look for more evidence of a fight.


posted by Frodgie at 8:57 AM

 

Press Release Boy Scouts of America Protest August 21

Press Release For Immediate Release and Distribution August 10, 2003
Boy Scouts of America Tells Venture Crew 488 to retract it's Anti-Discrimination Statement or get booted out of Scouting For further Information Contact Bev Buswell, Crew Adult Leader - Tel: 707-829-8427 Protest scheduled August 21, 2003 (see details below)

"The Boy Scouts of America continue to support its discriminatory policy against gay and atheist youth and adults. They are now kicking out a Venture Crew just because it adopted an anti-discrimination policy. We must pressure businesses, United Ways and other funders to stop funding any "private organization" that discriminates and teaches its youth that discrimination is ok in some cases. Boycott any business that funds the BSA. We must ask our city, state and federal government to stop granting the BSA special privileges such as free use of buildings and land. Our city, state, and federal government should not be using tax payer monies to support a bigoted organization." Scott Cozza, Pres Scouting for All www.scoutingforall.org

Venture Crew 488, Sebastopol, California, Sonoma County: Boy Scouts of America says, "Retract Your Anti-discrimination Statement Or We'll Kick You Out"

For more click here

posted by Frodgie at 8:55 AM

 

Guerrillas Injure Three U.S. Soldiers in Northern Iraq

In Basra (search), British troops restored badly needed electricity to parts of the southern city and supervised distribution of gasoline after two days of protests over fuel and power shortages.

In central Baghdad (search), two grenades were thrown from a car at a U.S. military checkpoint; soldiers returned fire, killing one Iraqi, witnesses said.

Meanwhile, the current president of the U.S.-picked Governing Council (search) said the interim government postponed the appointment of Cabinet ministers by three weeks.

Ibrahim al-Jaafari, who is serving as council president during August, said a 25-member committee has been formed to look into how to proceed with selecting a constitutional assembly. The members include judges, academicians and lawyers and reflects Iraq's ethnic and religious groups.

In al-Shumayt, just north of Tikrit, guerrillas fired rocket-propelled grenades and detonated at least one homemade bomb, wounding three American soldiers, U.S. military spokesman Lt. Col. Bill MacDonald said. All three were in stable condition, he said.

Monday's morning raid missed its main target, a former member of Saddam Hussein's regime who is on the U.S. list of 55 most-wanted Iraqis, U.S. Army Lt. Col. Mark Young said.

Seventy suspects were taken into custody, he said. Ain Lalin is about 60 miles northeast of Baghdad.

Calm has returned to Basra after weekend riots during which Iraqis hurled rocks and bricks at British troops to protest fuel, electricity and water shortages. Some said parts of the city had less than three hours of electricity a day, little or no water and a fuel shortage.


posted by Frodgie at 8:53 AM

 

Time for clarity, Mr Greenspan

The Federal Reserve Open Market Committee meets today, and must begin clearing up the predictable mess after Alan Greenspan failed to keep up his impressive juggling trick. His plan was understandable and ambitious. Out of one side of his mouth he talked up the economy to boost shares and consumer confidence. Out of the other, he muttered darkly about the small but significant risk of deflation and the willingness of the Fed to buy bonds to keep long-term interest rates low and encourage debt-fuelled spending.


It was a clever effort. And for a time it worked. Share prices rose, while 10-year bond rates dipped to 3.1 per cent in mid-June. This allowed US homeowners to lock in lower long-term mortgage rates: according to Freddie Mac, the government-backed US mortgage provider, in the first half of 2003, they refinanced $1,100bn (£690bn) of mortgage debt, with an average saving of 1.42 percentage points. Since the beginning of 2002 about half the dollar value of all US mortgage debt has been refinanced. Then the trick went wrong. Ten-year rates rose to around 4.5 per cent in a matter of weeks and are not far off that level today. In the UK and Europe, yields have followed a similar pattern, meaning fixed-rate mortgages are more expensive despite low short-term rates. Nominal 10-year yields in the US are still lower than at any time from the late 1960s until 2002. However, their recent gyrations have been extraordinary and have generated damaging uncertainty. Furthermore, a long-term yield of 4.5 per cent may be too high for comfort, given that the US recovery remains tentative.


posted by Frodgie at 8:50 AM

 

Saddam ordered chemical attack, inspector to claim

The former UN inspector hired by the Bush administration to find evidence that Saddam Hussein had weapons of mass destruction will claim in a report next month that Iraqi forces were ordered to fire chemical shells at invading coalition troops, according to US reports.
But David Kay, who heads the 1,400-strong Iraq Survey Group, has admitted he has found no trace of the weapons themselves, and cannot explain why they were never used.

One possibility is that the orders were part of an elaborate bluff, in the hope that they would be intercepted by the US and deter an attack.

According to US officials, all the Iraqi scientists now in custody have insisted that Saddam's arsenal of chemical, biological and nuclear weapons was destroyed years before the Iraqi invasion.

The Boston Globe reported that Mr Kay, who was hired by the CIA in June to direct the search, had made the claim in a classified briefing to two Senate committees.

The newspaper quoted officials who had seen a summary of his report as saying that Republican Guard commanders had been ordered to launch chemical-filled shells at troops.

"They have found evidence that an order was given," a senior intelligence official said, adding there was no explanation of why the weapons were not used.

After his congressional briefing, Mr Kay told journalists he was making "solid progress", but said he would not make it public until he completed his work and found "conclusive proof". He is under pressure from the White House to go public as soon as possible and administration officials say he is expected to publish a report within weeks.


posted by Frodgie at 8:46 AM

 

Study: Vitamins may cut children's heart risk

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Children and young adults who have inherited high cholesterol may reduce their risk of clogged arteries by taking vitamins C and E, researchers reported on Monday.

The vitamins improve blood flow through the arteries and may prevent the damage that leads to atherosclerosis, commonly known as hardening of the arteries, the researchers said.

Writing in the journal Circulation, Marguerite Engler of the University of California San Francisco and colleagues there and in Austria said the study is the first to show that vitamins can reverse the damage as well.

"When we gave these children moderate doses of vitamins C and E for six weeks, we saw a significant improvement in blood-vessel function, which is an important indicator of cardiovascular health," Engler said in a statement.

An estimated 50 million U.S. children have high levels of cholesterol, and thus a high risk of heart disease and heart attack. The American Heart Association defines this as cholesterol of 200 or higher and low-density lipoprotein -- LDL or "bad" cholesterol -- of 130 or higher.

Drugs including statins work very well to lower cholesterol levels in adults but they can have severe side-effects and are not usually recommended for children.

"The findings of this study suggest hope for children with abnormally high cholesterol levels that their condition can be improved through vitamin supplements," said Patricia Grady, director of the National Institute of Nursing Research, which helped fund the study.


posted by Frodgie at 8:45 AM

 

Unabomber asks government to return bomb, books

SAN FRANCISCO, California (Reuters) -- Convicted Unabomber Theodore Kaczynski wants the U.S. government to return a pipe bomb and other items seized from his Montana cabin so that they can be used for "research", according to court papers made public Monday.

Kaczynski, serving a life sentence for killing three people and injuring 23 others in a 17-year bombing campaign, also asked for his books, personal papers and chemicals used in making bombs.

He wanted most of the material sent to the University of Michigan where it could be studied by "serious researchers," the court documents, filed a week ago with the U.S. District Court in Sacramento, showed.

The court had no immediate response to the requests.

Kaczynski's eight-page list of books included "Controlling Knapweed," "Count Your Calories," "Elementary Chinese," "Growing Up Absurd," and classics like Arthur Koestler's "Darkness at Noon" and George Orwell's "1984," as well as several Montana phone books.

His papers, seized seven years ago, included titles like "On Being Sane in Insane Places" and "Studies of Stressful Interpersonal Disputations."

Kaczynski pleaded guilty in January 1998 to killing three people with bombs sent through the mail from the 1970s through the mid-1990s.

He said in a separate handwritten motion that he owes restitution of more than $15 million to his "alleged victims," and a total of $21 million as a result of civil judgments.


posted by Frodgie at 8:44 AM

 

Hamas claims Rosh Ha'ayin blast, IDF blames Fatah for Ariel

Two Israelis were killed and at least 13 people
were wounded in two separate suicide attacks
Tuesday morning, one in the Israeli town of Rosh
Ha'ayin, a suburb of Tel Aviv, and a second at the
entrance to the West Bank settlement of Ariel.

Hamas claimed responsibility for
the Ariel bombing in a Web site
announcement, naming the bomber
as Islam Kafesh, 21. Security
sources said they thought the
Rosh Ha'ayin attack was carried
out by Fatah activists from
Nablus, whom IDF Chief of Staff
Moshe Ya'alon called "Fatah
renegades."


The Ariel blast was a revenge attack for last
week's Israeli raid in Nablus in which two top
Hamas figures were killed and "other
violations," according to the military wing of
Hamas. However, security sources said the
attack was not related to the raid.

Mahmoud A-Zahar, a Hamas leader in the Gaza
Strip, said his organization would continue its
commitment to the cease-fire - despite
Tuesday's violation of it - if Israel fulfills
its obligations.

These are the first major attacks since militant
Palestinian organizations declared a temporary
truce on June 29. However, there have been
several other nationalistic attacks on Israelis
since the truce, or hudna, was signed.



posted by Frodgie at 8:41 AM

 

Yes, Virginia, there is a religious war

He may be beloved of progressives everywhere, but the Rev. V. Gene Robinson, now bishop-elect of the Episcopal Church of New Hampshire, is a flaming fraud.

Insensitive, you say? Consider his conduct. Fifteen years ago, Robinson dissolved his marriage, dumped his wife, abandoned his two little girls and went off to shack up. He thus violated his marriage vows, flouted the teachings of the Anglican faith he was ordained to uphold and entered into a sinful liaison his church has always taught was perverted.

Having failed to conform his life to scriptural command, Robinson now demands that Scripture be reinterpreted to conform to his deviant life style. To see Robinson elevated to bishop is to be reminded that in the French Revolution, the Paris mob used the high altar at Notre Dame Cathedral to canonize the town tramp as their Goddess of Reason.

Now, with massive moral arrogance, Robinson protests that if the Episcopal faithful do not accept him as a consecrated bishop, they – not he – will have broken communion and be responsible for dividing the church.

Faithless to every vow he ever made, this impious cleric now proclaims undying faith to boyfriend Mark Andrew. My advice to Mark: Have his eminence fitted with one of those ankle bracelets that lets you know where the suspect is every moment of the day.

Robinson is being portrayed in the prestige press as a man of moral courage. But a man of moral courage would have stayed with his family, kept his vows, fought his temptations. Robinson ditched his family, dishonored his vows and disgraced himself. He should have been defrocked and excommunicated, not elevated to bishop.


posted by Frodgie at 8:48 AM

 

Rev. Robert Taylor weighs in on election of openly Gay bishop

The Seattle Gay News spoke this week with The Very Reverend Robert V. Taylor, Dean of St. Marks Episcopal Cathedral in Seattle, about the election of Rev. V. Gene Robinson as bishop of the New Hampshire Episcopal Diocese.



SGN: This is obviously an historic event. Can I get your thoughts on these recent events?

Rev. Taylor: I'm obviously absolutely elated with what has happened with Gene being elected. It is a historic moment.

I think part of what makes it that is that as a church, the Episcopal Church has engaged in a very public debate over the last several decades about issues of human sexuality. We have not tried to ignore the issue and we have essentially said with Gene's election that everyone is part of God's family. God's image is to be found in each of us, no matter who we are. The leadership at every level of the church is open to everybody as a part of the church. I just believe that it is a wonderful reflection of the God I know who embraces everyone whether they're straight or Gay, black or white and male or female. It is a great...what I call a "Holy Spirit Moment" - a moment of great joy, for celebrating God's image found in everyone.

SGN: Are you worried about a possible schism in the Episcopal Church?

Rev. Taylor: I think that as human beings when we are stretched to deal with things that are uncomfortable each of us has to travel a journey. I know that this been of concern to some people. I think many of us honor that concern and also trust that as members of the church family we can find a way to be honest and compassionate with one another.

As a church, we have struggled with race and racism. We have struggled with and dealt with issues of gender and continue to do so. When we made it possible for women to be ordained in the priesthood and become bishops in the church there were those who threatened schism then and it didn't happen. I know that some people left over the ordination of women. I know that some people left over issues like a new prayer book, new services of worship and new ways of doing worship. I think there will always be a small number who choose to leave. My hope is that those numbers will be few and that instead we will do the much more faithful, much more courageous thing which is to say, "How do we live together with difference?"

Acknowledging that difference is in fact a very good thing, yet acknowledge at the same time that we have a shared humanity and acknowledge we are all made in the image of God. What does it mean to find God in people who are different than I am?



SGN: What lessons can we learn from all this?

Rev. Taylor: What does all of this mean for the way in which we live with one another, not just as people of faith in the church? What does it mean for how we live together as members of the human family? I think the issue for me is very connected to a world in which we have some people claiming from a variety of religious traditions that God is on one side and not another. I find it very troubling and dangerous when someone tries to co-opt God into politics, when we have people trying to claim that God is on the side of one nation and not of others. I think this is a sort of difficult start to a new century where we have a divide between people who believe in a God of legalism and a God of love.

This decision about Gene Robinson is a great sign of hope for me that it is possible to get beyond a legalistic understanding of God and a way of being compassionate with one another. A way of walking with the God of love. Love is always difficult but it is the only way possible for human beings that does not take us down paths of destruction. It also opens up for me the whole question of are we willing as people to say, "What is it that makes us fearful of those who are different from us? How do we get to know those who are different? How do we find in the lives of those who cause fear in us, for whatever reasons, that which is holy, that which is magnificent and that which is the common image of God in all of us?" For me, those are the much larger questions. It is obviously a far more difficult - and I think far more satisfying - path to walk than the path of needing quick answers, which is something we sadly associate with most religions.


posted by Frodgie at 8:46 AM

 

A priest speaks his mind

CATONSVILLE, Md. — When the Rev. Steven R. Randall learned that his denomination had consented to the first openly homosexual bishop in mainline Protestantism, he decided he could no longer trust the Episcopal Church and its leaders.
Mr. Randall, 52, received a standing ovation yesterday after telling his 200-member congregation at St. Timothy's Episcopal Church here that he would no longer obey his bishop nor would his congregation send its monthly $5,000 pledge to the Episcopal Diocese of Maryland.
Yesterday was the first Sunday since the ratification of the Rev. V. Gene Robinson as the bishop of New Hampshire, and Mr. Randall's word to his parish was delivered at the end of a week of rumblings and walkouts by disenchanted Episcopal clergy and laity.
"I'm not offering my resignation," he said. "But I can no longer submit to our bishops. I will be removed in time by the authorities of this church."
Besides the ratification of Mr. Robinson, the triennial convention of the 2.3-million-member Episcopal Church gave each diocese the option to conduct "blessings" of same-sex unions.
Comparing the denomination to a hijacked airliner, Mr. Randall said the Episcopal Church "will carry more people to hell than it will save. It is a flying coffin doomed to destruction and despair."
"People will say I am just bailing out, but I am following God's call as best I can. I don't have a golden parachute. I will lose my pension, insurance, paycheck and all my benefits."
The Episcopal Church requires its priests to obey its bishops. If not, a priest is "inhibited," an ecclesiastical term meaning he can no longer preside at his parish nor perform clerical functions.
Bishop Robert W. Ihloff of Maryland, who was not aware of Mr. Randall's announcement when reached at his home, said he would meet this week with the priest.

posted by Frodgie at 8:44 AM

 

Protecting your brain from Alzheimer's

Scans suggest why education prevents the disease

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Brain images show that people who are more intelligent and better educated use their brains differently, which in turn may help explain why keeping the mind active protects against Alzheimer's disease, researchers reported this week.

Study after study has shown that people who do puzzles, who dance and who keep their minds active have a lower risk of Alzheimer's -- the most common cause of dementia.

This has led scientists to believe that some people have a "cognitive reserve" that allows them to tolerate more damage from Alzheimer's and other brain diseases.

But is it due to brain size, connections, or something else?

Yaakov Stern, a professor of neuropsychology at Columbia University in New York and colleagues have done a series of brain imaging experiments that suggest it's not how much brain you have, but how you use it, that matters.

Writing in the August issue of the Journal of Clinical and Experimental Neuropsychology, Stern and colleagues said they tested 19 people with a range of IQs from below to above average.

"In this particular study we looked at normal people and we gave them a memory task to do -- they had to recognize these shapes, sort of nonsense squiggly shapes," Stern said in a telephone interview.

"We looked to see if we could see differences in brain activity in people as a function of IQ."

They did.

Functional magnetic resonance imaging, which can see cell activity as it happens, showed more activity in the frontal lobes in people with higher intelligence.

"One area where there seemed to be more activity in higher IQs was the right medial frontal gyrus," Stern said. He does not know if that area of the brain is significant.


posted by Frodgie at 8:41 AM

 

'Do not spam' lists find skeptics

WASHINGTON (Reuters) -- Frustrated Internet users inundated with unwanted get-rich-quick schemes and herbal Viagra offers may have noticed a new, unsolicited pitch promising to reduce the amount of "spam" e-mail they receive.

Pointing to Web sites with names like remove.org and globalremoval.com, the messages promise -- for a nominal fee -- to stop spam at its source by placing their addresses on a "do not spam" registry.

The services say they have hit on a novel and cheap way to reduce spam, and point to bulging customer lists as proof. Government and private-sector experts say such "do not spam" services are not likely to work because marketing firms are under no obligation to comply.

"It's probably not worth signing up. You can get plenty of spam for free," said Howard Beales, head of the Federal Trade Commission's consumer-protection division.


posted by Frodgie at 8:38 AM

 

Al Qaeda claims Marriott blast

JAKARTA, Indonesia (CNN) -- The al Qaeda terrorist network has claimed responsibility for last week's bombing of the Marriott Hotel in the Indonesian capital Jakarta and is promising more attacks, terror experts have confirmed for CNN.

The claim was released to al Qaeda sympathizer and Arab media sites over the weekend in an unsigned statement.

"This operation is part of a series of operations that Dr. Ayman al-Zawahiri has promised to carry out," the statement said, referring to last Tuesday's blast at the Marriott, which left at least 11 people dead and over 100 injured.

The statement called the attack "a fatal slap on the face of America and its allies in Muslim Jakarta, where faith has been denigrated by the dirty American presence and the discriminatory Australian presence."

Al-Zawahiri is Osama bin Laden's closest adviser, as well as his doctor. He has made frequent appearances at bin Laden's side, usually in a trio completed by the late military committee commander Mohammed Atef, who was killed in November 2001 during an air strike in Afghanistan.

In the statement, al Qaeda made a familiar list of demands -- including an end to the war on terror, the release of prisoners in Guantanamo Bay and that the United States and its allies leave Muslim lands.


posted by Frodgie at 8:37 AM

 

Liberia: Taylor handover delayed

MONROVIA, Liberia (CNN) -- Liberian President Charles Taylor's planned resignation and handover of power to his vice president has been delayed, but it was expected to go ahead after the late arrival of other African leaders.

Taylor had said he would step down at 11:59 a.m. on Monday (1159 GMT) and hand over power to Vice President Moses Blah in a ceremony in the capital Monrovia. As well as South African president Thabo Mbeki, leaders from Mozambique, Nigeria and Ghana were due to attend.

As the deadline passed, CNN's Gaven Morris reported the ceremony had been delayed for "technical reasons."

Officials said the delay was likely to be "a couple of hours" while Taylor waited at the airport for the arrival of some of the dignitaries who were to attend the ceremony.

Warding off the heat while they waited, people in the presidential palace waved fans in time to a red-white-and-blue-robed choir that swayed and sang to fill the time.

Outside the palace, Monrovians waited to see if Taylor, pressured to resign by the United States after rebels forced their way into the capital, was really going to step down and hand the reigns of power to Blah.


posted by Frodgie at 8:37 AM

 

Britain to produce new evidence on Iraqi WMD: report

Intelligence officials were producing another dossier on Iraqi arms, and "there is said to be hard evidence of cover-up programmes designed to conceal weapons of mass destruction", the British magazine "The Economist" said in its latest issue.


"We would hope to be able to demonstrate in the fullness of time that almost all the information in the dossier (published by the government last September) was accurate", a government insider told the magazine.


Government sources "say that several new bits of information will emerge including evidence based on interviews with Iraqi scientists that biological weapons had been produced in quantity", the Economist said.


Britain was the staunchest ally of the United States in the war against Saddam Hussein (news - web sites)'s regime launched in March. Both countries used Baghdad's refusal to give up its alleged weapons of mass destruction as the main justification for military action.


No such weapons have yet been found, while a September 2002 dossier on Iraq published by Britain has prompted hotly disputed claims that the government beefed up intelligence reports to justify war.

posted by Frodgie at 8:35 AM

 

Actor-dancer Gregory Hines dead at 57, publicist says

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- Tony Award winner Gregory Hines, the tap-dancing actor who starred on Broadway and in movies including "White Nights" and "Running Scared," has died, his publicist said. He was 57.

Hines died Saturday in Los Angeles of cancer, publicist Allen Eichorn said.

The dancer, among the best in his generation, won a 1993 Tony for the musical "Jelly's Last Jam."

Hines became internationally known as part of a jazz tap duo with his brother, Maurice, and the two danced together in the musical revue "Eubie!" in 1978. The brothers later performed together in Broadway's "Sophisticated Ladies" and on film in 1984's "The Cotton Club."

In "The Cotton Club," Hines also had a lead acting role, which led to more work in film. He starred with Mikhail Baryshnikov in 1985's "White Nights" and with Billy Crystal in 1986's "Running Scared," and he appeared with Whitney Houston and Angela Bassett in 1995's "Waiting to Exhale," among other movies.

On television, he had his own sitcom in 1997 called "The Gregory Hines Show," as well as a recurring role on "Will and Grace." This past March, he appeared in the spring television series "Lost at Home."

Gregory Oliver Hines was born on February 14, 1946, in New York City. He has said his mother urged him and his older brother toward tap dancing because she wanted them to have a way out of the ghetto.


posted by Frodgie at 12:43 PM

 

Bush says homosexuals are sinners

George W. Bush called homosexuals sinners July 30 during a press conference in the White House Rose Garden.

Bush was asked: "Many of your supporters believe that homosexuality is immoral. They believe that it's been given too much acceptance in policy terms and culturally. As someone who's spoken out in strongly moral terms, what's your view on homosexuality?"

The president responded: "Yes, I am mindful that we're all sinners, and I caution those who may try to take the speck out of their neighbor's eye when they got a log in their own. I think it's very important for our society to respect each individual, to welcome those with good hearts, to be a welcoming country. On the other hand, that does not mean that somebody like me needs to compromise on an issue such as marriage. And that's really where the issue is heading here in Washington, and that is the definition of marriage. I believe in the sanctity of marriage. I believe a marriage is between a man and a woman. And I think we ought to codify that one way or the other. And we've got lawyers looking at the best way to do that."

Gay activists were floored.

"When they were talking about big-tent politics during the campaign, well, no, it's not true," said National Gay & Lesbian Task Force Communications Director Sherri Lunn. "The big tent obviously does not include LGBT people."


posted by Frodgie at 12:01 PM

 

Actor and dancer Gregory Hines has died of cancer, his publicist tells The Associated Press. Details soon.

posted by Frodgie at 11:59 AM

 

Frozen pizza gets new USDA requirements

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pizza lovers may soon see a broader variety of vegetable, cheese and sauce topping frozen pizzas that have meat.

The Agriculture Department's Food Safety and Inspection Service said Thursday it is loosening the ingredient requirements for meat pizzas. The agency is charged with enforcing standards that restrict how much meat, fat, and water goes into making frozen pizzas that are topped with sausage, pepperoni, hamburger, chicken or other meats.

Starting in October, frozen pizza makers can put just 2 percent cooked meat or 3 percent raw meat on top, instead of the 12 percent cooked or 15 percent raw that are currently required.

The American Frozen Food Institute sought the change, arguing that a less restrictive standard means they could produce more healthful pizzas with less fat and cholesterol. Officials with the industry group did not immediately return phone calls seeking comment.

For consumers, this means they will see new frozen pizzas offering less meat, but more vegetables, sauce, cheese, or other toppings, said Steven Cohen, a spokesman for the agency.

posted by Frodgie at 11:58 AM

 

Sources: Israel strikes Hezbollah positions in Lebanon

JERUSALEM (CNN) -- Israel on Sunday struck Hezbollah artillery positions in southwestern Lebanon, in response to an attack earlier in the day into northern Israel, Israeli military sources told CNN.

"We have no intention of escalation; this was a pinpoint, targeted response against the gun that fired those shells," Raanan Gissin, a senior aide to Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, told CNN.

"We want to continue on the road map to peace; we are committed to that," he said. "At the same time, we will not tolerate continuing attacks by Hezbollah."

In the earlier attack, a 16-year-old northern Israeli boy was killed and four others were wounded, one seriously, Israeli police and medical services said.

The Hezbollah attack occurred in Shlomi, in the Western Galilee region near the Israel-Lebanon border. Israeli security sources said three 57 mm shells hit the town, and the sources said it was a deliberate act, not errant anti-aircraft fire.


posted by Frodgie at 11:54 AM

 

Discovering WMD

WASHINGTON -- Former international weapons inspector David Kay, now seeking Iraqi weapons of mass destruction for the Pentagon, has privately reported successes that are planned to be revealed to the public in mid-September.

Kay has told his superiors he has found substantial evidence of biological weapons in Iraq, plus considerable missile development. He has been less successful in locating chemical weapons, and has not yet begun a substantial effort to locate progress toward nuclear arms.

Senior officials in the Bush administration believe Kay's weapons discoveries should have been revealed as they were made. However, a decision, approved by President Bush, was made to wait until more was discovered and then announce it -- probably in September.

GRILLING THE NSC

The two senior staffers of the National Security Council (NSC), who have been reported responsible for the famous 16 words in President Bush's State of the Union address, were cross-examined privately by congressional interrogators on Aug. 1.

Deputy National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley was questioned briefly by bipartisan aides of the Senate and House intelligence committees. Robert Joseph, the senior NSC staffer who actually wrote the 16 words reporting alleged Iraqi efforts to buy uranium from Africa, was then grilled for over three hours.


posted by Frodgie at 11:53 AM

 

Terror Group Seen as Back Inside Iraq

The American-led administration in Iraq has received intelligence reports that hundreds of Islamic militants who fled Iraq during the war have returned and are planning to conduct major terrorist attacks.

L. Paul Bremer III, the top civilian administrator in Iraq, said in an interview on Friday night that fighters from Ansar al-Islam, a militant organization that the United States tried to destroy during the war, had escaped to Iran and then slipped back across the border into Iraq. He said hundreds of the militants were now in Iraq, where they were preparing to attack the occupation forces or administration.

"The intelligence suggests that Ansar al-Islam is planning large-scale terrorist attacks here," Mr. Bremer said. "So as long as we have, as I think we do, substantial numbers of Ansar terrorists around here I think we have to be pretty alert to the fact that we may see more of this."

The Bush administration has asserted that Ansar has ties to Al Qaeda. Officials of the occupying authority, including Mr. Bremer, said it was possible that Al Qaeda was in Iraq, but they said there was no conclusive proof of that.

Mr. Bremer spoke a day after a car bomb attack ripped through the Jordanian Embassy in central Baghdad, killing 17 people and wounding scores more. It was the deadliest attack against civilians since the American military took control of Baghdad, and it represented a new type of security problem for the American-led occupation. The perpetrators of the attack are still unknown and investigators from the F.B.I. have been sent to investigate the blast.


posted by Frodgie at 11:52 AM

 

Arnold Wins Easy

ARNOLD SCHWARZENEGGER EASILY WINS THE GOVERNOR'S MANSION IF ELECTION IS HELD TODAY; OUTDISTANCING HIS NEAREST RIVAL BY 10%
Sat Aug 09 2003 18:00 ET

California voters would remove Governor Gray Davis from office by a margin of 54% to 35%, if the election were held today, according to a new TIME/CNN Poll.

Arnold Schwarzenegger would lead the field of candidates to replace Davis with 25 percent, if the election were held today. His closest rival is Lt. Governor Cruz Bustamanate, with 15 percent.

Trailing were State Sen. Tom McClintock (9%), former candidate for governor Bill Simon (7%) and (tied with 4%) Hustler publisher Larry Flynt, columnist Arianna Huffington, and former Major League Baseball commissioner Peter Ueberroth.

posted by Frodgie at 11:51 AM