Pine River World News is updated Monday through Friday by 6 a.m. Central Time (12h00 GMT). I will also post occasionally on Saturdays (no scheduled time).
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Thanks for reading Pine River World News.
- - - Wisconsin News (Northwoods - local)
A reminder to residents and visitors to northern Marinette County that the Niagara Police Department will be actively enforcing seat-belt compliance during Wisconsin's Click It or Ticket program May 19 through June 1.
- - - U.S. Election 2008 - - -
The Poblano Effect: Obama Could Score Huge Electoral Victory over McCain
AlterNet, 17-MAY-2008 (Josh Kalven, Progress Illinois)
"If the huge African-American turnout numbers Obama received in the primaries occurs on Nov. 5, Obama could win 350 electoral votes."
[Excerpt:] - The Poblano Model. - This new data was generated by the anonymous 30-year-old author of the website FiveThirtyEight.com. A statistician and analyst, "Poblano" (who asked that his real name be kept private for professional reasons) has developed a sophisticated regression model that uses state-by-state polling data to assess possible general election outcomes in individual states.
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Voting Rights Advocates: America Not Prepared for Big Turnout Nov.
BalckPressUSA, 16-MAY-2008 (Hazel Trice Edney)
[Excerpt:] - WASHINGTON (NNPA) - Record turnouts at polling places across the nation during the Barack Obama-Hillary Clinton battle for the Democratic nomination have revealed a continuation of serious flaws in America's electoral process that could cause a fiasco Nov. 4, according to a non-partisan report. "The report demonstrates that most of the state and county and local election machinery was unprepared for a real heavy turnout," says Barbara Arnwine, executive director of the Lawyers Committee for Civil Rights Under the Law, a primary partner in the Election Protection Coalition that has manned voter protection hotlines since January. Because Black voters typically cast 90 percent of their ballots for Democrats, mishaps at the polls could cause another Election 2000-styled fiasco in the event of a close race between the Democratic nominee and Republican John McCain.
- - - Pakistan News - - -
SEX IN DEPTH: In Pakistan, a dark trade comes to light
Asia Times, 17-MAY-2008 (William Sparrow)
[Published summary:] - Across Pakistan, a sex industry has begun to boom. Spilling from dark alleys and red-light haunts, prostitution is more common and ever-more exploitive. Profiteering foreigners are preying on a demand for sex that far outstrips supply. If the issue remains in the dark, more poor Pakistanis will fall prey to the sex trade.
[Excerpt:] - The Chinese ability to "franchise" the commercial sex industry by providing down-trodden Chinese women throughout Asia, North America and Europe would be admirable in a business sense if it were not for the atrocities - human trafficking, sexual slavery and exploitation - which cloud its practice. Chinese bordellos, often operating as "massage parlors" or beauty salons, are across Pakistan, even spread even to war-torn and restive locations such as the Afghan capital Kabul. Chinese in the sex industry have developed a cunning ability to recognize areas where the demand for sex far outstrips the supply.
'No compromise on national security'
Daily Times, Lahore 17-MAY-2008 (staff report)
* Gilani says war on terror to continue till final victory
* Asif Zardari, Qureshi, Rehman Malik also present at briefing at ISI Headquarters
[Excerpt:] - ISLAMABAD - The country will continue its role in the war on terror until it has gained final victory, but will not compromise on national sovereignty and integrity, Prime Minister Syed Yousuf Raza Gilani said on Friday. "We will continue the war on terror, but will never compromise on our national interests and integrity. We want to end the root causes of the war on terror by improving the socio-economic condition of the people in our Tribal Areas with the help of 'friends'," he said during a visit to the headquarters of the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI).
- - - World Briefing - - -
Burma denounces 'warship'
Bangkok Post, 17-MAY-2008 (dpa)
[Excerpt:] - United Nations - The Burmese military junta showed signs of paranoia on Friday, denouncing a French naval ship packed with 1,500 tonnes of food aid, with aircraft capable of delivering it, as a "warship" standing off its coast. France said a demand to deliver the aid through Rangoon airport was nonsense.
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Cyclone survivors forced to work and pay for aid
Democratic Voice of Burma (DVB), 17-MAY-2008 (Naw Say Phaw)
[Excerpt:] - Cyclone victims in Bogalay township, Irrawaddy division, have had to pay for relief supplies provided to them by the international community, according to a private donor who just visited the area. The donor also told DVB that local authorities had switched international aid with products from Industry-1 before distribution. "On 10 May, local authorities in Ngabyayma village in southern Bogalay forced cyclone survivors to buy petrol for 1000 kyat a gallon," he said. "Villagers also had to buy canvas sheets marked 'UNICEF'," he went on.
PM Thein Sein wrong man for handling disasters?
Shan Herald Agency for News (S.H.A.N.), 17-MAY-2008 ()
[Excerpt:] - Gen Thein Sein, who was appointed prime minister last year, is facing his first crucial test as a leader and so far is faring badly just as he did when he was the regional commander in Kengtung, eastern Shan State, from 1996-2001, according to his critics there.
Zimbabwe Opposition Leader Cancels Return Over Alleged Death Plot
Voice of America (VOA), 17-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - The leader of Zimbabwe's opposition party will not return home as scheduled Saturday because of security concerns. A spokesman for the Movement for Democratic Change says it has received information from a "credible source" about an assassination plot against Morgan Tsvangirai.
Russia forces USA out from its traditional arms markets
Pravda, 16-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - Russia has won a 4-billion-dollar contract with Saudi Arabia in a competition with the USA and France. This achievement of the Russian defense complex can be explained by both the high quality of the national military hardware defense equipment and the blunders of its Western competitors. However, Russia should not rest on its laurels: the current state of the nation's defense industry is not good enough. It is not ruled out that the contract with Saudi Arabia may repeat the unfortunate fate of MiG supplies to Algeria.
Lebanon's Battles in Light of the Struggle for Regional Domination
Dar Al-Hayat, Beirut 16-MAY-2008 (Raghida Dergham)
[Excerpt:] - DUBAI - Hezbollah's coup in Lebanon is one of the episodes of a new regional order in the Middle East, one that is imposed by the Islamic Republic of Iran through the language of weapons pointed towards the interior to insure local domination. The suggestions made by Russia's Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov, calling for the major powers to "put concrete proposals on the table guaranteeing the security of Iran and ensuring Iran a worthy, equal place in talks on resolving all problems in the near and Middle East", represents another essential episode in shaping the new regional order.
- - - Religious News - - -
Porn again Penthouse buys born again BigChurch.com website
Telegraph, UK 17-MAY-2008 (Philip Sherwell)
[Published summary:] - It is one of the most implausible hook-ups on the internet - a popular Christian dating website, BigChurch.com, is now part of the online family of the Penthouse Media Group.
Islamic world has sheltered Jewish people throughout history: rabbi
Tehran Times, 17-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - TEHRAN - Israel must end its military occupation of Palestine because that is the only way that there can be peaceful negotiations that will resolve the longstanding dispute, Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb said here last week. Rabbi Gottlieb, one of the first ten women rabbis in the history of Judaism, on May 10 visited the offices of the Tehran Times and the Mehr News Agency, heading a delegation of 21 peace activists from the United States.
[Blog note: Articles contains excerpts from interview with Rabbi Gottlieb.]
Anti-Semitic Hate Speech in the Name of Islam
Spiegel, 16-MAY-2008 (Matthias Küntzel)
[Excerpt:] - Though most Muslims reject Islamism and its propaganda, anti-Semitic messages from satellite channels like the Hamas-run Al-Aqsa are helping to bring a message of hate and intolerance to Europe. The effects of such hate preaching can already be felt in Germany.
- - - Other News - - -
IRAN: Tehran Opens Controversial Women-Only Park
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 17-MAY-2008 (Farangis Najibullah)
[Excerpt:] - In an official ceremony in Tehran this week, Mayor Mohammad Baqir Ghalibaf opened a new, sex-segregated park designed exclusively for women's leisure and sport In the new park, called "Mothers' Paradise," women can walk, jog, and engage in other athletic activities without having to cover their heads.
NORTH KOREA: Rainbow Trout Is Bred in Sea
KCNA, Pyongyang 16-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - PYONGYANG - The East Sea Fishery Institute under the State Academy of Sciences has recently succeeded in the research of a method of breeding limnetic rainbow trout in the sea, thus making it possible to raise its survival rate and production more than in the fresh water. The sea abounds in nutritive salts and plankton compared with fresh water and the breeding of rainbow trout is not restricted by water resources.
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17 May 2008
Saturday Extra, News Briefing 17-MAY-2008
16 May 2008
News Briefing 16-MAY-2008
There's an interesting photo that accompanies this article:
Smallest helicopter to fly in Italy- - - Wisconsin News - - -
Press TV, 16-MAY-2008
[Full text:] - A Japanese man who made the world's smallest helicopter will take flight in the birthplace of Leonardo da Vinci in tribute to the original idea.
Gennai Yanagisawa said that a demonstration flight of his one-man helicopter is planned in the city of Vinci, near Florence, Italy, on May 25.
Yanagisawa developed the GEN H-4 helicopter - with rotors, a chair, footrest and handle bar - in the late 1990s.
"The concept of my helicopter comes from Italy, and I've always wanted to fly it in da Vinci's birthplace," Yanagisawa said Thursday.
Renaissance-era visionary da Vinci designed an 'aerial screw' in the 1480s - believed to be the first portrayal of a vertical-flight machine, according to Italy's National Museum of Science and Technology.
A Guinness World Records spokeswoman confirmed the recognition of Yanagisawa's helicopter as the world's smallest model in terms of weight and rotor length of 13 feet.
[End.]
Wis. man won't buy gas for 31 days, maybe longer
Examiner, 16-MAY-2008 (AP)
[Exerpt:] - SHEBOYGAN, Wis. - Brian LaFave couldn't care less how high gasoline prices climb these days - he's parked his pickup truck and is refusing to buy gas for a month, possibly longer. "The goal is to not use one drop of gas for 31 days," LaFave said, calling it his personal stand against the oil companies.
- - - U.S. Election 2008 - - -
U.S. Democratic Presidential Campaign Winding Down, But To What End?
Radio Free Europe / Radio Liberty, 16-MAY-2008
[Excerpt::] - As the U.S. primary election campaign comes to a close, it is nearly a mathematical impossibility for Senator Hillary Clinton of New York to win enough delegates to be chosen as the Democratic Party's nominee for president. Nevertheless, Clinton refuses to concede. Meanwhile, her opponent, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois, has begun campaigning as if he already has defeated Clinton, while being careful not to declare himself the winner. Is the contest truly in its endgame, or will it remain undecided until the Democratic Party's convention in August?
RFE/RL correspondent Andrew F. Tully discussed the state of the Democratic race with Robert J. Spitzer, a professor of political science at the State University of New York at Cortland and the author of four books on the U.S. presidency.
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Barack Obama blasts President George Bush terror talk jibe
Times of London, 16-MAY-2008 (Tom Baldwin)
[Excerpt:] - Barack Obama hurled himself into an angry confrontation with the President yesterday after Mr Bush compared the Democratic candidate's promise of talks with rogue states like Iran to the "false comfort of appeasement" towards the Nazis in the 1930s.
McCain action helped Arizona developer: report
Reuters, 16-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - WASHINGTON - Presumptive Republican presidential candidate John McCain secured millions in federal funds for a land acquisition program that provided a windfall for an Arizona developer whose executives were major campaign donors, according to a USA Today report.
Davis Warns Fellow Republicans
Political Wire, 15-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - Rep. Tom Davis (R-VA) sent a memo to the Republican House leadership explaining his party's prospects in November noting "the political atmosphere facing House Republicans this November is the worst since Watergate and is far more toxic than the fall of 2006 when we lost thirty seats."
[Blog note: Embedded text link is for a PDF copy of the memo.]
- - - Pakistan News - - -
USA offers setting up mobile power plant at Karachi port
Geo TV, 16-MAY-2008
[Full text:] - KARACHI - USA has offered Pakistan setting up a 200MW mobile power plant at the Karachi port. Sources said that this plant would be installed on a ship and could reach here from the U.S. within few days. U.S. Ambassador in Pakistan, N. W. Peterson and other U.S. officials made this offer of setting up floating power plant in their recent meetings with the Prime Minister, Yusuf Raza Gilani, Asif Zardari and Nawaz Sharif. Sources said that the USA was also keen to provide resources for the installation of further IPP and for the Azad Kashmir and other hydel projects.
- - - World Briefing - - -
Report: Jerusalem sources believe U.S. could hit Iran this year
Haaretz, 16-MAY-2008 (Barak Ravid, Shahar Ilan)
[Excerpt:] - Sources in Jerusalem believe that the U.S. administration could carry out an operation against Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's regime over the next year, Army Radio reported on Friday. Officials in the Prime Minister's Office said the possibility was discussed in closed talks between Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and U.S. President George Bush, during the latter's visit to Israel this week.
[** Blog note: Both the title and content of this article changed from the time it first appeared on the Haaretz newsfeed. THE ABOVE TITLE AND EXCERPT ARE VERBATIM FROM THE ORIGINAL ARTICLE.]
Deadly blast hits Sri Lanka capital
Al Jazeera, 16-MAY-2008 (local correspondent)
[Excerpt:] - At least nine policemen are feared killed and 90 people wounded after a suicide bomber on a motorbike targeted a police bus in Colombo, the Sri Lankan capital. The attack occurred on Friday morning outside a Buddhist temple in the fort area of Colombo. Sri Lankan defence ministry officials said the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) fighters were responsible for the attack.
- - - More news - - -
The Island (newspaper) becomes a victim of net terrorism
The Island, Colombo 16-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - "We wish to bring to the notice of our readers that there has been a sinister attempt by an unknown group to disrupt the operations of this newspaper and to tarnish its image through electronic means."
[Blog note: 'The Island' is a local newspaper in the Sri Lankan capital.]
Jaipur blasts: Terror email genuine
Times of India, 16-MAY-2008 (TNN)
[Excerpt:] - JAIPUR - The video sent on Wednesday by an outfit claiming to be Indian Mujahideen, which owned up to Tuesday's terror attacks in Jaipur, was no fake. The frame number of the cycle in the clip is the same as that of the one which was used for the blast at Choti Choupad Kotwali, one of the sites where the terrorists struck. The Mujahideen, in the email to the media, had said that the cycle with the frame number -129489 - in the video clip was used in the Choti Choupad blast.The frame number was reported by [Times of India] on Wednesday.
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Jaipur blasts: Man claims to have seen suspect
Times of India, 16-MAY-2008 (PTI)
[Excerpt:] - JAIPUR - A restaurant owner from Udaipur is being questioned by police after he claimed to have seen one of the suspected terrorists, whose sketch was released, along with a woman two days ahead of Tuesday's serial blasts here. Meanwhile, eight Bangladeshis were detained in Ajmer in connection with the blasts.
U.S. plot to nail Iran backfires
Asia Times, 16-MAY-2008 (Gareth Porter)
[Published summary:] - The George W Bush administration and the top U.S. commander in Iraq, General David Petraeus, plotted a sequence of events that would sensationally build domestic U.S. political support for a possible strike against Iran. Key to this was to be the disclosure of a major cache of Iranian weapons found in Karbala for use by Shi'ite militias. The weapons turned out to have nothing to do with Iran, and worse, the Iraq government suddenly distanced itself from the U.S.'s plan.
China seeks an Afghan stepping-stone
Asia Times, 16-MAY-2008 (Tariq Mahmud Ashraf)
[Published summary:] - Afghanistan has once again emerged as the "strategic knot" for the region's security. From the perspective of China, which in addition sees the country as a potential trade and energy corridor, any substantial advancement in Sino-Afghan ties is contingent on stability returning to the war-ravaged country and foreign forces withdrawing.
[Excerpt:] - Some Indian analysts are convinced that China is engaged in a "creeping encirclement" of their country. They see Pakistan, Afghanistan and Iran forming the right or western pincer of this move, Bangladesh and Myanmar making up the left or eastern pincer with Sri Lanka acting as the southern anchor and completing the encirclement.
Newly reinstated U.S. Navy IV Fleet "poses no threat" to region
Merco Press, Uruguay 16-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - The commander of United States Southern Command, Admiral James Stavridis reassured Latin American military chiefs that reinstating the U.S. IV Fleet in the region posed no threat and will respect maritime claims, including offshore oil reserves. "It is not an offensive force in any way" said Admiral Stavridis on Thursday addressing a meeting of military chiefs from Argentina, Brazil, Bolivia, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay in Brasilia.
Pentagon scales back AFRICOM ambitions
The Christian Science Monitor, 16-MAY-2008 (Gordon Lubold)
[Published summary:] - Opposition in Africa means the new command's headquarters will more likely be in U.S. or Europe.
Kosovo: The US and the EU support a Political Process linked to Organized Crime
Global Research, 15-MAY-2008 (Michel Chossudovsky)
[Excerpt:] - The Western Media: Disinformation concerning the Nature of the Kosovo government...
The Kosovo government is tied into organized criminal syndicates involved in narcotics and human trafficking. The fact that all three Kosovo Prime Ministers, Ramush Haradinaj, Agim Ceku and Hashim Thaci are war criminals has not been acknowledged in recent press reports regarding the Independence of Kosovo. The EU and the US are supporting the criminalization of Kosovo politics.
- - - Religious News - - -
All Russian doomsday sect members leave dugout
RIA Novosti, 16-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - MOSCOW - All remaining members of the doomsday sect, holed up in a dugout in Russia's central Penza Region since November, have come to the surface, a local authority spokesman said on Friday. Earlier Friday, rescuers and police completed an operation to bring to the surface the bodies of two deceased sect members. The bodies have yet to be identified.
CANADA: Stop feeding homeless in city park, Abbotsford councillors tell pastor
CBC News, 15-MAY-2008 (Meera Bains)
[Excerpt:] - A church pastor in Abbotsford has been told not to feed the homeless in a city park after residents and businesses complained that drug addicts and aggressive panhandlers were overrunning the area.
- - - Other News - - -
Mum indicted over MySpace suicide
news.com.au, 16-MAY-2008 (AFP)
[Excerpt:] - AN American woman was indicted today over a MySpace hoax that ended with a 13-year-old girl committing suicide after being spurned by a fictitious boy.
Apple okay with Safari 'carpet bombing' vuln for now
The Register, 15-MAY-2008 (Dan Goodin)
[Excerpt:] - Next time you get nagged to install Apple's Safari browser keep this in mind: The company's security team has dismissed research that shows a simple way miscreants can use the browser to litter an end user's machine with malicious files.
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Click links for latest news: AFP BBC LAT VOA XINHUA
15 May 2008
News Briefing 15-MAY-2008
I make it a practice to read each of the blogs I link to on Pine River World News at least every few days -- which is how I discovered an interesting post by South African journalist and blogger Ivo Vegter:
Blowing Hubble bubblesIvo doesn't link to me (but he should!) although I know from correspondence that he reads my blog periodically. His article is very informative and worth reading.
The Spike, 13-MAY-2008 (Ivo Vegter)
[Excerpt:] - Shock. Horror. SMS messages are more expensive than data transmission from the Hubble Space Telescope. So says a scientist at the University of Leicester...
- - - Wisconsin News (Northwoods - local) - - -
This week's Florence Mining News (P.O. Box 79, Florence, WI 54121, issue date 14-MAY-2008) includes:
Baumgart case goes to mediationThe 'Niagara flag' article includes online photos.
[Excerpt:] - A termination hearing involving Florence middle school teacher Nick Baumgart has been placed on hold as parties attempt to mediate a settlement in the case, Florence school administrator Fred Stieg said Tuesday.
An important symbol of Niagara's past
[Excerpt:] - One of the earliest symbols of Niagara is being resurrected for display in the building known as the Clubhouse at the Niagara Mill. Later this month or in early June, a large flag that flew over the mill from 1896 to 1908 will be displayed in a custom-made box. Last week, a group of people folded the fragile old 9-foot-by-15-foot flag during a ceremony at the Niagara High School auditorium.
- - - U.S. Election 2008 - - -
Can McCain overcome the G.O.P. brand?
The Christian Science Monitor, 15-MAY-2008 (Linda Feldmann)
"House Republicans lose a third seat in special elections, as voters signal desire for change."
[Excerpt:] - Washington and Chicago - A day after the Republican Party suffered its third straight loss in special congressional races for normally safe GOP seats, the political aftershocks are still reverberating - and heading right to the heart of the presidential race. Republicans are reeling over Tuesday's 54-46 percent loss of a long-held Mississippi congressional seat to a Democrat, in a district that President Bush won in 2004 with 62 percent of the vote. Political analysts note that the Democrats ran the stronger candidate - a pro-gun, anti-abortion conservative named Travis Childers - but the loss provides yet more evidence of the depth of anti-Republican sentiment among voters.
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Cindy McCain Flaunts Her Privilege
TruthDig, 14-MAY-2008 (Joe Conason)
[Excerpt:] - Double standards are endemic in American journalism. But Cindy McCain, wife of the Republican presidential candidate, displayed poor taste in flaunting her family's special immunity from press scrutiny. Declaring on NBC's "Today" that she would "never" release her income tax returns even if she becomes first lady, the Arizona beer heiress showed no concern that she and her husband will have to meet the same tests as other would-be White House occupants.
- - - Pakistan News - - -
NWFP govt-Taliban truce worries HRCP
The News, 15-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - LAHORE - The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP) has expressed reservations over the reported terms of agreement between the NWFP government and the Tehrik-e-Taliban Swat. According to a press release issued on Wednesday, the HRCP said that the NWFP government was negotiating by giving concessions to militant elements engaged in terrorising civilians. It added this could not only glorify them and their illegal acts but also encourage them. The government's reconciliatory approach towards those using violence was seen as an incentive to other militants to raise arms against the state and manage a bargaining position, the statement said. It added that it would be unfortunate if the talks between the provincial government and the Taliban led to a clean slate for the armed elements responsible for bombing girlsí schools, NGO outfits and businesses.
- - - World Briefing - - -
India braces for surge in terror
Asia Times, Hong Kong 15-MAY-2008 (Sudha Ramachandran)
[Excerpt:] - BANGALORE - The serial blasts that killed 80 people and injured 200 in the western Indian city of Jaipur on Tuesday occurred less than a week after a major infiltration attempt by militants was thwarted on the international border with Pakistan in Jammu and Kashmir state. That incident set off a heavy exchange of fire along the border, the first major flareup since an India-Pakistan ceasefire took effect in 2003. Intelligence contacts have told Asia Times Online that while there is "no direct cause-effect link" between the incidents on the border and the Jaipur blasts, the former indicate that "infiltration from across the border in Pakistan will increase as summer progresses and more attacks like the ones at Jaipur can be expected".
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UPDATE - Jaipur blasts: Cyber cafe owner detained
The Hindu, 15-MAY-2008 (PTI)
[Excertp:] - GHAZIABAD - The owner and employee of a cyber cafe from where an email claiming responsibility for Tuesday's Jaipur serial blasts was sent have been detained for questioning by the Uttar Pradesh Police.
Algeria asks Russia to swap MiG-29s for Su-30 fighters - paper
RIA Novosti, 15-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - MOSCOW - Algeria has asked Russia to deliver between 14 and 16 additional Su-30 Flanker fighters in exchange for the MiG-29 Fulcrum aircraft it was supposed to receive under a contract that was terminated this year, a Russian business daily said. "The Irkut corporation may deliver 14-16 Su-30MKA fighters [to the Algerian air force] for the same amount stipulated in the MiG contract," Russia's Kommersant business daily quoted a source in the defense industry as saying.
MYANMAR: U.S. hostility hampers relief
Workers World, 15-MAY-2008 (Sara Flounders)
[Excerpt:] - Is the Bush administration really trying to help the people of Myanmar recover from the natural disaster that struck there? Then why is it insisting that the Pentagon be in charge of its aid? And why did it impose sanctions on the country when it knew the cyclone was about to hit?
IRAN: 'Shiraz bombers were promised $100,000'
Press TV, Tehran 15-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - Six suspects among the 15 people detained over the explosion in Shiraz are linked to a German-based monarchist weblog, a report says. The six agents, two of them chemistry students, were in contact with a blogger, belonging to the German-based Rahe Azadi (Way of Freedom) weblog, via email, JAHAN reported.
CHINA: More than 5,000 translators recruited for Olympics
China View, 15-MAY-2008 (Xinhua)
[Excerpt:] - BEIJING - More than 5,000 translators are on standby for this summer's Olympic Games to ensure nothing gets lost in translation, the Beijing Organizing Committee for the Olympics (BOCOG) said on Thursday. Zhao Huimin, director of BOCOG's international relations department, told reporters that BOCOG will provide 53 language services besides the official languages, French and English, of the International Olympic Committee, during the Aug. 8-24 event. "We have recruited over 5,000 translators of all the 55 languages through various channels," Zhao said. "Most of them are Beijing-based university students."
TRADE-AFRICA: EU Seeks to Subdue Competitive China
Inter Press Service (IPS), 15-MAY-2008 (Michael Deibert)
[Excerpt:] - JOHANNESBURG - With the ascendance of China as a robust force on Africa's economic and political scene, plans are afoot in the European Union (EU) to pre-empt the Asian nation's dominance on the continent by forming a trilateral partnership that places Europe squarely in the centre.
YEMEN: 48 people killed, Houthis seize 700 army missiles in renewed clashes
Yemen Times, Sana'a 14-MAY-2008
"Amid indicators of fifth Sa'da war"
[Excerpt:] - SA'ADA - Bloody clashes between army personnel and Houthi supporters in Harf Sifyan district of Amran governorate killed approximately 40 Houthis and eight soldiers from Saturday until Tuesday evening, a military source said Wednesday... "On Monday, Houthi loyalists seized up to 700 portable missiles, along with launchers that have viewfinders to better pinpoint targets, which were being transported aboard military trucks to the war-ravaged governorate via Harf Sifyan area," a reliable source told the Yemen Times. The ongoing fierce clashes broke out on Saturday, considered by political analysts and observers as the beginning of a fifth destructive war between the army and Houthis in Sa'ada governorate.
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With internal displacement increasing, Sa'ada faces a humanitarian disaster
Yemen Times, 15-MAY-2008 (Amel Al-Ariqi)
VIETNAM IS THE NEW CHINA: Globalization's Victors Hunt for the Next Low-Wage Country
Spiegel, 14-MAY-2008 (Alexander Jung, Wieland Wagner)
[Excerpt:] - What can Western companies do when China's factory workers start demanding better wages and conditions? Easy - just transfer production to a cheaper country. China's loss is Vietnam's gain.
The Secret Bailout of J. P. Morgan: How Insider Trading Looted Bear Stearns and the American Taxpayer
Global Research, 14-MAY-2008 (Ellen Brown)
[Excerpt:] - The secret weekend purchase of Bear Stearns with a Federal Reserve loan was precipitated by a run on Bear's stock allegedly triggered by rumors of its insolvency. An article in The Wall Street Journal on March 15, 2008 cast JPMorgan as Bear's "rescuer": "The role of rescuer has long been part of J.P. Morgan's history. In what's known as the Panic of 1907, a semi-retired J. Pierpont Morgan helped stave off a national financial crisis when he helped to shore up a number of banks that had seen a run on their deposits." That was one interpretation of events, but a later paragraph was probably closer to the facts: "J.P. Morgan has been on the prowl for acquisitions ... Bear's assets could be too good, and too cheap, to turn down."
Bayer anti-bleeding drug linked to 50% higher death rate than alternatives
Macleans, 14-MAY-2008 (Helen Branswell, The Canadian Press)
[Excerpt:] - TORONTO - An expensive drug used to minimize severe bleeding during heart surgery actually significantly increased the risk that patients would die during surgery or in the 30 days following, a Canadian study comparing the drug to two far cheaper alternatives shows. Called the BART trial, the study found people who received Trasylol or aprotinin (its generic name) were 53 per cent more likely to die than people who received the other anti-bleeding agents, tranexamic acid or aminocaproic acid.
- - - Religious News - - -
Australian young Muslim leaders to explore Indonesian Islam
Antara News Agency, Jakarta 15-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - Jakarta (ANTARA News) - A delegation of young Muslim leaders from Australia arrived in Jakarta early this week to explore Indonesia Islam, Democracy and Interfaith Harmony, an Australian Embassy media release has said.
Google kills Anonymous AdSense account
The Register, 14-MAY-2008 (Cade Metz)
"How Scientology funded the anti-Scientology movement"
[Excerpt:] - EXCLUSIVE: Google has murdered the AdSense account run by one of the web's most influential anti-Scientology sites.
- - - Other News - - -
Meet Miss Universe Australia, Laura Dundovic
news.com.au, 15-MAY-2008 (Megan McNaught, The Daily Telegraph)
[Excerpt:] - A PSYCHOLOGY student from Sydney was crowned Miss Universe Australia at a lavish event in Toorak, Victoria last night. Laura Dundovic, 21, beat 28 other hopefuls from across the country to take out the title.
USA: MySpace spammers fined $230m
The Guardian, UK 15-MAY-2008 (Bobbie Johnson)
[Excerpt:] - MySpace has won a record $230m (£118m) legal judgment over junk messages sent to its members by a team of notorious American internet spammers.
U.S. orchestra conducted by robot
BBC, 14-MAY-2008 * PHOTO *
[Excerpt:] - A U.S. orchestra has held its most unusual performance - being conducted by a robot. The Detroit Symphony was led by Asimo, a 1.3-metre (4ft 3in) tall robot designed by car manufacturer Honda as it performed The Impossible Dream.
Green aliens, UFOs said to visit
Reuters, 14-MAY-2008 (Jeremy Lovell)
[Excerpt:] - LONDON - Aliens from outer space have been visiting Britain for years and UFO sightings doubled after the film Close Encounters was released in 1977, according to secret files collating reports by members of the public. The alien craft come in all shapes, sizes and colors but their occupants are uniformly green, the Ministry of Defence files show.
[Blog note: Here is the MoD file link.]
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14 May 2008
News Briefing 14-MAY-2008
Your blogmaster's view of the primaries...
Having followed the U.S. presidential primaries to date (plus all the mud-slinging among the candidates) -- and let's not forget the numerous "opinion polls" showing this or that candidate leading by so many points -- I have concluded that the primary campaign process has a very serious flaw.
The flaw is not in the wishy-washy 'super delegates' nor in the fact that primaries are held on different dates (thus allowing the results from early voting states to influence the minds of voters in late voting states).
It is not any of these things.
The most serious weakness is that the November election is a "package deal" comprised of a presidential AND vice presidential candidate running as partners. This is not the case in the primaries (which involve only individual candidates) and thus the opinion polls supposedly hinting at who can best win a national election may be greatly in error.
How accurate are polls that forecast all the way to November? We don’t know because they fail to consider the great X-factor, namely: WHO the vice presidential candidate will be for each nominee.
If it were up to me each candidate would declare his or her intended VP choice at the same time they declare their own candidacy.
Both Obama and Clinton, for example, are not overly experienced in the Senate so each of them needs an experienced running mate (someone with many years at the senate or governor level) coupled with voter appeal. But what if Obama picks another junior senator as his choice for VP, whereas Hillary chooses a multi-term governor with a decade or more of congressional experience? This could change everything. This is the type of information voters need to know at the primary level to cast an intelligent vote.
Similarly, if McCain chooses a running mate with insufficient experience, or, conversely, someone who is the same age or older than himself -- this will surely have a negative influence on voters.
Having said all this, I believe the deciding factor in November will be who the vice presidential candidate is for each party.
This wil be the great X-factor that will sway public opinion.
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[Blog note: Pine River World News does not make political endorsements. During the past months I have presented both favorable and unfavorable articles for each presidential candidate based on the general trend appearing in the U.S. and foreign media on any given day.]
- - - Wisconsin News (Northwoods) - - -
Vilas won't stop prayer
Vilas County News-Review, 13-MAY-2008 (Joe Costanza)
[Excerpt:] - EAGLE RIVER, Wis. - That was the question before the Vilas County Commission on Aging, which met last Thursday and argued for more than one-half hour before voting 9-1 to allow prayer at county-run senior meal sites by individuals, but not by county employees acting in an official capacity. The panel adopted a resolution that is based on a federal recommendation "to allow each individual participant a free choice on whether or not to pray, either silently or audibly."
- - - U.S. Election 2008 - - -
Analysis: Clinton crushes Obama across the board
CNN, 13-MAY-2008 (Alan Silverleib)
[Excerpt:] - After enduring a week of political obituaries, Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign proved Tuesday that it still has some life... Clinton's victory in West Virginia was decisive. She won men and women. She carried a majority of voters in every age group. She captured liberals, moderates, and conservatives. She took a majority in every income bracket.
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Comment is free: Obama says he'll reshape U.S. foreign policy. But can he?
The Guardian, UK 14-MAY-2008 (Jonathan Steele)
[Excerpt:] - The presidential hopeful opposed the Iraq war and spoke sense about Iran, but expect business as usual on the Middle East.
- - - Pakistan News - - -
Forces, Taliban swapping prisoners in S. Waziristan
Geo TV, 14-MAY-2008
[Full text:] - WANA - Following successful talks in South Waziristan, security forces and local Talibans are swapping each other's prisoners today. Sources said that the talks between the local Taliban and officials were in progress satisfactorily and the security forces and Talibans would swap each other's prisoners any time today. On the whole 32 Talibans including 17 from Dera Ismail Khan and 5 from Miranshah jail have been shifted to Razmak by choppers, while over 55 prisoners of the security forces have been shifted from different Taliban hideouts to Mahsood area. Among the prisoners being released from Taliban hideouts, Pakistan ambassador in Afghanistan, Tariq Azizuddin, who was abducted previous month from Khayber Agency on his way from Peshawar to Afghanistan, is not included.
- - - World Briefing - - -
A deadly miscalculation in Lebanon
Asia Times, Hong Kong 14-MAY-2008 (Sami Moubayed)
[Published summary:] - As a test of strength, the Lebanese government and its Saudi Arabian backers received a bloody nose in the confrontation with Hezbollah in Beirut. The government woefully underestimated Hezbollah's reaction to having its communications - spy - system interfered with. And the Iranian-backed Hezbollah, with its convincing display of military superiority, made another clear statement: leave our arms alone.
[Excerpt:] - The crises was sparked last week in Beirut when the government of Prime Minister Fouad al-Siniora ordered the communication and surveillance network at Runway 17 of Beirut Airport be dismantled, claiming it was "illegal and unconstitutional". The decision was taken at a cabinet meeting on May 6 that lasted until 4 am, lobbied for by Telecommunications Minister Marwan Hamadeh. The network is one of the primary espionage tools used by Hezbollah in its war against Israel, keeping tabs on comings and goings at Beirut Airport.
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Bush revealed the future plan in Lebanon
(Blog) Roads to Iraq, 13-MAY-2008
[Full text:] - Is it a slip of the tongue from Bush saying this in his interview with BBC: [The U.S. is prepared to strengthen the Lebanese army so it could disarm Hezbollah], a hint that he rejects the Lebanese army presentation?, or maybe disapproves the Lebanese army commander Michel Suleiman as the next president? Worst than this, Al-jazeera published this report a few minutes ago under the title “The Lebanese army position, satisfies the opposition, raises doubts among the supporters". The title says it all, uses quotes from the government show its non-satisfaction with the army presentation and didn't stand in the way of the opposition defending the citizens. Al-Manar newspaper says that there are secret American - Italian - French - Saudi negations to dissolve the Lebanese army [the former Iraqi army way] and encircle the officers who are uncooperative with the government, preparing to form stronger militias armed with modern weapons.
[Blog note: Embedded text links to Arabic language sources appear in original post. I have included them for my Middle East readers.]
INDIA: U.S. offers help in probing Jaipur serial blasts
Times of India, 14-MAY-2008 (PTI)
[Excerpt:] - WASHINGTON - While strongly condemning the terror attacks in Jaipur that claimed 80 lives, the U.S. has also offered to help in investigations into the serial blasts.
How the internet is challenging Egypt's government
The Daily Star, Beirut 14-MAY-2008 (Ahmad Zaki Osman)
[Excerpt:] - Although the general strikes of April 6 and May 4 drew limited public participation, they have revealed an important new political phenomenon in Egypt: political mobilization by young, second-generation internet users via blogs, YouTube, and Facebook. After two years of intensive government efforts to outmaneuver the opposition, this mobilization caught the regime flat-footed. It highlighted the possible role of interactive non-traditional media in bringing about political change in Egypt, just as the government's heavy-handed response to the strikes revealed its failure to find new forms of political control aside from the usual repression by the security apparatus.
Government officials appropriate international aid
Democratic Voice of Burma, 13-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - Government officials and supporters have been taking relief supplies from international donors and selling them on for personal gain, according to sources in Rangoon. A Rangoon resident said military trucks had come to Nyaungpinlay market in the city to sell instant noodle packets, but no one had bought them. "In Bogalay, you can buy raincoats donated by the UN, as many as you like for 8000 [kyat]. Rolls of tarpaulin can be bought in Bogalay's Chinatown for 100,000 a roll. Merchants bought all 100 rolls straight away," he said.
Georgian MP: Russia is trying to preserve CIS for establishing a new empire
Regnum News Agency, Moscow 13-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - Russia is trying to preserve the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) to establish a new empire, chair of the committee for foreign relations of the Georgian parliament Kote Gabashvili told reporters commenting on Moscow's intention to establish a special agency for CIS affairs in the new government.
- - - Religious News - - -
Another West Texas sect remains on authorities' radar
Houston Chronicle, 13-MAY-2008 (Angela K. Brown, AP)
[Excerpt:] - Officers investigate polygamy and child abuse allegations at House of Yahweh in the Clyde area.
- - - Other News - - -
Always a Canadian
The Ottawa Citizen, 14-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - There aren't many people who could dash off a handwritten note to the prime minister, asking him to intervene on a personal matter, and expect a speedy and satisfactory response. But when Stephen Harper got a shaky scrawl from John Babcock, written on teddy-bear stationery, the prime minister treated it like a request from the Queen herself. "Dear PM," the note read, "Could I have my Canadian citizenship restored?" Yes, of course, was the answer. We're honoured that you would ask.
Mr. Babcock -- known as Jack -- is unique. At 107, he is the sole known surviving Canadian veteran of the First World War
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13 May 2008
News Briefing 13-MAY-2008
I read an interesting post on Intuitive Fred's California blog yesterday:
Only the Greenest of Countries Will SurviveWell said.
Intuitive Fred888, 12-MAY-2008
[Full text:] - Now that most of us who have done the research know that oil isn't long for this world (estimates vary from 2020 to 2050 being the end of oil) it is becoming very obvious that the next revolution in power sources will be toward solar, wind and alternative fuels and alternative sources of power to oil.
It is possible that only plastics will continue to be made from oil and that oil will at some point no longer be a fuel source simply because of its cost.
In looking as a futurist into what is coming it is obvious that those countries which move the quickest and most efficiently into the greening of the world will be those countries that do the best in taking care of their people and the most financially successful in the near future we all must face.
Looking realistically at the last century, my grandparents and great grandparents grew up with only horses, buggies, horse carts, and steam ships and trains for transportation other than just walking on foot. That was it. It is not as if we have been using oil very much more than just 100 years. Thinking that it could last forever, after all, was always just wishful thinking.
The biggest problems will come from the most unrealistic of nations. The nations and areas of the world that can and will shift their economies the fastest and most efficiently to alternative and renewable resources will be around still. And those who don't will likely be destroyed by rioting starving people. Time will tell.
[End.]
- - - U.S. Election 2008 - - -
Hillary Clinton broke through the burden of a polarizing past, only to hit another wall
Today's Zaman, 13-MAY-2008 (AP)
[Excerpt:] - Hillary Rodham Clinton began her presidential quest armed with talent, tenacity, fame, money, connections and a team that knew how to win. Many people believed her victory in the Democratic nomination race was a sure thing. Her ultimate failing may have been in believing it, too. Clinton had one big problem out of the gate: 40 percent or more of Americans said they would never vote for her. She was too polarizing. It is love her or hate her.
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Hillary Clinton thank you video signals pull-out
Telegraph, UK 13-MAY-2008 (Alex Spillius)
[Excerpt:] - A video sent by Hillary Clinton as a thank you to her supporters has fuelled speculation that she is on the verge of dropping out of the White House race, with its strikingly valedictory tone.
McCain Will Face Rebellion at GOP Convention
Political Wire, 12-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - Quietly and "largely under the radar of most people," allies of of Rep. Ron Paul "have been organizing across the country to stage an embarrassing public revolt against Sen. John McCain when Republicans gather for their national convention in Minnesota at the beginning of September," according to the Los Angeles Times.
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PAKISTAN: Elected Gov't Unable to Deal With Taliban Groups
Inter Press Service (IPS), 13-MAY-2008 (Muddassir Rizvi)
[Excerpt:] - Newspaper editorials suggest that the Taliban are showing an inflexible attitude as the political leadership looks apologetic in its approach to deal with them.
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U.S. paid $500K bounty for Khadr: court documents
National Post, Canada 12-MAY-2008 (Canwest News Service)
[Excerpt:] - The U.S. government paid Pakistan authorities a $500,000 bounty to capture Abdullah Khadr, a Toronto man facing terrorism-related charges, according to Federal Court documents made public Monday. Justice Richard Mosley ordered the release of information on Khadr, who is fighting his extradition to the U.S., including an October, 2004, briefing note to the RCMP commissioner. "The fact that a foreign state paid a bounty for the apprehension of a Canadian citizen abroad and that Canadian officials were aware of it at an early stage is also a matter in which the public would have legitimate interest," Mosley wrote.
- - - World Briefing - - -
High-powered U.S. delegation gets cool reception over offer of help
The Guardian, 13-MAY-2008 (Ian MacKinnon)
* Burma ministers will 'consider' increase in aid
* First U.S. aid flight arrives but agencies' anger grows
[Excerpt:] - The most senior U.S. aid and military delegation to visit Burma in years left Rangoon empty-handed yesterday after the regime refused to give any firm commitment about accepting increased aid for the victims of the cyclone disaster.
U.S. summons IAEA envoy over Iran
Press TV, Tehran 13-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - The U.S. envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency has been called back for consultations about Iran and the IAEA's upcoming report... The U.S. envoy to the IAEA would not reveal his talks with Rice and Hadley, but sources say part of his talks would focus on what the U.S. administration should do if ElBaradei's upcoming report voids the West's reasons for sanctions and political pressures on the Islamic Republic.
Carpet bombing in cyberspace
Armed Forces Journal, MAY 2008 (Col. Charles W Williamson III, USAF)
[Excerpt:] - The world has abandoned a fortress mentality in the real world, and we need to move beyond it in cyberspace. America needs a network that can project power by building an af.mil robot network (botnet) that can direct such massive amounts of traffic to target computers that they can no longer communicate and become no more useful to our adversaries than hunks of metal and plastic. America needs the ability to carpet bomb in cyberspace to create the deterrent we lack. America faces increasingly sophisticated threats against its military and civilian cyberspace. At the same time, America has no credible deterrent, and our adversaries prove it every day by attacking everywhere. Worse, our defensive concept is fundamentally flawed, and we have not learned the simplest lessons of history.
World record rice production in 2008, but prices climbing
Merco Press, Uruguay 12-MAY-2008
[Published summary:] - Rice production in Asia, Africa and Latin America will reach record highs in 2008, but prices could also continue to soar in the short term, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) reported on Monday.
[Excerpt:] - The agency's preliminary forecasts show harvests surging by 2.3% and reaching an all-time high of over 600 million tons, but prices will remain high in the immediate future because a large portion of this year's crop will only be harvested at the end of 2008. However, FAO warned that the destruction of Myanmar's food basket by the devastating Cyclone Nargis which struck the South-East Asian nation last week could lead to a worsening of the global rice production outlook.
The U.S. Quietly Slashes the Reward Posted for the Leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq
U.S. News & World Report, 12-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - In an unannounced change, the bounty for a most wanted terrorist is reduced from $5-million to $100,000.
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VIETNAM: Buddhism collection on display in capital
Vietnam News Agency (VNA), 13-MAY-2008
[Excerpt:] - HANOI - A collection of Buddhist artifacts went on display to the public for the first time at the Vietnam Fine Arts Museum to celebrate the Fifth United Nations Day of Vesak. to be hosted by Vietnam.
[Blog note: Embedded text link added.]
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Could Chilli, the 6ft 6in Friesian bullock, be Britain's tallest bovine?
Times of London, 13-MAY-2008 (Simon de Bruxelles) * PHOTO *
[Blog note: Photo of bull is worth viewing.]
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