2 Kosovo steps up security ahead of polls
by Ismet Hajdari, AFP
2 hrs 24 mins ago
| PRISTINA (AFP) - Kosovo has launched a huge security operation ahead of Sunday's first polls since its 2008 independence declaration, drafting in thousands of extra police, a spokesman said Saturday.
"The plan calls for more than 5,000 police officers throughout the territory of Kosovo," police spokesman Baki Kelani told AFP, adding they will be asked to work overtime around polling stations.
The measures were taken following an electoral campaign marred by several incidents. These included the discovery of an unexploded hand grenade at a branch headquarter of the leading opposition party, the Alliance for the Future of Kosovo (AAK) led by former prime minister Ramush Haradinaj. |
3 Obama under fire on trade as Asia-Pac leaders meet
by Jitendra Joshi, AFP
2 hrs 26 mins ago
| SINGAPORE (AFP) - US President Barack Obama came under fire Saturday from Asia-Pacific leaders for backsliding on free trade at a regional summit devoted to driving the world economy out of crisis.
"President Obama is facing severe political constraints that run counter to free trade," Mexican President Felipe Calderon said, complaining about US foot-dragging on full implementation of the NAFTA pact for North America.
"The cruel paradox is that within a global economy, what really kills companies is inefficiency and lack of competition. Therefore protectionism is killing North American companies," he said in a speech in Singapore. |
4 'Pacific' President Obama vows US leadership in Asia
by Stephen Collinson, AFP
Sat Nov 14, 7:24 am ET
| SINGAPORE (AFP) - Billing himself America's first "Pacific president", Barack Obama on Saturday said the United States did not seek to "contain" China and promised an engaged US role in charting Asia's future.
Obama also warned he would not be "cowed" by North Korea's nuclear sabre rattling, and repeatedly challenged regional leaders to wean themselves off lucrative US export markets to secure a "balanced" global economic rebound.
The president chose Japan, for half-a-century a bedrock US ally, to deliver his latest major speech framing a new foreign policy, invoking his upbringing in Indonesia and Hawaii to show he shared the region's world view. |
5 NASA finds water on the moon
by Jean-Louis Santini, AFP
Sat Nov 14, 6:57 am ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - A "significant amount" of frozen water has been found on the moon, the US space agency said heralding a giant leap forward in space exploration and boosting hopes of a permanent lunar base.
Preliminary data from a dramatic experiment on the moon "indicates the mission successfully uncovered water in a permanently shadowed lunar crater," NASA said in a statement on Friday.
"The discovery opens a new chapter in our understanding of the moon," it added, as ecstatic scientists celebrated the landmark discovery. |
6 Madoff's magnificent spoils go under the hammer
by Paola Messana, AFP
Sat Nov 14, 9:56 am ET
| NEW YORK (AFP) - From diamond-encrusted watches to satin jackets emblazoned with his name, the personal goods of Wall Street swindler Bernard Madoff were to go under the hammer Saturday in New York to raise money to help pay those who lost their fortunes.
Collectors and curious members of the public gathered Friday for an open viewing of the objects in a room at the Sheraton Hotel in New York as police marshals kept a strict eye on the crowds.
Some two hundred lots are up for grabs and auctioneers are hopeful they can raise some 500,000 dollars -- a mere drop in the ocean compared to the 21.2 billion dollars the court-appointed liquidator says his investors lost. |
7 Global swine flu deaths slow as WHO toll passes 6,250
AFP
Fri Nov 13, 4:09 pm ET
| GENEVA (AFP) - More than 6,250 people have died in the swine flu pandemic, World Health Organisation data showed Friday, as the global death rate appeared to slow.
The number of deaths from the A(H1N1) pandemic in the week to November 8 grew by about 179, against 224 a week earlier and a leap of about 700 in the last week of October.
The pandemic now stretches across 206 countries or territories worldwide, the WHO added in a statement. |
8 BA-Iberia deal aims giant blow at rivals
by Roland Jackson, AFP
Fri Nov 13, 11:57 am ET
| LONDON (AFP) - British Airways is aiming to hold its ranking as a giant in the skies through a tie-up with Spanish carrier Iberia that will give it access to South American routes, the group's boss said on Friday.
The tie-up is being seen as a move to avoid being sidelined by rivals Air France-KLM and Lufthansa as the economic crisis and the rise of low-cost airlines drives airline alliances and steep cost cutting.
However, BA chief executive Willie Walsh also admitted that there would be more job cuts as a result of the proposed marriage, sparking concern among trade unions in Britain and Spain. |
9 'Catastrophic' e-waste fuels global toxic dump: experts
AFP
Fri Nov 13, 3:28 pm ET
| GENEVA (AFP) - A "catastrophic accumulation" of millions of tonnes of "e-waste" from computers, cellphones and television sets is fuelling a global pile of hazardous waste, an international body warned Friday.
Figures due to be released by the Basel Convention on transboundary movement of hazardous waste will show that the amount of discarded electronic goods has grown exponentially in recent years, officials said.
The convention's office said the stockpile, which includes toxic heavy metals and hazardous chemicals, needed to be tackled swiftly. |
10 9/11 plotters face death penalty in New York trial
by Sara Hussein and Lucile Malandain, AFP
Sat Nov 14, 5:49 am ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - The alleged mastermind of the 9/11 attacks and four suspected co-plotters will be tried in a civilian court blocks from where Al-Qaeda hijackers crashed two airliners into the World Trade Center, the US government announced.
Attorney General Eric Holder said Friday that prosecutors would seek the death penalty against Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four other suspects who are held at Guantanamo Bay but will be moved to a New York prison ahead of their trial.
"After eight years of delay, those allegedly responsible for the attacks of September 11 will finally face justice," Holder said, without giving a date. |
11 Buenos Aires okays gay marriage in Latin America first
AFP
Fri Nov 13, 11:54 pm ET
| BUENOS AIRES (AFP) - An Argentine judge paved the way for gay marriage when she granted a homosexual couple permission to marry in a first for Latin America, the world's biggest Catholic region.
Buenos Aires, known for its active if low-key gay movement, became the region's first city to approve civil unions for gay couples in 2002. It was followed by Villa Carlos Paz in the north and the southern province of Rio Negro.
Those civil unions grant gay couples some, but not all, the rights enjoyed by heterosexual married couples. |
12 Wall Street eyes US consumer to keep rally going
AFP
Fri Nov 13, 10:06 pm ET
| NEW YORK (AFP) - A resurgent Wall Street will keep a close eye on the state of the US consumer in the coming week for signs of a stronger economic recovery heading into the year-end holidays.
With a critical report on US retail sales looming, the stock market has rallied over the past two weeks to near the highs of 2009, but may need a new spark to extend its gains, say analysts.
The Dow Jones Industrial Average galloped higher by 2.46 percent to 10,270.47, in a second consecutive strong week for Wall Street and just off 13-month highs hit Wednesday. |
Idiots. 10.2% U1. 17.5% U6. "When the skies are brighter canary yellow..."
13 Strain of Afghan war hits morale of US troops: Army
by Dan De Luce, AFP
Fri Nov 13, 9:49 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (AFP) - A survey of US soldiers in Afghanistan shows declining morale and a reluctance to seek help for anxiety fueled by repeated combat tours, the US Army said.
A similar assessment in Iraq this year showed fewer soldiers suffering psychological problems compared to previous years, as violence levels there fall, the army said.
The findings came as President Barack Obama faces a pivotal decision on sending additional forces to Afghanistan and amid renewed scrutiny of the mental fitness of American troops after the Fort Hood shootings last week.Related article: Obama promises Afghan decision |
14 9/11 suspects face angry reception in New York
by Sebastian Smith, AFP
Fri Nov 13, 5:51 pm ET
| NEW YORK (AFP) - US authorities on Friday vowed a fair trial for the alleged September 11 plotters after years of abuse in military jails, but when they arrive in New York they will find a city thirsting for revenge.
"Hang them," said Joe Ricciardi, 55, a construction worker near the gaping hole of Ground Zero, site of the Twin Towers destroyed on September 11, 2001.
"Look at what they did to this place. Look at the families they wrecked," added Ricciardi's son, also called Joe, gesturing toward Ground Zero, where nearly 3,000 people died when hijacked planes struck the World Trade Center. |
15 Obama seeks rebalancing, Asia warns of protectionism
By Bill Tarrant, Reuters
Sat Nov 14, 8:41 am ET
| SINGAPORE (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama called on Saturday for a new strategy to rebalance global growth, but leaders around the Pacific rim, gathering for a weekend summit, took aim at signs of U.S. trade protectionism.
Obama, who arrived in Singapore late on Saturday for the Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit, reiterated his call to redress the economic imbalances blamed by many for the global financial crisis.
The strategy calls for America to save more, spend less, reform its financial system and cut its deficits and borrowing. |
16 APEC retreats from C02 target, Brazil pledges cut
By David Fogarty, Climate Change Correspondent, Asia, Reuters
Sat Nov 14, 11:18 am ET
| SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Asia Pacific leaders backed away on Saturday from supporting a global halving of greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, even as Brazil pledged deep cuts of its own over the next decade.
An initial draft leaders' statement from an Asia Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) summit in Singapore had said that "global emissions will need to ... be reduced to 50 percent below 1990 levels by 2050."
But a later, watered-down version stated: "We believe that global emissions will need to peak over the next few years, and be substantially reduced by 2050, recognizing that the timeframe for peaking will be longer in developing economies." |
17 In Asia, Obama pushing arms control with Russians
By JENNIFER LOVEN, AP White House Correspondent
7 mins ago
| SINGAPORE - A major pact within tantalizing reach, President Barack Obama aims to nudge forward an arms-control deal in talks with Russian President Dmitry Medvedev.
The 21-nation Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum brought Obama to Singapore, but he is focusing on individual meetings Sunday with Medvedev and with Indonesia's Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, president of the world's largest Muslim nation and Obama's home as a boy. The U.S.-Russia meeting takes place as the nations seek a successor to a Cold War-era agreement.
Obama planned another milestone: joining a larger meeting that includes the leader of military-ruled Myanmar. Obama is sure to face criticism at home, particularly from conservatives, for doing so - a significant step up in his administration's new policy of "pragmatic engagement" that is a shift from years of U.S. isolation and sanctions. |
18 A risky setting for NYC trial of 9/11 suspects
By DEVLIN BARRETT, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 24 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - In a move both politically and legally risky, the Obama administration plans to put on trial the professed mastermind of the Sept. 11 terror attacks and four alleged accomplices in a lower Manhattan courthouse.
The venue for the biggest trial in the age of terrorism means prosecutors must balance difficult issues such as rough treatment of detainees and sensitive intelligence-gathering with the Justice Department's desire to prove that the federal courts are able to handle terrorism cases.
Attorney General Eric Holder announced the decision Friday to bring Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and four others detained at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, to trial in a courtroom barely a thousand yards from the site of the World Trade Center's twin towers they are accused of destroying. |
19 FACT CHECK: Palin's book goes rogue on some facts
By CALVIN WOODWARD, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 14, 11:18 am ET
| WASHINGTON - Sarah Palin's new book reprises familiar claims from the 2008 presidential campaign that haven't become any truer over time.
Ignoring substantial parts of her record if not the facts, she depicts herself as a frugal traveler on the taxpayer's dime, a reformer without ties to powerful interests and a politician roguishly indifferent to high ambition.
Palin goes adrift, at times, on more contemporary issues, too. She criticizes President Barack Obama for pushing through a bailout package that actually was achieved by his Republican predecessor George W. Bush - a package she seemed to support at the time. |
20 Ohio executions back on with 1-drug method
By JULIE CARR SMYTH, AP Statehouse Correspondent
Sat Nov 14, 6:19 am ET
| COLUMBUS, Ohio - Ohio's death chamber is set to resume executions next month using a single drug that has been used in the U.S. to euthanize pets but never to put condemned prisoners to death.
Barring legal challenges, condemned inmate Kenneth Biros is scheduled Dec. 8 to be the first prisoner in the nation to be executed using a single dose of the drug thiopental sodium instead of the combination of three drugs that the state had been using.
A federal judge had temporarily halted Biros' execution because of the botched execution of Romell Broom in September, which prompted the new execution method announced Friday. Executioners couldn't find a suitable vein on Broom to administer the lethal drugs, and he walked away from the execution chamber after the governor issued a temporary stay. |
21 Splash! NASA moon crash struck lots of water
By ALICIA CHANG, AP Science Writer
Sat Nov 14, 8:28 am ET
| LOS ANGELES - The lunar dud for space enthusiasts has become a watershed event for NASA.
Spacecraft that crashed into the moon last month kicked up a relatively small plume. But scientists have confirmed the debris contained water - 25 gallons of it - making lunar exploration exciting again.
Experts have long suspected there was water on the moon. So the thrilling discovery announced Friday sent a ripple of hope for a future astronaut outpost in a place that has always seemed barren and inhospitable. |
22 Few call Venice home, but it's not history, either
By COLLEEN BARRY and LUIGI COSTANTINI, Associated Press Writer
48 mins ago
| VENICE, Italy - A dozen gondolas snaked down the Grand Canal on Saturday in a mock funeral procession bemoaning Venice's approach to the dreaded status of living museum, with a population now below 60,000.
While the largely symbolic threshold is considered by some to signal the end of the city's viability, Venetian officials say reports of Venice's demise are premature, and even Saturday's somber funeral ended with a surprise, bright hope for rebirth.
In fact, while native Venetians have been fleeing the expensive lagoon city for cheaper and easier living on the mainland, the population of the historic center was officially 60,025 as of Thursday, up from the 59,992 it had fallen to in recent weeks. |
23 Govt: Medicare paid $47 billion in suspect claims
By HOPE YEN, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 23 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - The government paid more than $47 billion in questionable Medicare claims including medical treatment showing little relation to a patient's condition, wasting taxpayer dollars at a rate nearly three times the previous year.
Excerpts of a new federal report, obtained by The Associated Press, show a dramatic increase in improper payments in the $440 billion Medicare program that has been cited by government auditors as a high risk for fraud and waste for 20 years.
It's not clear whether Medicare fraud is actually worsening. Much of the increase in the last year is attributed to a change in the Health and Human Services Department's methodology that imposes stricter documentation requirements and includes more improper payments - part of a data-collection effort being ordered government-wide by President Barack Obama next week to promote "honest budgeting" and accurate statistics. |
Actually it's quite clear. Years of Republican regulatory neglect.
24 Feds ignored Medicare scam warnings for years
By KELLI KENNEDY, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 13, 8:57 pm ET
| MIAMI - For three years, the federal agency in charge of preventing Medicare fraud repeatedly ignored internal watchdog warnings about swindlers stealing millions of dollars by scamming several programs, documents show.
The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services received roughly 30 warnings from inspectors over three years - mostly under the Bush administration - but didn't respond to half of them, even after repeated letters, according to records provided to The Associated Press by U.S. Sen. Charles Grassley's office.
A July 2008 warning said organized crime had infiltrated the system and was costing more than $1 million dollars for each phony Medicare provider license the crooks obtained. The letter got no response, Grassley said. |
25 Britain investigating fresh Iraq abuse claims
By PAISLEY DODDS, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 14, 9:50 am ET
| LONDON - Iraqi civilians who were detained by British troops during the U.S.-led war have leveled some 33 allegations of rape and abuse against male and female soldiers, Britain's Ministry of Defense said Saturday.
The allegations come in the wake of the British withdrawal from Iraq this year.
One man says he was raped by two British soldiers while another claims he was sexually humiliated by both male and female personnel. Others allege they were stripped naked and photographed in the same style as the notorious pictures at Abu Ghraib, where abuses of prisoners by U.S. troops helped fuel anti-American sentiment. |
26 Suicide attack kills 11 at NW Pakistan checkpoint
By RIAZ KHAN, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 39 mins ago
| PESHAWAR, Pakistan - A suicide car bomber attacked a police checkpoint in northwest Pakistan on Saturday, killing 11 people, including four children, the latest in a wave of militant attacks that have claimed more than 300 lives in the past month.
The attack on the outskirts of Peshawar solidifies the city's ominous status as a primary target for militants trying to force the military to end an offensive against their associates launched last month in the border region of South Waziristan, where al-Qaida and Taliban leaders are believed to be hiding.
Strikes in the past week alone have killed more than 50 people in the city, including 10 at the regional office of Pakistan's top intelligence agency, which was targeted by a massive truck bombing Friday. The agency, the Inter Services Intelligence, has been overseeing much of the country's anti-terror campaign. |
27 Google makes concessions on digital book deal
By MICHAEL LIEDTKE, AP Technology Writer
Sat Nov 14, 2009 5:35AM EST
| SAN FRANCISCO - Internet search leader Google will ease its control over millions of copyright-protected books earmarked for its digital library if a court approves a revised lawsuit settlement that addresses objections of antitrust regulators.
The offer comes two months after the U.S. Justice Department balked at Google's original agreement with authors and publishers, warning the arrangement could do more harm than good in the emerging market for electronic books.
Google Inc. is hoping to keep the deal alive with a series of new provisions. Among other things, the modified agreement provides more flexibility to offer discounts on electronic books and promises to make it easier for others to resell access to a digital index of books covered in the settlement. |
28 US sees progress on arms control talks with Russia
By DESMOND BUTLER, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 14, 4:11 am ET
| WASHINGTON - The United States and Russia have agreed on the broad outlines of a deal to replace a major Cold-War era arms control agreement and are trying to work out remaining technical issues, U.S. officials say.
The U.S. administration hopes that President Barack Obama and his Russian counterpart, Dmitry Medvedev, will be able to sign a replacement for the Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty when Obama travels to Europe to accept the Nobel Peace Prize on Dec. 10.
A new agreement would be a step toward the Obama administration's promise to work toward a nuclear-free world and could offer momentum for other arms control and nonproliferation goals. It would also illustrate improving relations with Russia at a time when Washington is looking for cooperation on issues including reining in Iran's nuclear ambitions. |
29 Army says morale is down in Afghanistan
By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 14, 1:50 am ET
| WASHINGTON - Morale has fallen among soldiers in Afghanistan, where troops are seeing record violence in the 8-year-old war, while those in Iraq show much improved mental health amid much lower violence, the Army said Friday.
It was the first time since 2004 that soldier suicides in Iraq did not increase. Self-inflicted deaths in Afghanistan were on track to go up this year.
Though findings of two new battlefield surveys are similar in several ways to the last ones taken in 2007, they come at a time of intense scrutiny on Afghanistan as President Barack Obama struggles to craft a new war strategy and planned troop buildup. There is also new focus on the mental health of the force since a shooting rampage at Fort Hood last week in which an Army psychiatrist is charged. |
30 Obama wants domestic spending cuts in next budget
By TOM RAUM and ANDREW TAYLOR, Associated Press Writers
Sat Nov 14, 1:49 am ET
| WASHINGTON - The Obama administration, mindful of public anxiety over the government's mushrooming debt, is shifting emphasis from big-spending policies to deficit reduction. Domestic agencies have been told to brace for a spending freeze or cuts of up to 5 percent as part of a midterm election-year push to rein in record budget shortfalls.
Yet with the economy still in distress and unemployment pushing past 10 percent, prospects for making a dent in a trillion-dollar-plus annual deficit seem slight. And since the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs would likely be shielded from such cuts, overtures toward trimming the deficit may hold more symbolic value than substance.
President Barack Obama is expected to make post-recession spending restraint a key theme of his State of the Union address in January and an important element of the budget he submits to Congress a few weeks later. He is under increasing pressure, including from moderate and conservative members of his own party, to show he is serious about tackling a deficit that has become both an economic and political liability. |
What? Fucking? "Mushrooming Anxiety"? 17% care about deficits. 51% care about employment. There are lies and there are motherfucking lies. And liars.
31 Rich buying again, but middle class still hurting
By EMILY FREDRIX, AP Retail Writer
Sat Nov 14, 1:53 am ET
| American shoppers are splitting again: The affluent are finally starting to buy, picking up designer clothes at places like Nordstrom, while those on the lower economic rungs are still scrimping by, heading to Walmart for the basics.
Recent earnings reports from major retailers suggest that the wealthy, who pulled back their spending the hardest during the financial meltdown last fall, are once again being enticed to open their wallets and going back to higher-end outlets.
"It's a good sign, but we don't see the same across the board," said Richard Hastings, a consumer strategist with Global Hunter Securities LLC. |
Because it's all about the top 1%.
32 Evangelist sentenced to 175 years for sex crimes
By JON GAMBRELL, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 13, 8:35 pm ET
| TEXARKANA, Ark. - Evangelist Tony Alamo used his stature as a self-proclaimed prophet to force underage girls into sham marriages with him, controlling his followers with their fears of eternal suffering.
But the judge who sentenced Alamo on Friday to 175 years in prison for child sexual abuse warned of another kind of justice awaiting the aging evangelist.
"Mr. Alamo, one day you will face a higher and a greater judge than me," U.S. District Judge Harry F. Barnes told the preacher. "May he have mercy on your soul." |
33 College students find support in campus 'posses'
By KATHY MATHESON, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 26 mins ago
| BRYN MAWR, Pa. - When Sharhea Wade arrived at Bryn Mawr College from a big-city high school, it seemed as if every other student on the quiet, leafy campus had graduated from an exclusive private school.
"I felt intimidated by them," recalled Wade. "Bryn Mawr is a different world."
Yet whenever she felt like a fish out of water, Wade could turn to her "posse" - nine other girls who, like her, had been recruited from struggling Boston-area school districts and sent on full merit scholarship to the elite women's college. |
34 Crusading Calif. D.A. retires, leavs painful wake
By GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press Writer
1 hr 50 mins ago
| BAKERSFIELD, Calif. - The molesters drank blood, the children said, and hung them from hooks after forcing them to have sex with their parents. They murdered babies, prosecutors told jurors, and snapped photographs as the horror unfolded.
Ed Jagels, renowned as one of California's toughest district attorneys, built his career on the Kern County child molestation cases of the 1980s, putting more than two dozen men and women behind bars to serve decades-long sentences for abusing children.
Appellate judges now say most of those crimes never happened. |
Can we say "Prosecutorial Misconduct" neighbor?
35 New Yorkers worry about trial for 9/11 mastermind
By DAVID B. CARUSO, Associated Press Writer
2 hrs 35 mins ago
| NEW YORK - The move to put the self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind on trial just blocks from ground zero raises a host of legal, political and security questions, chief among them: Can a fair-minded jury be found in a city still nursing deep wounds from the attack on the World Trade Center?
Some also worry that the trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed will make New York an even bigger terrorist target, and that he will use the proceedings to incite more violence against Americans.
The loudest protests Friday came from relatives of the victims, many of whom oppose any civilian trial for terror suspects - especially at the federal courthouse 1,000 yards from the spot where nearly 3,000 people died. |
Republican Talking Point Stenography.
36 Advocacy groups: Stabbing shows worth of shelters
By THOMAS WATKINS, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 13, 7:07 pm ET
| LOS ANGELES - Police say Flor Medrano did the right thing when her ex-boyfriend threatened her: She went to a police station and reported him. Still, it wasn't enough to save her life.
The 30-year-old mother spent more than five hours at the Wilshire station, where she was counseled about emergency shelters while officers searched for the ex-boyfriend.
She eventually insisted on going back to her apartment late Wednesday night and was escorted by two officers who checked the residence for intruders before waiting outside for 40 minutes to see if the ex-boyfriend showed up. |
37 FBI got warning about suspect in Kan. doctor death
By ROXANA HEGEMAN, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 13, 4:21 pm ET
| WICHITA, Kan. - More than a month before the shooting of a high-profile abortion doctor, the Federal Bureau of Investigation in Kansas City received an anonymous letter warning that the man now charged in the case "would do physical harm" to Dr. George Tiller or any other abortion provider, the agency said.
The letter writer, who later revealed himself to the FBI, and his wife are together in a bitter custody battle over a girl fathered by Scott Roeder, the man accused in Tiller's May 31 death. The April 3 letter contained no specific or credible threat, according to the FBI.
Mark Archer, of Tunkhannock, Pa., acknowledged in an interview with The Associated Press this week that he sent the letter in an effort to get the FBI to put Roeder on its no-fly list as a "domestic terrorist" so Roeder could not visit his 7-year-old daughter. |
Bin Ladin Determined To Attack In U.S. Too strong? Tim McVeigh Domestic Terrorism.
38 2012 already? GOP wannabes jockeying early
By LIZ "Sprinkles" SIDOTI, AP National Political Writer
1 hr 9 mins ago
| WASHINGTON - Sarah Palin is embarking on a book tour. Tim Pawlenty is building a national political operation. Mitt Romney is weighing in on the recession.
They're all jockeying for the 2012 Republican presidential nomination - even if they won't say so.
Make no mistake: At least a half-dozen Republicans are in the early stages of campaigning for the chance to challenge President Barack Obama in his expected re-election race. |
39 Japanese subs found off Hawaii could have changed World War II
By Peter N. Spotts, The Christian Science Monitor
Thu Nov 12, 4:00 am ET
| Marine researchers have found a pair of Imperial Japanese Navy submarines on the sea floor off Hawaii's Oahu Island - vessels so advanced for their day they would provide plenty of fodder for a fresh novel by Tom Clancy.
Known by their vessel numbers, the I-14 was a 375-foot submarine aircraft carrier - its crew capable of assembling and launching two float-plane bombers in roughly 20 minutes. The other craft, the I-201, was an attack submarine, twice as fast as any in the US fleet and faster than subs in any other Navy during World War II.
"This is one of the most significant marine-heritage findings in recent years," according to Hans Van Tilburg, a marine archaeologist who is the maritime-heritage coordinator for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration's National Marine Sanctuaries in the Pacific. The find was announced Thursday. |
Not sunk in action. Captured in Japan and scuttled by the U.S. rather than share them with Russia.
40 Newly assertive Japan to test Obama
By Howard Lafranchi, The Christian Science Monitor
Sun Nov 8, 4:00 am ET
| Washington - When President Obama touches down in Tokyo Nov. 13, the father of two might think of his host country as the usually trouble-free but maturing child who suddenly demands more freedoms - while not knowing exactly how to handle them.
For decades, the United States has counted on Japan not to stray far from its place as a dependable and acquiescent ally, most recently as the US has faced the regional security challenges of a nuclear North Korea and a rising China. That made Tokyo an important and usually serene stop for any president swinging through Northeast Asia.
But the atmospherics will be different as Mr. Obama visits Japan for two days at the outset of an seven-day Asia trip. Behind the change: a new Japanese government that wants a "more equal" relationship with the US. |
41 Opposition: Iran rulers more brutal than shah
By ALI AKBAR DAREINI and JASON KEYSER, Associated Press Writers
52 mins ago
| TEHRAN, Iran - Iran's embattled opposition leaders accused the government of becoming more brutal than the shah's regime in Web statements Saturday, and authorities announced a new Internet crackdown aimed at choking off the reform movement's last real means of keeping its campaign alive.
Two of Iran's top pro-reform figures said police used excessive force against anti-government protesters who took to the streets last week on the sidelines of state-sanctioned rallies to mark the 30th anniversary of the U.S. Embassy takeover.
Mir Hossein Mousavi and Mahdi Karroubi, who lead the protest movement rejecting the legitimacy of President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's June re-election, said authorities wielding batons even struck women on their heads. They called such treatment an ugly act that was not even seen during Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi's response to the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled him. |
42 Kenya harvest example on reversing food shortage
By TOM MALITI and ARIEL DAVID, Associated Press Writers
2 hrs 52 mins ago
| AHERO, Kenya - Joram Abiero remembers it was not too long ago that his neighbors went to bed hungry.
Now they and thousands of others in the lowlands of western Kenya are able to get year-round work as farm laborers or earn money from their once-neglected rice paddies. The government's investment in a rundown irrigation project has revived a rural economy that was in the dumps for years.
The discernible change a season's harvest of rice has brought to the western Kenyan town of Ahero also helps illustrate a message the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has trumpeted this year: governments need to invest more in agriculture to reduce the number of people who need food aid - currently one in six people on the globe. |
43 No bars, no mistresses, Chinese officials warned
By CHRISTOPHER BODEEN, Associated Press Writer
Sat Nov 14, 9:17 am ET
| BEIJING - Chinese officials are being told to dump their mistresses, avoid hostess bars, and shun extravagances as part of the Communist party's efforts to clamp down on the corruption that is threatening its rule and sullying its reputation.
The language of the new morality push, one of countless such campaigns informally under way, is surprisingly bold, often cutting through the bureaucratese to make a clear link between moral lassitude and corruption. One statistic trotted out at a recent speech to bureaucrats: 95 percent of officials investigated for corruption were found to be keeping mistresses.
"It's just not possible to keep a mistress on your salary because maintaining this sort of extravagant lifestyle requires a large amount of cash money," Qi Peiwen, a party discipline enforcer, told officials in southern China. |
Hmm... I raise 2 Wetsuits and an Anal Dildo.
44 Obama says US will join Asian free-trade area
By ELAINE KURTENBACH, AP Business Writer
Sat Nov 14, 6:42 am ET
| SINGAPORE - Washington signaled it will resist protectionism as it copes with the economic downturn, announcing Saturday that the U.S. will join a free-trade area with other Pacific Rim nations.
Leaders attending the annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation forum in Singapore had expressed concerns that the U.S., the world's biggest economy, might turn inward as it grapples with high unemployment and other urgent domestic priorities.
President Barack Obama, speaking in Tokyo before departing for the meetings in Singapore, announced that the U.S. would participate in the Trans-Pacific Partnership, joining Chile, New Zealand, Singapore and Brunei. The news drew loud applause at the APEC forum, and gave a boost to proposals to create a broad free-trade area spanning the 21-member forum. |
Can you say NAFTA neighbor?
45 5,000 more European troops expected for Afghan war
By ROBERT H. REID, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 13, 5:21 pm ET
| KABUL - Europe may send 5,000 more soldiers to Afghanistan, Britain's prime minister said Friday - affirming support for the NATO mission as the Obama administration nears a decision on increasing American troop levels.
The announcement came as the Taliban struck again in the capital. A suicide car bomber blasted a U.S. convoy near an American military base in Kabul, injuring nine American soldiers and 10 contract security guards. Three Afghans were killed in the attack - the biggest in Kabul in the last two weeks.
Brown said the NATO strategy must be to encourage a greater role for Afghan forces so that international troops "can start coming home." |
46 Ottawa fights repatriation of Guantanamo inmate
By Randall Palmer, Reuters
Fri Nov 13, 6:08 pm ET
| OTTAWA (Reuters) - Canadian courts grossly overstepped their authority when they ordered Ottawa to ask Washington to repatriate a Canadian held at the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, a lawyer for the federal government argued on Friday.
The government wants the Supreme Court of Canada to overturn lower court decisions that ruled it had to ask the United States to repatriate Omar Khadr, who is accused of killing a U.S. soldier during a 2002 firefight in Afghanistan.
The court heard oral arguments on Friday, and Khadr's legal team asked it to give a speedy ruling. |
47 Chile urges 'caution' in Peru spying row
AFP
Sat Nov 14, 12:41 pm ET
| SANTIAGO (AFP) - Chile's government on Saturday dismissed allegations that members of its military had spied on neighboring Peru, as a serious diplomatic row between the two countries deepened.
"When there are accusations of this type, governments must exercise caution," warned a Chilean presidential spokeswoman, denouncing the espionage claims against two Chilean military officials.
"We want to be clear: Chile does not spy," insisted spokeswoman Carolina Toha. |
Bullshit.
48 Turkey risks pleasing no one with Kurdish peace plan: analysts
by Hande Culpan, AFP
Sat Nov 14, 1:04 pm ET
| ANKARA (AFP) - Turkey's plan to expand language rights for Kurds and prevent discrimination is unlikely to persuade armed rebels to lay down arms and risks heightening nationalist anger at the government for caving in to "terrorists", analysts said Saturday.
In a tumultuous parliamentary session on Friday, Interior Minister Besir Atalay gave the first concrete details of a government project to grant country's estimated 12 million Kurds wider rights with the hope of ending a 25-year separatist campaign by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).
Among the measures were allowing Kurdish-majority towns to use their old Kurdish names, lifting restrictions on Kurdish to be used in political campaigning and allowing convicts to speak in Kurdish with visiting relatives. |
49 Romanian president steps up attacks ahead of poll
by Isabelle Wesselingh, AFP
2 hrs 31 mins ago
| CLUJ, Romania (AFP) - Campaigning intensified Saturday ahead of Romania's presidential election with incumbent Traian Basescu attacking the opposition and the media in his bid for a second term.
While his Social-Democrat opponent Mircea Geoana is offering more investment to beat recession Basescu is pledging to cut spending ahead of the vote on Sunday November 22.
"I will not abandon the fight against parliament and the media moguls. I want a second term," Basescu told thousands of supporters gathered in Cluj 600 kilometres (370 miles) northwest of Bucharest). |
50 Thaksin departs, Cambodia-Thai relations in trouble
by Suy Se, AFP
Sat Nov 14, 6:02 am ET
| SIEM REAP, Cambodia (AFP) - Fugitive former Thai premier Thaksin Shinawatra left Cambodia on Saturday, ending a contentious four-day visit that deepened a diplomatic crisis between the neighbours.
Thaksin, who was toppled by a military coup in 2006 and is living abroad to avoid a jail term for corruption in Thailand, departed the tourist hub Siem Reap by private jet, Cambodia's deputy cabinet minister Prak Sokhon confirmed.
Officials would not disclose his destination. Thaksin has based himself in Dubai and travelled widely since leaving Thailand in August last year. |
51 Accustomed to danger, Iraqi journalists now face legal attacks
By Jenan Hussein and Warren P. Strobel, McClatchy Newspapers
Fri Nov 13, 3:11 pm ET
| BAGHDAD - Warid Badr Salim's front-page satire in last Saturday's edition of the newspaper al Mada compared Iraq's parliament to wolves stalking sheep - the Iraqi people - and cheekily suggested that its members need the diplomatic passports they've awarded themselves just to leave Baghdad's fortresslike Green Zone .
Salim's essay reflected the dismal regard that Iraqis have for their politicians, but the politicians were not amused.
In the midst of parliament's debate over Iraq's pivotal January elections, a lawmaker held up the article and denounced it. More than 150 lawmakers signed up to sue the paper. |
52 Taliban gain foothold in once-stable Afghan north
By Hal Bernton, McClatchy Newspapers
Fri Nov 13, 4:13 pm ET
| MAZAR-I-SHARIF, Afghanistan - The insurgents' tactics are familiar. Night letters warn village elders to cooperate or face death. Religious "taxes" must be paid, and fiery sermons in mosques attack the Karzai government and international forces.
The locale is startling, however: Afghanistan's northern Balkh province, which in the years after the fall of the Taliban emerged as one of the most stable - and in its urban hub of Mazar-i-Sharif - most prosperous places in Afghanistan .
The Taliban , often working with criminal gangs, have regained a foothold in four of the province's 14 districts, and in recent months they've stepped up their campaign using roadside bomb attacks and other tactics. Earlier this month, three Afghan police officers in one of the restive districts were killed in a drive-by shooting. |
53 Political turmoil in Pakistan may slow anti-terror efforts
By Saeed Shah, McClatchy Newspapers
Fri Nov 13, 6:04 pm ET
| ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistan is sinking into a political and constitutional crisis that threatens to sideline its vital role in the battle against Islamist insurgents and U.S.-led efforts to stabilize neighboring Afghanistan .
The trigger for the crisis is the expiration of a legal amnesty for politicians at the end of this month, which will leave key officials, including the interior minister, open to prosecution and could even jeopardize the position of Asif Ali Zardari, the pro-Western Pakistani president.
The political opposition and the military appear to be using the crisis to force the unpopular Zardari to give up most of his powers or be ousted. Soon ministers of the government could find themselves hauled before the courts over long-standing criminal charges, ranging from murder to corruption, or they could rush to seek pre-arrest bail, legal experts said. |
54 Army study: Mental health staff lacking in Afghanistan
By Nancy A. Youssef, McClatchy Newspapers
Fri Nov 13, 7:13 pm ET
| WASHINGTON - An Army task force has found that a growing number of soldiers serving in Afghanistan are suffering from some kind of mental stress and is urging the military to double the number of mental health professionals deployed there.
The study, conducted by the Army Mental Health Advisory Team, found that soldiers' morale in Afghanistan is "significantly lower" than it was in 2005 and 2007 studies, as soldiers face a resurgent Taliban and the highest levels of violence of the war. Junior officers are under greater stress than senior commanders are, the study found.
In 2009, 21.4 percent of the soldiers in Afghanistan were suffering from depression, anxiety and post-traumatic stress, compared with 10.4 percent in 2005. In Iraq , the figure was 13 percent in 2009, the lowest level of that war. |
55 In China, Obama will glimpse world's new center of gravity
By Margaret Talev, McClatchy Newspapers
2 hrs 42 mins ago
| SHANGHAI - When President Barack Obama lands here Sunday night in China's largest city, he'll find many of its 20 million people intrigued by him and welcoming, but hardly deferential, and some openly skeptical of his promises of change.
Obama will find a stunning futuristic skyline of orbs, skyscrapers, flashing neon and curling overpasses. If he gets outside his protective security bubble, he'll see streams of fresh-smelling cars of the newly affluent, grimy noodle shops selling 50-cent soups and chicken feet, fusion bars and multinational corporate headquarters. He'll also be watched by educated Chinese increasingly confident about their prospects if they stay in China , and less convinced that America's where it's at.
In this, the mainland's most Western-minded and economically dynamic center, where Obama will deliver remarks on Monday before moving on to the capital of Beijing , many Shanghainese see the global balance of power shifting: China is ascending, while America may have peaked. |
Yah think?
56 In Asia, Obama Makes Promises of Change
By MICHAEL SCHERER / TOKYO, Time Magazine
Sat Nov 14, 10:35 am ET
| They stood in a smiling pose, two leaders locked in another international grip 'n' grin, pantomiming the deep ties between their countries. Later, at a press conference, it was more of the same, as if they were two new chums who had just finished a round of golf. |
57 Malaria Drugs: Artemisinin-Resistant Strain Appears
By CHRISTOPHER SHAY / HONG KONG, Time Magazine
Sat Nov 14, 10:35 am ET
| Every year, thousands of workers arrive at the sapphire and ruby mines of Pailin, Cambodia, risking their lives to unearth gems in the landmine-ridden territory. Soon, however, they could be the ones to put millions of others at risk. On the Thai-Cambodian border, a rogue strain of malaria has started to resist artemisinin, the only remaining effective drug in the world's arsenal against malaria's most deadly strain, Plasmodium falciparum. For six decades, malaria drugs like chloroquine and mefloquine have fallen impotent in this Southeast Asian border area, allowing stronger strains to spread to Burma, India and Africa. But this time there's no new wonder drug waiting in the wings. "It would be unspeakably dire if resistance formed to artemisinin," says Amir Attaran, a professor of law and medicine at the University of Ottawa who has written extensively on malaria issues. |
| From Yahoo News U.S. News |
58 Ohio: 1 lethal injection drug should end lawsuit
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS, Associated Press Writer
26 mins ago
| COLUMBUS, Ohio - The state's decision to replace a three-drug lethal injection with a powerful dose of one anesthetic is raising the possibility of what may have seemed unthinkable not so long ago: a truce in the long-running legal challenges to death penalty injection across the country.
Ohio Attorney General Richard Cordray put it bluntly: A one-drug method would "render moot" his state's current injection lawsuit, which raises some issues found in other states regarding the potential for pain and suffering.
The state on Friday announced its plans to put a one-drug method in place by Nov. 30, in time to carry out an execution on Dec. 8. Inmate Kenneth Biros' execution has been on hold since a botched execution of another inmate on Sept. 15 temporarily stopped capital punishment in Ohio. |
Truce!? You fucking sadistic murderer! Using a Pet Euthanasia drug to put down criminals? Why not hit them in the head with a bolt gun like we do cattle?
State sanctioned killing is a Nazi tactic abhored by the civilized world. This is Sharia Law!
59 Hawaii's famed white sandy beaches are shrinking
By AUDREY McAVOY, Associated Press Writer
24 mins ago
| KAILUA, Hawaii - Jenn Boneza remembers when the white sandy beach near the boat ramp in her hometown was wide enough for people to build sand castles.
"It really used to be a beautiful beach," said the 35-year-old mother of two. "And now when you look at it, it's gone."
What's happening to portions of the beach in Kailua - a sunny coastal suburb of Honolulu where President Barack Obama spent his last two family vacations in the islands - is being repeated around the Hawaiian Islands. |
60 Palin stirs controversy ahead of book release
By Steve Holland, Reuters
Fri Nov 13, 7:01 pm ET
| WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Sarah Palin is stirring controversy with her new book even before it is on shelves, complaining she was "all bottled up" by advisers to Republican presidential candidate John McCain last year.
But several former campaign advisers to McCain on Friday disputed his running mate's charge that she was mishandled, with one calling it another instance of her resorting to "exaggerations or fiction."
The former governor of Alaska has become a popular conservative firebrand and her book, "Going Rogue: An American Life," is to hit bookshelves with great fanfare on Tuesday as she embarks on a campaign-style book tour through a dozen states. |
61 Steel, rubber found in some Genzyme drugs
By Lisa Richwine and Toni Clarke, Reuters
Fri Nov 13, 6:55 pm ET
| WASHINGTON/BOSTON (Reuters) - Stainless steel fragments, non-latex rubber and fiber-like material have been found in some drugs made by Genzyme Corp, dealing another blow to a company already struggling with manufacturing problems.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration said in a statement on Friday it had found the foreign particles in less than 1 percent of the products, based on the number of batches tested to date.
The FDA said the objects could cause potentially serious reactions in patients, including blood vessel blockages and life-threatening allergic reactions. So far, no such events have been reported. |
Tort Reform? 98,000 Deaths a Year from Medical Malpractice.
62 Black Friday Shopping: Discounting but No Panic
By JANET MORRISSEY, Time Magazine
Fri Nov 13, 10:40 am ET
| As unemployment rises to the highest level in more than a quarter-century, retailers are readying for one of the country's biggest shopping days of the year - Black Friday, the day after Thanksgiving, which marks the official start of the Christmas shopping season - which will likely foretell the success or failure of 2009's holiday sales season. |
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