Sunday 31 December 2006

Bush mulls plan as US toll hits 3000

Bush mulls plan as US toll hits 3000

WASHINGTON - American deaths in the Iraq war reached the sobering milestone of 3,000 on Sunday even as the Bush administration sought to overhaul its strategy for an unpopular conflict that shows little sign of abating.

The latest death came during one of the most violent periods during which the Pentagon says hate and revenge killings between Iraq‘s sects are now a bigger security problem than ever.

President Bush is struggling to salvage a military campaign that, more than three-and-a-half years after U.S. forces overran the country, has scant support from the American public. In large part because of that discontent, voters gave Democrats control of the new Congress that convenes this week. Democrats have pledged to focus on the war and Bush‘s conduct of it.

Even so, the steadily mounting toll underscores the relentless violence that the massive U.S. investment in lives and money — surpassing $350 billion — has yet to tame, and may in fact still be getting worse.

From mid-August to mid-November, the weekly average number of attacks in the country increased 22 percent from the previous three months. The worst violence was in Baghdad and in the western province of Anbar, long the focus of activity by Sunni insurgents, said a December report.

The American death toll was at 1,000 in September of 2004 and 2,000 by October 2005.

"The most painful aspect of the presidency is the fact that I know my decisions have caused young men and women to lose their lives," Bush said.

"We will be fighting violent jihadists for peace and security of the civilized world for years to come. The brave men and women of the U.S. military are fighting extremists in order to stop them from attacking on our soil again," Stanzel said.

"Last year, America continued its mission to fight and win the war on terror and promote liberty as an alternative to tyranny and despair," Bush said in the statement released from his ranch in Crawford, Texas, where he and first lady Laura Bush are spending New Year‘s Eve with friends.

In an interview on Dec. 21 with The Associated Press, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said the war was "worth the investment" in American lives and dollars.

In his strategy reassessment, Bush has consulted Iraqis, his uniformed and civilian advisers, an outside bipartisan panel that studied the failing war, and other defense and foreign policy experts. New Defense Secretary Robert Gates journeyed to Iraq in his first week on the job in December to confer with American commanders and Iraqi leaders.

Among the president‘s options was a proposal to quickly add thousands of U.S. troops to the 140,000 already in Iraq to try to control escalating violence in Baghdad and elsewhere.

Others believe too much blood and money already have been sacrificed. Democrats have wanted Bush to move toward a phased drawdown of forces, while the bipartisan Iraq Study Group recommended removing most U.S. combat forces by early 2008 while shifting the U.S. role to advising and supporting Iraqi units.

Having launched the war against the advice of a number of nations, the Bush administration never got a huge international contribution of troops, meaning foreign forces helping the Iraqis are overwhelmingly American.

The death toll shows it. As of late December, the British military has reported 126 deaths in the war so far; Italy, 33; Ukraine, 18; Poland, 18; Bulgaria, 13; Spain, 11; and Denmark, six. Several other countries have had five or less.

Saturday 30 December 2006

Rival to IVF 'is safer and cheaper'

Rival to IVF 'is safer and cheaper'

Women who have difficulty conceiving will be able to benefit from a new method of IVF that is cheaper and safer than conventional fertility treatments, doctors say.

Clinical trials in Denmark have shown that a pioneering technique known as in-vitro maturation (IVM) has a success rate of 30 per cent, comparable to standard IVF procedures. The patient, however, does not have to take expensive fertility drugs that can carry serious side-effects.



With conventional IVF doctors stimulate the release of mature eggs using hormone drugs and collect them during a woman’s monthly cycle before fertilising them in the laboratory with a man’s sperm.

The IVM method involves taking undeveloped eggs from ovaries and maturing them in the laboratory before fertilisation, while using hardly any drugs or no drugs at all.

More than 400 healthy babies have so far been born to women using the technique, which could reduce the cost of fertility treatment by up to half and give thousands more women the chance to conceive.

Professor Svend Lindenberg, a Danish scientist who has helped more than 1,000 women become pregnant using IVM, told a London fertility conference that the process had now achieved “stunning results”.

“We have demonstrated that it is possible to take an egg and fertilise it without having to use the heavy-duty drug approach,” he said. “We are achieving results that are better than nature and as good as high-stimulation IVF, without the risk of potentially life-threatening ovarian hyperstimulation and, of course, saving thousands of pounds per cycle in the cost of drugs.”

Professor Lindenberg, who works at the Nordica Fertility Centre in Copenhagen, explained: “We give a very low dose of a stimulating drug for three days early in the cycle and rescue up to ten eggs. For the first 24 hours a tiny amount of stimulating hormone is added to the culture, in fact one hundreth of the dose the woman would receive, and after that the eggs go on to mature in the culture alone.”

Under present IVF methods many women have been reluctant to donate their eggs for IVF because the drugs they must take can lead to life-threatening complications and an increased risk of cancer.

The demand for donor eggs is huge — potential recipients outnumber donors by two to one in Britain. In Denmark the move to IVM has been driven by women who are reluctant to take drugs, often because the problem lies with the male partner and not themselves, Professor Lindenberg said.

The technique is not suitable for all women; it works best in those who are under 37 years of age, have regular cycles or polycystic ovary syndrome, where women frequently fail to ovulate naturally. “This is part of a worldwide move against high-dose stimulation IVF,” Professor Lindenberg said. There was now no excuse to continue giving women high dosages of stimulation to the detriment of their health and their financial and emotional wellbeing.

IVM has previously been successful in creating animal embryos but the process has only recently been tried on human eggs. It was originally developed by Bob Edwards who, with Patrick Steptoe, were resposible for Louise Brown, the world’s first IVF baby.

It has been made easier by the development of finer needles to aspirate the eggs from an ovary and new scanning techniques that now show doctors the best follicles to select when seeking eggs to remove.

Bush Delights at Hussein Execution

Washington, Dec 30 (Prensa Latina) The execution of ex Iraqi president Saddam Hussein pleased US President George W. Bush, after a difficult year for his troops in the Arab country.
In brief declarations to the press at his ranch Crawford in Texas the leader said the Hussein death is a milestone for the nation of the Persian Gulf.
Bush recognized that things have gone wrong since the ex chief of the Iraqi government was defeated by the English-US invasion on March 2003.
Hussein s execution won t end violence in Iraq, noted the president, in agreement with analysts that the sentence could bring about armed actions of rebel groups against the occupying forces.
The New York Times daily news said Bush is considering increasing the number of Pentagon soldiers in Iraq from 17 to 20 thousand.
The White House is also looking at new economic initiatives for the Middle East nation, which along with the increase of soldiers will help stabilize the country.
The republican leader held a closed-door meeting with his National Security team this Thursday to consider strategy changes in Iraq.

Friday 29 December 2006

US forces ready for any surge in violence in Iraq

US forces ready for any surge in violence in Iraq

WASHINGTON - The Pentagon said Friday that U.S. forces in Iraq are braced for any violence that may follow the execution of former President Saddam Hussein.

''U.S. forces in Iraq are obviously at a high state of alert anytime because of the environment that they operate in and because of the current security situation,'' said spokesman Bryan Whitman. ''They'll obviously take into account social dimensions that could potentially led to an increase in violence which certainly would include carrying out the sentence of Saddam Hussein.''

Saddam has been in U.S. custody since he was captured in December 2003, and his lawyers said Friday that he had been handed over to Iraqi authorities. But there was conflicting information.

Tom Casey, deputy spokesman at the State Department, said in early afternoon that ''there has been no change in his status'' and that Saddam remained in American hands. In Baghdad, an Iraqi government official who refused to be identified by name because he was not authorized to release the information said authorities there were not yet in control of Saddam.

Casey said the information he had was provided by the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad.

''I don't have any more details to offer you,'' he told reporters at the State Department. Casey reiterated the Bush administration's view that ''we think it's very important there be acountability.'' He said ''it was up to the Iraqis'' to formally request that Saddam be brought forward for execution.

Asked when that might occur, Casey said, ''I really don't have a timeline on this.''

The White House declined to comment on the timing of the execution.

Deputy White House press secretary Scott Stanzel, talking to reporters Friday from Crawford, Texas, where President Bush was vacationing, said the hanging of Saddam was a matter for the sovereign Iraqi government. Earlier, the White House said the appeals court decision to uphold the sentence marked an important milestone for the Iraqi people's efforts to replace the rule of a tyrant with the rule of law.

Said Whitman: ''Our forces stay at a constant state of high readiness in Iraq and I would expect through this period they would do the same.''

He wouldn't comment further on any potential troop movements to strengthen security for the execution, but said the commanders in Iraq have the ability to move forces as they deem appropriate based on conditions on the ground.

Whitman also said he wouldn't comment on anything that President Bush might be contemplating in terms of changing U.S. war policy in Iraq or in connection with the intensive administration review now under way on American strategy there.

Thursday 28 December 2006

Bush reports 'good progress' on new Iraq plan

Bush reports 'good progress' on new Iraq plan

CRAWFORD, Texas (Reuters) -- President Bush said Thursday he was making "good progress" in coming up with a fresh strategy on Iraq, as he met with top advisers at his Texas ranch.

Bush, who plans to unveil his plan next month, gathered with Vice President Dick Cheney, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Gen. Peter Pace, chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, and national security adviser Stephen Hadley. Gates and Pace reported their findings from a trip last week to Iraq, Bush told reporters.

"Success in Iraq is vital for our own security," Bush said. He said he was "making good progress toward coming up with a plan that we think will help us achieve our objectives. As I think about this plan, I always have our troops in mind."

He said that he has "more consultations to do" and said his administration would be speaking with members of Congress.

As criticism mounts over his handling of the war, among the options Bush has been considering is a short-term "surge" in U.S. forces to help contain rampant violence. There are currently 134,000 U.S. troops in Iraq.

Democrats say November elections in which they took control of Congress from Bush's Republican Party reflected public discontent with the Iraq war and desire for change.

But Bush, who prides himself on sticking to decisions, has brushed aside a proposal from a bipartisan panel to ask U.S. foes Iran and Syria for help in stabilizing Iraq and is said to be looking closely at a temporary troop increase.

Sen. Joseph Biden, the Delaware Democrat who will be the next chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, and other Democrats already have expressed opposition to a troop increase.

John Edwards, who announced his presidential candidacy Thursday and has called his vote for the Iraq war a mistake, said the United States should begin withdrawing troops rather than "escalating" the conflict by sending more troops. (Watch Edwards explain during his announcement why leaving Iraq is the solution Video)

The White House suggested Democrats and other critics should hold their fire until they hear Bush's recommendations.

Former Republican President Gerald Ford, who died on Tuesday, said in a 2004 interview embargoed until after his death that he thought Bush and his top advisers made a "big mistake" in their justification for invading Iraq.

Ford told Washington Post journalist Bob Woodward he would have "maximized our effort through sanctions, through restrictions, whatever, to find another answer." (Full story)

Wednesday 27 December 2006

US Board Probes Incident of Plane Carrying Blair (Update2)

US Board Probes Incident of Plane Carrying Blair (Update2)

Dec. 27 (Bloomberg) -- A U.S. safety board said it's investigating an incident in which a British Airways Plc jet carrying U.K. Prime Minister Tony Blair overshot a runway after landing at Miami International Airport yesterday.

The National Transportation Safety Board said statements will be taken from the flight crew and damage to two runway lights has been documented. While the NTSB doesn't always examine such incidents, ``this involved a jumbo jet at a major airport'' with a government leader on board, spokesman Ted Lopatkiewicz said today in an interview.

No one was hurt when Flight 209 from London, with 343 people on board, rolled off the runway at 6:15 p.m. Miami time, the NTSB said in a statement. The Boeing Co. 747 returned to London after an airport inspection found no damage to the jet, the board said.

The plane after landing ``taxied beyond the end of the runway and went into the paved runway overrun area,'' the NTSB said. British Airways spokesman John Lampl in a telephone interview yesterday disputed that the aircraft overshot the runway, saying there was ``no emergency, no overrun.''

After landing, the pilot couldn't see the correct taxiway because of poor lighting, Lampl said. The pilot stopped the plane, radioed for help and was guided to the gate, he said.

Lopatkiewicz said the incident doesn't count as a runway overrun because the plane had already landed successfully and was taxiing to the gate when it ran over the lights. The plane was towed from the overrun area to a taxiway and then went to the gate under its own power.

Brendan O'Grady, a spokesman for Blair's office in London, said the prime minister was on vacation and occasionally uses commercial flights.

A call to British Airways' press office today wasn't immediately returned.

Saddam offers self as sacrifice

Saddam offers self as sacrifice

Ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein said in a letter released on Wednesday that he would go to the gallows as a “sacrifice” and called on his former Iraqi subjects to unite against their enemies.

Saddam, in a letter written to the Iraqi people from his cell before his appeal against a death sentence failed, said, “I sacrifice myself. If God wills it, he will place me among the true men and martyrs.”

Defence counsel Khalil Dulaimi said in Jordan that Saddam had written the letter in November when he was first sentenced to death and that it had been released to the public after the news that his appeal had failed. “Its release was delayed by the length of the procedures imposed by the Americans,” Dulaimi said, by way of explanation.

On Tuesday, a panel of appeals court judges confirmed Saddam’s conviction for crimes against humanity and ordered that he be hanged within 30 days. In what might therefore be his final message, Saddam blamed his old enemies the United States and Iran for the bloodshed engulfing Iraq, which is in the grip of a sectarian war between Sunni and Shiite factions.

“The enemies of your country, the invaders and the Persians have found your unity a barrier between you and those who are now ruling you. Therefore, they drove their hated wedge among you,” he declared.

“O faithful people, I bid you farewell as my soul goes to God the compassionate,” he wrote. “Long live Iraq. Long Live Iraq. Long live Palestine. Long live jihad and the mujahideen. God is great.”

Tuesday 26 December 2006

Sudan Agrees To Hybrid Peacekeeping Force

Sudan Agrees To Hybrid Peacekeeping Force

The Sudanese government agreed in a letter to the United Nations to accept a joint United Nations and African Union peacekeeping effort in the country's war-torn Darfur region, according to a copy of the document obtained Tuesday.

In a letter to outgoing Secretary General Kofi Annan obtained by Deutsche Presse-Agentur dpa, Sudan's President Omer Hassan Ahmed Al- Bashir said his country is ready to accept the conclusions of a November conference in Addis Ababa, in which the UN offered to send military advisers and logistical support to the AU mission in Darfur.

Al-Bashir urged the UN Security Council to endorse the plan and authorize financial support for peacekeeping in the region.

The cash-strapped AU mission comprises a force of around 7,000 soldiers patrolling an area the size of France. Critics charge it cannot adequately protect civilians under its mandate.

Sudan last month reportedly agreed to the joint mission, but later sent conflicting signals with some top officials suggesting UN troops would be allowed on the ground, while others said Sudan would only accept UN financial and logistical support.

Bush's Bold Plans To Exterminate Bald Eagle

Bush's Bold Plans To Exterminate Bald Eagle

Because it’s important to destroy the symbols of liberty, too, the White House will formally remove America’s Magical Bird — the majestic fish-eating Bald Eagle — from the Endangered Species list next month.

But this is one of those rare situations in which the Bush Administration isn’t really to blame and the change is actually for the good, not bad. Hooray! While it’s hard to even remember back when the United States was a rich and powerful country beloved by the world, it was only seven years ago when our prosperous, peaceful America happily realized the bald eagle had recovered magnificently from near extinction.

The eagles are plentiful now, but Washington is still mourning the loss of Martha, the famous Wilson Bridge bald eagle named for Rep. John Murtha. Government forces euthanized the loyal bird in October.

Monday 25 December 2006

Couple sees what Brown can do for them

Couple sees what Brown can do for them

A Calumet Region couple was swiping gifts as fast as the UPS driver could deliver them, police in Illinois and Indiana say.

Charges against Marcus McCoy, 30, and Tanya White, 37, likely will include theft, burglary, forgery and unlawful use of a credit card, authorities said. Police listed two addresses for McCoy and White, 4849 Gladiola Ave. in East Chicago and 14915 Main St. in Harvey.

After a 4 p.m. Friday raid on the East Chicago address, Lake County sheriff's police confiscated "tens of thousands of dollars" worth of merchandise, including a collector's edition light saber worth about $800, Chicago White Sox American League Championship plaques, a flat-panel plasma TV, stereo systems, clothing and toys.

The loot packed the back of a Lake County Sheriff's Department van and the trunk of a police car, and poured onto the lawn as officers waited for a cargo truck.

"These are truly the grinches that stole Christmas from kids all over this area," said Cook County Assistant State's Attorney Nick D'Angelo, who was present at the Indiana search.

Police say the couple stole packages from people's porches, used stolen credit cards to buy merchandise online and burglarized homes.

McCoy and White were arrested about 1:45 p.m. Wednesday by the Lansing officers who responded to a call about a suspicious vehicle following a UPS truck.

Lansing police Sgt. Chris Mizner said the couple was following the United Parcel Service vehicle and waiting for the driver to drop off packages so they could steal them.

The UPS driver told police he had noticed the same van following him a week earlier. A customer told the driver he saw a man get out of the van and take a package from someone's front porch, a police report said.

After noticing the suspicious vehicle Wednesday, the UPS driver pulled over and waited for the van to drive past him. He then wrote down the licence plate number, police said.

Police followed a trail of empty UPS boxes littering the road, and found the burgundy full-size Chevrolet van with Illinois license plates on 178th Street and Arcadia Drive. White and McCoy were in the van, along with the couple's 2-week-old baby, according to police.

As an officer waited for the van to be towed, he noticed a brown UPS box between the two front seats. The officer then looked in the back of the van and saw the vehicle was filled with various consumer products.

Police said White's father came to the station and took custody of the child. Police also contacted the Department of Child and Family Services.

McCoy and White are suspected of stealing gifts or scamming them in Homewood, Flossmoor and Lansing in Illinois, D'Angelo said.

Police in Indiana towns, including Munster and Hammond, also are checking their cases for possible connections.

"We're happy to arrest a grinch anytime," said Lake County Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez, whose department assisted in the investigation. "During the holiday season, these people never take a break."

Along with the stolen items, the department confiscated a printer with journal paper that officials said they believe the couple was going to use to print receipts to return items for profit.

They also found mounds of shredded wrapping paper removed from merchandise. Cmdr. Shaw Spurlock, of the Lake County Sheriff's Department, pulled crumpled red wrapping paper with a tag "Love Grandma Mary and Aunt Renee" still attached.

D'Angelo said a true value couldn't be placed on the stolen presents.

"To the kids who aren't going to get any Christmas gifts because of these guys, it's priceless," he said.

Residents who believe they are missing gifts that should have arrived can call (219) 755-3246.

Sunday 24 December 2006

Comptroller Pleads Guilty and Resigns Over Use of Driver
ALBANY, Dec. 22 — After calmly assuring a judge that he was not under the influence of alcohol or drugs and agreeing to pay a $50 fee so that his DNA could be included in a statewide database of convicted felons, State Comptroller Alan G. Hevesi pleaded guilty Friday morning to defrauding the government and resigned from office.

Mr. Hevesi, the state’s top fiscal watchdog, told the court in a hoarse voice that one of the state workers he had assigned as a driver for his wife, Carol, had done much more than provide security for her. Prosecutors filed court papers revealing that the worker had also watered her plants, driven her to Bloomingdale’s and dropped off her dry cleaning.

“I apologize to the court, but until this issue became a public matter, I did not plan to reimburse the state for his time,” Mr. Hevesi told the court under oath, in a reversal of the statements he made this fall during his successful re-election campaign.

In a deal with the Albany County district attorney’s office, Mr. Hevesi pleaded guilty to a single felony, agreed to pay a $5,000 fine on top of the more than $206,000 he has already reimbursed the state, and agreed to resign for the rest of his current term and for the term that begins Jan. 1. The agreement will spare him prison time.

Saturday 23 December 2006

City of Amsterdam announces experiment

City of Amsterdam announces experiment


The City of Amsterdam said Friday it will spend euro300,000 (US$400,00) testing open source software in two administrative districts in 2007, in a potential blow for the city's current main supplier, Microsoft Corp.

Open source software is developed for free by volunteer programmers, and leased by providers who usually only charge for service and support.

City spokeswoman Marjolijn van Goethem said Amsterdam's housing department and one of its borough offices _ Zeeburg _ would test a Linux-based operating system on city computers, and open-source document software, replacing Microsoft Windows and Office.

Numerous European towns and cities, notably Munich, Germany, and Vienna, Austria, have switched partially or mostly to open source systems but they remain a tiny slice of the overall market.

"Earlier this year, a study ordered by the (Amsterdam) city council showed that an 'open' software strategy leads to more independence from suppliers," the city said in a statement. "In addition, the use of open software can lead to better exchange and storage of information, without unacceptable financial or logistical risks."

The test is scheduled to run during the first half of 2007, and, if successful, the rest of the city may start using open source software, the city statement said.

It said it didn't plan to stop using Microsoft software entirely in any case, but "it is the expectation that a new contract with ... Microsoft will be smaller." The current contract expires in at the end of 2008.

The statement did not reveal further details of the Microsoft contract.

Nine other Dutch cities, including Haarlem, Groningen, Eindhoven and Nijmegen have joined in signing Amsterdam's "manifesto for open software in government," penned earlier this year.

But Van Goethem said it was up to each city individually to decide how it will honour that statement of principle.

The Muslims are coming, the Muslims are coming!

The Muslims are coming, the Muslims are coming!

One right-wing politician voiced his alarm that the election of more Muslims to high office could diminish American values. His solution was to severely limit immigration. This alarmism is not a political gaffe, but is rather a rabble-rousing way to stake out his corner of the right-wing circus.

Rep. Virgil Goode (R-VA) wrote a letter to select supporters opposing Muslim representative-elect Keith Ellison's (D-MN) choice to swear in on the Qur'an. He also warned that ignoring his immigration plan would result in "many more Muslims elected to office and demanding the use of the Qur'an." He wanted to end visas "allowing many persons from the Middle East to come to this country."

Ignoring FDR’s call to fear nothing but fear itself, he wrote: "I fear that in the next century we will have many more Muslims in the United States if we do not adopt the strict immigration policies that I believe are necessary to preserve the values and beliefs traditional to the United States of America and to prevent our resources from being swamped."

We may never have come across this insight into the art of religion-baiting if the letter was not accidentally sent to the chair of the local Sierra Club chapter. This letter was revealed by Charlottesville's alternative newspaper, the C-Ville Weekly.

The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) reported that Members of Congress came out against his statement. Congressman Bill Pascrell, Jr. wrote him a letter saying he was "greatly disappointed and in fact startled" by the letter. Rep. Pascrell pointed out that they are both "committed to fighting extremism." However, this "’fight’ will not be confused or misdirected to discriminate against any race, religion or ethnicity."

New rules aim to protect chemical plants from terrorists

New rules aim to protect chemical plants from terrorists

WASHINGTON - The Bush administration issued a proposal Friday that would require the nation's "high-risk" chemical facilities to assess their vulnerability to terrorists, draw up security plans for federal approval and implement them or face $25,000-a-day fines.


Digg!

The Department of Homeland Security published the proposal after the Congress gave the department the power this fall to regulate companies that make chemicals or use them in manufacturing.

DHS was ordered to finalize its regulations by April 4, 2007, to reduce the chances of a catastrophic chemical release near a major city. Normally, the rule-making process can take years.

The draft rules note that Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff had concluded that voluntary efforts by many chemical facilities "will not provide sufficient security for the nation."

Chertoff said in a statement that "the consequences of an attack at a high-risk chemical facility could be severe for the health and safety of the citizens in the area and for the national economy."

He called the new regulations, which major chemical companies preferred over tougher restrictions on manufacturing and storage, "both sensible and disciplined, allowing owners and operators the flexibility to determine an appropriate mix of security measures at their facility . . . subject to our approval."

Critics, including Democrats who wanted to force companies to shift to less hazardous chemicals, have assailed the authorizing legislation as too lenient toward industry.

The proposals call for facilities fitting certain profiles, such as those near major population centers, to fill out risk assessment questionnaires on a DHS Web site and, if found to be among the highest risk, to submit vulnerability assessments within 60 days and security plans within 120 days.

The department would then review the plans and conduct its own inspection and audit, if appropriate, and order any necessary changes. Facilities failing to comply would face civil penalties and, if necessary, orders to cease operations.

The exact number of facilities affected has yet to be determined. The proposed regulations note that many of the 15,000 facilities that the Environmental Protection Agency required to draft accident prevention plans in 1999 would likely be covered.

Also still unclear is whether the proposed rules would undermine New Jersey's new, more stringent chemical facility security law by letting DHS relax stricter state laws, if necessary, to give a facility flexibility in choosing security options.

Sen. Susan Collins, R-Maine, chair of the Senate Homeland Security Committee, issued a statement noting that the new federal law didn't empower the DHS to set aside any state laws. She criticized the agency for crafting a more aggressive position "out of whole cloth."

Commissioner Lisa Jackson of New Jersey's Department of Environmental Protection, who oversees the state's efforts to protect "a very dangerous stretch" of concentrated petrochemical facilities along the New Jersey Turnpike upwind of New York City, also expressed dismay.

"We are going to be very concerned with any attempt by the federal government to weaken our standards," she said, noting that the state's laws already have prodded some companies to shift to less hazardous chemicals.

The proposal drew praise from the American Chemistry Council, which says its 133 members have spent $3.5 billion since Sept. 11 ramping up security at 2,000 facilities, which provide 85 percent of the nation's chemical production capacity.

"We're not looking for a free pass," council spokesman Scott Jensen said. "We want the work that our members have accomplished to be recognized. And if the rules require us to go further, obviously, we will comply with what DHS is asking."

Friday's proposals were issued a week after the department announced different ones aimed at securing the transport of essential, but potentially harmful chemicals, such as chlorine and anhydrous ammonia, by freight rail.

Jensen noted that many chemicals are shipped mainly by truck, whose security the agency has yet to address.

As Year Comes To A Close, Bush Finds Himself In A Bind

As Year Comes To A Close, Bush Finds Himself In A Bind

Why did President Bush hold a high-profile year-end press conference when he had nothing new to say about solving the biggest problem he faces? It was because he fears the question asked of President Clinton during his own final years as a scandal-ridden, troubled lame-duck chief executive: Are you still relevant?


Digg!

Embarrassingly, Clinton replied (to much amusement and sarcasm) “the president is relevant here.” Turned out later he was correct, but at the time it was problematic. Bush wanted to beat reporters to the punch. An unpopular figure who has lost most of the power he arrogantly flaunted his first six years in office, the president met the press he disdains one last time to close out an unhappy year.

But the traditional gesture didn't do a thing for him. Even his attempts at chummy old-boy humor fell flat. Too fake. He insisted that he still wanted to set the national agenda, even though neither the Iraqis nor a majority of American voters think he is doing a good job of that so far.

The agenda he wants to set here at home sounds remarkably like what the Democrats have been pushing for years and he has been ignoring. And as for the agenda in Iraq, take your pick of the contradictory things he said.

He has become the king of mush, agile at the skill of political vamping but not at delivering the clear message of a decisive leader confronted with an international crisis of his own making. The blunt-talking, super-confident president of old has crumbled into a tentative figure who can't decide whether to dig our military deeper into Iraq or get the dickens out before more lives are lost.

”I'm able to help focus people's attention on important issues,” he said authoritatively. Wow. Well, he certainly did that by invading Iraq and inaccurately claiming that Iraq was connected to the terrorist attacks on 9/11, harbored weapons of mass destruction and would be thrilled to be led by us into a new democratic era in the Middle East. It is only now, after too much negative evidence and military rebellion, that he is conceding that perhaps it was not a totally clever move.

He has moved from the absolutist attitude of going all-out for victory in Iraq to something far squishier, “not winning but not losing.” There is all sorts of talk that he favors a U.S. troop “surge” in Iraq, but its duration, mission, cost and effectiveness are a murky mess. It's chief advantage seems to be that the troops could be reduced before the 2008 elections. If, of course, they had accomplished anything.

The president was not his former self. Faced with an opposition Congress at last and growing anger about the Iraq war, he insisted that he had no regrets about the war and declined reporters' efforts to pry open his soul to find out what might be going on there. He had insisted in an earlier interview that despite his crumbling presidency he was sleeping well — unlike the admissions of previous presidents who have admitted to troubled nights over dubious decisions, particularly in time of war. Instead he fell back on familiar rhetoric promising “my administration can ...fashion a new way forward that can succeed in Iraq.”

Gates Working on Fresh Iraq Strategy

Gates Working on Fresh Iraq Strategy



It took Defense Secretary Robert Gates just five days on the job and a whirlwind trip to Iraq to get to work mapping out a new course for the war.

Though he declined to detail the broad new strategy he is finalizing with his military commanders, he offered a few hints about some of its possible components during his three days in Iraq.


In the larger context, he spoke optimistically about Iraq's political leaders and their commitment to taking over their own security and dealing with the militias that have brought the country to the brink of civil war.

"I think that they do have some concrete plans in mind" to deal with militias, Gates said Friday, "and putting flesh on those bones" is what Gen. George Casey, the top U.S. commander in Iraq, will be discussing with the Iraqis in the coming days.

Gates returned to Washington Friday night, then headed to Camp David, Md., to join Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, White House national security adviser Stephen Hadley and others Saturday in briefing President Bush.

One of the biggest concerns expressed by members of Congress and other critics is that American troops will remain mired in Iraq unless the Iraqis are threatened with an imminent withdrawal of U.S. forces and forced to meet specific benchmarks.

But Gates' comments suggested some progress in the political discussions with the Iraqis that could lead to an agreement on how they will proceed.

Digg!


Based on his conversations with Iraq's leaders, Gates said: "I think these are people who take their responsibilities seriously. I think they are eager to take the lead. They understand they have to take responsibility for their own country, that it has taken longer to get to this point."

Friday 22 December 2006

PATH Tunnels Are Really Really Vulnerable

PATH Tunnels Are Really Really Vulnerable

This is just the way you want to end your work week before Christmas holiday: Hearing from the NY Times that the PATH tunnels are "seen as fragile" in a bomb attack. Even a small ("a significant but not necessarily very large") bomb would cause a PATH tunnel to flood in 6 minutes.

How did the Times find out about an analysis that was given to the Port Authority three weeks ago? A government official sent it to them, upset with the "lack of action" by the Port Authority about the findings. From the Times:

A 19-page summary of the analysis details some of the measures the Port Authority has been planning to put in place to better secure the PATH system: laying concrete blankets atop the tubes to plug holes caused by a blast, strengthening portions of the tubes and installing floodgates to prevent the system from being overwhelmed.

The official who gave a copy of the report to The Times said the Port Authority, whose executive director and board members are appointed by the governors of New York and New Jersey, had informed neither state executive of the most recent results. Neither has it yet shared the new findings with the United States Department of Homeland Security, Mayor Michael R. Bloomberg, the New York Police Department or other law enforcement agencies, the official said.


Digg!

The official disputed the Port Authority’s contention that it had increased patrols and bag searches.

Further, the PATH tunnels are especially vulnerable because they "lie in the soft riverbed, unlike other tunnels that are bored through the underlying bedrock." Oy. And you want more oy? There are some subway tunnels that are also in the riverbed (hello, East River crossings!).

Growth in US troops possible for Iraq

Growth in US troops possible for Iraq

BAGHDAD -- Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told visiting Defense Secretary Robert Gates that he would let US generals decide whether there is a need for a surge in US troops deployed in Iraq, according to Iraqi officials with knowledge of the meeting.

In a press conference, Gates said his conversation with the Iraqi prime minister and defense minister included "no numbers. . . . We were really talking in broader terms."

Iraq's defense minister, Abdul Qadir, later indicated general acceptance of an idea that has emerged as one of the chief options President Bush is considering as he reevaluates Iraq policy. "I did not say no to an increase in the number of US troops," Qadir said in a brief interview after the meeting at Maliki's residence in the Green Zone. "If we need it, we need it."


Digg!

But after seeing Gates, Maliki met with Shi'ite members of his alliance where divisions unfolded over whether more US troops were needed, said Sami al-Askari, a Shi'ite member of Parliament who is close to Maliki. Askari, who attended the second meeting, said there was a general feeling that "there's no need for further troops."

Gates said that he "emphasized . . . the steadfastness of American support" for Iraq during his meeting with Maliki. The message he heard back from Maliki, he said, is that the Iraqi government wants to take the lead role in solving the country's security problems, including in the most violent zones in and around Baghdad.

Gates has billed his trip to Iraq, launched the day after he became defense secretary earlier this week, as key to formulating his recommendations for President Bush on how to re shape the US approach in Iraq. But in his public comments he gave little indication of how his two days of talks with generals, enlisted soldiers, and Iraqi officials have affected his views.

Update: Operations To Resume At Denver Airport

Update: Operations To Resume At Denver Airport

PORTLAND - Things are looking up for travelers stranded because of the blizzard in Denver, Colo., where crews have been working around the clock to get at least two of the runways operational.

The Denver International Airport will resume operations on two of its six runways at noon on Friday and hopes to open a third runway later in the evening.

The snow that blanketed Eastern Colorado continues to affect travelers in Portland.

DIA has been shut down since Wednesday afternoon due to weather conditions, leaving thousands of holiday travelers stranded. Nationally, 2,500 flights have been affected by the closure and airports are filling up.

As of Thursday, Portland International Airport had canceled 28 flights headed for Denver as either a connection or a final destination.

The closure is affecting most airlines, but United Airlines is especially taking a hard hit. Denver is a major hub for United flights and travelers were faced with long lines at ticket counters, but they weren't getting many answers. The reopening of the airport is strictly dependent on the weather.


Digg!

Maths solution tops science class

Maths solution tops science class
A solution to one of the most difficult problems in mathematics was the most important advance of 2006, according to the prestigious journal Science.

Grigory Perelman's proof of the century-old Poincare Conjecture has caused a sensation, and not just because of the brilliance of the work.

In August, the Russian became the first person to turn down a Fields Medal, the highest honour in mathematics.

He also seems likely to turn down a $1m prize offered by a US maths institute.

Dr Perelman is said to despise self-promotion and describes himself as isolated from the rest of the mathematical community.

But his work has set the field alight with excitement - and controversy.

Terence Tao, professor of mathematics at the University of California, Los Angeles, called Perelman's result "the best piece of mathematics we have seen in the last 10 years".

Timofey Shilkin, a former colleague of Perelman at the Steklov Mathematics Institute in St Petersburg, Russia, told BBC News: "He definitely deserves the Fields Medal - that is my personal opinion. I am completely sure he is a genius."

'Excellent mathematician'

He added: "I'm afraid he is quite a self-enclosed person. We know about him approximately the same as you know - not too much.

"I met him when he was a member of our group and our contacts were about once a week, but we had only short discussions.


Digg!


Murdoch buys back News Corp shares

Murdoch buys back News Corp shares
News Corp is planning a $11 billion deal to buy back US media giant John Malone's 16.3% stake in the company.

The deal also includes Malone's Liberty Media taking News Corp's stake in the US satellite broadcaster DirecTV, three regional sports networks and $550 million of cash.

Though the buyback still needs the approval of the other shareholders, it will strengthen Murdoch and his family's 30% stake in the company. If approved the deal is expected to be completed in the second half of 2007.

When Malone took 19% of News Corp voting shares three years ago, the company moved to prevent him building his stake any further.

It is thought Murdoch eventually wishes to hand the running of News Corp to one of his sons, most likely James Murdoch, who is currently chief executive of BSkyB, which is 39% owned by News Corp.

Pfizer's departing chairman's package valued at $200M

Pfizer's departing chairman's package valued at $200M
Former Pfizer Inc. (PFE) chief executive of Henry A. "Hank" McKinnell, who was forced out earlier this year due in part to anger over his pension, will leave the company with a package of pay and benefits valued at a potential $200 million, according to a regulatory filing.
The bulk of the package was contained in the pension, valued at $82.3 million, which became the subject of shareholder ire earlier this year when the number was first disclosed. The disclosure was prompted by Harvard academic Lucian Bebchuk, who estimated it to be worth roughly $80 million.
McKinnell will also receive $78 million in deferred compensation, with $67 million of it coming from his pocket. Pfizer contributed $2.5 million to the plan; the remaining $8.2 million was earnings on the investment.
McKinnell will also receive a lump-sum severance of $11.9 million, which is two times his base salary and bonus. The company will pay him a 2006 bonus, pro rata, of $2.1 million, and $5.8 million in accelerated vesting of his restricted stock and restricted stock units. Unused vacation, benefits and unpaid bonus accounted for an additional $3 million.
McKinnell was replaced as chief executive by Jeffrey Kindler in July amid shareholder discontent over the pension and the company's five-year stock price. Between 2000 and 2005, Pfizer's stock declined by 49%, yet the company paid its chief executive an average annual salary of $25 million, according to data from Institutional Shareholder Services, a firm that advises shareholders on proxy votes.
The company announced Monday that Kindler had also succeeded McKinnell as chairman. McKinnell is to depart the board of directors in February.
At the company's annual shareholder meeting in April, investors flew a plane with a banner reading "Give it back Hank." But despite a campaign backed by high-profile investors like John Bogle to oust the directors responsible for McKinnell's pay package, no board member received less than 78% of the vote for retention.
The pension value is an estimated lump-sum amount for McKinnell's 35 years with the company, the filing said. Annually, the pension is worth about $6.6 million.
McKinnell will also continue to be eligible for performance-based stock compensation. If Pfizer meets its targets, he will be due about $18.3 million worth of stock at recent Pfizer stock prices, the filing said. Otherwise, he walks away with more than $180 million.
McKinnell's stock options will also fully vest, the filing said. The company didn't estimate the value of that benefit.

Digg!

FDA Approves Head-Cooling Device to Treat Newborn Brain Disorder

FDA Approves Head-Cooling Device to Treat Newborn Brain Disorder
ROCKVILLE, Md., Dec. 20 -- The FDA today approved Olympic Cool-Cap, a device that cools the head to prevent damage caused by neonatal hypoxic-ischemic encephalopathy (HIE), a condition that affects 5,000 to 9,000 newborns each year.

The agency said Cool-Cap was indicated for treatment of moderate to severe HIE. The device keeps the head cool while the body is maintained at a slightly below-normal temperature.

In making the announcement, Daniel Schultz, M.D., director of the FDA's Center for Devices and Radiological Health, said until now HIE treatment was limited to supportive care.

He said historically about 20% of HIE babies died and another 25% suffered permanent disability because of neurological deficits.

The Olympic Cool-Cap treats the patient by maintaining a steady flow of water at a selected cool temperature through a cap covering the infant's head.

The system, which consists of a cooling unit, a control unit, temperature probes and a water-filled cap, was found safe and effective in a study with 234 infants with moderate to severe HIE. At 18 months of age, there were fewer deaths and fewer severe cases of neurodevelopmental disability in the cooled group compared with the control group.

As a condition of the approval, Olympic Medical Corporation of Seattle, maker of the device, will set up a patient registry to collect information on device usage and to track treatment outcomes.

The company will also organize a training and certification process for all operators of the device.

The FDA also directed Olympic to restrict the use of the device to patients who meet the eligibility criteria defined by the original study.

Digg!

Fish oil during pregnancy could boost baby's coordination

Fish oil during pregnancy could boost baby's coordination

Women who take high doses of fish oils during pregnancy could dramatically boost their children's coordination, say researchers.

A new study reveals the benefits of using so-called "clever capsules" to help develop the full potential of babies while still in the womb

It found a significant advance in hand-eye coordination among toddlers whose mothers took fish oil supplements during the second half of pregnancy compared with those who did not.

The last three months of pregnancy are thought to be a key time for intake of fish oil because there is a growth spurt in the human brain during this time, which carries on into the first few months of a baby's life.

Other research suggests cod liver oil taken during pregnancy may increase birthweight and reduce the risk of the baby developing type 1 diabetes.

But as well as immediate benefits to the child, studies show fish oils can help mums-to-be in a number of ways, including reducing high blood pressure and easing post-natal depression.

The latest study from the University of Western Australia looked at 98 pregnant women, who were either given 4g of fish oil supplements or 4g of olive oil supplements daily from 20 weeks of pregnancy to the bith of their babies.

When the children reached the age of two and a half, they were given various tests measuring growth and development.

Children whose mothers had taken fish oil supplements scored significantly higher in hand-eye coordination than those whose mothers had taken olive oil supplements.

The last three months of pregnancy are thought to be a key time for intake of fish oil because there is a growth spurt in the human brain during this time, which carries on into the first few months of a baby's life.

Other research suggests cod liver oil taken during pregnancy may increase birthweight and reduce the risk of the baby developing type 1 diabetes.

But as well as immediate benefits to the child, studies show fish oils can help mums-to-be in a number of ways, including reducing high blood pressure and easing post-natal depression.

The latest study from the University of Western Australia looked at 98 pregnant women, who were either given 4g of fish oil supplements or 4g of olive oil supplements daily from 20 weeks of pregnancy to the bith of their babies.

When the children reached the age of two and a half, they were given various tests measuring growth and development.

Children whose mothers had taken fish oil supplements scored significantly higher in hand-eye coordination than those whose mothers had taken olive oil supplements.


Digg!

US measles outbreak tied to traveler from Romania

US measles outbreak tied to traveler from Romania

WASHINGTON, Dec 21 (Reuters) - A measles outbreak last year in Indiana in which 34 people became ill was spread by a 17-year-old U.S. girl who visited Romania without being vaccinated, U.S. health officials said on Thursday. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention detailed the cause of the outbreak -- the largest in the United States since 1996 -- in an annual report on measles. CDC said there were 66 confirmed cases of measles in the United States in 2005, with no deaths. The 37 cases of measles in 2004 was the lowest ever recorded in the United States. The highly infectious, sometimes fatal viral illness has largely been eliminated in the United States by vaccination.



Digg!







Savvy squirrels outwit trees

Savvy squirrels outwit trees

Like good stock brokers, red squirrels predict when the market will be flooded with seeds and then invest big by producing a second litter of young, a new study finds.

"Lots of animals time their reproduction to match predictable increases in resources like the new growth of plants every spring," said lead researcher Stan Boutin of the University of Alberta. "But the interesting twist here is that these squirrels have figured out a way to produce this second litter of babies at a time when they have little food and before an ‘unpredictable’ boom in seed production.”

The results are detailed in the Dec. 22 issue of the journal Science.

Smart squirrels
Boutin and his colleagues monitored two species of red squirrels, including a natural population of American red squirrels in southwestern Yukon, Canada from 1987 to 2004, and Eurasian red squirrels in Belgium and Italy.

Somehow the squirrels could anticipate when the trees would be laden with cones, and only during these years they produced a second litter of young.

In addition to predicting the future, the squirrels were able to reproduce while females were breast-feeding the first litter — something that doesn't normally occur in mammals, said study team member Andrew McAdam of Michigan State University.

While the researchers still aren’t certain how the squirrels can predict the cone market from year to year, they think it might be some chemical or visual cue from the buds that ultimately form tree cones. Every summer the squirrels nibble on these buds. "Squirrels could be using a visual cue or a hormonal cue they gain from eating the buds," Boutin said.


Digg!