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IDF to request green light to strike Hamas leadership
Today's Headlines
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-Short Attention Span Theater-
Rosie to leave The View
Rosie O'Donnell is leaving "The View." ABC has been unable to come to a contractual agreement with "The View" co-host. As a result, her duties on the show will come to an end mid-June.

. . . and there was much rejoicing.

Well, except at Democratic Underground, where they think it's right wing revenge for Imus, or crushing of dissent, or a plot to bump Kucinich out of the headlines, or something.
Posted by: Mike || 04/25/2007 10:53 || Comments || Link || [2 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I'm actually sad by this. She was perfect in showing, in public and live for middle America to see, the views of Kos and their ilk in the liberal democrats. I don't think the Right Wing Plot™ did this, I think it was the Democratic leadership ;).
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/25/2007 11:22 Comments || Top||

#2  ..., but my needs for the future just didn't dovetail with what ABC was able to offer me....

Greedy little bugger, ain't she?

She's rich, how much more does she need?
Posted by: anonymous2u || 04/25/2007 11:26 Comments || Top||

#3  I think it was Barbara Walters. Rosie wanted a big raise in her next contract. Baba Wawa got publicity and viewers for The View, and from now on, it was gonna be downhill, with Rosie demanding more control and being even MORE obnoxiously stupid than before. I'd say "eat me" to Rosie, but she probably would...so I'll pass
Posted by: Frank G || 04/25/2007 11:26 Comments || Top||

#4  Nah, Frank G, you ain't her type. ;)
Posted by: Swamp Blondie || 04/25/2007 11:37 Comments || Top||

#5  contractual agreement...yeah right.

Just trying to head off the PC firestorm at the pass.
Posted by: danking_70 || 04/25/2007 12:03 Comments || Top||

#6  Rosie will have her own show very soon.

She put The View on the map. All Barbara Walters does is put people to sleep.

Rosie is the only one that understands that people don't watch TV for news or information, they watch for entertainment. She provides entertainment.
Posted by: DoDo || 04/25/2007 12:06 Comments || Top||

#7  Now who will be the 'butt' of our jokes?
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/25/2007 12:23 Comments || Top||

#8  Rosie's butt is just the beginning of the joke. It goes from nose to toes.
Posted by: Old Patriot || 04/25/2007 12:37 Comments || Top||

#9  where they think it's right wing revenge for Imus

Who?
Posted by: eLarson || 04/25/2007 13:00 Comments || Top||

#10  maybe if Sheryl Crow isn't doing anything...
Posted by: mhw || 04/25/2007 13:02 Comments || Top||

#11  ...where they think it's right wing revenge for Imus...

?! Imus wasn't right-wing! He was a Kerry supporter in the last election.
Posted by: Dar || 04/25/2007 13:47 Comments || Top||

#12  Dar: I didn't say the DUniks were coherent now, did I?
Posted by: Mike || 04/25/2007 14:07 Comments || Top||

#13  Mike--That's true. I expect that, once Imus made his racist comments, they were only too happy to "forget" and label him a right-winger.
Posted by: Dar || 04/25/2007 14:19 Comments || Top||

#14  Rosie has claimed she'll still be on the View, just not every day. A very good way to watch if Rosie's leaving effects ratings and if she's worth her own show.
Posted by: rjschwarz || 04/25/2007 14:57 Comments || Top||

#15  Rosie is the only one that understands that people don't watch TV for news or information, they watch for entertainment. She provides entertainment.

How far we have fallen when our "entertainment" consists of treasonous filth and lunatic conspiracy theories spewed by people with demagnetized moral compasses.

A Bugs Bunny cartoon contains more literary references, intelligent wise-cracks and entertainment value by far.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/25/2007 15:30 Comments || Top||

#16  she had her own show it got canceled
Posted by: sinse || 04/25/2007 16:23 Comments || Top||

#17  Given her vast knowledge in physics and chemestry maybe she could have a science show doing experiments that prove her theories. It could be named Einstein's Lament.
Posted by: Deacon Blues || 04/25/2007 16:54 Comments || Top||

#18  She could take her vast knowledge in physics and chemestry over to Iraq and show some of those IED maker how it's really done.
Posted by: gorb || 04/25/2007 18:29 Comments || Top||

#19  Another beached whale in New York harbor and in less than a week. I blame Global Warming Bushhitler the tooth fairy not enough fiber.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/25/2007 18:35 Comments || Top||

#20  Perhaps John Edwards will hire her as a campaign consultant.
Posted by: DMFD || 04/25/2007 19:05 Comments || Top||

#21  if Rosie quit using toilet paper the planet whould be....
Posted by: RD || 04/25/2007 19:51 Comments || Top||

#22  if Rosie quit using toilet paper the planet whould be....

Asphixiated by the increased stink from her.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/25/2007 20:26 Comments || Top||

#23  Its about time she left - her ass was blocking The View.

/rimshot
Posted by: WTF || 04/25/2007 21:35 Comments || Top||

#24  FOX + two CNN's have all reported that Rosie has recieved other lucrative TV hosting offers - IMO, however, methinks Rosie is playing politix wid ABC + THE VIEW, exploiting potential lower post-Rosie VIEW ratings to demand more $$$ + greater control of show = content. Many Hollywood Perts TV = Newspapers have said that, regardless of any Rosie-specific controversies, Rosie has done her job and has successfully increased the ratings or viewership for the show.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/25/2007 22:22 Comments || Top||

#25  FOX + two CNN's have all reported that Rosie has recieved other lucrative TV hosting offers - IMO, however, methinks Rosie is playing politix wid ABC + THE VIEW, exploiting potential lower post-Rosie VIEW ratings to demand more $$$ + greater control of show = content. Many Hollywood Perts TV = Newspapers have said that, regardless of any Rosie-specific controversies, Rosie has done her job and has successfully increased the ratings or viewership for the show.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/25/2007 22:22 Comments || Top||

#26  FOX + two CNN's have all reported that Rosie has recieved other lucrative TV hosting offers - IMO, however, methinks Rosie is playing politix wid ABC + THE VIEW, exploiting potential lower post-Rosie VIEW ratings to demand more $$$ + greater control of show = content. Many Hollywood Perts TV = Newspapers have said that, regardless of any Rosie-specific controversies, Rosie has done her job and has successfully increased the ratings or viewership for the show.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/25/2007 22:23 Comments || Top||

#27  Sorry for triple posting - system is acting up this morning.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/25/2007 22:25 Comments || Top||

#28  Joe - Barbara Walters has management control and a financial interest in the show. Rosie has continually embarrassed her. Ratings or not, I don't think Walters wants her back.
Posted by: DMFD || 04/25/2007 23:19 Comments || Top||


Arabia
Iraqi PM meets with Kuwaiti emir
KUWAIT CITY - Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al Maliki and Kuwait’s Emir Shaikh Sabah al-Ahmad Al Sabah on Tuesday discussed relations between the two Arab neighbours, state media said. Maliki arrived from Egypt on a two-day official visit, his second as prime minister of war-torn Iraq.

State-run KUNA news agency earlier this week quoted a Maliki aide as saying he premier will urge Kuwait to reopen its embassy in Baghdad, closed in 1990 when the forces of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein invaded the emirate. Kuwait has maintained it will reopen its embassy only after the security situation improves in the Iraqi capital.

The Iraqi premier is also expected to urge oil-rich Kuwait to implement a decision to forgive most of the debt owed by Iraq, estimated at around 16 billion dollars.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:


Coptic Pope Visits Abu Dhabi For Church Inauguration
(AKI) - Pope Shenouda III, the head of the Egyptian Coptic church and patriarch of Alexandria, left on Tuesday for the United Arab Emirates where he will inaugurate the first Coptic church in Dubai.
There are Christian churches in Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, and Qatar recently announced it intends to build one.
According to London-based pan-Arab daily Al Quds, Shenouda's visit to the Gulf region will last five days and include meetings with UAE president Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahayan and members of the local Christian communities.

There are Christian churches in Bahrain, Kuwait and Oman, and Qatar recently announced it intends to build one for the Christian minority present in the UAE. The Coptic Church has some 58 million followers worldwide most of them in Egypt, Sudan, Ethiopia, Eritrea, the United States, Canada and Australia.
This article starring:
Pope Shenouda
Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al Nahayan
Posted by: Fred || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  I like the cut of his jib.
Posted by: Excalibur || 04/25/2007 9:50 Comments || Top||

#2  Shenouda's glorious beard will humiliate the local imams and cause much seething.
Posted by: ed || 04/25/2007 9:56 Comments || Top||

#3  Gotta fine anti-turban too.
Posted by: Shipman || 04/25/2007 15:07 Comments || Top||


Bangladesh
Tarique shown held in another extortion case
Detained BNP Senior Joint Secretary General Tarique Rahman was shown arrested yesterday in a Tk 1.32 crore extortion case filed with Gulshan Police Station on March 27. Earlier on Monday and on March 28, Tarique was shown arrested in two other extortion cases filed with Gulshan and Dhanmondi police stations for extorting Tk 81 lakh and Tk 53 lakh from two businessmen on different dates.

Metropolitan Magistrate Selina Akhter passed the order following a petition submitted by the investigation officer (IO) Imtiaz MAK Bhuiyan. In the petition, the IO mentioned that Tarique's close friend and business partner Giasuddin Al Mamun in a confessional statement on April 9 said that he, along with six others, extorted Tk 1.32 crore from Khan Mohammad Aftab Uddin, managing director of Reza Construction Ltd, on different dates under Tarique's protection. Tarique took Tk 80 lakh of the amount as his share, and so he needs to be shown arrested in the case, the IO added.

Meanwhile, separate extortion cases were filed yesterday against Awami League leader and former state minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir and BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa.
This article starring:
Awami League leader and former state minister Mohiuddin Khan Alamgir
BNP lawmaker Nadim Mostafa
Giasuddin Al Mamun
Imtiaz MAK Bhuiyan
Khan Mohammad Aftab Uddin
Metropolitan Magistrate Selina Akhter
Tarique Rahman
Posted by: Fred || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Hasina moves to challenge homecoming bar in court
A representative of Sheikh Hasina yesterday moved to file a writ petition with the High Court (HC) to challenge legality of the government press note imposing restrictions on her returning home. Meanwhile, 600 lawyers of the Supreme Court (SC) and 31 leading intellectuals in separate statements yesterday called for an immediate withdrawal of the restrictions. The same day Sammilito Nari Samaj urged the government to ensure that the top leaders of the two major political parties are free to stay in the country.
This article starring:
Sammilito Nari Samaj
Sheikh Hasina
Posted by: Fred || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:


Gulf states refuse visa to Khaleda
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and Qatar have refused to allow Bangladesh’s former prime minister Khaleda Zia into their countries, complicating a plan by Bangladesh’s government to exile her, news reports said on Tuesday.
How inconvenient.
The New Age and the News Today newspapers reported that the Saudi embassy in Dhaka has refused to grant her a visa because the embassy was not convinced that Zia was leaving the country of her own volition. The embassy did not accept Zia’s signature in the visa application form, saying it does not prove that she wants to go to the kingdom, the News Today said. Saudi embassy and Bangladeshi officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The government also tried to convince Kuwait and Qatar to take Zia but those attempts also have failed, the News Today report said. The New Age daily said the Saudi embassy wants Zia to be present in person to confirm that she plans to enter the kingdom willingly.

Meanwhile, a group of prominent Bangladeshi personalities such as university teachers, journalists and leading cultural activists said in a statement that they oppose any attempt by the government to exile Zia or Hasina. “Taking away the fundamental rights of political leaders can’t pave the way for establishing democracy,” the statement said.
But it can get the trouble-makers out of the way ...
On Monday, a Dhaka court suspended an arrest warrant for Hasina after police sought more time to investigate the murder charges she is facing. The suspension came a day after the same court issued the warrant for her arrest as Hasina prepared to return home from London to fight the murder and corruption allegations. She was blocked Sunday from boarding a flight from London to Dhaka after Bangladesh’s military-backed government barred her return. It was not clear if the court’s suspension of her arrest warrant would affect her ability to return to the country.

On Tuesday, Hasina’s lawyers moved to file an appeal in the High Court against the ban on her return to the country, saying the attempt to keep her out is unconstitutional, her lawyer Shafique Ahmed said. A two-member panel of judges set Sunday to decide if the petition would be accepted for further hearing, Ahmed said.
Posted by: Fred || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [3 views] Top|| File under:

#1  DEBKA > KUWAIT'S GOVT making plans to keep Gubmint operating = running in case of US-Iran conflict. WORLDNEWS > PHILIPPINES BEGINS RECALL OF EXPAT LABOR FROM ME.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/25/2007 0:06 Comments || Top||

#2  pretty much an Islamic Imelda Marcos?
Posted by: Frank G || 04/25/2007 8:36 Comments || Top||


Down Under
Today in History: Gallipoli
Jules Crittenden

April 25 is Anzac Day in Australia and New Zealand, marking the landings at Gallipoli in 1915 and the disastrous campaign there. Churchill’s idea for a second front went badly wrong, and he ended up resigning as First Lord of the Admiralty. The deaths of thousands of diggers at Gallipoli became a galvanizing event that helped establish a sense of nationhood for Australia, which until recently had been a British colony. A controversial event in which some see Australia as the victim of imperial Britain and others as an early example of Australian spirit in the face of adversity and a willingness to act in the world, at a time when Australia’s security and economy were in large part linked to great powers elsewhere, as they are today.

Today, this small nation of 20 million on the other side of the world, with total air, land and sea forces of about 50,000, puts many nations to shame with its willingness to engage. Korea, Vietnam, Iraq, Afghanistan, Iraq again. Timor and the Marshalls. As Foreign Minister Alexander Downer put it several years ago, Australia is not subject to the popular multinationalism of the lowest common denominator, but has stepped up to play its role.
Posted by: Mike || 04/25/2007 07:24 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:

#1  A daring plan, the first ever major marine assault. Tragically, it did not work - but it could have, and if it had it could have had a major effect on the war. Some lessons were learned, and some forgotten and re-learned (Anzio). D-Day could have ended the same way but for a little 'luck' (Hitler's conviction that Calais was the real place and thus his general's hesitance to deploy reserves).
Just think how history might have gone if Gallipoli had 'worked' and shortened WWI: might it have ended without US even entering? Would US industry and commerce developed to world domination through the 20th century? Would an undamaged Churchill have succeeded in convincing people of the danger of Hitler when he could have been easily stopped? Without a German alliance would Japan have attacked Pearl Harbor (would there have been anything there to attack)? Would Japan have concentrated its expansion only on China - and perhaps won?

A few different small tactical decisions on a remote beach in 1915 might well have changed the entire history of the next century.
Posted by: Glenmore || 04/25/2007 8:17 Comments || Top||

#2  We might add: Would a shortened war have left Germany a disaster and Russia in the hands of deranged revolutionaries? If neither were the case we can imagine a world with no Nazi party.
Posted by: Excalibur || 04/25/2007 9:48 Comments || Top||

#3  Not to mention the sense of Turkish nationalism that came from it as well.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/25/2007 10:15 Comments || Top||

#4  In the dictionary, next to the word "clusterf--k", it says "see Gallipoli."

Everything that could go wrong went wrong except for the spirit of those who had to fight there.
Posted by: AlmostAnonymous5839 || 04/25/2007 10:31 Comments || Top||

#5  29th Indian Infantry Brigade & Indian Mountain Artillery at Gallipoli

The 6th Gurkhas gained immortal fame at Gallipoli during the capture from the Turks of the feature later known as Gurkha Bluff.

At Sari Bair they were the only troops in the whole campaign to reach and hold the crest line and look down on the Straits, which was the ultimate objective.


7th Indian Mountain Artillery Brigade at Gallipoli

on the 19th May, while Captain Rawson's section of the Kohat Battery was being heavily shelled, Lance-Naik Karm Singh was detailed to pass fire orders from the O.P.

It was noticed that he was covering his eyes with his hand, though at no time was there any delay or interruption in the transmission of orders.

Later, during a lull, it was found that a bullet had passed behind both eyes and he was quite blind. Karm Singh stuck to his duty until forcibly removed.


Posted by: John Frum || 04/25/2007 12:33 Comments || Top||

#6  You won't know it from PRAVDA > Opinion article > HOW WE ESCAPED FROM AUSTRALIA!? Aussies have powerful "Scret Police" - shrimps and koalas wrongly imprisoned.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/25/2007 23:25 Comments || Top||


Europe
Turk PM confirms Gul as party's president candidate
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan on Tuesday confirmed Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul as their ruling AK Party’s candidate in a May presidential election. “After all our research and discussions for the 11th president, our dear Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has been proposed for the presidency,” Erdogan told an ecstatic gathering of AK Party lawmakers in parliament. Parliament, where the AK Party has a big majority, will elect Turkey’s new president in a series of votes starting on April 27. The new head of state will take office on May 16.
Posted by: Fred || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:


India-Pakistan
Nepal vows to guard democracy on anniversary
Until the commies take over ...
KATHMANDU - Nepalis will not allow their freedom to be hijacked again, the prime minister said on Tuesday as people beat cymbals and danced to celebrate the first anniversary of the end of King Gyanendra’s absolute rule. At least 22 people were killed and thousands wounded during pro-democracy protests last year before the king gave in, restored parliament and handed power back to political parties that led the campaign.

“It is a historic day achieved through the courage, resolve and sacrifice of the people,” Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala said at the government-sponsored celebrations joined by thousands of Nepalis and school children. ”This is a day when the people of Nepal made the struggle for the protection of their rights a success,” the veteran politician said.

“No one can hijack it again,” Koirala said as an army helicopter showered flower petals on the venue in the heart of the hill-ringed capital.

Hours later, thousands of people, some limping on crutches, marched through the city calling for an end to monarchy, which was the war-cry of protesters last year. “We must unite to turn Nepal into a republic through parliament,” Maoist chief Prachanda, who uses only one name, told the gathering at an ancient temple square in the heart of Kathmandu. “That day will be a real democracy day.”
And the next day will be a dictatorship of the proletariat.
Posted by: Steve White || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:

#1  WORLDNEWS/BIGNEWSNETWORK/LUCIANNE > NO MORE MONARCHY IN ONE YEAR. MAOISTS have formally entered the local political process - wanna thank CHINA for its support.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/25/2007 0:03 Comments || Top||


PML workers beat TV producer
Workers of the ruling Pakistan Muslim League (PML) on Tuesday beat up a producer of Business Plus, a private TV channel, outside the Supreme Court building during the presidential reference hearing. Noman Khalid, producer of Business Plus, was covering the PML rally when PML activists attacked him without provocation. Khalid suffered minor injuries and was shifted to a hospital. Journalists condemned the incident and demanded action against the culprits.
Posted by: Fred || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [7 views] Top|| File under:

#1  While I wouldn't want to encourage these muzzys, I can think of several American tv producers who could use a serious butt-kicking.
Posted by: Mac || 04/25/2007 7:34 Comments || Top||


PML rallies in support of Musharraf
Around 1,000 Pakistan Muslim League workers held a pro-Musharraf rally here on Tuesday. The rally led by the party president, Shujaat Hussain, wanted to march towards Constitutional Avenue and the opposition protestors, but on the advice of State Interior Minister Zafar Waraich and the insistence of the police, agreed to stop the march at Parade Ground. Warraich warned that marching up to the opposition protestors would lead to violence. Separated by barbed wire fences and police and Rangers, the two sets of protestors traded slogans. A minor clash was reported in which three pro-government lawyers were roughed up.
Posted by: Fred || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [9 views] Top|| File under:


International-UN-NGOs
China could overtake US as largest carbon emitter by November.
Posted by: 3dc || 04/25/2007 11:23 || Comments || Link || [5 views] Top|| File under:

#1  In other words, the frigging Communists Chinese have discovered capitalism and have created more jobs and opportunities for their peasant masses than the Euro bureaucrats have done in decades.
Posted by: Procopius2k || 04/25/2007 11:48 Comments || Top||

#2  Oh, the horror! If the US isn't the largest carbon emitter the greenie-weanies will have to find something else to bitch at us about!

Posted by: FOTSGreg || 04/25/2007 12:15 Comments || Top||

#3  I don't think they'll admonish the ChiComs no matter what. America is to be blamed first, last and always among that crowd.
Posted by: eLarson || 04/25/2007 12:39 Comments || Top||

#4  The WSJ had an article on the Centralia, PA coal fire. In it was this bellringer paragraph concerning out of control coal mine fires in China:

"Today uncontrolled mine fires burn fiercely in many nations; more than 100 million tons of coal are consumed by fires annually in China, contributing as much to world-wide carbon dioxide emissions as all the cars and light trucks in the U.S. In Colorado, one coal mine has burned for 100 years."

Link (The link may require subscription)
Posted by: Penguin || 04/25/2007 13:27 Comments || Top||

#5  "If the US isn't the largest carbon emitter the greenie-weanies will have to find something else to bitch at us about!"

It won't make the slightest bit of difference: they'll just switch their complaints from national CO2 emissions to per capita CO2 emissions, and keep right on bitchin'.

Posted by: Dave D. || 04/25/2007 14:07 Comments || Top||

#6  It's just like how Amnesty International can condemn Israeli measures against the Palestinian terrorists yet turn a blind eye to how Islamic sharia law simultaneously violates scores of human rights.

China has consistently wrought massive ecological damage — just as with the Soviet Union — yet somehow gets a pass while the environmentalists constantly bash America.

Yes, our nation consumes massive amounts of resources. Then again, let me know when China — or any other nation for that matter — invents even a single thing akin to (not improves upon or copies) the microprocessor, laser, personal computer, LED, space telescope, GPS, Internet, space shuttle and a host of other technological breakthroughs that — have not only bettered this entire world — but have conserved massive amounts of resources through their improved energy effeciency.

Consider one single item, the personal computer. Imagine how many trees would be pulped on a daily basis if we were still using pencil and paper to keep track of our chores, taxes and the general information in our daily lives. The PC has saved the entire Amazonian rain forest by comparison.

Do environmentalists consider — or even appreciate this — this as they send out their email blasts?
Posted by: Zenster || 04/25/2007 15:04 Comments || Top||

#7  Zenster, no. The greenies complain that the PC's consume too much power and generate too much heat. They say we should turn our computers off when we are done using them.
Posted by: Rambler || 04/25/2007 17:42 Comments || Top||

#8  D *** ng it, RACE TO THE LEFT + KYOTO > means THE PLANET IS NOT AS POLLUTED AS IT RIGHTEOUSLY SHOULD BE. WHat matters is anti-consumerism, anti-capitalism, anti-democracy, anti-libertarianism, materialism, anti-capitalism and anti-competition, etc. GOING BACK TO THE FUTURE OF VIETNAM, STRONG UNIONS, NON-COMPETITIVE COMPANIES, PERVASIVE MASSIVE GOVT BAILOUTS, and a US ECONOMY PERMA FLUX = STAGFLATING AT 1000 POINTS ON THE DOW. Back then "Reality SHows" was GOOD TIMES, THE JEFFERSONS, THE BLUE SHIELD, etc.
Posted by: JosephMendiola || 04/25/2007 22:36 Comments || Top||


Kofi Annan to receive summons
BRUSSELS - The former UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan is to receive a summons to appear at a Brussels court. The judge at the trial of the Rwandan Major allegedly behind the murder of ten Belgian para-commados in 1994, agreed to a request by the prosecution to issue a summons to Mr Annan to answer questions at the trial.
Posted by: Seafarious || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [4 views] Top|| File under:

#1  he-he
Posted by: Captain America || 04/25/2007 1:08 Comments || Top||

#2  About time.
Posted by: JohnQC || 04/25/2007 10:03 Comments || Top||

#3  Not a moment too soon. I wonder if these will be open proceedings? Too bad this has nothing to do with the oil-for-palaces scandal. Annan needs to serve some hard jail time.
Posted by: Zenster || 04/25/2007 17:01 Comments || Top||


Science & Technology
Rich and Poor Battle Over Bird Flu
Bird flu has largely flown off the radar of the Western world, but people are still dying from it nearly every week in Indonesia.

Since the first case was reported two years ago, government officials have reported 74 deaths from the H5N1 strain in Indonesia -- more than a third of the world's total. And it's not just the virus this nation is battling. It's also struggling to ensure that poor countries get their fair share of any new vaccine developed to stem the spread of a possible global flu epidemic.

Indonesia has refused to share its samples of bird flu virus with the World Health Organization since January. Jakarta fears a vaccine produced from its specimens would be out of reach for its own citizens -- too expensive and controlled by wealthy nations.

Some global health officials have accused Indonesia of holding the virus hostage and keeping experts from monitoring whether the bug is mutating into a dangerous form that could potentially spark the next pandemic that kills millions.

But government officials continue to hold their ground in a showdown with WHO -- despite agreeing last month to resume sending samples. They are using the viruses as leverage against a system they say caters to the developed world's whims instead of promoting access for all.

"Exploitation by industrialized countries toward poor countries is not something new," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari wrote in an Indonesian newspaper editorial recently. "This situation brings poverty, suffering and stupidity."

Some experts say she has a point, and that Western governments should realize a pandemic that starts in Asia would not only kill indiscriminately but would also cripple economies everywhere. There is capacity for producing only up to 500 million doses of flu vaccine a year -- far short of what would be needed in a pandemic.

"It's not just about altruistic public health," said Michael Osterholm, a University of Minnesota infectious disease specialist. "When we realize Southeast Asia and China are shut down economically from a pandemic perspective, so goes our economy. So goes many critical products and services that we count on every day."

The WHO hasn't counted any Indonesian bird flu cases since the country stopped sending samples, keeping its official count at 63. Indonesian officials have recorded 11 deaths since then.

But the U.N. health agency has been careful not to criticize the government. It has worked to smooth tensions by meeting with developing countries in Jakarta last month to ensure the poor are not left out as they have been historically -- ranging from a lack of access to expensive AIDS drugs to seasonal flu vaccines available only to rich nations.

At the end of the meeting, Indonesia said it would resume sending specimens, provided that drug companies be required to seek permission before using its viruses to make vaccines.

That is a major departure from the WHO's free sharing system used to develop seasonal flu vaccines. The temporary deal applies only to Indonesia, and all other governments are expected to continue providing samples unrestricted, said Dr. David Heymann, WHO's top flu official.

WHO Director-General Margaret Chan met with Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono earlier this month in Jakarta and played down the standoff, hailing the government for bringing attention to the issue and vowing to establish a global vaccine stockpile. Another meeting on this issue will be held this week at WHO headquarters in Geneva.

Bird flu has killed at least 172 people worldwide since it began its spread through Asian poultry in 2003, according to WHO. Most human deaths come from contact with infected birds, but experts fear it could mutate into a form that spreads easily among people.
Posted by: Anonymoose || 04/25/2007 09:35 || Comments || Link || [6 views] Top|| File under:

#1  It remains highly unlikely that Indonesia has the lab capability to verify bird flu.

Indonesia is not the only nation to have withheld samples from WHO. China is another. There are several reasons, the major one being the arrogance of the WHO who presume to dictate to third world nations from their cozy offices in Zurich or London. WHO does not ask, it demands. It does not request, it dictates.

For Indonesia, an island nation with severe transportaion difficulties and a native culture that operates far slower than the Swiss do, the WHO is disrespectful and insulting. The nation is still dealing with the aftermath of the earthquakes and tsunami and the few deaths due to bird flu are seen as less important in the overall scheme of things. When tens of thousands die in a matter of moments, 74 dead over the course of two years is trivial.

The University of Rochester just had an A)H5N1 vaccine approved. It is believed to immunize 40% of adults innoculated. Hardly encouraging.
Posted by: Chuck Simmins || 04/25/2007 10:11 Comments || Top||

#2  Sounds like the old joke:

"WHO is in London?"
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/25/2007 10:28 Comments || Top||

#3  Article: "Exploitation by industrialized countries toward poor countries is not something new," Health Minister Siti Fadilah Supari wrote in an Indonesian newspaper editorial recently. "This situation brings poverty, suffering and stupidity."

We create a vaccine where none existed before, and we're exploiting them? These people really have a sense of entitlement. What's theirs is theirs and what's ours is theirs, too. I look forward to the day an uncontrollable pandemic breaks out there, and foreign countries implement a travel and trade embargo against Indonesia.
Posted by: Zhang Fei || 04/25/2007 14:00 Comments || Top||

#4  um, Darth? gotta a punchline?
Posted by: Uninetch Dark Lord of the Geats5647 || 04/25/2007 15:51 Comments || Top||

#5  Ya, WHO's on third.
Posted by: DarthVader || 04/25/2007 16:10 Comments || Top||

#6  Nonono: WHO is on First,please keep the lines straight. thanks.
Posted by: Ghost of BudnLou || 04/25/2007 18:12 Comments || Top||

#7  A: Who's got the new vaccine.
C: What vaccine ?
A: Vaccine for the bird flu.
C: Who's got the flu ?
A: No, no, Who's got the vaccine.
C: I don't know. I don't even know who's sick.
A: They're not.
Posted by: wxjames(channeling) || 04/25/2007 18:32 Comments || Top||


Syria-Lebanon-Iran
Judiciary head slams Iran headscarf drive
Iran’s latest crackdown on badly-veiled women to make them obey Islamic dress rules has found an unlikely critic in the hardline head of its judiciary, press reports said on Tuesday. Ayatollah Mahmoud Hashemi Shahroudi, who is appointed by the country’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, warned police against heavy-handed actions against women found to have broken the rules. “Hauling women and young people to the police station will have no use except to cause damage to society,” the reformist Etemad Melli newspaper quoted Shahroudi as telling a meeting of local governors. “Tough measures on social problems will backfire and have counter-productive effects,” he warned. “Of course, we need to act against organised crime and thugs but when there is no necessity to take someone to a police station, there is no need to do it,” he added. Iran has issued 3,500 warnings nationwide and detained around 200 women in the new drive launched on Saturday, according to police figures quoted by local media. The campaign – an annual pre-summer crackdown given greater prominence this year – is aimed primarily at women whose coats are seen as too tight, trousers excessively short or hijabs (headscarves) overly loose. It foresees handing out warnings and guidance to women found to have infringed its dress code of fully covering the head and bodily contours in public.
Posted by: Fred || 04/25/2007 00:00 || Comments || Link || [8 views] Top|| File under:



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