Free Internet Press Newsletter - Saturday November 11 2006 - (813)

Saturday November 11 2006 edition
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Pentagon To Review Strategy And Goals In Iraq 2006-11-10 22:27:40 The Pentagon is conducting a major review of the military's Iraq strategy to determine "what's going wrong and should be changed" to attain U.S. objectives in the war-torn country, the nation's top general said Friday. The chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Marine Gen. Peter Pace, initiated the review this fall after starkly deteriorating security in Baghdad led commanders there to rule out any significant cut this year in the level of U.S. troops in Iraq - now at about 145,000 - according to senior defense officials and sources. Pace said he, Army Gen. George W. Casey, Jr., the top U.S. commander in Iraq, and Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, who as head of Central Command oversees the U.S. military in the Middle East, are all working on recommendations for how to improve Iraq strategy. Read The Full Story Britain's Labor Party Drafts Democrats' Howard Dean As Consultant 2006-11-10 22:26:24 Britain's Labor Party has enlisted one of the engineers of this week's Democratic victory in the U.S. midterm elections in an attempt to boost its flagging fortunes before the local elections in May. Howard Dean, the former presidential candidate and one of the men credited with masterminding the trouncing of the Republicans, will visit the U.K. next month to brief party officials about his pioneering campaigning techniques. "The Welsh, Scottish and local elections next year are our midterms," said Hazel Blears, Labor's chair. "It has to be done differently for us to carry on being successful ... We're looking at how [the Democrats] have upped their game." Read The Full Story Russia Threatens To Sue Shell For Billions Over Environment Violations At Sakhalin 2006-11-10 22:25:16 Russia has threatened to sue Shell for billions of dollars over alleged environmental violations at its vast Sakhalin-2 oil and gas development. Ratcheting up pressure on the Anglo-Dutch company, Oleg Mitvol, deputy head of environmental watchdog Rosprirodnadzor said it might even call for the project to be scrapped. Moscow has been leaning hard on Sakhalin Energy, the Shell-led consortium building the $22 billion (£11.5 billion) development, in a move some analysts think is designed to force it to give up a chunk of the project to state energy company Gazprom. Mitvol told news agencies that Sakhalin Energy had produced a plan detailing how it would tackle environmental problems caused by construction work, but the proposed solutions were "not serious". "It is a joke collection," he said. "We had expected to see technical solutions and they are dealing with small local problems." Read The Full Story Mexican, U.S. Mayors Blast Border Fence 2006-11-10 22:23:17 Mayors from Mexican and U.S. border cities Friday denounced U.S. plans to build a border fence aimed at preventing Mexican from illegally entering the United States. The mayors of Eagle Pass, Texas, and Ciudad Acuna and Piedras Negras, both in the Mexican state of Coahuila, signed a document declaring the U.S.-Mexico border an area for union and solidarity - not division. "From El Paso to Brownsville, Texas, we're against building the wall. ... That's why we're here today to support our neighbors," said Eagle Pass Mayor Chad Foster. Piedras Negras Mayor Jesus Flores said border communities face many challenges that must be confronted by governments on both sides of the border. Read The Full Story Hamas Prime Minister Offers To Resign If Aid To Palestinians Resumes 2006-11-10 13:40:50 Hamas committed Friday to folding its eight-month government if that would restore the international assistance that was cut off after it won national elections earlier this year. In a shrewd and dramatic speech, the Hamas prime minister, Ismail Haniyah, said he would likely resign in the next "two or three weeks" to make way for a national unity government more acceptable to international donors than Hamas, the organization responsible for the deadliest attacks against Israel. "When they put the siege on one hand, and having me the prime minister on the other, I said 'no: Let us end the siege and let us end the suffering of the Palestinian people'," Haniyah, 43, a former teacher and union official, told worshippers at Friday prayers here. It was a public acknowledgment that Hamas had failed to run the Palestinian Authority on its own terms in the face of an American and Israeli-led cutoff of funds and aid, and that Haniya and his government would soon be replaced by a "unity" government of technocrats, currently being negotiated with Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas. Read The Full Story Echoing MI5, Tony Blair Says Terrorist Threat To Last A Generation 2006-11-10 13:39:58 British Prime Minister Tony Blair said Friday that the threat from home-grown Islamic terrorism would last "a generation," reinforcing a highly unusual warning by the head of the MI5 domestic intelligence agency that some 1,600 suspects in 200 terrorist cells were under surveillance. The estimate by Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, head of MI5, was by far the most extensive and alarming report given by the government. It included assertions that some 30 terrorist cells were under surveillance and that "tomorrow's threat may include the use of chemicals, bacteriological agents, radioactive materials and even nuclear technology." "More and more people are moving from passive sympathy towards active terrorism through being radicalized or indoctrinated by friends, families, in organized training events here and overseas, by images on television, through chat rooms and Web sites on the Internet," said Manningham-Buller. Read The Full Story Flood Damage In Washington's Mt. Ranier Area Is Extensive 2006-11-10 12:31:32 Nearly 18 inches in 36 hours. That's how much rain fell earlier this week at Mount Rainier National Park, one of the crown jewels of the Pacific Northwest. The deluge swamped roads and bridges, cut power and sewer lines and forced park officials to swing the gates closed to visitors for the first time in 26 years. Most river levels were down on Friday, and the National Weather Service said the precipitation through the weekend wasn't expected to cause more flooding, in part, because most falling in the mountains was expected to be snow. Still, recovery and damage assessments, particularly in hard-hit parts of Western Washington, are likely to take weeks. Park officials said they hope to return to normal operations by Christmas. In some places, they won't know the extent of the damage until after the snow melts next spring. Read The Full Story Marines Get The News From Iraqi Host: Rumsfeld's Out. 'Who's Rumsfeld?' 2006-11-10 00:26:38 Hashim al-Menti smiled wanly at the marine sergeant beside him on his couch. The sergeant had appeared in the darkness on Wednesday night, knocking on the door of Mr. Menti's home. When Menti answered, a squad of infantrymen swiftly moved in, making him an involuntary host. Since then marines had been on his roof with rifles, watching roads where insurgents often planted bombs. Menti had passed the time watching television. Now he had news. He spoke in broken English. "Rumsfeld is gone," he told the sergeant, Michael A. McKinnon. "Democracy," he added, and made a thumbs-up sign. "Good." Read The Full Story California Train Derailment Leaves 1 Dead, Several Injured, Fuel Spill Starts Fire 2006-11-10 00:25:18 A maintenance train loaded with thousands of gallons of diesel fuel and other flammable liquids derailed in the mountains east of Sacramento on Thursday, killing one person, injuring several others and sparking a fire in the heavily forested area. ''This is a huge spill,'' said Tina Rose, spokeswoman for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. ''That is a lot of hazardous materials.'' Authorities confirmed that one person was killed but did not provide any details. Eight others had minor injuries, while another was missing. ''We don't know if that person is trapped,'' said Rose. ''All we know is that person is unaccounted for.'' Read The Full Story Britain's MI5: 30 Terror Plots Being Planned In U.K. 2006-11-10 00:24:21 British intelligence agency MI5 has identified 30 major terrorist plots being planned in Britain and is targeting more than 1,600 individuals actively engaged in promoting attacks here and abroad, Dame Eliza Manningham-Buller, the head of the agency, warned Friday. The 30 plots are the most serious of many more planned by some 200 British-based "networks" involved in terrorism, she said in a speech seen by the Guardian. In a gloomy assessment of the home-grown terrorist threat, MI5 says most of those involved are British-born, and most are connected with al-Qaeda. Dame Eliza is known for her sober assessments about the extent of the terrorist threat and has distanced herself in the past from ministers' more dramatic speeches on the subject, so her public intervention will be taken seriously. However, skeptics will question why MI5 and the police have not acted to arrest or charge those said to pose such a direct threat to Britain's security. Security sources argue that the alleged plotters are still being tracked because there is either insufficient evidence to apprehend and charge them or because their plans have not reached the stage when they pose an imminent threat to the public. Read The Full Story Relief Expressed In World Reaction To U.S. Elections 2006-11-10 00:23:01 For Europe and much of the rest of the world, U.S. voters' repudiation of the Bush administration in midterm elections Tuesday and the dismissal of Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on Wednesday confirmed the widespread view that President Bush and his policies have done more to tarnish America's image abroad and strain its global relations than any other U.S. president in recent history. The Socialist Group in the European Parliament, the legislative body's second-largest voting bloc, called the election results "the beginning of the end of a six-year nightmare for the world". The seismic political shift in the United States was greeted in many places less with jubilation than with a sense of relief that Americans had at long last come to their senses. "It took a while for the Americans to realize who they had elected and the damage he had caused in the world," said Philippe Bas, 56, whose newsstand near a Paris subway stop was stacked with newspapers from across Europe carrying analyses of the election. Read The Full Story	In Pakistan, Recent Attacks Shred Hopes For Regional Peace 2006-11-10 22:27:04 Two months ago, Pakistan's president, Gen. Pervez Musharraf, triumphantly announced a peace pact with Islamic extremists in the North Waziristan tribal district near the Afghan border, saying he hoped it would become a model for curbing domestic Islamic militancy and cross-border insurgent attacks in Afghanistan. Today that model lies in shreds. Northwestern Pakistan's fragile political peace has been shattered by two devastating attacks: a government missile strike that killed 82 people at an Islamic school in the Bajaur tribal district on Oct. 30, and a retaliatory suicide bombing Wednesday that killed 42 army recruits at a training camp in the Malakand tribal district. The missile strike was based on U.S. intelligence reports that the school was being used as a training site for Islamic insurgents, who have found sanctuary across the semi-autonomous tribal areas where Osama bin Laden and other al-Qaeda figures may also be hiding. Now, officials are predicting a new wave of violence, as anti-government anger spreads and religious extremists call for holy war against the Pakistani military and Western forces fighting in Afghanistan. Read The Full Story U.K. Presses For Climate Change Fund To Help Africa 2006-11-10 22:25:45 A multimillion dollar plan to help sub-Saharan African and other poor countries adapt to climate change is being formulated by British diplomats on the eve of a key international meeting. More than 100 countries are gathering this weekend in Nairobi, Kenya, for the conference on global warming with the aim of providing an extended life to the Kyoto agreement. But many African countries on the front line of climate change have complained that little investment is directed at the continent, which is already deeply affected by prolonged droughts and floods. Read The Full Story Jack Palance, Best Of The Bad Guys, Dies At 87 2006-11-10 22:24:09 Jack Palance made ugly beautiful - all 6 feet 4 of him. You may remember him as Curly, the ornery cowboy from the "City Slickers" movies, or maybe the obnoxious, wizened 73-year-old who - after winning the Best Supporting Actor Oscar in 1992 for his first time playing that role - looked down on host Billy Crystal and made a joke we love and respect but can't repeat here. After which, he performed a series of one-hand push-ups while Crystal looked on in mock amazement. It was a wonderfully squirmy moment, in which the message was clear, as he bobbed up and down: I'm a man. You can measure me like this. And this. And this. Was he serious or twitting himself? We'd like to think he was enjoying the doubt - that embarrassing silence when hushed onlookers aren't sure whether someone's read their postmodern handbook or not. Read The Full Story U.S. Border Agents, Mexican Police Had Stand-Off...Sort Of 2006-11-10 22:22:28 U.S. Border Patrol agents chasing suspected drug traffickers on the Texas border allegedly crossed into Mexico and had a brief standoff with Mexican police before peacefully returning, Mexican authorities said Friday. Jose Luis Delgado, a police officer in Guadalupe, about 25 miles southeast El Paso, Texas - said he and two colleagues encountered some U.S. Border Patrol agents on Mexican territory. He said the Mexican police responded Thursday with guns drawn to a report that a marijuana-laden pickup truck had been abandoned in the Rio Grande. "When we arrived (the U.S. officials) drew their weapons," said Delgado. Read The Full Story Russia Makes Deal On Entry To World Trade Organization 2006-11-10 13:40:26 The United States and Russia today reached an agreement in principle on Russian accession to the World Trade Organization, advancing a stop-and-go effort by Moscow that began soon after the collapse of the Soviet Union. The deal would be signed on Nov. 18, when both President Bush and Russian President Vladimir V. Putin  will be in Hanoi, Vietnam, for an Asian Pacific Economic Cooperation meeting, according to statements from negotiators in both countries. Also, the White House announced this week that President Bush planned a stopover in Moscow on Nov. 15, en route to that meeting. "We have agreement in principle and are finalizing the details," U.S. Trade Representative Susan Schwab said in a statement. "It is a clear indication of Russia’s efforts to participate fully in and benefit from the rules-based global trading system." Read The Full Story Al-Qaeda In Iraq Gives Its Take On U.S. Elections 2006-11-10 12:32:00 Al-Qaeda in Iraq claimed in a new audio tape Friday to be winning the war faster than expected in Iraq and said it had mobilized 12,000 fighters, while the U.S. military reported the deaths of four more American troops. Three U.S. soldiers and a Marine were killed Thursday in Iraq, the U.S. military said, bringing the number of Americans who have died in the country so far this month to 25. At least 105 U.S. forces died in October, the fourth highest monthly toll of the war. Since the war started in March 2003, 2,845 members of the U.S. military have died, according to an Associated Press count. On the audio tape made available on militant Web sites, the al-Qaeda in Iraq leader also welcomed the Republican electoral defeat that led to the departure of Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. Read The Full Story Rhode Island's Outgoing Senator Considering Leaving GOP 2006-11-10 12:31:07 Two days after losing a bid for a second term, Sen. Lincoln Chafee said he was unsure whether he would remain a Republican. Chafee lost to Democrat Sheldon Whitehouse in a race seen as a referendum on President Bush and the GOP. On Thursday, he was asked whether he would stick with the Republican Party or become an independent or Democrat. “I haven’t made any decisions. I just haven’t even thought about where my place is,” Chafee said at a news conference. When pressed on whether his comments indicated he might leave the GOP, he replied: “That’s fair.” Read The Full Story Social Security Data A Major Source In Terrorism Probes 2006-11-10 00:26:08 Sohaib Bin Lateef left Pakistan for the United States more than 25 years ago and fulfilled his dreams with a suburban home, a family and a string of gas stations and convenience stores in St. Louis. But along the way, he says, he took some bad advice and obtained a Social Security number under a false name. Now Bin Lateef, 47, faces deportation and stands to lose everything, even though he insists he has no ties to terrorists. The Justice Department lists his case as terrorism-related. Since the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, the Social Security Administration's vast databases of personal information have become a resource for federal investigators, who have asked the agency to check tens of thousands of records for number misuse and identity fraud - potential precursors to terrorist activity. Bin Lateef is one of hundreds of people convicted as a result. The Social Security Administration is "literally the Fort Knox of identity information in the United States," said James Huse, the agency's inspector general from 1998 to 2004. "That's a pretty impressive investigative tool that no other agency possesses." Read The Full Story Mariners Report New Volcanic Island In South Pacific 2006-11-10 00:24:48 A new volcanic island has risen from the South Pacific near Tonga, according to reports from two vessels that passed the area. The crew of the Maiken, a yacht that left the northern Tongan islands group of Vava'u in August, reported on their Web log on August 12 that they saw streaks of light, porous pumice stone floating in the water - then "sailed into a vast, many-miles-wide belt of densely packed pumice." They posted photos of huge "pumice rafts" that they encountered after passing Tonga's Late island while sailing toward Fiji. "We were so fascinated and busy taking pictures that we plowed a couple of hundred meters into this surreal floating stone field before we realized that we had to turn back," wrote a crewman identified only as Haken. Read The Full Story Bolton May Not Return As U.N. Envoy 2006-11-10 00:23:36 Key lawmakers said Thursday they would block the nomination of John R. Bolton as ambassador to the United Nations, all but killing chances for him to remain in the post past December. For nearly 20 months, President Bush has tried, unsuccessfully, to get Bolton confirmed in a job he has held since August 2005. Bolton then received a recess appointment after not getting enough support in the Senate. Sen. Joseph R. Biden, Jr., (Delaware), the ranking Democrat on the Foreign Relations Committee and its presumed chairman when the Democrats take control of the Senate in January, said Thursday that Bolton's nomination is "going nowhere". "I see no point in considering Mr. Bolton's nomination again in the Foreign Relations Committee because, regardless of what happens there, he is unlikely to be considered by the full Senate," Biden said in a statement. Read The Full Story
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