1 Hu Jintao, the President of the People's Republic of China had lunch today with the President of Brazil, Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, at the Granja do Torto, the President's country residence in the Brazilian Federal District. 2 Lunch was a traditional Brazilian barbecue with different kinds of meat. 3 Some Brazilian ministers were present at the event: Antonio Palocci (Economy), Eduardo Campos (Science and Technology), Roberto Rodrigues (Agriculture), Luiz Fernando Furlan (Development), Celso Amorim (Exterior Relations), Dilma Rousseff (Mines and Energy). 4 Also present were Roger Agnelli (Vale do Rio Doce company president) and Eduardo Dutra (Petrobras, government oil company, president). 5 This meeting is part of a new political economy agreement between Brazil and China where Brazil has recognized mainland China's market economy status, and China has promised to buy more Brazilian products. 6 Mahmoud Abbas Acting president Rawhi Fattuh has announced today that Palestinian elections will be held on January 9. 7 Futtuh, head of the Palestinian parliament, was sworn in hours after the death of Yasser Arafat on Thursday, and Palestinian Basic Law dictates that he may only serve up to two months before elections are held. 8 New leadership could prove to be the key to revitalizing the peace process in the Middle East, as both Israel and the United States had refused to work with Arafat. 9 The Haaretz had initially reported that former prime minister Mahmoud Abbas was selected by the Fatah central committee as their candidate for president, but Abbas has denied this, saying, "the matter is still being discussed." 10 There have also been conflicting reports on whether or not jailed Palestinian leader Marwan Barghouti will run. 11 Barghouti is currently serving five life sentences in Israel for attacks against Israelis. 12 Nonetheless, he remains a popular figure among Palestinians for his role in the Palestinian uprising, and could potentially win the election if he decided to run. 13 A win by Barghouti could put Israel in an awkward spot; however an Israeli official said this week that he would not be freed, and a landslide win by Barghouti would signify to them that the Palestinians were not yet ready for peace. 14 The delegation representing Brazil at the funeral of Yasser Arafat returned today, November 13, 2004. 15 The chief-minister of Civil House Jose Dirceu was a member of the delegation. 16 Unfortunately they arrived too late for the funeral and the delegation watched only part of the funeral activities. 17 PCdoB (Brazilian communist political party) Deputy Jamil Murad, member of the delegation, said there was a "deep mourning" feeling. 18 Jamil Murad had visited Yasser Arafat in April 2004, along with nine other Brazilian deputies. 19 According to Jamil Murad: "Yasser Arafat was a Palestinian leader who became a world projection leader". 20 He said Arafat had written him a letter thanking the Brazilian people for their support of the Palestinian cause and saying that he, Arafat, considered President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva a great world leader. 21 Iranian representatives say negotiations with Europe on its nuclear program are in the final stages. 22 Iran's foreign minister, Kamal Kharazi, told state television Saturday Iranian negotiators have given their final response to a European Union proposal to suspend Iran's uranium enrichment program. 23 He said it is now up to the Europeans to decide whether or not to accept their decision. 24 Iran and the European Union's big three powers - Britain, Germany and France - have been negotiating a deal under which Tehran would agree to freeze sensitive nuclear work to avoid possible U.N. Security Council sanctions. 25 U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell, says that Iran's nuclear program is intended to make nuclear weapons. 26 Iran authorities have insisted that their nuclear ambitions are limited to generating electricity from atomic energy plants, not making bombs. 27 Critics of the position of the United States point to Israel's nuclear program. 28 Israel maintains a policy of nuclear ambiguity, but is widely believed to possess at least 82 nuclear weapons (see Israel and weapons of mass destruction). 29 The program has not been condemned by the United States. 30 Hassan Rowhani, head of the Supreme National Security Council for Iran, announced Monday that the country would temporarily suspend conversion of uranium as of November 22. 31 "Iran is planning to suspend uranium conversion activities from November 22," Rowhani said during a news conference. 32 Uranium is a chemical element which can be used in nuclear weapons and nuclear power plants. The process of conversion modifies the uranium oxydes into uranium hexafluoride. The purpose of such a conversion process is usually an intermediate step in the production of nuclear fuel. 33 Uranium hexafluoride cannot itself be used in a nuclear weapon, but can be enriched into weapons-grade uranium, or it can be converted into plutonium in a nuclear reactor. 34 Iran has claimed to be using its nuclear program for only peaceful nuclear energy, rather than for nuclear weapons, but there are concerns in the European Union and the USA as to whether they are being truthful. 35 Miss Marina Souza, aged 43, was kidnapped last Saturday, November 6, in Praia Grande, Sao Paulo, during a barbecue with her relatives. 36 She is the mother of Robson de Souza, known as Robinho (Little Robin), a Brazilian soccer player for the Santos Football Club. 37 Since the incident, Robson De Souza ('Robinho') has made few public appearances and stopped playing soccer, troubling his team Santos. 38 "I hope this all finishes well and that I can go back to playing football again," he was quoted by Reuters on November 9. 39 Robinho is considered one of the best Brazilian forward players at the present time and he is an important player for Santos. 40 The authorities are cautious to release any information concerning the case, as this could jeopardize both the investigations and Ms. Souza's life. 41 Colin Powell Secretary of State Colin Powell submitted his long-expected resignation as of Monday, November 15, and his resignation was accepted by President George W. Bush. His resignation letter was sent to the President on Friday. 42 Powell has said that it was always his intention to serve only one term. 43 The San Gabriel Valley Tribune said that Powell often had disputes with Bush Administration officials holding what the newspaper termed "more hawkish" views. 44 On Tuesday, President Bush announced his nomination of National Security Advisor Dr. Condoleezza Rice as Powell's successor. 45 Reuters cited senior Bush administration officials as saying that her deputy, Stephen Hadley, will succeed her in her role as Assistant to the President for National Security Affairs if she is confirmed as Secretary of State. 46 128 people have been injured, 5 seriously so, in a high-speed train derailment in central Queensland. 47 Police said the tilt train came off the tracks near Bundaberg (about 400 kilometers north of Brisbane) at 12.06am AEST. 48 Queensland Transport Minister Paul Lucas visited the site, and reported that the black box recording device on board the train would be sent back to Brisbane for analysis, in order to determine the cause of the accident. 49 Premier Peter Beattie and Queensland Rail CEO Bob Scheuber said that there were no current plans to halt other tilt train services. 50 "That will depend entirely on the investigators, they've not made any recommendations yet - some of them are still arriving. If they recommend that that is the course of action, then of course it would be suspended," Mr Beattie was quoted as saying. 51 Investigators said that Saddam Hussein diverted money from the Oil-for-Food Program to pay millions of dollars to families of suicide bombers from the West Bank and Gaza Strip who carried out attacks on Israeli civilians. 52 Paul Volcker, a former American official investigating the diverted funds scandal, has taken some heat from advocates demanding that he haul United Nations personnel before the US Congress. 53 His reason for not subjecting them to this degree of open scrutiny is that it would have the perverse effect of pushing them into refusing to cooperate with the investigation at all. 54 He plans to release documentary evidence early next year, when his investigation is complete. 55 Two lawyers of accused drug dealer Luiz Fernando da Costa (also known as Fernando Beira-Mar) were arrested Sunday November 14 in a restaurant located at Rio de Janeiro city in Brazil. 56 They have been accused of bribing Brazilian federal police officers. 57 Luiz Fernando da Costa, known as Fernando Beira-Mar or Fernandinho Beira-Mar, is one of the biggest drug dealers of Latin America according to police. 58 Beira-Mar was arrested by the Colombian army at April 20-21, 2001, in a FARC camp located at a forest near Colombia and Venezuela and then transferred to Brazil where he is been in prison until now. 59 According to officers the lawyers had offered R$200,000 (US$71,658.9) to police officers asking them to release Marcos Jose Monteiro Carneiro, another man accused of being a drug dealer. 60 Pope John Paul II has received Mr. Albert Edward Ismail Yelda, Iraq's ambassador today. 61 During the meeting the Pope has expressed wishes for the reconstruction of Iraq, as a democratic state, with tolerance to minorities: 62 "Iraq is currently in the throes of the difficult process of transition from a totalitarian regime to the formation of a democratic State in which the dignity of each person is respected and all citizens enjoy equal rights. 63 Authentic democracy is possible "only in a State ruled by law", and requires that "the necessary conditions be present for the advancement both of the individual through education and formation in true ideals, and ... through the creation of structures of participation and shared responsibility" (...) 64 "The struggle to overcome the challenges brought about by poverty, unemployment and violence is also currently faced by Iraq. 65 May your government work untiringly to settle disputes and conflicts through dialogue and negotiation, having recourse to military force only as a last resort. 66 Accordingly, it is essential that the State, with the assistance of the International Community, promote mutual understanding and tolerance among its various ethnic and religious groups. 67 This will enable the people of the region to create an environment that is not only committed to justice and peace but is also capable of sustaining the necessary economic growth and development integral for the well-being of your citizens and the country itself." 68 Big Linux screenshot 69 Big Linux 2.0 Beta 3 has been released. 70 Big Linux is a Live Compact Disc Brazilian Linux distribution, based on Knoppix. 71 A Linux distribution is a software set with the Linux operating system and GNU software. 72 The source code of Linux and GNU software is freely available and can be legally distributed among users. 73 Big Linux is a Live Compact Disc version of Linux, which means it may run directly from the CD or optionally be installed on the hard disk. 74 According to its developers, Big Linux aims to be easy to use and comes with many programs that are used by home users and offices. 75 Some included programs are: KDE, Java, XMMS, Kaffeine, xine, Kopete, YES, XChat, Fullt, aMSN, the Windows runtime environments Wine and Cedega, the peer-to-peer applications xMule, BitTorrent and Apollon, OpenOffice.org, GIMP and AbiWord, the email clients Kmail and Thunderbird, and the internet browsers Mozilla and the proprietary Opera browser. 76 Some features of version 2.0 beta 3 are: 3 versions of the Linux kernel -- 2.4.25 (for those who use Winmodems), 2.4.27 (stable) and 2.6.8 (performance) --, automatic detection of printers, higher boot speed, complete system of network and servers and an automatic hardware detection mechanism. 77 The graphical environment (known as X11) can have several configurations separated by kernel. 78 In this way, the user can have an accelerated graphical environment configuration and an unaccelerated graphical environment configuration at the same time. 79 If there is some trouble with the accelerated graphical environment configuration, this allows the user to switch to the unaccelerated one. 80 Big Linux can be downloaded without charge at Big Linux downloads. 81 This distribution is primarily intended for Brazilian users, although anyone can use it. 82 Alien Encounter and The Living Seas at the Walt Disney World Resort are to open today with a makeover. 83 The Alien Encounter attraction at Tomorrowland in the Magic Kingdom has been revised to include Experiment 626 from the movie Lilo & Stitch. 84 Now called Stitch's Great Escape!, the dog-like blue creature will lash out of its tube and terrorise the audience. 85 The Galactic Federation's Grand Councilwoman, Captain Gantu and Agent Pleakley appear in this show, essentially a prequel to the movie. 86 At the Living Seas, Crush the sea turtle from the Disney/Pixar movie Finding Nemo will host a new exhibit called Turtle Talk, joining smaller Nemo exhibits, a mainstay at the attraction for several months. 87 Vegetarian shark Bruce will soon become part of a shark education exhibit. 88 According to publicity, the Turtle Talk show will run every 15 minutes, from 10:00 am to 7:00 pm. 89 A sign language interpreted performance will run on Fridays at 10:30 am. 90 Disney is holding the Stitch's Great Escape! 91 Sweepstakes, with prizes including a five-day, four night trip for four to Walt Disney World Resort. 92 Prime minister Hari Kostov of Macedonia has resigned from his position as of Monday, November 15. 93 The Macedonian parliament will meet on Thursday to decide whether or not to accept his resignation. 94 The BBC quoted Kostov, who was appointed last May, to have said that "there is no will for genuine teamwork" within the coalition, and that one of the parties in the current government has been promoting corruption and nepotism. 95 Kostov also claimed that the preoccupation with the rights of Albanian ethnic minority in Macedonia was obstructing economic modernization, according to Reuters. 96 Kostov himself was not a member of any of the coalition's parties. 97 Kostov's resignation was preceded by a referendum organized by the Macedonian opposition, aimed against a decentralisation law which would have given the Albanian ethnic minority in Macedonia additional rights. 98 The referendum was declared null and void due to a low turnout. 99 According to the NOS, some now fear that fights between Albanian guerrillas and the Macedonian army, which came to a halt in 2001, will start again. 100 Democratic Senator Harry Reid has been elected the new leader of the Democratic party in the Senate. 101 Reid, from Nevada, replaces out-going leader Tom Daschle who lost his re-election bid in the state of South Dakota. Reid was re-elected with 61% of the vote in the November elections. 102 Reid won the position as the Republican party still holds majority in both houses of Congress. 103 Dennis Hastert (R-IL) and Tom DeLay (R-TX) were re-elected by the Republicans for new terms as Speaker and Majority Leader in the House of Representatives. 104 Senator Dick Durbin (D-IL) replaced Reid as the Senate Minority Whip. 105 The proposal from Dutch Minister of Justice Piet Hein Donner to strengthen the anti-blasphemy provisions of the criminal code has been rejected by a majority of the Tweede Kamer, the country's parliament. 106 Donner put forth the proposal shortly after the murder of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, but denied that Van Gogh's death had anything to do with the proposal. 107 NOS reported that Donner's own party, the Christian Democratic Appeal (CDA), supported his proposal. 108 However, their two coalition partners — the People's Party for Freedom and Democracy (Volkspartij voor Vrijheid en Democratie, VVD) and Democrats 66 (D66) — announced they would not back the ban. 109 The Labour Party, the largest opposition party, also refused to vote in favour. 110 Without their support, the motion could not be passed. 111 Consequently, NRC Handelsblad reports, Donner withdrew his proposal. 112 Although the Dutch criminal code already makes blasphemy illegal, the law has only been enforced three times since the 1930s. 113 The article in question states that anyone who ridicules a cleric or relic may be imprisoned for up to three months. 114 According to Dutch broadcaster RTL, Member of Parliament Lousewies van der Laan (D66), will make a motion on November 17 to have the article removed entirely from the criminal code. 115 According to Brazilian official sources Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian President will meet with the President of Vietnam Mr. Tr?n D?c Luong today at 11:30 AM at the Palacio do Planalto (Plateau Palace), the Presidential official residence, in Brasilia, Brazil. 116 At 13:00 (1:00 PM) there will be a lunch with the Brazilian and Vietnamese Presidents and comitive. 117 According to Brazilian official sources the Brazilian and Vietnamese Presidents will talk about economic cooperation between the two countries, mainly the production of ethanol. United Nations (UN) reform and the effort by Vietnam to join the World Trade Organization (WTO) will be discussed as well. 118 President Lula and President Roh Moo-hyun. 119 (J. Freitas/ABr) Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, the President of Brazil, met with the President of the Republic of Korea Mr. Roh Moo-hyun at 5:30 PM at the Palacio do Planalto (Plateau Palace), the Presidential official residence, in Brasilia, Brasil. 120 At 8:00 PM there was a dinner with Brazilian and South Korean Presidents and comitive. 121 At the dinner Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva said South Korea is a strategic partner in Asia and he also said that business between Brazil and Korea in 2004 will be US$3 billion. 122 Mr. Lula said Brazil supports Korea in their effort to join the Inter-American Development Bank (IDB). 123 According to official sources Brazil and South Korea also discussed energy and natural resources cooperation agreements. 124 They signed the Broad Relationship of Cooperation for Common Prosperity in the XXI Century agreement which covers natural resources, science, information technology and technology in general. 125 Mozilla Firefox 1.0, a free open-source web browser, has been released on November 9, 2004 by the Mozilla Foundation. 126 Some major characteristics of the browser are: pop-up blocking, tabbed browsing, integrated RSS news reader, themes, online fraud protection, extendable with add-ons and multi-platform (it works on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X). 127 As of November 16, 2004, there are Firefox versions in the following languages: Norwegian, Polish, Finnish, Italian, Japanese, Greek, Korean, Spanish, Russian, Slovenian, Czech, English, Romanian, German, Hebrew, French, Hungarian, Swedish and Catalan. 128 Other languages should appear later. 129 Firefox has grown rapidly in popularity, with a Preview Release of the 1.0 version surpassing 10 million downloads in days. 130 The browser has received critical acclaim by some magazines and is seen by many as a real competitor to Microsoft's Internet Explorer, which currently holds over 90% market share. Here's what some reviewers have said about Firefox: 131 Feature-studded and secure, Mozilla Firefox 1.0 is a safer, better choice for Internet browsing." editchoice&subj Mozilla CNet 132 If you want a browser that respects your PC intelligence and helps you get things done, Firefox is a good place to start." PC Magazine 133 The software's website can be found at GetFirefox.com. 134 UK Health Secretary John Reid has proposed widespread legislative and health care changes in a new white paper on public health released Tuesday. 135 Titled "Choosing Health", the paper details government plans to restrict smoking in public places, limit 'junk food' advertisements to children, make available "lifestyle trainers", campaign against sexually transmitted diseases and tobacco, and improve food labelling. 136 The white paper comes after extensive public comment that involved 150,000 people. 137 Smoking would be restricted in enclosed public spaces, restaurants, workplaces, and some pubs. 138 The ban would be enacted gradually, affecting government and NHS buildings in 2006, enclosed public places in 2007, and private property in 2008. 139 Permanent exemption would be granted to pubs that do not serve prepared food -- though not at the bar -- as well as private clubs, a decision that has provoked some to call the measure incomplete. 140 Up to 90% of pubs are expected to be affected. 141 The Scottish executive proposed a complete ban on smoking in enclosed public places last week, and Ireland has already banned smoking in pubs and restaurants. 142 Food advertisements targeted to children would be banned until 9pm, under the White Paper's proposals. 143 The restriction is a measure to tackle rising rates of childhood obesity. 144 The government also intends to develop voluntary standards on food and drink advertisements to children with industry, only threatening legislation if an acceptable standard is not reached by 2007. 145 Additionally, low income families would receive vouchers for fresh fruit, vegetables, milk, and infant formula. 146 School lunches would also be held to stricter nutritional standards. 147 Reid has warned that unless childhood obesity is tackled, "we face the prospect of children having shorter life expectancy than their parents". 148 Food labelling would also be improved, with a "traffic light" system implemented. 149 Packaged food would be evaluated based on its fat, sugar, and salt content. 150 The paper is unusual for suggesting a more holistic approach to health care, offering for the first time "lifestyle trainers." 151 The National Health Service would be funding with an additional ?1bn to make people's overall lives healthier, which is expected to save ?30bn in preventable illness. 152 The paper additionally makes mention of reducing accidents, which affected 2.7m people last year and is a leading cause of child death, curb binge drinking, and reduce substance abuse among youths. 153 The paper has been criticized by many parties. 154 The Tory Shadow Health Secretary has criticized the Labour government's comprehensiveness and creation of a "new nanny state approach". 155 He has additionally described it as "gimmicks". 156 The Liberal Democrats have accused the government of not being comprehensive enough. 157 It has also been criticized by the British Medical Association as being implemented too slowly, saying "When lives need saving, doctors act immediately". 158 Mr. Reid has argued against the nanny state label, saying "In a free society, men and women ultimately have the right within the law to choose their own lifestyle, even when it may damage their own health. 159 But people do not have the right to damage the health of others, or to impose an intolerable degree of inconvenience or nuisance on others ... 160 This is a sensible solution which balances the protection of the majority with the personal freedom of the minority in England". 161 The full white paper "Choosing Health" can be read here. 162 The British-Iraqi careworker Margaret Hassan, who was kidnapped in Iraq over a month ago, may have been killed by her kidnappers, according to the husband of the 59-year-old. 163 He was informed by the British Ministry of Foreign Affairs after analysis of a videotape showing the execution of a blindfolded woman. 164 Al Jazeera was also said to have received the tape days ago, but after delaying to confirm Hassan's identity, ultimately decided not to broadcast it. 165 The international organization CARE was shocked by the news. 166 Hassan led the CARE-department in Iraq for years. 167 Since her kidnapping on October 19, 2004, has appeared on several tapes pleading for her life. 168 She made a personal request addressed to Prime Minister Tony Blair to remove British troops from Iraq to meet her kidnappers demands. 169 November 17, Brisbane, Australia - The Australian cricket team has brashly talked up their chances of winning the first trans-Tasman test, which is due to begin in Brisbane tomorrow. 170 Bowler Shane Warne has stated that he will be targeting New Zealand captain Stephen Fleming, Glenn McGrath has revealed that he will be after Nathan Astle, and Australian batsman Matthew Hayden has vowed to hit New Zealand bowler Daniel Vettori out of the ground. 171 The New Zealand team's reaction to this Australian bravado was muted. 172 "It's just history repeating itself", said former New Zealand coach and former test player John Bracewell. 173 "They just have a set of lines they've been using since I've been coming over here and it's exactly the same story, just a different name saying it. 174 It's just repetitious", he went on to say. New Zealand batsman Scott Styris went further, labelling the Australians' comments as "a yawn". 175 Australia is widely tipped to win the opening match of the two test series, especially due to New Zealand's loss of frontline players James Franklin, Darryl Tuffey and Shane Bond to injury. 176 Russia's highest court has judged that Tatars living in the federal state of Tatarstan may not apply the Latin alphabet to their language without permission from the federal government in Moscow. 177 The Tatars had instituted legal proceedings because their Turkic language differs greatly from Russian, the BBC reports. 178 The law banning all alphabets but Cyrillic has been one in a long range of regulations and restrictions, claimed by officials to be designed to protect Russia's linguistic heritage. 179 The Russian federal government has been cited to consider the use of a non-Cyrillic alphabet by federal states a 'separatist tendency'. 180 Japan's Diet has proposed to reduce economic assistance given to China. 181 Economic aid is currently given in the form of grants and technical assistance under the Official development assistance (ODA) program. 182 ODA contributes to the development of the economies of states harmed by Japan during World War II, an approach pursued not only as restitution but to improve regional stability and to secure scarce natural resource trade. 183 Assistance to mainland China will total $8.9bn this year, making Japan an unusual second to the United States in aid. 184 This is down 30% from 1997, and is the fourth year-on-year decline as of 2003. 185 Loans to China total $30bn to date. 186 The ODA has been a key feature in Sino-Japanese economic and diplomatic relations. 187 It was begun in the 1980s as China "opened up" to foreign investment. 188 It is in part restitution for damage inflicted on China and atrocities such as the Rape of Nanking, seen in Chinese culture in much the same way as The Holocaust is in Western culture. 189 China is increasingly being seen as a competitor, however. 190 Popular opinion in Japan is also increasingly resentful of what is perceived as anti-Japanese sentiment in China. 191 Some feel that China should be grateful for ODA funds and that it is not. 192 China has also been criticized by Japanese Foreign Minister Nobutaka Machimura for not being sufficiently cooperative with regards to environmental issues, which necessarily affect its eastern neighbor Japan. 193 The People's Republic of China's Communist leaders have also been criticized for violating w:human rights and effecting a military build-up. 194 Some argue that economic aid should be tied to compliance on relevant standards. 195 Through the ODA, Japan enjoys the support of many developing nations in UN votes. 196 When China did not react favorably to Japan's intention to seek permanent UN Security Council membership, The Japan Times criticized the aid as a "complete waste". 197 Asia Times Online predicts "it is inevitable that funds flowing to China are set for further downsizing." 198 Total Japanese expenditures on ODA have reached $221bn distributed to 185 nations. 199 Currently, the biggest recipient of Japan's ODA aid is India. 200 Japan may soon be outspent in aid to China by France, Germany and Italy. 201 A report by the United States government's Congressional Research Service (CRS) analysing al-Qaeda statements was made public Tuesday. 202 The report examines methods used, ideas presented, and audience intended in al-Qaeda public statements, and how they have changed over time. 203 The CRS is an auxiliary research office for the United States Congress, and does not make its unclassified reports public. 204 The full report is available at the website of the Secrecy News project run by the Federation of American Scientists. 205 Released November 16th, 2004, it is titled "Al Qaeda: Statements and Evolving Ideology". 206 The head of the European Commission, Jose Manuel Barroso, has revised his choice of 25 Commissioners after he was forced to withdraw his last list of candidates. 207 Controversy was sparked by his choice of conservative Italian Rocco Buttiglione for the Justice Commissioner position, who made several statements regarding homosexuality and women that members of the European Parliament objected to. 208 His new line-up, according to the BBC, is mostly identical to his previous one; only two previous candidates (the Italian Buttiglione and the Latvian Ingrida Udre) have been replaced. 209 The European Parliament voted in favour the Commissioners on November 18th, giving Barroso and his staff the green light to start their official five-year term starting on Monday. 210 While the Greens, Eurosceptics and the Communist Party voted against, the Commission secured the approval of the Parliament's biggest parties - the Socialists, the Liberals and the European People's Party. 211 The vote ended with 449 in favour, 149 against and 82 abstentions, CNN reports. 212 Prime Minister Ariel Sharon considered a temporary coup d'etat of the Israeli government with other members of the Israeli military shortly before the 1967 Arab-Israeli War, it has been revealed. 213 Days leading up to the '67 Arab-Israeli War featured a build-up of Egyptian, Syrian, and Iraqi forces on the border that was perceived by many as a threat to the very existence of Israel. 214 Military advisors pressured for a preemptive strike, which was felt necessary to offset Israeli numerical inferiority. 215 Then-Prime Minister Levi Eshkol was under intense pressure from his cabinet and military on the decision to pursue diplomacy or war. 216 Many pro-war officials considered war inevitable and a delay only harmful to Israel. 217 Ariel Sharon was a Major General in the Israeli military during the war. 218 On May 28th, he advised the Chief of Staff Yitzhak Rabin that the cabinet could be detained and a coup declared. 219 Sharon and others felt that the civilian government was unable to reach a necessary decision. 220 The military would make the decision the government would not, and begin war in the government's best interests. 221 He explains: "We often asked whether in the State of Israel there could arise a situation in which the army takes control. 222 And I always said it was impossible, that this couldn't happen in the State of Israel." 223 "And then, after the meeting on May 28, I said to the chief of staff and others who were present, that there had arisen a situation in which this could happen, and that it would also be well accepted - that is to say, to seize control not in the framework of wanting to govern, but in the framework of making a decision, the fundamental decision, and that the army can make it without the government." 224 "I don't remember if he agreed or not, but I think he also viewed it in this way." 225 Sharon stressed that no definite plan existed. 226 However, he defended giving it serious consideration, saying: "They the civilian government would have accepted it with a sense of relief. 227 That was my feeling." 228 Prime Minister Eshkol later decided in favor of war on June 5th. 229 Ariel Sharon served as a commander of the Southern Division. 230 His comments may be found in full in Ma'arachot, a publication by the Israeli defense ministry. 231 Discount retailer Kmart Corp. announced Wednesday morning it will buy department store operator Sears, Roebuck & Co.. 232 The deal is to cost $11.5bn and will lead to the creation of the third-largest U.S. retailer, after Wal-Mart and Home Depot, and replacing Target at number three. 233 The new company, which is to be called Sears Holdings and be based near Chicago, will have $55 billion in annual revenue and nearly 3,500 retail stores. 234 Edward Lampert, the chairman of Kmart, will become the chairman of the new company, while Alan Lacy, current chairman and chief executive of Sears will be the new chief executive. 235 Sears CEO Alan Lacy, speaking about the deal, promised up to $500 million a year in savings within three years from improved efficient, greater purchasing power and possible store closures. 236 The stores will retain their current names. 237 The purchase will allow the two stores to sell each other's brands, including Craftsman Tools, Kenmore, and Lands' End from Sears, and Martha Stewart and Joe Boxer brands from Kmart. 238 The move is considered a boon for Sears, which until recently has confined itself to malls, and can now sell its products in the many Kmart locations. 239 Shares of both companies soared after the announcement, Sears was up 22 percent on Wednesday, whilst Kmart gained 15 percent. 240 Sainsbury's, the UK supermarket chain, announced on Wednesday that it had made its first ever loss. 241 For the six months to 9 October, it reported a pre-tax loss of ?39m ($72m), compared with a profit of ?323m the previous year. 242 Excluding ?168m of exceptional items, such as the clearance of surplus merchandise, Sainsbury's made a pre-tax profit of ?131m for the first half of its financial year. 243 The company had made a profits warning earlier in the year. 244 The company's shares actually rose slightly on the news. 245 This is due to the absence of any surprises - shareholders were expecting results in line with these. 246 Sainsbury's chief executive Justin King admitted the firm had been failing to properly stock its shelves after struggling with faulty distribution systems. 247 This problem however is only one of a series of problems that has plagued Sainsbury's in recent years. 248 Once the UK's largest supermarket chain, Sainsbury's has been overtaken by both Tesco and Asda in recent years. 249 Tenuous relations between Japan and the People's Republic of China were strained last week when a Chinese nuclear-powered submarine entered Japanese territorial waters southwest of Okinawa. 250 The intrusion occurred on 10 November, Japanese time (UTC+9). 251 The submarine was quickly spotted by Japan's Self-Defence Forces and was tracked by helicopter as it wandered in Japanese waters for two hours before moving north-west. 252 International law requires a tracked submarine to surface and identify its nationality in times of peace; the submarine did not do so. 253 Many Japanese officials in the Defence Agency considered the intrusion an act of provocation and "showing off," as the submarine in question was a particularly noisy model. 254 It continued traveling very slowly after being spotted, and remained in shallow waters. 255 The intrustion caused Japanese Self-Defense Forces to go on alert for the second time since the Second World War. 256 The submarine in question is believed to be a Type 09-1 Han Class attack submarine. 257 It is a nuclear-powered submarine designed in the 1950s and first built in the 1974. 258 This class of submarine is thought to suffer numerous defects, including radiation leakage, noise, and an inability to fire missiles while submerged. 259 Only two of five submarines are thought to be operational. 260 China has recently begun an active modernization of its navy. 261 On 17 November, Chinese Vice Foreign Minister Wu Daiwei met with the Japanese ambassador to China Anami Koreshige in Beijing and offered an apology for the incident, stating that the submarine was on a training mission and the intrusion was due to a "technical error" and was "regrettable." 262 Japan's Defence Agency is studying whether "technical errors" is a feasible explanation for the incident. 263 Japanese Prime Minister Koizumi Junichiro has publicly stated he wishes to speak with Chinese President Hu Jintao about this and other matters of Sino-Japanese contention at the upcoming annual Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit in Chile later this month. 264 Despite the increasingly close economic ties between the two nations, distrust has long exisited between Japan and China. 265 Many Chinese people still resent the Japanese invasion and occupation of China during World War II and Japan's refusal to formally apologise. 266 Japan, on the other hand, sees China as a potential competitor and an increasing threat to its national security. 267 Japan's Constitution forbids the nation from exercising military strength in matters other than that of self-defence, but Japan's ruling party, the Liberal Democratic Party or LDP, has recently proposed constitutional amendments to give the military more offensive capabilities, among other things. 268 The Japan Times, November 17, 2004. * Constitutional changes eyed to let female on throne, legalize military. 269 The Japan Times, November 17, 2004. * Friction growing between Japan, China. 270 Associated Press via San Francisco Examiner, November 17, 2004. * Chinese submarine intrusion considered an act of provocation. 271 The Japan Times, November 13, 2004. * Japan continues tracking mystery sub. 272 The Japan Times, November 12, 2004. * Type 09-1 Han Class (Including report of incident). 273 GlobalSecurity.org. 274 ---- 275 On Wednesday North Korea's official media dropped Kim Jong Il's honourific title "Dear leader", reported Japan's Radiopress. 276 It was only days after the Russian news agency Itar-Tass reported that portraits of Kim Jong Il have recently been removed from public display in North Korea. 277 According to Radiopress, a Japanese news agency that monitors North Korea's radio broadcasts, the North's Korean Central Broadcasting Station, as well as the Korean Central News Agency and other North Korean media, have stopped using the term "Dear leader" when referring to Kim Jong Il, the country's supreme leader. 278 Now the media in North Korea only use the official titles "General Secretary of the Workers' Party of Korea", " the Chairman of the DPRK National Defense Commission" and/or "Supreme Commander of the Korean People's Army" when referring to Kim. 279 Earlier Itar-Tass also reported that according to an unnamed foreign diplomat in Pyongyang, Kim Jong Il's portraits have recently been taken down from public display secretly and without explanation. 280 However, the portraits of Kim's father, Kim Il Sung, still remain, according to the same report. 281 This report has been confirmed by some expatriates living in the country. 282 This recent development in North Korea has given rise to speculation among analysts, some of whom suspected that these may be a sign that Kim is losing power, or that a power struggle is going on among the top leaders of the totalitarian state. 283 But most observers believe that the portraits were taken down by the order of Kim Jong Il himself, who might be trying to downsize his own personality cult. 284 "We believe the change was made at his will to soften his image as a leader of a personality cult, although it is hard to determine what his real intentions are," said Shinya Kato, the editor of Radiopress. 285 South Korean officials are not yet speculating on the matter, saying the portrait removals "may be for various reasons." 286 North Korea is one of the few Stalinist states that still exist today, and the political control in the country remains tight. 287 In recent years North Korea underwent several minor reforms that did not appear to significantly improve quality of life. 288 It has also remained largely mysterious and secretive to the outside world, as few foreign correspondents are allowed to visit and stay in the country. 289 Korea Herald, November 17, 2004 290 The South American 2004 World Cup Qualifiers were decided today in the Eleveth Round of play. 291 Rank Points Country #22 Argentina #20 Brasil #16 Paraguay #16 Ecuador #14 Uruguay #13 Colombia #13 Chile #13 Venezuela #13 Peru #10 Bolivia 292 GAZA - The Israeli Army is believed to have killed three Egyptian soldiers in a border incident. 293 The shootings occurred near the Philadelphi Route on the Gaza-Egypt border. 294 Both nations patrol the area intensively for arms smuggling into Gaza. 295 An Israeli tank apparently mistook Egyptian troops for smugglers. 296 Foreign ministry spokesman Mark Regev has apologized for the incident, saying: "If Egyptians were hit then we regret it. 297 This was not our intention. 298 We want good co-operative relations with Egypt ... and if Egyptians were hurt then our thoughts go out to them and their families and the Egyptian people." 299 Israel has said it is investigating the shootings "at the most senior level." 300 Egypt has said little so far. 301 Reuters, 18 November 2004 #Israelis gun down Egyptian soldiers in border blunder. 302 Associated Press via Telegraph UK, 18 November 2004. #Israeli forces kill Egypt troops. 303 BBC Online, 18 November 2004 #IDF tank mistakenly kills 3 Egyptian troops near Rafah. 304 Haaretz, 18 November 2004 305 Thursday, November 18 2004, Kancheepuram, Tamil Nadu, India. 306 Kanchi Mutt seer Sri Jayendra Saraswathi has been remanded to 5 day's police custody in the South Indian town of Vellore. 307 Jayendra Saraswathi is the senior pontiff of the 2500 year old Kanchi Mutt, situated in Kancheepuram in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu. 308 He is also a prominent religious leader both because of the stature of the Mutt and the Mutt's large number of devotees but also for his active but unsuccessful role in resolving the Ayodhya dispute. 309 The seer was arrested on 11 November, 2004 at Mahboobnagar, about 150 km from Hyderabad of directing the murder of A.Sankararaman, a former Manager of the Mutt. 310 Tamil Nadu Chief Minister J. Jayalalithaa said on Wednesday, November 17 2004 that the arrest was made since they had solid evidence. The evidence was in the form of a statement by two of the prime accused in the case confirming his invovlement, huge sum of money drawn to pay for the murder and telephone conversations with the killers. 311 November 18 2004, Nairobi. 312 The United Nations has announced that the Kyoto Treaty, which its signatories claim will counter the greenhouse effect and global climate changes, will take effect on February 16, 2005. 313 The treaty could not be made legally binding to those countries who signed it earlier, the BBC reports, because they did not make up for the required 55% of the world's emission of greenhouse gases. 314 Last month, Russia announced they would sign the treaty, pushing that percentage to 55%. 315 Andrei Denisov, Russia's ambassador to the United Nations, handed Kofi Annan the official papers today. 316 Several industrialized nations around the world have refused to ratify the Kyoto Treaty, in particular the United States of America and Australia. 317 The governments of both countries argue that signing the protocol would cause an estimated 3% decline in GDP, and thus stagnation of their economies, while resulting in only small total greenhouse gas reductions worldwide. 318 The also point out that other major nations, notably China, are extempt from the treaty provisions. 319 November 18, USA - William Henry Gates III or just Bill Gates, Microsoft founder, receives up to four million emails a year, and most of it is "junk" or "spam," according to Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer. 320 An entire department filters the unsolicited emails. 321 (Updated link clarifies quantity.) 322 The following sources were published prior to the clarification about the quantity of e-mail provided by Steve Ballmer, of Microsoft Corporation: 323 In the United Kingdom, the music video for this Christmas' remake of the charity single Do They Know It's Christmas? was launched simultaneously today (Thursday) on several UK and Irish television channels including BBC One, BBC Two, RTE 1, ITV1, Channel 4, and Sky One. 324 The debut was made at 17:55 GMT. 325 The song was originally recorded in 1984 by several of the biggest artists of the time including Bono, Bob Geldof, Paul McCartney and George Michael. 326 This year, in celebration of 20 years since the first single, the song has been remade by over 50 of today's best selling artists, including Coldplay frontman Chris Martin, Robbie Williams, Bono, Justin Hawkins of The Darkness and Dido. 327 The song, which is in aid of charity, is already tipped to be the Christmas No. 1 in the UK and Ireland. 328 The song will also be launched as a charity mobile phone ringtone to raise funds for Sudan's troubled Darfur region. 329 Mycokemusic.com said it was going to put the track on its website from Thursday with all profits to be donated to charity. 330 The single will be available to buy in shops from the 29 November. 331 Microsoft has released the new MSN Search service. 332 According to Microsoft press release, the new MSN Search offers the largest, up to date selection of information and a new class of search tools, reducing time and effort required by users to find information. 333 Some major characteristics of the new MSN Search service include: up to date information, direct answers, direct actions, content specific searching, Search Near Me feature (results tailored geographically), Search Builder (the user can customize search results by defining search criteria). 334 The global beta version of MSN Search is available here. 335 At Microsoft IT Forum 2004 Copenhagen technological conference Bill Gates, founder and current Chairman and Chief Software Architect of Microsoft, has said the future operating system of Microsoft called Longhorn will be released in 2006. 336 There had been fears that Longhorn would not ship until 2007 or later. 337 Microsoft has responded by cutting features from Longhorn, notably WinFS. 338 Features planned for Longhorn include a new 3D graphic user interface, a more sophisticated replacement for MS-DOS, and execute for processor NX, or No Execute, security features that prevents some malicious code from being run. 339 This is expected to be the first Microsoft release since Windows XP in October of 2001. 340 There has, however, been some speculation of a "Windows XP Reloaded" in the interim. 341 Longhorn is currently in Alpha as a preview-release to Microsoft Developer Network (MSDN) subscribers. 342 Television reporter Jim Taricani was convicted of criminal contempt Thursday for not revealing to authorities the source of a video that he had received and reported on. 343 The video had been sealed to prevent the public from seeing it. 344 US District Court Judge Ernest Torres convicted Taricani, a reporter for WJAR-TV News in Providence, Rhode Island. 345 The video in question showed the city's mayor, Vincent Cianci, taking a $1000 bribe. 346 The official was subsequently convicted for corruption. 347 During Cianci's trial, the court had ordered the video to be sealed. 348 It was subsequently released to reporter Jim Taricani. 349 Torres opined that the leak had been designed to prevent a fair trial and, as the video was sealed, the person who leaked it had broken the law. 350 Taricani's refusal to identify the leaker had been the basis for his conviction of civil contempt on March 16. 351 A USD $1000 fine was to be issued every day until Taricani revealed his source. 352 He has paid all fines, and was reimbursed by WJAR-TV News for all expenses. 353 Torres suspended the fine, calling it ineffective. 354 Taricani defended his action, saying: "I made a promise to my source, which I intend to keep." 355 Prosecutions for not revealing sources are becoming an increasingly common occurrence. 356 Eight journalists have been convicted in recent months. 357 Speaking in an interview Wednesday, he said, "I'm proud to be a part of this effort with other reporters who are facing this same thing." 358 Sentencing is to take place December 9th. 359 Torres has said Taricani will receive no more than six months due to ill health. 360 According to local State Road Police, about 250 members of the Brazilian Landless Workers' Movement called MST (Movimento dos Sem Terra, in Portuguese) blocked the PA-391 highway for about three hours and later invaded the City hall of Santa Barbara do Para, located at from Belem, Para. 361 MST said they wanted to be received by the mayor Marise Andrea Barbosa Colares (PSDB). 362 She was not available and the MST was received by the mayor-elect Ismael Rasp Rock (PMDB). 363 There was not an agreement, and the MST has camped in front of the city hall. 364 A new meeting is expected in coming days with the participation of the Incra (National Institute of Colonization and the Agrarian Reformation), a government institute. 365 MST demands the city hall issue a Certificate of Agreement regarding the dispossession of an area in Santa Barbara do Para which belongs to the Dende do Para S.A, a company of Para, that according to Incra passes for dispossession process. 366 In accordance with information passed for the cabinet of the superintendent, the document was required in September, but the city hall had not issued it. 367 This certificate requires the city hall to assume a series of responsibilities after installing housing in the area of the city, as well as providing education and medical assistance to those settled. 368 The MST is a Marxist-Maoist inspired movement of agricultural workers in Brazil. 369 According to MST, in 2003 there were about 632 MST camps in Brazil. 370 MST say they fight for the Agrarian Reformation in Brazil. 371 Some Brazilians have already protested against MST tactics, saying they are against the law and they are violent. 372 Currently, MST receives help from the Brazilian government and donations from international organizations. 373 Reuters has reported that Philip Knight, co-founder of shoe giant Nike, Inc. will step down as the company's CEO and President on December 28. He will be replaced by William Perez, current CEO of S.C. Johnson & Son, Inc. 374 While industry experts consider this to be a good move as the company looks to expand beyond its core market, analyst Jamelah Reddy expressed surprise that an individual from outside the company was brought in rather than tapping one of Nike's co-presidents. 375 Reddy said Knight was "leaving big shoes to fill." 376 The move is a blow to activist organizations which have targeted the company for its use of sweatshop labor and other practices. 377 For example, the progressive anti-consumerism magazine Adbusters recently introduced their "Black-Spot Sneaker" which they promote as being "for just one thing: kicking Phil Knight's ass". 378 Nike spokesman Kirk Stewart said Perez was chosen for his experience in dealing with international markets and brand-building, an important skill as Nike continues expansion internationally. Nike's international sales now surpass domestic sales, reports Bloomberg. 379 According to ESPN, Knight was responsible for Nike's endorsement contract with Michael Jordan, signed in 1984 when he was still a rookie with the Chicago Bulls. Jordan said of Knight, "To me, Phil Knight will always be recognized as a sports marketing visionary -- he will always be a part of Nike. I learned so much about the industry from him and will always admire his drive and creativity." 380 Knight, who according to Forbes gave no reason for his departure, intends to retain his position as the chairman of Nike's board of directors. He will also hold on to his 28% voting share in the corporation, as well as his 92% share of the non-voting stock. 381 with the Darfur region accentuated 382 Representatives of both the Sudanese government and the Sudan People's Liberation Movement (SPLM) signed a peace pledge today in the Kenyan capital Nairobi, under the watchful eye of United Nations ambassadors. 383 According to the BBC, the document concluded with a memorandum saying that "prompt completion of the peace process is essential for all the people of Sudan". 384 The actual peace treaty should, according to the pledge, be signed no later than December 31st 2004. 385 While the pledge focuses mainly on the fights between the rebels in the south and the Khartoum-based government in the north, there is also attention for the ongoing crisis in east Sudan (Darfur). 386 Several aid agencies have criticized the UN for taking a weak stand against the Sudanese government. 387 The Security Council has already signed two resolutions threatening economic sanctions against Sudan if the government does not disarm its troops in Darfur, but, so the BBC reports, the violence is continuing. 388 The civil war in Darfur was sparked in 2003, when insurgents started attacking government buildings. 389 The Arab government in Khartoum subsequently sent troops to the region, which have been reported to mass-violate human rights of the black Africans living in Darfur. 390 U.S. soldiers fighting in Mosul, Iraq discovered up to twelve beheaded bodies in the western part of the city, the New York Times has reported. The bodies are believed to be those of Iraqi soldiers killed for assisting U.S. forces in eliminating local resistance; however, no identification has been made. 391 The bodies were found after a Jordanian named Abu Musab al-Zarqawi made an Internet posting in which he claimed that two Iraqi National Guard officers had been publicly decapitated in Mosul. A local businessman, Senan Shukri, claims to have witnessed the executions, stating that all onlookers had been warned that if they moved or otherwise disturbed the bodies they, too, would be beheaded. 392 According to Lt. Col. Erik Kurilla of the 24th Infantry Regiment, high-ranking officials in the Iraqi National Guard have been notified of the claimed beheadings; he states, however, that they have been unable to determine if any of their officers were missing, pointing out that many were on leave and thus difficult to track down in any circumstance. 393 The bodies have not yet been removed by U.S. troops for fear that they might trigger booby-trapped explosives. 394 About 250 people from the MST (Movimento dos Sem Terra, in Portuguese) or Brazilian Landless Workers Movement has invaded a 223 hectares farm in the city of Ubaitaba, Bahia. 395 According to Agencia Folha, Fernando Rodrigues da Silva, 34 members of the movement says they want to press the Brazilian government institute called Incra (National Institute of Colonization and the Agrarian Reformation) to look after their cause. 396 Raul Pinto Farias, owner of the farm has said he will demand the expulsion of MST out of his property before the Court of Law. 397 The MST is a Marxist-Maoist inspired movement of landless peasants in Brazil. 398 According to MST, in 2003 there were about 632 MST camps in Brazil. 399 MST is a large organization with many settlements throughout Brazilian countryside, especially in the Brazilian Northeast. 400 Their main visible tactic is invading lands around the country. 401 MST says they fight for agrarian reformation and justice in Brazil. 402 Some Brazilians have already protested against MST tatics, saying they are against the law and are violent. 403 Currently, MST funds itself by selling produce grown on its agricultural cooperatives and from donations from international organizations. 404 Also the movement receives funds by selling videos of their invasions. 405 ' - Juan Carlos Concero, aged 34, a Spanish tourist, was shot in the head during an assault in Rio de Janeiro today. He was carried to Souza Aguiar Hospital where he was in a coma, breathing with the help of life support machines. 406 Hours later doctors pronounced him braindead. 407 The Brazilian police offices in charge of the case announced the arrest of three man suspected of shooting Concero. 408 Nineteen Burmese political prisoners, including pro-democracy leader Min Ko Naing, have been freed by Burma's military junta after it declared their imprisonments invalid, the Associated Press reports. 409 The releases came after the current regime under Soe Win dissolved the National Intelligence Bureau run by Prime Minister General Khin Nyunt, who was ousted last month. The Burmese state-run television and radio network claimed that the NIB had wrongly charged 3,937 prisoners. 410 Min Ko Naing had been imprisoned since 1988 after leading pro-democracy protests that were quickly crushed by the ruling regime. In total, three senior members of Aung San Suu Kyi's National League for Democracy were released. Aung San Suu Kyi herself has been under house arrest since May 2003 following a violent confrontation between loyalists and her dissidents. 411 At least one NLD member expressed optimism about the new development. 77-year-old Ohn Maung, an NLD member freed on Friday after being imprisoned since 1998, told Reuters "It was a pleasant surprise for all of us." 412 He added, "I did not have to sign any undertaking and I expect most of the NLD members will also be released like me." 413 UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan released a statement in which he said that he is "encouraged by reports that a number of people detained for political activities are included among the prisoners released." 414 He also called for the release of all remaining political opponents and dissidents, either from prison or from house arrest. 415 According to witnesses outside Yangon's Insein Prison, altogether approximately 200 prisoners--most serving terms for minor criminal offenses--were released Friday. 416 Although Burma's military regime changed the country's name to Myanmar in 1989--a change recognized by the United Nations--many national governments and a large portion of the Burmese population still use the name "Burma" because they do not recognize the legitimacy of the junta that instituted the change. 417 The Brazilian Economist Celso Furtado, aged 84, has died today between 11 and 11:30 am, in his apartament in Rio de Janeiro. According to ABr (Government Brazilian news Agency) Celso Furtado was victim of a heart attack. 418 He will be buried tomorrow at Sao Joao Batista cemetery, Rio de Janeiro at 12:00. 419 Four National Basketball Association players have been suspended indefinitely for their actions during a brawl at the end of the Friday, November 19th game between the Detroit Pistons and the Indiana Pacers. 420 Ron Artest, Jermaine O'Neal and Stephen Jackson of the Pacers and Ben Wallace of the Pistons learned of the length of their suspensions on Sunday. 421 Ron Artest has been suspended for the rest of the season, Stephen Jackson for 30 games, Jermaine O'Neal for 25, and Ben Wallace for 6. 422 Pacers guard Anthony Johnson received a 5 game suspension. 423 In addition, Reggie Miller from Indiana, and Detroit Pistons Chauncey Billups, Elden Campbell and Derrick Coleman were each suspended one game for leaving their bench. 424 The brawl began with 45.9 seconds left in the game, as Ben Wallace shoved Ron Artest after a particularly hard foul by Artest. 425 That was settled quickly, but a fan then threw a cup at Artest as the referees were handling the aftermath of the fight, and Artest went into the stands, and began throwing punches. 426 Jackson then joined in and began to throw punches as well. 427 Due to the brawl the game was called, and ended with 45.9 seconds left. 428 The Pacers were ruled the winner. 429 Artest has had a history of suspensions before this incident. 430 Last season he was suspended twice, once for leaving the bench during a fight, and once for elbowing Portland player Derek Anderson. 431 He was suspended 5 times during the 2002-2003 season. 432 European finance ministers at the G-20 meeting which opened Saturday, November 20th, are expected to discuss the current exchange rate of the euro vs. the dollar. 433 The euro is currently trading high against the dollar, so that it takes around $1.34 (as of December 4 2004) to buy one euro. 434 This has the effect of making exports from Europe to the USA more expensive, increasing the likelihood that US consumers will buy from a non-EU country. 435 The exchange rate is set by the currency markets, although it is heavily influenced by the current account status (ie. the balance of trade between countries). 436 Some European leaders want the United States to take action to increase the value of its exchange rate. 437 The US though is seen as not wanting to do this, for two reasons: # A low dollar relative the euro means that all exports from the US to Europe are cheaper for Europeans to buy, increasing the likelihood that Europeans will buy US items and thus helping the US economy # Many actions which governments have done in the past to bolster unnaturally their currency have been fought by the market, and the market won. 438 The most famous example is George Soros' "breaking of the Bank of England" 439 One side-issue that this discussion might evoke is that of the exchange rate between the dollar and the Chinese yuan, which is fixed by China. 440 Studies of this exchange rate using the concept of purchasing power parity (ensuring that a dollar traded to Chinese yuan will still buy roughly the same amount in China) show that the Chinese yuan has been around 50% undervalued for the past two years. 441 This makes things from China on average 50% cheaper for a US consumer than they should be. 442 US officials have throughout 2004 repeatedly called for China to end this practice. 443 Normally it would end itself, i.e. even with a fixed exchange rate this process could only go on for so long before the entire Chinese market becomes valued differently. 444 But since the Chinese central bank has been constantly lending money to the United States government (via the purchasing of US treasury bonds), that effect is mitigated. 445 Seven unknown men armed with guns invaded the Terra Prometida camp, in Felisburgo city, Minas Gerais, Brazil, and killed five members of the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement movement (MST). 446 The Terra Prometida camp had been invaded by the MST in May 2002 and there were about 200 MST families living there at the time of the attack. 447 According to the Brazilian newspaper Agencia Folha, police said 13 of the members of the MST movement were injured and five died. 448 Four of them are still hospitalized. 449 Two of them, Joaquim Batista da Silva and his son (a 12-year-old child), are in the Felisburgo Municipal Hospital. 450 The other two, Valdemar Barbosa Lima and Jose Maroto Lima, are in the Santa Rosaria Hospital in Teofilo Otoni city. 451 According to MST camp leaders the gunfighters set fire to MST tents and started shooting. 452 The police are investigating the case. 453 Workers Party (PT) has demanded the gunfighters' arrest and punishment. 454 The MST is an ideologically diverse movement of agricultural workers in Brazil officially founded in 1984. 455 MST is for the equitable redistribution of Brazilian farmland. According to MST, in 2003 there were about 632 MST camps in Brazil. 456 MST is a large organization with many bases throughout Brazilian cities. 457 Their most visible tactic has been the occupation of mostly privately-held plantations and landholdings, sometimes armed with carving knifes and scythes. 458 Currently, MST receives help from the Brazilian government and donations from international organizations. 459 The movement also receives funds by selling videos of their invasions. 460 Overall, a recent report on labor standards in Brazil has shown that conditions for laborers are poor 991220916&Language EN. 461 The nineteen member nations of the Paris Club have agreed to forgive 80 percent of Iraq's debt, reports the Reuters news service. The plan will reduce Iraq's total debt to the member nations to $7.8 billion, from the original $38.9 billion, over a period of four years. 462 The three-phase plan approved by the creditors calls for an immediate cancellation of 30 percent of Iraq's current debt, which will be followed by another 30 percent in 2005 upon approval of an economic program for the nation by the International Monetary Fund and 20 percent in 2008 after an evaluation of the effectiveness of the program. 463 Adel Abdul Mahdi, Iraq's Finance Minister, said that the deal was "historic". He also expressed optimism that other creditor nations, including neighbors in the Middle East as well as several Eastern European nations, may follow the West's lead in forgiving Iraqi debt. 464 However, Bulgaria and Romania have announced that they intend to recoup as much as possible of the debt owed them by Iraq, claiming that the inflow of cash from Iraq is essential to their respective economies. 465 They have, however, indicated their willingness to discuss rescheduling of payments on the debt. 466 Dimitar Tsonev, spokesman for the Bulgarian government, told the Sofia News Agency that the requests from Western leaders to reduce Iraq's debt were not the first such requests he had received. 467 Romania has said it would like to take a flexible approach to the debt repayments, one which is in line with its economic potential. 468 The plan is the culmination of a trans-Atlantic struggle over the amount of Iraqi debt to be forgiven, the United States pushing for a 90 to 95 percent reduction while France argued for much less. 469 - The president of Brazil, Mr. Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, met with the president of Russia, Mr. Vladimir Putin, at about 12:00 in Brasilia. 470 The main discussion topics were the end of the embargo on the exportation of Brazilian meats, from animals such as bovines and pigs, to Russia and the interest of the Russian government in conquering the support of Brazil to enter the World Trade Organization. 471 Lula said Brazil will support Russia to enter the World Trade Organization, but Russia did not agree with the end of the embargo of Brazilian meat. 472 Russia has forbidden the entrance of Brazilian meat in their country because there was a suspection of Brazilian cattle contamination by aftosa fever. 473 Brazilian authorities said there is no danger and the cattle's health has been monitored. 474 By another agreement Brazil will teach the Russians techniques of soccer and the Russians go to repass techniques of athletism and swimming. 475 According to the Associated Press, around 16,000 protesters demonstrated outside a Fort Benning, Georgia, military school this weekend, demanding it be closed in connection with accused human rights violations. 476 Indymedia reports 20 people were arrested in acts of nonviolent civil disobedience. 477 Among the crowd were celebrity-actors Martin Sheen and Susan Sarandon; Sarandon narrated the 1997 documentary School of Assassins about the school's history. 478 Indymedia web site quotes Elizabeth Nadeau, a 27-year-old student, as saying "Prison will not deter us. 479 We will be here until we close the school and change the foreign policy that it represents." 480 In 1946 the military Latin American Training Center U.S. Ground Forces was established in Panama; in 1949 it became the U.S. Army Caribbean Training Center and during 1963 the training center expanded and became the U.S. Army School of the Americas (USARSA or SOA). 481 The SOA mission was to counter the influence of Communism in the region, and to assist Latin-American nations in fighting armed Communist movements. 482 In 1984 the school was moved to Fort Benning, near Columbus. 483 At the end of 2000, the SOA was closed as its reason of existence as an anti-Communist school was rendered unnecessary. 484 In 2001, the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation was opened in the same location. 485 WHINSEC offers training to Latin American military and civilian forces in combat, counter-narcotics, and counter-insurgency techniques, with training completed mainly in the Spanish language. 486 Activists claim that both SOA (in the past, during 80's) and WHINSEC (at present day) trained militias in tactics of violence that are/were used against political dissidents in their native countries. 487 They accuse SOA graduates of been responsible of death squads, drug deals, murders, rape and torture. 488 They say the school is responsible by these acts and that many techniques of torture its graduated students have used in their countries had been learned at the military American school. 489 A list of allegeds SOA graduated students's crimes can be seen at the Virtual Truth Commission, an anti-SOA webpage. 490 Pro-SOA say the school was important in the maintenance of the security in the Latin America and United States during Cold War. 491 A list of death victims by communist groups between 1935-1972 only in Brazil can be seen at the Ternuma (Terrorism never), a Brazilian alleged anti-terrorism webpage. 492 Also, the US Department of Defense maintains a list of significant terrorist incidents between 1961-2003, among them are several crimes committed by communist groups. The UK version of IndyMedia distributes a copy in English of the Manual of the Urban Guerrilla which details techniques of urban terrorism for communism, written by Carlos Marighella, a communism fighter. 493 The Cuban dictator Fidel Castro advocated armed revolutionary struggle in Latin America. 494 The USSR or Soviet Union gave trainning, military and economic help through Cuba to various communists groups in American continent. 495 The protest at Fort Benning which involved a mock funeral procession is an annual event organized by the School of Americas Watch (SOAW) to commemorate the first assassination attributed to school's graduates, the November 16 1989, killing of six Salvadoran Jesuit priests, their housekeeper, and her teenage daughter, at the University of Central America (UCA). 496 Of the 27 soldiers cited for that killing by a 1993 UN Truth Commission, 19 were SOA graduates. 497 SOAW lists 11 former Latin American dictators as graduates of the School. 498 USA deny they supported dictators and they protest against Fidel Castro, the long-time dictator of Cuba, who has received support, military and economic help from USSR for a long time. 499 SOA officials say thousands of soldiers have been trained and about 300 of them have been accused of human rights violations. 500 "The connections that critics make between the school and the crimes allegedly committed by its graduates are tenuous at best", says Joe Leuer - who worked at SOA. 501 Pro-military activists planned a concurrent gathering called "God Bless Fort Benning Celebration," to honor the soldiers and history of the military base where WHINSEC is located. 502 "If they have 10,000, then we have 10,001," organizer Miriam Tidwell told Associated Press. 503 Unverified reports of this counter-demonstration put attendance figures between 10,000 and 15,000. 504 WHINSEC operates with an annual budget of approximately $8 million, the school curriculum now includes a mandated 8 hours of training in human rights which includes "human rights, rule of law, due process, civilian control of the military, and the role of the military in a democratic society." 505 Dan Rather has announced that he will retire on March 9th, 2005 as anchor of CBS Evening News. 506 He will continue to be a correspondent for both of the 60 Minutes shows. 507 It is reported that Rather's leaving has nothing to do with a report in 2004 regarding US President Bush's National Guard service that was widely reported to be factually false. 508 A CBS panel is looking into that report. 509 Others believe that Rather is stepping down due to this report and investigation. 510 Howard Kurtz, a reporter for the Washington Post, states that "It's pretty clear that Dan Rather faced a very unpalatable choice... 511 His contract had at least two more years to run. 512 Should he step down now before the outside investigative report, commissioned by CBS News expected in the next few weeks about his botching -- and the network's botching -- of that story about President Bush's National Guard service? 513 Rather decided today that it would be better for him to step down on his own terms." 514 Dan Rather, 74, has been the anchor for CBS Evening News for 24 years, succeeding Walter Cronkite. 515 Rather is the third most watched anchor on United States television. 516 = 517 Ukraine crisis 518 President Leonid D. Kuchma Monday proposed holding a new election to end the political crisis threatening to tear the country apart, according to The New York Times. 519 Mr. Kuchma's remarks, which came as Ukraine's Supreme Court heard complaints of electoral fraud involving perhaps millions of ballots in the November 21 presidential election, represented the collapse of what had been the government's united position that Prime Minister Viktor F. Yanukovych won the election. 520 Amid protests of up to 200,000 over Ukraine's disputed presidential election, officially declared loser Viktor Yushchenko has called on the army and police to join a revolution against the government. 521 This comes after Yushchenko was symbolically sworn-in by deputies this weekend. 522 Western election observers have expressed doubts over the vote's credibility. 523 Viktor Yushchenko is a banker seen as pro-Western. 524 His opposition is the incumbent Mr Yanukovych, who is seen as pro-Moscow, a sensitive issue in a former territory of the Soviet Union. 525 The Daily Telegraph quotes Yushchenko as saying to deputies: "Ukraine is on the threshold of a civil conflict. 526 We have two choices: either the answer will be given by the parliament, or the streets will give an answer." 527 Emails exchanged among United States Air Force officials regarding a USD$23 billion dollar deal with aircraft manufacturer Boeing have been entered into the public record. 528 Senator John McCain (R-AZ) entered them into the Congressional Record during a speech last week against the now-cancelled deal to lease 100 mid-air tanker aircraft from Boeing. 529 Congressional lawmakers rejected the proposal in October, although industry experts say the deal had been killed by the Pentagon because of reports stating that the deal had favored Boeing. 530 Senator McCain has been the deal's most vocal critic. 531 The original negotiations with Boeing were over a no-bid contract. 532 Such contracts are often justified by the speed they offer, eliminating a preliminary bid and selection round that may last months. 533 However, no-bid contracts are only open to the company selected by the procuring agency. 534 This leaves no-bid contracts open to accusations of conflicts of interest among the procurement personnel. 535 Such accusations have previously been leveled against Vice President Dick Cheney for a no-bid contract to Halliburton, and are now being made against senior Air Force officials for choosing Boeing to replace its tanker fleet. 536 In the released emails, Air Force officials responsible for the awarding of contracts appear biased against Boeing's main competitor, Airbus and its CEO Ralph Crosby. 537 Airbus is owned by European Aeronautic Defense & Space Company (EADS). 538 Airbus manufacturers a number of passenger and military aircraft and has gained market share in passenger aircraft over Boeing in recent years. 539 The following is a sequential email exchange regarding Airbus as recorded in the Congressional Record: :Special Asst. to the Secretary and Director of Air Force Communications Bill Bodie: "We don't have to turn the other cheek, you know. 540 I'm ready to tell the truth about Airbus's boom, footprint, and financial shortcoming. 541 But maybe we should sleep on it." :Secretary of the Air Force James Roche: "No, Sir, save it and blow him away. 542 He admits that they were not technically qualified! 543 And, we keep their record of bribes as our trump card! 544 Jim." :Civilian Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Darleen Druyun: "I read with disgust the article on Airbus tankers from the new EADS CEO of North America. 545 What BS . . . should not have been surprised at the slime . . . his day of reckoning will come hopefully." :Secretary of the Air Force James Roche: "Oy. 546 I agree. 547 I had hoped you would have stayed and tortured him slowly over the next few years until EADS got rid of him! 548 Jim." 549 An email from Burkhardt & Associates to James Roche advises the Secretary to release fiscal numbers favorable to Boeing, apparently regardless of the facts: "I'd distribute a one page memo saying the per plane cost of the lease will not be greater than x and have x be less than the last lease Boeing did for some commercial entity--or that x is y dollars less than the cost of a new tanker," it said. 550 An additional email by Roche provides a stark contrast to his criticism of Airbus, as he talks to Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Marvin Sambur about Boeing, saying, "I love Ya, Big Guy. 551 Give it to the Blue Eyed Arabs of the North (the expression we used for Boeing)." 552 GovExec.com quotes a "Senate aide" as saying: "The House language of the spending bill ignores an analysis of alternatives called for in last year's authorizing language and by Pentagon Acquisition Director Michael Wynne and the DSB. 553 It precludes such an analysis and predetermines the outcome in favor of the Boeing 767 before the study is even initiated." 554 The activist organization the Project on Government Oversight has called it "a textbook case of favoritism to a single defense contractor." 555 Assistant Secretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Marvin Sambur defended the Air Force's exclusive consideration of Boeing, saying, "This was not a competitive bid process. 556 The Air Force was ordered by Congress to work with Boeing on the new tanker program." 557 Boeing had previously hired Civilian Deputy Undersecretary of the Air Force for Acquisition Darleen Druyun. 558 This caused a controversy over conflict of interest and led to felony charges against Boeing Chief Financial Officer Michael Sears for illegally hiring her. 559 Former military personnel are often hired by defense contractors to lobby for contracts. 560 Days after Sen. McCain's remarks, the Air Force said the tanker replacement contract would be revived as an open bid. 561 Deputy Defense Secretary Wolfowitz published an open-article in the Congressional Record, saying: "After we have selected an appropriate alternative, we intend to require competition." 562 Seattle Pi, 16 November 2004 * "Pentagon Says It Will Open Tanker Deal To Competition". 563 KOMO 1000 News, 22 November 2004 * "Defense Department Operational Update Briefing". 564 Federal News Service, 23 November 2004 565 In Ukraine, a dead heat in the October 31 election between current Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych and former Prime Minister Viktor Yushchenko resulted in a runoff election on November 21. 566 The runoff was plagued with allegations of large-scale voter fraud, particularly in the oblasts (regions) of Donetsk, Luhansk and Kharkiv in eastern Ukraine where Yanukovych had the strongest support. 567 Election observers from the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) state that the election did not meet international standards and was subject to wide-scale, planned election fraud. 568 On the other hand, some groups of international observers such as British Helsinki Human Rights Group give a quite different picture of massive violations in Western Ukraine, and pro-opposition bias of local media there: 22&ReportID 230 BHHRG Report (The report is discredited in this Guardian article ). 569 The declaration of Yanukovych as the winner of the runoff by the elections commission set into play mass demonstrations and demands for a recount or outright revote from Yuschchenko supporters. The result has been widely criticised by Western media as fraudulent. 570 Protests continue for a fourth day, while Ukraine's highest court delays announcement of the final election results until it can resolve a dispute over the legitimacy of those results. 571 Opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko praises the court's action. According to The Times of India outgoing President Leonid Kuchma met with pro-Russian officials who had threatened to declare regional autonomy but said after the meeting that any breakup of the Ukraine was unacceptable. * Sat. Nov. 27: Ukraine parliament declares election invalid. 572 In a non-binding, symbolic gesture, the Ukrainian parliament votes to declare the election results invalid, as well as passing a vote of no confidence in the elections commission. * Tue. Nov. 30 Ukrainian election negotiations break off. 573 Yushchenko broke off from negotiation talk with incumbent Prime Minister Yanukovych stating that the negotiations were one-sided. * Wed. Dec. 1: Ukraine parliament sacks government. 574 Ukraine's parliament passes a vote of no-confidence in the government of Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych. * Fri. Dec. 3: Ukraine Supreme Court orders new election. *Sat. Dec. 4: Election reforms fail in Ukraine parliament. *Sat. Dec. 11: Ukraine opposition candidate Yushchenko is suffering from a Dioxin intoxication, doctors say. 575 This is reported as being the second highest level of Dioxin ever found in a human. * Mon. Dec. 27: Yushchenko claims victory in re-run. 576 Pro-government candidate Yanukovych refuses to accept results. * Fri. Dec. 31: Yanukovych declares his resignation from his post as Prime Minister. * Sun. 577 Jan. 23, 2005: Yushchenko sworn in as president of Ukraine 578 Web-cam. * LJ community dedicated to 2004 elections 579 Ukraine's supreme court has banned publication of election results due to possible election fraud. 580 As the court announced its decision Ukraine's opposition leader Viktor Yushchenko spoke to thousands of his supporters telling them that "This was only the beginning". 581 According to Interfax, the Ukrainian Supreme Court will resume its investigation of this issue on Monday. 582 While the decision was being made, reports were released stating that the foreign policy chief for the European Union, Javier Solana, will visit the country in order to meet with the central figures in this crisis. 583 At stumps on day one, Australia has opened a commanding lead in the second cricket test against New Zealand. 584 The laughter started soon after Australian captain Ricky Ponting won the toss and elected to bat on the hard, dry pitch. Openers Justin Langer and Matthew Hayden got off to a flying start, achieving 0/19 off the first two overs. Hayden was later caught and bowled by Paul Wiseman for 70. Although Hayden was clearly out, he refused to walk, insisting after the incident with Craig McMillan in the previous test, that the field umpires called for the video replay, which quickly ruled that he was out. 585 Ponting then came out to replace Hayden, and quickly took a fancy to the New Zealand bowlers. He eventually misjudged a spin delivery from Daniel Vettori and was stumped for 68. Damien Martyn briefly stepped in, but was cheaply dismissed for 7, only to be replaced by Darren Lehmann, who is not out on 28. 586 The best performance of the innings though, came from Justin Langer, who is currently not out on 144. Australia, at the time of writing, are 3/327, putting themselves into a commanding position for the second day's play. 587 Australia has already won the series with their previous victory in Brisbane, and this test is widely regarded merely as batting practice for Stephen Fleming's New Zealand side. Key bowler James Franklin is returning from injury in this game, but has had a poor start, with figures of 0/84 off of 14 overs. 588 Around 170 workers were trapped in the Chinese Chenjiashan mine, early Sunday morning, November 28th, the BBC reports. 589 Chinese state officials said that 123 workers managed to escape the facilities. 590 Many of those who escaped the mines are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. 591 Since the accident, there has been no contact with the 170 workers trapped inside, although the initial number of 183 people still in the complex was revised downwards. 592 China has had a long history of mining accidents —its mines are known as being among the most dangerous in the world. 593 Last month, more than 150 people died after a gas explosion in a mine in the Henan province. 594 The official tally of 4,153 mine fatalities during the first nine months of this year is actually a 13% improvement over the same period last year, which had a total of 6,246 mine worker deaths —4,620 of them coal mines. 595 5,203 deaths occurred among workers in other China industries. 596 Romania's ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) has emerged ahead in yesterday's legislative and presidential elections. 597 The voter turnout was around 57% of all eligible voters, which number 18 million people in a country of 21.7 million. 598 However the PSD did not gain the vote majority needed to declare an outright victory, and it will now proceed to a run-off election against the centre-left opposition. 599 Called the Truth and Justice Alliance, the main opposition is a union of candidates from the National Liberal Party and the Democrat Party. 600 While PSD+PUR is currently leading, the most hotly-contested election in Romania's post-Communist history may come down to the run-off, to be held on December 12. 601 The winning presidential candidate of the run-off will not only become the country's president but will also appoint a prime minister to lead the government. 602 In the presidential election, Adrian Nastase, the PSD's presidential candidate, won approximately 42% of the vote, while Traian Basescu of Truth and Justice obtained around 35%, according to exit polls. 603 Nastase led the exit polls due to greater support in rural Romania, as well as support from the urban poor, due to his policy of boosting the economy. 604 Nastase's PSD+PUR coalition was also supported because they are credited with saving Romania from economic collapse during their presidential and legislative term from 2000 until the present time. 605 During his term of prime-minister of Romania, from 2000 to 2004, Nastase not only boosted the economy but ensured that Romania entered NATO and progressed towards its accession to the European Union, expected to occur in 2007. 606 In 2004, the economy is expected to grow by 8.6%, the highest rate in Europe. 607 Basescu won a majority in Bucharest, Romania's capital, as well as in the wealthier cities of Transylvania. 608 Basescu is supported by the educated middle-class, who take a favourable view upon his policy of stamping out corruption in one of the region's most corrupt countries. 609 Basescu has also received a boost due to his liberalist policies and his proposal for tax reform and the introduction of a flat tax. 610 In the legislative election, the PSD+PUR coalition obtained 40% of the vote, while the Truth and Justice alliance trailed with 35%. 611 Because the PSD+PUR coalition did not gather the majority of the votes (50%+1), it will have to form a governing coalition with the minor parties, a process which is expected to be tedious given the fact that both of the major parties have ruled out entering into a coalition with ultra-nationalist The Greater Romania Party, which obtained around 12% of the vote. 612 A more efficient way to produce useable hydrogen has been demonstrated by researchers. 613 It uses very high-temperature electrolysis to separate hydrogen from water, so that hydrogen may be used for energy production. 614 Electrolysis is one method by which laboratories and factories produce hydrogen. 615 An electrical current is passed through water, breaking it down into hydrogen and oxygen gas, which are then collected above the water reservoir. 616 Researchers in Salt Lake City, Utah, at Ceramtech Incorporated, in collaboration with workers at The Idaho National Engineering and Environmental Laboratory report that when water is superheated to 800 degrees Celsius, far less electricity is required to produce the same volume of hydrogen. 617 The researchers envision that future nuclear fission plants could be used both to heat the water as part of their cooling system, and generate the needed electricity. 618 Concerns have been raised regarding the safety of such arrangements, however. Jeremy Desterhoft, an independent consultant on nuclear energy safety, warns the "elevated levels of radiation required to sufficiently lower the atomic separation point is beyond the current capabilities of any recent cooler." 619 He does not believe that economically viable cooling technology will be available for at least four to six more years. 620 Rachelle Waterman, (aka Rachelle Ann Monica Waterman and "smchyrocky"), a 16-year-old girl from Craig, Alaska, USA, has been charged with the first degree murder of her mother. 621 The case has rapidly received a wide following on the Internet, partly because Waterman kept a public record of her thoughts and activities on LiveJournal, a popular blogging service. 622 The last entry, which has since been removed from public view, was posted on November 18, 2004 and read: 623 Just to let everyone know, my mother was murdered. 624 I won't have computer acess sic until the weekend or so because the police took my computer to go through the hard drive. 625 I thank everyone for their thoughts and e-mails, I hope to talk to you when I get my computer back. 626 A diverse group of users, both friends and strangers, have posted over 5,000 comments on the journal, positive and negative, transforming the case into an Internet phenomenon. 627 Every entry since March 2004 has apparently now been deleted or hidden, but a ZIP archive of the entire weblog, from before the entries were deleted, is available on Deadly Blogging. 628 Waterman was a tenth-grade honor (A-average) student in her second year at Craig High School. 629 She was also a member of the Academic Decathlon team (ACDC) and sang in the choir, a profile that has left many people questioning her involvement in the killing and asking what motive there might be. 630 At the time police say the killing occurred, Rachelle Waterman was apparently playing in a volleyball tournament in Anchorage, Alaska. 631 Apart from the online diary Rachelle kept, the case is also unusual because matricide committed by female minors is extremely rare. 632 The Waterman family is a locally prominent, middle-upper class family. 633 Born on August 26, 1988, Rachelle showed an interest in acting, computers, movies and music, and was an honor roll student, involved in many extra-curricular activities, including choir, volleyball, and the decathlon team - advancing to upper levels and winning prizes in almost every endeavor. 634 Her mother, Lauri, was a teachers' aide and served on the board of the Little League and the town library. 635 Rachelle Waterman's 60-year-old father, Carl "Doc" Waterman, is a real estate agent and serves as president of the Craig School Board. 636 Rachelle's older brother, Geoffrey, lives out of town and is a student at Tacoma College. 637 Waterman and her alleged accomplices, Jason Arrant and Brian Radel, both 24 years old, are accused of murdering and conspiring to murder Waterman's 48-year-old mother, Lauri Waterman. 638 Reportedly, Arrant dropped Radel off near the Waterman home shortly after 12:00 a.m. 639 Sunday, November 13, 2004 (local time) where Radel proceeded to kidnap Lauri Waterman, force her into a minivan owned by the Waterman family, and kill her with a blunt object. 640 Arrant and Radel then allegedly met at Forest Service Road 3012 at about 2:30 a.m., and Arrant followed Radel to its dead end, where Radel had driven the Waterman's van. 641 Arrant then allegedly watched as Radel doused the body and van with gasoline and then used a roll of paper towels to set it on fire, in an attempt to destroy the evidence. 642 Alaska State Police Lt. Rodney Dial has stated that a hunter discovered Lauri Waterman's body and her burnt-out van, while driving on Forest Service Road 3012, a remote logging road, early in the afternoon of Sunday November 142004. 643 On Saturday, November 202004, Alaska State Police Trooper Robert Claus stated: 644 During ... interviews all three made admissions as to their involvement in the murder. 645 Physical evidence recovered at the various crime scenes corroborated many of the defendants' statements ... 646 Radel, Arrant and Waterman have been charged with murder in the first degree. Due to the severity of the charges, Waterman has been waived into adult court. Additional charges of solicitation, conspiracy, tampering with physical evidence and other charges are pending. Arrant and Waterman will be arraigned in the District Court in Craig this morning. 647 On Saturday, November 20, 2004, Rachelle appeared in Craig District Court, dressed in an orange CCJF jumpsuit, for arraignment on the charges. 648 Waterman and her alleged co-conspirators, Jason Arrant, and Brian Radel, faced a 10-count indictment, listing 26 felonies. 649 The Fairbanks Daily News-Miner reported that, "the complaint against Rachelle Waterman relied on statements by all three co-defendants. 650 The complaint says the girl told one of the suspects when she and her father would be out of town." 651 A report in The Ketchikan Daily News stated that, "The first seven counts of the indictment allege that all three defendants committed the crimes of conspiracy to commit first-degree murder; first-degree murder; second-degree murder; kidnapping; first-degree burglary; first-degree vehicle theft and tampering with physical evidence." 652 Other charges were made against Arrant and Radel. 653 The same report went on to state, "Trooper Robert Claus, Klawock resident Jan Bush and Deputy State Medical Examiner Susan Klingler testified before the grand jury." 654 Magistrate Kay Clark presided over the arraignment and set bail at $150,000. 655 Clark also appointed a public defender to represent Rachelle, who was sent to the Juneau Department of Corrections facility. 656 Judge Patricia Collins, of the Juneau Superior Court, has been assigned to run the trial for the case. 657 Judge Collins originally set a date of February 3, 2005 for the trial, but, at an arraignment that week, the trial was rescheduled for August 22. According to court officials, another postponement is likely. 658 Rachelle Waterman's court-appointed attorney for the trial is Assistant Public Advocate Steven Wells. 659 Assistant District Attorney Daniel Schally is assigned to prosecute the case. 660 No motive for the crime has been suggested. 661 Readers are closely scrutinizing Rachelle's online journal for clues. 662 As early as February 24th of 2004, she posted the following: 663 :"Don't you hate it when the little pieces of shit pile up to the point you're at the breaking point, and you want to scream and cry at the same time. 664 I don't know weather to kill somebody, myself, or just curl up into a fetalsic position under my covers and lay there for a couple of days. 665 Either way . . . 666 I'm not good . . . " 667 Numerous readers have pointed to Rachelle's negative comments concerning her mother's wishes to send her to a "fat farm" to lose weight. 668 :"My mom finally gave me back the right to eat but wants to send me to fat camp this summer. 669 I think it's rather hallarioussic. 670 I mean, I agree I'm chunky but if she sends me off I"ll be the skinny girl and get sat aponsic. 671 That part wouldn't be funny, but overall it's quite amusing. 672 Silly mother," (verbatim spelling). 673 In another incident, her mother grounded her (restricted her to home) for receiving an 89% score on a test. 674 Rachelle posted these comments to her journal in response to this situation (verbatim spelling): 675 :"well I'm grounded, last ngihtsic my mom went psycho bitch on me and cast me out. 676 So I went to crash at someone's house then she freaked out, wanted me home incasesic I told someone. 677 Wee for loving parental units" 678 :"I even got to fly...down the stairs...." 679 Other readers have pointed to the title of Rachelle's journal, "My Crappy Life (The Inside Look of an Insane Person)", and her negative description of her hometown as "Hell, Alaska, United States": 680 :"I live in the suckiestsic place on earth, a shit hole in alaskasic." 681 Rachelle posted the following poem to her journal on August 24, 2004, with an indication that she was depressed: 682 :they hold the key to my chamber :locked within it's depths. :never to see the sunlight, :and contemplating death. :starving more than one way :soul and body combine, :the pain curses through :sending chills up the spine. :will I live to see the stars? :the sunrise once more? :or will I wither and rot :my heart gone forevermore 683 She also had a strong desire not to be at home: 684 :"I just want a job, keep me occupied and not at home" 685 and even posted an "Ode to Suicide" under the following post: 686 :"Ever feel completely alone? 687 All the people who you care about and you thought cared about you just leave and you're....just alone...nobody to connect with, nobody to comfort you when you find out you might die, nobody...nothing...." 688 :Ode to Suicide 689 :Pain consumes my body, :eating away like lye. :Tearing at my flesh, :no more tears left to cry. 690 :Nobody loves me, :nobody cares. :Why continue on? :I want out of these snares. 691 :Relief and release, :is what you bring to me. :No more matters to cry for, :I can finally be free. 692 :"wow I suck amazingly at poetry" 693 Finally, the weekend before Rachelle left on a trip, during which time her mother was allegedly killed, she noted in her second-to-last entry, "I had a migraine from about 9am-6pm". 694 Rachelle Waterman is currently incarcerated at the Lemon Creek correctional facility, in Alaska. 695 She signed an agreement to be placed into the general population. 696 Corrections Deputy Commissioner Portia Parker indicated that Waterman "is an adult in the eyes of the law." 697 Alaska law places persons charged with first-degree murder at the age of 16 or older in the adult court system, and most of the records concerning this case are open to the public for inspection. 698 One of the last entries in Rachelle's journal wonders whether anyone is reading her comments (verbatim spelling): 699 :"Well not a lot has happened lately I jsut thought I should let people know I"m still alive, not like too many people care cus I'm not even sure if anyone reads these from me anymore." 700 Although Waterman has not yet been convicted, sociologists and forensic psychologists are beginning to study her journal and the circumstances of her writing it. 701 (The police have seized her computer and are examining the contents of its hard drive for evidence.) 702 LiveJournal has subsequently restricted the viewing of her journal. 703 When interviewed by Alaskan television station KTUU about the nature of online journals, (in late November, 2004) forensic psychologist Susan LaGrande commented that "it's such an anonymous vehicle that you can be whoever or say whatever you want. 704 You don't have all the responsibilities that are inherent in a face-to-face real, legitimate relationship. 705 This same report pointed out that Rachelle Waterman had mentioned suicide in her online journal. 706 Criminologist Susan Magestro was interviewed by KTUU on the subject of juvenile crime, in late November, 2004, after Waterman became the second teenager within two months to be accused of murdering her own parent. She stated that "I think that we're starting to see more violence with kids who are younger, and the behaviors that they're exhibiting are more aggressive and more violent." 707 Magestro also opined that "we've got a lot more fetal alcohol and drug children who are growing up, and they don't understand the consequences of some of their actions." 708 (There is no indication that Waterman was a so-called "fetal alcohol" or "drug" child.) 709 KTUU reported that Magestro "...blames violent movies, TV shows and videogames for desensitizing young people, making them unable to understand the consequences -- or even the reality -- of their actions." 710 Although Waterman has been waived into the adult justice system due to the nature of the crime, the Governor of Alaska, Frank Murkowski, has proposed increasing the number of personnel assigned to the juvenile justice system. 711 People in Kansas like to just go have a look at things from time to time, particularly if it is kitchy and big. 712 Frank Stoeber died in 1974, but not before he left behind a legacy of twine. 713 Frank started a building a ball of sisal twine (a form of hemp) in 1953, which as grown to 40 ft in diameter hence. 714 The ball of twine's domicile is a mini-museam located in the downtown of Cawker City, Kansas, which onlookers can simple look at or add twine to. In some ways Frank's ball of twine mirrors that of the failed culture of Easter Island. On Easter Island, the people built large stone heads in some final attempt to perserve a culture that was dying from lack of trees. 715 Similarly, Frank's large ball of twine stands an object of preservation. 716 In case you don't make off the coast of Chili, head out to the heartland and have a look. 717 Internet portal and mail-provider Lycos Europe has launched a program to increase spammers' bills by having thousands of voluntary users' computers repeatedly query websites from which spam originates. 718 Such a tactic would increase the bandwidth costs for these websites. 719 However, it also faces legal questions. 720 Spamming, the mass sending of unsolicited emails, is lucrative in part because each email can be sent for nearly insignificant costs. 721 With such low costs, a commercial spammer needs only to have a very small number of recipients buy their product to make a profit. 722 The goal of many anti-spam proposals has been to increase the cost of spammers sending messages. 723 Lycos' approach is to make it more expensive to maintain servers that send spam. 724 Volunteers may download the screensaver from the Lycos website for it. 725 The program would run on a user's computer in the background and request about three megabytes (3MBs) of data every day. 726 The screensaver shows which spam server is being targeted by the user, where the server is located, and how many others are attacking it at that moment. 727 Target email servers are selected from blacklists from anti-spam organizations, with Lycos' own verification. 728 Legal issues arise over whether this can be interpreted as a denial of service attack. 729 In such an attack, computers overwhelm a webserver with requests for data to the point where it does not have the resources to fulfill its normal function. 730 Lycos, in explanatory material on the screensaver's dedicated website ( ), claims that its technology closely monitors the screensavers' effects on targeted websites and prevents any of them from being completely shut down by information requests. 731 Lycos Europe operates in Germany where, according to Joerg Heidrich of Heise Zeitschriften Verlag, less than completely shutting down a server is not clearly illegal under the penal code. 732 It may, however, be actionable under the civil code. 733 But Lycos may be betting that no one will file a suit, as that would require those participating in illegal spamming to reveal their identity. 734 The website no longer allows downloads of the screensaver, and users of the screensaver cannot connect to spam sites, but are instead given the message 'Stay Tuned' 735 The Valech Report, officially titled The National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture Report, was made public yesterday (November 29, 2004) by Bishop Sergio Valech, the head of the eight-member panel commission into abuses committed in Chile between 1973 and 1990 by agents of Augusto Pinochet's military regime. 736 It was prepared by the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture at the request of the president, and it is freely available to the public as a document on the Internet. 737 The report was based on testimonies given to the commission by more than 35,000 people. 738 A little over 27,000 of those testimonies were regarded as legitimate by the commission. 739 On addressing the nation on November 28, 2004, president Ricardo Lagos said he would propose a bill that will provide compensation to the victims. 740 Most witnesses described behavioral, emotional and psychosocial effects. 741 Many said they had felt . and still feel . insecure and fearful, humiliated, ashamed and guilty; depressed, anxiety-ridden and hopeless. 742 Some persons mentioned alterations in their concentration and memory; others cited conflicts, crises and breakups within their families, as well as conjugal problems. 743 They also mentioned the loss of reference groups and social networks. 744 Most victims mentioned sleep disturbances and chronic insomnia, as well as behavioral inhibitions, phobias and fears. 745 This Commission heard testimony from 3,399 women, almost all of whom said they were the object of sexual violence; 316 said they were raped. 746 Of the latter, 229 were detained while pregnant. 747 Because of the torture they suffered, 20 of them aborted and 15 gave birth while in prison. 748 Thirteen women said they were made pregnant by their captors; six of those pregnancies came to term. 749 The full report, in Spanish, can be found here. 750 Excerpts from the report as translated by The Miami Herald http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/10298240.htm. 751 :Consciously or unconsciously, a conspiracy of silence about the torture spread slowly through the country. 752 Political prison and torture constituted a state policy during the military regime, defined and promoted by the political authorities of the period which mobilized personnel and resources of various public organizations and issued decrees and laws that protected such repressive behavior. 753 And this had the support, explicit sometimes but almost always implicit, of the only power that was not a member of that regime: the judiciary. 754 :More than 18,000 of the 35,868 respondents said they were detained between September and December 1973. 755 During that period, torture was practiced by members of the Armed Forces and Carabineros paramilitary police in what became a generalized practice on a national scale. 756 :More than 5,266 respondents were political prisoners detained between January 1974 and August 1977, when new modalities of detention and torture were created. 757 By June 1974, the DINA Directorate of National Intelligence was granted full legal recognition and its own budget. 758 :Almost 4,000 respondents were persons detained for political motives between August 1977 and March 1990. 759 The final period of the repressive process was distinguished by the activities of the CNI National Information Center. 760 In 3,059 cases, the detainees were kept in CNI facilities. 761 :As the citizenry rearticulated itself politically, the Investigations Department Police police detectives and Carabineros intervened again most actively in the tasks of coercion, detaining (for shorter periods) and torturing (with the usual methods) either on their own or placing oppositionists at the disposal of the CNI, military or civilian tribunals for processing. 762 Alfred Gusenbauer has been reelected as leader of the Austrian Social Democrat Party (SPOE) at the party's convention in Vienna. 763 Gusenbauer received 88.93% of the vote, an unexpectedly low value. 764 In 2002, he was reelected with 99.6%. 765 Gusenbauer leads the SPOE since 1999. 766 Albeit the low result he has called the vote an "impressive display of confidence". 767 Gusenbauer and other heads of the party, including influential Vienna mayor Michael Haeupl have confirmed that Gusenbauer will be the party's top candidate for the next parliamental election which will also determine the Austrian chancellor. 768 In his keynote address Gusenbauer has issued heavy criticism at the current Austrian government which is led by chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel and the Austrian People's Party (OEVP). 769 The People's Republic of China has signed an agreement with ASEAN to establish the world's largest free trade area. 770 Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, India and Australia are considering joining. 771 ASEAN members include Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Indonesia. 772 In the last four years China has become a major importer of oil and commodities, and a major exporter of finished goods. 773 China has also strengthened relationships with oil suppliers in the Middle East and Africa. 774 This pact lifts trade restrictions and removes tariffs from many imports and exports. It also allows China to continue manipulating the value of its currency in its own interests. 775 The yuan is currently undervalued, making Chinese-made goods artificially cheap for foreign importers. 776 Stated in the agreement is ASEAN's intention to create a unified economy--and by implication polity--similar to the EU. 777 This agreement will cement China's role as the center of the South Asian regional economy, and at the same time strengthening bonds between China and other countries in the region and ease their suspicions over a growing superpower. 778 Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and South Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun separately adopted accords with the 10-nation Association of Southeast Asian Nations, agreeing to launch the talks early next year. 779 Both agreements aim for trade pacts within two years. 780 Australia and New Zealand are expected to sign similar agreements with ASEAN before discussions close later Tuesday, although ASEAN remains wary of Australian Prime Minister John Howard's refusal to sign its nonaggression treaty. 781 Howard played down these concerns but said on record that he reserves the right to preemptively act against terrorists on foreign soil if they threaten Australia. 782 Hopes were rising that the impasse in the Good Friday Agreement could be broken with high level talks in Downing Street between the British Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Democratic Unionist leader Ian Paisley. 783 It is also expected that the Republican Sinn Fein leader Gerry Adams would have separate meetings with the Irish leader Bertie Ahern in Dublin. 784 These meetings follow a historic meeting between Gerry Adams and Northern Ireland Chief Constable Hugh Orde over issues of police reform and decommissioning. 785 The current impasse concerns the key issues of decommissioning of paramilitary weapons and the 'de-militarisation' of the province. 786 Previous efforts to achieve a compromise failed because Unionists claimed insufficiently large amounts of IRA weaponry had been decommissioned, and that there was insufficient evidence that the weapons had in fact been destroyed. 787 Some Unionists are insisting on photographic evidence of the destruction of IRA weapons, a request that is bound to be resisted by more militant Republicans. 788 Even if further decommissioning occurs, Republicans are almost certain to want a specific timetable for the removal of British Army bases in Republican leaning areas of Northern Ireland (such as South Armagh), which are much resented by some local inhabitants. 789 If the current deadlock were broken, it would mean the reconvening of the Northern Ireland Assembly, which was shut down in 2002 amidst accusations of spying by both Republicans and Unionists. 790 United States President George W. Bush made his first official state visit to Canada this week. 791 After the political frost between the two states surrounding the U.S.' 792 War on Terror policy and its invasion of Iraq in 2003, the kind of relationship the neighbor states can build or rebuild is thought to be of concern to many Canadians — the majority of whom remain highly critical of the Bush administration's policies. 793 Topics discussed included the U.S. 794 "Star Wars" missile defence system, the future of NORAD (North American Aerospace Defence Command), combatting of AIDS and other diseases in Africa, and cracking down on illegal activities on the U.S.-Canada border. 795 They also discussed trade issues including beef, lumber, and prescription drugs. 796 Protesters clashed with riot police in Ottawa briefly on Tuesday in a break from what has been for the most part a calm series of demonstrations. 797 The Indymedia group of websites reported a demonstration on the 29th against the deportation of Palestinian refugees. 798 They also report 15,000 people marched against Bush in Ottawa on the 30th and have text photos, and a video of the protests. 799 During an early afternoon news conference with Prime Minister Paul Martin, Bush said he was pleased with the welcome he received Tuesday morning. 800 "I want to thank the Canadian people who came out to wave —with all five fingers —for their hospitality," he said with a chuckle. 801 The official 26-hour visit will take the American President to Canada's capital city, Ottawa and to Halifax, where he will pay tribute to the hospitality shown by Canadians on September 11, 2001, when, after the U.S. closed its airspace, more than 200 flights were diverted to Canadian airports. 802 Thousands of Americans were sheltered in Halifax (the largest city in Canada's Atlantic provinces) as well as St. John's and Gander in Newfoundland, and other centres. 803 In a resignation statement today, United States Secretary of Homeland Security Tom Ridge announced that he will leave his position by February 1, 2005, unless a successor is named sooner. 804 In his tenure as the first United States Secretary of Homeland Security, Ridge has been instrumental in establishing protocols aimed at thwarting terrorism, including a national warning system based on color coding that is routinely publicized nationally. 805 In his resignation, Ridge thanked President Bush for the opportunity to help secure the nation and expressed his sentiments that the new security systems put in place since the September 11, 2001 attacks had made America safer and more prepared than it had been. 806 He cited family and personal issues as major reasons for his resignation stating that, "After more than 22 consecutive years of public service, it is time to give personal and family matters a higher priority." 807 Several days after Ridge's announcement, Secretary of Health and Human Services Tommy Thompson announced his departure and warned that the nation remains vulnerable to potential food-borne terrorist attacks, stating, "I cannot understand why the terrorists have not attacked our food supply because it is so easy to do." 808 As the United States's first Secretary of Homeland Security, Ridge resigned his position as Governor of Pennsylvania in 2001 to take the position for which President Bush had nominated him. 809 He is well-known to Americans for implementing the now-famous color-coded terror alert levels and advisories against various sorts of terrorism. 810 The Department of Homeland Security is a new player in the power struggle in Washington. 811 Throughout his tenure, Ridge fought a losing battle with the FBI for jurisdiction because the Bush administration allowed the FBI to remain a part of the Department of Justice. 812 War on Terror". 813 The report details communication failures with the Muslim world, and notes that current efforts may have achieved the opposite of their intended effect. 814 The report released without publicity the Wednesday before Thanksgiving by Defense Science Board, focuses on a failure of communication, which the Defense Science Board considers vital to the war on terror. 815 It asserts this failure of "stategic communication" contributes to a perceived "negative image in world opinion and diminished ability to persuade" of the United States, and that a resulting atmosphere of hostility can manifest in numerous ways. 816 The list of harmful effects includes "terrorism, thin coalitions, harmful effects on business, restrictions on travel, declines in cross border tourism and education flows, and damaging consequences for other elements of U.S. soft power". 817 According to the report, "The information campaign ... is an essential objective, because the larger goals of U.S. strategy depend on separating the vast majority of non-violent Muslims from the radical-militant Islamist-Jihadists. 818 But American efforts have not only failed in this respect: they may also have achieved the opposite of what they intended." 819 By way of example, the report quotes figures from a June 2004 Zogby poll, claiming to show a significant drop in Arab support for the U.S. in the past couple years. 820 Statistical results are reproduced below. 821 Country 822 The report further claims, "American direct intervention in the Muslim World has paradoxically elevated the stature of and support for radical Islamists." 823 As summarised in a Christian Science Monitor headline, 'They hate our policies, not our freedom'. 824 So why has support for the U.S. dropped? -- to single digits in some Arab nations. 825 President Bush and others have famously claimed that America is hated for its freedom. 826 But the Defense Science Board concluded that most Arabs "do not hate us for our values, but because of our policies." 827 From the same Zogby study: 828 This study explains that while support for American values may not be overwhelming, it is practically non-existent for America's policies in the Middle East. 829 "The overwhelming majority voice their objections to what they see as one-sided support in favor of Israel and against Palestinian rights, and the longstanding, even increasing support for what Muslims collectively see as tyrannies, most notably Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Pakistan, and the Gulf states. 830 Thus when American public diplomacy talks about bringing democracy to Islamic societies, this is seen as no more than self-serving hypocrisy." 831 In the eyes of Muslims, according to this report, America is really only looking out for its own interests. 832 It concludes from this that the fundamental problem with relations with the Muslim world is not a simple matter of crafting the right message. 833 "Rather, it is a fundamental problem of credibility. 834 Simply, there is none." 835 Merriam-Webster.s Online Dictionary has announced that the word .blog. is their word of the year in their list of Top 10 words of the year. 836 The top ten list in order was: 837 Reuters reports that the company said most online dictionary queries were for uncommon terms, but people also turned to its Web sites for words in news headlines. 838 "That is what occurred in this year's election cycle ... with voluminous hits for words like 'incumbent,' 'electoral,' 'partisan,' and, of course, our number one Word of the Year, 'blog'," Merriam-Webster President and Publisher John Morse said in a statement. 839 The dictionary has been criticized however for its definition of a blog on a blog news website, that described Merriam-Websters definition of a blog as a personal journal as "garbage" and "so 1999". 840 Late today, Apple Computer Inc.'s iTunes Music Store (iTMS) was opened to Canadians. 841 The 700,000+ songs are priced at CAD 99? (USD 84?) per song, the lowest price of any iTMS localization to date. 842 The Canada localization also provides customers the same personal rights for songs as with existing stores: 843 iTMS Canada was announced during the launch of the iPod photo, iPod Special Edition: U2, and EU iTMS on October 26. 844 Apple CEO Steve Jobs stated that the Canada localization was planned for November. 845 Apple apologized today for missing its own deadline, and announced that the store will be launched "very soon." 846 No reason was given for the delay. 847 iTMS Canada is another choice for Canadians in legal music downloads which includes Archambault.ca (Quebecor Media Inc.), Napster.ca (The legal reincarnation of Napster), and Puretracks.com (Moontaxi Media Inc.). 848 The Canada localization is the 13th nation to be added to iTMS following its launch in the United States in April 2003; France, U.K., and Germany were added, in June of this year and all European Union countries, except Ireland, were added in October. 849 U.S. President George W. Bush nominated Bernard B. Kerik, the police commissioner of the New York Police Department during the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks to succeed Tom Ridge as the Secretary of Homeland Security. 850 Kerik resigned as police commissioner two months following the terrorist attacks, citing the desire to spend more time with his family, but has since kept a very high profile. Following the invasion of Iraq, he chose to lead the training of Iraqi law enforcement. He campaigned for President George W. Bush in the 2004 presidential election and delivered a prime time speech at the Republican National Convention. 851 Among other security qualifications, he has served in the U.S. Army, as narcotics detective in the NYPD and as private security worker in Saudi Arabia. 852 Kerik faces the daunting task of running the DHS, an agency assembled from 22 other agencies with over 180,000 employees. 853 December 3, 2004 854 The Democratic Republic of the Congo may be preparing to have its troops face those of Rwanda, which have allegedly been sighted by United Nations personnel on the Congo side of the border. 855 The United Nations is attempting to mediate the conflict but both sides of the conflict appear to be pursuing independent policies, with Congo's president accusing Rwanda of being predatory, and Rwandan president refusing to back down from the threat of pursuing Rwandan rebels across Congo's territory. 856 The Basque separatist group ETA was blamed for five explosions at gas stations in the Spanish capital of Madrid on Friday. 857 The explosions claimed no casualties, but two police officers were lightly wounded. 858 An anonymous caller contacted the Basque newspaper Gara at 5.30pm local time, describing the location of the devices and naming ETA as responsible for the attacks. 859 The bombings caused city-wide traffic jams, as police and rescue forces raced to secure the targets. 860 The attacks ended a relatively peaceful phase of several months in the conflict between the Spanish central government and Basque extremists. 861 While leaders of ETA's political arm Batasuna have recently hinted at the possibility of a ceasefire, the assault makes any form of dialogue with ETA unlikely in the near future. 862 ETA is considered a terrorist organization by the United States and the European Union. 863 December 13, 2004 864 CAPE CANAVERAL, Florida - The first new heavy lift space vehicle in a generation is cleared to launch from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. 865 The Boeing Delta IV Heavy has missed launch opportunities three days in a row (starting Friday, December 12) due to minor technical difficulties. 866 It is now scheduled to launch Dec. 20 or 21 from pad SLC-37B. 867 The Delta 4 was developed as part of the U.S Air Force's Evolved Expendable Launch Vehicle program to reduce costs and improve reliability. The basic design is a two stage, cryogenic LOx/LH2 rocket. Strap-on boosters may be added to increase lift capacity. 868 Two major obstacles have plagued the project in recent years; a bidding scandal which cost Boeing a large portion of the military satellite launch business for which it was competing, and a downturn in commercial satellite launches in 2001. 869 The Heavy variant of the Delta 4 rocket can place 13,100 kg (28,950 Lb) into geostationary transfer orbit, greater than any other current rocket. 870 Two additional first stage cores are used as strap-on boosters for this configuration. 871 Their rated thrust is 2,900,000 N (656,000 lb) each. 872 Delta 4's main engine, the RS68, is the most powerful hydrogen/liquid oxygen engine in the world, approximately three times as powerful as the Ariane 5 Vulcain HM60. 873 Its design sacrifices efficiency for increased reliability and lower cost: rated specific impulse is 365s at sea level and 410s in a vacuum. 874 The second stage engine, Pratt and Whitney's RL-10B-2, has a specific impulse of 462s. 875 The primary market for this launcher will be classified spy satellites for the US intelligence community. 876 Most of these satellites were previously launched on the Titan 4, which has since been retired. 877 The Delta 4 Heavy's published launch cost is $170 million, compared to the Titan 4's $400 million (1999 dollars). 878 Delta 4 Heavy's maiden launch is a demonstration and will carry a dummy load and two nano-satellites. 879 The main payload, dubbed DemoSat is a 6020 kg (13271 lb) mass designed to simulate the dynamic and initial properties of a real satellite. Its design consists of large brass rods, intended to fully burn up on reentry. 880 The two nano-satellites are part of the US Department of Defense Nanosat-2 Program, and built by students from New Mexico State University, Arizona State University, and the University of Colorado at Boulder. 881 Scientists using a computer model of the typical European summer with no human influences (without global warming) have compared it to the same model with global warming included. 882 They have concluded that human influence makes extremely warm summers (i.e. summers as warm as the 2003 heatwave) more than twice as likely. 883 Commentators have suggested that in the future this may open the way for lawsuits against heavy polluters by persons whose livelihoods have been affected by adverse climate change. 884 However, the report stesses that though it is in fact impossible to pin any specific extreme climate event on either global warming or natural climate variation, human activities increase the frequency of such events. 885 The study is based upon climate activity during the last 50 years, which can only be replicated with computer models which include human forcing (CO2 and other greenhouse gases (GHGs)). 886 However, even within a warmer world the summer of 2003 was anomalously warm in Europe. 887 Most simulations of 2003 climate produce cooler weather in Europe than what actually happened. It is not yet known if flaws in the models cause this difference, if the warmth of 2003 was part of a trend, or 2003 was merely unusually hot. 888 If there will be a warming trend, a model predicts that such summers could become an event of 1-in-2 probability only by 2050. 889 In the Americas, a series of sudden weather changes has been more frequent in the last 15 years since the discovery of the phenomenon knows as El Nino, in which vast regions of North and South America suffered weather extremes ranging from high tides to extreme hail, rain and snowstorms during summer and winter seasons following extremely hot summers. 890 There's still no scientific evidence that El Nino is directly influenced by human factors. 891 Two car bombs were detonated outside an Iraqi police station near the Green Zone here Saturday, killing 16 and wounding dozens. 892 The attacks occurred near the Checkpoint 2 entrance at 9:30 a.m. 893 Immediately after the blasts, a small arms attack was launched by rebels on Checkpoint 1. 894 Entrances into the Green Zone, frequented by foreigners and journalists, were immediately sealed. 895 Among the four killed were police officers, and between 35 and 60 were reportedly wounded. 896 Shawn Fanning, the creator of Napster and a founder of Snocap, Inc., on Friday revealed his plans for a legal peer-to-peer file-sharing platform. 897 Snocap has signed an agreement with Universal Music Group to make the company's entire catalogue available through the new service. 898 Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 899 According to Snocap's press release, the platform will include a copyright management interface, which will allow content owners to control the distribution of their intellectual property among users. 900 The service's main competitor would be Apple's iTunes Music Store, which is currently the most widely used legal source of downloadable music. 901 Articles dated 29 November to 5 December 2004 are included in the compilation below. 902 Their status in the current proposed review policy at time of compilation is noted next to each date of articles of some length, with articles only in development being listed at bottom. 903 Civilians, it has been reported, have been killed in these latest attacks. 904 The information has not been supported by international mainstream news agencies. 905 Romania's ruling Social Democrat Party (PSD) has emerged ahead in yesterday's legislative and presidential elections. 906 The voter turnout was around 57% of all eligible voters, which number 18 million people in a country of 21.7 million. 907 Such a tactic would increase the bandwidth costs for these websites. 908 However, it also faces legal questions. 909 Japan, South Korea, New Zealand, India and Australia are considering joining. 910 ASEAN members include Myanmar, Laos, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Philippines, Malaysia, Brunei Darussalam, Singapore and Indonesia. 911 Through unrelated provisions inserted in the $388 billion omnibus bill, Congressional leaders cut back wilderness safeguards in Alaska, Idaho and the Georgia seacoast. 912 It was prepared by the National Commission on Political Imprisonment and Torture at the request of the president, and it is freely available to the public as a document on the Internet. 913 The 700,000+ songs are priced at CAD 99? (USD 84?) making it the lowest price of any iTMS localization to date. 914 They portray the current election crisis as a popular revolution reacting to the gross manipulation of an election in favour of the establishment candidate Viktor Yanukovich. 915 However a look below the surface would show these issues to be more complex than appearances would suggest. 916 The explosions claimed no casualties, but two police officers were lightly wounded. 917 16 people were killed including 4 police officers and between 35 and 60 people were reportedly wounded. 918 Snocap has signed an agreement with Universal Music Group to make the company's entire catalogue available through the new service. 919 Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed. 920 The move has been called a "goodwill gesture" towards Muslims. 921 A small explosive device was deactivated today by the Spanish police in Almeria, Andalusia. 922 The report, "Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of U.S. Policy" (Summary PDF), investigated "the impact of drug control policies on human rights and democracy" and declared that present policies in the War on Drugs have failed to achieve any meaningful success. 923 These articles were begun in the past week but are under development at the time of compilation. 924 This a collection of articles whose datelines read between 22 and 29 November. 925 They have not necessarily gone through a peer-review process, and may not even be done. 926 This is essentially an index right now. 927 Click on an article's title to read it in full. 928 He will continue to be an investigative reporter for both of the 60 Minutes shows. 929 Senator John McCain (R-AZ) entered them into the Congressional Record during a speech last week against the now-cancelled deal to lease 100 mid-air tanker aircraft from Boeing. 930 80% of the DWP's desktop computers were put out of action by a software update. 931 This story is being widely reported but details are scarce. 932 Most of the talk is about the severity of the problem and the pattern of failures associated with IT outsourcing in the government. 933 According to Chinese state officials, 123 workers managed to escape the facilities. 934 Many of those who escaped the mines are suffering from carbon monoxide poisoning. 935 Since the accident, there has been no contact with the 170 workers trapped inside, although the initial number of 183 people still in the complex was revised downwards. 936 The details of the settlement may have ramifications with respect to the SCO v. IBM case with SCO believing it is the successor in interest to USL. 937 Frank Stoeber died in 1974, but not before he left behind a legacy of twine. 938 Frank started a building a ball of sisal twine (a form of hemp) in 1953, which as grown to 40 ft in diameter hence. 939 The ball of twine's domicile is a mini-museam located in the downtown of Cawker City, Kansas, which onlookers can simple look at or add twine to. 940 According to Agencia Estado, members of the Brazilian Landless Workers Movement (MST) are accused of beating to death Paulo Brizola Nunes. 941 Mr. Nunes, 51 years old, was an employee of the Noroeste Farm in Cabixi, 820 km (510 miles) away from the regional capital of Porto Velho, Rondonia. 942 The farm was considered at risk of invasion due to its proximity to a MST encampment. 943 Nunes and another employee of Noroeste Farm known as "Coco" were on a motorcycle when they were allegedly attacked. 944 MST members allegedly extended barbed wire across the road to down the two men, who were then pummelled with axes and sticks. 945 Coco escaped to a Cabixi police station but Nunes was rendered unconscious and did not survive the assault. 946 MST is a large Marxist-Maoist inspired movement of agricultural workers in Brazil, officially founded in 1984. 947 The movement claims to pursue equitable redistribution of Brazilian farmland. 948 In 2003 there were 632 MST camps in Brazil, containing 116,382 families. 949 According to a recent report on labor standards in Brazil, conditions for laborers are poor. 950 Currently, MST receives financial help from the Brazilian government and donations from international organizations. 951 The movement also receives funds by selling videos of their invasions and other products like books, flags and caps. 952 MST's most visible tactic has been their armed occupation of mostly privately-held plantations and landholdings. 953 However, some Brazilians have protested MST's use of violence. 954 Many farms hire gunfighters to protect their properties from invasions as MST is known to permanently evict farmholders. 955 MST claims they use arms only to defend themselves from the gunfighters. 956 English-language page *MST Official webpage.Portuguese-language page *Alexandre Mansur & Gerson Camarotti, MST . Os filhos querem revolucao, Epoca magazine, July 7, 2003. 957 Millions of origami cranes have been dropped on Thailand's three southern provinces following violence between the government and ethnic minority Muslim populations. 958 The move has been called a "goodwill gesture" towards Muslims. 959 Up to 120 million such paper sculptures were dropped on Thailand's three southern-most provinces, Narathiwat, Pattani and Yala. 960 Tensions in this area have increased recently, peaking with the recent death of 85 demonstrators arrested during a protest. 961 The government blamed their deaths on physical weakness due to fasting in the month of Ramadan as the cause, as most if not all the deaths occurred during transport of up to 500 arrested protestors. 962 Critics of the Thai government have called for the resignation of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra, blaming the "over-eagerness" of Thai security forces as the cause of the deaths. 963 The dispersal was timed to coincide with the birthday of Thailand's King Bhumibol Adulyadej, and has generated much interest from the rest of the country's predominantly Buddhist population. The cranes were built by citizens throughout Thailand and had peace messages written on them. 964 The southern, Muslim provinces are often considered neglected by a north that is larger and of the majority ethnic group. 965 Some have welcomed the goodwill gesture, but critics in both the north and south have said that the resources would have been better spent solving the problems in the south. 966 Some Islamic leaders in the south have also expressed concerns that the gesture may not be properly understood by Muslims, as the crane carries no cultural significance with them. 967 ALMERIA, Spain. - A small explosive device was deactivated today by the Spanish police in Almeria, Andalucia. 968 The bomb was hidden inside a small bag, accompanied by a note signed by ETA, and was set to explode at 13:30 on Monday, December 6, a national holiday to celebrate the Spanish Constitution. 969 The explosive device was found by police while patrolling the Plaza de Espana (Spain Square), according to a memo by the Ministry of Interior, and was deactivated by a bomb squad without having to explode it. 970 The Civil Guard calculated that the device carried less than 200 grams of explosive, about the same amount as the bombs placed in 5 gas stations in Madrid on Friday, according to "El Mundo". 971 The Spanish Minister of Interior, Jose Antonio Alonso, appealed for the population to remain calm and trust the authorities. 972 The "War on Drugs" waged by the United States has been criticized in a report released by the Washington D.C.-left wing based human rights group Washington Office on Latin America. 973 The report, "Drugs and Democracy in Latin America: The Impact of U.S. Policy" (Summary, PDF), investigated "the impact of drug control policies on human rights and democracy" and declared that present policies in the War on Drugs have failed to achieve any meaningful success. 974 The United States government's primary aim in the War on Drugs is to reduce the volume of illegal narcotics imported into the United States. 975 By reducing imports, prices of the drugs will rise and, so the government reasons, drug use will decline. 976 The government's efforts are primarily directed towards eradication of crops used to produce finished drugs, and towards strengthening the governments of regions in which drugs are produced by offering military and financial aid, the most notable of which is Colombia. 977 The 400-page WOLA report documents evidence that U.S. efforts to combat illegal drugs in the Americas have served to weaken democratic instutions in Latin America, and have placed the burden of the drug war upon the poorest of their citizens. 978 Co-editor of the report, Coletta A. Youngers maintains that the U.S. policy of crop eradication generates "social unrest, instability and violence" as poor farmers are having their source of income destroyed. 979 Youngers further states that U.S. policies "have contributed to confusing military and law-enforcement functions, militarizing local police forces, and bringing the military into a domestic law enforcement role. 980 They have thus strengthened military forces at the expense of civilian authorities . in a region with a tragic history of military rule" http://www.wola.org/publications/ddhr_exec_sum_brief.pdf. 981 As a measure of their success in the War on Drugs, the Office of National Drug Control Policy points to statistics from 2001, which are the most recent published on the ONDCP website, that show a decline in the worldwide level of coca cultivation http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/publications/international/factsht/cocaine.html. 982 The ONDCP also claims success in interdiction efforts and highlights statistics on drug arrests within the United States as measurable achievements in the War on Drugs http://www.whitehousedrugpolicy.gov/international/factsheets.html. 983 However, the Drug Enforcement Agency's latest statistics (from 2003) show street prices of drugs to be near an all-time low http://www.usdoj.gov/dea/pubs/intel/02058/02058.html#2. 984 The same DEA report also concedes that most drugs "are readily available". 985 While a senior ONDCP official has stated that the WOLA report "is filled with errors, irrelevancies, and misinterpretations" WOLA has called for a renewed debate on drug war policies, supported by their findings and the latest government statistics that show illegal narcotics to be cheaper and more plentiful than ever before. 986 WOLA was founded in 1974 by Joseph Eldridge, Joyce Hill of the National Council of Churches and Thomas Quigley of the U.S. Catholic Conference. 987 Quigley led the Religious Task Force on El Salvador, part of a coalition called Committee In Solidarity With the People of El Salvador (CIPES). 988 Papers captured in El Salvador belonging to FMLN guerrilla leader, Farid Handal, "documented CIPES' connections with member groups of the Latin network and the international communist movement ( Richard P. McBrien, Catholicism, Harper/Collins, NY, new edition 1994, p. 682). 989 Serge Vohor, the Prime Minister of Vanuatu, recently came into spotlight as the newest battleground in the diplomatic war between the People's Republic of China and Taiwan, was accused of pushing the ambassador from the People's Republic of China, Mr. Bao Shusheng. 990 Mr. Bao, the newly-installed envoy from Beijing, yesterday complained to the press that he was "punched on the shoulder" by Mr. Vohor after the parliamentary session ended last Wednesday (December 1). 991 Mr. Bao approached Mr. Vohor at the time to complain that the flag of Taiwan was still flying in the capital city, even after the council of ministers has already made the decision to take it down. 992 "I then approached him just outside of parliament where I waited for him again at the main entrance. 993 He then shook his fist right in my face and punched me on my right shoulder." said Mr. Bao, "I was shocked at what happened, but his bodyguards stepped in and the prime minister then rushed to his car. 994 This has deeply offended me and my country." 995 However Mr. Bao decided today not to file a formal protest or make a police report. 996 The incident has been publicised on Vanuatu's local newspapers, one of which called it "another indiscretion for which Vohor should resign". 997 Mr. Vohor had already faced a no-confidence vote by the opposition members of parliament before the incident for his decision to establish a diplomatic relationship with Taiwan. 998 The opposition MPs are confident that the no-confidence vote would pass in the parliament, as 16 more MPs have recently deserted Mr. Vohor and sided with the opposition, which now holds a 36 to 14 majority in the 52-member parliament, including the prime minister himself and the speaker. 999 Mr. Vohor has been in office for only four months and his position now seems precarious, after his secret visit to Taiwan last month. 1000 In this trip he signed a communique recognising the Republic of China (the official name of Taiwan) as a sovereign state. 1001 But the country's council of ministers, which is Vanuatu's ruling body, revoked the deal and reiterated to Beijing its commitment to the one-China policy, which is a pre-requesite for maintaining formal diplomatic ties with the People's Republic of China, which sees Taiwan as its 23rd province and the Republic of China as a defunct entity. 1002 Currently the Republic of China maintains formal diplomatic relationships with 27 countries, including Vanuatu.