MOORPARK, Calif. - Authorities shot and killed a tiger Wednesday that had been roaming for days in the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
The cat was shot several hundred yards from school soccer and baseball fields at the edge of a housing development, said Lorna Bernard, a spokeswoman for the California Department of Fish and Game. Authorities still don't know who the owner is. "It's unfortunate that we had to kill it," Bernard said. "It's even more unfortunate that the person who owned it didn't come forward and alert us immediately. We might have been able to capture it." The hunters had been looking for the animal for eight days, using infrared equipment at night. They had set traps with goat meat and chicken. Federal wildlife service trackers had to shoot to kill because a tranquilizer would have taken several minutes to bring down the animal and the hunters or others could have been in danger.
The hunt began after the discovery of paw prints on a ranch near the library that were far too large for native bobcats or mountain lions. The size of the tracks indicated the animal weighed as much as 600 pounds; officials thought it might even be a lion.
That's a big kitty cat
The area has a number of ranches and large estates. Two weeks ago, authorities removed nearly two dozen large cats, including lions and tigers, from a Moorpark animal sanctuary not far from the library. Bernard said all the animals that had been kept on that property were accounted-for.
I'd talk to them again, but that's just me.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/23/2005 12:50:20 PM ||
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Authorities shot and killed a tiger Wednesday that had been roaming for days in the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library
Jimmy Carter probably had some friends plant this cat to scare off tourists. He is still bitter over 1980.
#3
should've baited with DU commenters...that way nobody worth a damn woul've been hurt
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/23/2005 15:48 Comments ||
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#4
Who ever owned the cat probably had an illegal pet!
The owner may have lost his home in all the rain/mud slides and let the cat go hoping someone would take care of the cat?? like so many do with stray animals...leave them off in the woods, dead end street etc. That is my guess. I don't think they had to kill the cat- super tranq it.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
02/23/2005 21:28 Comments ||
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#5
Well, they sure could have used tranquilizers. What a bunch of bunk. Some people . . .
#6
Right. Let's second guess the guys on the scene.
It was shot near a school.
Who wants to be the one in the wrongful death suit deposition explaining the value you placed on the life of the deceased when you decided to use a tranq instead of a real bullet?
Posted by: Mrs. Davis ||
02/23/2005 21:37 Comments ||
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#7
Not to mention that "super tranqing" often leads to death by respiratory depression.
Posted by: too true ||
02/23/2005 21:42 Comments ||
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#8
Correct- there are a number of factor's and ways to look at the problem. I did see the cat on tonight's
6 p.m. evening news it was a "purty Cat" as tweety bird would say. Maybe Ray Horn could have assisted** Ithink you know what I mean!
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
02/23/2005 21:43 Comments ||
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An Italian sex researcher claims he can tell a woman's personality from the size and shape of her breasts. According to German newspaper Bild sexologist Piero Lorenzoni said: "A woman's breasts denote a woman's character, just like her star sign." He has categorised breast types according to fruits and says men can draw up their own horoscope-type chart that indicates what a woman's chest size says about her.
The fruity chart starts naturally with the traditional melon. According to Lorenzoni, a woman with large, round breasts like a melon may appear motherly, but is far from it. "She likes eating and wants to be spoiled and admired. But seldom likes sex," he said. For men who want someone a bit more lively they should choose a woman with "lemon" breasts - pert and prominent. "These women are full of life and can laugh at themselves. They want a balanced life without surprises." Pert, oval-shaped breasts are for Lorenzoni like pineapples. "A woman with pineapple breasts is intelligent, often has a career but is still romantic. They are also faithful. Whoever wins their heart will not lose it quickly."
Grapefruit-shaped breasts - pert and firm - are also not a good sign for good sex. "This woman may look erotic, but in reality is bashful and homely. She spoils her partner but prefers tenderness over sex." Even women with "oranges" are not going to turn up the temperature between the sheets. "While she is self-confident and knows her goals, she has little interest in sex. She likes conversation and partnerships." Small breasted women, with assets that resemble cherries are "funny and very exciting. They are entertaining and intelligent. Make great partners both for everyday life and on holiday and are moderately interested in sex," says the researcher. A woman with pear-shaped breasts "Loves love in all its variations. She can be very religious, but is known to have affairs."
I need to research his findings before commenting, this may take awhile
Posted by: Steve ||
02/23/2005 10:14:15 AM ||
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Different fruit can mean different things to different people. Why are there no illistrative examples on the link?
#5
According to Lorenzoni, a woman with large, round breasts like a melon may appear motherly, but is far from it. "She likes eating and wants to be spoiled and admired. But seldom likes sex,"
#8
I'm glad I am a pineapple and not a coconut or fruitcake!! What does Fruit of the Loom mean for the men?? ANd where is this so called horoscope
that says what the breast mean about the woman?
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
02/23/2005 21:18 Comments ||
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#9
It's just another scam to ogle and fondle boobs. We've been inventing scams like this since, well, since there were boobs.
EFL:
An otherwise "loving family pet" was shot dead by police after the tabby cat went berserk and terrorized a city family late last week, The Intelligencer has learned. The bizarre ordeal began when the family's 12-year-old daughter arrived home from school Wednesday evening and began petting the feline, 'Mickey,' in the living room of their east end home. "He was just your average, playful cat," who never had any behaviour problems before the incident, recalled the homeowner, who asked her family's name not be used. "He was a sweet and loving household pet."
Yeah, that's just what cats want you to think..
While her daughter was stroking the long-haired white and orange tabby in the living room, the feline leisurely walked downstairs.
Mine do that slow walk right in front of me trying to trip me...
But when Mickey emerged from the basement-area of the home, it was " ... a different animal ... it looked as though it was possessed." Ears flat back, hair standing on end and eyes bulging, Mickey lunged across the dining room and attacked her daughter, biting through her jeans and slicing into her leg. When the cat released its grip, it continued coming at the girl, shrieking and hissing.
Like I've said before, a cat is 8 pounds of soft fur around a razor blade..
The husband arrived home a short time later and managed to corner the cat in the living room until his wife and two children could sneak out the back door to safety. "So I stood there having a stare-off with this cat for 20 minutes until the officer arrived," he said, adding that both animal control and police were called to the scene. While it ran wildly around the interior of the brick bungalow, the cat continued shrieking and began defecating throughout the home. As the constable entered the home, the cat ran up the stairs and stared the officer down. Speaking to The Intelligencer on condition of anonymity, the constable said he had " ... never seen an animal act like that before — it was like it was possessed or something, hissing and growling."
Been there, done that, have the scars
The officer shot the cat square in the chest with his Beretta .40-calibre handgun.
"Look out, Ned! He's going to charge, shoot him!"
"Even after he shot it, that cat was so hopped up — we're talking about a little, eight-pound cat — Mickey ran down the hall into the bathroom and jumped into the tub," the husband recollected. "He didn't die for at least five minutes ... he was all nerves and adrenaline ... he wasn't in his right mind."
Should have used more gun, with silver bullets..
Government test results earlier this week confirmed the feline didn't have rabies. An autopsy to determine the exact cause of the animal's behaviour is not scheduled, however. Without knowing the animal's history, Dr. Kim Drysdale of the Belleway Veterinary Hospital on Highway 62 said it would be hard to pin-point the exact cause of Mickey's wild behaviour. "There are cats out there that are a little bit aggressive," whether because of its natural disposition or a medical ailment of some sort, she said. And an angry feline can be a handful — even more vicious than an aggressive dog, Drysdale said. "A cat with a behaviour problem or serious aggression problem can be a force to be reckoned with. But that's not normal — most cats are pretty nice and social."
When they want to be
"We have heard stories about people not being able to leave their homes because their cat was blocking the doorway. So some cats can be aggressive."
Posted by: Steve ||
02/23/2005 9:36:56 AM ||
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#6
Something doesn't ring right here. I accidently stepped on my cat's (Martin Granite-Lion) paw in the dark this morning, and he meowed but didn't attack my leg. I think like Chuck S., that he must have eaten something, or been ill, or the other scenario - there were minor incidents leading up to this.
You don't hear about otherwise gentle cats going crazy unless there is something else happening. The first thing I thought was, if it wasn't rabies, did the cat have a tumor causing pain, and when the girl petted it, did she hit it? I have had two previous cats die of cancer (mouth & lung) - but they never got mean.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/23/2005 13:10 Comments ||
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#15
My former M-I-L had a nice purring feline once (I've got 3). One day, probably chasing insect in the open window, the cat fell down six storeys and landed on the pavement, cracking its skull a bit, breaking a leg or two. It survived, and after 3 weeks in amimal hospital it was almost like new. Forward 6 months. M-I-L complains about cat behaving strangely, hostile, making sounds that may be more associated with a bloodthirsty preditor than a cat. It took over kitchen. I came to investigate. Cat seems normal, I gave it fresh water, and more food. It started munching happily. I transversed the length of the kitchen (7m narrow noodle) and were opening the door to exit.
The sound... It would be a really really good sound effect for horror flick, I felt the hair on my back standing up. In a second, the cat turned into a vicious preditor, accelerated through the whole length of the kitchen--I simply did not know what hit me, as I saw the cat munching before I turn my head towards the door--its teeth sunk into my calf and the claws..oy! sharp as razors...tearing my skin through jeans!
I was able to shake it off and slip out closing the door on the berseker critter. I devised a plan... taking a thick blanket, I entered the kitchen again, the cat sitting under the table with an expression that did not indicate anything happened minutes ago. I put the cat on the blanket, gathered the corners to emulate a bag, slipped the whole thing into a real bag and off to the animal hospital I went--it was conveniently a block away. They took the cat, which seemed to be at that time the most angelic animal on the face of earth. I got my rabies shots, just in case. Two weeks later, still under observation, the cat died. Autopsy revealed a brain tumor. The vet offered a suggestion that the fall 6 months prior may have caused a trauma that resulted in the cancerous growth.
I there a possibility that humans may follow the same fate? Like falling on their head at young tender age and then turning into vicious bloodthirsty jihadis? I dunno. I got several accidents that resulted in noticeable and prominent bumps on the back of my skull--yet I did not turn into an insane (some may argue with that assessment) bloodthirsty murdering animal.
I was also indoctrinated during my early years into believing in the evilness of kapitalistic opressors. Did not seem to work.
#16
#9 growler: I have a cat with 6 fully functional digits on each paw. The extra digit is almost opposable and the cat uses it to walk tightrope-like across ropes and chair rungs. Apparently sailors liked these cats (called ship's cats) especially for this reason. This cat also happens to be the smartest cat I've EVER seen. She's almost at the point of tool-using in inventing games to play with her toys. Just a bit more evolution and cats like Twitchy would rule the world outright, as opposed to subtly like they do today.
#18
Xbalanke, I concur. Imagine cats with tiny human hands. Scarry! :-)
Whenever I go on a trip, I get my cats out and provide enough food/water for the length of the trip with someone taking a peek on them if it is longer than a week. My cats always supplement their diet with an ample supply of rodents and avians, so there is not much worry in the case they run short on cat food before I return.
Once, I did not notice that Rene (named after Rene Descartes, e.g. very smart cat) slipped back in. That someone that was supposed to check on them did not get to it.
Upon return after 10 days, when I opened the door and entered the living room, Rene peaked her head over the back of an armchair. Geebus! I locked her in!
Fortunately, I had a spare bag of the cat food in a kitchen kabinet (she can open them on the fly). She teared off a corner to make a spout and apparetly used the batroom faucet that was slightly leaking to get her water by pulling a sponge over the sinkhole, so there was a always a little pool there. She did go to potty in the bathtub--boy, the smell, but easy to dispose off than from a carpet.
So, yes, cats are very smart. The only thing that is a bit strange is their behavior when I go to bathroom and close the door. They scratch like crazy to get in. Why? They know there is no secret exit door through which I would slip out. I'll always come out. This is a mystery for me.
How about when "Granite Lion" runs to the toilet when you flush to watch the water and other "particulate matter" go down! He justr watches it! AND when we get sushi, he will hop on the table to steal a piece of salmon roll when ones back is turned. His timing is calculated and impeccable! And he is very quick...
He likes the whirpool spin, it may be fascinating for a cat. Sort of a research project.
My cats are stealing steaks from neighbor's barbeque before it gets too hot. Turn away for a few seconds and give you steak a good-bye. I once offered to return a steak thoroughly washed, but the neighbor declined. Talked to my cats about it, but they did not seem to express an opinion about the matter either way, probably thinking that neighbor's steaks are a fair game. So be it.
#24
My cats pretty much get anything they want. Which of course makes them not want anything, as is their fickle way.
A previous girlfriend had a cat called a Blue Chartreuse whom I christened "Puma." He was exceptionally big. 29 pounds big. When he stretched, you could see muscle definition, like on a big cat. He was also exceptionally angry at the fact he was a cat. More than once I had to put on combat boots and a long sleeve non-snag shirt to get the cat out of a neighbors closet or vestibule. Most clothing was useless, as his claws were longer than the thickness of most fabrics. After I was with her for over 2 years, I was the only person other than her to be able to even touch the cat or brush it as it went by. When she went away to business school, I got the cat. She told me that it was either me or the shelter because literally no one else could have contact with it. After living with me for about 2 years, he was still angry, but didn't go out of his way to attack house guests as much. He died of liver failure on Army-Navy day 3 years ago. I still miss him and his violent attitude.
Posted by: Mark E. ||
02/23/2005 16:22 Comments ||
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#25
We got a female (indistinguishable breed) from the shelter. She belonged to all of us but my wife got feeding duty. One time we went out for a day trip, so we didn't make any special arrangements for kitty food. We ran into a humongous thunderstorm on the way back, however, so we stayed in a hotel overnight. When we got back the cat was nowhere to be found, so we assumed that she had gone into hiding because of the storm. My wife went into the kitchen to do something and the cat ran across two rooms, leaped into the air, and sank fangs and claws into my wife's leg. Good thing I was nearby or we would have had a dead cat on our hands.
Posted by: Jonathan ||
02/23/2005 16:38 Comments ||
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#26
Catblogging! My friends brought their male Manx (no-tail) kitty along with them on holiday on Chincoteague Island in Virginia. A couple years after Trucker's two-week visit, Chincoteague now has LOTS of kitties with no tails. Heh.
#27
Seafarious-> best story yet.....the tom cat out tom cattin'!
Posted by: Mark E. ||
02/23/2005 17:22 Comments ||
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#28
OK, just one more cat tale related to cats' pointy ends: I had a cat whom I moved with me to another town. The cat managed to get out and disappear for a few days. I noticed him lurking about the edge of the woods and finally coaxed him into letting me approach. As I was just starting to pick him up my friend came crashing though the woods wondering how I was doing - the cat absolutely panicked. No way was I going to let go and lose him forever, though, so I held on to this howling ball of fur, teeth and little razors for all I was worth. I just managed to get him inside, but at the cost of much blood and flesh. He was fine after that and never got out again.
#29
When our cat was a kitten, she would sometimes nap under the loveseat, safely hidden behind the upholstery flaps. One day the priest came for a visit and sat down on the loveseat. Several minutes later, without warning, two paws suddenly poked out, wrapped around his ankle, and sank all claws deeply. I'll give the man a lot of credit for poise under attack: he bolted upright, gasped, and then all he said was "And what have we here?!?". I'll bet he wears heavier socks to this day.
Posted by: Tom ||
02/23/2005 17:27 Comments ||
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#30
I there a possibility that humans may follow the same fate? Like falling on their head at young tender age and then turning into vicious bloodthirsty jihadis?
Good heavens.
According to my mother, I fell out of a high chair when I was 2, and bonked my head on the floor of a dwelling that had no basement (read: linoleum covered cement). While running my hand across the top of my head, there is a pronounced dent on the top.
Maybe I should sell whatever weapons I own now, while I can. :)
#31
#3 Chuck, I'm a dog person myself, but I agree.
Posted by: too true ||
02/23/2005 19:20 Comments ||
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#32
And I vote for some kind of poisoning, or brain-tumor event... and would like to point out that an 8-lb pound cat can be a fearsome object... I was put into the hospital for two days by a semi-feral, 8 lb cat. She was one of mine--- whom I prefer to be indoors cats (since they live longer, and don't rack up interestingly long veterinary care bills) and took violent exception to this arrangement. The bite on my left hand took some surgery and two days of antibiotics to sort out. I let her be an outdoor kitty after that, and she was killed by a car a year later... just before she was due for shots. I was not looking forward to catching her, stuffing her into the carrier and taking her to the veterinarian. Leather gauntlets are a good idea, when handling even the smallest, uncooperative cat.
#33
I there a possibility that humans may follow the same fate? Like falling on their head at young tender age...
Eerie someone should make such a comparison...
One of the American Musical Giants, George Gershwin, died of a brain tumor at 38.
He once told the story of how he was playing cards at age 13 with some friends, his chair tipped over, and he hit his head on a radiator, and was knocked out for a few minutes. Until that time he had no real intrest in music, but claims that after the incident, the intrest in music developed suddenly... Eerie...
#34
Something happened to Morris's health. COUld have had a number of ailment's which effected the cat neurologically. I don't feel as though the cat needed to be shot (agressive cops) The cat could have been trapped into a pet carrier, then brought to the vet for a full eval.
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
02/23/2005 21:11 Comments ||
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#36
#23 neighbor's steaks are a fair game? How about the steaks you cook, Sobiesky?
They are yummy, of course, am an excellent cook!
But I guess the thrill of the steak kill is missing.
There is another highly intelligent critter that steals steaks from unattended barbeque--crow. I've seen it myself--a crow lifting a steak half of its size... So, maybe my cats are blamed by default, based on a couple of incidents.
As for the drop on the head incidents, I remember reading about several incidents that were a precursor of a complete personality change, so the Gershwin's case is not that unique, despite somewhat rare statistically.
#37
Yes, I would love to read the police report on that case! One time when doing yard work at my Mother's
a EEEKKKK SNAKE found it's way inside the aluminum ladder rungs and would not come out !!! We took a can of DRANO and poured it into the rungs of the ladder...the snake ingested the Drano, came slithering out of the ladder onto the yard and BLEW UP LIKE A BOMB! (If the cat swallowed laundry detergent, that could have been enough).
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
02/23/2005 21:33 Comments ||
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Tensions have emerged between the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Saudi Arabia over a border row dating back to the 1970s and fresh differences, chiefly over trade links with Washington, Gulf officials say. The strains between the oil-rich neighbors coincide with problems between Riyadh and both Bahrain and Qatar, which are grouped with Saudi Arabia and the UAE in the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). "The Emiratis raised the (border dispute) with the Saudis shortly after a new leadership took over in Abu Dhabi" last November following the death of UAE founder and president Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan al-Nahayan, said a senior Gulf official who requested anonymity. "The Saudis replied that the issue had been settled under an agreement signed by the two countries in the 1970s," the official told AFP.
President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed al-Nahayan, who succeeded his father as head of the seven-member federation, "raised the question when he visited Riyadh (in December) on his first trip abroad after his accession to power". But the Saudis referred to the border accord, another Gulf official confirmed. Under the agreement signed on August 21, 1974 in the Saudi Red Sea city of Jeddah, Saudi Arabia dropped its claim to the Buraimi oasis region, while Abu Dhabi relinquished a 25-kilometer-long (15-mile-long) strip of land linking it to Qatar, thus isolating Doha. The UAE also gave up some 80 percent of the resources of the Shaybah oilfield in southeast Saudi Arabia. Shaybah, located in Saudi Arabia's vast Rub al-Khali, or Empty Quarter, desert, has some 15 billion barrels of proven oil reserves and untapped gas reserves of 25 trillion cubic feet. Abu Dhabi has always felt wronged by the accord, which it perceives as having been concluded under duress.
Saudi Arabia had welcomed the departure of British troops from the region in 1971, but it made recognition of the new UAE federation conditional on a settlement of its territorial dispute with Abu Dhabi. Emirati and Saudi officials declined to comment on the issue. But another Gulf official, also on condition of anonymity, told AFP that Saudi Arabia "tried in vain to cool things down with the UAE" during a mid-January visit to Abu Dhabi by Saudi Defense Minister Prince Sultan bin Abdul Aziz. "A plan to build a causeway between the Emirates and Qatar raised tensions up a notch," he said. GCC Secretary General Abdulrahman al-Attiyah mentioned the plan during a summit of the Gulf bloc -- which also groups Kuwait and Oman -- in Manama in December. The plans for this and another causeway between Qatar and Bahrain are not sitting well with Saudi Arabia, which believes they will enable Qatar, with which Riyadh has had tense ties in recent years, to establish direct territorial links with neighbors bypassing the kingdom. "Another bone of contention (between the UAE and Saudi Arabia) is the fact that the Emirates is set to become the second Gulf country after Bahrain to sign a free trade pact with the United States," the same official said. Talks on a free trade deal are due to start between Washington and Abu Dhabi on March 8, to be followed on March 12 by the launching of similar negotiations with Oman, a move likely to further isolate Saudi Arabia in the region. Bahrain's free trade deal with the United States has angered Riyadh, which sees it as hindering GCC economic integration.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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#1
The UAE is puny. If the House of Terrorists (or Saud) was capable of Muslim brotherhood (ikhwan) they could give up a little of the camel kingdom.
#2
Historically, it's been the Gulf Arabs, with their boats and the accompanying necessity for hard work (catching fish is work, when you're doing more than drowning worms) have been richer and more civilized than the sand Arabs of the interior.
Dilmun was nearly as old as Uruk, and had trade relations with the Harappan civilization of the Indus valley. It was reputed to be the home of Utu-Napishtim, who discovered the secret of immortality. Naturally, having all that gold and those jewels lying around, the sand Arabs came by regularly and despoiled them, sometimes killing all the women and raping the men.
The more things change...
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2005 9:04 Comments ||
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#3
Historically, it's been the Gulf Arabs, with their boats and the accompanying necessity for hard work (catching fish is work, when you're doing more than drowning worms) have been richer and more civilized than the sand Arabs of the interior.
The United Nations is investigating a woman's allegations that she was raped by three U.N. peacekeepers from Pakistan, a U.N. official said Tuesday. The men claim they paid to have sex. The 23-year-old woman made the report to the police over the weekend, said Damian Onses-Cardona, a spokesman for the 7,400-member U.N. force. The men, whose names were not released, said the woman was a prostitute and they paid to have sex with her, he said. The latest rape allegations come as the United Nations investigates sexual abuse allegations in a handful of countries around the world, most notably in Congo. The three Pakistanis were ordered to return from northern Gonaives, where the incident allegedly occurred, and remain in the capital of Port-au-Prince until the investigation is concluded this week, said Onses-Cardona, who declined to give more details. Calls to police in Gonaives were not immediately returned.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
Slightly OT. Fred, the Scandals Magazine cover is interesting for a couple of reasons. The blue NRA seal indicates that is from the mid 1930's. Which means that the riske 'Vegas Girl'-like illustration is avante garde and the 25 cent price is exorbitant for the depression era. I enjoy the story line visuals from your archives.
Flexing its maritime muscle, Taiwan's navy plans to make its first circumnavigation voyage later this year to display its long-range sea power. Starting in March and concluding in June, three Taiwanese naval vessels in 101 days will pay port visits to seven countries that recognize Taiwan. The squadron will also refuel in countries without formal diplomatic ties with Taiwan. The circumnavigation voyage is bound to perturb mainland China's government, which views Taiwan as a rogue province eventually to be reunited with the mainland by force if necessary. Taiwan has formal relations with only 26 nations, with the United States maintaining a "one-China" policy.
The squadron will set sail in mid-March and sail through Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, around South Africa into the Atlantic Ocean and then through the Caribbean and the Panama Canal. Following transiting the canal, the vessels will traverse the Pacific, returning to Taiwan on June 19. The ships consist of a French-made Lafayette frigate, a Cheng Kung Perry-class frigate and a support vessel. Scheduled port visits will be made in Senegal, Gambia, St. Vincent, Panama, the Marshall Islands, Kiribati and Palau. The voyage may be timed coincide with a visit by President Chen Shui-bian's to Pacific allies in May, allowing Chen to stay aboard one of the ships. A Chinese navy destroyer and supply ship made China's first circumnavigation of the globe in 2002.
Of course, they'd never even consider meeting up with a US task force in mid-ocean and conducting a exercise or two.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/23/2005 12:45:10 PM ||
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And it will especially bug the Chinese government when they pass through the Chinese-run Panama Canal. I wonder if they are going to visit the Hutchinson-Whampoa Chinese naval base in the Caribbean while they're at it?
A Chinese weekly magazine issued in Beijing reported on February 21 that China feels a serious security threat from the fact that the U.S. is surrounding China, its potential antagonist, from three sides: east, west, and south.
The weekly says that the U.S. considers Japan and Taiwan as the first encircling net in the east and accordingly tries to strengthen its military alliance with Japan, sell advanced weapons to Taiwan, and push forward the establishment of an air base in Shadidiao.
Also, the U.S. is nurturing Guam as it core military base in Asia, setting the island as the second encircling net. To that end, the country augmented B-52 and B-2 strategic bombing planes, and deployed 64 air-launched cruise missiles to regions other than the U.S. mainland for the first time ever. It also decided to station three attack nuclear submarines at all times and deploy a Carrier Battle Group.
Meanwhile, the U.S. completed the western encircling net against China by setting up its military base in central Asia, while carrying out wars in Afghanistan and Iraq.
Continued on Page 49
Posted by: tipper ||
02/23/2005 9:18:57 AM ||
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#1
Ah but I love the smell of squirming Chicoms in the morning.
#2
China is expected to protest strongly against the plan, as it is the first joint training of the three countries on the assumption of Chinaâs invasion of Taiwan.
"Do as we say, not as we do, eh?" The Great Satan(tm) must NOT do joint exercises with Japan or Tawain, but we may do joint exercises w/ Russia and buy arms from the Euroweenies.
Posted by: BA ||
02/23/2005 9:39 Comments ||
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#3
The Yankee traders are no threat. They just want to do business. They just don't like messy lower anthropodial territorial behaviors messing up good trade. Get a hint. Instead of spending an ungodly sum of money and resources trying to obtain the military ability to annex Taiwan, just start buying out the companies. Faster than you can say, monopoly, you will be Taiwan Inc. Shheeeessshhhh. Stop skimming all that income for your corrupt leader retirement fund and start investing in the future.
#6
I think this is just the PLA getting ready for its annual budget request, especially since there's now the prospect of getting fancy new weapons from Europe.
#3
My grandfather (as well as Silentbrick's, my brother) was a naval officer on an LST. Got stuck on the landing and had to wait for high tide to come so they could get off the beach. He spent the whole war in the Pacific, but Iwo Jima was the only battle he directly took part in.
Then he came home and started setting nuclear bombs off in Nevada, but that's another story. :)
Posted by: Laurence of the Rats ||
02/23/2005 12:58 Comments ||
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#4
My dad was in the signals company of the 4th, more near the middle of the island. Didn't see a thing of the assault of the volcano. The fight was only just getting good and going.
Ward Churchill, American Indian Movement leader, admits he's not an Injun.
On "Fox & Friends" this morning, Brian Kilmeade had a great line. He said "This guy has been posing as an American Indian leader, but it turns out he's just a big fan of 'F Troop.'"
Posted by: Tibor ||
02/23/2005 4:21:25 PM ||
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"I was targeted because they thought I would be an easy target," Churchill told the crowd of about 800. "That was a mistake.
"It's not just an attempt to purge me," he said. "It's a purge of the academy."
You got that right you lying sack of runny sh*t! You and your kind are not being paid good money (by hard-working parents) to spread your bullshit and half-baked personal opinions - you are there to TEACH!
(Apologies to any piles of sh*t out there which may have been offended by this comparison).
Every time he opens his mouth he contradicts himself. O'Reilly etc. has been saying for weeks that Churchill can only be fired for 1. misrepresenting his ethnicity or 2. incompetence as an educator, and Churchill is stoopid enough to fall right into the "he's no Native" trap. What a maroon.
Posted by: Chris W. ||
02/23/2005 18:27 Comments ||
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#3
How about FRAUD for cause for termination (if not inprisonment):
He applied for and got a tenured professorship at the University of Colorado, Boulder, despite his lack of a doctorate. Listing himself as an American Indian, he prevailed over eleven other Indians who applied for the position, and over the other two who were actually interviewed. He later received an honorary doctorate from Alfred University after serving there as a visiting professor in American Indian Studies.
#4
Because pedigree is "not important," except in your job application and lies to gain advancement based on your skin color?
I predicted Ward Churchill is now against Affirmative Action... as it applies to him... just as he advocated it when his lies allowed exploitation to his advantage.
I also loved this idiocy:
"He was humorous and he certainly didn't pull any punches," UH student Kirsten Chong said, adding that because she is native Hawaiian, she agrees with much of what he said.
Because "Chong" is such a "native Hawaiian" name? How ironic this Mhore-On uses her own "claim" of victicratic ethnic heritage to rationalize her "agreement" with Ward Churchill's false claims to a victicratic ethnic heritage even as he admits to his lies in a narcissistic rant where he still claims victicratic status.
#5
Oh, lord, what a total, faux, system-playing, self-contradicting, bogus-intellectual, self-parodying fool! It's like Jane Smiley or Tom Wolfe made him up entirely! No, CU, don't fire his totally faux-Indian ass! Keep him, keep him as a cautionary tale, and for the blogosphere to use as an intellectual piniata, during the breaks from working over the usual targets. I look for years of fun, thwacking this idiot on a regular basis!
#7
Back in law school, a colleague wrote an article about an African-American guy who was trying to get himself declared a Native American so that he could join a tribe that was building casinos in Connecticut. The title of the article was "Why Being Drunk and on Welfare Doesn't Necessarily Make You an Indian." I'm not sayin' he was right, but it was pretty funny (and scandalous).
Posted by: Tibor ||
02/23/2005 22:51 Comments ||
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After nearly drowning in a sea of red states, John Kerry is keeping his head above water and is making it clear that he has no intention of disappearing beneath the waves despite his loss last November.
That'll teach him to take driving lessons from Ted Kennedy
As the Los Angeles Times reported Sunday, unlike Al Gore, who the Times recalled virtually disappeared for months after the 2000 race, traveled to Europe, grew a beard, ate 9,000 donuts and gained weight, Kerry hasn't done any of these things. Instead, he climbed back up to Capitol Hill, reclaimed his seat in the Senate, and, as the Times, put it, is "working hard to fashion himself into something rare in American politics: a presidential also-ran who isn't an afterthought."
Who're they talking about again... I forget.
Moreover, he has been sonorous outspoken on such hot issues as health care, electoral reform and military preparedness and helped spearhead the failed attempts to prevent Senate confirmation of both Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state and Alberto R. Gonzales as attorney general.
#4
Now, now, folks. Be nice. Perhaps in the next 4 years, Mr. Kerry will actually be able to figure out what he really stands for. Or maybe he won't. Then again, maybe he...what was the question?
#9
Ssshhhh - we don't wanna disrupt this. But, he DID promise to sign his form 180 on MTP the other day....
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/23/2005 13:03 Comments ||
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#10
IMHO: Just a smokescreen to keep conservative talk radio/bloggers focused on Kerry instead of Hilary--who doesn't want the heat just yet. Closer to the election, he'll fade out and Hilary will "emerge."
Despite his fli-floppy Clintonesque poll matching behaviors, Kerry remains remarkably consistent on things that matter, like helping "spearhead the failed attempts to prevent Senate confirmation of Condoleezza Rice as secretary of state . . ."
#13
ex-lib, the idea JFnK would do ANYTHING to benefit someone other than himself is laughable
Posted by: Frank G ||
02/23/2005 14:52 Comments ||
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#14
Frank G - Bill Bulger (former Mass. Senate leader) has an acronym for JFK - 'Just For Kerry'.
Kerry's infamous for selfish behaviour - too bad that didn't make many headlines during the race; I'm sure Rove was involved somehow...
#18
MoJO- He has plenty of money to run or Thersa can finance him! I was in Boston for a job interview and saw a t-shirt "Bend over and fart- Kerry is all wind". DO you get it?
Andrea Jackson
Posted by: Andrea Jackson ||
02/23/2005 21:39 Comments ||
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Iran's supreme spiritual leader Ayat Allah Khamenei has disguised himself in civilian clothes to get a better look at how relief and recovery operations are progressing in the quake-devastated city of Bam. Khamenei donned a coat and hat and strolled around the southeastern city with a top local official during a surprise visit there on Friday, according to the conservative Ressalat newspaper.
Following the tour, the all-powerful leader urged local officials to speed up reconstruction efforts. His office also upped the death toll from 30,000-35,000 to 41,000-45,000. The ancient city was destroyed in a massive earthquake on 26 December measuring 6.8 on the Richter scale. "Only a few officials were aware of the visit and when residents saw the local official they approached him and told them of their problems, without realising the Guide was there," reported the Javan newspaper. There were several complaints over aid distribution, it added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Somebody trying to tell you "Don't play with matches.".
TALLAHASSEE, Fla. - Six black lawmakers Wednesday called for the removal of the head of the state's juvenile justice department for showing a Chris Rock video at a meeting with NAACP leaders.
One lawmaker called the 4-minute skit - How To Not Get Your Ass Kicked By The Police - "absolutely racist." An NAACP member at the viewing last July said no one complained.
The skit, which came from Rock's former HBO comedy show, was shown in the office of Juvenile Justice Secretary Anthony Schembri - the former head of New York City's jails who was the model for the 1991-1995 offbeat television show "The Commish."
Rock's tips for young blacks include driving with a white friend, and turning down loud rap music when pulled over. The video also shows scenes where actors dressed as police pretend to beat up blacks who didn't follow Rock's advice - a driver who jumps out of his car during a traffic stop and starts yelling profanities, and a man who jumps a subway turnstile while smoking marijuana and carrying a gun.
"I found this as being totally and absolutely racist, there's no way around it," said Democratic state Sen. Mandy Dawson, who was joined by five other black lawmakers. "It doesn't make sense to me to show this type of video under any circumstances to the NAACP."
Schembri's spokesman, Tom Denham, said the video was part of a discussion on racial profiling. He said Schembri, who is white, previously used it when teaching college courses as a way to open up discussion on profiling.
"The secretary is a very colorful and unusual man and he likes to push the envelope and get people to think about things," Denham said, adding the video was never meant to be used to train staff and administrators, as the lawmakers alleged.
"I would like to apologize. I did not mean to offend anyone," Schembri said through a spokesman.
William H. Booth, a retired New York City judge and an NAACP member, said he was at the meeting and no one complained about the video. He said Schembri used it as an example of how the media can contribute to attitudes about profiling.
"I've never known him to be prejudiced in any way," said Booth, who knew Schembri in New York. "I don't think he's got a racial bone in his body."
Rock's publicists would not comment.
Iraq has awarded its first oil development contracts since the fall of the Saddam Hussein regime.
The Oil Ministry has awarded development contracts to companies from Canada and Turkey. Turkey's Everasia was awarded a project to develop the Khurmala Dome oil field in northern Iraq. Canada's Ironhorse Oil and Gas was selected to develop Himrin field.
Officials said the awards required Cabinet approval. Everasia was said to have beaten Ireland's Petrel Resources.
The projects would include the construction of flow lines, gas separation stations in an effort to increase production at these sites.
Officials said the Oil Ministry sought to produce 100,000 barrels of oil per day at Khurmala.
The FBI warned Tuesday that a computer virus is being spread through unsolicited e-mails that purport to come from the FBI. The e-mails appear to come from an fbi.gov address. They tell recipients that they have accessed illegal Web sites and that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI's ``Internet Fraud Complaint Center,'' the FBI said. The messages then direct recipients to open an attachment and answer questions. The computer virus is in the attachment. ``Recipients of this or similar solicitations should know that the FBI does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited e-mails to the public in this manner,'' the FBI said in a statement. The bureau is investigating the phony e-mails.
I'll wager this one gets priority
Posted by: Steve ||
02/23/2005 2:46:42 PM ||
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World Health Organization officials urged governments on Wednesday to act swiftly to control the spread of the bird flu, warning that the world is in grave danger of a deadly pandemic triggered by the virus. The bird flu has killed 45 people in Asia over the past year, in cases largely traced to contact with sick birds, and experts have warned the H5N1 virus could become far deadlier if it mutates into a form that can be easily transmitted among humans. A global pandemic could kill millions, they say. "We at WHO believe that the world is now in the gravest possible danger of a pandemic," Dr. Shigeru Omi, the WHO's Western Pacific regional director, said Wednesday. He said the world is "now overdue" for an influenza pandemic, since mass epidemics have occurred every 20-30 years. It has been nearly 40 years since the last one... The mortality rate among identified patients who contract the disease from chickens and ducks is about 72 percent, Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Monday. She added that her agency was preparing for a possible pandemic next year...
Ten years ago, scientists first expressed concern because statistically we were late for having a killer flu, which comes cyclically.
Then, about 7 years ago, the avian flu variant first appeared. It was troubling because it seemed to be a souped-up version of the usual avian flu, so precautions were taken. Millions of chickens have already been slaughtered, replenished, then their replacements in turn slaughtered, when this strain was detected, and to no avail. The strain is too well embedded in wild fowl to be destroyed.
Now, only one thing has to happen for this to become a nightmare plague. Right now, humans only contract the disease from exposure to contaminated ducks and chicken. But if the virus mutates slightly, so that it can *easily* be transmitted from human to human, the nightmare begins.
Get this straight, if you catch this disease from a bird right now there is a 72 PERCENT CHANCE THAT YOU WILL DIE. And if the disease is transmitted from person to person, this mortality rate will stay the same.
The latest news on this is the WHO is contemplating WIPING OUT MOST OF THE WILD DUCKS IN SOUTHERN ASIA. Maybe 500 million birds killed to stop this disease.
We are danger close to having a catastrophe beyond anything the human species has ever experienced.
And there's not a damn thing they can do to stop it.
#6
Bird flu virus found in flies. I would question the article's claim that flies cannot transmit the disease. BTW moose it is definitely person to person transmissable there have been several recent clusters. However, it is not easily transmissable.
#7
If you are interested this site does a good job of tracking bird flu. Although be warned Niman thinks undiagnosed spread is common. He thought the same about SARS and was wrong.
#8
Sooo 45 dead in one year, some 77 sick total if 72% fatality holds true. Meanwhile, regular flu in the US alone strikes some 500,000 with 2,000 a year in fatalities.
I'm not impressed.....
#9
The current H5N1 virus doesn't transmit easily because it hasn't yet exchanged genes with a human infuenza virus strain. When that change occurs, it will be as easy to catch as the common flu. That's what's got experts worried, or should I say panicked?
An outbreak of what tests suggest is pneumonic plague has spread to a second town in the Democratic Republic of Congo, according to a medical charity. Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF) says it believes it has found a case in a second area in the north-east. Thousands have fled the remote diamond mining town of Zobia since the disease first emerged at the end of last year.
At least 60 people have died so far. The plague affects victims lungs and is fatal if left untreated. "People have been leaving Zobia. They were starting to panic - its contagious," MSF's Meike Steensens told BBC News from the city of Kisangani.
The outbreak began just four days after the diamond mine re-opened near Zobia, in Oriental province, north of the country's biggest city, Kisangani, a major trading centre on the Congo River. Those who have died are all diamond miners. Another 350 miners have been infected. MSF discovered the new case after sending an emergency team of doctors to the area.
Final confirmation of the plague is expected next week, MSF say, but initial tests indicate that they are dealing with an outbreak of pneumonic plague.
Very bad stuff
An advance team of medical experts from the World Health Organisation (WHO) has already visited the area to confirm that people are infected with the plague. Around 7,000 people worked at the mine. The WHO team will focus on trying to trace the 2,000 who have left since the start of the outbreak.
Better keep them out of the cities
Bubonic plague is endemic in parts of Africa, including the DR Congo, but pneumonic plague, which occurs when bacteria infect the lung, has a very high fatality rate and is "invariably" deadly when left untreated, the WHO said.
Humans are generally infected with plague by rodents and fleas, but the pneumonic form of the disease can also be transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets.
Posted by: Steve ||
02/23/2005 9:07:43 AM ||
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#1
Filthy, filthy people. You only get plague from getting bitten by fleas that live on rats. RATS. Yuk.
#3
A dollars worth of tetracycline cures almost a 100% of cases. Rather than send teams of experts, airdrop 10K packages of tetra with the dosage and a description of the symptoms.
#6
In addition, as we've found out with our bums and winos homeless, they take the medicine until they "feel better," then lose it, sell it, or throw it away. Now you have a strain of bugs highly resistant to antibiotics and that gets passed around.
JOHANNESBURG, South Africa (AP) - Four journalists working for international news organizations have fled Zimbabwe after they were threatened with arrest during police raids on several news offices.
Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organization, the country's secret police, threatened the journalists with arrest for transmitting "material prejudicial to the state," and alleged they were spies. The raids and subsequent threats of arrest were seen as an attempt ahead of the March 31 parliamentary elections to silence the foreign media, one of the last independent voices remaining in Zimbabwe.
Zimbabwe forced the country's only independent daily newspaper, the Daily News, to close last year despite court orders that it be allowed to reopen. All other broadcast news and daily newspapers in the country are controlled by the state.
On Feb. 15, 10 police officers searched the office shared by Angus Shaw, a freelancer who contributes to The Associated Press, Jaan Raath, who contributes to the Times of London and Bryan Latham who contributes to Bloomberg. A fourth journalist, Cornelius Nduna, a Zimbabwean freelance television producer who works for a number of foreign news organizations, left the country after secret police raided his office a week earlier and said they were looking for him.
The police, who did not have a warrant, searched the office of Shaw, Raath and Latham, and examined the computers over the objections of a lawyer for the journalists, Beatrice Mtetwa, who was present during the search. Police returned two days later with a search warrant that said they had grounds to believe the journalists had filed false stories "prejudicial to the state" and that they had illegal communications equipment. The police also alleged the journalists were working illegally without a license from the government.
Under Zimbabwe's tough media laws, a story considered "prejudicial to the state" or working without applying for a government license is punishable by imprisonment.
That's kinda like a "Soviet era" law, isn't it?
The journalists denied any wrongdoing and were able to present evidence that they had applied for government licenses to work as journalists. No warrants were issued for their arrests. However, the three journalists, all Zimbabwean, decided to leave the country after police told Mtetwa that they would return and arrest the journalists.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/23/2005 1:09:24 AM ||
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From yesterday with minor revisions
To all - The new anthem of The People's Republic of Zim-Bob-Me, formerly Zimbabwe :
UNITED NATIONS (AP) - France circulated a draft U.N. resolution Tuesday that would boost the U.N. peacekeeping mission in Ivory Coast by more than 1,200 personnel to help counter precarious security and monitor an arms embargo.
The request for 1,226 new military personnel for the Ivory Coast mission, which currently consists of 6,000 U.N. peacekeepers, was made in a January report by U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan. Some 5,000 French troops are also in the country but operate independently.
How unilateral!
The draft resolution is meant "to take into account the SG's report," France's U.N. Ambassador Jean-Marc de La Sabliere said, using the secretary-general's initials. "The situation is unstable in Abidjan, and the SG thinks that strengthening the force will help the force in Abidjan to fulfill its mandate."
The reinforcements would include an 850-man infantry battalion, eight attack and light helicopters and support staff of 270 personnel, as well as a 125-member police unit and other staff.
A resolution adopted by the council on Nov. 15 imposed an arms embargo on Ivory Coast and gave the government and the rebels until Dec. 15 to get the peace process back on track or face a travel ban and asset freeze against those blocking peace, violating human rights and preventing the disarmament of combatants. Without any significant movement toward peace, the council took action, unanimously adopting a resolution earlier this month authorizing U.N. peacekeepers and French forces to monitor implementation of an arms embargo.
Annan had sought a new medical facility in Abidjan, as well as more security and public information personnel to monitor so-called "hate media" and collect information about the arms embargo as well as the situation along the country's borders.
In fifty years they could do the same kind of job they did for the Palestinians.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/23/2005 1:01:11 AM ||
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Annan's "hate media" would be those who remind us that most Muslims in the north, are aliens with no legal right to be there. Unless you subscribe to unholy Koran' dogma of the gift of global sovereignty to the slaves-of-allah-the-retarded-moongod. Give a Muslimutt an inch...
ISLAMABAD - Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz arrived in Teheran yesterday. Earlier before flying to Iran Aziz said that he expected to make "substantial progress" on a proposed gas pipeline project running from Iran to India. "In my view, there will be substantial progress on the gas pipeline project during this trip," Aziz told state television before leaving for a three-day trip to Iran.
If the $4 billion project takes off, it will earn Pakistan millions of dollars from transit fees, but more importantly it will create an economic link with nuclear rival India, with which it has fought three wars in the past. During talks in Islamabad last week to push along a year-old peace process, India signalled it was willing "to look at" the project, subject to security considerations. Diplomatic momentum behind a project dubbed "the peace pipeline" has built up fast.
Posted by: Steve White ||
02/23/2005 12:25:57 AM ||
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Four journalists working for international news organizations have fled Zimbabwe after they were threatened with arrest during police raids on several news offices. Zimbabwe's Central Intelligence Organization, the country's secret police, threatened the journalists with arrest for transmitting "material prejudicial to the state," and alleged they were spies. The raids and subsequent threats of arrest were seen as an attempt ahead of the March 31 parliamentary elections to silence the foreign media, one of the last independent voices remaining in Zimbabwe.
Posted by: Seafarious ||
02/23/2005 00:00:00 AM ||
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Algeria's President Abd al-Aziz Butaflika has extended his support to a bill aimed at improving women's rights, despite opposition from Islamic parties. A change to a 1984 law plans to ban men from divorcing their wives for no reason and give women access to financial support from their former husbands, an official statement said on Tuesday. It would scrap the need for women to ask permission from a male family member to marry, and polygamy would need to be approved by a magistrate. Politicians say the reform law will expectedly be approved shortly by parliament since Butaflika has the backing of the majority in both houses.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2005 00:00:00 ||
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Police said on Tuesday they had arrested a man for allegedly beheading his eight-year old niece with a hatchet during an exorcism. The man's wife delivered a stillborn boy two weeks ago and an "exorcist-cum-magician" told him that the victim's mother had performed black magic on them, police said. The exorcist said that to ward off the effects of the evil spell he had to kill his niece, said Mukhtar Tikka, the district police officer of Vehari.
"We have arrested Muhammad Asghar for murdering his eight-year-old niece Ramsha," Tikka told Daily Times. Asghar murdered his niece on Sunday and dumped her body in a canal, police said. He later told the family that she had been kidnapped and joined the search efforts, but the girl's mother and his wife knew about the crime and told investigators. The girl's body was found on Monday, Tikka said. "The accused has confessed his crime and police have seized the hatchet," he added.
Posted by: Fred ||
02/23/2005 00:00:00 ||
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#1
How did I know this would be a member of the ROP?
#3
Muslimutts believe that demons (Jinn, or Hollywood's "geniis") are ever-present, tempting them to do the dirty. It also enables them to point the fickle finger of responsibility, elsewhere. The jinn made me do it.
A multi-volume chronology and reference guide set detailing three years of the Mexican Drug War between 2010 and 2012.
Rantburg.com and borderlandbeat.com correspondent and author Chris Covert presents his first non-fiction work detailing
the drug and gang related violence in Mexico.
Chris gives us Mexican press dispatches of drug and gang war violence
over three years, presented in a multi volume set intended to chronicle the death, violence and mayhem which has
dominated Mexico for six years.
Rantburg was assembled from recycled algorithms in the United States of America. No
trees were destroyed in the production of this weblog. We did hurt some, though. Sorry.
MOORPARK, Calif. - Authorities shot and killed a tiger Wednesday that had been roaming for days in the hills near the Ronald Reagan Presidential Library.
An Italian sex researcher claims he can tell a woman's personality from the size and shape of her breasts. According to German newspaper Bild sexologist Piero Lorenzoni said: "A woman's breasts denote a woman's character, just like her star sign." He has categorised breast types according to fruits and says men can draw up their own horoscope-type chart that indicates what a woman's chest size says about her.
The United Nations is investigating a woman's allegations that she was raped by three U.N. peacekeepers from Pakistan, a U.N. official said Tuesday. The men claim they paid to have sex. The 23-year-old woman made the report to the police over the weekend, said Damian Onses-Cardona, a spokesman for the 7,400-member U.N. force. The men, whose names were not released, said the woman was a prostitute and they paid to have sex with her, he said. The latest rape allegations come as the United Nations investigates sexual abuse allegations in a handful of countries around the world, most notably in Congo. The three Pakistanis were ordered to return from northern Gonaives, where the incident allegedly occurred, and remain in the capital of Port-au-Prince until the investigation is concluded this week, said Onses-Cardona, who declined to give more details. Calls to police in Gonaives were not immediately returned.
A Chinese weekly magazine issued in Beijing reported on February 21 that China feels a serious security threat from the fact that the U.S. is surrounding China, its potential antagonist, from three sides: east, west, and south.
After nearly drowning in a sea of red states, 
Iran's supreme spiritual leader Ayat Allah 
The FBI warned Tuesday that a computer virus is being spread through unsolicited e-mails that purport to come from the FBI. The e-mails appear to come from an fbi.gov address. They tell recipients that they have accessed illegal Web sites and that their Internet use has been monitored by the FBI's ``Internet Fraud Complaint Center,'' the FBI said. The messages then direct recipients to open an attachment and answer questions. The computer virus is in the attachment. ``Recipients of this or similar solicitations should know that the FBI does not engage in the practice of sending unsolicited e-mails to the public in this manner,'' the FBI said in a statement. The bureau is investigating the phony e-mails. 
World Health Organization officials urged governments on Wednesday to act swiftly to control the spread of the bird flu, warning that the world is in grave danger of a deadly pandemic triggered by the virus. The bird flu has killed 45 people in Asia over the past year, in cases largely traced to contact with sick birds, and experts have warned the H5N1 virus could become far deadlier if it mutates into a form that can be easily transmitted among humans. A global pandemic could kill millions, they say. "We at WHO believe that the world is now in the gravest possible danger of a pandemic," Dr. Shigeru Omi, the WHO's Western Pacific regional director, said Wednesday. He said the world is "now overdue" for an influenza pandemic, since mass epidemics have occurred every 20-30 years. It has been nearly 40 years since the last one... The mortality rate among identified patients who contract the disease from chickens and ducks is about 72 percent, Dr. Julie L. Gerberding, head of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, said on Monday. She added that her agency was preparing for a possible pandemic next year...
Algeria's President 
