EU leads clamour for carbon cuts after UN climate change report

forbes
BANGKOK (Thomson Financial) - The European Union (EU) led demands for a deal to slash global greenhouse-gas emissions after the UN's top scientific panel said deep cuts in this pollution over the next couple of decades could avert longer-term climate damage.

In a statement issued shortly after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its report, EU Environment Commissioner Stavros Dimas called for a breakthrough in efforts to shape a successor to the Kyoto Protocol.

'Negotiations on a new global climate change agreement must be launched at the next UN ministerial conference in December,' Dimas' statement, issued in Brussels, said.

'It is now time for the rest of the international community to follow our lead and commit to ambitious reduction targets.'

The 27 EU countries have vowed to cut their emissions of heat-trapping carbon gases by 20 pct by 2020, compared to 1990 levels. It has offered to deepen this to 30 pct if other major polluters follow suit.

The IPCC report, released in Bangkok today, laid out a menu of options for limiting emissions, adding that the technology and policies were all within reach.

Under one of its scenarios, to keep global warming to 2.0-2.4 C (3.6-4.3 F) over pre-industrial times, emissions would have to peak by 2015 and reduce to 50-85 pct of 2000 levels by 2050. The cost would shave around 0.12 percentage points off annual global economic growth.

Among the tools it identified are greater use of renewable energy sources and setting a 'carbon price' to drive up the cost of using fossil fuels, thus encouraging energy efficiency and a switch to cleaner sources.

China plans to control weather for Olympics

wp herald
Cloud seeding to be used to prevent rainfall

WASHINGTON -- China's plan to keep the skies sunny and clear during the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing shows how far weather modification has come, climatologists say.

If a storm approaches the city, the Chinese said they would seed the clouds with silver iodide to force rainfall, cleansing the air and ensuring spectators and athletes stay dry.

Weather patterns over Beijing in recent decades indicate a 50 percent chance of rain, Chinese meteorologists say. Air pollution from industry and automobiles also is a problem.

The Chinese are as likely as anyone to have scientists skilled enough to stop the rain, said Joseph Golden, senior research scientist for the Cooperative Institute for Research in Environmental Sciences in Boulder, Colo.

The Chinese government has one of the world's largest weather-modification programs, spending about $100 million on the projects and training about 1,500 scientists to administer them, he said. Most of the effort involves increasing rainfall for agriculture.

Weather modification in the United States is more sporadic and done mostly by state or local governments.

"We have fallen behind," Mr. Golden said.

The techniques have been used to increase snowfall in the Sierra Nevada Mountains of California, to clear up icy fog around Salt Lake City International Airport, decrease the size of hail in North Dakota and increase rainfall in Texas.

Changing the weather for a few days during the Olympics is a step beyond any previous efforts by the Chinese, he said.

"This is a whole new thing for them," Mr. Golden said.

Cloud seeding is nothing new, but doing it successfully to prevent rainfall in a specific place is a tricky proposition, according to climatologists.

"I think there's a good chance" Chinese scientists can prevent rain from falling on the Olympics, said Ross Hoffman, vice president of Atmospheric and Environmental Research Inc., a Lexington, Mass., company that does customized weather forecasting for industry.

Army Squeezes Soldier Blogs, Maybe to Death

wired
The U.S. Army has ordered soldiers to stop posting to blogs or sending personal e-mail messages, without first clearing the content with a superior officer, Wired News has learned. The directive, issued April 19, is the sharpest restriction on troops' online activities since the start of the Iraq war. And it could mean the end of military blogs, observers say.

Military officials have been wrestling for years with how to handle troops who publish blogs. Officers have weighed the need for wartime discretion against the opportunities for the public to personally connect with some of the most effective advocates for the operations in Afghanistan and Iraq -- the troops themselves. The secret-keepers have generally won the argument, and the once-permissive atmosphere has slowly grown more tightly regulated. Soldier-bloggers have dropped offline as a result.

The new rules (.pdf) obtained by Wired News require a commander be consulted before every blog update.

"This is the final nail in the coffin for combat blogging," said retired paratrooper Matthew Burden, editor of The Blog of War anthology. "No more military bloggers writing about their experiences in the combat zone. This is the best PR the military has -- it's most honest voice out of the war zone. And it's being silenced."

Army Regulation 530--1: Operations Security (OPSEC) (.pdf) restricts more than just blogs, however. Previous editions of the rules asked Army personnel to "consult with their immediate supervisor" before posting a document "that might contain sensitive and/or critical information in a public forum." The new version, in contrast, requires "an OPSEC review prior to publishing" anything -- from "web log (blog) postings" to comments on internet message boards, from resumes to letters home.

Failure to do so, the document adds, could result in a court-martial, or "administrative, disciplinary, contractual, or criminal action."

Despite the absolutist language, the guidelines' author, Major Ray Ceralde, said there is some leeway in enforcement of the rules. "It is not practical to check all communication, especially private communication," he noted in an e-mail. "Some units may require that soldiers register their blog with the unit for identification purposes with occasional spot checks after an initial review. Other units may require a review before every posting."

But with the regulations drawn so tightly, "many commanders will feel like they have no choice but to forbid their soldiers from blogging -- or even using e-mail," said Jeff Nuding, who won the bronze star for his service in Iraq. "If I'm a commander, and think that any slip-up gets me screwed, I'm making it easy: No blogs," added Nuding, writer of the "pro-victory" Dadmanly site. "I think this means the end of my blogging."

Active-duty troops aren't the only ones affected by the new guidelines. Civilians working for the military, Army contractors -- even soldiers' families -- are all subject to the directive as well.

But, while the regulations may apply to a broad swath of people, not everybody affected can actually read them. In a Kafka-esque turn, the guidelines are kept on the military's restricted Army Knowledge Online intranet. Many Army contractors -- and many family members -- don't have access to the site. Even those able to get in are finding their access is blocked to that particular file.

"Even though it is supposedly rewritten to include rules for contractors (i.e., me) I am not allowed to download it," e-mails Perry Jeffries, an Iraq war veteran now working as a contractor to the Armed Services Blood Program.

The U.S. military -- all militaries -- have long been concerned about their personnel inadvertently letting sensitive information out. Troops' mail was read and censored throughout World War II; back home, government posters warned citizens "careless talk kills."

Military blogs, or milblogs, as they're known in service-member circles, only make the potential for mischief worse. On a website, anyone, including foreign intelligence agents, can stop by and look for information.

"All that stuff we used to get around a bar and say to each other -- well, now because we're publishing it in open forums, now it's intel," said milblogger and retired Army officer John Donovan.

Passing on classified data -- real secrets -- is already a serious military crime. The new regulations (and their author) take an unusually expansive view of what kind of unclassified information a foe might find useful. In an article published by the official Army News Service, Maj. Ceralde "described how the Pentagon parking lot had more parked cars than usual on the evening of Jan. 16, 1991, and how pizza parlors noticed a significant increase of pizza to the Pentagon.... These observations are indicators, unclassified information available to all … that Operation Desert Storm (was about to) beg(i)n."

Son Of JFK Conspirator Drops New Bombshell Revelations

prisonplanet.com
Costner was set to make documentary on Hunt's confession, before Miami mafia stepped in, E. Howard believed government had sabotaged his wife's plane

As the explosive revelation of E. Howard Hunt's deathbed confession, in which the former CIA agent and Watergate conspirator admits that he was part of a CIA conspiracy to assassinate JFK, continues to rage across the Internet, the establishment media remains almost mute on what is undoubtedly one of the biggest stories of the decade.

Saint John Hunt, E. Howard Hunt's oldest son, joined Alex Jones yesterday to drop new bombshells about his father's story. Click here to listen.

Hunt was first made aware of what his father knew about the events of November 22nd 1963 when he came into receipt of hand-written memos that outlined the birth of the plot to kill JFK in Miami where it was discussed that a coup needed to take place in order to topple Kennedy and save the CIA from being splintered into a thousand pieces, as JFK had promised.

Saint John then opened his mailbox one January morning in 2004 to discover an unlabeled cassette tape on which his father details the identity of the individuals that were involved in the actual assassination of JFK.

E. Howard Hunt names numerous individuals with both direct and indirect CIA connections as having played a role in the assassination of Kennedy, while describing himself as a "bench warmer" in the plot. Saint John Hunt agreed that the use of this term indicates that Hunt was willing to play a larger role in the murder conspiracy had he been required, but was primarily used in an oversight role.

Hunt alleges on the tape that then Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson was involved in the planning of the assassination and in the cover-up, stating that LBJ, "Had an almost maniacal urge to become president, he regarded JFK as an obstacle to achieving that."

In the Alex Jones Show interview, Hunt reveals how Kevin Costner, star of the JFK movie, had shared a mutual friend with E. Howard Hunt and had subsequently visited Hunt in Miami in the interests of producing a documentary film based on Hunt's knowledge of the plot.

"Kevin Costner flies down and is introduced to my father by this mutual friend and Kevin just blurted out, 'so who killed JFK'? My father's jaw dropped and he turned around and looked at his wife and said, 'what did he say'?"

"So the whole thing just kind of blew up in its face and that was the end of that," said Hunt.

Hunt said that Costner had become "somewhat of a conspiracy enthusiast" after having made the JFK movie and was very interested in starting a project based on E. Howard Hunt's revelations.

"What my father devised was a code and a key to give Mr. Costner the relevant information without naming the names," said Hunt, "He listed out a chain of command and a timeline series of events and things that took place along with the most important players in the plot."

Costner considered the information to be "dynamite stuff," but elements of the "Miami mafia" derailed the project and the documentary never got off the ground.

Saint John Hunt also revealed for the first time that E. Howard Hunt thought that the Chicago plane crash that killed his wife in 1972 was not an accident. Investigators discovered at least $10,000 dollars in Dorothy Hunt's luggage, money that Saint John Hunt alleges was Nixon campaign funds used to payoff the families of the Watergate burglars to keep them quiet about the involvement of the Nixon White House in the Watergate break-in and cover-up.

"Later on in his life at one of these bedside confessions....tears started welling up in his eyes and he said, 'you know Saint I was so deeply concerned that what they did to your mother they could have done to you children' and that caused the hair on my neck to stand up - that was the first disclosure from my father that he thought there was something else going on besides sheer pilot error," said Hunt.

Eyewitnesses reported that the plane exploded above treetop level before it had even hit the runway.

Hunt said that "at least 20-25 FBI members," as well as numerous DIA agents were at the scene of the crash within minutes before rescue personnel had even arrived, and that this fact was attested to in a letter sent by the head of the Chicago FBI to investigator Sherman Skolnick.

Hunt cited numerous coincidences surrounding the aftermath of the crash, including Nixon's appointment of his henchman, Egil Krough, to the National Transportation Safety Board which investigates plane crashes, the very day after the incident.

When asked about the photos of the "three tramps" that were arrested on the scene of the JFK murder but were later ordered released, Hunt agreed that they likely showed his father and the two other key conspirators.

"As my father's son, every time I look at that comparison photo between the tramps and my father - it looks like my father to me," said Hunt.

Hunt also said that he was reasonably confident that one of the other tramps was CIA operative Frank Sturgis, who his father had also named as a key member of the murder plot.

Hunt said that his father was not one of the shooters but was more of a manager of the plot on a command level, but was later "hung out to dry" by the CIA and the government.

Asked why Hunt became a willing conspirator in the plot to murder JFK, Hunt responded,"Within intelligence circles, he felt that it was an imperative situation that President Kennedy not be allowed to serve in that office for any longer because there was a lot of crucial things coming down, there was the Vietnam war, there was also the anger and the threats Kennedy had made to splinter the CIA into a thousand pieces."

Hunt also said that his father eventually desired to become the director of the CIA and Kennedy was a direct obstacle to that goal.

Hunt concluded by agreeing that his father's legacy was that of a patriotic American who was manipulated and twisted by people like LBJ and Nixon, later to be deserted and have his family torn apart by these same criminals.

E. Howard Hunt finally redeemed himself shortly before his death by blowing the whistle on the JFK murder plot, but now there is a fresh attempt to bury this information on behalf of the compromised and cowardly establishment media, who have afforded this bombshell story almost no attention at all while lavishly devoting coverage to the mindlessness of Britney Spears' comeback and radio host Don Imus' off-hand comments.

Once again the responsibility lies with alternative media and the Internet to make sure E. Howard Hunt's story is heard.

Federal Reserve to contact 10,000 families about finances

AP
WASHINGTON — Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke wants to discover key facts about the personal finances of thousands of Americans, and he is promising that the information will be held in strict confidence.

The Fed sent out letters this week from Bernanke to approximately 10,000 families living in 79 cities and towns around the country asking them to participate in the central bank's latest "Survey of Consumer Finances."

The survey, which has been done once every three years since 1983, provides detailed information for the central bank and other economic researchers into household finances.

"The results of the survey will fill a gap in our knowledge about the financial circumstances of different types of households," Bernanke wrote in a letter encouraging people to participate.

The data collected will give a representative picture of what Americans own, from houses and cars to stocks and bonds, to how much they borrow and where they borrow the money.

FDA - all antidepressants need new warning labels

news medical
The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in the United States wants the manufacturers of antidepressant medications to change the labels on their products.

The FDA says all antidepressants should carry new warnings about an increased risk of suicidal thoughts and behavior in young adults ages 18 to 24 during the first few months of treatment.

The proposal will mean current black box warnings on the drugs will be updated to include language stating that scientific data did not show this increased risk in adults older than 24, and that adults ages 65 and older taking antidepressants have a decreased risk of suicidality.

The warning will also emphasize that depression and certain other serious psychiatric disorders are themselves the most important causes of suicide.

The FDA says studies have consistently shown a "slight increase" in suicidal thinking and behavior among young adults during early treatment, but the data did not find a higher risk for adults older than 24.

Dr. Steven Galson, director of the FDA's Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, says the proposed action represents the FDA's commitment to a high level of post-marketing evaluation of drug products.

Dr. Galson says depression and other psychiatric disorders can have significant consequences if not appropriately treated and antidepressant medications benefit many patients, but it is important that doctors and patients are aware of the risks.

Experts advise people currently prescribed antidepressant medications to continue taking them and see their doctor about any concerns they might have.

The proposed labeling changes apply to the entire category of antidepressants and follows similar labeling changes made in 2005 that warned of a suicidality risk in children and adolescents who use antidepressants.

At that time the FDA requested manufacturers add a black box warning to the labeling of all antidepressants to describe this risk and to emphasize the need for appropriate monitoring and close observation, particularly for younger patients taking these medications.

The FDA also directed manufacturers to develop FDA-approved Medication Guides, which gave user-friendly information to patients.

The Medication Guides are intended to be distributed at the pharmacy with each prescription or refill of a medication.

Following a comprehensive review in 2005 by the FDA of 295 individual antidepressant trials, in 2006, the FDA's Psychopharmacologic Drugs Advisory Committee agreed that labeling changes were needed.

The review included over 77,000 adult patients with major depressive disorder (MDD) and other psychiatric disorders, and examined the risk of suicidality in adults who are prescribed antidepressants.

The committee said that product labeling needed to reflect the apparent beneficial effect of antidepressants in older adults and to remind health care professionals that the disorders themselves are the most important cause of suicidality.

The FDA has given the manufacturers of antidepressants 30 days to submit their revised product labels and revised Medication Guides to the FDA for review.

Products involved include: Anafranil, Asendin, Aventyl, Celexa, Cymbalta, Desyrel, Elavil, Effexor, Emsam, Etrafon, fluvoxamine maleate, Lexapro, Limbitrol, Ludiomil, Marplan, Nardil, nefazodone HCl, Norpramin, Pamelor, Parnate, Paxil, Pexeva, Prozac, Remeron Sarafem, Seroquel, Sinequan, Surmontil, Symbyax, Tofranil, Tofranil-PM, Triavil, Vivactil, Wellbutrin, Zoloft and Zyban.

Murdoch Left to Woo Bancrofts; Dow Jones Doesn't Act

May 3 (Bloomberg) -- Dow Jones & Co.'s refusal to act on News Corp.'s $5 billion takeover bid leaves Rupert Murdoch with the task of convincing members of the company's controlling Bancroft family to sell.

``This throws the ball back to Murdoch,'' said Ed Atorino, a New York-based analyst with Benchmark Co. ``Murdoch will probably raise his bid and deal with the family.''

Dow Jones, owner of the Wall Street Journal, said yesterday its board won't act on News Corp.'s offer because the Bancroft family opposes the bid. Family members who control 52 percent of the voting power are against the bid, New York-based Dow Jones said yesterday in a statement.

``The board didn't say no,'' Atorino said. ``They said raise your bid and convince 2 percent of the family to go your way.'' Atorino rates the shares ``hold'' and doesn't own them. The Bancroft family members with 52 percent of voting power are a ``small majority,'' he said.

Michael B. Elefante, a director who represents the Bancrofts, informed the board about their decision. Murdoch told Fox News on May 1 that he plans to meet with family members in coming weeks to discuss his $60-a-share offer.

Dow Jones shares rose 30 cents to $56.30 at 9:40 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They surged 55 percent on May 1, when the bid was made public. Class A shares of New York- based News Corp., owner of Fox News, Fox Television and Twentieth Century Fox, rose 11 cents to $21.70.

News Corp.'s offer for Dow Jones, which also owns Barron's and Dow Jones Newswires, was 65 percent above the previous day's closing stock price. Bancroft family members who control more than 50 percent of the voting power rejected the offer shortly after it became public.

Voting Power

The Bancrofts hold about 64 percent of the voting power at Dow Jones through Class A and Class B shares, while owning about 25 percent of the company. The family has controlled the newspaper since 1902.

News Corp.'s bid values the Bancroft stake at about $1.23 billion. Christopher Bancroft and cousins Elizabeth Steele and Leslie Hill, a retired airline pilot, are on the board.

The Bancrofts may approach Thomson Corp., Reuters Plc and Yahoo! Inc. to gauge their interest in buying the family's stake, The Business reported on its Web site.

Murdoch's offer represents about 17 times Dow Jones's projected 2007 profit, based on estimates by Prudential Equity Group analyst Steven Barlow in New York. Newspapers have been selling at 10 times to 11 times earnings, Barlow said. Sam Zell's proposed acquisition of Chicago-based Tribune Co. was at 10 times projected 2007 earnings.

Bloomberg News parent Bloomberg LP competes with Dow Jones in providing financial news and information.

`Greatest Newspaper'

Murdoch has long coveted Dow Jones, whose Wall Street Journal is the second-biggest selling newspaper in the U.S. behind Gannett Co.'s USA Today. Murdoch this week described the Journal as ``the greatest newspaper in America.''

Dow Jones's business media assets would dovetail with News Corp.'s Fox Business News channel, which is scheduled to start broadcasting later this year. News Corp. also publishes 170 newspapers including The Times of London and the New York Post.

Grade 3 dips in reading on FCAT

herald tribune
Florida educators beamed with pride last year when Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test results showed that far fewer third-graders were failing in reading.

But new FCAT results released Wednesday showed that their excitement might have been premature. This year -- for the first time in FCAT history -- the number of third-graders failing the test went up.

This year, more than 38,000 Florida third-graders could be held back for failing the FCAT, about 10,000 more than last year.

Schools in Charlotte, Manatee and Sarasota counties followed that trend. State and local educators said they were not sure what caused more children to fail, except that perhaps last year's students just did exceptionally well.

Although more third-graders failed this year's reading test than in 2006, the number who failed was still lower than in previous years.

The results released Wednesday also showed that the percentage of third-graders meeting state reading goals dropped this year. The percentage of Florida students reading at grade level fell from 75 percent to 69 percent. State officials said just 6 of Florida's 67 school districts saw improvements.

Last year, educators praised efforts to boost student performance with intense remedial programs.

And despite the poor results, officials say they won't change their focus on remedial reading programs.

"We're going to see fluctuations," said Chancellor Cheri Yecki. "We've seen them in the past and we're going to see them in the future. We still need to stay focused on our reform efforts."

The third-grade FCAT results were the second wave of 2007 FCAT scores to be released. The state also released results for 12th-grade students who need to pass the FCAT to graduate. The number of 12th-graders who failed increased.

This year's third-grade results -- and the state's response -- show just how arbitrary the test scores can be, with student results swinging like a pendulum from one year to the next. Student test performance can be influenced by factors outside the school system's control. What works for one group of students may not necessarily work for the next.

The state's steadfastness was echoed by local districts, who said they will continue remedial programs implemented in the past few years.

"We're going to re-examine what we're doing, but we won't throw the baby out with the bath water based on one set of scores," said Rene Desjardins, assistant superintendent in Charlotte County. "If we were the only ones having bad scores for two years in a row, we would take a hard look at things. But we won't take an emergency shoot-from-the-hip reaction to it."

State law requires third-grade students to pass the reading FCAT to be promoted. But the state gives a number of exemptions, including some to students who are disabled or learning English. About half of the third-graders who fail the test move on to fourth grade because of the exemptions.

In recent years, the state has taken some of its focus off of elementary school reading programs and redirected resources into middle and high schools, where scores were lagging.

Locally, administrators say they have put more emphasis on math programs to boost scores. Their efforts may have paid off. As reading scores fell, Southwest Florida school districts all made gains in the percentage of students doing well on the math part of the test.

"The emphasis has been on reading, reading, reading," said Natalie Roca, Sarasota's director of research, assessment and evaluation. "But now there's a shift to math."

At Tuttle Elementary in Sarasota, after several years of not meeting federal benchmarks because of lagging test scores, math became a top priority, said Principal Tom Buchanan.

The school purchased a special computer program for students to spend extra time working on their math skills. Teachers also established goals and periodically tested students to make sure they were mastering skills. This year, 79 percent of Tuttle students met state goals on the FCAT, an increase of 27 percentage points.

"It's a real success story," Buchanan said.

School districts across the state also saw more 12th-graders fail the reading and math parts of the FCAT, which is required to graduate. High school students start taking the test in 10th grade and have about six chances to pass.

Statewide, about 22,000 students who retook the reading part of the test this February failed. About 8,000 failed math. But state and local educators point out that many of those students did not meet other graduation requirements anyway.

Although the actual number of failing 12th-graders went up statewide and in some local districts, Sarasota administrators say it is largely because they had more students retaking the test. The percentage of students who failed actually dropped.

Seniors who did not pass the FCAT this round will not be able to participate in graduation with their class. However, they be able to take the FCAT again after the date of graduation, usually in late May or June. If they still cannot pass it, they will receive a certification of completion, instead of a high school diploma.

Last year, 49 Sarasota County seniors, 1.9 percent of the class, received this certificate because they could not pass one or more sections of the FCAT.

LAPD Chief Disturbed By Rally Violence

cbsnews
Three Investigations Launched Into Cops' Tactics At Immigration Reform Protest
CBS/AP) Three investigations have been launched into police officers' tactics in dispersing a crowd at an immigration rally, where authorities wielded batons and fired rubber bullets into crowds.

"This incident is one of the more disturbing and troubling in my 37-year career," Police Chief William J. Bratton said Thursday on CBS News' The Early Show.

Bratton did not try to defend the actions of his officers, reports CBS News correspondent Steve Futterman. Instead he promised a complete and very public examination of Tuesday night's events.

News images showed police hitting a KCBS/KCAL television cameraman to the ground, shoving people who were walking away from officers and injuries from the rubber bullets.

"All I thought they would do was line up and march and say 'get out of here,'" said KCBS reporter Mark Coogan, one of those beaten. "You didn't have to whack people or fire at people with rubber bullets."

Rally organizers denounced the police action as brutal.

"They were pushing children, elderly, mothers with their babies and beating up on the media" said Angela Sanbrano, an organizer.

"I'm not seeking to defend it all. That's why we're having investigations. I've already indicated I don't like what I see on the videos," Bratton told Early Show co-anchor Julie Chen.

The clashes started around 6 p.m. Tuesday, when police tried to disperse demonstrators who moved into a street, according to rally organizers and reporters. Authorities said several people threw rocks and bottles at officers, who used batons to push the crowd back to the sidewalk and then cleared the park.

A police order to disperse was in English and from a police helicopter, a likely ineffective tactic because of the noise and because many at the protest were Spanish-speakers, Bratton said.

"It appears to me, my early review, I have serious problems with the chain of command situation, serious problems with notification of the crowd to disperse, and very serious concerns that so many rounds, almost 240, and we're still trying to pin that down, almost 240 rounds were fired. And no arrests made," Bratton said.

Police union leaders urged against a "rush to judgment."

"Our officers gave a legal dispersal order and were met with violence. In the coming days it will become clear what transpired," said Los Angeles Police Protective League President Bob Baker in a statement.

Seven officers suffered minor injuries, and another was pushed off his motorcycle, Bratton said. About 10 other people were treated for minor injuries, though authorities expected the number to rise.

The investigations already under way include an overall departmental review of tactics, an internal affairs investigation into the behavior of the officers and commanders on the scene, and an independent review by the Inspector General, the investigative arm of the Police Commission, which sets policy for the Police Department.

John Mack, president of the five-member Police Commission, said he was "deeply disturbed and very disappointed" by the news images.

"This was not a pretty picture. This incident raises serious concern regarding the use of force by some individual officers," said Mack, who is one of Bratton's bosses.

Democratic Assembly Speaker Fabian NuInez, who represents the park district, also asked Los Angeles County District Attorney Steve Cooley to launch an independent investigation into the officers' actions.

He said police deliberately led troublemakers back to the peaceful marchers before beginning their assault.

"The only logical conclusion I can come to is that somebody wanted it to bleed into the march so that they can do some target practice on some of the immigrants that were marching," Nunez said.

News organizations also condemned the Police Department for its use of batons and riot guns against members of the media.

"We are sorry for what happened to our employees and find it unacceptable that they would be abused in that way when they were doing their job," said Alfredo Richard, spokesman for the Spanish-language network Telemundo, whose anchor and reporter were hurt.

Bratton promised to investigate the treatment of reporters.

"We should never be engaged in attacking anyone in the media," Bratton said.

Qaeda Figure in Iraq Killed, U.S. Military Says

new york times

American forces have indeed killed a high-ranking member of the terrorist group Al Qaeda in Iraq, but not the leader of the group, American military officials said today.

The man killed in the raid was Muharib Abdul Latif al-Jubouri, described as a senior minister of information for Al Qaeda in Iraq who was involved in the kidnappings of Jill Carroll and Tom Fox as well as two Germans, according to Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, spokesman for the American military in Iraq.

Mr. Jubouri’s death and subsequent events may have led to confusion that generated unconfirmed reports of the death of the leader of the group, known as Abu Ayyub al-Masri, or of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi, the head of another insurgent group, the Islamic State of Iraq, General Caldwell said.

He said American forces are not certain that Mr. al-Baghdadi even exists.

Mr. Jubouri was involved in the movement of foreign fighters and money into Iraq from Syria, said General Caldwell, who described Mr. Jubouri’s death as “significant.” The general also said Mr. Jubouri was involved in hiding and moving the kidnapped Christian Science Monitor reporter Jill Carroll; she was held for two months before being released.

Detainees told American officials that Mr. Jubouri had personal custody of Mr. Fox, an American, and was the last one seen holding him before Mr. Fox was killed, General Caldwell said. Mr. Fox, one of four men from the Chicago-based peace group Christian Peacemaker Teams working in Iraq, was found shot to death in Baghdad on March 10, 2006.

The two Germans were kidnapped in January 2006.

Mr. Jubouri was first captured by coalition forces in 2003 and then was released in 2004, after which he traveled to Syria, where he has family, General Caldwell said. He described Mr. Jubouri as a close associate of Mr. Masri.

American forces have no evidence to confirm reports yesterday from the Iraqi Ministry of the Interior that Mr. Masri had been killed, the general said, nor do they have evidence to confirm reports that Mr. al-Baghdadi was killed.

American forces identified Mr. Jubouri’s body using photographs, and then released it for transportation to a mosque for burial. When the car carrying the body was stopped at an Iraqi checkpoint, the Iraqi forces took possession of the body, and may have thought it was someone else.

DNA testing confirmed the photo identification of Mr. al-Jubouri on Wednesday.

General Caldwell said that Mr. Jubouri was killed while resisting detention at 1:42 a.m. on Tuesday, during coalition military strikes against 29 targets over three days. He said that in all, 95 militants were detained in the raids and 15 were killed.

The raid in which Mr. Jubouri was killed with four other people was conducted on four buildings in a town north of Baghdad and four miles west of the Taji air base. Six people were detained.

In April, American forces conducted 139 operations specifically aimed at Al Qaeda in Iraq, killing 87 and detaining 465, General Caldwell said.

Federal Reserve chief says protectionism would harm U.S. economy

Xinhua
A retreat into protectionism and isolationism would be self-defeating and harm U.S. economy, Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke said Tuesday.

"Restricting trade by imposing tariffs, quotas, or other barriers is exactly the wrong thing to do," said the Federal Reserve chief in a speech addressing the Montana Economic Development summit 2007.

"Such solutions might temporarily slow job loss in affected industries, but the benefits would be outweighed, typically many times over, by the costs, which would include higher prices for consumers and increased costs, and thus reduced competitiveness for U.S. firms," said Bernanke.

He said the better approach to mitigating the disruptive effects of trade is to adopt policies and programs aimed at easing the transition of displaced workers into new jobs and increasing the adaptability and skills of the labor force more generally.

Bernanke also noted the global trade would bring benefit to U.S. and the world consumers.

"Exports are important, but so are imports. Without trade, some goods would be extremely expensive or not available at all, such as the Valentine's Day roses of my earlier example or out-of- season fruits and vegetables," he said.

"One of the great attractions of globalization is that it brings to consumers the best of many cultures. And of course, global trade allows many types of goods, especially consumer goods, to be purchased at lower prices," he added.

"In the long run, economic isolationism and retreat from international competition would inexorably lead to lower productivity for U.S. firms and lower living standards for U.S. consumers," he said.

The real reason for the U.S. trade deficit was that Americans save less and spend more, while some countries like China save too more and spend less, he said.

Priest removed for violating vows

news 14 carolina
DURHAM -- A priest at the Holy Cross Catholic Church in Durham has been removed from duty after admitting to sexual misconduct more than 25 years ago.

The Rev. Stephen Garrity left North Carolina over the weekend for a weeklong evaluation at a treatment center.

Garrity admitted last week to having inappropriate sexual contact with five adults -- ages 18 to 23 -- 25 to 30 years ago while assigned in Baltimore and Philadelphia. While Garrity is not suspected of any criminal activity, the allegations are in violation of his vows of celibacy.

Church officials must now determine whether Garrity can continue in the ministry. He has served at Holy Cross since 2001.

Chavez pulls out of IMF and World Bank

belfast news
Venezuela's leader Hugo Chavez has underlined his intention to develop an alternative economic vision for Latin America by pulling his country from the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund - organisations that have long had a controversial role in the region.

He is also to nationalise operational control of four oil field projects currently run by foreign companies.

Though Venezuela has paid off its loans to the two international lending organisations, Mr Chavez's announcement that he intends to quit the organisations is powerfully symbolic. It is likely to lead to other smaller nations to question their membership and demand a greater say in the organisations' policies.

"We will no longer have to go to Washington, nor to the IMF, nor to the World Bank, not to anyone," said Mr Chavez. "I want to formalise our exit from the World Bank and the IMF."

Despite Venezuela's close trading relationship with the US over oil - it is the fourth largest supplier of crude in the United States - Mr Chavez has long been critical of US interference in Latin America, be it political, military or economic. He has long derided the IMF and the World Bank for being controlled by US and Western interests and has said their policies of tight budget controls, privatisation and open markets have benefited foreign companies while leaving much of Latin America in grinding poverty.

Venezuela recently repaid its remaining debts to the World Bank five years ahead of schedule and paid off its debts to the IMF shortly after Mr Chavez first took office in 1999. He has steadily worked to provide alternative forms of credit and financial support for countries in the region, backed up by Venezuela's oil wealth. He has referred to such a project as the "Bank of the South". He has also invested millions of dollars on social programmes inside Venezuela that have reduced poverty and increased access to education and healthcare.

Mark Weisbrot, director of the Washington-based Centre for Economic Policy Research, which studied Venezuela's economy, said Mr Chavez was likely driven by several factors, one of which was the IMF's support of those involved in a 2002 coup which briefly led to his ousting. "The IMF is not really an independent actor," said Mr Weisbrot. "I don't think there's anyone in this town who would tell you with a straight face that it is not controlled by the US Treasury. There was no reason for Venezuela to remain a member... I think it's possible that other countries will pull out."

Mr Chavez made his announcement on Monday, a day after criticising the lending organisations during a meeting with leaders from Bolivia, Nicaragua, Cuba and Haiti. He predicted that "sooner or later, those institutions will fall due to their own weight".

On Monday, Mr Chavez announced that some of the world's largest oil companies would lose operational control over projects in the Orinoco Belt reserve in Venezuela. Britain's BP, the United States' ConocoPhillips, Chevron and Exxon Mobil, Norway's Statoil and France's Total agreed to obey a decree to transfer operational control. The move came a year after the Bolivian President Evo Morales took control of his country's gas fields.

"President Chavez has ordered us to take full control over the sovereignty of our oil, and we are doing that today," said Venezuela's Oil Minister Rafael Ramirez.

Key players meet in Egypt to stabilise war-torn Iraq

SHARM EL-SHEIKH, Egypt, May 2 (Reuters) - Leaders from countries bordering Iraq and with a stake in its future meet in Egypt Thursday and Friday in an attempt to contain the conflict in Iraq and prevent the violence sucking in its neighbours.

While diplomats are sceptical security can be improved inside Iraq in the short term, some hope that the meeting will bring pressure to end external support for different factions and instead emphasise programmes to help rebuild the stricken country.

The highlight of the two days of talks would be a meeting on the sidelines between U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki -- a first at this level since the Bush administration took office in 2001.

Arab diplomatic sources said Rice would definitely have talks with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moualem, another first, but the United States has not confirmed that.

Those meetings would mark a reversal of policy by the Bush administration, which rejected last year a high-level commission's recommendation that it open a dialogue with the two governments for the sake of relief in Iraq.

But the United States has ruled out what Rice called "full-scale negotiations" with Iran, widely seen as the neighbouring country most able to influence events inside Iraq, where scores of people a day die in political violence.

"I don't expect big things from this meeting. There should be a strong and sincere dialogue between the United States and Iran and Syria, but I don't have the impression that the current American administration is really willing to do that," said Hassan Nafaa, a political scientist at Cairo University. Even the United States, which has tended to pin high hopes on what Iraq's neighbours can do to help Washington with its predicament in Iraq, is playing down expectations.

"Let's not have overreaching expectations (about the meeting). It will take some time to overcome suspicions in the region," Rice told reporters en route to Sharm el-Sheikh talks.

IRAQI COMPACT

Asked what would make for success, U.S. ambassador to Iraq Ryan Crocker said getting Iraq's neighbours in the same room at ministerial level was an important development in itself.

"I would not expect this to produce a specific result where we can say 'Wow, that really succeeded'," he told Washington reporters on Tuesday via a conference call from Baghdad.

A senior Arab diplomat agreed, saying the most the world should anticipate from the meetings is a series of messages, such as a message to Iraqi leaders that they must amend the constitution for the sake of national reconciliation.

"There will also be a message that the international community is ready to help Iraq, but what may matter most is the discussions on the side," added the diplomat.

The first day of talks will look at a project dubbed the Iraqi Compact -- a five-year plan offering Iraq financial, political and technical support in return for various reforms.

The key reforms, which U.S. officials want passed soon, are a revenue-sharing oil law, a law to allow members of the old ruling Baath party back into public life, and a governorate elections law that will set a date for provincial polls.

The United States hopes that these benchmarks will promote reconciliation and draw minority Sunni Arabs away from the insurgency and back into the political process.

The second day will bring together Iraq and its immediate neighbours -- Iran, Turkey, Syria, Jordan, Saudi Arabia and Kuwait, together with Egypt as host.

Previous meetings of the neighbours have focused on border security and the smuggling of arms and personnel into Iraq in support of the mainly Sunni Muslim insurgency led by al-Qaeda.

But analysts say there are limits to what the neighbours can do to reduce the violence in Iraq, which has a dynamic of its own, driven in part by indigenous Iraqi opposition to the U.S. and British military presence in their country.

Iraqi Deputy Prime Minister Barham Saleh told Reuters in an interview that the neighbours should remember that instability in Iraq will damage them as well as Iraq.

"The time has come for our neighbours to be more serious and more effective in helping the government of Iraq and people of Iraq to take on the extremists and to take on the al-Qaeda organisation," he said. (Additional reporting by Sue Pleming in Washington and Jonathan Wright in Cairo)

Time Warner Profit Falls Less Than Estimates on Cable

May 2 (Bloomberg) -- Time Warner Inc., the world's largest media company, posted first-quarter profit that fell less than analysts estimated and raised its 2007 forecast as earnings from cable-television jumped.

Net income declined 18 percent to $1.2 billion, or 31 cents a share, from $1.46 billion, or 32 cents, a year earlier, New- York based Time Warner said today in a statement. Sales rose 9.2 percent to $11.2 billion.

Profit was dragged down by a 27 percent decline at the film division, which failed to produce a hit to beat last year's ``Harry Potter'' DVD release. Cable profit rose 54 percent after the purchase of Adelphia Communications Corp. AOL gained 27 percent as advertising revenue increased, a sign that Chief Executive Officer Richard Parsons may be succeeding in his effort to revive the Internet unit.

``The key takeaway is the company seems to be on the right track,'' said Tuna Amobi, an equity analyst at Standard & Poor's. ``The highlights of the quarter were the cable unit and AOL.''

Excluding one-time items, profit of 22 cents beat the 21- cent average of 17 analyst estimates compiled by Bloomberg.

Time Warner raised its 2007 forecast for earnings before one-time items to $1.05 a share, from $1 on Jan. 31.

Shares of Time Warner, which also owns CNN and Fortune magazine, rose 43 cents, or 2 percent, to $21.02 at 9:35 a.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. They have fallen 5.5 percent this year. Time Warner Cable Inc. fell 69 cents to $36.91.

Phone, Web Service

Earnings were buoyed by a $670 million gain on the sale of AOL's Web access division in Germany and $146 million from investments related to cable assets in Kansas City. Excluding one-time items, profit a year ago was 26 cents a share.

Time Warner Cable, the second-largest U.S. cable company, began trading publicly in January, as part of the parent company's purchase of cable franchises from bankrupt Adelphia.

The Stamford, Connecticut-based cable division, 84 percent owned by Time Warner, benefited from demand for packages of phone, digital cable and Internet services. The unit reiterated today sales and earnings will rise more than 30 percent in 2007.

Revenue rose 61 percent to $3.85 billion, making it the fastest-growing Time Warner division for the 14th straight quarter.

Comcast Corp., the industry leader, said yesterday its cable revenue will increase 12 percent a year through 2009. The company last week posted an 80 percent jump in first-quarter net income, as revenue rose 32 percent.

AOL Gains

AOL profit rose to $542 million as ad revenue rose 40 percent. The growth in ad sales beat the 28 percent estimate by Spencer Wang, an analyst at Bear Stearns Cos. in New York.

Sales dropped 25 percent after AOL started offering its e- mail and software for free to broadband users last year to attract Web surfers and advertisers. Its Web access division lost 1.2 million subscribers in the quarter.

Parsons, 59, hired TV veteran Randy Falco in November to run AOL and implement the new strategy.

Profit at the film division fell 27 percent to $332 million. Revenue declined 1.3 percent to $2.7 billion.

DVD sales of ``The Departed'' and ``Happy Feet,'' at $132 million and $198 million, respectively, failed to match the $209 million and $290 million turned in last year by the ``Wedding Crashers'' and ``Harry Potter,'' according to Goldman Sachs Group Inc. analyst Anthony Noto.

The unexpected theatrical success of ``300,'' an epic about Spartan warriors battling a larger Persian army, wasn't enough to lift earnings. The film took in $207 million in North American box office receipts, according to Box Office Mojo.

Warner Bros. will release ``Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix'' in theaters in July.

Publishing Cuts

At the cable-networks unit, including HBO, CNN and TNT, operating profit rose 6 percent to $937 million.

Publishing profit fell 28 percent to $84 million.

The unit cut 290 jobs in January, or 2.8 percent its workforce, to reduce expenses. The publisher of People and In Style eliminated 600 positions in 2006 as advertising sales declined. The unit also closed Life magazine, less than three years after restarting the title as a weekly.

Fortune's ad sales fell 5.4 percent in the first quarter, according to data from Publishers Information Bureau. Sports Illustrated, People and In Style gained 6.7 percent, 8.2 percent and 1.5 percent respectively in the period.

Rough ride for FISA update law

article
WASHINGTON, DC, United States (UPI) -- Senior Bush administration intelligence officials face tough questions Tuesday when they take their proposal for modernizing U.S. surveillance legislation before skeptical senators.

Recent poll data shows the U.S. public supports the idea that officials should always have to get a warrant before eavesdropping on Americans -- something that would not be necessary under certain circumstances if the administration`s planned changes to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act are passed into law.

A United Press International/Zogby poll of nearly 6,000 representative Americans found that 61 percent agreed or strongly agreed that the government should always have to get a warrant before monitoring the phone calls or e-mails of U.S. citizens and legal immigrants. Only 36 percent disagreed.

Director of National Intelligence Michael McConnell, Director of the National Security Agency Lt. Gen. Keith Alexander and Assistant Attorney General for National Security Kenneth Wainstein were scheduled to present their plan for a modernization of FISA to the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Tuesday afternoon. They will face lawmakers angry at the administration`s documented abuse of some of the new investigative powers Congress gave them in the wake of the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks.

'They`ll get some tough questions,' predicted a senior committee staffer. 'There are people who are skeptical about this proposal.'

He said it was by no means sure whether committee Chairman Jay Rockefeller, D-W.Va., would back an overhaul of the law. 'He has called this hearing to hear the case' officials want to make, the staffer said.

The staffer added officials would be questioned 'about how they`ve used other powers Congress gave them,' a reference to a recent Department of Justice inspector general`s report that found widespread abuse by the FBI of so-called National Security Letters -- a form of administrative subpoena that the bureau was given much broader authority to issue in the suite of hurriedly passed anti-terror laws called the 2001 USA Patriot Act.

Other congressional staff said the administration`s task in pushing the overhaul is further complicated by the fact that a competing bill is being considered by the Senate Judiciary Committee.

That bill, say its Senate backers -- ranking member Arlen Specter, R-Pa., and Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif. -- clarifies and strengthens the role of FISA as the sole basis of legal authority for electronic surveillance of Americans in their own country.

The bill is designed to end any ambiguity about the intent of Congress, which some say the administration exploited in claiming the president`s inherent constitutional authority to order foreign intelligence wiretaps as the justification for warrantless monitoring of overseas communications by Americans under Bush`s Terrorist Surveillance Program.

Feinstein`s 'concern has always been that FISA should be the exclusive (source of) authority for wiretapping U.S. persons on U.S. soil for foreign intelligence purposes,' said her spokesman, Scott Gerber.

Feinstein is one of a handful of senators who are members of both the Intelligence and Judiciary committees and she planned to attend Tuesday`s hearing, according to Gerber.

The two committees share jurisdiction over FISA, said the intelligence staffer, and would have to work together on any proposal. 'If we decide to move ahead with (a bill), they get a go at (amending) it, and if they move this one, then we get a crack at (amending) that.'

Officials argue that FISA, nearly 30 years old, is an outdated law that has been rendered archaic by changes in communications technology and practices.

The argument is laid out in an analysis of the proposed changes submitted along with them by their administration authors to Congress.

The law`s original drafters 'used language that was technology dependent and related specifically to the telecommunications systems that existed at that time,' reads the analysis, explaining why officials want to change the definition of electronic surveillance the law employs.

'As a result of revolutions in communications technology since 1978, and not any considered judgment of Congress, the current definition of `electronic surveillance` sweeps in surveillance activities that Congress intended to exclude from FISA`s scope.'

For instance, officials have said that FISA covers many conversations between foreign nationals outside of the United States simply because the calls are routed through U.S. telecommunications hubs.

The proposed change, according to the analysis, 'provides a new, technologically neutral definition of `electronic surveillance` focused on the core question of who is the subject of the surveillance rather than on how or where the communication is intercepted.'

But critics say that, under the guise of updating the law, the administration is seeking a massive expansion in its authorities to eavesdrop on Americans.

'This isn`t a modernization bill, it`s a freedom to snoop law,' said Tim Sparapani, legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, which has been lobbying staff and senators against the proposals that it says are a 'power grab' by the administration.

One of the changes in the definition of 'electronic surveillance' would mean that the collection of so-called metadata -- information about the origin, destination and duration of calls and e-mails, but not their content -- from purely domestic communications would no longer be covered, and therefore would no longer require a warrant.

The National Security Agency is believed to have the capacity to vacuum up and analyze such data, looking for patterns and connections that might reveal terrorists or their activities.

'It is incredible,' said Sparapani, 'under the guise of modernization, they want to turn this huge vacuum cleaner on the American people.'

He said the distinctions in the 1978 legislation reflected the different expectations of privacy that users of different technologies had, and the administration was seeking to blur those important distinctions.

'This is not a slippery slope, so much as a waterfall,' he said. 'You step over it and you are gone.'

Other critics acknowledge the legislation does need updating, but the UPI/Zogby poll shows little appetite for any diminution of the principle that the government should get a warrant before wiretapping Americans.

Republicans were the most amenable to the idea, with only 31 percent agreeing that authorities 'should always be required to get a warrant.' Sixty-seven percent disagreed, compared with just 36 percent in the general population.

But among key swing constituencies, like self-described moderates, support for always requiring a warrant was stronger than in the general population -- 72 percent compared to 61 percent.

The poll administered online to 5,932 adults April 13-16 has a margin of error of 1.3 percentage points.

Sunni Tribal Official Provides Details of Al Masri's Death, But Not Body

fox news
A senior Interior Ministry official said Wednesday that officials were trying to gain custody of Abu Ayyub al-Masri's body amid widespread skepticism over claims that the leader of Al Qaeda in Iraq had been killed.

Meanwhile, a police official in Anbar province said al-Masri died when his explosives belt detonated during fighting but security forces could not retrieve the body because it was in a part of the desert controlled by the terror group.

U.S. authorities urged caution about the reports, saying they had not been confirmed and warning that even if the claim were true, the death of the shadowy Egyptian militant likely would not spell the end of the terror movement in Iraq.

"We still don't know what the status is," U.S. military spokesman Rear Adm. Mark Fox said Wednesday, adding the U.S. military was not involved in the operation that purportedly killed al-Masri.

"I haven't seen any reports that we have any bodies, or that we took custody, or that we had any participation there," he said at a news conference in Baghdad, adding there were no American forces in the area where it was said to have occurred.

Reports of al-Masri's death first emerged Tuesday from the Interior Ministry, which said the al-Qaida leader was gunned down by rivals in his movement Tuesday at a bridge near Lake Tharthar just north of Baghdad, where the U.S. military believes Al Qaeda operates training camps.

In a series of conflicting statements, Iraqi officials later said al-Masri's death had not been confirmed, although they believed they had strong intelligence that it was true.

Senior Interior Ministry official Maj. Gen. Hussein Kamal said Wednesday that officials were trying to gain custody of the body, but he declined to comment further.

Iraqi officials have released similar reports about the killing or capture of top insurgent figures, only to acknowledge later that the claims were inaccurate.

An Al Qaeda front organization denied that al-Masri, who also is known as Abu Hamza al-Muhajer and has a $1 million bounty on his head, had been killed. The Islamic State of Iraq said in a Web statement that al-Masri was "alive and still fighting the enemy of God."

But the statement, posted on an extremist Web site, offered no evidence to support the claim. Al-Masri assumed leadership of Al Qaeda after his charismatic predecessor, Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, was killed in a U.S. airstrike last June.

Late Tuesday, the leader of a Sunni Arab group in opposed to Al Qaeda told Iraqi television that his fighters tracked down and killed al-Masri along with seven of his aides, two of them Saudis.

"Eyewitnesses confirmed his death and their corpses are still at the scene," said Abdul-Sattar al-Rishawi, head of the Anbar Salvation Council in the vast insurgent stronghold.

Citing information from informants, police Lt. Col. Jabbar Rashid al-Dulaimi, who is a member the Salvation Council, said Wednesday that al-Masri had been killed along with two aides the day before when an explosives belt he was wearing detonated during fighting in the desert northwest of Baghdad. He identified the aides as Mullah Qahtan al-Marawi and Ismail al-Iraqi.

He said Iraqi authorities had not been able to retrieve the body because it was in an area controlled by Al Qaeda fighters but insisted they were "100 percent certain" al-Masri had been killed.

The report of al-Masri's death occurred at a time when Al Qaeda is locked in a violent power struggle with other Sunni insurgents angry over its effort to dominate the movement and over the role of foreigners in the terror network.

More than 200 Sunni sheiks in Anbar province have decided to form a political party to oppose al-Qaida.

American officials advised caution.

"We've heard the report on al-Masri," Defense Secretary Robert Gates said. "We're trying with the Iraqis to confirm whether or not it's true. I think we don't know the answer to that at this point."

U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker said al-Masri's death would be a positive development, but he played down suggestions it would spell the end of the terror threat in Iraq.

"Clearly taking a major terrorist off the battlefield is an important thing and if we can confirm it, if this did happen, without question it would be a significant and positive development," Crocker told reporters in Washington via a teleconference.

"That said, I would not expect it to in any way bring to an end Al Qaeda's activities in Iraq," he added. "My sense is that it is now a very decentralized terrorist effort, so while removing its current head would be a good and positive thing, I think we have to expect that we will need to continue dealing with further Al Qaeda attacks."

Clashes have erupted between Al Qaeda and other insurgent groups, notably the nationalist 1920 Revolution Brigades and the Islamic Army in Iraq, in at least three provinces, U.S. officers say.

The decision to declare the Islamic State of Iraq under the leadership of Abu Omar al-Baghdadi was widely seen as an effort by Al Qaeda to put an Iraqi face on the movement. Al-Masri is the "war minister" of the self-declared state.

At the same time, the U.S. military has stepped up covert operations to disrupt the terror network. Last Friday, the Pentagon announced the arrest of veteran jihadist Abdul al-Hadi al-Iraqi, an associate of Al Qaeda leader Usama bin Laden.

The Pentagon did not say where al-Iraqi was arrested but said he was allegedly trying to return to his native Iraq.

According to associates in Afghanistan, al-Masri has been involved in Islamic extremist movements since 1982, when he joined Islamic Jihad, a terror group led by Ayman al-Zawahiri, who became bin Laden's chief deputy.

Al-Masri fought with Muslim rebels against the Soviets in Afghanistan in the 1980s and later ran Al Qaeda training camps there.

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Pressure grows for a 7/7 inquiry

BBC NEWS | UK | UK Politics | Pressure grows for a 7/7 inquiry

Pressure grows for a 7/7 inquiry
Survivors and relatives of victims of the 7 July attacks are stepping up the pressure for a public inquiry into MI5's handling of intelligence.
On Monday it emerged at the end of a year-long terror trial that MI5 had two of the 7 July bombers under surveillance a year before the attacks.

Ministers are opposed to an inquiry but a parliamentary committee will consider why the bombers were not picked up.

Those affected by the 2005 attacks have delivered a letter to the Home Office.

The document, requesting an "impartial public inquiry", was handed to an official from the department.


BUGGED BY MI5
It all depends on the situation ... everybody wants to go to the front, everybody wants to fight.
Omar Khyam speaking to Mohammad Sidique Khan


It says one of the purposes would be "to examine issues aimed at saving lives, minimising suffering and improving the response of government agencies to the continuing threat of terrorist attacks".

The letter was signed by more than 18 people, including 7 July survivors Paul Mitchell and Jacqui Putnam, as well as relatives of those affected - such as Ros Morley, whose husband, Colin, was killed.

Survivor Rachel North said: "This is not about blame but about future public safety - understanding what happened, how it happened and to stop it happening again."





In response, the Home Office released a statement saying the home secretary would "give very careful consideration" to the letter.

The statement added: "However, as we have consistently maintained, experience has shown that a fuller public inquiry can take years and divert huge resources."

On Monday five men were given life sentences for a foiled plot to build a huge fertiliser bomb for a UK attack.

It emerged during the trial that MI5 had tailed London suicide bombers Mohammad Sidique Khan and Shehzad Tanweer while investigating that case, but took no action.

The BBC has now published a full transcript of an MI5 bugged conversation in which the bomber discusses leaving the UK to join jihadi extremists in the Pakistan-Afghanistan border areas.

One issue being looked at is what MI5 told both the public and politicians in the wake of the 7 July attacks.


EVIDENCE SINCE TRIAL
Khan followed Feb 2004
Photographed with extremists
Recorded talking with plot ringleader
Home address seen
Car ownership and surname known June 04

The media were briefed that Khan and fellow bombers were "clean skins" - men with no previous record of terrorist associations.

But evidence following the end of the trial reveals MI5 photographed Khan as he met other extremists, followed him home - and by the summer of 2004 they knew his surname and that he owned a car.

Danny Biddle, who survived the 7 July attacks, said the revelation that there were links between the suicide bombers and those behind the fertiliser plot meant a public inquiry was now essential.

"This is about finding out how this could be allowed to happen and how nobody could stop it. That needs to be investigated and to totally dismiss a public inquiry is shameful."

Paul Dadge, who also survived the London bombings, said he believed the attacks may have been prevented if the leads had been followed, but argued that it was important to praise the security services for securing convictions.


Prime Minister Tony Blair has asked the parliamentary Intelligence and Security Committee (ISC) to consider why the 7 July bombers were not picked up.

The committee, which comprises MPs and Lords, is expected to examine claims that West Yorkshire Police special branch was not told about the MI5 surveillance operation.

ISC chairman Paul Murphy MP has previously indicated that police were informed.

Former Tory Defence Secretary Lord King cast doubt on the impartiality of the committee, saying it should be led by a member of the Opposition to ensure independence.

Mr Blair rejected calls for a public inquiry, although he said he "totally" understood why some people sought one.

He told GMTV: "The problem if you have an independent public inquiry into something like this is you will divert all their energy and attention into trying to answer the questions that come up in the inquiry."


WHAT MI5 TOLD COMMITTEE
We have been told in evidence that none of the ... 7 July group had been identified (that is named and listed) as potential terrorist threats prior to July
ISC report into MI5, 2006

The revelation that one of the 7 July bombers met up with one of the fertiliser bomb plotters - Omar Khyam - at a terrorist training camp in Pakistan has caused concern.

However, the head of Pakistan's National Crisis Management Centre, Brigadier Javed Iqbal Cheema, said anyone "who spends a lot of money and travels to Pakistan...[is] already motivated for a particular reason".

The Liberal Democrats and Conservatives have both called for an independent inquiry into the 2005 London bombings.

Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/uk_news/politics/6610209.stm

Published: 2007/05/01 15:03:47 GMT

FOXNews.com - Kent State Vietnam War Protest Shooting Victim to Release 37-Year-Old Recording - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

FOXNews.com - Kent State Vietnam War Protest Shooting Victim to Release 37-Year-Old Recording - Local News | News Articles | National News | US News

Tuesday , May 01, 2007

A man who was shot in the wrist when National Guard troops killed four Kent State University students during an anti-war demonstration says he has found an audiotape that reveals someone gave a command to fire.

Alan Canfora wants the government to reopen the 37-year-old case because he thinks it will give both the victims and shooters a chance to heal.

"We're not seeking revenge; we're not seeking punishment for the Guardsmen at this late date," Canfora said Monday.

"All we want is the truth because we seek healing at Kent State for the student victims, as well as the triggermen who were ordered to fire. And healing can only result from the truth, and that's all we want."

Canfora planned to release CD copies of the recording Tuesday at a news conference at Kent State, about 30 miles southeast of Cleveland.

Four Kent State students were killed and nine were wounded in the 1970 clash, which followed several days of Vietnam War protests. Four years later, eight Guardsmen were acquitted of federal civil rights charges.

Canfora said he recently requested a copy of the nearly 30-minute tape from Yale University, where a government copy has been stored in an archive.

He said that just before the 13-second volley of gunfire, a voice on the tape is heard yelling, "Right here! Get Set! Point! Fire!"

"I was shaking when I first heard it," Canfora said. "I shed tears."

He said he was convinced from his research — including other tapes and photos — that the command was issued by one of three Guard officers at the shooting site.

"The time has now come to where it's impossible to deny the verbal command to fire," Canfora said.

The government should analyze the recording using new technology, he said.

After the shooting, the FBI investigated whether an order had been given to fire, and said it could only speculate. One theory was that a Guardsman panicked or fired intentionally at a student and that others fired when they heard the shot.

The FBI would look into any new inquiry about the shootings, spokesman Scott Wilson said.

The Ohio National Guard had no comment on the tape, spokesman James Sims said.

Canfora said the reel-to-reel audio recording was made by Terry Strubbe, a student who placed a microphone at a windowsill of his dormitory that overlooked the anti-war rally. Strubbe turned the tape over to the FBI, which kept a copy.

Strubbe, who still lives near Kent, keeps the original tape in a safe deposit box, said Canfora, who heads a nonprofit organization at Kent State that leads a candlelight vigil every May 4 to mark the anniversary of the shootings.

Strubbe didn't return a message seeking comment Monday. Joe Bendo, a friend who spoke for him, said Strubbe has not listened to the tape in years and does not know whether a command to shoot can be heard.

"He's just curious, like everybody else. Is it possible? Yes, it's possible," Bendo said.

When government officials listened to the tape, it was to evaluate such things as how frequently shots were fired and for how long, Bendo said.

He said Strubbe isn't sure what he will eventually do with the original recording.

Reuters AlertNet - Iran says "evil approach" by U.S. prevents talks

Reuters AlertNet - Iran says "evil approach" by U.S. prevents talks

TEHRAN, May 1 (Reuters) - Iran will not negotiate with the United States until it stops its "evil approach", the government spokesman was quoted as saying on Tuesday, two days before the two foes were due to attend a meeting on Iraq.

U.S. officials say Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is ready to talk with Iran on the sidelines of the May 3-4 conference in Egypt, if such contact is deemed useful.

But Iran appeared to dismiss the possibility of bilateral discussions at the meeting in the Red Sea resort of Sharm el-Sheikh, which is to seek ways to end the violence in Iraq and will be attended by major powers and Baghdad's neighbours.

Iran and the United States have not had diplomatic ties for nearly three decades and are sharply at odds over the conflict in Iraq and Tehran's nuclear ambitions.

Asked if Rice and Iranian Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki may hold talks in Egypt, his deputy Mahdi Mostafavi said according to the ISNA news agency:

"No, so far the necessary situation for talks and negotiations is not ready."

Washington accuses Iran of destabilising Iraq and U.S. officials say Rice would probably limit any discussions to this.

Iran denies meddling in Iraq and blames the U.S.-led invasion in 2003 for violence that is threatening to tear Iraq apart, saying U.S. forces should leave the country.

IRAN DEFIANT

Government spokesman Gholamhossein Elham suggested Washington wanted to talk to Tehran because of its problems in Iraq and a realisation Iran was a growing regional power.

"The Americans know that they are faced with Iran as a real, capable power because Iran has entered the field of the nuclear technology and has the will to move forward," ISNA quoted him as saying.

"That is why they are after negotiating with Iran somehow," Elham said. "Naturally until the Americans stop their arrogant, one-sided and evil approach we won't negotiate with them."

Washington cut ties with Tehran in 1980, after the Iranian Islamic revolution and the holding of U.S. hostages, and has spearheaded a drive to isolate Iran over its nuclear programme.

It has made clear it will only engage in broader talks when Iran halts sensitive uranium enrichment, which can be used to fuel power stations or make atomic weapons. Iran denies Western accusations it is seeking to develop nuclear bombs.

But the U.S. State Department has said Rice is open to direct talks with Iran over Iraq. Iraq's foreign minister said on Sunday there was a "high possibility" Iran and the United States would hold bilateral discussions at the Egypt meeting.

Elham said Iran would be ready to negotiate with the United States if it changes its behaviour and is no longer a "terrorist and evil government" but made clear his view that Washington was more keen for such talks than Tehran was.

"About negotiations, it is Miss Rice who really would like to have a friendly chat with Mr Mottaki," he said.