Saturday, January 7, 2006

Images of the News: Saturday, 7 Jan. 2006

In this photo provided by Grandfather Mountain, a light snow and frost capped ridge is seen as the sun rises over Grandfather Mountain near Linville, N.C., Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006. (AP Photo/Grandfather Mountain, Jim Morton)
Quarterback Mark Brunell of the Washington Redskins passes the ball in the first half against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers during the NFC Wild Card Playoff Game at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. The Redskins won the match 17-10.(AFP/Getty Images/Doug Benc)
A makeshift memorial sits atop a hillside, Saturday, Jan. 7, 2006, that came crashing down a year ago killing 10 people and destroying 13 homes in La Conchita, Calif. At right is a condemned home that was all but destroyed. The one-year anniversary of the deadly mudslide is Tuesday, Jan. 10. (AP Photo/Mark J. Terrill)
A general view of a uranium processing site is seen in Isfahan, 340 km (211 miles) south of Tehran in this March 30, 2005 file photo. (Raheb Homavandi/Reuters) More News Images on THE TENSION

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Friday, January 6, 2006

Hurricane Katrina Aftermath News Pictures #30

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RIP: Lou Rawls

IN THE NEWS

Lou RawlsNEWSBYTES
Grammy-Winning Singer Lou Rawls Dies
LOS ANGELES (AP) -- Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to record such classic tunes as "You'll Never Find Another Love Like Mine," died Friday of cancer. He was 72. Rawls died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center, where he was hospitalized last month for...

Lou Rawls, Grammy Award-Winning Singer, Dies at 72
(NYT) -- The velvet-voiced singer won three Grammy Awards in a career that spanned nearly five decades and a range of genres.

Singer Lou Rawls Dies At 72
(CBS) -- Lou Rawls, the velvet-voiced singer who started as a church choir boy and went on to sell more than 40 million albums in a career that spanned nearly five decades and a range of genres, died of cancer.

ALSO SEE
Official Lou Rawls Home Page

Lou Rawls Biography on All Music Guide
Contains a complete musical history and detailed discography.

TESNION: So-long Lou
GRAVITY: RIP

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Microsoft Releases Patch for WMF Flaw: Download

COMMENTLINE
Here's the latest head's up and link to an official patch for the Windows WMF issue.

NEWSBYTE
Microsoft fixes Windows flaw
(smh.com.au) Microsoft released a software patch for its Windows operating system on Thursday to fix a flaw that has spawned attempts to take control of internet-connected computers.

The patch can be downloaded from here.

Initially, Microsoft said it didn't expect to do so until at least Tuesday, but the software maker said it finished testing earlier than planned and was able to release it on its website. Read full story.

RELATED
Microsoft Security Bulletin MS06-001 (with download)

TENSION: The fix is in
GRAVITY: A huge flaw

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Cuba Plotted Kennedy Assassination: Documentary

ENTERTAINMENT

Lee Harvey Oswald in custody after JFK shooting COMMENTLINE
Updated from yesterday: Cuba Paid Oswald to Kill Kennedy, New Film Says. I have linked for your perusal some additional news articles exploring in greater detail the upcoming German television documentary.

NEWSLINES
Rendezvous with Death, to be shown on German television on Friday, offers the most convincing evidence that Fidel Castro's regime was behind the most talked-about murder of the 20th century.

NEWSBYTES
"Castro Ordered Kennedy's Assassination"
(Deutsche Welle) -- German filmmaker Wilfried Huismann spent years digging into the assassination of US President Kennedy. His documentary about Cuban leader Castro's role in the murder is set to premiere Friday, on German public TV.

Did the Cubans assassinate Kennedy?
(news.telegraph) The Cuban secret service was behind the assassination of President John F Kennedy, according to evidence presented in a new television documentary.

JFK assassination 'was Cuba plot'
A new documentary exploring the death of John F Kennedy claims his assassin was directed and paid by Cuba.
(BBC) Rendezvous with Death, based on new evidence from Cuban, Russian and US sources, took three years to research.

TENSION: Play it again, Lee Harvey
GRAVITY: Opinion pending

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Thursday, January 5, 2006

Iran President Hopes For Sharon's Death

WORLD/MIDDLE EAST

Iran's President Mahmoud AhmadinejadCOMMENTARY
It may be interesting to speculate about what would happen now if the United States hadn't invaded Iraq. Despite the long running blood feud between Iraq and Iran, I can't help but hear the voices of Saddam Hussein and Mahmoud Ahmadinejad in my head reciting in unison, "He who is the enemy of my enemy is my friend."

NEWSLINE
"Hopefully, the news that the criminal of Sabra and Chatilla has joined his ancestors is final," President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the semiofficial Iranian Students News Agency.

NEWSBYTE
Iranian President Hopes Sharon Perishes
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran's president said Thursday he hoped for the death of Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon, the latest anti-Israeli comment by a leader who has already provoked international criticism for suggesting that "Israel wiped off the map." Read full story.

RELATED
Iran firm on resuming atomic research: Ahmadinejad
TEHRAN (Reuters) -- President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Thursday Iran would still resume atomic fuel research despite Western warnings that this would endanger efforts to find a diplomatic compromise over its nuclear plans.

Mideast Situation Grows More Uncertain
(AP) -- The list of uncertainties bedeviling the Middle East has grown longer and deeper: Palestinian factions fighting each other in the streets, the relentless insurgency in Iraq, the rising political clout of Islamic militants in Egypt, political uncertainty in Syria and Lebanon. Now there's another:...

World leaders hope Sharon recovers
LONDON (Reuters) - World leaders on Thursday expressed hopes Ariel Sharon would recover from his massive stroke but made clear the Israeli prime minister's dominance of Middle East politics was now over.

TENSION: Middle East
GRAVITY: Armageddon


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Images of the News: Thursday, 5 Jan. 2006

SAGO MINE NEWS PHOTO PICTURES -- This letter released by the Toler family on Thursday Jan. 5, 2006 in Flatwoods, W. Va was written by Martin Toler Jr., who died with 11 other miners in the Sago mine. The note was given to Martin's brother, Tom Toler, by the coroner. It reads 'Tell all I see them on the other side JR I love you It wasn't bad just went to sleep' (AP Photo/Courtesy of the Toler Family, HO)
SAGO MINE NEWS PHOTO PICTURES -- A small selection of headlines from U.S. newspapers Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006, highlights the erroneous information that 13 coal miners trapped underground after an explosion Monday, Jan. 2, 2006, survived. In a stunning and heartbreaking reversal, family members were told early Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners were dead, three hours after they began celebrating news that they were alive. The sole survivor was in critical condition, but showing signs of brain functioning, a doctor said. The correct news came too late for many morning editions. (AP Photo)
A Palestinian boy walks past graffiti on the controversial Israeli barrier in Ezariya, on the edge of Jerusalem, January 5, 2006. (Mahfouz abu Turk/Reuters)
Bodies lie in the street after suicide bomb attack in Karbala Iraq in this image taken from TV Thursday Jan. 5, 2006. The suicide blast near the Imam Hussein shrine in central Karbala, 80 kilometers (50 miles) south of Baghdad, killed at least 49 people and injured 52. (AP Photo/Associated Press Television) More News Images on THE TENSION

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Iran Ditches Meeting With U.N. Nuclear Inspector

WORLD/MIDDLE EAST

Nuclear IranCOMMENTARY
I only have one thing to say, and that's a quote: "An extremist with a microphone can be dangerous enough; an extremist with nuclear weapons poses a danger to the entire world."

NEWSLINES
The US and EU do not want Iran to be able to manufacture fuel suitable for use in nuclear weapons.

"The Iranian nation and government will defend the right to nuclear research and technology and will go forward prudently," said Iran's president Mahmoud Ahmedinejad.

NEWSBYTES
Iran Stands Up Top U.N. Nuclear Inspector
VIENNA, Austria (AP) -- A defiant Iran rebuffed the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency on Thursday, failing to show up for a meeting to discuss Tehran's plans to move closer to uranium enrichment within days.

Iran fails to show up at nuclear meeting: IAEA
VIENNA (Reuters) -- An Iranian delegation expected in Vienna to explain to the
International Atomic Energy Iran's decision to resume nuclear fuel research did not show up for a meeting on Thursday, the IAEA said

Iran absent from nuclear meeting
Iran failed to attend a meeting in Vienna to discuss its decision to resume nuclear fuel research, the UN's nuclear watchdog says.
(BBC) -- The International Atomic Energy Agency said a meeting with Iranian delegates scheduled for Thursday never took place and no new meeting was planned.

TESNION: Saber rattling
GRAVITY: Nuclear

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Letterman - O'Reilly: Slight Return

COMMENTARY
Folks have written much in the blogosphere about the 10-minute O’Reilly segment on the Late Show. People have taken sides and declared both Letterman and O’Reilly winners as if some sort of race or battle took place on-air.

Let me say this here and now, in my original post, Letterman - O'Reilly: Unofficial Transcript, Late Show 3 Jan. 2006, I never said anyone was a winner.

I made some observations about Letterman’s behavior and I made some general comments about political discourse.

I did not waste my time dissecting play-by-play those 10 minutes of foolishness.

In all fairness, I should have perhaps written something about O’Reilly‘s cocky behavior. Bill can be a pompous jackass most times. Surely, ever since Bill emerged from the Fox office sex scandal unscathed, his behavior has reached an all time high of pomposity. But then again, it was Letterman’s show. If O’Reilly acted toward a guest on his show the way Letterman treated O’Reilly, I’d probably have something to say about that too.

Finally, if you are going to quote me, or comment on my observations, please take a moment to actually read what I have written.

TENSION: Misquoted
GRAVITY: Apply liberally

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Cuba Paid Oswald to Kill Kennedy, New Film Says

ENTERTAINMENT

COMMENTARY
As if by clockwork, here's more fuel for the JFK assassination conspiracy theory. This kind of thing pops-up pretty regularly. I wonder how today's mad-dog press would have handled Oswald and JFK in 1963?

Note that the story linked below refers to Cuba as if it were a person (Cuba Gooding, anyone?) and that really means Fidel Castro, a current darling of Hollywood and the left-press.

Since the film was made by a German, my big question is will the film be subtitled or dubbed?

NEWSBYTE
Cuba paid Oswald to kill Kennedy, new film says
BERLIN (Reuters) - Cuba lay behind the 1963 assassination of President John F. Kennedy by Lee Harvey Oswald and its agents provided the gunman with money and support, an award-winning German director says in a new documentary film.

RELATED
Personal Info: Wilfried Huismann

TENSION: Play it again, Lee Harvey
GRAVITY: Opinion pending


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Govt. Using 'Web Bugs' to Track Site Visitors

TECHNOLOGY

COMMENTARY
As I have said before on this blog, Web sites don't need cookies to be able to track your movements online. Enter Web Bugs, small, dot-sized graphic files coded with links that report to a host every time the page is loaded, thus tracking your movements. I first noticed Web Bugs when I added advertising to the this blog. I found that with one affiliate, a second, invisible link was coded along with the ad, causing the page layout to skew when my blog template added a border by default to the invisible image.

While not completely effective against Web Bugs, you can help protect yourself by using one of the popular anti-spyware programs available. My favorites include: Microsoft Windows AntiSpyware, SpywareBlaster, and Spybot. All are free and updated regularly.

Check out the stories below for more juicy details.

NEWSBYTES
Government Web sites follow visitors' movements
Dozens of federal agencies are tracking visits to U.S. government Web sites in violation of long-standing rules designed to protect online privacy, a CNET News.com investigation shows.
(CNET) From the Air Force to the Treasury Department, government agencies are using either "Web bugs" or permanent cookies to monitor their visitors' behavior, even though federal law restricts the practice.

Nearly undetectable tracking device raises concern
A widely used, yet virtually undetectable, means of tracking people's Internet surfing habits is joining its better-known cousin, the cookie, as the subject of several lawsuits and a privacy initiative by the government.
(CNET) The technology, often called Web bugs or 1-pixel gifs, is prompting further concern that the once-freewheeling Web is becoming more like an Orwellian Big Browser.

RELATED
Also see: BUGNOSIS

Spyware Info: Web Bugs

Web Bugs, also known as: Web Beacons

TENSION: Moderate
GRAVITY: Be sure to load anti-spyware

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Wednesday, January 4, 2006

Bee Gee Buys Johnny Cash's Home

ENTERTAINMENT

JOHNNY CASH HOMECOMMENTARY
Ah yeah, Stayin Alive at Folsom Prison! Now there's the ticket. The house was listed for $2.9 million and is 13,880 sq. ft.

NEWSLINE
"This place will always be the spiritual home for the Cashes."

NEWSBYTE
Bee Gee Barry Gibb Buys Johnny Cash's Home
HENDERSONVILLE, Tenn. - The home of the late singer Johnny Cash has been purchased by another singer with a distinctive voice.

Barry Gibb of the Bee Gees and his wife, Linda, bought the house for an undisclosed amount, an attorney for the Cash family said Wednesday. Read full story.

TENSION: "Jive Talkin"
GRAVITY: "Walk the line"


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Johnny Cash on Amazon.com

Bee Gees on Amazon.com

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Images of the News: Wednesday, 4 Jan. 2006

HURRICANE KATRINA BUS TOURS

HURRICANE KATRINA NEWS PHOTO PICTURES -- A Gray Line New Orleans tour bus drives past debris lining the street in the Lakeview subdivision of New Orleans which was badly affected by Hurricane Katrina January 4, 2006. An international bus line launched tours of devastated sections of New Orleans on Wednesday, amid controversy over whether so-called disaster tourism would help, hurt or humiliate the hurricane-ravaged city. REUTERS/Sean Gardner
A Gray Line tour bus drives through the Lakeview subdivision of New Orleans which was badly affected by Hurricane Katrina January 4, 2006. An international bus line launched tours of devastated sections of New Orleans on
News photographers photograph tourists during a tour of flood ravaged New Orleans, Wednesday Jan. 4, 2006. The passengers were the first on a Hurricane Katrina bus tour of storm damaged areas. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
New Orleans resident and tourguide Joe Gendusa, whose childhood neighborhood was destroyed by floodwater, holds up a book with maps and photos of the devastation during a tour of flood-ravaged New Orleans, Wednesday, Jan. 4, 2006. Gendusa shared his experiences growing up in New Orleans and surviving hurricane floodwaters in the first Hurricane Katrina bus tour of storm damaged areas. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
NEWSBYTE

Bus line debuts tour of stricken New Orleans
NEW ORLEANS (Reuters) - An international bus line launched tours of devastated sections of New Orleans on Wednesday, amid controversy over whether so-called disaster tourism would help, hurt or humiliHate the hurricane-ravaged city. Read full story.

More News Images on THE TENSION

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Media Report Mine Rescue -- Then Carry the Truth: Updated

Updated -- COMMENTARY
I knew better than to write anything like reporting on the Sago Mine disaster while it was still unfolding. I'll leave that stuff to the news crews with resources to spare. This, after all, is simply one schmuck's little blog in the big, big mediasphere. Besides, what more could I really add to folks on the ground providing the primary sources of news? That said, I am secure in the fact that I have nothing to be ashamed of -- or have to try to defend -- because I didn't get it wrong.

Regular readers know I have recently located to D.C. and have been holed up in a hotel room for the past month and a half. I say this because, while I normally do not subscribe to print newspapers, the hotel delivers USA Today and the Washington Post every morning. Being an early riser, I had already become aware of the updated Sago Mine tragedy via cable and Internet. Therefore, it was truly a 'de-ja-Dewey-Wins' press moment when I opened the door to my room and saw the headlines on the floor trumpeting that the miners were found alive.

After seeing those headlines, I laid out some things to say about how the news corps had flubbed the story -- and I asked just who is going to start holding the press accountable for what has been passed off as journalism lately. However, I paused to reflect after re-watching clips of the story unfold. It was then when I saw again and again reporters like Fox's Geraldo Rivera immediately try to verify the news on-air the instant someone in the crowd told him the miners were alive. I also realized then that I did not really want to hold the media accountable for misreporting the story. That would be too easy. I only wanted to hold accountable the one who passed along the bad information to begin with. Everyone else just became caught up in the tide of emotion that ensued. At least we had the real story when coal company corrected the reports. The notion that the coal folks didn't verify without having the facts, given the fallout of that decision, says a lot about their sensitivity.

If you want to hold the press accountable for violating basic journalism tenets such as, "report what you know and how you know it," you also need to hold, for example, James Risen and the Times accountable for building the NSA wiretap story solely around anonymous and unnamed sources. What's the difference? The reader still does not know who said what. For a story to be verified, someone has to be accountable for it. Anything less is just sloppy journalism.

NEWSBYTE
Media Report Miracle Mine Rescue -- Then Carry the Tragic Truth
NEW YORK (E&P) -- In one of the most disturbing media performances of its kind in recent years, TV news and many newspapers carried the tragically wrong news late Tuesday and early Wednesday that 12 of 13 trapped coal miners in West Virginia had been found alive and safe. Hours later they had to reverse course. Read full story.

TENSION: Deweyfied
GRAVITY: Tragic

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Letterman - O'Reilly: Unofficial Transcript, Late Show 3 Jan. 2006

ALSO SEE
O'Reilly to Appear on Good Morning America, Thurs. 12 Jan.
Letterman - O'Reilly Still Reverberating on the Net

Corrected -- COMMENTARY
For all the Fox and Bill O'Reilly haters out there, I have no comment to make other than the observation that David Letterman had only a clue about how O'Reilly conducts his business on-air because, as Letterman admits, he had never watched Bill's shows.

Taken at face value, Letterman marginalized himself through lack of preparation and failure to understand the details or the breadth of issues he discussed with O'Reilly.

Other than that, the Late Show segment goes far to capture what is wrong with political discourse between the serious and the fashionable in America.

Note to Dave: If you are as you say, "not smart enough to debate point by point" the politics of the moment, please leave the on-air political discourse to those folks smart enough to join in the debate.

NEWSBYTE
Bill O’Reilly: “I think that the Iraq thing has been full of unintended consequences and it’s a vital thing for the country and it's brutal, it’s absolutely brutal. We should all take it very seriously. This simplistic stuff about hating Bush or he lied and all this stuff, does the country no good at all. We've got to win this thing. You have to win it. And even though it's a screw-up, giant, massive, all right, right now, for everybody's protection, it's best for the world to have a democracy in that country functioning and friendly to the West, is it not?”

David Letterman: “Yes, absolutely.”

O’Reilly: “Okay, so let's stop with the lying and the this and the that and the undermining and let's get him. That is putting us all in danger. So our philosophy is we call it as we see it. Sometimes you agree, sometimes you don't. Robust debate is good. But we believe that the United States, particularly the military, are doing a noble thing, a noble thing. The soldiers and Marines are noble. They're not terrorists. And when people call them that, like Cindy Sheehan called the insurgents 'freedom fighters,’ we don't like that. It is a vitally important time in American history. And we should all take it very seriously. Be very careful with what we say.”

Letterman: “Well, and you should be very careful with what you say also.” [audience applause]

O’Reilly: “Give me an example.”

Letterman: “How can you possibly take exception with the motivation and the position of someone like Cindy Sheehan?”

O’Reilly: “Because I think she’s run by far-left elements in this country. I feel bad for the woman.”

Letterman: “Have you lost family members in armed conflict?”

O’Reilly: “No, I have not.”

Letterman: “Well, then you can hardly speak for her, can you?” [applause]

O’Reilly: “I’m not speaking for her. Let me ask you this question.”

Letterman, referring back to O’Reilly’s examples of a war on Christmas: “Let’s go back to your little red and green stories.”

O’Reilly: “This is important, this is important. Cindy Sheehan lost a son, a professional soldier in Iraq, correct? She has a right to grieve any way she wants, she has a right to say whatever she wants. When she says to the public that the insurgents and terrorists are 'freedom fighters,’ how do you think, David Letterman, that makes people who lost loved ones, by these people blowing the Hell out of them, how do you think they feel, waht about their feelings, sir?”

Letterman: “What about, why are we there in the first place? [applause] The President himself, less than a month ago said we are there because of a mistake made in intelligence. Well, whose intelligence? It was just somebody just get off a bus and handed it to him?”

Bill O’Reilly: “No.”

Letterman: “No, it was the intelligence gathered by his administration.”

O’Reilly: “By the CIA.”

Letterman: “Yeah, so why are we there in the first place? I agree to you, with you that we have to support the troops. They are there, they are the best and the brightest of this country. [audience applause] There’s no doubt about that. And I also agree that now we’re in it it’s going to take a long, long time. People who expect it’s going to be solved and wrapped up in a couple of years, unrealistic, it’s not going to happen. However, however, that does not eliminate the legitimate speculation and concern and questioning of ‘Why the Hell are we there to begin with?’”

O’Reilly: “If you want to question that, and then revamp an intelligence agency that’s obviously flawed, the CIA, okay. But remember, MI-6 in Britain said the same thing. Putin’s people in Russia said the same thing, and so did Mubarak’s intelligence agency in Egypt.”

Letterman: “Well then that makes it all right?”

O’Reilly: “No it doesn’t make it right.”

Letterman: “That intelligence agencies across the board makes it alright that we’re there?”

O’Reilly: “It doesn’t make it right.”

Letterman: “See, I’m very concerned about people like yourself who don’t have nothing but endless sympathy for a woman like Cindy Sheehan. Honest to Christ.” [audience applause]

O’Reilly: “No, I’m sorry.”

Letterman: “Honest to Christ.”

“O’Reilly: “No way. [waits for applause to die down] No way you’re going to get me, no way that a terrorist who blows up women and children.”

Letterman: “Do you have children?”

O’Reilly: “Yes I do. I have a son the same age as yours. No way a terrorist who blows up women and children is going to be called a ‘freedom fighter’ on my program.” [mild audience applause]

Letterman: “I’m not smart enough to debate you point to point on this, but I have the feeling, I have the feeling about 60 percent of what you say is crap. [audience laughter] But I don’t know that for a fact. [more audience applause]

Paul Shafer: “60 percent.”

Letterman: “60 percent. I'm just spit-balling here.”

O’Reilly: “Listen, I respect your opinion. You should respect mine.”

Letterman: “Well, ah, I, okay. But I think you’re-”

O’Reilly: “Our analysis is based on the best evidence we can get.”

Letterman: “Yeah, but I think there’s something, this fair and balanced. I'm not sure that it's, I don't think that you represent an objective viewpoint.”

O’Reilly: “Well, you’re going to have to give me an example if you're going to make those claims.”

Letterman: “Well I don’t watch your show so that would be impossible.”

O’Reilly: “Then why would you come to that conclusion if you don't watch the program?”

Letterman: “Because of things that I’ve read, things that I know.”

O’Reilly: “Oh come on, you're going to take things that you've read. You know what say about you? Come on. Watch it for a couple, look, watch it for a half hour. You'll get addicted. You'll be a Factor fan, we'll send you a hat.”

Letterman: “You’ll send me a hat. Well, send Cindy Sheehan a hat”

O’Reilly: “I’ll be happy to.”

TENSION: Liberal intolerance
GRAVITY: In a late show time slot


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Hurricane Katrina Aftermath News Pictures #29

HURRICANE KATRINA NEWS PHOTO PICTURES -- A section of the I-10 bridge in New Orleans that was damaged by Hurricane Katrina is shown, Tuesday, Aug. 30, 2005. Louisiana Department of Transportation and Developement officials will hold a ribbon cutting ceremony Thursday to commemorate the Friday opening of the twin span of the Interstate to New Orleans. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
The sun sets over a quiet Superdome in New Orleans, Monday Jan. 2, 2006. The Superdome which was damaged during Hurricane Katrina normally hosts the Sugar Bowl but is quiet today as the Sugar Bowl will be played in Atlanta. (AP Photo/Steve Helber)
Looters make off with merchandise from several downtown businesses in New Orleans, in this Aug. 30, 2005 file photo after Hurricane Katrina hit the area. Chief among the changes to the original 426-page disaster response plan are several ideas for rushing federal resources to a stricken area.They include helping local and state police catch looters and snipers by providing federal law enforcement officers if requested. (AP Photo/Eric Gay/File)
New Orleans celebrates 2006 without fireworks because of heavy fog in Jackson Square, on Jan. 1, 2006. New Orleans itself started the New Year's celebration with a traditionally festive jazz funeral procession in memory of its hurricane victims. Despite the devastation, the city welcomed 2006 with concerts in the French Quarter and the lowering of a giant gumbo pot to mark the start of the new year. (AP Photo/Cheryl Gerber) More News Images on THE TENSION

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Regional Aspirations of Iran: Part 2

WORLD/MIDDLE EAST

IRANCOMMENTARY
Once again, presented for your consideration, a collection of recent stories about Iran's political ambitions in the news. When taken together, the stories paint a worrisome picture.

NEWSLINE
"An extremist with a microphone can be dangerous enough; an extremist with nuclear weapons poses a danger to the entire world."

NEWSBYTES
Secret services say Iran is trying to assemble a nuclear missile
(The Guardian) -- The Iranian government has been successfully scouring Europe for the sophisticated equipment needed to develop a nuclear bomb, according to the latest western intelligence assessment of the country's weapons programmes.

Intelligence report says Iran seeks nuclear bomb: report
LONDON (Reuters) -- Iran is secretly trying to obtain technology and expertise needed to build a nuclear weapon, according to a leaked intelligence report that threatens to deepen a rift with the West over its nuclear program.

Tehran's nuclear purchasing plans stretch from Europe to North Korea and the former Soviet states, Britain's Guardian newspaper said, citing a report by an unnamed European intelligence agency. Read full story.

Iran Gov't Shuts Down Newspaper, Magazine
TEHRAN, Iran (AP) -- Iran' closed a daily newspaper and a magazine, one of the publications said Tuesday, in a stiffening crackdown on the press.

Iran's hard-line judiciary has closed down more than 100 pro-democracy publications in the past five years on vague charges of insulting religious sensibilities or top clerics. Read full story.

Iran Plans to Resume Nuclear Research
TEHRAN, Iran -- Iran told the U.N. nuclear watchdog agency Tuesday it planned to resume nuclear fuel research after a 2 1/2-year hiatus, issuing a fresh challenge to Western nations concerned that Tehran is trying to build an atomic weapon.

'EU may impose sanctions on Iran'
(JPost.com) -- The European Union could impose sanctions on Iran if efforts to take the Islamic republic to the United Nations Security Council fail, warned Austrian Ambassador to Israel Kurt Hengl, whose country assumes the EU presidency Sunday.

TESNION: Saber rattling
GRAVITY: Nuclear


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Tuesday, January 3, 2006

Images of the News: Tuesday, 3 Jan. 2006

STORMS POUND CALIFORNIA

NEWS PHOTO PICTURES -- A surfer waits in the surf before entering the Pacific Ocean as large waves break on the beach during high tide in Cardiff, California January 3, 2006. An aggressive winter storm that hit southern California yesterday brought big waves and some minor flooding along the coast today. REUTERS/Mike Blake
A mini-van sits in water near a freeway entrance in Mill Valley, Calif., Sunday, Jan. 1, 2006. Northern California residents braced for a second storm to hit the region Sunday, a day after the first sent rivers rising into cities and mud sliding into homes and across highways. (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu)
A man rows a boat through floodwaters in Forestville, California January 1, 2006. A wet winter storm pounded Northern California swelling rivers, setting off mudslides and prompting calls to evacuate. REUTERS/Kimberly White
Firefighter Mark Wygant investigates an abandoned, partially submerged truck on Highway 116 near Guerneville, Calif., Saturday, Dec. 31, 2005. A powerful storm set off mudslides that blocked major highways and sent rivers and creeks over their banks and into cities across Northern California on Saturday. (AP Photo/Jakub Mosur) More News Images on THE TENSION

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Windows WMF Flaw Spawns Dozens of Attacks

TECHNOLOGY/INTERNET

UPDATED NEWSBYTES
Windows flaw spawns dozens of attacks
A flaw in Microsoft's Windows Meta File has spawned dozens of attacks since its discovery last week, security experts warned Tuesday.
(CNET) The attacks so far have been wide-ranging, the experts said, citing everything from an MSN Messenger worm to spam that attempts to lure people to click on malicious Web sites.

The vulnerability can be easily exploited in Windows XP with Service Pack 1 and 2, as well as Windows Server 2003, security experts said. Older versions of the operating system, including Windows 2000, [Windows 98 SE] and Windows ME, are also at risk, though in those cases the flaw is more difficult to exploit, said Mikko Hypponen, chief research officer at F-Secure. Read full story.

Microsoft Security Advisory (912840)
Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution.(Microsoft TechNet) On Tuesday, December 27, 2005, Microsoft became aware of public reports of malicious attacks on some customers involving a previously unknown security vulnerability in the Windows Meta File (WMF) code area in the Windows platform.

RELATED
Windows PCs Face Huge Virus Threat

US-CERT: United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team
The United States Computer Emergency Readiness Team (US-CERT) is a partnership between the Department of Homeland Security and the public and private sectors. Established in 2003 to protect the nation's Internet infrastructure, US-CERT coordinates defense against and responses to cyber attacks across the nation.

Information is available from the US-CERT web site, mailing lists, and RSS channels.

US-CERT also provides a way for citizens, businesses, and other institutions to communicate and coordinate directly with the United States government about cyber security.

TENSION: Something to be aware of
GRAVITY: Huge flaw at base level

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Windows PCs Face Huge Virus Threat

TECHNOLOGY/INTERNET

COMMENTARY
Here's a head's up for all you Windows based PC users on a threat to all Windows versions back to Windows 98 SE.

I have provided a link for an unofficial hotfix. However, I offer no advice on the patch and suggest that you use it at your own peril.

NEWSBYTES
Trojan delivers unwanted gift to Windows PCs
(CNET) A new Trojan horse program was infecting PCs on Wednesday, exploiting a hole in Windows systems to sneak onto computers, then dropping adware or spyware or turning them into zombies, according to several Internet security companies.

Worries increase over WMF flaw
(Security Focus) The New Year has brought a new exploit for the Windows Meta File flaw and more attacks. Many security experts believe that the situation poses such a danger that they have recommended that users install an unofficial patch.

Microsoft Security Advisory (912840)
Vulnerability in Graphics Rendering Engine Could Allow Remote Code Execution.

(Microsoft TechNet) On Tuesday, December 27, 2005, Microsoft became aware of public reports of malicious attacks on some customers involving a previously unknown security vulnerability in the Windows Meta File (WMF) code area in the Windows platform.

Unofficial Hotfix for WMF Exploit
(DSL Reports) While users wait for an official patch from Microsoft for the Windows MetaFiles (WMF) exploit (see Microsoft Security advisory), users in our Security forum discuss Ilfak's WMF hotfix, an interim workaround many security analysts are recommending. The folks at the Internet Storm Center are behind this hotfix as well: "This is a bad situation that will only get worse. The very best response that our collective wisdom can create is contained in this advice - unregister shimgvw.dll and use the unofficial patch. You need to trust us."

TENSION: Something to be aware of
GRAVITY: Huge flaw at base level

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Books in the News: State of War by James Risen

State of War by James RisenFROM THE PUBLISHER
On the front page of today's New York Times, veteran national security reporter James Risen writes that "months after the September 11 attacks, President Bush secretly authorized the National Security Agency to eavesdrop on Americans and others inside the United States to search for evidence of terrorist activity without the court approved warrants ordinarily required for domestic spying, according to government officials."

NEWSLINE
"Risen's reporting isn't bulletproof. Like most intelligence reporters, he relies heavily on anonymous sources, and several anecdotes in State of War are attributed to a lone leaker. That makes some of the book's claims difficult to verify, while leaving Risen open to charges that he is being used by partisan ax grinders." from Time Magazine, by Romesh Ratnesar.

NEWSBYTES
New Book Reveals Secret War Operations
WASHINGTON (AP) -- A new book on the government's secret anti-terrorism operations describes how the CIA recruited an Iraqi-American anesthesiologist in 2002 to obtain information from her brother, who was a figure in Saddam Hussein's nuclear program. Read full story.

Behind the Eavesdropping Story, a Loud Silence
(NYT) -- THE New York Times's explanation of its decision to report, after what it said was a one-year delay, that the National Security Agency is eavesdropping domestically without court-approved warrants was woefully inadequate. And I have had unusual difficulty getting a better explanation for readers, despite the paper's repeated pledges of greater transparency. Read full story.

BLOGS
HOW THE NYTIMES IS RINGING IN 2006
(Michelle Malkin) -- Yes, it's New Year's Eve. And since there's no rest for the NYTimes, I'm not taking it easy tonight either.

You see, NYTimes' reporter James Risen has been a busy bee over the holidays. The co-author of the infamous Chicken Little opus exposing the NSA special collection program to monitor international communications between suspected al Qaeda operatives and their contacts will be launching his new book, State of War, on January 3. Read full story.

TENSION: It's all relative
GRAVITY: Those anonymous sources will get you every time


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See Amazon.com for reader reviews:
State of War : The Secret History of the C.I.A. and the Bush Administration

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John Kerry for President in 2008?

POLITICS

JOHN KERRY AT NASACOMMENTARY
Everybody loves a winner, except in contemporary American politics where divisiveness is so rampant that winners are actually hated by the folks who voted against them. That's a disservice to what our forefathers had envisioned, but nowadays -- what the heck. It's the partisanship and not the sportsmanship that counts, ay?

I really don't care if John Kerry runs for president in `08. He'll probably be up against Hillary, his Senate record, his losing bid for president in `04, and most of all himself. Joe Lieberman found out the hard way in `04 that you really only get one shot. Plus, given the historical odds of Senators losing presidential bids, the really interesting play will come from Hillary anyway.

NEWSLINE
"Democrats are less prone historically to turn to a defeated nominee again."

NEWSBYTES
Kerry Positioned for '08 White House Bid
WASHINGTON (AP) -- It's almost as if Sen. John Kerry never stopped running for president. He still jets across the country, raising millions of dollars and rallying Democrats. He still stalks the TV news show circuit, scolding President Bush at every turn.

Kerry (Apparently) Still Hoping
(CBS) The former Democratic presidential candidate still jets across the country, raising money and rallying Democrats. He still stalks the TV news shows and scolds President Bush at every turn. But he says it's too soon to talk about 2008.

Kerry keeps 2008 options open
(USA Today) Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., still jets across the country, raising millions of dollars and rallying Democrats. But the former president candidate insists it is far too early to talk about the 2008 race, though some analysts assume he has already positioning himself for another shot.

TENSION: Losers had their shot
GRAVITY: Hillary


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