 British writer David Irving returned to England the day after he was released early from an Austrian prison -- vowing to repeat views denying the Holocaust that led to his conviction. Irving said Thursday he felt "no need any longer to show remorse" for his views on the Holocaust, for which he was sentenced to three years in prison. Vienna's highest court granted Irving's appeal and converted two-thirds of his sentence into probation on Wednesday. Upon arriving at London's Heathrow airport, he also called for a boycott of all Austrian and German historians until laws which make Holocaust denial illegal in those countries are overturned. Making it Illegal to think differently than the accepted view sounds more like a Dark Ages Church Inquisition. Remember what they did to those that thought the earth revolved around sun. But today we are an enlightened people and can think what we want, right? Irving thought that also. Is it a crime to be Political Incorrect? ...
http://www.cnn.com
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Editor - 19:03:00 12-21-06
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 Ex-Texas Drug Agent Plans to Sell Video Showing People How to Conceal Drugs, Fool Police |
A one-time Texas drug agent described by a former boss as perhaps the best narcotics officer in the country plans to begin selling a video that shows people how to conceal their drugs and fool police. Barry Cooper, who once worked for police departments in Gladewater and Big Sandy and the Permian Basin Drug Task Force, plans to launch a Web site next week where he will sell his video, "Never Get Busted Again," the Tyler Morning Telegraph reported in its online edition Thursday. A promotional video says Cooper will show viewers how to "conceal their stash," "avoid narcotics profiling" and "fool canines every time." Cooper, who said he favors the legalization of marijuana, made the video in part because he believes the nation's fight against drugs is a waste of resources. Busting marijuana users fills up prisons with nonviolent offenders, he said. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2744863
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Editor - 18:41:00 12-21-06
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| Lawsuit: Some Refugees Losing Social Security Benefits Due to Immigration Delays |
Thousands of elderly and disabled refugees are being cut off from Social Security benefits they had qualified for, a lawsuit alleges, because their citizenship applications are mired in post-Sept. 11 delays. Nearly 6,000 of these impoverished immigrants have lost their benefits because of a law saying that to keep them, people granted asylum must obtain citizenship within seven years, according to the Social Security Administration. Another 46,000 will lose them by 2012. Legal advocates call the cutoffs unconstitutional, saying the delays in becoming a citizen are beyond the refugees' control because more background checks are being done after the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, hindering the process. Some wait years just to receive permanent residency and must wait another five years before applying for citizenship. "They are invited to this country because they're fleeing persecution," said lawyer Jonathan Stein of Community Legal Services in ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2744865
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Editor - 18:39:00 12-21-06
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| U.N. Deputy for Tsunami Recovery Defends Rebuilding Efforts Despite Growing Criticism |
The U.N. deputy envoy for the 2004 tsunami recovery on Thursday defended the efforts of aid workers to rebuild battered countries despite growing criticism that much of the $14 billion in donations has been spent poorly. "I think one can be encouraged by the progress that has taken place without being ignorant or wanting to ignore the overwhelming challenges ahead," Eric Schwartz said at a news conference. Schwartz, who presented a report issued by former President Clinton, the top U.N. envoy for tsunami recovery, acknowledged the effort has been a continual "work in progress." "As much as we want to credit the progress that has taken place, not for a minute do I want to suggest that the challenges ahead aren't daunting," he said. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2744883
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Editor - 18:36:00 12-21-06
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| Russia secures control of key Siberian project State-run Gazprom takes 50% of Shell's Sakhalin-2 venture |
Russia, thrusting itself into the lead role on the huge Sakhalin-2 oil and gas project, will halve Royal Dutch Shell and its Japanese partners' stakes in the field, paying them $7.45 billion in cash to make room for state-owned energy giant Gazprom, Shell said Thursday.The move concludes months of wrangling and heavy pressure from the Kremlin over control of the $22 billion project, which aims to build one of the world's biggest liquefied natural-gas export terminals on Sakhalin Island -- conveniently close to an eager Japanese energy market. It also fits Russia's recent push to reassert control over its strategic resources, giving it more leverage in the global oil market while enhancing its overall economic and political clout. Russia is now the world's second-biggest oil exporter after Saudi Arabia. Shell said in a statement that under the redefined terms of the deal Gazprom (UK:GAZ: news, chart, profile) would take a 50% stake -- plus one share -- in the venture. ...
http://www.marketwatch.com/news/story/russia-wrests-control-key-siberian/story.aspx?guid=%7B633D26F4%2D27F5%2D427B%2D8A67%2D5C2B3204CF7F%7D&dist=morenews
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Editor - 18:35:00 12-21-06
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| Religious leaders arrive in Bethlehem for three-day pilgrimage |
The heads of the Anglican and Roman Catholic churches in England have arrived in Bethlehem for a three-day Christmas pilgrimage to the West Bank town.The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, and Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O'Connor, Archbishop of Westminster and leader of the Catholic church in England and Wales, are leading prayers for the beleaguered town, which is separated from nearby Jerusalem by the Israeli "security barrier".Dr Williams has warned in the past of an exodus of Christians from Bethlehem, which has evolved from a majority Christian to a majority Muslim town in the past 50 years. Its population is around 40,000.Before leaving for Israel, Dr Williams said that the purpose of the trip was to "be alongside people, Christians, Jews and Muslims, whose lives have been wrecked in different ways by terrorism and by the sense that they're hated and feared by each other....
http://www.guardian.co.uk/israel/Story/0,,1977209,00.html
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Editor - 14:19:00 12-21-06
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