 Japan has rejected a plea by New Zealand to allow a Greenpeace vessel to tow its stricken whaling ship out of Antarctic waters. Officials said there was no threat of environmental damage from the Nisshin Maru, which has been disabled by fire, despite earlier fears of oil leakage. New Zealand has been calling for the ship to be moved to prevent any pollution of the pristine area. Meanwhile one crew-member was confirmed dead in the fire. The Japanese whalers have had a number of confrontations at sea with anti-whaling activists in recent days, but the authorities have ruled out any connection between the protests and the fire. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk
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Editor - 08:55:00 02-17-07
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 Fleeing Sri Lanka's Turmoil, a Group of Men Find Themselves Trapped in Iraq As Forced Laborers |
In Sri Lanka's war-torn north and east, where killings happen every day and work is nearly nonexistent, it doesn't take much to entice a man to leave. So when an employment agency offered a steady paycheck for laboring amid Dubai's soaring glass and steel towers, 17 young Sri Lankan men paid their fee to the job brokers $2,000, a small fortune on this tropical island and signed up. But instead of going to work, they were locked in a room guarded by a man with a pistol. They had been sold to another agency, they were told, for $1,200 apiece. It took them two weeks to realize where they were: Iraq. "We knew Iraq was dangerous, and Sri Lanka was dangerous, but at least we thought our parents will get to see our corpses if we die here," said Krishnan Piraitheepan 32, shortly after returning to Sri Lanka this month with the help of the International Organization for Migration, a Geneva-based intergovernmental organization....
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2883769
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Editor - 08:53:00 02-17-07
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| Senate to wrestle again with Iraq war vote |
The Senate prepared to vote Saturday on whether to follow the House of Representatives and consider a resolution opposing Bush's plan to send another 21,500 troops to Iraq. Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid made clear he expected a renewed Republican attempt to block a vote in the 100-member Senate on the resolution, which voices support for U.S. forces but opposes the Republican president's troop buildup aimed at bolstering security in Baghdad and violent Anbar province. The Senate's rare Saturday session comes a day after the House passed the symbolic challenge to Bush's unpopular war strategy, and as U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice was on a surprise visit to Baghdad. "Americans deserve to know whether their senator stands with the president and his plans to deepen our military commitment in Iraq, or with the overwhelming majority of Americans who oppose this escalation," Reid, of Nevada, said in a statement....
http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20070217/pl_nm/iraq_usa_dc
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Editor - 08:48:00 02-17-07
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| Corporate spin can come in disguise |
If McDonald's makes the case that fast food is nutritious or ExxonMobil argues against higher taxes, it looks like simple self-interest. But when an independent voice makes the case, the ideas gain credibility. So big corporations have devised a form of idea laundering, paying hundreds of thousands of dollars to seemingly independent groups that act as spokesmen under disguise. Their views wind up on the opinion pages of the nation's newspapers - often with no disclosure that the writer has financial ties to the companies involved. A few examples: - James K. Glassman, a prominent syndicated columnist, denounced Super Size Me, a movie critical of McDonald's. Readers were not told that McDonald's is a major sponsor of a Web site hosted by Glassman....
http://www.sptimes.com/2006/09/10/Worldandnation/Corporate_spin_can_co.shtml
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Editor - 08:42:00 02-17-07
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| N.Y. 'Mummy' Found Year Later in Front of TV |
A man's body was found in his home more than a year after his death, with the television still on and his features preserved by dry conditions in the house, officials said.Vincenzo Ricardo, 70, apparently died of natural causes, said Dr. Stuart Dawson, Suffolk County deputy chief medical examiner. Southampton Town police found Ricardo's body this week when they responded to a report of burst pipes.Ricardo was found in a chair in front of the television set, as though he were watching it, Dawson said.The home's dry air had left his features intact, morgue assistant Jeff Bacchus said."You could see his face. He still had hair on his head," Bacchus said.Ricardo's wife died years ago, and he lived alone, Dawson said....
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,252578,00.html
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Editor - 08:40:00 02-17-07
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| Ex-envoy says Iraq rebuilding plan won't work |
Kiki Munshi was showcased by the media in September as a seasoned U.S. diplomat who came out of retirement to lead a rebuilding group in Iraq.Now she is back home, angry, and convinced that President George W. Bush's new strategy of doubling the number of such groups to 20 along with a troop surge of 21,500 will not help stabilize Iraq. A diplomat for 22 years, she quit her job last month as leader of a Provincial Reconstruction Team — groups made up of about 50 civilian and military experts that try to help Iraqi communities build their own government while strengthening moderates. ...
http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2883700
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Editor - 08:37:00 02-17-07
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