A massive case of illegal wiretapping and illicit data gathering is sending shivers across Italy, with politicians warning that the suspects represented a threat to democracy and were ready to "blackmail the country."Reacting swiftly, Premier Romano Prodi's government on Friday cracked down on illegal wiretapping, approving a decree that includes stiff fines for those who make public the contents of the illegally monitored conversations."We must defeat whoever attacks freedoms and constitutional guarantees," Justice Minister Clemente Mastella told reporters.The probe into the alleged spy ring — the latest case in a nation that has a history of wiretapping scandals — continued Friday with the questioning of key suspects behind bars.... http://www.foxnews.com censor News |
Editor - 18:36:00 09-22-06 |
GOP compromises on terror detainees |
Dissident Senate Republicans and the White House reached a deal yesterday on legislation for how to handle the terror suspects held at Guantanamo Bay, allowing them to turn their attention to differences they might have with Democrats. "The agreement that we've entered into gives the president the tools that he needs to continue to fight the war on terror and bring these evil people to justice," said Sen. John McCain of Arizona, who was among the Republicans who objected to the original White House proposals because they wanted the detainees granted broader civil rights, especially in terms of guaranteeing a fair trial. "I also believe that it's consistent with the standards under the detainee treatment act, and there is no doubt that the integrity and letter and spirit of the Geneva Conventions have been preserved," said Mr. McCain, a veteran who was held prisoner and tortured in northern Vietnam. Is it only called torture when someone else does what we do???... http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20060922-123245-7015r.htm
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Editor - 18:17:00 09-22-06 |
Study Shows Ancient Peruvians Had Pet Cemeteries, Buried Pooches With Blankets and Treats |
Peruvian investigators have found a pre-Columbian culture of dog lovers who built pet cemeteries and buried their pooches with warm blankets and treats for the afterlife. "These dogs were not sacrificed," anthropologist Sonia Guillen said of the canines buried by the Chiribaya people, who lived in southern Peru before the rise of Peru's Inca Empire. "They are dogs that were thanked and recognized for their social and familial contribution." Since 1993, researchers have unearthed 82 dog tombs in pet cemetery plots, laid alongside Chiribaya human mummy tombs in the fertile Osmore River valley, about 540 miles southeast of Lima. The Chiribaya were farmers who lived from A.D. 900 to 1350. "We have found that in all the cemeteries, always, in-between the human tombs there are others dedicated to the dogs, full-grown and puppies," ... http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2480892
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Editor - 18:13:00 09-22-06 |
Feds Nix Idaho Plan to Kill Up to 43 Wolves to Boost Elk Numbers, Saying Science Isn't Solid |
Federal officials have rejected Idaho's plan to kill up to 43 wolves in north-central Idaho to boost elk numbers, saying scientific data gathered by the state do not justify the action. At a recent meeting, federal officials told Steve Nadeau, Idaho Fish and Game Department's large carnivore manager, that state studies of elk declines in the Lolo region didn't adequately demonstrate wolves are the primary cause. "We agreed the wolves are playing an important role in limiting recovery. The question comes down to whether or not there's an unacceptable impact," said Jeff Foss, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service field supervisor in Boise. "Based on the information that was provided at the meeting, the service didn't feel it had enough at that time to draw (that) conclusion." ... http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/wireStory?id=2480895
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Editor - 18:00:00 09-22-06 |
High-Speed Magnetic Train Crash in Northwestern Germany Kills at Least 23 People |
A high-speed magnetic train traveling at nearly 125 mph crashed Friday in northwestern Germany, killing at least 23 people in the first fatal wreck involving the high-tech system, officials said. The train, which runs primarily as a demonstration by its manufacturer, was carrying at least 29 people when it struck a maintenance vehicle with carrying two workers on the elevated track. Mangled wreckage hung from the 13-foot-high track, with seats and other debris strewn below. Karl-Heinz Brueggeman, a rescue services official, put the death toll at 23 after a search of the crash site, about a half-mile from the station at the village of Melstrup. Officials also reported 10 people were injured but they did not immediately reconcile the discrepancy in the numbers. ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2479160
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Editor - 17:58:00 09-22-06 |
Shuttle astronaut collapses at welcome-home event |
Astronaut Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper collapsed twice during a welcome-home ceremony on Friday, a day after returning to Earth from a 12-day mission on space shuttle Atlantis.Stefanyshyn-Piper, who was on her first spaceflight and made two long spacewalks to perform work on the International Space Station, had "a couple of small dizzy spells" while speaking during the ceremony at Ellington Field in Houston, said NASA spokeswoman Lynnette Madison. A flight surgeon examined Stefanyshyn-Piper, 43, and said she was fine, but still making the readjustment to Earth's gravity from the weightlessness of space, Madison said. ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=2479212
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Editor - 17:56:00 09-22-06 |
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