Bush welcomed the Chinese President to the White House today - if not with all the panoply of a state visit then at least with full military honours. It is Hu Jintao's first visit to Washington as Chinese leader, and he smiled broadly and acknowledged the crowds as he and his wife stepped out of their black limousine onto the red carpet.The smooth progress of the visit was interrupted, however, when a woman of Chinese appearance in a dark green suit launched herself from a roped off area on the lawn, shouting, in an attempt to prevent Mr Hu from making a speech. "Falun Dafa is good!" the woman screamed, as Mr Hu was making his opening remarks. Her voice was so loud that Mr Bush turned to look, appearing visibly embarrassed. Within seconds she was led away, struggling and still crying out, by a group of uniformed White House staff.... http://www.timesonline.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 11:28:00 04-20-06 |
Bowling tournament prize: Bowling alley |
The winner of a North Dakota bowling tournament gets a unique prize -- the bowling alley.Darin Bail, owner of Star City Lanes in Velva, says he needs to hand off the business because he must spend several months a year in Oregon because of a family situation."I call it the ultimate winner take all," Bail said. "There's one winner, no second place prize. The winner gets the whole property -- a bowling alley, restaurant, the real property that goes with it."The tournament's format is different from most. The score nearest to a bowler's own average will win, which ensures that someone who regularly bowls 75 could win just as easily as someone who rolls a 250 every time.... http://www.cnn.com/2006/US/04/20/bowling.tournament.ap/index.html?section=cnn_us
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Editor - 11:26:00 04-20-06 |
Experts Defining Mental Disorders Are Linked to Drug Firms |
Every psychiatric expert involved in writing the standard diagnostic criteria for disorders such as depression and schizophrenia has had financial ties to drug companies that sell medications for those illnesses, a new analysis has found.Of the 170 experts in all who contributed to the manual that defines disorders from personality problems to drug addiction, more than half had such ties, including 100 percent of the experts who served on work groups on mood disorders and psychotic disorders. The analysis did not reveal the extent of their relationships with industry or whether those ties preceded or followed their work on the manual."I don't think the public is aware of how egregious the financial ties are in the field of psychiatry," said Lisa Cosgrove, a clinical psychologist at the University of Massachusetts in Boston, who is publishing her analysis today in the peer-reviewed journal Psychotherapy and Psychosomatics.... http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/19/AR2006041902560_pf.html
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Editor - 11:22:00 04-20-06 |
The CIA “Wehrmacht” |
With the war in Iraq an utter debacle and public opinion turned against the White House, anger within the armed forces towards Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld and the Administration is growing, and the Pentagon is fighting back (see “Pentagon Memo Aims to Counter Rumsfeld Critics” in the April 16 New York Times). But what's been little noted thus far is what looks to be a similar revolt brewing at the CIA. An ex-senior agency officer who keeps in contact with his former peers told me that there is a “a big swing” in anti-Bush sentiment at Langley. “I've been stunned by what I'm hearing,” he said. “There are people who fear that indictments and subpoenas could be coming down, and they don't want to get caught up in it.” This former senior officer said there “seems to be a quiet conspiracy by rational people” at the agency to avoid involvement in some of the particularly nasty tactics being employed by the administration, especially “renditions” ... http://www.harpers.org/sb-cia-wehrmacht.html
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Editor - 11:20:00 04-20-06 |
Branch Davidians caught in yet another power struggle |
For 12 years, Clive Doyle spent every April 19th at the site of the Branch Davidian compound, remembering the day he narrowly escaped a blaze that killed his daughter and dozens of fellow cult members. But on Wednesday, the 13th anniversary of the deadly fire that ended the group’s 51-day standoff with federal agents, Doyle, 65, marked the occasion by meeting other Davidians for lunch at a Waco buffet — an act of exile spurred by a recent coup within the religious cult. Doyle and some of the other Davidians who were followers of apocalyptic cult leader David Koresh are now outcasts on the property they have so much history with. A new leader named Charlie Pace who moved to the property about nine years ago has mounted what he calls a reformation of the controversial faith. Under Pace’s direction, the Koresh movement has changed its name and revamped its theology. Now known as The Branch, The Lord Our Righteousness, ... http://www.wacotrib.com/news/content/news/stories/2006/04/20/04202006wacdavidians.html
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Editor - 11:10:00 04-20-06 |
Berlusconi unbowed by poll ruling |
Prime Minister Silvio Berlusconi is refusing to admit defeat in last week's Italian election despite a court ruling in favour of his opponents. The Supreme Court has confirmed a narrow win for the centre-left opposition led by Romano Prodi. But after a meeting with his advisers, Mr Berlusconi let it be known he was considering a further legal challenge. His economy minister, Giulio Tremonti, told Italian TV that some "anomalies" were yet to be cleared up. The national co-ordinator of Mr Berlusconi's Forza Italia party, Sandro Bondi, said the court should widen its review to include "irregularities" in overseas voting. On Wednesday, the Supreme Court ruled that Mr Prodi had won the lower house by a margin of some 24,000 votes - a similar margin to the one previously announced. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/4925118.stm
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Editor - 10:57:00 04-20-06 |
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