For two Republican congressional candidates, Vice President Dick Cheney's April visit to Washington state was a bargain.For $15,000 apiece, the campaigns of Mike McGavick and Doug Roulstone received media exposure, rallied their supporters and raised money for their races challenging incumbent Democrats this fall. But that bargain was balanced on the backs of both federal and state taxpayers. While federal rules require the vice president to repay the costs from political stops, the campaigns' payments combined paid for about two hours of flight time on Air Force Two, leaving taxpayers to pick up the rest."There is no way $15,000 covers all the sizeable amount of costs for the vice president to be making these campaign stops," said Alex Knott, political editor at the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan government watchdog group in Washington, D.C. "Basically, it means Americans are footing the bill for partisan politics."...
http://www.bellinghamherald.com
censor News |
Editor - 14:06:00 07-18-06
|
 Hewlett can pack big loads of information in tiny chip |
Hewlett-Packard's newest microchip looks like a small sticker that can be attached to virtually any object: a photograph, a patient's hospital tag, a movie poster. But the device, which is the size of a pencil dot, can pack a lot of information: the voice of a child pictured in a photo, a summary of someone's medical history on a hospital tag, or even a trailer of a movie portrayed on a poster. The Memory Spot operates similarly to radio frequency identity, or RFID, tags now being used to track inventory and company supplies. But the HP chip is smaller, more powerful and capable of recording and broadcasting more kinds of information. Howard Taub, vice president and associate director of HP Labs, called the chip "RFID on steroids." "We can put (the chip) literally anywhere. Guess where they will put them? The Nazis just used a tattoo on the arm, but we have much better technology today ...
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2006/07/17/BUGOMJVQ9H1.DTL
full News |
Editor - 13:48:00 07-18-06
|
| Coalition vows to oust Taliban from Afghan towns |
U.S.-led forces will launch "decisive operations" to reclaim two southern Afghan towns captured in recent days by the Taliban, the military said Tuesday.Scores of Taliban militants chased police out of two towns in southern Helmand province near the Pakistan border. A senior Afghan official accused two Pakistani Islamic groups of aiding the militants."The Taliban extremists have taken control of the areas of Garmser and Naway-i-Barakzayi. However, coalition forces do have them under observation," military spokesman Col. Tom Collins told reporters in Kabul. "Decisive operations will begin soon," he added, without saying when.However, Deputy Interior Minister Abdul Malik Sidiqi said government forces had already retaken control of Naway-i-Barakzayi late Monday....
http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/asiapcf/07/18/afghanistan.taliban.ap/index.html?section=cnn_world
full News |
Editor - 11:53:00 07-18-06
|
| Mideast Casualties at a Glance |
More than 250 people have been reported killed in Lebanon and Israel since fighting broke out July 12 between Israel forces and Hezbollah guerrillas. IN LEBANON: At least 227 people have been killed and more than 450 wounded, according to figures reported by the Lebanese national police and the military. Among the dead are 20 Lebanese army soldiers and two Hezbollah guerrillas. Among the civilian deaths are 8 Canadians, 2 Kuwaiti nationals, 1 Iraqi, 1 Sri Lankan, 1 Jordanian, police have reported. Latest deaths: ...
http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=2206868
full News |
Editor - 11:50:00 07-18-06
|
| Italy, France Team On Immigration Agree To Take Similar 'Humane' Measures In Combating Illegal Immigrants |
French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy told reporters Friday that he and his Italian counterpart agreed to work "decisively and humanely" to stem the flow of illegal immigrants, Italian news agencies reported. Leaving the one-hour meeting with Giuliano Amato, Sarkozy said the two countries hoped to present soon a common initiative to combat illegal immigration. "Italy and France, like all European countries, are confronted with the problem of massive and illegal immigration. We agreed that we will intensify our efforts and work together in the same direction, decisively and humanely," Sarkozy said, according to the Apcom and Ansa news agencies. ...
http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2006/07/14/world/main1806293.shtml?source=RSS&attr=World_1806293
full News |
Editor - 11:47:00 07-18-06
|
| Gunmen storm Fatah officer's home |
Gunmen have stormed the home of a senior Palestinian security officer in Gaza, officials say. Nabil Tammous, a member of a security force loyal to President Mahmoud Abbas, was not there at the time. The attackers forced their way into the house, blew it up and also seized three bodyguards, security sources said. The ruling party Hamas, which has clashed frequently with Mr Abbas's Fatah party, denied any involvement in the attack. One report said a fourth guard was killed in the incident. The two factions, Hamas and Fatah, were locked in an intense power struggle for months after Hamas gained control of the Palestinian parliament in elections in January. ...
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/5192330.stm
full News |
Editor - 11:45:00 07-18-06
|
|
| post The Good, The Bad and The Ugly |
|
|
