Kirk and Spock, the early years...
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Last Updated: Thursday, 1 March 2007, 09:29 GMT

Star Trek film gets release date.

JJ Abrams said. "The new film would "chart its own course"
The 11th Star Trek film, to be directed by Lost creator JJ Abrams, will be released in the US on Christmas Day 2008, Paramount Pictures has announced.

The film, which will focus on the early lives of Captain James T Kirk and Mr Spock, will begin shooting this autumn.

No further details have been announced and the movie has yet to be cast.

But Abrams - who directed the third Mission: Impossible film last year - said he wanted "to make a picture for life-long fans and the uninitiated".

"Needless to say I am honoured and excited to be part of this next chapter of Star Trek," he added.

'Brilliance and optimism'

The original Star Trek TV series, created by Gene Roddenberry, ran from 1966 to 1969.

It went on to spawn 10 feature films, numerous spin-offs and a billion-dollar industry of books, computer games and consumer products.


PREVIOUS TREK FILMS
The Motion Picture (1979)
The Wrath of Khan (1982)
The Search for Spock (1984)
The Voyage Home (1986)
The Final Frontier (1989)
The Undiscovered Country (1991)
Generations (1994)
First Contact (1996)
Insurrection (1998)
Nemesis (2002)

The last Trek film, Star Trek: Nemesis, was released in 2002 and featured the stars of the Next Generation TV series.

The most recent TV spin-off, Star Trek: Enterprise, came to an end in 2005.

The latest feature, which has yet to be named, will tell of Kirk and Spock's first meeting at Starfleet Academy and their first outer space mission.

Alex Kurtzman and Roberto Orci, who worked with Abrams on Mission: Impossible III, have written the screenplay.

"If there's something I'm dying to see, it's the brilliance and optimism of Roddenberry's world brought back to the big screen," said Abrams.

"Alex and Bob wrote an amazing script that embraces and respects Trek canon but charts its own course."

Paramount Pictures chairman and CEO Brad Grey said he "could not be more thrilled to be back in business with JJ Abrams".

As well as directing the film, Abrams will co-produce with Lost co-creator Damon Lindelof.

Watch! Labor is targeted for continuing disembowelment from the Right, yet they dote on O'Reily and Limbagh!
White House threatens to veto 9/11 bill

By Thomas Ferraro Wed Feb 28, 3:48 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The U.S. Senate began debating legislation to bolster America's security on Wednesday with the White House threatening a veto because one part would extend union protection to 45,000 airport workers.

President George W. Bush's administration charged that the Democratic-backed provision to provide workers limited collective bargaining rights would curb needed flexibility at the U.S. Transportation Security Administration and diminish traveler safety.

Sen. Joseph Lieberman (news, bio, voting record), a Connecticut independent and a chief sponsor of the overall bill, disagreed. He said he would urge Bush to support the provision as a way to bolster spirits among a largely demoralized workforce.

Noting there has been a high rate of turnover and injuries among the U.S. agency's baggage screeners, Lieberman said: "When you give employees a right to join an employee organization you are likely to improve their morale."

Lieberman pointed out that most federal workers already have such rights. He also said the proposal would not allow screeners to strike and would still permit
TSA to assign them as needed in an emergency.

"We are going to make the case," Lieberman said.

The provision is an another effort by new Democratic-led Congress to advance a number of causes favored by the U.S. labor movement, such as raising the minimum wage and making it easier to unionize.

The overall bill would implement many of the stalled recommendations of the bipartisan commission created after the September 11 attacks.

The measure refines other recommendations and imposes new ones, such as the labor provision, and would let state and local governments share information with federal authorities, build better communication systems and provide grants to help high-risk areas prepare for disasters.

But White House spokesman Scott Stanzel said if the labor provision remains in the legislation, "the president's senior advisers would recommend he veto the bill."

Thirty-six Republican senators sent a letter to Bush on Tuesday saying they would provide the needed votes to sustain a veto in the 100-member Senate.

Taxes can support religious programs when Religious instituions can be taxed (both property and income)!
Bush's faith-based program debated in court

By James Vicini Wed Feb 28, 4:41 PM ET

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The
U.S. Supreme Court debated on Wednesday whether taxpayers can contest the use of government funds for church-related activities, with examples about presidential travel to address religious groups and bagels served at prayer breakfasts.

The theoretical discussion came in a high-profile case related to the perennial issue of keeping faith out of state matters as mandated by the U.S. Constitution.

The administration was urging the top court to limit the right of taxpayers to sue over government funding of religious activities as a way to derail another larger question over whether
President George W. Bush's federal program to funnel federal dollars to religious groups is unconstitutional.

In considering the question, Justice
Antonin Scalia asked if a taxpayer could sue over a hypothetical trip by the president on Air Force One to speak to a religious group, with the U.S. government picking up the whole tab, including the cost of fuel and security guards.

"The whole trip is about religion," Scalia said during arguments in the case brought by a Wisconsin group called the Freedom from Religion Foundation and three of its members.

Chief Justice John Roberts made up his own example in questioning the attorney for a group that wants to proceed with its constitutional challenge to Bush's program to help religious groups get federal funds.

"I don't understand under your theory why any taxpayer couldn't sue our marshal for standing up and saying 'God save the United States and this honorable court.' Her salary comes from Congress," Roberts said.

Attorney Andrew Pincus replied that taxpayers could not sue in either example. He said the money must be essential or central to the violation of the separation of church and state.

He responded with his own example.

"If there's a prayer breakfast and the only (government) money that's spent is on the bagels, we don't believe the bagels are the basis for a taxpayer challenge to the prayer breakfast," he said.

In January 2001, soon after he became president, Bush issued an executive order creating the White House Office of Faith-Based and Community Initiatives and similar centers in various federal agencies.

One of the goals Bush set was to help religious and community groups better compete for federal funds to fight poverty, substance abuse and other social problems.

The lawsuit said administration officials violated the Constitution by organizing national and regional conferences at which religious groups received favored treatment over secular groups.

The Supreme Court at this time will rule on when taxpayers can bring such challenges, not on whether the program itself violates church-state separation.

Bush administration lawyer Paul Clement argued that a 1968 Supreme Court precedent allows taxpayer challenges to congressional spending, but not to executive branch actions.

Justice
Anthony Kennedy, who often casts the decisive vote on the nine-member court closely divided between conservative and liberal factions, appeared sympathetic to the administration arguments.

"It seems to me unduly intrusive for the court to tell the president that (he) cannot talk to specific groups to see if they have certain talents that the government may use," Kennedy said. "We would be supervising the White House and what it can say, who it can talk to."

A decision in the case is expected by the end of June.

Whatever...one essential person Not present was Gerry Geen!
Crypt Held Bodies of Jesus and Family, Film Says
Ruby Washington/The New York Times

Boxes said to contain residue of the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdelene yesterday at a news conference in New York promoting a documentary.

By LAURIE GOODSTEIN
Published: February 27, 2007

A documentary by the Discovery Channel claims to provide evidence that a crypt unearthed 27 years ago in Jerusalem contained the bones of Jesus of Nazareth.
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Related
"The Lost Tomb of Jesus" at the Discovery Channel
The Lede: Jesus Burial Site Claim Stirs Passions
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Discovery Channel

The ossuary filmmakers say is inscribed with "Jesus son of Joseph."

Moreover, it asserts that Jesus was married to Mary Magdalene, that the couple had a son, named Judah, and that all three were buried together.

The claims were met with skepticism by several archaeologists and New Testament scholars, as well as outrage by some Christian leaders. The contention that Jesus was married, had a child and left behind his bones — suggesting he was not bodily resurrected — contradicts core Christian doctrine.

Two limestone boxes said to contain residue from the remains of Jesus and Mary Magdalene were unveiled yesterday at a news conference at the New York Public Library by the documentary’s producer, James Cameron, who made “Titanic” and “The Terminator.” His collaborators onstage included a journalist, a self-taught antiquities investigator, New Testament scholars, a statistician and an archaeologist. Several of them said they were excited by the findings but uncertain.

“I would like more information. I remain skeptical,” said the archaeologist, Shimon Gibson, a senior fellow at the W. F. Albright Institute of Archaeological Research in Jerusalem, in an interview after the news conference.

In recent years, audiences have demonstrated a voracious appetite for books, movies and magazines that reassess the life and times of Jesus, and there is already a book timed to coincide with this documentary, which will be on the air next Sunday.

“This is exploiting the whole trend that caught on with ‘The Da Vinci Code,’ ” said Lawrence E. Stager, the Dorot professor of archaeology of Israel at Harvard, in a telephone interview. “One of the problems is there are so many biblically illiterate people around the world that they don’t know what is real judicious assessment and what is what some of us in the field call ‘fantastic archaeology.’ ”

Professor Stager said he had not seen the film but was skeptical.

Mr. Cameron said he had been “trepidatious” about becoming involved in the project but got engaged out of “great passion for a good detective story,” not to offend and not to cash in.

“I think this is the biggest archaeological story of the century,” he said. “It’s absolutely not a publicity stunt. It’s part of a very well-considered plan to reveal this information to the world in a way that makes sense, with proper documentation.”

The documentary, “The Lost Tomb of Jesus,” revisits a site discovered by archaeologists from the Israel Antiquities Authority in the East Talpiyot neighborhood of Jerusalem in 1980, when the area was being excavated for a building.

Ten burial boxes, or ossuaries, were found in the tomb, and six of them had inscriptions. The Discovery Channel filmmakers say, and archaeologists interviewed concur, there is no possibility the inscriptions were forged, because they were catalogued at the time by archaeologists and kept in storage in the Israel Antiquities Authority.

The documentary’s case rests in large part on the interpretation of the inscriptions, which they say are Jesus, Mary, Mary Magdalene, Matthew, Joseph and Judah.

In the first century, these names were as common as Tom, Dick and Harry. But the filmmakers commissioned a statistician, Andrey Feuerverger, a professor at the University of Toronto, who calculated that the odds that all six names would appear together in one tomb are one in 600, calculated conservatively — or as much as one in one million.

One box is said to be inscribed “Yeshua bar Yosef,” in Aramaic, an ancient dialect of Hebrew that is translated as “Jesus son of Joseph.” The second box is inscribed “Maria,” in Hebrew. Maria is the Latin version of “Miriam” — a name so common in first century ancient Israel that it was given to about 25 percent of all Jewish women. But the mother of Jesus has always been known as “Maria” (which in English is “Mary”). The documentary says that while thousands of ossuaries have been discovered, only eight have had the inscription “Maria” spelled phonetically in Hebrew letters.

The third box is labeled “Matia,” Hebrew for Matthew, and the filmmakers cite a reference in the New Testament to buttress their claim that Mary had many Matthews in her family and it would make sense to find one in the family tomb.

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Isabel Kershner contributed reporting from Jerusalem.
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...to go where only those who wear diapers have gone before...
Virgin Galactic Spaceliner Steps Forward

By Leonard David
Special to Space News

A passenger-carrying suborbital spaceliner and the airplane that will serve as its first stage are starting to take shape on the factory floors at Scaled Composites of Mojave, Calif.

Work on the SpaceShipTwo prototype is moving forward, as is the fabrication of the White Knight 2 mothership, and at this point spaceline operator Virgin Galactic is eyeing late 2009 as the beginning of commercial flights with paying customers.

Scaled Composites is the firm led by aerospace designer Burt Rutan, whose team designed and built SpaceShipOne, the vehicle that made a trio of piloted suborbital flights in 2004, snagging the $10 million Ansari X Prize by completing back-to-back suborbital hops within a two-week time period.

When Scaled Composites developed SpaceShipOne, the company viewed it as Tier 1 of an effort whose next step, Tier 1b, would be manufacturing a fleet of space planes to carry commercial passengers on suborbital trips into space.

In July 2005, Rutan and U.K. billionaire Sir Richard Branson announced they had signed an agreement to form The Spaceship Co., to be jointly owned by Virgin and Scaled Composites. The new aerospace production group was created to manufacture launch aircraft, spaceships and support equipment and market them to spaceline operators, including Branson’s Virgin Galactic, which placed orders for five spaceships and two launch aircraft with options on additional systems. Branson’s order secured the exclusive use of the systems for the initial 18 months of commercial passenger operations.

SpaceShip Two will be carried to launch altitude by the aircraft White Knight 2, which will release the space vehicle for launch at an altitude of 1,828.8 meters. The space vehicle is being built to seat six passengers and two pilots. The price to buy a ticket now is $200,000, which covers pre-training, the suborbital trip to an altitude of 109.4 kilometers and post-landing frivolity.

At present, Virgin Galactic has $20 million in deposits, said Will Whitehorn, the company’s president. “We just surpassed the 200-customer level in terms of people who have actually made a financial commitment, put their money down and signed their contracts,” Whitehorn said.

Space travel registrations on the Virgin Galactic Internet Web site, number about 82,000 expressions of interest, Whitehorn said. “Those registrations are genuine … with quite a number prepared to sign in the next three or four years. But they do want to see a finished spaceship before they are prepared to commit. I don’t blame them for that. We’re hoping to have a working spaceship that’s actually commencing spaceflight in its test mode by the middle of 2008.”

Whitehorn said more than 100 test flights are scheduled to give spaceliner operations a good shakeout. He estimated the first commercial flights will occur by the end of 2009 and possibly sooner if the planned trial runs prove to be trouble-free.

Whitehorn said that flight tests of the SpaceShipTwo/White Knight 2 will take place out of the inland spaceport at Mojave, Calif. “I imagine even the early flying program of commercial flights in late 2009 will be from Mojave,” he said.

After those initial flights, he said the company also plans to use New Mexico’s Spaceport America, especially as more facilities are added there around 2010. At least “that’s the scenario we’re working on at the moment,” Whitehorn said.

Mojave test program

In June 2004, the Federal Aviation Administration’s Associate Administrator for Commercial Space Transportation granted the Mojave Airport a launch site operator license — making it the first inland spaceport on the books.

"The spaceport is ready when they are," said Stuart Witt, Mojave Airport and spaceport manager. "Our new 12,500 foot by 200 foot [3,810 meter by 61 meter] runway is complete. Security systems are complete or being installed. Our communication and access systems are complete. New construction is under way at several locations. Our new water system is scheduled for installation this year," he said.

For his part, Rutan is tight-lipped regarding Scaled Composites’ progress building SpaceShipTwo and the super-jumbo White Knight 2 carrier spacecraft. A few joint releases between Scaled Composites and Virgin Galactic have been issued in the past, but no schedule information.

“Like our other research programs we generally do not provide information until the prototypes are ready to fly,” Rutan told Space News. “It is likely that when we roll out the prototype, SpaceShipTwo, we will provide an estimate for the schedule of the production spaceships so the public can have a general idea of when the commercial spaceline flights might begin,” he added.

“Have patience ... this is a very big program,” he said, adding that commercial systems for routine public flight are a lot more difficult than winning the X Prize.

“Everybody wants to know when we’re going to be flying … and details about the schedule. But I don’t want to put the pressure on Scaled to perform to an artificial schedule. We’ve asked them to deliver the best possible spaceship. I haven’t told him when he should deliver it,” said Alex Tai, Virgin Galactic’s chief operating officer.

“There’s a lot of testing built into the program at this stage. It is appropriate as a development program to say things are going ahead exceptionally well … and we’re proceeding along with the schedule. I’m very happy with the progress to date,” Tai said.

Spaceport America

Meanwhile, phased work on New Mexico’s Spaceport America has begun. The facilities will be located 48.3 kilometers east of Truth or Consequences, N.M. and 72.4 kilometers north of Las Cruces, N.M. This site was picked for its low-population density, uncongested airspace and high elevation.

In December 2005, New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson and Branson, chairman of the Virgin Companies, announced that Virgin Galactic would locate its world headquarters and mission control operations in New Mexico.

Spaceport America’s construction is to progress in two phases. Phase 1 is the programming stage, which includes the construction of related infrastructure such as roads, utilities, etc. Phase 2 will involve the full-fledged design of the spaceport itself.

“The critical path here is the environmental impact statement and [spaceport] license from the Federal Aviation Administration,” said Rick Homans, chairman of the New Mexico Spaceport Authority and the state’s Cabinet Secretary of Economic Development.

“All is going okay … taking a little longer than expected, as should be expected,” Homans said. Extra effort is being taken to work with state, county and private stakeholders in order to design and build the first “purpose built” spaceport.

“We’re looking at a 20-mile (32.2 kilometer) radius around the spaceport,” Homans said, and making the facility as environmentally sensitive to area interests is a top priority. A draft environmental impact statement for the spaceport should be completed in April or May, he said.

Tenants and lease holders

“We would like to have the [spaceport] license by the end of this year or the very beginning of 2008,” Homans added. Spaceport America and Virgin Galactic are also negotiating the details of a legally binding term sheet that will be developed into a formal and legal lease agreement, Homans said.

The term sheet begins to define the operational structure of Spaceport America, as well the relationship and responsibilities between the New Mexico Spaceport Authority and the facility’s tenants and lease holders.

“It also reflects a structure and a process to establish user fees … the beginning of a formula to do that. We want to develop something that sets a precedent and a template for other tenants in the future,” Homans said. The other thing it does, he said, is set prices for the exclusive facilities Virgin Galactic will be using, as well costs associated for them to utilize common Spaceport America amenities.

To prepare for the start of operations, Spaceport America is expected to spend between $150 million and $200 million, but enhancements would push the facility to becoming a $225 million site in the future, Homans said.

“It’s all uncharted territory,” Homans stated. “The space tourism piece is just the very beginning of where all this is headed … and driving this in a very large way is Virgin Galactic.”

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This is going to crimp Humane Society hopes and plans big time...damned dirty humans!
N.J. town to set time limit on barking

Sun Feb 25, 6:48 AM ET

CLIFTON, N.J. - The city of Clifton is not going to the dogs. At least not if the City Council has anything to do about it. Later this month, the council is expected to introduce an ordinance setting a limit on how long dogs can bark.

Noisy canines will be defined as those that bark for more than 30 minutes on two consecutive days.

The city already has nuisance and "noise laws that can be used to address annoying and disturbing noises such as constant barking." But officials said those laws are sometimes difficult to enforce.

Police have to investigate complaints, and the city Health Department sent 11 letters last year warning that a summons could be issued if the barking continued, health officer John Biegel said. Clifton has issued 3,756 dog licenses this year.

Getting a summons is rare, because the person who complained must go to court to sign a complaint.

Fines for the new ordinance could start at $250, Biegel said.

Posted on Oscar night! ...meanwhile, at The Razzies...
Sharon Stone big winner (loser?) at Razzies

By Arthur Spiegelman Sat Feb 24, 11:28 PM ET

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Pity actress
Sharon Stone -- she cannot return to the scene of the crime without getting whacked.

Stone and her failed film sequel, "Basic Instinct 2," swept the 27th annual Golden Raspberry Awards, or Razzies, on Saturday night as they collected dubious-distinction honors in four categories -- worst film, worst actress, worst screenplay and worst prequel or sequel.

John Wilson, the head of the foundation that lampoons Hollywood on the eve of the
Oscars, said that while Razzie voters spread their loathing as best they could this year -- they kept returning to "Basic Instinct 2," the sequel to the sex-thriller that made Stone a star in 1992.

Making of the film was delayed for several years because of production problems and lawsuits. At one point, Stone sued the producers for $100 million claiming they had made it impossible for her to get other jobs. But eventually the film was made and it opened to nearly universal critical scorn.

"Little Man," a comedy made by the Wayans Brothers, picked up three Razzies, including worst remake or rip-off. Brothers Shawn and
Marlon Wayans were named worst screen couple and shared the prize for worst actor. Their comedy about a tiny thief who disguises himself as a baby, supposedly was based on a Bugs Bunny cartoon.

Filmmaker
M. Night Shyamalan, who blew off a lucrative deal with Disney over the company's criticism of his movie "Lady in the Water," received two Razzies for that film: worst director and worst supporting actor for his own performance in it.

The Razzie for worst supporting actress went to former "Baywatch" beauty
Carmen Electra after a neck-and-neck fight with onetime Playboy Playmate
Jenny McCarthy. Electra won for two films -- "Date Movie" and "Scary Movie 4."

"RV," a comedy starring
Robin Williams, was the winner of the newest Razzie category, worst excuse for family entertainment.

The Razzies were created in 1980 by Wilson, a devoted film fan. They are decided by a vote of the Golden Raspberry Foundation's 757 members.

Winners receive a gold-painted, golf ball-sized raspberry atop a mangled super-8 film reel. The trophy has an estimated value of $4.97.

Milk and Honey ain't Cheap...Gringos are!
Citizenship requests soar before big changes

A stiffer test, higher fees and perhaps new laws are on the horizon.
By Anna Gorman and Jennifer Delson, Times Staff Writers
February 25, 2007

Citizenship applications are skyrocketing in Southern California and across the nation, as green card holders rush to avoid a proposed fee increase, a revised civics test and possible changes in immigration law.

Applications filed in Los Angeles and six surrounding counties shot to 18,024 in January from 7,334 in the same month last year, a 146% increase, according to U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services. Nationwide, the number hit 95,622, up from 53,390, a 79% increase.

The jump — both locally and nationwide — is the largest in a decade, officials said. The numbers of applications first spiked last March with mass immigrant rights rallies and saw the most dramatic increase after the new year.

The filings are expected to continue as Congress prepares to restart the debate on immigration reform.

"Every time we have this much talk of immigration in the news and on the Hill, we get a lot more interest," said CIS spokeswoman Marie Sebrechts. "We tend to see a surge in applications."

After last year's marches, immigrant rights advocates launched a campaign to produce 1 million new citizens and registered voters. They fell far short of their goal by the November election, but advocates said they were pleased with the number of immigrants applying for naturalization.

"People are really invested in the entire debate," said Angelica Salas, executive director of the Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights of Los Angeles. She said many immigrants have asked themselves, "How am I going to protect myself in this country if I am not a U.S. citizen?"

There are an estimated 8 million permanent legal residents who are eligible to apply for citizenship. An additional 12 million illegal immigrants are thought to reside in the United States.

This month, community groups and faith-based organizations are gearing up for another citizenship drive before the proposed new fees and exam would take effect.

The new effort is called, "Ya Es Hora. !Ciudadania!" (It's time. Citizenship!) and features media blitzes and workshops to help educate immigrants about the process.

Citizenship application and fingerprint fees would increase from $400 to $675 in June under the CIS proposal, Sebrechts said. And a new test, which would require a better understanding of the nation's history and democratic principles, is set to take effect next year.

"There is a new urgency in the community," said Arturo Vargas, executive director of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials. "Folks are saying, 'I'd better apply now.' "

William Ramirez, a legal resident from El Salvador, has been eligible to apply for citizenship since last February. When he heard about the fee increase proposal, he immediately sought help from Hermandad Mexicana, an immigrant rights organization in Los Angeles, to complete his application.

"If I can do it now, why wait?" said Ramirez, 44, of La Puente. "It's going to save me a lot of money."

Ramirez said he planned to seek legal residency for his wife and young child, now in the country on tourist visas, and is eager to cast his first ballot. "I can do better for my people," he said. "I can help with my vote."

Rancho Cucamonga resident Irene Gonzalez, 32, emigrated with her parents from Mexico when she was 6. After two decades as a green card holder, she filed her application for citizenship last week.

When she was younger, Gonzalez said, she felt as though becoming a U.S. citizen would be a betrayal of her native Mexico. Now, she says, "I want to have that peace of mind that I am a citizen and I have every right to be in this country."

Who may apply

Green card holders — legal permanent residents — can apply for citizenship after living five years in the United States, or three years if they are married to a U.S. citizen. They must pass civics and English tests, be of "good moral character" and take an oath of allegiance.

CIS must raise application fees because it does not have a regular allocation, Sebrechts said. Rather, it relies almost entirely on fees to support itself and is facing a budget shortfall. The agency plans to switch from paper to electronic filing, which she said would make the application process more efficient and secure.


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Oooooo! Presure! Presure!
Report: Israel wants to fly over Iraq

By DAVID STRINGER, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 24, 6:56 AM ET

LONDON -
Israel opened negotiations to fly through U.S. controlled airspace in
Iraq to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a British newspaper reported Saturday. Israel's deputy defense minister denied the claim.

The Daily Telegraph newspaper quoted an unnamed Israeli defense official as saying the talks were aimed at planning for all scenarios, including any future decision to target
Iran's nuclear program.

Israeli bombers would need a corridor through U.S.-administered airspace in Iraq to carry out any strikes, the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper.

Ephraim Sneh, Israel's Deputy Defense Minister, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the report was incorrect. "This is baseless information," Sneh said. "Maybe people like to divert (attention from) the need for immediate economic sanctions (with) stories about imminent Israeli action, which is not on the agenda."

The international community's focus should be on imposing economic sanctions on Iran for defying
U.N. Security Council resolutions, he said.

Senior officials of the five permanent members of the
United Nations Security Council — Britain, the U.S., France, China and Russia — and Germany are meeting Monday for an emergency summit in London to discuss measures against Tehran.

The U.S. and its Western allies insist Iran must suspend uranium enrichment before any negotiations over its nuclear program take place and accused Tehran of using a civilian program as a cover to develop weapons.

Iran, has rejected the condition to suspend enrichment and insists that its nuclear program is peaceful.

___

Associated Press Writer Amy Tiebel in Jerusalem contributed to this report.

"Last time I saw that monkey, he was trying to put the cork back in!" Famous punch-line
Indonesia drops balls into mud volcano

59 minutes ago

SURABAYA, Indonesia - Indonesian engineers temporarily halted an attempt to plug a fissure that has been gushing mud for nine months, after a steel cable hoisting cement balls into the crater broke Saturday, officials said.

The hot, noxious mud has displaced 13,000 people and covered dozens of factories and thousands of homes. The mud has blocked major roads into the country's second largest city, Surabaya.

Over the next few weeks, authorities plan to drop nearly 1,500 concrete balls, weighing up to 500 pounds each, into the geyser. A string of four balls was successfully lowered into the hole Saturday in heavy rain and wind, said Rudi Novrianto, a spokesman for a government task force handling the disaster.

"Thank God, we have managed to drop one chain, equipped with sensors to monitor pressure and depth," he said. "We had to halt the process because of the broken steel cable. We will continue tomorrow after repairing it."

Officials had hoped to drop between 5 and 10 strands of balls into the mud volcano on Saturday.

If successful, the project will decrease by up to 70 percent the volume of mud now being channeled by a system of dams into a nearby river and out to sea. The mud has been surging at a rate that could fill 50 Olympic-sized swimming pools a day.

Critics, however, doubt it will succeed and warn it could be dangerous or that deep underground pressure could push the mud up elsewhere.

Mud fissures occur naturally along volatile tectonic belts like the one running below Indonesia, the world's largest archipelago. But opinions differ about the cause of the latest rupture.

Independent geological studies suggest it was triggered by faulty gas exploration techniques by operator PT Lapindo Brantas, which created fissures in a bed of porous limestone.

Other research supports the company's assertion that it was a natural disaster resulting from increased seismic activity following a major earthquake two days before the mud began flowing.

WHY must these persons be NOT FREE!?
Thousands protest separatist's jail term

Sat Feb 24, 11:33 PM ET

MADRID, Spain - Thousands of people waving red-and-yellow Spanish flags protested in Madrid Saturday against a court ruling that shortened the prison sentence for one of the Basque separatist group ETA's most notorious killers.

The crowd screamed "murderer, murderer, murderer" and accused the Socialist government of being soft on ETA.

Jose Ignacio de Juana Chaos has been in prison since 1987 for the deaths of 25 in a series of ETA attacks. With time off for good behavior and other benefits, he was on the verge of release last year when he was charged anew over newspaper articles he wrote from prison that were deemed as threats of new attacks.

De Juana Chaos was convicted and got 13 years, and he resumed a hunger strike that had begun months earlier. But on Feb. 12 the Supreme Court reduced the sentence to three years, saying the articles could be considered apologies for terrorism but not terrorism threats in themselves.

As he has already been in jail 17 months since the new charges were filed — more than half the sentence ordered — he is eligible for a furlough program. It is up to the government to decide whether to grant it.

His case has become a lightning rod for deep political divisions in Spain over the Socialist government's dealings with ETA. The group ended a nine-month cease-fire with a Dec. 30 bombing that killed two people at Madrid airport.

That caused the government to ditch plans for negotiations with ETA, but it refuses to rule out trying again at some point in the future. ETA and its political supporters have cited De Juana Chaos' case as an example of the kind of judicial harassment they say derailed the peace process.

ETA has killed more than 800 people since 1968 in its bid for an independent Basque state.

Hey, how is living under the curse of Texas Neo-Cons any better?
Leader: Russia's grasp on Ukraine rising

By MARA D. BELLABY, Associated Press Writer Sat Feb 24, 5:35 PM ET

KIEV, Ukraine - Ukraine's main opposition leader, on the eve of a trip to the U.S., warned Saturday that the former Soviet republic is at risk of sliding back under the influence of Russia.

Yulia Tymoshenko said she will reassure U.S. leaders on her visit starting Sunday that the Orange Revolution team which set Ukraine on its pro-Western path has reunited and will provide tough opposition to Prime Minister Viktor Yanukovych's Russian-leaning government.

"Our union today is not due to circumstances, it is not a spontaneous decision," Tymoshenko told The Associated Press after signing an agreement Saturday to rejoin forces with President Viktor Yushchenko's party.

"It is a decision dictated by those Ukrainians who want to see Ukraine European."

Tymoshenko was one of the driving forces behind the 2004 Orange Revolution, which helped bring the pro-Western Yushchenko to power. The Kremlin had backed Yanukovych, and his defeat was a major blow to Moscow's efforts to keep Ukraine under its sway.

But Yushchenko's hesitant governing style proved to be a disappointment for many Ukrainians who expected quick change and a strong embrace from Europe. He also split with Tymoshenko, a widely popular politician in Ukraine. Last year, Yanukovych's party triumphed in parliamentary elections and he returned to power as prime minister, governing jointly with Yushchenko.

Yushchenko has since become sidelined, and Tymoshenko said that under Yanukovych, Russia's influence was growing.

"I don't want to be silent about this," she said, noting that Moscow's pressure was particularly strong in the energy sector.

"Really, there is energy pressure on Ukraine which ... is used today for political control of the country," she said. "All this forces us to confront a new challenge: to protect the independence of our country."

Russia temporarily cut off natural gas supplies to Ukraine last year, a shut-off was widely seen as punishment for Ukraine's pro-Western policies. This year, both sides agreed to a price widely seen as a gift to Yanukovych's government — nearly half the price Russia is demanding from Georgia, another West-leaning ex-Soviet republic.

Russia has increasingly used its huge energy supplies to wield influence in other former Soviet republics and Eastern Europe. Last month, Russia stopped pumping oil to Belarus in a trade dispute. The stoppage affected Poland, Germany, Ukraine, Slovakia, the Czech Republic and Hungary — all of which are dependent on Russian oil.

Russia is also trying to exert pressure on Poland and the Czech Republic to turn down requests by the Washington to host parts of a U.S. missile defense system. Both countries have expressed interest in the system, which Moscow says could disturb the balance of power in the region and fuel a new arms race.

Tymoshenko's visit to the U.S. comes after Russian President
Vladimir Putin gave a speech in Germany earlier this month blasting U.S. foreign policy — his harshest criticism of the Bush administration since he came to power in 2000.

Tymoshenko is scheduled to meet with Vice President
Dick Cheney and Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice in Washington.

From the Whatnot Shelf...
Report: Thousands plotting U.K. attacks

Sat Feb 24, 11:43 PM ET

LONDON - The threat of homegrown terrorists attacking Britain is greater now than any time since the Sept. 11 attacks, a British Sunday newspaper reported, citing a leaked intelligence document.

More than 2,000 British-based Islamic terrorists are believed to be plotting attacks, according to a government threat assessment prepared this month that The Sunday Telegraph said it had seen.

"The scale of al-Qaida's ambitions toward attacking the U.K. and the number of U.K. extremists prepared to participate in attacks are even greater than we previously judged," the newspaper quoted the document as saying.

It said the document was being circulated between the Home Office, defense ministry, MI5 intelligence agency and Scotland Yard's Anti-Terrorist Branch.

The Home Office declined to comment on the report, but said in a statement that security arrangements are under constant review.

"As (MI5 Director-General) Eliza Manningham-Buller has stated publicly, the threat of terrorism in the U.K. is very real and includes the intent to kill people and damage our economy," the statement said.

Manningham-Buller said in November that 1,600 people were suspected of involvement in terrorist plots against British targets.

Four suicide bombers killed 52 commuters in July 2005 transit attacks in London and security officials say they have foiled at least six other plots. Officials expect the number of plots to increase this year, newspaper said.

The Bush Administration is out of control and is rogue...!
U.S. developing contingency plan to bomb Iran: report

Sat Feb 24, 7:52 PM ET

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Despite the Bush administration's insistence it has no plans to go to war with
Iran, a
Pentagon panel has been created to plan a bombing attack that could be implemented within 24 hours of getting the go-ahead from
President George W. Bush, The New Yorker magazine reported in its latest issue.

The special planning group was established within the office of the Joint Chiefs of Staff in recent months, according to an unidentified former U.S. intelligence official cited in the article by investigative reporter Seymour Hersh in the March 4 issue.

The panel initially focused on destroying Iran's nuclear facilities and on regime change but has more recently been directed to identify targets in Iran that may be involved in supplying or aiding militants in
Iraq, according to an Air Force adviser and a Pentagon consultant, who were not identified.

The consultant and a former senior intelligence official both said that U.S. military and special-operations teams had crossed the border from Iraq into Iran in pursuit of Iranian operatives, according to the article.

In response to the report, Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman said: "The United States is not planning to go to war with Iran. To suggest anything to the contrary is simply wrong, misleading and mischievous.

"The United States has been very clear with respect to its concerns regarding specific Iranian government activities. The president has repeatedly stated publicly that this country is going to work with allies in the region to address those concerns through diplomatic efforts," Whitman said.

Pentagon officials say they maintain contingency plans for literally dozens of potential conflicts around the world and that all plans are subject to regular and ongoing review.

The article, citing unnamed current and former U.S. officials, also said the Bush administration received intelligence from
Israel that Iran had developed an intercontinental missile capable of delivering several small warheads that could reach Europe. It added the validity of that intelligence was still being debated.

The article also included an interview conducted in December with Hezbollah leader Sayyed Hassan Nasrallah, who said that while he had no interest in initiating another war with Israel, he was anticipating and preparing for another Israeli attack sometime this year.

Israel launched a cross-border offensive against Hezbollah in Lebanon last July.

Nasrallah also said he was open to talks with Washington if such discussions "can be useful and influential in determining American policy in the region," but they would be waste of time if the purpose was to impose policy.

Wow, there's enough here to fuel a Clancy/Ford novel/screen play...blockbuster film!
Ed: Absolutely no one there has said anything at all about a frozen Turkey being thrown into an engine!

Cheney plane leaves Singapore after minor repairs

By Caren Bohan 11 minutes ago

SINGAPORE (Reuters) - Vice President
Dick Cheney, who visited Asia-Pacific allies Japan and Australia last week, left Singapore on Sunday afternoon after his plane underwent minor repairs and refueled.

"This was the pre-planned, scheduled fuel stop," said Cheney's spokeswoman Lea Anne McBride. "We were not diverted," she added, following a comment by Australia's Prime Minister John Howard that Cheney's plane had been diverted to Singapore because of a problem.

McBride said there had been an issue with the electricity on the plane. Because of that, "a call was placed back to Sydney with the status," she said, adding the electrical problem did not cut off Cheney's ability to communicate with the rest of the world.

The plane, which left Sydney's international airport at about 9 a.m. on Sunday (5 p.m. EST (2200 GMT) Saturday), arrived at Singapore's Paya Lebar air base at about 2 p.m. Singapore time (0600 GMT), and took off again nearly two hours later.

Cheney did not get off the plane in Singapore.

"The small mechanical problem has been fixed," a U.S. embassy spokeswoman in Singapore said.

The problem had posed no safety issues and the aircraft was fine, the White House said earlier.

Cheney had been visiting Australia as part of a trip to thank Washington's
Iraq war allies Japan and Australia.

Concern about the flight first arose after Cheney's plane had stopped en route to the runway. A mobile stairway was sent out to the plane but a door in the plane opened and an unidentified figure appeared in the hatchway and waved the stairway off, a Reuters photographer said.

The door was then closed and the plane proceeded to the runway and took off.

McBride said the incident was "absolutely unrelated" to the electrical issue, adding the plane stopped because a passenger had alerted officials an item of luggage had been left in a vehicle. It was decided the item should be sent on another plane.

Cheney arrived in Sydney late on Thursday. Anti-war protesters who accuse him of being one of the main architects of the Iraq war scuffled briefly with police on Thursday and Friday.

A total of 11 people were arrested but his visit was otherwise uneventful.

(Additional reporting by Will Burgess and Paul Tait in Sydney; and Koh Gui Qing in Singapore)