|
|
- 
- 
CLONING
NEWS
- "Cloning
ban to face debate: Congress could take up
dilemma over experiments." ... "Real or hoax, the claim that the world's
first human clone has been born puts the next step squarely into Congress's
court: Will it ban baby-making via cloning?" ... "The nation has no specific
law against human cloning. But the Food and Drug Administration, which
regulates human experiments, contends that its regulations forbid human
cloning without prior agency permission - permission it has no intention
of giving." -By Lauran Neergaard
-AP via -Boston/Globe
- "Officials:
N. Korea Violated Buffer Zone: N. Korea Violated
1953 Armistice by Bringing Guns Into Buffer Zone, U.S.-U.N. Command Says."
... "North Korea violated the 1953 armistice that ended the Korean War
by bringing machine guns into the buffer zone separating the two Koreas
on six occasions over the past two weeks, the U.S.-U.N. Command said Friday."
... "The U.S.-U.N. Command said an investigation confirmed reports by South
Korean soldiers that North Korean troops brought 7.62mm machine guns into
the Demilitarized Zone from Dec. 13 to Dec. 20."
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
OPINION
- "Jack
Whittaker Caps The Year Of The Scam." ... "... Whitaker,
the West Virginia man who won "$314.9 million" in the Powerball lottery
on Christmas day, is now most known for his participation in a long-running,
ever growing scam: the state lotteries." ... "First, the jackpot is not
$314.9 million--that's what it would be if paid out over 30 years. Whittaker
opted for a single lump sum payment of $170.5 million. That number gets
reported, too, but it seems to get buried." ... "State lotteries are a
sucker bet. They typically return about 55% of the money wagered. That's
much less than a casino or a racetrack. The various lotteries admit it,
but it's reported much less often than stories about winners, a staple
on the local news. No one ever publicizes the millions of losers, but they're
out there. You have to be in it to lose it." -By Dan
Ackman -Forbes
- 
- "Top
Arab TV network to hit US market." ... "Coming to
a screen near you: Al Jazeera in English." ... "The Arabic-language news
network, notorious for broadcasting the statements of Osama bin Laden and
his Al Qaeda colleagues, plans to open an English-language website in early
2003 and begin distributing English-language news programming by satellite
and cable late next year." ... "Although Al Jazeera staffers are proud
of what they have done to cover the other side of the US "war on terrorism,"
Western officials are suspicious of the channel's access. "They've skirted
the line between journalism and colluding with terrorists," says the Doha-based
official." ... ""They are not totally happy with us," says Ali of US officials.
Like any government, he says, "they want the media next to them, not to
tell the truth."" -By Cameron W. Barr
-CSMonitor
Christmas
News
- "55-Year-Old
Man Wins $314.9M Powerball: 55-Year-Old Contractor
Is Sole Winner of $314.9 Million Powerball Jackpot." ... "A 55-year-old
contractor won the $314.9 million Powerball jackpot, the largest single
lottery jackpot in history, lottery officials said Thursday." ... "Andrew
Jackson Whittaker Jr., opted to take the lump sum of more than $111 million
after taxes, Lottery spokeswoman Nancy Bulla said." ... "The ticket for
the Christmas night drawing was purchased Monday at the C&L Super Serve
in Hurricane [West Virginia], 25 miles west of Charleston, officials of
the multistate lottery said." -AP
via -ABCNEWS.com
Christmas
News
Christmas
News
- "Anticipation
builds for Christmas Powerball drawing: An
estimated $280 million is on the line." ... "One of the hottest stocking
stuffers this Christmas may provide an extremely enriching holiday season
for at least one lucky recipient." ... "With an estimated value of $280
million, the Powerball lottery jackpot -- the fifth largest lottery payoff
in the world -- was attracting plenty of attention as a last-minute gift
ahead of the Christmas night drawing." -AP
via -CNN
Christmas
News
- "Eleven
deaths blamed on winter storm." ... "A storm system
blamed for at least 11 deaths moved across the Plains on a path toward
the Northeast Tuesday, leaving up to a foot of snow across parts of Oklahoma
and making travel hazardous in the Missouri Ozarks on the day before Christmas."
... "Winter storm warnings and advisories were in effect Tuesday from the
mountains of New Mexico to Pennsylvania and northern West Virginia., and
snow was likely on Christmas Day in northern New Jersey, southeastern New
York and southern New England, the National Weather Service said."
-AP via -CNN
-
- "US
tries diplomacy, firm line on N. Korea." ... "The
Bush administration pressed North Korea diplomatically yesterday to refrain
from restarting a dormant nuclear reactor, even as Defense Secretary Donald
H. Rumsfeld warned that the US military could simultaneously take on both
Iraq and the communist Pyongyang regime." ... "''We are capable of fighting
two major regional conflicts,'' Rumsfeld said at the Pentagon. ''We're
capable of winning decisively in one and swiftly defeating in the case
of the other, and let there be no doubt about it.''" ... "Rumsfeld stressed
that no military action to halt Pyongyang's renewed nuclear ambitions was
imminent, and White House officials said the United States intends to pursue
a diplomatic course to persuade North Korea to abandon efforts to expand
its nuclear arsenal." -By John J. Lumpkin
-AP via -Boston/Globe
- "North
Korea warns of 'catastrophe': North Korea has warned
the United States that broadening the dispute over its nuclear program
would result in what it calls an "uncontrollable catastrophe."" ... "Ratcheting
up tensions on the Korean Peninsula Tuesday, the North's state-run Rodong
Sinmun newspaper said the nuclear issue could only be resolved by North
Korea and the United States, "the countries responsible for it."" ... ""If
the U.S. persistently tries to internationalize the pending issue between
the DPRK (North Korea) and the U.S. in a bid to flee from its responsibility,
it will push the situation to an uncontrollable catastrophe," it said."
-CNN /World
/Asia
- "[CNN
International Editor] David Clinch: U.S. will deal with N. Korea 'one way
or the other'." ... "North Korea began removing seals
and monitoring equipment last weekend that were placed by international
nuclear inspectors on the Yongbyon nuclear reactor, which is capable of
producing weapons-grade plutonium." ...
- Eliot
Spitzer -
- "TIME
2002 Crusader of the Year: Eliot Spitzer: ... "Wall Street's Top Cop:
In a year when business let so many down, Eliot Spitzer fought back. How
a rich kid from the Bronx became the people's champion." ... "Spitzer opened
an investigation that in just a few months began fundamentally reshaping
America's financial markets. Analysts, Spitzer would show, were doctoring
their reports—which the public relies on for stock information—to win business
for their banks' investment arms or to downgrade companies that didn't
play ball. Insiders knew the scam; folks in the heartland had no idea.
Spitzer's aggressive pursuit of Merrill Lynch and, subsequently, a dozen
other Wall Street firms turned the tables. The new ethics he championed
are touching in their simplicity: analysts' ratings should reflect what
they actually believe. There has not been such an affirmation of what's
right since Moses and the Ten Commandments. "The system was rotten, and
no one seemed interested in fixing it," says Spitzer. "So we moved in.""
(1,
2,
3,
4)
-By Adi Ignatius -TIME
- Person of the Year
- 2002
-
- OPINION
- "[New
York states Attorney General Eliot] Spitzer: Man Of The Year - Savior of
Capitalism?" ... "Using a New York state law, he
obtained some explosive internal emails from Merrill Lynch and secured
a $100m fine. This pushed a complacent Securities and Exchange Commission
into action, and finally yesterday Spitzer got the reward for his pursuit."
... "As part of the agreement forged with the Stock Exchange [full
details], the ten leading brokerages must pay $900 million in retrospective
relief, $450m to fund "independent" research and $85 million to "investor
education". The brokerages, including Solomon Smith and Barney, CSFB, Lehman,
Morgan Stanley and UBS Warburg, will not be allowed to reward CEOs with
IPO offerings, and must operate at arms length from no less than independent
analysts on each offering. (Since the brokers are still paying these independent
analysts' fees, it's hard to see how this cure will be truly effective.)"
... "But for the Bronx-born Spitzer, his legend is assured as a pugilist
populist attorney straight from central casting. He's taken on the mob,
the music pigopolists (for CD price fixing), low-paying employers, and
is currently suing President Bush for gutting the clean air act." -By
Andrew Orlowski -TheRegister.co.uk
-
-
- "French
journalist killed by US tank." ... "One of the best-known
television journalists in France, Patrick Bourrat, has died in hospital
in Kuwait." ... "He was injured on Saturday after being run over by a tank
while covering US military exercises in the desert." ... "Mr Bourrat, who
was in his 40s, was a correspondent for the TF-1 television station." ...
"American military officials say the precise circumstances of the accident
are being investigated."-BBC/News
- "Iraq
welcomes 'American intelligence' to weapons hunt:
Denies 'material omissions' in declaration." ... "Iraq's top government
scientist Sunday said his country would welcome "someone from American
intelligence" to show U.N. weapons inspectors where President Bush believes
Iraq is hiding its weapons programs." ... "Gen. Amir Al-Saadi said U.S.
and British claims that Iraq is hiding nuclear, chemical or biological
weapons programs are "old rehashed reports," some from as far back as 1990,
that Iraq has already disproved." ... ""We even wouldn't mind if someone
from the American intelligence were to accompany the inspection teams to
show them the places in which they allege there is something," he said."
-CNN /World
-
- "U.S.
Said to Ready Kurd Areas in Iraq for Possible War."
... "American intelligence officials have been working alongside Kurdish
officials in recent weeks, and recruiters for an American-sponsored opposition
group have been selecting candidates for a program to train scouts and
translators that one day may help American forces inside Iraq, according
to Kurdish and Western officials." ... "American military planners have
visited secluded corners of the country to examine potential basing sites
for use in a war, according to a Western expert familiar with the activity."
... "No American military forces are based here yet, Kurdish officials
say, and recent Turkish and Arabic news reports of sizable military deployments
appear unfounded." (1, 2)
-By C. J. Chivers -NYTimes
via -AltaVista-News
- "Critics
Decry Detention of M. Eastern Men: Critics
Say Detention of Middle Eastern Men in California Harms Terrorism Fight."
... "A post-Sept. 11 federal registration policy that led to the detention
of hundreds of Middle Eastern immigrants hurts more than it helps the war
on terrorism, critics charged." ... "The detention of some immigrants who
showed up to register under a new security policy drew comparisons to the
internment of Japanese-Americans in World War II." ... "Critics alleged
the detentions probably failed to net a single terrorist but did rile law-abiding
Muslims who already feared being scapegoated."
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
- "California
May Bar Judges from Joining the Boy Scouts." ...
"he California Supreme Court is considering a proposal that would forbid
the 1,600 judges in the state to belong to the Boy Scouts because of its
refusal to accept gays." ... "California judges are prohibited from joining
groups that discriminate based on sexual orientation, but nonprofit youth
organizations are exempt. The Supreme Court took up the proposal to consider
changing the rule at the request of bar associations in San Francisco and
Los Angeles." -By Adam Liptak
-NYTimes via
-AltaVista-News
|
-Trent
Lott Controversy |
 |
Trent
Lott - "Politicos
stunned by Bush's 'skilled' removal of Trent Lott:
President 'extracted' the senator without leaving fingerprints." ... "As
President Bush was cheerily shaking the hands of thousands of guests at
glittering White House Christmas parties this week, his advisers and influential
Republicans were working overtime to jettison Trent Lott as the Senate
Republican leader." ... "By the end of the week, as the White House watched
its favorite, Sen. Bill Frist of Tennessee, step up to replace Lott, R-Miss.,
Washington's political professionals were left stunned and awed. They said
that Bush and his powerful political adviser, Karl Rove, had stumbled at
times, but still had managed to depose in eight days the unanimously elected
Senate leader of their own party." -By Elisabeth Bumiller
-NYTimes via -SeattlePI.NWsource
-
- "US
agrees to share Iraq intelligence." ... "The United
States says it will share intelligence data about Iraq with United Nations
weapons inspectors following a request from chief inspector Hans Blix."
... "The agreement comes while the US is preparing for a rapid increase
in its military strength in the Middle East, almost doubling the number
of troops near Iraq." ... "Mr Blix told the BBC on Friday that, if US officials
knew where they thought Iraq was storing banned materials, he could send
his inspection teams to check." -BBC/News
- TIA:
Total Information Awareness
- "Federal
database spy site fading away." ... "Call it the
incredibly shrinking government Web site." ... "As controversy grows over
the Defense Department's shadowy Total Information Awareness (TIA) project,
the project's virtual presence is steadily decreasing. If fully implemented,
TIA would link databases from sources such as credit card companies, medical
insurers, and motor vehicle databases for police convenience in hopes of
snaring terrorists." ... "First, biographical information about the TIA
project leaders, including retired Adm. John Poindexter, disappeared from
the Defense Department's site last month. A mirror
that one activist created from Google's cache shows the deleted information
included four resumes listing past work experience but no addresses or
contact information." -By Declan McCullagh-CNET
/News
- "Can
Tribune's FitzSimons Do It Again?" ... "Watch for
dramatic industry changes next year if the Tribune (nyse: TRB
- news
-people)
broadcasting czar, Dennis
J. FitzSimons, has his way. FitzSimons was named chief executive
officer last week, replacing John
W. Madigan as CEO of the No. 2 U.S. newspaper company (estimated
2002 revenue: $5.3 billion) behind Gannett (nyse: GCI
- news
-people).
FitzSimons' fame? The 20-year Tribune veteran, who formerly ran Tribune's
WGN-TV, put print-dominated Tribune on the television map, buying 18 of
Tribune's 24 stations since 1992. TV is now Tribune's fastest growing unit,
accounting for 26% of sales and 35% of operating profit." ... "Under FitzSimons,
TV will get even bigger as soon as he can rally the Federal Communications
Commission to repeal decades-old rules banning ownership of TV stations
in markets where it already owns newspapers or other TV stations." -By
Erin Killian -Forbes
- 
- TIA:
Total Information Awareness
- "Bush
Administration to Propose System for Monitoring Internet."
... "The Bush administration is planning to propose requiring Internet
service providers to help build a centralized system to enable broad monitoring
of the Internet and, potentially, surveillance of its users." ... "The
proposal is part of a final version of a report, "The National Strategy
to Secure Cyberspace," set for release early next year, according to several
people who have been briefed on the report. It is a component of the effort
to increase national security after the Sept. 11 attacks." ... "The President's
Critical Infrastructure Protection Board is preparing the report, and it
is intended to create public and private cooperation to regulate and defend
the national computer networks, not only from everyday hazards like viruses
but also from terrorist attack. Ultimately the report is intended to provide
an Internet strategy for the new Department of Homeland Security." -By
John Markoff and John Schwartz -NYTimes
via -Google-News
- "South
Korea picks liberal Roh for president." ... "Ruling
party candidate Roh Moo-hyun won South Korea's presidential election on
Thursday, a result that could complicate ties with the United States as
the allies grapple with North Korea's nuclear programme." ... "The triumph
of Roh, 56, a populist human rights and labour lawyer, marks a stunning
turnaround after the 11th-hour desertion of his election alliance partner,
Chung Mong-joon." ... "The United States has 37,000 troops helping protect
the South from its reclusive neighbour. North and South Korea are technically
still at war as the 1950-53 conflict ended in a truce, not a peace treaty."
-By Paul Eckert -Reuters
via /Asia
- "U.S.
Sets Late January Decision on Iraq War." ... "The
Bush administration has set the last week in January as the make-or-break
point in the long standoff with Iraq, and is increasingly confident that
by then it will have marshaled the evidence to convince the U.N. Security
Council that Iraq is in violation of a U.N. resolution passed last month
and to call for the use of force, officials said yesterday." ... "In a
boost to the administration's position, Hans Blix, the United Nations'
chief weapons inspector, plans to tell the Security Council today that
Iraq failed to account fully for chemical and biological bombs and warheads
it had assembled as well as materials it bought that could be used to produce
more of them, U.N. and administration officials said." -By
Walter Pincus and Karen DeYoung-WashingtonPost
OPINION
-
-
-
- TIA:
Total Information Awareness
- "Snooping
in All the Wrong Places: Not only would the
Administration's plan to centralize every American's records destroy privacy,
the security payoff would be minimal." ... "The 2002 elections proved one
thing: The promise of security wins votes. The GOP campaigned on a pledge
to make the country safer, and it brought home one of the biggest midterm
victories in decades. That huge win may have emboldened the Bush Administration
to ignore widespread criticism of the Defense Dept.'s $240 million effort
to develop a Total Information Awareness system (TIA)." ... "The outrage
over TIA doesn't seem to have reached the President's ear, but it should.
It's not too late for him to realize the folly of such a plan. Funded by
the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), the project would
combine every American's bank records, tax filings, driver's license information,
credit-card purchases, medical data, and phone and e-mail records into
one giant centralized database. This would then be combed through for evidence
of suspicious activity." -By Jane Black
-BusinessWeek/Daily
- Trent
Lott - "[Minnesota
Republican Governor elect Tim] Pawlenty calls on Lott to leave leadership
post." ... "Minnesota Gov.-elect Tim Pawlenty became
one of the first prominent Republicans in the nation to call on Trent Lott
to step down as Senate Republican leader." ... ""I don't think you can
be an effective spokesperson and leader for the party if you are perceived
as embracing segregationist politics," Pawlenty said Tuesday, on the eve
of a White House conference for freshman governors." ... ""He's not just
a rank-and-file member of Congress," Pawlenty said of the Mississippi senator.
"He's a leader of the Republican majority in the Senate and one of the
leading national spokespeople for the party. I don't believe he can continue
to be an effective spokesperson."" -By Kevin Diaz
-StarTribune.com
- 
- "Halliburton
settles asbestos claims: Company paying about
$4 billion to thousands of victims." ... "The company said at least 75
percent of plaintiffs with pending cases agreed to the settlement." ...
"Representatives for the Houston-based oilfield-services company once led
by Vice President Dick Cheney were in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in Pittsburgh
on Wednesday to settle most of the pending asbestos cases against the company
and one of its former subsidiaries." -AP
via -MSNBC
- "Feds
Indict 7 in Texas Terror Probe: Feds Indicte
[sic] Employees of Texas Computer Firm and Hamas Leader on Terrorism-Related
Charges." ... "The leader of an Islamic militant group, his wife, and five
brothers work at a Texas computer firm were indicted on charges of trafficking
with terrorist states Libya and Syria, Attorney General John Ashcroft announced
Wednesday." ... """The war against terror is a war of accountants and auditors
as well as weaponry and soldiers," Ashcroft said. "We will pursue the financiers
of terror as well as pursue the thugs who do their work.""
-AP via -ABCNEWS.com
- "Four
men arrested in Texas by anti-terrorism task force."
... "Four men connected to a computer company that did business in the
Middle East were arrested by federal anti-terrorism agents early Wednesday
on money-laundering charges." ... "The four men worked at Infocom, a suburban
Richardson computer company that federal agents raided in September 2001."
-By Angela K. Brown -StarTribune.com
-
- "U.S.
officials: Saddam ready to target his own country, blame U.S."
... "Iraq is preparing to destroy its own oil fields, food supplies and
power plants and blame the destruction on U.S. bombs during a war, U.S.
intelligence officials said Wednesday." ... "The officials, briefing reporters
at the Pentagon, said they have evidence Iraqi President Saddam Hussein
has plans to wreck his own infrastructure to foster a humanitarian crisis
and turn international opinion against any U.S. and British advance into
his territory." ... "Citing the need to protect intelligence sources, the
officials declined to describe that evidence. They spoke on condition of
anonymity." -By John J. Lumpkin
-AP via -SFGate.com
- "Russia
'regrets' Bush missile plan: Moscow has expressed
"regret" at U.S. President George W. Bush's decision to deploy a limited
missile shield by 2004, saying the move could lead to a new arms race."
... "The Russian statement came a day after Bush ordered the U.S. Defense
Department to begin work within two years on deploying the first interceptors
that are to form the base of the missile defence system." ... "The Bush
administration intends to ask the U.S. Congress to allocate $1.5 billion
for 2004-2005, on top of the $8 billion already budgeted."
-CNN /World
/Europe
Christmas
- "Chain
Stores Take on Christmas Trees." ... "Operating a
roadside Christmas tree stand has never been a huge moneymaker, and now
that the big boys have moved into the market it's even tougher." ... "The
National Christmas Tree Association says 17 percent of the roughly 30 million
Christmas trees sold last year were at large chain stores, such as Wal-Mart,
Home Depot, Lowe's and Target. That's up from 14 percent in 2000 - the
first year the association began tracking sales at chain stores - and came
even as the overall market shrank a bit." -By Clarke
Canfield -AP
via -SeattlePI.NWsource
-
- "C.I.A.
Chief Prospers From Bond With Bush." ... "When George
W. Bush was president-elect, he got some fateful advice about his daily
C.I.A. briefing from a man who would know." ... "Mr. Bush's father, the
only president to have served as C.I.A. director, was in the unique position
of having both given and received the secret morning updates, and often
told friends that his time in the 1970's at the C.I.A. headquarters in
Langley, Va., was one of the best jobs he ever had." ... "He unequivocally
instructed his son, said Andrew H. Card Jr., the White House chief of staff,
to develop a close relationship with the person who ran the spy organization
and oversaw the other intelligence agencies that make up America's covert
empire." (1, 2)
-By Elisabeth Bumiller
-NYTimes via
-AltaVista-News
- Enron
News - "Panel
seeks Andersen attorney probe: House committee
asks DOJ to look at whether Nancy Temple committed perjury in Enron trial."
... "The House Energy and Commerce Committee ended its probe of Andersen's
role in the collapse of energy trader Enron by asking the Justice Department
Tuesday to look at whether Andersen in-house lawyer Nancy Temple was truthful
during congressional testimony." -Reuters
via -CNN /fn
ELECTION
2004 - "Democrats
expect wide-open fight: More candidates likely
to join 2004 fray." ... "Had Gore run, said veteran California Democratic
consultant Bill Carrick, “everything would have pivoted off him as the
front-runner, and people would have chosen sides for or against him. Now,
all the candidates will be trying to find out exactly who their constituencies
are, and the primary voters will be much more in a shopping-around mode.”"
... "Gore’s decision was not good news for the White House, where political
aides had been openly hoping for a rematch. Despite the fact that Gore
won the popular vote in 2000, he was viewed as a perfect foil for the president.
One official commented that Gore “was very defined in his views, and one
of those definitions was the fact that he kept changing those views.”"
-Analysis By David S. Broder-WashingtonPost
via -MSNBC
ELECTION
2004 - "Gore
takes self out of '04 race." ... "''I've decided
not to run,'' the former vice president said during a last-minute interview
with the CBS News program ''60 Minutes.'' ''I've decided that I will not
be a candidate for president in 2004.''" ... "Gore, who also ran unsuccessfully
for president in 1988, would not rule out another campaign in 2008 or beyond,
but he said, ''I make this decision in the full knowledge and in awareness
that if I don't run this time -which I'm not going to run in 2004 - that's
probably the last opportunity I'll ever have to run for president.'' He
added that he believes he can continue to affect policy outside the political
arena." -By Glen Johnson
-Boston/Globe
ELECTION
2004 - "Gore
passes on 2004 presidential run." ... ""I personally
have the energy and the drive and the ambition to make another campaign,
but I don't think it's the right thing for me to do," Gore, 54, said on
CBS' 60 Minutes. A rematch "would inevitably involve a focus on the past
that would in some measure distract from the focus on the future that I
think all campaigns have to be about."" -By Susan
Page -USATODAY
ELECTION
2004 - "Gore
won't run for president." ... "Former Vice President
Al Gore won't run for president in 2004 and will make an announcement on
CBS news program "60 Minutes" on Sunday evening." -By
Allen Wan
-CBSNews /MarketWatch
- "Bush
Has Widened Authority of C.I.A. to Kill Terrorists."
... "The Bush administration has prepared a list of terrorist leaders the
Central Intelligence Agency is authorized to kill, if capture is impractical
and civilian casualties can be minimized, senior military and intelligence
officials said." ... "Despite the authority given to the agency, Mr. Bush
has not waived the executive order banning assassinations, officials said.
The presidential authority to kill terrorists defines operatives of Al
Qaeda as enemy combatants and thus legitimate targets for lethal force."
... "The president is not legally required to approve each name added to
the list, nor is the C.I.A. required to obtain presidential approval for
specific attacks, although officials said Mr. Bush had been kept well informed
about the agency's operations." ... "But the decision by the Bush administration
to authorize, under certain circumstances, the killing of terrorist leaders
threatens to thrust it into a murky area of national security and international
law that is almost never debated in public because the covert operations
are known only to a small circle of executive branch and Congressional
officials." (1, 2)
-By James Risen and David Johnstone
-NYTimes via
-AltaVista-News
- TIA:
Total Information Awareness
- "Keeping
Track of John Poindexter." ... "The head of the government's
Total Information Awareness project, which aims to root out potential terrorists
by aggregating credit-card, travel, medical, school and other records of
everyone in the United States, has himself become a target of personal
data profiling." ... "Online pranksters, taking their lead from a San Francisco
journalist, are publishing John Poindexter's home phone number, photos
of his house and other personal information to protest the TIA program."
-By Paul Boutin -Wired
- "US
accuses Iran of secret nuclear weapons plan." ...
"Washington edged closer to confrontation with all three members of President
Bush's "axis of evil" yesterday when US officials accused Iran of secretly
developing two nuclear plants which could be used to produce weapons."
... "Iran denied the charge, pointing out that officials from the International
Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had been invited to visit the two sites, near
the towns of Arak and Natanz, in February." -By Julian
Borger -Guardian.co.uk
-
- "Iraqi
jet tried to trap U.S. jets." ... "An Iraqi fighter
jet attempted to lead two U.S. fighter planes over a battery of surface-to-air
missiles Friday in the no-fly zone over southern Iraq, Pentagon officials
told CNN." ... "Aware of the missiles' location, the U.S. planes turned
south to avoid the potential trap, a Defense Department spokesman said.
The pilots knew the location of the missiles because of training and coalition
surveillance capabilities, the spokesman said." -By
Kris Osborn -CNN
/World
- "U.S.:
Iran working on nuclear weapons: IAEA: Nuclear
facilities not a surprise." ... "The United States accused Iran Friday
of "actively working" on a nuclear weapons program and said that recent
satellite photographs of a massive nuclear power construction project "reinforce"
that belief." ... "But International Atomic Energy Agency Director-General
Mohamed ElBaradei, in an interview with CNN's Christiane Amanpour, said
the chief of Iran's atomic energy program had told him in September that
the construction was for a 6,000-megawatt nuclear power facility." -Contributed
to by Christiane Amanpour, David Ensor, and Elise Labott -CNN
/World
- "Bush
orders smallpox vaccine for military, himself." ...
"The vaccine will be administered to about 500,000 troops deployed in high-risk
parts of the world in the first phase of the vaccination plan. The inoculations
began Friday, said Dr. Anthony S. Fauci, director of the National Institute
of Allergy and Infectious Disease." ... "The second phase will be to vaccinate
about 440,000 public health-care workers, emergency room doctors, disease
detectives and other hospital officials. It will also be made available
to up to 10 million police, firefighters and other first responders on
a voluntary basis." -Contributed to by Frank Buckley
and Elizabeth Cohen -CNN
/Health
-
- "US
cash for Middle East democracy." ... "America's answer
is what it calls the US-Middle East Partnership Initiative." ... "An initial
sum of $29m will initially be spent on education, projects to expand political
participation and to encourage small businesses." ... "Mr Powell said the
administration would ask Congress for more money next year - which will
come in addition to the more than $1bn the US already provides in economic
aid to Arab countries." -BBC/News
-
- "Report: Al
Qaeda deal for nerve gas: U.S. suspects nerve
agent VX was smuggled through Turkey." ... "The Bush administration has
received a credible report that Islamic extremists affiliated with al Qaeda
took possession of a chemical weapon in Iraq last month or late in October,
according to two officials with firsthand knowledge of the report and its
source. They said government analysts suspect that the transaction involved
the nerve agent VX and that a courier managed to smuggle it overland through
Turkey." ... "Even authorized spokesmen, with one exception, addressed
the report on the condition of anonymity. They said the principal source
on the chemical transfer was uncorroborated, and that indications it involved
a nerve agent were open to interpretation." -By Barton
Gellman -WashingtonPost
via -MSNBC
-
-
"Why
the U.S. is Forced to Wait on Iraq: As long
as Saddam cooperates and the inspectors find nothing, it will be hard to
win UN backing for war." ... "If the U.S. were to walk away at this stage
from a UN process whose starting point is inspections to establish the
facts regarding prohibited weapons in Iraq, the net effect would be to
strengthen opposition to a war. UN Security Council Resolution 1441, which
among other things demanded the Iraqi declaration delivered last weekend,
makes clear that military action against Baghdad is contemplated by the
Council only if Saddam either refuses to allow unfettered inspections or
if those inspections turn up evidence of Iraq lying in its declaration."
-By Tony Karon
-TIME.com
Microsoft
News - "Microsoft
reveals 'critical' security flaws." ... "In a security
bulletin published late Wednesday, Microsoft urged Windows users to download
a new version of Microsoft Virtual Machine, which is the part of Windows
that runs Java-language applications. The new version corrects eight vulnerabilities
discovered by Microsoft and outside experts."
-AP via -SiliconValley
- "Mitchell
withdraws from terrorism panel." ... "Citing a reluctance
to quit his law firm, former Sen. George Mitchell on Wednesday withdrew
from the new commission that will investigate the Sept. 11 attacks." ...
"Mitchell was to be vice chairman of the National Commission on Terrorist
Attacks, which former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger is heading. Replacing
Mitchell will be former Rep. Lee Hamilton, D-Ind." ... "The commission
will follow up the work of the congressional inquiry that issued its final
report Wednesday on intelligence failures leading up the terrorist attacks.
The commission will conduct a broader investigation, looking at issues
beyond intelligence, including aviation security and immigration." -By
Ken Guggenheim -AP
via -SFGate.com
- 
- "U.S.
Lets Missile Shipment Proceed." ... "Skirting a face-off
with Yemen, the United States on Wednesday let an intercepted shipment
of North Korean missiles proceed to the Persian Gulf country after receiving
assurances the Scuds would not be transferred elsewhere in the tense region."
... "The agreement was reached through unusual high-level diplomacy involving
Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Colin Powell, on the
one hand, and President Ali Abdallah Salih of Yemen on the other." -By
Barry Schweid -AP
via -DesMoinesRegister
- "U.N. nuclear
agency warns N. Korea." ... "The head of the U.N.
nuclear agency urged North Korea not to restart a nuclear power plant that
Washington suspects was used to develop atomic arms before it was mothballed
eight years ago." ... "Mohamed Elbaradei, director-general of the International
Atomic Energy Agency, or IAEA, warned late Thursday that any unilateral
move by the North Koreans to remove agency seals and monitoring cameras
at its nuclear facilities would contravene agreements between Pyongyang
and the United Nations." ... "The North Korean nuclear program was suspended
under a 1994 deal with Washington, averting a possible war on the Korean
peninsula. Experts say North Korea could quickly extract enough plutonium
from its old facilities to make several nuclear weapons."
-MS-NBC
-
-
- "U.S.
Warns Iraq It Has Nuclear Option." ... "The United
States raised the temperature in its confrontation with Iraq over weapons
of mass destruction, saying it could go nuclear if such weapons were used
against its forces or its allies." ... "Washington issued the warning Tuesday
as U.N. arms inspectors carried out the most intensive inspections in Iraq
of their current mission and the Iraqi Foreign Ministry accused Washington
of trying to find a pretext for war." -By Nadim Ladki
-Reuters /World
-
-
- "U.S.
Sees Nuclear Deterrence Against WMD Attack." ...
"The six-page strategy document says deterring attacks with the threat
of "overwhelming force" is an essential element in protecting America and
its allies from weapons of mass destruction, also known as WMD." ... ""The
United States will continue to make clear that it reserves the right to
respond with overwhelming force -- including through resort to all our
options -- to the use of WMD against the United States, our forces abroad,
and friends and allies," the strategy report said." ... ""In addition to
our conventional and nuclear response and defense capabilities, our overall
deterrent posture against WMD threats is reinforced by effective intelligence,
surveillance, interdiction and domestic law enforcement capabilities,"
it said." -By Randall Mikkelsen
-Reuters /World
-
-
- "Key
factor: Iraqi scientists: US dampens expectations
of 'smoking gun' on Iraq weapons and urges access to scientists." ... "...
increasingly, experts are pointing to only one sure way to reveal the true
scale of Iraq's weapons programs: talking to the Iraqi scientists who built
the programs." ... "The UN's ability to talk with Iraqi scientists may
turn on chief UN inspector Hans Blix's willingness to use a robust new
plank in the UN disarmament mandate that permits the UN to spirit out of
Iraq specialists and their families. The scientists could then speak freely
without fear of reprisal from Saddam Hussein's regime." -By
Scott Peterson -CSMonitor
- "Turkey
Names Its Price for Aid Against Iraq: Support
on EU and Economy Sought From U.S. for Assistance in War Effort." ... "In
exchange for use of its territory by U.S. troops and aircraft against Iraq,
the Turkish government is asking for significant economic help to make
sure there is no repeat of the recession that followed the 1991 war. Just
as eagerly, it wants the Bush administration to persuade the European Union
to respond more favorably to a long-delayed Turkish bid for membership."
... "The United States strongly backs the bid, as President Bush emphasized
repeatedly in Washington today while receiving Recep Tayyip Erdogan, leader
of Turkey's new governing party. Membership in the prosperous club of European
nations, U.S. officials say, would not only boost Turkey's economy; it
would enhance Turkey's status as a model of secular democracy in a Muslim
country." -By Karl Vick-WashingtonPost
- "eBay
hit by credit card scam." ... "The world's largest
online auction site eBay has been targeted by fraudsters using a shadow
site to steal credit card details from its 55 million customers." ... "The
scam involved sending e-mails to customers asking them to log on to a Florida-based
website - ebayupdates.com - and re-submit their financial details." -By
Stefan Armbruster-BBC/News
Microsoft
News - Microsoft.com
Security Bulletin: - "What
You Should Know About Microsoft Security Bulletin MS02-071:Security
Update for Microsoft Windows." .... "Why We Are Issuing This Update:
A security issue has been identified that could allow an attacker to compromise
a computer running Microsoft® Windows® and gain complete control
over it. An attacker would need the ability to log onto the computer to
carry out an attack. You can help protect your computer by installing this
update from Microsoft." ...
- "Jimmy
Carter's Nobel Prize speech [excerpts]." ... "Instead
of entering a millennium of peace, the world is now, in many ways, a more
dangerous place. There is a plethora of civil wars... and recent appalling
acts of terrorism have reminded us that no nations, even superpowers, are
invulnerable." ... "It is clear that global challenges must be met with
an emphasis on peace, in harmony with others, with strong alliances and
international consensus." ... "Imperfect as it may be, there is no doubt
that this can best be done through the United Nations."-BBC/News
- Accounting
News - "Donaldson
to head SEC: Co-founder of DLJ and ex-NYSE
chief would succeed Pitt as top market watchdog." ... "Wall Street veteran
William Donaldson, the founder of the former firm Donaldson Lufkin &
Jenrette, is the Bush administration's choice to be the new chairman of
the Securities and Exchange Commission." ... "Donaldson, whose firm was
sold to Credit Suisse First Boston in 2000, was introduced by President
Bush at a news conference Tuesday." ... "The SEC has been under greater
scrutiny due to the attention given to accounting and corporate misdeeds
that resulted in the nation's two largest bankruptcies, at WorldCom and
Enron, and shook investors' confidence in the market."
-CNN /fn
- "CSX
chief named to run Treasury: Bush also vows
tax breaks to spur business revival." ... "President Bush moved on two
fronts yesterday to demonstrate his concern about the flagging economy:
nominating John W. Snow, chairman of railway conglomerate CSX Corp., as
his Treasury secretary and promising a new package of tax breaks and other
incentives to spur more vigorous business activity." ... "Snow has been
chief executive and chairman of Richmond-based CSX Corp. since 1989 The
firm, which runs one of the largest rail networks in the eastern half of
the United States, and other transportation-related services, has been
a major source of campaign donations to the Republican Party. Snow has
been an advocate of more rigorous financial reporting for executives."
-By Sue Kirchhoff
-Boston/Globe
