Anti-tank missiles were among the weapons smuggled, Mr Diskin said The flow of explosives and weapons smuggled into Gaza has continued since Israel’s military operation, a senior Israeli intelligence official has said. Shin Bet security service head Yuval Diskin said 22 tonnes of explosives, dozens of rockets and hundreds of mortar rounds had entered Gaza. [...]
Archive for March, 2009
‘No halt’ to Gaza arms smuggling
Posted in Conflicts and wars on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
The family have called the police over the abuse They have been lambasted in the press and laughed at by neighbours. Here, the Chawner family, with a combined weight of 83 stones, describe their distress at unwanted attention and abuse. Emma Chawner is responsible for one of the most famous (or infamous) renditions of [...]
__________ Swishing a wildebeest tail and wearing a fez-like hat adorned with goat’s gall bladders, Amanda Gcabashe seems an unlikely figure for a web-savvy African healer. But from her plush home in Johannesburg’s northern suburbs, she is the face of a modern sangoma, as a traditional healer is known in South Africa. The 34-year-old [...]
Obama’s hard trip to Europe
Posted in Politics on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
Expectations of Mr Obama are high ahead of the visit US President Barack Obama’s visit to Europe is all about leadership – the expectations and perhaps the limitations of it as he seeks to fashion a new American role in the post-Bush era. There are no real answers yet but the questions he faces are [...]
‘Tunnel’ links New York to London
Posted in Other on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
It was possibly the most laborious and least informative interview ever conducted. It took about five minutes, yielded a one-word answer, and gave little real flavour of the subject. Still – it was conducted using two whiteboards, two marker pens, and it was done over a distance of 3,471 miles (5,585 km). How? Well there [...]
The little white lie that grew
Posted in Law on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
A POINT OF VIEW Caught out in a fib to get out of a speeding ticket, do you put your hands up – or dig yourself deeper into a hole of your own making, asks Clive James. It wasn’t me at the wheel, honest In a case which has deep resonance for Britain and the [...]
‘US graft adds to Mexico’s woes’
Posted in Law on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
In an exclusive interview with the BBC’s John Simpson, Mexican President Felipe Calderon has warned that corruption among American officials may be making it harder to deal with drug-trafficking between Mexico and the US. Speaking in Mexico City before leaving for his state visit to London immediately ahead of next week’s G20 summit, Mr Calderon [...]
Life: A medical condition
Posted in Health on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
Hysteria once preoccupied medical science Restless leg syndrome, social anxiety disorder, female sexual dysfunction, celebrity worship syndrome – it seems that a new illness is invented every week, covering every potential quirk in human behaviour. Is the human condition becoming a medical condition? Ten per cent of British children are regarded as having a [...]
Island nears energy independence
Posted in Energy and Environment on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
Within the next year, the Spanish island of El Hierro hopes to become completely energy independent. After 10 years of planning, the infrastructure is being put in place to transform the island (with its population of 10,000 inhabitants) into a fully self-sufficient zone. A variety of renewable energy systems are being used, with an emphasis [...]
Shopping sprees linked to time of the month
Posted in Health on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
Sex and the City character Carrie Bradshaw loves to shop Women may be able to blame impulse buys and extravagant shopping on their time of the month, research suggests. In the 10 days before their periods began women were more likely to go on a spending spree, a study found. Psychologists believe shopping could be [...]
‘Open cloud’ plan sparks dissent
Posted in Computers on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
Storm clouds over IBM’s open cloud manifesto started building last week A plan by IBM to launch an industry-wide ‘open’ cloud computing strategy has seemingly backfired amid accusations of closed deals. Google pulled out after signing up and Amazon said it would not get involved. Microsoft criticised the plan, saying it was given two days [...]
Regional rifts stymie Arab summit
Posted in Politics on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
Leaders have failed to solve rifts, dampening expectations for the summit. __________ Arab League members meeting in Qatar this week are united in condemning the international arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar al-Bashir. But the BBC’s Jim Muir, in Beirut, says they seem to agree on little else. The Qatar gathering appears doomed to fall [...]
The ICC arrest warrant has been flouted by Sudan’s leader Arab leaders have been urged to reject an international arrest warrant against President Omar al-Bashir of Sudan for war crimes in Darfur. The warrant was “another stage on the road to dividing Sudan”, Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad said. He was speaking at the Arab League’s [...]
Last Chance for GM and Chrysler?
Posted in Economy and business on March 30, 2009 | Comments Off
The Los Angeles Times and the Wall Street Journal banner, while USA Today, the New York Times, and the Washington Post lead with, news that the Obama administration forced the head of General Motors, Rick Wagoner, to resign and has put both GM and Chrysler on notice that they won’t get another round of federal [...]
Animal life
Posted in Photo galleries on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
North splashes in the sea following a period of care at Taronga Zoo’s Wildlife Hospital. __________ The polar bear twins that were born in December 2008 appear to the public for the first time at the Ouwehands Animal Park in Rhenen, the Netherlands. __________ Pagi, a female Bornean sun bear cub whose name means morning [...]
Nudge, nudge, wink wink: Monty Python is back at 40
Posted in Popular culture on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
__________ Their offbeat humor poked fun at everything from British royalty to killer rabbits. On the 40th anniversary of the debut of Monty Python’s Flying Circus, the series’ principal performers will be making an extended appearance on cable network IFC. The six-part documentary Monty Python: Almost the Truth (The Lawyer’s Cut) airs Oct. 4-10 and [...]
Gates: No change soon on ‘don’t ask, don’t tell’
Posted in Politics on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
Don’t expect any change soon to the “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy about gays in the military. Defense Secretary Robert Gates says both he and President Barack Obama have “a lot on our plates right now.” As Gates puts it, “let’s push that one down the road a little bit.” The White House has said [...]
GM CEO Wagoner to Step Down at White House Request
Posted in Politics on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
General Motors Corp. Chairman and CEO Rick Wagoner will step down immediately at the request of the White House, administration officials said Sunday. The news comes as President Obama prepares to unveil additional restructuring efforts designed to save the domestic auto industry. The officials asked not to be identified because details of the restructuring plan [...]
British Minister Promises to Pay for Porn
Posted in Politics on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
Jacqui Smith, the British home secretary, in London on March 10. __________ Jacqui Smith, the British home secretary, was forced to issue a statement on Sunday saying that she would repay British taxpayers £21 ($30) after a newspaper revealed that expenses she claimed last year for home internet service also included four pay-per-view movies, two [...]
‘Experimental Man’ tests modern medicine
Posted in Health on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
David Ewing Duncan, a biotech writer and correspondent for public radio’s “Biotech Nation” program, took on another role for his seventh book – human guinea pig. Duncan, who lives in San Francisco, tested himself for everything from genetic defects to toxins. Duncan, who is scheduled to speak at Harvard Medical School on April 9, [...]
When Pope Benedict XVI commented this month that condom distribution isn’t helping, and may be worsening, the spread of HIV/AIDS in Africa, he set off a firestorm of protest. Most non-Catholic commentary has been highly critical of the pope. A cartoon in the Philadelphia Inquirer, reprinted in The Post, showed the pope somewhat ghoulishly praising [...]
Where Are the Leaders?
Posted in Editorials and opinion, Politics on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
You wake up in the morning and once again the financial weather report calls for the Apocalypse followed by brief showers of despair. Seeking a ray of hope, you turn on the television and settle in to watch a Capitol Hill hearing. There in the hot seat is the man who holds the entire U.S. [...]
What’s the Meaning of Life? Turn to the Last Page
Posted in Living, tagged Edith Stein, Montaigne, Socrates on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Socrates, Metropolitan Museum of Art __________ If death can be a funny sort of philosophical thing when you think about it — and it can, just ask author Simon Critchley — would that mean it gets funnier the more you think about it? And if you were a philosopher who [...]
White House planning more auto financial aid
Posted in Economy and business on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
Dreaded white-collar job cuts at General Motors Corp. started Tuesday, March 24, 2009, as the wounded automaker began to deliver on promises to the government to shrink its work force so it can be profitable at lower sales levels. __________ The Obama administration was finishing work on a plan to give more financial aid to [...]
Recruited to Serve and Sniff — Again
Posted in Conflicts and wars on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
Goro plays soccer during some downtime July 7 at Ali Base, Iraq. Goro, a military working dog assigned to the 407th Air Expeditionary Group’s Provost Marshal Office here, died July 28 from natural causes. (U.S. Air Force photo) __________ Rambo sounds the warning as soon as the kennel door at Bolling Air Force Base creaks [...]
Waiting for Resurrection
Posted in Law on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
Ria Ramkissoon __________ Death Opens Doors on Group Ministry Members Charged in Baltimore After Baby’s Body Is Found Members of One Mind Ministries drew little notice in the working-class Baltimore neighborhood where they lived in a nondescript brick rowhouse. But inside, prosecutors say, horrors were unfolding: Answering to a leader called Queen Antoinette, they denied [...]
US to consult Pakistan on strikes
Posted in Conflicts and wars, Politics on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
US President Barack Obama has said he will consult Pakistan’s leaders before targeting militants in that country. “If we have a high-value target within our sights, after consulting with Pakistan, we’re going after them,” Mr Obama told CBS television. But Mr Obama ruled out deploying US ground troops inside Pakistan. On Friday, the US leader [...]
US ‘will not stop’ N Korea rocket
Posted in Conflicts and wars on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
North Korea has said it will launch a satellite into orbit next month US Defence Secretary Robert Gates says North Korea is likely to launch a rocket soon, and Washington would not attempt to stop it. North Korea has said it will launch a satellite into orbit next month. South Korea, Japan and the US [...]
Treating ED in teens key for future well-being
Posted in Health on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
It may seem unlikely that teenage boys could have erectile difficulties, but it can happen. Furthermore, the problem is not all in their heads but can have a physical cause, according to the first-ever study evaluating erectile dysfunction (ED) in teenage boys. Even if a teen’s ED turns out not to stem from physical causes, [...]
A bleach that leaves the environment clean, too
Posted in Energy and Environment on March 29, 2009 | Comments Off
A textile worker handles cotton cloth at the TEXTASA factory in Guatemala City. __________ Everyone knows bleach makes things cleaner, but until now its active ingredient, chlorine, has made the environment dirtier. Two companies have come up with a bleach that has no chlorine and boasts other environmental benefits as well. The new bleach is [...]
