http://wahooe.tigblog.org/ What's on the minds of young leaders from around the globe? en-us http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/345021 Rising prices and alleged corruption have sparked recent clashes at bakeries in poorer neighbourhoods, leading to several deaths.

Hosni Mubarak said eradicating bread queues was "imperative".

The army and interior ministry control numerous bakeries normally used to supply bread for troops and police.

Mr Mubarak issued his order to the army at a meeting of cabinet ministers on Sunday that was called to address the growing crisis, his spokesman said.

"Bread should be provided to the citizens and the lines should disappear," Suleiman Awwad quoted Mr Mubarak as saying.

The price of wheat has more than tripled on international markets since last summer.

Mr Mubarak has ordered the government to use some foreign reserves to buy additional wheat from the international market, the spokesman said.

Many of Egypt's 70m population, about half of whom live below the poverty line, survive on subsidised bread.


Unsubsidised bread is 10-12 times more expensive than the subsidised five-piaster loafs (less that $0.01).

Egyptians hit by rising food prices
As the BBC looks at the impact of rising food prices around the world, Heba Saleh reports from Cairo where soaring costs hit the country's poor - and the government that subsidises their bread.

Many families are having to cut back on meat
Battle for bread
A crowd of people jostle each other as they wait for subsidised bread outside a small bakery on a narrow unpaved back street in Imbaba, a poor suburb of Cairo.

A worker comes to the counter with a tray of hot bread just out from the oven and starts handing out stacks of loaves of round, flat bread to the people at the front of the queue.

It is nine o'clock in the morning, and the queue is full of housewives and government employees who have signed in at their offices, then come to line up for cheap bread to take home to their families later in the day.

Everyone here complains they are being squeezed by the latest wave of price rises.

"Speak about the famine that's taking place now," says Karima Mohamed, a mother of five.


I buy as many loaves as they allow me, 40 to 60 loaves.
Woman shopper
"A bottle of oil has now reached 10 (Egyptian) pounds (90p; $1.80). The government should not make things expensive for the Egyptian people, because we are the poorest of the world. Salaries here have not increased, but prices have gone up threefold and fourfold."
Family budgets, already under pressure in this mainly poor country, are being further strained by the international increases in the prices of staples such as wheat, rice, cooking oil and dairy products.

Some poor families say they have had to reduce their food intake to two meals a day.



They are eating meat even more infrequently than usual - or not at all.



Public purse takes hit


But one commodity which has not gone up is the subsidised baladi bread for which millions of Egyptian queue up patiently every day.




At less than one US cent a loaf, it is a key element of the national diet.

"This bread is very important for me," says Wafaa, a mother of five who works for the tax authority.

"I buy as many loaves as they allow me, 40 to 60 loaves. But I only take it for our daily food, and when tomorrow comes God will take care of it."

Baladi bread of a slightly better quality sold at market prices in the wealthier suburbs of Cairo can go up to 13 cents a loaf.


To keep the price of subsidised bread low for Egypt's 80 million people, the national budget has had to take a big hit this year.

The world's largest importer of wheat, Egypt has spent an extra $850m on wheat for subsidised bread. The total bill is expected to reach $2.67bn.


According to figures cited by the World Bank in a 2005 study, a fifth of the country's population live below the poverty line. Another 13% are just above it and for them, any wobble in consumer prices means they go under.

No-one has yet worked out the impact of the latest price rises on poverty, but it is clear the government believes it needs to intervene to absorb some of the increases.

So it is allowing up to 15 million new names to be added to the register of people eligible to receive subsidised oil, sugar, rice and tea.

Strikes wave


In a country with so many people struggling to make ends meet, the authorities are also well aware of the potential for social unrest should prices continue to soar.

In 1977 there were massive riots when it was announced that the government would allow the prices of a list of essential goods to go up.

So now the authorities are promising big salary increases and the state press carries almost daily assurances from the president that meeting the basic needs of citizens is a government priority.


In the last two years Egypt has been swept by an unprecedented wave of strikes in both public and privately-owned factories and even in some government departments.

In almost all cases, improved pay was the main demand, and nearly always the workers got much of what they wanted.


Many commentators are now noting that it is not just people in traditionally low-paid jobs who are complaining.

Even those who have always been seen as part of the middle class say they are suffering from the erosion of any buying power their salaries may have formerly had.


Indeed, doctors have become the latest group threatening to go on strike unless their pay is increased.

Egyptians hit by rising food prices
As the BBC looks at the impact of rising food prices around the world, Heba Saleh reports from Cairo where soaring costs hit the country's poor - and the government that subsidises their bread.

Many families are having to cut back on meat
Battle for bread
A crowd of people jostle each other as they wait for subsidised bread outside a small bakery on a narrow unpaved back street in Imbaba, a poor suburb of Cairo.

A worker comes to the counter with a tray of hot bread just out from the oven and starts handing out stacks of loaves of round, flat bread to the people at the front of the queue.

It is nine o'clock in the morning, and the queue is full of housewives and government employees who have signed in at their offices, then come to line up for cheap bread to take home to their families later in the day.

Everyone here complains they are being squeezed by the latest wave of price rises.

"Speak about the famine that's taking place now," says Karima Mohamed, a mother of five.


I buy as many loaves as they allow me, 40 to 60 loaves.
Woman shopper
"A bottle of oil has now reached 10 (Egyptian) pounds (90p; $1.80). The government should not make things expensive for the Egyptian people, because we are the poorest of the world. Salaries here have not increased, but prices have gone up threefold and fourfold."
Family budgets, already under pressure in this mainly poor country, are being further strained by the international increases in the prices of staples such as wheat, rice, cooking oil and dairy products.

Some poor families say they have had to reduce their food intake to two meals a day.



They are eating meat even more infrequently than usual - or not at all.



Public purse takes hit


But one commodity which has not gone up is the subsidised baladi bread for which millions of Egyptian queue up patiently every day.




At less than one US cent a loaf, it is a key element of the national diet.

"This bread is very important for me," says Wafaa, a mother of five who works for the tax authority.

"I buy as many loaves as they allow me, 40 to 60 loaves. But I only take it for our daily food, and when tomorrow comes God will take care of it."

Baladi bread of a slightly better quality sold at market prices in the wealthier suburbs of Cairo can go up to 13 cents a loaf.


To keep the price of subsidised bread low for Egypt's 80 million people, the national budget has had to take a big hit this year.

The world's largest importer of wheat, Egypt has spent an extra $850m on wheat for subsidised bread. The total bill is expected to reach $2.67bn.


According to figures cited by the World Bank in a 2005 study, a fifth of the country's population live below the poverty line. Another 13% are just above it and for them, any wobble in consumer prices means they go under.

No-one has yet worked out the impact of the latest price rises on poverty, but it is clear the government believes it needs to intervene to absorb some of the increases.

So it is allowing up to 15 million new names to be added to the register of people eligible to receive subsidised oil, sugar, rice and tea.

Strikes wave


In a country with so many people struggling to make ends meet, the authorities are also well aware of the potential for social unrest should prices continue to soar.

In 1977 there were massive riots when it was announced that the government would allow the prices of a list of essential goods to go up.

So now the authorities are promising big salary increases and the state press carries almost daily assurances from the president that meeting the basic needs of citizens is a government priority.


In the last two years Egypt has been swept by an unprecedented wave of strikes in both public and privately-owned factories and even in some government departments.

In almost all cases, improved pay was the main demand, and nearly always the workers got much of what they wanted.


Many commentators are now noting that it is not just people in traditionally low-paid jobs who are complaining.

Even those who have always been seen as part of the middle class say they are suffering from the erosion of any buying power their salaries may have formerly had.


Indeed, doctors have become the latest group threatening to go on strike unless their pay is increased.


]]> Mon, 17 Mar 2008 20:39:00 EDT http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/345021 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/344707
"It's the right thing to do," said Harold Cox, a member of the Boston Public Health Commission.

Boston joins a growing number of cities, including New York and Philadelphia, and the town of Brookline in banning the ingredient. Trans fat has been linked to heart disease in humans and to diabetes in experimental animals.

The first phase of the ban goes into effect in September and will apply to the use of cooking oils, shortening, and margarine containing artificial trans fat. The makers of baked goods will have a year to eliminate trans fat from their products.

Packaged goods clearly labeled as containing the substance can still be sold, although most major manufacturers have already removed it.

The Boston prohibition would cover all restaurants, including school and hospital cafeterias, as well as fresh food prepared in groceries and delis.

City inspectors will visit businesses to make sure they comply with the ban, and scofflaws could face fines of up to $1,000 for each violation.

The prohibition faced only scant opposition. Of more than 90 written comments, only three were antagonistic. And when the Health Commission held a public hearing yesterday on the ban, only four people showed up.

Janine M. Harrod, director of government affairs for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association, said members of the trade group were worried they could roll up multiple fines if an inspector found, say, several products containing artificial trans fat. But a commission attorney stressed that regulators do not intend to be punitive and promised instead to work with chefs to cook up dishes free of trans fats. ]]> Sun, 16 Mar 2008 19:33:00 EDT http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/344707 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/343743
Many families are having to cut back on meat
Battle for bread
A crowd of people jostle each other as they wait for subsidised bread outside a small bakery on a narrow unpaved back street in Imbaba, a poor suburb of Cairo.

A worker comes to the counter with a tray of hot bread just out from the oven and starts handing out stacks of loaves of round, flat bread to the people at the front of the queue.

It is nine o'clock in the morning, and the queue is full of housewives and government employees who have signed in at their offices, then come to line up for cheap bread to take home to their families later in the day.

Everyone here complains they are being squeezed by the latest wave of price rises.

"Speak about the famine that's taking place now," says Karima Mohamed, a mother of five.


I buy as many loaves as they allow me, 40 to 60 loaves.
Woman shopper
"A bottle of oil has now reached 10 (Egyptian) pounds (90p; $1.80). The government should not make things expensive for the Egyptian people, because we are the poorest of the world. Salaries here have not increased, but prices have gone up threefold and fourfold."
Family budgets, already under pressure in this mainly poor country, are being further strained by the international increases in the prices of staples such as wheat, rice, cooking oil and dairy products.

Some poor families say they have had to reduce their food intake to two meals a day.



They are eating meat even more infrequently than usual - or not at all.



Public purse takes hit


But one commodity which has not gone up is the subsidised baladi bread for which millions of Egyptian queue up patiently every day.




At less than one US cent a loaf, it is a key element of the national diet.

"This bread is very important for me," says Wafaa, a mother of five who works for the tax authority.

"I buy as many loaves as they allow me, 40 to 60 loaves. But I only take it for our daily food, and when tomorrow comes God will take care of it."

Baladi bread of a slightly better quality sold at market prices in the wealthier suburbs of Cairo can go up to 13 cents a loaf.


To keep the price of subsidised bread low for Egypt's 80 million people, the national budget has had to take a big hit this year.

The world's largest importer of wheat, Egypt has spent an extra $850m on wheat for subsidised bread. The total bill is expected to reach $2.67bn.


According to figures cited by the World Bank in a 2005 study, a fifth of the country's population live below the poverty line. Another 13% are just above it and for them, any wobble in consumer prices means they go under.

No-one has yet worked out the impact of the latest price rises on poverty, but it is clear the government believes it needs to intervene to absorb some of the increases.

So it is allowing up to 15 million new names to be added to the register of people eligible to receive subsidised oil, sugar, rice and tea.

Strikes wave


In a country with so many people struggling to make ends meet, the authorities are also well aware of the potential for social unrest should prices continue to soar.

In 1977 there were massive riots when it was announced that the government would allow the prices of a list of essential goods to go up.

So now the authorities are promising big salary increases and the state press carries almost daily assurances from the president that meeting the basic needs of citizens is a government priority.


In the last two years Egypt has been swept by an unprecedented wave of strikes in both public and privately-owned factories and even in some government departments.

In almost all cases, improved pay was the main demand, and nearly always the workers got much of what they wanted.


Many commentators are now noting that it is not just people in traditionally low-paid jobs who are complaining.

Even those who have always been seen as part of the middle class say they are suffering from the erosion of any buying power their salaries may have formerly had.


Indeed, doctors have become the latest group threatening to go on strike unless their pay is increased.]]> Thu, 13 Mar 2008 18:51:00 EDT http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/343743 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/341733 Pope Benedict XVI will host landmark Catholic-Muslim talks in November to improve ties between the two religions.
The announcement was made in a joint statement after a two-day meeting between senior Vatican and Muslim leaders in Rome.

Catholic-Muslim relations soured after a 2006 speech in Germany in which the Pope quoted a 14th Century Byzantine emperor's criticisms of Islam.

The Regensburg speech provoked Muslim fury and triggered protests worldwide.

But it also prompted 138 Muslim scholars from 43 countries to launch an appeal to the Pope for greater theological dialogue, called the Common Word.

Since then the number of signatories to the appeal has grown to more than 200.

Wider dialogue

The joint statement said the first Catholic-Muslim summit would be held in Rome on 4-6 November and would involve 24 religious leaders and scholars from each side.

It said the Pope would address the meeting on the themes of "Love of God, Love of Neighbour", "Theological and Spiritual Foundation" and "Human Dignity and Mutual Respect".

Catholic and Muslim leaders hope the forum will start a regular official dialogue between the two religions.

The conference will take place just over a year after the Regensburg speech.

Although the pontiff has repeatedly expressed regret for the reaction to his comments, he stopped short of the clear apology sought by Muslims.

But the BBC's Frances Kennedy in Rome says the Vatican is now clearly convinced of the need for a wider, if more difficult, dialogue with Islam.

]]> Thu, 06 Mar 2008 14:07:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/341733 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/341491 Former President Clinton yesterday tried to conjure up warm memories of the 1990s when he served two terms as president.

He spoke about jobs, the economy, and the cost of gasoline - painting a picture of better times a decade ago.

He promised crowds in the Cleveland suburbs of Kirtland and Lakewood that good times will be back again - if Ohio voters make his wife the Democratic nominee for president and put a Clinton back in the White House.

On Tuesday, Mr. Clinton's wife, U.S. Sen. Hillary Clinton of New York, will face off with U.S. Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois in Ohio's Democratic presidential primary. Up for grabs will be 162 delegates at the Democratic National Convention, which will play a pivotal role in the race for the party's nomination for president.

Mr. Clinton, speaking in front of a packed gym at Kirtland High School yesterday morning, outlined what's changed since he left office eight years ago, explaining the impact of manufacturing job losses, declining wages, and the rising costs of health care and oil.
"Nobody is getting a raise, the cost of health care is up, the cost of education is up 75 percent, the cost of gas is through the roof," Mr. Clinton said. "In this decade, over 90 percent of the economic benefit has gone to the top 10 percent, and about half of that to the top 1 percent."

He promised that his wife would bring solutions to the economic problems facing the country, saying she would create jobs, end the war in Iraq, and provide leadership on issues like education, health care, and energy policy

His visit to Lakewood High School concluded a nine-city, three day tour across the state which began in Dayton on Thursday. Mr. Clinton, who ran behind schedule by about 90 minutes at his two appearances in Ohio yesterday, was joined by other political leaders, including Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland, a strong supporter of his wife.

Introducing the former president to the gymnasium at Kirtland High School, Ohio Lt. Gov. Lee Fisher, a Clinton supporter since Mr. Clinton's first presidential election 16 years ago, tapped into the Clinton nostalgia.

"Bill and Hillary Clinton for eight years set this nation on a new course and we have now the best chance we have since then, not only to take that course and set it right again, but to take it to new heights," Mr. Fisher said.

John Valentic, a 36-year-old social studies teacher at Kirtland High School, said he is still deciding between Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama.

He came out yesterday in part to experience the "pageantry" that accompanied the visit of the former president.

"There is a definite aura about the Clintons that some criticize because they don't want a two-for-one package ... but they know how to get stuff done," Mr. Valentic said.

Tom Yanks, 54, of Lakewood, left yesterday's speech at Lakewood High School in awe of the former president's oratory skills.

"He's an excellent speaker," said Mr. Yates, who decided to vote for Mrs. Clinton after hearing her husband speak.

"He is the best. No one can deliver a message better than he can."

He added, "When you look back at the Clinton White House, we had a good economy and we weren't fighting with anyone. [Mrs. Clinton] was there with him and she has the same philosophy."]]> Wed, 05 Mar 2008 16:29:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/341491 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/339153
Seizing on a comment from Tuesday night’s Democratic debate, Mr. McCain, the presumed Republican presidential nominee, said that Mr. Obama’s plan to rapidly withdraw American troops from Iraq would leave the country in the hands of Al Qaeda and possibly other terrorist groups.

In response to a hypothetical question at the debate, Mr. Obama said that although he intended to withdraw American forces as rapidly as possible, he reserved the right to send troops back in “if Al Qaeda is forming a base in Iraq.”

Mr. McCain pounced on the remark. “I have some news,” he said at a town hall-style meeting in Tyler, Tex. “Al Qaeda is in Iraq. It’s called ‘Al Qaeda in Iraq.’ My friends, if we left, they wouldn’t be establishing a base. They’d be taking a country and I’m not going to allow that to happen.”

Mr. Obama, in Columbus, responded soon after. “I have some news for John McCain,” Mr. Obama said at a large rally at Ohio State University. “There was no such thing as Al Qaeda in Iraq until George Bush and John McCain decided to invade Iraq.”

Both men essentially ignored Mrs. Clinton, who was campaigning in Ohio on economic and trade issues. Mrs. Clinton, speaking to reporters Wednesday morning, said she was pleased with her debate performance and indicated she intended to pursue the nomination even if she loses the Ohio and Texas primaries next Tuesday. Her husband, former President Bill Clinton, said last week that she needed to win those contests to remain a viable candidate.

“I think what’s important is that we have a lot of people yet to vote,” Mrs. Clinton told reporters traveling on her plane. “I’m doing everything I can to win. That’s what I intend to do.”

She said she remained optimistic about the race because she is raising $1 million a day online. “People have just been really rallying to my candidacy,” she said.

Mr. Obama delivered one of his most aggressive critiques of Mr. McCain. For several minutes, Mr. Obama mocked his potential Republican rival as he answered Mr. McCain’s charge that he lacks sufficient foreign-policy experience for the presidency.

“I’ve been paying attention, John McCain,” Mr. Obama said, speaking to a crowd of 7,000 in the St. John Arena on the Ohio State campus. “So John McCain may like to say he wants to follow Osama bin Laden to the gates of Hell, but so far, all he’s done is follow George Bush into a misguided war in Iraq.”]]> Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:18:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/339153 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/337531
The European Space Agency's Venus Monitoring Camera (VMC) captured a series of images showing the development of a bright haze over the southern latitudes of the planet in July 2007. Over a period of days, the high-altitude veil continually brightened and dimmed, moving towards equatorial latitudes and then back towards the south pole.

These transient dark and bright markings indicate regions on the cloud-covered world where solar ultraviolet radiation is being absorbed and reflected by sulfuric acid particles, mission scientists said this week.

Gaseous sulfur dioxide and small amounts of water vapor are usually found below altitudes of about 43 miles (70 kilometers) in Venus' carbon-dioxide rich atmosphere. These molecules are usually shrouded from view by cloud layers above that block our view to the surface at visible wavelengths.

ESA scientists think the sulfuric acid particles that make up the bright haze are created when some atmospheric process lifts the gaseous sulfur dioxide and water vapor high up above the cloud tops where they are exposed to ultraviolet radiation from the sun.

The UV radiation breaks up the molecules, making them highly reactive. The fragments of the molecules eagerly seek each other out and combine to form the sulfuric acid particles.

"The process is a bit similar to what happens with urban smog over cities," said mission team member Dmitri Titov of the Max Planck Institute for Solar System Research in Germany.

Exactly what causes the sulfur dioxide and water vapor to well up is not known, but Titov says it is likely some internal process of Venus' atmosphere.

The transient dark markings on the VMC images are even more of a mystery. They are caused by something that absorbs UV radiation, but scientists don't yet know what the chemical is.

The Wildest Weather in the Galaxy Images: Beneath the Clouds of Venus All About Venus Original Story: Mysterious Haze Found on Venus
Visit SPACE.com and explore our huge collection of Space Pictures, Space Videos, Space Image of the Day, Hot Topics, Top 10s, Multimedia, Trivia, Voting and Amazing Images. Follow the latest developments in the search for life in our universe in our SETI: Search for Life section. Join the community, sign up for our free daily email newsletter, listen to our Podcasts, check out our RSS feeds and other Reader Favorites today!]]> Fri, 22 Feb 2008 15:07:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/337531 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/335897 Mr Al Fayed, Harrods owner and father of Dodi, told the Royal Courts of Justice he would "make no allegations".

However, he said Princess Diana "knew Prince Philip and Prince Charles were trying to get rid of her".

The Harrods boss also said Diana had told him she was pregnant. "I am the only person they told," he said.

'Crocodile wife'

Asked by Ian Burnett QC, counsel to the inquest, if he stood by his claim that Diana and Dodi were "murdered by the British security services on the orders of Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh", Mr Al Fayed replied: "Yes."

He pinpointed driver Henri Paul, alleged security forces in the ambulance crew, the then British Ambassador to France Sir Michael Jay, the princess's brother-in-law Sir Robert Fellowes and former Prime Minister Tony Blair as all being involved in the plot.

And he said Prince Charles was complicit, hoping to make way so he could marry his "crocodile wife" Camilla Parker Bowles.


My belief (they) were murdered was confirmed when I learned Lord Condon and Lord Stevens did not show the coroner the note
Mohamed Al Fayed
The Harrods boss also raised concerns about a note written by Diana's divorce lawyer, Lord Mishcon, after an October 1995 meeting. It outlined her fears there was a plot to kill her in a car crash.

Lord Mishcon passed it on to police when the princess died in 1997, and after a meeting with the then Metropolitan Police Commissioner Sir Paul Condon.

The police agreed to hand it to the coroner only after Diana's former butler, Paul Burrell, produced a note from the Princess making similar allegations in the Daily Mirror in October 2003. By that time, Sir John Stevens led the Met.

Mr Al Fayed said this delay confirmed his "belief that my son and Princess Diana were murdered".

In his evidence, Mr Al Fayed branded Prince Philip a "Nazi" and a "racist" and said: "It's time to send him back to Germany from where he comes."

"You want to know his original name - it ends with Frankenstein," he added.

Wooden box

Mr Al Fayed also told the jury that Diana told him in a telephone call that she was pregnant, and that the couple said they were engaged.

He read out a statement detailing his main concerns about the crash, and the points he felt the inquest should address.

Diana had told him she kept a wooden box and if anything happened to her, the contents should be made public, he said. But it had not been kept safe by Diana's butler Paul Burrell, or her sister, Lady Sarah McCorquodale.

He also said blood samples apparently taken from driver Henri Paul - who was also killed in the crash - did not belong to the Frenchman.

Mr Al Fayed felt the murder was likely to have been carried out by photographer James Andanson, who has since died, on the orders of the security services.

Tape investigation

During his evidence, Mr Al Fayed held up a copy of Monday's Sun newspaper, which claims Paul Burrell said he had not told the whole truth to the inquest.

He said of Mr Burrell: "He's been sitting here in the witness box talking about baloney things. It's important to bring him back."

Lord Justice Scott Baker later told the court: "This is something that's certainly being investigated."

The coroner said he had called for the Sun's tape and would want to know the circumstances under which it was obtained.

Mr Horwell put it to Mr Al Fayed that he had denied Diana "dignity in death" by raising the question of her pregnancy.

The barrister added that "witness after witness" had been asked about her method of contraception and her menstrual cycle, "and the evidence shows she could not have been pregnant".

Mr Al Fayed replied: "All the witnesses who have been saying this are part of the cover-up and have been told what to say."

The Harrods owner broke down when asked about the moment he was told Dodi was dead.

He said someone from security told him, but when asked if he remembered a call from Ritz hotel president Frank Klein, he answered: "It's difficult. I'd like to know why you are asking me things like that."

Mr Klein has told the inquest he telephoned Mr Al Fayed to break the news and he replied: "This is not an accident."

]]> Mon, 18 Feb 2008 12:15:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/335897 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/333057
The more time spent on a cell phone, the lower the count and the higher the percentage of abnormal sperm, according to the study. But researchers cautioned that this is not a cause-and-effect relationship, meaning it is unknown whether using cell phone causes bad sperm.

Early studies have linked long term cell phone use to a higher risk of brain tumors although other short term studies found no relationship between the two.

The current study of the 361 men who sought help from the Cleveland Clinic - a fertility clinic - was meant to examine an association between exposure to the radiation from cell phones and the quality of sperm.

In the study, researchers surveyed the patients for their use of cell phones in one year. The results showed that the sperm count and quality tended to decline as cell phone use increased.

Those men who used more than four hours got the worse sperm quality, according to the study, which appears in the Jan 2008 issue of Fertility and Sterility.

The possible effect of cell phone radiation on sperm has been researched in a number of studies. In 2007, Dr. Ji-Gen Yan at Medical College of Wisconsin and colleagues already reported that rats exposed to two 3-hour periods of daily cellular phone emissions for 18 weeks had a significantly higher incidence of sperm cell death than control group rats.

The study published in the October 2007 issue of Fertility and Sterility also found abnormal clumping of sperm cells in rats subject to cell phone emission, but not in rats without such exposure.

A study similar to the current study conducted by Hungarian researchers found even just bearing a cell phone can reduce a man's sperm count by up to 30 percent.

The radiation from a cell phone on a belt or in a pocket or on standby was enough to reduce both sperm count and mobility of surviving sperm, according to Dr. Imre Fejes of the University of Szeged in Hungary and colleagues who present the study at the European Society of Human Reproduction and Embryology, Berlin, Germany in June, 2004.

In the study of 221 men with and without a cell phone, Fejes and colleagues found men who actively used cell phone scored 59 million sperm per milliliter of seminal fluid compared to 83 million for those without phones.

The researchers concluded "prolonged use of cell phones may have a negative effect on spermatogenesis and male fertility that presumably deteriorates both concentration and motility" although they acknowledged more research was needed to confirm the harmful effect of cell phone radiation.

According to media reports, the independent Advisory Group on Non-ionizing Radiation (AGNIR) in the UK conducted a review and issued a report in January 2004 claiming a conclusion that "It is not possible at present to say that exposure to RF (radiofrequency) radiation, even at levels below national guidelines, is totally without potential adverse health effects, and that the gaps in knowledge are sufficient to justify a precautionary approach."

]]> Sat, 09 Feb 2008 22:14:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/333057 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/330825
Iran’s state news media reported that a rocket for research purposes was fired from a newly built space center in the deserts of Semnan Province, southeast of Tehran, the capital. The rocket, called Kavoshgar-1, meaning Researcher-1, was fired in preparation for the planned launching in June of Iran’s first domestically made satellite, the semiofficial Fars News Agency said.

The United States criticized Iran’s action. Sean McCormack, the State Department spokesman, said the launching “is just another troubling development, in that the kinds of technologies and capabilities that are needed in order to launch a space vehicle for orbit are the same kinds of capabilities and technologies that one would employ for long-range ballistic missiles.”

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, though, said on state-run television: “We need to have an active presence in space. We witness today that Iran has taken its first step in space very firmly, precisely and with awareness.”

Iran has said that it wants to put satellites into orbit to monitor natural disasters and to improve telecommunications, as well as for security reasons.

Defense Minister Mostafa Mohammad Najar said Iran would launch its domestically made satellite, called Omid, meaning Hope, in June, Fars News reported.

The launching of the rocket came during the 10-day celebration for the 29th anniversary of the country’s Islamic Revolution of Feb. 11, 1979. The altitude of the rocket was not announced, although the state media said it was fired into space, which is considered to be about 60 miles from the earth.

Iran put its first satellite, a Russian-made one, into orbit in 2005, using a Russian rocket. The state-run media said it was for research and telecommunication purposes. The authorities announced last February that the country had launched a suborbital rocket, bringing it closer to putting its own satellites into space.

]]> Tue, 05 Feb 2008 01:34:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/330825 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/330253
For example 50-year-old Jerry Kohn of Skokie, Illinois, says it doesn't bother him that Illinois senator Barack Obama may lack in experience. Kohn says he likes Obama's charisma and leadership abilities.

Meanwhile, Kohn's wife Michelle supports New York Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton, saying Clinton's emotional moment in New Hampshire made a difference.]]> Sat, 02 Feb 2008 19:55:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/330253 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/329781 Sometimes he has even aggressively campaigned instead of her, as in South Carolina last week, where he went on to deliver her concession speech after she lost to Illinois Senator Barack Obama.

The US magazine Newsweek wrote then that they had to look at their calendar "to check it's not really 1992".

This was a state that the then-governor of Arkansas won during his own 1992 bid for the presidency and, at the time, Mr Clinton had bragged that by electing him president, voters would get "two for the price of one".

With his wife, the brainy lawyer, they were a power couple from day one - but then, as now, the "two for one" bargain is not appealing to everybody.

Bad cop

Initially Mr Clinton's charm and clout were a crowd pleaser and, in an op-ed titled "Hobbled by Hubby", the Washington Post's EJ Dionne wrote that initially "even as her husband's positive campaigning reminded Democrats of why they liked him, Hillary Clinton came across as her own person".


But soon, the Hill'n'Bill show appeared to be unravelling.

He upstaged her on several occasions and played the bad cop, attracting unflattering comments about his bulging eyes and red neck veins, as he responded angrily sometimes to questions by the media on the campaign trail.

"Her campaign underestimated the bitterness that would be created by Bill Clinton's role as a bad cop against Obama" and his campaigning "created a backlash among his own loyalists", wrote Mr Dionne.

Hillary was also perceived to be using her husband to deflect criticism or avoid answering tough questions.


I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes
Barack Obama
For her detractors and rivals, there was simply one candidate too many on stage.

During a debate in South Carolina ahead of the primary there, when Mr Obama complained about Bill Clinton's attacks on him, Mrs Clinton snapped: "I'm here. He's not."

Mr Obama was quick to snap back: "I can't tell who I'm running against sometimes."

Clearly, what was meant to be a shoo-in had turned into a war of attrition with the new kid on the block.

"The Clintons realised that Barack Obama was a very serious challenge and they felt they had to do everything to try to block him, they overdid it," said Jim Barnes, a political writer for the non-partisan National Journal.

"They basically went out and tried to nuke him."

More of the same?

Anyone with fond memories of the prosperous 1990s was reminded of the polarising, scandal-plagued presidency and Hillary was faced with the negative impact of her husband's legacy.


Those hoping for change also worried they were just getting an updated version of the old Clinton administration as she gave her concession speech in Iowa, surrounded by her husband and daughter Chelsea - but also former Secretary of State Madeleine Albright and retired army general and former Nato commander Wesley Clark, who commanded the Allied operations in Kosovo during president Clinton's time in office.

But during Thursday's debate, Mrs Clinton tried to make a point that electing her was not "more of the same", if only because she was a woman.

There has now been 20 years of presidents from the Clinton and Bush families, raising concerns about new dynasties in the making.

The Bush family has been in the White House even longer if the counting starts from the day that George Bush Senior became vice president in 1981.

"It took a Clinton to clean after the first Bush, it might take another Clinton to clean after the second Bush," Mrs Clinton said with a smile, when challenged on the dynasty question.

Damage control

While she is still leading in national polls for the Democratic nominee, Mr Obama is fast closing in on her, with a difference of only six points.


Part of it may well be due to the negative impact of the "Billary" component of the campaign, particularly after Ted and Caroline Kennedy decided to endorse the young Illinois senator, despite their friendship with the Clintons.

It was widely seen as a reaction by the Kennedys to Mr Clinton's divisive comments, un-befitting of an elder statesman.

In the lead-up to Super Tuesday on 5 February, with more than 1,600 delegates up for grabs in some 22 states across the US, Mrs Clinton has some damage control to do to retain her lead and get the results she wants.

"If Senator Clinton is able to get voters to focus on her and not her husband, she will have a chance to do well on Super Tuesday. She cannot rely on him to help her win this election," said Jim Barnes.

So, over the next few days, voters will see less of Bill and more of Hill as the New York senator tries to convince voters she is the only Clinton running for office.

]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:40:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/329781 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/329779

Twice just this week, Rice and her aides had to rebuke, disavow or otherwise try to explain away public words or actions by three top officials on delicate affairs ranging from North Korea and Iran to the violence in Kenya.

The trouble began on Jan. 17, when Jay Lefkowitz, the special U.S. envoy for human rights in North Korea, delivered a speech at the conservative American Enterprise Institute think-tank in which he trashed the six-nation talks aimed at persuading the North Koreans to give up their nuclear weapons program.

Then the U.S. ambassador to the U.N., Zalmay Khalilzad, violated Washington's long-standing policy on contact with officials from the Islamic government of Iran by showing up on a stage in Switzerland with the Iranian foreign minister. And the top U.S. envoy for Africa used the emotionally and politically charged phrase "ethnic cleansing" to describe the postelection violence in Kenya.

Whether or not any of those incidents will have lasting implications, the gaffes and lapses on sensitive diplomatic matters have been embarrassing for an administration that attaches great importance to being "on message."

First, Lefkowitz said he believed North Korea would still have nuclear weapons when President Bush leaves office. "After four years of six-party talks," he declared, "it makes sense to review the assumptions upon which previous policy was built and make sure they are still valid today."

The administration has attached great importance to the process he was questioning. Lefkowitz, a New York lawyer with close White House ties, earned an unusually sharp slapdown from Rice for his speech, which many suspect was a calculated attempt by hawks to derail what they see as appeasing North Korea.

"Jay Lefkowitz has nothing to do with the six-party talks," Rice told reporters. "He's the human rights envoy. That's what he knows. That's what he does. He doesn't work on the six-party talks. He doesn't know what's going on in the six-party talks and he certainly has no say in what American policy will be in the six-party talks."

Rice added that she did not think Lefkowitz's remarks would complicate U.S. efforts with its negotiating partners — China, Japan, Russia and South Korea — or with North Korea, saying: "I would doubt very seriously that they would recognize (his) name."

Yet, even with the transcript of Lefkowitz's address removed from the State Department's official Web site, the North Koreans did notice.

On Monday, Pyongyang's official Korean Central News Agency, which once described the hawkish former U.S. ambassador to the U.N., John Bolton, as "the scum of the earth," said, "Lefkowitz was impudent enough to poke his nose into the nuclear issue, only to bring shame to himself."

Carelessness or lack of discipline were the main factors in the two latest diplomatic blunders.

Unbeknownst to higher-ups in Washington, Khalilzad accepted a last-minute invitation on Jan. 26 to participate in a discussion on "Understanding Iran's Foreign Policy" at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland. And he sat next to Manouchehr Mottaki, foreign minister of the nation that the administration has accused of trying to develop nuclear weapons under cover of an atomic energy program.

While Khalilzad said nothing that differed from the administration's hard line on Iran, his mere presence on stage with the Iranian was enough to cause palpitations in Washington. Officials claimed they learned of his participation only after video of the event was posted on YouTube.

The administration has strict rules regarding contact with Iran that allow only a small number of very senior officials to meet with Iranian representatives and then only with permission from Washington. In social settings, U.S. diplomats are instructed to be polite but not to engage in any substantive discussions with Iranian officials.

"There wasn't any permission in advance," State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said Wednesday when asked about Khalilzad's appearance with Mottaki, which the spokesman insisted did not signal any shift in policy.

"We haven't done these sorts of things in the past and I don't expect we will (in the future), absent some agreement from the Iranians that they are going to suspend their nuclear enrichment and reprocessing related activities," McCormack said.

McCormack was also busy this week trying to tamp down possible repercussions from comments made Wednesday by the top U.S. envoy for Africa, Jendayi Frazer. She had spoken of "ethnic cleansing" in Kenyan violence.

He took great pains to distance the administration from the term, refusing to repeat the words "ethnic cleansing," which many regard as a precursor to "genocide," in reference to the violence in Kenya that has claimed more than 800 lives and displaced tens of thousands in the past three weeks.

McCormack acknowledged that the situation in Kenya was of great concern and said some violent incidents and displacements appeared to be driven by ethnicity, but he also said it was too early to characterize the situation in such terms. He indicated that Frazer, the assistant secretary of state for African affairs, had been speaking for herself.

"She made some comments based on her firsthand assessment from a trip several weeks ago," McCormack told reporters. Asked if the Bush administration shared Frazer's assessment, he replied: "She said what she said. I am going to stick to what I said."]]> Fri, 01 Feb 2008 15:33:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/329779 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/329503

A paper loyal to the Fatah-run Palestinian Authority accuses Hamas of trying to use the crisis to turn Arabs against Egypt, but a Hamas-run daily defends the surge as a last resort to prevent a humanitarian disaster.


In Egypt, two pro-government dailies urge Israel to ease its blockade of Gaza and call on Hamas to work for Palestinian unity and stop rocket attacks on Israel.


ALEX FISHMAN IN ISRAEL'S YEDIOT AHARONOT


Until midday on Wednesday the feeling prevailed in Israel that the strategy of pressure levers had failed. By evening the mood changed. Some of the security establishment top brass began to like the situation. "There is here an extraordinary opportunity to roll the responsibility for the Gaza Strip to Egypt. Let them supply food, electricity, fuel and water. The Israeli wet dream could still materialise. For with the exception of the Egyptian government - that scored own goal - all are happy."


ISRAEL'S HA'ARETZ


The closure imposed by Israel and Egypt on the Gaza Strip a year ago was effectively lifted yesterday. Even if Egypt closes the border again, it will be forced to reopen it, at least partially, whenever there is pressure... The Egyptians could now become the unwitting leaders in finding a workable solution.


ZVI BAREL IN ISRAEL'S HA'ARETZ


Both Egypt and Israel are trapped in the same problem. First, who will repair the barrier? Will the Hamas authorities permit Egypt to rebuild it? Will Israel be able to rebuild it? At least until the barrier can be repaired, Egypt will have to assign officials to oversee the border traffic... Such an arrangement will make Egypt directly responsible for this unofficial border crossing... Egypt will have to work out the arrangement with Hamas without eliminating the power of influence of President Abbas - in other words, it will have to get the Palestinian Authority and Hamas talking again.


YA'AKOV KATZ IN ISRAEL'S JERUSALEM POST


Without even knowing it, Egypt has helped Israel to complete the disengagement from the Gaza Strip. Up until the restrictions clamped on the crossings late last week, Israel was responsible for facilitating the daily transfer of food, medical supplies, fuel, gasoline and other necessities into Gaza... All of this was being done while Qassam rockets pounded the western Negev. Egypt's decision to open its border shows that Israel has an alternative.


MUWAFAQ MATAR IN PALESTINIAN AL-HAYAT AL-JADIDAH


What happened in Rafah was a war against our sister country Egypt in an attempt to portray it as a country supporting the siege on the Gaza Strip. After the failure to instigate public feeling against Egypt, those who have hidden agendas sent the public to the gates of the Rafah crossing and pushed Palestinian women to clash with the Egyptian security forces.


TALAL AWKAL IN PALESTINIAN AL-AYYAM


The Israeli tightening of the siege lately on the Gaza Strip was not another round of aggression and escalation the Palestinians have grown used to. This was rather part of the war that [Israeli Prime Minister] Ehud Olmert has announced against all the Palestinians and their cause under the guise of what he calls the war on terror in Gaza. This war reveals to a great extent how dangerous a weak and fragile government can be.


HASAN ABU-HASHISH IN HAMAS-RUN FILASTIN


Blowing up the border wall with Egypt was a public move caused by a great humanitarian need. We urge Egypt not to consider it a violation of Egyptian sovereignty which we appreciate and respect.


MUSTAFA AL-SAWAF IN HAMAS-RUN FILASTIN


Egypt is a great country once it breaks free from constraints, pressure and conditions. This is the Egypt that the Palestinians always knew. Our blood was shed on our land as well as on Egyptian soil. However, this blood will not give any fruits if our great sister Egypt does not open the Rafah crossing.


EGYPT'S PRO-GOVERNMENT AL-AKHBAR


Israel must realize that the strangling and blockade may turn the Strip into a time bomb that could explode at any time in the face of Israel first, not to mention the impact of this on the security and stability in the entire region.


EGYPT'S PRO-GOVERNMENT AL-AHRAM


If Israel is largely responsible for the suffering of Gaza residents, Hamas is not free from responsibility either. There are two reasons for this. The first is the escalation of its differences with the PA and Fatah to the level of fighting and seizing [Fatah's] HQ in Gaza last year. The second reason is permitting the launch of rockets.


BBC Monitoring selects and translates news from radio, television, press, news agencies and the internet from 150 countries in more than 70 languages. It is based in Caversham, UK, and has several bureaux abroad.


]]> Thu, 31 Jan 2008 22:38:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/329503 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/328449 <> CONFLICT BEYOND BELIEF THOSE SAYS
IT WAS ZEALOT OF FIRE
Where the act of creation took place
As a celebration of the beauty and terror of life.
More to life in the Promised Land,quest for fire
WHAT A SAD THING
and Meaning as to what happing to the of terror of life. :-

[1] "otto vass"who died by cold squared in the parking lot of 9/11 Store
For haven a BBQ party and went for Baying TABASCO and
His daughter Anne,18 and Katherine,17
said to "Cold Squared".

ITS BEYOND BELIEF

[2] To subway jumper shocking tragedy Act
Dr. Suzan Killinger Johnson,is unspeakable
The truth of her final conflict
Beyond Belief to the most critical time
in mother "Baby Blue's" and child life "cuyler/
it's shocking tragedy, (Cuyler Killinger Johnson"
who died Friday Morning Aug.ll, 2000
at his mother's suicide bid
and she died Aug. 19, 2000, 8:00 pm.

ITS HERE FINAL CONFLICT
BEYOND BELIEF

The Doctor who Jumped in
front of the subway train
Holding her infant son cuyles (has died Aug .11, 2000)
and the mother injured in the subway tragedy
died as well: so how a successful,
professional woman who had helped others
cope with depression had not been able
to get the help she needed.
It is a question about what happened, why ?
what is to say. .

[3] THE FAMILY OF THE LOST RUSSIAN
KURSK SUB CATASTROPHE

As there son are dying Inside a
Tin cans its ocean tomb.
The grief is immeasurable as
Russia mourns the Sailor and
Nobody seems to know what happened,
Thats the saddest thing.
"That is to say":

WHAT A SAD THING,
THAT HAD TO HAPPENED !
[4] AS TURKS BOMB lRAQUI KURDS
and they say
we do not know
why they bombed us.

WHAT A SAD THING,
THAT HAD TO HAPPENED AGINE !
[5] September 11, 2001

I am as I feel above me the sky- blind stars,
Waiting for their light as the brilliantly,
Funny thing that had happened so far,
It's a wild thing everything ~@ a puree with a lot's of grief.

It draws rally, cry grief, trouble, anger,
Fear, and heart break, full of sadness.
Full of question, disappointment, disbelief,
Mourning, devastation to the World and national disaster,
Whose affair is this? Requiring concern,
Attention and effort of that particular event.

Where is the hidden hand behind that cover story?

It’s horrendous, the day of September 11th, 2001,

Whose Affair is this Anyhow?
It's a bad day’s wild thing,
With a lot of grief and sadness.
WHAT A SAD THING

[6] Deep Space Voyage of Rediscovery,
Star Trek Generation, in deep space,
Its a New Day, to the Ray's of light
Which fell from the sun,
That man and women are
The "offspring of light", to
The Rays of light
Which fell from the sun as
"The act of creation took place",
"That's to say"

Dream on Skylight
Even after with Guiding Light".
To the Ray"s of light which fell from the sun,
That men and women are the "off spring " of light"to
The ray"s of light falling from the sun as
The act of creation "took place in Primeval time.
THAT'S TO SAY"

AND YOU WILL BE FIRST ON THE MOON
that could be dangerous moonlight
"Hello, Hello -
Any life out there,
it could also explain
Why in the World all all this has to happened.

WHAT A SAD THING
That had to happened,
With a fire in the eyes,
It was a Zealot of fire,
To the third rock from the sun,
R a b b a Amen El k h e p e r a
From into the beginning of becoming
In primeval time, in primeval matters.
Where the act of creation "took place to as,
The work of a lifetime is the process of returning to light and life.
THATS IS TO SAY

For a time I rest In the grace of the world peace and I am free but nothing noteworthy has happened so far to the final day of the end of the World. That is to say ¡¡¡Ù

»XXXXXXXX>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
]]> Tue, 29 Jan 2008 17:17:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/328449 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/328171 The people of Gaza have been crossing freely into Egypt for a sixth day after militants destroyed the border wall.

Security forces have been powerless to prevent the flow of people stocking up on food and fuel supplies amid an Israeli blockade.

Israel says it will begin allowing some supplies back to Hamas-ruled Gaza.


Reports say Egyptian lorries are being prevented from entering the Sinai peninsula, as well as being stopped at checkpoints outside the town of Rafah, which straddles the perforated border.

Meanwhile, Israeli tankers carrying fuel intended for Gaza's one power station are reported to have arrived at the Karni crossing point, and are waiting to cross.

The Israelis say they are in talks with Egypt on how to reseal the Egyptian-Gaza border, which - until last week - had been mostly closed since the militant Hamas movement seized control of Gaza last June.

The embargo has caused power cuts and food shortages in Gaza, which is home to about 1.5m Palestinians.


GAZA BLOCKADE
17 January: Israel seals border following rise in rocket attacks
20 January: Gaza's only power plant shuts down
22 January: Israel eases restrictions
22 January: Egyptian border guards disperse Palestinian protest against closure
23 January: Border wall breached

On the Gazan side, Hamas security guards have been deployed and are stopping civilian cars from entering Egypt.

However, trucks carrying supplies into the coastal strip are being allowed to cross, as well as pedestrians.

There is no confirmation that Hamas and the Egyptian authorities are working together to seal the border and end the chaos of the last week.

However, reports from Rafah's Brazil gate say Egyptian security forces and Hamas militants have strung barbed wire across one of the breaches, while at Salah Eddin gate the two sides worked together to control traffic.

Correspondents say Egypt wants to restore shared control of its 13-kilometre (eight-mile) border with Gaza between the Palestinian Authority, Israel, and European Union monitors.

Hamas, which overthrew the Palestinian Authority dominated by the rival Fatah party in June, has described the old system as "history".

Israel began tightening its blockade of the Gaza Strip after an increase in rocket attacks by militants targeting its settlements near the border.



]]> Mon, 28 Jan 2008 22:08:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/328171 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/327819 Democrat Barack Obama is walking a tricky racial line in South Carolina, openly appealing to black voters while striving not to be tagged as "the black candidate."

His success or failure will help decide his party's presidential nomination, and could strongly influence the fall general election if he prevails over New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton.

Blacks comprise large portions of the Democratic electorate in Deep South states, and they could help Obama win a handful of primaries, including Saturday's in South Carolina. But the more Obama is seen through a racial lens, the more it might hamper him in other states, especially those where voters are unaccustomed or unwilling to support black candidates.

Obama's aides acknowledge the dilemma, saying it is inevitable for the first viable black presidential contender. They hope he can benefit from black voters' enthusiasm while also highlighting the many votes he has drawn in states such as Iowa, where he won the Jan. 3 Democratic caucus.


Former President Clinton addressed the racial dynamic this week in Charleston, where he mixed praise and rebukes of Obama. He suggested his wife will lose South Carolina because many blacks understandably will vote for Obama, even as many women will vote for Sen. Clinton.

Clinton campaign strategists deny any intentional effort by Bill Clinton, his wife or even surrogates like Bob Johnson - who referred to Obama's admitted youthful drug use - to stir the racial debate. But they say they believe the fallout has had the effect of branding Obama as "the black candidate," something he has worked to avoid.

A new McClatchy/MSNBC poll holds warning signs for Obama. He leads overall in South Carolina, but his support among white Democrats fell in one week from 20 percent to a mere 10 percent. Former North Carolina Sen. John Edwards, who is running third, appeared to pick up the white support Obama lost.

Obama addressed racial issues Thursday when a reporter asked if he feared the Clintons were trying, to his detriment, to depict him as the black candidate.

He replied that he has run his presidential campaign and public career "based on the idea that we're all in it together, and that black, white, Hispanic, Asian, all of us share common dreams, common fears, and common concerns."

That approach, he said, won him votes "across the board" in Iowa, New Hampshire and Nevada, and will elsewhere.

"I'll let the Clintons speak to what their strategy is going to be," Obama said coolly.

Obama, the son of a black father from Kenya and a white mother from Kansas, must juggle race-related matters that sometimes seem to conflict. He must convince blacks that America is ready to elect someone like him, so their votes for him will not be wasted and their hopes dashed. At the same time, he says voters can embrace him without regard to color - as if he had "polka dots."

An exchange Tuesday with a black woman at Winthrop University in Rock Hill illustrated the two-step dance. The woman said her father, 77, was reluctant to back Obama because he feared "an African-American candidate won't be able to do what he needs to do in Washington to get change done."

Obama, before a crowd of 900, said he was "absolutely convinced" that Americans "don't care whether you are black, white, brown or green."

"If I came to you and I had polka dots," he said, "but you were convinced that I was going to put more money in your pockets and help you pay for college and keep America safe, you'd say, 'OK, I wish he didn't have polka dots, but I'm still voting for him.'"

If the racial minefields are worrisome, they don't keep Obama from having fun with the heavily black audiences here. The Harvard Law School graduate sometimes playfully breaks into a black vernacular, which seems to amuse him and his audiences greatly.

"I need you to grab Cousin Pookie to vote," he told a crowd in Kingstree on Thursday. "I need you to get Ray-Ray to vote."

At a similar rally in Dillon, Obama said Clinton was ducking the need to shore up Social Security. "There are some things that aren't right," he said, "and some things that just ain't right. And that ain't right!"

He chuckled, the crowd laughed and cheered. "In Washington," he added with another big grin, "that's how they do."

James Thrower, a federal government employee from Sumter, is among those black voters charmed by Obama this week.

"In the beginning of this campaign, I didn't think America was ready" to elect a black president, Thrower, 50, said after an Obama rally. "Now I do."

"This country needs some fresh blood," he said, and he will pick Obama. "We don't need Clintons back in control."

But both Clintons, campaigning separately, have wooed black and white supporters in South Carolina this week. An event Wednesday in Kingstree underscored the tension and suspicions animating the rivalry.

After fielding questions from an audience of about 200, Bill Clinton called on a black man standing near the stage. The man said he was a pastor and told Clinton that "black America is voting for Obama because he's black." He said Democrats are in a "dangerous position" because if Obama wins the nomination, voters will elect a Republican in November. "They're not ready for a black president," he said.

Several black audience members nodded and said, "That's right."

"I have to tell you I hope you're not right," Clinton responded.

He said that despite the "mean things" said about him "in the Obama camp this week," he would support the Illinois senator if he is nominated.

"The reason I think Hillary is more electable is not race, it's this," Clinton said. "If there is a security crisis somewhere between now and the election, the fact that Hillary" has served on the Senate Armed Services Committee and visited more than 80 nations "will make it much harder for them to spook people by saying she can't handle a national security crisis."]]> Sun, 27 Jan 2008 16:49:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/327819 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/325429
"We are concerned about that situation and frankly I know the Egyptians are as well," State Department deputy spokesman Tom Casey said.

David Welch, the assistant secretary of state for the Middle East, and American diplomats in Cairo have talked to Egyptian authorities about the situation, Casey said, but he didn't offer details. He said the Egyptians take border security seriously and that he has no indication the situation has affected Israeli-Palestinian relations for now.

"I'm not going to try and speak for Egypt, give public recommendations to the Egyptian government on how to control their sovereign border," Casey said, adding that the United States is available to offer advice or support.

The Palestinian exodus was a protest against the closure of the impoverished Palestinian territory imposed last week by Israel. Israel controls most of Gaza's land borders, while Egypt shares a small border with the territory around the market town of Rafah. Egypt generally keeps its border with Gaza under tight control, although Israel accuses Egypt of looking the other way when it comes to smuggling operations.

The border crossings put Israel and the United States in an awkward spot as President Bush pushes new Israeli-Palestinian peace talks. Egypt is one of only two Arab states to make peace with Israel, and holds a historic role as Arab host and broker for peace talks.

Israel has come under international criticism for sealing off Gaza as a pressure tactic against Hamas militants who took over the strip in June, but is reluctant to criticize Egypt for allowing Palestinians free passage Wednesday.

The United States does not want to publicly criticize either Israel or Egypt. It aimed instead at Hamas, the militant political and military organization pledged to Israel's destruction. Israel and the United States are backing Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, of the rival Fatah Party, in a bitter fight between the Palestinian factions.

"The Palestinians living in Gaza are living under chaos because of Hamas, and the blame has to be placed fully at their feet," White House press secretary Dana Perino said Wednesday.

Jubilant men and women crossed unhindered over the toppled corrugated metal along sections of the barrier in Rafah, carrying goats, chickens and crates of Coca-Cola. Some brought back televisions, car tires and cigarettes and one man even bought a motorcycle. Vendors sold soft drinks and baked goods to the crowds.

They were stocking up on goods made scarce by the Israeli blockade and within hours, shops on the Egyptian side of Rafah had run out of stock.

Earlier Wednesday, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice offered a muted response, saying in Switzerland that the U.S. wants to see stability in the region, but that "most importantly both the security concerns of Israel and the humanitarian concerns of Gazans be met."

]]> Wed, 23 Jan 2008 15:49:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/325429 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/324493
The president, who came to power seven long years ago with little knowledge of global affairs, rounded off a marathon trip to a region that more than any other has been at the receiving end of his foreign policy.

For over a week, we have heard from an optimistic president.

But ask White House insiders for a list of concrete achievements from the last eight days, and there are few specifics.

There is a belief that without the president's 48 hours in Jerusalem and Ramallah, there would have been no meeting this week between the Israeli and Palestinian leaders.

On Iran, the Gulf allies share some of the US concerns over the Iranian nuclear issue.

As for democracy? Well, even the White House has to admit that he has not been touring the most liberal countries in the world.


This was probably in the long run more about belief. The belief within the Bush White House that they are finally pursuing policies that might work

But, again, there is a hope that improving educational standards and the like will help open up these societies over the years.

For many years I watched this president from afar, while reporting from the Middle East.

What has been interesting watching him up close is how, on occasion, his understanding of the issues has seemed far more nuanced than in the past.

I spent four years talking to people who loathe the man.

Palestinians who despair as he criticises their violence and not Israel's occupation - which they believe causes that violence.

Iranians angered as he accuses them of failing to adhere to UN resolutions while never mentioning that Israel has been ignoring UN resolutions for decades.

Iraqis who just shake their heads when he speaks of freedom and democracy in their country.

Lebanese who want him to stop meddling because they are sure it is making things worse, not better.

Balance

On this trip, though, there seems to have been a slight change.

George W Bush has appeared more balanced in his public statements.

He said, in Jerusalem, that the Israeli occupation of Palestinian lands that began in 1967 must end.


He has stressed that he is not trying to impose solutions, merely create the conditions in which solutions might be possible if the people of the Middle East want to pursue them.

He was genuinely impressed with what he saw as the spirit of ingenuity in the United Arab Emirates (so impressed that one were left wondering whether he had not known much about the UAE before he touched down).

Why has this happened? I wonder if the changes at the White House may have had an impact.

Maybe those with a better grasp of the issues in the state department are finally having their voices heard.

Maybe after so many problems with his Middle East policy, Mr Bush is listening more to the experts around him. It is only speculation.

Of course the Arab newspapers have been critical. "Too little too late," they say.

They probably have a point.

This is a president whose administration has only relatively recently changed its policy towards post-invasion Iraq, and which seems only now to have fully grasped that development and rebuilding civil society are crucial.

As Mr Bush said, in a rare admission on this trip, up until a year ago his administration was making mistakes in Iraq.

Long-term strategy

So ultimately, what was this trip all about?

There is always the chance that it was a smokescreen for something we do not know about. But we will not find out for years.


So, was it about legacy? White House watchers suggest not. And anyway the Arab world, for one, has already decided how Mr Bush will go down in history.

Achievements? Not anything obvious - the Bush strategy is a long term one, which will take years to play out - if Mr Bush's successor decides to continue what he believes he has started.

No, this was probably in the long run more about belief. The belief within the Bush White House that they are finally pursuing policies that might work.

When Mr Bush addressed staff at the US consulate in Jerusalem I am told the president welled up with emotion as he spoke of the importance of what he was trying to do.

He really believes in his strategy. Many will call that naive. A handful may call it visionary.

The reality is that belief alone will not bring peace to the Middle East.]]> Sun, 20 Jan 2008 15:44:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/324493 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/324275 Apparent gaps in White House e-mail archives coincide with dates in late 2003 and early 2004 when the administration was struggling to deal with the CIA leak investigation and the possibility of a congressional probe into Iraq intelligence failures.

The gaps — 473 days over a period of 20 months — are cited in a chart prepared by White House computer technicians and shared in September with the House Reform and Government Oversight Committee, which has been looking into reports of missing e-mail.

Among the times for which e-mail may not have been archived from Vice President Dick Cheney's office are four days in early October 2003, just as a federal probe was beginning into the leak of Valerie Plame's CIA identity, an inquiry that eventually ensnared Cheney's chief of staff.

Contents of the chart — which the White House now disputes — were disclosed Thursday by Rep. Henry Waxman, a California Democrat who chairs the House committee, as he announced plans for a Feb. 15 hearing.

Waxman said he decided to release details from the White House-prepared chart after presidential spokesman Tony Fratto declared "we have absolutely no reason to believe that any e-mails are missing."

Among the periods of time for which the chart indicates e-mail is missing is a five-day span starting on Jan. 29, 2004, when the White House was dealing with the possibility of an election-year probe by Congress into Iraq intelligence failures.

Not archived by the office of the vice president is e-mail for Jan. 29-31, 2004, according to chart information released by Waxman. In addition, all e-mail from the White House Office in the Executive Office of the President was listed as missing for one of those days.

The chart indicates that e-mail also was not archived by the White House on the following Monday — Feb. 2, 2004 — the day President Bush took a big step in averting what could have been a politically troublesome congressional inquiry. He ordered an independent investigation into intelligence failures in Iraq.

The president conferred that day with former chief weapons inspector David Kay, declaring, "I want to know all the facts."

The commission named by Bush reached a harsh verdict about the U.S. intelligence community's performance, but the panel stopped short of addressing the White House's use of the intelligence data to support the idea of war with Iraq.

The White House says computer back-up tapes should contain substantially all e-mails between 2003 and 2005. However, the White House recycled backup tapes until sometime in October 2003, taping over existing data. That could mean some e-mail is gone forever if it is also missing from archives.

An example might be any missing e-mail from Cheney's office in the early days of the CIA leak probe. The White House has not said when in October 2003 it halted the recycling of backup tapes.

E-mails in early October 2003 could reveal key discussions between White House personnel in the week after the Justice Department opened a criminal investigation into the leak of Plame's CIA identity. The White House denied that Cheney chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby or top presidential adviser Karl Rove were involved in the leak, an assertion that turned out to be false.

"Can it be a mere coincidence that some of the missing e-mail correspond to a key period during the Valerie Plame investigation?" asked Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. "Given everything else we know, that is nearly impossible to believe."

Her organization is one of two private advocacy groups suing the White House in the e-mail controversy.

At issue on Oct. 1, 2003, was the push by congressional Democrats for Attorney General John Ashcroft to step aside and appoint an independent prosecutor to investigate the White House.

Ashcroft eventually recused himself, and at the end of 2003 U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald was appointed by a Justice Department official to head the probe. Two years later, Libby was indicted, and he was later convicted of obstructing the investigation. His 30-month prison sentence was commuted by Bush. Rove was questioned by a federal grand jury five times but was never charged.

In January 2006, shortly after Libby was indicted, a letter from Fitzgerald to Libby's lawyers was the first public disclosure that the White House was having a problem with its e-mail system.

Fitzgerald wrote: "We have learned that not all e-mail of the Office of Vice President and the Executive Office of the President for certain time periods in 2003 was preserved through the normal archiving process on the White House computer system."

The White House says the e-mail matter arose in October 2005 in connection with the Justice Department's CIA leak probe, in which Fitzgerald later that month obtained a grand jury indictment against Libby for perjury, obstruction and lying to the FBI.

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]]> Sat, 19 Jan 2008 14:23:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/324275 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/323273 0Mark Deli Siljander, a Michigan Republican when he was in the House, was charged with money laundering, conspiracy and obstructing justice for allegedly lying about lobbying senators on behalf of an Islamic charity that authorities said was secretly sending funds to terrorists.

A 42-count indictment, unsealed in U.S. District Court in Kansas City, Mo., accuses the Islamic American Relief Agency of paying Siljander $50,000 for the lobbying — money that turned out to be stolen from the U.S. Agency for International Development.

Siljander, who served in the House from 1981-1987, was appointed by President Reagan to serve as a U.S. delegate to the United Nations for one year in 1987.

He could not immediately be reached for comment Wednesday. His attorney in Kansas City, J.R. Hobbs, had no immediate comment.

The charges are part of a long-running case against the charity, which had been based in Columbia, Mo., and was designated by the Treasury Department in 2004 as a suspected fundraiser for terrorists.

In the indictment, the government alleges that IARA employed a man who had served as a fundraising aide to Osama bin Laden, the al-Qaida leader and mastermind of the Sept. 11 attacks.

The indictment charges IARA with sending approximately $130,000 to help Gulbuddin Hekmatyar, whom the United States has designated as a global terrorist. The money, sent to bank accounts in Peshawar, Pakistan, in 2003 and 2004, was masked as donations to an orphanage located in buildings that Hekmatyar owned.

Authorities described Hekmatyar as an Afghan mujahedeen leader who has participated in and supported terrorist acts by al-Qaida and the Taliban. The Justice Department said Hekmatyar "has vowed to engage in a holy war against the United States and international troops in Afghanistan."

The charges paint "a troubling picture of an American charity organization that engaged in transactions for the benefit of terrorists and conspired with a former United States congressman to convert stolen federal funds into payments for his advocacy," Assistant Attorney General Kenneth Wainstein said.

Siljander founded the Washington-area consulting group Global Strategies Inc. after leaving the government.

The indictment says Siljander was hired by IARA in March 2004 to lobby the Senate Finance Committee in an effort to remove the charity from the panel's list of suspected terror fundraisers.

For his work, IARA paid Siljander with money that was part of U.S. government funding awarded to the charity years earlier for relief work it promised to perform in Africa, the indictment says. Under the grant agreement, IARA was supposed to return any unused funds after the relief project was wrapped up in 1999.

Instead, Siljander and three IARA officers agreed to cover up the money's origins and use it on the lobbying effort, the indictment charges.

In interviews with the FBI in December 2005 and April 2007, Siljander denied doing any lobbying work for IARA. The money, he told investigators, was merely a donation from IARA to help him write a book about Islam and Christianity, the indictment says.

In 2004, the FBI raided the Islamic American Relief Agency-USA group's headquarters and the homes of people affiliated with the group nationwide. Since then, the 20-year-old charity has been unable to raise money and its assets have been frozen.

The charity has denied the allegations that it has financed terrorism. IARA in Columbia has argued that it is a separate organization from the Islamic African Relief Agency, a Sudanese group suspected of financing al-Qaida. A federal appeals court in Washington ruled in February that there was a link between the two groups.

In an indictment handed down in March, the charity and four of its officers were charged with illegally transferring $1.4 million to Iraq from March 1991 to May 2003 — when Iraq was under various U.S. and U.N. sanctions.

The indictment also alleges that on 11 separate occasions the defendants transferred funds from the United States to Iraq through Amman, Jordan, in order to promote unlawful activity that violated Iraq sanctions.

In all, Siljander, IARA and five of its officers were charged with various counts of theft, money laundering, aiding terrorists and conspiracy.

"By bringing this case in the middle of America, we seek to make it harder for terrorists to do business halfway around the globe," said John Wood, U.S. attorney in Kansas City.

]]> Wed, 16 Jan 2008 19:20:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/323273 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/321823 A peace deal in 12 months? I don't think George Bush is being realistic.


The United Nations has been passing resolutions since 1967 and none of them has been implemented.

I don't see Israel complying with international law in the next 12 months.

As a Palestinian, I can't get rid of my views on how the issues should be resolved, just to please Mr Bush. And it's the same for the Israelis.

What are we going to do with the five million Palestinian refugees around the world? Or Jerusalem?

I cannot move from one city to another in the West Bank without being stopped by Israeli soldiers wanting to see my ID.

Sometimes it takes me two hours to reach my father, who lives just 20 minutes away by car.

And what about the settlements? They didn't mention the huge Israeli settlements in the heart of the West Bank.

We are not allowed to move within a few kilometres of these Israeli cities, on our land, for Israeli security reasons. It will not be acceptable as a Palestinian, for 60% of my land to be under Israeli control.

ROY COOPER, 30, TEL AVIV

I really want to believe that a peace deal is possible in 12 months, but we have seen so many talks ... People are very cynical about what's going on.


Ehud Olmert's Kadima party was elected specifically to do things like remove settlements and withdraw from the West Bank.

In order to have a two-state solution, I think some of the West Bank settlements will have to go.

However, sadly we see that the withdrawal from Gaza resulted in more Palestinian violence. So it does throw the next step into question.


Is the Israeli population ready to get rockets in Tel Aviv from the West Bank?
The more we talk and the more we give - the more violence we get.

I'm not sure about the Jerusalem issue; it's very, very delicate. I think the public understands that some of the city is completely Arab, and that they need Palestinian citizenship.

I don't support Israeli expansion into the Arab part of the city, not really.

If it's expansion to the south - in other words at Har Homa - then that's a natural expansion of an existing settlement, that's OK.

I think most of the public is agreed that the smaller settlements, the outposts, must go.

Any decision on final boundaries will need responsibility from the other side.

It's a very tense and difficult step to take. The reality around us is that it's not the right thing to do, because we would be compromising our security in a big way.

Is the Israeli population ready to get rockets in Tel Aviv from the West Bank?

I hope there will be peace and I hope the Palestinian people will take steps towards it, but I'm not sure they will.

Their actions suggest they want one state - without us. It would be funny... if all our lives weren't at stake.

]]> Sat, 12 Jan 2008 14:01:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/321823 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/321179
Mr Bush also said Israel must "help and not hinder" efforts to create credible Palestinian security forces.

Mr Bush is meeting Israeli and Palestinian leaders as part of efforts to push a US-sponsored peace process.

It is his first trip to Israel and the West Bank since taking office in 2001.

He is trying to use the visit to push forward stalling Israeli-Palestinian peace talks which were relaunched last November.

A huge and complex security operation is under way to protect Mr Bush, who, following the talks, flew to Bethlehem, where he visited the Church of the Nativity.

'Tough choices'

Speaking after about 90 minutes of talks with the Palestinian president, which followed a meeting with the Israeli prime minister on Wednesday, Mr Bush said he was sure both men "understand the importance of two states living side by side in peace".


President Abbas and Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert have to come together and make tough choices, and I'm convinced they will
President Bush
But, he said, "President Abbas and Prime Minister [Ehud] Olmert have to come together and make tough choices...

"And I believe it possible - not only possible, I believe it's going to happen - that there will be a signed peace treaty by the time I leave office" in a year's time.

To do so, he added, both sides would have to honour their commitments under the so-called "road map" to peace.

The process would be monitored by Lt Gen William Fraser, an assistant to the chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, US officials said.

Mr Bush said Israel should not harm the process by undermining the effectiveness of the Palestinian security forces.

But, asked why he would not hold Israel to the many United Nations resolutions critical of its presence in occupied territory, Mr Bush said the choice was whether to remain stuck in the past, or to move on.


He said Palestinians had to decide whether they wanted "a state, or the status quo" - one vision represented by Mr Abbas's Fatah movement, the other by rival Palestinian group Hamas, who he said had "created chaos".

Pressed on the problems posed for Palestinians by ubiquitous Israeli checkpoints, he said he understood their frustrations but said they gave Israelis a "sense of security".


Abbas optimistic

For his part, Mr Abbas welcomed Mr Bush's "commitment to the peace process", which he said the Palestinian people would not forget.

He said he wanted "a different future" for the Palestinians instead of the present reality of "hospitals full of innocent victims", checkpoints, and "humiliation under siege".



He said the two sides had begun discussions on the core issues that divide them, and said he wanted a resolution before the end of the year.

"Peace in the world starts from here, the sacred land," he said.

Snipers and thousands of other Palestinian and US security agents have flooded the West Bank in a huge operation to safeguard the president's security.

Mr Bush is an unpopular figure among Palestinians who view him as being overwhelmingly pro-Israeli.

Earlier, Palestinian security forces used tear gas and batons to break up a small demonstration against his visit in Ramallah.

Mr Bush arrived in Israel on Wednesday to a lavish welcome ceremony, at which he described Israel as the US's "strongest and most trusted ally".



]]> Thu, 10 Jan 2008 16:18:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/321179 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/319241 Mr Bush received a red carpet welcome at Tel Aviv airport, where he was greeted by the entire Israeli cabinet.

He said he saw a "new opportunity for peace here in the holy land" as he began his first visit as president.

But within hours of his arrival, the Palestinians reported that Israeli forces had killed three people in Gaza.

Another four were reported wounded.

The Palestinians accuse Israel of stepping up such raids ahead of Mr Bush's visit.

At the arrival ceremony Israeli prime minister Ehud Olmert spoke of the "unshakeable" bond between Israel and the United States, and of his deep personal friendship with Mr Bush.

President Shimon Peres meanwhile called on Mr Bush to "stop the madness" of Iran and the militant groups Hezbollah and Hamas, and warned Iran not to "underestimate our resolve for self-defence".


We are expecting that President Bush will get Israel to freeze settlement activity
Nabil Abu Rudeina,
Abbas spokesman
For his part, Mr Bush said Israel and the US had "built two great democracies under difficult circumstances".

He said the alliance between the US and Israel "helps guarantee Israel's security as a Jewish state".

His visit was not welcomed by Hamas, the militant group cut off by Israel and the West after winning Palestinian elections and which now runs Gaza.

"Bush is not welcome because he is one of the most prominent reasons for the suffering of the Palestinian people," Sami Abu-Zhuri, a senior Hamas official, told the BBC.

Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas and Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert vowed at a US summit last year to try to achieve a two-state solution by the end of 2008.


And in a meeting on Tuesday, Chief Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said it had been agreed that Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, also known as Abu Ala, would "start intensive meetings to immediately discuss all core issues of a final status agreement."

These include


Israeli settlements
militant rocket fire into Israeli territory
the fate of Palestinians made refugees since Israel's creation in 1948
the sovereignty of Jerusalem itself
After his talks with the Israelis Mr Bush goes to the West Bank on Thursday to see the Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas.

He then goes on to Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia and Egypt.

]]> Wed, 09 Jan 2008 21:48:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/319241 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667 http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/318995 The two sides are trying to agree on how to conduct negotiations over the key issues that divide them.

Mr Bush arrives on Wednesday on a three-day mission meant to boost the recently restarted peace process.

Meanwhile, the Israeli military said it had killed three militants in Gaza and the West Bank on Monday.

Israeli Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and former Palestinian Prime Minister Ahmed Qurei, also known as Abu Ala, held talks in Jerusalem on Monday.

Sensitive issues

Both say they hope to announce an agreement on how they will hold negotiations on the sensitive issues of Jewish settlements in the occupied territories, the status of Jerusalem and Palestinian refugees before Mr Bush's arrival.

Their meeting is to be followed up by talks between Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert and Palestinian Authority president Mahmoud Abbas on Tuesday.

At a peace conference in the US in November, Mr Olmert and Mr Abbas set the goal of trying to negotiate a statehood agreement before Mr Bush leaves office in January 2009.

The meeting between Ms Livni and Mr Qurei did not get off to a good start when Mr Qurei was held up at a checkpoint for over an hour by Israeli authorities on his way to the meeting.

A statement by Mr Quire's office said that the delay had been politically motivated.

Israel apologised for a similar incident in November, when the delay so enraged the Palestinians that they cancelled the meeting.

Violence


The Israeli military said on Monday that two armed Palestinians - a woman and a man - were killed near the Erez border crossing in northern Gaza.

The militant group Islamic Jihad was quoted as saying that a woman militant blew herself up in northern Gaza, but gave no further details.

A Palestinian militant was killed near the town of Jenin in the northern West Bank, the Israeli military said.

On Sunday Israeli forces killed four people in Gaza, including a woman and two teenagers.

The Palestinian Authority has accused Israel of stepping up raids in the occupied territories ahead of Mr Bush's visit, saying that they threaten the peace process.

Palestinian negotiator Saeb Erekat said on Sunday that Mr Abbas would demand that they be immediately stopped in his talks with Mr Olmert on Tuesday.

But speaking with army chief in the West Bank on Monday, Ms Livni said Israel had no intention of halting its operations against militants "even during peace negotiations with the Palestinians".

]]> Mon, 07 Jan 2008 23:12:00 EST http://wahooe.tigblog.org/post/318995 43.6666667 -79.4166667 43.6666667 -79.4166667