Tuesday News Bucket (Late Edition)

13 Comments

1. 

   ask on May 8, 2007 at 2:47 pm

   No less than two Paris Hilton stories on BT today.  We’re getting there…

   Free Paris Hilton
   Paris Hilton Ruins Everything

   • 

     ask on May 8, 2007 at 4:19 pm

     And both are great – I hope above comment did not come across as dismissive…

2. 

   ask on May 8, 2007 at 2:48 pm

   In other news:

   Migratory Birds, Whales Confused by Warming, UN Says

   BONN — Birds, whales and other migratory creatures are suffering from global warming that puts them in the wrong place at the wrong time, a U.N. official told 166-nation climate talks on Monday.

   A warmer climate disrupts the biological clocks of migratory species including bats, dolphins, antelopes or turtles, said Lahcen el Kabiri, deputy head of the U.N.’s Bonn-based Convention on Migratory Species.

   “They are the most visible warning signs — indicators signalling the dramatic changes to our ecosystems caused in part by climate change,” he told delegates on the opening day of a May 7-18 U.N. meeting searching for new ways to offset warming.

   • 

     Man Eegee on May 8, 2007 at 3:53 pm

     This is a piggyback story to that news item

     An Arctic seal found in a Fort Lauderdale canal — far from its habitat near the North Pole — died Tuesday, a day after it was captured.

     The bearded seal was thin and dehydrated, though it was not immediately known what killed the animal. Dr. Christopher Dold, a staff veterinarian at SeaWorld, said the park would examine it Tuesday to try to learn more.

     However, Dold said it may never be known why the animal came so far south. – linkage

3. 

   ask on May 8, 2007 at 2:51 pm

   Panel case increases pressure on Wolfowitz

   His adviser’s departure sparked a flurry of celebrations inside the bank’s Washington headquarters

   Paul Wolfowitz’s tenure as president of the World Bank is rapidly ticking away, after he was found to have broken bank rules and one of his closest advisors suddenly announced his resignation.

   The key committee investigating allegations that Mr Wolfowitz personally ordered lucrative pay rises and promotions for his partner, a World Bank employee, has concluded that his actions amounted to a conflict of interest.

   The panel has given a copy of its 300 pages of findings to the embattled bank president and his lawyers, as a prelude to submitting the report to members of its executive board, which meets to consider it later this week. Mr Wolfowitz has been given 48 hours to respond to the findings, but his lawyer yesterday was demanding more time, saying Mr Wolfowitz wanted until next Monday to make a formal reply.

   • 

     Oui on May 8, 2007 at 4:08 pm

     .

     Report: Deal Offered for Wolfowitz Exit

     WASHINGTON D.C. (AP) May 8 – The brewing controversy at the World Bank also led to Kevin Kellems, Wolfowitz’s top communications advisor, to resign from the bank Monday, effective next week.

     2006: Cheney-Rumsfeld cabal solidify power at World Bank, Pentagon
     (Village Voice) Jan. 11, 2006 – Meanwhile, at the planet’s No. 1 source of development finance, the World Bank, Paul Wolfowitz has installed former Dick Cheney flack Kevin Kellems in yet another absurdly powerful job. A sweet setup: The World Bank doles out money to “developing countries” only if they play along. The Pentagon does the same with arms.

     

     "But I will not let myself be reduced to silence."

     • 

       stormkite on May 8, 2007 at 5:46 pm

       So in exchange for Wolfie leaving, DickBush gets to name a replacement.  I’m betting it’s Abramoff, Rumsfeld, or Paul Bremer.  Outside shots to DeLay or Blackwell….

       Thanks ever so….

4. 

   Man Eegee on May 8, 2007 at 4:03 pm

   A domestic prison scandal

   Arrest warrants were issued Tuesday for eight former employees of the Hendry Correctional Institution near Immokalee in the Florida Everglades for abusing inmates, forcing some to clean toilets with their tongues.

   There were 23 counts ranging from battery and grand theft in the warrants issued by State Attorney Steve Russell of Fort Myers, state prisons chief Jim McDonough said. – linkage

5. 

   ask on May 8, 2007 at 4:07 pm

   Infant mortality in Iraq soars as young pay the price for war

   Two wars and a decade of sanctions have led to a huge rise in the mortality rate among young children in Iraq, leaving statistics that were once the envy of the Arab world now comparable with those of sub-Saharan Africa.

   A new report shows that in the years since 1990, Iraq has seen its child mortality rate soar by 125 per cent, the highest increase of any country in the world. Its rate of deaths of children under five now matches that of Mauritania.

   Jeff MacAskey, head of health for the Save the Children charity, which published the report, said: “Iraq, Botswana and Zimbabwe all have different reasons for making the least amount of progress on child mortality. Whether it’s the impact of war, HIV/Aids or poverty the consequences are equally devastating. Yet other countries such as Malawi and Nepal have shown that despite conflict and poverty child mortality rates can be reversed.”

   Figures collated by the charity show that in 1990 Iraq’s mortality rate for under-fives was 50 per 1,000 live births. In 2005 it was 125. While many other countries have higher rates – Angola, Somalia and the Democratic Republic of Congo, for instance, all have rates above 200 – the increase in Iraq is higher than elsewhere.

6. 

   ask on May 8, 2007 at 4:26 pm

   Isn’t the Rice cooked yet?

   Chevron Seen Settling Case on Iraq Oil

   Chevron, the second-largest American oil company, is preparing to acknowledge that it should have known kickbacks were being paid to Saddam Hussein on oil it bought from Iraq as part of a defunct United Nations program, according to investigators.

   The admission is part of a settlement being negotiated with United States prosecutors and includes fines totaling $25 million to $30 million, according to the investigators, who declined to be identified because the settlement was not yet public.

   The penalty, which is still being negotiated, would be the largest so far in the United States in connection with investigations of companies involved in the oil-for-food scandal.

   (snip)

   According to the Volcker report, surcharges on Iraqi oil exports were introduced in August 2000 by the Iraqi state oil company, the State Oil Marketing Organization. At the time, Condoleezza Rice, now secretary of state, was a member of Chevron’s board and led its public policy committee, which oversaw areas of potential political concerns for the company.

   Ms. Rice resigned from Chevron’s board on Jan. 16, 2001, after being named national security advisor by President Bush.

   (my bold)

7. 

   dada on May 8, 2007 at 4:47 pm

   for those of you who may not take the time to view images that other sources deem worthy of dissemination relative to events that are nowhere to be found in the msm… l offer you the following:

   BBC…Day in Pictures:

   
   clik image to access site

   The Guardian: 24 Hours In Pictures:

   
   clik image to access site

   ITMF’sA

   

8. 

   idredit on May 8, 2007 at 7:20 pm

   There, finally Condi admits the truth

   Thinkprogress points us to this Charlie Rose interview with Condi Rice last night.

   `Iraqis Need To Know That We Are Not Looking To Leave Iraq’

   Not Ever?

9. 

   stormkite on May 8, 2007 at 8:23 pm

   From the BBC:

   US drops Cuban militant’s charges

   A US judge has dropped immigration charges against a Cuban exile, Luis Posada Carriles, who has been accused of blowing up a Cuban airliner.

   more

   Another one who will never stand trial….