Catalina Sandino Marino my pick of the Oscar "fluff" parade
Monday, February 28, 2005
Tight security for Israeli President
President Moshe Katsav, right, and his wife Gila tour Sydney Harbor
Tight security for President
By Samantha Baden
February 28, 2005
From: AAP
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12398685-29277,00.html
ISRAELI President Moshe Katsav spent his first afternoon in Australia cruising Sydney Harbour amid tight security, including dozens of police and two PolAir helicopters.
Mr Katsav and his wife Gila arrived in Sydney today for a week-long visit to Australia during which anti-war and Palestinian protesters have vowed to picket his official engagements.
It is the president's first visit to Australia and the first Australian visit by an Israeli president since Chaim Herzog in 1986.
Mr Katsav, Israel's eighth president, will remain in Sydney tomorrow to meet New South Wales Premier Bob Carr, business representatives and members of the city's Jewish community.
He will travel to Canberra on Wednesday for a lunch hosted by Prime Minister John Howard and a state dinner with Governor-General Michael Jeffery.
Mr Katsav also will meet Opposition Leader Kim Beazley in Canberra.
The President's visit comes just months after an Israeli diplomat was expelled by Australia.
Neither Israel nor Australia will comment on the reason for Amir Laty's return to Israel, which has been linked to his friendship with Attorney-General Philip Ruddock's daughter.
Police blocked off pedestrian access to sections of the Sydney Opera House forecourt today and installed dozens of uniformed police in preparation for Mr Katsav's harbour cruise.
Two PolAir helicopters buzzed overhead as Mr Katsav and an entourage of about 40 people walked the 50m from the Opera House driveway to the Man O'War steps to board a private vessel called Charade.
More than 100 people lined barricades set up by police, but while Mr Katsav was happy to wave to well wishers, it seemed many of the onlookers were hoping to catch a glimpse of visiting royalty.
A tourist, who asked not to be named, said she wanted to see Crown Princess Mary of Denmark, a Tasmanian visiting Australia with her husband Crown Prince Frederik.
"We don't know who's coming here, but we'd like to see Mary," she said.
The President spent two hours touring the harbour flanked by four police vessels which had security personnel on board armed with semi-automatic weapons.
Australian security authorities are understood to have maintained the country's long-standing policy of banning the carrying of weapons by foreign guards protecting visiting officials.
ABC Online
Hilla suicide bomb toll reaches 105. 28/02/2005. ABC News Online
[This is the print version of story
Last Update: Monday, February 28, 2005. 9:34pm (AEDT)
Hilla suicide bomb toll reaches 105
A car bombing near a medical centre in a town south of Baghdad has killed 105 people, in the single deadliest insurgent attack in Iraq in more than a year.
Hospital officials say the blast ripped through a crowd of civil servants waiting outside a medical centre in Hilla, capital of Babil province.
It has left another 133 people wounded.
The bombing is the worst attack in Iraq since 105 people were killed in the northern city of Arbil in February last year in suicide bombings targeting Kurdish political parties.
Ambulances are carrying dead and wounded to the hospital, where doctors are working to tend the wounded, who fill almost every room at the facility.
At the site of the blast, the burnt chassis of the suicide bomber's car smoulders in the street of the packed commercial district.
The attack comes as the Iraqi Government is expected to shed light on the arrest of Saddam Hussein's half-brother amid speculation he was handed over by Syria.
In other violence, a US soldier has been shot dead at a traffic checkpoint in Baghdad.
Two Iraqi soldiers have been killed in a gun battle south of the restive city of Samarra, while an Iraqi soldier and translator have died in a mortar attack near Dhuluiya, north of Baghdad.
A civilian has been killed and two wounded during a small arms attack on a police station in Baquba.
Maintaining the pressure on insurgents, the US marines pressed ahead with their week-long offensive in al-Anbar province, considered the gateway from Syria to Iraq.
The military says 51 people have been detained over the past 48 hours, raising to 211 the number of suspected rebels detained in Operation River Blitz.
- AFP
© 2005 Australian Broadcasting Corporation
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Dead criminals supporters arrested during fourth day of rioting,Police seize rifle
Riot police arrest 12, seize rifle
By Paul Carter, Krystyna Pollard and David Crawshaw
February 28, 2005
From: AAP
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12394367-2,00.html
Standoff ... police under attack this morning / Adam Ward
RIOT police have arrested 12 people and seized a rifle today amid continuing violence sparked by the deaths of two teenagers in a stolen car.
Rioters meanwhile threw bottles, fireworks and stones at a line of police during a fourth night of unrest at Macquarie Fields in south-western Sydney.
The arrests came after dozens of heavily armed police in riot gear stormed a house, armed with a search and arrest warrant.
Police arrested three males and two females and seized a rifle during the search, a spokesman said.
One of the females was expected to be charged with concealing a serious indictable offence.
Police had earlier arrested five men and a male youth for rioting, hindering police and offensive behaviour, while a 15-year-old girl was arrested for assaulting police.
The violence was sparked by the deaths of teenagers Dyllan Raywood, 17, and Matthew Robertson, 19, during a police pursuit in Macquarie Fields.
The pair were killed when they hit a tree in a stolen car late on Friday night.
The driver of the car, who is known to police, fled the scene and has not been found.
About 8pm (AEDT) today, officers had completed a search of a house on the corner of Cottonwood Crescent and Eucalyptus Drive, about 200m from where the two teenagers died in the car crash.
A line of about 30 police in riot gear then advanced on a crowd of about 100 people, forcing them 100m back up Eucalyptus Drive.
As police advanced, rioters continued to throw projectiles.
The police then stopped and retreated to the corner of Cottonwood Crescent and Eucalyptus Drive, putting a space of some 200m between them and the rioters.
There they formed a line again and the crowd kept their distance.
In a sudden move, the riot police jumped into two police vans and drove off up the street, away from the rioters.
Police left the area as a helicopter hovered above, shining its spotlight on the crowd.
About 45 minutes later, police vehicles began patrolling the area as residents continued to mill about the streets.
On Sunday night, molotov cocktails and rocks were hurled at police in the third night of rioting.
Four people were arrested and one officer suffered a broken hand during the clashes.
The riots are Sydney's worst since the inner suburb of Redfern became a hotspot following the death of 17-year-old Thomas "TJ" Hickey last year.
The New South Wales Government meanwhile vowed to crack down on rioters, with Premier Bob Carr saying media footage would be used to identify troublemakers.
"What will happen now ... is a process of identification using tapes as happened in Redfern, with charges being pressed against people who are seen to have had a hand in this riotous behaviour," Mr Carr said.
Police Minister Carl Scully said officers were prepared for more violence and would make further arrests.
Flowers, cards and bottles of beer were left as tributes to the two teenagers at the crash site, along with a banner which read: "We know who the real criminals are, we just want justice".
Eucalyptus Drive also is dotted with graffiti threatening police, including messages reading: "Police will die", "Cops kill kids", and "We will kill you dogs".
NSW Police Commissioner Ken Moroney said the slogans were the worst he had seen.
"I've been a police officer for 40 years and have never seen these sorts of slogans written on walls at any time in this state," he told reporters.
Mr Moroney rejected residents' suggestions the police car involved in the chase rammed the stolen car during the pursuit.
Redfern erupted in violence early last year following the death of teenager TJ Hickey, who was impaled on a fence while riding his bicycle in the area.
Many locals blamed police for his death.
A coronial inquest later found police were not chasing TJ at the time of his death and were not responsible for the accident.
Police have defended their actions in Maquarie Fields, saying the officers involved in the chase followed police pursuit protocol.
"We did not engage this conflict," said Superintendent John Sweeney, from Macquarie Fields.
Mr Carr said the youths who died were "persons of interest" to police and were not simply wanted for car theft.
"There was police activity taking place quite unrelated to the pursuit of a stolen car," he said.
The first four people arrested include a 21-year-old man, charged with rioting, and a 25-year-old man, charged with rioting and carrying an unlawful assembled offensive instrument.
The men, who were treated for dog bites, were refused bail and will appear in Campbelltown Local Court.
A 17-year-old local youth was charged with affray and was refused bail to appear in Reiby Childrens Court, while another youth was cautioned and released.
A 13-year-old boy was detained by police and released into the custody of his mother.
Unwavering support
Mr Carr stuck by the police force, saying the officers had done the best they could under the circumstances.
"I am here today to simply reinforce a message of the Government's unwavering support for the police in the front line and the job they are doing in a very difficult situation," he said.
"There are no excuses for this kind of behaviour and the police have the Government's total support and I believe the community's total support.
"I regret any view that a police pursuit provides justification of riotous behaviour."
The youths' deaths would now be the subject of a coronial inquiry, Mr Carr said.
"That is the opportunity for people to come forward and voice any criticism they may have," he said.
But Mr Carr refused to comment on speculation the riots were a result of the socio-economic situation in Macquarie Fields, which has more than 1000 public housing residences.
"I will not have it said this behaviour is caused by social disadvantage," Mr Carr said.
The Government spent $49 million between 1996 and 2003 to improve housing design and layout.
"This area has not been neglected," he said.
NOT TO WORRY --- We Have the High Priest Cult of Human Sacrifice
Carnage in Tel Aviv, an example of muslim "Peace"
WINSTON MID EAST ANALYSIS & COMMENTARY February 27 2005 Email: gwinston@interaccess.com Please disseminate & re-post. If you publish, send us a copy. Many of our articles appear on Websites at http://www.gamla.org.il/english & freeman.org Outgoing mail is virus-checked. To be removed from this list, please send your Email address.
NOT TO WORRY - We Have the High Priest Cult of Human Sacrifice by Emanuel A. Winston, Middle East analyst & commentator
Israel's Prime Minister Ariel (Arik) Sharon has a sufficient number of Jews to sacrifice to his ego. The moment I head of the atrocity in Tel Aviv, I wrote the anticipated speech from Sharon, Abbas and Bush. Each would babble something about: "The Peace must go on - even when there was none." We used to hear this often from Rabin and Peres was always quick to say that the "Piss Process must go on."
The Media has a lot invested as the cheering squad for a process that is not happening. I would forecast that many Jews are yet to die at the hand of a non-existent Peace Process.
Clearly, Sharon is no less corrupt than Mahmoud Abbas (aka Abu Mazen), the new President of the Palestinian Authority in setting in motion an "Intifada 3" while telling its future victims "not to worry", we have everything under control.
The other day one of Sharon's team of liars was holding forth at an interview, bragging about how quiet it was on Israel's Northern Front where former PM Ehud Barak ran from the Lebanese Security Border, like a rat in the night. That vacuum is now filled with 12,000 to 15,000 missiles, tended by Hezb'Allah under Syrian and Iranian influence.
Many of those warheads are known to Israeli Intelligence as being loaded with deadly chemicals. In his interview, Deputy Prime Minister Ehud Olmert had ignored the number of mortars, rocket-propelled grenades, roadside bombs, sniper killing that have been used successfully against Israeli troops but Olmert claimed "All was quiet on the Northern Front." When really pressed with the facts, Olmert walked out.
Olmert's purpose was to create the impression that the Gaza withdrawal will result in similar 'quiet'. Well, maybe. Lebanon is a good example. Gaza, like Lebanon, is already loaded with weapons. When Sharon leaves the Gaza vacuum, it too will have its 10,000 missiles or more pointed at Israel. Add to that Russia's plan to sell heavy weapons and light armor to the Arab Muslim Palestinians.
Sharon's team of liars believe the Israeli people to be exceptionally stupid and believe anything told to them. Moreover, they are counting on the Jewish tendency to quickly forget Terrorist atrocities, like the one that just killed four young people, wounding more than 50 - one woman is fighting for her life. The club named "The Stage" featured karioke and sing-a-long. It had four guards, one of whom stopped the killer from getting inside where he would have killed many more.
My friend, Oded Orbach had to fly to Israel last night because his niece, Yael Orbach was killed as she was handing out wedding invitations to her friends at The Stage nightclub. Is there anyone in Israel who does not have a friend, relative or loved one who was killed by a Terrorist?
Throughout the phony calm since Sharm el-Sheikh, between 50 and 60 threatened bombings were constants on their screens. Although the military had drastically cut down on its counter-terror operations and precautions to give the new Palestinian leader Abu Mazen a chance to rein in Palestinian Terror, still ticking bombs from all the various Palestinian Terrorist organizations were being caught almost daily in Judea and Samaria. None of this was reported by the Leftist Hebrew Press but, then the world Media including CNN and FOX News didn't think it was worth publishing
This killer wasn't alone. He was just the first that got through the Israeli security net after many of his fellow killers had tried and failed. He was handed his bomb belt by a confederate Terrorist who lives inside Israel. In Jerusalem there were three separate alerts in the past two weeks for suicide bombers on their way from Judea and Samaria to strikes in the Capital. All were captured with their bomb belts. Now Tel Aviv and central Israel are now also on elevated Terror alerts for the coming days.
The Sharon government will face grave charges that will be heard in its regular session, Sunday February 27. But, Sharon and Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz were too preoccupied with political maneuvers over the coming retreats from the Gaza/Gush Katif and North Samaria. They fired or silenced their most effective apolitical critics of the "Disengagement Plan" and prematurely lowered Israel's counter-terror guard; Chief of Staff Lt. Gen. Moshe Ya'alon, Shin Beit Director Avi Dichter and Military Intelligence Chief Brigadier Aharon Ze'evi are all on their way out. But, Sharon's office has been clear that Abbas will be given more freedom before any drastic military action and the giving away to the Palestinian Arab Muslims will continue. (1)
According to DEBKAfile, Abu Mazen and his lieutenant Mohammed Dahlan have secretly applied to more than 20 world governments with urgent requests for large quantities of heavy weapons. The Sharon government hasn't bothered to monitor these dangers. It includes all types of armored personnel carriers with fixed mortars, jeeps fitted with 107 mm recoilless guns, telescopic rifles, pistols, ammunition, communications and engineering gear, helmets and medical equipment. Shopping for heavy weapons is in total contravention of every international accord the Palestinians, including Abu Mazen in person, have ever signed with Israel and every pledge Abbas has made to President Bush.
In 2001, the Israeli Air Force and Naval Commandos intercepted the Karine-A with 50 tons of heavy weapons from Iran bound for the Palestinian Authority. The Russian Foreign Minister frankly admitted February 15, to supplying the Palestinians with "military machines" and said Moscow was considering sending them APCs since the Palestinian Authority proved itself in control of security. In Gaza, Mussa Arafat would have the use of mobile artillery to blitz Israeli towns and villages. The first to pay the ultimate price were the victims of Arab Muslim Terror in Tel Aviv Friday night.(1)
Jews are supposed to forget so Sharon can go on with his scurrilous plans. This is bunch who surely deserve a Nuremberg trial, with the same probability of sentencing.
Sacrificing Jews to a theory, as was done with the Oslo Accords under Rabin and Peres was only their first major betrayal but, not the last. Now, "Disengagement" is being foisted on hard-working innocent Jewish farmers and their families who must accept being evicted, uprooted - having 30 years of their work wiped out by a theory that "Disengagement" will bring Peace. How foolish! Anyone who has studied history of the Arab Muslims will know that they will never stop accepting the Jews' sacrifices of their own people.
Never forgive or forget this cult of the Political High Priests still in the business of sacrificing people to the pagan gods they follow.
Some may recall HaShem's instructions to the Hebrew tribes, namely to eliminate those who practiced human sacrifice to their pagan gods. It was considered an abomination before G-d and man. They were supposed to kill ALL the Amaleketes but they never did.
This is just a preliminary slaughter leading up to the main event. Be assured there will be plenty of dancing in the towns and camps of the Palestinians and Arab nations. The bait-and-switch groups of Hamas and Islamic Jihad have denied a role in the slaughter while others, wearing another hat, blew up the young people with bombs loaded with nails.
He killed a bride giving her friends wedding invitations. Her groom-to-be is in moderate condition. We don't know yet who lost legs, arms, eyes - cut by the nails and shrapnel loaded in the 60 pound of explosives the bomber had on his belt. All of them had a life, a story, to live and love, bear children and watch them grow. Why does normal life have to be bought with the sacrifices of other lives?
Abu Mazen can say: "It wasn't me or mine." Nevertheless, the wood is being gathered to light and dance around.
The big event will be Sharon's grand ceremony as he sends in troops and thugs to attack the settlers, the Jewish men, women and children, put them on trucks and ship them off to "temporary? tent camps?" There will follow a wild swirling ceremony, where Sharon and his collaborators will join with Abu Mazen and his men, as they dance around whatever pagan god each believes in. I wonder if Condi will join the high priest cult in the ceremonies?
###
1. "Terrorists Shatter Phony Calm in Tel Aviv, Shop for Heavy Weapons" DEBKAfile Feb. 26, 2005
2. "Terrorists Kill Four in Tel Aviv Bomb Blast" ARUTZ 7 Feb. 27, 2005
An Islamic Jihad suicide bomber Friday night killed three men and a woman and wounded more than 50 others at a Tel Aviv nightclub near the beach.
The four who were killed were to be buried in their hometowns today. They are:
* Yitzchak Buzaglo, 40, from Moshav Mishmar HaYarden, whose wife Linda was hospitalized in serious condition; they have a 9-year-old son and a 3-year-old daughter.
* Aryeh Nagar, 37, of Kfar Saba; never married, he is survived by his parents and five siblings.
* Ronen Reuvenov, 30, of Tel Aviv; and
* Yael Auerbach, 28 from Rehovot, who was to have been married in two weeks; her fiancé is hospitalized in moderate condition.
The attack occurred when a suicide terrorist blew himself up at the entrance to the Stage Club on the Tel Aviv boardwalk. The terrorist was killed in the blast, and police are searching for a second man seen with him before the attack.
The Palestinian Authority (PA) blamed the attack on Hezb'Allah terrorists allied with Iran, but Israeli security sources said the terrorists came from an Islamic Jihad gang backed by Syrian terrorists. Islamic Jihad, in fact, claimed responsibility, airing a video tape prepared before the attack and boasting that it was trying to derail the PA.
Three of the wounded were initially listed in serious condition. Of the more than 50 people who were wounded, 29 are still hospitalized in four Tel Aviv hospitals - Sheba, Ichilov, Wolfson and Beilinson - including one in very critical condition and one in serious condition.
Most of the victims belonged to an Israeli army reserve unit that was planning to celebrate the birthday of one of its officers at the nightclub. "It was a surprise party for our sergeant-major," said Eitan Hait, one if the reservists. "We were all standing outside laughing and smiling when suddenly I felt darkness sweep over me." Many unit members described themselves as a close "family" that would often get together socially. They were to have received wedding invitations to Ophir and Yael's wedding on Friday night.
"We're a small and very 'together' unit," later said Yaron Greivsky, whose 30th birthday was the reason for the surprise gathering. "We're the kind who smile when we're called up for reserve service. All of us have been in dangerous places, we've been in Lebanon, Gaza, Hevron, all over. No one was ever hurt. And then a terrorist comes to the middle of Tel Aviv, where it's supposed to be the safest, and destroys everything."
The murderer was a 21-year-old terrorist from an area near Tul Karem, about five miles east of Tel Aviv. Tul Karem was slated to be one of the first cities whose security responsibility was to be handed over to the PA in the coming days. In reaction to the suicide bombing, Israel announced last night, among other things, that it was freezing the plan. Some analysts said that this was largely an announcement to calm the Israeli public, as the plan was mired in any event.
******
Baghdad savagery Blast toll rises to 30
Baghdad
Blast toll rises to 30
From correspondents in Hilla
February 28, 2005
THIRTY-two people have been killed and 45 wounded after a car bomb blew up in a crowd of civil servants gathered outside a medical centre in Hilla, south of Baghdad.
"The number of dead has reached 32 and the number of wounded has hit 45," Mohammed Dia, the head of Hilla general hospital, said.
"All the hospital's rooms, even those used for cardiology, are filled with the wounded," he said, adding many of the injured were in very serious condition.
The attack happened at 9:30 am (1730 AEDT) when a car parked near the medical centre blew up, police Lieutenant Kazem Mamoui said.
Civil servants had gathered for physical exams that would permit them to go to work for the state or return to jobs lost with the fall of Iraqi president Saddam Hussein's regime in April 2003.
Ambulances rushed to the scene to transport the dead and wounded to the hospital, a correspondent reported.
The wreckage of the explosives-packed car lay in the street in a popular commercial district of Hilla, the capital of Babil province.
AFP
Iraqi anchorwoman found shot to death
Journalist mourned
http://edition.cnn.com/2005/WORLD/meast/02/28/iraq.main/
Raiedah Mohammed Wazan, a 40-year-old television anchorwoman in Ninevah province, was found shot to death Friday in the al-Wahda neighborhood in eastern Mosul, her husband said.
Wazan was buried Friday, and family members kept a mourning service on Saturday private for fear of attacks.
Wazan was abducted a week ago by unknown gunmen. She was found shot in the forehead and chest.
Other developments
A U.S. soldier with Task Force Baghdad died Sunday night after being shot at a traffic checkpoint in southern Baghdad, a U.S. military statement said. The incident is under investigation. U.S. military officials announced on Sunday the deaths of two other American soldiers and a Marine, all three killed on Saturday. The soldiers died in an insurgent attack in eastern Baghdad and the Marine was killed in Babil province. The deaths bring the number of U.S. troops killed in the Iraq war to 1,495, including 1,142 killed in hostile action, according to the U.S. military.
An Iraqi oil pipeline was sabotaged in Dibis, about 31 miles (50 kilometers) north of Kirkuk, authorities said Sunday. A Kirkuk police source told CNN a bomb was planted and damaged the pipeline, which is used for pumping crude oil from the Dibis oil field to the Kirkuk refinery.
Seven Iraqis were wounded Sunday when a bomb exploded inside a town building in Hamam al-Alil, about 20 kilometers (12 miles) southeast of Mosul, Iraqi police said. The building houses different government departments.
US Australia eye military ties with Jakarta
Canberra eyes military ties with Jakarta
http://au.news.yahoo.com//050228/2/t9x9.html
Canberra eyes military ties with Jakarta
Australia has backed a United States decision to resume defence ties with Indonesia, paving the way for a boost in Jakarta's military capacity despite protests from human rights groups.
The US State Department on the weekend announced Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice had approved Jakarta's efforts to cooperate with an FBI investigation into the murders of two American schoolteachers during an ambush in remote Papua province in 2002.
The US Congress had made cooperation a condition for Indonesian access to US military training for officers, which in turn could lead to the lifting of a long-standing arms embargo between the two countries which has hobbled the Indonesian air force in particular.
Australian defence minister Robert Hill "welcomed" the US decision, a spokeswoman said.
Canberra, which pared back defence ties in 1999 after the army-backed militia rampage in East Timor, has been urging Washington to bolster military cooperation with Jakarta to help battle Islamic extremism in the world's most populous Muslim nation.
"We welcome any decision which would help," Senator Hill's spokeswoman said.
But the US-based East Timor Action Network said Washington's decision was a betrayal of international efforts to hold Jakarta accountable over the post-Independence vote carnage in East Timor, which left at least 1,500 people dead.
ETAN spokesman John Miller said while the US$600,000 program was small, it was symbolic and "a setback for justice, human rights and democratic reform." "We urge the administration to reconsider its decision and call on Congress to put in place tighter and broader restrictions on all military assistance to Indonesia," he said.
"The Indonesian military's many victims throughout the country and East Timor will recognise this policy shift as a betrayal of their quests for justice and accountability." Indonesia's new president Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono has sought to restore defence ties first restricted by Washington in 1992 following the killing by Indonesian troops of more than 270 East Timorese pro-independence supporters during a rally in Dili.
A complete ban on arms sales and spare parts followed the East Timor slaughter and requires congressional approval for removal.
To clear the way for the ban to be lifted, Yudhoyono recently reshuffled Indonesia's top brass in preparation for US-educated army chief Djoko Santoso to take over the military in place of the xenophobic heir apparent General Ryamizard Ryacudu.
But leading human rights lawyer Hendardi said the US was putting its strategic interests ahead of human rights concerns.
"I don't understand what they mean when they say Indonesia has made progress on human rights issues, because that's not what's happening here," he said.
New Zealand, which also froze military cooperation with Jakarta in 1999, said it was not ready to follow the American lead, because no Indonesian troops had been brought to justice.
"We had mass devastation and multiple killings, but nobody was found to be responsible," Foreign Minister Phil Goff said.
"We would like to see those responsible held to account." Miller said the Indonesian military, or TNI, would take the US decision as an endorsement of business as usual.
"For the TNI, business as usual means brutal human rights violations and continued impunity for crimes against humanity," he said.
Australia, which did not completely sever ties in 1999, may use the American decision to speed up the full restoration of links, including with the feared Kopassus special forces.
Canberra wants to renew counterterrorism training for the 5,000-strong unit, which allegedly backed and covertly armed the pro-Jakarta militia in East Timor.
"We will keep reviewing the situation," Senator Hill's spokeswoman said.
Mad Dog Mugabe vows to destroy poll rival
Mugabe vows to destroy poll rival
February 28, 2005
http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/common/story_page/0,5744,12392712%255E2703,00.html
MARONDERA, Zimbabwe: Long-serving Zimbabwean President Robert Mugabe has celebrated his 81st birthday vowing to crush the main opposition party in next month's elections and accusing British Prime Minister Tony Blair of seeking to recolonise the country.
Mr Mugabe said the opposition Movement for Democratic Change was a front for Mr Blair.
"Only 33 days are left for us to demonstrate that we are united," Mr Mugabe told about 30,000 people gathered in Marondera, 74km east of Harare, on Saturday.
"That vote should also kill once and for all the machinations of that man in Number 10 Downing Street who for some reason thinks he has the divine power to rule Zimbabwe and Britain."
Mr Mugabe said he would return to haunt his opponents if his ruling party lost the March 31 parliamentary elections, which the party has termed "the anti-Blair election".
Waving a miniature Zimbabwe flag at cheering supporters, Mr Mugabe said: "Mr Blair can never lower this flag again . . . never ever. On March 31 we must dig a grave not just six feet but 12 feet and bury Mr Blair and the Union Jack and write on top 'Here lies the latter-day British imperialist and the Union Jack, never again to arise'."
Zimbabwe's parliamentary election will be closely watched as a test of the country's adherence to the principles of the 14-nation Southern African Development Community on democratic elections.
Mr Mugabe's 81st birthday was last Monday but the celebrations were moved to Saturday to allow the participation of school children.
The reputation of Mr Mugabe - who has been at the helm of the southern African country for nearly a quarter of a century, since independence from Britain in 1980 - started fading in recent years after the country slid into economic decline as land reforms were jump-started with the violent occupation of white-owned farms.
He was re-elected in March 2002 in presidential polls that were disputed by the MDC as fraudulent and marked with violence.
Following the disputed polls the US and EU imposed travel bans on Mr Mugabe and members of his inner circle.
AFP
Anti Syrian protests in Beirut
THE WORLD
Syria denies link to blast
Abraham Rabinovich, Jerusalem
February 28, 2005
ISRAEL was on high alert last night after accusing Syria of involvement in a Tel Aviv suicide bombing that killed four people, wounded 50 others and cast a shadow over tentative peace moves in the Middle East.
Ariel Sharon's Government also said it would would resume military action against militant groups and freeze plans to transfer security control to the Palestinians in some West Bank towns.
Syria denied any role in Friday night's blast at a popular nightclub as Washington called for "immediate and credible" action by the Palestinian Authority.
It was the first terror attack inside Israel in months and came just two weeks after Mr Sharon and Palestinian leader Mahmoud Abbas pledged to pursue peaceful co-existence during a summit meeting in Egypt.
The main Palestinian armed factions pleaded ignorance of the bombing. But a videotape later surfaced in which a man known as a local Islamic Jihad leader said he was about to carry out a suicide attack.
Abdullah Shibaya Badran, 22, from the Tulkarm region of the northern West Bank, said his mission "was carried out in response to the killings and destruction of homes" committed by Israel.
As he left for the nightclub, explosives concealed under his clothes, the university student reportedly told his mother, Sudqiyeh: "Don't expect me home for dinner."
Despite the death toll, Israeli authorities decided at an emergency meeting to refrain from the military response bombings automatically triggered in the past and to limit reaction at present to a freezing of concessions to the Palestinians and to diplomatic pressure on the Palestinian Authority and on Syria.
In the past, Israeli security forces would have staged large-scale sweeps in the wake of such a bombing in a search for those connected with the attack and would have demolished the home of the bomber or his family. Israel is now staying its hand so as not to undermine Mr Abbas's authority and to give his Government a chance to launch its own counter-terror activities.
However, some cabinet members were less restrained in their comments. Defence Minister Shaul Mofaz hit out at Syria, which has long played host to Islamic Jihad leaders, accusing it of direct involvement in the attack.
He accused Damascus "of playing host to terrorist organisations and encouraging them to carry out attacks that jeopardise the peace process with the Palestinians and the stability of the region".
Deputy Defence Minister Zeev Boim went further, pointing out Israel had attacked Syrian targets in the past and declaring it would do so again "if it feels this will stop Damascus-based groups from attacking Israeli targets".
Syria, which is already suspected of having a hand in the assassination in Beirut of former Lebanese prime minister Rafik Hariri, denied the accusations.
"Syria has no connection with this operation and the (Damascus) office of this movement (Islamic Jihad) is closed," a Foreign Ministry official said.
"We think the Israeli Defence Minister's comments show that he knows the identity of the real perpetrator and that he's to be found inside Israel."
Mr Mofaz also announced that Israel now considered Islamic Jihad had broken the informal truce it had been observing along with other militant groups and that military operations against its leaders would resume.
White House spokesman Scott McClellan said Washington had contacted the Palestinian leadership to "urge immediate and credible action by Palestinian security authorities, in co-operation with Israel, to determine who is behind this terrorist act and to bring them to justice".
Both Palestinian and Israeli security services made a series of arrests - including two brothers of the bomber.
Additional reporting: AFP, AP
Hilary Swank shows how it's done
Vintage chic at Oscars
From correspondents in Los Angeles
February 28, 2005
From: Agence France-Presse
Vintage chic ... Hilary Swank shows how it's done / Reuters
HOLLYWOOD'S biggest stars hit the red carpet clad in vintage styles for the 77th Academy Awards today.
Long, draped gowns and vintage jewels saw a return to the fashion of Tinseltown's golden era of the 1930s and '40s - inspired by the Martin Scorsese's The Aviator.
Singing sensation Beyonce Knowles and best supporting actress nominees Laura Linney and Sophie Okonedo were among the first to arrive at Hollywood's Kodak Theatre.
Beyonce, who will perform three Oscar-nominated songs before the 3,300 all-star guests, wore a black velvet, body-hugging strapless Versace gown and cascading diamond earrings.
"I know it's never been done to perform three times. I can't wait, but I will be terrified right before I get on the stage,'' the pop star said.
Australian Cate Blanchett, nominated for a best actress award for her portrayl of Katherine Hepburn in The Aviator, looked the picture of glamour in a lemon off-the-shoulder dress.
The flaxen-haired beauty is firming as a favourite to take home a golden guy as are Sydney filmmakers Sejong Park and Andrew Gregory in the short animated film category for Birthday Boy.
Fellow Aviator star Leonardo DiCaprio, who is nominated for best actor for his role as Howard Hughes, arrived with his Brazilian supermodel girlfriend Gisele Bundchen who looked gorgeous in a white and gold strapless number.
Best documentary nominee Morgan Spurlock, nominated for his fast-food film Super Size Me, arrived wearing an elegant black tuxedo while his fiance wore a gold sheath dress.
The young filmmaker, making his first appearance at the movie industry's night of nights, said he was looking forward to the show and to meeting some of his heroes.
"I'm just trying to have a good time. I just want to live,'' he said.
"I want to meet Johnny Depp, I want to meet Cate Blanchett and Martin Scorsese,'' said the star-struck newcmer.
Best director nominee Mike Leigh, who won a nod for the 1950s abortion drama Vera Drake, wore a classic tuxedo and black string bowtie.
"There are women like Vera Drake everywhere, there always have been,'' he said.
But while he was thrilled to attend the Oscars, he said he had no desire to stay in Hollywood and make blockbusters.
"Heavens no," he exclaimed. "But it's wonderful to be here now.''
Other early arrivals included best director nominee Taylor Hackford and his wife British star Helen Mirren.
British nominee Okonedo, whose acting career is just taking off, said the emotion of arriving at the Oscars had brought was close to tears.
"I'm going to start crying, I'm overwhelmed,'' said the young star of the African genocide movie Hotel Rwanda, who was wearing an elegant strapless beige evening gown.
Also on the red carpet were Okonedo's Rwanda co-star Don Cheadle, nominated for best actor, best actress nominee and Maria Full of Gracestar Catalina Sandino Moreno, and Phantom of the Opera star Emmy Rossum.
Australian Rossum, who wore a red satin strapless gown, said she was thrilled to be invited.
"I'm so privileged, so happy to be here," she said.
Linney, nominated for her role as the wife of sexologist Alfred Kinsey in Kinsey, wore a strapless beige dress.
If Blanchett wins today, it could well be the only major victory for The Aviator, which is tipped to be steamrollered by Clint Eastwood's film Million Dollar Baby.
Iran signs nuclear deal with the country that gave the World Chernobyl
Chernobyl
Russia, Iran sign deal to open nuclear plant
Claim safeguards assure power but not weapons
http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05059/463930.stm
Monday, February 28, 2005
By David Holley, Los Angeles Times
MOSCOW -- Russia and Iran signed agreements yesterday that opened the way for Tehran to start up its first nuclear power plant next year, a step that the Bush administration fears could help the Islamic Republic produce nuclear weapons.
Iran denies any intent to build nuclear bombs, and insists that as a signatory to the Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, it has the right to develop a civilian nuclear energy program. Russia says it accepts Tehran's assurances and a requirement for Iran to return all spent fuel eliminates any possibility of the new reactor being used for military purposes.
Alexander Rumyantsev, head of Russia's Federal Atomic Energy Agency, said after the signing ceremony that Russia complied with International Atomic Energy Agency rules in building the reactor.
"We violate no norms or rules adopted by the international community," he told reporters at the Bushehr plant in southern Iran, which is reported to be surrounded by anti-aircraft defenses.
Critics fear that after developing a nuclear energy industry, Iran could withdraw from the treaty, break its agreement with Russia and process the spent fuel from nuclear reactors to produce weapons-grade uranium or plutonium.
The Bush administration argues that Iran has no need for nuclear power because of its huge oil and gas supplies. But Tehran says it needs nuclear energy to meet booming demand for electricity and to keep oil and gas reserves for export.
It also points out that work at Bushehr began in the 1970s with German cooperation, under shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, when Iran was a U.S. ally. Work stopped after the 1979 Islamic Revolution, and the unfinished facility was badly damaged by bombing during the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war.
Iranian Vice President Gholamreza Aghazadeh, who heads his country's nuclear energy organization, told reporters that although Tehran had previously planned to construct seven civilian nuclear reactors, it now is considering building many more.
Russia is receiving slightly more than $1 billion for its construction of the new reactor, according to the Russian news agency Itar-Tass. The deal has played an important role in maintaining the strength of Russia's nuclear energy industry, and officials have expressed hopes of winning future contracts with Iran.
Mohammed Saeedi, deputy head of the Iranian Atomic Energy Organization, said on Iranian radio that the plant would start work in June 2006 and become operational six months later. His comments appeared to imply that the fuel would be installed in the reactor almost immediately upon delivery.
The fuel-supply agreement swiftly drew sharp reaction from some U.S. critics.
"This latest step of the Russians vis-a-vis the Iranians calls for sterner measures to be taken between ourselves and Russia. It has got to, at some point, begin to harm our relations," Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said on "Fox News Sunday."
Heavy equipment, turbines and a generator have already been installed at Bushehr, but television footage yesterday showed cranes still at the site. More than 2,000 Russians and 3,000 Iranians have been working at Bushehr, and 1,500 additional Russian specialists will travel to Bushehr soon to install equipment, Itar-Tass reported.
Australian Democrats look to pull pin
Democrat leader Lyn Allison
Democrats look to pull pin
By Paul Osborne
February 28, 2005
From: AAP
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12397674-421,00.html
THE Australian Democrats executive is seriously considered dissolving the party at the first major post-election meeting, sources said today.
The Democrats received 1000 responses from party members and the public to a Future Directions survey conducted in the wake of the October 2004 federal election.
A party source said the federal executive, which met in Canberra this month, considered the results of the research and discussed a range of options for the future.
"Of the options they chose one which reconfirmed basic party principles," the source said.
"But they seriously canvassed whether the party should dissolve."
The executive also looked at a previously rejected plan to merge with the Australian Greens but stood by its past decision, the source said.
The research, which included comments from 600 members and 400 people who responded to an internet survey, showed a generally positive image of the Democrats.
"People were positive in terms of the importance of the party ... more positive than they thought," the source said.
The Democrats lost three senators at the federal election, suffering a national swing of 4 per cent.
Its joint balance of power position in the Senate will be lost after July 1, when the Government holds a controlling majority.
The poor result at the federal poll also meant that the party received $8491 in public funding - a far cry from the $2.4 million in funding received after the 2001 federal election.
In comparison, Labor received $16.7 million and the Liberal Party just under $18 million.
To further add to their woes, the Democrats will also lose formal party status from July, taking away administrative staff and facilities.
In their latest electoral test, the West Australian state election held at the weekend, the Democrats scored 0.87 per cent in the upper house poll, down from 3.73 per cent in 2001.
The result was well behind the Greens (7.15 per cent) and just behind Family First (2.06 per cent) and One Nation (1.56 per cent).
The party decided not to run a candidate in the federal by-election for Werriwa, called after the resignation of Labor leader Mark Latham.
Democrats leader Lyn Allison is expected to spell out a new vision for the party at its national conference in Canberra in May.
The conference will focus on democracy and human rights, which the party believes are under threat from tougher anti-terror laws and government control of the Senate.
Rudd Labor set to put boot into Diggers ....again.
Rudd asks for Iraq briefing
February 28, 2005
From: AAP
http://www.news.com.au/story/0,10117,12397262-29277,00.html
THE Opposition has asked for a briefing from the Defence Department after Australian troops shot and wounded a woman in Baghdad, Foreign Affairs spokesman Kevin Rudd said.
The woman was shot in the head and a boy hurt by broken glass when the car they were travelling in failed to stop as it approached a checkpoint in the Iraqi capital yesterday.
The commander of Australian forces in Iraq, Air Commodore Greg Evans, said a preliminary investigation had found the troops did not overreact and the male driver of the car ignored repeated directions in Arabic to stop.
"We are prepared to accept what Defence has said at face value but we wish to obtain further briefings from the Defence Department and from other officials of the Australian government before making any further comment," Mr Rudd told a news conference today.
Mr Rudd said he had asked for a briefing for himself, Opposition Leader Kim Beazley and defence spokesman Robert McClelland about the shooting and also about the deployment of 450 extra Australian troops in Iraq.
"We will seeking further briefings on the circumstances surrounding this incident in the coming days," Mr Rudd said.
"We've requested a briefing from the Australian Government and we expect that they will honour the conventions and provide us with such a briefing."
Thirty years of "Progressive"social policies finally manifest on the streets of public housing ghetto
Tensions ... the clashes continued into this morning. Four people were arrested overnight.
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