September 2009

Iran permitted Swiss to see detained Americans

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 14:36 by admin

WASHINGTON – The State Department on Tuesday welcomed Iran's decision to allow Swiss diplomats to meet with three Americans who have been detained in Iran since being arrested for illegal entry in late July.
The move could be seen as a conciliatory gesture on Iran's part, coming two days before a high-profile meeting between Iran and five world powers seeking to persuade Iran to abandon any effort to build nuclear weapons.
"We welcome this step," said State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley. Asked whether it likely is connected to the coming talks in Geneva on nuclear issues, he said: "Hard to say."
The Swiss government, which represents U.S. interests in Tehran, offered few details of the visit.
"Swiss diplomats represent the interests of the United States, and as part of this provide consular protection for U.S. citizens," Swiss Foreign Ministry spokesman Adrian Sollberger told The AP. "In this context, they had direct contact today with the three imprisoned American citizens."
Sollberger said "direct contact" meant they were "personally visited" by Swiss diplomats. He provided no details.
The Swiss represent U.S. interests in Iran because the United States has no formal diplomatic relations with the Islamic republic.
Crowley said it was not clear whether Iran's the decision to grant Swiss access made it more likely the Americans would be allowed to contact their families.
The three Americans are Joshua Fattal, Shane Bauer, and Sarah Shourd.
Since the Americans' arrest, their families have had no contact with them and no information other than the fact of their detention.
On Sept. 22, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, in New York City to speak to attend the United Nations General Assembly, said in an Associated Press interview that he would ask the country's judiciary to expedite the process and to "look at the case with maximum leniency."
His remark sparked hope among the hikers' families that they might be released and allowed to return home.

Discount K-Cups

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 14:18 by admin

A 2003 study concluded that fair trade has "greatly improved the well-being of small-scale coffee farmers and their families" by providing access to credit and external development funding and greater access to training, giving them the ability to improve the quality of their coffee. The families of fair trade producers were also more stable than those who were not involved in fair trade, and their children had better access to education. A 2005 study of Bolivian coffee producers concluded that Fairtrade certification has had a positive impact on local coffee prices, economically benefiting all coffee producers, Fairtrade certified or not.

Depending on the color of the roasted beans as perceived by the human eye, they will be labeled as light, medium-light, medium, medium-dark, dark, or very dark. A more accurate method of discerning the degree of roast involves measuring the reflected light from roasted beans illuminated with a light source in the near infrared spectrum. This elaborate light meter uses a process known as Spectroscopy to return a number that consistently indicates the roasted coffee’s relative degree of roast or flavor development. Such devices are routinely used for quality assurance by coffee roasting businesses.

Discount K-Cups

Boston-area college bans sex with roommate around

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 13:36 by admin

BOSTON – Sex in a dorm at Tufts University is fine. Sex in a Tufts dorm with your roommate there? That's a no-no.
The Boston-area school has a new policy this semester banning sexual activity while a roommate is in the same room.
A school spokeswoman said Tuesday that Tufts issued the rule after a dozen or so complaints in the past three years.
The school maintains the new policy is about respect and consideration, not about regulating students' behavior.
The policy is aimed at the school's 5,000 undergraduates. Officials say they hope it'll get roommates talking about how to best share space.

Phoenix Airport Taxi

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 12:24 by admin

This type of vehicle was once rather common in some locations. An example of its use was in the transport of travelers arriving by railroad at Merced, California to Glacier National Park and Yosemite National Park in the first half of the 20th century. In Glacier National Park, these were referred to as "Jammers" in reference to the nickname of their gear-jamming drivers. In Yosemite, passengers would then stay in rustic platform tent camps or more expensive lodges (both of which are still available) and hike or rent bicycles for movement around the park.

A modern version of the stage is seen in some novelty stretch Hummer or Hummer H2 vehicles. Some funeral homes maintain six-door stages to carry the family of the deceased between the church and the cemetery. These are usually not used for private hire.

Phoenix Airport Taxi

Organic Baby

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 12:09 by admin

If a pacifier is dipped in a sugary substance like syrup or honey (a practice employed by some, and perhaps related to the outdated sugar tit) it may cause dental caries in emerging teeth. Feeding honey to infants is also dangerous due to the risk of botulism.

In basic English usage, an infant is defined as a human child at the youngest stage of life, specifically before they can walk and generally before the age of one (see also child and adolescent).

Organic Baby

Sarah Palin is "Going Rogue" with early release of memoir

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 10:03 by admin

NEW YORK (Reuters) –
Sarah Palin, last year's Republican vice-presidential candidate who became a figure of global fascination, is to release her memoir just four months after her book deal was announced.

Publisher HarperCollins said Palin's memoir, titled "Going Rogue: An American Life", would be published on November 17 after originally being scheduled for release in spring 2010.

The book will have a large first printing of 1.5 million copies, according to a statement from HarperCollins, a unit of Rupert Murdoch's News Corp.

Senator Edward Kennedy's memoir "True Compass", published soon after his August 25 death, also had an initial print run of 1.5 million hardcover copies.

Palin, 45, the brash and deeply conservative former governor of Alaska, burst onto the U.S. and international scene last year when Republican presidential nominee Senator John McCain picked her as his running mate in the 2008 election campaign.

She has not disclosed how much she would be paid by the publisher for her memoir.

At the time the book deal was announced, Palin said in a interview published in Alaska's Anchorage Daily News that it would be good to have an "unfiltered forum" as "there have been so many things written and said through mainstream media that have not been accurate."

During the electoral campaign she was criticized for being inexperienced and for describing herself as a "hockey mom", joking that the difference between a hockey mom and a pitbull was lipstick.

The former beauty queen was ridiculed for saying her foreign policy experience was bolstered by Alaska's proximity to Russia across the Bering Strait. Her family also came under scrutiny when her 18-year-old unwed daughter Bristol had a baby.

Palin abruptly resigned as Alaska's governor in July, citing a variety of reasons for quitting - the burden of fighting nearly two dozen ethic charges which she had dismissed as "frivolous", her desire to avoid being perceived as a powerless "lame-duck" governor, and a "higher calling", among others.

(Writing by Belinda Goldsmith, Editing by Miral Fahmy)

Nero's dining room unveiled in Rome

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 08:06 by admin

ROME – Archaeologists say they have unveiled what they believe to be remains of the "dining room" of the Roman emperor Nero, part of his palatial residence built in the first century.
Lead archaeologist Francoise Villedieu says her team discovered part of a circular room, which experts believe rotated day and night to imitate the Earth's movement and impress guests.
Villedieu told journalists Tuesday that the room on the ancient Palatine Hill was supported by a pillar with a diameter of 4 meters (more than 13 feet). She says only the foundation of the room was recovered during the four-month excavation.
The Golden Palace, also known by its Latin name Domus Aurea, rose over the ruins of a fire that destroyed much of Rome in 64 A.D. and was completed in 68 A.D.

U.S. urges Israel to probe Gaza crimes to boost peace

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 08:03 by admin

GENEVA (Reuters) –
The United States called on its close ally Israel on Tuesday to conduct credible investigations into allegations of war crimes committed by its forces in Gaza, saying it would help the Middle East peace process.

Michael Posner, U.S. Assistant Secretary of State, said that Hamas leaders also had a responsibility to investigate crimes and to end what he called its targeting of civilians and use of Palestinian civilians as human shields in the strip.

The U.N. Human Rights Council was holding a one-day debate on a recent report by Richard Goldstone, a South African jurist and former U.N. war crimes prosecutor.

His panel found the Israeli army and Palestinian militants committed war crimes and possibly crimes against humanity during their December-January war. Israel did not cooperate with the U.N. inquiry and has rejected the report as biased.

"We encourage Israel to utilize appropriate domestic (judicial) review and meaningful accountability mechanisms to investigate and follow-up on credible allegations," Posner said in a speech to the Geneva forum.

"If undertaken properly and fairly, these reviews can serve as important confidence-building measures that will support the larger essential objective which is a shared quest for justice and lasting peace," he said.

The United States joined the Council, set up three years ago, for the first time earlier this year.

Posner reiterated Washington's view that the Council paid "grossly disproportionate attention" to Israel, but said that the U.S. delegation was ready to engage in balanced debate.

Earlier, Goldstone said a lack of accountability for war crimes committed in the Middle East has reached "crisis point," undermining any hope for peace in the region.

"CULTURE OF IMPUNITY"

"A culture of impunity in the region has existed for too long," Goldstone told the Council.

"The lack of accountability for war crimes and possible war crimes against humanity has reached a crisis point; the ongoing lack of justice is undermining any hope for a successful peace process and reinforcing an environment that fosters violence."

Israel says its offensive was intended to stop militants firing rockets at Israel. Israeli human rights group B'Tselem says 773 of 1,387 Palestinians killed were civilians. Israel says 709 combatants and 295 civilians were killed. Thirteen Israelis, 10 soldiers and three civilians, died.

Goldstone's report urges the U.N. Security Council to refer the allegations to the International Criminal Court in the Hague if either Israeli or Palestinian authorities fail to investigate and prosecute those suspect of such crimes within six months.

"Our primary recommendation is that Israel and the authorities in Gaza should carry out good-faith, transparent investigations. International courts are courts of last resort, not first resort," he said on Tuesday.

Israel's ambassador Leshno Yaar rejected the report as "shameful" and "one-sided." It was "based on carefully-selected incidents, cherry picked for political effect."

Israel had opened more than 100 investigations, including damage inflicted on U.N. centers and medical facilities in Gaza, 23 of which had resulted in criminal proceedings, he said.

It faced "an enemy that intentionally deploys its forces in densely populated areas, stores its explosives in private homes and launches rockets from crowded school yards and mosques."

Ibrahim Khraishi, ambassador of the Palestinian delegation, urged the Council to adopt the report which he called objective.

"My people will not forgive the international community if the criminals are left without punishment," he said.

(Editing by Ralph Boulton)

Report: China moves in on Nigeria oil reserves

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 07:57 by admin

One of China's three energy majors is negotiating with Nigeria to buy large stakes in some of the world's richest oil blocs, according to a media report Tuesday.
If confirmed, it shows how aggressively China is going after new reserves in Africa, challenging major Western oil companies that dominate the region.
The Financial Times reported that state-owned CNOOC Ltd., is trying to buy 6 billion barrels of oil — or a sixth of the proven reserves in Nigeria — a move that could put China in competition with Royal Dutch Shell PLC, Chevron, Total SA and Exxon Mobil Corp.
Those companies control all or parts of the 23 oil blocks sought by China.
The Financial Times said it obtained a letter from the office of Umaru Yar'Adua, Nigeria's president, to Sunrise, CNOOC's representative. The offer's overall value was not disclosed, but the newspaper said some details suggested a figure of about $30 billion.
"Negotiations are ongoing not only with Sunrise/CNOOC but also with all other stakeholders in the industry," a Yar'Adua spokesman told the newspaper. "The federal government has not taken any final position on the issue."
Tanimu Yakubu, economic adviser to the Nigerian president, told the Financial times that while the country wants to "retain our traditional friends," the Chinese are "offering multiples of what existing producers are pledging (for licenses)."
Last month, state-owned Sinopec Group completed a $7.5 billion acquisition of Canada's Addax Petroleum, obtaining new reserves in Africa and the Middle East in China's biggest foreign corporate takeover to date.

Russia still cool on new U.S. anti-missile scheme

Posted Tue, 09/29/2009 - 07:03 by admin

MOSCOW (Reuters) –
Russia remains suspicious about Washington's new anti-missile plans and fears its strategic nuclear weapons could still be threatened by the reconfigured scheme, the country's envoy to NATO said on Tuesday.

Dmitry Rogozin's comments showed Moscow's distrust as it awaits details on Pentagon plans to create new mobile interceptor missiles, dropping an earlier U.S. scheme to set up fixed bases in Poland and the Czech Republic.

"Where are the guarantees that this mobile thing, be it a boat, a cruiser, or a battleship with a mounted missile-defense system and with missile interceptors, will not sail into our northern seas?" Rogozin said at a press briefing.

Russia opposed the original U.S. plans because it did not believe assurances from Washington that they were directed at future missile launches from countries like Iran. It feared the scheme would target its own arsenal, upsetting the strategic nuclear weapons balance in Europe.

Rogozin said Russia's President Dmitry Medvedev gave a guarded welcome to U.S. President Barack Obama's decision to alter the earlier Bush administration plan. But he said Moscow needed assurances it was not still the target.

Under Obama's new plan, the United States would initially deploy ships with missile interceptors and in a second phase would field land-based defense systems.

A former politician, Rogozin is based in Brussels, where he represents Russia's interests at NATO headquarters, but is considered well connected within Moscow's power structures.

The Pentagon says it only wants to target small and medium-range missiles from other countries, but Moscow needs convincing the system will not threaten the 3,000-plus Russian strategic warheads still pointing at U.S. and NATO countries.

Russia would be concerned if the new sea-based interceptors are based in Arctic waters, the North Sea or the Baltic Sea as this would imply that the trajectories of Russian ballistic missiles could be tracked.

"We need guarantees that the parameters of deploying these anti-missile (interceptors) will in fact be restricted to small-and medium-range missiles and that they will not encroach on those territories that have serious heavy ground-based or submarine-launched ballistic missiles," Rogozin said.

The United States says the interceptors are intended to counter a potential threat from Iranian short- and medium-range missiles. U.S. intelligence now believes Iran is unlikely to have a long-range missile until between 2015 and 2020.

(Editing by Mark Trevelyan)