Archive for October, 2008

The New Technology of Repression

Friday, October 31st, 2008

In its final months, the Bush administration is pressing ahead with a new generation of spy technology designed to strengthen the U.S. military’s ability to detect and eliminate suspected insurgents in Iraq and elsewhere based on computer analyses of their movements and activities. for more click here

Economic data point to the start of a recession

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Reporting from Los Angeles and Washington — The nation’s economy has shifted into reverse amid a staggering drop in consumer spending, the government reported. But that’s hardly news to furniture-store owner Chris Horn of Monterey Park. for more click here

U.S. airstrike killed key Al Qaeda figure in Pakistan, officials say

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Reporting from Kabul, Afghanistan, and Madrid — A U.S airstrike in northwestern Pakistan is believed to have killed a front-line leader of Al Qaeda, anti-terrorism officials said this week, continuing an aerial barrage that has angered a key American ally but is thought to have hurt the network’s operations. for more click here

Somalia’s pirate problem grows more rampant

Friday, October 31st, 2008

For many Somalis on the coast, piracy is the only way to earn a living in a country without a functioning government and faced with soaring inflation, civil war and rising malnutrition. for more click here

Man convicted of Lockerbie bombing to ask for early release

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Libyan appealing against conviction for killing 270 people in Lockerbie bombing is terminally ill with cancer. for more click here

Companies are leaking cash – that’s bad news for jobs

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Britain’s businesses are eating up cash. Fast. And the latest data shows the problem is only getting worse.

And when UK plc runs low on readies, the rest of us feel the pain. So whatever the headlines about share prices rallying, or people telling you that “it’s really not too bad out there”, don’t believe them.

In the real world, it’s about to get even tougher. Investment and advertising spending will keep falling, for one thing. But the worst news of all will be on the jobs front…
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Muslim convert criticizes cardinal, says terrorism is ‘mature fruit of Islam’

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Magdi Allam, the Muslim journalist who converted to Catholicism and was baptized by Pope Benedict during the Easter Vigil, has issued an open letter to the pontiff in which he criticizes recent comments about Islam made by Cardinal Jean-Louis Tauran, president of the Pontifical Council for Interreligious Dialogue. Cardinal Tauran said in August that Muslims who engage in violence have ‘betrayed their faith.’ for more click here

More dirty tricks as polls near

Friday, October 31st, 2008

WASHINGTON - IN THE final days of the US presidential election, campaign yard signs are being defaced, fliers are advising Democrats to vote a day (too) late, and DVDs warning of Islam’s clash with the West are flooding mailboxes.

In American politics, it’s all part of the late-game frenzy: What one side considers a dirty trick may be hailed by the other as free speech. for more click here

‘Human catastrophe’ grips Congo

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Fierce fighting between government and rebel forces in the Democratic Republic of Congo has caused a humanitarian catastrophe, the Red Cross has said.

It said the number of displaced people was growing by the hour and that the precarious security situation was making it difficult to deliver aid. for more click here

Scientists believe 5,300-year-old mummified ‘ice man’ belonged to unknown branch of human family tree

Friday, October 31st, 2008

A 5,300-year-old mummified ‘ice man’ unearthed in the Alps belonged to a previously unknown branch of the human family tree, scientists have discovered.
No trace of the lineage appears to remain today, meaning that the ‘ice man’ - dubbed ‘Oetzi’ - is unlikely to have any descendants.
Oetzi’s mummified remains were found in September 1991 in the Eastern Alps near the Austro-Italian border. for more click here