Prepared remarks of Cindy McCain's address

Prepared remarks of Cindy McCain, wife of presidential candidate John McCain, to the Republican National Convention on Thursday:

___

Thank you everyone.

John and I are so proud of them and so happy to have them here with us tonight.

Nothing has made me happier or more fulfilled in my life than being a mother.

But while John and I take great joy in having been able to spend time together this week as a family, our hearts go out to the thousands of families who have had to leave their homes once again due to devastating weather.

It is not only our natural instinct to rally to them, to lift them up with our prayers …

Draw feels like a victory

City Of BATH LADIES Bath's 1st team may have had to settle for a3-3 draw from their trip to high-flying Clifton but it felt like avictory, despite two late goals.

The City side only had 10 players from the start so it was notsurprising when they were over-ran in the opening stages.

And when Clifton took an early lead, the alarm bells began toring.

However, boosted by a change in formation, Bath settled into amuch more compact unit.

Clifton were also guilty of over-committing and were twice caughtsuperbly on the break as Bath amazingly went into half-time with a 2-1 …

Sad Day for Racing: Barbaro Euthanized

KENNETT SQUARE, Pa. - So many people felt a stake in Barbaro's recovery. They imagined his pain, grimaced each time he faltered, took heart as each day passed and he was still alive, making painfully slow progress.

The 2006 Kentucky Derby winner's fight for survival was their fight, a symbol of strength, courage and comfort - and, more than anything else, a source of inspiration.

He was, after all, winner of the world's most famous race, in a sport desperate for a superstar. For months he seemed, remarkably, to take everything that came at him: good and bad.

Finally, it was too much.

Barbaro was euthanized Monday after complications from his gruesome …

Stallworth attorney: Blood test not released

Authorities have yet to release blood tests for Cleveland Browns wide receiver Donte Stallworth, who authorities say fatally struck a pedestrian in Miami Beach a week ago.

Meanwhile, his attorney is denying media reports that the tests show Stallworth was driving drunk.

Christopher Lyons said Saturday that neither police nor the state attorney's office have released the …

A FAMILY FOR ME

Meet Timothy: Timothy is a young man with a gentle spirit. Helaughs easily and is kind to other people. In his free time, he loveslistening to music, and he has a remarkable talent for duplicatingthe dance moves he sees in music videos. Timothy is 15 years old.

His Likes: Timothy is very active, and he likes to play basketballand baseball. He enjoys spending time with friends and taking part ingroup activities.

Others Say: His foster parents say Timothy is …

Physical inactivity is not the right direction on the road to good health

Today we are faced with a complicated contradiction.

On the one hand, health clubs and gyms equipped with state-of-the-art equipment are popping up at a rapid pace; on the other hand, studies show that the majority of adults are alarmingly inactive.

Whatever the reason for this dichotomy may be, the evidence is in and the answer is loud and clear: exercise promotes good health.

Exercise as a disease preventer

A recent article entitled, "Physical Activity and Health," which appeared in the British Medical Journal, reports that in the United States, Great Britain, and most other developed countries, fewer than half of all adults are regularly active. This …

ArcelorMittal to take control of Costa Rican steelmakers

ArcelorMittal SA, the world's largest steelmaker, said Monday it had taken control of two Costa Rican steelmakers by buying the half of the companies it does not already own.

The Luxembourg-based steel business said it had bought a 50 percent stake in Laminadora Costarricense SA, which makes rolled steel, and wiremaker Trefileria Colima SA from Clarion del …

Early attention on Rose gives Boozer opening

Coach Tom Thibodeau was in the familiar position of defending forward Carlos Boozer after Boozer's uneven performance Saturday in Game 1 of the Bulls' first-round playoff series against the Indiana Pacers.

''He's a lightning rod,'' Thibo-deau said Monday. ''The guy played 26 minutes [scoring 12 points and grabbing six rebounds], and he gets blamed for everything.

''Carlos is a terrific player. He started off the game very aggressive and got into some foul trouble, and then he was limited after that. He's got to stay aggressive when he has fouls.''

It was more of the same in Game 2, as Boozer had another up-and-down night — points, rebounds, turnovers, missed free …

Diamonds With an Edge

They're the billboards that make you hit the brakes and do a double take. Anyone who has driven past the Naser Diamonds billboards knows exactly what we're talking about.

The edgy advertising campaign debuted a year ago with a billboard showing a close-up of a woman's bare legs with her hands strategically placed and the tag line, "Tell him, First Things First." In July, Naser Diamonds rolled out the second billboard in the campaign showing a woman with her arm extended, flipping people her ... ring finger, accompanied by the tag line, "Put a ring on it."

"The big box jewelry stores came in with big advertising budgets and we had to find a way to compete. We had to be …

Colo. researchers predict 8 Atlantic hurricanes, 4 major

A noted hurricane researcher is predicting eight hurricanes will form in the Atlantic this year, and says four of them will be major.

Tuesday's forecast by William Gray and his team of researchers at Colorado State University calls for a very active season, with 15 named storms, including tropical storm Arthur, which formed on May 31.

Gray, a former Colorado State University climatologist, pioneered the seasonal predictions in 1984. His team's revised outlook called for the same number of hurricanes as their April forecast.

Last month, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration forecast 12 to 16 named storms, including six to nine …

Attorney general talks terror at vets convention: Disagrees that Americans break up plots too early

Britain has "disrupted" but not necessarily "ended" a terror plotagainst the West, Attorney General Alberto Gonzales said Monday.

Speaking to the national convention of the Disabled AmericanVeterans at the Hilton & Towers, Gonzales touted the administration'swar on terror and a new Web site his office has created to educateveterans about their rights.

He refused to say whether any of the 10 American-bound planes fromLondon that were targeted by terrorists were headed to Chicago.

"I'm not going to confirm cities," Gonzales said. "I'm not goingto stand here today and . . . confirm a fact that may somehowjeopardize an investigation."

He also could …

Smith rips United Airline paltry minority contract

Smith rips United Airline paltry minority contract

An irate Ald. Ed H. Smith (28th) Monday told United Airline officials they have to do more than give minorities $90 million in contracts if they want to continue doing business with Chicago, or the aldermen will "just go fishing."

"That's peanuts, $90 million. I fly United every chance I can, but giving minorities $90 million is peanuts," Smith said after attending a Finance Committee meeting chaired by Ald. Edward M. Burke (14th).

Smith objected to United's "bringing in a Black attorney" to try and clean up their image of contract fairness. "It won't work," said Smith. "They just went out and grabbed him."

"We …

Doves fly at 42nd awards show

Francesca Battistelli continues her strong surge as Christian music's biggest star. Battistelli won artist of the year at the 42nd annual Dove Awards held Wednesday night in Atlanta. She also went home with two more awards — best female vocalist and pop-contemporary recorded song. Battistelli, 25, has surged recently with her second major label album, "Hundred More Years," which reached No. 1 on Billboard's Top Christian Albums chart last month.

"I'm on Cloud Nine right now," said Battistelli after the awards show, which will air at 6 p.m. (and repeating at 8 p.m.) Sunday on GMC, formerly known as the Gospel Music Channel. "I'm standing here ... speechless. This is totally humbling."

Other winners included Chris August, who was new artist of the year, best male vocalist and earned another award for pop-contemporary album. Singer Jason Crabb and the group Point of Grace also joined Battistelli in claiming three Doves apiece.

Actress and TV talk show host Sherri Shepherd (ABC's "The View") was host of the show.

Legendary singer Sandi Patty was honored for her lifetime achievements. Several singers, including Battistelli, Natalie Grant, Audrey Assad, Kerri Robert, Janet Paschal, Brit Nicole and Laura Story, each gave a rendition of Patty's past hit songs.

Patty then joined the seven singers and sang with them before she presented Battistelli with her second-straight female artist of the year award.

Patty said she feels comfortable "passing on the torch" to the other female singers, saying she was impressed with Battistelli's poise.

"She has the least amount of lines than anyone else," Patty said. "But she didn't gripe and or get mad. She just kept being gracious. I told her to never lose that."

AP

Francesca Battistelli won three Dove Awards. | David Goldman~APDavid Goldman

Ginger & peppermint: 2 spices for your Y2K medicine chest

When you think about it, just about everyone has used ginger and peppermint. These two herbs are ubiquitous in human foods, and in your medicines: ginger ale, peppermint tea, mint mouthwash, spicy ginger chicken at our favorite Chinese restaurant, ginger snaps, gingerbread, peppermint flavored calcium supplements, candies, alcohol, and so on. The list could go on and on.

Just why are these herbs so popular? Is it just their flavor, or is there more to the story?

In truth, ginger is much more than a spice. Given my. choice of top 10 herbs to keep around the house, I would be sure to include ginger. It is a potent plant medicinal, useful for digestive conditions, viral illness, and fevers. No home herbal medicine chest should be without it.

Ginger is a perennial. It grows on a rhizome, plant terminology for a horizontal, underground stem, loaded with nodules along the stem surface. From these nodules, roots and stems grow out, extending the plant both above and below the ground.

You've likely seen fresh ginger in the grocery store: a tan-brown and nubby root, lying in baskets in the cooler section of the produce department. Where I live, most grocers place ginger root in the more eclectic part of the produce department, along with other "oddities" that checkout clerks have trouble recognizing - burdock, mung sprouts, and Portobello mushrooms. I must admit that, 1, too, tend to store my ginger in unexpected places. In truth, there always seems to be a piece of ginger root buried somewhere in the back of my produce drawer, along with mushrooms, arugula, and the inevitable clump of parsley I've been meaning to use for a long time.

The nice thing about ginger is that it keeps well. Nicer still, it's available in forms that don't lie forlorn in the refrigerator; easy to store forms like bottled tincture, capsules, and powder. This is good, because ginger is a medicine one will use often.

What's in it?

The so-called "pungent principles" of ginger have long been considered responsible for the herb's most identifiable medicinal effects (pharmacologic activity). Plant analysis has determined that ginger contains several plant compounds with medicinal activity, most notably volatile oils, gingerols, shogaols, diarylheptanoids (like gingerenone A and B). Most research points to ginger's help in:

* motion sickness and

* loss of appetite.

Motion sickness/seasickness

In a well-known study, published in the journal Lancet, back in 1982, subjects were given either ginger root, dimenhydrinate (Dramamine), or placebo. They were then blindfolded and placed in rotating chairs for up to 6 minutes. Ginger root recipients stayed in their chairs on average 5.5 minutes, while the dimenhydrinate group lasted 3.5 minutes, and the placebo group 1.5 minutes. In all three groups, it was motion sickness that forced participants out of their seats. Additionally, for each participant, once the nausea and vomiting began, symptoms were similar, indicating that ginger's real value, in this study anyway, was in delaying the onset of motion sickness.

Ginger has also been examined in more realistic situations. A 1988 study conducted on 80 Danish naval cadets, training on the ocean, found that ginger capsules reduced symptoms of vomiting, cold sweats, nausea, and vertigo.

Drugs like Dramamine work on the central nervous system (CNS), depressing the body's reaction to movement stimuli. Because of this, people taking Dramamine are cautioned against using other CNS depressants, like alcohol, anti-anxiety medicines, and sleeping pills. Ginger, on the other hand, affects the gastrointestinal (GI) tract directly, increasing gastric motility and reducing stomach reactions like nausea. In recommended dosage, ginger can be used safely with other CNS medications or alcohol.

Beyond motion sickness

The same way ginger slows the onset of motion sickness is the same way this herb is useful for all types of nausea. A 1991 European study of pregnant women suffering from morning sickness found that 70.4 percent of women experienced some subjective relief from 250 mg ginger taken four times daily for four days. (Please see caution below with use of ginger in pregnancy). Ginger is often used for nausea after surgery or chemotherapy, and in cases of stomach flu and food poisoning.

Ginger is a carminative, a botanical term meaning reducing the production of gas. The Eclectics, a movement of "Nature Doctors" who practiced natural medicine until the early decades of the 20th century, found ginger to be an ,admirable carminative' in patients with 'persistent flatulency and sour stomach.' They recommended small doses of ginger alone, or combined with sodium bicarbonate. I've found ginger to be particularly helpful for infants with colic, and in older people who suffer with poor digestion or diminished appetite.

Ginger is a good plant medicine to have on hand during cold-and-flu season. Not only does it warm up the GI tract, reduce nausea, and assist with digestion, ginger also has anti-viral and anti-fever properties. I routinely recommend it at the onset of colds, to help reduce mucus and fever, and to shorten the duration of symptoms.

CAUTIONS

Though ginger is in the "Generally Recognized as Safe" category of herbs, anyone who has never before taken ginger should use caution when first consuming this herb. Contraindicated for morning sickness and pregnancy, it also is not advised for people with gallstone conditions. It may cause stomach discomfort in people with acid-producing ulcer conditions, although it's thought to help in "subacidic" gastritis.

PEPPERMINT

Out near my barn sits a big wooden tub containing several forlorn stalks. They are dry and stiff, with the shriveled remnants of once green leaves hanging dejectedly from their limbs. Though sad and quite dead looking at the moment, the plant is really deceiving the unwary passersby. in several months, when the snows and icy winds are gone, and a day's hard work cries out for a rewarding cool drink, this plant will have ample fresh, aromatic leaves, able to lend flavor to my iced tea.

The plant is Mentha piperita, or peppermint, common in gardens throughout the United States and in Europe. Peppermint is a member of the Labiatae family, possibly originating in Eastern Asia. The leaves of plants within this family grow in opposite pairs; their stems are square. Peppermint grows readily in a variety of soils, though if it is to retain its flavor and scent, it is best moved every two or three years to a new garden site.

Like ginger, peppermint is on my list of herbs vital to every home herbal medicine chest. The reason: peppermint can help in:

* loss of appetite

* common cold

* cough/bronchitis

* sinusitis

* fever

* nausea and vomiting

* indigestion (from an overly rich meal)

A meta-analysis and critical review of the use of peppermint oil for irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) appeared in a 1998 issue of the American Journal of Gastroenterology. The authors found that eight randomized, controlled trials collectively indicated that "peppermint oil could be efficacious for symptom relief in IBS." However, due to what they labeled "methodological flaws" in the studies done to date, the writers concluded that peppermint's value in the treatment of IBS had so far "not been established beyond a reasonable doubt." More and better studies were recommended.

Since peppermint has been used for hundreds of years in the treatment of digestive complaints, it is my suggestion that IBS sufferers not wait for the results of "more and better studies" before giving peppermint a try. The plant's active principles are volatile oils, tannins and bitters, and plant constituents acknowledged to improve digestion, reduce GI spasms, and lessen nausea. Peppermint is often gentler than other digestive herbs, such as ginger and cayenne; the aroma alone has a sedating and calming effect on many. In my experience, peppermint can reduce IBS symptoms in some, but not all, patients.

Peppermint is a safe herb, when used in the recommended fashion, at recommended dose. The only problems I have encountered with patients using whole peppermint leaf is, in some rare cases, it can cause headache; and some people simply don't like the taste.

However, caution should be exercised with the use of pure peppermint oil, which should not be taken internally. Inhaling the vapors of a few drops placed in steamy water is a good treatment for bronchitis, and migraine sufferers can get pain relief by placing a drop or two on the temples. But peppermint oil can irritate the skin, and the sensitive tissue of the eyes, nose, and mouth. Avoid contact with the oil on these areas, and wash your hands thoroughly after directly touching pure peppermint oil.

Happy New Year!

During and after the Millennial Madness, these 2 herbs will help quiet our tumultuous tummies down. Have fun with these plants, and try creatively adding them to your home health repertoire. You might be surprised at how helpful they can be!

Domestic Disturbance

Domestic Disturbance

MELISSA ANDERSON ON MARKUS SCHLEINZER'S MICHAEL

THE TITLE CHARACTER of writer-director Markus Schleinzer's arresting first feature is thirty-five, balding, bespectacled, weak-chinned, a bit doughy around the middle. He is a punctilious employee of an Austrian insurance firm, reporting to work in crisply pressed shirts (which he irons himself), V-neck sweaters, and ties; his assiduity earns him a promotion. A bachelor, he returns every night to a modest, spotless home. After lowering his electric shutters, he sets the table for himself and his dinner companion: the ten-year-old boy he keeps locked up in his basement and sexually abuses.

A meticulously observed, tonally assured film that exposes just how banal evil is, Michael recounts the last five months of the relationship between the pedophile (played by Michael Fuith) and his prisoner, whose name is never uttered but who is identified in the closing credits as Wolfgang (David Rauchenberger, making his acting debut). The Vienna-born Schleinzer began as a casting director, notably working with other Austrian filmmakers such as Ulrich Seidl, Jessica Hausner, and Michael Haneke, for whom Schleinzer coached the child actors - whose characters also suffer unspeakable abuses by stern patriarchs - in the grim, pre-World War I movie The White Ribbon (2009).

Schleinzer's skill in guiding Rauchenberger in a project that treats such an abominable subject never falters. Wolfgang is highly vulnerable but fiercely intelligent, and the novice actor manages to convey a steely acuity even irt the most horrific circumstances. The boy's spirit is never fully broken by his immurement in a subterranean room, where he somehow manages to defend his psychic core from continual violation. Though watching Michael is certainly an uncomfortable experience, as the young protagonist is constantly imperiled, Schleinzer earns his viewers' trust early on: The instances of sexual assault are implied, the director cutting after just enough detail has beeh parceled out.

Forgoing exploitation, prurience, and simplistic moralizing, Schleinzer relies on dispassionate, frequently dialogue-free scrutiny instead. To ensure that Michael, a purely fictional creation, bore some semblance to real-life predators, the director asked a forensic psychiatrist to vet his completed script. (The psychiatrist in question, Dr. Heidi Kastner, was an expert witness for the prosecution in the 2009 trial of Josef Fritzl, who held his daughter captive in a bunker under his home in Austria for twenty-four years, repeatedly raping her and fathering her seven children. Kastner has a cameo in Schleinzer's film, appearing as an interviewee on a TV news segment about missing children.) Michael's appalling acts are made all the more so by their juxtaposition with the surface ordinariness that helps conceal them: the insipid facade of the diligent, if aloof, office worker; of the mildly concerned neighbor able to make small talk about a missing cat; of the skiing enthusiast (though an inept one) who goes to a mountain resort with two buddies.

Michael's ghastly secret life itself takes on the semblance of "normalized" ritual. By repeatedly showing him performing the most mundane chores, such as the nightly table setting and the after-dinner washing up, done with Wolfgang's assistance, Schleinzer mordantly defamiliarizes everyday tasks, here used to perpetuate an unimaginable domestic arrangement. (A later scene, in which "father" and "son" scour Wolfgang's cell, puts tidying up in a more malevolent context.) Even holidays are dutifully observed, though they require subterfuge. Exchanging Christmas gifts with his sister at a caf� (including a Harry Potter book for one of his nephews), Michael gently rebuffs her invitation to spend the holiday with her family: "Thanks, but you know how I like to spend Christmas alone," he says, before the desultory conversation turns to Andrea, his imaginary girlfriend who "lives in Germany." At home, Michael and his prepubescent prisoner decorate the tree, sing "Silent Night," and exchange gifts.

The movie's boldest risk (and greatest accomplishment) is simply to chronicle the specifics of the interaction between the abducted and the abductor - to show their "involuntary life together," per the coy description in the official program for the Cannes film festival, where Michael had its world premiere last May. When Wolfgang's captivity began is never specified; the film begins in medias res, but it is clear that enough time has passed that Michael and Wolfgang have acclimated to their respective roles in this depraved dyad.

Nowhere is the perversion of their relationship and the horrors of its particulars more apparent than during Wolfgang's one afternoon outside. Michael has taken him on a late-autumn excursion to a park, alternately bossing him around like a short-fused parent - or a domineering, peevish lover - and pathetically attempting to show affection. A shot of the two silently standing in front of a diorama reveals Michael's hand firmly clasping Wolfgang's, the boy subtly trying to inch away from this stiff, forced display of tenderness, this weird pantomime of normality. Unlike Todd Solondz's Happiness (1998), in which an ostensible paragon of middle-class success turns out to be a pedophile who rapes his son's friends, Michael features no teary scenes of confrontation, no bids for audience sympathy for the predator. A profoundly cool work, the film is scorching in its observations.

Michael opens on February 15 at Film Forum in New York.

[Sidebar]

The movie's boldest risk (and greatest accomplishment) is simply to chronicle the specifics of the interaction between the abducted and the abductor.

[Author Affiliation]

MELISSA ANDERSON IS A REGULAR CONTRIBUTOR TO THE WLMGE VOICE.

Congregations honoured for creative advocacy work [Congregational advocacy award]

Washington, D.C.

From building a Sukkot booth with local Jews to petitioning schools to add international flags, two U.S. congregations have found creative ways to advocate for justice and understanding.

The Mennonite Central Committee U.S. Washington Office recently awarded Madison Mennonite Church in Wisconsin and Assembly Mennonite Church in Goshen, Indiana, its congregational advocacy award. The award is given to congregations that demonstrate an exemplary witness to government, particularly advocacy that is creative, persistent and involves a large number of members.

Both Madison and Assembly have invited speakers, written letters and participated in vigils. They have addressed world conflicts, as well as local issues, such as racism and prisons.

Madison church's advocacy is fueled by the commitment of nearly all its 75 members. As part of the church's call for peace between Israel and Palestine, church members built a Sukkot booth together with members of a Jewish synagogue. These booths commemorate the Israelites' time in the wilderness. During these efforts, the church promoted discussion of differences between American Jews and Arabs.

The congregation has also been involved in negotiations over a decommissioned army ammunition plant nearby. Church members have supported a community coalition to conserve the land while upholding the rights of the indigenous Ho Chunk Nation. Letters opposing the war in Afghanistan and its expansion to Iraq were paired with a blanket drive.

When the Assembly church speaks out for justice, it is not just the adults who are speaking. Junior high youth fasted in solidarity with the people of Afghanistan, donating the money saved on lunches to MCC's peacemaking efforts. They also petitioned the principal of their school to add the flags of countries across the world to the school Christmas tree. Children in the congregation participate in a summer "peace reader" program.

Locally, congregants are involved in reforming how the city of Goshen distributes assistance to low-income people. The church has also formed an anti-racism team and has called for fairer treatment of Goshen's Hispanic community.

On the global scale, Assembly church has a sister relationship with a Mennonite church in Colombia and incorporates reports from Colombia into its worship services. Members were also involved in the "Prayer and Faxing" campaign on Palm Sunday, in which church members asked their congressional representatives to prevent an expansion of the war into Iraq.

Some members of the congregation travelled to Washington to voice their opposition to the death penalty. Others organized a vigil at an execution in Indiana. Many signed a petition calling for a moratorium on the death penalty and wrote letters asking that the execution of juveniles be outlawed. Throughout these activities, the congregation prayed for those facing execution, their victims and the officials who would decide their fate.

Both congregations will receive paintings by Leo Emerson Jr., a graduate student at Howard University in Washington, D.C. The paintings were commissioned by the MCC Washington Office and have a peace and justice theme--From MCC U.S. release by Rachelle Schlabach

Press Strategy Still Focus in Libby Case

WASHINGTON - Former vice presidential aide I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's perjury trial continues to expose the inner workings of the White House media machine.

Cathie Martin, the former spokeswoman for Vice President Dick Cheney who last week discussed the preferred White House strategies for beating back negative media stories, returns to the stand Monday.

She'll be followed by another media veteran, former White House press secretary Ari Fleischer, who will testify about discussing a CIA operative's identity with reporters before leaving the administration in July 2003.

The media strategy has become an early focus in Libby's case. In mid-2003, the White House was fielding criticism from former ambassador Joseph Wilson, who said he had debunked prewar intelligence that was used to justify the Iraq invasion.

Martin testified nearly all day Friday and described a hectic scene as she tried to rebut Wilson's claims. Few reporters were listening to her, she said, and those that listened didn't believe her.

"Few of us in the White House had had any hands-on experience with a major crisis like this."

Cheney drafted Libby, his trusted chief of staff, to help manage the story. Prosecutors say that as the White House responded to Wilson's criticism, officials disclosed to reporters that the ambassador's wife worked at the CIA.

That revelation triggered a leak investigation that Libby is accused of obstructing. He told authorities he was surprised to learn CIA operative Valerie Plame's identity from a reporter in mid-June. Prosecutors say Libby knew it days earlier from several sources - including Cheney - and discussed it with reporters.

Libby's attorneys argue that the media campaign was based on refuting Wilson on the merits of his argument and that his wife was simply an afterthought. In the frenzy of responding to the story, they say, Libby forgot when and where he learned about Plame.

Fleischer's testimony will be key to the prosecution because he says Libby told him about Plame and encouraged him to keep it quiet. As Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald said in his opening statement: "You can't learn something on Thursday that you're giving out on Monday."

Defense attorneys want to cast Fleischer as a witness who's pointing fingers at Libby to save himself. Fleischer was promised immunity in exchange for his testimony.

Libby's attorneys want to know exactly what Fleischer promised in return, so they can describe the deal to jurors. Fitzgerald says he never knew what to expect from Fleischer but gambled that it would help the case.

Nobody was ever charged with leaking Plame's identity. Libby is the only person charged in the case.

---

On the Net:

Documents for the Libby trial may be found at:

http://wid.ap.org/documents/libbytrial/index.html

Terror threat cancels, delays flights: British Airlines calls off three trips in past 24 hours

WASHINGTON - Terror concerns prompted the disruption of more thana half-dozen New Year's holiday flights, as U.S. authoritiescontinued to tighten the air safety net around the country withflight cancellations and airline searches.

British Airways canceled its third flight in 24 hours todaybetween London and Washington's Dulles International Airport after aNew Year's Eve incident in which one of its jetliners was kept on thetarmac in Washington for hours as FBI and Homeland Security officialsquestioned passengers.

U.S. officials said the disruptions were based on possibleintelligence involving terrorist activities.

An international flight between Mexico and Los Angeles wascanceled on Wednesday for similar reasons, and Canadian authoritiessaid an Air France jetliner bound for New York made an unscheduledlanding in the Maritimes on New Year's Day because of securityconcerns.

Officials comparing luggage and passenger lists believed there wasunaccompanied baggage aboard the plane, but a search found nothingsuspicious and the plane resumed its way to New York about four hourslater, officials said.

FBI officials said today some of the intelligence that led toearlier cancellations of Air France flights during Christmas weekinvolved a terror plot involving a Tunisian who is named on the U.S.master terror watch list.

A name similar to the Tunisian's appeared on the manifest of oneof the flights, but turned out to be a youth, FBI officials said.Interrogations of people with other names that concerned the FBIturned up nothing sinister, the officials said.

"We had a name connected with terror plot and it showed up on themanifest and we didn't have a full biographical information, so wetake those precautions until you can assure yourself things are OK,"a senior FBI official said, speaking only on condition of anonymity.

The flurry of activity over New Year's took place a week and ahalf after the Bush administration raised the national terrorismalert to orange. In the face of extreme security at the nation'sairports, seaports and public gathering places, no terroristincidents took place.

But the heightened security caused some inconvenience forpassengers at Dulles, just outside the nation's capital.

Based on security advice from the British government, BritishAirways on Thursday canceled the same flight from London, and itsreturn flight, that U.S. authorities had boarded on New Year's Eveafter it landed at Dulles. That same flight was canceled again todayfollowing security advice from the British government, a spokesmanfor the airline said.

On Thursday night, U.S. authorities delayed a London-bound BritishAirways flight that had been scheduled to leave at 6:35 p.m., withpassengers "re-screened because of security concerns," said a Dullesairport official who asked not to be identified by name. The planeleft shortly after 10 p.m. The airline confirmed the late departure.

On New Year's Eve, U.S. officials acted on intelligenceinformation and not just suspicious passenger names when they boardedthe British Airways jet at Dulles, a national security official said.

Investigators found no evidence of terrorism as 247 passengersfrom London waited more than 31/2 hours before getting off the planewhile some of them were questioned.

"We had concerns with individuals on the flight, but threatreporting information led us to make the decision to have the flightescorted," a national security official said, speaking only oncondition of anonymity.

The officials said the concerns were "fact-related" and not justconnected to the passenger list the United States now receives fromairlines flying into this country.

Security personnel did weapons screening of passengers, and theplane was kept several hundred feet from the terminal during thequestioning.

FBI agents questioned a woman who appeared to be from the MiddleEast, asking her repeatedly why she was not traveling with herhusband, one passenger said.

International court expects Libyan prosecution

CAIRO (AP) — The International Criminal Court's prosecutor said Thursday he is "100 percent" certain that his investigation into attacks on Libyan protesters will lead to crimes against humanity charges against the regime of Libyan ruler Moammar Gadhafi.

Gadhafi's crackdown on anti-regime protests that broke out last month has been the most violent against any of the anti-government uprisings across the Middle East.

Since the Libyan uprising broke out last month, Gadhafi's regime has faced international sanctions and a United Nations-authorized no-fly zone and bombing campaign against his forces. Libyan rebels still hold much of the country's western coastal strip, including their de facto capital in Benghazi. But they have so far failed to make new gains.

The court's investigation makes it likely that Gadhafi's regime will face additional censure, even if it retains power.

Court prosecutor Luis Moreno-Ocampo told The Associated Press on Thursday during a one-day visit to Cairo that he is "100 percent" certain his investigation will lead to charges of crimes against humanity against members of the Gadhafi regime.

Moreno-Ocampo said his team is looking into six incidents of "massive shooting of civilians" by security forces in Tripoli, Benghazi and other Libyan cities.

His team is working with a number of national police forces and Interpol to collect videos, photos and other evidence to determine who participated in and ordered the attacks, he said.

A later investigation will examine the regime's actions during the armed conflict with rebels.

In May, Moreno-Ocampo will present his findings to the United Nations Security Council, which instructed the court to investigate in a unanimous decision on Feb. 26. Since the world's first permanent war crimes tribunal has no police force of its own, the Security Council will likely play a role in having suspects arrested.

Moreno-Ocampo said that soon after, he'll present his case to the international court's judge, who will decide if the case will proceed.

The investigation was launched with unprecedented speed, which the prosecutor attributed to technology, which has brought images of Libyan violence to the world.

"Technology is reducing the distance between people in Libya and people in the (rest of the) world," the Argentine prosecutor said. "Journalists showing the killing of civilians in Libya created this willingness to intervene."

He said Gadhafi's reputation also played a role.

"Gadhafi's personality helped unite the world against him," he said, while insisting that he would remain impartial.

"I have to protect his rights," he said. "We don't care about personalities."

[ KUP'S COLUMN ]

Written with Stella Foster

I want to take this opportunity to extend my sincerest thanks tothe media, my family, friends, fans and colleagues who made myturning 90 years old on July 31 a real pleasure, so much so that I'mlooking forward to another 90 years. (Ha!)

MY THANKS also to Dr. Warrick Carter, the board of trustees andstaff at Columbia College for hosting a beautiful birthday luncheonfor this reporter in the Empire Room of the Palmer House, whichraised money for the school's scholarship program named in my honor.Bill Kurtis did an outstanding job of emceeing the program and Gov.George Ryan, Studs Terkel, Wally Phillips, Roger Ebert, my son,Jerry, the TV director, and my grandson, David, all spoke eloquentlyand truthfully.

PRESIDENT Bush and former President Gerald Ford sent wonderfultelegrams of congratulations, as did broadcast diva Barbara Walters.There were video greetings from Mike ("60 Minutes") Wallace, TonyBennett and former Chicago broadcaster Lee Philip with hubby BillBell. Also, a big thanks to the co-chairs of the luncheon, attorneyPhil Corboy, restaurant giant Rich Melman and businessman Sid Port.Howard Mendelsohn and his scholarship committee, worked tirelessly tomake this event a success.

LAST, but not least, my thanks to Channel 7's Joel Daly for hisinterview with this reporter that aired on Sunday. Unfortunately, Ican't mention everyone who helped me celebrate my special day, butplease know that I am most appreciative of all the support. Well,enough about me.

BACK ON THE BEAT:

LIBRARY Commissioner Mary Dempsey is just thrilled that masterfulnovelist Joyce Carol Oates will be honored by the Chicago PublicLibrary Foundation at a gala dinner Oct. 10 at the Harold WashingtonLibrary Center. Oates, whose novel We Were the Mulvaneys was onOprah's book list last year and adapted into a movie on Lifetime,will be presented with the prestigious Carl Sandburg Literary award.

Previous awardees include authors Kurt Vonnegut and DavidMcCullough. Civic-minded Cindy Pritzker is the chairperson. For moreinfo call (312) 201-9830.

ARNE DUNCAN, CEO of Chicago Public Schools, is slated to speak atthe City Club of Chicago's public policy luncheon Aug. 21 atMaggiano's Banquets. Duncan will be talking about the new "SchoolOptions" program, which is now a part of the public school system.

HEADS UP: The New Israel Fund's dinner benefit is set for Dec. 5at the Palmer House. The organization will honor civic leadersMarjorie Craig Benton and Bettylu Saltzman. The guest speaker will beformer Senate Majority Leader George Mitchell.

THEATRE HAPPENINGS: The premiere of playwright Ann Noble's newdrama "Ariadne's Thread" opens Sept. 23 with previews starting Sept.13. . . . The broadway hit "Aida" opens Aug. 21 at the CadillacPalace. . . . Singer/composer Oscar Brown Jr.'s musical "Great NittyGritty" starts Aug. 9 at the South Shore Cultural Center. . . . ActorGeorge ("Cheers") Wendt stars in Northlight's debut comedy "RoundingThird" opening Oct. 9.

ACTOR Tim ("Shawshank Redemption," "The Player") Robbins will co-star along with Sean Penn and Kevin Bacon in the new movie "MysticRiver" directed by actor Clint Eastwood.

SIGHT SEEN: Prominent attorney Ed Reda celebrating his lovely wifeKathy's 50th birthday with close friends at the palatial home of Pegand Don Barry in Michigan. . . . The Phillies' Jason Michaels andJeremy Giambi partying at Jilly's Retro Club.

JIMMY RICHARDS, president of Showtime Enterprises in suburban OakLawn, and his partner Robert Pineda have teamed up with AltoviseDavis, the widow of legendary entertainer Sammy Davis Jr., to producea musical "Mr. Bojangles" based on the star's illustrious career. "Mr. Bojangles" was one of Sammy's signature songs along with otherhits including "Candy Man" and "I've Gotta Be Me." They plan tostart casting very shortly.

CANDLES & Cake: Actor Dorian Harewood, Catherine Hicks and my co-writer and assistant the "Stellar" Stella Foster.

On Wednesday: Garrison Keillor, Art Hellyer, June Travis Friedloband anniversary greetings to Tom Selleck and Jillie. And belated birthday greetings to Fox-TV anchors Robin Robinson and WalterJacobson, WVON radio president Melody Spann-Cooper and MonsignorIgnatius McDermott.

Have a great day!

JPMorgan Chase: More mortgage market losses for 3Q

JPMorgan Chase & Co. revealed Monday that it has incurred more substantial losses in its mortgage investments so far in the third quarter than it did in the previous three months.

In a regulatory filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission, the bank said turbulence in the credit markets has caused it to lose about $1.5 billion, after hedges, in its mortgage-backed securities and loans to date in the July-to-September quarter.

That's more than the $1.1 billion markdown the bank took in its investment bank's portfolio during the second quarter.

As of June 30, the New York-based bank had $19.5 billion in exposure to prime and Alt-A mortgages, $1.9 billion in exposure to subprime mortgages, and $11.6 billion in exposure to commercial mortgage-backed securities.

During the second quarter, JPMorgan Chase _ which in March bought the investment bank Bear Stearns & Cos. _ posted a 53 percent drop in profit after marking down its investment portfolio, writing off more consumer loans as unpaid, and bulking up its reserves for further loan losses.

LOOKING BACK: The Continuing Legacy of Old and Abandoned Chemical Weapons

I hear a dull thud. A blue mist comes floating across the frosty fields. In the field behind the cemetery, the DOVO, the Belgian War Munition Demolition Service, has blown up another heap of First World War ammunition. They do it twice a day, one and a half tons a year. When the farmers find grenades, they leave them at the base of the utility masts, and the miners collect them. And so it goes on here. Generation after generation, this soil continues to vomit up grenades, buttons, buckles, knives, skulls, bottles, rifles, sometimes even a whole tank. The Great War never ends.1

Nearly 66 million artillery shells containing chemical weapons were fired during World War I. At least 40 different compounds were weaponized for use on the battlefield.2 Now, nearly a century later, hundreds of World War I- and World War II-era shells are recovered annually from the European battlefields, mostly in Belgium and France.3 Nor is the concrete legacy of chemical warfare confined to Europe. Such aged chemical weapons affect countries as far as China.

The 1993 Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) requires that chemical-weapon possessors meet the treaty's overall deadline for destruction: April 29,2012. However, the treaty established particular definitions for such "old" and "abandoned" chemical weapons as well as different destruction and financing requirements. With the treaty's second review conference scheduled to meet in The Hague in April, states-parties should assess how well the verification of the destruction of such obsolete chemical arms is proceeding.

Treaty Requirements

The CWC classifies as old chemical weapons (OCW) those produced before 1925 or those produced between 1925 and January 1,1946, that have "deteriorated to such [an] extent that they can no longer be used as chemical weapons." The convention defines abandoned chemical weapons (ACW) as "chemical weapons, including old chemical weapons, abandoned by a State after 1 January 1925 on the territory of another State without the consent of the latter."4

A state-party is required to declare OCW or ACW found on its territory no later than 30 days after the CWC enters into force for it. States-parties are to submit "all available relevant" information, including, to the extent possible, their location, type, quantity, and present condition. States-parties that discover OCW after the CWC enters into force for them are required to provide the above information to the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) Technical secretariat no later than 180 days after such a discovery. OCW produced prior to 1925 are to be treated as "toxic waste" and as such are subject to the lowest level of verification.

A state-party that has ACW on the territory of another state-party is required to declare this to the OPCW within 30 days of the CWCs entering into force for it. The cost of the destruction of ACW is to be met by the abandoning state-party, if its identity is known.5

Who Has What

As of December 2007, three states declared that chemical weapons had been abandoned on their territory, and 13 declared possession of OCW.6 Destruction operations are underway in most of these states. By comparison, six states said they possessed post-World War II chemical weapons stockpiles.7

Some of the OCW possessor states have been recovering and destroying OCW as they find them in the field. During 2005-2006, for example, Austria uncovered three such weapons, which posed no immediate danger to the environment. In 2007 the OPCW approved a proposal to destroy these munitions in Germany, at Munster, partly on the condition that they remain under the ownership and control of Austria.8 During 2006-2007, Australia recovered a number of empty, corroded shells in New South Wales and Queensland. Australia considered the munitions to be already destroyed because of their deteriorated condition and declared them as OCW.9 In March 2007, the United Kingdom completed the destruction of all its OCW, totalling 3,812 munitions, at a cost of approximately $20 million.10 There is also periodic recovery of old munitions from the territory of the former Soviet Union. For example, in 2004 a number of World War I-era artillery shells, some of which were reportedly filled with chlorine, were uncovered in the village of Toporivka in the Chernovsti region of Ukraine.11

It is reasonable to assume that other successor states may face similar challenges. All told, as of December 31,2006, countries had declared 50,700 OCW produced before 1925 and 66,700 OCW produced between 1925 and 1946. As of the same date, approximately 37,600 munitions had been declared as ACW.12 Belgium, China, Germany, and Japan have significant destruction efforts.

Belgium

Following the end of World War I, it was common for scrap collectors to recover spent artillery shells and other scrap metal from the former battlefields, including those in Belgium. The copper driving bands on shells were of particular interest. In the 1920s, Belgian authorities let contracts to collect the war material systematically. The volume was so great that a decision was taken to dump the munitions or scuttle them on ships. Much of this dumping occurred in shallow water in an area called Horse Market (Paardenmarkt).13 Belgium began to assess chemical weapons destruction technologies in the early 1980s, and a destruction facility at Poelkapelle, near Ypres, began operating in the late 1990s. Ypres is the site where German forces released approximately 160 tons of chlorine in April 1915. It was also where Germany first used sulfur mustard, also called Yperite, in July 1917. Key combatants in the war used chemical weapons.

More than 12,000 shells have been destroyed at the Poelkapelle facility, and as of 2007, close to 50,000 shells have been examined using X-rays and neutron activation analysis. This is carried out partly to determine whether the shell is a conventional explosive or is a chemical round. It also assists with determining where the shell should be drilled or cut to avoid touching the burster well. Some shells, particularly 7.7 cm artillery rounds, contain glass bottles to prevent the chemical fill (usually Clark I) from mixing with the explosive components of the munition. These bottles tend to break over time and contaminate the explosive components with chemical-weapon agent. In such cases, additional safety and environmental precautions must be taken because it is impossible to separate the agent from the explosives. Currently, the facility receives about 10,000 items (approximately 200 metric tons) per year. At least one-third are immediately identified as being conventional rounds. Typically, approximately 5-10 percent of the total have been found to be chemical weapons munitions.14

China

Japan's World War li-era occupation of China has left a large legacy of chemical weapons. In 1991 the first joint Chinese-Japanese investigation of a site containing chemical weapons was conducted in an effort to determine the scope of the problem. Since then, the two countries have jointly conducted approximately 75 fact-finding missions or site investigations of suspected ACW sites. Since 2000, they have executed 16 excavation and recovery operations.15

These activities provided evidence for the presence of approximately 350,000 chemical weapons munitions, 90 percent of which are located in Haerbaling in Jilin Province in northeastern China. In 1992 the Chinese delegation to the Geneva-based Conference on Disarmament introduced a paper estimating that approximately two million chemical weapons had been abandoned on its territory. This initial estimate was revised downward as a result of subsequent joint Chinese-Japanese investigation and field visits.16 In 1999 the two governments signed a memorandum of understanding in which Japan formally acknowledged the presence of large numbers of chemical weapons it abandoned on Chinese territory. In the agreement, Japan promised to provide "all necessary financial, technical, expert, facility as well as other resources" for the purposes of destroying the ACW.17 In 2006, Japan sent four investigation teams and five excavation and recovery teams to China, where more than 1,700 projectiles were recovered.18

In 2007, Japan announced its intention to introduce a mobile destruction system (apparently a detonation chamber system) to complement the planned construction of a fixed, incineration-based chemical weapons destruction facility in Haerbaling. Approximately 38,000 of the estimated 300,000 or more ACW located in the region have been recovered and are awaiting destruction.

Although destruction operations of ACW in China have not yet begun, the country faces a number of challenges. These include the difficulty in locating all ACW sites, the presence in some cases of conventional munitions with fuses that might trigger the munitions while they are being handled or while in storage, and possible corruption. In 2007 a former president of a Japanese contractor and other parties were reported to have been arrested for illegally diverting destruction assistance funds. It is estimated that the total cost for Japanese destruction assistance could exceed 1 trillion yen (approximately $9 billion).19

Nonetheless, destruction operations in China should be simpler than for most other states because it only has two basic types of chemical fills, requiring only two different types of destruction methods. The fact that one of the technologies is expected to employ explosive charges does mean that there is some concern about how long this process will take. Generally, it is more difficult with this method to achieve the necessary throughput in order to destroy large numbers of munitions in a timely manner because attaching the charges lengthens the destruction process.

China and Japan are considering using different destruction technologies at the mam destruction facility at Haerba-ling. For red munitions containing Clark I (diphenylchloroarsine) or Clark II (diphenylcyanoarsine), a destruction technology using donor charges is being debated. For the yellow munitions, a 50-50 mixture of lewisite and sulfur mustard, using a static detonation technology is being considered. For this, a temperature of approximately 550 degrees Celsius will be sufficient to destroy the munitions, including the chemical warfare agent. A mobile destruction plant is currently under consideration and should begin operation by late spring 2009. It will be used to destroy small caches of weapons, including some outside Jilin province.

Germany

Beginning in World War I, the military training ground at Munster was the principal experimental and training area for Germany's chemical weapons efforts. The site has hundreds of thousands of World War I- and World War H-era conventional and chemical weapon munitions. In 1919, approximately 1 million chemical weapon shells were scattered about the site when a train carrying munitions exploded, after which the area had the appearance of a moonscape. The British military also used Munster for some field testing of chemical weapons munitions after World War II. Most of the munitions at Munster are German, but it also houses significant quantities of munitions produced by other countries during both world wars. The soil is also contaminated with metals, most notably arsenic, and one can readily uncover munitions in almost any given area on the facility grounds.

Currently, the chemical weapons destruction facility consists of three different plants. Munster I is used primarily to treat material that results from the dismantling of old chemical weapons munitions. Munster II is primarily used to clean soil, and Munster III is a static detonation chamber into which munitions are directly fed without disassembly. In Munster II, arsenic is removed from the soil by a soil-washing process, and then the remaining material that has a high concentration of arsenic is placed into a plasma-furnace system, which operates at a temperature of 1,200-1,500 degrees Celsius. Some arsenic is trapped in a nonleaching crystalline structure of vitrified glass slag and the rest is precipitated as arsenate (a salt) from the off-gas scrubber system.

Japan

Japan continues to uncover and destroy OCW dating from the second World War. At the end of the war, stocks of Japanese weapons included yellow and red munitions, green agent (chloroacetophenone), blue agent (phosgene), brown agent (hydrogen cyanide), and white agent (trichlorarsine). Japan produced 75-millimeter, 90-millimeter, 105-millimeter, and 150-millimeter artillery shells; 15-kilogram and 50-kilogram bombs; and various canisters and drum containers. One of the first authoritative public disclosures by Japan in the English language of the nature and type of their known or probable locations was published in 1980. It stated that, since the end of the war, 102 accidents had occurred during destruction operations, resulting in 127 casualties and four deaths.21

A national survey carried out by Japan of OCW in the country in 1973 identified 18 sites that were presumed to have OCW at the end of World War II. OCW were also known to have been dumped in eight locations in the waters off the coast of Japan. In 2002 and 2003, construction workers were exposed to OCW in Samukawa Town and Hiratsuka City. Authorities also found arsenic in organic form in groundwater at Kamisu City. In 2003, Japan's Ministry of the Environment undertook an effort to identify the scope of the problem and began recovery and destruction operations. The survey identified 114 sites on Japanese territory where the existence of OCW is known or suspected. Of these sites, the presence of OCW and their location are confirmed for four sites: Hiratsuka City, Kamisu City, Samukawa Town, and Narashino City. Narashino City is the site of a former school of the Japanese Imperial Army.22

A major recovery operation of munitions involving the use of magnetometers and divers has also been carried out since 2004 at Kanda Port in southwestern Japan, where dredging operations are underway to assist with the construction of an airport. Phase two of the operation involved the recovery of 100 50-kilogram yellow bombs and 500 15-kilogram red bombs. More than 1,200 chemical munitions have been destroyed since 2004, including 1,043 red bombs and 211 yellow bombs. The munitions are detonated in an explosive containment chamber that can be readily dismantled for use elsewhere. Particular attention has been devoted to ensuring the safe disposal of arsenic residues from the interior of the explosive containment chamber and the remnants of the munition bodies.23

CWC Requirements and Implementation Practice

The states-parties to the CWC have not been able to reach consensus on a number of implementation issues concerning OCW and ACW. None of these issues fundamentally undermine the efficacy of the CWCs verification regime, but some of them may be taken up at the review conference. In particular, the states-parties still need to agree on guidelines for determining the usability of chemical weapons produced between 1925 and 1946, appropriate formats for declaring OCW and ACW, and who should pay for the inspection costs of OCW.

There is a lack of consensus on what constitutes usability. Some contend that both the munition body and chemical need be usable for the weapon to be considered as such. Others say that only either the munition body or the chemical need be usable to meet this standard. Usability guidelines are currently implemented acrarding to two secretariat papers from 2000 on a case-by-case basis.24

The principal difficulty associated with agreeing on the declaration format for OCW and ACW was that states-parties felt that a weapon's age and condition would make it difficult to provide detailed information because either it was not available or would be too dangerous for munition-disposal experts to try to obtain.25 States-parties have periodically considered whether information is "available" or "relevant." Some of the parties have also expressed a reluctance to engage in "historical research" projects. They typically express the wish only to declare the weapons and destroy them, thereby keeping to a minimum the financial and administrative burden required for effective OPCW verification.

Finally, states-parties have never formally agreed on whether the CWC requires that possessors of OCW should bear the full "direct costs"26 of verification of destruction, although in practice they do. Instances may also occur where it is unclear whether a chemical weapon was produced before or after January 1,1946. It is politically more acceptable to declare OCW than to declare the possession of chemical weapons and thus be labeled publicly as a chemical weapons possessor.

Conclusions

OCW and ACW will continue to pose a potential danger to humans and the environment for the foreseeable future. The fate of the arsenic in the destruction by-products of some of the chemical warfare agents has been a long-standing concern and technical challenge. There is also great uncertainty in the case of ACW in China on the difficulties associated with longer-term storage of possibly unstable munitions under conditions that cannot be fully analyzed in the abstract. Meeting these and other challenges will require continued cooperation and information sharing, including within the framework of the OPCW.27

Moreover, given the fact that chemical weapons produced before January 1,1946, will continue to be recovered, an OPCW working group has suggested that the second review conference might consider the practicality of setting a deadline for the destruction of such weapons as they are recovered over the coming decades.

Technical and political expertise on old and abandoned chemical weapons (OACW) issues will be affected also by generational changes as munitions specialists retire or change fields. Here too the OPCW could help to serve as a mechanism to facilitate the transfer of relevant knowledge and expertise among the states-parties as they deal with this problem.

Finally, it is sometimes difficult to determine how the higher-level diplomatic statements of the states-parties relate to CWC implementation practice and what role the sending of signals to each other is playing vrithin the broader political context. It is therefore important for outside observers to try to obtain a better understanding of the operational-level activities of CWC implementation and how they relate to the states-parties' broader political interests and concerns. Although not all OACW implementation issues have been formally resolved, they are dealt with on an interim but fair basis that poses no serious challenge to the fundamental object and purpose of the CWC.

[Sidebar]

World War I-era artillery shells await destruction at the Belgian chemical weapon dismantlement facility at Poelkapelle, May 16, 2007.

[Sidebar]

Chinese and Japanese experts in abandoned chemical weapons examine a Japanese World War II-era bomb that was excavated from a site in China's Heilongjiang province, July 5, 2006.

[Sidebar]

Nearly a century later, hundreds of World War I- and World War II-era shells are recovered annually from the European battlefields. However, the legacy of chemical warfare is not confined to Europe. Such aged chemical weapons affect countries as far away as China.

[Author Affiliation]

John Hart is head of the the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute's Chemical and Biological Warfare Program (Nonproliferation and Export Controls Project) and co-author of the Historical Dictionary of Nuclear, Biological and Chemical Warfare (2007).

Poland raises interest rates to 4.5 percent

WARSAW, Poland (AP) — Poland's central bank on Wednesday raised its key interest rate by a quarter percentage point to 4.5 percent as it tries to curb inflation.

The National Bank of Poland's fourth increase this year — and for the third month in a row — was widely anticipated as the price of fuel, food and other items continue to rise.

Despite higher borrowing costs, Poland's economy continues to grow strongly. Economic growth this year is projected to be around 4 percent.

In explaining its rate hike, the central bank noted that annual inflation rose to 4.5 percent in April, remaining "significantly above" the bank's inflation target of 2.5 percent.

The bank said it expects inflation to remain high in the coming months, mainly due to strong growth in global commodity prices. It said it believed its monetary policy tightening this year should lower inflation in the medium term, but that it does not rule out further adjustments if the inflationary outlook deteriorates.

Bank BPH in Warsaw said it expects one more rate hike this year if inflation continues to remain high.

Munua, Aouate lose top goalkeeping job at Deportivo after locker room clash; Fabricio promoted

Fabricio Ramirez was promoted to first-choice goalkeeper at Deportivo La Coruna after a violent incident between the Spanish club's top keepers in the locker room.

Israel goalkeeper Dudu Aouate needed eight stitches around his left eye when he was punched by Uruguayan Gustavo Munua on Friday.

"The locker room is united and we won't allow it to be divided," Deportivo coach Miguel Angel Laotina said Saturday. "I don't want to give the impression that we put up with any people who can't control themselves."

The club said it would be meeting with both goalkeepers next week after dropping them from the squad for Sunday's league match at Villarreal.

Aouate said Munua took him by surprise.

"I had showered and went to get dressed. Munua came in and said 'who are you looking at?' Next thing, he punched me in the eye and it started to bleed heavily," Aouate was quoted as saying by Spanish newspaper Marca on Saturday. "All the team were there and were shocked."

Munua replaced Aouate as starting goalkeeper following a 2-1 home loss to Racing Santander in early December. On Thursday, Aouate reportedly voiced his displeasure about the decision.

"I have never complained about or spoken badly of a colleague. I spoke about my ability and the team's predicament. They asked me about Munua and I didn't say anything," Aouate said.

Aouate didn't confirm if he would pursue legal action against Munua.

"It wasn't a fight. He's hit me without any explanation," Aouate said. "I am surprised a teammate can do something like this."

Deportivo is 19th in the league with 17 points.

New police superintendent will face tough tests

If the Chicago City Council follows preliminary indications and approves Mayor Richard M. Daley's choice of J.D. (Jody) Weis as the new superintendent of police, it will be a good news/bad news situation for the FBI agent.

The good news for Weis is his $300,000-plus annual salary tops Vice President Dick Cheney's by more than $100,000.

Weis will be in charge of 17,000 cops and civilians and Cheney is a heartbeat away from being the leader of the free world. So much for salary being commensurate with responsibility.

The bad news is there is no "fresh start" which the mayor seems to be looking for by bringing in the first non-Chicago cop in 47 years to head the department. If, as planned on Jan. 16, Weis is sitting in the big chair at 3500 S. Michigan Ave., he will have the blood of Aaron Harrison, the late 19-year-old West Sider, on his hands, as well as that of slain 10-year-old Arthur Jones.

Young Jones died from a thug's bullet intended for another thug across the street. Harrison, a young brother who had more than his share of conversations with police officers, died after he was shot running from police officers.

Wels will not be able to absolve himself of those shootings or the nearly five dozen others that claimed the lives of young Black Chicagoans. There will be no "that was before my arrival excuses.

Weis has inherited a mess that none of his predecessors opted to clean up. The rogue cop behavior, the shootings of reportedly unarmed civilians, cops plotting to kill other cops and a mentally ill man dying after being buzzed with some cops' Tasers are all horrendous events that got sound-bite responses from police brass, but nothing of substance.

Even when the upper echelon of the department would wander into the community for some sort of scripted forum, they did a great job of listening; but the follow-up left a lot to be desired. The departmental leaders didn't publicly explain that cops were allowed to kill unarmed West Siders or South Siders. So, family and friends are still seeking answers - months after incidents.

Of course Weis won't come in with the answers, but the wisest thing he can do is immediately promise to get them, and share them in quick fashion.

Maybe the mayor recognized but didn't want to remind us that Weis' coming to Chicago is much like a player being traded from a Detroit team to one of ours. Whatever that player did there was fine, but he still must prove himself here.

The new superintendent will need to prove he's more than a suit by getting into the community, personally, and not relying on any secondhand accounts of how "things" are. Even if he's got a squad of cops in tow, Weis walking along 16th Street and Pulaski Avenue or 47th Street and King Drive, getting residents' perceptions about the cops will be a gargantuan step toward restoring some confidence in the department.

Neither Weis nor Daley should expect that restoration to happen anytime soon. It is just not feasible or even reasonable for cops to kill members of the community and expect that community to say, "oh it's cool. He's a new guy."

Much of Chicago's Black community is like a burn victim and the removal of the dead skin has to be done carefully, timely and on some sort of schedule.

Weis' presence and a genuine pledge to improve things before the families of Johnnie Goodwin and other youngsters who are no longer with us can be an unprecedented salve.

A tragic mistake for the 49-year-old uber cop will be to try to ignore the past, and come into the job as if there are no ill feelings and raw nerves out there.

In a year or so, we might be able to look back and say the new guy made a difference; but in the meantime, if Weis makes a dent in crime and improves the relationship between cops and the community, it will be shocking.

While he is dealing with the community, Weis' dealings inside the department could be testy at times. Interim Supt. Dana Starks' move to a civilian post leaves an opening for a second in command. The smart money says Weis will import another FBI-type to have his back.

It might be understandable, but certainly will be a slap in the face of the men and women who have labored through the departmental ranks and have earned a hard look and promotion into the second top spot.

Weis simply will be spinning his wheels toward building community trust if the community is looking at Chicago Police Department leadership that is neither homegrown nor of color.

He might not like it, and Daley might think it is a non-starter, but it is simply how things work here.

[Author Affiliation]

Glenn Reedus is the managing editor of the Chicago Defender.

India's key stock index drops more than 4 percent on surging oil prices

Indian stocks have plunged amid jitters about rising inflation and soaring global oil prices.

The benchmark Sensex index was down 557 points, or 4.1 percent, to 12,904 in late afternoon trading Tuesday.

Last week, the government said India's inflation in the first week of June rose to a 13-year high of 11.4 percent.

Analysts said the markets were reacting to sinking global markets as oil prices climbed to US$142 a barrel Tuesday.

Lansbury, Bergen, Larroquette and McKean on stage

NEW YORK (AP) — James Earl Jones will have some big-name help when he returns to Broadway.

Producers said Tuesday that Angela Lansbury, Candice Bergen, John Larroquette and Michael McKean will join Jones in "Gore Vidal's The Best Man" in the spring.

The play debuted on Broadway in 1960 and was nominated for six Tonys. It tells the story of two politicians vying for the presidential nomination.

It will have its first preview on March 6 with an official opening set for April 1 at a Shubert Theatre to be announced.

Bergen starred in "Murphy Brown" and was on Broadway in "Hurlyburly." Lansbury was last in a revival of "A Little Night Music." Larroquette won a Tony Award in "How to Succeed in Business" and McKean is in "King Lear" at The Public Theater.

Lufthansa cargo plane crashes in Saudi Arabia

A Lufthansa cargo plane caught fire and split in half as it was landing Tuesday in the Saudi Arabian capital, injuring the German pilot and co-pilot, said local officials and the airline.

Lufthansa said in a statement that one of its MD-11 planes crashed and the pilot and co-pilot, aged 39 and 29, had to leave the plane by emergency chutes.

Riyadh airport official Fahd al-Hamoud said the German nationals were rushed to a military hospital near the airport.

"The plane was close to the airport when it caught fire," al-Hamoud said. "Its engines stopped working, then it crashed and split into two halves."

It took civil defense workers about three hours to contain the fire, he added.

Lufthansa said the plane was heavily damaged and a team of experts is on its way to Riyadh to determine the cause.

Flight LH 8460 came from Frankfurt and was initially scheduled to leave Riyadh later for Sharjah in the nearby United Arab Emirates and then Hong Kong.

The Lufthansa statement added that the MD-11 was first built in 1993 and bought by Germany's biggest airline, in 2004. Its last complete technical check up was June 2009.

Michael Goentgens, a spokesman for Lufthansa's cargo division in Germany said the flight was carrying about 90 tons of unspecified cargo.

The Arab satellite TV channel Al-Arabiya aired live footage from the airport showing the plane on fire and black smoke billowing into the sky.

__

Juergen Baetz in Berlin and Maggie Michael in Cairo contributed to this report.

Biodiesel, the fuel of tomorrow

New Straits Times
01-14-2007
Biodiesel, the fuel of tomorrow
Edition: New Sunday Times
Section: Cars, Bikes & Trucks-Supplement
Memo: Diesel Buyer's Guide 2007

WITH the rising cost of fuel, the uncertainty of how much fossil fuel is really left, and the growing and more noticeable greenhouse effects of global warming, more and more people have been looking towards new non-fossil sources of fuel.

One such source is biodiesel. But what exactly is it and where does it come from?
Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel which produces greatly reduced emissions.

It also reduces carbon monoxide emissions by half, is non-toxic and is biodegradable.

In general, biodiesel refers to a diesel-equivalent processed fuel derived from biological sources such as vegetable oils or animal fats and can be used in unmodified diesel-engined vehicles.

Scientifically speaking, biodiesel is a fatty acid alkyl ester and is different from the straight vegetable oils (SVO) or waste vegetable oils (WVO) used as fuels in some modified diesel vehicles.

The greatest benefit is seen when used in its purest form, 100 per cent biodiesel, or B100. Biodiesel can also be mixed with regular petroleum diesel, usually referred to as B2 or B20 blends which respectively have 2 per cent or 20 per cent biodiesel mixed with normal fossil fuel-based diesel fuel.

There is much ongoing debate about the extent to which biodiesel can safely be used in conventional diesel engines without modification as well as the technical expertise required to mix biodiesel correctly.

In Malaysia, with the announcement of the set up of Malaysia's first biodiesel refinery in 2005, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui was quoted as saying the fuel could not be used in Malaysia as the existing infrastructure of the major oil companies in the country to blend the biodiesel with petroleum diesel was insufficient.

The companies would have to work together with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and Golden Hope Plantations Bhd to develop the infrastructure, he said, adding that there weren't any legal provisions for the alternative fuel in the country at the moment.

"That is why we have to export. In terms of marketing, we do not see any problems," he said.

On why the government started this project, Chin said it was to put the country on the world map in coming out with alternative fuels.

Interestingly, the most common problem that comes from using biodiesel in unmodified engines is that biodiesel is a better solvent than standard diesel, `cleaning' the engine, removing deposits in the fuel lines, and thus potentially causing blockages in the fuel injectors. Thus, when switching from normal diesel to biodiesel, it may be necessary to replace the fuel filter.

Many vehicle manufacturers, however, are positive about the use of biodiesel, citing lower engine wear as one of the benefits of this fuel.

Some international manufacturers like Volkswagen (VW) have released a list of vehicles that are able to run on biodiesel fuel without needing any major modifications.

In Britain, many manufacturers only maintain their engine warranties for use with maximum 5 per cent biodiesel blended with 95 per cent conventional diesel. Peugeot and Citroen have announced that their HDI diesel engine could run on 30 per cent biodiesel while Scania and VW are other exceptions, allowing most of their engines to operate on 100 per cent biodiesel.

One of the reasons biodiesel has not been actively supported in some countries is that the revenue from fuel taxes forms a significant portion of the revenue earned by the government. Until governments around the world figure out how they can tax consumers on used cooking oil, biodiesel will still be in the realm of the environmentally-conscious, socially-active motorist. At least for now.

Some useful online resources for those of you interested in learning more about biodiesel:

* How you can make biodiesel for yourself http:// www.biodieselcommunity.org/

* A community blog on biodiesel http://community.livejournal.com/ biodiesel/

* The Bio-Diesel guru who authored the book "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" http://www.joshuatickell.com/

(Copyright 2007)
Biodiesel, the fuel of tomorrow
New Straits Times
01-14-2007
Biodiesel, the fuel of tomorrow
Edition: New Sunday Times
Section: Cars, Bikes & Trucks-Supplement
Memo: Diesel Buyer's Guide 2007

WITH the rising cost of fuel, the uncertainty of how much fossil fuel is really left, and the growing and more noticeable greenhouse effects of global warming, more and more people have been looking towards new non-fossil sources of fuel.

One such source is biodiesel. But what exactly is it and where does it come from?
Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel which produces greatly reduced emissions.

It also reduces carbon monoxide emissions by half, is non-toxic and is biodegradable.

In general, biodiesel refers to a diesel-equivalent processed fuel derived from biological sources such as vegetable oils or animal fats and can be used in unmodified diesel-engined vehicles.

Scientifically speaking, biodiesel is a fatty acid alkyl ester and is different from the straight vegetable oils (SVO) or waste vegetable oils (WVO) used as fuels in some modified diesel vehicles.

The greatest benefit is seen when used in its purest form, 100 per cent biodiesel, or B100. Biodiesel can also be mixed with regular petroleum diesel, usually referred to as B2 or B20 blends which respectively have 2 per cent or 20 per cent biodiesel mixed with normal fossil fuel-based diesel fuel.

There is much ongoing debate about the extent to which biodiesel can safely be used in conventional diesel engines without modification as well as the technical expertise required to mix biodiesel correctly.

In Malaysia, with the announcement of the set up of Malaysia's first biodiesel refinery in 2005, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui was quoted as saying the fuel could not be used in Malaysia as the existing infrastructure of the major oil companies in the country to blend the biodiesel with petroleum diesel was insufficient.

The companies would have to work together with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and Golden Hope Plantations Bhd to develop the infrastructure, he said, adding that there weren't any legal provisions for the alternative fuel in the country at the moment.

"That is why we have to export. In terms of marketing, we do not see any problems," he said.

On why the government started this project, Chin said it was to put the country on the world map in coming out with alternative fuels.

Interestingly, the most common problem that comes from using biodiesel in unmodified engines is that biodiesel is a better solvent than standard diesel, `cleaning' the engine, removing deposits in the fuel lines, and thus potentially causing blockages in the fuel injectors. Thus, when switching from normal diesel to biodiesel, it may be necessary to replace the fuel filter.

Many vehicle manufacturers, however, are positive about the use of biodiesel, citing lower engine wear as one of the benefits of this fuel.

Some international manufacturers like Volkswagen (VW) have released a list of vehicles that are able to run on biodiesel fuel without needing any major modifications.

In Britain, many manufacturers only maintain their engine warranties for use with maximum 5 per cent biodiesel blended with 95 per cent conventional diesel. Peugeot and Citroen have announced that their HDI diesel engine could run on 30 per cent biodiesel while Scania and VW are other exceptions, allowing most of their engines to operate on 100 per cent biodiesel.

One of the reasons biodiesel has not been actively supported in some countries is that the revenue from fuel taxes forms a significant portion of the revenue earned by the government. Until governments around the world figure out how they can tax consumers on used cooking oil, biodiesel will still be in the realm of the environmentally-conscious, socially-active motorist. At least for now.

Some useful online resources for those of you interested in learning more about biodiesel:

* How you can make biodiesel for yourself http:// www.biodieselcommunity.org/

* A community blog on biodiesel http://community.livejournal.com/ biodiesel/

* The Bio-Diesel guru who authored the book "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" http://www.joshuatickell.com/

(Copyright 2007)
Biodiesel, the fuel of tomorrow
New Straits Times
01-14-2007
Biodiesel, the fuel of tomorrow
Edition: New Sunday Times
Section: Cars, Bikes & Trucks-Supplement
Memo: Diesel Buyer's Guide 2007

WITH the rising cost of fuel, the uncertainty of how much fossil fuel is really left, and the growing and more noticeable greenhouse effects of global warming, more and more people have been looking towards new non-fossil sources of fuel.

One such source is biodiesel. But what exactly is it and where does it come from?
Biodiesel is a cleaner burning fuel which produces greatly reduced emissions.

It also reduces carbon monoxide emissions by half, is non-toxic and is biodegradable.

In general, biodiesel refers to a diesel-equivalent processed fuel derived from biological sources such as vegetable oils or animal fats and can be used in unmodified diesel-engined vehicles.

Scientifically speaking, biodiesel is a fatty acid alkyl ester and is different from the straight vegetable oils (SVO) or waste vegetable oils (WVO) used as fuels in some modified diesel vehicles.

The greatest benefit is seen when used in its purest form, 100 per cent biodiesel, or B100. Biodiesel can also be mixed with regular petroleum diesel, usually referred to as B2 or B20 blends which respectively have 2 per cent or 20 per cent biodiesel mixed with normal fossil fuel-based diesel fuel.

There is much ongoing debate about the extent to which biodiesel can safely be used in conventional diesel engines without modification as well as the technical expertise required to mix biodiesel correctly.

In Malaysia, with the announcement of the set up of Malaysia's first biodiesel refinery in 2005, Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister Datuk Peter Chin Fah Kui was quoted as saying the fuel could not be used in Malaysia as the existing infrastructure of the major oil companies in the country to blend the biodiesel with petroleum diesel was insufficient.

The companies would have to work together with the Malaysian Palm Oil Board and Golden Hope Plantations Bhd to develop the infrastructure, he said, adding that there weren't any legal provisions for the alternative fuel in the country at the moment.

"That is why we have to export. In terms of marketing, we do not see any problems," he said.

On why the government started this project, Chin said it was to put the country on the world map in coming out with alternative fuels.

Interestingly, the most common problem that comes from using biodiesel in unmodified engines is that biodiesel is a better solvent than standard diesel, `cleaning' the engine, removing deposits in the fuel lines, and thus potentially causing blockages in the fuel injectors. Thus, when switching from normal diesel to biodiesel, it may be necessary to replace the fuel filter.

Many vehicle manufacturers, however, are positive about the use of biodiesel, citing lower engine wear as one of the benefits of this fuel.

Some international manufacturers like Volkswagen (VW) have released a list of vehicles that are able to run on biodiesel fuel without needing any major modifications.

In Britain, many manufacturers only maintain their engine warranties for use with maximum 5 per cent biodiesel blended with 95 per cent conventional diesel. Peugeot and Citroen have announced that their HDI diesel engine could run on 30 per cent biodiesel while Scania and VW are other exceptions, allowing most of their engines to operate on 100 per cent biodiesel.

One of the reasons biodiesel has not been actively supported in some countries is that the revenue from fuel taxes forms a significant portion of the revenue earned by the government. Until governments around the world figure out how they can tax consumers on used cooking oil, biodiesel will still be in the realm of the environmentally-conscious, socially-active motorist. At least for now.

Some useful online resources for those of you interested in learning more about biodiesel:

* How you can make biodiesel for yourself http:// www.biodieselcommunity.org/

* A community blog on biodiesel http://community.livejournal.com/ biodiesel/

* The Bio-Diesel guru who authored the book "From the Fryer to the Fuel Tank" http://www.joshuatickell.com/

(Copyright 2007)