Human

Well! Luke,I read this instead, which is the same thing the editorial says. What I found interesting is that people still think that the cold war is over. It's NEVER OVER. ``````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` ```````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````````` http://www.tehrantimes.com/Description.asp...004&Cat=2&Num=1 Iranian students form human chain to support nuclear program Tehran Times Political Desk TEHRAN(MNA) – Thousands of university students on Monday formed a human chain around Iran’s Atomic Energy Organization headquarters as a gesture of Iranian nation’s strong determination to have full access to civilian nuclear technology. The students chanted: "Enrichment is our natural right,”, "Nuclear technology is our legitimate right", and “We don’t want atomic bombs”. Qaderi, a physicist and the deputy director of the production of nuclear fuel at the IAEO, addressing the students said, “We will not forgo nuclear energy which is our inalienable right and gained through our scientists’ efforts.” The students also said the evening prayer as a sign of solidarity.

The Reason I posted this article is because, a while back ago, I read that the Japanese are trying to Buy the Controll of China's Emissions Rights. Until I read the Above article, I really could not understand why they were doing that. What Japan is doing is pretty smart, if they pull it off they will controll "not only china's pollutions standards, but they could lease the RIGHTS out to other countries for a very HUGE profit". Not to mention it would also inflate the results of other countries. Can we all say "SCAM"?

Finland exceeded CO2 Kyoto target by 20 percent last year HELSINKI (AFP) Nov 25, 2004 Finland emitted 20 percent more carbon dioxide last year than in 1990, making it difficult for the Nordic country to meet its discharge targets as set forth by the Kyoto Protocol, officials said Thursday. Finnish carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions totaled 88.5 million tonnes last year, according to provisional figures from Statistics Finland. All industrial nations ratifying the Kyoto Protocol, which is set to take effect in February next year, have bound themselves to meet specific targets for reducing or curbing emissions of six so-called greenhouse gases by the 2008-2012 period, which in Finland's case is the 1990 level. These gases, caused by rotting organic material and burning fossil fuels, are blamed for causing climate change as they stay in the atmosphere, trapping heat from the sun and thereby increasing Earth's surface temperature. It may be difficult for Finland to meet its Kyoto promises, and the Nordic country could be forced to buy emissions rights from other nations, something which is allowed under the treaty, Outi Berghaell, an official at the environment ministry, told Finnish news agency FNB. Finland could also help other countries, such as developing nations, to cut their discharges in order to make up for its own shortfall, she added. Finnish CO2 emissions stayed close to the 1990 level of some 73.5 million tonnes until 2000, when the Nordic country's technology boom sent them soaring due to increased use of fossil fuels, Statistics Finland said. Methane emissions, also regulated by the UN-sponsored treaty, have at the same time dropped by a fifth in Finland however, due to lower livestock figurers and better waste management, the semi-public agency said. All rights reserved. © 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

"Does the U.S. all the UN inspections of its nuclear program? " To be honest, not all of our programs. We how ever have a much more transparent system then the other countries. Of the agreements that we do have with the U.N. they do have full cooperation from us.

I got to tell you, the more and more I learn ,the more and more that I get scared as to what's going on in the World. Brazil having the capabilities in and of itself to develop Enriched Uranium is not what scares me. What scares me is with whom they "Brazil as well as Latin America as a whole" are reaching out towards , Namely the Middle East. Oh!!!! and china. That's not all either, there is more. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.chinadaily.comspam/english/doc/2...tent_394659.htm Brazil gets UN approval for uranium enrichment (Agencies) Updated: 2004-11-25 08:47 http://www.chinadaily.comspam/english/doc/2...tent_394659.htm Brazil said on Wednesday it has won approval from the U.N. nuclear watchdog to start enriching uranium at its Resende plant after months of disagreement over international inspections of the installation. Science and Technology Minister Eduardo Campos said the plant would be started up before the end of the year, which would put Brazil closer to its aim of fully mastering the technology to produce nuclear power for peaceful use. Campos said an agreement had been reached with the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency based on the agency's verification of the plant's design -- one element of the process to approve it for uranium enrichment. But IAEA spokeswoman Melissa Fleming said: "We are still in the process of completing our assessment of the inspection approach for the Resende plant." A European diplomat close to IAEA said "a deal appears to be very close," and may be concluded in a week. The main sticking point in the negotiations between Brazil and the agency has been about a system to inspect the plant. Brazil has insisted it would not give IAEA inspectors full visual access to the plants' centrifuges, to its technological know-how. Campos said, however, that a group of technicians from the agency had visited the Resende uranium enrichment plant Nov. 16-18 to verify its design. "The visit was considered completely successful by both sides," he said. "It means that from the point of view of international safeguards, the plant can start working ... with UF6 uranium gas that will be enriched." Odair Dias Goncalves, president of Brazil's National Nuclear Energy Commission, said an agreement on the design of the plant was the "basis" for a deal on inspections. Washington has pressured Brazil to give IAEA inspectors full access to the Resende installation, out of concern that Brazil's reluctance might embolden countries like Iran to close off their atomic programs to international inspections. Brazil has staunchly defended its right to produce nuclear energy, saying it has no ambitions to make nuclear weapons, which are banned under its 1988 constitution. "Brazil seeks, since it has uranium, a plant and the knowledge, self-sufficiency not to use up millions of dollars every year," Campos said. The Resende plant will be started up for a test phase by the end of the year, which should last six to eight months, Campos said. After that it will go into full operation. Brazil has the world's sixth largest reserves of uranium and currently ships it abroad to be enriched, so it can be used at its two nuclear energy plants near Rio de Janeiro. Brazil wants to be able to enrich enough of its own uranium to supply its two nuclear reactors by 2010, Campos said. The country is considering whether to construct a third plant.

You just got to love science,all the new applications that they are coming up with. :) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2004/...41122095432.htm Sending your favorite suit to the dry cleaners could one day become an infrequent practice. Researchers at Clemson University are developing a highly water-repellant coating made of silver nanoparticles that they say can be used to produce suits and other clothing items that offer superior resistance to dirt as well as water and require much less cleaning than conventional fabrics. The patented coating — a polymer film (polyglycidyl methacrylate) mixed with silver nanoparticles — can be permanently integrated into any common fabric, including silk, polyester and cotton, the researchers say. In the long run, it can save time and money by reducing expensive dry cleaning bills. It is also environmentally friendly, they add. The researchers described their work on the so-called “self-cleaning” coating last week during the 56th Southeast Regional Meeting of the American Chemical Society, the world’s largest scientific society, held in Research Triangle Park, N.C. “The coating doesn’t actually clean itself, but it does resist dirt much better than other fabric treatments,” explains research team member Phil Brown, Ph.D., a textile chemist with Clemson University in Clemson, S.C. “The concept is based on the lotus plant, whose leaves are well-known for their ability to ‘self-clean’ by repelling water and dirt. Likewise, when water is exposed to the treated fabric, the dirt will be carried away more easily. You will still need some water to rinse away dirt and stains, but cleaning will be quicker and less frequent.” Unlike conventional water-repellant coatings, the new coating, which doesn’t yet have an official name, is permanently bonded onto the fibers of the fabric and will not wash off, Brown says. In addition, no fluorine-based chemical finishes are used so there are potential environmental advantages, according to the researcher. The research team is also trying to engineer antimicrobial particles into the coating, which could help repel strong odors such as body odor and even cigarette smoke, they say. Dirt adheres to the fibers of most fabrics. To clean the fabrics, people typically put them in the washer or send them to the dry cleaners. But the water-repellency of fabrics made with the new coating is superior and makes it easier to keep dirt from accumulating, Brown says, because water that is applied to the garment rolls off and takes the dirt with it. Suits made with the new coating could simply be sprayed clean or wiped with a damp cloth to remove the dirt, the researcher says. If desired, the fabric can still be cleaned by conventional means, including washing as well as dry cleaning, without harming the coating, he notes. In addition to suits, the new coating could be applied to hospital garments, sportswear, military uniforms and rain coats. Other possible applications include awning material for outdoor campers, fabrics for lawn furniture and convertible tops for cars. The coating could appear in consumer products within five years, the researcher estimates. Prices of clothing and other products treated with the new coating will initially be a bit more expensive than other water-repellant garments, Brown predicts. But he and his associates are currently working on ways to make the coating cheaper. Self-cleaning fabrics can be made in any color, according to Brown, since the treatment is applied after the fabric has been dyed. If you’re concerned that clothes coated with the silver nanoparticles will activate an alarm at an airport security stop, don’t worry. The material is unlikely to be detected by conventional metal detectors, he says. Other researchers involved in the project include team leader Igor Luzinov, Ph.D., a polymer scientist, and George Chumanov, Ph.D., a physical chemist, of Clemson; and Sergiy Minko, Ph.D., a polymer scientist with Clarkson University in Potsdam, N.Y. The National Textile Center, a research consortium of eight universities, provided funding for this study from a grant administered by the U.S. Department of Commerce. The American Chemical Society is a nonprofit organization, chartered by the U.S. Congress, with a multidisciplinary membership of more than 159,000 chemists and chemical engineers. It publishes numerous scientific journals and databases, convenes major research conferences and provides educational, science policy and career programs in chemistry. Its main offices are in Washington, D.C., and Columbus, Ohio.

This provision would have broad impacts not just in Aviation, but in other industries. As a Republican myself, I know that this provision will give fuel to the Democrats in stating that the Republicans are in the pockets of big business. I dislike being caught between a rock, and a hard place, But you got to be who you are. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.usatoday.com/tech/news/2002/07/...m-insurance.htm WASHINGTON (AP) — The companies making new homeland security devices, such as bomb detectors and biological weapon alarms, want the government to pick up the tab if their products fail and they are sued. And in the midst of an aggressive lobbying blitz, they have found a key ally in Congress. Rep. Tom Davis, the fourth ranking Republican in the House and head of a key subcommittee on technology and federal contracting, plans to have the provision attached to the Homeland Security authorization bill making its way through Congress. His amendment would indemnify defense and technology contractors who make the devices so that the government would pick up the tab for any liability judgments that exceed the contractor's insurance coverage. The industry helped draft a version of the plan, and has sent executives to Capitol Hill to make its case. The technology industry also has been generous to Davis — with more than $120,000 in donations going to him since January of last year. Davis represents a district in northern Virginia, a region that boasts numerous defense and technology companies. The pitch from the contractors is straightforward — companies that develop new antiterrorism technologies with life-and-death consequences could be driven out of business if they are sued due to a product failure. "There needs to be a backup mechanism from the government, otherwise the company is betting the company every time it bids on one of these contracts," said Harris Miller, president of the Information Technology Association of America. The trade group represents many of the government's largest contractors, including EDS and IBM. Defense contractor Northrop Grumman, another backer of the legislation, said that it may not be able to bid on a Postal Service contract for a biohazard detection device unless the company is indemnified. "The unintended consequence of even a single failure in a well-intended system or device we might provide could result in significant legal exposure that could financially ruin a company," Northrop Grumman president Ronald D. Sugar said in congressional testimony delivered last month. Davis' office said his amendment is needed to ensure companies are willing to take the risk in developing and deploying new technologies critical to Americans' safety. "Davis's legislation will be based on the premise that Congress should ensure the availability of technologies that could make people and facilities across the nation less vulnerable to terrorist threats," spokesman David Marin said. There is no limit on what the government may have to pay out, but there would be no federal payment if there was "willful misconduct" by the contractor. Consumer groups are wary about the message the plan could send to corporate America. "I assume Americans want the very best out there," said Bob Hunter, an insurance expert at the Consumer Federation of America. "One of the ways we get the very best is that people are liable if they don't produce the best. To have the taxpayer on the hook instead of the company will lead to less quality." Still, there is some precedent for the Davis legislation. The government can already indemnify contractors against claims when it buys technology for its own use, such as in national defense. But there is no such protection if the products are sold to commercial purchasers — like an airport or office building — or to state and local governments. Miller, of the technology trade association, said the legislation is no different than the payments made to the families of those killed in last year's terrorist attacks. "The people would demand that the government pay for it anyhow," Miller said. "We might as well formalize the process up front." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Copyright 2002 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

I am hoping that Israel will be taking a New Look at Iran. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?ID=33923 Iran warns nuclear suspension subject to progress in talks with EU AFP: 11/17/2004 TEHRAN (AFP) - Iran warned that its agreement to suspend sensitive nuclear activities in order to ease fears it is seeking the bomb was subject to rapid progress in a new round of negotiations to begin next month. Tehran agreed to suspend its controversial uranium enrichment programme in a deal Sunday with three European Union states -- Britain, France and Germany. In mid-December they are scheduled to begin talks on building long-term guarantees on Iran`s peaceful intentions as well as a package of incentives for Tehran. "They will give the results of their work three months later. If the results are positive, it (the enrichment suspension) would continue," President Mohammad Khatami told reporters after a cabinet meeting. "If the other side does not respect its commitments, we will not have any obligations either," he warned, while adding that Iran had struck a "positive accord that respects the national interests". The deal came just ahead of a November 25 International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) examination of Iran`s cooperation. The United States, which accuses the www.google.com regime in Tehran of seeking nuclear weapons, wants the IAEA board to refer Iran to the UN Security Council and sanctions to be imposed. And an Iranian opposition group on Wednesday accused the regime of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons programme at a military site near Tehran whose existence had not been disclosed to UN inspectors. "The site is involved in uranium enrichment, they are developing a number of techniques", Farid Soleimani, senior official of the National Council for Resistance in Iran, said ahead of a press conference in Vienna. Pakistan, meanwhile, denied an Iranian opposition claim that its disgraced chief nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan had transferred highly enriched uranium to Tehran in 2001. A two-year IAEA investigation has revealed activities deemed suspicious, but no "smoking gun" that provides concrete proof of the US allegations. Iran says it only wants to enrich uranium to make fuel for power generation, but there are fears that it could later divert the programme and produce highly-enriched uranium for a nuclear bomb. "Before we spoke of a maximum period of six months, but now we do not want to fix a timeframe," Khatami said of his country`s pledge to suspend enrichment activities as of November 22 -- just three days before the IAEA meets. Khatami said it was now up to the IAEA board and the EU to respond in kind to Iran`s agreement to cooperate as a first step in proving to Iran that the diplomacy was worthwhile. Iran`s top nuclear negotiator Hossein Moussavian also signalled that Tehran was expecting rapid progress in the coming months. "Within three to four months at the most, we should reach a stage where we have an overall conclusion. If they come to no conclusion or say the only visible guarantee would be to halt enrichment altogether, Iran will not accept this," he told state television. Iran has committed itself to halt enrichment while the negotiations with the EU are in progress, but the latest comments signal that Iran is unwilling to see them drag on fruitlessly too far into 2005. But while Dutch Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende -- whose country currently holds the European Union`s rotating presidency -- said the accord was a "step in the right direction", he warned the enrichment suspension had to be rapidly verified. "If this does not happen we will have no option but to go to the UN Security Council," he told the European Parliament in Strasbourg. Ideally the EU-3 would like Iran to abandon its fuel cycle work altogether. But Iran is standing by its right to the fuel cycle, saying enrichment for peaceful purposes is permitted by the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT). But it has said it is ready to discuss ways in which it can operate the fuel cycle under full IAEA supervision that would ease any alarm. Moussavian said Washington had prepared three draft Security Council resolutions on the case and would call for "economic sanctions and other measures" against Tehran if their demands were not met. 11/17/2004 - 17:50 GMT - AFP

Amy, after the secound time it came back broken, I called HP's tech support, just to complain, and I told their tech support this( Hey look ,just tell me you can't fixed it, and I will just write it off as a piece of junk, and that will be all.) Then they told me that they could "send it back again". I sent it back, it came back STILL broken, and from there I gave up.(that was it) When I finally got it fixed, I sent them an E-mail explaining the problem with the computer (thinking that I would not hear from them again, but just so they knew what went wrong, and I was hoping that they would never put anyone through what they put me through.) Then they call me telling me that they will cover it, I sent them the fax, and I never heard from them again. What they did was Really Insulting. Oh well!! I learned a costly lesson.

All Asian Products comes from California. If the Democrats were really serious about out sourcing, they would have stricter controlls on how there products come into this country. What I found interesting about china's Economy is this; about a year agoc hina held a "Miss Plastic Surgery" contest. (Honest, no kidding here). What that tells me is that there markets is migrating towards a more capitalist system, and YES! I did find it strange that they would have a contest like that.

About 2 years ago I bought a HP computer (it never worked); I sent it back to HP a total of 3 times. Each time HP told me it was fixed, when I got the computer back, it still would not even turn on. Finally out of frustration I sent it to a tech that I know of in DC, and got it fixed. I e-mailed HP telling them of the problem, and hoping that they"HP" would at least cover the cost of a new motherboard. I did not ask for them to cover the cost of labor, and they called me saying that they would, as well as the motherboard. (Of course HP never did cover the cost of even the motherboard or anything else.) I will not be buying another HP from them, EVER AGAIN. In the article it says that HP's PC’s have sold at triple the rate. Wait till those buyers have to get their PC's fixed. GOOD LUCK (you will need it.) ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/tech...3336152,00.html Mistakes fixed at H-P, top exec says By Connie Guglielmo, Bloomberg News November 18, 2004 Hewlett-Packard Co. shares rose after the computer maker said fourth-quarter profit beat its forecast and Chief Executive Carly Fiorina said she has fixed mistakes in the server business. Hewlett-Packard, the world's No. 2 personal-computer maker, announced Tuesday a 27 percent increase in profit, and Fiorina said declines in the server unit are "now behind us." Fiorina halted shipping delays and replaced managers in the division that sells server computers and storage devices to companies, reversing the previous-quarter loss. Profit from PCs more than tripled to a record on back-to- school demand, and Palo Alto, Calif.-based Hewlett-Packard's profit and sales in the next six months may exceed analysts' expectations.

When I bring up the topic with search engines, and the Government that we need Standardization for search engine results, it's like talking another language to them that they don't understand. (It goes right by them.) Before 1991, the internet was actually easier to surf then what you have now. It all started when a certian isp (I need not say their name, all of you know which one it is) broke up their links to increase advertizing space, and now ALL of you know of the Domino effect that it started when it came to information.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.wvgazette.com/section/News/2004111541?pt=0 By Scott Finn Staff writer If the House of Delegates passes a prescription drug resolution as expected today, West Virginia will take a leading role in the national effort to control drug costs. Whether that’s a good thing depends on your point of view. But people on both sides agree on this — it could be a long time before West Virginians see any results. The resolution passed the state Senate unanimously Monday, and is expected to breeze through the House today. If it does, West Virginia would become the first state to try to obtain cheaper drug prices for both the state government and the private sector. It also makes the state first to try to get the same deal on drug prices as some federal government agencies, according to the nonpartisan National Council on State Legislatures. “We’re breaking new ground,” said Delegate Don Perdue, D-Wayne. “If we can do this, we could drive reform across the country.” In letters to the state’s Pharmaceutical Cost Management Council, Phil Reale, state lobbyist for the drug industry’s lobbying group, warned of possible unintended consequences and even higher costs because “West Virginia has chosen to get out in front of the other states.” The resolution does two things. It gives permission for the state to use the Federal Supply Schedule as the starting point for negotiations. Drugs on that list are often half as expensive as retail. Researchers at Boston University’s School of Public Health estimated West Virginians could save more than $300 million a year with Federal Supply Schedule prices. But prices would probably be higher than that, because drug makers could argue for more money to cover costs like research and development. The resolution also gives permission for the Pharmaceutical Cost Management Council to implement its strategic plan, submitted to the Legislature in September. That plan recommends that all state drug purchases be done through a new Cabinet-level position, the Office of the Pharmaceutical Advocate. The advocate would try to persuade other states to join West Virginia in negotiations (the state’s Public Employees Insurance Agency already has joined a multistate purchasing pool). Purdue said several other states have expressed interest, including Illinois, Massachusetts and Maine. Lots of states use their purchasing power to try to negotiate better deals for drugs. What makes this plan different is that private insurers and even people without insurance could join. The Council wants to turn state government into a “virtual wholesaler” of prescription drugs. In theory, state officials would obtain cheap drug prices through negotiations. Then they would hire a wholesaler to pass those savings to the state’s local pharmacies. Reale warned this could drive out other wholesalers, disrupt the market and end up increasing prescription drug prices. In his letters, he also wrote that the plan could limit which drugs doctors prescribe their patients. A similar system in Australia makes patients wait up to a year before some drugs become available, he said. The Pharmaceutical Council disagreed. “Interviews with leading physicians in Australia dispute this claim,” their September report says. Even the plan’s supporters say it could be a long time before we see its results. House Speaker Bob Kiss, the force behind the proposal, predicted a delay of 12 to 18 months or more. Kiss said there is a “better than 50/50 chance” the drug industry will sue to stop the proposal. “I’d like to get that lawsuit started sooner, rather than later,” he said. Several well-known lawyers have expressed interest in representing the state government, Purdue said. The drug industry might challenge West Virginia’s efforts as an unfair restraint of trade. Or they might say provisions that limit drug marketing are an unconstitutional restraint on free speech. One example of what to expect comes from Maine, another small, rural state that passed a groundbreaking law four years ago, Maine Rx. Under the law, drug companies would have to lower prices or face hurdles that would make it harder to sell to Medicaid patients. The drug industry challenged Maine Rx all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court. The court did not overturn the law, but it didn’t approve it, either. It remained silent on a key question: whether federal officials had the power essentially to veto the program. The Maine Legislature was pressured into backing off some of the toughest provisions of the law. It passed a scaled-down version, Maine Rx Plus, which provides discounted drugs for people earning up to 3 1/2 times the federal poverty level. Still, Maine officials say Rx Plus customers save an estimated 10 percent to 25 percent on brand-name drugs and perhaps 60 percent on generics, according to the Web site Mainetoday.com.

http://www.swissinfo.org/sen/Swissinfo.htm...143&sid=5340770 November 15, 2004 9:15 AM Iran says nuclear freeze will be brief TEHRAN (Reuters) - Iran has stressed that its decision to freeze sensitive nuclear work is a voluntary move to dispel concerns it is secretly building atomic arms and that it will last only for a short time. Iran told the United Nations atomic watchdog on Sunday it would suspend uranium enrichment and processing activities as part of a deal with the European Union to avert any U.N. Security Council sanctions. Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman, Hamid Reza Asefi, hailed the deal on Monday at a weekly news conference, saying: "These were very important talks and the parties made the best decision. "Accepting the suspension is a politically motivated move. In the agreement it says it is not a legal obligation for Iran and Iran has voluntarily accepted this," he said. Iran, which denies U.S. accusations its atomic energy programme is a front for a nuclear weapons bid, has said the suspension will remain in place while it and the European Union discuss a lasting solution to its nuclear case. The EU -- in talks with Iran led by Britain, Germany and France -- wants the oil-rich country to give up its nuclear fuel cycle activities like uranium enrichment for good. In return the EU is prepared to offer Iran a range of incentives including help with a civilian nuclear programme and a possible trade deal. But Iran has said it will never give up its enrichment technology. Asefi stressed that the talks -- and enrichment suspension -- would be brief. "The talks will be for a short period of time ... and in the agreement it has been emphasised that Iran has the right to develop peaceful nuclear technology," he said. The talks are due to commence on December 15 and would be handled by separate working groups for political, security, technology and economic issues, Asefi said. He said a team of International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors now in Iran could verify the suspension. Reuters

http://www.health.gov/nhic/pubs/tollfree.htm <~~~~~~~ The Toll Free Health Numbers (which is also put out by the Government). Enjoy. :)

Iranian negotiator Hassan Rowhani had said earlier in Tehran that Iran has agreed to suspend "NEARLY all" of its uranium enrichment-related activities as part of a deal with Britain, France and Germany. In diplomatic terms what the Iranians are really saying is= (To appease the United Nations, Iran will slow down some of it's activities, But if you think that We will Stop, then DREAM ON). ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ Vienna (AFP) Nov 10, 2004 EU-Iranian nuclear talks to get Iran to suspend uranium enrichment in order to avoid possible UN sanctions have hit a snag, even as deadlines are beginning to fall in the crisis, diplomats told AFP Wednesday. The deadlock, which one diplomat said had Europeans becoming pessimistic about finalizing an agreement, comes as the UN atomic agency is about to issue a report for a meeting that will decide whether to take the Iranian dossier to the United Nations on US charges that Tehran is secretly making nuclear weapons. The Iranians contacted European diplomats in Tehran Wednesday asking for more concessions on a preliminary agreement the two sides had worked out in Paris last week, diplomats in Vienna and another Western capital told AFP. But the European trio conducting talks for the EU - Britain, France and Germany - said "no, take it or leave it and Iran promised to give an answer" later Wednesday or Thursday, a diplomat who asked not to be identified said. The International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has told Iran it must respond this week in writing to the European deal if it wants its position included in a report for an IAEA meeting in Vienna on November 25. This meeting will decide whether to take the Iranian dossier to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions, a diplomat close to the IAEA said. Iran insists its nuclear program is a strictly peaceful one to generate electricity. "The IAEA is under the obligation to issue its report in a time frame pretty much two weeks before the board meeting," the diplomat said. Thursday marks the two-week deadline before the meeting. "The most important thing is this letter to ask the agency to verify suspension," a diplomat close to the negotiations said. The diplomat said Iran was trying to get more assurances about a European offer to supply Iran with a light-water research reactor - which would produce less fissible material than could be used for making nuclear weapons than a heavy-water reactor Iran wants to build - if Iran cooperated in abandoning the nuclear fuel cycle. "Iran has always said they want concrete incentives and not just promises," the diplomat said. In Tehran, former president and top regime cleric Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani was quoted Wednesday saying Iran was at a "crucial point" in its stand-off with the UN atomic watchdog. Another Iranian official, negotiator Sirous Nasseri, warned that Iran could continue pursuing its nuclear drive "underground" and quit the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) that empowers the IAEA if it came under too much pressure. A Western diplomat said Wednesday's devopments leave the European trio "increasingly pessimistic that a good deal can still be struck." The main sticking points in the tentative agreement on getting Tehran to suspend uranium enrichment are over the length and extent of any halt, diplomats said. Uranium conversion makes the uranium gas needed for the enrichment process which makes nuclear fuel, but which can also be the raw material for atomic bombs. The 25-nation EU, led by Britain, France and Germany, says Iran must indefinitely and fully suspend uranium enrichment activities, but Iran insists its right to enrichment cannot be called into question. Europe's three major powers are offering Iran nuclear technology, including access to nuclear fuel, increased trade and help with Tehran's regional security concerns if the Islamic republic halts enrichment, in an attempt to keep Iran from being taken to the Security Council. Iran has agreed to suspend the making of the uranium hexafluoride gasthat is the actual feed for the enrichment process but "is not willing to suspend earlier stages," a diplomat said. Over timing, "Iran is pushing for a time-specific duration, namely six months," but the European trio "refused and said the suspension must be maintained until a long-term agreement is reached," the diplomat said. All rights reserved. © 2004 Agence France-Presse. Sections of the information displayed on this page (dispatches, photographs, logos) are protected by intellectual property rights owned by Agence France-Presse. As a consequence, you may not copy, reproduce, modify, transmit, publish, display or in any way commercially exploit any of the content of this section without the prior written consent of Agence France-Presse.

Impressive, even I didn't have that link. When I was on one of the major ISP's, I went to one of the Disability chats, and told them then that I was working for the Republicans, and asked them what Issues were most important to them, and if they needed any contacts that I would be more than happy to connect them with them. Oddly enough the responces that I got was that my group needed that very link you just posted in here Luke. Thankyou, I will send it to my group. Oh!! by the way the people who responded to me are chair bound as I am and Democrats. Interesting thing about it though is that we " The disabled" had the same type of experiences in politics. I still tell people who are chair bound for life as I am, that instead of protesting all of the time to instead go work in Congress, Senate,State Parties, etc etc etc. My group above all others do not use the Internet just for fun, and Games, we use it for SURVIVAL. Like the educational grants directory, also the medical directories that you have seen me post in the health boards. It all has to be practical.

Not only is Bush meeting with his Commitment to the Hispanic Community, but surpassing most expectations. This trend of the Bush Administration appointing Hispanics on an equal level in his Administration is a welcomed sign. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=100..._j8Afo&refer=us Bush Names Counsel Gonzales First Hispanic Attorney General Nov. 10 (Bloomberg) -- President George W. Bush named White House counsel Alberto Gonzales as the first Hispanic U.S. attorney general, elevating his top lawyer to help lead the nation's war on terrorism. Gonzales's ``sharp intellect and sound judgment have helped shape our policies in the war on terror, policies designed to protect the security of all Americans while protecting the rights of all Americans,'' Bush told reporters at the White House with Gonzales at his side. Gonzales, 49, a confidant of Bush when he was governor of Texas in 1990s, would succeed John Ashcroft as the Bush administration heads into a second term. Republicans and Democrats predict he will be confirmed by the Senate. A priority for the next attorney general will be to press for renewal of the USA Patriot Act, which expanded law enforcement powers to monitor suspects and seize documents. The Justice Department also may have to revise the handling of detainees at Guantanamo Bay Naval Base in Cuba because of a federal judge's ruling this week that they may be entitled to prisoner-of-war status. As White House counsel, Gonzales helped develop U.S. policy toward ``enemy combatants'' captured in Afghanistan and Iraq, writing rules that limited the rights of suspected terrorists at Guantanamo Bay. He helped negotiate the closed-door questioning of Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney by the commission that investigated the Sept. 11 attacks, and he ended the American Bar Association's role in vetting candidates for federal judgeships. Court Vacancy Gonzales was regarded by lawyers who served in Republican administrations as a possible nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court should an opening arise. A former partner in the Houston law firm of Vinson & Elkins LLP, he served four years as White House counsel. When Bush was governor of Texas, he named Gonzales to the state's Supreme Court in 1999. Republicans will hold a 55-45 majority in the Senate next year after adding four Senate seats in the Nov. 2 election, strengthening Bush's hand to win confirmation of his nominees. Republicans need 60 votes to shut down any filibuster, a tactic used to prevent roll calls on appointments and legislation. Democratic Senator Carl Levin said on Fox News that Gonzales probably would win Senate confirmation, though the Michigan lawmaker said he isn't sure he will vote for him. While ``loyalty to the president is fine,'' Gonzales must show he will be objective and fair as the nation's leading law enforcement officer, Levin said. ``There are a lot of questions he needs to answer as far as I'm concerned,'' Levin said. Legal Advice Democrats will probably press Gonzales during Senate Judiciary Committee confirmation hearings on the legal advice he and the Justice Department gave Bush regarding people captured in the war on terrorism. Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights, said the panel should be tough on Gonzales. ``The road from Guantanamo to Abu Ghraib was paved with the memos of Gonzales,'' Ratner said. Photos of inmates at Abu Ghraib prison outside Baghdad showed them being mistreated by U.S. guards. Anthony Romero, executive director of the American Civil Liberties Union, said in a statement that lawmakers should probe Gonzales's beliefs about the Guantanamo Bay detentions, the legality of torture and the constitutionality of the Patriot Act. Sixteen provisions of the act, including some that deal with wiretaps and access to business records, will expire at the end of 2005 unless Congress renews them. Wrong Fight Senator John Cornyn, a Texas Republican who serves on the Judiciary Committee, said he expected the Senate will confirm Gonzales and urged Democrats not to be obstructionists. ``This would be the wrong fight to pick,'' he said. In a January 2002 memo, Gonzales advised Bush to declare the war in Afghanistan, and the detention of Taliban and al-Qaeda fighters, not subject to the Geneva Conventions, which are treaties that set standards for international law in wartime. That step would protect U.S. officials from being charged with war crimes, Gonzales wrote. ``We face an enemy that lies in the shadows, an enemy that doesn't sign treaties, they don't wear uniforms, an enemy that owes no allegiance to any country,'' Gonzales said in a June press conference. The U.S. Supreme Court in June rejected the White House view that battlefield detainees being held at Guantanamo Bay are beyond the reach of U.S. legal protections. Anti-Torture Law In an August 2002 memo to Gonzales, then-Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee wrote that U.S. anti-torture law only restricts ``extreme acts'' such as inflicting pain ``equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury.'' When the White House released the memo and others in June, Gonzales told reporters that Bush hadn't approved them. Responding to release of the memos, 12 former federal judges and seven past presidents of the American Bar Association joined more than 100 colleagues in urging an investigation of the administration's approach to torture. ``The most senior lawyers in the Department of Justice, the White House, Department of Defense and the vice president's office have sought to justify actions that violate the most basic rights of all human beings,'' the group said in a statement released in August. Election Day Ashcroft submitted his resignation letter on Election Day, and Bush accepted it yesterday, White House press secretary Scott McClellan said. Ashcroft plans to stay on until his successor is confirmed. Ashcroft, 62, helped lead the Bush administration's war on terrorism and often was a target of criticism from civil rights groups. ``The objective of securing the safety of Americans from crime and terror has been achieved,'' Ashcroft wrote in his letter of resignation. Gonzales is viewed as a political moderate and a supporter of abortion rights and affirmative action, positions that would make him unacceptable to many conservatives for any U.S. Supreme Court vacancy, the Los Angeles Times reported in June. Some activists spoke out against the possibility of a Gonzales court nomination and others began a whispering campaign against him, the newspaper said. Supreme Court Chief Justice William Rehnquist, 80, is being treated for thyroid cancer, and three other justices are in their 70s and 80s. Early Days In the early days of the Bush administration, Gonzales signaled a major change in the way the White House would be picking federal judges when he told the American Bar Association that, for the first time in 50 years, the group wouldn't be allowed to vet potential candidates privately before they are nominated. ``It would be particularly inappropriate'' to continue allowing the ABA have its voice ``heard before and above all others,'' because it ``takes public positions on divisive political, legal, and social issues that come before the courts,'' Gonzales said in a March 22, 2001 letter to then ABA President Martha Barnett. The ABA, long a target of criticism from groups that say it favors activist judges, said it had vetted potential judicial candidates since Dwight Eisenhower's administration and was neither partisan nor ideological. Gonzales represented the White House in negotiations with the bipartisan National Commission on Terrorist Attacks over access to administration officials and classified administration documents. The White House struck compromises with the 10-member commission, which was led by former New Jersey Governor Thomas Kean, a Republican. Joint Interview The commission agreed to interview Bush and Cheney together, and without a tape recorder. Bush's national security adviser, Condoleezza Rice, appeared before the commission in an open hearing after the panel agreed not to seek public testimony from any other White House official. Gonzales said such appearances could undermine the constitutional separation of powers between the executive and legislative branches. Also, the commission agreed that only a few of its members would examine classified intelligence documents, and that their notes would be subject to a White House review. Gonzales, born in San Antonio, is a graduate of Rice University and Harvard Law School. He served in the U.S. Air Force from 1973-75, and attended the Air Force Academy between 1975-77, according to a White House biography. To contact the reporter on this story: Laurence Arnold in Washington at larnold4@bloomberg.net.

BD, There is no need to insult, and Yes I am a Republican. I know of many Democrats that I respect, even though we do not agree with each other on more than several issues. This Administration was correct in what it did, with the intelligence that even "AT THE TIME" kerry agreed was correct. I have stated many times in here that Kerry" BEFORE The Republicans even took office" Stated to then President Clinton that saddam HAD TO GO. As for the Tax Breaks, The Democrats would have Spent the Surplus just as fast on Programs benifiting Their Respective States, And NOT to the People who deserved the money. (Namely ALL of Us.)

Can we say ( here we go again?) Well to register your complaint to the White House, please call 1-202-456-1111 Just because I am a Republican, does not mean that my head is in the sand. ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ http://www.adn.com/front/story/5747187p-5681237c.html SENATE: GOP election victories give backers new hope to pass bill allowing drilling in refuge. By DON HUNTER Anchorage Daily News (Published: November 5, 2004) Buoyed by victories in U.S. Senate races Tuesday, Senate Republicans are expected to try again to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to petroleum exploration early next year. Marnie Funk, spokeswoman for the Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, and its chairman, Sen. Pete Domenici of New Mexico, said Republicans likely will try to make ANWR drilling part of a budget bill, a strategy that requires only 50 votes for passage and cannot be filibustered. The tactic was tried at least twice before. In 1995, President Bill Clinton vetoed a budget bill that included ANWR exploration, and last year the Senate fell two votes short of including it in a budget bill. Interest in reviving the ANWR fight has "only increased with oil at $50 a barrel," Funk said. ANWR drilling accounted for a significant measure of the rhetoric in the Senate campaign that ended here on Tuesday. Newly elected Sen. Lisa Murkowski said at a press conference Wednesday that pushing for an ANWR bill would be her first order of business when Congress convenes next year. In a written statement, she said, "I have been fielding phone calls all morning from my colleagues in the Senate, and in all of the conversations I have had, we were talking about ANWR." "The most likely scenario is, it would be during the budget reconciliation process, when we only need 50 votes," Murkowski campaign spokeswoman Kristin Pugh said Thursday. "It now appears we will be able to reach that hurdle." Attempts to reach Sen. Ted Stevens for comment on this matter Wednesday and Thursday were unsuccessful. While drilling supporters were enthusiastic, they were not as happy as when President Bush was first elected and listed opening ANWR as one of his energy priorities. "The net effect of (this) election is positive," said Kevin Hand, executive director of the pro-development lobbying group Arctic Power. "It doesn't provide any assurances by any means ... but considering the condition we could have been in if various folks had won, it's quite optimistic." Republicans will have 55 seats in the next U.S. Senate, and they also expanded their majority in the House. With three seats still undecided Thursday, Republicans had won 231 of the 435 seats in the House. Congressman Don Young said Wednesday he is excited about the prospects for ANWR legislation next session. "I think there is a strong possibility of this occurring," he said. "I think this changes the whole demographics of the program," he said, adding that prospects also look good for additional gas pipeline legislation with Stevens chairing the Senate Commerce Committee. But opposition to drilling in ANWR won't fade away. Alaska Conservation Foundation executive director Deborah Williams said she continues to believe most Americans want the Arctic refuge protected. "We believe that level of support will ultimately prevail," she said. "We're analyzing our options right now in terms of senators whom we believe will understand the critical values associated with protecting America's most precious Arctic coastal plain area," she said. Williams emphasized that the environmental community isn't opposed to all development in Alaska. "We support oil and gas development on state lands," she said. "We support balanced oil and gas development in the National Petroleum Reserve. We support the gas pipeline. And at the same time, we believe balance requires protecting some areas." Republicans claimed Senate seats in North Carolina, South Carolina, Florida and, perhaps most significantly, in South Dakota, where Tom Daschle, the Senate's minority leader and an ardent ANWR opponent, was upset by John Thune, a former Republican congressman who used the issue in his campaign. "We did end with a net gain in terms of senators in support of development in ANWR," said Hand, of Arctic Power. "But by no means do we have the ability to just roll through." Arctic Power is focused on getting the level of support in the Senate to 60 members, the number needed to defeat a filibuster, he said. "That way, we know that when the time comes, we have what it takes despite whatever vehicle is used on Congress." Daily News reporter Don Hunter can be reached at dhunter@adn.com

Could the elections have been won by the democrats? Yes If they choose someone who was Center, if they concentrated on what Bush is doing when it came to out sourcing jobs not just in the Federal System, but how that affects us in terms of National Security. Look! I understand the Issues, You “Democrats" just did not present it properly. You got Out Sourcing all wrong, you did not point out that in the Next Ten years that the Chinese WILL have trained 350,000 Engineers, That Russia is actively training 500 Nuclear techs for IRAN. Most of America is not far left, or far right. You "democrats" should know that. If you were far more centrist even I would have voted for you. If you were far more Conservative on the International front as well. Many Democrats that I know of are not for other Countries Dictating to us, on how we should be basing our policy on what is good for their National Interests. By the way, Many of the democrats that I know of actually voted Republican. You simply dropped the Ball. But hey!! if you do continue reaching out to the far left, People like me WILL HAVE NO PROBLEM in picking apart your political issues.

http://www.lib.msu.edu/harris23/grants/3specpop.htm <~~~~~~~ this link is the educational grants directory in detail. For all of you going to college, AS WELL AS ADULTS over 30, please use it. It's detailed, it's FREE. You still have to do your homework on it, but its worth the read. This is just a reminder. For those who are still looking for Educational Grants.