News – Quickly Posted News

Middle East

Thousands mourn Pierre Gemayel, Lebanese Maronite Christian who was assassinated in his car. He’s the 5th anti-Syrian politician killed in the last two years.

Iraq and Syria restore diplomatic relations after 24 years of being closed off from one another. One wonders what might come of this.

Israeli forces enter Beit Hanoun(Israel says they’re only operating around the town, not in it). Here we go again. Striking out against rocket attackers, killing those who aren’t attacking with those who are, and ultimately not stopping the rocket attacks. You don’t have to be psychic to predict the outcome of this. Israel needs a new method. Something that works, rather than spinning their wheels in this manner.

The Red Cross suspends it’s work in Gaza due to the deteriorating situation. Bad news for those who may be in need.

The Israeli group Peace Now estimates that 40% of the land settlements in the West Bank are on is ‘effectively stolen’ from Palestinian land owners. They say it’s a violation of Israel’s own laws. Sadly, a real look into this won’t come unless there is a radical shift in the leadership of Israel.

Little surprise, the civilian death toll in Iraq is growing faster as of late.

Africa

Rawanda rejects a French call for President Paul Kagame to stand trial over the killing of his predecessor. A death thought to have sparked the genocide within the country.

Asia/Pacific

Recorded cases of HIV/AIDS in China jump 30%, but this is attributed to better testing catching more of the cases that currently exist.

North Korea asserts that they won’t stop their nuclear plan when talk resume.

A section of China’s Yellow River runs red due to pollution, says the media.

Europe

Ally states sign onto the ‘Iter’ plan, a French based project to create energy from nuclear reactions like those that fuel the Sun. But don’t expect anything soon, the estimate for access is within 30 years. Which is fine, if you’re playing with Sun-like reactions it’s good to take your time and do it right.

Georgia threatens to block Russia from WTO entry, the latest open show of friction between the two countries. This threat is not unprovoked, as Russia has imposed a trade blockade on Georgia and Russian energy giant Gazprom has threatened to end fuel service unless the country accepts a price hike. Personally, I think Georgia and Russia both need a kick in the ass to stop this madness.

French phone equipment firm Alcatel is suing Microsoft, accusing them of breaching 7 patents related to digital video and network communication. Microsoft says that the suit appears to relate to a long-running dispute between it and US-based Lucent Technologies which Alcatel is set to take over.

Americas

Bush appoints Dr. Eric Keroack to head Health and Human Services, a man who argues that abstinence until marriage is the only healthy choice for women, promotes the idea that premarital sex disrupts brain chemistry so as to create a physiological barrier to happy marriage and was head of a pregnancy-counseling organization that claimed condoms “offer virtually no protection” against herpes or HPV. Good going, we needed another nutcase in power.

The White House trims growth forecasts as the housing market declines.

The US is once more trying to get dollar coins to catch on. Personally, I prefer bills as they’re much lighter and easier to carry. Ten dollar bills are a lot better than ten dollar coins. Mind, they do have dollar and two dollar coins in Canada and they aren’t too bad. But after having experience with both, I do prefer foldin’ money.

Six Muslim Imams were ejected from a US flight. Why? Because they said evening prayers on the plane(three of then stood up while doing so). Afterward, they were questioned by the police for several hours. They deny reports that they refused to leave the plane when asked and that they changed ‘Allah’ while leaving.

Looks like Canada might have caught a ‘Russian spy’. Though what someone might want to spy on Canada for is beyond me. He did have forged identity papers, which is never good.

Robert Altman, the director of MASH, dies at the age of 81. He never won at the Academy Awards, but was given an honorary Oscar this year for “a career that has repeatedly reinvented the art form”.

Another Fox News memo.

General

Counterfeit drugs are a growing issue in developing countries. The EU is warned by Professor David Taylor, of the University of London School of Pharmacy, that they should be prepared to confront this menace, as medicine is more global and the problem could easily germinate in Europe as well.

Doctors warn about the dangers of using too much Botox in cosmetic treatments. People shouldn’t be poking this crap into their bodies willy-nilly. Too much can be fatal.

The Nintendo Wii is better than the 360 and the P3. Why? Because it’s innovative, while the other two are merely the next blip along the predictable path. Nintendo has been more about gameplay and innovation than Sony or new entrant Microsoft, which have been focused on the leet graphics arena more. But, to be fair, here’s the case against the Wii. Mind, I don’t plan to buy one. I’m off console systems.

Explainer lets you know how to run for prez.

Examining Al Jazeera’s new English news service.

The Blogs look at OJs ill fated sorta but not really confession, the assassination of Pierre Gemayel and Michael Richards’ apology for racist comments.

Today’s Papers has the Bush administration is telling the incoming Democratic majority it wants to once again talk about Social Security with “no preconditions”, a dispatch from Iraq reporting snipers are proving not to be as effective as initially hoped in stopping insurgents, a report from private consultants who were hired by the Department of Homeland Security and found a wide array of problems in its contracting operations and more in the one page news.

Amusements

No amusements because I need to get off my computer(technical issues) and Fark is being a pain in the backside. Sorry folks, we’ll see what we can’t dig up next time.

Friday, being a holiday for me, will mean no news. See you all on Monday, have a safe and filling Thanksgiving.