Internet and Cell Phone Access Cut Off in Myanmar

CNET - Amid political protests, Net shut off in Burma

As Burma's military government attempts to suppress the largest pro-democracy protests by Buddhist monks and civilians in decades, there are numerous reports on Friday that it has also cut off its citizens' Internet access and cell phone lines.

Burma--officially the Union of Myanmar--is already labeled by watchdog groups as one of the most restrictive locales in the world when it comes to blocking Internet content. But like in China and other censorship-happy countries, dissidents have come up with technological work-arounds such as proxies that connect them directly to computers outside the prohibitive country.

Now there are widespread reports that public Internet cafes have been shut down, most of the country's cell phone lines have been disconnected, and the remaining Internet access has made uploading photos and video of scenes on the ground a snail-like process. Some groups are exploring buying expensive but less easily restricted satellite phones to continue their dispatches, according to a Friday report in The Wall Street Journal.

Some news agencies have reported being told that the Internet connection has been brought down by a damaged undersea cable, but diplomats and citizens said they suspect the government is involved. The shutdown apparently did nothing to keep at least 10,000 protesters from assembling Friday.

My other posts about what is going on over there can be seen here.

More Deaths in Myanmar

Post from yesterday: Deaths Reported in Myanmar Protests

BBC - Nine killed in Burmese crackdown

Nine people have been killed during Thursday's crackdown on anti-government protesters in Burma's main city of Rangoon, state media say.

The dead included eight protesters and a Japanese man, identified as a video journalist working for APF News - with 11 demonstrators and 31 soldiers hurt.

Ordered to Kill an Iraqi Civilian

AP - Ordered to kill unarmed Iraqi, U.S. soldier testifies

A U.S. soldier cried today as he told a court martial that his staff sergeant ordered him to shoot an unarmed Iraqi. He said the sergeant then laughed and told the trooper to finish the job as the dying man convulsed on the ground.

The military reported, meanwhile, that it had opened an investigation into the deaths of five women and four children this week in a village where American forces had carried out ground and air assaults.

Prosecutors claim the first case involved the killing of an Iraqi man with a 9-mm pistol, placing an AK-47 rifle by his body to make it seem as though he was armed, and failing to ensure humane treatment of a detainee, the victim.

Deaths Reported in Myanmar Protests

My post from yesterday: Myanmar Imposes Curfew, Bans Assembly

The Sydney Morning Herald - Burma clashes kill three

At least three monks were killed in clashes with Burma's security forces who cracked down on anti-government protests in Rangoon, two officials told AFP.

"According to the information that we received, at least three monks were killed,'' one Burmese official told AFP on condition of anonymity.

One monk was killed when a gun went off as he tried to wrestle the weapon away from a soldier, while two others were beaten to death, the official said.

His account was confirmed by a second official, who said the toll was based on official reports of incidents that took place around the Shwedagon Pagoda, Burma's holiest site and a key rallying point for the monks.

There are also reports that over 100 people have been injured.

The Australian - 100,000 march against Burmese junta

MORE than 100,000 Buddhist monks and supporters marched in Rangoon yesterday, piling the pressure on Burma's ruling military junta and adding to fears the "Saffron Revolution" would end in a bloody crackdown.

Internet Censorship in Australia

CNET - Australia pushes further Web censorship

A bill introduced this week by Australia's Parliament would give the Australian federal police the power to control which sites can and cannot be viewed by Australian Web surfers.

Introduced on Thursday, the bill--titled the Communications Legislation Amendment (Crime or Terrorism Related Internet Content) Bill 2007--would empower the federal police to alter the "blacklist" of sites that are currently prohibited by the Australian Communications and Media Authority.

The list currently includes pornography and "offensive material." However, under the amendment, federal police would be able to add other sites to the list, including content that the AFP Commissioner "has reason to believe...is crime- or terrorism-related content."

The definition of material that may be liable for censorship includes Internet content that "encourages, incites or induces," "facilitate(s)" or "has, or is likely to have, the effect of facilitating" a crime.

An older post: Australia Censors Books and Films

Myanmar Imposes Curfew, Bans Assembly

AP - Myanmar imposes curfew, bans assembly

Myanmar's military leaders imposed a nighttime curfew and banned gatherings of more than five people Tuesday after 35,000 Buddhist monks and their supporters defied the junta's warnings and staged another day of anti-government protests.

The country's hard-line military rulers have not used force so far to stop the biggest anti-government demonstrations in nearly two decades, led by the monks. But soldiers in full battle gear were deployed Tuesday in the country's largest city, setting the stage for a showdown with a determined pro-democracy protest movement.

2 Italians Missing in Afghanistan

AP - Italian troops missing in Afghanistan

Two Italian military personnel were believed to have been kidnapped in western Afghanistan, and police Sunday said they were searching for the pair and their two Afghan staff.

The Italian Defense Ministry said that the two Italians had made no contact for several hours, that their families had been notified, and that an investigation was underway.

"We believe they have been kidnapped together with two Afghans," the ministry said in Rome. "The personnel were carrying out liaison activities with local civilian authorities. Searches are underway."

Blackwater back to Operating in Iraq

My last post about Blackwater: Blackwater Loses License to Operate in Iraq

AFP - Blackwater back on the streets of Baghdad

Despite opposition from Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, US security company Blackwater was back on the streets of Baghdad on Friday, four days after being grounded over a fatal shooting incident.

AP - Feds Target Blackwater in Weapons Probe

Federal prosecutors are investigating whether employees of the private security firm Blackwater USA illegally smuggled into Iraq weapons that may have been sold on the black market and ended up in the hands of a U.S.-designated terrorist organization, officials said Friday.

Canadian Dollar at Parity with U.S. Dollar

1 U.S. dollar = 1.00085 Canadian dollars

http://www.xe.com

Bush, Congress Approval Rating at Record Low

Reuters - Bush, Congress at record low ratings: Reuters poll

President George W. Bush and the U.S. Congress registered record-low approval ratings in a Reuters/Zogby poll released on Wednesday, and a new monthly index measuring the mood of Americans dipped slightly on deepening worries about the economy.

Only 29 percent of Americans gave Bush a positive grade for his job performance, below his worst Zogby poll mark of 30 percent in March. A paltry 11 percent rated Congress positively, beating the previous low of 14 percent in July.

Blackwater Loses License to Operate in Iraq

RTE - US security firm Blackwater banned from Iraq

US security contractor Blackwater has been banned from operating in Iraq after eight civilians were killed in Baghdad yesterday.

Blackwater offers personal security to US officials working in Iraq and is one of the better known firms involved in what critics call the privatisation of the war in Iraq.

Yesterday, a US diplomatic convoy came under fire in the Iraqi capital's western al-Yarmukh neighbourhood.

Blackwater members accompanying the convoy returned fire, leaving nine people dead, one of whom was an Iraqi police officer.

All of the other fatalities were civilian bystanders.

Iraqi Brigadier-General Abdul-Karim Khalaf confirmed that a mortar had landed close to the convoy and said the US firm had 'opened fire randomly at citizens'.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki has strongly condemned the company's actions and denounced what he called the criminal response of the US contractors.

And today Iraqi Interior Minister Jawad al-Bolani issued an order to cancel Blackwater's licence and prohibit the company from operating anywhere in Iraq.

Mr Bolani also confirmed that a criminal investigation had been launched following the incident.

A US embassy official only said that security vehicles of the 'Department of State' were involved in an incident near al-Nissur Square.

Blackwater representatives were not immediately available for comment.

Thousands of private security contractors, many of them US and European, have worked in Iraq since the US-led invasion in 2003.

Following a number of similar incidents in recent years, foreign private security firms have been accused of operating outside the law with little or no accountability either to the Iraqi government or US military forces.

Bush Picks Michael Mukasey for Attorney General

AP - Bush picks ex-judge for attorney general

Former federal judge Michael Mukasey, a tough-on-terrorism jurist with an independent streak, was tapped by President Bush on Monday to take over as attorney general and lead a Justice Department accused of being too close to White House politics.

Mukasey, the former chief U.S. district judge in the Manhattan courthouse just blocks from ground zero, will likely face a relatively smooth confirmation by a Democratic-led Senate that has demanded new Justice Department leadership for months. He replaces Alberto Gonzales, a Texan who announced his departure three weeks ago amid investigations that began with the firing of U.S. attorneys and mushroomed into doubts about his credibility.

Censorship at the Emmys

The Envelope - The Emmys censored Sally Field!

Producers of Sunday's Emmy telecast bleeped drama actress winner Sally Field in the midst of a controversial acceptance speech attacking U.S. involvement in Iraq.

"If mothers ruled the world, there wouldn't be any god -" she said when the sound went dead and the camera suddenly turned away from the stage so viewers would be distracted. Chopped off were the words "goddamn wars in the first place." (The phrase was not censored in the Canadian telecast.)

Alan Greenspan: Iraq War was Mostly for Oil

The Sunday Times - Alan Greenspan claims Iraq war was really for oil

AMERICA’s elder statesman of finance, Alan Greenspan, has shaken the White House by declaring that the prime motive for the war in Iraq was oil.

In his long-awaited memoir, to be published tomorrow, Greenspan, a Republican whose 18-year tenure as head of the US Federal Reserve was widely admired, will also deliver a stinging critique of President George W Bush’s economic policies.

However, it is his view on the motive for the 2003 Iraq invasion that is likely to provoke the most controversy. “I am saddened that it is politically inconvenient to acknowledge what everyone knows: the Iraq war is largely about oil,” he says.

Greenspan, 81, is understood to believe that Saddam Hussein posed a threat to the security of oil supplies in the Middle East.

Britain and America have always insisted the war had nothing to do with oil. Bush said the aim was to disarm Iraq of weapons of mass destruction and end Saddam’s support for terrorism.

The Baghdad Wall

AFP - Baghdad neighbours protest over dividing wall

Hundreds of Shiites and Sunnis marched on Wednesday in protest at the building by US troops of a tall concrete wall separating their northwest Baghdad neighbourhoods, an AFP photographer said.

The protesters complained that the wall would promote sectarianism and demanded its removal.

Residents said that US forces last week began building the two-kilometre (1.25 mile) wall along the border of the mainly Shiite al-Shuala and adjoining Sunni-majority al-Ghazaliyah neighbourhoods without consulting them.

Since early this year, US and Iraqi forces have been erecting walls around or between some Baghdad neighbourhoods in what their commanders call a "concrete caterpillar" designed to protect residents from sectarian violence.

$850 Billion Debt Increase?

Reuters - Senate panel okays $850 billion debt increase

The Senate Finance Committee on Wednesday approved an $850 billion increase in U.S. borrowing authority to $9.815 trillion in order to avoid a default as the government nears its credit limit of $8.965 trillion.

The committee approved the bill on a voice vote and it clears the way for the full Senate to take action most likely by early October. As of last Friday, the federal debt stood at $8.923 trillion and Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson has been urging Congress to act quickly to avoid unnerving financial markets that are already jittery over rising mortgage foreclosures.

The amount approved by the finance panel would allow the government to continue borrowing into 2009, well after next year's presidential and congressional elections. Finance Committee Chairman Max Baucus, a Montana Democrat expressed concern that the debt issue could "become a political football" during next year's campaigns.

"The increase of $850 billion would be the third largest debt limit increase in U.S. history," Baucus said.

The U.S. House of Representatives already approved the credit increase when it passed the 2008 budget blueprint earlier this year.

It will be the fifth increase in the U.S. credit limit since President George W. Bush took office in 2001 when the U.S. debt stood at $5.6 trillion.

An older article about debt in the U.S.: USA Today - Taxpayers on the hook for $59 trillion

Man-made Chemicals in Food Chain Affecting the Inuit

The Guardian - Man-made chemicals blamed as many more girls than boys are born in Arctic

Twice as many girls as boys are being born in some Arctic villages because of high levels of man-made chemicals in the blood of pregnant women, according to scientists from the Arctic Monitoring and Assessment Programme (Amap).

The scientists, who say the findings could explain the recent excess of girl babies across much of the northern hemisphere, are widening their investigation across the most acutely affected communities in Russia, Greenland and Canada to try to discover the size of the imbalance in Inuit communities of the far north.

In the communities of Greenland and eastern Russia monitored so far, the ratio was found to be two girls to one boy. In one village in Greenland only girls have been born.

The scientists measured the man-made chemicals in women's blood that mimic human hormones and concluded that they were capable of triggering changes in the sex of unborn children in the first three weeks of gestation. The chemicals are carried in the mother's bloodstream through the placenta to the foetus, switching hormones to create girl children.

Lars-Otto Reierson, executive secretary for Amap, said: "We knew that the levels of man-made chemicals were accumulating in the food chain, and that seals, whales and particularly polar bears were getting a dose a million times higher than that existing in plankton, and that this could be toxic to humans who ate these higher animals. What was shocking was that they were also able to change the sex of children before birth."

Cell Phones Damaging DNA?

A post from yesterday: Cell Phones and Cancer

BBC - Mobile phones 'alter human DNA'

Radio waves from mobile phones do harm body cells and damage DNA, a laboratory study has shown.

But the European Union-funded Reflex research did not prove such changes were a risk to human health.

The scientists behind the study, which has not been published in a journal, said more work was needed to see the actual effect of the phones on health.

Veterans Affairs Lies about Wait Times

AP - Report: VA distorts record on wait times

The Department of Veterans Affairs repeatedly understated wait times for injured veterans seeking medical care and in many serious cases forced them to wait more than 30 days, counter to department policy, an internal investigation shows.

The review by the VA inspector general's office, released Monday, examined 700 outpatient appointments for primary and specialty care scheduled in October 2006 at 10 VA medical centers.

It found that the Veterans Health Administration in recent months falsely reported to Congress that nearly all of its appointments — about 95 percent — were scheduled within 30 days of a patient's requested date. In fact, only three in four veterans — 75 percent — received such timely appointments.

Of the veterans kept waiting more than 30 days, 27 percent of them had more serious service-connected disabilities, such as amputees and those with chronic problems including frequent panic attacks. Under VHA policy, such veterans must be scheduled for care within 30 days of their desired appointment date.

Cell Phones and Cancer

ANI - Just 10 minutes of cellphone chat may trigger cancer

Just 10 minutes of chatting on cellular phones is enough to trigger such chemical changes in the brain that can increase the risk of cancer, warn scientists.

A study by the Weizmann Institute of Science in Israel has shown that even low levels of radiation from handsets interfere with the process of cell division, which encourages the growth of tumors.

Although the researchers have yet not found any evidence that signals from cell phones are harmful, their findings suggest they may be.

Most See Iraq War as Failure - AP Poll

AP - AP Poll: Most see Iraq war as failure

The public sees the Iraq war as a failure and thinks the U.S. troop buildup there has not worked, according to an Associated Press-Ipsos poll suggesting the tough sell President Bush faces in asking Congress and voters for more time.

The pessimism expressed by most people — including significant minorities of Republicans — contrasted with the brighter picture offered by Gen. David Petraeus. The chief U.S. commander in Iraq is telling Congress this week that the added 30,000 troops have largely achieved their military goals and could probably leave by next summer, though he conceded there has been scant political progress.

By 59 percent to 34 percent, more people said they believe history will judge the Iraq war a complete or partial failure than a success. Those calling it a failure included eight in 10 Democrats, three in 10 Republicans and about six in 10 independents, the poll showed — ominous numbers for a president who hopes to use a nationally televised address later this week to keep GOP lawmakers from joining Democratic calls for a withdrawal.

U.S. Paying Sunni Insurgents to Fight Al-Qaeda

The Sunday Times - US bribe insurgents to fight Al-Qaeda

AMERICAN forces are paying Sunni insurgents hundreds of thousands of dollars in cash to switch sides and help them to defeat Al-Qaeda in Iraq.

A related post: U.S. Arming Sunni Militia

Death Squads in El Salvador

IPS - RIGHTS-EL SALVADOR: Death Squads Still Operating

Recent arrests of police officers in El Salvador accused of committing extrajudicial executions have encouraged human rights activists and experts who have long reported the continued existence of death squads in this Central American country.

For years, human rights organisations and experts have said the death squads that operated during the counterinsurgency war in the 1980s never disappeared, but merely became groups of paid killers that still operate with impunity, and are hired to "settle scores, carry out vengeance killings, eliminate a businessman’s competitor, carry out ‘social cleansing’ or work for organised crime."

Germany Warns Citizens to Avoid Using Wi-fi

The Independent - Germany warns citizens to avoid using Wi-Fi

People should avoid using Wi-Fi wherever possible because of the risks it may pose to health, the German government has said.

Its surprise ruling – the most damning made by any government on the fast-growing technology – will shake the industry and British ministers, and vindicates the questions that The Independent on Sunday has been raising over the past four months.

And Germany's official radiation protection body also advises its citizens to use landlines instead of mobile phones, and warns of "electrosmog" from a wide range of other everyday products, from baby monitors to electric blankets.

The German government's ruling – which contrasts sharply with the unquestioning promotion of the technology by British officials – was made in response to a series of questions by Green members of the Bundestag, Germany's parliament.

An older post: Possible Wi-fi Internet Cancer Risk

Microchip Implants Linked to Cancer in Animals

AP - Though FDA approved, microchip implants linked to animal cancer

When the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved implanting microchips in humans, the manufacturer said it would save lives, letting doctors scan the tiny transponders to access patients' medical records almost instantly. The FDA found "reasonable assurance" the device was safe, and a sub-agency even called it one of 2005's top "innovative technologies."

But neither the company nor the regulators publicly mentioned this: A series of veterinary and toxicology studies, dating to the mid-1990s, stated that chip implants had "induced" malignant tumors in some lab mice and rats.

No Inquiry into 7/7

My first post about the inquiry: 7/7 Survivors Begin Legal Fight for Inquiry

BBC - Ministers reject 7 July inquiry

The government has officially confirmed it will not hold a public inquiry into the 7 July London bombings.

6000 Page Diana Legal Dossier Disappears

Daily Mail - Entire 6,000 page Diana dossier 'disappears' from Paris archives

The entire 6,000-page French legal dossier into the death of Princess Diana has vanished from the court archives in Paris, a lawyer claimed last night.

The mass of official documents - which stand one metre tall - was stored at the Palais de Justice central court building in the French capital.

It was compiled over three years during the official investigation in crash by French investigating magistrate Judge Herve Stephan.

But lawyer Jean-Louis Pelletier - who represents Paris paparazzi Fabrice Chassery - said when he asked to view the dossier, he was told it had disappeared.

Even a search of the court documents archives below the court building failed to uncover the hundreds of missing files.

The bizarre disappearance will fuel conspiracy theories that the highly sensitive dossier has been stolen because it contains information that Diana's death was more than a simple accident.

Another possibility is that bungling French court workers have simply "lost" the mountain of paperwork.

Other copies of the dossier still exist however. One has been sent to Lord Stevens, who is heading the British investigation into Paris accident, and another made for Lord Justice Scott Baker, the coroner at the inquest into Diana's death in London this October.

The disappearance of the Paris dossier now raises the near comic prospect of the British having to give the French back a copy of their own missing paperwork, which they sent Britain in 2005.

In Paris, Mr Pelletier said he needed to view the dossier because his client Mr Chassery, who arrived at the crash scene on the night Diana died on August 31, 1997, was still being pursued for manslaughter over the crash.

He said: "When I went in to the court to ask to see the files, I was told they weren't there.

"I know files go missing from time to time, but bearing in mind the size and importance of this particular one, it is extraordinary."

The original dossier contains thousands of pages of witness statements, the results of forensic tests on drunk chauffeur Henri Paul, photos of the crash scene and of those who died, and crucial interviews with all those involved in one of the biggest investigations in French legal history.

Copies of the dossier that were made only contained photocopies of signed documents and many did not include any photographs of the victims or the crash scene, Mr Pelletier said.

He added: "I went to every different part of the court building, thinking perhaps it had been moved from the high court archives to the criminal court or the appeal court, but no one could find it.

"A search on the computer to try to locate also revealed nothing.

"I am amazed that something like this could simply vanish."

Mr Pelletier said he needed to view parts of the dossier to defend his client against an ongoing prosecution by Mohamed Al Fayed that the French photographers who followed Diana's car on the night she died had caused the crash.

A spokesman for the Palais de Justice said: "Several requests have been made by those connected to the Diana crash investigation to view the dossier, but the paperwork is not immediately available."

It is the second time this year that elements of the dossier have vanished.

Mr Pelletier said when he viewed the dossier last May, he found photos of Diana and Dodi taken at the crash scene had gone.

He said: "It was odd. One week the photo was there and the next it was gone.

"It was a photo taken by my client Mr Chassery and at the time I believed it had been stolen. But now it is much worse. The entire dossier has gone missing."

Israel Threatens to Cut off Gaza’s Water

The Age - Israel threatens to cut off Gaza's water

ISRAEL'S Deputy Prime Minister has threatened to cut off water and power supplies to the besieged Gaza Strip after three Palestinian missiles exploded in the Israeli town of Sderot.

The homemade Kassam missiles exploded near schools and buses on Monday as thousands of children were about to start the second day of the new school year. No one was injured.

"It is inconceivable that we should continue to supply the residents of the Gaza Strip with electricity, water and fuel, while the citizens of Israel serve as live targets for their rocket fire," Deputy Prime Minister Haim Ramon said.

"We need to announce that for every rocket that is fired at Israel, we'll stop for a designated period of time, two to three hours, the supply of electricity, fuel and water to the Gaza Strip."

The Gaza Strip is already suffering from severe privation and economic collapse following Israel's decision in June to impose a near-total blockade on its 1.4 million people.

What is also inconceivable is killing innocent civilians, illegally occupying land and settling it for the purpose of claiming it, bulldozing innocent people’s houses, using kids as human shields, deliberately attacking friendly troops, and planning to use nuclear weapons against other countries, among many other things.

Israeli West Bank Settlements

IMEMC - Israeli Authorities demolish more Arab homes in the Negev

UN Peacekeepers Got Ignored

Israel Plans To Use Nuclear Weapons

Israeli Army Using Human Shields

11 Public Officials Arrested

AP - 11 N.J. officials arrested on corruption

FBI agents arrested 11 public officials in towns across New Jersey Thursday on charges of taking bribes in exchange for influencing the awarding of public contracts, the U.S. Attorney's Office said.

Two of those arrested are state lawmakers, two are mayors, three are city councilmen, and several served on the school board in Pleasantville, where the scandal began.

All 11, plus a private individual, are accused of taking cash payments of $1,500 to $17,500 to influence who received public contracts, according to criminal complaints, said Michael Drewniak, a spokesman for U.S. Attorney Christopher J. Christie.

Democratic state Assemblymen Mims Hackett Jr. and Alfred E. Steele were arrested, as was Passaic Mayor Samuel Rivera. Also arrested were Keith Reid, the chief of staff to Newark's City Council president; Passaic councilmen Jonathan Soto and Marcellus Jackson; two current Pleasantville school board members, three former board members and a private citizen. One of the former school board members is now a Pleasantville city councilman.

More than 100 public officials in the state have been convicted on federal corruption charges in the last five years. Two other Democratic state senators, Wayne Bryant of Lawnside and Sharpe James of Newark, are among others facing pending corruption charges.

3 Arrested for Planning Bomb Attacks in Germany

AP - German officials: 3 arrested for plotting attacks on U.S. facilities

Three suspected members of an al-Qaida-influenced group nursing "profound hatred of U.S. citizens" have been arrested on suspicious of plotting imminent, massive bomb attacks in Germany, prosecutors said Wednesday.

DNA Database

BBC - All UK 'must be on DNA database'

The whole population and every UK visitor should be added to the national DNA database, a senior judge has said.

The present database in England and Wales holds details of 4m people who are guilty or cleared of a crime.

Lord Justice Sedley said this was indefensible and biased against ethnic minorities, and it would be fairer to include everyone, guilty or innocent.

Ministers said DNA helped tackle crime, but there were no plans for a voluntary national or compulsory UK database.

An article from Australia:

Herald Sun - Police move to widen DNA net

POLICE want the power to take DNA from more suspects and keep it indefinitely, even in the absence of charges or convictions.

Danish Police Say They’ve Averted a Terror Attack

EuroNews - Danish police say they've averted a terror attack

The Danish authorities say they have foiled a planned terrorist bomb attack. Eight men suspected of having direct links with the Al Qaeda leadership have been arrested. The eight, aged mainly in their twenties, of Afghan, Somali, Pakistani and Turkish origin, had been under surveillance for some time. They were arrested when it was deemed enough evidence had been gathered against them, and because they were believed to have been working with unstable explosives in a dense residential area.

The head of the Danish Intelligence Service Jakob Scharf said: "We can describe these suspects as Islamist militants with international contacts, among them the leaders of Al Qaeda."

11 locations were raided overnight. Last September Danish police arrested nine people after discovering chemical substances which could be used in bomb making. The court case starts tomorrow. There have also been a numbers of protests in Denmark by Muslims over cartoons featuring the prophet Mohammed in the press.

Mandatory Preventive Care

AP - Edwards backs mandatory preventive care

Democratic presidential hopeful John Edwards said on Sunday that his universal health care proposal would require that Americans go to the doctor for preventive care.

"It requires that everybody be covered. It requires that everybody get preventive care," he told a crowd sitting in lawn chairs in front of the Cedar County Courthouse. "If you are going to be in the system, you can't choose not to go to the doctor for 20 years. You have to go in and be checked and make sure that you are OK."

Man Pleads Guilty to Plot to Sell Weapons to Iran

Los Angeles Times - Man pleads guilty to plot to sell weapons to Iran (account required to view, full article posted below)

By Greg Krikorian, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
August 30, 2007

A West Hills man has pleaded guilty to an audacious plan to buy as many as 100,000 Uzis in the United States and sell them to officials in Iran's government.

Under a plea agreement reached this week, Seyed Mostafa Maghloubi, 49, acknowledged that he tried to obtain submachine guns and night vision goggles and ship them to Iran, in violation of U.S. laws prohibiting such transactions.

According to the plea agreement, Maghloubi's plan dated to at least October 2005 when he approached an unidentified individual and said he was interested in buying the weapons and goggles.

The individual, who was identified only as a cooperating witness for the government, brokered a meeting between Maghloubi and an undercover Los Angeles police detective who Maghloubi believed was an arms dealer.

During that meeting in February, Maghloubi said that he was interested in buying the items for Iran and that he had high-level contacts with government officials in that country, according to the plea agreement.

Through several meetings and telephone conversations, the agreement says, Maghloubi and the undercover officer worked out details of the transaction. At one point, the defendant asked the purported arms dealer if he could ship the Uzis and goggles to Dubai so Maghloubi could bring them across the border to Iran.

The discussions eventually led to Maghloubi taking delivery of three fully automatic Uzis and one pair of night vision goggles.

At all times, the plea agreement says, Maghloubi -- who was born in Iran and is a naturalized U.S. citizen -- sought to deliver the military equipment to a faction within Iran's government that is aligned with a former president who is a political foe of the country's president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

In that light, Maghloubi's attorney said, his client was trying "to actually try and help a rapprochement between the U.S. and Iran."

"This had nothing to do with terrorism," Deputy Federal Public Defender Guy Iversen said.

A spokesman for the U.S. attorney's office had no comment on the plea agreement.

greg.krikorian@latimes.com

7/7 Survivors Begin Legal Fight for Inquiry

Reuters - London bomb survivors begin legal fight for inquiry

Survivors and relatives of those killed in the London bombings of July 7, 2005, began legal action on Thursday to force the British government to hold an independent inquiry into the capital's worst peacetime attacks.

The group argues official accounts of the suicide bombings on London's transport system carried out by four young British Islamists have been insufficient, inaccurate and misleading.