May-June 2005

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"Most newspaper article events happen anywhere from days, to months, to years before they reach publication. Consequently, most newspaper articles on this timeline are preceeded by the date of the newspaper in which they appear." [E.M.] *Color Code

May 2005
2005 - Astronomic Configuration - May 1st, 2005: "Sun [10 Taurus], Moon [7 Aquarius], Mercury [14 Aries], Venus [18 Taurus], Mars [29 Aquarius], Jupiter [10 Libra R], Saturn [21 Cancer], Uranus [9 Pisces], Neptune [17 Aquarius], Pluto [24 Sagittarius R], Chiron [3 Aquarius]."
2005 - Weekly Deaths in Iraq - Week of May 1st: "Iraqi civilians, security forces: 210; U.S. military personnel and *others: 9." [Based on: A.P.. p. A1, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 06/03/05]
*Includes two British soldiers and two U.S. contract workers. [A.P./ Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - May 1st, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents launched fresh attacks in Baghdad and northern Iraq on Saturday [04/30/05], killing at least 11 Iraqis and wounding more than 40. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Light Earthquake / Arkansas - May 1st, 2005: "A light earthquake occurred at 12:37:32 (UTC) on Sunday, May 1, 2005. The magnitude 4.1 event has been located in ARKANSAS. The hypocentral depth was estimated to be 10 km ( 6 miles). (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/nmhwb0501a.htm]
2005 - Moderate Earthquake / Central Iran - May 1st, 2005: "A moderate earthquake occurred at 18:58:43 (UTC) on Sunday, May 1, 2005. The magnitude 5.0 event has been located in CENTRAL IRAN. The hypocentral depth was estimated to be 36 km (23 miles). (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usxnby.htm]
2005 - Car Bomb / Iraq - May 2nd, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb obliterated a tent packed with mourners at the funeral of a Kurdish official in northern Iraq on Sunday [05/01/05], killing about 25 people and wounding more than 50. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Hostage Video / Iraq - May 2nd, 2005: "CAIRO, Egypt - Iraqi militants have kidnapped an Australian man who is a resident of California who pleaded for U.S.-led coalition forces to leave Iraq to save his life, according to a videotape released Sunday [05/01/05]. The tape showed a man identifying himself as Douglas Wood, 63, seated between two masked militants pointing automatic weapons at him. [....] More than 200 foreigners have been kidnapped in Iraq since Saddam Hussein's regime collapsed in April 2003. [....] The kidnappers have killed more than 30 hostages." [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Airplane Accident / Ricardo Maduro - May 2nd, 2005: "A small plane carrying Honduran President Ricardo Maduro went down in the Caribbean Sea near the shore Sunday [05/01/05] after its engine failed, and Maduro was taken to a hospital with minor injuries, the president's spokesman said. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Polio Virus / Indonesia - May 3rd, 2005: "A case of polio has been detected in Indonesia, World Health Organization officials said Monday [05/02/05]. The discovery indicates that an outbreak spreading from northern Nigeria since 2003 has reached the world's fourth most populous country. [....] Indonesia's last case was in 1995. It is now the 16th country to be reinfected by a strain of the virus that broke out in northern Nigeria when vaccinations stopped there, then crossed Africa and the Red Sea. The officials recommended that Indonesia immediately vaccinate 5 million people on Java." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - May 3rd, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iraq's incoming prime minister struggled to find a Sunni Arab to run the key Defense Ministry in time to join Iraq's first democratically elected government when it takes office today. A torrent of bloodshed - at least 140 killed in five days - followed the approval of a Cabinet that mostly shut out members of the disaffected Sunni minority. [....] At least 21 Iraqis were killed Monday [05/02/05]. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Stretched Thin? / U.S. Military - May 3rd, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Strains imposed by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have made it far more difficult for the U.S. military to beat back any future act of aggression, launch a pre-emptive strike or intervene to prevent conflict in another part of the world, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff said in a classified analysis sent Monday [05/02/05] to Congress. Air Force Gen. Richard B. Myers said the American military was at greater risk this year than last of being unable to properly execute the missions it must prepare for around the globe. The assessment states that the military is at 'significant risk' of being unable to prevail against enemies abroad in the manner that Pentagon war plans mandate. [....]" [Based on: Los Angeles Times]
2005 - Guilty Plea? / Pfc. Lynndie England - May 3rd, 2005: "WASHINGTON - U.S. Army Pfc. Lynndie England ... pleaded guilty Monday [05/02/05] to charges that she mistreated detainees in Iraq's Abu Ghraib prison. [....]" [Based on: Chicago Tribune]
*Trivia: "Pfc. Lynndie England's court-martial on charges of prison abuse came to an abrubt end Wednesday [05/04/05] when the judge rejected her guilty plea, threw out her pretrial agreement and declared a mistrial. [....]" [Based on: Cox News Service, 04/05/05]
*Trivia: "Pfc. Lynndie England on Tuesday [05/24/05] surrendered her right to challenge the seven charges she faces in the Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal, moving her one step closer to a new military trial. [....]" [Based on: News Services, 05/25/05]
2005 - Trivia / U.S. Drivers License Rules - May 3rd, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Congress is moving quickly toward setting strict rules on how states issue drivers licenses, requiring them to verify whether each applicant for a new license or a renewal is in this country legally. [....] The draft legislation is to be finalized in the next few days and is all but certain to pass. [....] Civil rights groups and privacy advocates say they are concerned that a standardized drivers license would amount to a national identification card, and that a central database would be vulnerable to identity theft. [....] Eleven states now grant drivers licenses to noncitizens who do not have visas. [....] The eleven states that now issue licenses to noncitizens are Maryland, Michigan, Montana, New Mexico, North Carolina, Hawaii, Oregon, Tennessee, Utah, Washington and Wisconsin. [....]" [Based on: New York Times]
2005 - Finger in Frozen Custard / U.S.A. - May 3rd, 2005: "WILMINGTON, N.C. - A man [Clarence Stowers] who ordered a pint of frozen chocolate custard in a dessert shop got a nasty surprise inside - a piece of severed finger lost by an employee in an accident. [....] Stowers told the station: 'I thought it was candy because they put candy in your ice cream ... to make it a treat. So I said, 'OK, well, I'll just put it in my mouth and get the ice cream off of it and see what it is.' Stowers said he spit the object out but still couldn't identify it. So he rinsed it off with water - and 'just started screaming.' [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Saddam Hussein Assassination Plot? - May 3rd, 2005: "AMMAN, Jordan - Saddam Hussein's chief lawyer accused Iranian-backed Iraqi politicians of plotting to assassinate the ousted dictator in prison. Ziad al-Khasawneh said Monday [05/02/05] that he held the United States responsible for Saddam's safety. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Moderate Earthquake / Central Peru - May 3rd, 2005: "A moderate earthquake occurred at 19:11:39 (UTC) on Tuesday, May 3, 2005. The magnitude 5.8 event has been located in CENTRAL PERU. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usxqb9.htm]
2005 - Resignation / AMEX President, Peter Quick - May 3rd, 2005: "The American Stock Exchange said Monday [05/02/05] that Peter Quick had stepped down as president of the exchange. No replacement has been named. No reason for Quick's departure was given. [....]" [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/03/05]
2005 - Review / Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty - May 3rd, 2005: "UNITED NATIONS - Amid rising nuclear tension, more than 180 nations convened Monday [05/02/05] to review the nonproliferation treaty, hearing calls from many sides for concessions by Iran and North Korea, the United States, Russia and others to move toward a world free of the nuclear threat. 'Ultimately, the only way to guarantee that they will never be used is for our world to be free of such weapons,' Secretary-General Kofi Annan said in opening the monthlong conference. [....] Under the 35-year-old Nuclear Nonproliferation Treaty, states without nuclear arms pledge not to pursue them, in exchange for a commitment by five nuclear powers - the United States, Russia, Britain, France and China - to move toward nuclear disarmament. Three other nuclear states - Israel, India and Pakistan - remain outside the treaty. The treaty is reviewed every five years at conferences whose consensus political commitments are not legally binding, like a treaty, but give valuable support to nonproliferation initiatives. At the 2000 sessions, the nuclear powers committed to '13 practical steps' toward disarmament, but critics complain that President George W. Bush's administration - by rejecting the nuclear test-ban treaty, for example - has come up short. In his keynote address, Annan said all nations must work toward 'a world of reduced nuclear threat and, ultimately, a world free of nuclear weapons.' The nuclear powers must find ways to rely less on nuclear deterrence, the U.N. chief said, and he called on Washington and Moscow 'to commit themselves - irreversibly - to further cuts in their arsenals.' Under the 2002 Moscow Treaty, the United States and Russia are to cut back their deployed warheads to from 1,700 to 2,200 each by 2012. When it's implemented, Rademaker said [assistant secretary of state, Stephen G. Rademaker] , ' the United States will have reduced the number of strategic nuclear warheads it had deployed in 1990 by about 80 percent.' [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: [....] Vietnam was a chemical war for oil, permanently contaminating large regions and countries downriver with Agent Orange, and environmentally the most devastating war in world history. But since 1991, the U.S. has staged four nuclear wars using depleted uranium weaponry, which, like Agent Orange, meets the U.S. government definition of Weapons of Mass Destruction. Vast regions in the Middle East and Central Asia have been permanently contaminated with radiation. [....] The first DU weapons system was developed for the Navy in 1968, and DU weapons were given to and used by Israel in 1973 under U.S. supervision in the Yom Kippur war against the Arabs. The Phalanx weapons system, using DU, was tested on the USS Bigelow out of Hunters Point Naval Shipyard in 1977, and DU weapons have been sold by the U.S. to 29 countries. Military research report summaries detail the testing of DU from 1974-1999 at military testing grounds, bombing and gunnery ranges and at civilian labs under contract. Today 42 states are contaminated with DU from manufacture, testing and deployment. [....] A Japanese professor, Dr. K. Yagasaki, has calculated that 800 tons of DU is the atomicity equivalent of 83,000 Nagasaki bombs. The U.S. has used more DU since 1991 than the atomicity equivalent of 400,000 Nagasaki bombs. Four nuclear wars indeed, and 10 times the amount of radiation released into the atmosphere from atmospheric testing! No wonder our soldiers, their families and the people of the Middle East, Yugoslavia and Central Asia are sick. But as Henry Kissinger said after Vietnam when our soldiers came home ill from Agent Orange, 'Military men are just dumb stupid animals to be used for foreign policy.' [....]"
[Based on: http://www.sfbayview.com/081804/depleteduranium081804.shtml]
2005 - Acting Iraqi Oil Minister / Ahmad Chalabi ??? - May 3rd, 2005: "The Iraqis have thrown us another curveball. Ahmad Chalabi - convicted embezzler in Jordan, suspected Iranian spy, double-crosser of America, purveyor of phony war-instigating intelligence - is the new acting Iraqi oil minister. Is that why we went to war? To put the oily in charge of the oil? To set the swindler who would be Spartacus atop the ultimate gusher? [....] A Chalabi nephew is the new finance minister. [....]" [Based on: article by Maureen Dowd, S.L.P.D., p. B7, 05/03/05]
2005 - Delayed Filing [again] / American International Group Inc. - May 3rd, 2005: "NEW YORK - American International Group Inc., one of the world's largest insurance companies, said Monday [05/02/05] that it again will delay filing its 2004 annual report and make accounting ajustments that will cut its value by some $2.7 billion - $1 billion more than an earlier estimate. [....] Late Sunday [05/01/05], AIG said it would restate its results for the years 2000 to 2003 and delay filing its 2004 annual report until 'no later than May 31.' The company had twice earlier delayed filing its Form 10-K with the Securities and Exchange Commission. AIG said the review by a team of independant auditors as well as its outside audit firm, PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, was 'nearing completion.' " [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Trivia / Boostrix - May 4th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The first booster shot to protect adolescents against whooping cough won government approval Tuesday [05/03/05], offering a new tool to battle the return of a dangerous illness that leaves sufferers gasping for air. Whooping cough, a bacterial infection, was once thought to be history thanks to effective vaccination of babies and toddlers, but it turns out that protection from those early shots wears off. [....] Specialists say GlaxoSmithKline's Boostrix is a first step toward ending that cycle. The Food and Drug Administration on Tuesday approved its use as a one-time booster dose of vaccine for people from ages 10 to 18. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Trivia / SonoPrep - May 4th, 2005: "St. Louis University researchers are testing flu vaccine with SonoPrep, an ultrasound device that opens skin pores." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. A1, 05/04/05]
2005 - Trivia / Prostate Cancer - May 4th, 2005: "Men with nonaggressive prostate cancer who were treated with hormones or took no action at all are unlikely to die of the disease even 20 years later, research shows. Conversely, the disease is likely to be deadly for men with signs of more aggressive cancer treated with hormones or just observation. [....] The research ... appears in today's Journal of the American Medical Association. [....]" [Based on: News Services, S.L.P.D., p. A3, 05/04/05]
2005 - Beginning / BRAC Hearing - May 4th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Officials minced no words as they kicked off what is likely to be the biggest round of base closings in history Tuesday [05/03/05] with the first public hearing of the Base Realignment and Closure Commission. [....]" [Based on: Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau]
*Trivia: "Since 1988, the base realignment and Closing commission [BRAC] has closed 97 major facilities. Mr. Rumsfeld said [2003] the next round, scheduled for 2005, will be the mother of all BRAC's.' " [Based on: article in St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 10/29/03]
*Trivia: "Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld indicated Tuesday [03/29/05] that this year's round of military base closings might not be as drastic as earlier forecasts suggested. Only weeks away from a Pentagon proposal for shutdowns, Rumsfeld said less than 20 percent of base facilities in the United States were likely to be mothballed this year. That prediction contrasted with a Pentagon report to Congress earlier this year that said 24 percent of domestic bases were not needed. Rumsfeld said the transfer of thousands of U.S. troops from bases around the world will reduce the impact on U.S. facilities." [Based on: News Services, S.L.P.D., p. A4, 03/30/05]
*Trivia: "The deadline for official submission of the Pentagon's list of bases that it recommends be closed or realigned is May 16, 2005." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. A1, 05/01/05]
2005 - Trivia / Women's Rights, Kuwait - May 4th, 2005: "In a major setback to Kuwaiti women in politics, Islamist and conservative tribal lawmakers in parliament were able to delayed consideration of a draft election law long long enough to keep women out of this year's race for municipal council seats. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Moderate Earthquake / Tonga - May 4th, 2005: "A moderate earthquake occurred at 08:57:00 (UTC) on Wednesday, May 4, 2005. The magnitude 5.9 event has been located in TONGA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usxray.htm]
2005 - Suicide Attacks / Iraq - May 5th, 2005: "IRBIL, Iraq - A suicide attacker slipped into line at a police recruitment center in this usually tranquil northern Kurdish city and blew himself up Wednesday [05/04/05], leaving the streets slick with blood in the deadliest insurgent attack in more than two months, police said. Sixty Iraqis were killed and 150 wounded. [....] Also Wednesday, a suicide car bomber attacked an Iraqi army checkpoint in Baghdad. There were conflicting accounts of the casualties. Police said nine soldiers were killed and six wounded, along with 10 civilians. The U.S. military said 15 soldiers were killed. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Secure Flight? / U.S.A. - May 5th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Airline passengers soon will be asked to provide their full names and birth dates when they buy tickets. [....] The request for extra information is part of the agency's effort to build a new computerized passenger screening program called Secure Flight. Secure Flight would let the Transportation Security Administration take over from the airlines the responsibility of checking passengers' names against watch lists. The agency plans to begin Secure Flight with two airlines in August. The program is supposed to work by transferring airline passengers' name records - which can include address, phone number and credit card information - to a government database. The government computer would flag names on the watch list and identify passengers who would bea sked to go through additional screening." [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: "[....] President George W. Bush signed legislation Wednesday [05/11/05] aimed at denying drivers licenses to illegal immigrants and increasing homeland security. [....] The Real ID Act, which takes effect in three years, will turn drivers licenses into national identification cards. To renew a license or get a new one, motorists will have to prove their identification and residency in four ways. Even then, state workers will have to contact the issuing agencies to make sure the documents are valid before handling the motorist a license. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. A1, 05/12/05]
2005 - Child Census Trivia / Japan - May 5th, 2005: "The number of Japanese children under 15 years old hit a post-World War II low this year as the nation's birthrate continues to decline, the government said Wednesday [05/04/05]. As of April 1, the number of children in that age group was 17.65 million, 150,000 fewer than a year earlier, the Internal Affairs Ministry said in its annual survey. It was the 24th straight year of decline in the nation's clild population. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Charged / Larry Franklin - May 5th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - A Pentagon analyst was arrested Wednesday [05/04/05] and charged with giving classified information about potential attacks against U.S. forces in Iraq to employees of a pro-Israel group [Israel Public Affairs Committe]. Larry Franklin, 58, an Air Force Reserve Colonel who once worked for the Pentagon's No. 3 official, is the first person charged in a long-running investigation into whether Israel improperly obtained U.S. secrets. [....] A preliminary hearing was set for May 27. Franklin's lawyer, John Richards, said he expected his client to plead not guilty. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Falcarius Uthahensis / Utah - May 5th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Digging in the badlands of east-central Utah [in a two-acre stretch of pebbly, 120 million-year-old mudstone] on a tip from a repentant poacher, researchers say they have unearthed the fossil remains of a dinosaur 'missing link' - a primitive plant-eater [Falcarius uthahensis] that had recently evolved from the carnivorous raptors that also produced modern birds. [....]" [Based on: Washington Post]
2005 - Trivia / Oklahoma City Bombing - May 5th, 2005: "Nichols [Terry Nichols] claims Arkansan [Roger Moore] had role in bombing." [Based on: S.L.P.D. headline, p. A5, 05/05/05]
2005 - Captured / Abu Farraj al-Libbi - May 5th, 2005: "ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani commandos nabbed a senior al-Qaida leader [Abu Farraj al-Libbi], described by U.S. officials as the group's No. 3 operative, after a shootout near one of his barren hide-outs. Jubilant Pakistani officials said Wednesday [05/04/05] that his arrest would help in the hunt for Osama bin Laden. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - President Faure Gnassingbe / Togo - May 5th, 2005: "The son of the long-ruling late dictator was officially sworn in as president on Wednesday [05/04/05], one day after being declared the winner of last month's disputed election. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - AIDS Tests / U.S. Foster Children - May 5th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Government-funded researchers tested AIDS drugs on hundreds of foster children over the past two decades, often without providing them a basic protection afforded in federal law and required by some states, an Associated Press review has found. The research funded by the National Institutes of Health spanned the country. It was the most widespread in the 1990s as foster care agencies sought treatments for their HIV-infected children that weren't yet available in the marketplace. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - U.S. Arms Trafficking? / Columbia - May 5th, 2005: "CARMEN DE APICALA, Columbia - Columbian police arrested two U.S. soldiers for alleged involvement in a plot to traffic thousands of rounds of ammunition - possibly to outlawed right-wing paramilitary groups, authorities said Wednesday [05/04/05]. [....] National Police chief Gen. Jorge Daniel Castro said officers stopped a suspicious man in the area, who offered a bribe to be allowed to go free. Under threat of arrest, the man led the officers to a nearby house, where more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition for assault rifles, machine guns and pistols were found, officials said. Shortly afterward, the two U.S. Army soldiers - apparently unaware of the police operation - tried to go to the house. Castro said three Columbians were also involved. [....] In Washington, the State Department confirmed the arrest of two of its soldiers in Columbia. 'Two U.S. soldiers were detained by Columbian authorities on the afternoon of May 3,' it said. It marks the latest U.S. embarrasment in this South American nation. On March 29, five U.S. soldiers were arrested after 35 pounds of cocaine was found aboard a U.S. military plane that flew to El Paso, Texas, from the Apiay air base east of Bogota. In the ammunitions case, a police registry identified the U.S. servicemen only as Allam Norman Tanquary and Jesus Hernandez. It was unclear whether Allam was a misspelling. U.S. authorities did not provide names. [....] The cache was composed of more than 40,000 rounds of ammunition sent to Columbia by the United States under its Plan Columbian aid program, aimed at crushing a leftist insurgency and the drug trafficking that fuels it, officials said. The U.S. embassy declined to comment on any possible links to paramilitary groups, who are battling leftist rebels in Columbia. Washington has branded the paramilitary umbrella group, the United Self-Defense Forces of Columbia, as a terrorist organization, along with the two rebel groups." [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: "Authorities have arrested three Columbians - a retired air force officer and two civilians - suspected of helping American soldiers smuggle cocaine to the United States aboard a U.S. military aircraft, officials in Bogota said Wednesday [05/18/05]. [....]" [Based on: News Services, 05/19/05]
2005 - Moderate Earthquake / Mauritius - May 5th, 2005: "A moderate earthquake occurred at 13:12:48 (UTC) on Thursday, May 5, 2005. The magnitude 5.5 event has been located in the MAURITIUS - REUNION REGION. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.) "
[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usxsav.htm]
2005 - 2nd-Quarter Profit / Whole Foods Inc. - May 5th, 2005: "Whole Foods Market Inc., the largest U.S. natural-foods grocer, said second-quarter profit rose to $42 million. [....] Shares of Whole Foods rose $2.37, or 2.4 percent, to $101.79 in Nasdaq Stock Market trading. They have risen 29 percent this year. Whole Foods opened one new store in the quarter, bringing the total number to 166. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / South of Panama - May 5th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 19:12:18 (UTC) on Thursday, May 5, 2005. The magnitude 6.5 event has been located SOUTH OF PANAMA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usxsbp.htm]
2005 - Suspended Transfer / West Bank Towns - May 5th, 2005: "JERUSALEM - Israel on Wednesday [05/04/05] froze the planned handover of West Bank towns to Palestinians, accusing Palestinian security forces of failing to honor commitments to disarm militants in areas already under their control. [....] Under the cease fire agreement, Israel pledged to pull its forces out of five West Bank towns, while the Palestinians promised to disarm militants. Israel has pulled out of only two towns, Jericho and Tulkarem, while holding back from leaving Qalqiliya, Bethlehem and Ramallah. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Annual Bilderberg Meeting / Germany - May 5th-8th, 2005: "ROTTACH-EGERN, Germany - European Bilderberg hunters have found the hiding place of this secretive cabal at a posh resort in this charming little city 40 miles from Munich. Their annual meeting is May 5-8. Bilderberg is gathering at the Dorint Sofitel Seehotel Ueberfahrt, a five-star conference and business hotel with 188 luxury rooms. [....] All participants are sworn to secrecy. Bilderberg denies its existence, and all the resorts at which they hold their meetings require their employees to lie and deny they are present. Three times the Dorint told AFP they were fully booked - but that Bilderberg was not there. [....] Exposing Bilderberg meetings has provided advance warning - months ahead of the mainstream media - of U.S. wars, tax increases, and the downfall of Margaret Thatcher as prime minister of Britain, among other exclusives." [Based on: AFP, 05/09/05, p. 1 & 3]
2005 - Moderate Earthquake / South of Panama - May 5th, 2005: "A moderate earthquake occurred at 23:41:53 (UTC) on Thursday, May 5, 2005. The magnitude 5.9 event has been located SOUTH OF PANAMA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquake.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usxscm.htm]
2005 - "Junk" Status / GM & Ford - May 6th, 2005: "DETROIT - A rating agency on Thursday [05/05/05] declared billions of dollars of debt owed by General Motors Corp. and Ford Motor Co. to be 'junk,' a significant blow that will increase borrowing costs and limit financing options for the nation's two biggest automakers. Shares of GM fell 5.9 percent and Ford shares declined 4.5 percent after Standard & Poor's ratings services downgraded their debt to below investment grade, which is commonly known as 'junk' or 'high-yield' status. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Trivia / Jerusalem Of Gold - May 6th, 2005: "Israeli composer NAOMI SHEMER confessed on her deathbed last June (04) she copied the melody for her hit JERUSALEM OF GOLD from a Basque lullaby - and she feared her guilty secret contributed to her cancer. Shemer, who died from the disease at the age of 74, spent her final years denying claims she plagiarised the nursery song and turned it into Jerusalem of Gold - which became popular in the 1960s during the Arab-Israeli war. But the songwriter wrote composer GIL ALDEMA a letter shortly before her death, confessing she heard her friend singing the lullaby in 1967, and subconsciously copied it. According to extracts from the letter published by Israel's HAARETZ DAILY NEWSPAPER, she wrote, "I consider the entire affair a regrettable work accident, so regrettable that it may be the reason for me taking ill. 'You are the only person in the world, besides my family, who should know the truth about Jerusalem of Gold. In the winter of 1967, when I was working on the writing of Jerusalem of Gold, the song must have crept into me unwittingly. It turns out that someone protected me and provided me with my eight notes that grant me the rights to my version of the folk song.' "
[Based on: http://www.contactmusic.com/new/xmlfeed.nsf/mndwebpages/israeli%20composers%20deathbed%
20plagiarism%20confession]
2005 - Trivia / U.S. Military Spending - May 6th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The House easily approved an $82 billion bill Thursday [05/05/05] to fund operations in Iraq and Afghanistan. The measure includes sweeping immigration changes and would boost the total spent on wars and other antiterrorism efforts since 2001 to beyond $300 billion. [....] The legislation is the fifth such emergency spending package Congress has taken up since the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. It pushes the costs of the two conflicts and other efforts to fight terrorism worldwide over four years beyond $300 billion. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Heavy Fighting / Afghanistan - May 6th, 2005: "U.S. and Afghan forces backed by warplanes and attack helicopters clashed with Taliban-led militants in two southern provinces. The fighting killed 64 rebels, nine Afghan soldiers and a policeman, officials said Thursday [05/05/05]. It was the deadliest fighting in the country in nine months. [....] Seven U.S. soldiers also were wounded in the fighting, which began Tuesday. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Thwarted Terrorist Plot? / Russia - May 6th, 2005: "ROSTOV-ON-DON, Russia - Russian security forces said they foiled a major terrorist attack Thursday [05/05/05] discovering a truck bomb and a cache of poisons days before dozens of dignitaries arrive in Moscow for celebrations marking the Allied victory over Nazi Germany. [....]" [Based on: A,P.]
2005 - Salmonella Outbreak? / U.S. Pets - May 6th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Furry 'pocket pets' such as hamsters, mice and rats have sickened up to 30 people in at least 10 states with dangerous multidrug-resistant bacteria, health officials are warning. It is the first known outbreak of salmonella illness tied to such pets and reveals a previously unknown public health risk, officials said in a report released Thursday [05/05/05]
2005 - Prime Minister Tony Blair / Britain - May 6th, 2005: "LONDON - Tony Blair won a historic third term as prime minister Thursday [05/05/05], but exit poll projections indicated his Labor Party suffered a sharply reduced parliamentary majority in apparent punishment for going to war in Iraq. A chastened Blair said 'we will have to respond to that sensibly and wisely.' [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: "A 66-seat majority in Britain's House of Commons is nothing to sniff at, but measured against Labor's huge majorities of 179 and 167 in the two previous elections, it is understandable why Priime Minister Tony Blair is feeling a bit lame-duckish." [Based on: Chicago Tribune]
2005 - Grenades / British Consulate, U.S.A. - May 6th, 2005: "NEW YORK - Two small makeshift grenades exploded early Thursday [05/05/05] outside a building housing the British Consulate, just as Britons went to the polls in a national election. The blast caused minor damage and no injuries. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Restrictions? / Gay Sperm Donors, U.S.A. - May 6th, 2005: "NEW YORK - The Food and Drug Administration is about to implement rules recommending that any man who has engaged in homosexual sex in the previous five years be barred from serving as an anonymous sperm donor. The FDA has rejected calls to scrap the provision, insisting that gay men collectively pose a higher-than-average risk of carrying the AIDS virus. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Renewed U.S. Economic Sanctions / Syria - May 6th, 2005: "President George W. Bush on Thursday [05/05/05] renewed ecomomic sanctions on Syria implemented a year ago, saying its government still supports terrorism and is undermining efforts to stabilize Iraq. [....]" [Based on: News Service]
2005 - Demoted / U.S. Army Gen. Janis Karpinski - May 6th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The Army said Thursday [05/05/05] that only one senior officer will be disciplined for failed leadership in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal and that more than a dozen lower-ranking officers will face a variety of punishments. [....] The demotion means her career in the military, where officers must rise in rank or leave, is effectively over. [....] Karpinski was demoted to Colonel, a move that required approval by President George W. Bush. She also received a written reprimand by Army Vice Chief of Staff Gen. Richard Cody and was formally releived of command of the 800th Military Police Brigade on April 8, the Army said in a statement." [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - May 7th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - The death toll from a week of relentless insurgent attacks rose to nearly 300 Friday [05/06/05], intensifying pressure on Iraq's still incomplete government to act quickly to stem the mounting violence that threatens to engulf the country. [....]" [Based on: Chicago Tribune]
2005 - Assassinated [by Predator Drone]? / Haitham al-Yemeni, Pakistan - May 7th, 2005: "An al-Qaida figure [Haitham al-Yemeni] killed earlier this month [05/07/05] by a missle from a CIA-operated unmanned areial drone had been under surveilance for more than a week by U.S. intelligence and military personnel working along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, a U.S. official and two counterterrorism experts said Saturday [05/14/05]. [....] The CIA declined to comment. Pakistan's information minister denied that any such incident, which was first reported by ABC News, even happened. 'No such incident took place near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border,' Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press on Saturday [05/14/05]. The sources said the Predator drone fired on al-Yemeni on May 7 in Toorikhel, Pakistan, a suburb of Mirali in the province of North Waziristan." [Based on: Washington Post, 05/15/05]
2005 - Mother's Day - May 8th, 2005: "Mother's day observed." [E.M.]
2005 - Car Bombs / Iraq - May 8th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Two car bombs targeted a contractors' convoy in central Baghdad on Saturday [05/07/05] just as a mini-bus carried away schoolchildren, killing 27 Iraqis and two Americans, the U.S. military said. [....] One bomber apparently pulled out from an alley near the school to attack the convoy's rear, and another crashed into the front of the convoy head-on. [....]" [Based on: Chicago Tribune]
2005 - Layoffs / AFL-CIO - May 8th, 2005: "LAS VEGAS - Already facing upheaval and dissent from several union presidents, the AFL-CIO saw its problems escalate last week when the federation laid off about a fourth of its staff and the chairman of its public relations committee resigned in a fit of pique. [....] The AFL-CIO, a federation of 57 unions, has been in tumult for more than six months, ever since the federation's largest union, the Service Employees International Union, threatened to quit, complaining that the organization was doing far too little to reverse labor's decline. [....]" [Based on: New York Times]
2005 - Status / Sunspot 758 - May 8th-10th, 2005: "Two days ago [05/08/05] ... sunspot 758 was derided as 'a rash' on the sun. Not anymore. The formerly-sparse spot has blossomed into a behemoth almost as wide as the planet Jupiter. It's big enough to see, but don't stare at the sun. Like sunspot 756 in late April, this active region reminds us how quickly big sunspots can materialize - a vexing problem for space weather forecasters!"
[Based on: http://spaceweather.com/] [05/11/05]
2005 - Weekly Deaths in Iraq - Week of May 8th: "Iraqi civilians, security forces: 132; U.S. military personnel and *others: 21." [Based on: A.P.. p. A1, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 06/03/05]
*Includes two British soldiers and two U.S. contract workers. [A.P./ Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Fatal Plane Crash / Australia - May 8th, 2005: "An airplane carrying 15 people slammed into a hillside in remote northeastern Australia on Saturday [05/07/05], killing everyone on board, authorities said in Canberra. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Sense of Direction / Butterflies - May 8th, 2005: "LOS ANGELES - Monarch butterflies making their annual migration from the eastern United States to winter residences in Mexico's Sierra Madre mountain range find their way by following a three-dimensional map made of rays of polarized ultraviolet light, according to a new study. Though UV light is invisible to humans, to butterflys it appears as a grid in the sky that emanates from the sun, the researchers reported in the journal Neuron. [....]" [Based on: Los Angeles Times]
2005 - Return to Syria / Michel Aoun - May 8th, 2005: "BEIRUT, Lebanon - Anti-Syrian leader Michael Aoun returned to Lebanon on Saturday [05/07/05] to the cheers of thousands of his supporters, ending the 14-year exile in France less than two weeks after Syrian troops withdrew from Lebanon. Aoun, a one-time army commander and interim Lebanese prime minister, lost a 'war of liberation' against Syrian forces in 1989-90. He was sent into exile in France, but an arrest warrant against him was dropped earlier in the week, clearing for his return. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - New Corporate Tax Break / U.S.A. - May 8th, 2005: "NEW YORK - A new tax break for corporations is allowing the biggest American drug makers to return as much as $75 billion in profits from international havens to the United States while paying a fraction of the normal tax rate. The break is part of the American Jobs Creation Act, signed into law by President George W. Bush in October [2004]. The law allows companies a one-year window to return foreign profits to the United States at a 5.25 percent tax rate, compared with the standard 35 percent rate. [....]" [Based on: New York Times]
2005 - "Terrorist" Bombings / Myanmar - May 8th, 2005: "Three explosions rocked Myanmar's capital of Yangon on Saturday [05/07/05] killing 11 people and wounding 162 in the latest bombings for which ethnic rebels are blamed in the military-ruled country. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Moderate Earthquake / Revilla Gigedo Islands - May 8th, 2005: "A moderate earthquake occurred at 17:07:36 (UTC) on Sunday, May 8, 2005. The magnitude 5.9 event has been located in the REVILLA GIGEDO ISLANDS REGION. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html]
2005 - U.S. Raids / Iraq - May 9th, 2005: "UBAYDI, Iraq - More than 1,000 U.S. troops supported by fighter jets and helicopter gunships attacked villages Sunday [05/08/05] along the Euphrates River, seeking to uproot a persistent insurgency in an area that American intelligence indicated has become a haven for foreign fighters flowing in from Syria. [....]" [Based on: Chicago Tribune]
2005 - 60th Anniversary / VE Day - May 9th, 2005: "BERLIN - The nation that began World war II marked the 60th anniversary of its end Sunday [05/08/05] with wreath-layings, a special session of parliament and a 'Day of Democracy' festival of speeches and music just west of Berlin's Brandenberg gate. [....]" [Based on: Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau Chief]
2005 - Suspended / Israeli Prisoner Releases - May 9th, 2005: "JERUSALEM - Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said Sunday [05/08/05] that Israel will not release more Palestinian prisoners until the Palestinian Authority takes tougher action against militant groups - the latest sign of trouble for an already strained cease-fire. [....] For its part, Israel pledged to hand over five West Bank towns to Palestinian control and free 900 prisoners. But Israel stopped the process after two towns and 500 prisoners, charging the Palestinians were not fulfilling their obligations to stop all violence and disarm militants in towns under their control. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - "Strategic Partnership" / U.S. & Afghanistan - May 9th, 2005: "Hundreds of tribal leaders backed President Hamid Karzai's plan for a 'strategic partnership' with the United States on Sunday [05/08/05], a government spokesman said. The pact could cement a longterm U.S. military presence in Central Asia. More than 1,000 elders and officials from across Afghanistan met with Karzai in the presidential palace in Kabul on Sunday for consultations on the plan, spokesman Jawed Ludin said. Karzai would likely discuss the partnership in a meeting with President George W. Bush this month in Washington, the spokesman said." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - "Live Shot" / Remote Control Hunting, Texas - May 9th, 2005: "[....] It is called hunting by remote control, the brainstorm of Texas entrepreneur John Lockwood, whose Internet business advertises a 'real time on-line hunting and shooting experience.' The business, Live-Shot, is open to everyone who registers and pays monthly $14.95 membership dues and a $1,000 deposit toward the cost of the animal. People using the service must have a valid Texas hunting license, which can be obtained on-line. The remington .30-06 rifle is mounted atop a homemade contraption of welded metal and a piece of butcher block, and is attached to a small motor, three video cameras (two linked to the Internet, including the one embedded in the gun scope) and a door lock actuator, like that used in a car. The actuator is attached to a wire that pulls the trigger at the click of the mouse. From virtually anywhere, someone with an Internet connection can fire the rifle. [....]" [Based on: Washington Post]
2005 - Summit Preparations / Middle East & South America - May 9th, 2005: "Ministers from 34 South American and Middle Eastern nations on Sunday [05/08/05] began preparing the groundwork for the first summit of leaders from the two regions. Their talks could lead to a commitment to negotiations for a South American-Arab free trade zone - part of an effort to counter U.S. political and economic influence. Brazilian media stressed Sunday that the leaders of key U.S. allies such as Egypt and Saudi Arabia will be absent. But Iraqi President Jalal Talabani is scheduled to attend. The United States' request to observe the event was denied." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - MCI Settlement? / Mississippi - May 10th, 2005: "JACKSON, Miss. - MCI Inc. will pay $100 million in cash to cover back taxes that predecessor WorldCom Inc. owed the state of Mississippi, officials said Monday [05/09/05] [....] WorldCom, which got its start in Mississippi, formerly was based in Jackson and later in nearby Clinton. MCI now has its headquarters in Ashburn, Va., and recently acceppted an $8.54 billion buyout offer from Verizon Communications Inc. The $100 million will cover back taxes, including corporate income taxes, owed to the state, Hood [Miss. State Attorney General, Jim Hood] said. The settlement with Mississippi was filed Monday [05/09/05] in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in New York and must be approved by a judge. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Afghanistan - May 10th, 2005: "KABUL, Afghanistan - Insurgents trying to escape U.S. Marines took refuge in a cave and killed two Americans in a five-hour battle in eastern Afghanistan that left an estimated 23 rebels dead, the U.S. military said Monday [05/09/05]. The clash, which also involved American attack planes, was the latest in a string of battles that the military says has inflicted heavy losses on militants who have stepped up attacks since winter snows melted. [....] After a winter lull, loyalists to the ousted Taliban regime and other militants opposed to the U.S.-backed government of Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai have ramped up their insurgency with a string of attacks and bombings. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Delayed / Gaza Withdrawl Plans - May 10th, 2005: "JERUSALEM - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon agreed Monday [05/09/05] to delay the evacuation of Jewish settlers and Israeli soldiers from the predominantly Palestinian Gaza Strip until at least mid-August, for what he said were religious reasons. Senior rabbis as well as Israeli government and military officials have urged Sharon for weeks to postpone the evacuation from July 25. That date conflicted with an annual mourning period marking the destruction of the Jewish Temples in 586 B.C. and A.D. 70. [....] To date, only two cities have been returned to Palestinian control and only 500 of more than 7,000 Palestinian prisoners in Israeli jails have been released. Palestinian Labor Minister Hassan Abu Libdeh said he suspected that Sharon's decision to postpone dismantling the settlements was aimed at gauging the outcome of Palestinian legislative elections scheduled for July 17. The Islamic militant faction Hamas is widely expected to fare well in those polls, if it runs. Israel opposes Hamas' participation in Palestinian elections as long as the group carries weapons and embraces a doctrine calling for Israel's destruction." [Based on: Knight Ridder Newspapers]
*Trivia: "Israel's withdrawl from the Gaza Strip will not be called off under any circumstances, Defense Minister Shaul Mofaz said Tuesday [05/10/05]. He rejected suggestions by Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom that the pullout should be canceled if the Hamas militant group wins Palestinian parliamentary elections this summer. [....]" [Based on: News Services, 05/11/05]
2005 - Internal Investigation Trivia / Saks Inc. - May 10th, 2005: "Saks Inc. asked a senior vice president, accounting chief and the administrative head of its luxury chain to resign after an internal investigation showed the company improperly collected $20 million in vendor markdowns. Donald Watros, chief administrative officer of the Saks Fifth Avenue unit, Saks Senior Vice President Brian Martin and Chief Accounting Officer Donald Wright all were asked to resign, the company said Monday [05/09/05] in a statement. The investigation concluded that during the company's 1999-2003 fiscal years, the total markdown allowances improperly collected from vendors were approximately $20 million." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/10/05]
2005 - Cleaner Products? / General Electric Co. - May 10th, 2005: "General Electric Co., the world's largest company by market value, is betting that being environmentally friendly is good for business. On Monday [05/09/05], Chief Executive Jeffrey Immelt said he plans to more than double spending on research and development to $1.5 billion a year by 2010 for 'cleaner products' including energy generation, solar power and water processing. [....] General Electric had opposed U.S. Environmental Protection Agency plans to dredge New York's Hudson River of PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, that its plants deposited in the river until they were banned by the federal government in 1977. The company agreed in 2002 to fund a $460 million cleanup of the river. GE Energy, the company's biggest manufacturing unit, is working on more-efficient and cost-effective versions of power generation, including nuclear, coal and natural gas. The company is working with some utility partners to develop technology for a new kind of generator that converts coal into cleaner-burning gas, used to spin turbines that make electricity. "Coal is 50 percent of the power generation fuel source in the U.S., and it's 40 percent globally,' said John Rice, the head of GE Energy. 'This is a recognition of our strategy, that we have a role to play, and that we can even do more.' Technologies such as solar power and wind turbines also will play more important roles, Rice said." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/10/05]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / Southwest of Sumatra - May 10th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 01:09:07 (UTC) on Tuesday, May 10, 2005. The magnitude 6.2 event has been located SOUTHWEST OF SUMATRA, INDONESIA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usxwcl.htm]
2005 - Carl Vogel / EchoStar Communications Corp. - May 10th, 2005: "Carl Vogel, who left Charter Communications Inc. as chief executive in January as the cable television provider struggled with debt and fierce competition from satellite TV rivals, has joined the board of the nation's No. 2 satellite television company, for which he once worked. EchoStar Communications Corp., which operates Dish Network, announced in a Securities and Exchange Commission filing late last week the appointment of Vogel, who served as the company's president from 1995 to 1997. EchoStar, based in suburban Denver and second nationally to DirectTV, said its Dish Network service added about 325,000 net new subscribers during the January-through-March period, bringing the total to 11.23 million." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/10/05]
2005 - Electromagnetic Pollution? / The Vatican, Italy - May 10th, 2005: "A Rome court found a Roman Catholic cardinal [Cardinal Roberto Tucci] and a priest [Rev. Pasquale Borgomeo] who heads vatican Radio guilty of polluting the atmosphere with electromagnetic waves from the station's transmitters. The towers are located in an area north of Rome where a government study found elevated levels of Leukemia. [....] The convictions came after a trial was halted when a judge ruled that the Vatican was a separate nation and that Italian law did not apply. That ruling was later overturned. The Vatican contends that its station meets safety standards." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Virtual Warfare Center / St. Louis-Based Boeing Co. - May 10th, 2005: "Boeing Co. on Monday [05/09/05] unveiled its new Virtual Warfare Center, where Boeing and its military customers will simulate likely battles of the future. The St. Louis-based center allows live and virtual military foirces to create realistic war scenarios across numerous sites. [....]" [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/10/05]
2005 - Trivia / Talx Corp. - May 11th, 2005: "The board of Talx Corp. has authorized the company to buy back up to 2 million shares - about 10 percent of its outstanding stock - in the three-year period ending on May 9, 2008. The shares fell 67 cents, or 2,6 percent, Tuesday [05/10/05] to close at $25.36." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/11/05]
2005 - Trivia / King Tut - May 11th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - King Tut of Egypt had a pointy head, a prominent nose and a rounded forehead with large eyes. He was about 19 when he died some 3,300 years ago, and apparently he wasn't murdered, as earlier research had suggested. [....]" [Based on: The Washington Post]
2005 - Increase / Oil Prices - May 11th, 2005: "NEW YORK - Stocks fell Tuesday [05/10/05] as oil prices climbed for a fifth day and speculation increased that hedge funds may be taking on too much risk. [....] Crude oil for June delivery rose to as high as $53.10 a barrel in New York. Oil prices finished the day up 4 cents to $52.07, the highest close since April 26. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]
2005 - Job Cuts / Sprint Corp. - May 11th, 2005: "Sprint Corp. of overland park, Kan., plans to cut 550 more jobs, part of a reorganization that already has led to 5,300 job cuts. The telecom company said in a filing to the Securities and Exchange Commission that it has spent $192 million in severance costs and will spend a total of $215 million to cut all 5,850 positions. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Trivia / Hawaiian Airlines - May 11th, 2005: "Hawaiian Airlines pilots have ratified a new three-year labor agreement, the final hurdle for the carrier to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy, airline and union officials said Tuesday [05/10/05] [....] Hawaiian filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in March 2003. Besides getting new labor pacts, it has restructured its aircraft leases." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/11/05]
2005 - Thrown Out / Cheney Suit - May 11th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - A U.S. appeals court threw out a suit against Vice President Dick Cheney on Tuesday [05/10/05] and ruled that he was free to meet in secret with energy industry lobbyists in 2001 while drawing up the president's energy policy. [....]" [Based on: Los Angeles Times]
2005 - Chapter 11 / AaiPharma Inc. - May 11th, 2005: "Drug company AaiPharma Inc. Tuesday [05/10/05] filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, saying it had secured financing that will allow normal business operations as it restructures. [....] The company posted a loss of $172 million last year [2004], including an $11 million charge to pay for the board's investigation into the company's sales practices. As part of its anticipated Chapter 11 reorganization, AaiPharma agreed on Monday [05/09/05] to sell its pharmaceuticals division for $170 million and contingent royalties." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/11/05]
2005 - Lead Regulation Rules / U.S.A. - May 11th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - After working for nearly a decade on regulations to protect children and construction workers from exposure to lead paint, the Environmental Protection Agency has decided instead to ask companies engaged in home renovation and remodeling to adopt protective practices voluntarily. [....] About 1.4 million children under the age of 7 in 4.9 million households are at risk of lead exposure due to unsafe repair and renovations, according to the agency's analyses. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Resignation / Rev. Chan Chandler - May 11th, 2005: "A Baptist preacher [Rev. Chan Chandler] accused of running out nine members of the congregation who refused to support President George W. Bush quit Tuesday [05/10/05]. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Trivia / Powerball Lottery Winners - May 11th, 2005: "NEW YORK - Powerball lottery officials suspected fraud: How could 110 players in the March 30 drawing get five out of six numbers right? That made them all second-prize winners, and considering the number of tickets sold in the 29 states where the game is played, there should have been only four or five. [....] It took some time before they had their answer: The players got there numbers inside fortune cookies, and all the cookies came from the same factory in Long Island City, Queens. [....]" [Based on: New York Times]
2005 - Hand Grenade Attack? / Georgia - May 11th, 2005: "TBILISI, Georgia - Cheered by tens of thousands in a former Soviet republic, President George W. Bush urged the spread of democracy Tuesday [05/10/05] across the former communist world and beyond, declaring that oppressed people 'are demanding their freedom and they shall have it.' Georgian authorities later told the Secret Service that someone in the crowd threw a hand grenade toward the stage that landed within 100 feet of where the president was speaking but did not explode, a Secret Service spokeswoman [Lorie Lewis] said. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: "A hand grenade that landed within 100 feet of President George W. Bush ... was a threat to his life and the safety of the tens of thousands in the crowd, the FBI said Wednesday [05/18/05] The grenade did not explode, but it was live, an investigation has found. The White House, which initially said Bush never was in danger said the incident May 10 in Georgia's capital has led to a review of security at presidential events. [....] The grenade was a knockoff of a Soviet-designed RGD-5, a fragmentation grenade with a lethal range of about 100 feet, according to a source familar with the incident, who spoke on the condition of anonymity. [....] Bush spoke from an armored podium on stage shielded by bulletproof glass on the sides; there was no bulletproof shield across much of the stage's front. [....] The grrenade was wrapped in a dark plaid cloth. It was 'tossed in the general direction of the main stage' about 1:30 p.m., right after Bush began speaking, and landed less than 100 feet shy of the podium, Paarmann [FBI agent, Bryan Paarmann] said. After bouncing off a child's cap, the grenade was removed by a Georgian security officer." [Based on: A.P., 05/19/05]
*Trivia: "Georgian police on Wednesday [07/20/05] detained a man suspected of throwing a live grenade during a rally at which President George W. Bush spoke in May, the Interior Ministry said. The capture came after a shootout in which one officer was killed and another wounded. The shootout and detention occured Wednesday evening [07/20/05] in the village of Vashlisdzhvari, outside the capital, Tbilisi, ministry spokesman Guram Donadze told The Associated Press." [Based on: News Services, 07/21/05]
*Trivia: "[....] A man [Vladimir Arutyunian] arrested after a fatal shootout with police admitted in video footage shown Thursday [07/21/05] to throwing a grenade during a May rally where President George W. Bush was making a speech. [....]" [Based on: News Services, 07/22/05]
2005 - Pension Default / United Airlines - May 11th, 2005: "CHICAGO - A bankruptcy judge on Tuesday [05/10/05] approved United Airlines' plan to terminate its employees' pension plans, clearing the way for the largest corporate pension default in U.S. History. The ruling, which has broad implications for airlines and their employees, shifts responsibility for the carrier's four defined-benefit plans to the governments pension-guarantee agency. [....] But the move will be painful to its employees, who stand to lose thousands of dollars each year off their pensions when they are assumed by the Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Trivia / Emmis Communications Corp. - May 11th, 2005: "Shares in Emmis Communications Corp. soared Tuesday [05/10/05] after the media company said it would buy back 40 percent of its stock and was considering selling some or all of its television stations. Emmis, which is based in Indianapolis and also owns radio stations and regional magazines, said it would finance the buyback with debt, regardless of what happens with its 16 TV stations. The buyback may be worth as much as $400 million, the company said. [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/11/05]
2005 - Korean Sanctions Rejected / China - May 11th, 2005: "China on Tuesday [05/10/05] rejected using sanctions to prod North Korea to return to talks on its nuclear ambitions. A spokesman said China's political and trade relations with its neighbor should be kept separate. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Senate Approval / U.S. Spending Bill - May 11th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The Senate unanimously approved an $82 billion spending bill Tuesday [05/10/05] to pay for military operations and rebuilding efforts in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as tsunami relief efforts in Asia. [....]" [Based on: Cox News Service]
2005 - Substantial Loss? / Delta Airlines Inc. - May 11th, 2005: "ATLANTA - Shares of Delta Air Lines Inc. fell 10 percent on Tuesday [05/10/05] after the nation's No. 3 carrier warned that it will record a substantial loss for the year and will need to file for bankruptcy if its cash reserves fall too low or lenders seek immediate payment of its debt. [....] Delta said the financing agreements that it signed with American Express Co. and General Electric Co. last fall to help avoid a bankruptcy filing at that time require that it maintain certain cash levels. [....] Aviation jet fuel costs have risen about 50 percent in the last year for U.S. carriers. Delta spent $884 million on fuel in the first quarter, up 54 percent from $574 million a year earlier. [....] Delta has significant financial obligations for the rest of the year. Among them are $450 million in pension funding requirements. Delta faces $3.1 billion in pension payments in the next three years." [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Approved / Multicandidate Elections, Egypt - May 11th, 2005: "Egypt's parliament overwhelmingly passed a constitutional amendment Tuesday [05/10/05] allowing multicandidate presidential elections for the first time. The opposition denounced the reform, saying it won't shake President Hosni Mubarak's grip on power. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Kidnapped / Gov. Raja Nawaf Farhan al-Mahalawi, Iraq - May 11th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Gunmen kidnapped the newly elected governor [Gov. Raja Nawaf Farhan al-Mahalawi] of Anbar province Tuesday [05/10/05], demanding that U.S. forces stop their offensive against foreign insurgents in western Iraq in return for his release. [....]" [Based on: Knight Ridder Newspapers]
2005 - Suicide Bombings / Iraq - May 12th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Insurgents unleashed a deadly series of suicide bombings Wednesday [05/11/005], killing at least 67 people in three cities as U.S. Marines pressed their offensive near the Syrian border. [....]" [Based on: Chicago Tribune]
2005 - Budget Surplus? / U.S.A. - May 12th, 2005: "The federal government recorded a surplus of $57.7 billion in April as a gusher of tax receipts raised hopes that the budget deficit for this year could show a big improvement. The Treasury Department reported Wednesday [05/11/05] that last month's surplus was more than three times the $17.6 billion surplus recorded last year and was the biggest monthly surplus since $67.2 billion in 2002. The all-time record monthly surplus was $189 billion recorded in April 2001, the last year the government recorded a surplus for the entire year." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/12/05]
2005 - Decline? / U.S. Trade Deficit - May 12th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The U.S. trade deficit fell sharply in March to the lowest level in six months as U.S. exports rose to an all-time high and the surge of textile shipments from China slowed. [....] Even with the big improvement in March, the deficit through the first three months of this year is still running at an annual rate of $696 billion, 12.8 percent higher than the $617.08 billion record set for all of 2004. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Increase / U.S. Oil Inventories - May 12th, 2005: "NEW YORK - Crude-oil futures fell more than $1.60 a barrel on Wednesday [05/11/05] after a report showed that U.S. inventories rose to the highest level since July 1999. Supplies climbed 2.7 million barrels last week, according to the Energy Department. Analysts had forecast a smaller increase of 1.25 million barrels. [....] Crude oil for June delivery fell $1.62, or 3.1 percent, to settle at $50.45 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange, the lowest close since May 4. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]
2005 - Anti-American Riots / Afghanistan - May 12th, 2005: "KABUL, Afghanistan - Four protestors were killed and 71 were injured Wednesday [05/11/05] in the eastern city of Jalalabad as the police and troops struggled to contain the biggest anti-American demonstrations in Afghanistan in the more than three years since the fall of the Taliban. [....]" [Based on: New York Times]
2005 - Unable to File Report? / Fannie Mae - May 12th, 2005: "Fannie Mae, the biggest U.S. mortgage buyer, said it is unable to file the required first-quarter financial report with the Securities and Exchange Commission as it undergoes a restatement of earnings. The government-chartered company announced the delay in a 12b-25 filing with the SEC Wednesday [05/11/05]."
2005 - Pensions Termination? / U.S. Airlines - May 12th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Now that United Airlines and U.S. Airways have received bankruptcy Court approval to terminate their pension obligations, pressure is mounting on other carriers to seek relief. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Forced Labor ["Slavery"] / Worldwide - May 12th, 2005: "At least 12.3 million people worldwide work as slaves or in other forms of forced labor, the International Labor Organization, the labor arm of the United Nations, said in a report issued Wednesday [05/11/05]. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Trivia / South American & Arab Summit - May 12th, 2005: "BRASILIA, Brazil - South American and Arab leaders at their first regional summit endorsed a declaration Wednesday [05/11/05] condemning the Israeli occupation of Palestinian territory and calling for trade liberalization to lift the planet's poor out of misery. [....]" [Based on: A.P]
2005 - Underfunded? / U.S. Private Pension Plans - May 12th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The pension default by United Airlines is putting heavy pressure on the financially strapped federal agency that protects private pensions for millions of workers and retirees. [....] The agency [Pension Benefit Guaranty Corp.] has estimated that private pension plans are underfunded by a record $450 billion. [....] The agency currently insures pensions covering 44.4 million workers and retirees.[....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - 57th Anniversary / Israeli Independence - May 12th, 2005: "Palestinians on Sunday [05/15/05] commemorated the anniversary of what they call 'Al Nakba,' or 'the catastrophe' - the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of their people with the 1948 creation [05/14/1948] of the state of Israel. While Israelis held barbecues, concerts and launched fireworks to celebrate the 57th anniversary of their independence Thursday [05/12/05] - according to the date on the Hebrew calendar - Palestinians see the day very differently. About 700,000 Palestinians lost their homes in the fighting that followed Israel's independence in 1948. Their demand to return to their homes with their descendants - a total of 4 million people by U.N. estimates - represents one of the toughest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. [....]" [Based on: News Services, 05/16/05]
*Trivia: "In February, 1947, young Bedouin shepherds, searching for a stray goat in the Judean Desert, entered a long-untouched cave and found jars filled with ancient scrolls. Reportedly, the excavations at Qumran have produced relics dating from about 3,500 B.C. According to the Copper Scroll, old Qumran was called Sekhakha." [Link: 1]
*Trivia: "In March [1947], British barricade Jewish settlements in Jerusalem to contain incidents of violence."
*Trivia: "[....] For nearly two thousand years the scrolls [Dead Sea Scrolls] lay undisturbed in their dark, dry cavities. When uncovered shortly after World War II [February? 1947], the first modern eyes to read their scripts and recognize their antiquity were those of E. L. Sukenik, a specialist in Jewish paleography. Coincidentally, it was November 29, 1947, the very day the United Nations voted to partition Palestine in order to create a Jewish state."
*Trivia: "On May 14th [1948], Israel declared independence, offering itself as a haven from anti-Semitism for the world's Jews. An ongoing war between Jews and Palestinians was thereupon joined by neighboring Arab states. When the war ended in January 1949, Israel controlled 78 percent of Palestine, and 750,000 Palestinians became refugees." [N.G.M. / October 2002]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / Pacific-Antarctic Ridge - May 12th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 11:15:34 (UTC) on Thursday, May 12, 2005. The magnitude 6.5 event has been located near the PACIFIC-ANTARCTIC RIDGE. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usxzau.htm]
2005 - Aggressive Tactics? / U.S. Army Recruitors - May 12th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The Army has ordered a one-day halt in recruiting activities nationwide to address complaints about agressive tactics used by military recruitors as they struggle to meet monthly goals, Army officials said Wednesday. [....] The decision to stand down was made by Maj. Gen. Michael D. Rochelle, head of the U.S. Army Recruiting Command. The stand down date will be May 20." [Based on: Los Angeles Times]
2005 - "Nonjudicial Punishment" / U.S. Army Col. Thomas Pappas - May 12th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The Army reprimanded and fined a colonel who was in charge of an intelligence unit at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq during the period of prisoner abuse, but the service chose not to press criminal charges, an official said Wednesday [05/11/05]. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Decrease / Oil Prices - May 13th, 2005: "NEW YORK - Stocks fell Thursday [05/12/05] as energy shares plunged on a decline in oil prices and raw material producers slumped on concern that demand is slowing. Energy companies had their steepest drop in two years as oil dropped below $49 a barrel. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]
2005 - Al-Qaida in Somalia? - May 13th, 2005: "Ethiopia's prime minister warned Thursday [05/12/05] of the danger posed by a 'very active al-Qaida cell' in Addis Ababa, Somalia's capital, and said a stable government is the best way to eliminate the terrorist threat in the chaotic Horn of Africa country. Prime Minister Meles Zenawi, in an interview with The Associated Press, said his government supported the Somali transitional government formed in neighboring Kenya last year and would do everything possible to help it take power and eliminate the threat." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - May 13th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - A car bomb exploded in a jammed comercial district in Baghdad Thursday [05/12/05], turning the sky gray as shops and restaurants caught fire. The bombing was part of a deadly string of attacks that killed 21 Iraqis, including a general [Brig. Gen. Iyad Imad Mahdi] and colonel [Col. Fadhil Mohammed Mobarak] who were assassinated. [....] In all, four car bombs hit Baghdad on Thursday, two of them suicide attacks, said Master Sgt. Greg Kaufman, a U.S. military spokesman. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - U.S. Espionage? / Russia - May 13th, 2005: "MOSCOW - Russia's security chief accused U.S. and other foreign intelligence services Thursday [05/12/05] of using nongovernmental organizations that promote democracy to spy on Russia and bring about political upheaval in former Soviet republics. [....] 'Under cover of implementing humanitarian and educational programs in Russian regions, they lobby the interests of the states in question and gather classified information on a broad spectrum of issues,' he said. [....] Groups that Patrushev [Federal Security Service chief, Nikolai Patrushev] accused of involvement in espionage - including the Peace Corps - denied the allegations. And White House press secretary Scott McClellan said he was not aware of the accusations by Russia's security chief. 'I have not seen those comments and I have no idea what he is referring to,' McClellan said. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Sentenced / Dan O. Boyle - May 13th, 2005: "HOUSTON - A former mid-level Enron Corp. finance executive who helped push through a sham deal with Merrill Lynch & Co. must serve three years and 10 months in prison, a judge ruled Thursday [05/12/05]. Dan O. Boyle and four former executives of Merrill Lynch were convicted last year of conspiracy and fraud. In 1999, they helped push through Enron's bogus sale to the brokerage of power plants mounted on barges so the energy company could disguise a loan as a sale on the books. While U.S. District Judge Ewing Werlein said the barge deal was hatched within Enron before Merrill defendants were enticed to play along, he noted that Boyle had played a minimal role in the deal. Robert Furst of Dallas, a former Merrill executive whose job was to maintain a good relationship with Enron, and William Fuhs of Denver, the least-senior of the Merrill defendants, each was sentenced to three years and a month in prison. [....] Furst and Fuhs each must pay $665,000 in fines and restitution, while Boyle must pay $320,000." [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - 1st-Quarter Profit / Target Corp. - May 13th, 2005: "Target Corp. posted a larger first-quarter profit gain than rival Wal-Mart Stores Inc., which missed analysts estimates as unfashionable apparel and high gasoline prices hurt sales. Net income at Target, the No. 2 discounter, climbed 15 percent to $494 million, beating estimates. Wal-Mart, the world's largest retailer, said Thursday [05/12/05] that it may miss its annual profit forecast after earnings in the quarter rose 14 percent to $2.46 billion. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]
2005 - Anti-American Protests / Afghanistan - May 13th, 2005: "KABUL, Afghanistan - Afghans enraged by the alleged desecration of Islam's holy book at a U.S. prison staged a third day of violent protests Thursday [05/12/05], burning an American flag in the capital and ransacking relief group offices to the south as demonstrations spread to neighboring Pakistan. [....] The trigger of the unrest was a report in the May 9 edition of Newsweek magazine that interrogators at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, placed copies of the Quran in washrooms to unsettle suspects, and in one case 'flushed a holy book down the toilet.' Desecration of the Quran is punishable by death in Afghanistan and Pakistan. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Media Reform Conference / St. Louis Mo. - May 13th, 2005: "More than 2,000 people are traveling to St. Louis this weekend to try to figure out how to fix what's wrong with newspapers, radio, TV and the rest of the news media. [....] The conference itself is at the Millennium Hotel downtown, today [05/13/05] through Sunday. [....] McChesney [media reform group founder, Robert McChesney] says public participation - leading to public pressure - is a goal of this week's conference. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 05/13/05]
2005 - Smoking Gun Memo: Grounds for Impeachment? - May 13th, 2005: "A highly classified memo leaked to the Times of London proves that President George Bush and Prime Minister Tony Blair had conditionally agreed by July 2002 to invade Iraq, a year before launching their attack. It also confirms they shaped intelligence to that aim, never seriously intending to avert the war through diplomacy. The memo is a briefing paper for a meeting between Blair and his intelligence and military chiefs. [....]" [See link:]
[Based on: http://www.nationalvanguard.org/story.php?id=5043]
2005 - Fresh Eruption / Fernadina Volcano, Galapagos Islands - May 13th, 2005: "The most active volcano in the Galapagos Islands began a fresh eruption on May 13, 2005. The eruption sent ash 7 kilometers into the atmosphere."
[Based on: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?topic=volcano]
[See also: http://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/NaturalHazards/natural_hazards_v2.php3?img_id=12872]
2005 - Geomagnetic Storm - May 14th, 2005: "Auroras in Nebraska? California? Arizona? Believe it. On Saturday night, May 14th, Northern Lights rippled across the United States during an intense geomagnetic storm. The display was triggered by a solar coronal mass ejection (CME) hitting Earth's magnetic field. So much for the quiet sun."
[Based on: http://spaceweather.com/]
[See also: http://spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01may05.htm]
2005 - Elections Trivia / Egypt - May 14th, 2005: "Egyptian judges, long stripped of their independence by President Hosni Mubarak's regime, voted Friday [05/13/05] to refuse to supervise an upcoming referendum and presidential election. [....] A judges' boycott would undermine the credibility of what the government has touted as a major democratic step: opening the September elections to multiple candidates. Mubarak has been president for 24 years." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Cocaine Seizure / Columbia - May 14th, 2005: "More than 13.5 tons of cocaine stored in underground chambers and apparently belonging to outlawed paramilitaries were seized near Columbia's southwest coast, authorities said Friday [05/13/05]. [....] 'We believe this is the biggest storage area of cocaine in the world,' navy Capt. Jairo Pena said Friday." [Based on: News Services, S.L.P.D., p. 27. 05/14/05]
2005 - Social Unrest? / Uzbekistan - May 14th, 2005: "ANDIJAN, Uzbekistan - Soldiers loyal to Uzbekistan's authoritarian leader opened fire on thousands of demonstrators Friday [05/13/05] to put down an uprising that began when armed men freed 2,000 inmates from prison, including 23 suspects on trial for alleged Islamic extrtemism. [....] Uzbekistan is a key Washington ally in the war on terrorism and hosts a U.S. air base to support military operations in neighboring Afghanistan following the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks. But it also is frequently denounced by human rights groups and Western governments for torture and repression of opposition. [....] The focus of the jailbreak were 23 men on trial on charges of being members of a group allied with the outlawed radical Islamic party Hizb-ut-Tahrir, which seeks to form a worldwide Islamic state and has been forced underground throughout most of Central Asia and Russia. Supporters of the 23 men maintain they were victims of religious repression by Karimov's secular government. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: "[....] Human rights groups said as many as 200 people may have been killed, and local activists said troops removed scores of bodies from the city center early Saturday morning [05/14/05]. [....] [Based on: The Washington Post, 05/15/05]
*Trivia: "[....] ... if the estimates of 500 dead hold true and if Uzbek forces were behind the killings - as most reports indicate - Friday's [05/13/05] violence would be one of the worst incidents of state-inspired bloodshed since the massacre of protestors in China's Tianamen Square in 1989. [....]" [Based on: A.P. article, S.L.P.D., p. A8, 05/16/05]
*Trivia: "[....] Primarily agricultural, Uzbekistan is the world's third-largest exporter of cotton and has gold and oil reserves. President Islam Karimov, a former Communist Party official, became president during the Soviet years and was later elected president of independent Uzbekistan following the 1991 collapse of the Soiviet Union. Karimov allows no dissent and has clamped down on non-state sanctioned islamic groups. More than 50 people were killed in bombings and attacks last year that authorities blamed on the Islamic group Hizb-ut Tahrir. [....]" [Based on: A.P., 05/15/05]
2005 - Trivia / Military Base Closings, U.S.A. - [....] The Pentagon recommended that 33 major military bases nationwide be closed down and 29 others be trimmed, while 49 installations will grow substantially. The aim is to create a more efficient and flexible military while saving billions of dollars. The recommendations go to a commission, with final action expected by fall. [....]" [Based on: Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau]
2005 - Missed Quota? / U.S. Army Recruiting - May 14th, 2005: "[....] Nationally, for the past three months, the Army has failed to make its recruiting 'mission' - its quota. [....]" [Based on: article by Harry Levin, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, p. 25, 05/14/05]
2005 - Fire Exchanged / Israel & Hezbollah - May 14th, 2005: "BEIRUT, Lebanon - Hezbollah and Israeli forces exchanged barrages of shells and rockets across the Lebanese border Friday [05/13/05] and Israeli warplanes destroyed guerrilla positions in the heaviest clash in months between the two sides. [....] Each side claimed the other began firing first. [....] It was the heaviest clash between Israel and Hezbollah since January." [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Trivia / Asbestos Removal, St. Louis, Mo. - May 14th, 2005: "The Environmental Protection Agency said Friday [05/13/05] that Lambert Field could not get rid of asbestos during demolition by wetting the building down with a hose. The decision comes a week after a group of Bridgeton residents filed a suit against the airport for its demolition methods. The airport has razed three-quarters of the nearly 2,000 homes it needs to demolish to make room for a new runway. It wanted to demolish the remaining 500 using a 'wet method' that it already has used on 255 homes. Federal law requires contractors to remove asbestos by hand, bag it and take it to a hazardous waste disposal site. [....] Airborne asbestos fibers can cause lung cancer, sometimes decades after exposure. [....]. [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / Nias Region, Indonesia - May 14th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 05:05:18 (UTC) on Saturday, May 14, 2005. The magnitude 6.9 event has been located in the NIAS REGION, INDONESIA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Baseed on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html]
2005 - Bottom of Atlantic Ocean / U.S. Aircraft Carrier "America" - May 14th, 2005: "The retired aircraft carrier America is on the bottom of the Atlantic Ocean, sunk by the Navy in a series of explosions. The 84,000-ton, 1,048-foot warship that served the Navy for 32 years rests about 60 miles off the coast and more than 6,000 feet down, according to Pat Dolan, a spokeswoman for Naval Sea Systems Command. [....] Dolan said the America went down May 14. No announcement was made at the time." [Based on: A.P., 05/21/05]
2005 - Elections Trivia / Iran - May 15th, 2005: "A record 1,010 people registered by Saturday [05/14/05] to run in next month's presidential elections [Iran], which ruling clerics see as a chance to consolidate their power following the departure of reformist President Mohammad Khatami. The hard-line Guardian Council - a constitutional watchdog that supervises the elections - has 10 days to vet applicants." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Weekly Deaths in Iraq - Week of May 15th: "Iraqi civilians, security forces: 94; U.S. military personnel and *others: 4." [Based on: A.P.. p. A1, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 06/03/05]
*Includes two British soldiers and two U.S. contract workers. [A.P./ Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Global Day of Prayer - May 15th, 2005: "About 3,000 Christians gathered at Busch Stadium [St. Louis, Mo.] Sunday afternoon [05/15/05] for the first Global Day of Prayer, and their prayers certainly were global. [....] The Global Day of Prayer began on the other side of the world, in Fiji, as one prayer leader put it, 'Right about when we were all going to bed last night,' and then moved west with the sun. [....] What is now the Global Day of Prayer originated from an event in March 2001 in Cape Town, South Africa, where about 45,000 Christians gathered in a rugby stadium to pray. Since then, the event has grown each year and has spread to the rest of Africa. Last year, 22 million people in 58 African countries took part in the Day of Prayer for Africa. This year, the event was celebrated in 160 countries on six continents, according to organizers. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch, 05/16/05]
2005 - Earth Impact / Coronal Mass Ejection - May 15th, 2005: "A coronal mass ejection (CME) hit Earth's magnetic field. Impact time: May 15th at 0230 UT. ... the CME billowed away from the sun on May 13th, propelled in our direction by an M8-class explosion near sunspot 759. Eighteen hours later it reached Earth and sparked bright auroras."
[Based on: http://spaceweather.com/] [05/16/05]
[http://spaceweather.com/aurora/gallery_01may05.htm]
2005 - End / U.S. Offensive, Western Iraq - May 15th, 2005: "QAIM, Iraq - The U.S. Marines ended their offensive into insurgent strongholds in western Iraq on Saturday [05/14/05], saying they had pushed guerrillas out of the villages and towns where they had become entrenched, but acknowledging that many of the enemy had escaped. [....] Military officials had reports that the Ramana region, a string of small agricultural towns near the Syrian border north of the Euphrates river, had long been used by insurgents as a training ground, staging area and transit point for foreign guerrillas. [....]" [Based on: Los Angeles Times]
2005 - Fatality? / Haitham al-Yemeni, Pakistan- May 15th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - An al-Qaida figure [Haitham al-Yemeni] killed earlier this month [05/07/05] by a missle from a CIA-operated unmanned areial drone had been under surveilance for more than a week by U.S. intelligence and military personnel working along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border, a U.S. official and two counterterrorism experts said Saturday [05/14/05]. [....] The CIA declined to comment. Pakistan's information minister denied that any such incident, which was first reported by ABC News, even happened. 'No such incident took place near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border,' Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told The Associated Press on Saturday [05/14/05]. The sources said the Predator drone fired on al-Yemeni on May 7 in Toorikhel, Pakistan, a suburb of Mirali in the province of North Waziristan." [Based on: Washington Post]
2005 - 57th Anniversary Commemoration / "Al Nakba" - May 15th, 2005: "Palestinians on Sunday [05/15/05] commemorated the anniversary of what they call 'Al Nakba,' or 'the catastrophe' - the uprooting of hundreds of thousands of their people with the 1948 creation of the state of Israel. While Israelis held barbecues, concerts and launched fireworks to celebrate the 57th anniversary of their independence Thursday [05/12/05] - according to the date on the Hebrew calendar - Palestinians see the day very differently. About 700,000 Palestinians lost their homes in the fighting that followed Israel's independence in 1948. Their demand to return to their homes with their descendants - a total of 4 million people by U.N. estimates - represents on of the toughest issues in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. [....]" [Based on: News Services, 05/16/05]
2005 - Elections Trivia / Ethiopia - May 16th, 2005: "Ethiopians line up to vote Sunday [05/15/05] at a polling station in Addis Ababa. More than 25 million people had registered, and officials estimated turnout for the parliamentary elections at more than 85 percent." [Based on: A.P. picture article, S.L.P.D., p. A7, 05/16/05]
2005 - Media Reform / Bill Moyers - May 16th, 2005: "Bill Moyers denounced on Sunday [05/15/05] the right wing and top officials at the White House, saying they are trying to silence their critics by controlling the media. [....] Moyers spoke in St. Louis at a conference on media reform. His reports have appeared on the Public Broadcasting System since the 1970s. He was an aide to President Lyndon Johnson and is a former newspaper publisher. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
2005 - "Four Small Bombs" / Spain - May 16th, 2005: "Suspected Basque separatists detonated four small bombs in the region Sunday [05/15/05], police said - a day after Spain's government made an unprecedented proposal for Parliament to endorse talks with the armed group if it renounced violence. [....] The bombs exploded in four towns in Guipuzcoa province, the capital of which is San Sebastian." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Apology? / Newsweek Magazine - May 16th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Newsweek apologized Sunday [05/15/05] for an inaccurate report on the treatment of detainees that triggered several days of rioting in Afghanistan and other countries in which at least 15 people died. Editor Mark Whitaker expressed regret over the item in the magazine's 'Periscope' section, saying it was based on a confidential source - a 'senior U.S. government official' - who now says he is not sure whether the story is true. [....] The report in the May 9 edition (released May 1) said U.S. military investigators had found that American interrogators at the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, had flushed a copy of the Quran, the sacred Muslim text, down a toilet. [....]" [Based on: Washington Post]
2005 - CIA-Funded Terrorists? / Myanmar - May 16th, 2005: "Myanmar's ruling military junta implied Sunday [05/15/05] that the CIA had funded terrorists - trained in neighboring Thailand - who carried out a recent string of bombings. Information Minister Brig. Gen. Kyaw Hsan also raised the death toll from the May 7 bombings at two upscale supermarkets and a convention center in the capital, Yangon, from at least 11 to 19. More than 160 others were injured. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / South of Kermadec Islands - May 16th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 03:54:11 (UTC) on Monday, May 16, 2005. The magnitude 6.6 event has been located SOUTH OF THE KERMADEC ISLANDS. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)
[Based on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html]
2005 - Trivia / Accutane - May 17th, 2005: "The acne drug Accutane does not increase symptoms of depression in teenagers, a study from St. Louis University concludes. [....] Now an independent study conducted by Dr. Elaine Siegfried and her colleagues at St. Louis University shows that youngsters who take the acne drug are no more likely to attempt suicide than teenagers treated with other acne remedies. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Trivia / Early Spring? - May 17th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Each spring, the robins are arriving in Wisconsin several days earlier than they did a decade ago. Endangered woodpeckers in North Carolinia are laying their eggs about a week earlier than they did 20 years ago. And some of Washington's signature cherry trees bloom about a month earlier than they did a half-century ago. The first signs of spring are appearing earlier in the year, and a new study from Stanford University released Monday [05/16/05] says man-made global warming is clearly to blame. [....] The peer-reveiwed study, published in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, statistically links global warming from the burning of fossil fuels to signs of early early spring at detailed local levels for the first time. [....] Europe's spring moved ahead 15 days, while North America's has advanced six days, on average. [....]" [Based on: Knight-Ridder Newspapers]
2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - May 17th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Mortars, bombs and drive-by gunmen killed at least 24 Iraqis, and the new government said Monday [05/16/05] that it would capture and punish the killers of at least 50 other people found slain in the past 48 hours. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Ethanol Production / Brazil - May 17th, 2005: "[....] Brazil has long been the world leader in ethanol production, thanks to policies that date back to the 1970s. While quadrupling its ethanol exports last year, Brazil even sent 90 million gallons to the United States, where the industry has been heavily subsidized for two decades in an effort to make it profitable. With oil prices rising everywhere, Brazilian motorists rejoice at being able to fill up their autos on 100 percent ethanol, selling recently at half the price of gasoline. Even Brazilian gasoline is blended with 25 percent ethanol. Now, some in the United States are saying Americans would do well to copy the Brazilian model. [....]" [Based on: Post-Dispatch Washington Bureau]
2005 - Retraction / Newsweek Report - May 17th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - Newsweek magazine bowed to intense White House pressure Monday [05/16/05] and retracted its report that the military had found that a Quran had been thrown in a toilet at the U.S. prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. [....] The alleged desecrations of Qurans have sparked uprisings in the prison and even a mass-suicide attempt by 25 men, sources inside and outside the military said. [....] The military source confirmed that a mass-suicide attempt occurred but didn't know why. In August [2004], the Center for Constitutional Rights said three Britons released from Guantanamo alleged Qurans were dunked by guards. [....]" [Based on: New York Daily News]
*Trivia: "[....] On Tuesday [05/17/05], White House spokesman Scott McClellan amplified his earlier criticism and urged Newsweek's editors and reporters 'to do all they can to help repair the damage.' For starters, he suggested that the magazine publish positive stories on the U.S. military's efforts to see that the Quran 'is handled with the utmost care and respect.' [....] Ironically, McClellan chastised Newsweek for relying on annonymous sources just a few weeks after the White House insisted that reporters couldn't identify three 'senior administration officials' who conducted a telephone briefing about the president's energy ploicy. Reporters weren't even told who the officials were. Briefings by officials on condition that they not be identified have long been standard practice in Washington. Tom Rosenstiel, the director of the Project for Excellence in Journalism and a Newsweek critic in the current controversy, said the magazine is a convenient target for an administration that detests unauthorized leaks and works hard to control and limit imformation. An added benefit for the administration: Highlighting Newsweek's error could lessen the impact of other reports of detainee abuse. 'There's no penalty for scapegoating journalists,' Rosenstiel said. 'This is a way of discrediting all the reports. ... It's what they teach you in journalism school: If you spell a name wrong, people will doubt everything in the story.' " [Based on: Knight Ridder Newspapers, 05/18/05]
2005 - First-Quarter Earnings / Lowe's Cos. - May 17th, 2005: "Lowe's Cos., the world's No. 2 home-improvement retailer, said first-quarter earnings rose 31 percent, the most in six quarters, after the company expanded remodeling services and lowered supply costs. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]
2005 - Price-Fixing Plea? / Wolfgang Koch - May 17th, 2005: "Former Bayer AG executive Wolfgang Koch will plead guilty to colluding in a price-fixing scheme that drove up the cost of rubber chemicals used to make tires, outdoor furniture and shoes in the United States during a three-year period, the U.S. Department of Justice said. The plea agreement announced Monday [05/16/05] marks the latest development in a long-running antitrust investigation into an international price-rigging ring formed by some of the world's biggest rubber chemical manufacturers." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/17/05]
2005 - Forecast / Hurricane Season, U.S.A. - May 17th, 2005: "The Atlantic seaboard and the Gulf Coast could be in for another bad hurricane season, one of the government's top forecasters said Monday [05/16/05]. Conrad C. Lautenbacher Jr., head of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, predicted 12 to 15 tropical storms, seven to nine of them becoming hurricanes and three to five of those major hurricanes with winds of at least 111 mph. [....] Last year, there were 15 tropical storms, with nine of them hurricanes - six of them major. Florida got hit by an unprecedented four hurricanes. The hurricane season begins June 1 and runs through Nov. 30." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Israeli Protests / Gaza Stip Withdrawl - May 17th, 2005: "In the biggest and most disruptive protests yet against Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's plan to relinquish the Gaza Strip, thousands of right-wing demonstrators snarled evening rush-hour traffic across the country Monday [05/16/05], using burning tires and their own prone bodies to block highways and urban thoroughfares. Police detained some 300 protestors. And for the second day in a row, Israeli bomb squads rushed to investigate two suspicious parcels planted in public places and found to contain only rocks - and notes protesting the pullout. The withdrawl 'will blow up in our faces,' one message read." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Compensatory Damages / Ron Perelman - May 17th, 2005: "WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. - Billionaire financier Ron Perelman won $604.3 million in compensatory damage on Monday [05/16/05] in a lawsuit that accused the Morgan Stanley investment firm of duping him into believing a company was financially successful. [....] Sunbeam filed for bankruptcy protection in 2001 after its financial troubles were discovered, and Perelman alleged he had millions in losses because stock he received in the deal plunged in value. His lawsuit is also seeking $2 billion in punitive damages. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: "Morgan Stanley must pay billionaire investor Ronald Perelman $850 million in punitive damages basd on his claims that the firm defrauded him in the sale of his controlling stake in Coleman Co. to Sunbeam Corp. in 1998. [....] The combined verdict of 1.45 billion represents the second-largest jury award this year. Perelman had sought $680 million in actual damages and $2.04 billion in punitive damages. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News, 05/19/05]
2005 - SEC Examination / Pension-Fund Consultants - May 17th, 2005: "The Securities and Exchange Commission expects to act against pension-fund consultants for failing to disclose that they receive fees from money managers they may recommend to their clients. [....] Nineteen of the 24 firms included in the study failed to provide 'plain English' disclosures of their business ties to money managers, Richards [director of the Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, Lori Richards] said. The SEC's examination didn't uncover evidence that pension funds lost money as a result, she said. [....]" [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/17/05]
2005 - World Agricultural Forum / St. Louis, Mo. - May 17th, 2005: "Global population growth of nearly 50 percent in the next 45 years will challenge policymakers around the world as never before, a leading agricultural figure said Monday [05/16/05]. Speaking at the opening session of the World Agricultural Forum, James B. Bolger, former prime minister of new Zealand, said in the keynote address that 'no issue will test the mettle of leaders more than accomodating and feeding an extra 2.6 billion people by 2050 - and alongside that, responding to the very challenging policy implications of aging and declining populations in the developed world.' About 250 representatives of agribusiness corporations, academia, governments and non-governmental organizations convened at the Chase Park Plaza hotel [St. Louis, Mo.] for a three-day conference to explore issues relating to feeding the growing world population, opening markets for agricultural commodities and products and spurring development in less-developed nations. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Convicted / U.S. Army Spc. Sabrina Harman - May 17th, 2005: "A military jury convicted Spc. Sabrina Harman Monday [05/16/05] on all but one of the seven charges she faced for her role in abuses at the Abu Ghraib prison. [....] Her sentencing hearing was scheduled to begin today [05/17/05]. Harman faces a maximum of 5 1/2 years in a military prison. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Kidnapped / Clementina Cantoni, Afghanistan - May 17th, 2005: "KABUL, Afghanistan - Four armed men dragged an Italian woman [Clementina Cantoni] working for CARE International from her car in Afghanistan's capital on Monday [05/16/05]. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: "The kidnapping Monday [05/16/05] of an Italian aid worker was an attempt to force the release of men jailed in the abduction of three U.N. workers last fall, officials said Tuesady [05/17/05]. [....] Unlike in Iraq, kidnappings and anti-Western violence are relatively rare in Afghanistan. The last kidnapping was in October [2004], when three U.N. election workers were held for almost a month before being released. [....]" [Based on: Chicago Tribune]
2005 - Oil Trivia / Saudia Arabia - May 18th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The oil minister of Saudi Arabia said Tuesday [05/17/05] that the kingdom had enough oil in the ground to meet global demand for decades to come. He said that there was no plan to curb output, even as rising inventories help push prices below $50 a barrel. [....] Saudia Arabia now pumps 9.5 million barrels of oil daily, with the capacity to produce 11 million barrels a day. By 2009, the country's daily production capacity will be 12.5 million barrels, al-Naimi said, reiterating an earlier pledge. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Death Toll Trivia / Uzbekistan - May 18th, 2005: "ANDIJAN, Uzbekistan - The government and opposition leaders on Tuesday [05/17/05] offered widely diverging death tolls and accounts of the violence in this U.S.-allied Central Asian country. The top prosecutor said 169 terrorists and troops were killed, but opposition activists maintained that more than 700 died - most of them civilians. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / South of Sandwich Islands - May 18th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 09:10:52 (UTC) on Wednesday, May 18, 2005. The magnitude 6.0 event has been located in the SOUTH SANDWICH ISLANDS REGION. The hypocentral depth was estimated to be 89 km (55 miles). (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / Tonga - May 18th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 10:27:05 (UTC) on Wednesday, May 18, 2005. The magnitude 6.2 event has been located in TONGA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / Off West Coast of Northern Sumatra - May 18th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 11:37:33 (UTC) on Wednesday, May 18, 2005. The magnitude 6.2 event has been located OFF THE WEST COAST OF NORTHERN SUMATRA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/quakes_all.html]
2005 - Foreign Relations / Iran & Iraq - May 18th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Iran's foreign minister visited Baghdad on Tuesday [05/17/05], pledging to secure his country's borders to stop militants from entering Iraq. He said the 'situation would have been much worse' if Tehran were actually supporting the insurgency as the United States has claimed. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - U.S. Denunciation / George Galloway - May 18th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - British lawmaker George Galloway denounced U.S. senators on their home turf Tuesday [05/17/05], denying accusations that he profited from the U.N. oil-for-food program and accusing them of unfairly tarnishing his name. [....] 'Senator, this is the mother of all smoke screens,' he said. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - First-Quarter Profit / J.C. Penney Co. - May 18th, 2005: "J.C. Penney Co., the second-largest U.S. department-store company, said first-quarter profit more than quadrupled on higher sales of private-brand apparel and furniture. The shares rose after the company raised its annual profit forecast for the second time this month. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]
2005 - BNSF Suit / Doe Run Lead Cleanup - 2005: May 18th, 2005: "Hundreds of its employees and contractors have sued BNSF Railway Co. over the years, alleging that toxic lead cargo hauled by Burlington Northern trains left a legacy of suffering and disease. [....] BNSF has spent $8.9 million to clean up contamination from the Lindenwood Yard in St. Louis and the Cherryville siding in Crawford County, said Paul Brown, the lawyer who filed the suit on May 6. The suit formally was served Tuesday [05/17/05] on Doe Run. It seeks to recover the amount of the cleanup plus unspecified costs of settling damage claims. [....] BNSF settled 1,144 nonasbestos personal-injury claims in the first three months of 2005, paying out $65 million, or about $56,800 per claim, according to its financial filings. But Brown and company officials said that figure would not be a good yardstick to measure the lead settlements. [....] In claims filed in St. Louis and elsewhere, workers, contractors and their families have said that the railroad's toxic cargo of lead ore and lead ore concentrate affected their health. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis post-Dispatch]
2005 - World Agricultural Forum / St. Louis, Mo - May 18th, 2005: "The next 40 to 45 years will be the most important in human history because all of the arable land will be settled and countries like China and India will become industrialized, a leading analyst of global agricultural issues said Tuesday [05/17/05]. With an estimated world population of 9.6 billion by mid-century, 'We will have completed the taking of this Earth,' said Frank Tugwell, chairman and chief executive of Winrock International, a nonprofit that works in energy, environment and rural development. 'There will be one human being per arable acre,' Tugwell told participants on the second day of the three-day World Agricultural Forum at the Chase Park Plaza hotel [St. Louis, Mo.]. [....] In an interview, Tugwell stressed that with about 3.6 billion more people on the planet by 2050, 'We'll see the end of the fossil-fuel economy. We know the population will increase by 50 percent, so we'll need to produce 50 percent more food because people want to eat better. [....] Tolman [chief executive of the National Corn Growers Association, Rick Tolman] and other panelists noted that U.S. automakers haven't made it easy for motorists to use ethanol in their cars because they haven't installed devices that allow the vehicles to burn 85 percent ethanol fuel. Major oil companies also have been reluctant to add ethanol to their gasoline, panelists said, even though no harm is known to be caused by the corn-based fuel. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Offense Against God? / Quran Mistreatment - May 18th, 2005: "The Quran is the most sacred object in the daily lives of Muslims. Mistreating it is considered an offense against God, and that belief fueled outrage over claims that the holy book was desecrated at U.S. bases. [....] Newsweek reported that the military had determined that a Quran had been flushed down a toilet by interrogators at the U..S. naval prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, sparking deadly riots in the Muslim world. On Monday [05/16/05] the magazine retracted the report that the military had confirmed the incident. Ex-prisoners have claimed in the past that Americans abused the holy book, and another report surfaced this week. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Sentenced / U.S. Army Spc. Sabrina Harman - May 18th, 2005: "An Army reservist [Spc. Sabrina Harman ] who appeared in several of the most infamous abuse photos taken by guards at Abu Ghraib prison was sentenced Tuesday [05/17/05] to six months in prison for her role in the scandal that rocked the U.S. military's image at home and abroad. [....] She faced a maximum of five years, though prosecutors asked the jury to give her three years. With credit for time served, Harman's actual sentence is just more than four months." [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Bankruptcy Protection / Collins & Aikman Corp. - May 18th, 2005: "DETROIT - Auto-parts supplier Collins & Aikman Corp. filed Tuesday [05/17/05] for bankruptcy protection in an attempt to get immediate cash for business operations. The company said it will continue to operate during bankruptcy proceedings. [....] Collins & Aikman said it has received a commitment from JPMorgan Chase & Co. for up to $300 million in debtor-in-possession financing. With court approval, the financing deal will allow it to meet its supplier obligations as well as employee salaries and benefits. [Based on: staff & wire reports, S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/18/05]
2005 - Toyota Camry Hybrid Production? / North America - May 18th, 2005: "Toyota Motor Corp. rolled out plans Tuesday [05/17/05] to build a hybrid version of its Camry model at its plant in Kentucky, marking the automaker's first venture to produce a hybrid vehicle in North America. [....]" [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/18/05]
2005 - Violence / Gaza Strip - May 19th, 2005: "JERUSALEM - Palestinian militants in the Gaza Strip unleashed a barrage of mortar shells Wednesday [05/18/05] that injured a Jewish settler, while Israeli troops fired an airborne missle at Hamas militants taking part in the attacks, critically wounding one. [....]" [Based on: Los Angeles Times]
2005 - Trivia / Pig Pancreases - May 19th, 2005: "Animal organs are one step closer to providing cures for people with diabetes. Washington University [Mo.] scientists Dr. Marc R. Hammerman and Sharon A. Rogers have discovered that pig pancreases can cure diabetic rats and don't require immune suppressing drugs when transplanted at a primitive stage of development. Results of new experiments, published in the journal Transplant Immunology, reveal that pig organs must be harvested during a narrow window of opportunity in order to evade rejection by the rats' immune system. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Settlements / AmerenUE - May 19th, 2005: "AmerenUE, Missouri's largest electric utility, said Wednesday [05/18/05] that it had reached a settlement with state and federal regulators to help with relicensing of the Osage power plant and Bagnell Dam at the Lake of the Ozarks. The utility, a unit of St. Louis-based Ameren Corp., also agreed to pay $1.3 million to settle lawsuits over the death of more than 43,000 fish at the plant and dam three years ago. The Missouri Department of Conservation and Ameren sued each other in 2002 over the fish kill. [....]" [Based on: St. Louis Post-Dispatch]
2005 - Bleak Picture? / Iraq War - May 19th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - U.S. military commanders in Baghdad and Washington gave a sobering assessment of the war in Iraq on Wednesday [05/18/05]. In interviews and briefings, the generals pulled back from recent suggestions - including by some of the same officers - that positive trends in Iraq could allow a reduction in the 138,000 U.S. troops in Iraq late this year or early in 2006. One officer suggested on Wednesday that U.S. military involvement could last 'many years.' [....] In Baghdad, a senior officer said Wednesday in a background briefing that the 21 car bombings in Baghdad so far this month almost matched the total of 25 in all of last year. [....]" [Based on: New York Times]
2005 - Taliban Militants? / Afghanistan - May 19th, 2005: "KABUL, Afghanistan - Suspected Taliban militants killed five Afghans on Wednesday [05/18/05] who were working on a U.S.-funded project to help end opium farming. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Aristide Supporters March / Haiti - May 19th, 2005: "More than 5,000 supporters of ousted President Jean-Bertrand Aristide marched Wednesday [05/18/05] in Haiti's capital, Port-Au-Prince, to demand his return from exile. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Arrests / Terrorism Suspects, Italy - May 19th, 2005: "ROME - Police arrested nine terrorism suspects Wednesday [05/18/05] in raids in northern Italy in what they said was a crackdown on extremist cells accused of planning attacks in Italy and abroad. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Fight Over Filibusters / U.S. Senate - May 19th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - The Senate plunged into an intense partisan struggle Wednesday [05/18/05] over the fate of stalled federal court nominees and the governance of the institution itself, as the two parties locked in a debate over the minority's right to prevent votes on a president's judicial candidates." [Based on: New York Times]
2005 - Islamic State? / Korasuv, Uzbekistan - May 19th, 2005: "KORASUV, Uzbekistan - Rebels cherishing the prospect of a strict Islamic state were firmly in control of this border town Wednesday [05/18/05] throwing up a new challenge to the government as it tried to prove to skeptical diplomats that its troops didn't fire on civilians. 'We will be building an Islamic state here in accordance with the Quran,' rebel leader Bakhtiyor Rakhimov told The Associated Press in Korasuv, a town of 20,000. 'People are tired of slavery.' [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
*Trivia: "Uzbek forces on Thursday [05/20/05] captured a rebel leader [Bakhtiyor Rakhimov] who had proclaimed plans for an Islamic state in this border town. His sister said he was arrested at his home before dawn and was beaten, though he was unarmed and gave no resistance. The arrest and takeover of the town of 20,000 ended the last open rebellion to the government in the volatile Fergana Valley. [....]" [Based on: A.P., 05/20/05]
2005 - U.S. Limits? / Chinese Clothing Imports - May 19th, 2005: "WASHINGTON - President George W. Bush's administration said Wednesday [05/18/05] that it will impose new limits on imports of clothing from China. The action comes after complaints that a surge of Chinese apparel to the United States is hurting U.S. companies. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - "A World in Danger" Conference / Petra - May 19th, 2005: "Elie Wiesel, the Dalai Lama and other Nobel Prize winners are debating solutions to challenges facing the modern world in an ancient locale - the city of Petra, carved out 2,000 years ago. [....] The two-day conference, titled 'A World in Danger,' is co-sponsored by Wiesel's New York-based Foundation for Humanity. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Strong Earthquake / Nias Region, Indonesia - May 19th, 2005: "A strong earthquake occurred at 01:54:52 (UTC) on Thursday, May 19, 2005. The magnitude 6.9 event has been located in the NIAS REGION, INDONESIA. (This event has been reviewed by a seismologist.)"
[Based on: http://earthquakes.usgs.gov/recenteqsww/Quakes/usygam.htm]
2005 - Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization? / U.S.A. - May 19th, 2005: "President George W. Bush said Wednesday [05/18/05] that the administration is creating a special corps of federal workers that can quickly deploy to help governments in crisis. [....] ... Bush is proposing $100 million next year for a new conflict response fund and another $24 million for a new Office of Reconstruction and Stabilization in the State Department. That office will coordinate U.S. government efforts to support emerging democracies, with the new Active Response Corps of foreign and civil service officers as a crucial tool, Bush said. [....]" [Based on: News Services]
2005 - Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa / Los Angeles, California - May 19th, 2005: "Los Angeles - Antonio Villaraigosa promised Wednesday [05/18/05] to be 'a mayor for all Los Angeles' after his election as the city's first Hispanic mayor since 1872, an event that marks a changing of the guard in a city where latinos now have political clout to match their burgeoning numbers. [....]" [Based on: A.P.]
2005 - Trivia / Allstate Commercial Insurance Policies, Florida - May 19th, 2005: "Allstate will stop writing commercial insurance policies in Florida and won't renew 95,000 homeowner policies, a decision made because of the four hurricanes that slammed Florida last year, the company said Wednesday [05/18/05]. [....] Allstate is also notifying the state that it will not renew any of its 16,000 commercial policies and will no longer write new policies. The company also said it would seek a rate increase. Allstate Corp. is the nation's second-largest property and casualty insurer after State Farm." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. C2, 05/19/05]
2005 - Movie Release / Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith - May 19th, 2005: "Released this date in history: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge Of The Sith." [Based on: S.L.P.D., p. E1, 05/18/05]
2005 - Stocks Rally / U.S.A. - May 20th, 2005: "NEW YORK - Stocks rose Thursday [05/19/05] for a fourth day, extending their biggest rally in six months, as oil prices dropped below $47 a barrel and technology shares - including Motorola Inc. - advanced. [....]" [Based on: Bloomberg News]
2005 - Insurgent Attacks / Iraq - May 20th, 2005: "BAGHDAD, Iraq - Multiple insurgent attacks across Iraq on Thursday [05/19/05] killed at le