From the World-Wide Resourses of the Western Australia Reserch Senter(*) OIL THE NEWS THAT FITS MY VIEWS =============================== In the Run-Up to World War III, Reliably Reporting the News Relevant to Extreme Right-Wing "Democratic" Socialists Everywhere (validated for RiteThink(tm) by the Office of Our Man in Can-berra). Visit Our Home Page At: http://www.whitehouse.org/initiatives/posters/index.asp ---------------------------------------- For a good action-nerd read, grab yer hard-hat & hunker down with "American Ground" by Wm Langewiesche, North Point Press. Twin Towers reduced to the biggest pile of twisted wreckage in history. How did they remove it in a year without a single fatality? How could they bring the project in ahead of time and under budget? This is a story of some boys, their bigger toys and many surprises. Firefighters, ambos and marines are not the only heroes. ---------------------------------------- 31 Jan 2003. Boulder, CO. In a sign of the times an armed SWAT team was dispatched to deal with a call about an armed man hysterically screaming he was gunna "kill" some "bitch" in his appt. The man had reportedly been spotted brandishing a handgun on his patio. Police evacuated the building as a precaution and closed the area to traffic. They moved in to find a 32 yo threatening his computer with a pellet gun. Haven't we all been there? London. In a Brit coup, PM Tony Blair has obtained the signatures of 5 of the 15 EU leaders on a statement of support for US policy of pre-emptive action against Iraq. The statement was published in foreign-language newspapers throughout the region. NY. NYc's health commissioner has announced the number of diabetics in the city has doubled from 1994 levels to 8%. Most of the staggering increase came from a rise in late-onset disease (Type II), related to bad diets and too little exercise. The announcement adds more ammunition to claims that Westerners are eating themselves into early graves. Observers say the cost of treating people damaged by poor diets will soon overtake tax revenues from the food industry. With research showing high-fat, high-sugar diets have the double effect of disabling the sense of being full and also releasing natural opiates in the brain like taking drugs, plans to put health warnings on food have been mooted. 18 US states already tax soft drink and lollies for health programs. Although recent court cases brought by fatties against fast-food outlets have been thrown out, hate-filled bleeding heart do-gooders say it's just the first shot of what will prove to be another bitter and very political struggle. But in the meantime, eat more! Washington. In what are said to be "last-ditch efforts", the US Admin is trying to put together a diplomatic solution to what they described in diplomatic language as the illegal resource-hogging psychotic terrorist dictatorship of Iraq. Between photo ops with Italian business leaders and British PM's and such, Pres. G. W. Bush Jr took the time to tell reporters Iraq had only weeks to live. What a guy! NY. In what were described as "last-ditch efforts", Iraq is trying to buy time by offering to conference with UN weapons inspectors. One sticking point is Iraq's refusal to allow US U2 spy planes to make an up-to-date portfolio of the country. Although the US has generously offered its detailed spying equipment in the spirit of international brotherhood and strictly for the purposes of "locating suspect sites", paranoid Iraqi officials say they smell a map-making rat in the lead-up to war. Elsewhere, head inspector Blix has announced he's not hopeful of anything happening in respect of talking to Iraqi nuclear engineers and scientists. He previously told reporters he'd welcome more time to locate Iraqi WMD or nearest equivalent, but had a hunch he wasn't gunna get it. Pyongyang. Following indications from the UK and US they are "number 2 with a bullet", North Korea has demanded the US sign a non-aggression pact. In a controller press conference NK officials said they had been verballed by the US regarding their confession to making nuclear weapons. They also called for direct talks with US diplomats to clear up all issues. Fat chance, now they've blinked! Washington. In a continuing row that's turned spiteful, neighbours of Mr & Mrs Dick Cheney have continued to complain about renovations being carried out at the V.P.'s new DC fixer-upper. Residents near the 3-story mansion noticed a problem several weeks ago when the subterranean explosions began. Described as being "as loud as a cannon" the blasts have apparently proceeded around the clock since then. The Cheneys have declined to comment on exactly what is happening at their property, but authorised a story in a local newspaper that said construction would continue for around 1 y. Political opponents have sensed a trite opportunity to embarrass the Pres, and have been pestering the Whitehouse for a full explanation. A press release for the Admin said Saddam Hussein is a danger to the world and must be stopped. NY. Corporate owners of rights on music, film and books are cheering a decision by the Supreme Court to allow a 20-y extension of Disney's copyright on Mickey Mouse to 2023. Some others are not so happy, whining copyright was meant to create an incentive for creators, not an everlasting cash cow for corporations. [In a win for pirates, New Scientist says while DVD's recorded for the US and Japan are protected, those made using PAL and SECAM usually fail to assert the copy-protect feature. This allows 3 movies to be copied to your average blank DVD. Try it!] London. It's been revealed British Intelligence "heavily infiltrated" the Al Qaeda operation in Afghanistan between 1999 and 2001. Reports indicate so many operatives were searching for information they were practically RUNNING the outfit. So many documents were returned to the UK for analysis TV pictures showed 2 C130's landing somewhere. They were said to be full of papers that revealed everything about terrorist camps and the plans of Osama bin Laden and his criminal gang. No explanation was given about the failure to pass any info on to the US in time to prevent the 9/11 attacks. Just another paperwork snafu, I guess! (I'm filing this one next to the current location of the dirty bomb the BCC says Al Qaeda made out of medical waste while it was being run by Brit Intel). Washington. The don't-ask-don't-tell-riddled US military has reportedly gotten rid of 8,500 tellers over the past y. This cost American taxpayers $US200 mn. Yeah! Canberra. As economists successfully predicted, Aussie trade has kicked a goal! The Dec trade deficit came in at around $3 bn, up from $1 bn in Nov. It was the worst performance on record, with exports down 2% and imports up 12%. Reports say it's the 13th m. trade deficit in a row, and predict several more to come. Treasurer Peter Costello refused to gloat at a press conference, but issued a written explanation saying it was again foreign-owned Qantas' fault for buying aircraft to expand its business. The company has blown out the trade numbers many times before with "one off" items like new 747s. Observers say the new jets will eventually pay for themselves, like previous ones whose profits are included in today's figures. They also say it's unlikely anything much will be done to turn the situation around, with Mr John W. Howard prepared to wait it out until someone exports something expensive that Our Bestest Allies will buy. I'm doing my best, but even as a radioactive capitalist crocodile I have a long way to go to compensate for your indescribably sub-optimal performances. You know who you are! Rome. Silvio B. is making good on his blood oath to George W. Bush! 28 Pakistanis have been arrested in the centre of Naples. Those rounded up had the wrong stamps on their papers and therefore probably have links to a secret list of terrorist organisations. They join more than 110 others detained indefinitely by Italian police since 9/11. Blue Springs, MO. A teen thrown into the air during a car accident saved his life by grabbing power lines and hanging in mid air until help arrived. Reports say the 18 yo hung on for 20 mins while suspended (get this!) 7m above the ground. I didn't know them open cab Jap jeeps could GO that fast! The kid managed to call his old dad for help on (what else?) the mobile. I'd like to hear a recording of THAT conversation... London. A revolutionary marine engine described as an "underwater jet engine" may one day power small boats, replacing conventional outboard motors. It also can act as a pump. The Pursuit Marine Drive uses a shockwave of steam to expel water drawn in the front out the back. Expelled water is around 4 C warmer than water drawn in. The no-moving-part drive was invented by Aussie Alan Burns. Naturally, it was developed O/S. A test version has been shown. It's 20 cm long and develops 30 hp. The company expects to scale up to 300 hp. Melbourne. Bush fires in N Vic and S NSW are reported to be sleeping. The danger isn't over yet with fire authorities saying several locations could flare again during a wk that's expected to see temps get back into the high 30s and 40s. Melbourne. The ABS Yearbook is available online at abs.gov.au and the 2003 edition shows science research in Australia is not an all-bad story. While funding in real terms is 5% below the peak figures of 1995/6, funding from the private sector is still growing at about 0.5 points pa. The ranks of govt scientists have fallen by 800 full-time positions over the past decade. The good news in both Aus & NZ is that publications are running at 750 per mn pop pa, well above the OECD avg of 450. Aus ranks well above the US, France, Germany and double the rate of Japan. But we're still below the levels of the UK, Canada and a long way behind Sweden and Finland and only 1/2 the rate of Switzerland. Aussie are also filing increasing numbers of US patents. The avg figure was 200 p.a. in 1980, this doubled by 1995, doubled again by 2000 and is presently around 800 pa. The ABS interprets this as a move toward making research more market-oriented and globally relevant. Melbourne. Reports claim Vic motorists are buying petrol from indep suppliers that is laced with up to 24% ethanol. Auto club reps say high levels can damage engines designed for regular gasoline and have called on the state govt to force suppliers to label their bowsers appropriately. Adelaide. Attn Queenslanders! Researchers say a new laser skin treatment can detect the early signs of Alzheimers. Prof Khalil (appearance unknown) says the method could help patients learn to deal with the condition before it gets nasty. Townsville. Aussie Bush (no relation!) Tucker is taking off O/S, esp. in EU and Asia and even Singapore! There are also plans to sell the idea to the US where what they call "ethnic food" is taking off now a fat-only diet is believed connected with lowered white male sexual performance and zits. In Aus it's reported that Thai and Asian (that's what it says RIGHT HERE) food is more popular than weeds and grubs. Melbourne. A white-looking 45 yo man has been held over for trial in Apr on charges of fraud and extortion. The man, who I can't name for memory reasons, allegedly sent 3 emails from a library and internet cafe to the Howard Suspicion Hotline, claiming to have planted cyanide bombs in 3 city reservoirs. He followed up with a telephone call to prove he was not a nut. During the hearing the man reportedly cried uncontrollably. His lawyers said he was subject to depression and was recovering from a bruised shoulder. His girlfriend told reporters he didn't do it. Hebron. With more human casualties today, 21 of the 600 Israeli colonists in Hebron (pop. 120,000) have reportedly been killed since Nov last y. The Israeli Army is attempting to correct this situation by assigning 20 heavily-armed troops to protect each man, woman and child. Elsewhere, PM Sharon has reportedly gone to bed after trying to get Labour leader Mitzna on the phone all day. Looks like it'll have to be Shinui and... No, that won't work either! Oh well... 6 wks to figure out how to govern. London. In another sign some kind of tautological bio agent might be spreading through the Freed World already, PM Blair has declared the only people to gain if Europe and the US come apart are the people that don't care for the US and Europe being together. So true! NY. The US GDP figures are in, showing an annualised US growth of 0.7%. A lot better than feared! The tally for the first month of 2003 is a 4% decline on the Dow to 7945 and gold at $US370/oz; a 9 y high. ---------------------------------------- FEBRUARY 2003. Welcome to ATTACK MONTH of the peace-riddled Year of the Goat. Circle these critical dates on your calendars: 01 Feb. TV soaps invented, 1954. Khomeini takes over Iran, 1979. Coincidence? I think NOT! 02 Feb. Groundhog Day in Punxsutawney, PA. Since 1886 the critter has been right only 1 time out of 3. 03 Feb. The Day The Music Died, 1959. 04 Feb. Patti Hearst kidnaped by the SLA, 1974. 06 Feb. King George VI dies, 1952. New Zealand Day. 07 Feb. Beatles land at JFK, 1964. FBI goes on alert. 08 Feb. Jules Verne born, 1828. 1963 Revolution Anniversary in Iraq. ---------------------------------------- 01 Feb 2003. Baghdad. As further proof the Iraqi regime is Evil, SBS reports a property boom in the capital. Even in such dangerous times life, so they say, must go on. Not only are ordinary citizens prepared to move to Baghdad from surrounding areas, but retirees are prepared to build new properties at a time when war threatens. House and property prices are going up. Observers say the US is prepared to use 200 to 300 cruise missiles per day during an attack that is predicted to fall significantly on the capital. Rome. Italian police say they found explosives, fuses and other terrorist-related items in appts of 28 Pakistani immigrants arrested yesterday. But Pakistan diplomats say it was "extremely unlikely" the labourers were involved with a terrorist plot. Kuwait. NBC showed US troops and equipment are deployed in the Gulf and good-to-go. Construction of a new US base in Kuwait, described as the soon-to-be most secure US base in the world, is 2 y ahead of schedule and a slew of M1 tanks have been off-loaded and are ready to attack. (BBC reports indicate the US is so confident of victory over Iraq 1/2 the tanks haven't been camouflaged). Reporters said as part of current military strategy the M1's and other equipment had been on ships cruising the world "looking for trouble" ever since 1991, and have now found it. Military officials say the prep job 12 y ago occurred in the middle of the desert. This time troops can warm up for desert war in a/c comfort. Another new American superbase in Qatar is the current US Forward Command. Gen Tommy Franks has reportedly been preparing for war and running computer simulations for several months. London. The UK has been humbled by a few cm of snow. Although the country is on terrorist alert, traffic has been snafu-ed by snowfalls for up to 24 hr. Rail, air and even telephone are also on the blink. Fancy that! Winter weather in winter! While the rest of Europe seems to be able to send gritters out onto roads, and snow was predicted at least a wk back, the failure of authorities to do anything has cost the country $10's of mn. Washington. In a press conference related to their latest meeting, Tony Blair indicated again that the US and UK are preparing to deal with TWO problems. PM Blair didn't name NK. Neither was evidence of links between Iraq and Al Qaeda, nor evidence of Iraqi WDM presented. Pres Bush said Colin Powell would produce evidence at the UN next week. He said that the US had already been authorised to use force against Iraq by UN resolutions. But he'd welcome another one to make it clear, provided he approved the exact wording beforehand. Elsewhere, the US has declined to indicate whether the President has signed orders relating to the use of nuclear weapons in Iraq. Reports say Bush Jr has signed papers authorising use of nukes if American troops or neighbouring countries are attacked with bio or chem agents. Adelaide. 450 more Aussie troops are to be deployed to the Gulf. Defence Min Hill said an RAAF squadron of 14 Hornets, 3 Hercs and an Air Forward Command unit would leave within 2 wks. He maintained there was not necessarily any planned attack on Iraq. [BTW. Even psychologists seeing people squinting to the right-hand side while they answer questions ungramatically simply assume they're flat-out lying. Significant blinking, lip-licking or hiding your mouth behind your hand are also popular tells]. Everyone else thinks Australia is secretly committed to support the US with or without UN approval. Sydney. Investigations into the fatal S Syd derailment have suffered a setback, with admissions from the NSW govt the train's "black box" had never been working. The undamaged data recorder was located yesterday. Transp Min Scully said the device had been installed 2 wks ago but had not been calibrated and switched on. He said that experts could calculate all relevant data from "other means". Elsewhere, more witnesses have come forward saying the train had accelerated moments before the crash. The driver, described as a fit and nice guy, was killed in the accident. The death toll has been revised down to 8 from 9. Sometimes they miscount detached arms and legs. London. International experts say a war against Iraq is "highly likely" over the next 8 wks, with any action likely to be finished by the end of June. A Reuters survey of 20 defence and Mid-E experts said there was a "good" prospect of a UN resolution explicitly endorsing a pre-emptive US attack despite reservations by 4 members of the Security Council. 2/3 of those polled said Iraq probably still had world-standard stockpiles of chem and bio agents. Brisbane. Shock horror! Mike Horan is about to get knifed because his popularity as deputy opposition leader has dived to 9% in opinion polls! Apparently rival Springborg has called on the Nationals to dump The Leader and stand some chance of living in a fool's paradise. Washington. SUSPICIOUS ACTIVITY HAS BEEN REPORTED IN NORTH KOREA! No wonder it has been moved into the Number 2 Slot! The US Admin says spy satellites definitely see something that could be the movement of 8000 rods or something like that! Officials have issued a warning to the unscientific hate-filled NK regime NOT to try re-processing nuclear fuel into bomb-grade plutonium! No pictures have as yet been shown to the press to back the claims. NY. UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has gone senile, challenging a series of good statements from Washington about Iraq. Blix says no evidence has been found to back the claims up. He told the Times the progress report delivered to the Security Council last Mon didn't justify going to war. He said there'd been no hard evidence linking the Iraqi regime to Al Qaeda as Pres Bush Jr claimed in his State of the Union address on Tue. The gut feeling says different, fella! Washington. Pres George Bush Jr and Brit PM Tony Blair have confirmed that Saddam Insane is not disarming and must be held to account. At a news conf after reviewing war timetables, Blair said he was testing the international community. Bush said Sec of State Powell would present clear evidence that Saddam is a fool and also a menace to US interests in the region at the UN next wk. NY. In what are described as "last ditch efforts", Brit PM Tony Blair is likely to ask the US for up to 6 more wks to give weapons inspectors time to find evidence to present to the UN. Some observers also say if Colin Powell can't supply a gun that's smoking enough at the UN this wk, his talk may back-fire against the US case for military action. Additional time would also give the Brit PM room to convince his own sceptical public the UK needs to join the US in a war against Iraq. NY. NBC reports a sting operation by a U of Maryland Prof has trapped people cheating on finals. Suspecting students had been using cell phones to get material from friends outside, the Prof posted "special answers" on the web before the exam. He then checked for that pattern handed in by cheats. 6 later admitted having friends browse and text message them during the exam. Caracas. As local backing for oil-rich Venezuala's 60-day strike ALLEGEDLY dwindles, opponents of Pres Chavez and his Godless Tobin Tax have called for international support. Exaggerated reports say with oil production creeping back up to Number 5 Slot, shopping malls and misc consumer icons are scheduled to re-open during the week. Foreign diplomats from 6 countries have met with Chavez to push for an agreement between the Admin and opp'n groups and GET THAT OIL FLOWING AGAIN! Melbourne. After claiming for yonks ethanol is good for your engine, the Federal govt is to move swiftly on petrol labelling now that it's been shown blends of up to 24% ethanol have been found sold to unsuspecting motorists in Melbourne. Env Min David Kemp says the problem is "not restricted to NSW and Qld as previously believed". THAT was not reason for action. Dr Kemp said uniform labelling laws should be in place by March after Parliament resumes on Feb 4. Adelaide. The hate-filled marxist Greens are meeting to welcome another turncoat from a proper political party. No... wait... it was a turncoat from the hate-filled marxist Labor Party. Ship Jumper Kris Hanna says he resigned because he's lost his soul to media management, and Aussie asylum policies were the last straw. Sydney. Eggs are going up by 21% at Woolies and Safeway ALLEGEDLY something to do with drought conditions. Crap! Gaza City. 11 Palestinians were injured when a tank fired into a crowd the Israeli Army said were hanging around someone about to fire a home-made missile. Most of the crowd turned out to be under 15. Bloody delinquents! Where the Hell are their parents! Kandahar. At least 18 people have been killed when their bus ran into an anti-tank mine. Police say it was probably put there by Osama bin Laden. Witnesses claim it was laid by a local warlord who came under massive US attack earlier in the wk. London. Brit researchers for HP say the see a big problem for current methods of encryption in 10-15 with the development of quantum computers. They've called a conference to discuss methods that will be immune from the massively parallel attacks that will be possible as the new computers are perfected. But Keith Harrison seems pessimistic new techniques will be easy to find. Present telephone calls, bank accounts and computer access is protected by methods based on mathematical problems that are "hard to reverse". But these are precisely the problems that quantum computing cracks. Other Brit-based experts say they can't see a problem even on the horizon, with the best QC devices presently at a stage similar to classical computing at the start of last century. Tokyo. The future of Japan's nuclear fuel policy is in doubt after a court ruled the Monju fast breeder was built to bad safety standards. The facility, 300 km W of Tokyo, was to be a prototype for Japan's fuel recycling scheme. But in 1995, while operating at 40% capacity, it sprung a leak and lost 1 tonne of liquid sodium coolant before shutting down. Only proving the safety systems worked! Washington. In a further sign that 9/11 changed everything for Americans, air in major cities across the city is about to be monitored for bio and chem weapons. The program calls for checking air filters currently monitoring for air pollutants for additional signs of bacteria and viruses. Wowsers say the system will generate false alarms and, anyway, miss the most likely methods of releasing nasty agents in large buildings. NY. Now here's a laugh for those keeping a "you get what you pay for" folder. A study published in JAMA says academics getting funding from industry for clinical drug trials were 80% likely to draw a pro-industry conclusion. In research carried out independently only 53% drew positive conclusions. The study said industry-backed research more often compared the company product with a placebo or a poorly-chosen drug, and rarely the best competitor. Industry reps said they had no interest in funding anything except the best-possible Science. How else could you make a rube pay $10 for name-brand aspirin? Can-berra. OH YWH, NO! Snr Labor figures are said to be agitating for the return of attack-dog Kim Beazley to the shadow front bench. With holes created by hate-filled marxists making their "principled stands" left and right, Simon Crean is forced to call for nominations on Monday. Brisbane. Following revelations the Qld govt ultimately plans to bring in oil-less French-designed robot-driven automobiles with a top speed exaggerated reports put at 1 kph, Main Roads Min Bredhauer has announced local streets state-wide will be reduced to a 50 kph crawl. The idea is spreading like a Brit-made virus from SE Qld where it was "trialled" from 1999. Bredhauer claims the move down there was responcible for an 18% reduction in fatal crashes. As if! Brisbane. The drought continue in Qld, with the State recording its driest Jan on record. The traditional wet month has seen dozens of weather stations on the coast and inland recording the lowest rainfall since 1840. Holcombe from the Bureau of Met says the metro rainfall for Jan was 5mm compared with a long-term average of 160mm. What record? ---------------------------------------- 02 Feb 2003. Palestine, TX [I kid you not!]. FUCKEN BLOODY HELL! I awoke at 5.30 am AEST (1830Z) to discover space shuttle STS-107 Columbia has broken up during its landing descent into Florida. Debris has been scattered over a wide area. NASA said it lost contact at 1400 GMT, 15 mins and 1400 mi before landing after a 16-day mission, while the shuttle was passing over Texas at speeds of Mach 18 and an altitude of 200,000 ft. It's believed no member of the crew of 7 survived. The 5 men and 3 women came from 3 different countries. Their deaths bring fatalities in the US space program to 24. Columbia was on its 28th mission, about 1/4 way [some reports say 1/2] through it's working life. It first flew in 1981. [I think this was shuttle mission 113; someone is BOUND to point that out as "significant"]. It was the oldest shuttle in the fleet. Pres George W Bush has ordered a full investigation. But NASA says it's ruled out for now anything or anyone on the ground being responsible. With (again!) all TV channels clogged with over-reporting, commentators are talking about loose tiles. Members of the public from Texas to Fla have been asked to help locate wreckage but not to go near it because it's very toxic. Flags at NASA and the Whitehouse have been lowered to 1/2-staff. The tragedy comes as questions continued to circulate about the enormous cost of this latest flight, promoted by NASA as doing good science in space. While most shuttle missions were lately concentrating on building the International Space Station, Columbia was carrying about 80 life-science-related experiments on this mission. The flight was costed, before the accident, at $US500 mn. In Australia, the space craft was famously carrying an experiment designed by Glen Waverley High School involving garden orb weaver spiders. 6.00 AEST. Pres George Bush has announced all members of the Columbia crew have been killed. He said the astronauts, and again all Americans, knew the job of exploring space and navigating the "fierce outer atmosphere of the Earth" was dangerous. "Our journey into space will go on", he said. The Pres then quoted the Prophet Isaiah at length. He said God knew the names of the astronauts and called on Him to bless America. 6.20 AEST. Experts are now saying the multi bn USD International Space Stn will probably have to be abandoned while the shuttle program is fixed. The 3-man Expedition 6 crew will be able to descend using the Russian-maintained escape system. It's been reported elsewhere the ISS is limited at present to a small crew because the Soyuz capsule can only accommodate 3 people. This has severely limited the science that can be performed on the ISS. Dan Rather reports the US is presently turning out more graduates in physical education than science or math combined. Reporters pointed out there was a hiatus of almost 3 y following the Challenger disaster. 6.30 AEST. Questions are now being asked as to whether NASA funding will be cut back. Dan Rather said talk was cheap. Experts say it's unlikely any new shuttles will be built. The tragedy may give an added impetus to build the "space plane", the reusable earth-to-orbit vehicle the space shuttle was intended to stop-gap. Experts say "something large" was seen coming off Columbia's left wing just before it started its meteor-like re-entry. They say the object's light colour indicates it came from somewhere on the upper surfaces of the craft, not its black heat shield system. Reporters have reminded us something was seen striking the left wing (some reports say "coming off the left wing") of Columbia during lift-off on Jan 16. 6.45 AEST. First reports are emerging that people on the ground may have been hurt by falling shuttle debris. It's reported at least one building has been damaged. [Latest reports say 2 houses were damaged, and one was set alight by falling debris. A small grassfire was sparked elsewhere]. A couple of reporters say the final conversation between Columbia and NASA control concerned low pressure in tyres and have speculated a blown tyre caused the spacecraft to tumble out of control while travelling at high speed. Yeah. You think I'm exaggerating or maybe joking. But you can read "analysis" like that on the 'net anytime. A Ch 7 reporter kept using "ISS" and "Mir" interchangeably for 1/2 hr, too. 7.30 AEST. At a press conf, NASA indicated the first signs of trouble concerned loss of sensor readings ("off-scale low") in control surfaces on Columbia's left wing, followed by unusual tyre pressure and temp of the left landing wheels, followed by over-temp indications on the left wing, followed by loss of all vehicle data. The problems developed over a matter of 3 minutes. Shuttle Prog Mgr Ron Dittemore said engineers had reviewed launch footage showing a large piece of "foam" from the main tank striking the left wing of the shuttle. He said it was judged to be insignificant at the time, but that would be checked again. He said a lot of things can look like a smoking gun but "turn out not even to be close". There will now be a hold on future shuttle flights but the unmanned "Progress" flight from Russia will take place as scheduled tomorrow to re-supply the Space Station. It's expected the ISS will hold out without shuttle contact until Jun. 9.00 AEST. Thank God! After an 8 hr media jam-a-thon Aussie TV has cut into coverage of the shuttle disaster to show Bugs Bunny cartoons. I now return YOU to my regular schedule. Kabul. Another 5 soldiers have been killed after their vehicle drove over a landmine in SW Afghanistan. They were on their way to destroy fields of opium poppies. It's believed the mine was left over from the 1980s Soviet occupation. Revelstoke. 7 skiers, including H.S. students, have been killed in an avalanche in the Glacier National Park in W Canada. The BC Ambulance Service say 10 survivors have been airlifted out. On Jan 20 an avalanche killed 7 in the same region, including snowboard pioneer Craig Kelly. Austin. Dozens of Texicans have been treated in hospitals after handling smoking wreckage from the space shuttle. Break-up of Columbia rained down toxic debris across a 190 km-long slice from C to E Texas this morning. Could this have been closer to Pres Bush's Crawford ranch and been less suspicious? NASA has repeatedly warned people D-O-N-T T-O-U-C-H A-N-Y-T-H-I-N-G for their own safety. The exact position of items may also be useful to analyse the cause of the disaster. Melbourne. Vic firefighters have been battling to keep the great NE bushfire from engulfing another national park since it jumped the Snowy R. after scorching 100,000 ha of forest yesterday. The Dept of Sustainability [my spelcheker says that's not even a word!] and Environment says the blaze could reach the S. Gippsland coast this wk if it manages to take hold of the Snowy River Natl Park. The fire has so far blackened 612,000 ha in the Vic high country. Sydney. Milder weather has allowed firefighters to push back fires burning in the Snowy Mnts and on the NSW N coast. A rep for the NSW Rural Fire Service said no property is under threat in the state. Baghdad. In just the latest of a long series of media-dominating threats against various nations it doesn't control around the world, Iraq has said it will unleash suicide attacks against US nationals in the Middle E, and will "wipe out" invading US forces if Washington wages a new war against it. Both Saddam Insane and V.P. Taha Yassin Ramadan have made pathetic copy-cat public statements a day after US Pres Bush Jr declared war was only weeks away. The Iraqi V.P. told Der Spiegel that suicide attacks were Iraq's new weapons of choice. Well... Der! What else ya got? Nukes? Caracas. A strike launched on 2 Dec 2002 is to be "partially lifted" after causing the country billions of USD in losses, largely due to lost shipments of oil to the USA. The strike is aimed at removing Pres Hugo Chavez from power well before the 1/2-way point of his vile Tobin Taxing reign. Opposition reps say bans will remain at the PDVSA state-owned oil company and the strike will eventually work no matter who is hurt. Venezuela has no Governor General. Melbourne. As inspections continue over the weekend in more than 100 schools in NSW, Vic has moved to outlaw asbestos. The leg'n will come into effect next y. WorkCover Min Rob Hulls says from 1 Jan 2004 asbestos and products containing it will be banned. Rules for removing it will also be toughened up. Can't get it, can't get RID of it. Great! Businesses and individuals will have until the end of 2004 to comply. Houston. Officials at NASA Johnson have asked certain residents of C. E. Texas if they see more ugly jagged bits of charred metal sticking out of the ground in their driveways and covered with toxic fuel to please resist the urge of putting it into their mouths. You know who you are! Thankyou. Brussels. Business regulations across the EU have been harmonised today under the much-debated Treaty of Nice. The Treaty paves the way for EU expansion into E Europe next y. Romano Prodi, Pres of the EC, says the Treaty signals the first peaceful unification of the European continent and will scrap veto powers of some countries in some areas. Brisbane. Has anyone seen Mike Horan? Vienna. Mohamed Elbaradei, head of the IAEA, will visit Iraqi this month along with UN inspector Hans Blix. The visit has been scheduled for Feb 8 & 9. In a letter to the Iraqi govt announcing the visit, inspectors say they expect Iraq to do "everything it can" to achieve disarmament. If they can't produce a whole warehouse of non-smoking guns there's gunna be trouble! Brisbane. The bloody Hospitality and Liquor Union has returned to work guarding Qld prisons following a 24 hr strike over pay. About 700 prisoners at Arthur Gorrie were locked down yesterday after guards went out for the 2nd time in a month. Brisbane. Prem Peter Beattie has gone senile, saying Fed Govt plans to remove shark netting and other equipment from Qld beaches is "crazy". He says removing nets would endanger Qld's $14.6 bn p.a. tourism industry. It might also endanger some Qld-ers. The proposal ALLEGEDLY relates to a threat nets pose to flake, including the cute & cuddly Great White. Mr Beattie is also angry the identity of the complete moron dreaming up idiotic ideas like this is being kept secret by stupid Southern privacy laws. Can-berra. The Fed Govt has announced $1 mn in funding from the billion dollar Natural Heritage Trust to help conserve migratory shorebirds around Australia. Dr Kemp says more than 2 mn small targets of 36 species get fat as they fly 25,000 km between the N. hemisphere and breeding grounds in vanishing Aussie wetlands each y. And if you want more programs like this sell the rest of Telstra. Texas. As more than 2000 pieces of debris are recovered from farms, fields, freeways, appts and office buildings, SBS reports bodies of at least some of the 7 shuttle astronauts have been found. Shocked onlookers reported seeing uniforms in a field. A charred helmet was found in another. Another witness said he stepped over what he thought was a bit of trash that had fluttered down from the sky and landed near a freeway. It turned out to be a mission patch. Poor bastards. Can-berra. WATCH OUT AUSTRALIA! That's what the brochure is titled. Newspaper reports say the govt's promised $15 mn terrorism attack mail-out to all Aussie households will happen this week. They say the package will include a booklet on how to identify anything suspicious, what to do when the country is attacked, and a personal letter from The Leader telling Australians that following recent bad economic news they have to take necessary steps to protect themselves. "I think it's just what Australia wants", said PM John Howard. He said his govt wanted to remind all Australians, in the nicest way possible, that terrorists and sudden death were everywhere. The Fed Opp'n is whining that no-one has seen any of the material yet. Bob Green whined the attack pack's suggestion to keep a reminder under a fridge magnet that "A Terrorist Attack Could Occur Today" were "misdirected". Washington. Following Shuttle wreckage appearing on an Internet auction site, authorities warn if souvenir hunters do not turn over everything to police they face a possible $US 1/2 mn fine. In other news, Aussie astronomer Tony Beasley [sic], who was on duty in California as the shuttle over-flew his observatory, has told reporters the flight path of the spacecraft contained debris. Melbourne. Students at Glen Waverley Sec College, who won a slot by designing a spiderweb experiment for the Challenger, have been deeply saddened & shocked by today's disaster. The project, jointly managed by RMIT and the Melb Zoo, was trying to determine if spiderwebs in space were the same as those on Earth. Previous attempts to perform the test had failed because spider food had not been taken into space. Spiders weave webs to catch prey, it seems. The students had allowed for this, sending a supply of fruitflies into orbit with 8 garden orb spiders. Astronauts were reportedly interested in the experiment, cut into sleep time to ensure it went to plan. [Sorry to blow the story, but astronauts have to cut into sleep time to ensure ANY experiment goes to plan. Challenger had a load of 80 science packages so everyone was pulling extra duty]. While some reports say 90% of the spiderweb data had been sent down to Earth before today, a rep for Melb Zoo said only low-res video had been transmitted back. High-res still photos were stored on board Challenger and were to be posted on the web in the next few weeks. Personally, I wouldn't give up hope yet. While hard drive platters probably won't have survived, other storage technology (Smart Media & such) used on board might still be found. ---------------------------------------- 03 Feb 2003. Jakarta. An explosion has rocked police HQ in Jakarta. There are presently no reports of casualties. The cause also isn't known. Lagos. 30 people have been killed in Lagos and many others are trapped following a huge explosion. Relief workers say the blast destroyed a bank and dozens of appts above it in Nigeria's commercial capital. Money scattered from the bank sparked off looting and bloody fights as hundreds of young men grabbed wads of cash. Officials have not yet determined the cause of the explosion. NY. NASA has defended its decision to continue with the Challenger mission despite questions over an incident during take-off. Admin Sean O'Keefe said the organisation's priority is safety and nothing is left to chance in the decision to launch. He said it was too early to point a finger at the "foam incident". Reporters wanted to know why the shuttle wasn't docked at the ISS for inspection or off-loading of astronauts. O'Keefe said NASA wanted to find out the cause of the disaster and fix it. It turns out Challenger had no docking mechanism and no astronaut on board had been qualified for space-walks, despite one mission specialist having 400 hrs in LEO. Observers say funding cutbacks that delayed a series of safety upgrades to the shuttle fleet is now likely to be cleared. After Iraq and NK! L.A. Now here's a new one. An ABC reporter has indicated that at least one tile had fallen off the Columbia at launch and the astronauts had been told about it. Adibjan. The Frogs are continuing to have trouble with a former colony. In a reminder that idiots can be so unreasonable if they can't have things THEIR way, rebels in Ivory Coast have warned Pres Laurent Gbagbo they want top posts in a proposed unity govt. The rebels say their patience is wearing thin. The Pres is now "hesitating" over the French-brokered truce he accepted last weekend. Rebels say he promised them the defence and interior ministries, but the Pres seems not to remember and there was nothing in writing. Washington. NASA says the remains of all 7 astronauts have been found. Melbourne. Vic firefighters are drawing up battle lines along the S. edge of the Snowy River Natl Park after water-bombing failed to stop spot-fires the State's N jumping the Snowy R. Temps are expected to climb to the mid 30s over the next 24 hrs. Can-berra. A group of asylum seekers has escaped from the Woomera detention centre in S.A. An Imm Dept rep said half-a-dozen Afghan and Iranian [Aryan to some] prisoners escaped this morning with the assistance of hippies on the outside. A search is underway. It's believed the group are headed for Pt Augusta. Watch out for anything suspicious! Can-berra. For Min Alex Downer will update federal cabinet on the looming war against Iraq. He told reporters yesterday the EU position was hardening, but [looking to the right] war with Saddam is not inevitable. Cabinet is likely to discuss the opposition of some coalition MP's and party figures. Yesterday a group called "Liberals Against War With Iraq" claimed PM Howard was the most dangerous Leader in their experience for involving Australia in the war. Yeah! Dangerous to Saddam Hussein! Australia remains the only country to join the US and UK in deploying troops to the Gulf. Federal Parliament 2003 gets under way tomorrow. Sydney. Services on Syd's S. coast rail line is set to resume this afternoon after overnight rain delayed work on the site of Fri's fatal derailment near Waterfall. Cityrail says trains should be operating for the afternoon peak. Sydney. With the arrival of home terrorism kits and a stream of recent bad news, Aussie kids and some adults are reported to be suffering attachment problems ["Mummy, don't make me go to school!"] and even panic attacks. Ch 7's Dr John says the most important thing, especially for hairy-chested blokes, is to talk about your fears and not to hit the booze. Turn off the bad news on TV and go for a walk, he suggests. Exactly the opposite of what experts were saying last year! Those doctors! Sydney. Oil has declined slightly from recent highs to $33.50/bbl. The AUD is also down against the USD. Can-berra. PM John Howard has announced he'll go to Washington next wk to conference with The Leader on the not necessarily war with Iraq. Opp'n leader Simmo Crean called on Mr Howard to also take a trip to a little town 200 mi to the NE and visit the UN and try his hand at last-ditch diplomacy. Melbourne. Qantas baggage handlers have called off a walkout over a company plan to fingerprint them all. Transport Workers Union Bill Noonan says Qantas has agreed to abandon the idea after weekend talks. It was part of a new security and payroll scheme. Sydney. Mayne Group says it's selling 6 hospitals and will write down another $53 mn as part of a review of the hospital portfolio. Mayne said it was selling the hospitals for a total $27.5 mn to Healthscope Ltd. Brisbane. Someone found Mike Horan. He told ABC radio the controversy over his popularity was damaging the Qld National Party. He said the matter would be sorted out in the party room "once and for all" tomorrow. Mr Horan won the leadership by one vote from Lawrence Springborg last y. Perth. Police say 2 toddlers from different families have drowned in the same backyard pool. Perth police are investigating how the 12 and 18 mo boys got into the fenced-off pool in suburban Cooloongup yesterday. Both mothers were inside when an older sibling and a neighbour spotted the boys. They were ponounced dead at 9.30 am. ======================================== (*) Who is responcible for W.A.R.S? A small group of dedicated sangrabbers, bannana-lickers and 5th columnists on the run from support payments and sundry legalese in their home countries. Mention us at any Uncle Harry's Gun Bunker and Chapel and get a free trigger lock! OK. I'll come clean. We can't even GIVE the things away! All speling macroizated for correctitood by Mcrosotf Speelchek. *** Please stand by for further orders from The Leader ***