China to spend $14 bn to clean up toxic lake; FEMA apologizes for sham press briefing...

27 October :: China plans to spend $14.4 billion to clean up Lake Tai, 3rd largest fresh-water lake in country, affected by direct toxic dumping, rampant algal bloom that cut off drinking water to Wuxi, a city of 2.3 million; according to IHT "Lake Tai, known as China's ancient "land of rice and fish," is a legendary setting, once famous for its bounty of white shrimp, whitebait and whitefish. But over time, an industrial buildup transformed the region. More than 2,800 chemical factories arose around the lake, and industrial dumping became a severe problem and, eventually, a crisis"... FEMA has apologized for staging a sham press conference; the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave reporters from around the country only 15 minutes' notice to attend, then had its own public affairs personnel pose questions... DR Congo, US leaders meet to discuss the humanitarian, security situation, as well as economic policies, political viability; fighting in far east of sub-Saharan nation of major concern, rebels say they are fighting to protect the population from outsiders who fled Rwanda after their campaign of genocide there was ended... Georgia Supreme Court orders 21-year-old man freed who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex at 17 with 15-year-old, saying the extreme sentence violated Constitutional protection against "cruel and unusual punishment"; court found the sentence "grossly disproportionate", that the activity considered criminal by then state law "did not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children"... CNN reports "An eastern Kentucky school district with one confirmed case of antibiotic-resistant staph infection plans to shut down all 23 of its schools Monday, affecting about 10,300 students, to disinfect the facilities"; drug resistant bacterium suspected of infecting 90,000 Americans per year...

GAO finds terrorist watch list may target too many people; St. Bernard breed may prove Darwin's evolution; oil over $92/barrel...

26 October :: Report from Government Accountability Office (GAO) finds terrorist watch list may be targetting too many people to be effective, including 755,000 names as of May 2007, 860,000 at present; critics of the list say it threatens civil liberties, contravenes Constitutional protections; Sen. Lieberman has expressed concern about its "500 percent increase in three years", Justice Dept. inspector-general's report questions quality of data used... Scientists say study of St. Bernard skulls over 120 year period show selection in dog breeding demonstrates Darwin's theory of evolution; in case of dog breeds, human selection accelerates the process of natural selection, which would likely take longer to show evidence... US announces stiffest sanctions regime against Iran in nearly 3 decades, targeting three state banks, declaring elite Revolutionary Guard "proliferators of weapons of mass destruction" for efforts to enrich uranium, making it a crime for any US citizen to do business with any of the cited entities; Russia has already denounced the new sanctions, some fear move could be provocation, further escalate tensions; US sec. of State Condoleezza Rice said in announcing the sanctions that the US is still fully committed to a diplomatic solution... Financial firm Merrill Lynch has added $2.9 billion to its already massive write-down of losses, now totalling $7.9 billion for this quarter; the firm's revenues fell 94% against this time last year, and spokesman says firm still faces some exposure from sub-prime related accounts... Oil hits record high $92.22 in trading Friday, as falling dollar, mounting violence in Iraq, tension between Turkey, Kurds, dwindling US supplies, Iran sanctions provoke fears of further scarcity; OPEC says it has no plans to increase production at next meeting...

Rice admits US mishandled Arar case; US may have more contractors in Iraq than soldiers; UN says xenon in Canada proves 2006 DPRK nuke test...

25 October :: Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice admits to House human rights subcommittee that the US handling of the case of Maher Arar, was "by no means perfect, in fact it was quite imperfect", adding "we do absolutely not want to transfer anyone to a place where they might be tortured"; Arar is a Canadian citizen sent to Syria for interrogation where he was allegedly tortured for a year; in 2004, the Canadian government set up a commission of inquiry into the Arar case, its proceedings and fact-finding reports are available online... Reuters reports "For the first time in its history, the U.S. is fighting a war with more private contractors than military personnel. The ratio in Iraq is estimated at around 180,000 to 160,000"; escalating dependence on 'contractors' is worrying as it shows military limitations, and use of mercenaries is banned under int'l law... Iraq gov't drafting legislation to strip foreign security contractors of immunity from prosecution under Iraqi system; move would reverse decree by outgoing Coalition Provisional Authority, rule which many Iraqis blame for contractors' alleged abuses... Jim Rogers, who co-founded Quantum Fund, tells Telegraph US is "undoubtedly in recession"; consumer spending, housing market, transport costs, falling dollar undermining overall economy... UN researchers detect unusually high levels of radioactive noble gas Xenon, in northern Canada, say gas is trace evidence confirming 2006 nuclear test by DPRK; scientists said amount found suggests explosion was relatively small, and underground... Rumored deal to get Republican support for spending measures brings enough Democrat support to approve controversial judicial nominee to Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; party leader, along with majority of Democrats, had opposed Leslie Southwick's nomination to a court that covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, because he's seen as weak on racial equality... Google to work with Nielson to pinpoint television viewing habits, help advertisers gather information on commercial viewing, better target ad dollars...

Half million Californians forced to flee wildfires; fossil record shows high temps correspond to mass extinction; China launches lunar probe...

24 October :: More than 500,000 Californians have been evacuated as wildfires blaze out of control, more than 1,000 structures destroyed; firefighters admit they cannot control the fires, can only hope at present to protect people; Gov. Schwarzenegger has warned the White House the fires are too vast to be dealth with by state agencies... UK researchers have found link between elevated global temperatures and mass extinction throughout fossil record; findings suggest escalating global temperatures could lead to a new mass extinction; Le Monde Diplomatique has reported UN figures showing high concentrations of CO2 correspond to highest temperature spikes... Sentence for Pinochet security forces chief extended 15 years; he has been found guilty of masterminding, ordering abduction of dissident last seen at Villa Grimaldi detention center in 1974... China launches unmanned orbiter, its first lunar probe; Japan has just put its first satellite into lunar orbit, with India planning to follow; some worry 'nationalism' in region fueling new 'space race', though for now there does not appear to be a plan to militarize... Turkey has admitted it launched airstrikes against PKK positions inside Iraqi Kurdistan, crossing as far as 20km into Iraqi airspace; pres. of Kurdish regional assembly, Iraqi pres. Talabani, also a Kurd, have called on PKK to renounce the use of violence; Turkish ground forces have allegedly made isolated incursions as well, through for now no large-scale ground invasion has occurred... NYT reports "In a report made public on Tuesday, a review panel found that there were too few American officials in Iraq to enforce the rules that apply to Blackwater and other security contractors. It also found that the conduct of the contractors had undermined the broader mission of ending the insurgency and establishing a democratic government in Iraq"... China, world's #2 oil consumer, tells OPEC oil prices are too high; contacts were part of OPEC-China 'roundtable' to help steer OPEC policy with regard to China's explosive growth in petroleum demand...

CA plans to sue EPA over emissions; Kurdish rebels offer truce with Turkey; Microsoft cedes to EU regulators...

23 October :: California attorney general Jerry Brown has said he plans to file suit against the EPA, for stalling permission for CA, 11 other states to force automakers to produce cleaner vehicles; suit aims to push emissions regulations designed to reduce threat/pace of human-induced global warming... Kurdish rebel group offers Ankara truce, saying "Our movement and people have the strength to defend itself under any condition; however, we prefer to solve the problems by democratic and peaceful ways rather than armed struggle"; Turkish gov't has explored launching cross-border raids against PKK rebels inside Iraq, US reported to be contemplating airstrikes against rebel positions inside Iraqi Kurdistan... Microsoft has surrendered to antitrust regulators in Brussels, after years of litigation and fines, agrees to free up dozens of patents for license-free consultation by developers; regulatory office says interoperability issues still remain, Microsoft is on warning that other cases are being looked at, dealing with DRM in Vista, 'integrated security' solution, browser functionality... NYT reports "More than a quarter of a million people were urged to flee their homes on Monday as wildfires ravaged Southern California for a second day, destroying hundreds of homes and businesses and charring swaths of scrub and forestland"; the 'paper of record' also reported homes burning "with no firefighters in sight", as shifting winds, spreading fires made it difficult to strategically contain blazes... Scientists rush to get first glimpse of gravity waves, phenomena predicted by Einstein's theory of relativity, but which have yet to be observed in any astronomical event...

Jindal, son of Indian immigrants, wins Louisiana governorship; fraud alleged in Kyrgyz constitutional referendum; Obama camp closes money gap...

22 October :: 36-year-old Republican Bobby Jindal wins Louisiana governorship, becomes first Indian-American governor in US history, youngest currently serving; observers say Jindal, a "staunch conservative" who converted to Catholicism as a teenager, is a rising star in the party, to watch on the national stage; TIME reports "An Ivy League-educated Rhodes Scholar, he was appointed head of the Louisiana Department of Health and Hospitals, the state's largest agency, at the tender age of 24. At 28, he was tapped to head one of Louisiana's university systems"... Kyrgyzstan has voted in a constitutional referendum designed to strengthen Pres. Bakiyev's hold on power; observers say the officially reported 80% turnout is inflated and cite numerous reports of ballot-stuffing... Barack Obama's campaign for president tapped its grass-roots network last week and raised the $2.1 million needed to catch Hillary Clinton, just 5 days after her campaign pulled ahead in money raised for the first time; the drive will not alter 3rd quarter fundraising figures, but shows the race is far from over; the appeal to Obama supporters warned "Washington lobbyists have chosen their candidate" and urged giving money to help beat the Clinton "machine"... Benazir Bhutto has vowed to purge Pakistan's intelligence services of 'rogue agents' who allegedly support terrorist elements, if she is elected prime minister; Bhutto has said she blames rogue agents for assassination attempt, has long viewed crackdown on extremist groups as key to long-term stability... Observers worry bomb attack on Bhutto convoy in Karachi to be used as excuse to postpone upcoming elections; SMH reports "The Karachi bombing will also have the indirect result of preventing right-wing politicians from deserting the PML and joining her party, as some had planned to do"...

Iran nuclear negotiator steps down; Turkey reports raid by Kurdish rebels kills at least 9 soldiers; far-right party leads Swiss poll...

21 October :: Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, Ali Larijani, has stepped down, allegedly over differences with Pres. Ahmadinejad; Iran gov't says there is no rift among leadership, diplomats, Larijani will attend meeting with UN representatives to ease transition to new negotiator's team... At least 9 casualties reported in PKK raid on Turkish forces near Iraqi border; BBC reports deaths have spurred popular support for military incursions into Iraq to hunt Kurdish rebels; Iraq gov't says Turkish incursions would violate int'l law; observers fear Turkish cross-border raids would further destabilize Iraq... Reuters reporting US military raid on Sadr City district of Baghdad has killed 13, wounded 69, showing two toddlers among the dead; US says clashes with Mehdi militia group led to airstrikes on residential neighborhood... Chinese Communist party removes VP, two other top officials from party leadership, preparing to elevate new generation of leadership, as party conference comes to end... Far-right People's Party (SVP) appears to have won Swiss election, is predicted to take 61 of 200 seats in parliament, Green party makes strong gains; with 50% of electorate estimated to have cast ballots, SVP 'victory' may represent as little as 15% of total voting-age population, the party's 'black-sheep' campaign stoked fears of official racism... Houston Chronicle reports $90 oil is not record when adjusting for inflation, "The federal government says prices still haven't exceeded the January 1981 inflation-adjusted record of $93.09. The Paris-based International Energy Agency says the actual record was in the previous spring and is $101.70 in today's dollars"... Ségolène Royal has criticized Sarkozy's new French gov't for its "total improvisation" with regard to social policy; Sarkozy's opponent in the presidential elections, Royal also said "Driving a modern country to strike is the mark of poor government", referring to the ongoing transport strike...