FED:Workers paid to abuse cattle, Lib senator

AAP General News (Australia)
08-10-2011
FED:Workers paid to abuse cattle, Lib senator

Senator Back said the incident happened at the Mabar abattoir in Sumatra.

A "very reliable source" who visited the abattoir some days later had told him that
a "white lady and a bule (white male foreigner) and a driver came to the abattoir".

"The cameraman and the driver came to him and offered him (the abattoir worker) 150,000
rupiah to kick the animal in the head repeatedly until they got the film they wanted,"

the senator told the hearing.

"He did not want to do this for religious reasons but his family needed money, so he did.

"He kicked it a number of times and then stopped. They asked him to keep going and he did."

Ms White rejected the allegation, describing it as "very offensive".

"Not only did I not have any knowledge or association, I don't believe it's correct,
senator," she said.

AAP rl/pc

KEYWORD: CATTLE 4 CANBERRA

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

SA: BHP to investigate desalination plant for Olympic Dam

AAP General News (Australia)
02-17-2006
SA: BHP to investigate desalination plant for Olympic Dam

BHP Billiton will investigate building a 300 million dollar desalination plant in South
Australia .. to provide water for its massive expansion of the Olympic Dam mine.

The five billion dollar expansion of the uranium and copper operations in South Australia's
north will make it one of the biggest open cut mines in the world.

A 300 million dollar pre-feasibility study into the entire expansion is due for completion
by the end of next year.

AAP RTV tjd/jv/rt

KEYWORD: OLYMPIC (ADELAIDE)

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC:Fire at Kurdish centre deemed suspicious

AAP General News (Australia)
04-14-2011
VIC:Fire at Kurdish centre deemed suspicious

MELBOURNE, April 14 AAP - A fire that has damaged the Kurdish Association in Melbourne
is considered suspicious.

Firefighters were called to the blaze about 2am (AEST) on Thursday, containing it at
the ground floor of association building in Fawkner Road, Pascoe Vale.

Firefighters deemed the fire as suspicious and referred it to police.

Half of the ground floor was severely damaged, including a dining and office area.

AAP mok/gfr/pc

KEYWORD: KURDISH

� 2011 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW:Three kids in Christmas day accidents

AAP General News (Australia)
12-25-2010
NSW:Three kids in Christmas day accidents

Three children have suffered accidents this Christmas in Sydney .. leaving one fighting
fighting for his life.

A two-year old boy is fighting for his life after being pulled from a backyard pool
at Baulkham Hills in Sydney's north west this morning.

A 12-year-old girl had a luckier escape from drowning in her family backyard pool at
St Helens .. in Sydney's south-west .. when her siblings pulled the her from the pool
where she got into trouble this afternoon.

And a six-year-old boy may have been too excited on his present from Santa Claus ..

when he crashed off a quad bike on his family's property at Rossmore .. in Sydney's south-west
tonight .. injuring his head and neck.

The boy has been flown to the Sydney Children's Hospital at Randwick and is in a stable
condition.

AAP RTV dmg/wz

KEYWORD: CHILDREN (SYDNEY)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

VIC:Princess Mary arrives in Hobart

AAP General News (Australia)
08-17-2010
VIC:Princess Mary arrives in Hobart

Danish Crown Princess MARY has arrived in her home town of Hobart for a private visit.

Hobart Airport boss BRETT REISS says she flew in just before 10am (AEST) with her security
detail .. and was whisked away in a waiting car.

He doesn't know if her husband Crown Prince FREDERIK and their two children were with her.

MARY's believed to have come home to celebrate her news that she's expecting twins
in January with family and friends .. and possibly for her best friend AMBER PETTY's 40th
birthday in Adelaide.

AAP RTV ce/gfr/jmt

KEYWORD: MARY (HOBART)

� 2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Tas: Labor reinstalled in Tasmania

AAP General News (Australia)
04-08-2010
Tas: Labor reinstalled in Tasmania

HOBART, April 8 AAP - Caretaker premier David Bartlett has been ordered by the state's
Governor Peter Underwood to recall parliament and test his support as premier on the floor
of the assembly, a Government House statement says.

The state's parliament will be recalled within weeks.

The make-up of the next Tasmanian parliament will be a 10-10-5 split of Liberal, Labor
and the Greens, respectively.

Labor lost its majority, suffering a 12 per cent swing, at the March 20 election.

more pc/de

KEYWORD: POLLTAS DECISION

2010 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Tas: Auto industry shock, car parts maker in administration

AAP General News (Australia)
08-26-2009
Tas: Auto industry shock, car parts maker in administration

A Tasmanian car parts manufacturer vital to the entire Australian auto industry has
gone into voluntary administration.

This is despite Industry Minister KIM CARR announcing in June that Automotive Components
Limited would receive a seven million dollar grant to stave off insolvency .. and save
the jobs of 280 workers at the Launceston plant.

ACL makes components critical to the automotive industry .. including engine bearings
and gaskets in Bass .. the seat of federal Labor MP JODIE CAMPBELL .. and employs over
300 people in Tasmania and Queensland.

The company says unions are holding emergency meetings with workers .. whose futures
are now unclear.

Senator CARR said in June that five thousand people would face unemployment across
the industry if ACL closed.

AAP pc/rt

KEYWORD: ACL (HOBART)

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: Southeast Qld dams still short of 60 per cent

AAP General News (Australia)
04-17-2009
Qld: Southeast Qld dams still short of 60 per cent

BRISBANE, April 17 AAP - Recent rainfall has left southeast Queensland dams agonisingly
short of the 60 per cent mark that would mean a break in the region's prolonged drought.

Water stored in southeast Queensland's dams currently stands at 59.05 per cent of capacity,
just short of the 60 per cent figure required for premier Anna Bligh to officially call
an end to the drought.

A spokesman for SEQ Water told ABC radio there were some inflows on Thursday night,
but not as large as in recent days, including the Easter long weekend which brought rainfall
of up to 200mm in some Sunshine Coast areas.

"Compared to this time yesterday, we've gone up 0.2 per cent, so we're now over 59
per cent," the spokesman said.

"But I think we can say that those inflows we've had from the recent rain are really
starting to fall away quite rapidly.

"If it does come, it will come in a trickle."

AAP djb/jl

KEYWORD: DAMS

2009 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Qld: CMC to review police move-on powers

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2008
Qld: CMC to review police move-on powers

Queensland's corruption watchdog wants to hear from people who have been the subject
of police officers using move-on powers.

Queensland police have broad powers to direct a person to move on or leave a public
place and if the direction isn't obeyed .. a person can be charged with the offence of
contravening the direction or requirement of a police officer.

Crime and Misconduct Commission chairman ROBERT NEEDHAM says the powers were significantly
expanded in 2006 and a review is needed.

An issues paper is available at www.cmc.qld.gov.au

AAP RTV stg/pjo/crh/wz

KEYWORD: POLICE QLD (BRISBANE)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Soc: Arnold predicts Aussie adrenaline rush against Argentina

AAP General News (Australia)
08-08-2008
Soc: Arnold predicts Aussie adrenaline rush against Argentina

Olyroos coach GRAHAM ARNOLD expects the adrenaline to kick in when his team takes on
defending champions Argentina in their second group match on Sunday.

Australia drew 1-1 with Serbia in their first game of the Olympic soccer tournament
at Shanghai Stadium yesterday .. the same venue where Argentine star LIONEL MESSI led
his side to a 2-1 victory over Ivory Coast.

ARNOLD says the adrenaline will kick in for sure when the Olyroos play Argentina in
a couple of days.

He says the beauty of this competition means tomorrow will be about recovery and a
light training session .. then they'll be ready to go again.

A well-taken goal by Australia's RUBEN ZADKOVICH was cancelled out by SLOBODAN RAJKOVIC
as the Olyroos became the first Australians in action at the Beijing Games .. a day ahead
of the opening ceremony.

Australia should have had gone 2-0 up .. but substitute BILLY CELESKI'S 74th-minute
shot hit the post.

AAP RTV vm/slb/psm/

KEYWORD: OLY08 SOC AUST (SHANGHAI)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Woman found not guilty of methadone killing

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2008
NSW: Woman found not guilty of methadone killing

A Sydney woman accused of giving her six-year-old daughter a lethal dose of methadone
.. has been found NOT guilty of manslaughter.

46-year-old JULIE ANNE AUSTIN thanked the New South Wales Supreme Court jury .. after
it returned its not guilty verdict on all charges against her.

AUSTIN told police she thought she'd given medicine to her ill child .. ROSE VILLANUEVA-AUSTIN
.. who died of a methadone overdose in September 2005 .. at her Cattai home in north-western
Sydney.

AAP RTV kj/was/rt

KEYWORD: AUSTIN VERDICT (SYDNEY)

2008 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Fed: Students should know about Heidelberg art school: Andrews

AAP General News (Australia)
08-27-2007
Fed: Students should know about Heidelberg art school: Andrews

Immigration Minister KEVIN ANDREWS says all Australians should know about the Heidelberg
School of impressionist art.

He's made the comment while defending the new citizenship tests .. which require applicants
to correctly answer 12 out of 20 questions covering Australia's history .. government
.. values and traditions.

Mr ANDREWS says not knowing about the Heidelberg school wouldn't stop anyone getting citizenship.

But he's told Southern Cross broadcasting it's important that all Australians are aware
of its significance.

The minister's remarks have prompted host JOHN LAWS to suggest there are many people
.. who've lived in Australia for 20 years .. who wouldn't know about the Heidelberg School
.. or the development of the stump-jump plough .. which is also explained in the government's
citizenship booklet.

AAP RTV dcr/sb/ibw/bart

KEYWORD: CITIZENSHIP ANDREWS (CANBERRA)

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Fastest job growth followed unfair dismissal laws: ACTU

AAP General News (Australia)
04-12-2007
NSW: Fastest job growth followed unfair dismissal laws: ACTU

SYDNEY, April 12 AAP - ACTU president Sharan Burrow says the prime minister is grasping
at straws with his claims Australia's unemployment rate is the result of the government
removing the unfair dismissal laws.

Official figures out today showed Australia's unemployment rate had dropped to 4.5
per cent in March, returning to January's 32-year low, compared with 4.6 per cent in February.

Prime Minister John Howard, in welcoming the fall, said it was largely a result of
his government's industrial relations overhaul.

"If you want to disturb low unemployment, reintroduce the unfair dismissal laws, that
will push the unemployment rate up," Mr Howard said.

But Ms Burrow said Mr Howard was wrong.

"What John Howard needs to acknowledge is that the fastest period of jobs growth was
indeed after the introduction of the unfair dismissal laws by the Keating government in
1993," she said.

"The government is grasping at straws here for any excuse to defend the fact that working
people can be dismissed at whim, without redress.

"(The government wants) to defend the fact that the laws are allowing employers to
push down wages and conditions and to take away bargaining rights."

AAP pc/was/srp/mn

KEYWORD: JOBS ACTU

2007 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Iemma offers olive branch to rescue services

AAP General News (Australia)
12-11-2006
NSW: Iemma offers olive branch to rescue services

SYDNEY, Dec 11 AAP - NSW Premier Morris Iemma says he wants NRMA CareFlight and Westpac
Life Saver Surf Rescue to remain involved in helicopter rescue services.

The NSW government last week announced that the contracts of the two community-based
organisations to run helicopter rescue services would not be renewed next year.

They will be replaced by the Australian subsidiary of Canadian helicopter rescue service CHC.

Mr Iemma today defended the awarding of the new contract to CHC but said the government
would meet with CareFlight and Westpac Live Saver this week.

"We are getting bigger and better, faster and safer helicopters from the same people
who run these services in Victoria and South Australia," he told Southern Cross Broadcasting.

"What we'd like to do is still to have NRMA and CareFlight and the others involved
in some way. And that's what the discussion this week will involve."

CareFlight spokesman Ian Badham today renewed his attack on the government over its
decision to award the contract to CHC.

"This is not about saving money, this is not about safety standards," Mr Badham said.

"This is all about the petty egos of a couple of faceless bureaucrats."

Doctors employed by NRMA CareFlight have threatened not to work under the Canadian
company because of safety concerns.

But Health Minister John Hatzistergos says the service will continue with new staff if necessary.

AAP pj/was/it/nf

KEYWORD: RESCUE IEMMA

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

NSW: Diplomat mistook body despite having photo, inquiry told

AAP General News (Australia)
08-04-2006
NSW: Diplomat mistook body despite having photo, inquiry told

SYDNEY, Aug 4 AAP - A senior Australian diplomat mistook the body of a Bosnian carpenter
for that of Private Jake Kovco despite having a photograph of the Victorian soldier, an
inquiry has been told.

The inquiry at Victoria Barracks in Sydney was told the mistake in identifying the
young soldier who had died in Iraq could have helped contribute to the bungle over his
repatriation to Australia.

Royal Australian Air Force Warrant Officer Chris Hunter said the Kuwait Australian
Embassy's first secretary Alastar (Alastar) Adams had been at the civilian morgue in Kuwait
where the final identification checks were carried out on what was believed to be Pte
Kovco's body.

Mr Adams had a copy of a photograph from Pte Kovco's passport with him and used it
to check against the body shown to him at the morgue, WO Hunter said.

After Mr Adams had checked the body with the photograph, he had stamped a wax seal
on the coffin with the Australian embassy emblem.

WO Hunter said the photo from Pte Kovco's body showed him without a moustache, as did
other photographs of his body taken by military police.

But there was a moustache on the man whose body was shown to Mr Adams and the escort,
known as soldier 2, who was charged with bringing Pte Kovco's body home to Australia.

"He had a copy of the passport photograph and he was looking in the body bag," WO Hunter said.

"Both soldier 2 and Mr Adams did have a look at what was in the body bag and said something
along the lines of yes, yep.

"That would indicate to me that they were doing an identification."

Pte Kovco died on April 21 after being shot in the head while inside his Baghdad barracks
with his two roommates.

However, his body was left behind in Kuwait while that of a Bosnian carpenter, Juso
Sinanovic, was sent back to Australia.

WO Hunter told the inquiry he believed the body mix-up could have been prevented if
the civilian morgue had not been used.

"It's my personal belief it wouldn't have happened," he said.

He said Pte Kovco's body had been transferred from a professional and clean mortuary
facility in Baghdad run by American troops to what he believed to be a run-down morgue
in Kuwait.

"It was at best very run-down, probably what a lot of people would imagine a third
world country hospital would look like," he said.

"It looked abandoned to me when we first got there."

WO Hunter said he stopped eight of Pte Kovco's soldier mates, who had accompanied the
body to Kuwait as a bearer party, from going into the morgue.

He said he feared they would be outraged at what they saw.

"I just didn't want them to be seeing how awful the mortuary was ... I believed if
the guys had seen that there may have been a riot," he said.

Once it was realised there had been a mix-up with the bodies, WO Hunter went back to
the morgue to find out where Pte Kovco's body was.

He said when he saw the body it did not look anything like Pte Kovco's passport photograph.

However, he said he knew it was the right body because it matched photographs taken
of Pte Kovco's corpse by military police a few days earlier at the US mortuary facility.

The inquiry continues.

AAP bt/was/grc/bwl

KEYWORD: KOVCO INQUIRY

) 2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

Vic: Support for government's homeless move during games

AAP General News (Australia)
02-14-2006
Vic: Support for government's homeless move during games

MELBOURNE, Feb 14 AAP - A major welfare organisation has got behind the Victorian government's
efforts to secure accommodation for homeless people during the Commonwealth Games.

Anglicare Victoria chief executive Ray Cleary said the move to book the equivalent
of 600 beds for the needy, at a cost of $60,000, was vital during a peak in accommodation
demand.

Up to 90,000 visitors are expected to stay in Melbourne during the March 15-26 Commonwealth
Games, and it is feared the surge in demand for beds could lock low-income people and
welfare agencies out of the short-term accommodation market.

"Anglicare Victoria, as a provider of city services to homeless and the disadvantaged,
is aware of the demand for services," Dr Cleary said today.

" ... and the need to provide accommodation for low-income people during a time of
high demand for accommodation."

Dr Cleary called on the government to provide similar funding year-round, to boost
the number of accommodation options available for homeless people.

Critics have slammed the move as an attempt to hide the homeless during the Games,
but the government has said it will not prevent people from "sleeping rough" in the streets.

AAP dr/dk/rj/bwl

KEYWORD: COM06 HOMELESS

2006 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

AP Top News at 10:58 a.m. EST

AP Online
11-30-2005

Bush Maps Out Iraq War Strategy

U.S. President Bush greets midshipmen after speaking about the war on terror at the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Md., Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005. President Bush confronted doubts about his war policy Wednesday, asserting that more Iraqi security forces are taking the lead in battle but saying it's still uncertain when U.S. forces can be withdrawn. (AP Photo/Charles Dharapak)

ANNAPOLIS, Md. (AP) _ President Bush, facing growing doubts about his war strategy, said Wednesday that Iraqi troops are increasingly taking the lead in battle but that "this will take time and patience." He refused to set a timetable for withdrawing U.S. forces. Bush said the U.S. military presence in Iraq is set to change, by making fewer patrols and convoys, moving out of Iraqi cities and focusing more on specialized operations aimed at high-value terrorist targets.

Supreme Court to Get Abortion Rights Case

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The Supreme Court will consider its first abortion rights case under the leadership of Chief Justice John Roberts, with an unpredictable outcome because of the court's changing makeup. The stakes are significant in the dispute over a New Hampshire law requiring minors to tell a parent before ending a pregnancy, although the case does not challenge the 1973 Roe v. Wade ruling that said abortion is a fundamental constitutional right.

New Campaign Vs. Iraq Insurgents Begins

An Iraqi soldier checks the trunk a car at an army checkpoint in Baghdad, Iraq, Wednesday, Nov. 30, 2005. U.S. and Iraqi officials hope a big turnout in the December election will undermine the insurgency and improve chances for the United States and its partners to begin reducing troop levels in Iraq next year. (AP Photo/Mohammed Hato)

BAGHDAD, Iraq (AP) _ U.S. and Iraqi troops launched an operation in western Iraq to clear insurgents from a suspected safe area used to make car and roadside bombs, the military said Wednesday. The campaign came as President Bush defended his Iraq policy in a major speech, saying more Iraqi security forces are increasingly taking the lead in battle but that "this will take time and patience."

Sharp Objects May Be Allowed on Planes

WASHINGTON (AP) _ Airport security screeners are reportedly going to let passengers bring sharp objects on board airplanes again. Today's Washington Post says the Transportation Security Administration plans to announce security changes Friday. Sources quoted by the paper say the new rules will allow things like scissors in carry-on bags. The reasoning is that such items are no longer regarded as the greatest threat to airline security. Homeland Security Department officials are said to be more concerned about preventing suicide bomb attacks at airports. Officials want screeners to focus more on finding things that can explode rather than things that are sharp.

Partial Face Transplant Done in France

LYON, France (AP) _ Doctors have performed the world's first partial face transplant, grafting a nose, lips and chin onto a patient disfigured by a dog bite, two French hospitals said Wednesday. The surgery on the 38-year-old woman was performed Sunday, said a statement from medics at hospitals in Lyon and Amiens. The surgery was performed in Amiens in northern France, but doctors from both hospitals participated.

Hurricane Season Ends Today

A 'For Sale By Owner' sign stands in front of debris in front of a flooded home in Chalmette, La., Tuesday Nov. 29, 2005. As the deadly six-month hurricane season closes, tens of thousands of Americans are still dealing with the devastation from Hurricanes Wilma, Rita and Katrina, the nation's worst natural disaster in modern times. (AP Photo/Chuck Burton)

MIAMI (AP) _ The victims of the busiest and costliest Atlantic hurricane season on record may be comforted now that it's finally ending Wednesday: No hurricane has been known to hit the United States between December and May. But despite the end of the June 1-to-Nov. 30 season, tens of thousands of Americans are still dealing with the devastation from Hurricanes Wilma, Rita and Katrina, the nation's worst natural disaster in modern times.

Economy Grows at Robust Pace Despite Storms

WASHINGTON (AP) _ The economy grew at a lively 4.3 percent pace in the third quarter, the best showing in more than a year. The performance offered fresh testimony that the country's overall economic health managed to improve despite the destructive force of Gulf Coast hurricanes. The new snapshot of economic activity, released by the Commerce Department on Wednesday, showed the growth at an even faster pace than the 3.8 percent annual rate first reported for the July-to-September quarter a month ago.

Yahoo Unveils RSS E-Mail Folder

SUNNYVALE, Calif. (AP) _ Looking to gain another edge on its rivals, Internet powerhouse Yahoo Inc. on Wednesday will begin testing a new e-mail folder designed to make it easier for people to track the latest information posted on their favorite Web sites. The free feature relies on Really Simple Syndication, an increasingly popular technology that can compile content from a wide array of Web sites catering to a user's personal tastes.

Next 'Apprentice' to Be Shot in Calif.

Donald Trump speaks at the Friars Club Roast in this Friday, Oct. 28, 2005 file photo, in New York. Trump is leaving New York to fire people on the West Coast. NBC announced Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005 that "The Apprentice" has been picked up for a sixth season and will be shot in Southern California. (AP Photo/Louis Lanzano, FILE)

LOS ANGELES (AP) _ Donald Trump is leaving New York to fire people on the West Coast. NBC announced Tuesday that "The Apprentice" has been picked up for a sixth season and will be shot in Southern California. The New York-based Trump will continue to star in the reality show, in which candidates compete for a job with the real estate mogul.

No. 12 Illinois Defeats North Carolina

Illinois' Dee Brown (11) shoots over North Carolina's Wes Miller (22) in the second half in Chapel Hill, N.C. on Tuesday, Nov. 29, 2005. Illinois won 68-64 over North Carolina. (AP Photo/Sara D. Davis)

The rosters were much different, and so was the result. Dee Brown scored 14 points, Brian Randle grabbed a key rebound in the waning seconds and No. 12 Illinois held off North Carolina 68-64 on Tuesday night in a diluted rematch of last season's NCAA championship game. "That was a fun basketball game," Tar Heels coach Roy Williams said. "If you didn't care who won, you had to enjoy that. The problem is we care deeply whether you win or lose. But I'm really proud of my team."

Copyright 2005, AP News All Rights Reserved

Fed: Cleanup group offered services at Gallipoli

AAP General News (Australia)
04-28-2005
Fed: Cleanup group offered services at Gallipoli

Clean Up Australia Chairman Ian Kiernan says he's upset about the litter problem at
Gallipoli on Anzac Day, especially after having approached authorities to help manage
it more than a year ago.

Mr Kiernan says he offered the group's services at Gallipoli but was knocked back by
the Australian government.

Thousands of people who attended the services at Gallipoli have come under criticism
for leaving the place strewn with litter.

Mr Kiernan says Prime Minister John Howard's attitude towards the mess left behind
by Australians is not acceptable.

He says it'll only encourage people to have no respect and litter everywhere.

Mr Kiernan says when Australians go to Gallipoli, they're on show and shouldn't act
like a bunch of yobbos.

AAP RTV pjo/low/lm

KEYWORD: ANZAC CLEANUP (CANBERRA)

2005 AAP Information Services Pty Limited (AAP) or its Licensors.

COLUMN: Journalism needs an integrity injection

Dan Post
University Wire
01-27-2005
(Arizona Daily Wildcat) (U-WIRE) TUCSON, Ariz. -- A new class of infectious diseases is on the rise, affecting a unique demographic -- journalists and the news media. This exclusive group is suffering a potentially deadly affliction that has affected their quality and integrity severely. Two of the causative pathogens have recently been identified.

One common journalistic bug is the nasty bacterial organism Fabricus factus (commonly called outright fraud).

The symptoms associated with these bacteria include stories that are too good to be true. The method of transmission is fascinating, though not uncommon. The disease enters into the body once the mind gives in to the pressures of money, power, sensationalism, unethical editors and the temptation to lie just becomes too great. This disease has caused the fatalities and dishonor of many in the news business; it has infected even the most impenetrable bodies.

Jayson Blair, formerly of The New York Times, and Jack Kelley, the renowned reporter of USA Today, among others, were found to have elevated F. factus counts after they were caught fabricating hundreds of stories.

Another pillar in the news world recently suffered a similar fate. In the fall, Dan Rather and CBS News aired a story accusing George W. Bush of irregular behavior while in the National Guard. When they were questioned about the story's validity, they stood behind their fact-checkers, even as the supporting evidence eroded away. Now an official review of the journalistic bungle reprimands the news agency for politicizing and fraudulent reporting. It's the typical symptom pattern for F. factus.

The solution for this disease is simple: The antibiotic fungi that fires reporters and editors, dismiss-icilin. Dismiss-icilin is a plant often found in the offices of large media corporations -- it is panacea to keep bad publicity from reaching the highest rung. In the cases above, the drug has been administered liberally.

Blair and Kelley both lost their jobs thanks to dismiss-icilin. As well, several news chiefs at CBS have been medicated, and the speculation is that Dan Rather's retirement is linked to a dismiss-icilin treatment.

But Fabricus factus is really only an opportunistic infection that defeats journalists and news agencies already affected by a more serious strain. This viral disease is called Propaganda Under the Facade of Fact Syndrome (PUFF syndrome, or PUFFS). Everyone has heard of puff pieces, but PUFF Syndrome is the widespread occurrence of sensationalistic journalism meant to cater toward entertainment instead of information.

PUFFS has adverse symptoms that can easily be observed. Among other manifestations, every flashing cable-news alert, every Internet headline, every major broadcast news lead-in and even the top headlines of printed rags contain sensationalistic language to draw readers in. Stories go as negative as possible, under the belief that people only want to hear bad news. Political discussion is centered on bickering and one-upping, as opposed to critical debate.

Widespread PUFF Syndrome can only occur in today's environment that is geared toward ratings and profits. Ratings are the key cause of this epidemic; ratings equal dollars, and the consolidation of media sources into a handful of major corporations has demanded that profit, ratings and subjectivity replace journalistic integrity as the primary professional motivator. But it is the journalists who are taking the credibility hit for the consistently sensational reporting and editing choices, and average citizens are suffering from a lack of truth that is needed for an effective democracy.

But there is a preventative cure for PUFF Syndrome -- it works like abstinence works to prevent AIDS.

No one is forced to watch or read anything they don't want to. People have the ultimate power to dictate how they get their news. If enough people stop getting their news from sources infected by PUFFS, maybe the media will be forced by ratings pressure to start showing quality and honorable reporting.

But where can information be located without going to the big media companies? Try getting news from an alternative media source. PBS is a good place to start -- they are by far the least commercialized major news source, and they engage in informed debates about political and foreign policy issues -- plus, you are already paying for it with your tax dollars. Tucson and the UA each have their own alternative media resources. Tucson has its own independent media collective (Arizona.indymedia.com), and those with UA library permission have access to a significant variety of print and online news sources from around the world that contain decent journalism. Also, the abundance of political journals in the library tends to have more analytical and insightful coverage of world events. Stop supporting the spread of PUFFS and other journalism diseases by getting news from these alternative sources; the media conglomerates will begin their long and needed road towards recovery.




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(C) 2005 Arizona Daily Wildcat via U-WIRE

thiol group

thiol group See thiols.

ana‐front

ana‐front A front where the air in the warm sector rises above the air in the cold sector. In general, anafronts are more active, and yield more precipitation than kata‐fronts.

New Survey Grades Bank Sites: Jupiter Media Metrix introduces its "CORE" Index, which ranks the competitive strengths and weaknesses of banks' and brokerage firms' Web sites.(Composite Online Rating of Effectiveness)

Banks won't have to worry about apples and oranges when comparing clicks and eyeballs thanks to a new research offering from Jupiter Media Metrix Inc. "There's a lot of subjective stuff out there," says Raj Dhinsa, a financial services analyst for the research firm. "We wanted to give banks and brokerage firms a way to benchmark their performance against their competitors in an objective, scientific way."

The result is the "Composite Online Rating of Effectiveness," or CORE, Index, which Jupiter Media Metrix introduced last month and will publish quarterly. The New York-based firm specializes in the analysis of Internet and new technologies; its Media Metrix arm measures Web traffic.

The CORE Index is composed of scores in the following areas: number of unique visitors to the financial institution's Web site, usage intensity (amount of time spent at the site), usage frequency (number of visits per month), customer loyalty (the only negative measure, based on whether a visitor to the site also visits a competitor's Web site) and transition (the ability to migrate off-line customers online).

Dhinsa says the index will be helpful to banks in a number of ways, especially since it generates "apples-to-apples" comparisons with competitors' online performance.

"I think it will also be particularly useful in setting priorities," he says. "Because it allows an institution to see where its strengths and weaknesses are, the index can help them make informed decisions about where they want to channel money, or other resources, to shore up a weakness that has been identified."

He cautioned that the banks named in the published index are the top performers nationally. "It's important to understand that if you're 23rd on this list, it doesn't mean you're the worst-performing bank; it means that you are 23rd out of roughly 11,000 banks in the United States. So, the people at the bottom of this list are probably doing a great job."

The Web-surfing habits of approximately 50,000 people contribute to Jupiter Media Metrix data, and the CORE Index includes only those institutions with sufficient traffic to produce "statistically significant" measurements, Dhinsa says.

Although Jupiter gave equal weight to each component of the index, the analyst thinks financial institutions can exploit the data most effectively by tweaking the weight of individual measures to fit their specific goals and strategies.

Banks and brokerage firms that are clients of Jupiter Media Metrix receive the data in the form of a Microsoft Excel file to facilitate this customization process.

For example, Dhinsa explains, a bank or brokerage firm with a smaller "footprint" in the market may choose to give less weight to the unique visitors component in order to generate a more accurate comparison of its online performance vs. peer institutions.

He noted, too, that using various weighting for the components enables a bank to test strategic options; that is, the index can be used as a tool in shaping strategy, not just in measuring the effectiveness of online initiatives that already have been implemented.

Although the CORE Index was introduced only a few weeks ago, Dhinsa says the reaction of financial services firms has been positive. "I think banks see this as a tool that is going to help them benchmark their online performance against competing institutions much more effectively than anything they've had available to them before," he said in a recent interview. "The inquiries we've received focus on their desire to obtain a better understanding of the methodology" rather than any dispute over the validity of the results.

Jupiter Media Metrix believes building and maintaining customer loyalty is becoming more important by the day in the financial services industry, as online offerings converge and differentiation among products and services continues to fade.

Dhinsa says the individual measures on the index are pretty straightforward, but the "loyalty" component requires some explanation. It gauges how often a "secure visitor" to a financial institution's Web site-meaning a visitor who can access the secure area of the site with a user name and password-also visits at least one other Web site in the same category in either secure or non- secure mode.

"The implication is that someone who went to another bank's site was unable to find all that they wanted, whether that was information or products and services, at the primary site," Dhinsa says. "That's why it's a negative indicator."

Site functionality can also affect loyalty ratings. For instance, a customer may go to a site other than his or her bank's in order to access bill presentment and payment functions.

The "transition" component, measuring financial institutions' success in migrating their customers to the online channel, required Jupiter Media Metrix to obtain comparative data on the total number of accounts at each bank from another source-in this case, SNL Financial, a research firm that collects such information from Securities and Exchange Commission filings as well as a number of other sources.

However, the SNL data generates only the number of deposit accounts at an institution while banks in the index may have a disproportionate number of customers in other categories, such as credit cards, brokerage or insurance. Consequently, a Jupiter Media Metrix white paper on CORE stresses that comparisons on this measure will be "most informative when comparing similar institutions."

Moreover, the transition measure obviously doesn't apply in the case of Net only institutions. In those cases, the firm assigns a rating that reflects the mean results of other banks in the index.

Copyright c 2002 Thomson Media. All Rights Reserved.

Alpine Microsystems Pte. Ltd. and Ellipsiz Ltd Establish Substrate Wafer Fab Manufacturing Center in Singapore.

Business Editors, High-Tech Writers

CAMPBELL, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 5, 2001

New Company to be Called MicroRoutes; Joint Venture Will

Manufacture Alpine's Patented MicroBoard(R) Silicon Substrates for

Portable Digital and Internet Infrastructure Products

Alpine Microsystems, a designer and manufacturer of System in Package (SiP) products for the electronics industry based in Campbell, California, today announced a joint manufacturing venture with Singapore-based Ellipsiz Ltd (formerly SingaTrust Limited) to build a silicon substrate wafer fab in that country.

Scheduled to launch in Q2 2001, the joint venture will be called MicroRoutes and will provide capacity for the manufacture of Alpine's patented MicroBoard silicon substrates for use in portable digital and Internet infrastructure products that rely on SiP technology.

"The formation of MicroRoutes reflects our shared vision for the rapid emergence of the SiP market and the need for dedicated processing technology," said Buck Feltman, Executive Vice President of Alpine Microsystems, Inc. and a director of MicroRoutes. "This joint manufacturing venture will provide the capacity required to supply our key customers with MicroBoard silicon substrates for upcoming SiP products this year."

"MicroRoutes will fill a key niche in the global electronics supply chain," said Pao Ning-Yu, CEO of Ellipsiz Ltd. "With Alpine's state-of-the-art SiP technology and the cutting-edge high-yielding wafer-bumping processes developed by Ellipsiz, we are in a strong position to provide a superior advanced packaging solution. This is particularly attractive to manufacturers in the Asia Pacific and beyond who are developing the next generation of smaller, lighter and more efficient mobile products."

This announcement marks Alpine's growing investment and presence in Singapore. The company established Alpine Microsystems Pte. Ltd. in October 2000 to provide regional sales, marketing, research and development, and manufacturing operations, including a customer design and applications center in Singapore. This subsidiary provides Alpine Microsystems with a regional presence in Singapore, an area known for excellence in IC manufacturing and assembly, as well as an operations base for serving Asian markets and customers.

MicroRoutes' first SiP products manufactured in the Singapore center will be announced later this year.

About Ellipsiz

The Ellipsiz Group is a leading engineering and manufacturing solutions provider to the semiconductor industry in Asia. The holding company, Ellipsiz Ltd, was listed on the main board of the Stock Exchange of Singapore in July 2000 as SingaTrust Limited. In January 2001, it effected a name change to Ellipsiz Ltd. Among its engineering solutions are the integration of semiconductor equipment, materials, IT and other technologies for wafer fabrication processes; integrate-operate-transfer quality and reliability assurance laboratories; and total chemicals and other facilities management services. It also offers advanced packaging services such as wafer bumping, and an internet-enabled supply chain management solution for the semiconductor industry.

The Group has operations in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, Taiwan, China and the USA. It had revenues of S$86.6 million in its last financial year, ending in June 2000. More information on the Group is posted on its web site at www.singatrust.com.

About Alpine Microsystems

Founded in 1995, Alpine Microsystems is a privately held semiconductor company located in Campbell, California. Alpine's patented MicroBoard substrate and DirectAttach(R) array packaging technology for System in Package products in custom and standard component configurations for manufacturers of electronic equipment. System in Package solutions offer more integration, performance and flexibility than System-on-a-Chip (SoC) approaches with significantly accelerated time to market. Alpine has received key patents in the US, Taiwan and Singapore and has more than 35 patents pending in the U.S. and foreign countries. For more information, visit the Alpine web site at www.alpinemicro.com.

Alpine Microsystems, MicroBoard, MicroPallet, DirectAccess, and DirectAttach are registered trademarks of Alpine Microsystems, Inc. All other trademarks and registered trademarks are property of their respective holders.

Mark Edwards Named New Program Director of Philadelphia's Jammin' Gold 95.7.

PHILADELPHIA, May 5 /PRNewswire/ --

Greater Philadelphia Radio Group is pleased to announce the hiring of Mark Edwards as its new Program Director of Jammin' Gold 95.7 (WEJM 95.7 FM). Edwards was most recently President of Mark Edwards Media Marketing, a consultancy geared towards radio, music, Internet and television industries. Prior to his consultancy, Edwards was the Vice President, Programming of WLIT Radio in Chicago for nine years. In his tenure at WLIT, Edwards transformed the station from a 13th place ranking amongst its target of adults ages 25 to 54 to number one in that important demographic.

Edwards has been honored with many radio awards in his career including being named Major Market Adult Contemporary Program Director of the Year in 1997, 1998 and 1999 by the Gavin Awards.

Edwards comments, "We are going to evolve Jammin' Gold 95.7 from being a good station to being a great station. I believe in programming a station designed for Philadelphia, not a cookie cutter radio station that you find in other markets. This is a tremendous opportunity."

Rick Feinblatt, Vice President/General Manager of Greater Philadelphia Radio Group, remarks, "We are very pleased to have Mark on our team. He is a proven major market professional with a winning background."

Jammin' Gold 95.7 is a mix of rhythmic oldies featuring Motown, 60's, 70's and '80's R&B and the Philly Sound. Jammin' Gold debuted in Philadelphia on May 13, 1999.

Group asks students to fight racial quotas.(A)

A nonprofit legal firm that has sued colleges over racial preferences in admissions policies is encouraging students and trustees to investigate whether their own schools violate the law.

The Center for Individual Rights (CIR) began running full-page ads in college newspapers yesterday that read: "Guilty by Admission: Nearly Every Elite College in America Violates the Law. Does Yours?"

The ad lists an Internet Web site and a toll-free number for ordering a free handbook advising students how to file a Freedom of Information Act request, how to recognize illegal recruitment practices, and where to find a lawyer if they believe they have encountered discrimination.

A slightly different version of the handbook has been prepared for college and university trustees, "who are in a position to prevent illegal discrimination in the first place" and may be held individually responsible if students' constitutional rights are violated, according to CIR senior counsel Terrence Pell.

"We think the only way to put race behind us is to put race behind us," said former U.S. Education Secretary William Bennett, who touted the guides yesterday at a press conference. ". . . Colleges are not doing that and are misleading the public about it."

One student represented at the press conference was Jessie Tompkins, a black Alabama State University undergraduate, who is suing his historically black college for discrimination.

"I am here today because I was denied a so-called `diversity' scholarship. Only white students can get this scholarship," said a tearful Mr. Tompkins. "This scholarship shows how crazy it can get when the government tries to balance things out between the races."

Katuria Smith, the lead plaintiff in a CIR lawsuit against the University of Washington Law School in St. Louis, said she was rejected despite high grades and an LSAT score in the 94th percentile. Applicants with lower grades and test scores received offers of admission because of racial preferences, she said.

"Some people claim that colleges and universities have to commit such injustices because whites have built-in social and economic advantages," said Miss Smith, who is white and grew up poor with only her mother to support her. "I think it is true that some white students do have advantages. But I am not one of them."

Sheldon Steinbach, general counsel for the American Council on Education, which represents all accredited colleges and universities, called CIR's ad "a gross exaggeration."

He said in a phone interview that most schools use race only as a "singular plus factor, not a sole determinative factor" in admissions policies, which the law allows.

But Mr. Pell said that, according to the Supreme Court's landmark 1978 Bakke decision, colleges are prohibited from judging applicants by entirely different standards because of their race, even when those policies are designed to promote racial diversity.

Yet "evidence abounds" that many colleges in America - especially the most selective - violate the law when deciding which students to admit, Mr. Pell said.

A new study of 10 public colleges and universities in Virginia found that they discriminate in favor of black applicants, according to Linda Chavez, president of the Center for Equal Opportunity. The odds of a white applicant being admitted instead of an equally qualified black candidate at the University of Virginia are 45-to-1, she said.

Here, according to Mr. Pell, are examples of suspect admissions practices:

* If the university tries to admit a certain percentage of minority students.

* If the school adds points to minority applicants' grade average or test scores.

* If the school extends the application deadline to minority students.

* If there is a separate review process for minority applicants.

* If the university automatically classifies minority applicants as disadvantaged.

Out and about.

Provided by 7DAYS.ae

Meal deals

Esca at Qamardeen Hotel, Old Town

Daily

Esca offers pleasant views over the gardens and pool area, with two huge chandeliers dangling 50 metres from the ceiling above. At the daily Italian-style dinner buffet you can select your own pizza, browse the spaghetti corner, or choose from a wide range of meat dishes, salads and desserts. The a la carte also menu offers a wide choice of modern cuisine.Aa The buffet is dhs185 inclusive of house beverages. Call 04 428 6888

Fareast Seafood Market at Regent Palace Hotel

Daily

Choose your preferred seafood, mix it in with some fresh vegetables, and watch the Chef prepare your meal in front of you. The food is cooked Thai style. The range of seafood includes tiger prawns, and soups and starters are also available.Aa All you can eat for dhs111 per person.Aa Lunch is served from 12pm-2.30pm and dinner from 7pm-11.30pm. Call 04 396 3888

Culture clubAa

Magical Appeal by Abdul Raheem Salim at Total Arts Gallery

Until July 20

Abdul Raheem Salim is one the first UAE artists who was brave enough to venture into contemporary art and he has continuously surprised his audience with new works. His paintings have a wonderful sense of movement and are full of energy and emotion. These works represent the love and pain of a woman, whose face is never shown, leaving viewers to use their imagination. Sunday to Thursday 10am to 8pm. For more information call 04 347 5050

Gallery Artists Exhibition at Third Line Gallery

Until July 15

The Third Line will showcase a variety of contemporary works of Middle Eastern artists. The exhibition features artists like Abbas Akhavan, Amir H Fallah, Ghadah Al Kandari, Hassan Hajjaj, Laleh Khorramian, Marwan Sahmarani, Monir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, Neda Hadizadeh, Pouran Jinchi, Rana Begum and Shezad Dawood. Call 04 34 11367 or see www.thethirdline.com

For the diaryAa

Power Puff Girls at Modesh Fun City - Dubai Airport Expo

Until July 17

Sugar, spice and everything nice - these were the ingredients chosen to create perfect little girls. A huge hit during DSS 2007, the Powerpuff Girls return for a new exciting adventure this year - 'The Recycling Meltdown Show'. Watch Blossom, Bubbles and Buttercup in action on the main stage at Modhesh Fun City in a dazzling show for children. Shows are held daily between 1.20pm and 2.20pm. Call 04 220 0708 or log on to www.mydsf.com

Junior Chef Competition at Time Square Mall

Until July 2

Among the most prestigious awards in the Middle East for the hotel industry, the Junior Chefs Award offers recognition of culinary talent across the region. The jury for the awards include Master Chefs from around the world. During this event, multinational Chefs battle it out to showcase their finest preparations in numerous categories. The event will be held daily from 10am to 5pm. For more information call 600 54 5555

7DAYS LOVES...Aa

Well Presented Delicacies

We know that it's not only the flavour of food that stimulates the tastebuds, but also the presentation.Aa The Blue Elephant restaurant at Al Bustan Rotana Hotel offers both. Situated in the lobby of the hotel, overflowing with greenery, the restaurant delivers a tranquil oasis from the everyday hustle and bustle.Aa The menu is extensive, with vegetarian options.AaAa There are also themed buffets throughout the week. Call 04 282 0000

Cool Summer Refreshments

During the hot summer months, there is nothing better than 'Arabic Lemonade'. The combination of fresh lemon juice, mint, and sugar or syrup sets the tastesbuds tingling and has positive health benefits. In traditional medicine, lemon is widely known for its healing powers. It is effective in curing many digestion problems and acts as a tonic to the liver. Lemon cools the body so effectively that it can be used to reduce fever, so next time you're feeling the effects of the hot summer sun, chill with some lemon and mint juice, rather than a sticky soda.

A[umlaut] 2007 Al Sidra Media LLC

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