Daily News Items Here Please :newsflash

[Canada Joe]

Bush urges Israeli occupation end
President Bush says Israel must cede occupied Arab land so a viable Palestinian state can be created.

[loveistruth]

Bush urges Israeli occupation end
President Bush says Israel must cede occupied Arab land so a viable Palestinian state can be created.

Like your map of Australia, but if you are interested I know of a number of places in Australia with plenty of room for you if you are interested. One, Doon Doon Station consists of a million acres of land with a population of about 50 and not more than 200 kms to the nearest shop. Great country.

That's up North a bit, like about 1,000 miles from Darwin and about 4,000 miles from Perth.

Only one drawback, and that is connected with the distances. Where I lived once not far away from Doon Doon, it was 100kms to the nearest Chemist, and if that guy didn't like you it was another 600 to the next one. Works well. Everybody gets on with everybody else, or goes somewhere else.

And I'm sure that with usual Australian outback hospitality nobody will tell you to f**k off, not when they first meet you, that is.

[Canada Joe]

US launches massive Iraq air raid



US warplanes drop tonnes of bombs on suspected al-Qaeda targets on the outskirts of the Iraqi capital, Baghdad.

[Canada Joe]

Pound at record low against euro



The pound has fallen to an all-time low against the euro as the outlook for the UK economy darkens.

[Canada Joe]

Bush heads for Gulf state talks



US President George W Bush ends his trip to Israel and the West Bank and heads to the Gulf states.

[Canada Joe]

California Utilities to Control Thermostats?

"It seems that the California Energy Commission is looking to give utilities in the state the power to control the thermostats in private homes via a radio signal. The idea is that during times of significant energy crunch, the utilities could force thermostats to higher temperatures rather than having to implement a rolling blackout. The thermostats have been around for a while and new ones were on display at the CES show in Vegas this week. While I can see the argument for it, we just had a kid take over a tram system with a remote control, so how long before our thermostat gets hacked by the neighbors. And I'd almost rather have the power drop than have someone significantly raise the temperature in my home if I had a computer running there. (UPS and a graceful shutdown versus cooking something.)"

[Canada Joe]

Man accidentally hangs self in amateur stunt



VANCOUVER, British Columbia (Reuters) - A man was recovering in a Vancouver-area hospital after an attempt to film a mock hanging as a stunt accidentally became the real thing, police said on Thursday.

[Canada Joe]

Iraq lifts curbs on Saddam allies


Iraqi MPs approve a bill to allow officials from ex-leader Saddam Hussein's Baath party to return to public life.

[Canada Joe]

Boss fires staff for not smoking

BERLIN (Reuters) - The owner of a small German computer company has fired three non-smoking workers because they were threatening to disturb the peace after they requested a smoke-free environment.

[Canada Joe]

Tehran warns US over nuclear row



Tehran has warned the United States not to try and use the dispute over the Iranian nuclear programme to bring Iran to its knees.

[Canada Joe]

Confront Iran danger early - Bush



President Bush calls on allies to confront Iran "before it's too late", in a keynote speech in the Gulf region.

[Canada Joe]

Sarkozy to sign UAE nuclear deal



French President Nicolas Sarkozy has begun a Gulf tour, during which he is due to sign a nuclear co-operation deal with the United Arab Emirates.

[Canada Joe]

Water-boarding 'would be torture'



US national intelligence chief Mike McConnell has said the interrogation technique of water-boarding "would be torture" if he were subjected to it.

[Canada Joe]

Malware Distribution Through Physical Media a Growing Concern

Twitter brings us a story about the increasing number of digital devices reaching consumers with malware already installed. In this case, digital photo frames from three different Sam's Club stores were found to contain the same type of malicious code. We discussed a similar problem with iPods a while back, as well as a more recent situation with Maxtor hard drives. Quoting the Register:
"While a compromise at the manufacturer is the most likely scenario, ISC's Sachs also pointed to retailers as a possible point of infection. Returned products, which could have been infected by the consumer, are frequently put back on the shelf, if they are in sale-able condition, and attackers could take advantage of a store's poor digital hygiene, he said. 'Trying to (infect a product) all the way back at the factory — getting it through all the checks and balances — would be pretty hard to do,' he said. 'But doing it at the store, where there might be loose return policies, and (where) they put it back on the shelf - you are not going to get a million infections, but you might get a person from an investment bank next door.'"

[Canada Joe]

S Korea leader 'would meet Kim'



South Korea's incoming leader said he would meet his North Korean counterpart if it would help persuade Pyongyang to abandon its nuclear activities.

[Canada Joe]

Russia summons UK envoy over row



The Russian foreign ministry has summoned the UK ambassador amid an escalating row over the reopening of two British Council offices.

[Canada Joe]

'Positive' Middle East talks held



Israeli and Palestinian negotiators have held talks in Jerusalem on what are seen as the most intractable issues in the peace process.

[Canada Joe]

Taleban attack Kabul luxury hotel



The Taleban say four of their fighters have attacked the luxury Serena hotel in the Afghan capital, Kabul, popular with foreign visitors.

[Vladd44]

Man Sodomized Stepson in Revenge over the teenager's alleged rape of the man's 8-year-old daughter.

[Canada Joe]

French aid workers back in court



French aid workers convicted in Chad of child trafficking have gone before a French court, where judges are hearing how to adapt their sentences.

[Canada Joe]

Man goes out window with Christmas tree

BERLIN (Reuters) - A German man threw himself out of an apartment window along with a Christmas tree during a late-night attempt to dispose of his festive decorations.

The man fell 22 feet after he lost his balance throwing the tree onto the street Saturday, police in the western city of Moenchengladbach said. The tree did not break the victim's fall.

"There's a TV advert showing people having fun throwing their old Christmas trees out the window," said police spokesman Willy Thevessen Monday. "But you're not supposed to jump with them."

The man was taken to hospital in critical condition with severe head injuries after witnesses saw him fall.

[Canada Joe]

UK-Russia diplomatic row worsens



A diplomatic row between Russia and the UK has intensified after Britain reopened two regional cultural offices, defying a Moscow order to shut them.

[Canada Joe]

Convicted Hacker Charged With Extortion After Attack On Model's MySpace Account



A Southern California man convicted last year of hacking into the Lexis-Nexis owned consumer database Accurint was arrested on charges on extortion Friday after allegedly hijacking the MySpace account of an internet celebrity.

[Canada Joe]

Israeli Gaza City raid kills 18



At least 18 Palestinians, including at least 13 militants, have died in an Israeli raid in the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip, reports say.

[Canada Joe]

Four killed in Beirut explosion



Four Lebanese bystanders have been killed in a bomb blast targeting a US embassy vehicle in a northern suburb of the capital, Beirut, US officials say.