Overnight News Digest: Rescued and Random Stories

OND with jlms qkw includes:  stories from Iraq and Afghanistan; news from around the world - multi-sourced;  links to a cartoon or two; news from Utah; and anything else I feel like.  

The Age (Melbourne):  China launches Tibet crackdown

CHINA is planning a sweeping purge of Tibetan monasteries, including banning all worship at those deemed to be major centres of subversion.

Monks with "attitude problems", or those who refuse to change their thinking in line with official demands, will be dismissed or jailed.

What the hell is this?  China is obviously going to conduct the Olympics with impunity, and al-Bahir is a hero to the non-refugee folks in his country.  Great.  

The Australian (Sydney):  Fossett may have faked his death

Fossett, 63, disappeared last September during a flight over the Nevada desert, and despite a massive search, his body and plane have never been found. The failure to find any trace of Fossett has sparked speculation he may have faked his death.

Lieutenant Colonel Cynthia Ryan, of the US Civil Air Patrol, said Fossett could still be alive.

"I've been doing this search and rescue for 14 years. Fossett should have been found," she told London's Telegraph. "It's not like we didn't have our eyes open. We found six other planes while we were looking for him. We're pretty good at what we do."

The Australian (Sydney):  Pakistani PM sees who's boss

An official statement issued by Mr Gilani's office at the weekend declared "administrative, financial and operational control" of the ISI had, for the first time since it was founded in 1948, been transferred to the Interior Ministry "with immediate effect". But yesterday the Government said the statement had been "misinterpreted", apparently after intervention by the military.

The public assertion of control by the civilian Government over a clandestine spy agency accused of double-dealing with jihadi militants had been intended to impress Mr Bush and others in Washington, illustrating that the new Government means business in getting to grips with the military and the war against Islamic extremism.

Turkish Weekly:  'War on Poverty and Crime' in South Africa

South Africa, the economic powerbase of African continent, will launch next month a nation-wide campaign against the seriously rising problems of poverty and crime. Speaking at a media briefing on the outcome of a cabinet meeting last week, the country’s President Thabo Mabeki stated on Sunday: "The war on poverty campaign will be launched in all the provinces during August. The most deprived wards and households have been identified and will be visited ... to identify needs."

Des Moines Register: Feds: Disaster aid hinges on fast, smart local decisions

Federal officials advised Iowa leaders today that disaster aid may hinge on communities' ability to maintain reasonable expectations in seeking federal grants, act quickly and work closely together.

Otherwise, they will waste limited resources and could be shut out of assistance, federal officials told members of the Rebuild Iowa Housing Task Force today

"You have to come together and show integrity in how you’re asking for resources, said Steve Castaner, director of the Federal Emergency Management Agency Long Term Community Recovery program.

Castaner told the task force that one community he worked with in Louisiana identified $64 billion worth of needs. The overwhelming plan was so big that it was viewed as unreasonable and the community ultimately got "zilch," Castaner said.

(my bold)  This almost sounds like a threat to me.  Maybe I'm jaded.  

The Age (Melbourne):  $150 million lost in failed Iraq projects

Parsons' work is emblematic of the troubled $US50 billion US reconstruction effort, but SIGIR conceded its "failure to complete some of the work was understandable because of its complex nature and unstable security environment".

Your Tax Dollars (and your kids' and grandkids' too) at work.

The Australian (Sydney):  India in lockdown as terror spreads

Units of the Rapid Action Force were deployed in the city of Ahmedabad, capital of the western state of Gujarat, where more than 40 people were killed and 150 injured in a series of bomb blasts claimed by a fundamentalist Muslim group known as the Indian Mujahideen.

Authorities announced that personnel from the Central Industrial Protection Force would be deployed to protect the country's $40 billion-a-year IT and outsourcing industry after nine bombs ripped through the southern city of Bangalore that is itshub.

Der Spiegel:  Afghan Farmers Killed in NATO Training Exercise

More and more civilians are losing their lives in Afghanistan, as NATO troops have upped their fight against Taliban insurgents. According to information obtained by SPIEGEL, at least 97 civilians have been killed in seven Afghan provinces this year alone during anti-terror operations.

 At first I thought this wasn't "new" news, however, the close timing of the admission of the screwup seems newsworthy to me.  

Der Spiegel: Chain of Accidents Prompts Soul Searching

France, which depends on 59 nuclear reactors to provide almost 80 percent of its electricity and also to feed European power grids, has suffered nine nuclear mishaps in the last three weeks. The series of accidents started on July 7 when a solution containing non-enriched uranium leaked (more...)from the Tricastin nuclear facility in southern France into the ground and two nearby rivers. The same facility faced another shock last Wednesday when 100 employees of French energy utility company Electricite de France (EDF) were "slightly contaminated" by radioactive particles spewing from a pipe.

The Guardian:  Zimbabwe power-sharing talks falter over role for Tsvangirai

Power-sharing talks in Zimbabwe between the government and opposition were near collapse last night, as negotiations faltered over the role of Morgan Tsvangirai in a possible unity government.

President Robert Mugabe's envoys left the talks in Pretoria, which had started on Thursday, with no sign of agreement.

Reuters, via Google:  Bush approves execution of U.S. Army private

President George W. Bush on Monday approved the death sentence of an Army private convicted of murder and rape in 1988, becoming the first U.S. president to approve a military execution in 51 years.

Bush signed a request by the military that Ronald Gray be put to death following his court-martial conviction 20 years ago on multiple charges of murder and rape.

 Part of me likes to stop the headline after the first three words.  I guess as much as Karl Rove temps the pacifist in me, I am still completely against the death penalty in all its forms.  

Editorial Cartoons
The Guardian:  Martin Rowson
Des Moines Register:  Brian Duffy
Salt Lake Tribune:  Pat Bagley

Utah News
Salt Lake Tribune:  Owner says his unique business can salve pains of health-care crisis

But here's the key difference: Because every person who enrolls in W.I.N. must sign an employment agreement, the company can call itself a self-funded Association Health Plan (AHP) - making it exempt from state and federal laws that regulate health benefit plans, Bianchi said.
   Members' job is to pitch the plan; every new client they sign up earns them a commission.
   "This seems more like a Ponzi scheme than an insurance product," said Sen. Gene Davis, D-Salt Lake City. "They don't have to be licensed by the state to sell the product."
   Pushed by the Bush administration to help reduce the ranks of the uninsured, AHPs allow people to band together and negotiate lower premiums than are available in the individual market. Consumer advocates are wary of them, however, because AHPs are not group insurance plans bound by the same standards.

Salt Lake Crawler:  Jim Matheson taking some heat from a local blog:  Rep. Jim Matheson, ?-Utah and Out, out, blue stain, even pointing out the tie color.  

Price (UT) Sun Advocate: Grave mistake complicates roadway project

A road construction project on 1500 West in Carbonville has run into a new snag and officials are trying to sort out the situation.

Last weekend, someone placed stakes, flourescent tape and a sign that denoted graves in the corner of the cemetery on the corner of 1500 West and 2250 North.

 Most pun-ishing headline award.  

Salt Lake Tribune: Justice probe finds former Utahn Sampson at fault in judge-hirings scandal

As a top official at the U.S. Department of Justice, Utah native Kyle Sampson unlawfully evaluated applicants for jobs and immigration judge spots based on their politics and ideology, according to a report issued today.
   Sampson, who resigned as chief of staff to Attorney General Alberto Gonzales in March 2007 in the midst of a scandal involving the firing of several U.S. attorneys, "violated department policy and federal law, and committed misconduct, by considering political or ideological affiliations when hiring" immigration judges, according to an investigation by the department's Inspector General and Office of Professional Conduct.
   Sampson said he believed that immigration judges were political appointees, not career positions, and some consideration could be given to partisan affiliation.
   But the IG didn't buy it.

Friend of Monica Goodling, there is some debate in the comments about where he's actually "from."  

Deseret News (Salt Lake City):  BYU remains most sober university in the country

"We continue to be proud to defend our title as the nation's most Stone-Cold Sober university," Smart said. "It's become a source of pride and a fun item for students who choose BYU for the unique environment they want to enjoy.

I went straight to the LDS-owned D-News for this particular item.  It was painful and I hope you appreciate it.  

Sports Headlines
Baseball Pitching Record Smashed!
Ex-NBA Ref Donaghy to be Sentenced
NFL Player not Punished by League for Hit-and-Run

Please join in with other news and stuff!