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A Chinese military official says Beijing will use nuclear weapons against the U.S. if the Americans attack the Asian nation in a fight over Taiwan. "If the Americans draw their missiles and position-guided ammunition on to the target zone on China's territory, I think we will have to respond with nuclear weapons," Zhu Chenghu, a major general in the People's Liberation Army, said at an official briefing, according to the Financial Times. Speaking at a function organized for foreign journalists, the official noted the definition of China's territory includes warships and aircraft. "If the Americans are determined to interfere [then]...

In a confidential report, Young Muslims and Extremism, prepared jointly by the Home and Foreign offices in mid-2004 and presented to Prime Minister Tony Blair, we learn something about the inner thinking of the British government. Leaked to the Sunday Times of London, the report is now available in four parts in .pdf format at the newspaper's site.Its goal is "to encourage moderate Muslim opinion to the detriment of extremism" and to that end proposes an "Operation Contest." Along the way, it contains much of interest in it, including these points: "A number of extremist groups are actively recruiting young...

CHARTED: Yoko Ono, 71, has the No. 1 single on the dance chart, "Every Man Has A Man Who Loves Him"/"Every Woman Has A Woman Who Loves Her," a mix of techno beats and her somewhat off-key vocals that delivers a message in favor of same-sex unions. "This is a victory not just for me but for all Americans who are against the administration's decision to ban gay marriage," Ono says about the success of the tune, as quoted by the BBC.

SANDWICH, England (Reuters) - American rookie Ben Curtis defied almost every notion of golfing logic to win the British Open Sunday, but in one respect he was the best-prepared player at Royal St George's. The 26-year-old from Ohio, a 300-1 outsider, had played just two rounds of links course golf before the start of the week and was ranked a lowly 396th in the world. But he got in more practice than anyone else by being the first player to arrive at Sandwich, the move paying off as he held on to win the world's oldest championship by a shot....

Army Chief Says Israel Prepared for Iraqi Attack Sun Sep 15, 7:39 AM ET By Megan Goldin JERUSALEM (Reuters) - Israeli army chief Moshe Yaalon said Sunday that Israel was prepared for an attack by Iraq as a conflict with Baghdad loomed after Washington said it would act against Saddam Hussein with or without world support. Iraq fired 39 Scud missiles armed with conventional warheads at Israel during the 1991 U.S.-led Gulf War but Israeli officials fear this time Baghdad could fire non-conventional weapons if it feels the United States is about to oust Saddam. Yaalon said Israel's armed forces...

I WILL NOT FORGET I sat in a movie theater watching "Schindlers' List," and asked myself, "why didn't the Jews fight back?" Now I know why. I sat in a movie theater, watching "Pearl Harbor," and asked myself, "why weren't we prepared?" Now I know why. Civilized people cannot fathom, much less predict, the actions of evil people. On September 11, dozens of capable airplane passengers allowed themselves to be overpowered by a handful of poorly armed terrorists because they did not comprehend the depth of hatred that motivated their captors. On September 11, thousands of innocent people were murdered...

I think this is the White House providing the story to MSNBC and the NBC Evening News.Cable channels higlighting it on the hour, no link yet.