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Abdullah Khadr, the eldest son of a reputed Canadian Al Qaeda financier, was arrested by the RCMP yesterday on terrorism-related charges at the request of American authorities. The 25-year-old Canadian recently returned from Pakistan where he was held for 14 months without charge. He was arrested last night after agreeing to meet an RCMP officer at a McDonald's near his Scarborough apartment, his relatives said last night. His mother, Maha Elsamnah tried to intervene in the arrest and was also taken into custody, but later released without charges. Khadr's brother, 22-year-old Abdurahman was also at the fast food restaurant and...

If the Repulblican Chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee wants to get a second opinion on how the war in Iraq is going, where does he turn? To the Pentagon, but not to the top brass this time. In an unusual closed-door meeting on Capitol Hill last week, Virginia's John Warner, joined by Democratic Senators Carl Levin of Michigan and Mark Dayton of Minnesota, sat across the table from 10 military officers chosen for their experience on the battlefield rather than in the political arena. Warner rounded up the battalion commanders to get at what the military calls "ground...

Loss of skilled troops due to policy said to cost nearly $200 million. Hundreds of highly skilled troops, including many translators, have left the armed forces because of the Pentagon’s rules on gays, at a cost of nearly $200 million, the first congressional study on the impact of the “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” policy says. The estimated cost was for recruiting and training replacements from 1994 through 2003 for the 9,488 troops discharged from the Army, Navy, Air Force or Marine Corps because of the policy, the General Accountability Office estimated. The study released Thursday said the government does not...

Ask a Vermonter In the last few weeks we have seen the Democratic candidates running against Dean try to gain ground on the supposed front runner. If they need help they should come to Vermont and ask us what 10 years of political quackery did for us. Twenty-four million dollars down the drain on a commuter rail, featured three times on NBC's "Fleecing of America." A $3 million bike bridge over the Winooski River replacing a ferry that worked fine and cost the taxpayers little or nothing. The Act 60 property tax fiasco forcing the poor and elderly to have...

Bush will ask for help to govern Iraq in UN address By Andrew Gumbel in Los Angeles 22 September 2003 One year after he told the United Nations he was prepared to go it alone in Iraq if necessary, President George Bush will return to the UN General Assembly tomorrow to appeal for international help to meet the mounting human and financial cost of maintaining a post-war occupation force. Mr Bush's cap-in-hand gesture seems unlikely to be accompanied by much humility, however, as the prevailing rhetoric in the United States continues to blast the French for obstructionism and suggests that...

Democratic candidate Dean asks Wesley Clark to be running mate By Rupert Cornwell in Washington 12 September 2003 Howard Dean, presidential front-runner in the Democratic Party, has asked retired General Wesley Clark to join his campaign, should the former Nato commander decide not to join the race himself. The move will strengthen speculation that if Mr Dean wins the nomination, he will select General Clark as his running mate to challenge George Bush in 2004. Mr Dean's campaign officials confirmed the men had a private meeting in California at the weekend. Neither side would give details, but General Clark told...

New York, NY, April 10, 2003 – Last week, VIP's gathered at Cipriani to support PAX: the fastest growing gun violence prevention organization in the country. Through its innovative national campaigns, PAX promotes practical solutions that are saving children’s lives every day. This year's event was chaired by Steven J. Heyer, President & COO of Coca-Cola and honored Michael D. Drexler, CEO of Optimedia. Actor and comedian Richard Belzer (Law & Order) emceed the evening with help from comedians Mario Cantone (Sex and the City) and Joy Behar (The View). The event featured a special musical performance by Roberta...

(New Haven-WTNH, Aug. 20, 2002 5:12 PM) _ Does Connecticut law do enough to keep kids safe from gun violence? That question is being raised after two separate incidents with kids and guns had deadly consequences. In both cases it was a child who pulled trigger and two young people were killed. The laws are there. They require gun safety locks and the person who owns the gun is responsible no matter who pulls the trigger. It's obvious those laws don't always keep guns out of kids hands, so the question is what can be done to prevent another tragic...