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China's Execution Buses Updated: 02:16, Thursday October 05, 2006 Sky News has obtained chilling new evidence of mobile execution buses being used by the Chinese government. It comes less than two years before China hosts the next Olympics - an event it was given after promising to improve its human rights record. China's penal system is surrounded by a wall of secrecy, but an investigation by Sky's China correspondent Dominic Waghorn found that between 3,500 and 10,000 people are put to death each year. The volume of executions has meant that China has invented new ways of killing, mobilizing and...

Jihad, the Lord's Supper, and eternal life By Spengler Jihad injures reason, for it honors a god who suffers no constraints on his caprice, unlike the Judeo-Christian god, who is limited by love. That is the nub of Pope Benedict XVI's September 12 address in Regensburg, Germany. It promises to be the Vatican's most controversial utterance in living memory. When a German-language volume appeared in 2003 quoting the same analysis by a long-dead Jewish theologian, I wrote of "oil on the flames of civilizational war". [1] Now the same ban has been preached from St Peter's chair, and it is...

A first in Northwest Indiana HISPANIC SERIES: Illegal immigrant sets sights on attending college through new program BY JERRY DAVICH jdavich@nwitimes.com 219.933.3376 This story ran on nwitimes.com on Monday, May 29, 2006 12:16 AM CDT Chapter two: Reaching for the dream HOBART I Frances Vega cried when she heard the news. On Nov. 23, the day before last Thanksgiving, she heard about Sen. Dick Lugar's formal introduction of the Development, Relief and Education for Alien Minors, or DREAM, Act. The still pending measure would help young, undocumented immigrants in the United States earn legal status by obtaining an education and...

As Republicans face off, Democrats a top topic of discussion Republicans hope clean precinct rolls will ensure true GOP election BY JOE CARLSON jcarlson@nwitimes.com 219.933.4174 This story ran on nwitimes.com on Monday, May 8, 2006 12:05 AM CDT CROWN POINT | When hundreds of registered Republicans convene later this month to cast votes on their party's future, it will be RINOs -- not donkeys -- that are the sworn enemy. In political parlance, RINO is an acronym for "Republican In Name Only," a derisive label referring to GOP members with questionable allegiance to conservative causes. The RINO label already has...

Port Security Remains a Concern in War on Terrorism Gary Thomas VOA, Washington 06 Mar 2004, 23:59 UTC News that Pakistan's top nuclear scientist was engaging in nuclear arms sales sent shock waves around the world. What was alarming to security experts was how easily the sensitive materials slipped undetected through major ports. The sheer volume of goods shipped through seaports makes ferreting out contraband material a nightmare. When Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Qadeer Khan wanted to ship nuclear-related materials to spots like Libya or Iran, his customers had little to fear. The contraband goods, hidden amidst the huge number...

Citizenship to get more expensive IMMIGRATION Application fees going up late next month BY KEVIN ROYKO, MEDILL NEWS SERVICE This story ran on nwitimes.com on Wednesday, September 28, 2005 12:40 AM CDT Achieving the American Dream for immigrants in the Chicago area is about to become a little costlier. And advocacy groups which provide legal and social services to Chicago-based immigrant communities say their clients can little afford such monetary roadblocks as they work to become citizens. U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, a component of the Department of Homeland Security, announced Monday that application fees for immigration benefits would increase...

Saturday, September 03, 2005 Hurricane Katrina: Don’t Blame Bush for Local Corruption and Democrat Incompetence There has been a lot of criticism of President Bush for the handling of the New Orleans disaster and the alleged diversion of funds from the work on the levee, to the Iraq war. There’s only one problem with this argument, two actually. The representative of the Army Corps of Engineers has stated that the critical Levee work was completed, that it was up to designed specs. The problem is, those specs were for a class three hurricane, not a four or five. Secondly of...

Former S. Side mosque official pleads guilty to meth charges September 4, 2005 BY NATASHA KORECKI, Federal Courts Reporter The onetime treasurer of a Chicago mosque with ties to two people accused of funding terrorism admitted he delivered drugs to an undercover federal agent. Tariq Isa, 57, of Cicero pleaded guilty Friday to conspiracy to distribute and attempted distribution of pseudoephedrine, knowing it was intended to be used to make methamphetamine. Isa is the third member of the Al Qassam Mosque, also known as the Chicago Islamic Center, on the South Side, to face federal charges. Two other former mosque...

Schakowsky's spouse pleads guilty to fraud September 1, 2005 BY NATASHA KORECKI, Federal Courts Reporter Robert Creamer, husband of a North Shore congresswoman, long-time Democratic political consultant and onetime head of the state's largest public interest group, pleaded guilty Wednesday to running a check-kiting scheme and failing to withhold thousands of dollars in payroll taxes. With his wife, U.S. Rep. Jan Schakowsky (D-Ill.), in the courtroom, Creamer pleaded guilty to one count of federal bank fraud for writing bad checks to a series of banks that amounted to "interest-free loans" while heading Citizen Action of Illinois, he said. Creamer, 58,...

Mayor: Major Breach Flooding and Destroying New Orleans National Author: Steve Sabludowsky | 8/30/2005 Home : Business The City of New Orleans Is Devastated. Those were the words of Mayor C. Ray Nagin and based upon a major breach of a levee system, water is flowing into New Orleans flooding it beyond recognition and could very well destroy New Orleans, Jefferson and the surrounding areas. In a most frightening interview with WWL TV, Mayor C. Ray Nagin gave the worse-case scenario of events that anyone could possibly imagine. In the beginning of the interview, he stated that New Orleans is...

Friends, family pay tribute to Spc. Adam Harting Church members plan to demonstrate at funeral BY JOYCE RUSSELL joycer@nwitimes.com 219.762.4334 This story ran on nwitimes.com on Friday, August 5, 2005 12:24 AM CDT PORTAGE | As friends, family members and strangers paid their respects Thursday to Army Spc. Adam Harting, members of Westboro Baptist Church of Topeka, Kan., prepared to picket the Portage soldier's funeral. Harting, a 21-year-old Portage native, was killed in Iraq July 25 when an improvised explosive device detonated outside his vehicle. The 100-member congregation, which announced its decision on Wednesday, demonstrates at military funerals and other...

FEARS OVER THIRD ATTACK Police are still on high alert in London amid fears that a third terrorist cell could be plotting another strike on the capital. Thousands of officers are on the streets and guarding Tube and overland rail stations as the huge security operation continues. The latest fears come despite all four suspected would-be bombers from July 21 being in custody. Security sources have reportedly told The Times newspaper that a third group, believed to be made up of British-born Muslims, was on the verge of staging an attack on the Tube system last week. The men are...

Suspect paid thousands in benefits 26 July 2005 One of the would-be suicide bombers who tried to blow up a London Tube train had been handed thousands of pounds in taxpayers' money. Yasin Hassan Omar, 24, was given £75 a week in housing benefit to pay for the one-bedroom flat where he has been the registered tenant since February 1999. His housing benefit stopped in May but he may have been given up to £24,000 over the last five years. The flat, on the ninth floor of a 12-storey tower block in New Southgate, north London, is believed to have...

Chicago-area immigrants settle lawsuit with Homeland Security CHICAGO: Some notary publics allegedly took advantage of residents, jeopardizing their status BY DAN CATERINICCHIA Associated Press Writer This story ran on nwitimes.com on Sunday, July 17, 2005 12:20 AM CDT CHICAGO | Illegal immigrant Fermin Gutierrez shelled out $1,500 after a notary public said he could get the Mexican national U.S. residency within months, instead of the years the green-card process normally takes. But months later, Gutierrez started getting letters from the federal government saying that he illegally filed for residency and could be deported. That's when he knew the notary had...

Police arrest MS-13 gang member in Monticello This story ran on nwitimes.com on Tuesday, July 12, 2005 3:01 PM CDT MONTICELLO, Ind. (AP) -- Police arrested a member of the Latin American street gang MS-13, and the government will deported him to El Salvador, homeland security officials said Tuesday. Victor Maravel, who had entered the U.S. illegally, was arrested by Monticello police Thursday at his girlfriend house and turned over to the U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement. Maravel is a member of Mara Salvatrucha, or MS-13, a violent Latin American gang targeted in a government operation that so far has...

Democrats look to higher power MUNSTER: Lake County party leaders seek prayers for guidance in decisions BY ELIZABETH EAKEN eeaken@nwitimes.com 219.933.4183 This story ran on nwitimes.com on Thursday, June 30, 2005 12:37 AM CDT MUNSTER | Leaders in the Lake County Democratic Party are turning to God to help them solve the problems of Northwest Indiana. Lake County Democratic Chairman Rudy Clay, joined by Sheriff Rogelio "Roy" Dominguez and Lake County Prosecutor Bernard Carter, visited the Family Christian Center and asked more than 1,000 people at Wednesday night's service to pray for them. They said they want the guidance of...

21/06/05 'My dream was to be a martyr' By Lara Sukhtian, Shika Prison A BADLY burned Palestinian woman was alternately defiant and tearful last night after Israeli soldiers caught her trying to enter Israel with 22 pounds of explosives hidden on her body. The woman, who suffered serious burns on her hands, feet and neck in a kitchen explosion five months ago, had been granted permission to cross into Israel from the Gaza Strip for medical treatment when she raised the suspicion of soldiers at the Erez checkpoint. Video released by the military showed 21-year-old Wafa al-Biss taking off articles...

Door slams on foreign landscape workers April 21, 2005 BY ART GOLAB Staff Reporter Hundreds of Mexican workers who used to come legally to the Chicago area every spring to do landscaping work have been denied seasonal work visas, leaving landscapers scrambling to find employees to mow and maintain lawns. One Lake Bluff company applied for more than 150 visas and got none. Those slots make up half the company's seasonal work force, many of them regulars who have come up in the spring for several years. "They are family members and friends of our current workers who count on...

Boyhood friend holds good thought for pontiff LAKES OF THE FOUR SEASONS: Karol Hagenhuber attended school with the man who would be pope This story ran on nwitimes.com on Friday, April 1, 2005 12:57 AM CST Times Staff Report LAKES OF THE FOUR SEASONS | Karol Hagenhuber, 85, of Lakes of the Four Seasons, did not have to seek out news on the pope's illness, the news came to him. The boyhood friend of Karol Wojtylya, who later became Pope John Paul II, found his phone ringing Thursday afternoon. "Channel 9, WGN called me first," said Hagenhuber, who has been...

Jay Marvin 'happy to be out' as WLS talk show host December 29, 2004 BY ROBERT FEDER Jay Marvin, the liberal firebrand who offered a semblance of balance to the conservative spin on news/talk WLS-AM (890), was forced out Tuesday as midday host at the Disney/ABC-owned station. Eileen Byrne, who had been Marvin's co-host from 9 to 11 a.m. weekdays, will continue solo when she returns from vacation. John Gallagher, president and general manager of WLS, said the decision to cut Marvin was made because the show "hasn't produced what it was designed to achieve." It was unclear whether the...