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Internet News RecordLibertyNewsprint.com U.S. Edition08/10/09 - 09/10/09
Feds question 2 others in NYC terror plot (AP)
(Yahoo! News: U.S. News)
Submitted at 10/9/2009 9:21:54 AM
NEW YORK – Federalinvestigators have questioned twomen whose photographs wereshown to a Muslim religiousleader along with a picture of anAfghan immigrant accused of plotting a bomb attack in NewYork City.Adis Medunjanin, a 24-year-oldBosnian immigrant, metvoluntarily with investigators for14 hours, said Robert Gottlieb, aNew York lawyer representinghim. Zarein Ahmedzay, a 24-year-old New York City cab driver,also was interviewed by the FBI,said his brother, Nazir Ahmedzay.Both men's photos were amongfour shown to Ahmad WaisAfzali, an imam at a Queensmosque accused of tipping off Najibullah Zazi (nah-jee-BOO'-lah ZAH'-zee) that New York Police Department detectiveswere searching for him. RonKuby, a New York lawyerrepresenting the imam, confirmedthat detectives showed Afzaliphotos of Medunjanin andAhmedzay along with Zazi's.Naiz Kahn, a high school friendof Zazi's who allowed him to stayin his Queens apartment lastmonth when prosecutors say Zaziwas preparing his attack, said healso has been questioned by theFBI. But his photo was not amongthose shown to the imam, saidKuby. The imam did not know theidentity of the man in the fourthphotograph, Kuby said.Neither man is tied to the terrorplot prosecutors claim Zazi waspursuing, said Gottlieb andAhmedzay's brother.Prosecutors and the FBIdeclined to comment.Afzali, a reliable police sourcein the past, has pleaded not guiltyto lying to federal agents whoasked him about his phone calls toZazi after detectives showed himthe photographs. Kuby said Afzaliwas only doing what police askedhim to do.Zazi, 24, who left New York earlier this year to take a jobdriving an airport shuttle inDenver, is the only personcharged in an international terrorinvestigation described byAttorney General Eric Holder asone of the most significant plotsuncovered in this country since9/11. Zazi, who's being heldwithout bond, has pleaded notguilty to conspiring to useweapons of mass destruction.Prosecutors have said Zazi andothers they have not identifiedreceived explosives training at anal-Qaida camp in Pakistan. U.S.intelligence and senioradministration officials have saidthey became aware of Zazi'sconnection to a possible plot inlate August. They said he wasrecruited and trained by al-Qaida,and he had contact with a senioral-Qaida operative.Investigators are still huntingfor additional players and expectto make more arrests. Officialssay Zazi's suspected accomplicesare under surveillance and are nolonger a threat because the plotwas thoroughly disrupted.Gottlieb said Medunjanin hasmet with investigators, who havenot been in contact with him sincethe interview weeks ago. Afterthat meeting, Gottlieb saidMedunjanin hired him.Medunjanin agreed to meet withinvestigators after they raided hisapartment last month, Gottliebsaid. "He had nothing to hide,"Gottlieb said.FBI agents seized computersand cell phones from theapartment, but returned themlater, he said."There's no indication of anyevidence that he was involved in acrime," he said. "There would beno basis for charging him withanything."Investigators had an interest inMedunjanin before the raid,Gottlieb said. He wouldn'telaborate. "The reasons are notany evidence of wrongdoing orcrimes," he said.Gottlieb did not confirm that hisclient's photo was among thoseshown to the imam.Medunjanin grew up in thesame area of Flushing, Queens, asZazi, Gottlieb said, declining toelaborate.He came to the U.S. in 1994with his family, went to highschool in Flushing and became acitizen in 2002, Gottlieb said.Medunjanin lives in a Flushingapartment with his parents andsister. He works for a propertymanagement company, and hasworshipped in the past at themosque where Afzali has spoken,Gottlieb said."He's going through hell rightnow," the lawyer said. "His entirefamily finds this unbearable. They just wait everyday for some wordabout how this will turn out."Gottlieb declined to discussMedunjanin's travel.Zarein Ahmedzay, the otherman identified by the Queensimam in the photos with Zazi, hasno connection to Zazi's case, otherthan being interviewed by theFBI, and was not involved in aplot, said Nazir Ahmedzay, hisbrother. "No, never," NazirAhmedzay said during a brief interview outside his apartment.Zarein Ahmedzay, a U.S.citizen, lives with his brother in aFlushing apartment in the sameneighborhood as the one Zazi'sfamily shared before moving toDenver in January.Nazir Ahmedzay said hisyounger brother has never been toColorado. He said Zazi has neverbeen to their apartment.Zazi's father, Mohammed WaliZazi, also faces a charge of lyingto investigators. A Denver grand jury indicted the 53-year-oldAurora, Colo., resident Thursdayfor making a false statement.He is free on $50,000 bail and isscheduled to appear in federalcourt Friday.___Associated Press writers DavidCaruso, Adam Goldman andMichael Rubinkam in New York and Eileen Sullivan in Denvercontributed to this report.
 
2Internet News Record
H1N1: Who Do You Trust? - FOXNews
(Most Popular - Google News)
Submitted at 10/9/2009 9:10:02 AM
Have you decided what you'regoing to do about the swine fluvaccine yet? Have you heardanybody yet talk about it that youtrust? Will you take your chanceswith the swine flu or the vaccine?Will you take the vaccine andgive it to your children? Howmuch do you trust yourgovernment?I think that's the main question.Do you trust your government in acouple of things: A, that this crisisis even real, and B, that they havecompetently worked with the bestmedicine to develop, distributeand administer a potentiallylifesaving vaccine? Do youbelieve that?Are you even troubled by thefact that we have to ask thesequestions of ourselves? I am,quite honestly. I can't believe thatwe live in a world that we donow, where there is such a lack of trust.Unfortunately, there is thatcredibility issue in Washington,with science — with the sciencethat comes from the worldorganizations like the WHO, orreally it's the U.N. that bothers meso much. We have been lied tobefore. We have been lied to bythe media. We have been lied toby both sides of the aisle, andpoliticians — with politician anddoctors are wrong. I'm not alonein asking these questions.There is a recent poll out byConsumer Reports that found thattwo-thirds of parents planned todelay or skip giving their childrenthe H1N1 shots altogether. Ithought about how to do thisshow, and I thought about it longand hard. I have made mydecision about the swine fluvaccine, but because of theenormity of the ramificationshere, we are facing a potentialpandemic. I believe in pandemicsand I believe we're due for one.Trying to decide what is best toprotect my family is what I havedone, but that's now in yourhands, finding out how you'regoing to protect your family.Therefore, I'll keep my decisionprivate.I'm trying to give you the factswith no opinion. So, what I wantto do is arm you with as muchinformation as possible, so youcan make the best choice for yourfamily. We have worked hard tocompile the best information fromthe best doctors and expertsavailable. I've personally spokento a couple of the best doctors inthe world and some of the expertson both sides in order to help youmake an informed decision. So,let's start with some facts that wealready know.Flu pandemics have struck before, and with deadly results.The biggest one was 1918 to1919. It was the Spanish flupandemic. It swept the planet,killing at least 40 million peopleworldwide. This was the nastyone here in America. More than500,000 people died in the UnitedStates. Forty years later, there wasanother one — in 1957-1958,Asian flu hit the world, causingabout 70,000 deaths in the UnitedStates. We also had the HongKong flu from 1968 to 1969 thatcaused about 34,000 deaths in theUnited States. Earlier this year,there were hundreds of reporteddeaths from H1N1, but it paled incomparison to the death rate of even the annual garden varietyflu, about 36,000 people each yeardie just from the seasonal flu herein the U.S.Right now, according to theexperts I have talked to, H1N1may actually be less virulent thanits predecessor earlier this year,although it still has proven attimes to be capable of taking life.The fear, of course, is that a moredeadly strain of H1N1 willcirculate. That's what happened in1918-1919. First, I think it startedin about 1916 and it was fine;1917, fine; and then 1918, itswept through and killed a lot of people. The World HealthOrganization recently warned thatH1N1 could kill millions andcause anarchy in third worldcountries unless $1.5 billion israised to help poor countries payfor the vaccine.OK. We also know that here inNew York, it has been mandatedthat 500,000 health care workersmust be vaccinated. Well, as youcan imagine, that's not going wellwith some workers here inAmerica. These people wereprotesting, I think it was lastweek. Americans generally bristleat the mere thought of beingforced to have something injectedinto their bodies, whether that'ssome bureaucrat saying that it'sgood for us or a doctor or not, itdoesn't matter. Some of thesepeople may have actually believedit was for the best. But oncefreedom of choice is removedfrom the equation, to many, therest of the argument is moot.However, one physician withwhom we spoke, Dr. Marc Siegelput it this way, "The decisionwhether to make the vaccine forthe novel H1N1 flu mandatory forhealth care workers is not a moralor ethical problem. It is simply aquestion of health mathematics. Inthis case, the math is on the sideof the vaccine."By the way, Dr. Siegel will beappearing later on this program,but I was bothered by the "simplemath" part of that. I mean, I'm nota number. These people were notnumbers. Those who are beingforced to take the injection, it'snot numbers. If they don't taketheir injections, they lose their jobs. It may or may not be a moralor ethical problem, but it certainlyraises questions of freedom andliberty. Were their rightstrampled?I don't think I can go that far,because you do have the option of not receiving the vaccine. You just have to go and find otheremployment. Again, asAmericans, something, though,seems inherently wrong in thatscenario, and the off repeatedrefrain from Ben Franklin jumpsto mind, "Those who are willingto sacrifice their freedom forsafety deserve neither and willlose both." We can debate BenFranklin some other day.I want to focus on helping youmake the best decision for thisvaccine for your family. So, let'sstart here: Why should you get thevaccine?Well, according to the Centersfor Disease Control, swine flu,"can be life threatening in somepeople with underlying healthconditions. The H1N1 vaccinecan help prevent infection andalso help people prevent theserious complications that canlead to death in some people."Certain age groups should beparticularly concerned. Make surethey receive the vaccine. "Thesegroups include pregnant women,people who live with or care forchildren younger than six monthsof age, health care and emergencymedical service personnel, andpersons between the ages of sixmonths and 24 years old, alsopeople ages 25-64 years of agewho are at a higher risk for 2009H1N1 because of chronic healthdisorders or compromisedimmune systems."Another compelling reason toreceive the vaccine is that thisparticular strain, if it gets nasty,you and your family are going tobe completely unprotected and atits mercy without the vaccine, andyou might be wishing you took it.There were no vaccines for theSpanish flu in 1918. How manylives could have been saved?Even the last time around forswine flu in America in 1876, wewere nowhere near where we aretoday in terms of medicaladvancement. When this shotdoes become availablenationwide, it will be a two-stageprocess for children under nine.Doctors tell me that makes all thedifference in the world.But there are those on the otherside of the issue with somecompelling arguments as well.Among the most compelling,there is a concern that the vaccinewas rushed to market in just a fewmonths. Was it developedcarefully enough? Who developedit? What was the process? Is itreasonable that we went from zeroto 60 this quickly with thisvaccine? The vaccine alsocontains thimerosal. Some expertsbelieve it can cause severedamage in some people. Theyargue that the vast majority of people who take this vaccinewould tolerate it just fine, butthere would be some that would
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H1N1: page 4
 
3Internet News Record
Nobel prize win 'humbles' Obama
(BBC News | Americas | World Edition)
Submitted at 10/9/2009 10:38:37 AM
Please turn on JavaScript. Mediarequires JavaScript to play.Obama was woken very earlyby staff bringing news of theawardUS President Barack Obama hassaid he was "surprised and deeplyhumbled" to be awarded theNobel Peace Prize, less than 10months into his presidency.Speaking at the White Househours after the Norwegian NobelPrize Committee named him as asurprise winner, he said the awardshould be a "call to action".The world faced challenges that"cannot be met by one person orby one nation alone," Mr Obamasaid.The committee said he won forefforts to boost diplomacy and co-operation."Only very rarely has a person tothe same extent as Obamacaptured the world's attention andgiven its people hope for a betterfuture," the Norwegian committeesaid in a statement."His diplomacy is founded in theconcept that those who are to leadthe world must do so on the basisof values and attitudes that areshared by the majority of theworld's population."Long-term goalsStanding in the Rose Garden tomake his first public statementsince being woken early by aidesbringing news of the award, MrObama stressed that his win was just the beginning of his work.He said he did not feel hedeserved to be in the company of some of the "transformativefigures" who had previouslyreceived the award.Some of his aims, particularlythe goal of universal nucleardisarmament, would be difficultto achieve even within hislifetime, let alone his presidency,Mr Obama said.And he sought to deflect someof the global surprise at his win,describing the award as"affirmation of Americanleadership on behalf of aspirationsheld by people in all nations"."I know that throughout historythe Nobel Peace Prize has not justbeen used to honour specificachievements," he said."It's also been used as a means togive momentum to a set of causes.And that is why I will accept thisaward as a call to action, a call forall nations to confront thecommon challenges of the 21stCentury."Public bemusedThere were a record 205nominations for this year's peaceprize. Zimbabwean PrimeMinister Morgan Tsvangirai andChinese dissident Hu Jia had beenamong the favourites.Instead the committee chose MrObama, who was inaugurated lessthan two weeks before the 1February nomination deadline.His win surprised mostobservers, eliciting gasps fromthose assembled in the room whenhis name was read out.And while there was support forthe decision, notably from worldleaders, many others expressedtheir scepticism.In the US the chairman of theRepublican National Committee,Michael Steele, asked a simplequestion: "What has PresidentObama actually accomplished?"Attributing Mr Obama's win tohis "star power", Mr Steele said itwas "unfortunate" he "outshinedtireless advocates who have madereal achievements workingtowards peace and human rights".A large majority of remarksfrom BBC viewers, listeners andwebsite users also expressedsurprise.Senior Democratic figuresrebuffed Mr Steele's remarks,with former Vice-President AlGore, a joint recipient of theaward in 2007, calling MrObama's win "extremely welldeserved"."I think that much of what he hasaccomplished already is going tobe far more appreciated in theeyes of history," Mr Gore said.But spokesmen from anti-USIslamist groups such as theTaliban and Hamas focussed onthe present, saying they had seenno evidence yet of improvementsin security for people in theirregions and as such opposed theaward.'New climate'Since taking office in January,President Obama has pursued anambitious international agendaincluding a push for peace in theMiddle East and negotiations overIran's nuclear programme.Asked why the prize had beenawarded to Mr Obama less than ayear after he took office, NobelCommittee head ThorbjoernJagland said: "It was because wewould like to support what he istrying to achieve".He specifically mentioned MrObama's work to strengtheninternational institutions and work towards a world free of nucleararms. The statement from theNobel Committee said Mr Obamahad "created a new climate ininternational politics".However, critics say he hasfailed to make breakthroughs.Domestically, Mr Obama hasbeen working to tackle aneconomic crisis and win supportfor healthcare reform.Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa, a former winner,said the prize was a way of encouraging the US leader earlyin his presidency.Mr Obama is the first USpresident to win the prize sinceformer US President JimmyCarter in 2002. TheodoreRoosevelt won the prize in 1906and Woodrow Wilson won it in1919.The prize was invented by theSwedish industrialist and inventorof dynamite Alfred Nobel, andwas first awarded in 1901.As Sweden was at the timeunited with Norway, Nobeldesignated the parliament in
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