Japan's gPod faces opposition



Ryann Connell


Far from lovin' it, as one huge American multinational food giant urges its Japanese customers to do, Japan's sex services are struggling as U.S. business behemoths crack down on them for commandeering brand names to use for saucy products and services, according to Shukan Gendai.

Ichiro Kameda, the president of a tiny, two-man company in Osaka, is currently embroiled in a bitter battle with computer maker Apple.

"Putting it simply, the fight is all over what I call our beat generator. There's a small device with three different, sound-activated motors. It's a revolutionary invention. You can plug it in to iPods or mobile phones. It can also be programmed to operate only for certain voices," Kameda says, referring to his company's product.

Kameda's commercial pride and joy is actually a women's sex aid worn inside her most intimate orifices and buzzing her with good vibrations when set off by sound.

Though the Japanese Patent Agency gave him the right to use the devise in August last year, and the trademark he chose for the product was approved two months later, he still hasn't been able to sell. The problem? He called the product the gPod, presumably after the G-Spot and jii, the Japanese word for masturbation. Kameda has since found out his choice of product name was like, well, taking a bite out of a rotten apple.

When Kameda applied across the globe to have the gPod registered as a trademark, the computer giant raised objections, saying it was too close a resemblance to its hit iPod (it probably doesn't help that the gPod even looks like an iPod.) The fight really intensified earlier this year.

"This Japanese lawyer rolled up on my doorstep one day, saying he represented Apple and carrying a letter asking me to change the product name," Kameda tells Shukan Gendai.

Apple legal representatives have repeatedly contacted Kameda, requesting he stop using the gPod trademark, including in one letter with extracts that read: "The product planned for use with the trademark 'gPod' is a sex aid and masturbation aidcIf this product comes onto the market, you will be forced to take all sorts of legal measures to deal with itcWe would like to avoid a fight over this and would be prepared to cover any costs you have incurred."

Kameda laughs at the reaction.

"What they were telling me was that they'd pay if I agreed to stop using the trademark. Of course I turned them down. If they sue me, I'll fight," he says.

Apple Computer Inc., meanwhile, is, unlike gPod users, keeping tight-lipped about the case.

"It's company policy not to comment on legal cases," an Apple spokesman tells Shukan Gendai.

Fed up with the fight, Kameda plans to put the gPod on sale in Japan alone at the end of this month.

It's not just apples that are falling over trademarks. There was a whopper of a battle between a sex service in Chiba and hamburger behemoth McDonald's that left the call girl business far from lovin' it. The sex service called itself Nukudonarudo, a play on words taken from nukeru, slang Japanese for ejaculation, and Makudonarudo, the local pronunciation of McDonald's.

"We thought it'd be better to have a name with impact. It came about by coincidence because there was a McDonald's restaurant in front of us at the time we were meeting to discuss the service name," the operator of Nukudonarudo tells Shukan Gendai. "In this business, it's better to create a bit of a stir, so we didn't mind if they sued us."

Nukudonarudo also copied McDonald's menus to label its sex services. While the restaurant has a standard 0 yen charge for a smile, Nukudonarudo informed its customers they were entitled to a "sexy groan for 0 yen."

McDonald's was none too pleased to see itself associated with a call girl service.

"We confirmed in July that the name belonged to a sex service. We don't want our customers to consider the possibility that our company is associated with that business and their name hurts the brand we have worked very hard to establish," a member of McDonald's communications division tells Shukan Gendai. "We informed the company that its name breached the fair trade practices law and demanded it be changed."

Threatened with a massive lawsuit from a huge multinational, Nukudonarudo's owner lost his cojones.

"My lawyer told me that McDonald's in the United States had led the complaints against us and that compensation in a lawsuit could run into the hundreds of millions of yen. Considering we also called one of our services a 'Super Value Set,' I figured a court case probably wasn't the best idea," the owner tells Shukan Gendai. "We had no choice, so have recently changed the name. Now, we're gonna call ourselves 'Nukutteria' (after "nukeru" and Korean fast food chain Lotteria)."

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Inside Pelosi's Power Play

Working the phones and unleashing her top aides, Pelosi is trying to turn the Murtha-Hoyer battle into a powerful statement of her authority รข€” and what the Democrats stand for.


For a moment there it looked as if incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was making the mistake every pragmatic Democrat feared: putting soft-hearted personal allegiance ahead of cold-eyed political calculation. The first key decision she made since the Democrats' triumph in last week's elections was to back John Murtha, the anti-war hero of the left, in what seemed an impossible battle against Maryland moderate, Steny Hoyer, for the number two position in the House Democratic leadership, minority whip. And it wasn't looking good.


"I think she made a mistake," Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, the incoming head of the powerful Financial Services Committee and a Hoyer supporter, said Tuesday. "I wish it would not have happened." Pelosi loyalists worried that backing a loser early on would hurt her authority down the road, and project an image of a divided party.

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Inside Pelosi's Power Play




Working the phones and unleashing her top aides, Pelosi is trying to turn the Murtha-Hoyer battle into a powerful statement of her authority — and what the Democrats stand for.

For a moment there it looked as if incoming House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was making the mistake every pragmatic Democrat feared: putting soft-hearted personal allegiance ahead of cold-eyed political calculation. The first key decision she made since the Democrats' triumph in last week's elections was to back John Murtha, the anti-war hero of the left, in what seemed an impossible battle against Maryland moderate, Steny Hoyer, for the number two position in the House Democratic leadership, minority whip. And it wasn't looking good.

"I think she made a mistake," Massachusetts Rep. Barney Frank, the incoming head of the powerful Financial Services Committee and a Hoyer supporter, said Tuesday. "I wish it would not have happened." Pelosi loyalists worried that backing a loser early on would hurt her authority down the road, and project an image of a divided party.

Sensing the need for some spin control, Pelosi's aides spent the better part of the last few days trying to play down the significance of her support for Murtha. Other Democrats said she wasn't really backing him, just giving a token nod to an old friend and mentor who had helped her rise to her current lofty position.

But it turns out Pelosi is deadly serious — which means a Murtha loss is anything but inevitable. One source close to the Murtha effort claims Pelosi has made 40 calls to incoming freshman and wavering centrists in the party on Murtha's behalf. Pelosi's spokesman Brendan Daly said she has "made it clear to members of her support for Mr. Murtha." Two top Pelosi lieutenants, George Miller and Anna Eshoo, both of California, said Pelosi was in the fight all the way. "When she says support, it's not just an endorsement, it is full-fledged," Eshoo said.

And that will make a real difference. One senior Democratic House member who was leaning toward Hoyer told TIME her vote was entirely dependent on the seriousness of Pelosi's interest in the race. Told that Pelosi was calling around in support of Murtha, the member said her vote was Pelosi's to claim: "The Speaker usually gets what the Speaker wants." Magnified across scores of calls, that kind of attitude could spell trouble for Hoyer.

Pelosi's lieutenants appear confident. Rather than hedging their bets, they're now speaking strongly in support of Murtha' s candidacy. They say it is his position on Iraq and his outspoken criticism of the administration's handling of the war that makes him the right person to have in the number two leadership spot.

"This is as serious and as deadly as it gets, this issue," of Iraq, says Eshoo. She and Miller argue that Murtha is a strong face for the Democrats in the country. "This man has the credibility," says Miller. "He gave the Democrats a place to stand on Iraq." That, he says, is "very essential" to Pelosi.

Of course, the move remains a gamble by Pelosi. If Murtha wins, she will have made a powerful statement, in the face of strong opposition by committee chairmen, about who is running the show. "She doesn't want a dissonant voice" in her leadership, says Jim Moran of Virginia, a top Murtha backer.

But Murtha is a controversial character, thanks to his ties to the 1980s Abscam affair (he was investigated but never charged) and more recently his lavish earmarking as a member of the appropriations committee. A full blown ethics scandal would be a disaster for the Democrats as they enter their moment in the sun. And if Murtha loses, it's doubly bad for Pelosi. Not only would she have picked sides and lost, but she will have gone down fighting. Miller, for one, seems unfazed. "It's looking pretty good for Jack."

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The Al Jazeera Invasion

You may not have heard of Wadah Khanfar, but this week, he becomes one of the world's most influential news executives. Besides being head of the 10-year-old Qatar-based Al Jazeera television channel since 2003, the Palestinian-born former reporter is now the overall boss of the network's global channel, Al Jazeera English, that goes on the air starting Wednesday. In an interview with TIME's Scott MacLeod, Khanfar, 38, explained the English channel's alternative agenda, and defended the Arabic channel against charges of bias and sensationalism.


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The Al Jazeera Invasion

You may not have heard of Wadah Khanfar, but this week, he becomes one of the world's most influential news executives. Besides being head of the 10-year-old Qatar-based Al Jazeera television channel since 2003, the Palestinian-born former reporter is now the overall boss of the network's global channel, Al Jazeera English, that goes on the air starting Wednesday. In an interview with TIME's Scott MacLeod, Khanfar, 38, explained the English channel's alternative agenda, and defended the Arabic channel against charges of bias and sensationalism.

TIME: What is the purpose of Al Jazeera English?

Wadah Khanfar: Al Jazeera is the only international network that is based in the developing world, and that will be the departure point for the English channel. I am not speaking about the geographical south, but the cultural, social and political south. The 'south' has not been presented in the international media properly. Why? Because most of the international media organizations are centered in the West. We would like to present a new model. We will take the south into consideration. We will cover the world, but will take the south as a departure point and a priority.

TIME: What does that mean?

Khanfar: When an international news organization covers a story in Somalia, Yemen, Sudan or wherever, they will fly a crew to go there, spend a few days, interact with some officials and analysts, most of the time English-speaking elite, and file the story and go home. At Al Jazeera, we are getting our local Somalis, Yemenis and Sudanese, local correspondents from within the society, who understand much better than the people who come from overseas. We will get a much better insight.

TIME: What is the Al Jazeera perspective compared to the western media perspective?

Khanfar: Some people call it the Al Jazeera spirit — courage, re-thinking authority, giving a voice to the voiceless. We have never been favored by the authority. The human being is the center of our editorial policy. We are not a TV station that rushes after stars, big names, press conferences, hand-shake journalism. The international media concentrates on the famous, the big names. Al Jazeera goes to the margins, investigates stories that are still developing and in the future become very big. Why did the Arabic world love Al Jazeera? Everybody felt he was represented in the newsroom and on the screen. That kind of belonging is ours. Hopefully the international channel will do the same. We want more diversity in our newsroom, for a dialogue of cultures on the screen.

Al Jazeera English will explain the region. We will be much more qualified to speak about the Middle East because of our presence in the region. The role of the media is to give an honest understanding of reality. Had we been able to deal with the issue of the Middle East a long time before September 11, the roots of anger and frustration, maybe the decision makers would have taken steps to stop it before it becomes al-Qaeda.

TIME: What problems is the Arabic channel having with Arab governments nowadays?

Khanfar: Each country has its own politics. Saudi Arabia has never allowed our bureau to operate in Saudi Arabia. Jordan was critical recently. Their official newspapers waged an official campaign against Al Jazeera, accusing us, again, of implementing a Zionist conspiracy to dismantle the Arab world. They had many complaints, one of them started with a prison protest that Al Jazeera covered.

TIME: Do you still hear from the U.S. government?

Khanfar: Less than before. Maybe because the situation in the Middle East has become more complicated than blaming a single TV station. Some American officials are still skeptical and very critical. By now, I expect that the American administration has discovered that they have committed a great mistake by accusing Al Jazeera of inciting emotions and violence against the Americans. Al Jazeera's bureau has been closed in Iraq for almost two years. The level of violence in Iraq has not subsided. Things are going much worse. Is it Al Jazeera that kept the Iraqis upset with the Americans, or something else?

TIME: Have you ever received pressure from the Qatari government, the financers of the channel?

Khanfar: The Qatari foreign minister criticized us in many cases. I consider that an opinion, not pressure. The only asset we have right now is our editorial independence. If the editorial independence is compromised by the Qataris, Al Jazeera will lose its edge over the rest of the Arab media. The status that Al Jazeera has given Qatar is high and very useful.

TIME: Do you really believe President Bush spoke with Tony Blair about bombing Al Jazeera in Qatar, as was reported by a British tabloid?

Khanfar: It has not been confirmed. We are demanding to know what happened. We are considering all our options.

TIME: Do you stand by Tayseer Alouni, the Al Jazeera correspondent convicted in Spain of having links with Al Qaeda?

Khanfar: We think that Tayseer is innocent and did not commit any crime. He was very professional in the way that he dealt with Al Qaeda. We are going to continue the legal battle to prove his innocence. If Tayseer followed the same steps every journalist does to have an interview with Osama bin Laden, I don't think he can be accused of cooperation.

TIME: You think it was a political verdict?

Khanfar: There is a mood in some countries right now because of the issue of terrorism. Tayseer was unique because he was a symbol of the coverage of Afghanistan. He was the only reporter in Afghanistan. Sentiment and feelings do influence legal proceedings. We have to stand with him. As with cameraman Sami Al Hajj, who was arrested as he was entering Afghanistan. He is in Guantanamo. His lawyer told me he doesn't see anything against him. Sami was interrogated and all of the questions were about Al Jazeera. So, it is about Al Jazeera.

TIME: So how does Al Jazeera get the Bin Laden tapes?

Khanfar: There is no secret. There is no direct link between us and Al Qaeda to receive a tape. No one from them phones and calls and says, "Please, I am going to bring you a tape at this moment in time, so prepare for me to drop it wherever." We are a TV station. We are not an intelligence agency. In all cases, we received them through people we do not know. We cannot figure out who has delivered these tapes. If somebody brings me material, and I feel that this material is a scoop, I will use it. I am not ashamed of that. We are not going to stop doing that.

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Can James Baker Save Iraq?




The former Secretary of State is admired and trusted by Gulf Arabs, but that may be as much a liability as an asset.

The other day I called an Arab security official in the Gulf and joked with him about how well things are going in Iraq. He wasn't in the mood for irony. "The Iranians and the Shi'a are coming to get us," he said, "and you Americans don't have a clue how to stop them."

I heard the same thing from a half dozen other Gulf Arab contacts I talked to the same day. Sure, they're all unhappy about Iraq. But what really concerns them is what happens when the U.S. packs up and leaves. The most likely scenario is an out-and-out civil war, Sunni against Shi'a, with Iran and Saudi Arabia eventually sucked in. And, by the way, can the United States stop Iran from occupying Iraq?

In all the gloom my Arab contacts see one ray of hope—James Baker, the co-chairman of the Iraq Study Group. Most Gulf Arabs—Sunnis to be sure—look at Baker as a friend. Baker was the brains behind the UN-sanctioned coalition that drove Saddam out of Kuwait. Baker had the sense to leave Saddam in power, knowing full well the alternative was civil war. The Iraq policy Baker put in place in 1992 gave the Gulf eleven years of peace.

Another reason the Gulf Arabs trust Baker is because of his financial ties to the region. After Baker left government, he was on the first plane to the Gulf to cash in on his contacts. He was a major player in the Carlyle Group, an Arab-friendly company that solicits Gulf money. In December 2003, Bush appointed Baker to solve Iraq's unpaid debt, much of which is owed to Gulf countries. Baker is doing his best to make sure the Gulf Arabs aren't robbed. Baker's law firm represents the Saudi Defense Minister Sultan bin 'Abd-al-'Aziz in the 9/11 civil suit.

So far, so good. The only problem is, it is those same Gulf ties that keep the Iraqi Shi'a from trusting Baker. And that's not to mention that Baker was Secretary of State when George H.W. Bush, after having exhorted Iraqi Shi'a in the south to stage an uprising, let Saddam put up his helicopters and strafe Shi'a demonstrators at the end of the first Gulf War. To put it mildly, the Iraqi Shi'a are convinced Baker has taken sides.

Baker may know Iraq and the Gulf better than any other American statesman. And on the face of it he's a logical choice to lead the Iraq Study Group, which is widely expected to recommend some kind of policy shift after the election, quite possibly one that would involve Washington actually talking to its enemies in the region such as Iran and Syria.

But right now, with the Sunni Arabs from the Gulf paying for many of the bombs that are blowing up Shi'a markets and mosques, you have to wonder if Baker is the right person to sort out the differences between Iraq's Shi'a and Sunni. Don't we have unconflicted, disinterested statesmen anymore?

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Cleared of Wrongdoing in Haditha?




Military sources say the two top generals in Iraq at the time of the alleged massacre, almost exactly one year ago, won't likely face any serious charges.

It's been almost a year since the alleged massacre of 24 Iraqi civilians by U.S. troops in the town of Haditha on November 19, 2005, which was first reported by TIME. Yet after 10 months of probes no one in the U.S. military has been formally punished, criminally charged or even officially cleared. That, however, is soon about to end.

While unnamed Pentagon sources and outsiders have speculated that senior Marine commanders knew — or should have known — exactly what the Marines did on the ground that day, military sources now say that both Marine two-star generals in Iraq at the time will likely be cleared of any serious criminal wrongdoing.

An initial administrative investigation led by Army Major General Eldon Bargewell found several failures by the top two Marine officers, Major General Steve Johnson and Major General Richard Huck. The failures, or "red flags," that were uncovered so troubled the Marine Corps that it took the unusual step of ordering a special criminal inquiry by the Naval Criminal Investigative Service (NCIS) to see if serious charges should be brought — a rare move to consider against officers so far up the chain of command.

That process was further complicated by the fact that the Bargewell report was quite vague in parts, says a source who has seen it. Under the doctrine of command responsibility, superior officers can be considered responsible for war crimes committed by their subordinates if they were in a position to prevent the crimes and failed to do so. That NCIS investigation has now been completed and has not found enough evidence to bring serious charges — such as criminal negligence or obstruction of justice — against either Johnson or Huck because they did not know the details of what happened in Haditha, say government sources.

Still, the two generals will likely face some kind of formal punishment. The senior Marine general in Iraq at the time, Johnson, has already had a planned promotion to a three-star job stalled and his career may be finished, according to military sources. Huck, who had already left the Corps to prepare for retirement, has been ordered back into uniform because of the investigation and is working for a senior officer.

As for the Marines who were on the ground in Haditha that day, they too will soon learn what charges they might face. Military sources say Lt. General James Mattis, the senior officer responsible for deciding whether to press charges and the punishments if the Marines are found guilty, will make his recommendations in mid-December. Three Marines, including Staff Sgt. Frank Wuterich, may be charged with murder for their actions in Haditha after their squadmate, Lance Corporal Miguel Terrazas, was killed by an IED in the early morning of that fateful day. The Marines on the ground are alleged to have retaliated by entering several houses in the area and killing the civilians, including women and children. Wuterich's attorney has challenged that version, instead arguing the Marines came under enemy fire and acted in self defense.

A Marine spokesman would not comment about the invesitgations or when they might end. "The investigation is on-going...as soon as the facts are known and decisions on future actions are made, we will make that information available to the public to the fullest extent allowable, says Lt. Col. Sean Gibson."

The long delay in justice hasn't stopped others from making their own judgments about Haditha. Many observers and politicans have already decided those involved are guilty — Democratic Congressman and former Marine John Murtha has claimed that the Marines "killed in cold blood," comments for which Wuterich has filed a defamation lawsuit against Murtha. Others have asserted that civilian casualties are a tragic reality of a morally confusing battlefield. The truth, as it always is in the fog of war, is likely somewhere in-between.

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Mass Abduction Highlights Iraqi Security Crisis




Uniformed men traveling in dozens of vehicles snatch more than 100 people from a government ministry
.

Even by Baghdad standards, it was an incredibly brazen snatch. In broad daylight Tuesday morning, armed men wearing police-commando uniforms kidnapped more than 100 people from the research directorate of the Ministry of Higher Education. Eyewitnesses said the kidnappers arrived in a fleet of dozens of trucks with government markings, and took barely 15 minutes to complete what was obviously a carefully planned operation. They rounded up the directorate's employees, then locked all the women in one room before taking away the men.

The Iraqi government announced it had sacked five police commanders as a response to the kidnapping, but it was not immediately clear whether the commanders were being punished for negligence or criminality.

Higher Education Minister Abed Dhiab al-Ujaili ordered all of Iraq's universities closed, saying he doesn't want to endanger any more of his staff. Speaking on state TV, he blamed the kidnapping on "criminals and terrorists" and accused them of "targeting higher education to empty it."

The kidnapping was another blow to Iraq's post-Saddam education system, which has already been undermined by the murder of over 180 professors and the emigration of over 3,000 others. In recent weeks, prominent academics have been killed in Baghdad.

Suspicion over Tuesday's kidnapping immediately fell on the Shi'ite militias who have waged a massive campaign of sectarian kidnapping and murder. The kidnap bore many of the hallmarks of a militia operation, including the use of military uniforms and the targeting of Sunnis. Al-Ujaili is a member of the Iraqi Islamic Party, a Sunni organization, and some Shi'ites have accused him of filling his department with cosectarians. It is common for Iraqi ministries to recruit mainly from the sect of the minister concerned.

"There are Sunni ministries and Shi'ite ministres, and ours is known as a Sunni ministry," said one department official, who asked not to be identified because he is not authorized to speak with journalists. "I'm not surprised we were hit, but I never expected it would be such a big operation." The minister said both Sunni and Shi'ites were taken in the raid. Unconfirmed reports said around a dozen were released later in the day.

In the Karrada neighborhood, where the research directorate is located, residents said the scale of the kidnapping suggested collusion — perhaps even participation — by real policemen. "How can you kidnap 100 people in the middle of the city and not be caught at a checkpoint," said Raed Hussein, a shop assistant who works not far from the directorate. "The only way you can get away with this is if you have the support of the police." There are hundreds of police checkpoints in the Iraqi capital, and it is almost impossible to travel more than a mile without having to pass one.

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A Rude Awakening for Americans in Nicaragua

Some U.S. investors and retirees in the Central American nation fear president-elect Daniel Ortega, but others are more worried about how President Bush will respond to the stunning election victory.


It took North Carolina native Don McCandless 13 months, several work crews and some $600,000 to restore his crumbling two-story colonial home in Granada to its former stately self. McCandless spared no effort or outlay to get the details of his planned retirement home perfect, including the master-bathroom Jacuzzi, the satellite TVs, and the regal 18-seat dinning room with its ornate hand-painted ceiling and decorative tiled floors.

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Hizballah Plays Politics in Lebanon


ANDREW LEE BUTTERS


The Shi'a group's resignation from the cabinet could bring down the country's shaky government and threaten its fragile stability.

In a normal democracy, the resignation of a few ministers wouldn't spark a constitutional crisis. But Lebanon is anything but normal — it's a sectarian democracy, based upon the balance of power between religious groups. And that balance is now collapsing.

On Sunday, Hizballah, the militia and Shia Muslim political party, pulled out of the governing coalition along with Amal, another Shia political party. Hizballah and Amal, which together represent almost all of Lebanon's Shia, had been demanding four new cabinet positions on the grounds that their resistance against Israel during the war over the summer merits greater representation in government.

The prime minister, Fouad Siniora — perhaps wondering why he should reward Hizballah for single-handedly starting the destructive war by kidnapping three Israeli soldiers — balked at a move that would have given Hizballah effective veto power. Instead he offered three seats, which Hizballah and Amal rejected, promising street demonstrations in return.

Since Siniora still has a majority, he could go on trying to run the country without participation from the Shia parties. The constitution specifies that the country's president must be Christian, its prime minister must be Sunni Muslim, and that the speaker of parliament must be Shia Muslim. It doesn't, however, say what the balance of the cabinet has to be. But it would be practically impossible for the government to have legitimacy and effectiveness without any Shia, who are, after all, the country's largest religious group.

Lebanon's current internal political breakdown is in many ways a reflection of the wider Middle East clash between East and West. The war between Israel and Hizballah was in some ways a proxy battle between the United States (which supplies money and weapons to Israel) and Iran and Syria (which supply money and weapons to Hizballah), and the country is very much divided along those same lines. Hizballah's desire for greater say in the government reflects its concern that Siniora and his allies will cooperate with the U.S. and the United Nations to disarm Hizballah, which was one component of the ceasefire that ended the war this summer; Hizballah is the only political party that kept its weapons after the end of the Civil War in 1990.

"What we are witnessing now is the politics of brinksmanship," said Hilal Khashan, a professor of political science at the American University of Beirut. "Who will back off first? There is a crisis for Siniora and the majority. They cannot afford to give Hizballah and their allies a veto in the cabinet. Hizballah meanwhile is fighting for their necks. They are being chased by Security Council resolutions calling for their disarmament. They brought the political system to a standstill. Hizballah is suffering as well."

No one in Lebanon really knows how this game of chicken will play out. Beirut has been tense all week, with police units out in force around key government buildings, checking bags and scaring off what few tourists remain in the city. The concern is that Hizballah anti-government demonstrations will provoke pro-government counter demonstrations, risking confrontations between the two sides. In the meantime, the country's economy, already burdened by this summer's destruction, will continue to suffer. Post-war reconstruction remains in paralysis.

In the end, the winner of Lebanon's political confrontation may be determined not by street protests in Beirut but by political jockeying in Washington. With Democrats pushing the Bush administration to engage with Syria and Iran over the turmoil in Iraq, Hizballah may gain from the newfound stature of its patrons, according to Khashan. Still, that effect remains to be seen. "This is the Middle East," said Khashan. "You always have new uncontrolled variables that transform the situation at the last minute." One thing is for certain; now more than ever, Lebanon doesn't have time on its side.

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A Rude Awakening for Americans in Nicaragua

Some U.S. investors and retirees in the Central American nation fear president-elect Daniel Ortega, but others are more worried about how President Bush will respond to the stunning election victory.

It took North Carolina native Don McCandless 13 months, several work crews and some $600,000 to restore his crumbling two-story colonial home in Granada to its former stately self. McCandless spared no effort or outlay to get the details of his planned retirement home perfect, including the master-bathroom Jacuzzi, the satellite TVs, and the regal 18-seat dinning room with its ornate hand-painted ceiling and decorative tiled floors.

But before McCandless had a chance to finish hanging all the paintings, Daniel Ortega of the leftist Sandinista Front was elected president on November 5, turning McCandless' retirement plans upside down. "I'm outta here; I'm gone," said the North Carolinian. "It wasn't supposed to happen like this; it's like someone rose from the dead."

McCandless decided on election night to sell his dream home and leave the country, after the first vote returns showed Ortega poised for victory. Less than a week later, he had sold his home at a fire-sale price and left for Costa Rica.

But McCandless' isn't the only reaction among the U.S. expatriates living in Nicaragua to the unlikely re-election of Washington's old Cold War nemesis. While some are cashing out and preparing to leave before Ortega takes office January 10, others are hoping the Sandinista return to power will drive away many of the growing herd of foreign profiteers here to make a quick buck on the country's post-war real-estate market.

Most investors and expatriates, however, seem to be taking a more calculating wait-and-see approach with Ortega. Lori Estrada, head of the newly formed Nicaragua Association of Investors and Developers, sent out a letter informing her members: "Mr. Ortega stated that he is fully committed to promoting foreign investment and tourism, realizing that it was the future of the country's economic growth. We believe he is serious." The association is already planning to hold a congratulatory cocktail for Ortega in December.

There are an estimated 3,000-plus Americans living in Nicaragua, though there are no reliable statistics because many are here on a tourist visa, or part time. A lot of U.S. expats came here via Costa Rica or another nearby foreign-retirement country, looking for a place where they could stay one step ahead of the real-estate boom. And property prices in colonial towns such as Granada, and in beach areas like San Juan del Sur — where some 50 development projects have popped up in the last five years — have grown by as much as 300% in three years.

Ortega's election has thrown a wild card into the real-estate investment game. Some realtors claim property prices have already dipped 25% since he won the elections, but most expect the slide won't continue much beyond that. Of course, much depends on what happens next.

Ortega insists he's come a long way from the firebrand Marxist he was in the 1980s, and his campaign was focused on peace and reconciliation. He spent his first days as president-elect meeting with business leaders, bankers and foreign investors, asking for cooperation in building a new economic model focused on eradicating poverty in a system based on rewarding the risk of private capital.

Many investors seem willing to give Ortega the benefit of the doubt, not necessarily because they trust him, but because they are already here and it's easier to wait-and-see than to cut-and-run. "We believe that Mr. Ortega is serious about his commitment to promote foreign investment and tourism," said Pennsylvania native Mike Cobb, president of Gran Pacifica development, which promises to be the first Marriott beach resort in Nicaragua. Cobb says his project plans to "move ahead with all due speed" and "stick to the path we have established."

Other investors are echoing Cobb's guarded optimism. A group of 18 key investors in San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua's most important beach town, have written a letter to Ortega urging the president-elect to hold a special meeting with them as a sign of his commitment to tourism and investment on the coast. The group warned that the tourism sector is "very volatile to political perceptions," and claimed that some investors have already started to withdraw their money from the country.

But it's not only Ortega's plans that have Americans in Nicaragua worried. The Bush Administration worked hard to prevent Ortega from being elected, even threatening to cut aid to Nicaragua if he won the election, and some investors fear the consequences of any move by Washington to make life difficult for a Sandinista government. Says Chris Berry, owner of San Juan del Sur's landmark Pelican Eyes Piedras y Olas Resort, "Everyone here is more afraid of what the U.S. will do than they are of Ortega."

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Confiscated Venomous Snakes En Route To Reptile Zoo



Marlee Ginter

More than a dozen illegal poisonous snakes are on their way to a Kentucky zoo after being confiscated from a house on the city's east side.

The snakes were dangerous and one reptile expert said they were in the worse condition he's seen in a confiscation. He said malnutrition could make them weaker but abuse could make them more violent.

The investigation was prompted after the owner was bit by one of his snakes and hospitalized.

Cobras, Vipers and rattle snakes were all caged and confiscated.

24-Hour News 8 first brought you the investigation that lead to 47-year-old Michael Fillenwarth arrested for housing 15 illegal poisonous snakes.

Jason Wooldridge had no idea they were next door, "I hope they don't get out period. Someone that has them should no what they're doing."

Reptile experts from Kentucky examined, took pictures and bagged up the venomous snakes noting most were mistreated. One even had broken ribs.

"With these animals they're in such bad condition I don't know if they could even cause a serious bite. It's like playing Russian roulette with a loaded gun, eventually something is going to go wrong," Jim Harrison with the Kentucky Reptile Zoo said.

They took in several species of rattle snakes and even a Gaboon viper that has cardio venom. Even survive the bite you could end up with permanent heart damage.

Fillenwarth didn't have a permit meaning it's not down on paper he knows how to recapture them and neighbors weren't notified. News 8 checked and no one in Marion County has a permit.

"Not a single person in Marion County," Conservation officer. Angela Goldman said.

News 8 asked Goldman if there could be more like this.

"Absolutely this is a perfect case of what is out there that we don't know about," Goldman said.

"Just in case they got out I want to be able to help or make sure my kids are inside or know what to look for," Wooldridge said.

Fillenwarth is out of jail, partly because of the medication he's on for his recent snake bite and because he's not believed to be a threat.

The snakes will remain at the Kentucky Reptile Zoo pending his court date.

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Man pleads guilty in '84 college assault

A man who sexually assaulted a fellow student at a fraternity party in 1984, then apologized to her two decades later as part of the 12-step Alcoholics Anonymous program, pleaded guilty Tuesday and could go to prison.


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William Beebe calmly entered a plea to aggravated sexual battery as his victim, Liz Seccuro, bowed her head and wiped away tears.


"Twenty-two years ago I harmed another person, and I have tried to set that right," the real estate agent and former University of Virginia student said outside court.

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O.J. Simpson to promote "If I Did It" on Fox

Fox said Tuesday it will air a two-part interview with O.J. Simpson at month's end in which he describes the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend that he says he didn't commit.


The interview will be conducted by editor and book publisher Judith Regan. On November 30, her Regan Books is publishing a book Simpson wrote with the working title "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened."


Fox said Simpson's book "hypothetically describes" how he would have committed the murders. The special will air at 9 p.m. November 27 and 29 on Fox.

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O.J. Simpson to promote "If I Did It" on Fox


Paul J. Gough

Fox said Tuesday it will air a two-part interview with O.J. Simpson at month's end in which he describes the 1994 murders of his ex-wife and her friend that he says he didn't commit.

The interview will be conducted by editor and book publisher Judith Regan. On November 30, her Regan Books is publishing a book Simpson wrote with the working title "If I Did It, Here's How It Happened."

Fox said Simpson's book "hypothetically describes" how he would have committed the murders. The special will air at 9 p.m. November 27 and 29 on Fox.

Fox executives declined comment about the show Tuesday. In a statement released Tuesday, executive vice-president/alternative programming Mike Darnell said: "This is an interview that no one thought would ever happen. It's the definitive last chapter in the trial of the century."

Fox is a subsidiary of News Corp., which also owns Regan Books.

A spokeswoman for Regan Books didn't return a phone call or an e-mail seeking comment Tuesday.

Simpson was acquitted in 1995 of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ron Goldman; he can't be tried again for those crimes. In 1997, a civil court found him responsible for the slayings and ordered him to pay $33.5 million to the victims' families.

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O.J. Simpson to discuss killings


AP

Fox plans to broadcast an interview with O.J. Simpson in which the former football star discusses "how he would have committed" the slayingsb of his ex-wife and her friend, for which he was acquitted, the network said.

The two-part interview, titled "O.J. Simpson: If I Did It, Here's How It Happened," will air Nov. 27 and Nov. 29, the TV network said.

Simpson has agreed to an "unrestricted" interview with book publisher Judith Regan, Fox said.

"O.J. Simpson, in his own words, tells for the first time how he would have committed the murders if he were the one responsible for the crimes," the network said in a statement. "In the two-part event, Simpson describes how he would have carried out the murders he has vehemently denied committing for over a decade."

The interview will air days before Simpson's new book, "If I Did It," goes on sale Nov. 30. The book, published by Regan, "hypothetically describes how the murders would have been committed."

In a video clip on the network's Web site, an off-screen interviewer says to Simpson, "You wrote 'I have never seen so much blood in my life.'"

"I don't think any two people could be murdered without everybody being covered in blood," Simpson responds.

Simpson, who now lives in Florida, was acquitted in a criminal trial of the 1994 killings of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and her friend Ronald Goldman. Simpson was later found liable in 1997 in a wrongful death lawsuit filed by the Goldman family.

Messages left with Simpson and his attorney Yale Galanter were not immediately returned.

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Today in history - Nov. 15

The Associated Press

Today is Wednesday, Nov. 15, the 319th day of 2006. There are 46 days left in the year.

Today's Highlight in History:

Two hundred years ago, on Nov. 15, 1806, explorer Zebulon Pike sighted the mountaintop now known as "Pikes Peak" in present-day Colorado.

On this date:

In 1777, the Continental Congress approved the Articles of Confederation, a precursor to the Constitution of the United States.

In 1889, Brazil's monarchy was overthrown.

In 1926, the National Broadcasting Company debuted with a radio network of 24 stations.

In 1939, President Roosevelt laid the cornerstone of the Jefferson Memorial in Washington.

In 1948, William Lyon Mackenzie King retired as prime minister of Canada after 21 years; he was succeeded by Louis St. Laurent.

In 1966, the flight of Gemini 12 ended successfully as astronauts James A. Lovell and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin Jr. splashed down safely in the Atlantic.

In 1969, a quarter of a million protesters staged a peaceful demonstration in Washington against the Vietnam War.

In 1979, the British government publicly identified Sir Anthony Blunt as the "fourth man" of a Soviet spy ring that included Guy Burgess, Donald Maclean and Kim Philby.

In 1985, Britain and Ireland signed an accord giving Dublin an official consultative role in governing Northern Ireland.

In 1986, a government tribunal in Nicaragua convicted American Eugene Hasenfus of charges related to his role in delivering arms to Contra rebels, and sentenced him to 30 years in prison. (Hasenfus was pardoned a month later.)

Ten years ago: Texaco agreed to pay $176.1 million to settle a two-year-old race discrimination suit. Former State Department official Alger Hiss, who fell from grace in a Communist spy scandal, died in New York just four days after his 92nd birthday. Singer Michael Jackson married his plastic surgeon's nurse, Debbie Rowe, in a ceremony in Sydney, Australia. (Rowe filed for divorce in 1999.)

Five years ago: President Bush and Russian President Vladimir Putin failed to resolve their dispute over U.S. missile shield plans but pledged to fight terrorism and deepen U.S.-Russian ties as their summit, which began at the White House before shifting to Bush's Texas ranch, came to a close.

One year ago: Israel and the Palestinians, under strong U.S. pressure, reached an agreement to open Gaza's borders. Baseball players and owners agreed on a tougher steroids-testing policy. Albert Pujols of the St. Louis Cardinals won the National League MVP award. At the CMA Awards, Lee Ann Womack won three trophies, including album of the year for "There's More Where That Came From."

Today's Birthdays: Judge Joseph Wapner is 87. Statesman Howard H. Baker Jr. is 81. Actor Ed Asner is 77. Actor John Kerr is 75. Singer Petula Clark is 74. Comedian Jack Burns is 73. Actress Joanna Barnes is 72. Actor Sam Waterston is 66. Pop singer Frida (ABBA) is 61. Actor Bob Gunton is 61. Director-actor James Widdoes is 53. Rock singer-producer Mitch Easter is 52. Actress Beverly D'Angelo is 52. CNN newsman John Roberts is 50. "Tonight Show" bandleader Kevin Eubanks is 49. Rapper E-40 is 39. Actress Rachel True is 37. Country singer Jack Ingram is 36. Actor Jonny Lee Miller is 34. Christian rock musician David Carr (Third Day) is 32. Rock singer-musician Chad Kroeger is 32. Actress Virginie Ledoyen is 30.

Thought for Today: "Psychology, which explains everything,/ Explains nothing,/ And we are still in doubt." — Marianne Moore, American poet (1887-1972).

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