Osama Bin The Chaser And 10 Others Arrested

Eleven members of ABC's The Chaser have been charged and granted bail following their arrest in Sydney today.

Julian Morrow and Chas Licciardello, two of the stars of the satirical show, were among those detained by police today, after staging a fake motorcade through Sydney as part of an APEC week stunt.

They were charged under new APEC laws with entering a restricted area without justification.

The crew members were in a convoy of three cars and two motorbikes, which was reportedly ushered through two checkpoints in Sydney's APEC security zone.

The convoy was pulled over in Macquarie Street in a block adjacent to the InterContinental Hotel where US President George Bush is staying.

All 11 have been bailed to appear in the Downing Centre Local Court on October 4.

NSW Police Minister David Campbell denied he was embarrassed by the comedians' ability to penetrate APEC's restricted zone - rather, he was pleased the "multi-layered'' security had worked.
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He said the prank was inappropriate and he "did not see the funny side at all''.

The Chaser's production team had been specifically warned by police to behave responsibly during the APEC security lockdown, he said.

"[The police] said: 'We understand that parody and satire are entertaining and fun, many people watch the program and enjoy it, but please understand the seriousness of this matter and please take caution as you go about making your program.'

"That seems to have been thrown out the window and that, I think, is inappropriate."

Their motorcade, branded with the Canadian flag, is understood to have passed through at least one police checkpoint in the declared zone.

The vehicle was pulled over near the corner of Bridge and Macquarie streets.

A police statement said the show's producers were earlier this week urged to consider the ramification of stunts during APEC.

No charges were brought when the team dressed up as a police horse yesterday.

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer said that the fact the Chaser team was arrested showed the security system worked.

But he told an APEC news conference: "Whatever you think of the humour of the Chaser ... they were clearly not going to harm anybody in a physical way.

"They presumably were, as is the nature of their show, aiming to humiliate a lot of well-known people."

Chaser team member Chris Taylor told smh.com.au that the motorcade comprised "three cars, a couple of motorbikes, and a lot of crew".

"It was a motorcade trying to get into the exclusion zone," he said.

"No particular reason we chose Canada," said Taylor. "We just thought they'd be a country who the cops wouldn't scrutinise too closely, and who feasibly would only have three cars in their motorcade - as opposed to the 20 or so gas guzzlers that Bush has brought with him."

The vehicles in the motorcade were hired - two were black SUVs imported from the US, and the other was a regular car.

Police superintendent Ken McKay confirmed the arrests had been made using new powers available under the APEC Act.

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Anti-APEC Protesters To Target President Bush

One group of militant APEC protesters is secretly plotting an outbreak of violence for US President George W. Bush's arrival in Sydney tomorrow, distributing a rioter's training manual on how to wear gas masks, confront police and even evade fares.

The clandestine anarchist action, six weeks in the making, has been dubbed "FLARE in the void" and is described as an "Anti-APEC counter convergence".

Police are already on edge about security, yesterday clamping down on activity in the Sydney CBD - including forcing three German tourists to delete photographs they had of the security fence.
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And APEC-related arrests have already begun with the charging of 12 Greenpeace activists who boarded inflatable boats early yesterday to paint "Australia Pushing Export Coal" on the side of a ship in Newcastle Harbour.

Protest tips

The FLARE (For Liberation Autonomy Resistance Exodus) manual openly declares an prepardeness to commit violence.

It tells protesters engaging in "direct action" to form small groups of five to 15 people and to wear masks so they cannot be identified.

"It is important to defy police attempts to frighten us," the so-called Mutiny Collective has written in one section.
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The manual also tells protesters to wear gas masks, goggles, running shoes and full-body clothing to protect from tear gas and capsicum spray. It also advises carrying water and a bandanna soaked in vinegar to combat the effects of pepper spray.

Busloads of interstate activists expected to descend on Sydney are also told how to evade public transport fares, including forcing their way through railway station ticket barriers.

Threats

Mr Howard has acknowledged the threats of violence and the response of intrusive security precautions in Sydney's CBD.
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This morning the Prime Minister has made another YouTube appearance to spruik his APEC agenda.

But he has also said that if violence occurred people should not blame him or Mr Bush.

"Don't blame the police, don't blame the NSW Government, don't blame any of our (heads of government) guests, don't blame the Federal Government," he said.

"Blame the people who threaten violence."

Mr Howard said the APEC summit was an opportunity, despite the expected clashes, to present a positive image of Australia.

He said the nation's largest city, "undeniably the most beautiful big city in the world", would be seen as as a modern, sophisticated, tolerant, multi-racial society.

Opposition Leader Kevin Rudd said violence would be unacceptable and backed a zero-tolerance policy by police towards protests who were not peaceful.

"I would appeal to anyone who is thinking of protesting out there to protest in peaceful terms only," he said.
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Police were yesterday viewing anyone who photographed or filmed the fence with suspicion. As well as detaining the tourists, they also forced a Melbourne documentary maker out of the declared zone and arrested a homeless man with a mobile phone camera.

The Stop Bush Coalition, the umbrella protest group, has claimed its demonstrations will be peaceful.

However it is only taking responsibility for protests on Tuesday evening for Mr Bush's arrival and the main march on Saturday.

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Owen Wilson Discharged From Hospital

Owen Wilson has returned home from hospital, less than a week after his suicide attempt, but is being kept under constant observation.

According to a source, the actor, who was being treated in Los Angeles' Cedars-Sinai Medical Centre after his suicide attempt, is in a bad mental shape, and therefore is being watched round the clock.

"Owen is in bad mental shape but said he is thankful to be alive," People quoted the source, as saying.

"He knows he came close to ending his life, and he is happy that he was saved from himself. He is basically at home with people watching him 24/7,” the source added.
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The actor slashed his wrists, and reportedly took an overdose of pills last weekend.

His brother found him and quickly alerted the cops, who rushed Wilson to the Cedars-Sinai Medical Center.

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Actor Jamie Foxx Pampered In The Middle East

The Oscar winning actor had no idea that he’d be given royal treatment and when he got it, he fell in love with the place.

Actor Jamie Foxx has become infatuated with the Middle East after being treated like a king on the sets of his new flick ‘The Kingdom’ in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates.

Before signing the project, the Oscar winning actor had no idea that he’d be given royal treatment and when he got it, he fell in love with the place.

"It was beautiful. There is so much money over there. The palace I stayed in was 850,000 square kilometres. You could play an arena league football game in my room. It was great,” Contactmusic quoted Foxx, as saying.
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"My room was like a mile away from my sister's room. They picked us up in Phantoms (Rolls Royce) and BMWs and armoured Mercedes and all kinds of stuff. It was incredible,” he added.

Foxx further said that he fell in love with the food served on the set.

"There were a lot of dates to eat. I love dates," he said.

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DC Fire Department Officials Busted For Running Prostitute Ring

Apparently all the fire in Washington D.C felt by officials of the D.C. fire department are not just burning properties, but also from a criminal investigation now in progress following allegations that at least two employees of the department are running a prostitute ring.

Chief Dennis L. Rubin said he asked police to launch an investigation after getting an anonymous tip that some employees were exchanging sex for money or other benefits. Rubin declined to provide specific details.

"It's an allegation, and we're taking the allegation very seriously. We're not taking it casually," Rubin said in an interview. "We're going out very aggressively, and the police have been great."

Other officials said the probe was triggered in part by an episode July 29 at the Engine Company 8 firehouse in the 1500 block of C Street SE. A fire sergeant allegedly exposed himself to a female colleague, an emergency medical technician; he was off duty, and she was not. The sergeant, whose name has not been released, has since resigned.
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Wider allegations of sexual impropriety in several fire stations soon came to the attention of top officials, authorities said. The Washington Times reported yesterday that authorities were investigating allegations about a prostitution ring.

Rubin, who took over the Fire and Emergency Medical Services Department in April, announced this week that fire and police investigators have teamed up in a new unit that will examine a range of misconduct allegations. Fire officials mentioned the July 29 incident at that time but did not say the investigation into it had led to bigger concerns.

Rubin said yesterday that all fire stations in the city will come under scrutiny. The investigation apparently focuses on several firehouses, including Engine Company 27, at 4201 Minnesota Ave. NE, according to sources who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the sensitivity of the case.

The sources said investigators are looking into at least two employees, including a commanding officer, who are alleged to be involved in coordinating various prostitution activities. One is also alleged to have paid for sex, the sources said.

Authorities are also questioning a larger group of fire department employees about their possible roles in the scandal, the sources said. It is unclear how much of the improper activity took place at D.C. fire stations, the sources said.
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Kenneth Lyons, president of the union that represents emergency medical workers, said he was asked whether he knew of a "sex ring" involving firefighters and emergency medical technicians during a meeting with fire officials about the incident at Engine Company 8. He said an equal employment opportunity officer revealed at the meeting that allegations had surfaced involving firefighters requesting sex from emergency medical workers.

Lyons said that the female worker at Engine Company 8 initially informed fire officials at her station, including a battalion chief, about the incident involving the sergeant. But she felt the allegation wasn't being investigated properly or taken seriously, Lyons said.

Lyons said he brought the matter to the attention of top officials at a day-long diversity training seminar attended by Rubin and the entire senior command staff. During the event, senior department leaders discussed various issues involving sexual harassment and discrimination, as well as other topics. All department employees will attend the training.

With rumors swirling throughout the department, Daniel Dugan, president of the firefighters union, said his organization is taking a wait-and-see approach in the case.

"We owe it to our members to sit back and see what is fact and what is fiction," Dugan said.

Rubin said he will not tolerate misconduct in his department.

"It's disturbing to think we have to deal with these issues, but it's part of human nature," Rubin said.

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The Rich And Famous Teens Of Hollywood

They are rich and famous and still teenagers. Daniel, Hayden, Rihanna and Hilary are four of the richest teens of Hollywood.

Daniel Radcliffe, 17
Already UK’s richest teen, he will be paid a reported $50 million for the next two Harry Potter films. He recently spent $17,000 on a mattress, and said, “People seem to expect me to splash out on a classic-car collection, but I’ve never been into cars.”

Hayden Panettiere, 17
A magazine estimated the Heroes star earns $2 million a year. Her untitled debut album will release in 2008. A beauty company’s spokesmodel, she knows her face is her fortune, “I get facials all the time.”

Rihanna, 19
The Barbados-bred singer, whose latest CD, Good Girl Gone Bad, sold more than 200,000 copies in its first two weeks out, says she’s a savvy spender, “I don’t like to waste money. I buy things that I’m going to get my money’s worth out of, things I’m going to use a lot. I like to splurge on make up and shoes. My mom loves bags. I bought her one.”

Hilary Duff, 19
As CEO of her own lifestyle company, she earns about $12 million a year. Still, she says, “I definitely don’t just buy what I want.” Case in point, she thought about buying a SUV for nearly $100,000, but her business manager said, “You’re a terrible driver. You don’t need that kind of power.” She took the advice!

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The Wealthy Spreading HIV/AIDS In Asia

Contrary to the widely-held belief that HIV/AIDS is fuelled by poverty, a surprising and authoritative new study reveals that the epidemic in Asia is being driven by wealthy men, often after having unprotected sex with prostitutes.

"Clients of sex workers account for most HIV cases in Asia. Typically they are wealthy men," said Ross McLeod, an economist, presenting the findings of a joint study commissioned by the Asian Development Bank and UNAIDS at an international conference on AIDS here.

Turning generally held academic belief on its head, the multi-nation study finds that HIV does not necessarily spread under conditions of poverty. "It's wealthy men who pass on the virus. In Cambodia 12% of the richest men passed on the virus," McLeod told the 8th International Conference on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific (ICAAP) on Wednesday.
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"Poverty does not seem to increase the risk of infection in the first place. But AIDS increases the risk of poverty," added Jacques Jeugmans of the ADB.

McLeod said infection among wealthy Asian women too is on the rise, adding: "70% of cases in Asia are male, but this is beginning to change."

A number of UN health experts told the August 19-23 conference that the majority of HIV-positive women in the region are married women who have only had sex with their husbands - leading them to conclude that these women contracted the virus for no fault of theirs, from husbands who had had unprotected sex outside marriage.

The study seems to pinpoint men who have sex with multiple partners, including sex workers, but do not use condoms.

Indian epidemiologist Swarup Sarkar, regional director of UNAIDS for South Asia, said that although the joint ADB-UNAIDS study was an ongoing project, it already held out major policy implications for the way HIV/AIDS ought to be tackled in Asia.

For instance, one important new finding is about the way the virus has spread in countries - it usually started among injecting drug users in the 1990s, moved on to sex workers, from there to male clients and their faithful wives.

Homosexuals and other men who have sex with men were infected well before the epidemic took root among the general population.

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Philippino Police Clamp Down On Videoke Bars

The local police force will be closely monitoring every videoke bars here after receiving intelligence reports that some of the joints have been holding nude shows.

Superintendent Renato Soria said he will recommend for the closure of such bars if they ever they prove that they are holding such kinds of shows.

The police chief also said that as of the moment there are a total of five bars in their list that are staging nude shows.

Meanwhile, after the arrest of marijuana pushers and users, police operatives here were able to recover six units of Video Karera machines recently.

Led by Soria, the team was able to recover the said VK units from nearby operators in the said town.

After the peration and recovery, the machines were destroyed at the municipal grounds led by no less than Mayor Jun Tetangco and members of the Municipal Council led by Vice Mayor Peter Nucum.
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Soria said there are still a number of operators lingering around that is why the town's police force will be conducting more operations against them. "We will not spare anybody in our operations especially those operating near the schools here," he said.

Earlier also, Soria's team was able to arrest of a number of marijuana users and pushers.

He said they were able to recover about three-fourth kilo of marijuana from a group of suspected pushers in the town.

The suspects, Soria said, were mostly based in Sitio Paralaya in Barangay San Juan, this town.

Relatively, the town's police chief said they were able to recover shabu paraphernalia and the illegal drugs in barangays Capalangan, Sulipan and San Juan, all of this town.

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King Tooth Uses Teeth to Pull Train

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Workers Found From Iraq Phosgene In UN Headquarters

Former United Nations weapons inspectors in Iraq have discovered traces of chemical substances, including the poisonous gas phosgene, in their office in New York and have called on US authorities to investigate, a spokeswoman said Thursday. "There is no immediate risk or dangers and the UNMOVIC staff is still working on the premise," UN spokeswoman Marie Okabe said.

The FBI was called in to help remove the substances.

U.N. deputy spokeswoman Marie Okabe said one of the substances identified on Wednesday was phosgene suspended in oil, "whose present state is unknown but which could be potentially hazardous." Phosgene can be used as a chemical warfare agent.

The material was immediately secured by experts at the U.N. Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, known as UNMOVIC, and the U.N. sought assistance from U.S. authorities in having the material safely removed, she said.

"The office area was screened using UNOMVIC's chemical weapons detection equipment. No toxic vapors were found. There is no immediate risk or danger. UNMOVIC staff are still working on the premises," Okabe said.

The material in a sealed plastic bag includes "unknown liquid substances contained in metal and glass containers ranging in size from small vials to tubes the length of a pen in one of the sealed plastic bags," she said. "The only information we have of the contents of that bag is from an inventory of a 1996 inspection which indicates that one of the items may contain phosgene, an old-generation chemical warfare agent."

Commenting on the discovery, White House spokesman Tony Snow said, "I'm sure that there are going to be a lot of red-faced people over at the U.N. trying to figure out how (the chemicals) got there."

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Troy Hill Jailed For Stabing His Twin Half-Brothers Killing One

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Aaron's News Post - Breakfast Newsreel 08/30/2007

ABC Adoption Adult-Industry AFI Africa Aid AIDS Aircraft Airplane American Idol Angelina Jolie Anna Nicole Smith Anti-Prostitution Anti-Semitic Antonella Barba Armed Bandits Arnold Schwarzenegger Art Auschwitz Australia Belzec Bomb Bondage Brazil Britney Spears Cannabis Celebrity Celebs Cell Phones Chemical Ali Child Abuse China Christopher Lee CNN Cocaine Communist Conservatives Continental Airline Crime Croatia Crocodile Cyclone D.C. Madam David Vitter Death Death Camp Deborah Jeane Palfrey Democrat Depression Dog Food Recall Drug Abuse Drunk Drunk Driving DUI DWI El Salvador Elections Eric Bana Family Feud Fidel Castro Film Festival Film Piracy Films Fire Firemen Flooding Forest Fire Fraudsters G8 Gambling Golf Greece Gwen Stefani Heat Cramps Heat Stroke Hedley Thomas Hillary Rodham Clinton Home Remodelling Hormone Hostage Hugo Chavez Human Right India Injury Internet Iraq Islamic Values Isreal Japan Jayant Patel Jenna Jameson Judge Kate Hudson Kevin Rudd Koala Larry King Lewis "Scooter" Libby Lindsay Hawker Lindsay Lohan Lisa Ann Taylor Loans Mail Mansion Madam Megachurch Mel Gibson Merv Griffin Michael Jackson Microchip Movies Naked Naomi Campbell Nicole Probert Nowpublic Nuclear Plants Nuclear Weapons Nude Nude Pictures Oman Owen Wilson Painting Paparazzi Paris Hilton Pascal Mashaalani Paul Wofowitz PGA Pig Police Politics Porn celeb Pornography President Bush Prison Prostitution Prostitution Ring Queen Elisabeth Renae Cruz Reverend Ted Haggard Saddam Hussein Sc-fi Seoul Sex Sex Clubs Sex Education Sex Slavery Sex Workers Sexist Sexual Abuse Sexual Revolution Sexy Shaha Ali Riza Sharon Flaherty Singapore SMS Smuggling South Korea Soviet Union Soyabeans Spider-Man 3 Spy Strip Club Suicide Supermodel surfing Sweetheart Deal Sylvester Stallone Taliban Thunderstorms Tiger Woods Tony Ramunno Tornado Tornadoe Tragedy Transformers Uranium US US 2008 Elections USCIS Visa Wal-Mart Wan Nurul Zhana Women Trafficking World Bank World Trade Centre WWII

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8 South Korean Hostage Freed By Talibans

Taliban insurgents fulfilled their pledge to release 19 South Korean Christian volunteers they have held for nearly six weeks, by freeing eight South Korean hostages in two separate batches today, the first of 19 hostages the Taliban agreed to release.

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Owen Wilson's Suicide Attempt Likely Due To Split With Kate Hudson

Owen Wilson allegedly attempted to commit suicide over his split from Kate Hudson.

The Wedding Crashers star - who is currently recovering in hospital after he reportedly slashed his wrists and took a pill overdose - was said to be distraught when he saw pictures of his ex-girlfriend with her new man, Dax Shepherd.

Sources claim Owen then attempted to take his own life, with his elder brother finding him unconscious at Owen's Los Angeles home.

Witnesses said the 38-year-old actor was then wheeled out of the house on a stretcher with bandages on his wrists and taken to a nearby hospital.

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David Perel, editor-in-chief of America's National Enquirer magazine, said: "Owen Wilson has now been transferred to another Los Angeles area hospital. His elder brother Andrew and younger brother Luke are with him.

"Andrew found him after the suicide attempt and called an ambulance. Both of Owen's wrists were slashed superficially and Owen had taken an overdose of pills. He was found with a nearly empty bottle of pills next to him at his house."

The comic star also released a statement, saying: "I ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time."

Owen and Kate - who has a three-year-old son, Ryder, from her marriage to rocker Chris Robinson - split in June, after constantly arguing about Owen's wild behaviour.

Kate began dating Employee of the Month star Shepherd in July and sources claim she is smitten with him.

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Owen Wilson Did Not Attempt Suicide

Oscar-nominated film star Owen Wilson, best known for comedies like Wedding Crashers, sought time today to "heal in private" after media reports claimed he was hospitalized for a suicide attempt.

"I respectfully ask that the media allow me to receive care and heal in private during this difficult time," Wilson, 38, said in a statement released to Reuters.

A fire department official in Santa Monica, California, a beachside community adjacent to Los Angeles, told Reuters that late yesterday firemen and police officers went to Wilson's home and transported a person to a local hospital where he was treated. The official declined to name Wilson.

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Various news reports said Wilson was transferred to Cedars Sinai Medical Centre in the Beverly Hills area, but hospital officials declined to comment, citing confidentiality.

Celebrity magazine People reported Wilson's brother Luke, who is also an actor, and other family members were seen at Cedars Sinai.

US tabloids Star magazine and National Enquirer cited unnamed sources as saying Wilson tried to commit suicide by cutting his wrist and taking drugs. Star said he was discovered by a family member, who called for help.

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Wilson's spokeswoman, Ina Treciokas, declined to elaborate on the actor's statement or discuss his medical condition.

Wilson, with long blonde hair and a crooked nose, is known for playing charming rascals, mostly in comedies. In Wedding Crashers, which grossed $US285 million ($A344.31 million) at global box offices, he and co-star Vince Vaughn portrayed two guys who show up uninvited at weddings in order to get dates.

The Texas-born actor recently starred in romantic comedy You, Me and Dupree playing a guy who moves into the home of his best friend and wreaks havoc on his friend's marriage.

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Wilson also has a serious side as a co-writer with his long-time friend, director Wes Anderson. The two paired up for 1994's low-budget film Bottle Rocket, about a trio of hapless friends who turn to crime only to find out it's not too cool.

Wilson and Anderson were nominated for a best original screenplay Oscar with 2002's offbeat comedy The Royal Tenenbaums, about a dysfunctional family.

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The actor stars in Anderson's new film, The Darjeeling Limited, premiering at the Venice Film Festival next week.

Wilson's career has varied widely and included independent films and big-budget movies like Starsky and Hutch, a remake of the 1970's TV show.

He also had a small role in recent hit Night at the Museum and was the voice of a car in animated Cars.

However reports streaming in shows that Owen Wilson did not attempt suicide, but it proves that in all likelihood, something did actually go down. More on this is being pieced and will be out soon.

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Careless Cigarette Smoking Likely Cause Of World Trade Centre Site's Fire

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Owen Wilson In Hospital After Attempting Suicide

Hollywood actor Owen Wilson was rushed to hospital on Sunday after allegedly attempting suicide. Star magazine and the National Enquirer claim the 38-year-old actor was taken to St. John's hospital in Santa Monica, Calif. by ambulance after police and paramedics responded to a 911 call from Wilson's home shortly after noon.


Owen Wilson sliced his wrists and attempted to commit suicide a new report from the National Enquirer and Star Magazine claims. In what sounds like a tragic and horrible situation the report on the website details that Wilson was hospitalized after attempting suicide citing sources.

The Enquirer reports that Wilson was transported to St. John’s hospital in Santa Monica , Calif. on Sunday, August 26, by ambulance. Sources tell the entertainment magazine that that he "sliced his wrists and also took an indeterminate amount of pills."

The report claims that he was discovered by a family member who summoned help. Police and an ambulance responded to a 911 call from Owen's house around noon on Sunday. Witnesses claims that his wrist was sutured and bandaged at the hospital.

Owen was brought in to St. John's in very serious condition. Police were on the scene immediately as was a criminal defense attorney, believed to be working for Wilson. Some of Owen’s family was with him.

Wilson was stabilized at St. John's.

Update: TMZ has this: Santa Monica Police issued the following statement: "On Sunday Aug. 26. 2007 at 12:10 pm officers from the Santa Monica Police Department responded to a medical assistance call from the Santa Monica Fire Department at the 900 block of 23rd Street.

The person was transported to a local hospital where they are being treated." TMZ has learned the 911 call came in at 11:59 a.m. to the L.A. Fire Department.

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Greece Tops Southern Europe's Forests Wild Fires

At the top of the fires raging across Southern Europe is the Greece's forest fire and as its death toll reached at least 59 over the past three days, video clips of the incidence continue to stream out of the affected areas.

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"Fidel Castro Will Never Die," said Hugo Chavez

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, close ally to Cuban Leader Fidel Castro, speaking at a public event on Saturday, denied persistent rumors that Castro had died.

Chavez was reacting to talk among Cuban exiles and echoed by foreign news outlets, especially in Florida, that the ailing Castro, 81, had passed away.

Castro, who turned 81 on August 13 with little celebration in Cuba, underwent intestinal surgery in July 2006 and handed power over temporarily to his brother Raul.

He has not been seen in public since before the operation, though he has appeared in photographs and eight videos, the last of which aired on June 5.

"Those who want him to die will be frustrated, because Fidel Castro will never die," said Chavez, one of the few who visited the revolutionary leader at his sickbed.

Chavez said that Castro "will always live among the people that fight for a better destiny. He will always live in the people of Cuba, of Venezuela, and of America."

Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque on Thursday, while attending an event in Brazil, also denied talk of Castro's death.

Castro "is steady, on track with his recovery, showing discipline, a lot of dedication and a lot of activity, writing, reading and working," Perez Roque told AFP .

Chavez's remarks on Saturday came at an event aimed at supporting his new party, the United Socialist Party of Venezuela, which brings together the different leftist groups that support him.

Critics accuse Chavez of emulating Castro, and trying to impose a Cuban-style communist regime in Venezuela.

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Feminist Lobby Forgive Kevin Rudd

Amid the wall of noise that greeted news of Kevin Rudd's visit to a New York strip club this week, one voice was notably silent - that of the feminist lobby.

If Alexander Downer had been caught in the same situation as Rudd - in a club full of semi-naked lap dancers, blind drunk and representing Australia at taxpayers' expense - he'd probably be out of a job now.

And at the forefront of the charge would have been the country's notable and usually vocal feminists.

Their line of attack would have been easy to predict: Downer's visit to a lap-dancing club demeaned women generally, sent an appalling message to young women, in particular, about body image and, most importantly, betrayed the Howard government's real attitude to women.

In Rudd's case, however, feminists chose to forgive and forget.

Eva Cox, from the Women's Electoral Lobby, set the tone: "Going on the piss for one night, basically, and doing something dumb is not a cardinal sin - it's obviously not something he does generally. You can't condemn somebody for getting on the piss. We would never have elected Bob Hawke in that case.''

A number of questions and several points about Cox's observation.

First, if getting so drunk you can't recollect what happened is an excuse for sexist behaviour when you're in a strip club, why does it not then become an excuse for domestic violence?

The implication is the same - the man involved is not responsible for his actions because he's under the influence of alcohol.

The drunk's defence. It's an excuse most men wouldn't accept and nor should they.

Certainly, no one let me get away with it after my appalling performance at the Walkley Awards last year. While alcohol played a part, it did not justify my actions - a point I made at the time.

Cox would argue there is a big difference between hitting a woman and going to a strip club - except feminists consistently argue that stripping, like pornography, is not a "victimless'' crime.

According to this perfectly acceptable logic, the women in both situations are exploited because men pay for them to be exploited. They are usually poor and with limited employment choices.

Without men, there'd be no strip clubs and a lot less porn.

Cox, along with the National Foundation for Australian Women's Marie Coleman, also made a character assessment of Rudd.

"It's obviously not something he does generally,'' Cox says. Or in the case of Coleman: it was "out of character''.

On what basis do they make this judgment? I've known Kevin Rudd for more than 20 years. He came to my wedding and the christening of my son. I still wouldn't know what he got up to in his spare time. I doubt Cox or Coleman would have a clue, either.

And then there's what Cox, and many others, choose to ignore. Despite the allegation being put specifically to Rudd - and The Sunday Telegraph giving him six hours to consider it - the Opposition leader chose not to deny the claim that he had behaved "inappropriately''. Instead, he said he had no recollection.

It can only be imagined what howls of outrage would have come from Cox if Downer had squibbed the same question.

And finally, there's Cox's argument that if "getting pissed'' was a disqualification for high office, we'd never have elected Bob Hawke as prime minister. No. Hawke himself agreed it made him unelectable. That's why he made a public compact with voters to give up the grog.

Hawke was a teetotaller for all his time in power.

Compare the absence of feminist condemnation of Rudd with the thermo-nuclear response to Liberal Senator Bill Heffernan's completely unacceptable remarks about Julia Gillard being unfit for political leadership because she's chosen not to have children.

Gillard, along with Labor colleagues Tanya Plibersek, Nicola Roxon and Annette Ellis, came out swinging against Heffernan - justifiably, too.

Rudd himself declared Heffernan's remarks to be "a referendum on Mr Howard's character'', even after Howard refused to support his colleague.

But where were Labor women on Rudd's behaviour? Gillard's decidedly muted response was that: "He's acknowledged he made an error and I think that's all that needs to be said about it.''

The Daily Telegraph reported that Plibersek did not return calls.

In the case of Heffernan, Liberal women showed much more courage. Julie Bishop described his remarks as "totally unacceptable''. Helen Coonan used the same words. And Amanda Vanstone accused Heffernan of living in "the Dark Ages''.

Given the events of last week, it's hard not to conclude that when it comes to left-wing feminist condemnation of sexist behaviour in politics, only one thing counts: which side of politics the perpetrator comes from.

Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised. One of the most hypocritical episodes of modern politics was played out in the US during the Clinton presidency, when Eva Cox's American counterparts actually came to Bill's defence during the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Then again, when you think about it, Rudd's defence that he couldn't recollect nude lap dancers all around him is about as credible as Clinton saying he didn't inhale.

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