News of Interest for 10/17/06

US Reviews War Plan on N. Korea
"Under the envisaged plan, U.S. combat aircraft and bombers, such as F-117A Nighthawk stealth fighters and F-15Es, would conduct ``surgical strikes'' on major weapons of mass destruction (WMD) facilities, training sites, and intelligence and communication facilities in the North instead of ground forces advancing into the North, the report said."
L.A. Cops Crack Down on Skid Row as Gentrification Looms
'On Friday, documentarian Ernest Savage videotaped police putting handcuffs on a mentally ill man and driving him away. The man’s wife, also mentally ill, erupted into tears and screams. When an LAPD officer shouted at her to pack up her tent, she wailed, "I can’t do it without him." The officer simply pushed past her to enter and investigate her home while she shouted in protest.'
Cameras snap shooters
"Crime surveillance cameras in Cincinnati will get smarter next year if City Council has its way. A majority of council members made their intention clear: They would like to spend about $6 million in the next two years on digital cameras intended to zoom in on anyone who has fired a gun. Sound sensors activate the cameras when there is a gunshot, then instantly transmit the location of the gunfire and video of the scene to the 911 dispatch center - and perhaps even into video terminals in police cruisers."
ITALY: One Parliamentarian in Three Takes Drugs – Row over Test by TV’s “Le Iene”
"One MP in three enjoys a spliff or a snort” according to Le Iene, the satirical TV show that – lawyers permitting – will start a new series, due to go out on Italia 1 at 9 pm, with a scoop. On the pretext of an interview about the budget, Le Iene reporter Matteo Viviani managed to persuade fifty members of the Lower House to talk to the camera of a non-existent station. An accomplice pretending to be a make-up assistant then dabbed perspiration from the victim’s forehead to take a drug wipe, which in theory should reveal whether the person has taken drugs in the last thirty-six hours. Thirty-two per cent of the parliamentary wipes proved positive. Specifically, twelve out of fifty (24%) tested positive for cannabis and four (8%) for cocaine."
New RFID tech would track airport passengers
"The inventors of a new monitoring system that uses RFID tags claim it could improve airport security by tracking passengers as they mingle in the departure lounge."
Is Germany Falling into Poverty?
"A new study claims that around 8 percent of all Germans live under the poverty line. Some believe the country is giving birth to an underclass that, unlike the impoverished of previous generations, has completely given up on the future."
Gaza doctors say patients suffering mystery injuries after Israeli attacks
'It is not clear whether the injuries come from a new weapon. The Israeli military declined to detail the weapons in its arsenal, but denied reports that the injuries came from a Dense Inert Metal Explosive (Dime), a new experimental weapon that causes a powerful blast but in a localised area. The Dime, while causing severe injuries to its target, is intended to limit what the defence industry calls "collateral damage."'
Florida Wal-Mart Workers Stage Protest
"In a rare demonstration, more than 100 Wal-Mart employees rallied yesterday at a store in Hialeah Gardens, Fla., a Miami suburb. They were protesting a new policy on employee absences as well as efforts at the store to cut workers’ hours."