Wakey, Wakey It’s Morning News

Grab your morning cup of coffee and I’ll have a beer and let’s discover what’s been happening in the world while you slept.

Remember Morning News is an Open Thread

Myanmar democracy leader Suu Kyi considers offer to meet top general
YANGON (AFP) – Myanmar’s democracy icon Aung San Suu Kyi will consider positively a heavily conditioned offer to meet the junta leader, her party said Friday, as a US envoy headed to meet leaders of the isolated regime.The ruling generals made the offers of dialogue as the United Nations readied to discuss the violent crackdown on the largest pro-democracy demonstrations in almost 20 years in the country formerly called Burma.

U.S.: 25 killed in firefight with Shiite militia
Military says troops were targeting commander believed linked to Iran
BAGHDAD – U.S. forces killed at least 25 members of a rogue Shiite militia in a heavy firefight early Friday, the military said.

The troops were targeting a militia commander believed to be associated with members of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards’ Quds Force and responsible for moving weapons from Iran into Baghdad, the military said.

Pakistan court ruling a setback for Musharraf
Court OKs election, but rules that announcement of results has to wait
ISLAMABAD, Pakistan – Pakistan’s Supreme Court ruled that the country can hold its presidential election Saturday but may only declare the winner after the court rules on whether President Gen. Pervez Musharraf, the expected victor, is eligible to run.

Editorial
Misleading Spin on Children’s Health
Trying to justify his ideologically driven veto of a bill to expand the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, President Bush and his staff have fired a barrage of misinformation about this valuable program. Before the House votes on whether to override the veto, all members – especially those from Mr. Bush’s party who say they are concerned about millions of uninsured children – must look behind the rhetoric.

US

Guilty Plea Stands, but Craig Won’t Quit Senate
By CARL HULSE
Published: October 5, 2007

WASHINGTON, Oct. 4 – Senator Larry E. Craig of Idaho, defying the wishes of many in his own Republican Party, said Thursday that he would remain in the Senate through next year despite a court ruling against him in Minnesota, where he had sought to rescind his guilty plea stemming from an undercover sex sting.

Sniper team tells of pressure from above
Members of a U.S. Army unit in Iraq, three of whom are on trial for murder, say they felt pressured to notch more ‘kills.’
By Ned Parker, Los Angeles Times Staff Writer
7:45 PM PDT, October 4, 2007
BAGHDAD — Here they were, hardened combat soldiers, grounded on a military base far from the palm groves, canals and marshes where they once prowled.

But at least for a moment this week, they were still the Painted Demons, the elite sniper unit that struck fear in the so-called triangle of death south of Baghdad. That couldn’t be taken away: not by breaking them up, as the Army had done, and not even by the murder trials of three of their members at Camp Victory.

Charges for Blackwater ex-guard? Lawyer doubts it

By Mike Carter

Seattle Times staff reporter
The Seattle attorney representing a former Blackwater contractor under investigation in the high-profile shooting death of an Iraqi said his client is being pilloried by Congress and the media, and he questions whether criminal charges can ever be filed.

“There are jurisdictional issues. And there are factual issues, including the issue of self-defense,” said Stewart Riley, who represents Andrew Moonen of Seattle. “You have to remember that the Green Zone is still a war zone.”

The Politician and the Absent American Flag Pin
By JEFF ZELENY
Published: October 5, 2007
INDEPENDENCE, Iowa, Oct. 4 – Senator Barack Obama said Thursday that he stopped wearing an American flag pin on his lapel years ago, saying the symbol has become an empty substitute for true patriotism.
“My attitude is that I’m less concerned about what you’re wearing on your lapel than what’s in your heart,” Mr. Obama told an audience here. “You show your patriotism by how you treat your fellow Americans, especially those who served.”

Americas

Pinochet family arrested in Chile
The widow and five children of Chile’s former military ruler, Gen Augusto Pinochet, have been arrested on charges of embezzlement.

They are accused of illegally transferring $27m (£13.2m) to foreign bank accounts during the general’s time in power between 1973 and 1990.

Asia

Myanmar Junta Admits Mass Arrests
By THOMAS FULLER
Published: October 5, 2007
BANGKOK, Oct. 4 – For the first time, Myanmar’s military rulers late Thursday acknowledged mass detentions in their brutal crackdown on protesters, saying that about 1,400 people were being held. They also made a heavily qualified offer to meet with the pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi.

India cuts to the chase with Myanmar
By Siddharth Srivastava

NEW DELHI – There is international pressure on India not to engage with the military junta in Myanmar that severely cracked down on pro-democracy protestors recently. But it seems New Delhi has other ideas.

Betraying its soft approach towards Myanmar, New Delhi has advised the United Nations Security Council against imposing sanctions, which should only be used as a “last resort”,

‘The Kite Runner’ Is Delayed to Protect Child Stars
LOS ANGELES, Oct. 3 – The studio distributing “The Kite Runner,” a tale of childhood betrayal, sexual predation and ethnic tension in Afghanistan, is delaying the film’s release to get its three schoolboy stars out of Kabul – perhaps permanently – in response to fears that they could be attacked for their enactment of a culturally inflammatory rape scene.

Africa

All trapped miners rescued in S. Africa
By MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press Writer
CARLETONVILLE, South Africa – Singing and dancing despite exhaustion, the last of 3,200 miners trapped deep underground for more than a day emerged safely Thursday night, delivering a happy ending but raising questions about the safety of South Africa’s important gold mines.

His Aim Was True

Policeman shot in butt with own gun while battling porn vending machine bandits
TAGAWA, Fukuoka — A police officer is in a serious condition after being shot in the buttocks with his own pistol while scuffling with porno vending machine thieves here Friday, police said.

The 29-year-old sergeant from Tagawa Police Station is being treated for the wound to his buttocks.