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Alaska: Satellite images spot Augustine Volcano's steam plume - A MODIS satellite image, captured by the Geographic Information Network of Alaska, confirms pilots' sightings of a steam plume emerging from Augustine Volcano. The plume appears to be primarily steam, but reports of a sulfurous smell have been reported by surrounding communities to the Alaska Volcano Observatory. The plume extends an estimated 50 miles from the volcano.

"It's had a steady increase in earthquake activity and there's deformation," Steve McNutt, a research professor of seismology at the Geophysical Institute, said of the Augustine Volcano. "We've detected two centimeters of inflation, and, for the last few days, steaming." - More...
Wednesday PM - December 14, 2005

National: Bush's approval rating on Iraq rises - a little bit By BILL STRAUB - President Bush's recent effort in defense of the war in Iraq has attracted some support, but he appears to have a long way to go before getting most of the nation on his side.

Recognizing America's distaste for the nation's involvement in Iraq, President Bush set about the task of bolstering support for the war last month with a series of lectures, culminating Wednesday, as Iraqis head to the polls to elect a parliament, with an address at the Woodrow Wilson Center in Washington.

That strategy, laying out the administration's game plan and providing rationale for instigating hostilities in Iraq, seemingly has nudged public opinion. But a majority of Americans, according to recent polls, continue to question the administration's conduct and express concern that the present strategy will fail.

"Despite his aggressive campaign on the war in Iraq, the president is still a victim of the events on the ground there," said John Zogby, president and CEO of the polling firm Zogby International. ""If the election in Iraq goes smoothly and stability looks to be possible, then the president's support among his base may increase. But improvements in events on the ground is a big if and, to date, his efforts are falling short." - More...
Wednesday PM - December 14, 2005

Analysis: Will democracy - or civil war - break out in Iraq? By LISA HOFFMAN - After a labored and bloody year, democracy will fully be born Thursday in Iraq. Whether it will live is unknown.

For the third time this year, Iraqis will cast votes in a national election that could propel the war-weary country further toward self-determination, representative government and peace. Or it could provide the push for ethnically and religiously divided Iraq to descend into full-out civil war.

"The coming year could be a tipping point that will show whether Iraq will slowly succeed or fall apart," said Phebe Marr, author of "The Modern History of Iraq" and a fellow at the U.S. Institute of Peace, in Washington.

Here, in Q&A format, is a look at some of the issues and stakes of the election, which include the future for U.S. troops in Iraq: - More...
Wednesday PM - December 14, 2005

KGH Manager of the Year Pat Stack Photo courtesy KGH

Ketchikan: KGH selects Manager of the Year - The prestigious award of Manager of the Year was presented at the Ketchikan General Hospital Holiday Party on December 2. Patrick Stack, Manager of the hospital's Child Care Center, was chosen for this honor by a committee of employees and administrators.

Stack began working for PeaceHealth in 1996, and has been manager of the Center since 2002. Certified as a Child Development Associate, he also presents early education workshops for the Association for the Education of Young Children (ACEY) both here and in Juneau. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 14, 2005

Alaska: Alaskans, children, invited to submit design ideas for U.S. Mint's 50 State Quarters Program - Alaska will soon join the rest of the nation and have its own state coin. Design ideas, submitted in writing instead of a drawing, are being accepted beginning January 1, 2006, according to the Commemorative Coin Commission whose members are appointed by the Governor. The deadline for submitting an entry is February 28, 2006, and all Alaskans are welcome to participate. A special effort is being made to encourage Alaska's schoolchildren to participate. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 14, 2005

Viewpoints Opinions/Letters A Bigger Picture By Scott Heyworth - Wednesday PM ANB-ANS Christmas Party By Cecelia Johnson - Wednesday PM Mr. Ahmadinejad, Iran's dictator and his threats By Mark Neckameyer - Wednesday PM Bush has a plan By Mark Neckameyer - Wednesday PM A Dark and Stormy Night By Jerry Cegelske - Tuesday PM Alaska has to Define Eminent Domain by Rep. Lesil McGuire - Tuesday PM Bridges? By Kevin Mackey - Tuesday PM All or nothing? By Jos "GUS" Govaars VI - Monday PM "Bridge or nothing!" attitude ludicrous By Don Hoff, Jr. - Monday PM Winter Concert By Tom LeCompte - Monday PM Budget hypocrisy By Nancy Duff Campbell - Monday PM How about a vote? By Virginia Atkinson - Monday PM Fisherman looking for tips By Lawren Keeler - Saturday Ketchikan's Bridge? By Robert McRoberts - Saturday Attitude of bridge or nothing is dangerously arrogant By John Stewart - Thursday Plea to Governor is on behalf of middle school students By Jackie Williams - Thursday If We Were To Build A Bridge... By Lawrence "Snapper" Carson - Wednesday 64th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor By Jake Metcalfe - Wednesday Victory? By Phil Stark - Wednesday More Viewpoints/ Letters Publish A Letter Political Cartoonists Political Cartoons Ketchikan Wednesday, December 14, 2005 6:00 pm - The Ketchikan School Board will hold a regular meeting in the City Council Chambers. Agenda Thursday, December 15, 2005 7:00 pm - The Ketchikan City Council will hold a regular meeting in the City Council Chambers. Agenda & Information Packets Thursday, December 22, 2005 Noon: The Assembly/School Board Liaison Committee scheduled to meet on Thursday, December 15, 2005, has been changed to Thursday, December 22, 2005 at noon in the City Council Chambers. December Calendar Ketchikan Arts This Week Today's Forecast Current AK Weather Map City Police Report 12/12/05 AK Troopers Daily Dispatch Classifieds & Announcements December 2005 Click on the date for stories and photos published on that day... S M T W T F S   28 29 30 01 02 03 04 05 06 07 08 09 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 Front Page Archives

International: Dropouts face loss of driver's licenses By CAROLINE ALPHONSO - Ontario plans to become the first province in Canada to deny or suspend the driving privileges of teenagers if they drop out of school before the age of 18.

The province has introduced legislation that would also see 16- and 17-year-old students who are habitually absent to be fined as much as $1,000. Parents and employers, too, could be legally reprimanded. Those who fail to ensure their under-18 children attend class, and employers who hire students during school hours, could be fined $1,000 - up from $200 - under the proposed bill.

"It is a privilege to have a driver's license, and one of the corresponding obligations is to be serious about taking your learning as far as possible," Education Minister Gerard Kennedy told a news conference at Queen's Park Tuesday before introducing the legislation.

The incentive being used to keep students in school comes as the province attempts to cut its dismal dropout rate in half by 2010. Currently, about 30 percent of students leave high school without a diploma. - More...
Wednesday PM - December 14, 2005

Technology: Internet users become part of phishing harvest By BILL TOLAND - It takes just seconds, a few taps on the keyboard, a few clicks of the mouse, and Jason Thomas has launched a computer bug that harvests e-mail addresses. After a minute, he aborts the program and unveils the list of addresses he's collected. "It's very easy to do," he said. "And I'm no techie by any stretch of the imagination."

This is how phishing usually begins, with your e-mail address. Next comes an automated e-mail, sent by a spam generator, which instructs you to visit a fake Web site and "update your credit billing information" or "verify your PayPal login."

Then, if the scammer is lucky and you're not computer savvy, you hand over your name, credit card number and other personal data - a valuable bundle of information that's sold on the black market to someone who wants to steal your identity and your line of credit.

Phishing scams have infected the Internet for more than a decade. In the beginning, it was called "Web page spoofing." But the scams have reached a critical mass over the past few months, reaching more people than ever, using more fake Web pages than ever, and becoming so sophisticated that even the good guys have a tough time telling fake Web pages from authentic ones.

Thomas, fortunately, is one of the good guys. He's a program manager at the National Cyber-Forensics and Training Alliance, which makes its home in a business park near the Monongahela River outside of Pittsburgh. The nonprofit alliance is one of the few computer crime research outfits in the United States, a collaboration of law enforcement officials, computer experts, private enterprise and volunteer graduate school students from the University of Pittsburgh, Carnegie Mellon University and Robert Morris University.

Thomas' days are consumed by computer crimes of all varieties, including online auction frauds, spam-sending "bot networks," fake charity solicitations such as the ones that arose after last year's killer tsunami and this year's Hurricane Katrina. But phishing scams, he said, are taking up more and more of his time.

At the start of last year, there were about 200 phishing sites on the Web - fake sites designed to look like they belong to eBay or Citibank, for example. By autumn, there were more than 5,200, according to the Anti-Phishing Working Group, a cross-industry global group supporting those tackling the phishing menace. And that number is rising.

One reason is that as recently as last year you had to be able write computer code to place a phish site on a server. Now, phish writers are creating customizable packets. A scammer buys the code packet from a vendor, fills in the blanks, inserts an eBay logo, for example, and he's ready to go.

"These kits? That's what causing these spikes," Thomas said. "It used to be you had to know how to do this yourself. Now you don't."

Hanging on a wall in the cyber training alliance offices are various flow charts which show how phishing scams operate.

If you thought they tend to be simple - a geeky teen sitting at a computer sending out e-mail, collecting personal data and going on a shopping spree - you're wrong. - More....
Wednesday PM - December 14, 2005