Ryan Howard homered twice, Chase Utley also went deep and the Philadelphia Phillies beat the Minnesota Twins 9-5 on Friday night.
Joe Blanton (2-5) threw six effective innings for the Phillies, who have won three straight and four of five after a 5-14 skid dropped them into third place in the NL East. Howard went 4 for 4 with three RBIs and set a career high with four …
a's 10, orioles 1
At Oakland, Calif., Dan Johnson hit a grand slam in his firstofficial at-bat back from the minors and the A's gave Hayden Penn (0-1) a rude welcome in his return to the majors, scoring nine runs inthe first inning.
BALTIMORE OAKLAND
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Mora 3b 3 1 0 0 Ellis 2b 5 2 3 2
Mrkkis rf 4 0 0 0 Payton cf 4 1 1 0
Tejada dh 3 0 3 1 Bocachica cf 0 0 0 0
Firntno ph 0 0 0 0 Thmas dh 4 0 0 0
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Gomez ss …
Oslo-based investment house Terra Securities ASA declared bankruptcy Wednesday after national regulators moved to revoke its license for failing to inform Norwegian townships of the high risks of their U.S. investments.
Four small townships in northern Norway had been embroiled in a conflict with Terra over losses, saying the brokerage failed to inform them of the high risk of 451 million kroner (US$82 million, euro56 million) in investments placed through the American financial giant Citibank.
In a news release, the Financial Supervisory Authority of Norway, a government agency, notified Terra that it intended to revoke all of its licenses to manage …
The setback for a plan the Cubs had hoped to ram through the state Legislature's fall veto session has sent team officials back to the drawing board to search for alternatives that might include creating a tax-increment-financing (TIF) district around Wrigley.
Another possibility is to broaden the boundaries of a 1 percent tax on downtown restaurant meals used to finance McCormick Place. That tax currently extends as far north as Diversey.
Gene Saffold, …
WASHINGTON After weeks of asserting that as Senate Republicanleader he had to read the fine print before endorsing the U.S.-Sovietintermediate-range missile treaty, Sen. Robert J. Dole of Kansastoday will announce his support for it in an atmosphere of Republicanpresidential politics.
He will make the announcement after meeting with PresidentReagan in an arrangement carefully worked out between Dole and WhiteHouse chief of staff Howard H. Baker Jr. Reagan is expected towelcome Dole's support and congratulate him on his position.
During last week's superpower summit Vice President George Bushpromoted his campaign for the Republican presidential nomination asthe …
WASHINGTON - Wholesale prices shot up more than expected in September, reflecting higher food and energy costs.
The Labor Department reported Friday that its Producer Price Index, which measures inflation pressures before they reach the consumer, jumped by 1.1 percent in September, more than double what analysts had been expecting.
However, core …
A customer at a Salem, Mass., bar spent the night trapped in a bathroom but told police in the morning he was "comfortable" and even offered to pay his tab.
Laura Walton, the manager of Gulu-Gulu Cafe, says staff arrived at about 8 a.m. Saturday and heard noises coming from the bathroom area. She tells The Salem News they called police because they thought someone was breaking in.
The 26-year-old man told police …
Rock 'n' roll may not be dead, but a new consumer survey showsit's losing ground to country, rap and soul.
The Recording Industry Association of America said rock 'n' rollaccounted for one-third of all music bought in the United States lastyear, down from nearly half four years ago.
The burgeoning popularity of country music and urbancontemporary, which combines rap and soul, boosted the industry to arecord $9 billion in sales during 1992, according to the annualconsumer profile by the industry group.
Country music, led by Garth Brooks, accounted for 17 percent ofmusic sales last year, the survey said.
"You might say he's an industry by himself," …
IKORODU, Nigeria (AP) — Residents cook in knee-deep flood water and children wade past carrying roosters above their shoulders in this city on the outskirts of Lagos, where the rising tide poses a health risk by overwhelming sewage-filled outdoor toilets.
In Ikorodu in southwestern Nigeria, wooden canoes sail in creeks newly formed over roads, forcing people to use gangplanks of scrap wood to stay out of the muddy current. And government assistance, despite Nigeria's billions in oil money, is nowhere to be found.
"The government just eats the money, keeps it to themselves," said Joy Jolly, 36, balanced atop one gangplank walkway Wednesday in Ikorodu. "The people dey …
Reebok says its tipline and $10,000 reward for Sidney Crosby's missing Olympic glove and stick are already paying dividends.
Len Rhodes, vice president and general manager for Reebok Hockey CCM, says the tipline is producing everything from encouraging comments to claims of "potential information."
Crosby used the stick _ a Reebok 10K Sickick II model that retails for $249 _ and glove to score the overtime goal that decided the Olympic men's hockey final against the United States on Feb. 28 in Vancouver.
The equipment disappeared after Crosby threw aside his stick and ripped off his gloves to celebrate Canada's Olympic victory.
…
President Bush's recent meetings with European leaders andRussia's President Vladimir Putin again placed Bush's proposedmissile defense program at center stage. This former B-52 crew chiefand son of a Vietnam veteran thinks this was a bad idea whenPresident Ronald Reagan first proposed it, and it's still a bad idea.
The technical and political problems for this estimated $60billion to $300 billion weapons system are many. On the technicalside, any missile defense system is fairly easily overcome withrelatively cheap electronic countermeasures and decoys such as low-tech, low-cost devises like Mylar balloons, flares and chaff. That'snot to say we shouldn't spend money for …
| Buffalo | 0 2 1—3 |
|---|---|
| Montreal | 0 1 0—1 |
First Period_None. Penalties_Plekanec, Mon (holding), 7:01; Gragnani, Buf (tripping), 12:03; Roy, Buf (hooking), 18:07.
Second Period_1, Montreal, Diaz 1 (Pacioretty, Kostitsyn), 2:08. 2, Buffalo, Leopold 1 (Stafford, Roy), 12:11. 3, Buffalo, Vanek 4 (Pominville, Gragnani), 19:57. Penalties_Ennis, Buf (slashing), 5:04; McCormick, Buf, major (fighting), …
The Volt
Last year was sensational for The Volt, featuring Sam Brookes(guitar and vocals), Domenico Bartolo (drums), Phoebe Phillips(bass) and Jack Kendrew (guitar).
The band won MTV's Get Seen Get Heard talent search and wererunners-up in the Live And Unsigned Award at the Vodafone Live MusicAwards.
Recognised as one of the hardest-working bands in the region TheVolt were named Bath's Band of 2008 in the new year's "People of theYear" edition of The Bath Chronicle.
Currently working with producer Chris Hughes, The Volt will behitting us with their first single soon.
Catch them when they play Moles tonight.
Support comes from Futures.
Admission costs pounds5.
LIVEWIRE
The highly acclaimed tribute to AC/DC, play Bath's Komediatomorrow.
Having developed a tremendous following, this six-man tribute toboth eras of AC/DC, are able to recreate the look and sound of theband's classic hard rock sounds.
The band bring the full size DC show to the fore, complete withthe cannons, the Hells Bell, the walkways and the backdrops and drapes.
Expect all the classics including Thunderstruck, Back In Black,Whole Lotta Rosie, Let There Be Rock, Highway To Hell, For ThoseAbout To Rock (We Salute You), and Hells Bells.
Tickets cost pounds14.
GORDON GILTRAP
Acclaimed guitarist Gordon Giltrap first came to prominence inthe 1960s. He has a blistering guitar style and is at his best whenperforming original compositions and folk blues.
He is one of this country's most innovative and excitingguitarists. Although he started out on the folk scene he quicklyachieved chart success with his song Heartsong that was used formany years as the theme tune to the BBC's Holiday Programme.
This concert represents a unique opportunity to hear him in theintimate atmosphere of one of the most intimate performance spacesin the area, The Rondo on Wednesday.
PEE WEE ELLIS
The legendary jazz star hosts a Valentine's Funky Love Dance atChapel Arts Centre, Lower Borough Walls on Saturday.
Pee Wee's band, in addition to rumoured special guests, willfeature vocalist Lizzie Deane, who has sung with a Boy George, MaceoParker, Carleen Anderson, as well as Sir Cliff Richard and TheStranglers.
Pee Wee, as most Bathonians will know, was musical director,arranger and saxophonist for both James Brown and Van Morrison inhis illustrious musical career.
Tickets cost pounds10 and can be purchased through the Moleswebsite, at the door on the night, or reserved by leaving a messageon 01225 421700.
THIRD BATH CIDER FESTIVAL
Bath's Pavilion plays tribute to the apple tomorrow and Saturdaywith more than 80 ciders on offer.
The Mangledwurzels will be providing the entertainment throughthe night.
The Mangledwurzels are a Scrumpy & Western tribute to Somerset'sfinest, celebrating the works of the Bard of Avonmouth - AdgeCutler and The Wurzels.
More than just a Wurzels tribute band, The Mangledwurzels playWurzels songs blended with self-penned titles and pop standards'mangled' in true Wurzels tradition.
Admission cost pounds7.
For more details visit www.mangled wurzels.co.uk
SUBSTATIC
Substatic, who play Spartacus Live at Moles on Sunday, are adiverse crew, who hail from Bristol.
Taking influence from the rich musical heritage on theirdoorstep, the band has developed a unique 21st century sound whichhas attracted attention from both Massive Attack and Reprazent.
In the past 12 months, they have built up a reputation across theUK, for their dynamic and energetic live shows.
They will be joined by The Anomalies, Moving Jane and James Flett
Admission costs pounds4.
For more details visit www.myspace.com/substatic
With Chicago area gas prices falling, consumer prices heredeclined in July while the national Consumer Price Index inchedslightly higher.
Chicago area consumer prices fell 0.8 percent last month to anindex reading of 174.4 from June, the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statisticsreported today.
The index stood 2.9 percent higher than July 1999.
Nationally, the CPI rose a tame 0.2 percent, as prices forgasoline and natural gas eased after soaring in June.
Peter J. Hebein, regional commission for the bureau in Chicago,said a downturn in gas prices was responsible for almost all of theJuly decline.
Component prices for Chicago area food and beverages wereunchanged for the month. Nationally, the news was almost as good.
Outside the energy and food categories, consumer inflation's"core" rate also rose just 0.2 percent, for a fourth consecutivemonth, suggesting that most other prices are under control.
The July performance brought the core rate for the first sevenmonths of the year to an average 2.6 percent, up from 1.9 percent inthe same period last year. The pickup in this year's prices resultsmostly from rising energy costs.
The inflation performance could help persuade Federal Reservepolicy-makers to leave interest rates unchanged at their meetingTuesday.
In another sign of a cooling economy, the Commerce Departmentreported today that housing construction plunged 3.3 percent in Julyto the lowest level in at least two years. It was the third straightmonthly decline.
Builders began work on new homes at a seasonally adjusted annualrate of 1.51 million units in July, below many economists' predictionof 1.58 million.
After a big jump in June of 0.6 percent, the Consumer Price Indexrose a seasonally adjusted 0.2 percent in July. The jolt in June camefrom an expected leap in energy prices, which hit their highest pointin 14 months with a 5.6 percent bounce. By contrast, energy pricesinched up only 0.1 percent in July.
The mild increase in July was foretold Friday in anothergovernment report showing that falling energy prices helped holdinflation in check at the wholesale level in July.
Sun-Times Wire Services
UNBEATEN league newcomers Tafarn yr Oen soared to the top of theCardigan Ladies' Darts League after whitewashing house rivals Lamb.
Previous leaders Gobaith were beaten 4-3 by reigning championsBell.
Results: Bell 4 Gobaith 3; Rampin 2 Angel 5; Saddlers 5 Eagle 2;Grosvenor 5 Red Lion 2; Tafarn yr Oen 7 Lamb 0; Castle 3 Rugby Club4. Positions: Tafarn yr Oen 39; Gobaith 37; Rugby Club 35; Castle32; Red Lion, Bell 31; Grosvenor 30; Saddlers 25; Angel 23; Eagle22; Lamb 17; Rampin 12.
Fixtures: Red Lion v Saddlers; Castle v Grosvenor; Tafarn Yr Oenv Eagle; Rugby Club v Gobaith; Angel v Lamb; Rampin v Bell.
WASHINGTON - Ousted Republican Majority Leader Trent Lott is plotting a return to the Senate's center of power with a quiet but intense campaign against Sen. Lamar Alexander for the vote-counting job of minority whip.
Alexander, who has been campaigning for the post for 18 months, said in a statement that he has commitments of support from most of the members of the GOP caucus, which was meeting Wednesday to choose new leaders.
"We need some new faces and some fresh themes," Alexander, R-Tenn., told reporters.
Lott, R-Miss., relished his deal-making duties as majority leader but stepped down in 2002 under pressure over remarks that were interpreted as racially insensitive. He has long hinted at making a comeback bid.
With the midterm elections finished and another candidate for the post, Sen. Rick Santorum of Pennsylvania, failing to win re-election, Lott is casting himself as the more experienced candidate and the better choice for a job that will be crucial in a Democratic-controlled Senate split 51-49.
The Tennessee senator, meanwhile, is not new to the art of counting votes among finicky colleagues, any one of whom can use Senate procedure to hold up business or kill legislation. A former Cabinet secretary and governor and now a deputy Republican whip, Alexander is casting himself as a morale-booster for a demoralized Republican caucus.
"He's a quieter, lower-key person" than Lott, said Tom Ingram, Alexander's chief of staff. "He's plenty tough enough to go toe-to-toe with the opposition every day. But (he'll) do it in a way that's constructive, not destructive."
Remaining neutral is Sen. Mitch McConnell, who is uncontested in his bid to be the Republican minority leader. Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee is retiring from the Senate under a self-imposed term limit and is a potential contender for the GOP presidential nomination in two years.
The GOP whip's race is but one source of suspense in the wake of the midterm balloting, in which war-weary voters stripped President Bush's party of its majority. Congress returned to a lame-duck session to pass a budget, and the Senate was considering Bush's nomination of a new defense secretary.
On Tuesday, Senate Democrats elected their leadership roster after voting in the opulent privacy of the Old Senate Chamber.
Democratic leader Harry Reid of Nevada and Minority Whip Richard Durbin of Illinois will ascend to majority leader and majority whip, respectively.
Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., will continue as the chairman of the party's campaign fundraising committee. Schumer also will add vice chairman to his title, making him No. 3 in the leadership and a chief strategist.
Sen. Patty Murray of Washington will serve as conference secretary; Debbie Stabenow of Michigan will chair the steering committee; and Byron Dorgan of South Dakota will serve as chairman of the research-focused policy committee.
House Democrats choose their leaders on Thursday; House Republicans elect theirs on Friday.
BAGHDAD - Prominent Shiite and Sunni politicians called on Iraqi civilians to take up arms to defend themselves after a weekend of violence that claimed more than 220 lives, including 60 who died Sunday in a surge of bombings and shootings around Baghdad.
The calls reflect growing frustration with the inability of Iraqi security forces to prevent extremist attacks.
The weekend deaths included two American soldiers - one killed Sunday in a suicide bombing on the western outskirts of Baghdad and another who died in combat Saturday in Salahuddin province north of the capital, the U.S. command said. Three soldiers were wounded in the Sunday blast.
Sunday's deadliest attack occurred when a bomb struck a truckload of newly recruited Iraqi soldiers on the outskirts of Baghdad, killing 15 and wounding 20, a police official at the nearest police station said on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to release the information.
Also Sunday, two car bombs exploded near simultaneously in Baghdad's mostly Shiite Karradah district, killing eight people. The first detonated at 10:30 a.m. near a closed restaurant, destroying stalls and soft drink stands. Two passers-by were killed and eight wounded, a police official said.
About five minutes later, the second car exploded about a mile away near shops selling leather jackets and shoes. Six people were killed and seven wounded, said the official, who also spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to talk to the media.
The Karradah area includes the offices of the Supreme Islamic Council in Iraq, the biggest Shiite party in parliament, and is considered among the safest parts of the capital.
Elsewhere, a bomb hidden under a car detonated Sunday at the entrance of Shorja market - a mostly Shiite area of central Baghdad that has been hit repeatedly by insurgents - killing three civilians and wounding five, police said.
Police also reported they found the bodies of 29 men Sunday scattered across Baghdad - presumed victims of sectarian death squads. Four other people were killed Sunday in separate shootings in Baghdad, police said on condition of anonymity because they were not supposed to release the information.
The string of attacks in the Iraqi capital showed that extremists can still unleash strikes in the city despite a relative lull in violence here in recent weeks amid the U.S. offensives in and around Baghdad.
But the bloodshed in the Baghdad area paled in comparison to the carnage Saturday when a truck bomb devastated the public market in Armili, a town north of the capital whose inhabitants are mostly Shiites from the Turkoman ethnic minority.
There was still confusion over the death toll.
Two police officers - Col. Sherzad Abdullah and Col. Abbas Mohammed Amin - said 150 people were killed. Other officials put the death toll at 115. Abbas al-Bayati, a Shiite Turkoman lawmaker, told reporters in Baghdad that 130 had died.
Regardless of the precise figure, the attack was clearly among the deadliest in Iraq in months. It reinforced suspicions that al-Qaida extremists were moving north to less protected regions beyond the U.S. security crackdown in Baghdad and on the capital's northern doorstep.
In a joint statement, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and U.S. military commander Gen. David Petraeus said the attack against the Turkoman Shiites was "another sad example of the nature of the enemy and their use of indiscriminate violence to kill innocent citizens."
Turkish military air ambulances evacuated 21 people wounded in the attack for treatment in Turkish hospitals, the country's Foreign Ministry said. Turkey feels special responsibility for its ethnic brethren, the Turkoman, who speak a Turkic language.
During a news conference Sunday in Baghdad, al-Bayati criticized the security situation in Armili, saying its police force had only 30 members and that the Interior Ministry had finally responded to requests for reinforcements only two days before the attack.
In the absence of enough security forces, al-Bayati said authorities should help residents "arm themselves" for their own protection.
The call for civilians to take up arms in their own defense was echoed Sunday by the country's Sunni Arab vice president, Tariq al-Hashemi, who said all Iraqis must "pay the price" for terrorism.
"People have a right to expect from the government and security agencies protection for their lives, land, honor and property," al-Hashemi said in a statement. "But in the case of (their) inability, the people have no choice but to take up their own defense."
He said the government should provide communities with money, weapons and training and "regulate their use by rules of behavior."
Another prominent Sunni lawmaker, Adnan al-Dulaimi, said Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki had failed to provide services and security but he stopped short of saying his followers would seek to topple the Shiite-led government in a no-confidence vote.
The CBS Evening News reported Saturday that a large block of Sunni Iraqi politicians will ask for a parliamentary vote of no-confidence against al-Maliki's government on July 15.
"The situation has become terribly bad," al-Dulaimi told The Associated Press. "All options are open for us. We are going to study the situation thoroughly, and we are going to look into the possible measures which go with the interests of the Iraqi people. We will also consider whether to keep on with the government or not."
But Iraq's national security adviser, a Shiite, insisted that the government still enjoyed broad support and he warned against any effort to replace al-Maliki.
"I can tell you one thing that after Maliki, there is going to be the hurricane in Iraq," Mouwaffak al-Rubaie told CNN's "Late Edition." "This is an extremely important point to make across and to the Western audience and to the Arab audience as well as the larger Muslim audience."
The idea of organizing local communities for their own defense has caught on here in recent months following the success of Sunni Arab tribes in Anbar province that took up arms to help drive al-Qaida from their towns and villages.
U.S. and Iraqi officials have said they hope to replicate the "Anbar model" elsewhere in the country, albeit under government supervision and control.
On Sunday, Lt. Gen. Ali Gheidan said the Iraqi army planned to raise volunteer forces in Diyala province, where U.S. and Iraqi forces have driven al-Qaida fighters from part of the capital of Baqouba. He said more than 3,800 volunteers had already been recruited.
"Their mission will be like the police, working under the Iraqi police," Gheidan told reporters. "They work as a protection for each area, and they will only be from the residents of that area. Their role is to hold onto territory after it has been cleansed by the military."
U.S. commanders have long believed the key to restoring security was the ability of Iraqi forces to hold on to areas cleared by American troops. Several senior U.S. officers have questioned whether the Iraqi police and army were capable of preventing insurgents from returning once the Americans had left.
Local defense forces would offer a way to compensate for weaknesses in the Iraqi police and army, but without careful controls, the system could backfire by promoting more militias in a country already awash in weapons.
Also Sunday, the British Defense Ministry announced the death of a British soldier who was wounded Saturday in the biggest British offensive against Shiite militias this year.
The Gulf of Mexico oil spill has brought out thousands of people who just want to help _ though there isn't much for them to do unless they own a Hazmat suit.
Directors of charities and BP PLC _ the company responsible for cleaning up the spill unleashed after the Deepwater Horizon drilling rig exploded April 20 _ say the outpouring has been huge among people with vivid memories of Hurricane Katrina five years ago.
However, cleaning oiled birds and tar-stained beaches isn't as straightforward as clearing rubble. In many cases, it's been difficult to find enough work for all the volunteers.
"Katrina needed everybody and anybody that could help," said Jim Kelly, co-President and CEO of Catholic Charities. "But this isn't a case of hitting the ground and helping to gut a house or rebuild it. The needs here are specialized in many ways."
BP has said it will use only trained workers and professionals to clean up the oil and wash oiled wildlife, adding to the deepening frustration over the government and BP's response. The workers also need special safety equipment, said BP spokesman Mark Proegler.
Proegler suggested volunteers could visit the company's websites and sign on with subcontractors working along the Gulf Coast. But Bethany Kraft of the Alabama Coastal Foundation said in an e-mail that many people aren't looking for full-time work. And there's no guarantee they'd be hired because some states require that those hired be unemployed or otherwise affected by the spill, she said.
While foremen must take a full 40-hour hazardous materials course, most workers only need an abbreviated four-hour course, Kraft said. However, the need for such training _ which so far hasn't been opened to the public by BP _ may be overstated.
"All the Hazmat training does is basically tell people commonsense things, like don't eat it," said Edward B. Overton of the Louisiana State School of Coast and Environment. "The whole issue of training and bio-suits has lawyer written all over it. I'm sure it's more a question of liability than anything else."
In Louisiana, many rushed to help upon seeing the horrifying scenes of bodies floating in floodwaters and people stranded on rooftops after Katrina in 2005. This time, the heart-rending pictures of oil-covered pelicans, dead sea turtles stacked on beaches and idled fishermen suddenly without incomes has sparked another outpouring of offers.
More than 15,000 from across the country have signed up on BP's official website, Proegler said. Others are volunteering through charitable organizations, environmental groups and state agencies.
"I grew up in New Orleans and went through Katrina," said Barbara Siefken, an unemployed attorney. She interrupts her job search twice a week to drive two hours to and from St. Patrick's Catholic Church in Port Sulpher to hand out food vouchers and baby supplies, or help fishermen sign up for services offered by the state or charities. "I know what volunteers did for us. I just wanted to give some of that back."
There are other ways to help, Some 10,000 volunteers without biohazard training have registered with the Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana, said executive director Steven Peyronnin. Hundreds of them have been sent to clear beaches of debris before oil hits, he said.
"It will help when the oil comes ashore," Peyronnin said. "It will make that job easier."
In Florida, about one-third of the 7,683 people who offered to help have actually worked, mostly in pre-oil beach cleanup, said Wendy Spencer, chief executive officer of the Governor's Commission on Volunteerism.
In Alabama, 5,000 people signed up for the first week of a training program designed by Mobile Baykeeper and Alabama Coastal Foundation, said Casi Callaway, executive director of Mobile Baykeeper. The program trains volunteers to go photograph and document what's happening along the state's shoreline.
"One of the problems we had was getting some kind of meaningful work for volunteers, Callaway said. "They were using a few to do clerical work, but people want to do more than that. They want to feel they are really a part of saving our waters and our coasts from all of this."
___
Online:
Volunteer Louisiana: http://www.volunteerlouisiana.gov/
Mississippi Commission for Volunteer Service: http://www.mcvs.org
Volunteer Florida: http://www.volunteerflorida.org/
Coalition to Restore Coastal Louisiana: http://crcl.org/home.html
Mobile Bay Keeper: http://www.mobilebaykeeper.org/
BP website: http://www.bp.com/
Russia offered little additional detail on its proposed pan-European missile defense during an April 26 meeting of the NATO-- Russia Permanent Joint Council at NATO headquarters in Brussels. All 19 NATO ambassadors and NATO Secretary-General George Robertson attended, along with former Russian Defense Minister, now presidential assistant, Igor Sergeyev, who headed the Russian delegation. The meeting marked the first time the two sides discussed the issue since Moscow presented Robertson with an initial, vague proposal in late February. (See ACT, March 2001.)
At the meeting, the Russian side concentrated on the "conceptual and procedural rather than the technical or hardware," according to a NATO spokesperson. Russian officials since February have said that, before talking about the means to counter the threat from missile proliferation, including missile defense, there must first be discussions on whether a threat exists.
Basic elements of the Russian proposal remain unclear, such as whether Moscow envisions a missile defense system capable of intercepting ballistic missiles in their boost, mid-course, or re-entry phase. Moscow has been very clear, however, that the proposed system would be designed to intercept short- and medium-range theater ballistic missiles and not long-range strategic ballistic missiles. Russia staunchly opposes U.S. proposals to build a system providing nationwide or global defenses against strategic ballistic missiles, which would violate the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty.
