Hapy Moo Year!!! :=8D
:=8D

Don't ferget u can always e-mail the MooCow with cowments at MooCowMoo@aol.com!!!

Well, the MooCow is glad to see the back of 2004. My father's death, the death of friends, Bush's inexplicable re-election, the tsunami... we can all hope for a moooch improved 2005! Cowever, let's go over a few last news tidbits from 2004:

The U.S. Geological Survey said the 6.5 aftershock hit early Saturday morning and was centered 215 miles west of Banda Aceh, the hard-hit provincial capital in northern Sumatra.
Aftershocks in the 4- and 5- magnitude range were also recorded, officials said.
The 6.5 jolt was an aftershock to last weekend's 9.0-magnitude temblor that spawned the devastating tsunamis that hit 11 countries and killed more than 123,000 people.
"Unfortunately, large aftershocks are common after an earthquake of this size," said Kathleen Gohn, a spokeswoman for the Golden, Colo.-based USGS.
She said the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued an information bulletin saying that aftershocks of that magnitude generally do not produce tsunamis.
Northwestern Sumatra was the hardest hit area in Sunday's earthquake and tsunami disaster, with about 80,000 people there killed.
Pounding rain drenched the wrecked city of Banda Aceh on Saturday, adding to the misery of homeless earthquake and tsunami survivors and heightening fears of waterborne diseases. Flash floods in Sri Lanka forced evacuations and thwarted aid deliveries.
Worldwide donations to aid those battered by the huge waves that slammed Asian and African nations approached $1 billion, and a steady stream of foreign military aircraft touched down in the epicenter of the disaster, the Aceh province on the northern tip of Indonesia's Sumatra island.
But supplies were bottlenecking and officials acknowledged distribution networks were not in place to deliver desperately needed supplies to the worst-hit areas.
Six days after the earthquake and tsunamis, the confirmed death toll passed 123,000. U.N. humanitarian chief Jan Egeland estimated the number of dead was approaching 150,000.
President Bush, his administration stung by criticism that its aid pledges were small and slow to materialize, raised the U.S. promise of help from $35 million to $350 million.
``Our contributions will continue to be revised as the full effects of this terrible tragedy become clearer,'' he said. Britain has pledged $95 million, Sweden $75 million and Spain $68 million.
Saturday's rainstorm in Banda Aceh was the first since last Sunday's disaster. Health workers have warned that heavy rain could spread diseases like cholera and diarrhea. Thousands of uncollected corpses remain in and around the city.
At one refugee camp on the grounds of the airport, hundreds of people spent a damp night under plastic sheets. Mothers nursed babies while others tried to light a fire with damp matches.
``With no help we will die,'' said Indra Syaputra. ``We came here because we heard that we could get food, but it was nonsense. All I got was some packets of noodles.''
Officials and volunteers in the Andamans struggled to deliver tons of rations, clothes, bedsheets, oil, and other items, hampered by lack of transportation.
``There is starvation. People haven't had food or water for at least five days. There are carcasses. There will be an epidemic,'' said Andaman's member of parliament, Manoranjan Bhakta.
Indonesia reported 80,000 deaths; Sri Lanka 28,700, India just shy of 9,000. Thailand's toll stood at 4,800, just over half of those foreign tourists, but 6,500 people were missing and presumed dead.
Thailand's prime minister, Thaksin Shinawatra said Saturday that his country would investigate why no warnings were issued ahead of the tsunamis.
Aid continued to arrive. But bureaucratic delays, fuel shortages and impassable roads blocked many of the supplies. In an airport hangar in Medan, south of Banda Aceh, thousands of boxes of basics had accumulated since Monday and were going nowhere.

Gosh, Baby Bush, guess you needed 5 days of indescibably human misery and stinging criticism for the country's cowtribution to "become clearer". Is it clear now?? Should we wai an-udder week?? A great opportunity to help out and scrape some of the mud from our name in the Muslim world has fizzled out, thanks to our "compassionate conservative" president. Don't drown near him - it may take a few days for it becomes clear enough for him to throw you a rope... :=8/


BAGHDAD (AFP) - The last six months of 2004 proved the deadliest period for US forces in Iraq despite the formal end of the US-led occupation in June, with a total of 503 soldiers killed, figures showed.
Rather than deflating the insurgency, the first half year of Iraqi sovereignty under the US-backed interim government saw a surge in bloodshed.
The deadliest month was November when 141 troops were killed, reflecting the heavy combat in the Sunni Muslim bastion of Fallujah where US troops battled rebels in the street in some of the heaviest fighting ever in Iraq.
In December, a total of 75 soldiers were killed, 14 of them in last week's unprecedented suicide bombing of a US army base in the northern city of Mosul -- the deadliest single strike ever on Americans in Iraq.
Another 67 lost their lives in October, 87 in September, 75 in August and 58 in July. The tolls include combat and non-combat deaths.
US officials hoped the formal transfer of sovereignty in Iraq would take wind out of the insurgency's sails. Instead, violence has escalated against both US troops and Iraqis. In the first half of the year, with Iraq under occupation, 401 soldiers died in Iraq.
Observers says the violence testifies to the insurgency's staying power and evolution.
"There is no question the growing death toll indicates a growing insurgency," Jorst Hiltermann, Middle East director of the International Crisis Group, told AFP.
Since Tuesday, more than 100 Iraqi security forces, public servants and civilians have been killed, including the deputy governor of al-Anbar province.

The great Epic of Failure cowtinues, with no end in sight. :=8/


UPDATED: 7:20 AM EST December 30, 2004
TOPEKA, Kan. -- A Newton, Kan., couple already charged with forcing mentally ill residents of a group home to work on their farm in the nude were indicted Wednesday on 35 charges.
The indictment, issued by a federal grand jury, includes allegations that Arlan D. Kaufman, 68, and Linda J. Kaufman, 61, physically, psychologically and sexually abused group home residents, kept two people in involuntary servitude for 14 years, and defrauded the federal Medicare program.
The indictment replaces one issued in November, charging the Kaufmans with a single count of involuntary servitude.
The Kaufmans now face 16 counts of health care fraud, 10 counts of mail fraud, three counts of holding group home residents in involuntary servitude, two counts of forcing them to perform labor and a single count each of conspiracy, obstructing a federal audit and making false documents.
The 35th count is a forfeiture charge through which prosecutors are seeking to reclaim more than $283,000 in proceeds authorities allege the Kaufmans received from their activities, including nearly $217,000 in payments from the federal Medicare program.
James Wyrsch, a Kansas City, Mo., attorney representing the Kaufmans, said Wednesday night that he had not seen the indictment but that the Kaufmans, "intend to plead not guilty and vigorously defend themselves."
If convicted, the Kaufmans could face up to 20 years in prison for each of the conspiracy, forced labor and involuntary servitude charges; up to 10 years for each of the health care fraud charges; and up to five years for each of the other charges.
The Kaufmans incorporated their treatment center for mentally ill adults in 1980 and operated it through October, when they were arrested. The group home was not licensed, and the Kaufmans changed their operation after the state Supreme Court ruled that one was needed one, according to the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services.
At least 20 people were residents at various times, according to the indictment, which alleges the Kaufmans began a criminal conspiracy around 1986.
The indictment alleges the Kaufmans submitted claims for nearly $1 million to Medicare from 1991 through 2000 for individual and group therapy that either had not been provided or documented.
The original involuntary servitude charge stemmed from an allegation that residents of the home were forced to work in the nude at a farm in Potwin, about 50 miles southeast of the group home, in 1999. One charge of involuntary servitude in the new indictment covers that incident, which involved three group home residents.
The other involuntary servitude counts allege two other residents were kept in involuntary servitude for 14 years. The indictment also alleges the Kaufmans threatened the two residents with serious harm to force them to perform labor.
The new indictment also alleges that the Kaufmans forced group home residents to perform sexually explicit acts and that they videotaped some of the residents' sexual contacts during purported therapy sessions.
The indictment also alleges the residents were forced to masturbate, fondle each other and shave each other's genitals. It also accuses Arlan Kaufman of fondling residents.
The indictment alleges residents faced abuse including isolation, dehydration, forced nudity and threats of being institutionalized.
U.S. Attorney Eric Melgren's office announced the indictment Wednesday evening but declined further comment.
The Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services conducted an investigation in 2001 that resulted in the suspension of Arlan Kaufman's social work license. That year, 30 videotapes were seized of "nude therapy" sessions.
Linda Kaufman, a nurse whose state license was suspended in February, was in charge of dispensing medication at the group home.
The Kaufmans, who posted bond last month, are confined to their home and electronically monitored.

Ummmm..... heh?? :=8/ Of all the weird stories cowming out of 2004, this has to be one of the weirdest. Farming nuded?!?!? Trust the MooCow folks: ya don't wanna run around nekkid near sharp farm implements! And please, let's not scare the dairy cows with flabby human thighs, hairy butts, or unsavory human genitailia. Ewwwwww.... :=8P

I guess that's all for now, folks. Have a great 2005!!! :=8D

Oh, and if u get the chance, please support this worthy cause: Unique gifts that help end world hunger Heifer International

:=8)


- posted by The MooCow @ 9:02 AM