A few more details...
http://www.jacksonholestartrib.com/articles/2006/12/16/news/regional/b484f98274cc744f8725724400678cef.txt
"Test results expected Thursday as Idaho duck deaths climbs to 2,500"
By JESSE HARLAN ALDERMAN
Associated Press Writer Saturday, December 16, 2006
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "BOISE, Idaho (AP) -- The number of mallard ducks that have died in a bizarre cluster along a southeastern Idaho creek bed has climbed to 2,500, as vexed wildlife officials await test results from tissue samples.
Officials from the Idaho Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Department of Homeland Security hope Thursday to have results of tests on tissue from the ducks' abdominal tract and on water samples from the creek that might provide clues to the unknown illness."
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The massive outbreak is puzzling scientists because only mallard ducks are dying. Golden eagles, geese, magpies, crows and other birds in the area all remain healthy."
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "The ducks may have contracted a bacterial or fungal infection by eating grain treated with pesticides by local cattle farmers, Drew said. Farming chemicals may also have spilled into the small spring-fed creek, which measures just 3- to 6-inches deep.
Farmland surrounds the backwoods waterway. A cattle feedlot is close by and several corn and alfalfa feeds ring the nearby town of Oakley. Parrish said there are no factories in the area that discharge toxins into local streams and rivers. Wastewater does not run into the creek, he said."
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/keyword?k=hamas
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http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3340641,00.html
"Olmert: Willing to trade land for peace
Israeli prime minister making "extraordinary efforts" to start peace negotiations with Abbas, expresses willingness to give up territories"
Ynetnews
Published: 12.16.06, 07:35
ARTICLE SNIPPET: "According to Olmert, talks would not be easy because the Palestinian Prime Minister, Hamas' Ismail Haniyeh, was "not prepared to make any move towards peace".
Hamas has repeatedly and openly resisted international calls to reject violence and recognize Israel. In his recent visit to Tehran, Haniyeh pledged "never (to) recognize the usurper Zionist government and…continue our jihad-like movement.""