La. guv calls up National Guard
Troops will help patrol New Orleans following a weekend of bloody violence.
By Associated Press
June 20, 2006
NEW ORLEANS - National Guard troops and State Police officers are heading to New Orleans today to help police patrol the city.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco ordered National Guardsmen to help police patrol New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina, following a bloody weekend that brought fears of crime disrupting the city's delicate reconstruction.
At Mayor Ray Nagin's request, Blanco ordered 100 troops - and committed to send 200 more soon - and 60 state police troopers to support the Police Department. Six people were killed over the weekend, including five teenagers in one incident.
"The situation is urgent," Blanco said. "Things like this should never happen, and I am going to do all I can to stop it."
Blanco said reinforcements would cycle in-and-out of the city. No deadline has been set for their mission, which did not require a special order because Louisiana is still under a state of emergency 10 months after Katrina hit on Aug. 29.
The troops were to patrol heavily damaged and largely unpopulated neighborhoods, freeing police to focus on hot spots. State Police officers will work mostly in the French Quarter, where they often patrol during major events like Mardi Gras.
It was the first time the National Guard has been used for law enforcement in the United States since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"I'm just delighted," said King Milling, a New Orleans banker. "The powers that be recognize this is an issue we must deal with."
Frustration over a rise in crime reached a tipping point on Saturday when five teenagers in an SUV were shot and killed in the city's deadliest attack in at least 11 years. Police said the attack was apparently motivated by drugs or revenge. Also, a man was stabbed to death Sunday night in an argument over beer.
The killings brought this year's murder toll to 53, raising fears violence was back on the rise in a city plagued by violent crime before Katrina drove out much of the population last year.
There were 17 killings in the first three months of 2006, and 36 since the start of April.
At least three other people, ages 16 to 27, have been fatally shot in the same area where the five teenagers were killed early Saturday.
The police force has been operating with depleted ranks. It has about 1,375 officers, compared with about 1,750 before Katrina. The city's pre-Katrina population of 465,000 has rebounded to about half its size.
http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_national/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19860_4788338,00.html
Mayor apologizes, but says won't resign over cocaine use
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut mayor says he wants to apologize "to all the people" of Bridgeport, but that he won't resign for using cocaine.
John Fabrizi (fuh-BREE'-zee) told about 200 city employees in City Council chambers today that he hasn't used drugs in a year and a-half.
Fabrizi says he'll do all he can "to redeem the respect and the support" of city workers, residents and his friends. He says he has put the struggle behind him and it "never, ever affected" his job performance.
The drug allegations erupted after an F-B-I document was filed in court. In it, an alleged drug dealer said the mayor used cocaine.
A federal prosecutor apologized to Fabrizi, saying such reports are usually sealed.
A Republican who ran against him says the mayor must resign. The critic asks how to send kids an anti-drug message "if the top guy is a drug user."
http://www.fox23news.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=6230D6A6-7543-4DCF-923C-3A3EC6D5D749
U.S. Supreme Court Decision Fails to Clarify Clean Water Act
By J.R. Pegg
WASHINGTON, DC, June 19, 2006 (ENS) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that there are limits to the federal government’s authority to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act, but failed to agree on the confines of that power. The ruling does little to quell the controversy over the scope of the law and adds to the uncertainty about the federal government’s responsibility to protect wetlands.
Chief Justice John Roberts expressed disappointment the court did not agree to define the limits of the law.
"Lower courts and regulated entities will now have to feel their way on a case-by-case basis," he wrote in a separate concurring opinion.
The 5-4 ruling relates to two consolidated cases involving two Michigan developers – John Rapanos and Keith Carabell. Both sought to develop lands deemed wetlands by federal regulators, who refused to allow the development under the authority of the Clean Water Act.
One of the properties at issue, a Michigan tract owned by John Rapanos, shown here under cultivation with corn. (Photo courtesy Mackinac Center for Public Policy)
The 1972 law makes it illegal to discharge dredged soil or fill material into "navigable waters" – or waters, including wetlands, adjacent to navigable waters - without a permit. The plaintiffs in both cases claimed that the wetlands in question were not connected to "navigable waters" and thus outside the federal government’s jurisdiction.
But lower courts found that in both cases the wetlands in question were adjacent to ditches and man-made drains that connected to navigable waters and sided with federal regulators.
Those decisions exceeded the authority of the law, according to the plurality opinion offered by the court – authored by Justice Antonin Scalia and joined by Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, Jr.
Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts (Photo courtesy U.S. Supreme Court)
The law only grants the authority to regulate wetlands directly connected to navigable waterways, wrote Scalia, who expressed frustration and hostility at the extent of the federal government’s regulation of wetlands.
He wrote that the Army Corps interpretation of the law "has stretched the term ‘waters of the United States’ beyond parody,’" and added that in its permitting process, the Army Corps "exercises the discretion of an enlightened despot."*
The Clean Water Act does not cover "channels through which water flows intermittently or ephemerally, or channels that periodically provide drainage for rainfall," Scalia wrote, and a wetland may not be considered adjacent to navigable waters by based on a "mere hydrologic connection."
In a dissenting opinion, Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer concluded the decisions by the Army Corps to protect wetlands adjacent to tributaries of navigable waters reflected a "reasonable interpretation of a statutory decision."
The main intent of the Clean Water Act is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity" of the nation’s waters, wrote Stevens, who authored the dissenting opinion.
"Rejecting more than 30 years of practice by the Army Corps, the plurality disregards the nature of the congressional delegation to the agency and the technical and complex character of the issues at stake," Stevens wrote.
The key voice in the court’s overall opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy, took a position largely in the middle. Kennedy sided with the majority, but rejected much of its rationale and only agreed to remand the cases back to the lower courts. Under precedent, Kennedy’s view is the controlling opinion of the court.
The cases should be remanded to the lower courts for them to consider whether the specific wetlands at issue "possess a significant nexus with navigable waters," Kennedy wrote.
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Anthony Kennedy (Photo courtesy Congresswoman Mary Bono)
He criticized Scalia’s opinion as "inconsistent with the Act’s text, structure and purpose" and wrote that the overall tone and approach "seems unduly dismissive of the interest asserted by the United States in these cases."
"Important public interest are served by the Clean Water Act in general and by the protection of wetlands in particular," Kennedy wrote.
Kennedy also took issue with the dissenting opinion, which he indicated offered the Corps too much freedom.
"… the dissent would permit federal regulation whenever wetlands lie alongside a ditch or drain, however remote and insubstantial, that eventually may flow into navigable waters," Kennedy wrote. "The deference owed to the Corps’ interpretation of the statute does not extend so far."
Development interests and private property advocates said the ruling advances their view that the federal government is overzealous in its attempts to control development.
"The Court has repudiated overreaching by the federal government," said Reed Hopper, a principal attorney for the property-rights law firm Pacific Legal Foundation.
"It is not the role of the federal government to micromanage every pond, puddle, and ditch in our country," said Hopper, whose firm represented Rapanos.
The decision is a mixed bag for environmentalists.
On one hand, it does not rewrite the law – a possibility some had feared due to the conservative tilt of the court.
But according to Bob Perciasepe of the National Audubon Society, it will make it much harder for agencies to determine what bodies of water qualify for protection under the Clean Water Act.
"Muddying the regulatory waters, as the court has done, almost always works in favor of polluters and will take years to sort out," he said.
The concern over isolated wetlands stems from the important roles they play in providing flood control, natural water purification and essential wildlife habitat.
More than half the wetlands in the lower 48 states have been destroyed – the federal government estimates some 105 million acres remain.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2006/2006-06-19-10.asp
Former Bush Administration Official Convicted in Scandal
By VOA News
20 June 2006
David Safavian and his wife Jennifer leave the US District Courthouse in Washington after he was found guilty
A former Bush administration official was found guilty of obstructing justice in the first trial to emerge from a lobbying scandal that has rocked American politics.
A jury in Washington Tuesday convicted David Safavian of attempting to cover up his dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Safavian was a senior official at the federal agency that handles government property, the General Services Administration.
He was convicted on four counts of lying to investigators and obstructing justice in relation to a probe into a golfing trip he took to Europe, arranged by Abramoff. Safavian was accused of concealing Abramoff's interest in government-owned buildings at the time he took the luxurious trip.
Abramoff is cooperating with authorities who are investigating his attempts to influence members of Congress and political staffers with illegal gifts, favors and contributions.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-06-20-voa61.cfm
VIDEO: Cheney Reasserts That Iraqi Insurgency Entered Its ‘Last Throes’ In May 2005
In May 2005, Vice President Cheney declared that the insurgency in Iraq was in its “last throes” and predicted “[t]he level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline.” Since that time, violence in Iraq has continued unabated.
Today at the National Press Club, Cheney was asked if he still believed that May 2005 was when the insurgency entered its “last throes.” He said he still did. Watch it:
Cheney tries to spin his previous comments as a prediction of political progress. Cheney now says he meant that May 2005 would be the beginning of a “series of events when the Iraqis increasingly took over responsibility for their own affairs.” Actually, Cheney predicted that violence in the country, from May 2005 on, “will clearly decline.”
Full transcript:
REPORTER: About a year ago, you said that the insurgency in Iraq was in its final throes. Do you still believe this?
CHENEY: I do. What I was referring to was the series of events that took place in 1995 [sic – 2005]. I think the key turning point when we get back 10 years from now, say, and look back on this period of time and with respect to the campaign in Iraq, will be that series of events when the Iraqis increasingly took over responsibility for their own affairs. And there I point to the election in January of ‘05 when we set up the interim government, the drafting of the constitution in the summer of ’05, the national referendum in the fall of ‘05 when the Iraqis overwhelmingly approved that constitution, and then the vote last December when some 12 million Iraqis in defiance of the car bombers and the terrorists went to the polls and voted in overwhelming numbers to set up a new government under that constitution. And that process of course has been completed recently with the appointment by Prime Minister Maliki of ministers to fill those jobs. I think that will have been from a historical turning point, the period that we’ll be able to look at and say, that’s when we turned the corner, that’s when we began to get a handle on the long-term future of Iraq.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/19/cheney-defends-last-throes-2/
Wild fire in Oak Creek Canyon area in Arizona
Posted on : Tue, 20 Jun 2006 12:02:00 GMT | Author : Mike Burns
News Category : Environment
SEDONA, Arizona: A wild fire has engulfed more than 1,000 acres in northern Arizona's Oak Creek Canyon and fire crews are struggling to prevent the fire from spreading and to protect several hundreds of homes and businesses in the area Monday.
The fire had started Sunday from a camp used by transients and spread quickly. So far, occupants of some 400 homes and businesses in the narrow canyon and of 100 homes on the north side of Sedona have been evacuated to safety. Fire officials said just about 5 per cent of the fire could be contained by Monday afternoon.
The fire had edged about 300 feet below the rim of the canyon and was about a half-mile from some homes, said a spokesperson of the fire crew Monday afternoon. It has not damaged any buildings.
A spokesperson for the Coconino National Forest said the unpredictable Oak Creek Canyon winds, which were expected to gain speed of as much as 25 miles per hour, could damage homes in the community area, known for its picturesque red rock mesas and spas and resorts.
Some 200 firefighters have been working with the help of planes and helicopters to prevent the fire from reaching the canyon floor. No injuries have been reported so far.
The area of Oak Creek Canyon, which is about 90 miles north of Phoenix, has scattered homes, resorts, hotels and stores.
Wild fires have burned more than 3.1 million acres across the U.S. so far in 2006, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The evacuees are put up at a camp in Sedona elementary school and another site at Northern Arizona University.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/7246.html
Drawing the Abortion Battle Lines
By Jela De Franceschi
Washington, D.C.
19 June 2006
More than 30 years since the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision, Roe v. Wade, the national debate over abortion rights continues. One of the Supreme Court’s most significant decisions, the ruling has divided much of America into “pro-choice” and “pro-life” camps, and inspired massive grassroots activism.
It all began in Texas in March 1970 when two young attorneys filed a suit on behalf of 25-year-old Norma L. McCorvey, under the pseudonym “Jane Roe,” who challenged the state’s criminal laws that prohibited abortion, except in cases where the mother’s life was in danger.
Henry Wade was the Texas attorney general who defended the anti-abortion law.
A three-judge district court ruled in Jane Roe’s favor, but refused to invalidate the Texas law. Both Jane Roe and Henry Wade appealed to the Supreme Court. By a vote of 7-to-2, the justices decided that state governments lacked the power to prohibit abortions. The landmark 1973 ruling gave women a constitutionally protected right to have an abortion in the early stages of pregnancy. As a result, the laws of 46 states were weakened or overturned.
Roe v. Wade decision has brought strong conservative reaction against abortion
James Balkin, who teaches constitutional law at Yale University Law School, says opposition to Roe v. Wade came almost instantly -- mainly from religious and conservative groups. According to Professor Balkin, these groups viewed the ruling as a consequence of feminist and gay-rights activism in the 1960s and ‘70s, and as detrimental to traditional values and social institutions such as marriage, the family and religion.
He points out, “There has been a movement to overturn Roe vs. Wade since the opinion was decided in the early ‘70s. Indeed, Roe v. Wade helped generate a strong counter-reaction, which was also a response to the sexual revolution and to homosexuality and to changes in American sexual mores. This also helped produce the [conservative] religious movements in the 1980s and ‘90s."
Since the 1970s, more than 30 states have adopted laws limiting abortion rights.
"Taking of innocent life”
Most anti-abortion or “pro-life” activists view abortion as the taking of innocent life, which they argue begins at conception; and thus requires legal protection. Other pro-life activists maintain that the Supreme Court ruling violates state’s rights under the Constitution.
Yale University’s James Balkin notes pro-life activists argue the abortion issue should be dealt with by state legislatures and through the democratic process.
“One group thinks abortion is generally immoral and another group thinks that abortion is a decision that should be left to individual states. There is a potential tension between these two positions because if you believe that abortion is murder, then why would you leave it up to individual states? You would require that all states have the same rule because in all states abortion would be murder. It would be murder in New York, just as much as it would be murder in Alabama,” says Balkin.
Many experts predict that several states (in red) might ban aborton if Roe v. Wade is overturned
The pro-abortion, or “pro-choice” position is equally complex. According to some polls, between 55 and 60 percent of Americans are against criminalizing abortion and believe Roe v. Wade is necessary to preserve women’s equality and personal freedom. But an increasing number of Americans favor placing limits on abortion.
“The American public has a very complicated and conflicted view about abortion. Although they want to protect the basic right, many Americans continue to have moral qualms about abortion and wish that abortions were less frequent and rarer,” adds James Balkin.
Politics and Medicine
Some analysts say much of this conflict is due to recent medical advancements.
Michael New, a public policy specialist at Alabama State University, says sonograms and embryology have made the public aware of how well developed fetuses are in the early stages of pregnancy.
Science and technology have strengthened the plea for granting some sort of legal status to the fetus, contends Professor New. He says, “Ultrasound technology has developed over the past 15-to-20 years and often times the first picture of an infant occurs before he is born. People have ultrasounds taped to their refrigerators. Their pictures are in magazines and on TV. The fact that people can see the unborn prior to their birth, the fact that they have many characteristics of a newborn baby, I think, has led more people to be more sympathetic for protection for them.”
Pro-life activists quote many cases of surgery on fetuses, which they assert makes abortion even less acceptable.
The United States has one of the highest abortion rates in the industrialized world. Twenty-four percent of all pregnancies end in abortion. From 1973 through 2002, more than 42 million legal abortions were preformed.
The Debate Heats Up
Susan Cohen is Assistant Director for Policy Development at The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a New York-based nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and education. She suggests that among many Americans, including some on the pro-choice side of the equation, are uneasy with the country’s high rate of abortion.
“At the same time,” Cohen says “politics in the United States is becoming more socially conservative. And the fact that our federal courts now have a lot of judges on them who are willing to give increasing latitude to states to regulate abortion, there is more ability and interest in testing the legal limits at the state level.” says Cohen.
Leading a conservative shift? Supreme Court judges Samuel Alito (l) and Chief Justice Roberts
Abortion opponents see this fight turning in their favor with the recent appointments of two new justices to the Supreme Court: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Roberts and Alito, say most observers, helped tip the balance of the nation's highest court, to a loose 5-to-4 conservative majority.
And the long simmering abortion debate has heated up again over at least two new cases that are working their way to the Supreme Court. Less than a year ago, the Bush administration appealed to the high court to rule against what it calls “brutal, savage late term abortions.” And pro-choice activists are fighting a recently adopted South Dakota law that criminalizes all abortions, except when the mother’s life is in danger.
Most observers predict that the Supreme Court won’t overturn abortion, but could turn the matter back to the states, which means the battle will continue for many years to come.
This story was first broadcast on the English news program,VOA News Now. For other Focus reports click here.
http://www.voanews.com/english/Abortion2006-06-19-voa63.cfm
June 20, 2006, 1:36PM
U.S. Embassy Memo Outlines Iraqis' Fears
By STEVEN R. HURST Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq — A recent cable to the State Department from the U.S. embassy in Baghdad outlines a litany of fears and misery among Iraqi employees at the American diplomatic mission that threaten "objectivity, civility, and logic" among workers.
The collection of anecdotes from Iraqi workers in an undisclosed office in the embassy paints an extraordinarily bleak picture of life in the capital, where local employees do not dare reveal where they work, even to family members, for fear of retribution.
"Employees all share a common tale: of nine employees in March, only four had family members who knew they worked at the embassy. Iraqi colleagues who are called after hours often speak in Arabic as an indication they cannot speak openly in English," said the memo.
The author was not known. All cables from U.S. embassies to the State Department are sent under the ambassador's name, but there was no indication that the top U.S. diplomat in Baghdad, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, had written the document.
It was first published Sunday by The Washington Post and apparently arrived in Washington during the early days of June, shortly before President Bush made his surprise visit to the capital.
The report details fears among women who are taunted and threatened if they do not wear clothing of extreme modesty as demanded by some fundamentalist adherents of Islam.
"Two of our three female employees report stepped up harassment beginning in mid-May.
"One, a Shiite who favors Western clothing, was advised by an unknown woman in her Baghdad neighborhood to wear a veil and not to drive her own car," the cable said. "She said some groups are pushing women to cover even their face, a step not taken in Iran even at its most conservative."
The 23-point cable also detailed the hardships of daily life for Iraqi employees at the embassy who must live without electricity to power air conditioners about 16 hours of each day.
Baghdad temperatures have already hit 115 and have routinely been in that range since the early days of the month. Others complained of gasoline shortages, and of the high price of fuel when it can be found on the black market.
Among other problems faced by Iraqis working at the embassy, the cable said:
_"Some of our staff do not take home their American cell phones, as it makes them a target. They use code names for friends and colleagues and contacts entered into Iraq cell phones. For at least six months, we have not been able to use any local staff for translation at on-camera press events.
_"One Shia employee told us in late May that she can no longer watch TV news with her mother, who is Sunni, because her mother blamed all the government failings on the fact that Shia are in charge. Many of the employee's family left Iraq years ago. This month, another sister is departing for Egypt, as she imagines the future here is too bleak.
_"Another employee tells us life outside the Green Zone has become 'emotionally draining.' He claims to attend a funeral 'every evening.' He, like other local employees, is financially responsible for his immediate and extended families. He revealed that 'the burden of responsibility; new stress coming from social circles who increasingly disapprove of the coalition presence, and everyday threats weigh very heavily.'"
Given the increasing difficulties, the writer of the cable concluded:
"Although our staff retain a professional demeanor, strains are apparent. We see their personal fears are reinforcing divisive sectarian or ethnic channels. Employees are apprehensive enough that we fear they may exaggerate developments or steer us toward news that comports with their own world view. Objectivity, civility, and logic that make for a functional workplace may falter if social pressures outside the Green Zone don't abate."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3986551.html
New North Korean Missile Could Reach US
Washington (WVLT/AP) - North Korea says they are going ahead with plans to test a long range missile capable of striking the US.
As North Korea gets closer to firing the missile, the US government has contacted more than a dozen countries trying to gain support to urge North Korea to step down.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is hosting Spain's minister of foreign affairs.
She says she discussed the situation with the foreign minister.
"They signed on to in 1999 that they reiterated in 2002 that is clearly a part of the framework agreement that was signed in September of this past year between the six parties. And so it would be a very serious matter, and indeed a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile," says Secretary Rice.
The White House says President Bush has been in contact with a number of heads of state on North Korea, but would not specify with whom.
http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5050479
Bush Travels to Vienna for EU Talks
By Paula Wolfson
Vienna
20 June 2006
President Bush is on his way to Vienna for talks with leaders of the European Union that are expected to focus on Iran's nuclear program, the war against terror and trade. There is a full agenda for the annual trans-Atlantic summit, including security and economic issues.
President Bush waves as he departs the White House with first lady Laura Bush, Tuesday
White House National Security Adviser Steve Hadley says promoting freedom and democracy and winning the war on terror top the list.
"We are seeking to enhance cooperation in promoting democracy in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America," he said. "On the security front, the leaders will set priorities for U.S. - EU counter-terrorism cooperation, particularly countering terrorist financing and efforts to prevent terrorist access to weapons of mass destruction."
Hadley says diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program will be reviewed in Vienna. Iran is now studying a package of incentives designed to convince Tehran to suspend uranium processing. The package, which was drafted by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, was formally presented to Iran by the EU's top foreign policy official, Javier Solana.
"Iran will certainly be a topic with the EU leadership, but I think it will be simply to review the bidding, where we are, and reaffirm what has been very good cooperation and solidarity on the international community," he said.
Hadley made clear no major announcements on Iran are expected.
"I think what you will hear is simply an opportunity to assess where we are headed with the EU leadership and a reaffirmation of where we are," he said.
Trade is another issue that will come under scrutiny in Vienna, particularly the outlook for progress in the current round of world trade negotiations.
Members of the World Trade Organization are struggling to meet a year-end deadline for completion of the so-called Doha round of trade talks. In a recent Washington address, President Bush acknowledged the talks are in trouble, and called on all nations to make concessions.
"Now is the time for the world to come together, and make this world a free trading world, not only for the benefit of our own economies, but as an important part of the strategy to reduce poverty around the world," the president said.
But European trade officials complain the United States is calling on others to take action, but is not willing to make enough concessions of its own, particularly in the area of agricultural trade.
President Bush will be discussing all these matters and more in Vienna with Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, who holds the revolving presidency of the European Union. European Commission President Jose Barroso and other officials will also take part in the summit, part of a regular series of consultations between the United States and the EU leadership.
Mr. Bush will remain in Vienna for less than 24 hours, before heading on to Budapest, Hungary, where he will take part in ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian revolution that was crushed by Soviet troops. Aides say the overriding theme of his stay will be the power of democracy.
http://voanews.com/english/2006-06-20-voa10.cfm
Britain
The Times June 20, 2006
Family of 11 have stomachs removed
From Tom Baldwin in Washington
ELEVEN members of one family had their stomachs removed after genetic testing showed that they would probably die young from a rare hereditary form of cancer.
The disease had killed many of their relatives but doctors were able to identify the faulty gene in time to save them.
Of 17 family members tested for the CDH1 gene, 11 proved positive and they have now had pre-emptive surgery. Doctors said that they were the largest family group to protect themselves against cancer by having their stomachs removed.
Although none showed signs of stomach cancer, tests on the tissue doctors removed revealed the early stages of malignant tumours buried deep inside.
“If we hadn’t had the surgery, we could be dead by now,” said Kitty Elliott, who had the operation in 2004 together with her two sisters.
David Huntsman, of the University of British Columbia, who detected the gene in the family, said: “Rather than live in fear, they tackled their genetic destiny head-on. When they got an opportunity to do something about it, they all supported each other. They’re all going to live to be grandparents.”
Bill Bradfield, who had the operation in March, the last of the family to do so, said: “We’re all going to die of something, but I know I won’t die of stomach cancer.”
Although they can still digest food through the small intestine, patients with no stomachs typically must eat smaller meals. Salads and vegetables are hard to digest. “I was in bed nine hours on Christmas Day for eating three Brussels sprouts,” Mrs Elliott said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2233009,00.html
Prison for HIV clubber feared to have infected dozens of men
Email Print Normal font Large font June 21, 2006
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AdvertisementThe first woman to be convicted in an English court of deliberately infecting a man with HIV has been jailed for 32 months.
Sarah Porter, 43, encouraged four men in six months to have unprotected sex with her. One of them, a 31-year-old disc jockey and music promoter, has contracted the virus, which causes AIDS.
The detective who led the inquiry said that if these men had multiple partners since sleeping with Porter, the damage she was known to have done might be "the tip of the iceberg".
Detective Sergeant Brian McLusky appealed for others to contact police if they thought they had been a sexual partner of the single mother from south London. He said after the hearing that Porter had refused to help identify other partners, of whom she is thought to have had dozens in recent years.
Police have no clue as to why she acted as she did because she refused to give a statement.
Porter learnt she was HIV-positive in February 2000, the court heard. She apparently found most of her lovers at nightclubs, mostly among DJs, other performers and their friends.
Detectives began an investigation after a former boyfriend, referred to in court as Mr B, reported Porter to the police. He told officers he had been having regular unprotected sex with her but had then heard rumours she was HIV-positive. Mr B did not contract the virus.
All four of the men, aged 31 to 36, who have been traced were black. Only one, Porter's 31-year-old lover between 2001 and 2004, proved to be HIV-positive, but Judge Quentin Campbell said the life of that man, named only as Mr C, had been "devastated".
In a statement read to the court, Mr C said he had not realised Porter was HIV-positive. "I find it difficult to explain how I felt when I discovered she had unprotected sex with me knowing the risk she was putting me at," he said.
"Had she come clean at that stage, while I do not think I could have forgiven her, I would have had a degree of respect for her."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/prison-for-hiv-clubber-feared-to-have-infected-dozens-of-men/2006/06/20/1150701555091.html
KFC's Big Fat Problem
By DAREN FONDA
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR
Posted Sunday, Jun 18, 2006
In the latest salvo against fast-food chains, KFC is being sued for frying its chicken in cooking oils that contain trans fats, which can contribute to heart disease and diabetes. Here's the skinny on the fat fight:
Why doesn't KFC use a healthier oil? Like most fast-food chains, KFC cooks with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, which doesn't turn rancid as quickly as healthier, nonhydrogenated oils. "Extra crispy" chicken may also taste better when fried in this oil. "The flavor is crunchier, and you don't get that feeling of fat coating your mouth," says Ted Labuza, a food scientist at the University of Minnesota. But the oil does have dangerous trans-fatty acids.
What's so bad about trans fat? It raises one's bad cholesterol, which boosts the risk of coronary disease. A federal dietary panel has recommended that people consume no more than 2 g per day.
Is KFC's food really that unhealthy? The company says its products "meet or exceed all government regulations." But as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the activist group behind the lawsuit, points out, a three-piece extra-crispy combo meal contains as much as 15 g of trans fat--more than a person should ingest in a week.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1205379,00.html
Stress can make women infertile
12:33pm 20th June 2006
Scientists from the United States found that a build-up of stress can play a major role in preventing a woman from ovulating.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=391616&in_page_id=1774
Stem Cells Help Repair Rats' Paralysis
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 20, 2006; 1:49 PM
WASHINGTON -- Scientists have used stem cells and a potion of nerve-friendly chemicals to not just bridge a damaged spinal cord but actually re-grow the circuitry needed to move a muscle, helping partially paralyzed rats walk.
Years of additional research is needed before such an experiment could be attempted in people.
But the work marks a tantalizing new step in stem cell research that promises to one day help repair damage from nerve-destroying illnesses such as Lou Gehrig's disease, or from spinal cord injuries.
"This is an important first step, but it really is a first step, a proof of principle that ... you can rewire part of the nervous system," said Dr. Douglas Kerr, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins University who led the work being published Monday in the journal Annals of Neurology.
Perhaps most importantly, the experiment illustrates that if stem cells eventually live up to their promise, it won't be a simple treatment _ they can't just be injected into a diseased body and figure out how to repair it on their own.
Instead, the new research details a complex recipe of growth factors and other chemicals that entice the delicate cells to form the right kind of tissue and make the right kind of connections. Miss a single ingredient, and the cells kind of wander aimlessly, unable to reach the muscle and make it move.
The study may bring "the appropriate tempering of expectations of stem cells," said Kerr, considered a leader in the field. "Some of my patients say, 'Oh, I'm going to pull into the stem-cell station and get my infusion of stem cells,' and it's never going to be that."
Stem cells are building blocks that turn into different types of tissue. Embryonic stem cells in particular have made headlines recently, as scientists attempt to harness them to regenerate damaged organs or other body parts. They're essentially a blank slate, able to turn into any tissue, given the right biochemical instructions.
The Hopkins experiment isn't the first to use stem cells to help paralyzed rodents move. But previous efforts have succeeded only in bridging damage inside the spinal cord that blocked nerve cells from delivering their "move" messages to muscles, not in engineering an entire new circuit _ the kind of repair that would be needed for degenerative nerve diseases.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/20/AR2006062000722.html
Jun 20, 2006MySpace Sued by 14-Year-Old for Enabling Sexual Assault
JUN 20, 2006 12:19:53 PM | Add Comment (0) | Permalink
MySpace.com was sued on Monday by a 14-year-old girl who claims to have been sexually assaulted by another MySpace user, on grounds that the super-popular social networking site does not offer the proper safety measures to protect its underage users, the Associated Press reports via HoustonChronicle.com.
The girl claims that 19-year-old Pete Solis falsely identified himself as a member of a local high school football team before she provided him with a phone number, according to the Chronicle.
Solis was taken into police custody in May and charged with sexual assault involving a minor, and he could not be reached for comment on Monday, the Chronicle reports.
The suit filed by the 14-year-old female and her mother charges MySpace with having “absolutely no meaningful protections or security measures to protect underage users,” according to the Chronicle.
The girl and her mother are seeking $30 million in damages, the Chronicle reports.
Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace chief security officer, issued the following statement: “We take aggressive measures to protect our members. Ultimately, Internet security is a shared responsibility. We encourage everyone on the Internet to engage in smart Web practices and have open family dialogue about how to apply offline lessons in the online world,” according to the Chronicle.
http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=22226
Louisiana passes violent game law, ESA sues
By Peter Cohen
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) has signed into law a bill that prohibits the rental sale of violent video and computer games to minors. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced that it will fight the law in federal court.
The law — enrolled as Act 441 — states that sales of video games are prohibited to minors if “The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the video or computer game, taken as a whole, appeals to the minor’s morbid interest in violence.
“The game depicts violence in a manner patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors.
“The game, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artist, political or scientific value for minors.”
The law specifies that retailers found guilty of violation of Act 441 will be subject to fines of “not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than one year, or both.”
The original bill — HB1381 — was sponsored by Rep. Roy A. Burrell (D, Shreveport) and was drafted with the assistance of activist Jack Thompson, a Florida attorney who has taken on the video game industry before. Rather than define “violent,” the bill was carefully crafted to mimic the Miller obscenity test — the gold standard upon which modern anti-obscenity legislation has been crafted.
Blanco signed the law to take effect immediately.
The Entertainment Software Association — the industry trade group that represents computer and video game developers and publishers — issued a statement following Blanco’s action. They noted that they’ve filed suit in the Federal District Court of Baton Rouge, La.
The ESA claims that the new law violates constitutional protections. What’s more, said the ESA, it also sends a strong message to video game developers to stay out of Louisiana, less than a year after legislators passed a bill that offers tax credits to such companies who want to set up shop in the state.
The ESA has been successful in overturning similar legislation passed in other courts half a dozen times over the past half decade. At issue when the law comes up for review before federal courts is the First Amendment, which guarantees, among other things, that the government won’t do anything to abridge freedom of speech.
While laws on the books protect minors against exposure to pornography, such laws don’t extend to portrayals of violent content. Violence is afforded a level of constitutional protection not offered to obscene material. The ESA pointed to the ruling of a federal judge in Michigan earlier this year who overturned another violent video game law and said that video games were “expressive free speech … protected by the First Amendment.”
The ESA claims the legislative efforts have cost taxpayers nearly a million dollars in legal fees.
ESA President Douglas Lowenstein expects the ESA will see similar results this time around, and added that such bills are unnecessary.
“Both parents and industry are working together to ensure that video games are purchased responsibly,” said Lowenstein. “The Federal Government has found that parents are involved in game purchases more than eight out of ten times. Retailers already have increasingly effective carding programs in place to prevent the sale of Mature or Adult Only games to minors.”
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/06/19/louisiana/index.php
L.A. County Sheriff to Test Unmanned Drone for Crimefighting
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
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LOS ANGELES — This could be the shape of things to come in crimefighting.
In the months ahead, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will test an unmanned, remote-controlled surveillance plane.
If deputies want a birds'-eye view of a standoff, they might scramble the unmanned drone instead of a helicopter to get a closer, quieter look. Within minutes, real-time color video would be streamed to a portable computer system manned by an officer 250 feet below.
Officials with the nation's largest sheriff's department said it is believed to be the first field test of drones by local police in a major U.S. urban area.
Much lighter and smaller than the military drones flown over Iraq and Afghanistan, and only a fraction of the cost, the aircraft is not much bigger than a model airplane and will initially be limited to scanning rooftops for break-ins and finding lost children or hikers.
Depending on the outcome of the tests, the department could eventually put as many as 20 of the aircraft into service, expanding their use to searching for suspects on the run and monitoring hostage situations, among other things. The drones would be used in addition to the sheriff's fleet of 18 helicopters.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200155,00.html
Congress weighs rules of Net access
As the Senate debates Internet regulation this week, the big issue is equal access to services.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON – Call it a battle for the future of the Internet.
As the Senate takes up the first overhaul of the nation's telecommunications laws in a decade, this week's debate will pitch one of the most unlikely lineups in recent political history against an entrenched industry lobby.
In the Monitor
Tuesday, 06/20/06
On one side: the big phone companies and cable providers, who want Congress to help them speed up the move into the video market and keep government regulation at a minimum. It's one of the most well-funded and experienced industry groups on Capitol Hill.
On the other side: those who use their services, who want Congress to make sure that the Internet does not become a fast lane for those who can pay - and a dirt road for those who can not. The Save the Internet Coalition includes Google Inc., Amazon.com, Microsoft, and eBay, thousands of bloggers, and more than 700 groups. It's one of the most diverse coalitions ever to lobby a bill.
At stake is whether the Baby Bells and cable companies can charge more for fast, reliable service or "discriminate" against online competitors. Groups ranging from the Christian Coalition, Gunowners of America, and Moveon.org - which are bookends on most other issues - want the government to ensure "network neutrality."
This week, the Senate Commerce Committee marks up its version of this bill. A draft released Monday includes a new Internet Consumer Bill of Rights, including a change to the Federal Communications Commission to "preserve the free flow of ideas and information on the Internet" and to "promote public discourse."
Groups lobbying for guarantees of network neutrality say that doesn't go far enough. "Despite that list of protections, there is no protection from discrimination by telephone or cable companies in favor of companies in which they have a financial interest or receive extra payments," says Art Brodsky, spokesman for Public Knowledge, an advocacy group that works in telecommunications and intellectual property issues.
"It doesn't give the egalitarian access we have now. Any time you see the Christian Coalition and Moveon.org agreeing on anything, you know something important is on the line," he adds.
In the run-up to the Commerce Committee markup on Thursday, groups are stepping up their lobbying. Last week, the Christian Coalition and Moveon.org delivered petitions with more than 1 million signatures to Senate offices.
Meanwhile, the Bells and cable companies are filling inside-the-Beltway newspapers with full-page ads, by coalitions such as Hands Off the Internet, that argue against "legislating massive new regulations" that they say will stifle Internet growth and innovation.
It's an issue that cuts across party lines. The House passed its version of telecommunications reform June 8, after rejecting a Democratic proposal to establish network-neutrality requirements for broadband providers. The proposal, which barred blocking, impairing, degrading, or discriminating against lawful content, was rejected by 211 Republicans and 58 Democrats.
Now the focus shifts to the Senate, where a bipartisan coalition led by Sens. Olympia Snowe (R) of Maine and Byron Dorgan (D) of North Dakota is calling for stronger language on net neutrality in the bill.
"As we read this bill, broadband operators will still be able to create a two-tiered Internet system, whereby people who pay more get faster and better service. Everyone else has to settle for the slow lane. That's not what made the Internet so revolutionary, and that's what needs to be preserved," says Barry Piatt, a spokesman for Senator Dorgan.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0620/p01s03-uspo.html
Home » World » Article
So long, thanks for all the fish
Japan's big win at the whaling commission was handed to it by non-whaling nations, writes Andrew Darby from St Kitts and Nevis.
For science … two minke whales are taken aboard a Japanese factory ship in the Southern Ocean.
Photo: AP
image flickered across a screen at the International Whaling Commission meeting almost too quickly to catch. Could it be…? Early in the post-lunch session, Japan was dashing through a Powerpoint show of its Antarctic whaling. As hundreds of delegates settled their stomachs, graphs and dot points blinked out of the projector.
Then there it was. A sleek hill of whale, silver belly and grey back, with little helmeted men clambering over it. They looked like Lilliputians with a marine Gulliver. It was a fin whale, harpooned by the Japanese.
The fin whale, the second-largest animal in existence after the blue whale, are built like trains - up to 27 metres long, and able to propel their 127-tonne bodies as fast as 25 knots. "They are a fast-moving, wide-ranging animal of the deeper seas," says Mark Simmons, the science director for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. "They have evolved to travel far, and go for a long time without food. And they are very hard to actually see."
Fin whales are rarely sighted off Australian coasts. They are an endangered species, after 720,000 were killed in the southern hemisphere after World War II. At that time they formed the mainstay of Antarctic industrial whaling, boiled down for oil and later selected by Japanese whalers for their meat. Today there is no agreed count of their number. But last summer Japan began killing them again in its scientific hunt and this was the first time the result had been seen publicly.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/so-long-thanks-for-all-the-fish/2006/06/20/1150701555097.html
Troops will help patrol New Orleans following a weekend of bloody violence.
By Associated Press
June 20, 2006
NEW ORLEANS - National Guard troops and State Police officers are heading to New Orleans today to help police patrol the city.
Louisiana Gov. Kathleen Blanco ordered National Guardsmen to help police patrol New Orleans for the first time since Hurricane Katrina, following a bloody weekend that brought fears of crime disrupting the city's delicate reconstruction.
At Mayor Ray Nagin's request, Blanco ordered 100 troops - and committed to send 200 more soon - and 60 state police troopers to support the Police Department. Six people were killed over the weekend, including five teenagers in one incident.
"The situation is urgent," Blanco said. "Things like this should never happen, and I am going to do all I can to stop it."
Blanco said reinforcements would cycle in-and-out of the city. No deadline has been set for their mission, which did not require a special order because Louisiana is still under a state of emergency 10 months after Katrina hit on Aug. 29.
The troops were to patrol heavily damaged and largely unpopulated neighborhoods, freeing police to focus on hot spots. State Police officers will work mostly in the French Quarter, where they often patrol during major events like Mardi Gras.
It was the first time the National Guard has been used for law enforcement in the United States since the immediate aftermath of Hurricane Katrina.
"I'm just delighted," said King Milling, a New Orleans banker. "The powers that be recognize this is an issue we must deal with."
Frustration over a rise in crime reached a tipping point on Saturday when five teenagers in an SUV were shot and killed in the city's deadliest attack in at least 11 years. Police said the attack was apparently motivated by drugs or revenge. Also, a man was stabbed to death Sunday night in an argument over beer.
The killings brought this year's murder toll to 53, raising fears violence was back on the rise in a city plagued by violent crime before Katrina drove out much of the population last year.
There were 17 killings in the first three months of 2006, and 36 since the start of April.
At least three other people, ages 16 to 27, have been fatally shot in the same area where the five teenagers were killed early Saturday.
The police force has been operating with depleted ranks. It has about 1,375 officers, compared with about 1,750 before Katrina. The city's pre-Katrina population of 465,000 has rebounded to about half its size.
http://www.abqtrib.com/albq/nw_national/article/0,2564,ALBQ_19860_4788338,00.html
Mayor apologizes, but says won't resign over cocaine use
STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) - A Connecticut mayor says he wants to apologize "to all the people" of Bridgeport, but that he won't resign for using cocaine.
John Fabrizi (fuh-BREE'-zee) told about 200 city employees in City Council chambers today that he hasn't used drugs in a year and a-half.
Fabrizi says he'll do all he can "to redeem the respect and the support" of city workers, residents and his friends. He says he has put the struggle behind him and it "never, ever affected" his job performance.
The drug allegations erupted after an F-B-I document was filed in court. In it, an alleged drug dealer said the mayor used cocaine.
A federal prosecutor apologized to Fabrizi, saying such reports are usually sealed.
A Republican who ran against him says the mayor must resign. The critic asks how to send kids an anti-drug message "if the top guy is a drug user."
http://www.fox23news.com/news/national/story.aspx?content_id=6230D6A6-7543-4DCF-923C-3A3EC6D5D749
U.S. Supreme Court Decision Fails to Clarify Clean Water Act
By J.R. Pegg
WASHINGTON, DC, June 19, 2006 (ENS) – The U.S. Supreme Court on Monday ruled that there are limits to the federal government’s authority to regulate wetlands under the Clean Water Act, but failed to agree on the confines of that power. The ruling does little to quell the controversy over the scope of the law and adds to the uncertainty about the federal government’s responsibility to protect wetlands.
Chief Justice John Roberts expressed disappointment the court did not agree to define the limits of the law.
"Lower courts and regulated entities will now have to feel their way on a case-by-case basis," he wrote in a separate concurring opinion.
The 5-4 ruling relates to two consolidated cases involving two Michigan developers – John Rapanos and Keith Carabell. Both sought to develop lands deemed wetlands by federal regulators, who refused to allow the development under the authority of the Clean Water Act.
One of the properties at issue, a Michigan tract owned by John Rapanos, shown here under cultivation with corn. (Photo courtesy Mackinac Center for Public Policy)
The 1972 law makes it illegal to discharge dredged soil or fill material into "navigable waters" – or waters, including wetlands, adjacent to navigable waters - without a permit. The plaintiffs in both cases claimed that the wetlands in question were not connected to "navigable waters" and thus outside the federal government’s jurisdiction.
But lower courts found that in both cases the wetlands in question were adjacent to ditches and man-made drains that connected to navigable waters and sided with federal regulators.
Those decisions exceeded the authority of the law, according to the plurality opinion offered by the court – authored by Justice Antonin Scalia and joined by Roberts and Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, Jr.
Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Roberts (Photo courtesy U.S. Supreme Court)
The law only grants the authority to regulate wetlands directly connected to navigable waterways, wrote Scalia, who expressed frustration and hostility at the extent of the federal government’s regulation of wetlands.
He wrote that the Army Corps interpretation of the law "has stretched the term ‘waters of the United States’ beyond parody,’" and added that in its permitting process, the Army Corps "exercises the discretion of an enlightened despot."*
The Clean Water Act does not cover "channels through which water flows intermittently or ephemerally, or channels that periodically provide drainage for rainfall," Scalia wrote, and a wetland may not be considered adjacent to navigable waters by based on a "mere hydrologic connection."
In a dissenting opinion, Justices John Paul Stevens, David Souter, Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer concluded the decisions by the Army Corps to protect wetlands adjacent to tributaries of navigable waters reflected a "reasonable interpretation of a statutory decision."
The main intent of the Clean Water Act is to "restore and maintain the chemical, physical and biological integrity" of the nation’s waters, wrote Stevens, who authored the dissenting opinion.
"Rejecting more than 30 years of practice by the Army Corps, the plurality disregards the nature of the congressional delegation to the agency and the technical and complex character of the issues at stake," Stevens wrote.
The key voice in the court’s overall opinion, Justice Anthony Kennedy, took a position largely in the middle. Kennedy sided with the majority, but rejected much of its rationale and only agreed to remand the cases back to the lower courts. Under precedent, Kennedy’s view is the controlling opinion of the court.
The cases should be remanded to the lower courts for them to consider whether the specific wetlands at issue "possess a significant nexus with navigable waters," Kennedy wrote.
Associate Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court Anthony Kennedy (Photo courtesy Congresswoman Mary Bono)
He criticized Scalia’s opinion as "inconsistent with the Act’s text, structure and purpose" and wrote that the overall tone and approach "seems unduly dismissive of the interest asserted by the United States in these cases."
"Important public interest are served by the Clean Water Act in general and by the protection of wetlands in particular," Kennedy wrote.
Kennedy also took issue with the dissenting opinion, which he indicated offered the Corps too much freedom.
"… the dissent would permit federal regulation whenever wetlands lie alongside a ditch or drain, however remote and insubstantial, that eventually may flow into navigable waters," Kennedy wrote. "The deference owed to the Corps’ interpretation of the statute does not extend so far."
Development interests and private property advocates said the ruling advances their view that the federal government is overzealous in its attempts to control development.
"The Court has repudiated overreaching by the federal government," said Reed Hopper, a principal attorney for the property-rights law firm Pacific Legal Foundation.
"It is not the role of the federal government to micromanage every pond, puddle, and ditch in our country," said Hopper, whose firm represented Rapanos.
The decision is a mixed bag for environmentalists.
On one hand, it does not rewrite the law – a possibility some had feared due to the conservative tilt of the court.
But according to Bob Perciasepe of the National Audubon Society, it will make it much harder for agencies to determine what bodies of water qualify for protection under the Clean Water Act.
"Muddying the regulatory waters, as the court has done, almost always works in favor of polluters and will take years to sort out," he said.
The concern over isolated wetlands stems from the important roles they play in providing flood control, natural water purification and essential wildlife habitat.
More than half the wetlands in the lower 48 states have been destroyed – the federal government estimates some 105 million acres remain.
http://www.ens-newswire.com/ens/jun2006/2006-06-19-10.asp
Former Bush Administration Official Convicted in Scandal
By VOA News
20 June 2006
David Safavian and his wife Jennifer leave the US District Courthouse in Washington after he was found guilty
A former Bush administration official was found guilty of obstructing justice in the first trial to emerge from a lobbying scandal that has rocked American politics.
A jury in Washington Tuesday convicted David Safavian of attempting to cover up his dealings with disgraced lobbyist Jack Abramoff.
Safavian was a senior official at the federal agency that handles government property, the General Services Administration.
He was convicted on four counts of lying to investigators and obstructing justice in relation to a probe into a golfing trip he took to Europe, arranged by Abramoff. Safavian was accused of concealing Abramoff's interest in government-owned buildings at the time he took the luxurious trip.
Abramoff is cooperating with authorities who are investigating his attempts to influence members of Congress and political staffers with illegal gifts, favors and contributions.
http://www.voanews.com/english/2006-06-20-voa61.cfm
VIDEO: Cheney Reasserts That Iraqi Insurgency Entered Its ‘Last Throes’ In May 2005
In May 2005, Vice President Cheney declared that the insurgency in Iraq was in its “last throes” and predicted “[t]he level of activity that we see today from a military standpoint, I think, will clearly decline.” Since that time, violence in Iraq has continued unabated.
Today at the National Press Club, Cheney was asked if he still believed that May 2005 was when the insurgency entered its “last throes.” He said he still did. Watch it:
Cheney tries to spin his previous comments as a prediction of political progress. Cheney now says he meant that May 2005 would be the beginning of a “series of events when the Iraqis increasingly took over responsibility for their own affairs.” Actually, Cheney predicted that violence in the country, from May 2005 on, “will clearly decline.”
Full transcript:
REPORTER: About a year ago, you said that the insurgency in Iraq was in its final throes. Do you still believe this?
CHENEY: I do. What I was referring to was the series of events that took place in 1995 [sic – 2005]. I think the key turning point when we get back 10 years from now, say, and look back on this period of time and with respect to the campaign in Iraq, will be that series of events when the Iraqis increasingly took over responsibility for their own affairs. And there I point to the election in January of ‘05 when we set up the interim government, the drafting of the constitution in the summer of ’05, the national referendum in the fall of ‘05 when the Iraqis overwhelmingly approved that constitution, and then the vote last December when some 12 million Iraqis in defiance of the car bombers and the terrorists went to the polls and voted in overwhelming numbers to set up a new government under that constitution. And that process of course has been completed recently with the appointment by Prime Minister Maliki of ministers to fill those jobs. I think that will have been from a historical turning point, the period that we’ll be able to look at and say, that’s when we turned the corner, that’s when we began to get a handle on the long-term future of Iraq.
http://thinkprogress.org/2006/06/19/cheney-defends-last-throes-2/
Wild fire in Oak Creek Canyon area in Arizona
Posted on : Tue, 20 Jun 2006 12:02:00 GMT | Author : Mike Burns
News Category : Environment
SEDONA, Arizona: A wild fire has engulfed more than 1,000 acres in northern Arizona's Oak Creek Canyon and fire crews are struggling to prevent the fire from spreading and to protect several hundreds of homes and businesses in the area Monday.
The fire had started Sunday from a camp used by transients and spread quickly. So far, occupants of some 400 homes and businesses in the narrow canyon and of 100 homes on the north side of Sedona have been evacuated to safety. Fire officials said just about 5 per cent of the fire could be contained by Monday afternoon.
The fire had edged about 300 feet below the rim of the canyon and was about a half-mile from some homes, said a spokesperson of the fire crew Monday afternoon. It has not damaged any buildings.
A spokesperson for the Coconino National Forest said the unpredictable Oak Creek Canyon winds, which were expected to gain speed of as much as 25 miles per hour, could damage homes in the community area, known for its picturesque red rock mesas and spas and resorts.
Some 200 firefighters have been working with the help of planes and helicopters to prevent the fire from reaching the canyon floor. No injuries have been reported so far.
The area of Oak Creek Canyon, which is about 90 miles north of Phoenix, has scattered homes, resorts, hotels and stores.
Wild fires have burned more than 3.1 million acres across the U.S. so far in 2006, according to the National Interagency Fire Center.
The evacuees are put up at a camp in Sedona elementary school and another site at Northern Arizona University.
http://www.earthtimes.org/articles/show/7246.html
Drawing the Abortion Battle Lines
By Jela De Franceschi
Washington, D.C.
19 June 2006
More than 30 years since the United States Supreme Court’s landmark decision, Roe v. Wade, the national debate over abortion rights continues. One of the Supreme Court’s most significant decisions, the ruling has divided much of America into “pro-choice” and “pro-life” camps, and inspired massive grassroots activism.
It all began in Texas in March 1970 when two young attorneys filed a suit on behalf of 25-year-old Norma L. McCorvey, under the pseudonym “Jane Roe,” who challenged the state’s criminal laws that prohibited abortion, except in cases where the mother’s life was in danger.
Henry Wade was the Texas attorney general who defended the anti-abortion law.
A three-judge district court ruled in Jane Roe’s favor, but refused to invalidate the Texas law. Both Jane Roe and Henry Wade appealed to the Supreme Court. By a vote of 7-to-2, the justices decided that state governments lacked the power to prohibit abortions. The landmark 1973 ruling gave women a constitutionally protected right to have an abortion in the early stages of pregnancy. As a result, the laws of 46 states were weakened or overturned.
Roe v. Wade decision has brought strong conservative reaction against abortion
James Balkin, who teaches constitutional law at Yale University Law School, says opposition to Roe v. Wade came almost instantly -- mainly from religious and conservative groups. According to Professor Balkin, these groups viewed the ruling as a consequence of feminist and gay-rights activism in the 1960s and ‘70s, and as detrimental to traditional values and social institutions such as marriage, the family and religion.
He points out, “There has been a movement to overturn Roe vs. Wade since the opinion was decided in the early ‘70s. Indeed, Roe v. Wade helped generate a strong counter-reaction, which was also a response to the sexual revolution and to homosexuality and to changes in American sexual mores. This also helped produce the [conservative] religious movements in the 1980s and ‘90s."
Since the 1970s, more than 30 states have adopted laws limiting abortion rights.
"Taking of innocent life”
Most anti-abortion or “pro-life” activists view abortion as the taking of innocent life, which they argue begins at conception; and thus requires legal protection. Other pro-life activists maintain that the Supreme Court ruling violates state’s rights under the Constitution.
Yale University’s James Balkin notes pro-life activists argue the abortion issue should be dealt with by state legislatures and through the democratic process.
“One group thinks abortion is generally immoral and another group thinks that abortion is a decision that should be left to individual states. There is a potential tension between these two positions because if you believe that abortion is murder, then why would you leave it up to individual states? You would require that all states have the same rule because in all states abortion would be murder. It would be murder in New York, just as much as it would be murder in Alabama,” says Balkin.
Many experts predict that several states (in red) might ban aborton if Roe v. Wade is overturned
The pro-abortion, or “pro-choice” position is equally complex. According to some polls, between 55 and 60 percent of Americans are against criminalizing abortion and believe Roe v. Wade is necessary to preserve women’s equality and personal freedom. But an increasing number of Americans favor placing limits on abortion.
“The American public has a very complicated and conflicted view about abortion. Although they want to protect the basic right, many Americans continue to have moral qualms about abortion and wish that abortions were less frequent and rarer,” adds James Balkin.
Politics and Medicine
Some analysts say much of this conflict is due to recent medical advancements.
Michael New, a public policy specialist at Alabama State University, says sonograms and embryology have made the public aware of how well developed fetuses are in the early stages of pregnancy.
Science and technology have strengthened the plea for granting some sort of legal status to the fetus, contends Professor New. He says, “Ultrasound technology has developed over the past 15-to-20 years and often times the first picture of an infant occurs before he is born. People have ultrasounds taped to their refrigerators. Their pictures are in magazines and on TV. The fact that people can see the unborn prior to their birth, the fact that they have many characteristics of a newborn baby, I think, has led more people to be more sympathetic for protection for them.”
Pro-life activists quote many cases of surgery on fetuses, which they assert makes abortion even less acceptable.
The United States has one of the highest abortion rates in the industrialized world. Twenty-four percent of all pregnancies end in abortion. From 1973 through 2002, more than 42 million legal abortions were preformed.
The Debate Heats Up
Susan Cohen is Assistant Director for Policy Development at The Alan Guttmacher Institute, a New York-based nonprofit organization focused on sexual and reproductive health research, policy analysis and education. She suggests that among many Americans, including some on the pro-choice side of the equation, are uneasy with the country’s high rate of abortion.
“At the same time,” Cohen says “politics in the United States is becoming more socially conservative. And the fact that our federal courts now have a lot of judges on them who are willing to give increasing latitude to states to regulate abortion, there is more ability and interest in testing the legal limits at the state level.” says Cohen.
Leading a conservative shift? Supreme Court judges Samuel Alito (l) and Chief Justice Roberts
Abortion opponents see this fight turning in their favor with the recent appointments of two new justices to the Supreme Court: Chief Justice John Roberts and Justice Samuel Alito. Roberts and Alito, say most observers, helped tip the balance of the nation's highest court, to a loose 5-to-4 conservative majority.
And the long simmering abortion debate has heated up again over at least two new cases that are working their way to the Supreme Court. Less than a year ago, the Bush administration appealed to the high court to rule against what it calls “brutal, savage late term abortions.” And pro-choice activists are fighting a recently adopted South Dakota law that criminalizes all abortions, except when the mother’s life is in danger.
Most observers predict that the Supreme Court won’t overturn abortion, but could turn the matter back to the states, which means the battle will continue for many years to come.
This story was first broadcast on the English news program,VOA News Now. For other Focus reports click here.
http://www.voanews.com/english/Abortion2006-06-19-voa63.cfm
June 20, 2006, 1:36PM
U.S. Embassy Memo Outlines Iraqis' Fears
By STEVEN R. HURST Associated Press Writer
© 2006 The Associated Press
BAGHDAD, Iraq — A recent cable to the State Department from the U.S. embassy in Baghdad outlines a litany of fears and misery among Iraqi employees at the American diplomatic mission that threaten "objectivity, civility, and logic" among workers.
The collection of anecdotes from Iraqi workers in an undisclosed office in the embassy paints an extraordinarily bleak picture of life in the capital, where local employees do not dare reveal where they work, even to family members, for fear of retribution.
"Employees all share a common tale: of nine employees in March, only four had family members who knew they worked at the embassy. Iraqi colleagues who are called after hours often speak in Arabic as an indication they cannot speak openly in English," said the memo.
The author was not known. All cables from U.S. embassies to the State Department are sent under the ambassador's name, but there was no indication that the top U.S. diplomat in Baghdad, Ambassador Zalmay Khalilzad, had written the document.
It was first published Sunday by The Washington Post and apparently arrived in Washington during the early days of June, shortly before President Bush made his surprise visit to the capital.
The report details fears among women who are taunted and threatened if they do not wear clothing of extreme modesty as demanded by some fundamentalist adherents of Islam.
"Two of our three female employees report stepped up harassment beginning in mid-May.
"One, a Shiite who favors Western clothing, was advised by an unknown woman in her Baghdad neighborhood to wear a veil and not to drive her own car," the cable said. "She said some groups are pushing women to cover even their face, a step not taken in Iran even at its most conservative."
The 23-point cable also detailed the hardships of daily life for Iraqi employees at the embassy who must live without electricity to power air conditioners about 16 hours of each day.
Baghdad temperatures have already hit 115 and have routinely been in that range since the early days of the month. Others complained of gasoline shortages, and of the high price of fuel when it can be found on the black market.
Among other problems faced by Iraqis working at the embassy, the cable said:
_"Some of our staff do not take home their American cell phones, as it makes them a target. They use code names for friends and colleagues and contacts entered into Iraq cell phones. For at least six months, we have not been able to use any local staff for translation at on-camera press events.
_"One Shia employee told us in late May that she can no longer watch TV news with her mother, who is Sunni, because her mother blamed all the government failings on the fact that Shia are in charge. Many of the employee's family left Iraq years ago. This month, another sister is departing for Egypt, as she imagines the future here is too bleak.
_"Another employee tells us life outside the Green Zone has become 'emotionally draining.' He claims to attend a funeral 'every evening.' He, like other local employees, is financially responsible for his immediate and extended families. He revealed that 'the burden of responsibility; new stress coming from social circles who increasingly disapprove of the coalition presence, and everyday threats weigh very heavily.'"
Given the increasing difficulties, the writer of the cable concluded:
"Although our staff retain a professional demeanor, strains are apparent. We see their personal fears are reinforcing divisive sectarian or ethnic channels. Employees are apprehensive enough that we fear they may exaggerate developments or steer us toward news that comports with their own world view. Objectivity, civility, and logic that make for a functional workplace may falter if social pressures outside the Green Zone don't abate."
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/ap/world/3986551.html
New North Korean Missile Could Reach US
Washington (WVLT/AP) - North Korea says they are going ahead with plans to test a long range missile capable of striking the US.
As North Korea gets closer to firing the missile, the US government has contacted more than a dozen countries trying to gain support to urge North Korea to step down.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice is hosting Spain's minister of foreign affairs.
She says she discussed the situation with the foreign minister.
"They signed on to in 1999 that they reiterated in 2002 that is clearly a part of the framework agreement that was signed in September of this past year between the six parties. And so it would be a very serious matter, and indeed a provocative act should North Korea decide to launch that missile," says Secretary Rice.
The White House says President Bush has been in contact with a number of heads of state on North Korea, but would not specify with whom.
http://www.volunteertv.com/Global/story.asp?S=5050479
Bush Travels to Vienna for EU Talks
By Paula Wolfson
Vienna
20 June 2006
President Bush is on his way to Vienna for talks with leaders of the European Union that are expected to focus on Iran's nuclear program, the war against terror and trade. There is a full agenda for the annual trans-Atlantic summit, including security and economic issues.
President Bush waves as he departs the White House with first lady Laura Bush, Tuesday
White House National Security Adviser Steve Hadley says promoting freedom and democracy and winning the war on terror top the list.
"We are seeking to enhance cooperation in promoting democracy in the Middle East, Africa, Europe and Latin America," he said. "On the security front, the leaders will set priorities for U.S. - EU counter-terrorism cooperation, particularly countering terrorist financing and efforts to prevent terrorist access to weapons of mass destruction."
Hadley says diplomatic efforts to resolve the dispute over Iran's nuclear program will be reviewed in Vienna. Iran is now studying a package of incentives designed to convince Tehran to suspend uranium processing. The package, which was drafted by the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council plus Germany, was formally presented to Iran by the EU's top foreign policy official, Javier Solana.
"Iran will certainly be a topic with the EU leadership, but I think it will be simply to review the bidding, where we are, and reaffirm what has been very good cooperation and solidarity on the international community," he said.
Hadley made clear no major announcements on Iran are expected.
"I think what you will hear is simply an opportunity to assess where we are headed with the EU leadership and a reaffirmation of where we are," he said.
Trade is another issue that will come under scrutiny in Vienna, particularly the outlook for progress in the current round of world trade negotiations.
Members of the World Trade Organization are struggling to meet a year-end deadline for completion of the so-called Doha round of trade talks. In a recent Washington address, President Bush acknowledged the talks are in trouble, and called on all nations to make concessions.
"Now is the time for the world to come together, and make this world a free trading world, not only for the benefit of our own economies, but as an important part of the strategy to reduce poverty around the world," the president said.
But European trade officials complain the United States is calling on others to take action, but is not willing to make enough concessions of its own, particularly in the area of agricultural trade.
President Bush will be discussing all these matters and more in Vienna with Austrian Chancellor Wolfgang Schuessel, who holds the revolving presidency of the European Union. European Commission President Jose Barroso and other officials will also take part in the summit, part of a regular series of consultations between the United States and the EU leadership.
Mr. Bush will remain in Vienna for less than 24 hours, before heading on to Budapest, Hungary, where he will take part in ceremonies marking the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Hungarian revolution that was crushed by Soviet troops. Aides say the overriding theme of his stay will be the power of democracy.
http://voanews.com/english/2006-06-20-voa10.cfm
Britain
The Times June 20, 2006
Family of 11 have stomachs removed
From Tom Baldwin in Washington
ELEVEN members of one family had their stomachs removed after genetic testing showed that they would probably die young from a rare hereditary form of cancer.
The disease had killed many of their relatives but doctors were able to identify the faulty gene in time to save them.
Of 17 family members tested for the CDH1 gene, 11 proved positive and they have now had pre-emptive surgery. Doctors said that they were the largest family group to protect themselves against cancer by having their stomachs removed.
Although none showed signs of stomach cancer, tests on the tissue doctors removed revealed the early stages of malignant tumours buried deep inside.
“If we hadn’t had the surgery, we could be dead by now,” said Kitty Elliott, who had the operation in 2004 together with her two sisters.
David Huntsman, of the University of British Columbia, who detected the gene in the family, said: “Rather than live in fear, they tackled their genetic destiny head-on. When they got an opportunity to do something about it, they all supported each other. They’re all going to live to be grandparents.”
Bill Bradfield, who had the operation in March, the last of the family to do so, said: “We’re all going to die of something, but I know I won’t die of stomach cancer.”
Although they can still digest food through the small intestine, patients with no stomachs typically must eat smaller meals. Salads and vegetables are hard to digest. “I was in bed nine hours on Christmas Day for eating three Brussels sprouts,” Mrs Elliott said.
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2-2233009,00.html
Prison for HIV clubber feared to have infected dozens of men
Email Print Normal font Large font June 21, 2006
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AdvertisementThe first woman to be convicted in an English court of deliberately infecting a man with HIV has been jailed for 32 months.
Sarah Porter, 43, encouraged four men in six months to have unprotected sex with her. One of them, a 31-year-old disc jockey and music promoter, has contracted the virus, which causes AIDS.
The detective who led the inquiry said that if these men had multiple partners since sleeping with Porter, the damage she was known to have done might be "the tip of the iceberg".
Detective Sergeant Brian McLusky appealed for others to contact police if they thought they had been a sexual partner of the single mother from south London. He said after the hearing that Porter had refused to help identify other partners, of whom she is thought to have had dozens in recent years.
Police have no clue as to why she acted as she did because she refused to give a statement.
Porter learnt she was HIV-positive in February 2000, the court heard. She apparently found most of her lovers at nightclubs, mostly among DJs, other performers and their friends.
Detectives began an investigation after a former boyfriend, referred to in court as Mr B, reported Porter to the police. He told officers he had been having regular unprotected sex with her but had then heard rumours she was HIV-positive. Mr B did not contract the virus.
All four of the men, aged 31 to 36, who have been traced were black. Only one, Porter's 31-year-old lover between 2001 and 2004, proved to be HIV-positive, but Judge Quentin Campbell said the life of that man, named only as Mr C, had been "devastated".
In a statement read to the court, Mr C said he had not realised Porter was HIV-positive. "I find it difficult to explain how I felt when I discovered she had unprotected sex with me knowing the risk she was putting me at," he said.
"Had she come clean at that stage, while I do not think I could have forgiven her, I would have had a degree of respect for her."
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/prison-for-hiv-clubber-feared-to-have-infected-dozens-of-men/2006/06/20/1150701555091.html
KFC's Big Fat Problem
By DAREN FONDA
SUBSCRIBE TO TIMEPRINTE-MAILMORE BY AUTHOR
Posted Sunday, Jun 18, 2006
In the latest salvo against fast-food chains, KFC is being sued for frying its chicken in cooking oils that contain trans fats, which can contribute to heart disease and diabetes. Here's the skinny on the fat fight:
Why doesn't KFC use a healthier oil? Like most fast-food chains, KFC cooks with partially hydrogenated vegetable oil, which doesn't turn rancid as quickly as healthier, nonhydrogenated oils. "Extra crispy" chicken may also taste better when fried in this oil. "The flavor is crunchier, and you don't get that feeling of fat coating your mouth," says Ted Labuza, a food scientist at the University of Minnesota. But the oil does have dangerous trans-fatty acids.
What's so bad about trans fat? It raises one's bad cholesterol, which boosts the risk of coronary disease. A federal dietary panel has recommended that people consume no more than 2 g per day.
Is KFC's food really that unhealthy? The company says its products "meet or exceed all government regulations." But as the Center for Science in the Public Interest, the activist group behind the lawsuit, points out, a three-piece extra-crispy combo meal contains as much as 15 g of trans fat--more than a person should ingest in a week.
http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,1205379,00.html
Stress can make women infertile
12:33pm 20th June 2006
Scientists from the United States found that a build-up of stress can play a major role in preventing a woman from ovulating.
http://www.dailymail.co.uk/pages/live/articles/health/healthmain.html?in_article_id=391616&in_page_id=1774
Stem Cells Help Repair Rats' Paralysis
By LAURAN NEERGAARD
The Associated Press
Tuesday, June 20, 2006; 1:49 PM
WASHINGTON -- Scientists have used stem cells and a potion of nerve-friendly chemicals to not just bridge a damaged spinal cord but actually re-grow the circuitry needed to move a muscle, helping partially paralyzed rats walk.
Years of additional research is needed before such an experiment could be attempted in people.
But the work marks a tantalizing new step in stem cell research that promises to one day help repair damage from nerve-destroying illnesses such as Lou Gehrig's disease, or from spinal cord injuries.
"This is an important first step, but it really is a first step, a proof of principle that ... you can rewire part of the nervous system," said Dr. Douglas Kerr, a neurologist at Johns Hopkins University who led the work being published Monday in the journal Annals of Neurology.
Perhaps most importantly, the experiment illustrates that if stem cells eventually live up to their promise, it won't be a simple treatment _ they can't just be injected into a diseased body and figure out how to repair it on their own.
Instead, the new research details a complex recipe of growth factors and other chemicals that entice the delicate cells to form the right kind of tissue and make the right kind of connections. Miss a single ingredient, and the cells kind of wander aimlessly, unable to reach the muscle and make it move.
The study may bring "the appropriate tempering of expectations of stem cells," said Kerr, considered a leader in the field. "Some of my patients say, 'Oh, I'm going to pull into the stem-cell station and get my infusion of stem cells,' and it's never going to be that."
Stem cells are building blocks that turn into different types of tissue. Embryonic stem cells in particular have made headlines recently, as scientists attempt to harness them to regenerate damaged organs or other body parts. They're essentially a blank slate, able to turn into any tissue, given the right biochemical instructions.
The Hopkins experiment isn't the first to use stem cells to help paralyzed rodents move. But previous efforts have succeeded only in bridging damage inside the spinal cord that blocked nerve cells from delivering their "move" messages to muscles, not in engineering an entire new circuit _ the kind of repair that would be needed for degenerative nerve diseases.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/06/20/AR2006062000722.html
Jun 20, 2006MySpace Sued by 14-Year-Old for Enabling Sexual Assault
JUN 20, 2006 12:19:53 PM | Add Comment (0) | Permalink
MySpace.com was sued on Monday by a 14-year-old girl who claims to have been sexually assaulted by another MySpace user, on grounds that the super-popular social networking site does not offer the proper safety measures to protect its underage users, the Associated Press reports via HoustonChronicle.com.
The girl claims that 19-year-old Pete Solis falsely identified himself as a member of a local high school football team before she provided him with a phone number, according to the Chronicle.
Solis was taken into police custody in May and charged with sexual assault involving a minor, and he could not be reached for comment on Monday, the Chronicle reports.
The suit filed by the 14-year-old female and her mother charges MySpace with having “absolutely no meaningful protections or security measures to protect underage users,” according to the Chronicle.
The girl and her mother are seeking $30 million in damages, the Chronicle reports.
Hemanshu Nigam, MySpace chief security officer, issued the following statement: “We take aggressive measures to protect our members. Ultimately, Internet security is a shared responsibility. We encourage everyone on the Internet to engage in smart Web practices and have open family dialogue about how to apply offline lessons in the online world,” according to the Chronicle.
http://www.cio.com/blog_view.html?CID=22226
Louisiana passes violent game law, ESA sues
By Peter Cohen
Louisiana Governor Kathleen Blanco (D) has signed into law a bill that prohibits the rental sale of violent video and computer games to minors. The Entertainment Software Association (ESA) has announced that it will fight the law in federal court.
The law — enrolled as Act 441 — states that sales of video games are prohibited to minors if “The average person, applying contemporary community standards, would find that the video or computer game, taken as a whole, appeals to the minor’s morbid interest in violence.
“The game depicts violence in a manner patently offensive to prevailing standards in the adult community with respect to what is suitable for minors.
“The game, taken as a whole, lacks serious literary, artist, political or scientific value for minors.”
The law specifies that retailers found guilty of violation of Act 441 will be subject to fines of “not less than one hundred dollars nor more than two thousand dollars or imprisoned, with or without hard labor, for not more than one year, or both.”
The original bill — HB1381 — was sponsored by Rep. Roy A. Burrell (D, Shreveport) and was drafted with the assistance of activist Jack Thompson, a Florida attorney who has taken on the video game industry before. Rather than define “violent,” the bill was carefully crafted to mimic the Miller obscenity test — the gold standard upon which modern anti-obscenity legislation has been crafted.
Blanco signed the law to take effect immediately.
The Entertainment Software Association — the industry trade group that represents computer and video game developers and publishers — issued a statement following Blanco’s action. They noted that they’ve filed suit in the Federal District Court of Baton Rouge, La.
The ESA claims that the new law violates constitutional protections. What’s more, said the ESA, it also sends a strong message to video game developers to stay out of Louisiana, less than a year after legislators passed a bill that offers tax credits to such companies who want to set up shop in the state.
The ESA has been successful in overturning similar legislation passed in other courts half a dozen times over the past half decade. At issue when the law comes up for review before federal courts is the First Amendment, which guarantees, among other things, that the government won’t do anything to abridge freedom of speech.
While laws on the books protect minors against exposure to pornography, such laws don’t extend to portrayals of violent content. Violence is afforded a level of constitutional protection not offered to obscene material. The ESA pointed to the ruling of a federal judge in Michigan earlier this year who overturned another violent video game law and said that video games were “expressive free speech … protected by the First Amendment.”
The ESA claims the legislative efforts have cost taxpayers nearly a million dollars in legal fees.
ESA President Douglas Lowenstein expects the ESA will see similar results this time around, and added that such bills are unnecessary.
“Both parents and industry are working together to ensure that video games are purchased responsibly,” said Lowenstein. “The Federal Government has found that parents are involved in game purchases more than eight out of ten times. Retailers already have increasingly effective carding programs in place to prevent the sale of Mature or Adult Only games to minors.”
http://www.macworld.com/news/2006/06/19/louisiana/index.php
L.A. County Sheriff to Test Unmanned Drone for Crimefighting
Tuesday, June 20, 2006
STORIES
•Oil-Based 'Glue' Helps Flies, and Robot, Walk Up Walls•Robot Shatters Mechanical Speed-Walking Record•Ants May Teach Navigation Tricks to Robots•Back to the Moon, With Robots•Honda Gets Human Brain Waves to Move Robot Hand•Korean Company Comes Out With Own Robot Dog•Researchers Work on Snake-Like 'Rescue Robots'•Pregnant Robot Teaching Med Students How to Deliver Baby•Hitachi Testing Out Security Robot
LOS ANGELES — This could be the shape of things to come in crimefighting.
In the months ahead, the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department will test an unmanned, remote-controlled surveillance plane.
If deputies want a birds'-eye view of a standoff, they might scramble the unmanned drone instead of a helicopter to get a closer, quieter look. Within minutes, real-time color video would be streamed to a portable computer system manned by an officer 250 feet below.
Officials with the nation's largest sheriff's department said it is believed to be the first field test of drones by local police in a major U.S. urban area.
Much lighter and smaller than the military drones flown over Iraq and Afghanistan, and only a fraction of the cost, the aircraft is not much bigger than a model airplane and will initially be limited to scanning rooftops for break-ins and finding lost children or hikers.
Depending on the outcome of the tests, the department could eventually put as many as 20 of the aircraft into service, expanding their use to searching for suspects on the run and monitoring hostage situations, among other things. The drones would be used in addition to the sheriff's fleet of 18 helicopters.
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,200155,00.html
Congress weighs rules of Net access
As the Senate debates Internet regulation this week, the big issue is equal access to services.
By Gail Russell Chaddock | Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
WASHINGTON – Call it a battle for the future of the Internet.
As the Senate takes up the first overhaul of the nation's telecommunications laws in a decade, this week's debate will pitch one of the most unlikely lineups in recent political history against an entrenched industry lobby.
In the Monitor
Tuesday, 06/20/06
On one side: the big phone companies and cable providers, who want Congress to help them speed up the move into the video market and keep government regulation at a minimum. It's one of the most well-funded and experienced industry groups on Capitol Hill.
On the other side: those who use their services, who want Congress to make sure that the Internet does not become a fast lane for those who can pay - and a dirt road for those who can not. The Save the Internet Coalition includes Google Inc., Amazon.com, Microsoft, and eBay, thousands of bloggers, and more than 700 groups. It's one of the most diverse coalitions ever to lobby a bill.
At stake is whether the Baby Bells and cable companies can charge more for fast, reliable service or "discriminate" against online competitors. Groups ranging from the Christian Coalition, Gunowners of America, and Moveon.org - which are bookends on most other issues - want the government to ensure "network neutrality."
This week, the Senate Commerce Committee marks up its version of this bill. A draft released Monday includes a new Internet Consumer Bill of Rights, including a change to the Federal Communications Commission to "preserve the free flow of ideas and information on the Internet" and to "promote public discourse."
Groups lobbying for guarantees of network neutrality say that doesn't go far enough. "Despite that list of protections, there is no protection from discrimination by telephone or cable companies in favor of companies in which they have a financial interest or receive extra payments," says Art Brodsky, spokesman for Public Knowledge, an advocacy group that works in telecommunications and intellectual property issues.
"It doesn't give the egalitarian access we have now. Any time you see the Christian Coalition and Moveon.org agreeing on anything, you know something important is on the line," he adds.
In the run-up to the Commerce Committee markup on Thursday, groups are stepping up their lobbying. Last week, the Christian Coalition and Moveon.org delivered petitions with more than 1 million signatures to Senate offices.
Meanwhile, the Bells and cable companies are filling inside-the-Beltway newspapers with full-page ads, by coalitions such as Hands Off the Internet, that argue against "legislating massive new regulations" that they say will stifle Internet growth and innovation.
It's an issue that cuts across party lines. The House passed its version of telecommunications reform June 8, after rejecting a Democratic proposal to establish network-neutrality requirements for broadband providers. The proposal, which barred blocking, impairing, degrading, or discriminating against lawful content, was rejected by 211 Republicans and 58 Democrats.
Now the focus shifts to the Senate, where a bipartisan coalition led by Sens. Olympia Snowe (R) of Maine and Byron Dorgan (D) of North Dakota is calling for stronger language on net neutrality in the bill.
"As we read this bill, broadband operators will still be able to create a two-tiered Internet system, whereby people who pay more get faster and better service. Everyone else has to settle for the slow lane. That's not what made the Internet so revolutionary, and that's what needs to be preserved," says Barry Piatt, a spokesman for Senator Dorgan.
http://www.csmonitor.com/2006/0620/p01s03-uspo.html
Home » World » Article
So long, thanks for all the fish
Japan's big win at the whaling commission was handed to it by non-whaling nations, writes Andrew Darby from St Kitts and Nevis.
For science … two minke whales are taken aboard a Japanese factory ship in the Southern Ocean.
Photo: AP
image flickered across a screen at the International Whaling Commission meeting almost too quickly to catch. Could it be…? Early in the post-lunch session, Japan was dashing through a Powerpoint show of its Antarctic whaling. As hundreds of delegates settled their stomachs, graphs and dot points blinked out of the projector.
Then there it was. A sleek hill of whale, silver belly and grey back, with little helmeted men clambering over it. They looked like Lilliputians with a marine Gulliver. It was a fin whale, harpooned by the Japanese.
The fin whale, the second-largest animal in existence after the blue whale, are built like trains - up to 27 metres long, and able to propel their 127-tonne bodies as fast as 25 knots. "They are a fast-moving, wide-ranging animal of the deeper seas," says Mark Simmons, the science director for the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society. "They have evolved to travel far, and go for a long time without food. And they are very hard to actually see."
Fin whales are rarely sighted off Australian coasts. They are an endangered species, after 720,000 were killed in the southern hemisphere after World War II. At that time they formed the mainstay of Antarctic industrial whaling, boiled down for oil and later selected by Japanese whalers for their meat. Today there is no agreed count of their number. But last summer Japan began killing them again in its scientific hunt and this was the first time the result had been seen publicly.
http://www.smh.com.au/news/world/so-long-thanks-for-all-the-fish/2006/06/20/1150701555097.html
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