Lawmaker questions Bush intel programs
By NEDRA PICKLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The White House possibly broke the law by keeping intelligence activities a secret from the lawmakers responsible for overseeing them, the House Intelligence Committee chairman said Sunday.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., said he was informed about the programs by whistleblowers in the intelligence community and then asked the Bush administration about the programs, using code names. Hoekstra said members of the House and Senate intelligence committees then were briefed on the programs, which he said is required by law.
"We can't be briefed on every little thing that they are doing," Hoekstra said. "But in this case, there was at least one major - what I consider significant activity that we have not been briefed on. I want to set the standard there that it is not optional for this president or any president or people in the executive community not to keep the intelligence committees fully informed of what they are doing," he said on "Fox News Sunday."
Hoekstra complained to President Bush in a letter dated May 18 that was disclosed in Sunday's New York Times.
In the letter, Hoekstra said the failure to brief the intelligence committees "may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of law and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies."
Frederick Jones, spokesman for Bush's National Security Council, said the only comment the White House would have on the letter was that the administration "will continue to work closely with the chairman and other congressional leaders on important national security issues."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153AP_Intelligence_Briefings.html
Migrant dies as Coast Guard chases speedboat
Sat Jul 8, 2006 5:12pm ET
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MIAMI (Reuters) - A Cuban migrant died on Saturday from possible head injuries after the U.S. Coast Guard chased a speedboat suspected of smuggling 31 people into the United States and fired into its engines to stop the vessel, U.S. officials said.
The Coast Guard said the death of a woman on the boat was not as a result of the shooting, which occurred after a high-speed chase about dawn that began 39 miles south of Key West and ended 4 miles south of Boca Chica in Florida.
Two Coast Guard vessels tried to corner the 36-foot Carrera, a speedboat with three outboard motors that tried to ram one of the pursuing vessels more than five times. It had three suspected people smugglers on board in addition to 31 passengers.
An investigation will determine whether the smuggling suspects face charges and the status of the passengers will be determined later.
The Coast Guard said two rounds were fired into one of the boat's engines to stop it and that "no migrants received injuries as a result of the disabling fire."
It said three migrants were found to be in need of medical attention, including the woman, who had severe bruises to her face and apparent head injuries. She died as she was being taken to hospital.
The dead woman might have sustained the head injuries during the high-speed voyage, Capt. Phil Heyl, the Coast Guard commander in Key West, said.
"There was no way for these people to brace themselves against the impact of the boat slamming into the rough seas," Heyl said.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-07-08T211241Z_01_N08276092_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRIME-PEOPLESMUGGLING.xml&archived=False
UPDATE: Courts in New York, Georgia deal blows to gay-marriage backers
By Robert Marus
Published July 7, 2006
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- The highest state courts in New York and Georgia dealt dual setbacks to proponents of gay marriage in July 6 rulings.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the state's constitution neither requires nor bans the legalization of same-sex marriage, saying the question is one for the state's legislators to decide. Later that day, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that a lower court had invalidated on procedural grounds.
The New York decision came on a 4-2 vote. The court's opinion determined that "the New York Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex. Whether such marriages should be recognized is a question to be addressed by the Legislature."
In Georgia, a unanimous court said the amendment -- which voters passed in 2004 by a more than 3-1 margin -- had been placed on the ballot properly. Opponents of the amendment had sued the state, noting that the Georgia Constitution prohibits such ballot initiatives from dealing with more than one issue. They claimed that marriage was a substantially different issue from civil unions and that voters who opposed gay marriage but not civil unions would have been forced to vote to ban both. The court disagreed.
The decisions follow several by state high courts in recent years denying a state constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
Massachusetts became the only state to legalize same-sex marriage after its highest court ruled in 2003 that banning it violated the Massachusetts Constitution. Vermont and Connecticut offer gay couples civil unions, with benefits and responsibilities nearly identical to marriage. California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have "domestic partnership" laws that offer marriage-like advantages to unmarried couples.
The New York decision came in four separate cases the court combined. In those, 44 same-sex couples who wished to marry sued municipal clerks who denied them marriage licenses in various parts of the state. The plaintiffs said the state's Domestic Relations Law, which deals with marriage in heterosexual-specific terms, violates the New York Constitution's equal-protection and due-process guarantees.
All of the lower courts involved had ruled against the plaintiffs, save for one trial court in New York City. Attorneys for the state and the municipalities involved defended the marriage law.
The author of the Court of Appeals' controlling three-person plurality opinion, Judge Robert Smith, said the state's Domestic Relations Law does not violate the rights of same-sex couples because the law had a rational basis beyond sheer anti-gay prejudice.
"The question is not, we emphasize, whether the Legislature must or should continue to limit marriage in this way; of course, the Legislature may…extend marriage or some or all of its benefits to same-sex couples," Smith wrote. "We conclude, however, that there are at least two grounds that rationally support the limitation on marriage that the legislature has enacted…both of which are derived from the undisputed assumption that marriage is important to the welfare of children."
First, Smith said, legislators may choose to provide heterosexuals with incentives to marry -- such as tax advantages and inheritance and health-care rights -- because heterosexual couplings are the only ones naturally inclined to produce children. Because of that, he said, "the Legislature could rationally decide that, for the welfare of children, it is more important to promote stability, and to avoid instability, in opposite-sex than in same-sex relationships."
Second, Smith wrote, "The Legislature could rationally believe that it is better, other things being equal, for children to grow up with both a mother and a father. Intuition and experience suggest that a child benefits from having before his or her eyes, every day, living models of what both a man and a woman are like."
He also rejected the plaintiffs' argument that the state's denial of marriage to same-sex couples is analogous to a Virginia law banning interracial marriage -- a law that the federal Supreme Court overturned in its 1967 Loving v. Virginia ruling.
"…[T]he historical background of Loving is different from the history underlying this case," Smith said. "Racism has been recognized for centuries -- at first by a few people, and later by many more -- as a revolting moral evil."
But heterosexual-only marriage is not similar, Smith said: "Until a few decades ago, it was an accepted truth for almost everyone who ever lived, in any society in which marriage existed, that there could be marriages only between participants of different sex. A court should not lightly conclude that everyone who held this belief was irrational, ignorant or bigoted. We do not so conclude."
Smith questioned whether the freedom to marry someone of one's own gender is a "fundamental right." "The right to marry is unquestionably a fundamental right. The right to marry someone of the same sex, however, is not 'deeply rooted'; it has not even been asserted until relatively recent times."
Finally, Smith said, the decision should be a legislative one. "The dissenters assert confidently that 'future generations' will agree with their view of this case…. We do not predict what people will think generations from now, but we believe the present generation should have a chance to decide the issue through its elected representatives."
But Chief Judge Judith Kaye, in a lengthy dissenting opinion challenging virtually all of Smith's arguments, said the court should not shirk its constitutional duty simply because the state's legislators have failed to extend equal marriage rights to gays.
"[T]his court cannot avoid its obligation to remedy constitutional violations in the hope that the Legislature might some day render the question presented academic," she said. "It is uniquely the function of the judicial branch to safeguard individual liberties guaranteed by the New York State Constitution, and to order redress for their violation."
Kaye said Smith and the plurality employed circular logic in saying that the freedom to marry a partner of one's own gender was not an inherent right. "The court concludes … that same-sex marriage is not deeply rooted in tradition, and thus cannot implicate any fundamental liberty. But fundamental rights, once recognized, cannot be denied to particular groups on the ground that these groups have historically been denied those rights," she wrote.
She also said that the logic of encouraging child welfare by limiting marriage to heterosexual couples isn't consistent with the state's other laws or cultural reality.
"[W]hile encouraging opposite-sex couples to marry before they have children is certainly a legitimate interest of the state, the exclusion of gay men and lesbians from marriage in no way furthers this interest. There are enough marriage licenses to go around for everyone," she wrote.
Excluding same-sex couples from marriage actually undermines the well-being of children, she continued. "Tens of thousands of children are currently being raised by same-sex couples in New York. Depriving these children of the benefits and protections available to the children of opposite-sex couples is antithetical to their welfare."
The issue is now in the hands of the state's political leaders, whom gay-rights supporters called on July 6 to pass a same-sex marriage bill. A recent poll showed that a slight majority of New Yorkers favor legalizing same-sex marriage. Bills to do so, however, have not made it out of committee during recent legislative sessions.
Two state political leaders who authorized their attorneys to defend the marriage status quo both said July 6 that they would support legislative expansion of marriage rights to gays.
State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, whose office opposed the lawsuits, is New York's Democratic candidate for governor. He promised to support a law legalizing same-sex marriage if elected to that office.
"I believe same-sex marriage should be constitutional, should be legal, should be authorized statutorily," he said, according to the New York Times. "I think in New York there is recognition that this is the right thing to do from a civil rights perspective."
Spitzer's Republican opponent reportedly said he would veto any bill legalizing gay marriage, but he is far behind Spitzer in the polls.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose government defended its clerks' decision to deny marriage licenses to gay couples, also said July 6 that he would support legalization of gay marriage statewide.
The Times said political observers in the state doubted Spitzer or Bloomberg could get a gay marriage bill through the Republican-controlled state Senate, whose leader is opposed to gay marriage.
-30-
http://www.abpnews.com/1201.article
Slow-walking senior guilty, but $114 fine waived
BY DANA BARTHOLOMEW, Staff Writer
A court has upheld the jaywalking ticket issued to an 82-year-old Sunland woman who slowly crossed a busy boulevard, but waived the $114 fine - a Solomonic compromise in a case that drew outrage from around the world.
Mayvis Coyle of Sunland captured the attention of senior-citizens advocates - and pedestrians everywhere - after she was ticketed Feb. 15 for crossing busy Foothill Boulevard against a light. At the time, she was loaded down with groceries and walking with the help of a cane.
Superior Court Commissioner Jeffrey Harkavy of San Fernando issued his ruling June 20 after reading written testimony by both Coyle and the ticketing officer, and mailed it to Coyle last week. He found her guilty of jaywalking, but suspended the fine.
Coyle's son said his mother was mentally and physically exhausted by the case and publicity.
"It sounds like a compromise, like they're trying to save face," Coyle's son, Jim Coyle of North Hollywood, said of the decision. "We're grateful for everyone's support."
Mayvis Coyle - vacationing in Colorado and unavailable for comment - has maintained that the "walk" signal was illuminated when she began crossing the five-lane thoroughfare - a claim disputed by the unidentified Los Angeles Police Department officer who cited her.
Coyle said the motorcycle cop had told her, before issuing her the ticket, "You're obstructing the flow of traffic."
Coyle's case drew worldwide attention after a Daily News report that was blogged on the Drudge Report and posted on other news Web sites.
News of the judge's ruling drew a warm response Friday from local seniors advocates.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_4026141
Moving ever closer to closing down Guantanamo prison
By David Ignatius
Daily Star staff
Saturday, July 08, 2006
As the White House ponders how to respond to the Supreme Court's rebuff last week in the Hamdan case, officials are studying an often-overlooked recommendation of the September 11 commission, which urged that "the United States should engage its friends to develop a common coalition approach toward the detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists."
To the White House in the months after September 11, this idea of collaborating with allies on common anti-terrorist legal rules was anathema, and it still has plenty of enemies within the administration. But President George W. Bush is obviously tired of taking flak every time he travels abroad about the American prison at Guantanamo Bay, and he seems to mean it in his repeated statements that he would like to close Gitmo. But how to do that in a way that preserves US security?
Administration officials recognize that they face a fork in the road after Hamdan. They can craft a minimalist response, which would seek congressional authority for military tribunals or amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to provide rules for a system of courts-martial. Or they could try a broader approach, which would seek to ground detention and trial of suspected terrorists within Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
The post-Hamdan debate involves some long-standing divisions within the administration over anti-terrorism policy. On one side are Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her advisers, who believe that Guantanamo has become a dangerous rallying point for anti-Americanism. On the other side are conservative administration lawyers, led by vice presidential chief of staff David Addington, who worry that any attempt to involve Congress or international lawyers in writing new rules will produce an unworkable legal mess that will endanger US security. In the middle, seeking to resolve the issue over the next several weeks, are Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, and Joshua Bolten, the new White House chief of staff.
Bush's comments about closing Guantanamo suggest that he wants to turn a page. But as sometimes happens with this administration, the debate isn't over until it's over - and even then it isn't over. That was the case with the McCain amendment banning harsh interrogation techniques. The president signed the law and then appended a "signing statement" saying that his executive power wasn't bound by such limits, then made a public statement indicating that despite the signing statement, he would follow the law. Confused? So is the CIA, which is said to have stopped interrogating terrorist suspects altogether until the rules are clarified.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=73780
Bag searches become way of life in NYC subway system
By TOM HAYS
Associated Press Writer
July 9, 2006, 12:40 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- It was billed as a counterterrorism tactic needed after the deadly mass transit bombings in London: Any New Yorker entering the city's sprawling subway system would be subject to a random search of backpacks, briefcases and shopping bags.
One year and countless searches later, the practice once thought of as a temporary imposition with potential to trample civil rights remains firmly in place while barely causing a stir. The city's top law enforcement official still insists the measure helps deter terrorism _ and has no plans to halt it.
"We consider it a valuable tactic to use," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a recent interview. "It's not a panacea, it's not a cure-all, but it's another tool in our toolbox."
NYPD officials refuse to say how many bags police have searched in the past year, or specify where and when they do it. They claim by making deployment unpredictable, they can keep would-be bombers off-balance.
There have been five arrests total for drugs, disorderly conduct and other minor charges _ but none for terrorism. Still, the nation's largest police department considers the city's 468 subway stations and the average 4.5 million riders who use them daily a ripe target.
Each day, police can be seen staffing mobile checkpoints in a handful of stations across the five boroughs, often during afternoon rush. Compared to passenger screening stations at airports, the checkpoints aren't imposing or elaborate: They're typically comprised of three uniformed officers armed with a plastic folding table and flashlights used to peer into the bags.
At one checkpoint at the Wall Street subway stop last week, some commuters tried to voluntarily open their bags for the officers, who shooed them away. About every 10th person was stopped for searches that lasted perhaps 10 seconds.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--transitsecurity0709jul09,0,2019233.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
Military Confirms Pre-deployment Training Failures
By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 8, 2006; 6:10 PM
The U.S. military officer overseeing the investigation into 24 civilian killings in Haditha, Iraq, has concluded that Marine leadership failed multiple times, including in pre-deployment training, in the tone set by commanders, and in how information was reported up the chain of command, defense officials said.
Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the No. 2 officer in Iraq, found that commanders and staff at the regimental and division levels were negligent in how they conveyed orders about how to deal with Iraqi civilians and also in how they responded to conflicting reports they received from units about the Haditha incident, the officials said.
Most of Chiarelli's "Findings and Recommendations" endorse the conclusions of an investigation led by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell, the officials said. Bargewell concluded that Marine commanders should have asked more questions about how and why 15 Iraqi civilians -- the number first reported -- were killed, especially after a discrepancy emerged between the first report, that they had been killed by a roadside bomb, and a later report, that they all had died of gunshot wounds. Chiarelli told colleagues that he was stunned to learn that no investigation of the incident had been conducted even after it was evident that the facts of the matter were in dispute, an official said.
Bargewell's report also criticizes the Marine Corps for letting stand a statement, released in November by one of its public affairs officers, that the Iraqis had been killed by a roadside bomb, instead of correcting the record when it was clear the statement was incorrect.
Chiarelli long has been concerned that the U.S. military was inadequately prepared to conduct an effective counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. He also included thoughts about how better to prepare troops and commanders, the official added.
"You've got to prepare for the fight you're in today," said a second defense official, summarizing Chiarelli's findings on the military's inadequate training for counterinsurgency operations. "It's totally different" than fighting in Iraq two or three years ago, he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/08/AR2006070800566.html
Genes don't treat gender the same
New UCLA study raises idea of sex-specific drugs
By LEE BOWMAN
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Genetic differences between men and women hardly end at the X and Y chromosomes.
A new study by researchers at UCLA has determined that thousands of human genes behave differently in the corresponding organs of males and females -- even in fat and muscle tissue.
The findings help explain why the same disease often affects men and women differently, and why the effects of some drugs may vary drastically between the sexes.
"This research holds important implications for understanding disorders such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, and identifies targets for gender-specific therapies," said Jake Lusis, a professor of human genetics at UCLA and a co-author of the report, published in the August issue of the journal Genome Research.
The researchers examined brain, liver, fat and muscle tissue from mice with the goal of finding genetic clues related to mental illness, diabetes, obesity and heart disease in humans. Humans and mice share 99 percent of their genes.
The scientists looked at gene expression -- the process by which a gene's DNA sequence is converted into proteins that carry out various functions inside cells. Working with Seattle-based scientific data management firm Rosetta Inpharmatrics, the team scrutinized more than 23,000 genes to measure their expression levels in male and female tissue.
While each gene basically functioned the same in both sexes, the scientists found a direct correlation between gender and the volume and pace by which proteins were expressed.
"We saw striking and measurable differences in more than half of the genes' expression patterns between males and females," said Dr. Thomas Drake, a professor of pathology at UCLA and a co-investigator. "We didn't expect that."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/276899_gendergenes08.html
Spain, Europe's Biggest Tourist Destination, Confirms Bird Flu
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Spain, Europe's biggest tourism destination by revenue, confirmed its first case of bird flu.
The National Laboratory at Algete near Madrid found the H5N1 virus in a sample taken from a grebe found in the province of Alava, the Agriculture Ministry today said on its Web site.
Avian influenza has spread across the European Union, prompting some consumers to spurn poultry. The World Health Organization has said there's no risk in eating poultry or eggs that are properly cooked. The World Tourism Organization said it's safe to travel to countries that have reported bird flu as long as tourists avoid close contact with birds.
Spain gets 46 billion euros ($59 billion) in revenue a year from foreign tourists and the industry makes up about a tenth of gross domestic product. Most tourists come from the U.K., Germany and France. Hotel companies such as Sol Melia SA and airlines including Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA depend on tourism for profit growth.
Germany, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria are among countries that have reported outbreaks, mostly in swans.
The disease in birds creates more opportunity for human infection and increases the risk of the virus changing into a pandemic form.
Most of the people who have contracted the virus handled infected poultry or came in contact with their excrement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aC5st1TiLuwc&refer=germany
Hawking turns to Yahoo for answers to his big question
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Saturday July 8, 2006
The Guardian
He has contemplated the mind of God, wrestled with the fabric of space-time and cast light on black holes. But for answers to the latest big question, Stephen Hawking has gone to the internet.
Introducing himself to the online community as a theoretical physicist and the Lucasian professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, the 64-year-old scientist posed the question: "How can the human race survive the next 100 years?"
Beneath and alongside a familiar image of the scientist, he said: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1815572,00.html
Missiles, rockets fly between Israel, Gaza
Israel turns down cease-fire proposal from Palestinian PM
Sunday, July 9, 2006 Posted: 1800 GMT (0200 HKT)
An Israeli artillery unit fires from southern Israel toward the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Israel continued military actions Sunday as part of an operation aimed at securing the release of an Israeli soldier and ending Palestinian attacks against Israel, after rejecting a cease-fire proposed by the Palestinian Prime Minister Saturday.
The 19-year-old missing soldier, Gilad Shalit, was kidnapped two weeks ago by Hamas militants.
One man was killed and seven were wounded Sunday -- including three Hamas militants -- when the Israeli Air Force launched missile strikes against two cars east of the southern Gaza town of Rafah, Palestinian security and medical sources said.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it fired more than one missile targeting suspected terrorists.
Before the air strike, Palestinian militants fired two Qassam rockets into the Israeli border town of Sderot, wounding one man, the Israel Defense Forces said.
More than 24 rockets fired from northern Gaza since Friday have landed in Israel, causing some minor injuries and damage. (Watch battle continuing in Gaza town -- 2:03)
Hamas has called on Israel to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's freedom. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert refused, saying such a move was out of the question until attacks from Gaza stop.
On Sunday Olmert said Israel had considered releasing some prisoners as a goodwill gesture before Gilad's kidnapping.
"It's not a secret before the kidnapping that we would free prisoners," he said. "But we intended to release them to moderate elements and not to terrorist elements."
"The release of prisoners means destroying the moderates in the Palestinian Authority, and would signal to the world that Israel can only talk to extremists," Olmert said.
On Saturday, the Palestinian government, dominated by Hamas, issued a statement saying it wants to deal with the standoff diplomatically and intensify negotiations regarding Shalit. Hamas has said the soldier is alive and in good condition.
Israeli forces remain stationed in parts of Gaza's eastern region and in the south, where they are focused on the airport and other vacant buildings that are potential militant hideouts.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/09/israel.gaza/
India test-fires long range missile
New Delhi (dpa) - India successfully test fired a nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile on Sunday from a range off the country's eastern coast, defence officials said.
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and a large group of scientists from India's defence research organizations were present to see the first test flight of Agni III, meaning "fire" in Hindi.
The Agni III is an indigenously-built surface-to-surface missile with a range of 3,500 kilometres. It can take a payload of up to 1,000 kilograms and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
The testing of the missile had been put off twice over the past year. It was fired from a fixed platform at the launch complex of the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler's Island on Sunday, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry said.
Eyewitnesses quoted by PTI news agency said the projectile roared vertically into the overcast sky over the Bay of Bengal leaving behind a trail of thick yellow smoke and fire and vanished into the clouds within seconds. It soon re-entered to splash down at a point near Nicobar island.
Several sophisticated radars and electro-optical tracking systems placed on the mainland and a ship near the splash-down point monitored the trajectory of the missile.
Defence experts said the testing of the new missile was significant for India's nuclear minimum deterrence programme, especially with regard to China. Both China and India's western neighbour Pakistan have nuclear-capable missiles.
"The range of the missile allows it to strike targets deep in the Chinese mainland like Shanghai and Beijing and gives credibility to India's minimum deterrence programme," said Rahul Bedi, India correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly.
India and China went to war in 1962 over a border dispute but in recent years their relations have warmed with increasing economic cooperation.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=108017
By NEDRA PICKLER
ASSOCIATED PRESS WRITER
WASHINGTON -- The White House possibly broke the law by keeping intelligence activities a secret from the lawmakers responsible for overseeing them, the House Intelligence Committee chairman said Sunday.
Rep. Pete Hoekstra, R-Mich., said he was informed about the programs by whistleblowers in the intelligence community and then asked the Bush administration about the programs, using code names. Hoekstra said members of the House and Senate intelligence committees then were briefed on the programs, which he said is required by law.
"We can't be briefed on every little thing that they are doing," Hoekstra said. "But in this case, there was at least one major - what I consider significant activity that we have not been briefed on. I want to set the standard there that it is not optional for this president or any president or people in the executive community not to keep the intelligence committees fully informed of what they are doing," he said on "Fox News Sunday."
Hoekstra complained to President Bush in a letter dated May 18 that was disclosed in Sunday's New York Times.
In the letter, Hoekstra said the failure to brief the intelligence committees "may represent a breach of responsibility by the administration, a violation of law and, just as importantly, a direct affront to me and the members of this committee who have so ardently supported efforts to collect information on our enemies."
Frederick Jones, spokesman for Bush's National Security Council, said the only comment the White House would have on the letter was that the administration "will continue to work closely with the chairman and other congressional leaders on important national security issues."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/national/1153AP_Intelligence_Briefings.html
Migrant dies as Coast Guard chases speedboat
Sat Jul 8, 2006 5:12pm ET
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MIAMI (Reuters) - A Cuban migrant died on Saturday from possible head injuries after the U.S. Coast Guard chased a speedboat suspected of smuggling 31 people into the United States and fired into its engines to stop the vessel, U.S. officials said.
The Coast Guard said the death of a woman on the boat was not as a result of the shooting, which occurred after a high-speed chase about dawn that began 39 miles south of Key West and ended 4 miles south of Boca Chica in Florida.
Two Coast Guard vessels tried to corner the 36-foot Carrera, a speedboat with three outboard motors that tried to ram one of the pursuing vessels more than five times. It had three suspected people smugglers on board in addition to 31 passengers.
An investigation will determine whether the smuggling suspects face charges and the status of the passengers will be determined later.
The Coast Guard said two rounds were fired into one of the boat's engines to stop it and that "no migrants received injuries as a result of the disabling fire."
It said three migrants were found to be in need of medical attention, including the woman, who had severe bruises to her face and apparent head injuries. She died as she was being taken to hospital.
The dead woman might have sustained the head injuries during the high-speed voyage, Capt. Phil Heyl, the Coast Guard commander in Key West, said.
"There was no way for these people to brace themselves against the impact of the boat slamming into the rough seas," Heyl said.
http://today.reuters.com/news/newsArticle.aspx?type=domesticNews&storyID=2006-07-08T211241Z_01_N08276092_RTRUKOC_0_US-CRIME-PEOPLESMUGGLING.xml&archived=False
UPDATE: Courts in New York, Georgia deal blows to gay-marriage backers
By Robert Marus
Published July 7, 2006
WASHINGTON (ABP) -- The highest state courts in New York and Georgia dealt dual setbacks to proponents of gay marriage in July 6 rulings.
The New York Court of Appeals ruled that the state's constitution neither requires nor bans the legalization of same-sex marriage, saying the question is one for the state's legislators to decide. Later that day, the Georgia Supreme Court upheld a state constitutional amendment banning gay marriage that a lower court had invalidated on procedural grounds.
The New York decision came on a 4-2 vote. The court's opinion determined that "the New York Constitution does not compel recognition of marriages between members of the same sex. Whether such marriages should be recognized is a question to be addressed by the Legislature."
In Georgia, a unanimous court said the amendment -- which voters passed in 2004 by a more than 3-1 margin -- had been placed on the ballot properly. Opponents of the amendment had sued the state, noting that the Georgia Constitution prohibits such ballot initiatives from dealing with more than one issue. They claimed that marriage was a substantially different issue from civil unions and that voters who opposed gay marriage but not civil unions would have been forced to vote to ban both. The court disagreed.
The decisions follow several by state high courts in recent years denying a state constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
Massachusetts became the only state to legalize same-sex marriage after its highest court ruled in 2003 that banning it violated the Massachusetts Constitution. Vermont and Connecticut offer gay couples civil unions, with benefits and responsibilities nearly identical to marriage. California, New Jersey and the District of Columbia have "domestic partnership" laws that offer marriage-like advantages to unmarried couples.
The New York decision came in four separate cases the court combined. In those, 44 same-sex couples who wished to marry sued municipal clerks who denied them marriage licenses in various parts of the state. The plaintiffs said the state's Domestic Relations Law, which deals with marriage in heterosexual-specific terms, violates the New York Constitution's equal-protection and due-process guarantees.
All of the lower courts involved had ruled against the plaintiffs, save for one trial court in New York City. Attorneys for the state and the municipalities involved defended the marriage law.
The author of the Court of Appeals' controlling three-person plurality opinion, Judge Robert Smith, said the state's Domestic Relations Law does not violate the rights of same-sex couples because the law had a rational basis beyond sheer anti-gay prejudice.
"The question is not, we emphasize, whether the Legislature must or should continue to limit marriage in this way; of course, the Legislature may…extend marriage or some or all of its benefits to same-sex couples," Smith wrote. "We conclude, however, that there are at least two grounds that rationally support the limitation on marriage that the legislature has enacted…both of which are derived from the undisputed assumption that marriage is important to the welfare of children."
First, Smith said, legislators may choose to provide heterosexuals with incentives to marry -- such as tax advantages and inheritance and health-care rights -- because heterosexual couplings are the only ones naturally inclined to produce children. Because of that, he said, "the Legislature could rationally decide that, for the welfare of children, it is more important to promote stability, and to avoid instability, in opposite-sex than in same-sex relationships."
Second, Smith wrote, "The Legislature could rationally believe that it is better, other things being equal, for children to grow up with both a mother and a father. Intuition and experience suggest that a child benefits from having before his or her eyes, every day, living models of what both a man and a woman are like."
He also rejected the plaintiffs' argument that the state's denial of marriage to same-sex couples is analogous to a Virginia law banning interracial marriage -- a law that the federal Supreme Court overturned in its 1967 Loving v. Virginia ruling.
"…[T]he historical background of Loving is different from the history underlying this case," Smith said. "Racism has been recognized for centuries -- at first by a few people, and later by many more -- as a revolting moral evil."
But heterosexual-only marriage is not similar, Smith said: "Until a few decades ago, it was an accepted truth for almost everyone who ever lived, in any society in which marriage existed, that there could be marriages only between participants of different sex. A court should not lightly conclude that everyone who held this belief was irrational, ignorant or bigoted. We do not so conclude."
Smith questioned whether the freedom to marry someone of one's own gender is a "fundamental right." "The right to marry is unquestionably a fundamental right. The right to marry someone of the same sex, however, is not 'deeply rooted'; it has not even been asserted until relatively recent times."
Finally, Smith said, the decision should be a legislative one. "The dissenters assert confidently that 'future generations' will agree with their view of this case…. We do not predict what people will think generations from now, but we believe the present generation should have a chance to decide the issue through its elected representatives."
But Chief Judge Judith Kaye, in a lengthy dissenting opinion challenging virtually all of Smith's arguments, said the court should not shirk its constitutional duty simply because the state's legislators have failed to extend equal marriage rights to gays.
"[T]his court cannot avoid its obligation to remedy constitutional violations in the hope that the Legislature might some day render the question presented academic," she said. "It is uniquely the function of the judicial branch to safeguard individual liberties guaranteed by the New York State Constitution, and to order redress for their violation."
Kaye said Smith and the plurality employed circular logic in saying that the freedom to marry a partner of one's own gender was not an inherent right. "The court concludes … that same-sex marriage is not deeply rooted in tradition, and thus cannot implicate any fundamental liberty. But fundamental rights, once recognized, cannot be denied to particular groups on the ground that these groups have historically been denied those rights," she wrote.
She also said that the logic of encouraging child welfare by limiting marriage to heterosexual couples isn't consistent with the state's other laws or cultural reality.
"[W]hile encouraging opposite-sex couples to marry before they have children is certainly a legitimate interest of the state, the exclusion of gay men and lesbians from marriage in no way furthers this interest. There are enough marriage licenses to go around for everyone," she wrote.
Excluding same-sex couples from marriage actually undermines the well-being of children, she continued. "Tens of thousands of children are currently being raised by same-sex couples in New York. Depriving these children of the benefits and protections available to the children of opposite-sex couples is antithetical to their welfare."
The issue is now in the hands of the state's political leaders, whom gay-rights supporters called on July 6 to pass a same-sex marriage bill. A recent poll showed that a slight majority of New Yorkers favor legalizing same-sex marriage. Bills to do so, however, have not made it out of committee during recent legislative sessions.
Two state political leaders who authorized their attorneys to defend the marriage status quo both said July 6 that they would support legislative expansion of marriage rights to gays.
State Attorney General Elliot Spitzer, whose office opposed the lawsuits, is New York's Democratic candidate for governor. He promised to support a law legalizing same-sex marriage if elected to that office.
"I believe same-sex marriage should be constitutional, should be legal, should be authorized statutorily," he said, according to the New York Times. "I think in New York there is recognition that this is the right thing to do from a civil rights perspective."
Spitzer's Republican opponent reportedly said he would veto any bill legalizing gay marriage, but he is far behind Spitzer in the polls.
New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg, whose government defended its clerks' decision to deny marriage licenses to gay couples, also said July 6 that he would support legalization of gay marriage statewide.
The Times said political observers in the state doubted Spitzer or Bloomberg could get a gay marriage bill through the Republican-controlled state Senate, whose leader is opposed to gay marriage.
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http://www.abpnews.com/1201.article
Slow-walking senior guilty, but $114 fine waived
BY DANA BARTHOLOMEW, Staff Writer
A court has upheld the jaywalking ticket issued to an 82-year-old Sunland woman who slowly crossed a busy boulevard, but waived the $114 fine - a Solomonic compromise in a case that drew outrage from around the world.
Mayvis Coyle of Sunland captured the attention of senior-citizens advocates - and pedestrians everywhere - after she was ticketed Feb. 15 for crossing busy Foothill Boulevard against a light. At the time, she was loaded down with groceries and walking with the help of a cane.
Superior Court Commissioner Jeffrey Harkavy of San Fernando issued his ruling June 20 after reading written testimony by both Coyle and the ticketing officer, and mailed it to Coyle last week. He found her guilty of jaywalking, but suspended the fine.
Coyle's son said his mother was mentally and physically exhausted by the case and publicity.
"It sounds like a compromise, like they're trying to save face," Coyle's son, Jim Coyle of North Hollywood, said of the decision. "We're grateful for everyone's support."
Mayvis Coyle - vacationing in Colorado and unavailable for comment - has maintained that the "walk" signal was illuminated when she began crossing the five-lane thoroughfare - a claim disputed by the unidentified Los Angeles Police Department officer who cited her.
Coyle said the motorcycle cop had told her, before issuing her the ticket, "You're obstructing the flow of traffic."
Coyle's case drew worldwide attention after a Daily News report that was blogged on the Drudge Report and posted on other news Web sites.
News of the judge's ruling drew a warm response Friday from local seniors advocates.
http://www.dailynews.com/news/ci_4026141
Moving ever closer to closing down Guantanamo prison
By David Ignatius
Daily Star staff
Saturday, July 08, 2006
As the White House ponders how to respond to the Supreme Court's rebuff last week in the Hamdan case, officials are studying an often-overlooked recommendation of the September 11 commission, which urged that "the United States should engage its friends to develop a common coalition approach toward the detention and humane treatment of captured terrorists."
To the White House in the months after September 11, this idea of collaborating with allies on common anti-terrorist legal rules was anathema, and it still has plenty of enemies within the administration. But President George W. Bush is obviously tired of taking flak every time he travels abroad about the American prison at Guantanamo Bay, and he seems to mean it in his repeated statements that he would like to close Gitmo. But how to do that in a way that preserves US security?
Administration officials recognize that they face a fork in the road after Hamdan. They can craft a minimalist response, which would seek congressional authority for military tribunals or amend the Uniform Code of Military Justice to provide rules for a system of courts-martial. Or they could try a broader approach, which would seek to ground detention and trial of suspected terrorists within Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions.
The post-Hamdan debate involves some long-standing divisions within the administration over anti-terrorism policy. On one side are Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her advisers, who believe that Guantanamo has become a dangerous rallying point for anti-Americanism. On the other side are conservative administration lawyers, led by vice presidential chief of staff David Addington, who worry that any attempt to involve Congress or international lawyers in writing new rules will produce an unworkable legal mess that will endanger US security. In the middle, seeking to resolve the issue over the next several weeks, are Stephen Hadley, the national security adviser, and Joshua Bolten, the new White House chief of staff.
Bush's comments about closing Guantanamo suggest that he wants to turn a page. But as sometimes happens with this administration, the debate isn't over until it's over - and even then it isn't over. That was the case with the McCain amendment banning harsh interrogation techniques. The president signed the law and then appended a "signing statement" saying that his executive power wasn't bound by such limits, then made a public statement indicating that despite the signing statement, he would follow the law. Confused? So is the CIA, which is said to have stopped interrogating terrorist suspects altogether until the rules are clarified.
http://www.dailystar.com.lb/article.asp?edition_id=10&categ_id=5&article_id=73780
Bag searches become way of life in NYC subway system
By TOM HAYS
Associated Press Writer
July 9, 2006, 12:40 PM EDT
NEW YORK -- It was billed as a counterterrorism tactic needed after the deadly mass transit bombings in London: Any New Yorker entering the city's sprawling subway system would be subject to a random search of backpacks, briefcases and shopping bags.
One year and countless searches later, the practice once thought of as a temporary imposition with potential to trample civil rights remains firmly in place while barely causing a stir. The city's top law enforcement official still insists the measure helps deter terrorism _ and has no plans to halt it.
"We consider it a valuable tactic to use," Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly said in a recent interview. "It's not a panacea, it's not a cure-all, but it's another tool in our toolbox."
NYPD officials refuse to say how many bags police have searched in the past year, or specify where and when they do it. They claim by making deployment unpredictable, they can keep would-be bombers off-balance.
There have been five arrests total for drugs, disorderly conduct and other minor charges _ but none for terrorism. Still, the nation's largest police department considers the city's 468 subway stations and the average 4.5 million riders who use them daily a ripe target.
Each day, police can be seen staffing mobile checkpoints in a handful of stations across the five boroughs, often during afternoon rush. Compared to passenger screening stations at airports, the checkpoints aren't imposing or elaborate: They're typically comprised of three uniformed officers armed with a plastic folding table and flashlights used to peer into the bags.
At one checkpoint at the Wall Street subway stop last week, some commuters tried to voluntarily open their bags for the officers, who shooed them away. About every 10th person was stopped for searches that lasted perhaps 10 seconds.
http://www.newsday.com/news/local/wire/newyork/ny-bc-ny--transitsecurity0709jul09,0,2019233.story?coll=ny-region-apnewyork
Military Confirms Pre-deployment Training Failures
By Thomas E. Ricks
Washington Post Staff Writer
Saturday, July 8, 2006; 6:10 PM
The U.S. military officer overseeing the investigation into 24 civilian killings in Haditha, Iraq, has concluded that Marine leadership failed multiple times, including in pre-deployment training, in the tone set by commanders, and in how information was reported up the chain of command, defense officials said.
Army Lt. Gen. Peter W. Chiarelli, the No. 2 officer in Iraq, found that commanders and staff at the regimental and division levels were negligent in how they conveyed orders about how to deal with Iraqi civilians and also in how they responded to conflicting reports they received from units about the Haditha incident, the officials said.
Most of Chiarelli's "Findings and Recommendations" endorse the conclusions of an investigation led by Army Maj. Gen. Eldon A. Bargewell, the officials said. Bargewell concluded that Marine commanders should have asked more questions about how and why 15 Iraqi civilians -- the number first reported -- were killed, especially after a discrepancy emerged between the first report, that they had been killed by a roadside bomb, and a later report, that they all had died of gunshot wounds. Chiarelli told colleagues that he was stunned to learn that no investigation of the incident had been conducted even after it was evident that the facts of the matter were in dispute, an official said.
Bargewell's report also criticizes the Marine Corps for letting stand a statement, released in November by one of its public affairs officers, that the Iraqis had been killed by a roadside bomb, instead of correcting the record when it was clear the statement was incorrect.
Chiarelli long has been concerned that the U.S. military was inadequately prepared to conduct an effective counterinsurgency campaign in Iraq. He also included thoughts about how better to prepare troops and commanders, the official added.
"You've got to prepare for the fight you're in today," said a second defense official, summarizing Chiarelli's findings on the military's inadequate training for counterinsurgency operations. "It's totally different" than fighting in Iraq two or three years ago, he said.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/07/08/AR2006070800566.html
Genes don't treat gender the same
New UCLA study raises idea of sex-specific drugs
By LEE BOWMAN
SCRIPPS HOWARD NEWS SERVICE
Genetic differences between men and women hardly end at the X and Y chromosomes.
A new study by researchers at UCLA has determined that thousands of human genes behave differently in the corresponding organs of males and females -- even in fat and muscle tissue.
The findings help explain why the same disease often affects men and women differently, and why the effects of some drugs may vary drastically between the sexes.
"This research holds important implications for understanding disorders such as diabetes, heart disease and obesity, and identifies targets for gender-specific therapies," said Jake Lusis, a professor of human genetics at UCLA and a co-author of the report, published in the August issue of the journal Genome Research.
The researchers examined brain, liver, fat and muscle tissue from mice with the goal of finding genetic clues related to mental illness, diabetes, obesity and heart disease in humans. Humans and mice share 99 percent of their genes.
The scientists looked at gene expression -- the process by which a gene's DNA sequence is converted into proteins that carry out various functions inside cells. Working with Seattle-based scientific data management firm Rosetta Inpharmatrics, the team scrutinized more than 23,000 genes to measure their expression levels in male and female tissue.
While each gene basically functioned the same in both sexes, the scientists found a direct correlation between gender and the volume and pace by which proteins were expressed.
"We saw striking and measurable differences in more than half of the genes' expression patterns between males and females," said Dr. Thomas Drake, a professor of pathology at UCLA and a co-investigator. "We didn't expect that."
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/health/276899_gendergenes08.html
Spain, Europe's Biggest Tourist Destination, Confirms Bird Flu
July 7 (Bloomberg) -- Spain, Europe's biggest tourism destination by revenue, confirmed its first case of bird flu.
The National Laboratory at Algete near Madrid found the H5N1 virus in a sample taken from a grebe found in the province of Alava, the Agriculture Ministry today said on its Web site.
Avian influenza has spread across the European Union, prompting some consumers to spurn poultry. The World Health Organization has said there's no risk in eating poultry or eggs that are properly cooked. The World Tourism Organization said it's safe to travel to countries that have reported bird flu as long as tourists avoid close contact with birds.
Spain gets 46 billion euros ($59 billion) in revenue a year from foreign tourists and the industry makes up about a tenth of gross domestic product. Most tourists come from the U.K., Germany and France. Hotel companies such as Sol Melia SA and airlines including Iberia Lineas Aereas de Espana SA depend on tourism for profit growth.
Germany, Greece, Italy, Hungary, Slovenia and Austria are among countries that have reported outbreaks, mostly in swans.
The disease in birds creates more opportunity for human infection and increases the risk of the virus changing into a pandemic form.
Most of the people who have contracted the virus handled infected poultry or came in contact with their excrement.
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601100&sid=aC5st1TiLuwc&refer=germany
Hawking turns to Yahoo for answers to his big question
Ian Sample, science correspondent
Saturday July 8, 2006
The Guardian
He has contemplated the mind of God, wrestled with the fabric of space-time and cast light on black holes. But for answers to the latest big question, Stephen Hawking has gone to the internet.
Introducing himself to the online community as a theoretical physicist and the Lucasian professor of mathematics at the University of Cambridge, the 64-year-old scientist posed the question: "How can the human race survive the next 100 years?"
Beneath and alongside a familiar image of the scientist, he said: "In a world that is in chaos politically, socially and environmentally, how can the human race sustain another 100 years?"
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk_news/story/0,,1815572,00.html
Missiles, rockets fly between Israel, Gaza
Israel turns down cease-fire proposal from Palestinian PM
Sunday, July 9, 2006 Posted: 1800 GMT (0200 HKT)
An Israeli artillery unit fires from southern Israel toward the northern Gaza Strip on Sunday.
GAZA CITY (CNN) -- Israel continued military actions Sunday as part of an operation aimed at securing the release of an Israeli soldier and ending Palestinian attacks against Israel, after rejecting a cease-fire proposed by the Palestinian Prime Minister Saturday.
The 19-year-old missing soldier, Gilad Shalit, was kidnapped two weeks ago by Hamas militants.
One man was killed and seven were wounded Sunday -- including three Hamas militants -- when the Israeli Air Force launched missile strikes against two cars east of the southern Gaza town of Rafah, Palestinian security and medical sources said.
The Israel Defense Forces confirmed it fired more than one missile targeting suspected terrorists.
Before the air strike, Palestinian militants fired two Qassam rockets into the Israeli border town of Sderot, wounding one man, the Israel Defense Forces said.
More than 24 rockets fired from northern Gaza since Friday have landed in Israel, causing some minor injuries and damage. (Watch battle continuing in Gaza town -- 2:03)
Hamas has called on Israel to release Palestinian prisoners in exchange for Shalit's freedom. Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert refused, saying such a move was out of the question until attacks from Gaza stop.
On Sunday Olmert said Israel had considered releasing some prisoners as a goodwill gesture before Gilad's kidnapping.
"It's not a secret before the kidnapping that we would free prisoners," he said. "But we intended to release them to moderate elements and not to terrorist elements."
"The release of prisoners means destroying the moderates in the Palestinian Authority, and would signal to the world that Israel can only talk to extremists," Olmert said.
On Saturday, the Palestinian government, dominated by Hamas, issued a statement saying it wants to deal with the standoff diplomatically and intensify negotiations regarding Shalit. Hamas has said the soldier is alive and in good condition.
Israeli forces remain stationed in parts of Gaza's eastern region and in the south, where they are focused on the airport and other vacant buildings that are potential militant hideouts.
http://edition.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/meast/07/09/israel.gaza/
India test-fires long range missile
New Delhi (dpa) - India successfully test fired a nuclear-capable long-range ballistic missile on Sunday from a range off the country's eastern coast, defence officials said.
Defence Minister Pranab Mukherjee and a large group of scientists from India's defence research organizations were present to see the first test flight of Agni III, meaning "fire" in Hindi.
The Agni III is an indigenously-built surface-to-surface missile with a range of 3,500 kilometres. It can take a payload of up to 1,000 kilograms and is capable of carrying a nuclear warhead.
The testing of the missile had been put off twice over the past year. It was fired from a fixed platform at the launch complex of the Integrated Test Range at Wheeler's Island on Sunday, a spokesman for the Defence Ministry said.
Eyewitnesses quoted by PTI news agency said the projectile roared vertically into the overcast sky over the Bay of Bengal leaving behind a trail of thick yellow smoke and fire and vanished into the clouds within seconds. It soon re-entered to splash down at a point near Nicobar island.
Several sophisticated radars and electro-optical tracking systems placed on the mainland and a ship near the splash-down point monitored the trajectory of the missile.
Defence experts said the testing of the new missile was significant for India's nuclear minimum deterrence programme, especially with regard to China. Both China and India's western neighbour Pakistan have nuclear-capable missiles.
"The range of the missile allows it to strike targets deep in the Chinese mainland like Shanghai and Beijing and gives credibility to India's minimum deterrence programme," said Rahul Bedi, India correspondent for Jane's Defence Weekly.
India and China went to war in 1962 over a border dispute but in recent years their relations have warmed with increasing economic cooperation.
http://www.bangkokpost.com/breaking_news/breakingnews.php?id=108017
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