Friday, March 12, 2004
Woman who refused C-section charged with murder over stillbirth
SALT LAKE CITY – A woman accused of murder because she allegedly avoided a Caesarean section that could have saved her unborn twin has denied the charge, saying she already had scars from earlier C-sections.
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Friday, March 05, 2004
'Warning' over three-headed frog
Children in a nursery were shocked when they spotted a three-headed frog hopping in their garden.
The creature - which has six legs - has stunned BBC wildlife experts who warned it could be an early warning of environmental problems.
See the photo here
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Wednesday, March 03, 2004
Making Bombers in Iraq
It has been widely held that suicide attackers are all foreigners, but recent evidence points to home-grown cells of religious extremists.
This is interesting. The Bush administration has been trying to convince us that Al Qaeda is behind the attacks, but there is no evidence to support that.
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This is interesting. The Bush administration has been trying to convince us that Al Qaeda is behind the attacks, but there is no evidence to support that.
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Monday, February 23, 2004
Nine killed in Kirkuk suicide attack
Seven policemen were killed on Monday in a suicide car attack that also left two bombers dead in northern Iraq, as US Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld held talks in Baghdad on shifting security responsibility to Iraqis.
The fresh attack against Iraqi police, in the city of Kirkuk, also came as the United Nations prepared to issue recommendations on the best way forward for the war-torn country.
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Sunday, February 22, 2004
Oklahoma embraces pro-marriage experiment
Divorce rate one of highest in country
It's the kind of program President Bush wants Congress to budget $1.2 billion for over the next five years.
But can government succeed at what has traditionally occurred in the confines of a counselor's office? Should it even try?
Denise Jenkins thinks it's worth a shot, explaining, "I really don't want to be a statistic in Oklahoma."
The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative is based on a marriage support program developed by the University of Denver -- nuts and bolts lessons from trained counselors on listening and communication skills, setting priorities and learning to manage conflict.
Oklahoma is offering its courses free to anyone who is interested. The Bush plan is aimed at marriage promotion among the nation's poor.
But can government succeed at what has traditionally occurred in the confines of a counselor's office? Should it even try?
Denise Jenkins thinks it's worth a shot, explaining, "I really don't want to be a statistic in Oklahoma."
The Oklahoma Marriage Initiative is based on a marriage support program developed by the University of Denver -- nuts and bolts lessons from trained counselors on listening and communication skills, setting priorities and learning to manage conflict.
Oklahoma is offering its courses free to anyone who is interested. The Bush plan is aimed at marriage promotion among the nation's poor.
It seems like a worthwhile idea, until you remember that at the same time that Bush is pusing this idea, he is also supporting a federal amendment that bans same-sex marriage. That seems a bit schizophrenic to me.
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Tuesday, February 17, 2004
US Dollar drops further against Euro
Against the euro, the dollar fell to $1.2867 at 11:34 a.m. in London from $1.2771 late yesterday. The dollar fell to $1.9 versus the British pound for the first time since September 1992, dropped to a seven-year low versus the Australian dollar and declined against the Swiss franc and Canadian dollar.
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Tiananmen protest leader returns to work
A Chinese academic branded a "black hand" mastermind of the 1989 Tiananmen protests has quietly returned to work at a private think-tank, 15 years after many of its researchers were jailed.
Chen Ziming, 52, who served 13 years in jail, resumed work at the Beijing Social Economic Research Institute in late January.
"He may conduct some research but we still haven't considered whether he will write reports because he is still deprived of his political rights," He Jiadong, head of the think-tank, told Reuters.
Analysts have interpreted the move as evidence that China's new generation of rulers, led by Communist Party chief Hu Jintao, are more tolerant than their predecessors.
-- Reuters
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Monday, February 16, 2004
Opposition to NCLB gaining momentum
Opposition to the 2-year-old No Child Left Behind Act is gaining momentum among U.S. states, and the Bush administration is fighting back.
The National Education Association, the biggest teachers' union in the country, has opposed the act from the very beginning and said its support is growing.
It said Friday the complaints of insufficient funding of the education reform act, and that it relies to heavily on high-stakes testing, are rolling in.
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Two US soldiers killed in bomb attacks as Iraqi Shiites sketch out ''compromise'' plans over elections
In separate roadside bomb attacks Monday, two US soldiers were killed - one in Baghdad and the other in a city northeast of the capital, the US military said.
One soldier from Task Force Iron Horse died and four others were injured when a bomb exploded at about 9:40 a.m. [local time] in the center of Baqouba, some 35 miles northeast of Baghdad, the 4th Infantry Division said.
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Same-Sex Marriage
Many jilted after rush for same-sex licenses
Hundreds of couples turned away
Demand for same-sex marriage licenses has been so great that Sunday officials turned away hundreds of gay and lesbian couples lined up outside City Hall, saying they didn't have the time or resources to meet all the requests.
San Francisco authorities calculated they could process 400 licenses during special weekend hours, but Saturday they granted 600 licenses and performed 270 weddings by late afternoon.
Then officials gave numbers to 320 couples securing them places in line for Sunday.
After quickly distributing another 80 numbers Sunday morning, disappointed couples lined up around the block were asked to return today.
"We're at capacity right now," said Mabel Teng, who oversees city marriage licenses. "We normally do about 20 to 30 couples a day. We're doing about 50 to 60 an hour."
But, according to California state law, same-sex marriage is not legal. Thus, by issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples, San Francisco is defying the law as an act of civil disobedience, and yet, for now, the gay and lesbian couples will be legally married. This is being challenged in court, and it's possible that those marriage licenses could be declared invalid. It is also possible that the California law could be declared in violation of the state constitution. The important point is that, in the meantime, these couples will be legally married.
This all started after a judicial ruling in Massachusetts that said that its state constitution forbid discrimination against same-sex couples. The judges further ruled that the only acceptable remedy was to allow full rights of marriage for same-sex couples.
Ruling on gay marriage ignited a national debate
"In November [2003], gays and lesbians celebrated a major victory, a Massachusetts court decision permitting, for the first time in US history, men to marry men and women to marry women. "
The gay marriage ruling has indeed set off a fierce debate.
Debate humanized issue, legislators
The debate over same-sex marriage revealed legislators different from the ones to whom the public is accustomed. They listened intently to their colleagues' speeches. They showed rare emotion. They shared personal stories and painful memories in the hopes of swaying each other.
And they did so before the biggest audiences of their careers, their speeches carried on network newscasts and nationwide cable broadcasts.
Representative Elizabeth Malia, drawn into the debate by name because she is a lesbian, reminded her colleagues that she is ''not the most eloquent speaker, or one of the great minds of this House,'' and then simply told of her fears: If she were to die, what would happen to Rita, her partner of 30 years. After Malia spoke, her colleagues applauded loudly, and hugged her tightly -- including some on the other side of the issue.
''You can't intellectualize your way though this,'' Malia said of the debate. ''Revealing personal information is a powerful way of communicating with people when there is no other way. This entire two days has just been an incredible emotional experience, I think for all of us.''
The debate over same-sex marriage revealed legislators different from the ones to whom the public is accustomed. They listened intently to their colleagues' speeches. They showed rare emotion. They shared personal stories and painful memories in the hopes of swaying each other.
And they did so before the biggest audiences of their careers, their speeches carried on network newscasts and nationwide cable broadcasts.
Representative Elizabeth Malia, drawn into the debate by name because she is a lesbian, reminded her colleagues that she is ''not the most eloquent speaker, or one of the great minds of this House,'' and then simply told of her fears: If she were to die, what would happen to Rita, her partner of 30 years. After Malia spoke, her colleagues applauded loudly, and hugged her tightly -- including some on the other side of the issue.
''You can't intellectualize your way though this,'' Malia said of the debate. ''Revealing personal information is a powerful way of communicating with people when there is no other way. This entire two days has just been an incredible emotional experience, I think for all of us.''
Massachusetts may be the first state to declare that same-sex couples must be given full marriage rights, but other states have skirted the issue by creating "civil unions" that confer upon a couple many of the same legal benefits and responsibilities as marriage.
Deja vu for N.H. lawmakers
There may also have been a bit of deja vu in the Vermont State House last week: The issue of gay legal unions rattled Vermont's political landscape for two years following a 1999 court decision. (Did then-presidential hopeful Gary Bauer really call that judgment ''worse than terrorism''?) Civil unions have been legal there since 2000 and not everyone is happy about it, but last we checked the churches and town halls are still standing.
There may also have been a bit of deja vu in the Vermont State House last week: The issue of gay legal unions rattled Vermont's political landscape for two years following a 1999 court decision. (Did then-presidential hopeful Gary Bauer really call that judgment ''worse than terrorism''?) Civil unions have been legal there since 2000 and not everyone is happy about it, but last we checked the churches and town halls are still standing.
Massachusetts and California are not the only one locked in debate and legal battles over the issue of same-sex marriage. Many other states have laws against gays and lesbians marrying; in fact, Ohio passed such a law just weeks ago, becoming the 38th state with such a law on the books, coincidentally, the minimum number of states that would be required to pass a federal amendment against same-sex marriage.
Ohio governor signs bill making state 38th to ban gay marriage
Saturday, February 7, 2004
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft approved one of the country's most-far reaching gay-marriage bans on Friday, saying its adoption was urgent because the nation's first legally sanctioned same-sex weddings could take place as early as this spring in Massachusetts.
The bill, which Taft signed in private, also prohibits state employees from getting marital benefits for their unmarried partners, whether homosexual or heterosexual.
Approving the bill to make gay marriages "against the strong public policy of the state" became more pressing after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled 4-3 this week that denial of marriage to same-sex couples as unconstitutional, Taft said.
"It is necessary for us to act now to safeguard Ohio's marriage laws," Taft said. "Ohio could have same-sex couples who were 'married' in Massachusetts taking legal action in Ohio to recognize that marriage and to obtain the resulting benefits."
Saturday, February 7, 2004
Ohio Gov. Bob Taft approved one of the country's most-far reaching gay-marriage bans on Friday, saying its adoption was urgent because the nation's first legally sanctioned same-sex weddings could take place as early as this spring in Massachusetts.
The bill, which Taft signed in private, also prohibits state employees from getting marital benefits for their unmarried partners, whether homosexual or heterosexual.
Approving the bill to make gay marriages "against the strong public policy of the state" became more pressing after the Massachusetts Supreme Court ruled 4-3 this week that denial of marriage to same-sex couples as unconstitutional, Taft said.
"It is necessary for us to act now to safeguard Ohio's marriage laws," Taft said. "Ohio could have same-sex couples who were 'married' in Massachusetts taking legal action in Ohio to recognize that marriage and to obtain the resulting benefits."
The Massachusetts ruling has also ignited debate in the state of Georgia, where there is already a law banning same-sex marriage on the books. Apparently, this is not enough for some people, and now there is a push on to amend the Georgia state constitution, for fear that a simple law could be overturned by "activist judges".
Senate votes on gay unions - Measure starts process of amending constitution
The state Senate is set to vote today on legislation to add the state's ban on same-sex marriages to the Georgia Constitution.
Senate Resolution 595, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, has mobilized gay rights activists and energized conservatives. Both groups have spent the past two weeks heavily lobbying their senators.
Sen. Tom Price (R-Roswell) predicted a heated debate and a close vote today in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 30-26 majority.
"With the judicial activism that is rampant in our nation, it becomes apparent at times to have the citizens speak on an issue that is this important," said Price, who said he will vote yes for the amendment.
Because it is a constitutional amendment, the ban needs to win two-thirds of the vote in the Senate before it could go before the House. If approved by the House with the same two-thirds vote, the measure would go before state voters in the Nov. 2 general election.
Supporters of the ban say it protects children and the institution of marriage. Echoing Price, they say a constitutional amendment would be tougher for "activist judges" to overturn than the current state law forbidding same-sex marriage.
Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court jolted the nation when it ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. Last week, San Francisco officials performed weddings for hundreds of gay and lesbian couples in defiance of California law.
The state Senate is set to vote today on legislation to add the state's ban on same-sex marriages to the Georgia Constitution.
Senate Resolution 595, which defines marriage as a union between a man and a woman, has mobilized gay rights activists and energized conservatives. Both groups have spent the past two weeks heavily lobbying their senators.
Sen. Tom Price (R-Roswell) predicted a heated debate and a close vote today in the Senate, where Republicans hold a 30-26 majority.
"With the judicial activism that is rampant in our nation, it becomes apparent at times to have the citizens speak on an issue that is this important," said Price, who said he will vote yes for the amendment.
Because it is a constitutional amendment, the ban needs to win two-thirds of the vote in the Senate before it could go before the House. If approved by the House with the same two-thirds vote, the measure would go before state voters in the Nov. 2 general election.
Supporters of the ban say it protects children and the institution of marriage. Echoing Price, they say a constitutional amendment would be tougher for "activist judges" to overturn than the current state law forbidding same-sex marriage.
Earlier this month, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court jolted the nation when it ruled that it is unconstitutional to deny gays and lesbians the right to marry. Last week, San Francisco officials performed weddings for hundreds of gay and lesbian couples in defiance of California law.
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