Politics

Gays Need Bush and GOP to Win 'Special Rights'

Gay Republicans sees GOP as Essential for "Gay Rights"
In an era when Republicans control the White House, Congress, and the executive branch in 30 states, Patrick Guerriero said it's "an absolute necessity" that gays and lesbians play an active role in the GOP. "To abandon completely one party because they are not perfect on these issues right now would basically delay equality for decades," said Guerriero, 35. "If you can show me a model for realizing full equality for gay and lesbian Americans ... without Republican support, I'm interested in seeing it. [If you work within an institution, you change it]."

Bush's Sodomite White House
President Bush Expands Aids Policy Team
Evertz to Coordinate U.S. Role on Global Fund Board;
O'Neill Moving Into National Policy Office
Log Cabin Republicans -- Sodomite Publication
WASHINGTON -- Following up on his commitment to a two-front war on the AIDS epidemic -- both at home and abroad -- President Bush is expected to appoint his director of national AIDS policy to coordinate U.S. policy on the international Global Fund to fight AIDS and infectious diseases, and Dr. Joe O'Neill to head up the Office of National AIDS Policy. The move would add another openly gay Bush Administration appointee on the administration's AIDS policy team, and adds manpower in the fight against the epidemic at home and abroad. "President Bush continues to lead where others merely offered speeches and rhetoric," said Rich Tafel, executive director of Log Cabin Republicans. "With Scott Evertz and Joe O'Neill, we have two of the best qualified people in the nation on the President's team. (Jeremiah 5:9)

Timeline Of The Bush Administration On Gay Policy
Log Cabin Republicans -- Sodomite Publication

II CORINTHIANS 6:14-18
"Be ye not unequally yoked together with unbelievers: (Deuteronomy 7:2-3; Ephesians 5:6-7) for what fellowship hath righteousness with unrighteousness? and what communion hath light with darkness? And what concord hath Christ with Belial? or what part hath he that believeth with an infidel (I John 1:6)? And what agreement hath the temple of God with idols (Ephesians 5:5-7)? for ye are the temple of the living God (I Peter 2:5-10); as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people (Jeremiah 31:33, 32:38; Ephesians 2:21-22; Hebrews 3:1-6). Wherefore come out from among them, and be ye separate, saith the Lord, and touch not the unclean thing (Isaiah 52:11; Revelation 18:4); and I will receive you, And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty (John.1:12; Romans 8:14; Galatians 4:5-7; Philippians 2:15; I John.3:1; Revelation 21:7."

Special Prosecutor Named in CIA Probe,
Ashcroft bows out of blown-cover investigation
Washington -- Attorney General John Ashcroft disqualified himself Tuesday from any involvement in the investigation into whether Bush administration officials illegally disclosed the identity of an undercover CIA officer. At the same time, the Justice Department brought in a special counsel to lead the politically charged case.

Bush's re-election may have inspired Ashcroft's move
WASHINGTON - Attorney General John Ashcroft's decision to step down from the investigation of the disclosure of an undercover CIA officer suggests that Ashcroft's involvement was considered politically untenable.

Fitzgerald to lead probe into CIA leak
U.S. Attorney Patrick J. Fitzgerald in Chicago was picked Tuesday to lead the investigation into whether the Bush administration leaked a CIA operative's name to a newspaper columnist. Fitzgerald's selection came after Attorney General John Ashcroft removed himself from the investigation.

Pentagon Appoints Hicks Trial Chief
A RETIRED US Army major-general has been named to oversee the Guantanamo Bay military commissions in a series of Pentagon appointments yesterday that bring Australian terrorism detainee David Hicks a step closer to trial. John Altenburg takes over from Deputy Defence Secretary Paul Wolfowitz in approving charges and plea agreements for alleged "enemy combatants" such as Hicks, who is yet to be charged with an offence but is likely to be the first detainee at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba to be tried before a US military tribunal. General Altenburg is also in charge of appointing the members of the military commission that will decide the fate of Adelaide-born Hicks and five others who have been determined eligible for trial.

Japan May Become a Nuclear Power by 2020
The National Intelligence Council (NIC), a center within the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), predicted that Japan might possess nuclear weapons by 2020 after wrapping up its constitutional revision to strengthen the role of the self-defense forces.

Ford Has a Better Idea: One Nation Under Allah
To most Americans, it may seem unlikely that the U.S. Constitution could -- or should -- ever be revised to conform to strict Islamic law. But an educational program funded by the Ford Foundation has explored that very possibility, challenging our right to unfettered freedom of speech. The program, administered by the woefully misnamed Constitutional Rights Foundation, asks students to ponder how the Constitution could be amended or otherwise interpreted to prohibit blasphemy against Allah.

E-Voting Firm Reports Computer Break-In
BELLEVUE, Wash. - A company developing encryption-based software for secure electronic voting has itself become the victim of a computer break-in, the company’s top executive told MSNBC.com. Federal authorities have confirmed that the incident is under investigation.

Judge sets January trial date for disputed election
UTICA, N.Y. -- A federal judge has scheduled a Jan. 20 trial date to resolve the disputed results of a township supervisor's race. In a 17-page order Tuesday, Judge David Hurd said it was clear a voting machine had malfunctioned Nov. 4 in the race for Whitestown Town Supervisor and that Democrat Thomas Shannon was the winner over Republican challenger David Jacobowitz.

US-Funded PA "Constitution" Institutes Islamic Law
The Palestinian Authority has adopted an official constitution based on Koranic "Sharia" Law, making all people living under the PA subject to Islamic Law.

Somali Christians Murdered
Several Christians and Westerners have been killed in violent attacks as anti-Christian violence spreads throughout the mainly Islamic, impoverished African nation, Barnabas Fund said Friday Dec. 19. Sister Tonneli, who had served in Somalia for thirty years "founding a TB hospital, orphanages and schools," was killed October 5 by two armed men in front of the hospital, said Barnabas Fund in a statement seen by ASSIST News Service (ANS). Soon after British couple Richard and Enid Eyeington, working for SOS Children's villages in Somaliland were shot dead October 20 by several gunmen in their home inside the school compound, while watching television, added the organization. Last month a Kenyan Christian working for the Seventh Day Adventist mission in Gedo, South West Somalia, was reportedly murdered by Islamist radicals, although no more details were given.

F.D.A. Rules Shots Effective for Anthrax That Is Inhaled
WASHINGTON -- The Food and Drug Administration announced Tuesday that the anthrax vaccine protected against the inhaled form of the bacteria, aiding government efforts to restart the Pentagon's mandatory inoculation program, which was stalled by a federal injunction.

FDA Says Anthrax Vaccine Safe;
Justice Department wants injunction set aside
Washington -- The FDA has said it before, and officials are saying it again: The anthrax vaccine is safe and effective no matter how the infection is spread. In light of Tuesday's declaration, the Justice Department is asking a federal judge to set aside a preliminary ban on military anthrax inoculations he issued last week. The request makes an exception for six plaintiffs who've filed a class-action suit to stop the vaccines.

Judge: WTO Arrests Lacked Cause
Seattle police who arrested World Trade Organization protesters four years ago had no probable cause to do so, a federal judge has ruled, possibly leaving the city vulnerable to damages from a class-action lawsuit. U.S. District Judge Marsha Pechman ruled Monday that police had no probable cause when they arrested 157 protesters at First Avenue and Broad Street on Dec. 1, 1999, during a WTO conference in Seattle.

Experts: Army's Suicide Rate is Alarming

Army's Suicide Rate Has Outside Experts Alarmed
LUFKIN, Texas - Outside experts have said the rate is alarmingly high compared with the military's average suicide rates. A report by a 12-member team of military and civilian mental health professionals dispatched to Iraq in October to evaluate mental health of soldiers is expected to be released after the holidays, officials said.

The Real Hero in the Ambush at Nasiriya
Nasiriya, Iraq - It is a dateline that doesn't exactly role off the tongue, and chances are the average Joe on the street would be hard-pressed to recall the significance associated with the name. But mention the name of Jessica Lynch and the light goes on. It was in the town of Nasiriya in April of last year that the 19-year-old Army private first class was credited with carrying out extraordinarily heroic acts during a March 23 attack on her unit, the 507th Maintenance Company.

Pentagon Freezes Iraq Funds Amid Corruption Probes
WASHINGTON -- The Pentagon has frozen new funds approved for Iraqi reconstruction amid growing allegations of corruption and cronyism associated with the rebuilding process. The freeze will almost certainly mean the United States will not issue new contracts until well after the initial Feb. 1 target date.

Immigration Reform on Bush Agenda
President Bush plans to kick off his reelection year by proposing a program that would make it easier for immigrants to work legally in the United States, in what would constitute the most significant changes to immigration law in 18 years, Republican officials said. Lobbyists working with the White House said Bush is developing a plan that would allow immigrants to cross the border legally if jobs are waiting for them. The sources said the administration also wants to provide a way for some undocumented workers in the United States to move toward legal status.

Sources: Nation of Islam Aiding Jackson
LOS ANGELES - Members of the Nation of Islam have begun playing a role in Michael Jackson's affairs, The Associated Press has learned, although the controversial group denies having any official part in the pop star's life. Sources close to the Jackson camp, speaking on condition of anonymity, told the AP that Nation of Islam members have handled security at the singer's Neverland ranch and have begun taking over some of his business affairs since he was accused of committing lewd acts on a child.

Bush Bends to WTO Ruling
In "WTO Dictating U.S. Trade Policy" in our December 1 issue, THE NEW AMERICAN stated that President Bush would likely abide by the World Trade Organization’s edict that his steel tariffs violate WTO rules.

Israeli Army Warns Settlers to Leave Outposts
GINOT ARYE, West Bank -- Israeli soldiers posted eviction orders on Tuesday at four unauthorized Jewish outposts in the West Bank slated for removal under a U.S.-backed "road map" for peace. Israel says the planned removal of four settlements built without government approval is in line with its commitment to the plan, but Palestinians dismiss it as a publicity stunt. Only one of the outposts in occupied territory is inhabited.

St. Patrick's Day Parade Organizers Win
Lawsuit In Dispute Over Anti-War Marchers
BOSTON -- Organizers of Boston's main St. Patrick's Day parade won a court victory Monday in a dispute over whether an anti-war group should have been allowed to march at the end of this year's parade. The South Boston Allied War Veterans Council, which hosts the event, sued the city in October after police allowed the anti-war group to walk behind the main procession.

Conservative Pawns Are Putting Party Before Principle

Taken-For-Granted Conservative Pawns
Are Putting Party Before Principle
Republicans now have a new agenda. It started with the label of the undefined "compassionate conservatism." Three years of complete Republican rule have given us a clear understanding of its meaning. Close inspection will show that this is not your father´s GOP. And it´s not conservative! Sustainable Development is the official policy of the Bush Administration. Christianity, the very foundation of Western culture, is being systematically eliminated from the United States. Where did the term "Homeland" come from? It seems the term has been rattling around the United Nations for some time. And, in fact, in 2000, at the UN´s Millennium Summit. The German translation of the phrase "Homeland Security" is "Schutz Staffel." The Nazis shortened it to "SS." A massive, intrusive cabinet-level agency with power beyond the wildest dreams of Franklin Roosevelt and Lyndon Johnson combined has just been established under Republican rule.

Pro-Life Leader Says Christians Are
Wasting Their Votes on Dems, GOP
A South Carolina pro-life activist claims there's virtually no difference between the two major political parties when it comes to protecting the unborn - and he is asking Christian voters to remember that in next fall's elections. Steve Lefemine, director of Columbia (S.C.) Christians for Life, bases his criticism of the Democratic and Republican parties on their support for the Planned Parenthood Federation of America, the world's largest abortion provider.

Almanac Alert!
FBI Urges Police to Watch for People Carrying Almanacs
WASHINGTON -- The FBI is warning police nationwide to be alert for people carrying almanacs, cautioning that the popular reference books covering everything from abbreviations to weather trends could be used for terrorist planning. In a bulletin sent Christmas Eve to about 18,000 police organizations, the FBI said terrorists may use almanacs ``to assist with target selection and pre-operational planning.'' It urged officers to watch during searches, traffic stops and other investigations for anyone carrying almanacs, especially if the books are annotated in suspicious ways.

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Pentagon: Anthrax Shots Suspended
ARLINGTON, Va. — In an about-face decision, the Pentagon has stopped vaccinating troops against anthrax, halting the program and the quandary of what to do with troops who refuse to get the anthrax vaccine. A ruling by a federal judge Monday surprised defense officials and led to some confusion as they tried to figure out how to handle the imposed temporary injunction.

U.S. Seeks Military Anthrax Clarification
WASHINGTON - The Justice Department has asked a federal judge to reconsider the ban that has halted mandatory anthrax vaccinations for military personnel. The department's motion seeks to clarify whether the judge's injunction on the vaccinations applies only to the six plaintiffs who sued over the anthrax shots, according to a lawyer for the plaintiffs, Mark S. Zaid.

Liberal Clergy Group On Mission To Motivate Voters
LEXINGTON, Ky. - Most regular churchgoers want to re-elect President Bush. Most nonchurchgoers plan to vote for the Democrat presidential candidate. That's the finding of a recent poll by the Pew Center for the People and the Press - and it's a finding that Lexington's Albert Pennybacker hopes will change between now and November. Pennybacker, a former Lexington Theological Seminary professor, a Disciples of Christ minister and a lifelong Democrat, is chief executive officer of the Clergy Leadership Network, a new organization that hopes to mobilize thousands of moderate and liberal religious leaders before the Nov. 2 election. The group will focus on issues such as peace, justice, poverty, civil rights, health care and housing. It will steer clear of abortion and gay rights.

Dollar Slips to Record Low Against Euro
LONDON -- The euro powered to fresh record highs against the dollar on Monday, rising above the psychological $1.25 level, as short term traders capitalized on a holiday-thinned market to give the dollar a further beating.

Muslims Kill 2 More American Soldiers

2 U.S. Troops, Translator Killed in Iraq
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A roadside bomb exploded near a U.S. military convoy Monday, killing two American soldiers and an Iraqi translator, the military said. Two other soldiers from the 1st Armored Division were wounded in the attack at about 11:45 a.m. in Baghdad. The soldiers' names were being withheld pending notification of next of kin. Three American soldiers have now been killed in combat in the past week, raising the toll to 317 soldiers killed in combat since military operations began in March.

Closed Doors Are Wrong, No Matter Who is President
When George W. Bush was running for president, he was inspiring on the subject of privacy. But it was not your privacy or mine he was talking about. He has gone all out to keep his administration's energy-legislation deliberations from public scrutiny.

Officials Make Recommendation
for Soldier Who Refused Vaccine
COLUMBUS -- Military officials recommended an Ohio Army National Guardsman be jailed for 40 days, demoted to the rank of private and be given a dishonorable discharge for disobeying a lawful order. Spec. Kurt Hickman, 20, of Granville, became the first National Guardsman to be court martialed for refusing to accept the anthrax vaccine. The court martial, held in Columbus at Beightler Armory, lasted just under four hours and ended with the recommendation by Col. Emmett Moran, said Ohio Army National Guard spokesman James Sims.

Dollar's Drop Becomes More Ominous
NEW YORK -- After months of looking at nothing but the bright side of a weaker dollar, investors are starting to look at the dark side of its struggle against the euro. Demand for the dollar has been dampened by concerns about the widening U.S. current account deficit and expectations that benchmark U.S. interest rates will remain low.

Nation's Retailers Have Glum Weekend
NEW YORK -- The critical last weekend before Christmas didn't deliver the sale bonanza merchants were hoping for, with Wal-Mart Stores Inc. announcing Monday that last-minute buying showed "some improvement," but was not enough to offset weak business in the early part of the month. The world's largest retailer said that December same-store sales growth was still tracking at the low end of its projected 3 percent to 5 percent range. For the second week in a row, traffic was down from year-ago levels for the week ended Friday, the company said on its pre-recorded conference call.

Bus Detained For Bomb Threat
Police on Sunday escorted an NJ Transit bus carrying 15 passengers to Campbell's Field and detained it for nearly three hours after authorities were told an explosive device was on board. But bomb-sniffing dogs and investigators from the federal, state, county and municipal levels did not find anything suspicious.

Dad of Convicted Sniper Malvo to Testify
CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- Convicted killer Lee Boyd Malvo is described by his friends and teachers as bright and sweet, courteous and lonely - not the vision of evil he was called by the daughter of one sniper victim. Now, Malvo's estranged father is expected to talk again about his son as the defense makes its last bid to persuade jurors to spare the 18-year-old's life.

Bush Hints He May Accept Homosexual Civil Unions

Bush Hints He May Accept Homosexual Civil Unions,
He's already accepts them working in the White House
WASHINGTON - United States President George W. Bush has suggested his administration could be receptive to the concept of homosexual civil unions, in an apparent policy shift which failed to earn plaudits from gay activists and drew fire from conservatives. 'The position of this administration is that, you know, whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make so long as it's embraced by the state,' the President said in an interview with ABC News on Tuesday when asked to clarify his position on gay marriage and civil unions. Civil unions pioneered in the US by the north-eastern state of Vermont in 2000 grant their members many of the basic property and inheritance rights enjoyed by married couples without defining these arrangements as marriages.

Rate of new AIDS cases highest in D.C.
WASHINGTON - It's not a distinction that the nation's capital cares to trumpet, but Washington has the highest incidence of new AIDS cases of any big city in the country. It's gotten so bad, the city is planning to install free condom dispensers in the government buildings the public frequents most often, such as the motor vehicle bureau and public housing offices. Bars and hair salons also will participate.

Bush's Marriage Tack May Rile His Base
Christians lured into Red Herring 'marriage'
debate to avoid 'sodomy is a crime' issue
A USA Today/CNN/Gallup Poll conducted Monday and Tuesday underscored the perils of Bush's approach. It indicated the intensity of feeling among those who oppose same-sex unions. In the poll, Americans opposed recognizing same-sex marriage by more than a 2-1 ratio. That is a slightly higher level of opposition than earlier this year. Analysts say there has been some backlash to recent court decisions regarding gays and lesbians. The top Massachusetts court last month in effect recognized a right for same-sex couples to marry. The divide on the issue is wider among those who feel strongly about their position. By more than a 3-to-1 ratio, strong opponents outweighed strong supporters.

Bush Plays Both Sides in Debate Over Marriage
Washington -- President Bush took another carefully calibrated step toward endorsing a constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage Tuesday night, but his elliptical comments left such ample room for interpretation that some described them as "Clintonian."

Ronald Reagan's son decries Hinckley ruling
WASHINGTON - Former President Reagan's son Michael, denouncing as ``an outrage'' a judge's decision to allow John Hinckley Jr. unsupervised visits with his parents, questioned Thursday whether the Hinckleys would be able to prevent their son from harming himself or others. The former president's family has reacted with dismay to U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman's decision Wednesday that the man who tried to assassinate Reagan may have six visits with his parents in the Washington area without staff from the mental hospital where he has lived for more than two decades. ``They're saying, 'He's fine, he's on his meds,''' Michael Reagan said. ``He gets off his meds, does that mean everybody has to duck?''

U.N. Says Yellowsone No Longer "In Danger"
The World Heritage Committee has decided to remove its "in danger" designation from Yellowstone National Park. In a lengthy report, the committee "Urges the State Party (the United States) to continue to report on Yellowstone's snowmobile phase-out and other efforts to ensure that winter travel facilities respect the protection of the Park, its visitors, and its wildlife," and "invites" the United States "to provide to the World Heritage Centre by 1 February 2004, existing recovery plans setting out targets and indicators for the 6 remaining long-term management issues (mining activities outside the park, threats to bison, threats to cutthroat trout, water quality issues, road impacts, visitor use impacts)."

Get US out! of the United Nations
Get US Out
Join with thousands of other Americans working to Get US out! of the United Nations. Take the action steps outlined on this website to carry out a proven strategy to increase your effectiveness and influence. Every individual can make a difference in the battle to preserve freedom.

An Upside-Down Constitution
For those seeking clarity of thought in the service of constitutional interpretation, the opinions of Antonin Scalia are always the first stop. That those opinions so often come in the form of dissents also tells us how wrong-headed most decisions of the Rehnquist court have been. Scalia’s latest dissection came in opposition to the majority decision and its patently absurd reasoning in McConnell vs. Federal Election Commission. The most important element in his dissent is that which is most obvious—that the restrictions on political speech contained in the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act, otherwise known as the McCain-Feingold finance reform law, are prima facie violations of the First Amendment.

US Court Grants Guantanamo Rights
Detainees being held by the US military at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba should have access to lawyers and the US court system, a federal appeals court has ruled. The court said their detention was contrary to US ideals. It did not accept that the US Government had "unchecked authority". The ruling relates to the case of a Libyan national captured in Afghanistan and currently being held at Guantanamo. About 660 people are currently being held as "enemy combatants" at the base.

Sharon Comes Under Heavy Fire for Separation Plan
JERUSALEM -- Prime Minister Ariel Sharon drew fire from all sides including the United States on Friday over his threat to sever Israelis from Palestinians within months if peace talks fail.

Jury to Decide if Malvo Should Die
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - The jury that convicted teenage sniper Lee Boyd Malvo of capital murder for his role in last year's killing spree must also decide whether he should die for his crimes.

'Focus on the Family' too Politically Bias

'Focus on the Family' is too Politically Bias,
Focus on Republican Party Partisanship
Producers of the widely popular daily radio program "Focus on the Family" have pulled the show from a Columbia, S.C., Christian station after its general manager refused to air an episode he thought was too political. After airing on WMHK-FM for 24 years, the radio program hosted by author and psychologist Dr. James Dobson has been pulled effective Jan. 2, reports the Columbia State newspaper. According to the report, Marshall penned a letter to station listeners addressing the controversy. "If you've listened to WMHK very long at all, you know we are not shy about speaking out when it's necessary, and we do it in a forum that is much broader than a single syndicated program," Marshall wrote. "We were very vocal about video poker and the state lottery. ... We have been and will continue to be a pro-life ministry. We're concerned about these moral issues, but we've tried to communicate our concerns in a way that does not alienate those who don't know Jesus yet." (Read: Your Republican Party Identity: Get Rid Of It!)

Bush's Homosexual Stance Not Biblical
Pro-family groups said yesterday that President Bush "drove a wedge" into their efforts to protect marriage by seeming to accept homosexual civil unions, even as he said he could support an amendment defining marriage as solely between a man and woman. "We need clear leadership in a time of judicial tyranny, not politicians who don't have the spine to stand up for something as basic as marriage," said Robert Knight, director of Concerned Women for America's Culture and Family Institute.

Bush the Waffler: "If necessary, I will support a constitutional amendment which would honor marriage between a man and a woman, codify that... The position of this administration is that whatever legal arrangements people want to make, they're allowed to make, so long as it's embraced by the state or at the state level." Wimpy judeochristians always fall back on the tenth amendment if it means avoiding a principled stand. They completely forget the tenth when it comes to enlarging their power.

U.S. Soldier Killed in Muslim Ambush
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- A U.S. military patrol was ambushed by small arms fire, killing one soldier, the military said Thursday, as forces hunted down members of the Iraqi insurgency that continues to claim American lives. North of the capital, U.S. forces encircled the town of Samarra, 60 miles north of Baghdad, as part of a major raid on the area. Troops smashed down the gates of homes and the doors of workshops and junkyards there Wednesday in an effort to quash the violence that has persisted since Saddam Hussein was captured last week.

Jacko Finds Islam
Michael Jackson last night became a member of the Nation of Islam - and sources told The Post his religious changeover comes along with a shake-up of his personal staff. High-ranking members of the Nation of Islam have been working to bring Jackson into Rev. Louis Farrakhan's flock - and Jackson's conversion is now well-known in the NOI community.

Michael Jackson Charges to Be Filed on Thursday
LOS ANGELES -- Pop superstar Michael Jackson, arrested last month for child molestation, will be formally charged on Thursday after weeks of fevered speculation about the latest twist in the life of the self-styled Peter Pan. The Santa Barbara County District Attorney's office on Wednesday gave no details of the felony criminal complaint it intends to file against Jackson in state superior court at around 1 p.m. PST (4 p.m. EST) on Thursday.

U.S. Urges Citizens to Leave Saudi Arabia
WASHINGTON -- Nonessential American diplomats and the families of all U.S. officials in Saudi Arabia should leave, the State Department said Wednesday, stepping up its warnings about risks in the country. Private U.S. citizens should consider leaving as well, the department said. And Americans making plans to go to Saudi Arabia were advised to defer any such travel in light of "the potential for further terrorist activities." The departure of U.S. officials and family members was not ordered, but was voluntary. Expenses were to be paid by the U.S. government.

A Review of The Dark Side of Islam
This book contains a series of conversations, which focus on how Christianity differs from Islam. These two Christian authors are eminently qualified to cogently explain the teachings of Islam and accurately dissect them using the scalpel of God’s word. Their conversations span eight chapters and cover basic doctrines in Islamic and Christian teaching. These doctrines include the authority of Scripture, God’s character, the Trinity, sin, salvation, and Christ’s death and deity.

UK Backs 'Substantial Reduction' of Iraq Debt
LONDON -- British Prime Minister Tony Blair backed Thursday the need for a "substantial reduction" of Iraqi debt through the Paris Club framework. "The United Kingdom agrees wholeheartedly with the need for a substantial reduction of Iraqi debt using the framework of the Paris Club during the course of 2004," said a spokesman for the prime minister following talks between Blair and U.S. special envoy James Baker. Baker is on a trip to Europe to persuade countries to reduce Iraq's estimated $120 billion in debt. He has visited Paris, Berlin and Rome and will next head to Moscow for the toughest leg of his trip.

Saddam Relative and Bodyguard Handed Him Over to US Troops
AMMAN -- Saddam Hussein was betrayed by a relative who was his personal bodygyard and who led US troops to the ousted Iraqi leader's hideout after drugging him, a Jordanian newspaper reported, quoting a source close to the US-led coalition in Iraq. "A source close to the occupation forces ... revealed that the one who informed on Saddam, betrayed him and handed him over to the American forces is his relative, General Mohammed Ibrahim Omar al-Muslit," Al-Arab Al-Yawm daily said Thursday from Baghdad. Muslit was Saddam's "personal bodyguard and companion throughout the period of his disappearance as he moved from one hideout to another," the report said.

Judge OKs Unsupervised Trips for Hinckley
WASHINGTON - The man who tried to kill President Reagan won permission to unmonitored visits with his parents, a decision criticized by the former president's family. U.S. District Judge Paul L. Friedman said John Hinckley Jr. may have six visits with his parents in the Washington area without staff from the mental hospital where he has lived for more than two decades. Each visit may last 12 hours. If they go well, he and his parents may be allowed two 32-hour overnight visits within 50 miles of the capital.

GOP is Now the "Fraternal Twin" of Socialist Democrats

GOP is Now the "Fraternal Twin" of Socialist Democrats
It is time for conservatives to see the Republican Party for what it really is: another big-spending, socialist party that cares nothing for the U.S. Constitution, limited government, or conservative principles.

Prescription Drug Subsidies & the Gangster State
To give the president time to pressure conservative holdouts, House Speaker Dennis Hastert (R-Ill.) prolonged the roll-call vote for an unprecedented three hours. "Members were promised pork barrel projects," reports Stephen Moore of the American Conservative Union. "They were threatened with primary challengers." With time running out, "the White House and the Whip team tried one more desperation tactic": Reps. Trent Franks (R-Ariz.) and Butch Otter (R-Idaho) "were told that if they didn’t change their votes, the president would immediately instruct the House leadership to pass the Democratic version of the bill.

Why Do Americans Have Such Poor Health?
In order to understand the current status of medical care in the U.S., Canada and Europe it is vital to understand that health care in these 3 regions is nearly completely under the control of the pharmaceutical industry. All major pharmaceutical firms have interlocking boards of directors so there is no real competition among these companies. In the United States the primary function of the Federal Drug Administration is to ensure the profitability of pharmaceutical firms, chemical firms and large agricultural conglomerates.

IBM Considers Moving Engineering Jobs to India
IBM is planning to move up to 4,730 programmer jobs offshore, the Wall Street Journal reports. The plans are still under debate, according to the newspaper, which cites internal documents, but involve Application Management Services group, part of IBM's Global Services operation. As is the modern fashion, a final humiliation will be expected of the doomed US workers: they'll be expected to train their offshore replacements.

Religious voting blocs shift allegiances
CHICAGO -- Some members of the Christian right, solid supporters of the president, may stay home on Election Day, confident that their man will win, said leaders of the Christian Coalition of America and experts who study voting patterns. Also, a minority of Christian right voters may stay home for another reason: They are unconvinced that Bush's religious rhetoric has translated into the social policies they were counting on, such as clear stands against homosexuals and all forms of abortion, analysts said.

Judge Sends Malvo Sniper Case to Jury
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Jurors must now decide whether Lee Boyd Malvo was a puppet or a partner in the sniper spree that sent panic through the Washington area. Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush sent the case to the jury Tuesday afternoon after closing arguments. The eight women and four men selected a foreman and were to begin deliberating Wednesday morning. Malvo, 18, is charged with the Oct. 14, 2002, slaying of FBI analyst Linda Franklin during a three-week rampage that killed 10 people and wounded three.

GOP Association Gives 'Christian' a Bad Name

Some of Roy Moore's supporters form PAC to raise money for
pro-sodomite, pro-abortion Republican Party in Jesus name
Supporters of Judge Roy Moore now have a political action committee raising money for Christian candidates for the Alabama Supreme Court in next year's elections. Organizers say the money will also be used to elect Christian candidates as delegates to the Republican National Convention next year and possibly to help raise funds should Moore decide to run for political office in the future. Zeigler said the Organization also hopes to draw supporters through a web site.

Flashback
Your Republican Party Identity: Get Rid Of It!
Have Christians no knowledge of what this Republican Party association is doing to our witness? How can Christians call murderers and sexual criminals to repentance through Jesus Christ when Christians are identified with the Republican Party which is gladly funding those criminals' activities?

Bush Keeps Distance From Free-speech Zone
To avoid other viewpoints and conceal any dissenting views on his national and international policies, President George W. Bush only appears before the public in stage-managed settings with carefully vetted, like-minded audiences. The president has made it clear that he doesn't read newspapers or magazines or watch TV and depends instead upon his close circle of advisors to tell him what he needs to know.

Bush Signs Bill Expanding FBI Authority
WASHINGTON - President Bush signed legislation making it easier for FBI agents investigating terrorism to demand financial records from casinos, car dealerships and other businesses. The changes were included in a bill authorizing 2004 intelligence programs. Most details of the bill are secret, including the total costs of the programs, which are estimated to be about $40 billion. That would be slightly more than Bush had requested.

Squelching Dissent in the Name of Security
DESPITE THE FBI's denials, recent disclosures of intelligence efforts against lawful antiwar protesters are strong reminders of the bureau's intensive undercover operations of the 1960s and '70s. Those counterintelligence operations, known as COINTELPRO, sought to "expose, disrupt, misdirect, discredit, or otherwise neutralize" the activities of targets that included communist organizations, civil rights groups, the Ku Klux Klan, and anti-Vietnam War protesters. While the current revelations are confined to the monitoring of perceived threats rather than active harassment, the broad sweep of the FBI's efforts should raise serious concerns over the bureau's motives and methods.

FBI Fully Implements New Surveillance Rules
WASHINGTON -- From Albany, N.Y. to Albuquerque, N.M., FBI field offices are working under new guidelines for terrorism cases that allow criminal and intelligence agents to work together and share information. The FBI also will be able to conduct more surveillance under the auspices of a secret intelligence tribunal, the U.S. Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court, which comprises judges selected by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. The judges sit on a rotating basis to review applications for electronic surveillance.

Free Speech Defeated
On Wednesday, the Supreme Court gave its stamp of approval to the most significant limits on political speech in decades. The 5-4 decision, penned by Sandra Day O'Connor and John Paul Stevens, declared, "Just as troubling to a functioning democracy as classic quid-quo-pro corruption is the danger that officeholders will decide issues not on the merits or desires of their constituencies, but according to the wishes of those who have made large financial contributions valued by the officeholder." The justices' solution was to approve the McCain-Feingold limits on campaign donations. In his dissent, Justice Antonin Scalia stated that the majority ruling made it "a sad day for the freedom of speech." We agree.

Memo To President Bush: Please Veto The
Next Unconstitutional Bill To Reach Your Desk
When the McCain-Feingold so-called campaign reform act reached your desk you said you thought it was unconstitutional. But you signed it anyway.

US to Provide $34 Million in Health Aid to Afghanistan
KABUL -- The US government has agreed to provide 34 million US dollars to support health services by various non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the Afghanistan, officials said here on Monday. The grant, aimed at improving health sector in the post-war country, would be distributed to 13 national and international NGOs operating in over 10 Afghan provinces, according to a senior official at the Afghan ministry. An agreement on the grant was signed here at the Public Health Ministry Monday between the US International Development Agency (USAID) and the ministry.

TV News, Rich People Now Control
Political Speech, Analysts Say
Broadcast news organizations with a liberal bias and billionaires with potentially hidden political agendas will now control much of the flow of information about federal candidates in the days leading up to elections, according to critics of a Supreme Court decision issued Wednesday. Richard Lessner, executive director of the American Conservative Union, called the restrictions on issue advocacy groups, which don't apply to wealthy individuals, the "dirty little secret" of the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act (BCRA) upheld by the court.

Restoring Rights Difficult for Felons
Florida is one of six states that deny ex-felons the right to vote unless they take steps to have the state restore their civil rights. It's surprisingly easy - especially for the poor - to become felons and lose their right to vote.

Saddam Hussein Captured

Ex-Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein captured alive
BAGHDAD -- Ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein has been captured alive by coalition forces after a manhunt of more than eight months, US civil administrator Paul Bremer said. US forces commander in Iraq Lieutenant General Ricardo Sanchez said Saddam put up no resistance when he was found hiding in a six foot (two metre) deep hole on an isolated farm and was cooperating with his captors. Sanchez said Saddam, who had a 25 million dollar price on his head, was captured in Operation Red Dawn, led by the US 4th Infantry Division, at around 8:00 pm (1700 GMT) Saturday. "Saddam was captured without resistance," he said. "He is currently under coalition custody ... at an undisclosed location." Sanchez said "there were no injuries, and in fact not a single shot was fired" during the former president's capture.

4th Infantry Captures Saddam Near Tikrit
WASHINGTON -- With three words – “We got him” – Ambassador L. Paul Bremer III announced at a press briefing in Baghdad today that U.S. forces had captured Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein near his hometown of Tikrit.

Family Member Gave Away Saddam's Hideout
TIKRIT, Iraq -- Saddam Hussein was captured based on information from a member of a family ``close to him,'' Maj. Gen. Raymond Odierno said Sunday. Odierno, the commander of the 4th Infantry Division that captured Saddam, said over the last 10 days soldiers have questioned ``five to 10 members'' of families ``close to Saddam.''

Virginia Claims 'Spam' Gives Them Jurisdiction in Other States

Virginia Arrests N.C. Man for Spam Email Under New Law
DULLES, Va. -- Virginia authorities said on Thursday they had arrested and charged a North Carolina man for sending "spam" e-mail in the first use of a new state law that could bring penalties of up to 20 years in prison. Virginia Attorney General Jerry Kilgore said Jeremy Jaynes had been arrested earlier Thursday in Raleigh, N.C., on four counts of using fraudulent means to transmit spam. Jaynes was charged with violating limits on the number of messages a marketer can send and falsifying routing information, both illegal under the Virginia law that carries penalties of 1-5 years in prison on each count. Although based in North Carolina, Virginia is asserting jurisdiction over Jaynes because he sent messages through computers located in the state.

Korean Pastor Jailed by Bush's Buddies for Aiding Refugees
A South Korean Christian pastor under detention in China was sentenced to nine years in prison for trying to help North Korean refugees defect to Seoul, an activist group in Seoul said yesterday. Rev. Choi Bong-il was arrested in Yanji, the seat of China's Jilin province, in April last year while trying to help an unspecified number of North Korean refugees flee to South Korea. Two Northern refugees were detained as well. Earlier this week, a Yanji court convicted the pastor and gave him a nine-year sentence, said an official from the activist group campaigning to bring him home.

President Bush and Communist Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao
President George W. Bush and Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao (L) wave as they walk toward the Oval Office after an arrival ceremony at the White House, December 9, 2003. China thanked Bush on December 11 for his comments on diplomatic rival Taiwan and said Wen's visit to the U.S. had been a complete success. 'We think the remarks made by President Bush when he met...Wen were positive, and the Chinese side expresses its appreciation,' Foreign Ministry spokesman Liu Jianchao told reporters.

China applauds Bush stance against Taiwan independence
BEIJING -- China issued a rare "thank you" to an American president yesterday when it applauded President Bush's strongest statement yet opposing any moves by Taiwan toward independence.

US Leaves Taiwan to Tango Alone
US President George W. Bush handed a big present to Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao during Wen's visit to Washington. During the press conference after their meeting, Bush said that "the comments and actions made by the leader of Taiwan indicate that he may be willing to make decisions unilaterally to change the status quo, which we oppose." Bush's remarks have deeply hurt Taiwan. It is understandable that the US needs to maintain close, cooperative relations with China on the issues of North Korea, terrorism and bilateral trade. Bush might have misunderstood the nature of Taiwan's defensive referendum. Or he might have been trying to be courteous to his guest. But his remarks against Taiwan were a serious mistake.

Free Speech Protection Disappears
The U.S. Supreme Court on Wednesday undermined one of America's most cherished rights, the right to criticize the government policy and elected officials. Justice Antonin Scalia summed it up when he said, "This is a sad day for freedom of speech." In its haste to approve congressional authority to regulate political money, the high court gave Congress the power to squelch political debate. Instead of punishing corrupt politicians, the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act frustrates the right of the American voter to support political parties and voice opinions in the public forum. The act criminalizes access by voters to their elected officials and prohibits groups from using television and radio.

Sad Day for Free Speech
EDITOR'S NOTE: On Dec. 10, 2003, the U.S. Supreme Court issued its ruling upholding the Bipartisan Campaign Reform Act in a 5-4 rulling. Among the 4 was Justice Antonin Scalia. We reprint his dissent below.

Mortars Pound U.S. Headquarters in Baghdad
BAGHDAD -- Iraqi insurgents bombarded the fortified headquarters of the U.S.-led coalition in Baghdad early Friday, the first attack on the compound since U.S. forces launched a mass anti-guerrilla offensive a month ago. Shortly after midnight in Baghdad, several loud booms shook the city. Sirens wailed and loudspeakers warned residents inside the headquarters complex to take evasive action. The U.S. military could not immediately confirm what sort of munitions were fired, but sources said mortars were probably used to hammer the two square mile area, known as the Green Zone, on the banks of the Tigris river.

South duped by Dubya-Republicans
Bush has solidified the South's hold on the GOP like no other president before him. He has pandered to fundamentalist prejudices, for example by visiting Bob Jones University during the 2000 campaign and by giving moral support to Southern defenders of the Confederate flag. Bush's "born again" Christianity appeals to fundamentalists as do his anti-abortion policies. His preposterous pre-emptive war doctrine, which led to the war in Iraq, is more popular in the military-minded South. This month, Bush rewarded what's left of the South's textile industry when he rescinded steel tariffs (which had rewarded West Virginia for supporting him in 2000) after the European Union threatened retaliation against textiles. Bush also put quotas on imports of some Chinese textiles and apparel.

2003 - A Look Back
Sometimes, looking back helps us see where we're going. So, I thought I'd assemble a few stories and tidbits from this year's news to help provide a wide-angle view of the times we live in for your consideration – a collage of published information from the past year that forms an alarming picture we might not otherwise see by its scattered parts and pieces.

Courts Ponder Three Redistricting Cases
The U.S. Supreme Court and two U.S. district courts - one in Austin and the other in Colorado - have an opportunity to stop congressional redistricting that is clearly, explicitly, blatantly driven by a partisan agenda to increase the number of Republican seats in the U.S. House of Representatives.

U.N. Summit Ends With Net Expansion Plans
GENEVA -- A U.N. summit on information technology wound up Friday as delegates approved two documents long on ambitions but short on funding and strategy for bringing the Internet to poorer regions of the world. Although many of the hard decisions were being deferred for two years, the World Summit on the Information Society was far from a wash as thousands of participants from government, business and civil society got a chance to network and exchange ideas.

Get US out! of the United Nations
Join with thousands of other Americans working to Get US out! of the United Nations. Take the action steps outlined on this website to carry out a proven strategy to increase your effectiveness and influence. Every individual can make a difference in the battle to preserve freedom.

Homeland Security Alert!

Ridge Wants Legal Status for Millions of Illegal Aliens
WASHINGTON -- Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge has called for millions of illegal aliens in the United States to be given some sort of legal status short of citizenship, a proposal suggesting that the Bush administration might revive an ambitious legalization plan that was sidetracked after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. In comments on Tuesday at a town hall meeting in Miami, Mr. Ridge said, "The bottom line is, as a country, we have to come to grips with the presence of 8 to 12 million illegals, afford them some kind of legal status some way."

Ranchers Sued by Civil Rights Group
TUCSON, Ariz. - A monastery official and a human rights advocacy group sued a southern Arizona ranch family Wednesday, accusing them of impersonating federal agents and violating the rights of illegal aliens. For at least four years, the Barnetts have patrolled their 22,000-acre ranch about five miles north of Douglas, apprehending illegal aliens crossing their property and turning them over to the U.S. Border Patrol. Arizona has become a crossing point for hundreds of thousands of illegals, and the flood of undocumented people has drawn several armed civilian groups that act as self-appointed border watch organizations. The civil action accuses the Barnetts of conspiracy to interfere with the civil rights of illegal immigrants and seeks preliminary and permanent injunctions against them.

Florida Jury Convicts Six Cuban Men in Hijack Case
KEY WEST, Fla. - A Florida jury found six Cuban men guilty on Thursday of hijacking an aging DC-3 plane from communist Cuba to the United States after a trial highlighting the deep political gulf between the two countries. The Cubans face 20 years to life in prison for hijacking the 1940s-era Aerotaxi plane from Cuba's Isle of Youth airport in Nueva Gerona, Cuba, to Key West airport on March 19.

Iraq Suicide Attack Causes U.S. Casualties
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Three suicide bombers attacked the headquarters of the 82nd Airborne Division west of Baghdad on Thursday, the military said. There were casualties, but it was not clear if any U.S. soldiers died in the third suicide attack on American troops this week. "There are reports of casualties, but I don't have any more details," a military source said on condition of anonymity. There were no U.S. fatalities in the previous two suicide attacks this week, indicating that massive defenses erected at American facilities were paying off.

`Third' of New Iraqi Army Quits
WASHINGTON—Plans to deploy the first battalion of Iraq's new army are in doubt because a third of the soldiers trained by the U.S.-led occupation authority have quit, defence officials said yesterday. Touted as a key to Iraq's future, the 700-man battalion lost some 250 men over recent weeks as they were preparing to begin operations this month, Pentagon officials said.

Mad-Dog Malvo
Defense Shrink: Muslim indoctrination made Malvo insane
Lee Boyd Malvo was legally insane during last year's sniper spree because of intense indoctrination by John Allen Muhammad, a defense psychiatrist testified Wednesday at Malvo's trial. Defense mental health experts have said Malvo, 18, was taught by Muhammad that right and wrong are artificial concepts and that the winner in a war determines who is right and who is wrong. Muhammad likened the sniper attacks to a war against the United States government, which he said oppresses blacks. Malvo's attorneys are presenting an insanity defense to capital murder charges in the death of FBI analyst Linda Franklin, who was shot on Oct. 14, 2002, outside a Home Depot.

Taiwan sell-out
President Bush, who not so long ago was spouting eloquent phrases about the U.S. commitment to democracy all over the globe, apparently thinks it is a bad idea for the people of Taiwan to so much as vote on whether they prefer that Chinese missiles not be pointed in their direction. ...it's China that's the aggressor here and Taiwan that's relying on one of the greatest tools of a free people — the ballot box. It was unprincipled for Bush to retreat from his recent words about democracy.

Chen still defiant after Bush rebuke
A defiant President Chen Shui-bian yesterday reaffirmed his resolution to carry out a "defensive referendum" on the day of the presidential election -- March 20, next year -- to denounce China's military threat to Taiwan and demand the withdrawal of ballistic missiles which threaten the nation.

Needed: A Realistic Look at China Policy
John J. Tkacik, Jr. (Heritage Foundation) -- In 2003, China has renewed threats of war against Taiwan, dragged its feet in the war on terrorism, lent moral support to North Korea's nuclear program, continued proliferating dangerous weapons, accelerated its military buildup, been increasingly aggressive in the South China Sea, and cultivated an ever-worsening human rights environment. The Administration and Congress should reexamine their China policy and reconsider why they abandoned the candid, firm, and successful pre-September 11 approach for a policy of conciliation and compromise, which has yielded little beyond rhetoric.

With Court Ruling, Campaign Power Shifts
Toward Independent Tax-Exempt Groups and PACs
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court's decision to uphold nearly all of the sweeping new federal campaign finance law has profound consequences for the 2004 presidential election and for political parties far beyond, activists and legal experts said. Among the most immediate effects, the ruling intensifies a new kind of dash for campaign cash. Republican strategist Frank Donatelli said the court ruling means that "it's no longer a question" that independent, tax-exempt groups are going to be "major players in the 2004 elections." The confirmation of the soft money ban "clearly means that individual and political action committee contributions are even more important," said David Magleby, dean of the School of Social Sciences at Brigham Young University.

Another Omnibus Spending Bill Loaded with Pork
The congressional spending spree of the past few years is well-documented, and this year promises to be no different. Over the last four years, federal spending has increased from $16,000 per household to $20,000 per household, the highest level since World War II.

Gov't signs $169m deal to develop Khirbet Al Samra plant
AMMAN — The government signed the first build-operate-transfer (BOT) deal of its kind in the region to an international group of companies on Wednesday for the development and expansion of the Khirbet Al Samra Wastewater Treatment Plant. The plant extension, which will treat 80 per cent of the country's wastewater, will be financed by a number of parties — the major portion through a United States Agency for International Development (USAID) grant of $78 million.

Ex-FBI Agent Charged in Mob
Slaying Assaulted in Miami Jail
TULSA, Okla. - A retired FBI agent accused in the mob-related slaying of a Tulsa businessman was assaulted in a Miami jail, officials said. Deputies wanted to arrange for U.S. marshals to bring H. Paul Rico to Tulsa this week, but his injuries will delay the extradition, Tulsa County Chief Deputy George Haralson said. "While incarcerated in a jail facility it was reported he was assaulted by one or more inmates and required medical attention," Haralson said. "At this point in time, we are not sure what his medical status is, and therefore his return trip to Tulsa has been delayed."

JP Morgan Sues Ex-Global Crossing Execs
NEW YORK - Investment bank J.P. Morgan Chase & Co. has sued 23 former officers and directors of Global Crossing Ltd. for $1.7 billion, accusing them of hiding important financial information while running the fiber-optic network, The Los Angeles Times reported in its Thursday editions.

Supreme Court Upholds McCain-Feingold

Supreme Court Upholds McCain-Feingold,
Political 'Soft-Money' Contributions Banned
Those donations, called "soft money" and totaling hundreds of millions of dollars,had become a mainstay of modern political campaigns, used to rally voters to the polls and to pay for sharply worded television ads. Congress may regulate campaign money to prevent the real or perceived corruption of political candidates, the court ruled in a 5-4 decision. "Soft money" is a catchall term for money that is not subject to existing federal caps on the amount individuals may give and which is outside the old law prohibiting corporations and labor unions from making direct campaign donations. The court barred all national political parties from raising this kind of money, and said their affiliates in the individual states may not serve as conduits for soft money. Without soft money, politicians and political parties may only take in donations that are already allowed in limited amounts, such as a private individual's small re-election donation to his or her local member of Congress.

Supreme Court Revisits Scope of Miranda Rights
WASHINGTON -- Several Supreme Court justices expressed concern yesterday about a new police tactic that they called an "end run" around the requirement that officers inform suspects of their rights. But it was not clear whether a majority of the court would vote to stop the practice. The tactic, described in some police training manuals and promoted on a website on policing, involves two rounds of questioning of a suspect at the police station -- the first to get a confession without advising the suspect of the right to remain silent and have a lawyer, the second to have the confession repeated after giving what are known as Miranda warnings.

Taiwan Says Bush Out of His Mind
TAIPEI -- Brushing aside a warning from George W. Bush, Taiwan's president reiterated his plan to hold a referendum alongside elections next March, but said neither independence nor the status quo with China would be at issue. Chen Shui-bian, addressing a news conference on Wednesday after Bush delivered his surprise warning during a White House visit by Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao, did not say what the referendum would be about. But earlier he suggested it would pressure China to remove missiles aimed at the island, which Beijing sees as a breakaway province that must one day, even by force, be returned to the fold.

In This Case, a Two-China Policy for U.S.
After the opening speeches, the 50 or so American executives gathered at the Hotel Pennsylvania in Manhattan were invited to divide up. Those interested in investing in China - putting an operation there and hiring Chinese workers - were to go across the hall to the Penntop North conference room. Those who wanted help in exporting to China were to stay seated in Penntop South. Half or more went across the hall. What was surprising was the presence of the United States Commerce Department at the conference.

Muslims Kill Two More U.S. Soldiers
BAGHDAD -- Two American soldiers were killed Wednesday in separate attacks in Iraq. One soldier died and three were wounded when a roadside bomb hit their convoy in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul, the U.S. military said. "One soldier was killed and three were injured," said a spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division in the city. In the northern city of Mosul, another soldier was killed when insurgents fired upon troops guarding a gas station, the U.S. Army said. Another U.S. soldier was wounded in the incident. "One of the two soldiers has died," said Maj. Trey Cate, spokesman for the 101st Airborne Division in Mosul.

U.S. Shuts Out France, Germany for Iraq Work
WASHINGTON -- Citing national security reasons, U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary Paul Wolfowitz has ruled that prime contracts to rebuild Iraq will exclude firms from nations such as France and Germany that opposed the U.S. war. In a policy document released on Tuesday, Wolfowitz said he was limiting competition for 26 reconstruction contracts worth up to $18.6 billion that will be advertised in coming days.

Canada Slams Iraq Shut-Out
Washington - The Pentagon drew criticism from one US ally after formally barring companies from countries opposed to the Iraq war from bidding on 26 lucrative reconstruction contracts. The ruling bars companies from US allies such as France, Germany and Canada from bidding on those contracts - worth $18.6 billion - because their governments opposed the American-led war that ousted Saddam Hussein's regime.

Senate OKs Oil Lobbyist for Saudi Post
WASHINGTON -- The Senate on Tuesday confirmed Texas oil lobbyist James Oberwetter to be ambassador to Saudi Arabia. Oberwetter, 59, promised in his confirmation hearings to encourage democratic reforms and tolerance for other religions if confirmed. But he'll also be expected by some in Congress to foster more cooperation from Saudi Arabia in fighting terrorism.

2 Stories by Malvo the Focus of Trial
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - In many ways, the trial of sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo comes down to his word against his word. After his arrest last fall, Malvo told investigators in lengthy confessions that he pulled the trigger in all of the sniper shootings. But in meetings with a court-appointed psychologist this past summer, Malvo withdrew those confessions and said he was not the triggerman.

Suspicious Packagecloses Post Office
PHOENIXVILLE - The Phoenixville Post Office was closed for more than two hours after a suspicious package was discovered in the side parking lot Tuesday morning. According to Police Chief John Kalavik, a post office employee discovered the 3'x2'x3' U-Haul cardboard box near the chained fence in the parking lot around 9:20 a.m. Tuesday. "We immediately closed off access to the front of the post office," he said. "Personnel inside the Verizon Building, the church, and the post office were immediately evacuated." Kalavik said a similar type of box was discovered in Philadelphia three weeks ago, and there was an explosive device inside that one.

Muslim Car Bomb Injures 58 U.S. Soldiers

Muslim Car Bomb Injures 58 U.S. Soldiers
TAL AFAR, Iraq -- A suicide car bomber wounded 58 U.S. soldiers and three Iraqis Tuesday when he charged the gates of an American military base and blew up his explosives-packed vehicle as troops opened fire. Soldiers manning the gate at the camp 45 km (28 miles) west of Mosul opened fire after the driver charged toward them, ignoring orders to stop. "The soldiers hit the driver several times, causing him to detonate the bomb prematurely," said Col. Michael Linnington of the 3rd Brigade of the 101st Airborne Division. "He was definitely trying to get through the gate and into the camp." Most of the 58 soldiers injured suffered cuts, bruises and broken bones, the military said, but four were more seriously wounded and were evacuated to a military hospital.

US Helicopter Hit By Rocket Fire
Baghdad - A United States helicopter made an emergency landing on Tuesday near the town of Fallujah west of Baghdad, apparently after being hit by a rocket-propelled grenade. The US military said an OH-58 Kiowa observation helicopter from the 82nd Airborne Division made a "controlled landing" at 2.30pm near Fallujah. A spokesperson said he had no further details about the incident. Omar Ali, a reporter with Associated Press Television News, said two helicopters were flying in formation near the city, about 60km west of the capital, when one was struck by a grenade fired from the ground. It went down immediately in an open field, Ali said. The aircraft appeared structurally intact, but smoke was billowing from it.

Bush to welcome Communist with 19-Gun Salute,
President's order shames military honor guard
With China's new prime minister just hours away from a 19-gun salute on the South Lawn of the White House and a meeting in the Oval Office with President Bush, administration officials said there was no change in the fundamental one-China policy that now reaches back three decades. It repeated that China must not "coerce" Taiwan, that any reunification between the two must be peaceful, and that Taiwan must not provoke a crisis. But today's statements, which build on a series of signals the administration has been sending for the past week, will be broadly interpreted as a warning to Taiwan that Washington not only opposes independence, but even political discussion or a referendum about the subject.

Get US out! of the United Nations
Join with thousands of other Americans working to Get US out! of the United Nations. Take the action steps outlined on this website to carry out a proven strategy to increase your effectiveness and influence. Every individual can make a difference in the battle to preserve freedom.

Groups seeking to use pro-abort U.N. to push abortion
Internal memos produced by a leading abortion-rights group map out a multi-year strategy for using the United Nations and other international bodies to impose so-called reproductive-rights laws worldwide. The Center for Reproductive Rights wrote the memos as a summary of its strategic planning meetings last October. The memos show CRR "and many pro-abortion allies throughout the world plan to expand international laws well beyond their current scope and to impose these new laws worldwide, even upon individual nations that do not explicitly assent to the changes.

Gore Endorses Dean for Party Nomination
NEW YORK - Former Vice President Al Gore endorsed Howard Dean for the Democratic presidential nomination Tuesday, adding momentum and political prestige to Dean's front-running campaign. Dean said it was an honor and a privilege to receive Gore's endorsement.

Secret Service Plans No Action
on Eminem Lyrics, Issues Caution
The US Secret Service has looked into reports that rapper Eminem wrote lyrics that said ``I'd rather see the president dead,'' but it doesn't plan a formal investigation, said a Secret Service spokesman. John Gill, the spokesman, cautioned such lyrics can have unintended consequences on others. ``The Secret Service has no current plans to open an investigation into this matter,'' Gill said Monday.

Bad Cops Bounce From City to City
It is a two-step dance. First, a department lets a problem officer go without completing a formal investigation that might cost him his police certificate. Then another department, eager to find an already-trained recruit at a bargain wage, hires him without asking too many questions. Most often, a Post-Dispatch investigation discovered, these officers end up in the poorest and most crime-ridden communities.

Murdered prosecutor's route into Pa. is probed
Federal investigators appealed to the public for help yesterday in retracing the steps of Baltimore federal prosecutor Jonathan P. Luna before he was found slain in a Lancaster County creek. The U.S. Attorney's Office in Baltimore released photos of Luna's 2003 silver Honda Accord, with his University of North Carolina license plate, as details emerged that Luna had used a roundabout route between Baltimore and Brecknock Township, where his body was found Thursday morning.

Congressman Resigns Following Manslaughter Conviction
FLANDREAU, S.D. - South Dakota Congressman Bill Janklow announced his resignation yesterday after being convicted of manslaughter for killing a motorcyclist in a car accident. Janklow, a Republican, said he'd quit effective Jan. 20, the day he's to be sentenced. The conviction, returned by a jury in Janklow's boyhood hometown after five hours' deliberation, could land him in prison for 10 years. The jury rejected his claim that a diabetic reaction disoriented him. Janklow appeared stunned as the verdict was read. He walked steadily out of the courtroom, got in a vehicle driven by his son and left the courthouse. He refused to answer questions.

27 GOP Reps Threaten Revolt on Faith Based Bill
WASHINGTON -- In a letter delivered today to Majority Whip Roy Blunt and Ways and Means Chairman Bill Thomas, 27 Republican Congressmen "very strongly oppose" portions of the Senate version of the CARE Act of 2003 which favor selected environmental groups. It would grant a 25% break in capital gains taxes to sellers of land or water rights -- only if they sold to a land trust or a government agency. The letter continues, "We believe the Charitable Giving Act is intended to encourage and benefit faith-based institutions in their efforts to extend social services to the general public.

Key Human Rights Trial Begins
LOS ANGELES -- Seven years after it was filed, a landmark human rights lawsuit against Unocal Corp. is set to go to trial in Los Angeles. The first phase of the complex case, closely watched by human rights advocates and multinational companies facing similar civil suits, will decide the seemingly arcane but potentially pivotal point of which Unocal corporate entity should be the defendant. If the case moves to the second phase, the trial will then turn to the specific allegations: that Unocal indirectly aided and profited from human rights abuses -- including murder, rape and forced labor -- carried out by soldiers guarding a natural gas pipeline in Myanmar.

Car Bomber Wounds 41 U.S. Troops

Car Bomber Wounds 41 U.S. Troops in Iraq
TALAFAR, Iraq - A suicide bomber blew up a car packed with explosives at the gates of a military barracks early Tuesday, wounding 41 American troops just hours after three soldiers died in a road accident in central Iraq, the military said. The attack at the army base occurred at 4:45 a.m. local time when a car drove to the gate of the base in the town of Talafar, 30 miles west of the northern city of Mosul. Guards at the gate and in a watchtower opened fire on the vehicle and moments later it blew up. The bomb left a large crater at the gate's entryway.

Can you say, 'Totally Unconstitutional!'

Bush Signs $400B Medicare Bill
WASHINGTON - President Bush on Monday signed into law the most far-reaching changes in Medicare in nearly four decades, an overhaul that includes for the first time a prescription-drug benefit for seniors. Overall, the new law will carry out the most extensive changes since Medicare's creation in 1965. Conservatives have questioned the price tag of the reforms, which come at a time when next year's budget deficit is projected to be some $500 billion. "The U.S. budget is out of control," Goldman Sachs economists said last month.

GOP Pushes Through $373B Spending Bill
WASHINGTON - Republicans pushed a whopping $373 billion spending package through the House on Monday despite conservative objections that the measure had too many hometown projects and Democratic complaints that it would hurt workers. The 242-176 vote left the bill in the hands of the Senate, where its fate seemed uncertain. The GOP's narrow majority there may not be enough to overcome efforts by Democrats — and perhaps some Republicans — to try killing the measure when the Senate votes on it later this month or in January.

Dollar Drops to Record Low Against Euro,
11-Year Low Versus Pound
The dollar dropped to a record $1.22 against the euro and fell to its lowest in more than a decade versus the British pound on speculation the Federal Reserve will keep interest rates at a 45-year low in coming months, eroding the appeal of U.S. investments. Fed policy makers tomorrow will keep their target rate at 1 percent, according to all 77 economists surveyed by Bloomberg News, half the European Central Bank's rate. Since August, the Fed has said it will keep rates low for ``a considerable period.''

Flashback:
Why Do Conservatives Continue
To Support The Republican Party?
It should be obvious to every rational person that the Republican Party has totally lost whatever conservative moorings it had. Since seizing control of the federal government and many state governments, Republicans have consistently promoted bigger and bigger government, have betrayed virtually every conservative cause, and have broken virtually every conservative promise. Even columnist George Will observed that under President Bush, conservatism has developed "an identity crisis." However, the greater crisis is the willingness of grassroots conservatives to continue to support such a party. Since becoming President, G.W. Bush has exploded the size and growth of the federal government.

Muslims Kill U.S. Soldier and Iraqi Policeman
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- Insurgents shot and killed a U.S. soldier guarding a gas station Monday in northern Iraq, and an Iraqi policeman died trying to defuse a bomb, the U.S. military said. The attack on the soldier from the U.S. Army's 101st Airborne Division took place in Mosul, 250 miles north of Baghdad, Brig. Gen. Mark Kimmitt said in Baghdad.

Cult Expert Testifies for Malvo Defense
CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- Attorneys tried to bolster their insanity defense for sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo with testimony from a cult expert who said Malvo's childhood could have made him vulnerable to brainwashing by sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad. According to earlier testimony, the 18-year-old's mother, Una James, moved from town to town and school to school as she looked for work in the Caribbean, leaving her son with a string of people willing to take him in. That pattern, the defense claims, made Malvo vulnerable to brainwashing by Muhammad.

Class Action Lawsuit Filed on Behalf of Stratford
High School Students Terrorized in Police Raid
CHARLESTON, S.C. -- Charging that more than 107 Stratford High School students were terrorized in a school-authorized raid in which police pointed guns at them, apprehended and restrained them, used excessive force, and conducted unreasonable search and seizure, a class-action lawsuit was filed today on the students' behalf.

Calif. Court OKs nearly $1.5 billion
settlement by El Paso Electric Co.
SAN DIEGO - A settlement requiring El Paso Electric Co. to pay nearly $1.5 billion to Californians whose prices spiked during the energy crisis has been approved in principle, closing an antitrust class-action case against the Texas-based company. The deal, approved Friday by San Diego County Superior Court Judge J. Richard Haden, must still be agreed to by a federal court.

Financial Companies Agree to Pay $90 Million Settlement
Several financial companies have agreed to pay $90 million to settle a class-action suit that claimed they were involved in the looting of trust funds established to pay for the long-term medical care and living expenses of scores of injured people. The financial institutions - Bankers Trust Co. of New York, Wells Fargo & Co., U.S. Trust Corp., Bank of America Corp., and Bear, Stearns & Co. - denied any liability as part of the settlement agreement, which is expected to be approved by Los Angeles County Superior Court Judge Peter D. Lichtman next month.

Royal Bank Cited as Defendant
in Enron Fraud Class Action
ROYAL Bank of Scotland is being sued by the University of California in a class action suit in the US following the accusation by a bankruptcy investigator that it may have "aided and abetted" Enron in transactions which hid the collapsed energy giant's massive debts.

Researchers Fake AIDS Data

Researchers Fake AIDS Study Data
Three Maryland researchers have admitted fabricating interviews with teenagers for a study on AIDS prevention that received more than $1 million in federal funds. Lajuane Woodard, Sheila Blackwell and Khalilah Creek were employed by the University of Maryland at Baltimore's department of pediatrics as researchers on the study, funded by a grant from the National Institutes of Health (NIH). "It is terribly troubling that federally funded research on a topic as sensitive and important as HIV prevention for children, some as young as 13, would be intentionally manipulated," said Rep. Mark Souder, Indiana Republican and chairman of the House subcommittee on criminal justice, drug policy and human resources."

Malvo:'You will not escape, America,'
Malvo Sketches Depicted Jihad,
Defense attorneys try to prove Malvo insane
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - Hoping to shed light on what they believe was an insane mind, defense attorneys for sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo presented a judge yesterday with dozens of sketches that the teen-ager scribbled in his jail cell while awaiting trial for last fall's sniper attacks - crimes that Malvo depicted in his art as "jihad" in America.

US Soldier Killed in Iraq Bomb Blast
One US soldier and three Iraqis have been killed in a roadside explosion just north of Baghdad. The bomb exploded at the side of a busy road as a US military convoy and a minibus were passing in opposite directions. Witnesses said the minibus was completely destroyed and the front vehicle of the convoy badly damaged. More than 180 US soldiers have been killed in action in Iraq since Washington declared the war over on May 1.

Roadside Bomb Kills U.S. Soldier
BAGHDAD, Iraq -- The bomb, placed in the median of the road, exploded around 9 a.m. (1 a.m. ET) as three Humvees passed by, the witnesses said. The bomb hit the third vehicle, killing the driver. Two other soldiers were injured -- one in the shoulder, the other in the leg -- and were evacuated while coalition soldiers and Iraqi police cordoned off the area, the witnesses said.

Silencing Voices of Dissent Against Bush
Activist Brett Bursey has made a profession out of annoying U.S. presidents for nearly 40 years, demonstrating for or against a variety of political causes. But, as CBS News Correspondent Lee Cowan reports, while demonstrating during a presidential visit to South Carolina last year, Bursey was arrested and could now be facing up to six months in prison. "It was the content of my sign that was the problem," says Bursey. A U.S. Secret Service Agent told Bursey neither he nor his anti-war poster belonged on a public corner.

Raids on Rush Are Detailed
West Palm Beach, Fla. - A Palm Beach County law enforcement task force investigating whether Rush Limbaugh illegally obtained prescription painkillers seized the talk show host's medical records from three doctors, according to search warrants made public yesterday.

Winter Storm Dumps Snow Along East Coast
The first real winter storm of the season swept up the East Coast on Friday, clogging roads with a daunting mixture of snow, sleet and slush. In Maryland, where up to 8 inches of snow fell, a steady downfall of snow and sleet closed schools and clogged rush hour traffic Friday as state road crews struggled to keep major arteries clear.

Bush to slowly flood U.S. with foreign steel

Bush Lifts 20-Month-Old Steel Tariffs
WASHINGTON -- Facing the threat of a trade war, President Bush on Thursday lifted 20-month-old tariffs on foreign steel, a move that will hurt steelmakers in states critical in next year's election. While those states ranging from Florida to California will escape foreign retaliation on their products, other key states, including West Virginia, Ohio and Pennsylvania, are home to domestic steel makers who will now face greater foreign competition.

GOP Abandons Conservatives

GOP Abandons Conservatives
The Medicare prescription drug bill passed by Congress last week may prove to be a watershed event for political conservatives in America. This latest expansion of the federal government, potentially the largest in our nation’s history, is firmly in keeping with the failed New Deal and Great Society programs of the utopian left. This leaves true conservatives, who believe strongly in limited government and identify with the Goldwater-era Republican party, wondering whether they still have a political home in the modern GOP. In the eyes of many conservatives, today’s GOP simply has abandoned its limited-government heritage to buy votes and gain political power in Washington.

Prescription Drugs for Votes
Last week a new form of chaos was unleashed on the American taxpayer. The culprit: A bill creating massive prescription drug benefits for Medicare recipients. Betraying their most basic creed, Republicans have not only increased the size of government, but the spending rate of it to boot. As they say, power corrupts. The bill, laden with pork incentives, is “said” to cost $400 billion over the next ten years, but by the time all of the subsidies kick in, it could be upwards of two trillion over the same period of time.

Bush Lawyer Argues to Keep Foster Photos Private
WASHINGTON -- In a case that reaches back to the Clinton presidency, the Bush administration urged the Supreme Court on Wednesday to reject an attorney's request for government photos relating to White House lawyer Vincent Foster's suicide. Administration lawyer Patricia Millett argued that releasing the graphic pictures would violate his family's privacy. Allan Favish, the attorney seeking their release, countered that the disclosure of the photos is crucial to enabling the American people to determine whether Foster died of a self-inflicted gunshot wound, as the government says, or as the result of foul play.

U.S. Won't Accept EU Defense Cell Duplicating NATO
BRUSSELS -- The United States said on Thursday it was not backing down in a row over plans by the European Union to set up an independent military planning cell. "The United States cannot accept independent EU structures that duplicate existing NATO capabilities," Secretary of State Colin Powell said in a text prepared for delivery at a ministerial meeting of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.

Japan to Introduce Missile Defense System, Report Says
TOKYO -- Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi intends to introduce a missile defense system to protect Japan from the threat posed by North Korea's ballistic missiles, a Japanese newspaper said on Thursday. Japan has conducted joint research with the United States on developing a missile defense system since North Korea fired a ballistic missile that flew over Japan in 1998.

China Renews Taiwan War Threat Before Wen's U.S. Trip
BEIJING -- Days ahead of Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao's visit to the United States, Chinese army officers have threatened war with Taiwan if it pushes toward independence, even at the cost of boycotts of the 2008 Beijing Olympics. In an interview with the Communist Party magazine Outlook Weekly, Major General Peng Guangqian of the Chinese Academy of Military Sciences said Olympic boycotts were a price China was willing to pay to keep Taiwan, which it considers a breakaway province, from declaring independence, news agency Xinhua said.

Muslims Shell Police Post
BAGHDAD, Iraq - Guerrillas injured six people in an attack Thursday on a police station in central Iraq, and a U.S. armored vehicle was destroyed in an ambush at an intersection in Baghdad. The American troops in the vehicle escaped unhurt. Two rockets struck the Ramadi Police Directorate, 100 miles west of Baghdad, as officers gathered inside to receive their monthly salaries, said Maj. Samir Habib. Two policemen and four civilians were wounded, he said.

Malvo Judge Bans Attorneys' Media Talk
CHESAPEAKE, Va. - The judge in the capital murder trial of sniper suspect Lee Boyd Malvo ordered attorneys on Thursday to stop talking to the news media after a letter written by Malvo appeared in The Washington Post. Circuit Judge Jane Marum Roush had refused to let defense attorneys show or read the letter to the jury, saying it was hearsay. The Post printed the letter's text Thursday and included excerpts in Malvo's handwriting. The newspaper did not say how it obtained the letter.

Man Who Trained With Qaeda Gets 10-Year Sentence
BUFFALO -- A man who admitted attending a terrorist training camp in Afghanistan weeks before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks was sentenced Wednesday to 10 years in prison. The man, Mukhtar al-Bakri, 23, received the maximum sentence for providing support to Al Qaeda from Judge William M. Skretny of Federal District Court. Mr. al-Bakri, who pleaded guilty in May, is the first of six men from a Yemenite community in Lackawanna, a city immediately south of here, to be sentenced.

Sniper Invokes Fifth at Trial
CHESAPEAKE, Va. — Convicted sniper John Allen Muhammad invoked his Fifth Amendment right not to testify yesterday at the capital-murder trial of Lee Boyd Malvo, but jurors still heard Muhammad's voice on an audio recording. Mr. Malvo's attorneys wanted Muhammad to testify to bolster their case that he had intimidated Mr. Malvo into committing the sniper killings.

Taliban Fighter Can't Challenge
Detention, says Justice Dept.
WASHINGTON — The Justice Department on Wednesday urged the Supreme Court to reject the appeal of a captured Taliban fighter who says that as a U.S. citizen, he is entitled to challenge his detention at a military prison in South Carolina. Justice said the Supreme Court should abide by a lower-court ruling that found the U.S. military had established grounds for holding Yaser Hamdi as an enemy combatant. Hamdi was captured in Afghanistan in 2001 and is in a Navy jail in Charleston, S.C.

Feds' Rx: Go Directly to Jail
Alleging that he leads an ongoing criminal enterprise that has raked in over $125 million, federal prosecutors made their first major move against online pharmacies Wednesday by indicting Vincent Chhabra, 32, a big-time South Florida Internet entrepreneur, and nine of his colleagues. The 108-count indictment, issued by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Va., focuses on charges that Chhabra and the others used many websites -- including get-it-on.com -- to sell controlled substances, mostly diet pills, illegally by not requiring customers to be physically examined by doctors.

Bechtel Signs With Intelsat for Iraq Reconstruction Needs
In a strategic win for the company, Intelsat Government Solutions Corporation today announced that it has been awarded a subcontract to provide a turnkey satellite communications system to support Bechtel National Inc.'s (Bechtel's) involvement with the Iraq Infrastructure Reconstruction Program. Bechtel was originally awarded a contract with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) in April 2003 in support of the Coalition Provisional Authority's reconstruction program.

Guardsman Court Marshaled for Refusing Vaccination

Military-Court Hearing for Soldier
Who Refused Anthrax Vaccine
The attorney for an Ohio National Guardsman who allegedly refused to submit to an anthrax vaccination says he'll plead innocent to a charge of refusing to obey a lawful order. A military-court hearing is scheduled today at an armory in Columbus. Twenty-year-old Specialist Kurt Hickman of Granville is the first guardsman in Ohio to refuse to be inoculated for the disease. Hickman's attorney, Kenneth Levine, says a trial date will be set at tomorrow's hearing. It will be closed to the public. If a military judge finds Hickman guilty, he could sentence him to 100 days in jail, a $100 fine, a bad-conduct discharge, a reprimand, a reduction in rank or a combination of those penalties.

Flashback
Vaccines Eyed In GIs Death
CBS/AP -- Vaccinations may have caused the death of an Army medic who succumbed a month after receiving a combination of five shots, the Pentagon said Wednesday. The conclusion was reached by two panels that studied the death of 22-year-old Rachel A. Lacy of suburban Chicago and the illnesses of three others, Defense Department officials said.

Flashback
Soldier's Death Tied to Vaccines
While the Pentagon has tied the sudden death of a 22-year-old Army medic weeks after receiving a series of vaccinations to those immunizations, officials have failed to speak to the implications the link holds for a rash of mysterious pneumonia cases reported among U.S. troops deployed to Southwest Asia since March. Army Spc. Rachael Lacy of Lynwood, Ill., died at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, Minn., April 4 after being diagnosed by one doctor as having pneumonia.

Flashback
Senator: Military Must Review Vaccine Use
WASHINGTON -- Sen. Jeff Bingaman, says in remarks prepared for delivery in the Senate Tuesday. "These illnesses include mysterious pneumonia-like illnesses, heart problems, blood clots, and other medical conditions that have stricken otherwise young, healthy, and strong military personnel. It has even resulted in deaths."

Military Violates Rules in Muslim Chaplain Case
WASHINGTON -- The hearing for a Muslim Army chaplain charged with mishandling classified materials was delayed because others in the military accidentally mishandled classified materials in his case, defense officials said Wednesday. It was postponed after prosecutors discovered Monday that a classified document was mistakenly put in packages delivered to Yee's attorney and to the hearing officer, said Army Lt. Col. Bill Costello of the U.S. Southern Command.

U.S. Soldiers Wounded in Muslim Grenade Attack
KANDAHAR, Afghanistan -- Two U.S. soldiers were wounded, one seriously, when an Afghan policeman threw a grenade at a U.S. military vehicle in crowded market in the southern city of Kandahar on Wednesday, officials said. Another policeman and a local bystander were also slightly hurt in the attack in the center of the city as four U.S. military vehicles were driving through. A senior district police officer, Gulalai, said one of the U.S. soldiers had his leg blown off. "We have arrested the attacker. He was a member of our own police force. He had a rifle with him and several grenades. We caught him as he was trying to flee."

'Big fish' eludes U.S. in Iraq raid
KIRKUK, Iraq -- U.S. troops conducted a big raid near the northern city of Kirkuk yesterday but denied reports that a top former deputy of Saddam Hussein was captured during the operation. A member of Iraq's Governing Council said Izzat Ibrahim al-Douri was the target of the raid. "We get our information from the 173rd (Airborne Brigade) and the 173rd is saying they don't have him," said Sgt. Robert Cargie, a spokesman for the U.S. Army's 4th Infantry Division.

NATO Allies to Stay Course in Iraq, Rumsfeld Says
BRUSSELS -- Despite recent attacks by insurgents on the forces of U.S. allies, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said Tuesday that virtually all of the countries providing troops for duty in Iraq have promised to keep them there. Wrapping up two days of meetings in Brussels with other NATO defense ministers, Rumsfeld reiterated his concern over an emerging plan to enhance the European Union's defense capabilities, voicing worry that the arrangement could compete with NATO.

Middle East Road Map Is Not Dead, Powell Says
MARRAKESH, Morocco -- Secretary of State Colin Powell said Wednesday the Middle East peace "road map" was not dead, but that he was open to ideas like the unofficial peace plan launched in Switzerland earlier this week. "The road map is definitely not dead -- it's a living document," he said.

Officials Permit Nuclear Waste Shipment
SAN ONOFRE, Calif. -- A plan to get a 770-ton piece of nuclear waste to an East Coast burial site by shipping it around South America has been approved despite concerns from environmentalists. Southern California Edison was cleared to ship a decommissioned nuclear reactor vessel from its San Onofre plant to a dump for low-level nuclear waste in Barnwell, S.C. The 11,000-mile trek around the tip of South America will be the longest journey for a piece of nuclear waste in U.S. history.

Justices Affirm Police Exception For Forced Entry
WASHINGTON -- The Supreme Court ruled Tuesday that the Constitution does not necessarily require police officers to wait more than 15 to 20 seconds after they knock and announce their authority before breaking down a suspected drug dealer's door. The unanimous ruling, which overturned a lower federal appeals court's attempt to set up a list of conditions governing how long officers must wait, reinforced the court's previously expressed view that police need flexibility to respond to potential physical dangers or the risk that a suspect may destroy evidence.

Ohio School to Keep Its Students Inside
COLUMBUS, Ohio - Officials at an elementary school hit by a bullet last month are keeping students inside for recess this week after authorities linked the shooting to 11 others along a five-mile stretch of interstate, the superintendent said Wednesday. At least four of the shootings — three at vehicles and one at the school last month — were from the same gun, Franklin County Sheriff's Chief Deputy Steve Martin said Tuesday. Although ballistics tests could not link the rest of the shootings along Interstate 270, investigators believe all 12 are connected, he said.

18 Inmates Hurt in Calif. Prison Riot
BAKER, Calif. — A riot and small fire broke out Tuesday night at the private Cornell Correctional Facility and at least 18 inmates were injured, officials said. Prison officials called for help shortly after 8 p.m. and units from the San Bernardino County Sheriff's Department, California Highway Patrol and Chino Hills Police Department responded. The riot involved more than 100 inmates, officials said.

Malvo Defense Blames Muhammad for Change
Attorneys for Lee Boyd Malvo argued Tuesday that the tragedy of the Washington-area sniper spree may have been averted had the 18-year-old been rescued from the clutches of convicted sniper mastermind John Muhammad. Muhammad's first wife, Carol Williams, testified that Malvo wrote a letter to her 17-year-old niece in Baton Rouge, La., in the summer of 2002 asking for help - about two months before the shooting spree erupted. "Lee was asking for help to get out of the situation he was in," Williams said. The letter was not read to the jury.

Arguments Under Way in Moussaoui Case
RICHMOND, Va. - The U.S. government argued Wednesday that terrorism suspect Zacarias Moussaoui should not be allowed to benefit from the war on terror by gaining access to al-Qaida witnesses the United States is holding captive abroad.

D.C. to Install Public Condom Dispensers

D.C. to Install Condom Dispensers in Offices
WASHINGTON -- People doing business with city government in the nation's capital will soon be able to pick up free condoms too. City health officials tell The Washington post they plan to install more than 50 plain white condom dispensers in offices frequented by the public. They include the D.C. Housing Authority and the departments of human services, motor vehicles and public works. The public school system already gives out 50,000 condoms a year. The goal is to pass out 550,000 male condoms, 45,000 latex dental dams and about 30,000 female condoms.

"Even as Sodom and Gomorrha, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." Jude 7

The Scandal of Dubya's Love
for Satanic Rocker Ozzy Osbourne
George Bush loves the Satanic Rocker, Ozzy Osbourne, so very much he invited Ozzy to a White House Ball on Saturday, May 4, 2002, where he complimented him and showed him the best hospitality the President of the United States could lavish. What is a supposedly Born Again Christian President doing showering such complimentary honors on a Satanic Rocker? Why is Bush stating his love for Ozzy's sickening songs, some of which he names?

Troops Wear New Body Armor,
So They Only Loose Their Legs
Pettigrew is home in Colorado Springs, learning how to walk on a prosthetic leg and dealing with the memories of that midnight patrol near Tikrit on July 8, when the grenade came shrieking out of the darkness and struck his Bradley Fighting Vehicle. Others have taken his place at Walter Reed; the Iraq war yields no shortage of patients.

Court Give Police Victory in Waiting Time
WASHINGTON - In a victory for law officers, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously Tuesday that it was constitutional for police to wait 20 seconds before knocking down the door of a drug suspect. LaShawn Banks was taking a shower when masked and heavily armed officers broke into his Las Vegas apartment in 1998 looking for drugs. The Supreme Court used his case to clarify how long police must wait before breaking into a home to serve a warrant. The court ruled 9-0 that if police had waited any longer than 20 seconds, a drug suspect could be flushing evidence down the toilet.

End of Homeland Security Registry Program Cheered
The Department of Homeland Security is ending a program begun after the Sept. 11 terror attacks that required tens of thousands of mostly Middle Eastern men and boys to register with the government while in the United States. Civil rights advocates in Seattle, who have condemned the program since it's inception as blatant profiling based on race or ethnicity, were pleased that it was dropped.

NY Stock Exchange Confirms Donation to Jesse Jackson
An official with the New York Stock Exchange has confirmed that it will once again provide financial support for Jesse Jackson and his Wall Street Conference in January.

Researcher Cleared of Plague Scare Charges
LUBBOCK, Texas - A world-renowned plague researcher was cleared yesterday of the most serious charges he faced related to a bioterrorism scare triggered when he reported plague samples missing from his Texas Tech University lab. Dr. Thomas Butler was convicted of 47 charges, but most of them stemmed from an investigation separate from the plague scare.

New Surveillance Guidelines Fuel Debate

New Surveillance Guidelines Fuel Debate,
Concerns Raised On Civil Liberties
SACRAMENTO -- Federal authorities may now have broad powers under the USA Patriot Act to monitor the public in its fight against terrorism, but guidelines distributed last month by the California attorney general's office contradict the surveillance methods used by federal agencies -- and advise local police to observe stricter state limits when it comes to spying on the public. "Put bluntly, it is a mistake of constitutional dimension to gather information for a criminal intelligence file where there is no reasonable suspicion" of criminal activity, the guidelines state.

U.S. Killed 54 Muslims While
Delivering New Iraqi Currency
SAMARRA, Iraq -- The U.S. military said 54 Iraqis were killed in the northern city of Samarra as U.S. forces used tanks and cannons to fight their way out of simultaneous ambushes while delivering new Iraqi currency to banks. But residents said Monday that the casualty figure was much lower and that the dead were mostly civilians. By the American account, Sunday's fighting was the bloodiest combat reported since the fall of Saddam Hussein's regime in a U.S.-led invasion.

Racketeering Pastor Goes From Prison to Pulpit
LAKELAND, Fla. — The Rev. Henry Lyons walked out of prison yesterday morning and headed directly back to the pulpit, telling worshippers that he had erred but that time behind bars helped renew his faith. Lyons served nearly five years on grand theft and racketeering charges for using his former role as president of the National Baptist Convention to steal millions of dollars to finance his lavish lifestyle. The scheme fell apart after Lyons' wife set a fire at a home he secretly had bought with his mistress.

Georgia Gov. Courts Thieving 'Faith-Based' Groups
ATLANTA - If Georgia's state government stopped its financial support of the Hephzibah Children's Home, its staff fears the children who live at the Zebulon Road home could be thrown out on the street. Larry Freels, director of Hephzibah, is worried that because his home is owned by the Wesleyan Church denomination, it may soon be banned from receiving "state money." A recent lawsuit over a Methodist children's home in Decatur challenges a state's right to fund social services delivered by religious organizations.

Female Soldier Alleges Rape in Kuwait
TACOMA, Wash. -- A female soldier reported she was raped at a desert post in Kuwait where her unit was preparing for its mission in Iraq, a military official said Sunday. Maj. Vic Harris, a spokesman for the U.S. military in Kuwait, confirmed that the female soldier was with the Stryker battalion at Camp Udairi, where the rape allegedly occurred Saturday. ``We can't give any specifics because the incident is under investigation,'' he said.

Reported Rape Stuns Stryker Unit
CAMP UDAIRI, Kuwait - A female Stryker brigade soldier reported she was raped, brigade officials said Saturday. The sexual assault apparently occurred late Friday or early Saturday outside a women's shower trailer in one of the tent cities where brigade soldiers are living before they move up to Iraq.

The Gauntlet is Thrown
The Church Must Oppose the Sin of Women at War
Vision Forum Ministries presents a forum of scholars, theologians, and journalists in opposition to the idea that a free people can survive while sending mothers and daughters to war.

The Perceptions of Fools*
Even Shawn Hannity has some reservations about the cost of the new Socialist prescription drug bill being passed in congress. Cost estimates, which are never high enough, are in the trillion-dollar range over a ten-year period.

Radical Revolt Against the Status Quo!
Someone has rightly said that a definition for insanity is doing the same stupid thing over and over again while continually expecting a different outcome. The American voters, according to this definition, are certifiably insane! I’ve just read with disgust (even more disgust than usual, if that’s possible), that the Republican-led House and Senate have passed this atrocious and outrageously expensive prescription drug bill. It is projected to cost me, my kids, and future grand-kids $400 billion. That’s the government estimate. If history is any precedent, it will likely cost five to ten times that amount. A recent study by the Cato Institute projects that this new “entitlement” will eventually consume 40% of GDP in the US.

Convicted Sniper May Appear in Malvo Trial
CHESAPEAKE, Va. -- Convicted sniper mastermind John Allen Muhammad could find himself in another courtroom this week, this time as a witness in the trial of his alleged partner in crime, an 18-year-old who sees him as a father figure. Lee Boyd Malvo's lawyers have subpoenaed Muhammad and plan to call him to the stand this week.

As High-Income Jobs Vanish,
Professionals Struggle to Get By
Interviews with men and women who represent a wide range of careers, family situations and communities across the country suggest that, even as jobs are filled, the economic pain for those who have been unemployed for a substantial period will be severe and lasting. Widespread and prolonged unemployment has produced such significant financial problems for so many people that it may well represent a drag on the economy for years to come, some analysts say.

USAID Gives $25M US Tax Dollars
to Protect 'Mexican' Forests
MEXICO CITY — The U.S. Agency for International Development pledged US$25 million over the next five years to better protect Mexico's forests, the U.S. Embassy said Friday. The donation will funnel $900,000 to Rainforest Alliance, an environmental group that works with logging interests to ensure they obtain wood from sustainable forests and then develops new markets for certified timber.