Weekly Issues Alert

Bodie Island Lighthouse

May 5-11

"It will be of little avail to the people that the laws are made by men of their own choice if the laws be so voluminous that they cannot be read, or so incoherent that they cannot be understood." — James Madison

North Carolina General Assembly

Easley Releases Budget, Wants To Make Education No. 1 Priority
Gov. Mike Easley released his recommended budget Tuesday for the 2006-07 fiscal year. His budget would raise teacher pay, cut the sales tax and spend money to help with mental health reform. Read
State Senate Votes To Ban Video Poker
The full North Carolina Senate unanimously approved a ban on video poker Thursday morning, outlawing the industry for the fifth time since 2000. Read
New Bills At N.C. Legislature Target Sex Offenders
Several state lawmakers introduced new bills Thursday to crack down on sex offenders in North Carolina. Read
Plenty Of Pork In State Budget Proposals
With a projected $2 billion budget surplus, state lawmakers have found some interesting pet projects to line up for some cash. Read

North Carolina Courts

State Supreme Court Stops Execution For DNA Test
A condemned inmate scheduled for execution this week won a reprieve Wednesday when the state Supreme Court ruled he deserved a new DNA test that could back up his claim of innocence. Read
Supreme Court's Decision On DNA Test May Affect Other Cases
DNA isn't just fodder for television crime shows. It's also used to solve crimes. A North Carolina Supreme Court ruling this week opens the door for more defense attorneys to ask that their clients' DNA be retested using modern methods. Read
School District Sued After Suspending Christian Student
A North Carolina school district is being sued over its decision to discipline a student for passing out leaflets which presented a Christian viewpoint on homosexuality. Read
Judge Rules Cleaning Firm Used Dirty Sales Tactics
A carpet and air duct cleaning company that authorities say used misleading advertisements and illegal bait-and-switch tactics has been barred from operating in North Carolina. Read

Other North Carolina News

Group That Patrols U.S.-Mexican Border To Rally In Greensboro
A group which organizes armed citizen patrols at the U.S.-Mexican border will present its side of the immigration issue in Greensboro tonight. Read
Illegal Immigration: What to do on the Local Level about a National Problem
Immigration is a hot button issue to most people these days. It is also a hot potato for politicians, with numerous factions on both sides passing the buck on what to do and who should be responsible. What everyone agrees on, however, is that illegal immigration is a problem. Each day thousands of illegal immigrants cross into America without permission and with the objective of staying and working. Many of them are making their way to North Carolina to live and work. Read
N.C. State Athlete's Immigration Hearing Continued
The immigration hearing for a North Carolina State University basketball standout who is in the country illegally has been continued until next month. Read
Local, State Leaders, Business Owners Discuss I-95 Toll Roads
People who live and work along Interstate 95 gathered Monday to discuss the future of the aging interstate — a future many hope does not include toll roads. There are no plans to improve North Carolina's section of I-95, but changes that are needed, engineers have said, would require hundreds of millions of dollars. Read
N.C. Considers Tougher Penalties For Repeat Child Sex Offenders
Lawmakers Also Consider New Registration Process, Tracking System Read
Lacrosse Captain Guilty of Alcohol Charge
A captain of the Duke men's lacrosse team lost a deal Monday that would have kept him from being charged for alcohol and noise violations after prosecutors said he had violated the terms of the agreement by hosting a party where an exotic dancer says she was raped. Read
Duke Graduation To Be Handled Differently In Wake Of Lacrosse Rape Investigation
More than 4,000 Duke students will graduate this weekend, but this year, the ceremony will be different. Due to the lacrosse rape investigation, there are some strict rules surrounding the event. Read
N.C. Ethics Panel's Head Wants Scrutiny Of All Three Branches
The state Board of Ethics should monitor all three branches of government, not just the state's top executives, according to a recommendation Thursday from the head of the panel. Read
UNC Hit-And-Run Suspect Shares Thoughts In Letters
One of a series of six letters from the man charged with driving through a popular meeting spot at Carolina is titled "A search for truth and reality." The handwritten diatribes show what is in the mind the man who claims he was seeking revenge against Americans. Read
Countdown Starts for Medicare Drug Plan By Greg Barnes
The countdown is on for seniors eligible for the new Medicare prescription drug program, but the plan is so complex it's led many seniors to procrastinate. The state's Insurance Department operates a Senior Insurance Information Program and a hotline for assistance. NC Dept. of Insurance, SHIIP, Seniors' Health Insurance Program, 1-800-443-9354 Read

Congress

House Passes Tax Cuts for Investors
A bill awarding tax relief to investors and 15 million taxpayers facing the alternative minimum tax passed the House on Wednesday, giving President Bush and his GOP allies on Capitol Hill a long-sought election year victory. Read
Senate GOP to Consider 'Path to Citizenship' Bill for Illegals
Senate Republicans reached a compromise... to take up immigration reform legislation again next week that would give illegal aliens who have been in the United States more than two years a path to citizenship. Read
N.Y. Rep. Vito Fossella Pushes Tuition Tax Credit
When Congress stripped away the school voucher component from President Bush's "No Child Left Behind" education program in 2001, school choice proponents were sorely disappointed. Five years later, however, Rep. Vito Fossella, R-N.Y., has stepped into the breach, with a plan for a tuition tax credit that could save private schools now experiencing a cash crunch. Read
Hillary's New Bill Ties Min. Wage to Congressional Raises
Hillary Clinton is has just proposed a bill — along with Sens. Kennedy, D-Mass., Leahy, D-Vt., Harkin, D-Iowa, and Jeffords, I-Vt., that would tie the federal minimum wage to congressional salaries, so that the min. wage must go up the exact percentage of any congressional pay raise. Read
House Bill Restricts Military Funeral Protests
The House voted Tuesday to restrict demonstrations at military funerals, a measure aimed at a Kansas church group that has carried its anti-gay message to the last rites for those killed in Iraq. Read
Rep. King Slams Senate on Immigration
The national outrage over the government's failure to stop illegal immigration has not caught hold in the Senate, says Rep. Peter King, R-N.Y. "There going to use this term 'immigration reform,' and their idea of immigration reform is to throw a few things, a few nods towards border security without being serious about it," he said. King, chairman of the House Homeland Security Committee, told Lou Dobbs Wednesday night that the Senate's way of getting rid of 10 million of the 11 million illegal immigrants now in the United States is to legalize them. Read
Senate Deal Breathes Life into Immigration Bill
Senate leaders reached a deal Thursday on reviving a broad immigration bill that could provide millions of illegal immigrants a chance to become American citizens and said they'll try to pass it before Memorial Day. Read
House Set for Vote on Bill to Fund Bomb Defense, Troop Equipment
Combating makeshift roadside bombs — a primary cause of U.S. troop deaths — is a high priority in a House bill aimed at protecting American forces in Iraq and Afghanistan. Read
Should Congress Replace the Birth of Christ to Date Time (BC/AD) with a Secular Dating Method (BCE/CE)? Action

House Committee Approves Bill to Set Per-Gallon Mileage Target on Cars
The Bush administration got the go-ahead Wednesday from a House committee to set per-gallon mileage targets for passenger cars. Republicans beat back Democrats' attempt to require higher standards by 2015. Read
Senate Expected To Give OK To Massive $70B Tax Cuts
A bill awarding tax relief to investors and 15 million taxpayers facing the alternative minimum tax was moving toward a Senate vote. Read
Senate Panel Clears Kavanaugh's Appeals Court Nomination
President Bush's nomination of White House aide Brett Kavanaugh to a federal appeals court judgeship moved a step closer to confirmation Thursday even as Democrats raised objections to two other judicial picks. Read
House Says No Again to Allowing Military Doctors, Hospitals to Do Abortions
The House of Representatives said no to a pro-abortion amendment that would have had military doctors and hospitals performing abortions. Abortion advocates introduce the amendment every year as Congress debates legislation funding the Defense Department. Read
Public Disillusionment with Congress at Record Levels — Anti-Incumbent Sentiment Echoes 1994
The American public is angry with Congress, and this is bad news for the Republican Party. The belief that this Congress has accomplished less than its predecessors is markedly higher than at any point in the past nine years, and by a wide margin Republican leaders are blamed for this. Many more voters than in the recent past say the issue of partisan control of Congress will be a factor in their vote in November. And as has been the case since fall, voters are significantly more inclined to vote for Democrats than Republicans — by a 51% to 41% margin. Read
Abortion Advocates Claim Senate Health Care Insurance Bill Promotes Abortion
Washington, DC (LifeNews.com) — In a curious move, abortion advocates on Wednesday tried to turn the tables on pro-life lawmakers supporting a health care bill unrelated to abortion. The pro-abortion lawmakers claimed the bill would promote abortions by denying women access to contraception coverage. Read
Kean Announces Support of Amnesty for Millions of Illegal Aliens
John Ginty, the conservative candidate in this year's Republican U.S. Senate primary election in New Jersey, said that Tom Kean, Jr.'s immigration press conference yesterday in Trenton was nothing more than a smokescreen of platitudes that attempted to mask Kean's basic support for a general amnesty for between 12 and 24 million illegal aliens who have intentionally broken U.S. immigration laws since the last amnesty was granted in 1986. Read
Voters Reject Guest-Worker Plan
A new Zogby poll of likely voters finds that Americans prefer, by two to one, the House of Representatives' enforcement-only bill to the Senate's plan to grant guest-worker status. Read
Senator Specter Suckered Again by Senator Schumer et al.
... He is going to vote against the confirmation of Brett Kavanaugh to be a federal appellate judge because Mr. Kavanaugh IS a superbly qualified strict constructionist and therefore anathema to Schumer and his ilk. Chairman Specter should not be fooled by smarmy protestations of good faith from the likes of Senator Schumer. Read
Congressman's Ex-Aide Pleads Guilty
A former top aide to Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, pleaded guilty Monday in the Jack Abramoff influence-peddling scandal, admitting that he conspired... Read
Congress Elevates Creation of Snappy Acronyms to Fine Art
When Sen. Maria Cantwell, D-Wash., proposed a law on energy markets, she knew her bill would be competing for attention with hundreds of others. So calling it S. 2015 just wouldn't do. Read
House Republicans Push Independence for FEMA
Senior House Republicans today will announce a proposal to move the Federal Emergency Management Agency out of the Department of Homeland Security, restoring it to the independent, Cabinet-level status it had before it was merged into the new department. Read
For Ousted C.I.A. Chief, a Warm Embrace
Some members of the House of Representatives said Porter J. Goss's ouster from the C.I.A. had been handled clumsily. Read
House Panel Challenges Smithsonian
Lawmakers said the institution's deal with Showtime Networks "may be incompatible with the trust placed in the Smithsonian." Read
F.B.I.'s Focus on Public Corruption Includes 2,000 Investigations
An F.B.I. initiative has yielded an unexpectedly rich array of cases and suggests that wrongdoing by public officials at all levels of government is deeply rooted. Read
Lawmakers Inquire about Uncounted Kids
In an expanding call for answers, Republicans have joined Democrats in asking the Education Department why the test scores of many minority students are not being counted as promised under the No Child Left Behind law. The House Education and the Workforce Committee also plans a hearing on the issue. Read
Senate Panel Backs Kempthorne for Interior
A Senate committee Wednesday sent Idaho Gov. Dirk Kempthorne's nomination as interior secretary to the full Senate, although procedural delays by lawmakers may stall his final confirmation to the Cabinet. Read

Courts

Moussaoui Asks Judge to Withdraw Guilty Plea
Convicted al Qaeda terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui has told a federal judge that he wants to withdraw his guilty plea in the September 11 attacks and be granted a new trial because "I now see that it is possible that I can receive a fair trial." Read
Abortion Records Still Stalled Over Openness Issue
A hearing over medical record subpoenas in a criminal investigation into abortion mills continues to be on hold pending a ruling by Shawnee County District Judge Richard Anderson on whether to allow media to cover the proceedings. Read
Court Backs 'Pentagon Hacker' Extradition to U.S.
A British court recommended Wednesday that a man be extradited to the U.S. where he is wanted for allegedly committing the largest-ever attack on the United States government computer networks — including Army, Air Force, Navy and NASA systems. Read
Luttig Resigns From Federal Appeals Court to Take Boeing Job
Judge J. Michael Luttig resigned Wednesday from the 4th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to accept a job as senior vice president and general counsel for Boeing Co. Luttig, a conservative judge, had been named to the federal bench former President Bush in 1991 and mentioned last year as a possible nominee for the U.S. Supreme Court. Read
Colombia Court Allows Abortions in Cases of Rape, Incest, Life of Mother
The highest court in Colombia has weakened the South American nation's abortion law by changing it from a complete ban on abortions to allowing them in cases of rape or incest. The court also allowed abortions in very rare situations when it could be necessary to save the life of the mother. Read

Christianity/Pro-Family/Religion/Ethics

Southern Baptist Seminary Appoints Creationist to Head Center for Theology and Science
A Young Earth creationist will be replacing a leading intelligent design (ID) proponent as director of the Center for Theology and Science at Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, Kentucky. Read
Help Save the Cross! Take a Stand Against Liberal Activist Judges
A liberal activist judge has ordered the city of San Diego to remove a cross from Mt. Soledad or be fined $5000 a day. Judge Gordon Thompson, Jr., ordered the cross removed because, he said, it violated the separation of church and state. One atheist had complained about the cross in a battle that has been going on for years. Action
The Da Vinci Code: What you need to know — Baptist Press
"The Da Vinci Code" sounded a battle cry, and evangelicals have responded by taking up their pens to combat a challenge to some of the most central doctrines of the Christian faith. Read
Preachers Use Bestseller to Bring Nonbelievers to Jesus
Some churches think 'The Da Vinci Code' is offering a perfect chance for Bible lessons. Read
Nigeria Animists Attack Churches and Priests for "Making gods Angry"
Two Anglican priests in Nigeria were out of their comas Friday, May 5, after crowds of traditional animists reportedly beat them nearly to death and destroyed their properties for 'making gods angry' with church services. Read
Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan Break Up Christian Meetings
Evangelical Christians in the ex-Soviet republics of Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan were on edge Saturday, May 6, ahead of Sunday worship services as security forces in both countries reportedly raided church gatherings and threatened believers, including children, while confiscating Bibles. Read
Sky Angel Expands to Tennessee
Dominion Video Satellite Inc., owner-operator of the Christian-family-oriented Sky Angel nationwide, direct-to-home satellite television service, announces the opening of its new call center in Cleveland, Tenn. and development of the satellite company's network operations center over the next several months in the southeastern Tennessee area. Read
Priest Convicted of Murdering Nun
A priest was convicted Thursday of stabbing a Roman Catholic nun to death as she prepared for Easter services at a hospital 26 years ago, a murder prosecutors say was steeped in religious ritual. Read
Children Are the Good Life
"Stop breeding." "Childless by choice." These are catch-phrases of a culture that no longer views children as an essential part of "living the good life." Read

Abortion/Pro-Life

How come Planned Parenthood doesn't get it? You can't have Mother's Day without... babies!
"How is it possible for Planned Parenthood, operator of the nation's largest chain of abortion clinics, to conduct a fundraising campaign with a Mother's Day theme?" asked American Life League president Judie Brown. "It's simply horrifying to think that anyone involved in abortion — even Planned Parenthood — could have the audacity to claim any association at all with a day designed to salute a mother's selfless love for her children." Read
Latest ACOG 'Morning After Pill' Campaign is an Insult to Women — ...Not to Mention Deadly to the Innocent Baby
The American College of Obstetricians and Gynecologists (ACOG) has announced a new program to promote the use of the so-called "morning after" early abortion pill even as pro-lifers protest the abortion group during their annual convention being held in Washington, DC. Read
Pro-Life Democrats Groups: South Dakot Abortion Ban a Bipartisan Effort
A group for pro-life Democrats says the abortion ban the South Dakota legislature approved shows progress can be made when pro-life lawmakers of both parties work together. Democrats for Life of America says pro-life Democrats haven't received enough credit for their work on the bill. Read
Putin Urges Plan to Reverse Slide in the Birth Rate
The Russian president directed Parliament to adopt a 10-year program that would extend maternity leave and subsidize day care. Read
Scientists Will Gather to Discuss Safety of Abortion Pill
The first meeting in 10 years on the safety of the abortion pill RU-486 comes after a bacterial infection led to the deaths of at least five women who took it. Read
Associated Press Dismisses Abortion Drug Deaths as FDA Meeting Begins
As a joint FDA-CDC meeting begins to discuss the reasons why the abortion drug RU 486 is responsible for the deaths of five women in the United States in the last three years, the media is already doing its part to dismiss any link between the women's deaths and the abortion drug. Read
College Gets $16M for Stem Cell Center
Sound pioneer Ray Dolby and his wife gave $16 million to the University of California, San Francisco to start a stem cell center that will perform research without federal funds, the school announced Wednesday. The Institute for Regeneration Medicine, which was previously called the Institute for Stem Cell and Tissue Biology, will be the primary stem cell research center on campus. Read

Alcohol/Drugs/Health

Curbing Rowdy Behavior Goal of New Nightclub Rules
...Presently the city can do little to control a nightspot that generates chronic complaints until there's a serious incident, like the recent shooting at Mr. Lucky Lounge and Grill in Lower Queen Anne. Then the city can ask the state Liquor Control Board to suspend a nightclub's liquor license, as it did with Lucky Lounge. Read
Injected Cells Cure Tumors in Mice
White blood cells from mice that are naturally immune to cancer cured tumors in other mice and provided them with lifelong immunity to the disease, researchers reported. Read
West Siphons Nurses from Third World to Meet Shortage
The Filipino teachers who trained Fe Sunga to be a nurse fined her $1 each time she was caught speaking her native tongue rather than English. Read
Hepatitis Risk for East Asians in New York
One in seven East Asian immigrants in New York City carries the hepatitis B virus, a new study has found. Read

Education/Sex Ed/Teens/Children

12 Boys Accused In Sexual Assault Of 2nd-Grader
One Teacher Fired, Another Suspended Read
Liberty Counsel Announces National 'Friend or Foe' Graduation Prayer Campaign
A Christian law firm and a Christian university have teamed up to educate public school officials about students' rights when it comes to graduation ceremonies. The result is the "Friend or Foe" Graduation Prayer Campaign, a joint project between and Liberty University and the Florida-based legal group Liberty Counsel. Read
Catholic Colleges Invite Pro-Abortion Commencement Speakers
Several Catholic colleges and universities have invited pro-abortion commencement speakers and have been accused of violating guidelines set forth by the nation's Catholic bishops. The Catholic Church policies call on universities not giving a platform to pro-abortion politicians. Read

God and Country/National Security/Politics/Economy

Dobbs to President: Do You Take Us for Fools?
Reports this week that the Border Patrol is notifying the Mexican government of the locations of Minutemen volunteers are being denied by U.S. Customs and Border Protection. True or not, the Bush administration continues to follow absurd policies on both issues of border security and illegal immigration. President Bush continues to push his guest worker program and amnesty for anywhere between 11 million and 20 million illegal aliens, and he insists still that nothing less than what he calls comprehensive immigration reform is acceptable. Read
Tip-Offs to Mexican Government not Limited to Border
News reports detailing how the U.S. Border Patrol has been disclosing locations and background information of Minuteman activities along the border to Mexican officials have now broadened in scope. The reports obtained from the Mexican government include an August 2005 document, "Third Report on the Activities of Vigilantes" — posted on Mexico's Secretary of Foreign Relations Web site — suggesting U.S. officials were giving out more details than plausibly required by the Vienna Convention . . . Read
Crack US Unit Duels with Mexico Drug Tunnelers
Dug by hand with the help of rogue mining engineers to link warehouses on either side of the U.S.-Mexico border, it was the longest, deepest and boldest drug smuggling tunnel found to date. Read
Minorities Getting Closer to the Majority
Hispanics are fastest-growing group, increasingly U.S.-born Read
Russia Aims to Counter the U.S. With a Bigger Arsenal
Putin speech compares America to a wolf that 'swallows without listening to anyone.' Read
Feds Create Massive Database of Phone Calls
The National Security Agency has been secretly collecting the phone call records of tens of millions of Americans, using data provided by AT&T, Verizon and BellSouth, people with direct knowledge of the arrangement told USA TODAY. Read
Minuteman Project Caravan Approaching DC with Petitions Demanding Sealing of Boarders and No Amnesty for Illegals; Rally at Capitol 11 AM, May 12
The hottest issue across the United States, after the war in Iraq, is sealing the US boarders against illegal immigration and the issue of "guest worker" amnesty for illegal aliens already here, according to a new Zogby poll. Read
Bush Nominates Hayden as next Director of CIA
President Bush yesterday nominated Air Force Gen. Michael V. Hayden to be the new director of the CIA, embracing a fight with Capitol Hill critics of Mr. Bush's program of wiretapping terrorists and military control of intelligence. Read
Legal Immigrants Fear Backlash from Another March
Since March, hundreds of thousands of illegal aliens and their supporters have held protests nationwide and organized a boycott of work, school and commerce in hopes of pressuring Congress into crafting legislation that would create a path to citizenship. Mr. Castro and other legal immigrants, as well as U.S.-born Hispanics, said the rallies are brewing a negative image that creates a backlash against foreign-born or ethnic-looking persons. Read
The Missing 'I' Word
A funny thing happened on Monday, May 1st 2006. All across the country in major cities, thousands of people protested the proposed laws that would make it tougher to enter the country illegally. And all across the country, the mainstream media reported these protests, but there was something missing. That something was the "I" word — "illegal." Somehow, headline after headline declared that the demonstrations were about "immigration," never about illegal immigration. Read
Pro-Legal Immigration Ads Put Positive Light on Doing Things 'by the Book'
Mainstream media has dishonestly portrayed the issue of illegal immigration, says a pro-family citizens group. That's why the group has launched a radio campaign designed to counter that misperception. Read
Attitudes Toward Immigration in Red and Blue (Pew Poll)
In Democratic-dominated counties, foreign-born residents are more populous — and more welcome Read
Guest-Worker Debate Boosts Alien-Smuggling Business
For Gilbert Reyes, a self-proclaimed capitalist, the business to be in is alien smuggling. And, yes, business is "very good": The number of illegals crossing into the U.S., always high in this area, has risen steadily over the past two years — ever since President Bush first announced his "guest worker" program. Read
Rice: Iran Letter Doesn't Resolve Standoff — ABC News
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice dismissed a letter that Iran's president sent to President Bush on Monday, saying the first direct communication from an Iranian leader in 27 years does not help resolve the standoff over Tehran's disputed nuclear program. Read
Iran Says It's Ready to Negotiate With US and Allies
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad also intensified his verbal attacks on Israel, calling it a "a tyrannical regime that one day will be destroyed." Read
Afghanistan Air Strike Kills Enemy Fighters, Destroys Cave Complex
A coalition air strike killed four enemy extremists and destroyed a truck and a cave complex today in the Bermel district of Afghanistan's Paktika province, military officials reported. Other insurgents may be buried in the rubble, officials said. Prior to the strike, a joint combat team of Afghan National Army and U.S. ground forces saw people loading a truck near the cave and determined they were moving rockets from a cave complex and that the activity was linked to recent rocket attacks on a nearby coalition base. Close-air support was used to attack and destroy the truck. Read
Intelligence Agency's Focus turns to Spies on the Ground — Washington Times
The Central Intelligence Agency will continue a shift toward developing networks of agents overseas while losing some of its role in analyzing intelligence, Bush administration officials said yesterday. Read
Govt Suing N.H. Company Over Pension Plan
The government is suing the president of a former New Hampshire company to restore benefits to an employee pension plan. Read
U.S. to Prohibit "Water-Boarding"
The U.S. Army will prohibit "water-boarding" — the controversial practice of submerging a prisoner's head in water in an effort to make him talk — when it issues its new interrogation manual, the State Department's legal adviser told the U.N. Committee Against Torture on Monday. Read
Bolivia's Morales: Don't Ratify U.S. Trade Pact
Bolivian President Evo Morales on Thursday urged Colombia, Peru and Ecuador not to ratify trade deals with the United States, but to concentrate on keeping alive the regional Andean Community instead. Read

Pornography/Homosexuality/Obscenity/Immorality/Sexual Abuse

The On-Line Obscenity Problem
A proper review of the problem of on-line obscenity requires an examination of the scope of the problem, the damage that it causes, how it became that way, and what can be done to reduce it. Read
Agency Rejects '.xxx' Domain Name
Faced with opposition from conservative groups and some pornography Web sites, the Internet's key oversight agency voted Wednesday to reject a proposal to create a red-light district on the Internet. Read
EU executive slams "interference" in sex site vote
The Internet governing body's decision to reject a new .xxx Internet domain for porn sites is a clear case of US political interference in the Web's governance, the European Commission said on Thursday. Read
Rising Syphilis Rate Linked to Gay Men
About 64% of all the new syphilis cases in 2004 were in men who had engaged in homosexual activity, according to the CDC. That group made up 5% of the syphilis cases in 1999. Read
Man Pawns Laptop, Faces Child Porn Charges
A man was arrested on child porn charges after pawning a laptop computer that contained photos of him engaged in sexual conduct with a 5-year-old girl, federal prosecutors said Tuesday. Read
Former Homosexual, Now a Christian, Highlights Starbucks' Strong Support for Homosexuals
Pro-Family Advocate Thinks Fellow Believers Should Reconsider Sipping >From Java-Giant's Cup Read
Shareholders May Strike 'Sexual Orientation' from Ford's Employment Policy
Ford Motor Company shareholders are preparing for their annual meeting on May 11 where, among other things, they will act on a proposal to amend the company's equal employment policy to exclude sexual orientation. Read

Other News

New UN Rights Council Includes Some Rights Abusers
The United Nations elected 44 of the initial 47 members of its new Human Rights Council in a first round of voting on Tuesday, including five nations named by rights groups as among the world's worst abusers. Russia, China, Cuba, Pakistan, and Saudi Arabia, identified by New York-based Human Rights Watch as unworthy of membership on the new U.N. body, were among those winning seats. Read
Israelis Stop Fuel Supply to Palestinians
The Israeli company that provides fuel to the Palestinian areas is cutting off supplies due to growing debts, Israeli and Palestinian officials said Wednesday, a move that could deepen a humanitarian crisis in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Read
Riot Police Crush Egypt Protests
Egyptian security forces beat activists and arrested journalists in Cairo on Thursday during protests in support of judges facing a disciplinary committee for criticizing election abuses last year. Read
Iraq Expects to Form Government Soon
Iraq's prime minister-designate said today the main stumbling blocks to forming a new Cabinet have been overcome and he expects to present his team to parliament for approval by the end of the week. Read
Iraqi President Says Killing Must Stop
President Jalal Talabani said Wednesday that nearly 1,100 people were killed in Baghdad alone last month and urged Iraq's feuding factions to unite against surging crime and terrorism. Read
Germany Proposes Cutting EU Laws by 25%
By Bertrand Benoit in Berlin. Angela Merkel on Thursday called on Brussels to abolish a quarter of European legislation to free business from bureaucracy. Read
Estonia Ratifies EU Constitution — BBC
Estonia has become the 15th country in the European Union to complete the parliamentary stage of ratifying the draft European Constitution. Read
Scientists Warn of Solar Storm Threat — Discovery
As the world scrambles to prepare for hurricanes and earthquakes of unprecedented strength, some scientists say the sun poses an equal threat, with predictions calling for a 2012 sun storm of immense proportions. Read
'Most of Security Fence Complete in 6 months' — Ynet News
Members of the defense community promised the newly-appointed Justice Minister Haim Ramon that 95 percent of the West Bank security fence will be complete by the end of 2006. Read
Jerusalem Barrier Prompts Arabs to Move Across Town — Washington Times
An unanticipated consequence of Israel's West Bank security barrier has been an influx of Israeli Arabs into Jewish neighborhoods in East Jerusalem who hope to remain on the Israeli side of the barrier. Read
Kadima boosts Arab influence in Knesset — Ynet News
The Kadima ruling party has already started acting to promote the future withdrawal from the West Bank, by removing potential obstacles that may work to impede the implementation of the plan. The Knesset's largest faction intends to do so by creating a majority of Arab and left-wing Knesset members on the parliamentary committees that are set to vote on the convergence plan — the Economics Committee and the Constitution, Law and Justice Committee. Read
Palestinian Authority 'at risk' — BBC
The cash-strapped Palestinian Authority may collapse if government employees go without wages for much longer, the World Bank has warned. Read
British Say 3 Terror Attacks Prevented
The suicide bombers who killed 52 passengers on London's transit system last year contacted someone in Pakistan just before striking, Britain's top law enforcement official said Thursday. Read

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Index of Weekly Issues Alerts

2007

2006