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Boston Catholic Charities Halts Adoptions [!-- END HEADLINE --][DIV id=ynmain][!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --][DIV id=storybody][DIV class=storyhdr][SPAN]By STEVE LeBLANC, Associated Press Writer[/SPAN][EM class=recenttimedate] 30 minutes ago[/i]

[DIV class=spacer][/DIV][/DIV]The Boston Archdiocese's Catholic Charities said Friday it would stop providing adoption services because of a state law allowing gays and lesbians to adopt children.

The social services arm of the Roman Catholic archdiocese, which has provided adoption services for the state for about two decades, said the law runs counter to church teachings on homosexuality.

"The world was very different when Charities began this ministry at the threshold of the twentieth-century," the Rev. J. Bryan Hehir, president of Catholic Charities, said in a joint statement with trustees chairman Jeffrey Kaneb. "The world changed often and we adapted the ministry to meet changing times and needs. At all times we sought to place the welfare of children at the heart of our work.

"But now, we have encountered a dilemma we cannot resolve," they said.

The state's four Catholic bishops said earlier this month that the law threatens the church's religious freedom by forcing it to do something it considers immoral.

Eight members of Catholic Charities board later stepped down in protest of the bishops' stance. The 42-member board had voted unanimously in December to continue considering gay households for adoptions.

Catholic Charities has been involved in adoptions for about a century, but has had a contract with the state for the past two decades. Its contract with the state expires June 30.

In that time, Catholic Charities has placed 720 children in adoptive homes, including 13 who were placed with same-sex couples, Catholic Charities said.

In a 2003 document, the Vatican said gay adoption was "gravely immoral," and that children placed in such homes "would be deprived of the experience of either fatherhood or motherhood."

Some 682 foster children are waiting for adoption in Massachusetts, according to the state Department of Social Services. The bulk of adoptive children are placed by DSS, rather than outside agencies such as Catholic Charities, the agency said.



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Is Progressive Thinking Dead in America?[/DIV]Well?[/DIV]Think about it, the courts are conservative, we live in red/blue state america. Your either for or against and the middle ground has disapeared.  People are ignoring the constitution. My state wants to have a state religion. People are banning things. wtf? Don't people understand what the hell they're doing? Apparently not. [/DIV]The country is showing its true colours. Conservatives say they want everyone to be free and yet they want to ban abortion, birth control, ban certain books, seperation between church and state doesn't exist, people are voting on morals instead of whats best for the country.

What the hell happend to my parents generation?[/DIV]What happend to all the protesters from the 70's?[/DIV]When the hell did baby boomers become so conservative?

I've given up. I have always wanted the country to become like europe culturally but I don't see that happening in my lifetime.  I don't want to fight in pointless battles that are not worth anything.    

[Flowering of Calgary's real estate market]

[DIV id=headline][H2]Calgary housing surges[/H2][/DIV][DIV id=author][P class=byline]PATRICK BRETHOUR

[P class=source]From Friday's Globe and Mail

[UL class=columnistInfo][/UL][/DIV][DIV id=article style="FONT-SIZE: 100%"][!-- dateline --]CALGARY[!-- /dateline --] — Calgary's housing market is dramatically outpacing the rest of the country, in a price surge not seen since the real estate bubble in Toronto 15 years ago.

The price of new housing in the oil patch capital rose by more than a fifth for the 12 months ended January, 2006 -- triple the rate of the entire country, and far ahead of second-place Edmonton, according to Statistics Canada.

The numbers are impressive, but they do not convey the full extent to which Calgary's real estate market is being transformed. Bidding wars for properties, once a rarity, are now a fixture in nearly half of deals. Developers are poaching construction workers straight from rivals' work sites. There are 10-month waiting lists for new housing. And some builders have simply thrown up their hands in the face of soaring material and labour costs, freezing new construction.

[DIV class="bigbox ad" id=boxR][SCRIPT type=text/XXXXscript ads="1"]aPs="boxR";[/SCRIPT][SCRIPT type=text/XXXXscript]var boxRAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',300,250,ai,'j',nc);[/SCRIPT][/DIV]It all adds up to Calgary joining the rarefied ranks of real estate occupied by Toronto and Vancouver. "We're in the big leagues in so many ways," said Alan Tennant, a real estate broker in the Calgary area.

"And now the housing prices are reflecting that," he said.

That is a jolt to out-of-province buyers still expecting to find a comparative bargain in Calgary. Colin Kennedy, an agent for Prudential Toolepeet Real Estate, said one of his clients, a British Columbia woman, arrived in Calgary hoping to find a house comparable to her Vancouver home, but for under $500,000.

He came up dry at that price, and had to persuade her to raise her sights to a $600,000 home. "She was a little bit shocked she had to do it," he said.

Much of the boom in housing is being driven by the redevelopment of older neighbourhoods, where postwar bungalows are being demolished for much pricier homes. Mr. Kennedy is selling such a property in west-central Calgary, where each unit of a duplex is listed for $499,000.

That is a million dollars of real estate in an area where, until recently, bungalows changed hands for well under $300,000.

The growing size of Calgary and the increasing difficulty of developing virgin land have combined to make the inner city much more attractive, and much more expensive. "It's the rise of the infill," Mr. Kennedy said.

The hunger for real estate in the Calgary area even has some industry players sitting on the sidelines. One national commercial real estate executive said small, local buyers are pushing up land prices, making it hard for him to find parcels of land at prices that will generate enough return to make it worthwhile for his business.

And land is just the start of the cost pressures on builders. The oil boom has soaked up skilled tradespeople, reducing the labour pool for residential construction. Similarly, supplies of concrete and structural steel are strained. Those rising costs have been passed on to new-home buyers, Mr. Tennant said, adding that he does not believe the increases are unreasonable.

Those rising costs have overwhelmed some builders, even though sales prices have been soaring. Alanridge Homes, backed by a group of private investors, is winding down its business because it could not find a way to turn a profit from building custom homes for fixed prices.

Costs are rising sharply and suddenly, making it nearly impossible for builders to predict what price they need to charge home buyers. "Chances are, my costs are going to be out of sight," said Don Howie, chief executive officer of Alanridge.

Edmonton, which is actually closer to the bulk of oil production in Alberta, is experiencing a more modest boom in new housing, with prices up 12 per cent from January, 2005, to January, 2006, according to Statscan. Toronto and Vancouver, meanwhile, posted relatively anemic gains of 4.6 per cent and 5.7 per cent, below the national average of 6.6 per cent.

Flowering of Calgary's real estate market

The volume of business has doubled at Dragonfly Creations in downtown Calgary over the past year, where real estate agents get a 10 per cent discount on gift baskets for new homeowners. The shop sold nearly 700 baskets last month, up from the 300 to 400 it soled during the same period last year 'I think there's potential for a lot more growth,' said Clair Wilson, manager.

Calgary's real estate market was the hottest in Canada in February, with resale homes rising 18.6% in value year over year. That pace puts it well above the rate seen during the last national real estate boom in the late 1980's and early 1990s.

CHART SOURCE: CALGARY REAL ESTATE BOARD

[/DIV]

No Joke.[/DIV][A href="http://www.clermontfc.com/pornweekend.html"]http://www.clermontfc.com/pornweekend.html[/A]

One of the presenters is an ex-porno star who says she was cured of herpes by God.[/DIV](Ah, no you weren't, you probly never had herpes but was just misdiagnosed. The only way to know you have herpes is to take a certain blood test.)

ROTFL!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I guess now we know what hockey players do in the off season.[/DIV]Well wiith global warming and all, frozen ponds might not exist anymore. I think the canal in Ottawa wasn't used at all this year for skating because it was too warm.

[The bass player for Florida punk rock band This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb said she can't believe police continue to take bikes sporting stickers with her band's name as serious threats.]

Mar 7, 8:37 PM ET [DIV class=spacer][/DIV]COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - The bass player for Florida punk rock band This Bike Is A Pipe Bomb said she can't believe police continue to take bikes sporting stickers with her band's name as serious threats.

"If you were going to build a bomb in your bike, you're not going to advertise it," Terry Johnson said Tuesday. "I'm kind of shocked and amazed every time it happens."

On Monday, police in Athens, Ohio, about 105 kilometres southeast of Columbus, dropped a charge of inducing panic against an Ohio University graduate student they blamed for causing a bomb scare on campus last week because of a sticker with the band's name on his bike.

The student, Patrick Hanlin, of Three Rivers, Mich., isn't the first fan to cause a stir with the sticker, Johnson said. But she said it's more common for fans to simply have their bikes impounded, than for streets to be closed down and a bomb squad called in.

Johnson said there's no particular reason for the Pensacola, Fla., band's name. She said the members came up with it while sitting around trying to think of a name, "the same way any band gets their name."

They don't plan to change it, despite the confusion.

"We've been a band for 10 years," she said.

["It is a very short answer and the answer is No,"]

More arrests likely as Tories stonewall calls for loosened pot laws

[DIV class=storyhdr][SPAN]SUE BAILEY[/SPAN][EM class=timedate]Tue Mar 7, 5:51 PM ET[/i]

[DIV class=spacer][/DIV][/DIV]OTTAWA (CP) - Potheads beware: the Conservative government has no plans to relax marijuana laws as arrests in some regions are expected to rise.

A spokesman for Justice Minister Vic Toews was brusk when asked if the Tories would resurrect Liberal efforts to decriminalize simple possession of marijuana. "It is a very short answer and the answer is No," said Mike Storeshaw. "We have no plans to bring any bill forward."

Public toking became more common in parts of Canada as the former government moved to loosen laws. Three young men walking along Ottawa's Wellington Street openly passed a joint between them Tuesday as they strolled through the shadow of Parliament's Peace Tower.

But police in some areas are once again cracking down.

"I think we're in a dark period right now," said Alan Young, a marijuana activist and professor at Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto.

"They're going after growers and seed dealers, and more people are being charged with simple possession."

Liberals moved to treat possession of less than 15 grams of pot - roughly 20 joints - as a minor offence punishable by fines of $100 to $400, much like traffic tickets.

But the most recent related bill died when the last federal election was called in November.

Before that, the Liberals were harshly rebuked by legislators in the United States. Former American ambassador Paul Cellucci hinted of border tie-ups if Canadian pot laws were eased.

U.S. protests continued despite the fact that several U.S. states have already decriminalized marijuana in much the same way.

Young says pot activists fighting to keep the cause alive are out of luck, but not forever.

"It's dead - for the time being," he said. "This issue goes in cycles."

Young predicts that Ottawa won't be able to indefinitely ignore a growing number of pot users.

"We're a drug-consuming culture and we've got to start regulating it."

Pot is the most popular illicit drug in the country, says the Canadian Centre on Substance Abuse.

A comprehensive national survey of drug use, released in 2004, found that about 15 per cent of the adult population had used cannibis in the past year, up from seven per cent in 1994.

The centre warns of side-effects ranging from impaired concentration to respiratory damage, depression, paranoia and the possible aggravation of pre-existing psychiatric symptoms.

While in opposition, Toews assailed the Liberals for moving to increase pot demand while at the same time cracking down on suppliers with tougher trafficking penalties. Critics stressed the fact that police still have no reliable roadside test to snag stoned drivers. Also missing is a national drug strategy to discourage use. Still, pot advocates say marijuana on the whole is a lesser social hazard than alcohol. "It's much less harmful to our society than other legal activities and substances," says Kirk Tousaw, general counsel to the B.C. Marijuana Party. "Unfortunately, (Prime Minister Stephen) Harper ran on a get-tough-on-crime, lock-'em-up platform that isn't going to do anyone in Canada any good - except for perhaps those in the prison-building industry." Tousaw, a criminal defence lawyer, says marijuana prohibition flies in the face of bedrock conservative principles. "It's the antithesis of individual liberty. It is an economic program that's just dumping good money after bad: the courts, the jails, the police time." Moreover, pot laws are inconsistently applied across Canada, Tousaw says. "I'm a white, middle-class father of two. If I'm using marijuana in my own home, I run virtually no risk of being arrested." The homeless who smoke up in parks, for example, are much more likely to be charged, he says. "It's just another way that the law discriminates against both visible minorities and those with lower socio-economic standing." Toews barely stopped Tuesday when asked about such inconsistencies. "We have a law on the books don't we?" he said before brushing past reporters.

[Alberta has enough oil in its tarsands region to last for hundreds of years, says Energy Minister Greg Melchin]

EDMONTON (CP) - Alberta has enough oil in its tarsands region to last for hundreds of years, says Energy Minister Greg Melchin.

Albertans and Canadians shouldn't be concerned about Americans draining oil to meet a growing thirst for energy in the United States, the minister said Tuesday. "We have centuries of supplies," Melchin said. "And our policies are built on a lot of trade, the United States being our most valuable customer.

"They're our friends, our allies, and that's been very beneficial for both of us."

Melchin was responding to a report by the Parkland Institute that says increasing demand from the U.S. is putting the oilsands in jeopardy.

The report deals with threats the tarsands face as production is forecast to jump to six million barrels a day from an estimated one million.

"The Americans have become very interested in the tarsands and almost talk about it as though it's their domestic supply, looking at it as a way of replacing Middle Eastern oil," said Parkland's director, Gordon Laxer.

The University of Alberta think tank is calling on Prime Minister Stephen Harper to implement a made-in-Canada strategy to safeguard Canada's energy security.

But Melchin dismissed any suggestion of a new national policy that would influence Alberta's energy export decisions.

"The province has the ownership and stewardship and constitutional authority to develop its resources," said Melchin. "So when we're talking about energy, Alberta has the primary lead on the oil and gas."

However, he said he's not totally dismissing the idea of keeping an eye on Alberta's energy supplies.

"When we look at the long-term energy need for Alberta and for Canada, those are first and paramount," he said. "But we know our resources are so vast and so large."

Environment Minister Guy Boutilier also said there's a need to ensure that Canada's energy needs remain a top priority.

"We want to ensure that we supply the needs of Canadians, but there's a lot of oil to go around based on what we have in the oilsands development area," said Boutilier.

The Parkland report was commissioned a year ago and was prepared with the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives and the Polaris Institute.

[Rape Victims Denied Abortions in Mexico]

Rape Victims Denied Abortions in Mexico [!-- END HEADLINE --][DIV id=ynmain][!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --][DIV id=storybody][DIV class=storyhdr][SPAN]By IOAN GRILLO, Associated Press Writer[/SPAN][EM class=timedate]Tue Mar 7, 4:12 PM ET[/i]

[DIV class=spacer][/DIV][/DIV]State officials across Mexico routinely deny rape victims legally allowed access to safe abortions, a human rights group reported Tuesday.

The study by the New York-based Human Rights Watch was presented three years after Mexico drew international criticism when a teenage rape victim was denied an abortion and brought her case to the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. Little has changed since then, the report said.

"Again and again, we are finding the same cases of women going through the first trauma of being raped and then going through another trauma at the hands of government officials," study author Marianne Mollmann said.

Titled "The Second Assault: Obstructing Access to Legal Abortion in Mexico," the 92-page report was based on interviews with more than 100 lawyers, doctors, officials and rape victims across the country.

It cited the case of a 12-year-old rape victim from a village in southern Mexico who was denied an abortion despite repeated requests by her and a social worker who tried to help her.

"I went to the health centers linked to Social Security. I went to the public hospital. I went to the offices of those in charge," the social worker, Hilda Chavez, said in the report. "Everyone turned their back. They said: 'It is not possible.'"

Mexican law permits abortion in all 31 states and the capital, Mexico City, for women who have been raped or whose health is in danger because of a pregnancy.

But in 29 states, there are no clear legal or administrative guidelines on how to guarantee access to safe and legal abortions, the report said.

Veronica Cruz, director of a rape crisis center in the central city of Guanajuato, said the 10 victims she has worked with since 2000 had their requests for an abortion denied.

Blocked from getting legal help, many women and girls seek clandestine abortions, which can cost as little as $200.

"As countless studies have shown, such clandestine abortions are generally far more dangerous than legally regulated procedures," the report said.

"Some women and girls die as a result. Others endure grave injury from unsafe abortions: infection, uterine perforation, pelvic inflammatory disease, hemorrhage and other injury to internal organs."

The report urged Mexico's Congress to pass a national law providing for safe abortions and for the federal government to punish those officials deliberately blocking access to these services. It also recommends that state governments carry out public information campaigns to inform women of their rights.

Federal law simply states that abortion "is not punishable ... when the pregnancy is the result of rape."

Cruz believes the situation stems from Mexico's traditionally macho culture and from the influence of the conservative Roman Catholic Church — about 90 percent of Mexico's citizens are at least nominally Catholic.

"A lot of government officials start lecturing the victims about their own personal beliefs. They sometimes say women should not have been wearing short skirts or have been out late. They say abortion is wrong," Cruz said.

Mollmann argued that it is not a cultural issue.

"Rape and abuse are not cultural. They are problems of officials' attitudes toward human rights," she said.

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[Quebec: Mazda3]

[FONT face="arial, helvetica" color=#000066 size=5]Best-selling vehicles by province revealed [/FONT]
[FONT face="arial, helvetica" size=2][! -- paste main body here --][!-- table [table width="210" border="0" cellspacing="0" cellpadding="5" align="RIGHT"][tr][td][a href="cgi-bin/schlabo/sp.pl?/xxx&info=xxx&from=http://www.canadiandriver.com/news/.htm"][/a]
[font face="ms sans serif, geneva, helvetica, arial" size=-2]Click image to enlarge[/font][/td][/tr][/table]--]Richmond Hill, Ontario – Industry analyst Dennis DesRosiers has made available statistics on the best-selling vehicles by province, as well as in each vehicle category, for 2005. The best-selling vehicles by province are: [UL][LI]British Columbia: Ford F-Series pickup [LI]Alberta: Ford F-Series pickup [LI]Saskatchewan: Ford F-Series pickup [LI]Manitoba: Ford F-Series pickup [LI]Ontario: Dodge Caravan [LI]Quebec: Mazda3 [LI]New Brunswick: Ford F-Series pickup [LI]Nova Scotia: Honda Civic [LI]Prince Edward Island: Dodge Caravan [LI]Newfoundland: Ford F-Series pickup[/LI][/UL]In overall Canadian sales, the highest percentage of market share among passenger vehicles went to: [UL][LI]Compact cars: Honda Civic [LI]Intermediate cars: Honda Accord [LI]Luxury cars: Chrysler 300 [LI]Luxury high car: Acura TL [LI]Luxury sport cars: Mazda RX-8 [LI]Subcompact cars: Toyota Echo [LI]Sports car: Ford Mustang[/LI][/UL]In overall Canadian sales, the highest percentage of market share among light trucks went to: [UL][LI]Compact SUV: Ford Escape [LI]Intermediate SUV: Ford Explorer [LI]Large pickup: Ford F-Series [LI]Large SUV: Dodge Durango [LI]Large van: Ford Econoline [LI]Luxury SUV: Dodge Magnum [LI]Small pickup: Ford Ranger [LI]Small van: Dodge Caravan[/LI][/UL][!-- end story here--][/FONT]

[Volkswagen has made a splash with its Golf-sized crossover sports utility vehicle (SUV), a concept that could help the car boost both sales and profits for Europe's largest carmaker.]

[DIV class=logo][img height=34 alt="BBC NEWS" src="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif" width=163] [/DIV][DIV class=headline]Angry workers upset VW's new car plans [/DIV][!--Smvb--]

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[TD vAlign=bottom][!--Smvb--]By Jorn Madslien
BBC News business reporter at the Geneva motor show [!--Emvb--][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]
[!--Emvb--][DIV class=bo]Volkswagen has made a splash with its Golf-sized crossover sports utility vehicle (SUV), a concept that could help the car boost both sales and profits for Europe's largest carmaker. In particular, the Concept A is seen as a crucial addition to the future of the VW brand, the largest subsidiary within the Volkswagen Group, which also owns Seat, Audi and Skoda, as well as Bentley and Lambourghini. Volkswagen Group's net profits rose 61.5% to 1.12bn euros in 2005, though the VW brand did little to aid this performance. "Although the Skoda and Bentley product lines developed extremely well, the Volkswagen passenger cars division was just above operating break-even, despite considerable efforts," according to group chief financial officer, Hans Dieter Poetsch. Fast growing segment Should the new Concept A model reach production, then it would enter an increasingly crowded pool into which many companies are diving. Toyota is showing its Urban Cruiser concept at the Geneva show, while Suzuki is making a push with its SX4. French car maker PSA/Peugeot Citroen is preparing to enter with a re-badged Mitsubishi Outlander, Renault with a reworked Nissan, and GM with its Captiva SUV. This is also an increasingly popular market, not only in North America where consumers are becoming more concerned about the cost of motoring, but also in Europe where drivers have always been loath to buy bulky petrol-guzzlers. "The crossover sport utility segment is the fastest growing in Europe, especially the compact ones and also the premium SUVs," says CSM Worldwide's European sales forecast manager, Walt Madeira. With the Concept A, VW Group would be well placed in both markets; Volkswagen with its Touareg SUV, Audi with its similarly-sized Q7 and its more car-like Quattro Allroad. Major changes ahead Volkswagen's crossover concept could be the first of a string of new models.

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[TD width=5][/TD][TD class=fact][!--So--][!--Eo--][!--Smva--]We are not sure that VW's union...will be prepared to dance to Mr Bernhard's tune
[!--Emva--][!--Smva--]Merrill Lynch automotive analyst Stephen Reitman [!--Emva--][!--So--]
[!--Eo--][!--Smiiib--][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE][/DIV][DIV class=bo]VW aims to launch an average of four cars each year until the end of this decade in a model onslaught that is set to coincide with efforts by Wolfgang Bernhard, chairman of the Volkswagen division, to improve productivity of the firm by a whopping 30% over the next three years. The restructuring might involve as many as 20,000 job losses over, including an early retirement offer to 14,000 workers. There also may have to be the closure of VW's struggling car-part factories, as well as direct action aimed at slashing the losses suffered by Volkswagen plants in West Germany. Such action could involve raising working hours from 28.8 hours a week to 42 hours without boosting pay significantly from its current level of about 2,600 euros (£1,785; $3,122) per month. Output is also set to be cut, and VW is expected to consider partnering with rival car makers to minimise the cost of launching new models. Pischetsrieder's job on the line VW's restructuring plans have already met with considerable resistance from unionised workers, including those at VW's low-cost division Auto 5000, where workers already put in a 42-hour week without earning more than other workers.

[/DIV][DIV class=bo]"We are not sure that VW's union, whose members' pay has been frozen from September 2004 to January 2007 but now see VW Group report strong cash flow, a 2bn euros bond buyback, the cancellation of treasury shares and a dividend hike, will be prepared to dance to Mr Bernhard's tune," observes Merrill Lynch automotive analyst Stephen Reitman. Resistance is proving tougher than usual, however, and while Mr Bernard is proving unpopular, much of the anger is being directed at Bernd Pischetsrieder, chairman of the management board at Volkswagen Group. And in what is a peculiarly German affair, it seems Mr Pischetsrieder may not have his contract renewed at a board meeting on 20 April. Mr Pischetsrieder remains a popular chief with VW's shareholders, including majority shareholders Porsche and the German state of Lower Saxony, but VW's workers are less impressed with his performance. As they are represented on Volkswagen's supervisory board, this matters. Last week, the supervisory board's chairman Ferdinand Piech told The Wall Street Journal that it was possible Mr Pischetsrieder would not survive the vote if all the ten workers' representatives on the board wanted to get rid of him. Popular cars But poor industrial relations do not equate to poor customer relations, and nor do they translate into financial losses. Indeed, VW is rather popular among car buyers at the moment.

[/DIV][DIV class=bo]In January and February, the group sold 790,000 cars, up 15% on the same period a year ago, and thus much stronger than last year when sales rose to 5.24 million cars, up 3.2% on 2004, according to Mr Pischetsrieder. Volkswagen sales rise was aided by strong demand for its small Volkswagen Fox and its medium Volkswagen Passat models, according to the Belgium-based industry group ACEA. Sister marques Audi, Seat and Skoda also recorded strong sales growth. In Germany, the VW Group's strongest market, the Volkswagen brand is doing particularly well, with a 27% rise in new registrations in January that boosted its market share to 20.5%, the country's motor car department KBA said last month. Audi too is doing well. It's sales rose 13% to 62,000 in February, and the growth is set to continue. "No brand will grow like Audi in the near future," says the marque's chief executive Martin Winterkorn. "We are planning to sell significantly more vehicles in 2006 than in the record year 2005." Similar success could be achieved with the VW marque, thus bringing it firmly into the black, Mr Pischetsrieder believes, though the question for the future is whether his plan can be sold successfully to workers and shareholders alike.

[/DIV][DIV class=footer]Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/business/4779764.stm

Published: 2006/03/07 11:08:02 GMT

© BBC MMVI
[/DIV][DIV class=footer][img height=152 alt="Volkswagen Concept A" hspace=0 src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41408000/gif/_41408976_vwconcepta203a-ap.gif" width=203 border=0] [DIV class=cap]VW is preparing to enter a crowded market[/DIV][DIV class=cap] [/DIV][DIV class=cap][img height=152 alt="Wolfgang Bernhard and Bernd Pischetsrieder" hspace=0 src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41409000/jpg/_41409696_bernhardpisc203apb.jpg" width=203 border=0] [DIV class=cap]Mr Bernhard and Mr Pischetsrieder are under fire from workers[/DIV][DIV class=cap] [/DIV][DIV class=cap][img height=152 alt="Audi Quattro Allroad" hspace=0 src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41409000/gif/_41409042_audiquattroallroad203ap.gif" width=203 border=0] [DIV class=cap]Audi sales soared last month[/DIV][/DIV][/DIV][/DIV][/DIV][DIV class=cap] [/DIV][/DIV][/DIV][DIV class=footer] [/DIV]

[Ms Evans' reaction]

[DIV class=logo]Ms Evans' reaction[/A] [/DIV][DIV class=footer]
 [/DIV]

[In Britain people tend to think of the countryside as a rural idyll, a bucolic landscape of green fields and happy folk.]

[DIV class=logo][img height=34 alt="BBC NEWS" src="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif" width=163] [/DIV][DIV class=headline]China's rural millions left behind [/DIV][!--Smvb--]

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[TD vAlign=bottom][!--Smvb--]By Rupert Wingfield-Hayes
BBC News, Beijing [!--Emvb--][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]
[!--Emvb--][DIV class=bo]

[/DIV]In Britain people tend to think of the countryside as a rural idyll, a bucolic landscape of green fields and happy folk. In China, if they can, people try not to think about the countryside at all. When they do, it is not of a rural idyll, but a grim, dirty place where people are poor and life is harsh. In Britain the countryside is somewhere to escape to. In China it is somewhere to escape from. [DIV class=bo]China's urban population has a strong tendency to look down on country folk. The word for "farmer" in Chinese has a distinctly pejorative flavour. "Rural people are of a very low quality" is a phrase you often hear in Beijing. And rural people are not just treated like second class citizens, they are. Almost everything in the countryside is worse than in the cities, according to popular belief. People say the schools are bad, the teachers awful; there are very few doctors, and hardly any clinics or hospitals; local communist party officials are invariably corrupt, and often abuse their power for personal gain. In the last decade, two things have happened to make the tension between the city and the countryside worse. Urban shift One is that the countryside has begun moving to the city. Between 100 and 150 million Chinese peasants have quit their villages and headed to the cities to look for work.

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[TD width=5][/TD][TD class=fact][DIV class=sih]HOUSEHOLD REGISTRATION [/DIV][!--Smva--][DIV class=bull]From 1953, people classed as rural or urban residents [/DIV][DIV class=bull]Rural residents denied rights of city dwellers, mainly to stop them migrating to towns [/DIV][DIV class=bull]System now faces abolition in 11 out of 23 provinces [/DIV][!--Emva--][!--So--]
[!--Eo--][!--Smiiib--][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE][/DIV][DIV class=bo]The second is that the city is moving to the countryside. As China's urban centres boom they are gobbling up farmland at a voracious rate. A total of 16 million acres (6,475,000 hectares) have gone in the last 20 years. The tens of millions who have moved to the cities find themselves treated like second class citizens there too. In a system akin to South Africa's apartheid, people born in rural China find it almost impossible to become full urban residents. They are denied access to urban housing and to urban schooling for their children. Work is found in factories or on construction sites. Life is a tenuous, hand-to-mouth existence. Last year the Chinese internet buzzed with the story of a rural migrant from north-west China sentenced to death for a brutal double murder. The man had stabbed his victims to death during a fight at a construction site. The argument began when he went to claim back-wages. It turned out the man had not been paid for two years. Land grab The only security these rural migrants enjoy is their piece of land back in their village. But that too is now under threat.

[/DIV][DIV class=bo]In China, agricultural land is owned communally. In theory each village owns the land around it. Each family holds its bit of land on a long term lease. Farmland used to be almost worthless. But as China's cities expand it is now in high demand. What happened to the village of Yangge, on the edge of Beijing, is typical. Yangge sits along a picturesque river 25km north of the city centre. It is just the sort of area in which Beijing's wealthy new middle class might like to own a spacious suburban villa. That is exactly what a Beijing property developer thought. He paid several million dollars to acquire the land from the local township government. The villagers were never consulted, and they saw none of the money. Now, less than 100m from the village, rows of huge new American-style homes are rising out of the fields. A thousand are to be built. The asking price - close to $1m each. All over China land disputes like this are turning violent. Late last year three people were shot dead by police in southern Guangdong province during a violent protest against another land seizure. Villagers said the number killed was closer to 20. The anger and bitterness emanating from China's countryside is not so much about poverty, as about fairness. People see their land being taken from them and then turned into $1m-homes. They see local officials lining their own pockets, while the villagers get nothing. They spend years away from home working on construction sites and in Dickensian factories, only to be cheated of their wages by unscrupulous bosses. This week Chinese Prime Minister Wen Jiabao promised to bring prosperity to China's countryside. But without fundamental change in the way China works, its 700 million peasant farmers will remain second class citizens.

[/DIV][DIV class=footer]Story from BBC NEWS:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/pr/fr/-/2/hi/asia-pacific/4782194.stm

Published: 2006/03/07 13:17:13 GMT

© BBC MMVI[/DIV][DIV class=footer] [/DIV][DIV class=footer][img height=152 alt="Children eating in rural Anhui province - archive photo" hspace=0 src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41412000/jpg/_41412206_afp_rice203.jpg" width=203 border=0] [DIV class=cap]China's reforms have seen millions of people leaving the countryside[/DIV][DIV class=cap] [/DIV][DIV class=cap] [/DIV][DIV class=cap][img height=152 alt="Migrant workers in Chinese city - archive picture" hspace=0 src="http://newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/41412000/jpg/_41412204_ap_scavenge203.jpg" width=203 border=0] [DIV class=cap]Newcomers to the cities are treated as an underclass[/DIV][/DIV][/DIV][/DIV][/DIV][DIV class=footer]
 [/DIV]

[Web giant Google is planning a massive online storage facility to encompass all users' files, it is reported.]

[TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 width=629 border=0][TBODY][TR][TD colSpan=3][DIV class=mxb][DIV class=sh] [/DIV][/DIV][/TD][/TR][TR][TD vAlign=top width=416][FONT size=3][/FONT][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE][/DIV][DIV class=logo][img height=34 alt="BBC NEWS" src="http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/nol/shared/img/printer_friendly/news_logo.gif" width=163] [/DIV][DIV class=headline]Google 'planning total storage' [/DIV]Web giant Google is planning a massive online storage facility to encompass all users' files, it is reported. The plans were allegedly revealed accidentally after a blogger spotted notes in a slideshow presentation wrongly published on Google's site. The GDrive, previously the subject of chatroom rumour, would offer a mirror of users' hard drives, Reuters said. Google declined to comment on the reports but said the slide notes had now been deleted. [DIV class=bo]In the notes, chief executive Eric Schmidt reportedly said Google's aim was to "store 100%" of users' information. The notes said: "With infinite storage, we can house all user files, including e-mails, web history, pictures, bookmarks, etc; and make it accessible from anywhere (any device, any platform, etc)." No announcement "We deleted the slide notes because they were not intended for publication," Google spokeswoman Lynn Fox said. "We are constantly working on new ways to enhance our products and services for users, but have nothing to announce at this time." Under the alleged scheme, if users suffered a crash and lost files, Google's own computers would have kept a back-up. The plan for total online storage could meet difficulties with bandwidth constraints for some users. The search giant recently decided to offer an optional facility that stores a copy of the text-based sections of each user's data on Google's own computers. What do you think of the GDrive plans? Do you think it is a good idea to store such details on Google computers? Would you use this service if it was offered?

[[SPAN class=articleTitle]Abortion? Never was much choice in S.D.[/SPAN][!--subtitle--][!--top author info--]]

[SPAN class=articleTitle]Abortion? Never was much choice in S.D.[/SPAN]
[!--subtitle--][!--top author info--][SPAN class=articleByline][TABLE width="100%" align=center border=0][TBODY][TR][TD class=articleByline][!-- overline--][SPAN class=articleByline][A class=articleByline href="mailto:[email protected]"][FONT color=#000000]By Michael Riley
Denver Post Staff Writer[/FONT][/A][/SPAN][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]
[/SPAN][TABLE class=articleBody width="100%" align=center border=0][TBODY][TR][TD align=middle colSpan=3][/TD][/TR][TR][TD class=articleBody align=left colSpan=3][!-- IMAGE IN REGION  Position1 --][TABLE class=articleImageBox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 rules=none width=120 align=right border=0 vspace="3" hspace="3"][TBODY][TR][TD colSpan=3][img height=5 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD][img height=1 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][TD][!--                    [img src='http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0305/20060305_013358_0305abortion.jpg' WIDTH='120' ]                    --][A onclick="OpenWindow('/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?imageId=3571065','image_window');" href="http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_3570166#"][FONT color=#000000][img title="" alt="" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0305/20060305_013358_0305abortion.jpg" width=200 border=0][/FONT][/A][/TD][TD][img height=1 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD][img]http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][TD class=articleImageCaption]Carrie Sanchez, 32 and mother of three, cries during counseling in Sioux Falls, S.D., last week. She said she had an abortion while a college student and is now dealing with her feelings. (Post / John Epperson) [/TD][TD][img]http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD colSpan=3][img height=5 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=1 border=0][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]Sioux Falls, S.D. - When 20-year-old Courtney found out three weeks ago that she was pregnant, it hit the single mother - already struggling with a 1-year-old - like a brick. She cried, she talked to friends, and she came to a heart- wrenching decision: She wanted an abortion. Then the real work began. She had to take off two days from her mechanic's job in a small South Dakota town, find a ride and travel six hours one way to the state's only abortion clinic. Some friends in her place had left the state. Others kept a baby they didn't want. "You see the billboards. You know there's a stigma here," said Courtney, who, waiting in a Sioux Falls abortion clinic, would give only her first name. "This is supposed to be a country of freedom. I don't think you should have to feel humiliated about a choice that is best for your own life," she said. Abortion doc wore armor For South Dakota abortion foes who last month won passage of a bill that, if signed by the governor, would virtually ban abortion in the state, Courtney's predicament is their victory. Even if the new legislation is tied up in a years-long court battle leading to the Supreme Court, South Dakota is already among the hardest states in the country in which to get an abortion. The last local doctor to regularly provide the procedure, who carried a Colt .45 and wore body armor, retired 10 years ago. Now, the identities of doctors flown to the Planned Parenthood clinic in Sioux Falls once a week from Minneapolis are kept secret. Local doctors supportive [!-- IMAGE IN REGION  Position2 --][TABLE class=articleImageBox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 rules=none width=120 align=left border=0 vspace="3" hspace="3"][TBODY][TR][TD colSpan=3][img height=5 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD][img height=1 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][TD][!--                    [img src='http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0305/20060305_013507_0305abortion1.jpg' WIDTH='120' ]                    --][A onclick="OpenWindow('/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?imageId=3571066','image_window');" href="http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_3570166#"][img title="" alt="" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0305/20060305_013507_0305abortion1.jpg" width=200 border=0][/A][/TD][TD][img height=1 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD][img]http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][TD class=articleImageCaption]A physician who has just flown into Sioux Falls, S.D., from Minneapolis gets ready for appointments Tuesday in a room at the Planned Parenthood clinic. The identities of doctors brought in to perform abortions is kept secret for their protection. (Post / John Epperson) [/TD][TD][img]http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD colSpan=3][img height=5 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=1 border=0][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]of abortion rights say it's not worth the economic ruin and professional exile that performing the procedure would cost them. "It's an economic issue," said Dr. Tom Looby, a Sioux Falls obstetrician-gynecologist and the father of the state's Planned Parenthood director. "The unfortunate thing is people on the other side have been very capable at controlling the social climate around" the procedure, he said. Indeed, national groups on both sides of the debate say that all the attention paid to the South Dakota bill masks a potentially more important fact: Here, as in many parts of the country, a decade-long strategy combining pressure on doctors with the lobbying of state lawmakers has already dramatically reduced the number of places where abortions are available and the ranks of doctors willing to perform them. Nationally, 87 percent of counties have no abortion provider, while the number of abortion clinics has shrunk from nearly 2,400 in 1992 to about 1,800 in 2000, the last year for which statistics are available, according to NARAL Pro-Choice America and the Guttmacher Institute. (In Colorado, 78 percent of all counties have no abortion providers.) The strategy has been so successful that several anti- abortion groups counseled South Dakota legislators against voting for the new law, which would make it illegal to perform abortions in South Dakota except to save a mother's life, even in a case of rape or incest. The legislation contradicts Roe vs. Wade and is the first state effort to ban abortion under the newly configured Supreme Court. [!-- IMAGE IN REGION  Position3 --][TABLE class=articleImageBox cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=0 rules=none width=120 align=right border=0 vspace="3" hspace="3"][TBODY][TR][TD colSpan=3][img height=5 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD][img height=1 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][TD][!--                    [img src='http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0305/20060305_013543_0305abortg.gif' WIDTH='120' ]                    --][A onclick="OpenWindow('/portlet/article/html/imageDisplay.jsp?imageId=3571068','image_window');" href="http://www.denverpost.com/nationworld/ci_3570166#"][img title="" alt="" src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/media/site36/2006/0305/20060305_013543_0305abortg.gif" width=200 border=0][/A][/TD][TD][img height=1 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD][img]http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][TD class=articleImageCaption][/TD][TD][img]http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=5 border=0][/TD][/TR][TR][TD colSpan=3][img height=5 src="http://extras.mnginteractive.com/live/std/clear.gif" width=1 border=0][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]Some activists fear the Supreme Court might rule on a challenge to the law by upholding Roe vs. Wade again. "This is like putting all your chips on number 27 and spinning a roulette wheel. There is so much potentially bad that could happen, and it's not necessary to do it," said Daniel Mc Conchie of the Chicago-based Americans United for Life, the country's oldest national anti-abortion group. First - and proud of it But anti-abortion activists who have been working in South Dakota for years say they were unwilling to let the moment pass, potentially handing it to one of several other states, including Mississippi and Missouri, that are considering similar bills. "We figured someone had to be the first state," said Robert Rogier, executive director of the South Dakota Family Policy Center. "There is some righteous pride in the fact ... that we're the first ones storming the beach." It's an assault that has been in the making for years. A prairie state of farm towns and few cities, South Dakota has always been conservative, said Bob Burns, a political science professor at South Dakota State University. But before the Supreme Court's legalization of abortion in 1973, the brand was one of "good old-fashioned fiscal conservatism," he said. "It never had that moralistic tone to it pre-Roe v. Wade," Burns said. But a combination of factors has changed that. Membership in evangelical churches has grown dramatically. The state's Roman Catholic Church has been led by a succession of politically active bishops. And term limits

[/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]helped sweep a group of lawmakers into the state capital of Pierre who are increasingly willing to position the state at the heart of the country's culture wars.

Last year, legislators convened an abortion task force that spent months collecting testimony and data to provide a scientific basis for overturning Roe, including information about fetal pain and DNA fingerprinting. But Dr. Maria Bell, a task force member and gynecologic oncologist in Sioux Falls, said abortion opponents outnumbered supporters on the panel 2 to 1, and she dismissed much of the testimony as unscientific. Bell also said she understands the pressure on local doctors not to perform abortions. She's faced some of it herself. One colleague has already stopped referring patients to her because of her activism. A recent threatening e-mail she received was passed on to police. The result, Bell and others say, is increased risks being taken by South Dakota women with unintended pregnancies. Some travel to nearby states such as Montana and Iowa, where abortion access is easier. But a growing number, say Planned Parenthood officials in Sioux Falls, are turning to the 21st century equivalent of back- alley abortions - the Internet. They go online to order drugs thought to induce abortions, but that can have significant health risks. "Does it happen? Yes. Is it dangerous? Absolutely," said Kate Looby, director of South Dakota Planned Parenthood. "This isn't the 1950s. This is 2006. But what we're seeing is an awful lot like a past I think everyone had thought we left behind," she said. Advocates fight back Across the country, abortion advocates are determined not to let that happen. The state's tourism board has been flooded with calls from people vowing to shun the state if the bill is signed. A Wisconsin group, the Women's Medical Fund, has threatened to organize a national boycott of South Dakota tourist sites, threatening a $2 billion a year industry. Residents here say they are ready for the fight. "If that's the way they feel, then they shouldn't come here anyway. Maybe that's not a nice thing to say, but you have to fight for what's right," said Lexie Vogel, who farms near Hoven, almost 300 miles west of Sioux City but a world away. A town of 500, Hoven is dominated by its massive church - "the cathedral on the prairie" - built by the German migrants who settled this area in the early 20th century. It is still more than 85 percent Catholic, and the church's influence pervades even the tiny main street: There's a church-run thrift shop and food bank, a prominent Knights of Columbus hall, and the Holy Infant Hospital, which until recently was church- owned and whose only doctor, a Filipino Catholic, doesn't perform abortions as a matter of personal belief. "I was probably a senior in high school before I realized there was another religion," said Susan Vail, a retired hog buyer who now works at the local thrift store. "We were all raised that way. There wasn't a question in one's mind, what was right and what was wrong." Vail admits that even in a town this size, young people do get pregnant accidentally. But if anyone here has had an abortion, she's never heard of it. "You can raise that child or give it to someone who would love it. There is no third choice. That's just who we are. That's just what we believe." Staff writer Michael Riley can be reached at 303-820-1614 or [A href="mailto:[email protected]"][email protected][/A].

Proposed House resolution on religion irks some here
[FONT class=byLine]By [A class=byLine href="mailto:"]Tim Townsend[/A] and [A class=byLine href="mailto:"]Matt Franck[/A][/FONT]
[FONT class=byLine]ST. LOUIS POST-DISPATCH[/FONT]
[FONT class=byLine]Friday, Mar. 03 2006[/FONT]

Some religious leaders on Friday blasted a proposed Missouri House resolution
that supports prayer in schools and recognizes a "Christian God," saying
legislators are pushing Christianity as a state religion.

"It's an atrocity," said the Rev. Timothy L. Carson, senior minister at Webster
Groves Christian Church. "Thomas Jefferson would be rolling in his grave. It's
indicative of a movement within one segment of activist Christianity that wants
to dominate the rest with their views."

Some lawmakers blamed the backlash on a misunderstanding of the purpose of such
resolutions.

The proposed resolution states that "voluntary prayer in public schools,
religious displays on public property, and the recognition of a Christian God
are not a coalition of church and state."

It was recently approved by the House Rules Committee along party lines - five
Republicans backed it, three Democrats did not - and could come for a vote
before the full House next week. It would also have to pass in the Senate.

The resolution, sponsored by Rep. David Sater, R-Cassville, and co-sponsored by
Rep. Barney Joe Fisher, R-Richards, is not a bill and therefore cannot become a
law.

Rep. John P. Burnett, D-Kansas City, a House Rules Committee member who voted
against passing the resolution to the full House, dismissed it as "a political
statement about Christianity."

Sater and Fisher could not be reached for comment. Rep. Shannon Cooper,
R-Clinton, chairman of the House Rules Committee, also could not be reached.

The proposed resolution states that the country's forefathers "recognized a
Christian God and used the principles afforded to us by Him as the founding
principles of our nation. ... As elected officials we should protect the
majority's right to express their religious beliefs while showing respect for
those who object."

Conservative evangelical leaders were upbeat about it.

"The foundations of this country started with Christianity, and this just goes
back and acknowledges where we started," said the Rev. David Clippard,
executive director of the Missouri Baptist Convention.

The Rev. Mark Friz, senior pastor at St. Paul's Evangelical Church in St.
Louis, said he was "100 percent behind this resolution."

But other Christian leaders were furious.

The Rev. David M. Greenhaw, president of Eden Theological Seminary in St.
Louis, said he found the resolution "offensive as a Christian. I don't want the
state defining my Christianity."

Some non-Christians also reacted strongly. Batya Abramson-Goldstein, executive
director of the Jewish Community Relations Council, said the fact that the
resolution made it out of a committee was significant.

"It's not that this is one individual's opinion," she said. "Other legislators
have voted on this already, so it takes on a legitimacy that makes it more than
a resolution. It's painful for faith communities outside the Christian
community."

House Speaker Pro Tem Carl Bearden, R-St. Charles, believes the backlash
against the resolution is unmerited. He and other lawmakers say much of the
uproar is due to a misunderstanding of resolutions. They are largely symbolic,
typically having no force of law. They serve as a kind of opinion poll that
lawmakers hope will be noted, but officials say privately that the measures are
often ignored.

Bearden said that just because a resolution is filed, it doesn't necessarily
represent the views of the entire Legislature. While the resolution on religion
has cleared the House Rules Committee, there's no guarantee it will go further,
he said.

In fact, dozens of resolutions filed in the past two years have died or been
withdrawn. At least two of those were similar to this year's religious
resolution. One would have supported the motto "In God We Trust" for use in
public buildings.

.

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[General's Assessment of Iraq Questioned]

General's Assessment of Iraq Questioned [!-- END HEADLINE --][DIV id=ynmain][!-- BEGIN STORY BODY --][DIV id=storybody][DIV class=storyhdr][SPAN]By PAULINE JELINEK, Associated Press Writer[/SPAN][EM class=timedate]Sun Mar 5, 4:20 PM ET[/i]

[DIV class=spacer][/DIV][/DIV]The Pentagon's top general acknowledged Sunday that "anything can happen" in Iraq, but he said things aren't as bad as some say. "I wouldn't put a great big smiley face on it, but I would say they're going very, very well from everything you look at."

The comments drew criticism that Gen. Peter Pace is glossing over problems in the three-year-old U.S. campaign.

"Why would I believe him?" asked Rep. John Murtha (news, bio, voting record), D-Pa., a major critic of the Bush administration's handling of the war. "This administration, including the president, (has) mischaracterized this war for the last two years."

Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, cited political progress such as holding elections and writing a constitution as well as military progress like training Iraqi security forces.

"No matter where you look — at their military, their police, their society — things are much better this year than they were last," Pace said on NBC's "Meet the Press."

Murtha, responding to Pace in an appearance on CBS' "Face the Nation," said that Iraq has 60 percent unemployment, oil production below prewar levels, and water service to only 30 percent of the population.

American troops are doing everything they can militarily but "are caught in a civil war," said Murtha, a former Marine who has called on the administration to bring U.S. troops home.

"There's two participants fighting for survival and fighting for supremacy inside that country," he said of ethnic divisions. "And that's my definition of a civil war."

Murtha added: "The rhetoric is so frustrating — when they keep making statements which are very optimistic, and then it turns out to be the opposite. ... And the public has caught on to that, and they're very pessimistic about the outcome."

Pace and Murtha spoke as Iraqis continued a stalemate over forming a new government, a delay that has prevented parliament from meeting since it was elected Dec. 15.

Pressure mounted Sunday on Prime Minister Ibrahim al-Jaafari to give up his bid for a new term amid anger over the recent surge in sectarian killings that has complicated already snarled negotiations on a new Iraqi government.

Pace said the violent firestorm that followed the bombing of a revered Shiite mosque two weeks ago had forced Iraqis to look into "that abyss" and realize "that's not where they want to go."

"Anything can happen, I agree," Pace said, then added: "I believe the Iraqi people have shown in the last week to 10 days that they do not want civil war."

Ending the insurgency depends not only on military efforts but also on whether the Iraqi government can give the people what they want, Pace said. He said the number of people in the insurgency will drop if people see that the new government can come through with jobs and services.

"If you have an opportunity to get a job and feed your family, you're much less likely to accept $100 to go plant a bomb inside a road," Pace said.

Sen. Richard Lugar (news, bio, voting record), chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, said the U.S. must stick with the Iraqis.

"They're talking about putting their act together," Lugar, R-Ind., said on CBS. "Now, the fact is that they may or may not be successful, but we better hope that they are, because the consequences for our country and the war against terror are very fateful if they are not."



[DIV class=spacer] [/DIV][DIV class=spacer] [/DIV][DIV class=spacer] [/DIV][DIV class=spacer]Its offical, the bush admistration is on crack.[/DIV][/DIV][/DIV]

[A href="http://www.egotastic.com/image?path=0603/lindsay-lohan-personal-pictures-31a.jpg&info=Lindsay%20Lohan%20Personal%20Pictures"]http://www.egotastic.com/image?path=0603/lindsay-lohan-personal-pictures-31a.jpg&info=Lindsay%20Lohan%20Personal%20Pictures[/A]

  .

 What a role model.

[SPEAKING TRUTH TO DEAD HORSES: MY OSCAR PREDICTIONS]

SPEAKING TRUTH TO DEAD HORSES: MY OSCAR PREDICTIONS
Ann Coulter
March 1, 2006

This is my first annual Oscar predictions column, for which I am uniquely qualified by not having seen a single one of the movies nominated in any category. I've never even watched an Oscar ceremony, except once when a friend called me 35 minutes into Halle Berry's acceptance speech and I managed to catch only the last 20 minutes of it.

I shall grant my awards based on the same criteria Hollywood studio executives now use to green-light movies: political correctness. Also, judging by most of the nominees this year, the awards committee prefers movies that are wildly unpopular with audiences.

The box office numbers for this year's favorite, "Brokeback Mountain," are more jealously guarded than the nuclear codes in the president's black box. Hollywood liberals want the government to release everything we know about al-Zarqawi, but refuse to release the number of people who have seen "Brokeback Mountain."

I shall summarize the plots of the five movies nominated for best picture below:

— "Brokeback Mountain" (gay)

— "Capote" (death penalty with bonus gay lead)

— "Crash" (racism)

— "Good Night, and Good Luck" (McCarthyism)

— "Munich" (Jew athletes at Munich had it coming)

Everyone says it's going to be "Crash," but I think "Crash" is too popular with filmgoers. Moreover, Hollywood feels it has done enough for the blacks. Hollywood can never do enough for the gays. Gays in the military, gays in the Texas Rangers, gays on the range. It's like a brokeback record! As Pat Buchanan said, homosexuality has gone from "the love that dare not speak its name" to "the love that won't shut up."

Is the idea of gay cowboys really that new? Didn't the Village People do that a couple of decades ago? Am I the only person who saw John Travolta in "Urban Cowboy"?

Movies with the same groundbreaking theme to come:

— "Westward Homo!"

— "The Magnificent, Fabulous Seven"

— "Gunfight at the K-Y Corral"

— "How West Hollywood Was Won"

OK, back to predictions. The best director award will go to ... Ang Lee, director of "Brokeback Mountain." (For analysis, see above.) Also, this is gays directed by an Asian, which should satisfy the gaysians. Hands down: Ang Lee.

The nominees for best actor in a leading role are:

— Philip Seymour Hoffman, "Capote"

— Terrence Howard, "Hustle & Flow"

— Heath Ledger, "Brokeback Mountain"

— Joaquin Phoenix, "Walk the Line"

— David Strathairn, "Good Night, and Good Luck"

The winner in this category will be ... Philip Seymour Hoffman. The awards committee can't give everything to "Brokeback Mountain," and at least Truman Capote was gay (though not a cowboy). I personally would have chosen the lion in the Narnia movie, but he wasn't even nominated.

The nominees for best actress in a leading role are:

— Judi Dench, "Mrs. Henderson Presents"

— Felicity Huffman, "Transamerica"

— Keira Knightley, "Pride & Prejudice"

— Charlize Theron, "North Country"

— Reese Witherspoon, "Walk the Line"

I gather Reese Witherspoon is very good in "Walk the Line," but that's irrelevant — this is the Oscars! Felicity Huffman plays a pre-op transsexual in "Transamerica." That strikes a chord in Hollywood. It's not exactly gay, but close enough! I say Huffman wins.

For best actress in a supporting role, Rachel Weisz ought to win for "The Constant Gardener" because it's about how drug companies are evil, which to me is the essence of quality acting. Plus, English accent equals good acting. But Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain") is engaged to Heath Ledger, who played a gay guy in "Brokeback Mountain." So I pick Weisz, with Williams as the dark-horse favorite.

The best original screenplay will be "Good Night, and Good Luck" as Hollywood's final tribute to the old Stalinists (Hollywood's version of "The Greatest Generation"). George Clooney has been mau-mauing the awards committee by going around boasting that conservatives have called him a "traitor," although I believe the precise term was "airhead."

Finally, my favorite category: best foreign language film. The nominees are:

— "Don't Tell" (Italy)

— "Joyeux Noel" (France)

— "Paradise Now" (Palestine)

— "Sophie Scholl" (Germany)

— "Tsotsi" (South Africa)

[FONT color=blue]After consulting with the Yale admissions committee, the awards committee will give the Oscar to ... "Paradise Now," a heartwarming story about Palestinian suicide bombers. How good is it? Al-Jazeera gave it 4 1/2 pipe bombs. It's Air Syria's featured in-flight movie this month — go figure! I don't want to spoil the ending for you, but let's just say there won't be a sequel.[/FONT]

Normally, the smart money is on the Holocaust movie, so any other year, "Sophie Scholl" would have been the clear favorite. Unfortunately for the makers of "Sophie Scholl," their Holocaust movie came out the same year as a pro-terrorist movie, so they lose.

As a final prediction, for the second year, there will be no mention of Dutch filmmaker Theo van Gogh, who was brutally murdered by an angry Muslim a little over a year ago on the streets of Amsterdam. (Now that's blacklisted!) I also predict this will be the lowest-rated Oscars ever. Remember to turn off your cell phones, no talking ... or sleeping.

[Malibu Mystery Races Away With Buzz]

[FONT size=2][FONT face=Arial]Malibu Mystery Races Away With Buzz
[FONT color=gray]Thursday March 02, 2006 11:00AM PT[/FONT] [/FONT][/FONT][TABLE cellSpacing=0 cellPadding=4 align=right border=0][TBODY][TR][TD align=middle][A href="http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/060224/480/la11402240124"][FONT face=Arial size=2][img height=86 alt="Ferrari Crash" src="http://us.news1.yimg.com/us.yimg.com/p/ap/20060224/thumb.la11402240124.ferrari_crash_la114.jpg" width=129 border=1][/FONT][/A]
[FONT face=Arial color=gray size=2]Wrecked Ferrari[/FONT] [/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]It was a rare and exotic animal: a [A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=ferrari+enzo&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]Ferrari Enzo[/A], one of just 400 ever brought forth into this world. When you saw this thing coming, you didn't look away. If you wanted to own it, it cost you a cool $1 mil -- and it could earn you a whole lot of buzz. Last week, Swedish millionaire [A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=stefan+ericksson&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]Stefan Ericksson[/A] slipped behind the wheel of his Enzo with, he says, a German named "Dietrich." They took the vehicle out on Malibu's Pacific Coast Highway. And they let that baby run. The car, that fierce, beautiful creature, hit speeds of 162 mph; it was practically airborne. It crested the hill, neared a power pole, and perhaps then, or perhaps never, did its driver spot [A href="http://www.wreckedexotics.com/special/enzo/"]the bump in the road[/A]. Now we have one less Ferrari Enzo left idling in existence. "Dietrich," if he exists at all, has run off into the hills. Ericksson, a former [A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=gizmondo&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]Gizmondo[/A] exec, is nursing a bruised lip behind the gates of his Bel-Air mansion and claiming that he remembers nothing. And a slew of searches are roaring at unseen speeds up the Buzz. From "[A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=ferrari&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]ferrari[/A]" to "[A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=enzo+ferrari&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]enzo ferrari[/A]" to "[A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=enzo+crash&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]enzo crash[/A]," from "[A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=stefan+ericksson&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]stefan ericksson[/A]" to "[A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=gizmondo&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]gizmondo[/A]" to "[A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=malibu&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]malibu[/A]," the searches just keep rolling in. As police investigate a gun magazine found near the wreck, [A href="http://us.rd.yahoo.com/buzz/buzz_log/entry/200603021100/?http://search.yahoo.com/search?p=scotland+yard&cs=bz&fr=buzz"]Scotland Yard[/A] gets involved, and reporters mutter "plot thickens," we're watching for more buzz to come down the road. [BR clear=all]

[Evangelical broadcasters tune out Robertson]

HAHAHA.

Pat Robertson got fired.

[FONT size=6]Evangelical broadcasters tune out Robertson [/FONT][/DIV][FONT size=6][/FONT] [/DIV]VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. -- Christian broadcaster Pat Robertson, criticized by some evangelicals for comments about Venezuela's president and Israel's prime minister, lost a bid for re-election to the National Religious Broadcasters' board of directors. Robertson, founder of the Virginia Beach-based Christian Broadcasting Network, was one of 38 candidates for 33 seats at the conven- tion of the NRB, which represents mostly evangelical broadcasters. NRB President Frank Wright said there was no broad effort to distance the group from Robertson. But ''there was broad dismay with some of Pat's comments and a feeling they were not helpful to Christian broadcasters in general,'' he said in Wednesday's Washington Post. Robertson has suggested that Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez should be assassinated and that Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon's stroke was divine punishment. A Robertson spokeswoman said the decision was ''amicable." AP

 [H3]Harper to be investigated by ethics commissioner[/H3][P class=timeStamp]Updated Fri. Mar. 3 2006 3:00 PM ET

[P class=storyAttributes][SCRIPT language=DOH!script type=text/XXXXscript]    var byString = "";  var sourceString = "CTV.ca News Staff";  if ((sourceString != "") && (byString != "")) (      document.write(byString + ", ");  ) else (    document.write(byString);  )[/SCRIPT]CTV.ca News Staff

Ethics commissioner Bernard Shapiro is launching a preliminary inquiry into conflict-of-interest allegations against Prime Minister Stephen Harper, CTV News has learned.

Shapiro says he will look into what influence may have been wielded in the decision by former Liberal David Emerson to cross the Commons floor and join Harper's Conservative government cabinet.

"The ethics commissioner is apparently investigating ... whether Mr. Harper induced Mr. Emerson to come over with the offer of a cabinet post," CTV's Robert Fife told Newsnet Friday.

"It's a very serious thing when an ethics commissioner is investigating a prime minister and a cabinet minister over party switching."

In a letter to several MPs who complained about the switch, Shapiro says he will issue one report on the conduct of both Harper and Emerson, who is now international trade minister.

"There was no investigation when Belinda Stronach switched and when Scott Brison switched. This ethics comissioner has opened a Pandora's Box today with this investigation," Fife added. Emerson won his east Vancouver riding as a Liberal in the Jan. 23 election, winning by a solid majority over veteran New Democrat Ian Waddell. The Conservative candidate was a distant third.

However, just days after leading the Liberals' B.C. campaign attack on the Tories, Emerson jumped ship and joined the new Conservative government.

Amid an increasing uproar, Emerson later apologized for the switch in letters that arrived in the mailboxes of his constituents.

"I know many of my constituents are having difficulty with the choice I have made," he said in the letter. "To those of you who are upset with my decision, I apologize."

Despite the controversy, Emerson recently pledged to run again for Vancouver-Kingsway in the next federal election, saying hard work on B.C. issues such as softwood lumber, the Olympics and the Pacific Gateway trade initiative will win over the dissenters.

"I'm driving those issues hard and I strongly believe that people will look at the specifics of my job and my performance in the next election," he told reporters last month.

Emerson, former CEO of forest giant Canfor Corp. and once a senior B.C. government bureaucrat, was initially flummoxed by the backlash his floor-crossing spawned.

A reluctant recruit to partisan politics, Emerson contemplated quitting but then said he believes he was right to jump.

He is the only Tory MP in Vancouver's urban core.

 

[img height=120 alt="Prime Minister Stephen Harper is now under investigation by the federal ethics commissioner." src="http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20060127/160_harper_060127.jpg" width=160 border=0]

Prime Minister Stephen Harper is now under investigation by the federal ethics commissioner.

 

[img height=250 alt="Former Liberal cabinet minister David Emerson, now minister of International Trade at the Conservative caucus meeting in Ottawa. (CP / Tom Hanson)" src="http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20060208/160X_cp_emerson_060208.jpg" width=160 border=0]

Former Liberal cabinet minister David Emerson, now minister of International Trade at the Conservative caucus meeting in Ottawa. (CP / Tom Hanson)

 

 

 

 

So much for accountability. hypocrite.

[DIV id=headline][H2]Afghan mission: 10 years[/H2][H3 id=deck]Canada's top soldier Rick Hillier says rebuilding shattered nation will take decade or more [/H3][/DIV][DIV id=author][P class=byline]COLIN FREEZE

[P class=source]From Friday's Globe and Mail

[UL class=columnistInfo][/UL][/DIV][DIV id=article style="FONT-SIZE: 100%"][!-- dateline --]TORONTO [!-- /dateline --]— Canada needs to be in Afghanistan for the long haul, according to General Rick Hillier, who says the mission is part of an international reconstruction effort that will take at least a decade — and probably a lot longer.

"It was turned from a relatively advanced country back to the Stone Age ," the Chief of Defence Staff told The Globe and Mail's editorial board yesterday. "You're not going to have any success rebuilding that country in three or four or five years.

"From NATO's perspective, they look at this as a 10-year mission, right? Minimum. There's going to be a huge demand for Canada to contribute over the longer period of time."

[DIV class="bigbox ad" id=boxR][SCRIPT type=text/XXXXscript ads="1"]aPs="boxR";[/SCRIPT][SCRIPT type=text/XXXXscript]var boxRAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',300,250,ai,'j',nc);[/SCRIPT][/DIV]A growing insurgency in Afghanistan has many Canadians questioning Ottawa's decision to station its troops around Kandahar.

The redeployment has had an ominous start. Yesterday, a 28-year-old corporal was killed and six other Canadian soldiers injured when their light-armoured vehicle crashed outside the city.

Ten Canadians have been killed in Afghanistan since 2002, most of them in accidents. More casualties are anticipated, especially now that 2,300 troops have set up shop in the country's most lawless region.

"The reality is we're in the theatre and there will be some accidents," the Chief of Defence Staff said.

While he said he could not estimate how many soldiers will die, he stressed that the Canadian public needs to gird itself for a long mission, one that will probably involve development work beyond the military's current mandate to post troops there until 2007.

There is no need to discuss an exit strategy, Gen. Hillier said, adding that such talk would only buoy the spirits of an enemy that makes up in zealotry what it lacks in hardware.

"That communicates a message to the Taliban, and the terrorists who want to wait out activities, that they could," he said. "There's a saying that the Taliban used to use: 'You may have the watches, but we have the time.'"

The plain-spoken general made headlines last year for his macho pledge that his forces would kill terrorist "scumbags." But he also has a thoughtful side, which leads him describe his mission in more far-reaching terms.

Canada is "there to help Afghans rebuild their families and communities and become part of something stable, and get on with life," Gen. Hillier told The Globe. He added that terms like "war" and "peacekeeping" are outdated, at least when it comes to describing the long list of jobs his soldiers will be doing.

Decades of civil war and occupation have laid waste to Afghanistan, where warlords and ethnic groups have frequently fought among themselves in the periods when Soviet, U.S. or Arab fighters have not staked any claims to the country. A U.S.-led coalition ousted the fundamentalist Taliban regime in 2001, just months after Afghan-trained al-Qaeda terrorists killed 3,000 people in U.S. cities.

With Western help, a democratically elected Afghan central government is forming, but remains fragile as it lacks strong security forces needed to fight insurgents.

Canada can help create conditions that will curb Afghanistan's high infant-mortality rate, Gen. Hillier said, and help increase the average annual income of $300 to the point where farmers are less tempted to cultivate opium. But any development is contingent on security, the general said, and that's why the Canadian military's most crucial job is to help Afghans police themselves.

"We're doing an entire spectrum of operations, from straightforward negotiation and dealing with folks, to training police, training the army, to helping work with the international community. ... Right through to firefights with the Taliban, to ensure they are not going to be able to stop the progress."

No insurgent forces were involved in yesterday's collision, which took place on a routine patrol a few kilometres west of Kandahar.

The Department of National Defence said that a light-armoured vehicle (known as LAV III) struck a taxi on a newly paved highway, causing the army vehicle to flip over. The force sheered the gun turret and rear axle from the 21-tonne vehicle.

The soldiers were all from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry. An interpreter with the soldiers was also hurt. The most seriously injured were airlifted to hospital.

The military identified the gunner killed in the crash as Corporal Paul Davis of Nova Scotia.

His father in Bridgewater said his son died doing what he loved.

"When he decided to go to Afghanistan, that really impressed me because he loved his family and his two children but he had the sense of duty, and comradeship with the other people he had been training with," Jim Davis said.

Cpl. Davis was a 10-year-veteran, who had served with the Canadian Forces mission in Bosnia. He recently had spurned a promotion that would have taken him out of Afghanistan.

"He said, 'I turned that down, Dad, because I want to be with the chaps,'-" his father said.

Two soldiers were seriously injured in the collision: Master-Corporal Timothy Wilson of Grande Prairie, Alta., and Private Miguel Chavez, who was born in El Salvador.

The road conditions in Afghanistan are notoriously dangerous, and the accident happened on Highway 1, which links the capital Kabul to Kandahar.

Much of the highway has been recently paved, but the upgrade has actually led to an increase in fatal road accidents, as drivers travel at a higher speed.

With reports from Tim Albone in Kandahar and Canadian Press

 

[img height=257 alt="General Rick Hillier speaks to The Globe's editorial board about the Afghan mission Thursday: 'There's going to be a huge demand for Canada to contribute over the longer period of time.' Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail" src="http://images.theglobeandmail.com/archives/RTGAM/images/20060303/wxafghan03/0303hillier.jpg" width=330]

General Rick Hillier speaks to The Globe's editorial board about the Afghan mission Thursday: 'There's going to be a huge demand for Canada to contribute over the longer period of time.' [CITE class=source](Fred Lum/The Globe and Mail)[/CITE]

[/DIV]

[A name=celeb2][B class=sbheadline][FONT face=Arial size=5]'Brokeback' Star Slammed by Former School[/FONT][/B][/A]


[img height=76 alt="" src="http://ia.imdb.com/media/imdb/01/I/40/16/00/10s.jpg" width=64 align=left] [A href="http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0388795/"]Brokeback Mountain[/A] actress [A href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0931329/"]Michelle Williams[/A] has been disowned by her former school because of her role in the controversial gay cowboy romance. Williams, who attended exclusive Santa Fe Christian School in San Diego, California, has been blasted by the school's headmaster as "offensive" for acting the long-suffering wife of a homosexual ranch hand, played by [A href="http://www.imdb.com/name/nm0005132/"]Heath Ledger[/A]. Jim Hopson has branded the Oscar nominee a poor role model, and hopes his education establishment won't be linked to the film's themes. He tells the San Diego Union Tribune, "We don't want to have anything to do with her in relation to that movie. Michelle doesn't represent the values of this institution. Brokeback Mountain basically promotes a lifestyle we don't promote."

 Ugh, kooks are out in force.

UGLY.[/DIV]The u.s. currency down right sucks. They are finally moving the protrait over a bit, but to make real change they need to blow the picture up bigger and move it completely to one side. ala the rest of the world. Next they need to stop with the monuments its boring. I actually like it that Canada has people playing hockey on there money. Bottomline get rid of the green, we live in coloured world, yes coloured! Time for a change.

[[FONT size=5]Kid Rock calls Stapp 'idiot' for losing sex tape[/FONT]]

[DIV class=topPhoto][img height=120 alt="Singer Kid Rock attends a Cleveland Cavaliers-San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball game Feb. 13, 2006." src="http://images.ctv.ca/archives/CTVNews/img2/20060222/160_kidrock_ap.jpg" width=160 border=0] Singer Kid Rock attends a Cleveland Cavaliers-San Antonio Spurs NBA basketball game Feb. 13, 2006.

[FONT size=5]Kid Rock calls Stapp 'idiot' for losing sex tape[/FONT]

[/DIV][P class=timeStamp]Updated Thu. Mar. 2 2006 7:41 PM ET

[P class=storyAttributes][SCRIPT language=DOH!script type=text/XXXXscript]    var byString = "";  var sourceString = "Associated Press";  if ((sourceString != "") && (byString != "")) (      document.write(byString + ", ");  ) else (    document.write(byString);  )[/SCRIPT]Associated Press

[!-- dateline --]NEW YORK [!-- /dateline --]— Kid Rock blames Scott Stapp for losing a sex video showing them with several strippers, but appreciates Stapp for one thing. "What perfect timing," Rock told The Associated Press in an interview Wednesday. "I got a record coming up ... Maybe I should thank him."

The hard-partying rap-rocker, whose new live concert album "Live Trucker" hit stores Tuesday, defended his backstage antics, saying, "It's not any big revelation that this goes on in rock 'n' roll, especially with who I am."

Still, Rock (aka Robert Ritchie) has fired back against Stapp's claim that the tape was stolen, saying the former Creed singer filmed the tape, which was made in Rock's motor home in 1999, and is responsible for losing it.

"He's the idiot because it's out," the 35-year-old Rock said. "I'm holding him responsible."

Rock has won a temporary court order preventing World Wide Red Light District from distributing or promoting the video.

Red Light, which sold the Paris Hilton sex tape in 2004, had displayed a 40-second preview clip of the video on its Web site. The company has acknowledged that the tape came from a third party, but denied it was stolen.

"At this point, I don't even care," said Rock, who said he hasn't spoken to Stapp since the tape was filmed.

He's upset, though, that someone might make money from the tape. "If there's money to be made, it's my performance" he said.

In a recent interview with AP Radio, Stapp, 32, said he thinks the sex video was stolen from him and is meant to destroy his career.

Rock scoffed at that notion: "I'm like, what are you talking about? This tape gets out — it's your tape — and you're (saying) someone's trying to sabotage your career?"

Rock said he invited Stapp to join him and four strippers after Stapp entered his motor home with a video camera and asked to "get in" on the action.

"'I only got two beers left,'" Rock said, describing what he deemed to be his gracious behavior toward Stapp, whom he had never met. "`You can have one.' How nice is that?"

He said he's further upset to be associated with sex tape scandal subjects Hilton, Colin Farrell and ex-girlfriend Pamela Anderson.

"I don't want to be in that company with all these idiots (who have) sex tapes, which is why I've never had a video camera," he said. "I agree I knew the tape was going on at the time — I must have. Although, I'll guarantee you, I wasn't sober."





I love it when rockers contridict themselves. Kid Rock is a joke but it looks like battle of the rock 'n roll divas is about to start.

[DIV id=headline][H2]Supreme Court rules kirpans okay in school[/H2][/DIV][DIV id=author][P class=byline]RICHARD BLACKWELL AND TERRY WEBER

[P class=source]Globe and Mail Update

[UL class=columnistInfo][/UL][/DIV][DIV id=article style="FONT-SIZE: 100%"]The Supreme Court of Canada has ruled that Sikh students can carry ceremonial daggers to class and that doing so does not pose an undue danger to others in the schools.

The top court overturned Thursday morning a Quebec Court of Appeals ruling that had barred the kirpan from schools in the province. The Quebec court had said a limit on religious freedom was reasonable, given the safety concerns from carrying the daggers to school.

"Religious tolerance is a very important value of Canadian society," the top court judges wrote in their decision.

[DIV class="bigbox ad" id=boxR][SCRIPT type=text/XXXXscript ads="1"]aPs="boxR";[/SCRIPT][SCRIPT type=text/XXXXscript]var boxRAC = fnTdo('a'+'ai',300,250,ai,'j',nc);[/SCRIPT][/DIV]"A total prohibition against wearing a kirpan to school undermines the value of this religious symbol and sends students the message that some religious practices do not merit the same protection as others."

If the kirpan is sealed inside clothing the risk of it being used for violent purposes, or being taken away by other students is very low, the judges said. "There are many objects in schools that could be used to commit violent acts and that are much more easily obtained by students, such as scissors, pencils and baseball bats."

Several other provinces have long ago reached compromises with the Sikh community, allowing the carrying of the kirpan — a requirement for baptized followers of the Sikh religion — as long as it is safely sheathed and concealed.

The 2004 ruling from the Quebec appeal court, however, dismissed any possibility of a compromise in that province.

The specific case that went to the Supreme Court involves Gurbaj Singh Multani, now 17. Five years ago, he accidentally dropped his kirpan in the schoolyard of a Montreal elementary school.

Parents of other children pressured the local school board to ban the dagger, because of a zero-tolerance policy concerning weapons.

Gurbaj's parents sued, and the case wound its way through the courts for several years.

In the wake of Thursday's ruling, he told reporters he hoped the Supreme Court decision would help students now in the school system.

"Now that we've won the case, kids like me won't have any problems any more," he said.

He also thanked members of the community who stood by him during the battle.

"I was a little scared but the community supported me a lot, they stood by me shoulder by shoulder," he said. "I'm thankful to them."

When the Supreme Court heard the arguments last April, several organizations — including the Canadian Civil Liberties Association, the Ontario Human Rights Commission, and the World Sikh Organization of Canada — intervened to support the family.

They noted that there have been no examples of any violent acts in schools as a result of wearing of the kirpan.

The youth transferred to a private school soon after the controversy erupted in 2001, and some of the intervenors were concerned that there would be a mass exodus by Sikh students from public schools across the country if the Supreme Court ruled in favour of the ban.

In its intervention, the Quebec government supported the ban, arguing that any potential weapon can cause an unnecessary risk in the schools.

Thursday's ruling was welcomed by Canada's Sikh community.

"We're very pleased that when this court did do this consideration, it came down fully in support of the right of a Sikh student to wear his or her articles of faith while attending school at the same time," Palbinder Shergill, counsel for the Canadian branch of the World Sikh Organization, told reporters during a news conference in Ottawa.

"We hope that in time that those individuals that do not understand the basic tenants of the Sikh community and the Sikh religion and the basic principles that underlie the values of the kirpan will understand and recognize that the kirpan represents what we all hold dear to us as Canadians."

With a file from Canadian Press



[img height=520 alt="Gurbaj Singh Multani, now 17,  is shown at the age of 12 with his ceremonial dagger. Luc Laforce/CP" src="http://images.theglobeandmail.com/archives/RTGAM/images/20060302/wkirpan0302/_done330_0302kirpan.jpg" width=330]

Gurbaj Singh Multani, now 17, is shown at the age of 12 with his ceremonial dagger. [CITE class=source](Luc Laforce/CP)[/CITE]

[CITE class=source][/CITE]

[CITE class=source][/CITE]

[CITE class=source][/CITE]

[CITE class=source]I don't get this and I don't agree with this. This is banned on planes and with bullying rampent in schools this is a weapon.[/CITE]

[/DIV]

[DIV class=story][H1]God Save the Queen sparks row at Commonwealth Games[/H1][SPAN class=byline]Last Updated Wed, 01 Mar 2006 23:59:47 EST[/SPAN] [DIV class=text][A href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html"]CBC News[/A][/DIV][DIV class=text]Australia is in the midst of a royal ruckus with news God Save the Queen won't be played when the Queen opens the Commonwealth Games there later this month. [UL][LI][FONT size=1]INDEPTH: [/FONT][FONT size=2][A href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/background/australia/"]Australia[/A][/FONT][/LI][/UL]

The controversy started with news organizers of the games only wanting the country's national anthem Advance Australia Fair played, except during medals ceremonies. The games, which will be carried on CBC-TV, open on March 15 in Melbourne.

Australia's prime minister said Thursday he disagrees with the decision over the anthem.

"I have absolutely no difficulty myself with the playing of God Save the Queen in the presence of Her Majesty," John Howard said.

"It's just a matter of good manners," he said.

Howard said the royal anthem will be played at a state dinner for the Queen.

And even Immigration Minister Amanda Vanstone, who favours making Australia a republic, has spoken out against not playing the anthem.

"How crazy is that?" Vanstone told Australian Broadcasting.

"She is the Queen of Australia, she's coming to Australia on one of her rarer visits, and I think it's appropriate that we show due respect," she said.

An official said organizers had checked with the Queen's protocol office and believed there was no breach.

[/DIV][FONT face=Verdana,Arial size=1][/FONT]

[/DIV]

[DIV class=news][DIV class=story][H1]Michigan moves closer to banning Canadian trash[/H1][SPAN class=byline]Last Updated Wed, 01 Mar 2006 21:29:29 EST[/SPAN] [DIV class=text][A href="http://www.cbc.ca/news/credit.html"]CBC News[/A][/DIV][DIV class=text]Michigan moved closer Wednesday to banning imports of Canadian garbage, but the bill still has to be passed by the U.S. Congress. "With this package signed into law we will be sending a strong message to Washington and to Canada that we are not taking any more Canadian trash," the bill's sponsor, Rep. Dan Acciavatti, said.

[TABLE cellSpacing=4 cellPadding=0 width=220 align=right hspace="4"][TBODY][TR][TD align=middle][img height=280 hspace=3 src="http://www.cbc.ca/gfx/pix/michigan_trash_cp_4944470.jpg" width=220 border=0] [/TD][/TR][TR][TD align=middle][DIV class=caption][FONT face=verdana,arial size=1]About 29 per cent of the trash dumped in Michigan landfills in the last fiscal year came from Canada and other states (CP file photo) [/FONT][/DIV][/TD][/TR][/TBODY][/TABLE]Michigan's state Senate passed the bill, and then the state's House of Representatives followed suit.

The U.S. Department of Environmental Quality says about 29 per cent of the trash dumped in Michigan landfills in the last fiscal year came from Canada and other states.

The bill still has to be signed by the state govenor who supports the bill. As well, U.S. federal legislation authorizing the trash ban is still pending in Congress.

In 1992, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled that states cannot stop trash from crossing their borders without approval from Congress.

[/DIV][FONT face=Verdana,Arial size=1][/FONT]

[FONT face=Verdana size=1][/FONT]

[FONT face=Verdana size=1][/FONT]

FYI: The Gov. of Michigan was born in Canada.

[/DIV][/DIV]