Heat hosting Air Force guests for scrimmage

HURLBURT FIELD, Fla. (AP) — LeBron James came down the court, headed toward the baseline and made a nifty behind-the-back pass to rookie center Dexter Pittman near the basket.

Pittman missed the layup.

That's when he — and the rest of the Miami Heat — saw what having James as a teammate can mean.

The NBA's two-time reigning MVP slammed Pittman's miss home, one of many moments that left guests from the U.S. Air Force howling when the Heat held their first full preseason scrimmage Friday night. It was the first time Wade, James and Chris Bosh played together in a game situation as Heat teammates.

"There's no time to waste," James said.

It was the seventh …

Comparing Proteins by Their Unfolding Pattern

ABSTRACT

Single molecule force spectroscopy has evolved into an important and extremely powerful technique for investigating the folding potentials of biomolecules. Mechanical tension is applied to individual molecules, and the subsequent, often stepwise unfolding is recorded in force extension traces. However, because the energy barriers of the folding potentials are often close to the thermal energy, both the extensions and the forces at which these barriers are overcome are subject to marked fluctuations. Therefore, force extension traces are an inadequate representation despite widespread use particularly when large populations of proteins need to be compared and analyzed. We …

World Golf Ranking

1. Tiger Woods, United States, 21.53 average points.

2. Phil Mickelson, United States, 9.71.

3. Ernie Els, South Africa, 6.46.

4. Steve Stricker, United States, 6.26.

5. Adam Scott, Australia, 5.71.

6. Justin Rose, England, 5.68.

7. K.J. Choi, South Korea, 5.68.

8. Jim Furyk, United States, 5.63.

9. Vijay Singh, Fiji, 5.57.

10. Rory Sabbatini, South Africa, 5.36.

11. Geoff Ogilvy, Australia, 5.35.

12. Padraig Harrington, Ireland, 5.14.

13. Henrik Stenson, Sweden, 4.82.

14. Sergio Garcia, Spain, 4.22.

15. Stewart Cink, United …

Dodgers, Gagne finish off Cubs

dodgers 3, cubs 1

LOS ANGELES--The Cubs better find a way to get a lead and holdonto it for dear life in the final two games of this series. WithEric "The Terminator" Gagne in unstoppable mode, that strategy ofeliminating Gagne might be the only chance they have to avoid gettingswept.

Gagne set a major-league record in the Los Angeles Dodgers' 3-1victory Friday night over the Cubs. When he set down Sammy Sosa,Moises Alou and Aramis Ramirez in order in the ninth, it marked thefirst time that a closer has totaled 39 consecutive saves to beginthe season without blowing one opportunity.

He has retired the last 22 batters to face him, including 13 bystrikeout, and …

All around, it's a celebration of Earth Day

Ecology-minded volunteers are being sought to participate inChicago's annual Earth Day cleanup of parks, beaches and expresswaysfrom 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. tomorrow.

Volunteers also are encouraged to organize groups. Thesponsors of the effort include the Chicago Park District, MayorDaley's Greenstreets program and Friends of the Park. For moreinformation, call the Earth Day Hotline at (312) 616-6923. CHICAGO The Center for New Television is joining the Earth Day gala bypresenting a video series geared toward environmental education.The 80-minute program will be aired continuously from 2 to 5 p.m.tomorrow at 1440 N. Dayton. Admission is $5 for adults, $3 forchildren …

US poverty on track to post record gain in 2009

WASHINGTON (AP) — The number of people in the U.S. who are in poverty is on track for a record increase on President Barack Obama's watch, with the ranks of working-age poor approaching 1960s levels that led to the national war on poverty.

Census figures for 2009 — the recession-ravaged first year of the Democrat's presidency — are to be released in the coming week, and demographers expect grim findings.

It's unfortunate timing for Obama and his party just seven weeks before important elections when control of Congress is at stake. The anticipated poverty rate increase — from 13.2 percent to about 15 percent — would be another blow to Democrats struggling to persuade voters to …

China's curbs on bank lending weigh on markets

European stock markets and Wall Street futures held steady Wednesday though China's moves to curb bank lending stoked concerns that further monetary tightening may slow down economic recovery in Asia.

In Europe, the FTSE 100 index of leading British shares was down 8.09 points, or 0.2 percent, at 5,490.62 while France's CAC-40 rose 1.69 points, or less than 0.1 percent, to 4,001.74. Germanys DAX, which fell more than its European counterparts on Tuesday, was up 19.32 points, or 0.3 percent, at 5,962.32.

A fairly subdued opening is expected for Wall Street _ Dow futures were up 13 points, or 0.1 percent, at 10,601 while the broader Standard & Poor's 500 …

Hyde likens abortion to Holocaust's horrors

Abortion clinics are similar to the horrors of the Holocaust,U.S. Rep. Henry Hyde (R-Ill.) said in federal court Thursday,testifying as a character witness for abortion protester Joseph M.Scheidler.

Scheidler, executive director of the Pro-Life Action League, isone of several defendants in a class-action lawsuit that alleges heengaged in racketeering by blockading abortion clinics.

Scheidler is "courageous" for illegally blockading clinics,Hyde testified."I've said this before," Hyde said in an interview later. "Ithink the Holocaust belongs to every human being because it isbetrayal of man by man. There have been about 35 million abortionssince Roe vs. Wade, …

Dodgers 6, Mets 0

New York			Los Angeles
ab r h bi		ab r h bi
Pagan cf	5 0 2 0		GwynJ lf	4 1 3 0
Turner 2b	4 0 0 0		Carroll ss	3 0 0 0
Beltran rf	3 0 0 0		Ethier rf	3 1 0 0
RPauln c	3 0 0 …

Woods turns icy at personal questions in Ireland

After another warm welcome from the Irish public, Tiger Woods turned curt and dismissive at a news conference Tuesday when asked about his state of mind since the sex scandal that's wrecked his marriage.

Woods was questioned following his 3-under-par 69 in his final round of the charity J.P. McManus Invitational Pro-Am, his first foreign appearance since the turmoil.

When asked whether his liaisons with other women had been "worth it" since it cost him his marriage and endorsements, Woods replied, "I think you're looking too deep into this." He torpedoed the follow-up question with an icily firm "Thank you."

Woods is …

Recollections of an Accidental Contrarian

First, I sincerely thank BBCS for this honour. It seems especially appropriate to receive this award in Montreal, where I started my studies many years ago at McGiIl University. As so often in life, I got to McGiIl somewhat by chance. I was finishing off my high school senior year with the Saskatchewan government correspondence school while teaching in a one-room schoolhouse in northern Manitoba. I noticed an ad in the Manitoba Teacher's magazine urging teachers to encourage qualified students to apply for an entrance scholarship to McGiIl. I applied, and to my delight was successful. So I ended up in 1953 living in Royal Victoria College at the corner of University and Sherbrooke, at …

Team Germany honors Yaroslavl victim Dietrich

KAUFBEUREN, Germany (AP) — The German Ice Hockey Federation is retiring the Germany No. 20 shirt that belonged to Robert Dietrich, one of the players recently killed in a plane crash in Russia.

The Sept. 7 crash of a chartered Yak-42 plane near Yaroslavl in western Russia killed 28 players for Lokomotiv Yaroslavl, a top …

Excerpts from Times Square bomb plot plea hearing

Excerpts of statements made by Times Square bombing suspect Faisal Shahzad, according to a court transcript.

"I want to plead guilty and I'm going to plead guilty a hundred times over because until the hour the U.S. pulls it forces from Iraq and Afghanistan and stops the drone strikes in Somalia and Yemen and in Pakistan and stops the occupation of Muslim lands and stops killing the Muslims and stops reporting the Muslims to its government, we will be attacking U.S., and I plead guilty to that."

___

"And when I came back on February 2nd, I started _ started planning on the plan. So I started looking for a place first to rent and slowly got together what I think could make a bomb. During that time _ it took me from February up to end of April to do all that, find a place. I also required some more cash and I requested that from the Taliban, and they sent it to me, twice, once in March and the other time in end of April. So I got the cash, I worked on it, I made the bomb in a car, and I drove it to Times Square, New York, on May 1st."

___

"The bomb was _ it was in three sections that I made the bomb. The major was the fertilizer bomb. That was in the trunk. It was in a cabinet, a gun cabinet. The second was _ if that plan of the actual, that didn't work, then the second would be the cylinder, the gas cylinders I had. And the third I had was a petrol, a gas to make fire in the car. But seems like none of those went off, and I don't know the reason why they didn't go off."

___

"I would point out one thing in connection to the attack, that one has to understand where I'm coming from, because this is _ I consider myself a mujahid, a Muslim soldier. The U.S. and the NATO forces, along with 40, 50 countries has attacked the Muslim lands."

___

"The drone hits in Afghanistan and Iraq, they don't see children, they don't see anybody. They kill women, children, they kill everybody. It's a war, and in war, they kill people. They're killing all Muslims."

___

"I am part of the answer to the U.S. terrorizing the Muslim nations and the Muslim people, and on behalf of that, I'm avenging the attacks, because only _ like living in U.S., the Americans only care about their people, but they don't care about the people elsewhere in the world when they die. Similarly, in Gaza Strip, somebody has to go and live with the family whose house is bulldozed by the Israeli bulldozer."

RLUIPA; Will local church play its trump card?

In 2000 Congress passed and President Clinton signed into law the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act (RLUIPA), which prohibits governments from burdening the free exercise of religion unless it can prove that a compelling government interest is at stake. RLUIPA specifically protects religious groups from zoning or landmark laws that restrict religious activity.

This new federal law has given churches a powerful weapon:

* In June, a Cheyenne, Wyoming, jury was the first to hear a RLUIPA case. A Methodist church filed suit claiming the city violated its rights by not letting it build a daycare center. The jury ruled that the church hadn't proved that providing childcare is a "sincere exercise of religion." The church has appealed to the 10th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.

* In Salem, Oregon, the city council denied the Court Street Christian Church's request for an 8,100-square foot expansion, citing concern that allowing an exception to the neighborhood zoning would set a precedent that could erode historic areas.

The church filed a lawsuit claiming religious discrimination based on RLUIPA. The case awaits resolution.

* In Plano, Texas, the WillowCreek Fellowship filed suit in July against the city after the church received notification from the city that it might not be granted occupancy of its nearly-finished building if it did not renovate two walls. The church said it was unable to fund such renovations and was being discriminated against. The two parties hope resolve the issue through mediation.

* On June 23, California federal judge Stephen Wilson struck down part of the RLUIPA in ruling against Elsinore Christian Center, which was seeking to purchase a downtown building being used as a grocery store. The church wanted to use the building for additional parking and a meeting room. The Lake Elsinore planning commission refused the permit, citing the need for a grocery store in the area and the loss of tax revenue among its reasons. Wilson, in his ruling, said RLUIPA exceeded congressional power under a section of the Constitution's 14th Amendment. He described the law as a "blunderbuss of a remedy." The case is being appealed.

* In March 2002, the Greenwood Village (Colorado) City Council rejected a proposal to expand onto adjacent land by the Greenwood Community Church. The city council reversed its decision after the church sued citing the RLUIPA.

These are examples of the more than 50 land-use/religious discrimination conflicts citing the RLUIPA simmering in courts across the nation today. A Boise courtroom may be next if Cathedral of the Rockies decides to use the RLUIPA to move forward with its plans to demolish six historic houses on Fort Street between 11th and 12th and replace them with a 139-unit apartment complex and 456-space parking garage.

Boise Planning and Zoning denied the church's original plan earlier this year. The church plans to present a new proposal in the upcoming months.

In July, Boise City Council pulled the church's demolition permits for the six houses, but then reinstated the permits on August 26.

At an August 12 public hearing on the revocation of the permits, the church made reference to the RLUIPA. In addition, an August 11 letter from attorney Frederic Shoemaker to the Council reads in part, "If the City Council chooses to follow...Mr. Jones' interpretation of City Code Title 4 would have the City discriminate against the First United Methodist Church in an unfair and unheralded manner. The United States Congress has deemed land use discrimination against religious organizations so intolerable that, in 2000, it passed the Religious Land Use and Institutionalized Persons Act...RLUIPA protects religious organizations from land use discrimination by declaring such policies unconstitutional." (Note: the Council did not review this letter because it arrived after the time for new evidence had passed.)

The RLUIPA has an interesting history that began over a decade ago in Oregon when two Native Americans, whose religion required them to use the hallucinogenic drug peyote, were fired from their jobs for controlled substance abuse and denied unemployment compensation. The workers appealed, claiming religious discrimination. The case ultimately went to the U.S. Supreme Court which ruled that the Oregon law was reasonable since its main purpose was to ban a harmful substance, not restrict free exercise of religion.

Many conservative leaders viewed this ruling as an attack on religion and they began to lobby Congress for a statute to nullify the Supreme Court decision. Congress met this demand with the passage of the "Religious Freedom Restoration Act" (RFRA) in 1993, which said state or city laws or ordinances could not restrict a religious institution or impede an individual practicing his or her religion. This act was struck down following a situation in Boerne, Texas, in which a Catholic church wanted to demolish a historic building to enlarge its facilities. The city's zoning board said the town's historic preservation ordinance prevented demolition. The church argued exemption based on the RFRA. The case eventually went to the high court which struck down the act saying the RFRA exceeded Congress' constitutional authority.

Following this defeat, the religious lobby did not wait long to introduce the RLUIPA in 2000, which passed by unanimous consent.

Opponents say the act gives religious groups more rights than homeowners. Proponents say the act was needed because governments have imposed too many barriers to church projects, infringing on religious freedom.

Article copyright Bar Bar Inc.

Illustration (A cross)

Plea for rural broadband ; Letters

Siobhan Prideaux's article 'Superfast broadband blow for ruralareas' (Bath Chronicle, November 17) points to the problem faced bycommunities on the edge of Bath, which face the risk of beingexcluded from the national roll-out of superfast broadband under theGovernment's Broadband Delivery UK programme.

The principle reason for this would appear to be that, even whena rural council funds a generous top-up, it may still not be enoughto pay for the upgrade of all the small exchanges and special casesthat make up the final 15 per cent to reach national coverage.

As Bath and North East Somerset Council appears to have workedout, the Government's formula may not be economically attractivebecause a high proportion of the B&NES population has already beenupgraded by commercial companies, and its remaining rural areas maybe too small and fragmented to justify the Government's 'bigcontract' solution.

The parish of Winsley shares the same problem as Claverton, beingon the edge of Bath and having people who urgently need a reliablebroadband service to work and run their businesses from home.

In Winsley's case, there is the added difficulty in that itstelephone services are split between two exchanges: the Bradford 86exchange and the Limpley Stoke 72 exchange. The Bradford exchangewas upgraded by BT several months ago but BT has no plans to upgradeLimpley Stoke. Not only is Winsley split, the Limpley Stoke exchangeserves parishes split by the River Avon, and between Wiltshire andB&NES.

While the maximum speed provided by Limpley Stoke is around sixmegabytes, the actual speed by the time the signal has gone down tothe river and up Winsley Hill may reduce to about 2.5 megabytes atnight, and lower and more variable during the day.

Those professional and entrepreneurial men and women and theirfamilies, who have been attracted to settle in the small ruralcommunities that surround Bath, have much to contribute to ourfuture economic well-being. That is why we need our senior councilsto address the problem posed by these small obsolete exchanges thaturgently need to be upgraded with superfast broadband.

PHILIP POULSOM Councillor, Winsley Parish Council Bradford onAvon

RF Micro lowers 3Q revenue outlook

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Shares of RF Micro Devices Inc. fell about 16 percent in after-hours trading Thursday after the chip maker said its revenue for the quarter that ended in December was lower than earlier forecast, due mainly to lower demand for some of its cellular chips.

RF Micro, which is based in Greensboro, N.C., said its revenue for the fiscal third quarter totaled about $225 million.

In October, the company predicted revenue of $250 million for the quarter. Analysts polled by FactSet had been expecting $250 million, on average.

The company said its cellular products revenue totaled $179 million since sales of chips that it sells to customers in China for low-end phones were lower than it expected. Revenue in RF Micro's multi-market products group — which includes chips for wireless, broadband, aerospace and defense and other uses — totaled $46 million due to general economic weakness in the markets that unit sells to.

The company plans to report its quarterly results on Jan. 24.

Looking at the fiscal first quarter, which ends in March, RFMD said in a statement that it expects "normal seasonality" in the handset market and the markets that its multi-market products group caters to.

Shares of RF Micro, which is based in Greensboro, N.C., fell 89 cents, or 15.8 percent, to $4.75 in after-hours trading. During regular trading, the stock rose 17 cents, or 3.1 percent, to close at $5.64.

Former President Clinton unveils statue in Kosovo

Thousands of ethnic Albanians braved low temperatures and a cold wind in Kosovo's capital Pristina to welcome former President Bill Clinton on Sunday as he attended the unveiling of an 11-foot (3.5-meter) statue of himself on a key boulevard that also bears his name.

Clinton is celebrated as a hero by Kosovo's ethnic Albanian majority for launching NATO's bombing campaign against Yugoslavia in 1999 that stopped the brutal Serb forces' crackdown on independence-seeking ethnic Albanians.

This is his first visit to Kosovo since it declared independence from Serbia last year.

Many waved American, Albanian and Kosovo flags and chanted "USA!" as the former president climbed on top of a podium with his poster in the background reading "Kosovo honors a hero."

Some peeked out of balconies and leaned on window sills to get a better view of Clinton from their apartment blocks.

To thunderous applause Clinton waved to the crowd as the red cover was pulled off from the statue.

The statue is placed on top of a white-tiled base, in the middle of a tiny square, surrounded by communist-era buildings.

"I never expected that anywhere, someone would make such a big statue of me," Clinton said of the gold-sprayed statue weighing a ton (900 kilograms).

He also addressed Kosovo's 120-seat assembly, encouraging them to forgive and move on from the violence of the past.

The statue portrays Clinton with his left arm raised and holding a portfolio bearing his name and the date when NATO started bombing Yugoslavia, on March. 24, 1999.

An estimated 10,000 ethnic Albanians were killed during the Kosovo crackdown and about 800,000 were forced out of their homes. They returned home after NATO-led peacekeepers moved in following 78 days of bombing.

Leta Krasniqi, an ethnic Albanian, said the statue was the best way to express the ethnic Albanians' gratitude for Clinton's role in making Kosovo a state.

"This is a big day," Krasniqi, 25 said. "I live nearby and I'm really excited that I will be able to see the statue of such a big friend of ours every day."

Clinton last visited Kosovo in 2003 when he received an honorary university degree. His first visit was in 1999 _ months after some 6,000 U.S. troops were deployed in the NATO-led peacekeeping mission here.

Some 1,000 American soldiers are still based in Kosovo as part of NATO's 14,000-strong peacekeeping force.

Police in Kosovo upped security measures ahead of Bill Clinton's arrival by adding deploying more traffic police and special police.

NATO officials said the peacekeepers were also on alert, although no additional security measures were taken.

Iran Invites Iraqi, Syrian Presidents

BAGHDAD, Iraq - In an apparent bid to counter U.S. influence in the region, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad invited his Iraqi and Syrian counterparts to a weekend summit in Tehran to tackle the chaos in Iraq, Iraqi lawmakers said Monday.

The diplomatic gambit coincided with a groundbreaking visit to Baghdad by Syrian Foreign Minister Walid Moallem, who was challenged over Damascus' role in supporting the Sunni insurgency. The Iraqi government said diplomatic relations between the two countries - severed nearly a quarter-century ago - would be restored by Tuesday.

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki told the Syrian envoy that Damascus should not let its disputes with the United States be played out in Iraq, where the chaos and bloodshed has become "a danger that threatens all, not Iraq only."

Although a spokesman for the Iraqi president said Syrian President Bashar Assad would not be attending the summit, the Iranian move appeared designed to upstage possible American efforts to reach out to Tehran and Damascus in a wider effort to subdue runaway violence in Iraq.

The invitation was also a display of Iran's increasingly muscular role in the Middle East, where it already has established deep influence over Syria and Lebanon. Tehran is thought to benefit from a low level of chaos in Iraq to keep the U.S. bogged down - but is wary that too much bloodshed could cause trouble across its own border, where Kurds could become restive.

A close parliamentary associate of Iraqi President Jalal Talabani said the summit represents an attempt by Tehran to strengthen its position in the region and prevent the U.S. from dividing Syria, a predominantly Sunni Arab country, from its ally of convenience, Shiite Iran.

The close Talabani associate, a fellow Kurd, said Talabani has accepted the invitation and will fly to the Iranian capital Saturday. The associate spoke on condition of anonymity because he was not authorized to discuss the matter with the media.

Talabani spokesman Kamaran Qaradaghi said in a statement late Monday that the Tehran meeting would only include Talabani and Ahmadinejad. He said, however, that Talabani had accepted an invitation to meet with Assad in Damascus. No date was set.

The State Department reacted with skepticism about Iran's intentions in Iraq, but said it was up to Iraq to decide. "It's their call; it's their decision," deputy spokesman Tom Casey said in Washington.

"We have seen statements like this many times in the past," and there have been several high-level contacts between Iran and Iraq, Casey said. But Iran's statements of a desire to reduce violence in Iraq "have not been backed up by facts," the U.S. spokesman said.

Asked about the Syrian foreign minister's visit to Iraq for high-level talks, Casey said, "The problem is not what they say but what they do."

"Certainly what we would like to see the Syrians do is take actions to, among other things, prevent foreign fighters from coming across the border into Iraq; and, again, to back up the positive words that they have with some real concrete steps," Casey said.

Both Iran and Syria are seen as key players in Iraq.

Syria is widely believed to have done little to stop foreign fighters and al-Qaida recruits from crossing its border to join Sunni insurgents in Iraq. It also has provided refuge for many top members of Saddam Hussein's former leadership and political corps, which is thought to have organized arms and funding for the insurgents. The Sunni insurgency, since it sprang to life in the late summer of 2003, has been responsible for the vast majority of U.S. deaths in Iraq.

"We object to any neighboring country that allows itself to be a base or a transit point for the terrorist groups that harm Iraq," al-Maliki said after meeting with the Syrian envoy.

Iran is deeply involved in training, funding and arming the two major Shiite militias in Iraq, where Tehran has deep historic ties to the current Shiite political leadership. Many Iraqi Shiites spent years in Iranian exile during Saddam's decades in power in Baghdad. One militia, the Badr Brigade, was trained in Iran by the Revolutionary Guard.

An Ahmadinejad spokesman said that Talabani's visit was scheduled several weeks ago for late November to work on improving bilateral relations. The spokesman, Majid Yazdi, told The Associated Press that he had no information on a coming visit by the Syrian leader.

But Talabani confidants said the invitation was issued Thursday by the Iranian ambassador who said Assad also was invited to the Tehran talks with Ahmadinejad.

Other lawmakers who confirmed the invitation to the AP were Reda Jawad Taqi, a senior official with Iraq's largest Shiite political organization, the Supreme Council for the Islamic Revolution in Iraq; Ali al-Adeeb, a close aide to al-Maliki; and Bassem Sharif, a lawmaker from the Shiite Fadila party.

Assad's foreign minister, Moallem, was the highest-level Syrian official to visit Iraqi since Saddam's ouster in 2003. Syria broke diplomatic ties with Iraq in 1982, accusing Iraq of inciting riots by the banned Muslim Brotherhood in Syria. Damascus also sided with Iran in the 1980-88 Iran-Iraq war. Trade ties were restored in 1997.

---

AP correspondents Bassem Mroue in Baghdad and Nasser Karimi in Tehran contributed to this report.

Wholesale prices rising at fastest pace since 1981

Wholesale inflation soared in July, leaving U.S. prices rising at the fastest pace in nearly three decades. While recent declines in oil and other commodity prices raise hopes inflation may have peaked, some economists worry about the widespread nature of the July price surge and caution it will take more time for that pressure to ease on Wall Street and Main Street.

The Labor Department reported Tuesday that wholesale prices shot up 1.2 percent in July, pushed higher by rising costs for energy and a variety of other products from motor vehicles to plastic goods.

The increase was more than twice the 0.5 percent gain that economists expected and left prices rising over the past 12 months by 9.8 percent. That marked the biggest annual increase since the 12 months ending in June 1981, a period when the Federal Reserve was driving interest rates to the highest levels since the 1861-1865 U.S. Civil War in an effort to combat a decade-long bout of inflation.

Core prices, which exclude food and energy, rose 0.7 percent last month. That increase was the biggest since November 2006 and more than triple the 0.2 percent rise in core prices that had been expected.

Elsewhere, the Commerce Department reported that construction of new homes and apartments slid to an annual rate of 965,000 units in July, a 17-year low. Builders continued to slash production as they battled slumping sales and soaring mortgage defaults dumping more homes on an already glutted market.

Wall Street tumbled on the gloomy economic news as investors worried the worst housing slump in decades was showing no signs of a rebound and that the Federal Reserve's tool to combat the weakness _ lowering interest rates _ was unlikely to be used given the sharp jump in inflation seen last month in both wholesale and consumer prices.

The Dow Jones industrial average fell 130.84 points to close at 11,348.55 after losing 180 points on Monday. It was the worst two-day performance for the Dow since late June.

Last week, the government reported that consumer prices had jumped by 0.8 percent in July, leaving prices over the past 12 months rising at the fastest pace since 1991.

The steep slump in housing, rising unemployment and a severe credit crisis have worked to offset $92 billion in economic stimulus payments made from April through July intended to keep the economy out of a deep recession. Retail giants Target Corp. and Home Depot Inc. on Tuesday reported that profits sank in the second quarter. Home Depot said it continued to have a downbeat outlook for the year as the housing market shows no signs of recovery.

The July price pressures reflected in part the surge in energy costs that pushed crude-oil and gasoline prices to record highs. Crude-oil prices have fallen by more than $30 per barrel since then, raising hopes that inflation pressures will soon ease.

But the price spikes seen elsewhere in July prompted concerns that the prolonged surge in energy was beginning to show up more broadly throughout the economy, and that while prices may rise quickly, they tend to come back down much more slowly.

"Inflation is way too hot," said Joel Naroff, chief economist at Naroff Economic Advisors in Holland, Pennsylvania "It took a long time for the surge in commodity prices to seep into the general economy so don't expect one month of commodity price declines to suddenly turn off the inflation pump."

But other economists said they believed the July inflation report could represent the worst for inflation pressures this year if _ and they concede this is a big if _ energy prices continue to decline in coming months.

"A firmer dollar, retreating commodity prices and continued economic weakness should damp inflation by the fall," said Sal Guatieri, an economist at BMO Capital Markets in Toronto, who said he looked for elevated inflation numbers at both the consumer and wholesale levels for another month before they start declining.

Economists saw a silver lining in the continued plunge in housing construction, saying it is needed to help reduce the glut of unsold properties as builders compete with foreclosed homes selling at steep price discounts.

In Crawford, Texas, where President George W. Bush is vacationing, spokesman Tony Fratto said the big jump in July producer prices did not "reflect the recent significant fall in oil prices, which everyone would like to see continue."

The Federal Reserve is caught between a slumping economy, as reflected by the further plunge in housing construction, and the big jump in inflation pressures, which has some Fed officials lobbying for the central bank to start boosting interest rates.

The Fed, which aggressively cut interest rates from last September through April, has held rates unchanged at meetings in June and earlier this month. Richard Fisher, president of the Fed's Dallas regional bank, dissented at both those meetings, arguing the central bank should start raising interest rates to make sure the inflation surge does not become embedded in the economy.

"We cannot afford to gamble away our credibility," Fisher said Tuesday in a speech in Colorado. He warned that the recent burst of inflation could threaten the economy as "a lingering inflationary fever."

Rebecca Braeu, an economist at John Hancock in Boston, said that the big jump in core inflation in the wholesale price report would definitely set off alarm bells at the Fed. But she and other analysts said they did not believe the central bank will start raising rates, especially before the November election, as long as price pressures begin to moderate in upcoming reports.

For July, wholesale energy prices jumped by 3.1 percent following a 6 percent gain in June. That increase reflected big increases in the price of natural gas, home heating oil and liquefied petroleum gas, which offset a 0.2 percent dip in gasoline costs.

Food prices rose by 0.3 percent in July after a 1.5 percent surge in June. Beef prices jumped by 7.4 percent, the biggest increase in nearly four years. Milk prices shot up by 5 percent, the biggest gain in a year, while soft drink prices rose by 2.4 percent, the largest increase in four years.

Excluding energy and food, the 0.7 percent rise in core inflation reflected big gains in the prices of passenger cars and light trucks, pharmaceutical preparations and plastic products.

___

AP reporters Deb Riechmann in Crawford and Jeannine Aversa and Christopher Rugaber in Washington contributed to this report.

Brewers 3, Diamondbacks 2

Milwaukee @ Arizona @
ab r h bi @ ab r h bi
Weeks 2b 3 1 2 1 KJhnsn 2b 1 0 0 0
Inglett rf 4 0 1 0 S.Drew ss 3 0 1 0
Braun lf 3 1 1 0 MRynl 3b 3 0 0 0
Fielder 1b 4 0 1 0 AdLRc 1b 3 0 0 1
McGeh 3b 4 0 0 0 CYoung cf 4 0 0 0
Edmnd cf 4 1 1 1 GParra rf 4 0 0 0
Zaun c 3 0 0 0 Gillespi lf 3 1 1 1
AEscor ss 3 0 0 0 Hester c 3 0 0 0
Gallard p 2 0 0 0 J.Upton ph 1 0 0 0
Villanv p 1 0 0 0 EJcksn p 2 1 1 0
Coffey p 0 0 0 0 Ryal ph 1 0 1 0
Hoffmn p 0 0 0 0 Vasquz p 0 0 0 0
Howry p 0 0 0 0
Totals @ 31 3 6 2 Totals @ 28 2 4 2
Milwaukee 001 110 000_3
Arizona 002 000 000_2
DP_Milwaukee 1, Arizona 1. LOB_Milwaukee 5, Arizona 6. 2B_Braun (9), Fielder (5). HR_Weeks (5), Edmonds (2), Gillespie (1). CS_K.Johnson (1). S_K.Johnson.
IP H R ER BB SO
Milwaukee
Gallardo W,4-2 5 3 2 2 4 10
Villanueva H,6 2 1 0 0 1 1
Coffey H,6 1 0 0 0 0 0
Hoffman S,5-9 1 0 0 0 1 0
Arizona
E.Jackson L,1-4 7 6 3 3 4 7
Vasquez 1 0 0 0 0 1
Howry 1 0 0 0 0 0
WP_E.Jackson.
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GRAPES OF WEALTH

STATE

Proposal calls for state money to cultivate wine industry

Pennsylvania wineries want the state's help to turn their reds and whites into more green.

In late September, the Pennsylvania Winery Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Winegrowers proposed Winegrowers proposed an economic-stimulus plan called Vintage 2012. The plan calls for the state to spend $2 million a year for five years to improve the quality and marketabihty of Pennsylvania wines.

The financial infusion would help Pennsylvania sustain and extend the momentum of its extend the momentum of its growing wine industry, said Jennifer Eckinger, executive director of the Harrisburg-based Pennsylvania Winery Association. The industry contributed $661 million to the states economy in 2005, according to a study commissioned by the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Board.

"With some investment, (the economic impact) really could grow," Eckinger said.

Under the Vintage 2012 plan, the money for the $2 million annual investment would come from the states general funds. Half of the money would be used to market and promote the state s wine industry. Another $1 million would go toward wine-making and grape-growing research and education. A new nonprofit organization, the Pennsylvania Wine and Winegrape Development Foundation, would administer these efforts.

The industry needs the money to keep up with wineries and vineyards in other states, said Stephen Menke, a wine educator at Penn State University. States that invest more in their wineries get more economic rewards, he said.

Legislators in New York provided funding to create the New York Wine & Grape Foundation in the 1980s to save the state's dying wine industry. This year, the foundation received about $3 million a year in state funds, said Jim Trezise, the foundations president. The wine industry in New York produces more than $3.3 billion ayear in economic impact.

"We've been the phoenix rising from the ashes," Trezise said.

More money from Pennsylvania also is needed to keep the quality and taste of Pennsylvania wines on par with wines in other states, Menke said. He estimated that between 10 percent and 20 percent of the state's wines are superior or undrinkable. Of those in the middle, about 35 percent have the potential to become high-quality wines. That compares with 50 percent in New York.

"We feel that we're falling behind other states," Menke said.

Additional state money would help Central Pennsylvania wineries because it would fuel growth that would bring bigger sales, better technology and more jobs to local operations, said John Kramb, coowner of Adams County Winery in Franklin Township. Kramb also is president of the Pennsylvania Winery Association.

Kramb said he is optimistic that, despite Pennsylvania's relatively conservative attitude toward alcohol, the General Assembly will be willing to allocate funds for Vintage 2012. Legislators would have to approve a state budget that includes money for the program.

"We want to become world class," he said.

[Sidebar]

Galen Troxell prepares to harvest grapes at Galen Glen Vineyard & Winery in Schuylkill County. Pennsylvania's wine industry contributed $661 million to the state economy in 2005, according to the Pennsylvania Wine Marketing and Research Board.

[Sidebar]

Stevie Posey, left, pours a wine sample as customer Melinda Sledzinski reviews the wine list at the Allegro Vineyards stand in West Shore Farmers Market in Lemoyne. Allegro Vineyards is based in southern York County. Sledzinski of Camp Hill is accompanied by her daughter, Crystal. The Pennsylvania Winery Association and the Pennsylvania Association of Winegrowers proposed an economic-stimulus plan to improve the quality and marketability of Pennsylvania wines.

[Sidebar]

"We feel that we're falling behind other states."

Stephen Menke,

Penn State University

[Author Affiliation]

BY CHRISTINA OLEN BY CHRISTINA OLENCHEK

chriso@journalpub.com

Further Advances in the Forest Products Industries

Paper production is as much about bleaches and solvents as it is about firs and spruces and, at a time when industry as a whole has become more environmentallysensitive, a better understanding of the chemical side of paper processing has become crucial to today's mill operations. The latest addition to AIChE's Forest Products Symposium Series addresses this information challenge by targeting some of the principal environmental and technical challenges in the pulp and paper industry, including such "chemical issues" as wood delignification and bleaching, black liquor combustion, and pulp refining.

The 18 papers in Further Advances in the Forest Products Industries cover such topics as oxygen delignification of Southern hardwoods, reducing VOCs from wood drying, and a new approach to the extraction stage of an organic solvent bleaching process. Of particular interest are three papers on the processing of recycled fibers: "Novel Approaches to Deinking of Xerographic and Laser-Printed Paper," "Repulping of Wet-Strength Poly-Coated Cartons Using Non-Chlorine Chemicals," and "Elemental Chlorine-Free and Totally Chlorine-Free Bleaching of Colored Broke."

1997 146pp PubS-315 ISBN 0-8169-0740-4 Hardcover North America: $80/International: $110

[Author Affiliation]

Editor: P.W Hart, Westvaco Coeditors: B.N. Brogdon, Vining Industries; KM. Nichols, Weyerhaeuser Company; and B.P. Roy, Air Products & Chemicals

Public will lose out in bin row

Christmas is coming ... and so is another wrangle with cityscaffies.

And as always the losers stand to be the people of Aberdeen whoface rubbish piling up in the streets over the festive period. Thiscannot be allowed to happen. Instead of holding the public to ransomthose involved must strive to find a solution.

Name changing for couples not a straight line

In October 2008, racing against California's gay marriage ban, Chloe and Frankie Frankeny wed legally in San Francisco with one chore already done: Chloe had taken her wife's name two years before.

"It was the only way we had to fit into a mainstream role that was understandable to anybody," said Chloe, managing editor of a fashion website. "When I told my father I was taking Frankie's name he was sort of blown away because I definitely consider myself a feminist."

With a battle over the state's ban on gay marriage possibly headed to the U.S. Supreme Court, it's likely more same-sex couples will do the same. For the Frankenys, the name switch couldn't magically grant all the marriage benefits denied same-sex couples when compared to one man, one wife, but it was one more way to express their union. It's a symbol rendered even stronger now that legal gay marriages are on hold in California, and for partners who've never had the option.

Logistically, a name-change for gay couples isn't always as simple as trotting out a marriage certificate, the proof most required in heterosexual marriage. Emotionally, the journey is about love, commitment - and a way to ease anxiety over being misunderstood as non-relatives in emergencies or considered less-than as parents.

Kirsten Palladino, who runs the online gay wedding 'zine Equally Wed, shed Ott for the surname of her partner, Maria, last year without benefit of a state-sanctioned union in Georgia. She's seeing more couples go to court for name changes, settling on hyphenation or one partner's surname over the other.

"We have grown stronger and are speaking out for ourselves in this way," said Palladino, 32. "There's nothing stopping us from taking each other's names, even if we can't get a marriage certificate."

After a five-year courtship, the Palladinos had a wedding at an antebellum mansion in Decatur, Ga. Kirsten became a Palladino after running a newspaper announcement of her intentions once a week for four weeks and appearing before a judge, just as people going through a formal name change for reasons other than marriage must do.

"I was nervous. I didn't know how the judge would feel, but he was great. Personally, I had to deal with some identity issues after, but becoming a family unit with my wife trumped anything else for me," she said.

College sweethearts Kathryn and Heather Kraft of Newton, Mass., just celebrated 12 years together and have a new baby. They had a church wedding five years ago in white gowns with 10 bridesmaids after obtaining a marriage license under their state's gay marriage law.

Whose name did they choose? Kathryn said her Kraft over Heather's Cole "because we're very close to my family and wanted to add to that family in a noticeable way." They had considered combining names into a new one that "represented both of our ancestry, but in the end we're very traditional people." Cole is now a middle name for the entire family, including baby Esther.

Making the switch with a legal marriage certificate was no trouble for Heather, until she tried to get a U.S. passport ahead of a trip to Europe. "We were shocked when Heather's application was denied," said her 32-year-old partner, a family therapist. "The passport office would not recognize our marriage certificate as proof and insisted that she had to go in front of a judge to have a court-ordered name change."

After six months, she was issued a "known as" passport identifying her by both names. "It's a small thing that isn't noticeable when you look at her passport, but the process was long and an unnecessary reminder that things aren't exactly equal," Kathryn said.

Jason and Anthony Cline committed to each other in 2001 during a hotel ceremony in their native Indiana, where gay marriage is outlawed. They thought about heading to a state where their union would be legal but decided not to bother knowing they'd return home to suburban Indianapolis without that recognition.

Jason, 33, legally changed his name, going through a newspaper notification process and enduring questions from a judge as Palladino did.

'The process seemed cold but it helped prove our relationship to our friends and family that maybe weren't as advanced in their thinking on the topic. It helped solidify our relationship to the people that we knew and to the world," he said. "It starts a conversation. It tells a story."

Chloe Frankeny sees other practical outcomes to changing her name, including proof of family status in case of a medical crisis.

"With the same last name we could say we were sisters," she said. "We've all heard stories of partners kept apart in emergency rooms. That was a precaution we wanted to take."

From nearly 80 percent to 95 percent of heterosexual couples marrying for the first time legally adjust their names as the age of the average bride has risen to about 27 over the last 20 years, according to research. Professional identity before marriage motivates others - in same-sex and hetero couples alike - to keep their original names informally or incorporate them as middle names.

Elisa Hebert, 32, wasn't attached to her surname before she traveled with partner Megan from their home outside Denver, Colo., to Rehoboth, Mass., a plus since most of their friends and family are from New England. Back home, Elisa appeared in court to complete her legal name change before a judge managing a roomful of ti cked-off parents and their kids hauled in for truancy. "I felt like a 12-year-old who was in trouble," she said.

Actor and writer Marcos Mateo Ochoa, 29, of Los Angeles chose to hyphenate instead. He goes by Cermak-Ochoa after marrying partner Frank Cermak on Oct. 4, 2008, a union legally recognized in California with 1 8,000 other samesex marriages there before voters approved Proposition 8 and ended the practice. He plans to make the name switch legal once the court case is resolved.

"We want to identify ourselves as being united, but with California being so flip-floppy on this, it's just a matter of when we go about the process," Ochoa said. "Is this going to be another obstacle, another hurdle for us to go through?"

[Sidebar]

Actor and writer Marcos Mateo Ochoa, 29, of Los Angeles chose to hyphenate instead* He goes by Cermak-Ochoa after marrying partner Frank Cermak on Oct. 4, 2008, a union legally recognized in California with 18,000 other same-sex marriages there before voters approved Proposition 8 and ended the practice* He plans to make the name switch legal once the court case is resolved.

U. S. indicts CTA official // Medley, 7 others named on fraud, bribery charges

Veteran CTA Board member Howard C. Medley Sr. and seven othershave been indicted on bribery and fraud charges stemming from a $38million CTA diesel oil contract.

The 41-count indictment accuses Brian Flisk, chairman ofMetropolitan Petroleum Co., of making a $22,500 payoff to Medley todeflect CTA Board and staff criticism of Flisk's firm forirregularities in its contract performance.

The colorful, controversial CTA Board member, who is 61, toldreporters at a board meeting Wednesday that he had taken no bribefrom Flisk and barely knew him.

"I can take an oath on my grandbaby," Medley said, "that I havenever taken any money from anybody in any way, shape, form or fashion. . . under any kind of crooked deal . . . that I know anythingabout.

"It is possible that you don't know laws, but God knows I checkwith lawyers before I do anything." He added that he had never hadany dealings with Flisk except to vote on Metropolitan contracts.

Two former CTA employees, accounts payable clerk Benjamin Gay,41, and his superior, Anthony Scardina, 48, were charged with taking$18,450 in bribes from Flisk to help arrange $624,000 in overpaymentsto Metropolitan and to deprive the transit agency of additionalhundreds of thousands of dollars in discounts.

Gay and Scardina were fired last July, and Metropolitan went outof business shortly after the Chicago Sun-Times publicized theoverpayments.

The paper revealed last month that Gay had been receiving secretpayments from Metropolitan, disguised as salary for a purportedpart-time job with a Metropolitan affiliate. Gay is cooperating inthe federal investigation.

U.S. Attorney Anton R. Valukas, who announced the indictmentsWednesday, praised the Sun-Times for its disclosures in the case.

Also accused of fraud and conspiracy in the 68-page indictment -handed up Tuesday but sealed until Wednesday - are Jerry Coppola, 63,a former president of Metropolitan; Ronald Buzil, 38, the firm'svice president and controller, and Kathleen Mitropoulos, 48,Metropolitan's office manager. Another employee, Lawrence Sands, 62,was accused of lying to the FBI during the inquiry. Company also indicted

Metropolitan was indicted as a corporation on charges thatFlisk, 43, Coppola, Buzil and Mitropoulos, on behalf of the firm,also defrauded the company's chief creditor, Heller FinancialServices, of $5.6 million in loans.

The indictment seeks forfeiture by the defendants of allproceeds from those loans and from the $38.2 million diesel oilcontract, which was handed to Metropolitan in September, 1986, aftera lower bidder was disqualified on a rarely used technicality.

Nearly $20 million was paid out under the contract beforeMetropolitan folded last July.

Valukas told a press conference the alleged bribe to Medley camein April, 1987, as a phony "finder's fee" purportedly paid forhelping arrange the sale by Metropolitan of a warehouse at 4800 S.Central. Deception charged

To disguise the tie to Flisk, Valukas said, the money wasfunneled through Medley's accountant, John Wilson. Medley was alsocharged with lying about the transaction when questioned in Februarybefore a federal grand jury.

The indictment says Medley was promised $25,000 but got only$22,500.

Valukas said Medley twice tried to persuade another board member- who sources later identified as lawyer Natalia Delgado - to ignorea CTA audit that accused Metropolitan of delivering watered-downfuel, running a minority-contractor scam and trying to cheat the CTAout of an 11-cent-a-gallon "prompt payment" discount.

Delgado's purchasing and sales committee studied the charges butrecommended no action against Metropolitan.

Flisk, a real estate operator, was once branded a slumlord andwas fired as a special deputy sheriff six years ago after brandishinga revolver during a tenant dispute. Metropolitan was indicted last May on charges of cheating the stateout of more than $500,000 in sales taxes.

Tuesday's indictment also charges him with obstruction ofjustice for allegedly trying to persuade Gay and Buzil - the latteris cooperating in the investigation - to lie to authorities.

Flisk's attorney, Jeffrey Cole, said Assistant U.S. Attorney IraRafelson has told him he will seek a $400,000 cash bond when Flisksurrenders today. Cole said the maneuver "is a perversion of baillaws . . . to keep Flisk in jail."

The indictment charges that Gay accepted $14,200 from Flisk andthat Scardina received $4,250 plus "merchandise," which included awasher, dryer and gasoline. Scardina was also charged with lying tothe FBI about the gifts.

Tuesday's indictment is the second major corruption charge tohit the beleaguered transit authority within six months.

Last fall former chief administrative officer Larry Pianto wascharged with rigging $420,000 worth of contracts for a tire supplier,in return for $10,000 in bribes. Pianto pleaded guilty last month.

Other no-bid contracts valued at more than $10 million also areunder federal scrutiny.

Fran Spielman contributed to this story.

US Open champ Lucas Glover commits to Buick Open

Newly crowned U.S. Open champion Lucas Glover is among the golfers committed to play the 2009 Buick Open in Michigan.

Organizers said Tuesday that Glover, defending Buick Open champion Kenny Perry and former winners Justin Leonard, Jim Furyk, Scott Verplank, Tom Pernice Jr. and Brad Faxon will compete at Warwick Hills Golf & Country Club near Flint.

The Buick Open is scheduled for July 27 to Aug. 2. The purse is $5.1 million, tying 2008's record, and first prize is $918,000. John Daly and Corey Pavin have also committed to play.

LA jury convicts Hollywood private eye Anthony Pellicano in racketeering scheme

A Hollywood private investigator was convicted of federal racketeering and other charges for digging up dirt for his well-heeled clients to use in lawsuits, divorces and business disputes against the rich and famous.

Anthony Pellicano, 64, was accused of wiretapping stars such as Sylvester Stallone and running the names of others, such as comedians Garry Shandling and Kevin Nealon, through law enforcement databases to help clients in legal and other disputes.

Pellicano was found guilty Thursday of all but one of the 77 counts against him. He looked at the judge with his arms crossed and didn't react when verdicts were read.

"We went by the evidence," said Terri Winbush, forewoman of the 12-member jury. "There was a lot of evidence."

The jury found him guilty of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy, along with wiretapping, wire fraud, identity theft, conspiracy to intercept or use wire communications and manufacture or possession of a wiretapping device. He was acquitted of a charge of unauthorized computer access.

The racketeering counts each carry a maximum of 20 years in prison, while most of the other counts have five-year maximum sentences. Sentencing was set for Sept. 24, and U.S. District Judge Dale Fischer ordered Pellicano to remain in custody.

The jury also found four co-defendants guilty of a variety of charges.

The indictment charging Pellicano and his supporting cast in February 2006 had Hollywood buzzing with speculation about who might be ensnared in the investigation and what secrets might be revealed.

Fourteen people were charged and seven, including film director John McTiernan and former Hollywood Records president Robert Pfeifer, have pleaded guilty to charges including perjury and conspiracy.

But the biggest power brokers with links to Pellicano, such as famed entertainment attorney Bert Fields, Paramount studio head Brad Grey and one-time superagent Michael Ovitz, insisted they did not know about his methods and were not charged.

Pellicano starred in the real-time court drama as a tough-talking gumshoe who valued loyalty and secrecy as necessary virtues in his profession. He also acted as his own attorney but called only one witness and rarely raised objections.

The private eye decided against taking the stand to defend himself and kept true to his promise that he wouldn't betray the trust of his clients.

A number of dramas played out during the trial and cast a spotlight on the seamy side of Hollywood, detailing death threats, offers of murder and extramarital affairs.

Jurors watched as an uncomfortable Chris Rock testified about a model he believed was trying to shake him down. They saw a confounded Shandling study his name on a police records audit and a stoic Ovitz recount how he had hired Pellicano to find the source of negative news stories about a company he was selling.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Dan Saunders urged jurors not to get caught up in the glitz of the case.

"This case is about corruption, about cheating, greed, arrogance and the perversion of the justice system. It just happened to take place in Hollywood," the prosecutor said.

During his closing argument, Pellicano insisted he shared no information with colleagues and said he alone was responsible for the investigations, although he did not elaborate.

Throughout the trial, prosecutors portrayed Pellicano as a well-connected thug who ran a lucrative business by charging clients a nonrefundable retainer fee that started at $25,000.

They played a number of profanity-laced recordings made by Pellicano while he spoke with clients, including one with Rock, who hired the private eye to investigate a model who demanded money after claiming she was pregnant with his baby.

Attorneys for Pellicano's co-defendants also pleaded ignorance and tried to distance their clients from Pellicano, painting him as ultra-secretive.

Co-defendants Mark Arneson, a former Los Angeles police sergeant, and former telephone company worker Rayford Earl Turner were also convicted Thursday of racketeering and racketeering conspiracy. Abner Nicherie, a Pellicano client, was convicted of aiding and abetting a wiretap.

Kevin Kachikian, a software designer who created a wiretapping program, was convicted of conspiracy to wiretap and manufacturing or possession of a wiretap device. He was acquitted of nine wiretapping counts.

___

Associated Press writer Thomas Watkins contributed to this report.

VIET TAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBER HOANG TESTIFIES ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS IN VIETNAM BEFORE HOUSE PANEL

The House Foreign Affairs Committee issued the following testimony from a subcommittee hearing:

Statement by Duy (Dan) HoangCentral Committee Member, Viet Tan

Testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

"Human Rights Concerns in Vietnam":

Dear Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Thank you for the invitation to testify today. It is encouraging to see such strong bipartisan support for human rights in Vietnam.

You have heard from the other witnesses how the Hanoi government launched a crackdown after getting what it wanted: admission to the WTO, PNTR status, and removal from the CPC list for religious freedom violators.

I will focus my testimony on how the U.S. Congress can help defend human rights and promote an open society in Vietnam. I would like to offer five recommendations.

Recommendation #1: Send the Vietnam Human Rights Act to President Bush for his signature

On September 18, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act (H.R.3096). This result was warmly welcomed by democracy activists living in Vietnam. In a letter thanking the House, the Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam stated:

"The fraternal and economic relationship between Vietnam and the United States is only sustainable and benefiting the peoples of the two countries when Vietnam is truly a democratic nation where human rights are respected."

Please urge colleagues in the Senate to support this important legislation. If necessary, provisions from H.R.3096 could be attached to other bills during the 110th Congress so that the substance of the Vietnam Human Rights Act is enacted by both chambers.

Recommendation #2: Adopt a voice of conscience

A well-known novelist and mother of two young children, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, sits in jail for helping to organize peaceful protests against government land grabs and corruption. Held without trial, she suffers from diabetes. Her family has not been allowed to visit.

A young lawyer named Le Thi Cong Nhan is serving a prison sentence for "propaganda against the socialist government" and participating in an unsanctioned political party.

Another lawyer and former NED fellow, Le Quoc Quan, was arrested in March right after returning to Vietnam. He was released in advance of the president of communist Vietnam's visit to the United States in June. But he remains under constant threat of arrest and has been barred from practicing law. Even his passport has been revoked.

These are just three of the many Vietnamese citizens imprisoned, facing house arrest, or under severe police harassment for the peaceful expression of their beliefs. By speaking out on their behalf, writing letters to their families, and raising their cases with Hanoi government officials, Members of Congress can stand by these brave individuals and, through them, all of Vietnam's voices of conscience.

Recommendation #3: Ensure consistency in American policy

The message from today's hearing is that the U.S. Congress is concerned about human rights in Vietnam. This is also a concern expressed by the White House.

Interestingly, within the State Department there is an ongoing debate on what constitutes religious freedom. One view has it that religious freedom can be narrowly measured by the ordinances on religion issued by the Vietnamese authorities or the number of religious entities allowed to "register" with the government and thus legally operate.

Many of us hold that respect for religious freedom is what occurs in practice, not what a communist government pledges on paper. Moreover, true religious freedom is when people can practice their faith without first registering with the authorities.

Just last week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom concluded a ten day visit to Vietnam. This trip was originally scheduled for September but at the last minute Hanoi did not provide the travel visas. In the coming weeks, the Commission will report its findings and determine whether to recommend that the State Department redesignate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

To ensure that America speaks clearly and consistently on human rights, I urge you to support the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Recommendation #4: Promote an independent media

The Vietnamese communist government exercises a monopoly over the media to control information, restrict the free exchange of ideas, and cover-up its own corruption and misdeeds. To censor the Internet, the authorities employ firewalls, spy on internet cafes and threaten bloggers.

Thus, it is critical that the Congress support independent sources of information such as Radio Free Asia. Since the Internet has the potential of transforming authoritarian societies, we should also support the emerging bloggers and citizen journalists. Specifically, passage of the Global Online Freedom Act (H.R.275) would promote a de facto independent media in Vietnam.

Recommendation #5: Support democratic reforms

Unfortunately, human rights abuses will persist as long as there is a one-party dictatorship. The solution to human rights is a democratic society where all stake-holders have a voice in the future of their country. While achieving democracy must be foremost the effort of people inside the country, the international community can lend a hand by supporting the work of independent NGOs and initiatives for building civil society. This is essential for empowering the Vietnamese people while providing the foundation upon which a long lasting democracy can be achieved.

Thank you for holding this hearing and for your continued support for democracy and human rights in Vietnam.

VIET TAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBER HOANG TESTIFIES ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS IN VIETNAM BEFORE HOUSE PANEL

The House Foreign Affairs Committee issued the following testimony from a subcommittee hearing:

Statement by Duy (Dan) HoangCentral Committee Member, Viet Tan

Testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

"Human Rights Concerns in Vietnam":

Dear Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Thank you for the invitation to testify today. It is encouraging to see such strong bipartisan support for human rights in Vietnam.

You have heard from the other witnesses how the Hanoi government launched a crackdown after getting what it wanted: admission to the WTO, PNTR status, and removal from the CPC list for religious freedom violators.

I will focus my testimony on how the U.S. Congress can help defend human rights and promote an open society in Vietnam. I would like to offer five recommendations.

Recommendation #1: Send the Vietnam Human Rights Act to President Bush for his signature

On September 18, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act (H.R.3096). This result was warmly welcomed by democracy activists living in Vietnam. In a letter thanking the House, the Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam stated:

"The fraternal and economic relationship between Vietnam and the United States is only sustainable and benefiting the peoples of the two countries when Vietnam is truly a democratic nation where human rights are respected."

Please urge colleagues in the Senate to support this important legislation. If necessary, provisions from H.R.3096 could be attached to other bills during the 110th Congress so that the substance of the Vietnam Human Rights Act is enacted by both chambers.

Recommendation #2: Adopt a voice of conscience

A well-known novelist and mother of two young children, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, sits in jail for helping to organize peaceful protests against government land grabs and corruption. Held without trial, she suffers from diabetes. Her family has not been allowed to visit.

A young lawyer named Le Thi Cong Nhan is serving a prison sentence for "propaganda against the socialist government" and participating in an unsanctioned political party.

Another lawyer and former NED fellow, Le Quoc Quan, was arrested in March right after returning to Vietnam. He was released in advance of the president of communist Vietnam's visit to the United States in June. But he remains under constant threat of arrest and has been barred from practicing law. Even his passport has been revoked.

These are just three of the many Vietnamese citizens imprisoned, facing house arrest, or under severe police harassment for the peaceful expression of their beliefs. By speaking out on their behalf, writing letters to their families, and raising their cases with Hanoi government officials, Members of Congress can stand by these brave individuals and, through them, all of Vietnam's voices of conscience.

Recommendation #3: Ensure consistency in American policy

The message from today's hearing is that the U.S. Congress is concerned about human rights in Vietnam. This is also a concern expressed by the White House.

Interestingly, within the State Department there is an ongoing debate on what constitutes religious freedom. One view has it that religious freedom can be narrowly measured by the ordinances on religion issued by the Vietnamese authorities or the number of religious entities allowed to "register" with the government and thus legally operate.

Many of us hold that respect for religious freedom is what occurs in practice, not what a communist government pledges on paper. Moreover, true religious freedom is when people can practice their faith without first registering with the authorities.

Just last week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom concluded a ten day visit to Vietnam. This trip was originally scheduled for September but at the last minute Hanoi did not provide the travel visas. In the coming weeks, the Commission will report its findings and determine whether to recommend that the State Department redesignate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

To ensure that America speaks clearly and consistently on human rights, I urge you to support the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Recommendation #4: Promote an independent media

The Vietnamese communist government exercises a monopoly over the media to control information, restrict the free exchange of ideas, and cover-up its own corruption and misdeeds. To censor the Internet, the authorities employ firewalls, spy on internet cafes and threaten bloggers.

Thus, it is critical that the Congress support independent sources of information such as Radio Free Asia. Since the Internet has the potential of transforming authoritarian societies, we should also support the emerging bloggers and citizen journalists. Specifically, passage of the Global Online Freedom Act (H.R.275) would promote a de facto independent media in Vietnam.

Recommendation #5: Support democratic reforms

Unfortunately, human rights abuses will persist as long as there is a one-party dictatorship. The solution to human rights is a democratic society where all stake-holders have a voice in the future of their country. While achieving democracy must be foremost the effort of people inside the country, the international community can lend a hand by supporting the work of independent NGOs and initiatives for building civil society. This is essential for empowering the Vietnamese people while providing the foundation upon which a long lasting democracy can be achieved.

Thank you for holding this hearing and for your continued support for democracy and human rights in Vietnam.

VIET TAN CENTRAL COMMITTEE MEMBER HOANG TESTIFIES ON HUMAN RIGHTS CONCERNS IN VIETNAM BEFORE HOUSE PANEL

The House Foreign Affairs Committee issued the following testimony from a subcommittee hearing:

Statement by Duy (Dan) HoangCentral Committee Member, Viet Tan

Testimony before the House Committee on Foreign Affairs,Subcommittee on International Organizations, Human Rights, and Oversight

"Human Rights Concerns in Vietnam":

Dear Mr. Chairman, Ranking Member, Members of the Committee on Foreign Affairs,

Thank you for the invitation to testify today. It is encouraging to see such strong bipartisan support for human rights in Vietnam.

You have heard from the other witnesses how the Hanoi government launched a crackdown after getting what it wanted: admission to the WTO, PNTR status, and removal from the CPC list for religious freedom violators.

I will focus my testimony on how the U.S. Congress can help defend human rights and promote an open society in Vietnam. I would like to offer five recommendations.

Recommendation #1: Send the Vietnam Human Rights Act to President Bush for his signature

On September 18, the House of Representatives overwhelmingly passed the Vietnam Human Rights Act (H.R.3096). This result was warmly welcomed by democracy activists living in Vietnam. In a letter thanking the House, the Alliance for Democracy and Human Rights in Vietnam stated:

"The fraternal and economic relationship between Vietnam and the United States is only sustainable and benefiting the peoples of the two countries when Vietnam is truly a democratic nation where human rights are respected."

Please urge colleagues in the Senate to support this important legislation. If necessary, provisions from H.R.3096 could be attached to other bills during the 110th Congress so that the substance of the Vietnam Human Rights Act is enacted by both chambers.

Recommendation #2: Adopt a voice of conscience

A well-known novelist and mother of two young children, Tran Khai Thanh Thuy, sits in jail for helping to organize peaceful protests against government land grabs and corruption. Held without trial, she suffers from diabetes. Her family has not been allowed to visit.

A young lawyer named Le Thi Cong Nhan is serving a prison sentence for "propaganda against the socialist government" and participating in an unsanctioned political party.

Another lawyer and former NED fellow, Le Quoc Quan, was arrested in March right after returning to Vietnam. He was released in advance of the president of communist Vietnam's visit to the United States in June. But he remains under constant threat of arrest and has been barred from practicing law. Even his passport has been revoked.

These are just three of the many Vietnamese citizens imprisoned, facing house arrest, or under severe police harassment for the peaceful expression of their beliefs. By speaking out on their behalf, writing letters to their families, and raising their cases with Hanoi government officials, Members of Congress can stand by these brave individuals and, through them, all of Vietnam's voices of conscience.

Recommendation #3: Ensure consistency in American policy

The message from today's hearing is that the U.S. Congress is concerned about human rights in Vietnam. This is also a concern expressed by the White House.

Interestingly, within the State Department there is an ongoing debate on what constitutes religious freedom. One view has it that religious freedom can be narrowly measured by the ordinances on religion issued by the Vietnamese authorities or the number of religious entities allowed to "register" with the government and thus legally operate.

Many of us hold that respect for religious freedom is what occurs in practice, not what a communist government pledges on paper. Moreover, true religious freedom is when people can practice their faith without first registering with the authorities.

Just last week, the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom concluded a ten day visit to Vietnam. This trip was originally scheduled for September but at the last minute Hanoi did not provide the travel visas. In the coming weeks, the Commission will report its findings and determine whether to recommend that the State Department redesignate Vietnam as a Country of Particular Concern (CPC).

To ensure that America speaks clearly and consistently on human rights, I urge you to support the recommendations of the U.S. Commission on International Religious Freedom.

Recommendation #4: Promote an independent media

The Vietnamese communist government exercises a monopoly over the media to control information, restrict the free exchange of ideas, and cover-up its own corruption and misdeeds. To censor the Internet, the authorities employ firewalls, spy on internet cafes and threaten bloggers.

Thus, it is critical that the Congress support independent sources of information such as Radio Free Asia. Since the Internet has the potential of transforming authoritarian societies, we should also support the emerging bloggers and citizen journalists. Specifically, passage of the Global Online Freedom Act (H.R.275) would promote a de facto independent media in Vietnam.

Recommendation #5: Support democratic reforms

Unfortunately, human rights abuses will persist as long as there is a one-party dictatorship. The solution to human rights is a democratic society where all stake-holders have a voice in the future of their country. While achieving democracy must be foremost the effort of people inside the country, the international community can lend a hand by supporting the work of independent NGOs and initiatives for building civil society. This is essential for empowering the Vietnamese people while providing the foundation upon which a long lasting democracy can be achieved.

Thank you for holding this hearing and for your continued support for democracy and human rights in Vietnam.

Klitschko's defense against Haye set for June 20

David Haye can become a heavyweight world champion in only his second fight at that class.

The British former cruiserweight world champ announced Thursday that he has finalized a deal to fight IBF and WBO heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko of Ukraine on June 20.

The fight looks certain to be held in Germany, where Klitschko and his brother Vitali are based. But Haye believes he has the speed and punching power to take the titles from a fighter he claims has been trying to avoid him.

"He's already showed me his hand through the way he's negotiated," Hayes said. "He has never wanted this fight, and was only going to agree to it …

Illegal Loggers Threaten Indians

THE HAGUE, Netherlands - Alberto Pizango Chota saw loggers come to his Indian village in the northern Amazon when he was 7. First they felled the mahogany. Then they returned to cut the cedars. By the time they came back for other hardwoods, there was little left of the forest.

Pizango says illegal logging also has endangered his Indian people - and the survival of primitive tribes who avoid all contact with other humans. Dozens of violent encounters with the tribesmen have been documented in the last five years.

"Sometimes they run away" from the loggers, said Pizango, now 42. "Some stay and defend their rights to the forest," pitting their arrows against 16-gauge …