CANBERRA, Australia (AP) — Wildlife rangers have helped an Australian family deal with an uninvited guest: a 5-foot-6-inch (1.7-meter) crocodile that wandered into their living room.
The juvenile saltwater crocodile wandered into a home in Bees Creek, a suburb of the northern Australian city of Darwin. Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported that the family found it in a partially enclosed …
Melamine-tainted dairy products were pulled from convenience store shelves in southern China more than a year after hundreds of thousands of children had been sickened in a massive milk safety scandal, a government spokeswoman said Monday.
The announcement calls into question the effectiveness of a crackdown launched by Chinese officials to improve product safety after a number of scandals, including the contamination of baby formula in 2008 and the recent discovery of the toxic metal cadmium in cheap jewelry.
Frozen milk products and cartons of milk dating from early 2009 were taken off the shelves after health inspectors tested them and found melamine, …
Murder charges against a 10-year-old boy in the death of his 5-year-old foster brother were dropped Friday by prosecutors, who saidthey had no case because they've been barred from using a statementhe gave police.
The move came after Juvenile Court Judge Marjorie C. Laws lastmonth threw out a confession the boy, then 9, gave police andprosecutors shortly after the March 1998 beating death of DavidJones.
Laws said the boy was too young, suggestible and intellectuallyslow to have waived his rights before confessing.
"Without the statement, there was little to go forward on," saidBob Benjamin, spokesman for Cook County State's Attorney RichardDevine.
If he …
| Washington | 1 0 0—1 |
|---|---|
| Toronto | 2 4 1—7 |
First Period_1, Toronto, Connolly 2 (Lupul), 1:39. 2, Washington, Laich 3 (Chimera, Carlson), 2:30. 3, Toronto, Frattin 1 (Colborne, Franson), 19:16. Penalties_Semin, Was (diving), :47; Crabb, Tor (tripping), :47; Schultz, Was (interference), 8:04.
Second Period_4, Toronto, Bozak 2 (Lupul, Phaneuf), 1:18 (pp). 5, Toronto, Kessel 14 (Bozak, Lupul), 5:29. 6, Toronto, Lupul 10 (Phaneuf, Kessel), 17:12 (pp). 7, Toronto, Franson 1 (Connolly), 19:29 (pp). Penalties_Hendricks, Was (slashing), :17; Gunnarsson, Tor (tripping), 8:55; …
The date is etched in blood in Utah and Mormon church history and, on a more intimate level, the family trees of people like Karen Maxwell, a mother of eight and choir teacher from Salt Lake City.
On Sept. 11, 1857, Mormon militiamen led the slaughter of 120 men, women and children on a wagon train bound for California in an incident known as the Mountain Meadows Massacre.
Chief among the instigators was Isaac Haight, a local militia and church leader. Several generations later, Karen Maxwell would come to know of him as her grandfather's grandfather.
For years, Mormon church officials downplayed the role Mormons played in the mass killing, first …
LATEST results for the past two weekends were as follows:Pontardawe Golf Club 70, Pick 65; Ivy Bush 66, Bont CC Reds 60; BontCC Blues 68, King Hotel 62; Hendy RFC 65, Temple Bar 70; Red Cow 61,Panty Social 68; …
NANJING, China - Hungarian Julia Sebestyen edged Emily Hughes to win the Cup of China women's title Saturday.
Hughes, sister of 2002 Olympic gold medalist Sarah Hughes, led after Thursday's short program and appeared to be ready to win. But mistakes caused her to be downgraded on some jumps and left her third in the free skate.
Russians Oksana Domnina and Maxim Shabalin scored a convincing win in the free dance and overtook Americans Tanith Belbin and Ben Agosto, the Olympic ice dance silver medalists, for the overall title.
Domnina and Shabalin had a total of 188.41 points and 93.13 in the free dance, even after 1-point deduction for an extended lift.
…
Kristi Toliver had 21 points and No. 14 Maryland's defense held Richmond without a field goal for a long stretch in the second half Saturday, sending the Terrapins to an 83-65 win over the Spiders.
Richmond (11-3) led 58-54 following Nikita Thomas's hook shot with 12:40 remaining. Maryland (12-2) scored nine straight points to take a 63-58 lead and, …
Gallagher & Henry has started the final section of 64single-family homes at Heatherdale in southwest suburban Orland Park.When completed, the development will have nearly 400 homes near10,000 acres of forest preserve.
The seven models of three- and four-bedrooms homes are pricedfrom $119,100 to $175,700.
Heatherdale is at 89th Avenue and 151st Street.
HALF-WAY: The 130 two-story Ashton Park town houses in northwestsuburban Schaumburg, which opened in February, are more than halfsold. The units have lofts, high ceilings and attached two-cargarages.
The two- and three-bedroom units, being built by the HofffmanGroup, have base prices of $121,990 …
DENVER - The backdrop of America's bid for the 2016 Olympic Games might be the Golden Gate Bridge, the Sears Tower or the Los Angeles Coliseum - or none of these at all.
The U.S. Olympic Committee eliminated Houston and Philadelphia as candidate cities for the 2016 Olympics on Wednesday, leaving San Francisco, Los Angeles and Chicago in the running for what many consider to be America's best shot in years at landing a Summer Games.
The three finalists, however, will have to make significant enhancements in their plans for the USOC even to bid on the 2016 Games, said Peter Ueberroth, the USOC chairman and the architect of the profit-making 1984 Games in Los Angeles.
…
The father of an Illinois boy who authorities say was hidden in his grandmother's home in a crawl space for nearly two years during a custody dispute says he's biding his time before he's reunited with his son.
Authorities in southern Illinois' Franklin County found 6-year-old Ricky Chekevdia (cheh-KEHV'-duh) along with his mother on Friday in the …
| NEW ORLEANS (105) |
| Stojakovic 5-8 0-0 14, West 1-8 4-4 6, Chandler 2-4 0-0 4, Paul 4-9 9-10 17, Peterson 3-8 0-0 8, Butler 4-9 0-1 8, Posey 2-9 4-4 10, Ely 3-5 6-8 12, Jordan 3-6 0-0 6, Armstrong 2-7 0-0 4, Brown 3-5 1-1 7, Wright 2-5 0-0 4, Sims 2-2 1-3 5. Totals 36-85 25-31 105. |
| INDIANA (71) |
| Granger 1-11 7-8 9, Croshere 0-2 1-2 1, Nesterovic 2-4 0-0 4, Ford 5-9 4-5 15, Daniels 1-9 1-2 3, Foster 0-2 1-2 1, Jack 4-10 3-4 11, Rush 2-9 0-0 5, Baston 1-2 1-2 3, Williams 3-8 2-6 9, Hibbert 2-4 2-4 6, McRoberts 2-4 0-0 4. Totals 23-74 22-35 71. |
| New Orleans 27 25 26 27_105 |
| Indiana 20 22 6 23_ 71 |
| 3-Point Goals_New Orleans 8-19 (Stojakovic 4-4, Peterson 2-5, Posey 2-6, Paul 0-1, Armstrong 0-1, Butler 0-2), Indiana 3-21 (Williams 1-3, Ford 1-3, Rush 1-4, McRoberts 0-1, Daniels 0-2, Croshere 0-2, Jack 0-2, Granger 0-4). Fouled Out_None. Rebounds_New Orleans 56 (Chandler 11), Indiana 63 (Foster, Jack 8). Assists_New Orleans 23 (Jordan, Paul 5), Indiana 11 (Ford, Jack, Rush, Nesterovic 2). Total Fouls_New Orleans 27, Indiana 23. Technical_Ely. Flagrant Foul_Hibbert. Ejected_ Hibbert. A_7,439 (8,200). |
Federal agents weren't able to immediately retrieve surveillance images of a man who breached security at Newark Liberty International Airport because a camera system wasn't working properly.
John Kelly, a Port Authority of New York and New Jersey spokesman, said the camera at a security checkpoint was streaming live images but wasn't recording them.
That made it impossible for Transportation Security Administration personnel to check an image of a man seen walking in through an exit door Sunday evening until it could view tapes from a nearby Continental Airlines surveillance camera.
It was not known how long the camera at the TSA security checkpoint had stopped storing footage because archived images are only retrieved if an incident has occurred or is suspected, TSA spokeswoman Ann Davis said Tuesday. According to Davis, TSA will check the cameras' archiving daily.
The cameras were installed by the Port Authority about two years ago, and the agency maintains and operates them.
The incident shut down an entire terminal at the airport and stopped flights for six hours. The man, who has not been identified or located, was seen on a surveillance camera image leaving the terminal about 20 minutes after the security breach.
Pakistani stocks tumbled Monday as an uncertain political outlook after the assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto triggered a selling spree.
The Karachi Stock Exchange's benchmark 100-share index plunged 694.92 points, or 4.7 percent, to 14,077.16 in its biggest single-day loss in points and percentage. It was the exchange's first day of trade following a three-day period of national mourning declared after Bhutto's death last Thursday.
Atif Malik, an analyst at J.S. Global Securities, said shares could recover in coming days if opposition parties reach an accord on holding parliamentary elections that had been set for Jan. 8. It is not yet known if the government will postpone the election.
Many international markets fell last week after Bhutto was killed at a campaign rally, adding to global uncertainty about the tense situation in Pakistan. The country also suffered several days of unrest that including rioting and looting in many cities.
Analysts have said Pakistan's economy was not expected to suffer long-term effects as the country is no stranger to turmoil and has seen the assassinations of many previous leaders. The country's economy was expected to grow about 7 percent for the fiscal year ending in mid-2008.
The KSE 100 stock benchmark finished the year 40 percent higher than at the end of 2006.
Share prices on the London Stock Exchange were lower at midday Monday.
At noon, the FTSE 100-share index was down 45.5 points at 5850.0.
We're at an auction of antique Americana.
We'd hopped a "Peanuts" flight from O'Hare to Cleveland, wherefriends picked us up and brought us here. Actually, we came to seethe friends, but who can pass up an interesting auction?
Auction-going is an all-weather, any-season,almost-anywhere-you-may-be sport in the U.S. of A.
The people-watching is superb and the admission is usually free.
The only expense at this auction, besides deciding to bid onsomething, is the catalogs if you choose to get them. They're $3 forSaturday's items and $4 for Sunday's.
And well worth the price: 1,130 items are listed for auction onSaturday, and 1,225 for Sunday. There's everything from heavyfurniture to Civil War clothes to teeny political buttons,
There are ancient laptop desks, surprisingly familiar-lookingsince they have the same basic configuration as a laptop computer.
There are photos of pioneer people, all somber-looking. Issomber easier to hold than a smile for 19th-century cameramen?
"We'll start with 20. Ten, 20, 20, 30 way in the back." He bidit up to 160. "Going to 398."
The sole auctioneer at the podium is Michael L. DeFina, a formerbarber who's highly regarded in the Ohio auction world and has hisown auction firm. It will take him less than five hours Saturdaybut more than nine hours Sunday to move all the catalog items.
DeFina has his own auction barn behind his residence. It's anew-looking, well-ventilated, well-lit facility. There are seats forall, and DeFina has plenty of helpers to hold up items and to movethings along. He himself is relaxed but speedy.
"If I have 150, I need 175."
DeFina is easy to understand, no tobacco-auctioneer-type garble,and seems to bend backwards when it comes to honesty..
"We're making no promises these prints are genuine," he says."In fact, I know they're not."
We talk with DeFina during a short break in the auction action.
"I have an auction every month, six weeks." he says. "We moverapidly, get right in with the bidding." And he has a video setup,with a TV screen for closeups of smaller antiques.
The audience wears lots of bluejeans - stylish and otherwise -and lots of cellular phones. One phone is on the belt of a guy wholooks like he farms ten acres of hard rock. Probably a millionaire.
There are gawkers, pickers, haulers, dealers, buyers.
DeFina doesn't explain each item as he auctions it. Why shouldhe? Most of his audience has inspected everything beforehand, atlength.
One man in the crowd tells us he flew here from Jackson Hole,Wyo., just for this auction.
A lady buys a rocker for $1,200, then sits in it from then on,rocking.
A man blurts "Oh, expletive deleted" after an oil painting of asailing ship is sold for $6,000. This man has come from the EastCoast, specifically to buy that picture, but at a lower price.
"In at 16, I need $17,000."
A big surprise at this auction, even to DeFina, is the $38,000paid for an ornate wooden dining room table, with 15 carved chairs.It came from an historic Cleveland-area "castle," and its high priceis later reported at length in the Cleveland Plain Dealer.
"Ten, I need 20, bid at 40? 30! Sold."
Incidentally, if you get hungry or thirsty at an auction,there's usually some sort of counter in the back that offerslife-sustaining snacks at low prices.
On an earlier Ohio visit this summer we went to four auctionson two weekend days while visiting our same friends.
At the third of these auctions, I was sole bidder on a boxful offishing lures. It cost $3.
Our final auction of that weekend was in a big structure behindthe Pierpont volunteer fire department.
Auctioneer Don Elliot was knowledgeable, and entertaining enoughto deserve his own show opposite David Letterman and Jay Leno.
"Here's a stereopticon, the television and video of a bygoneera," he boomed. He started the stereopticon bidding at $250,dropped to $100 and then $75, and finally got up to $80 when it wasbought by No. 74.
Elliot held up a couple of brass pieces and said, "Talk aboutsocks on a rooster! Isn't that nice?"
He reminisced between sales about an oldtime auctioneer he triedto emulate when he was young. "He chewed tobacco during the auctionand he never spit. He swallowed it all. I tried and I got sick as adog."
Elliot was up-to-date, despite his folksy words. A young womanauctioneer spelled him at times.
And all of the aforewritten is why we go to auctions, though werarely buy anything big.
Years back, the normal noise in non-big-city America was "Moo,""Baa," "Oink" and "Bark-bark."
Now it's "Sold to the lady in the green hat."
ROYAL ASCOT, England - Officials from more than 30 countries debated ways to regulate the global Internet gaming industry on Tuesday, just weeks after the United States effectively banned online gambling.
Britain's Culture Secretary Tessa Jowell, who was hosting the gathering, said there was broad agreement at one session to improve regulation of the industry amid fears it could exploit children and encourage criminal activity.
Jowell said that a regulated Internet gaming industry would offer gamblers better protection than the U.S. decision to outlaw the practice.
"Remote gambling has gone from a niche to mass market in a matter of years," Jowell told journalists during a break in the gathering, the first summit to discuss the global impact of Internet gaming.
"We are optimistic that by the end of the day we will have achieved a number of things. There is a recognition that it is in the interests of all our citizens that we move to a framework of global standards on Internet gaming."
However, U.S. officials declined an invitation to take part in the talks at the Royal Ascot race course outside London.
Officials from Australia, South Africa, New Zealand and online jurisdictions such as Malta, Costa Rica and Antigua and Barbuda were expected to attend.
The U.S. Congress caught the gaming industry by surprise when it added a provision to a bill aimed at improving port security that would make it illegal for banks and credit card companies to settle payments to online gambling sites. U.S. President George W. Bush signed the law Oct. 14.
The decision closed the most lucrative region in a market worth US$15.5 billion (euro12.4 billion) this year in "spend" value - the amount gambling companies win from their clients, or the amount gamblers lose.
Jowell likened the U.S. decision to a new form of the 1920s Prohibition on alcohol, warning that it would drive the industry underground.
A draft communique from Tuesday's meeting noted concerns surrounding the industry, including its vulnerability to misuse for criminal activity and its threat to children.
The communique proposed the use of age and customer verification tools to protect young people and the vulnerable. It also called for ongoing communication between national jurisdictions through the International Association of Gambling Regulators.
Antigua in particular is engaged in a strong defense of Internet gaming, one of the tiny Caribbean state's few economic success stories.
It argues that the U.S. ban is in direct contravention to a ruling by the World Trade Organization last year that the United States amend some of its legislation to permit Antiguan gaming operations to offer their services to U.S. citizens on a level playing field.
Mark Mendel, who leads Antigua's WTO legal team, said he hopes that a closer relationship with Britain will develop stronger support for the ongoing WTO case as well as opening up opportunities for Antiguan licensed companies listed on the London Stock Exchange.
"We believe that once the United States ultimately comes into compliance with the WTO rulings in Antigua's favor, which it must, you will see the FTSE AIM-listed companies re-entering the American market via subsidiaries or affiliates located, licensed and regulated in Antigua," Mendel said.
Several London-listed Internet gaming companies and a handful in Europe and Australia sold off or shut down their U.S. operations after the ban, losing around 80 percent of their combined business in the process.
In Britain, new legislation next year will clear the way for super casinos and an influx of online gaming businesses.
Under the new laws, online operators have a "social responsibility" duty written into licenses and policed by the independent Gambling Commission watchdog.
It requires them to work to prevent underage gambling, give prominent warnings about addiction and inform users how much time and money they have spent on the site.
A onetime member of a bribe-paying lawyers' club testifiedThursday that he twice slipped cash into former Judge Martin Hogan'sdesk drawer for goodwill.
"I basically paid him to build a relationship," Lee Barnett tolda jury and U.S. District Judge James F. Holderman. Barnett said onone occasion in September, 1981, that Hogan looked up from his deskand suggested the money "isn't necessary."
A few months later, however, Barnett said he returned and putsome more money in the drawer. He said the judge just glanced in thedrawer, looked up and nodded.
At the time, Hogan, 48, was assigned to Branch 64 Auto TheftCourt, 1121 S. State, and Barnett was a criminal defense attorney.
Now Barnett is a convicted felon in the Operation Greylordproject and is testifying against Hogan.
Barnett said the payoffs were in accordance with a deal withbagman James LeFevour to pay presiding judges in certain courtroomsfor getting clients. The pact, approved by presiding Judge RichardLeFevour, was worked out among James LeFevour and five lawyers,including Barnett.
Barnett said he was enlisted in the club by his good friend andonetime roommate, Neal Birnbaum.
"Neal told me Hogan was one of Judge LeFevour's boys," Barnettsaid.
In other trial testimony Thursday, FBI mole Terrence Hake saidhe never knew whether James LeFevour actually paid Hogan two bribesfor fixing cases.
Earlier, Hake testified he gave LeFevour a total of $900 tosecure favorable decisions for his clients from Hogan. Hakeacknowledged the facts in the cases would have supported favorablerulings.
Lance Armstrong has guaranteed the drug-testing program he arranged with America's top anti-doping expert will be in place by the time he rides in his first official race in January.
The seven-time Tour de France winner starts his training with his new team Monday without having subjected himself to drug tests by Don Catlin, the expert he teamed with, and with no deal in place to post results of those tests online.
But in an interview with The Associated Press on Sunday, Armstrong said the goal was not to have the program in place by this week, but by the time he rides in Australia in January _ the first race of his comeback.
"It's a tough thing to organize, but we will make it happen," Armstrong said. "All the stuff we said we were going to do will happen."
When Armstrong announced his comeback earlier this year, he partnered with Catlin to set up a testing program. Catlin said he thought it was important to make those results available to the public.
Catlin told The AP this weekend that while Armstrong has been placed back in the testing pools at both the U.S. Anti-Doping Agency and UCI, cycling's international body, that he has yet to test him and that an agreement to document Armstrong's results online is not in place.
"We're interested in getting it going," Catlin said. "We have been chatting and are in negotiations."
Armstrong acknowledged he hadn't been tested by Catlin, but said he had been tested seven times since re-entering the anti-doping testing programs run by federations such as USADA and UCI.
Armstrong came out of retirement to ride for Astana, which was scheduled to begin its preseason camp this week at Tenerife, in the Canary Islands. Astana was supposed to pay for Armstrong's testing regimen, on top of a program run by its own team.
Armstrong said his team received Catlin's testing proposal only two weeks ago and coordinating everything is difficult. There's Armstrong's busy travel schedule, plus the testing regimens instituted by USADA, the World Anti-Doping Agency, UCI, Astana and other national federations.
"We're working as quickly as we can to get everyone coordinated, but it's not that simple," Armstrong said.
The goal is to make the programs mesh without too much overlap, though Armstrong reiterated his desire to do whatever he must to prove he is clean. He said the best defense against doping are requirements that cyclists give authorities their whereabouts at all times.
"I'm religious about that," he said. "Whether I'm in France or in LA, no one's trying to pull a fast one here. At the end of the day, I stand ready every day to be tested."
Though Armstrong never tested positive during his record-setting career, suspicions were always out there, which was one reason the 37-year-old cyclist asked Catlin to design a testing program that would prove he was clean.
He teamed with Catlin to attach a recognizable name to his drug-testing program. Catlin ran America's first anti-doping lab in UCLA for 25 years and recently left there to set up the nonprofit Anti-Doping Research to develop new ways of catching drug cheats.
Catlin has long been a proponent of performing baseline tests of athletes for a number of illegal substances, then comparing subsequent tests against the original results. It is widely considered a more accurate way of testing than the method most commonly used, but is also more expensive and time-intensive.
UCI has begun performing baseline tests, and under Catlin's program, Armstrong would presumably be tested the same way. Catlin also wants to freeze samples of Armstrong's blood for tests in the future.
None of this, however, has been simple since Armstrong and Catlin agreed to work together in September.
"The program we want to do is going to be intensive," Catlin said. "And he's a moving target. He's very busy. Keeping up with him, testing him, takes a lot of planning and it hasn't all come together yet."
But Catlin said he had confidence that the seven tests Armstrong has been subjected to in the USADA and UCI programs were enough to start.
"I'm not looking at that data yet and my data isn't dovetailed with his yet, but eventually, that's the plan," Catlin said.
Armstrong said his plan still is to debut at the Tour Down Under in Australia on Jan. 20-25.
As he gets ready to work out with his new teammates and start a "second" career, Armstrong said he was feeling a little anxious.
"There are a lot of new riders I don't know," he said. "The organization is very similar to what we had at Discovery and Postal. But it's a new dynamic. There's some anxiety with that. But my training, technically speaking, is going very well."
After the collapse of the Soviet Union and 5 years of civil war, health care services in Tajikistan are in disarray. Nongovernmental organizations are playing a key role in recovery programs. A group of volunteer physicians from the West went to Khorog General Hospital in the Pamiri mountains to establish a dialogue with their physician counterparts, recommend evidence-based best practice appropriate for local conditions, and reintroduce a culture of continuing medical education. The arrangements included a group visit to Khorog for 3 weeks annually over 3 years. In this article we describe the experiences of the 2 general surgeons attached to the group in the second year and the status of the partnership 1 year later.
Suite a l'effondrement de l'Union sovietique et a cinq ans de guerre civile, les services de sante du Tadjikistan sont en desarroi. Des organisations non gouvernementales jouent un role cle dans les programmes de relance. Des medecins benevoles de l'Occident ont visite l'hopital general de Khorog dans les montagnes Pamiri pour amorcer un dialogue avec leurs homologues, recommander les meilleurs pratiques factuelles indiquees dans la conjoncture locale et retablir une culture d'education medicale continue. Les mesures prevoyaient une visite de groupe de trois semaines a Khorog chaque annee au cours d'une periode de trois ans. Dans le present article, nous decrivons l'experience de deux chirurgiens generaux qui faisaient partie du groupe au cours de la deuxieme annee ainsi que l'etat du partenariat un an plus tard.
Tajikistan is a landlocked country with Afghanistan to the south and China to the east. It lies on the ancient "Silk Road," which runs from China through to Samarkand and Bhukara and into Russia and Europe. With the collapse of the Soviet Union, Tajikistan became independent in September 1991. A civil war immediately erupted, with factions roughly divided into ethnic groups. During this war, which was largely unreported in the Western press, up to 60 000 people lost their lives and 500 000 were displaced. Some degree of stability has been evident since 1997, when a reconciliation government was established. Tajikistan has a population of 6 million of whom 65% are Tajik, 25% Uzbek and 3.5% Russian. Of this population, 85% are Muslims. There is an extraordinary 98% literacy rate, a consequence of the Soviet influence in this strategically vital country.1 Since independence, however, the economy has collapsed, and health care services have been disrupted. Life expectancy has fallen, and the infant mortality is 27.6 per 1000 live births compared with Canada's 5.5 per 1000.2,3
Nongovernmental organizations have played a significant part in the slowly recovering economy. In the Pamiri mountains, the Aga Khan Health Services (AKHS) started a 3-year "Essential Hospital Services" program in 1999.4 Part of this program included an international clinical partnership comprising 15 volunteer physicians, representing 9 specialties from Canada, the United States and Europe. The principal aim was for them to connect and communicate with their Tajik counterparts in Khorog, the district capital of the province of Badakhshan. In 2001, 2 general surgeons were included.
International clinical partnership
The sponsors for the 3-year program were AKHS and the Swiss Development Corporation. In Canada, the Canadian International Development Agency matches funds raised for this type of work. Fifteen specialist physicians and 3 administrators (the visiting clinical partners [VCPs]) volunteered their time to implement the program. Three annual visits were included in addition to significant time between visits that was spent on planning. The partnership concept was deliberate, as the intent was not to provide specialty expertise but to partner with the local specialists and exchange ideas with them on current theory and practice. The visits in the first year incorporated a 6-specialty team. In the second year, a 9-specialty team included the 2 general surgeons. In Khorog, 80 Tajik physicians were designated as host clinical partners, and 35 physicians came in from district hospitals to participate.
The guiding principles included local capacity building, empowerment and self-sustainability.
The key premise for success was the establishment of enduring relationships between the visiting and host specialists. The intention was to initiate a dialogue, through interpreters, on common surgical conditions in Khorog and to compare the practice of the surgeons there with Western clinical practice. A culture of continuous learning was to be reestablished with grand rounds, seminars and access to a learning resource centre. To facilitate this exercise, instruments, sutures, English language textbooks and other items were donated in advance of each visit.
Khorog General Hospital
The population in the province of Bhadakshan is estimated at 240 000, of which 40 000 live in Khorog. Most of these are Tajik Pamiris. Languages spoken are Russian and Tajik with local dialects and strong variation from valley to valley. The Khorog General Hospital (KGH), a 550-bed institution, consists of 2and 3-storey concrete buildings that house the wards. The latter are split into specialties and are effectively self-contained, having an operating room on each surgical floor. Seven general surgeons were on staff in September 2001; 1 has since retired. The chief surgeon performs most of the surgery. There is presently 1 senior semi-retired surgeon who assists at operations. Another surgeon is fully trained and has vascular training, although the VCPs did not see any vascular procedures performed. Three junior surgeons have functions similar to residents. The general surgical ward consists of 15 rooms with a total of 45 beds. The head nurse has 40 staff nurses under her, and there are 20 allied health and other staff. There are 2 "dressing" rooms, one for changing clean dressings, the other for dirty dressings.
The general surgery operating room has 2 tables with standard overhead lights. Instruments are of Russian origin, and most of them are quite large and heavy (Fig. 1). Drapes are made of woven brown material resembling sackcloth. The gowns were of a similar material but were recently replaced by donated items. Drapes, gowns and instruments are sterilized in an ancient autoclave. Masks, caps and rubber boots are worn. The anteroom to the operating room contains scrub sinks in which hands and forearms are washed in soap and water and then dipped into an alcohol solution to provide asepsis. The operative area is prepared with an iodine and alcohol solution, and draping is effected before the surgeons don their gloves. Intermittently during the procedures, surgeons wash their gloves in alcohol solution.
Other surgical services include a urology and a pediatric surgery ward, each self-contained. Diagnostic imaging is available, with ultrasonography being the predominant technique. There is a shortage of film so fluoroscopy is commonly used. Endoscopy is not available.
In this regional hospital, the general surgical ward admitted 717 patients in 2000 and 1007 in 2001 (Table 1). The in-hospital mortality is extremely low, but very sick patients usually go home to die. Lengths of stay are extremely long by Western standards, but patients coming in from outlying areas have nowhere to stay and so are admitted to the hospital. Convalescence presents a similar problem. Of approximately 8 cases a week, 5 are emergent and 3 elective (Table 2). The most common indications for general surgery are identified in Table 3, for emergency surgery in Table 4 and for elective procedures in Table 5; elective surgical procedures are performed 2 or 3 times a week and are often delayed as the surgeons wait for the only oxygen tank, which is doing the rounds of the operating rooms in the institution.
Of particular interest to North American surgeons was the total absence of oncologic surgery at the KGH. The Soviet system had, in fact, built a separate hospital for oncology in which there was a single physician, who carried out all the surgical procedures as well as medical interventions. Cancer patients present late in Khorog, and curative procedures are rare, but chemotherapy is available, and patients are sent to Dushanbe (the capital city) for radiation therapy. The VCPs recommended that oncology be incorporated into the KGH and that the general surgeons should be directly involved in oncologic surgery. This recommendation is presently being implemented.
Common surgical conditions
One of the first exercises for the visiting clinical partners was to identify common surgical conditions at the institution. In general surgery, we discussed the management of symptomatic cholelithiasis, pyloric stenosis, perforated peptic ulcer and upper gastrointestinal bleeding. The VCPs also covered empyema and pulmonary echinococcal disease, which is endemic in this part of the world. The format for the discussion was to identify the local method of diagnosis and management, to describe North American management, to recommend changes, if any, taking into account the available resources and funding, and to identify best practice for the KGH. The chief surgeon had to concur with the advice and agree with recommendations about key activities and target dates as well as indicators for assessing progress.
As an example, at KGH, symptomatic cholelithiasis was confirmed by ultrasonography, and the surgeon then performed an open cholecystectomy always using a midline incision. Following suture ligation of the cystic duct and artery, the gallbladder was bluntly removed from the gall-bladder bed. As one might expect, an inordinate amount of time was spent obtaining hemostasis. Unipolar cautery was available from an old Bovie-type machine. Closure was in 4 layers, and a tube drain was invariably placed. Avoidance of the subcostal or Kocher incision was based on a concern that this incision would result in a high incidence of incisional hernias.
After discussion there was mutual agreement that technical improvements could be instituted. Before we arrived in Khorog, a Valleylab Force 2 electrocautery generator had been donated and shipped. On the basis of the discussion and observations during a procedure, the chief surgeon recognized that he could use a subcostal or midline incision, with unipolar cautery for the incision and for removing the gallbladder from the gallbladder bed, with little bleeding. The fascia could be sutured with continuous Vicryl or silk. Subcuticular closure of skin with absorbable monofilament suture was possible. He could also avoid placing a drain unless specifically indicated. Following the first visit in 2001, this change in practice was instituted. The average time for an open cholecystectomy before this change, based on a random sample of 10 cases, was 91 minutes (median 90 min, range from 55-130 min). It is now 51 minutes (n = 25, median 50 min, range from 35-100 min).
Other common diagnoses included pyloric stenosis, perforation and hemorrhage. Before discussion, there was a high gastrectomy rate, and it was evident that there was little knowledge among the surgeons of the role of Helicobacter pylorii. VCP recommendations therefore included the perioperative use of H^sub 2^ receptor antagonists, the avoidance of gastrectomy when possible and postoperative therapy for Helicobacter using the available drugs, which included ranitidine, amoxicillin and metronidazole. Partial gastrectomies are still performed for pyloric stenosis, but not for perforated or bleeding peptic ulcers.
Perioperative antibiotics: a patient care initiative
For each specialty, the VCPs were asked to concentrate on 1 or 2 specific initiatives that would have the most beneficial impact on the practice of medicine or surgery in the Khorog environment. In general surgery, the VCPs noted that there was indiscriminate use of antibiotics perioperatively. Sometimes antibiotics would be given for several days preoperatively and often prolonged postoperatively. Dosing regimens were inadequate, particularly for gentamicin. From Department of Surgery records, the wound infection rate did not seem particularly high (recorded as 3%), but we agreed that it was important to move toward evidence-based antibiotic use. A classification of operative procedures into clean, clean-contaminated and contaminated was introduced.5 The rationale for loading doses and dosing intervals was described. Recommendations for pre- and postoperatively administered antibiotics for specific procedures were made. A data collection form was devised that included the operating room classification of procedures, operations performed, perioperative antibiotic usage and postoperative infections. Using the form, the chief surgeon submitted a monthly record by email. In September 2001, there were clearly attempts to change practice, but either the timing or the dosing of the antibiotics was inaccurate. Feedback was provided monthly by the VCPs, and by June 2002 there was 88% compliance with the recommendations.
Continuing medical education
During the Soviet era, each physician received 3 weeks of continuing medical education (CME) annually. Physicians travelled to St. Petersburg or Moscow for courses in surgical practice. With the civil war and subsequent depressed economy, there was little activity to maintain clinical skills or keep up with the literature. Russian textbooks on site were over 10 years old. Tajik physicians, prior to the establishment of the AKHS initiatives, had minimal access to medical literature in English and only had sporadic access to new technology or the Internet. One of the most impressive impacts of the AKHS involvement in Khorog has been training in the English language (for access to the English language literature) and in computer skills. Presently only email is available via local telephone lines from the capital and via satellite but, in the near future, Internet access will become a reality. When that occurs, visits from volunteer physicians may become less important.
During the VCP visits, the concept of grand rounds was re-established. Staff from each of the visiting specialties presented a topic during the first week, and the host partners presented a separate topic during the second week. Both presentations were done in a classic grand rounds format in an auditorium in the local government building. PowerPoint presentations were used and were translated into Russian or English by local interpreters. The grand rounds reinforced the concept of teamwork and communication between the specialties. Preparation for the rounds reinforced the idea of accessing the available literature and enhanced computer skills.
Unresolved issues
The host clinical partners were delighted to have VCPs on site and appreciated the exchange of information. The VCPs were universally impressed by the effectiveness of the surgical interventions in the absence of resources. Unfortunately, both funding and bioengineering backup are in short supply, such that high technology (e.g., laparoscopic equipment) is unlikely to be a practical option until the economy recovers. A gastroscope is likely to be the next acquisition.
Like every health care organization, the KGH is involved in institutional politics that include interdepartmental rivalry and distrust of the administrative structure. Government participation in this whole exercise is distant, and there is no money. An individual surgeon gets paid the equivalent of Can$10 a month. In the absence of adequate salaries, an underground economy is active and flourishes. Unfortunately, it seems likely that elective treatment may depend on the patient's ability to pay.6
On Sept. 9, 2001, Khorog celebrated the 10th anniversary of the independence of Tajikistan from the Soviet Union. There were 2 days of celebrations and, in classic Soviet fashion, a parade with hospital staff, including doctors and visiting partners, participating. Two days later, the 9/11 tragedy occurred in New York. There was concern about the situation as immediately across the Panj river in the distal part of the valley is northern Afghanistan. However, the whole of this northern area is occupied by what was then known as the Northern Alliance, and nothing untoward happened.
Conclusions
Nongovernmental organizations such as the AKHS are playing an essential part in the economic recovery and the re-establishment of social order in Tajikistan. Visiting volunteer physicians have concentrated on establishing relationships to boost morale and provide a sense of hope to beleaguered physicians with few resources. During the visits, evidence-based medical and surgical practice were discussed and promoted. This approach differs from that of other organizations such as Medecins Sans Frontieres, which usually provide physician manpower to service the population. The volunteers introduced sustainable medical models of best practice and encouraged a culture of continuous learning. Contact with host specialist colleagues has been maintained by email in between visits. The results are encouraging, with significant changes in practice. This innovative approach draws on multiple partners and provides for an ongoing sustainable relationship. Specialist-specialist contact in this form is an effective educational tool.
Competing interests: None declared.
[Reference]
References
1. United Nations Development Program. Republic of Tajikistan Human Development Report, 1998. Dushanbe (Tajikistan): The Program; 1998.
2. World Health Organization. Health care systems in transition: Tajikistan. Copenhagen: WHO; 1996.
3. Canadian Vital Statistics Database 1997. Ottawa: Statistics Canada, Health Statistics Division; 2000. Available: www.statcan.ca/english/Pgdb/health21.htm (accessed 2003 June 17).
4. Alidina S, Annett H. Going beyond triage in Tajikistan. Health reform in the former Soviet Union. Healthc Manage Forum 2000;13(4):45-8.
5. Townsend CM Jr. Sabiston textbook of surgery. 16th ed. Philadelphia: W.B. Saunders; 2001. p.173.
6. McKee M, Figueras J, Chenet L. Health sector reform in the former Soviet Republics of Central Asia. Int J Health Plann Manage 1998;13:131-47.
[Author Affiliation]
Diamond A. Kassum, MB BChir;* Azim Valji, MD;[dagger] Shodi Gulyazov, MD[double dagger]
[Author Affiliation]
From the * Department of Surgery, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Man., the [dagger] Department of Surgery, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alta., and the [double dagger] Department of Surgery, Khorog General Hospital, Khorog, Bhadakshan, Tajikistan
Accepted for publication Mar. 10, 2003.
Correspondence to: Dr. Diamond A. Kassum, St. Boniface General Hospital, 409 Tache Ave., Winnipeg MB R2H 2A6; fax 204 231-0891; dkassum@sbgh.mb.ca
BERLIN (AP) — Germany's defense minister announced Monday the nation will end conscription in July 2011 and switch to a slimmed-down volunteer military service of some 185,000 troops focused on missions abroad.
The reforms are aimed at realigning the German army to better reflect the nation's post-Cold War needs, Karl zu Guttenberg told a military conference in Dresden. They are a major step for a country that has been reluctant to send its soldiers overseas, mindful of its role in instigating two world wars.
It is the first time Guttenberg has given a date to end conscription and a concrete number of troops. He said his ministry would be finalizing the details of the raft of cuts and changes that will accompany the restructuring in the coming weeks. Parliament is expected to pass the measures in December.
Despite now having 250,000 troops, only 7,000 are currently deployed at any one time, due mostly to the limited term most conscripts serve. Guttenberg underlined that the reforms were aimed at slimming the nation's military and helping it meet 21st-century needs.
The most important change will be that young German men will no longer be called up for obligatory military service. Instead volunteers will serve between 12 to 23 months volunteer term of service, with soldiers able to deploy abroad after six months of service. Guttenberg hopes that will allow at least 10,000 troops to be deployed abroad in the future.
"The measuring stick must be the missions," Guttenberg said. "That is the heart of the realigned army."
The minister also announced cuts to the Defense Ministry's bloated bureaucracy that will result in changes to the chain of command.
Chancellor Angela Merkel urged military leaders in to take advantage of the changes "to make a military service so attractive" that it would be able to pull in sufficient numbers of young soldiers.
Merkel noted the changes were the most significant facing the military since the nation's reunification in 1990, but underlined that they are necessary.
Germany currently has some 7,070 troops abroad — 4,840 in Afghanistan and 1,470 in Kosovo. Smaller contingents are deployed in Bosnia, in anti-piracy patrols off the Horn of Africa and as part of UNIFIL, the international peacekeeping force, off the coast of Lebanon and elsewhere.
Assuming they survive Denver, Katia and Marielle Labeque willcome to Orchestra Hall on Wednesday to play a Bartok and Bernsteinprogram for Chamber Music Chicago. Their first recital here inSeptember, 1985, had people talking for months afterward, and thesecond concert holds promise of the same effect.
Lured by such expectations I went to Bologna last year, whilesampling opera in Italy, to hear them play. Unfortunately, theprogram was canceled.
"That's right," Katia said ruefully. "I had a kind of tendinitis,and I was afraid that if I went on playing it would make it worse, soI had to stop for a month. Now everything is fine.
"It happened in Denver in November," she said. "I was playing ona very bad piano. The keyboard was really too heavy for me. Nosound. And I tried to force the sound, and I really shouldn't havedone that. And there were four concerts in a row. In the last Iknew had hurt myself. I hit one chord in Poulenc and said, `Whathave I done?' I finished the concert, but my finger really hurt. Isimply had to stop playing and let it heal.
"They swear they have different pianos for us this time. But ifI find the same piano in Denver, I shall switch with my sister. Sheis stronger. I was so stubborn last time. She said, `Change withme, you will have problems with this piano.' But I said, `No, I wantto play this. I really want to sacrifice myself.' This time I know.Being out of action for a month is too big a sacrifice. I'm learningthe hard way to protect myself."
Their present visit to the United States takes the Labeques to13 places in three weeks, which makes for very litle time off.
"We're used to it," Katia said with resignation. "It is stillterrible, but it's all right. In the beginning, it's a little toughto get used to touring again. But most of the time we have our owninstruments coming from New York. German Steinways - very, verygood. No problem."
The pianos to be heard in Chicago were used earlier in thetour, in Boston and Philadelphia. Last time in Chicago, they usedtwo local instruments and they were not well-matched in tone.
"We are very grateful that we can play the Bartok Sonata for TwoPianos and Percussion in Chicago. We had a lot of difficultyorganizing this tour because of the program. They told us in Bostonthat the last time anyone had played the sonata was 20 years ago.The first half is all Bartok, `Mikrokosmos' and the sonata. At firstwe thought we might begin with some French music, but it does not gowell with the Bartok sonata - it is too much of a different world -so we changed the program. Then we play Bernstein's songs and dancesfrom `West Side Story.' These are very nice arrangements. We enjoythem very much, and the contrast is desirable. It is very goodmusic, and it doesn't sound at all like the orchestral version.People may hate it, or love it, but definitely they will see it in anewway."
The Labeque sisters are not, as they see themselves, acrossover phenomenon. They know they could pack houses if they puton slinky gowns and played lighter and more popular programs, butthis does not interest them. They are quite aware that they areattractive young women, and they are happy for this positive image,provided it is not overdone.
"We are serious musicians," Katia insisted.
That is why the Labeques like to come to Chicago for Chamber MusicChicago, an organization associated with serious concerts. "These arewonderful people to work with," Katia said. "They are doing such amarvelous job of expanding their horizons and leading their audienceto new things, and they are so receptive when you suggest a programlike this. When our management proposed this tour, Chicago said yesright away, and then our manager said, `Fine, we will have to work onthis because if I can tell others that Chicago likes the program,they will view it more favorably.' Sure enough, Boston and LosAngeles took it after that, and we were under way."
And that is how one innovative music-producing group can havean influence far beyond the city in which it functions.
"We recorded the Bartok two years ago for EMI (Angel Records inthe United States)," Katia said, "and I am so mad at them for neverbringing it out. We did both the original version, which we playhere, and the revision as a concerto for two pianos and orchestra.Simon Rattle conducted for us with the Birmingham (England)Orchestra. It should be a wonderful record, but someone decided thatBartok doesn't sell, so they are in no hurry to bring it out. Bartokis such an orchestrator, and the two versions are not at all alike.It is not an arrangement, but a new composition."
Life is busy for the Labeques, the price of success.
"We're working quite a lot. After my hand healed, we began againin January for the Mozart week in Salzburg (Austria), playing Mozartconcertos. That was really wonderful. Then we played with theBerlin Philharmonic. After this American tour, we are going back andgoing on another tour of Germany that runs to the 15th of May.
"Then we have some time free. We will go to the Basque coastand our parents and the dog and my pet rabbit. That will be nice,"she said wistfully, thinking perhaps of all the concerts to be playedand all the early morning flights that must be caught before thathappy day.
Chicago Sun-Times columnist Vernon Jarrett was one of six FirstAmendment advocates selected Friday by the Vanderbilt UniversityFreedom Forum First Amendment Center as visiting professionalscholars.
Jarrett joins a distinguished group that includes SanderVanocur, former national network correspondent; John Frohnmayer,former head of the National Endowment for the Arts; Beverly Kees,former executive editor of the Fresno Bee; Charles Haynes, of theFirst Liberty Institute of George Mason University, and Bill R.Phillips, former director of the Republican National Committee.
Jarrett is a member of the Sun-Times editorial board. For 25years he has been a talk show producer, host and commentator atWLS-Channel 7. He also has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize fivetimes.
At Vanderbilt, Jarrett will write on African-American FirstAmendment heroes.
LOS ANGELES - A student who was shocked by a campus police officer's Taser gun after he refused to show ID at a UCLA library thought he was being singled out by the officer because of his Middle Eastern appearance, his lawyer said.
Attorney Stephen Yagman said he plans to file a federal civil rights lawsuit on behalf of the U.S.-born student, Mostafa Tabatabainejad.
Tabatabainejad, 23, was shocked Tuesday night after arguing with a campus police officer who was conducting a routine check of student IDs at the University of California, Los Angeles Powell Library computer lab.
Yagman said his client declined to show his school ID because he thought he was being targeted for his appearance. His family is of Iranian descent.
Police have said Tabatabainejad encouraged others at the library to join his resistance, and when a crowd gathered, the officer used the stun gun on him.
Yagman disputed that, saying Tabatabainejad started yelling to draw attention after the police officer pulled out the Taser.
Tabatabainejad was arrested for resisting and obstructing a police officer and later released on his own recognizance.
The incident, recorded on another student's camera phone, showed Tabatabainejad screaming while on the floor of the computer lab. It was the third time in a month in which police behavior in the city was criticized after amateur video surfaced.
UCLA's interim chancellor, Norman Abrams, urged the public to withhold judgment while the campus police department investigates.
Several civil rights organizations, including Amnesty International and the Council on American-Islamic Relations, have called for an independent review.
ANKARA, Turkey (AP) — A prosecutor says 93 people, including Fenerbahce President Aziz Yildirim, are facing criminal charges connected with an alleged match-fixing scandal.
Fikret Secen, deputy prosecutor for Istanbul, says Yildirim faces charges of match-fixing and obtaining unfair economic advantages. Yildirim has denied any wrong-doing.
Speaking Saturday, Secen says 14 players are among those charged.
If found guilty, the maximum punishment in the case is not clear. President Abdullah Gul on Friday vetoed parliamentary amendments that would have reduced prison terms for match-fixing.
Parliament voted for the changes last week, only eight months after it approved sentences of up to 12 years for anyone convicted of fixing games.
NEW YORK - The Dow Jones industrial average racked up itssecond-biggest point gain ever today as investors heaved a sigh ofrelief after a tame reading on employment costs, a key force behindinflation.
``Inflation is the market's enemy, and it's not showing up,''said Ken Feinberg, a money manager at Davis Selected Advisers, whichoversees $8 billion. ``If we're not going to get inflation, andprofits stay strong, what's going to kill this bull market?''
The Dow Jones industrial average jumped 179.01 points to closeat 6,962.03.But in stark contrast with the market's selective attempts tobounce back from its recent slide, broader stock measures kept pacewith the blue-chip sector's gains.Stocks drew their boost from the bond market, where interestrates plunged below a psychologically important barrier after theLabor Department reported that Americans' wages and benefits rose amodest 0.6 percent in the first quarter.Since early last year, analysts have been worried that thestrong economy has been creating too much demand and too many jobs,forcing manufacturers to raise wages as they compete for workers.But the resulting increase in employment costs has yet to produce aninflationary spurt.Determined to keep it that way, the Federal Reserve raised oneof its key lending rates late last month, spurring a sharp downturnin the markets.The enthusiasm over today's employment cost data was bolsteredby two separate reports suggesting that other inflationary pressuresmay be easing.``A lot of people had to look at this morning's numbers andreassess their beliefs for the Fed,'' said Edward Rydwelski, atAbacus Financial Group in Chicago. ``Inflation has just remained sowell-behaved.''To be sure, many investors said reports later in the week ongrowth, manufacturing and employment may yet prompt the Fed to act inMay. ``You know how it goes - today the numbers are good and maybe(the Fed) won't raise rates,'' said Robert Basel, head block traderat Smith Barney. ``Next week everyone will be worked up again over adifferent number. But for today we're going to have a nice rally.''With today's gain, the Dow has recovered all but about 120points of a nearly 700-point slide from its March 11 high of7,085.16.As bond prices rose today, the yield on the 30-year Treasuryplunged below 7 percent for the first time since late March.Advancing issues swamped decliners on the New York StockExchange, where volume was heavy at 551.6 million shares.
DES MOINES - President Bush said the "sacred institution" of marriage between a man and a woman must be defended against what he called activist court rulings.
Bush briefly brought up the topic, unprompted, while raising money here for a Republican congressional candidate, a day after the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that same-sex couples must be given the same rights as married people.
The court left it up to the state's Legislature to decide whether to extend those rights under the structure of marriage, civil unions or something else.
The president said the ruling "raises doubts about the institution of marriage."
"I believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman," he said. "I believe it's a sacred institution that is critical to the health of our society and the well-being of families, and it must be defended."
Bush did not say how it must be defended. But he has advocated a federal ban on gay marriage. Earlier this year, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage failed to win the needed two-thirds support in both the Senate and House.
Gay marriage is legal only in Massachusetts. Other states, including Vermont and California, have laws permitting civil unions or domestic partnerships that offer virtually all the benefits of gay marriage, except the name. New Jersey and some other states have domestic partnership laws that offer fewer marriage benefits.
Twenty states have passed constitutional amendments aimed at blocking gay marriage, mostly by large margins. Eight more states - Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin - will be voting Nov. 7 on constitutional amendments that would ban same-sex marriages and, in most cases, civil unions as well.
Bush Defines Marriage As Man and WomanDES MOINES - President Bush said the "sacred institution" of marriage between a man and a woman must be defended against what he called activist court rulings.
Bush briefly brought up the topic, unprompted, while raising money here for a Republican congressional candidate, a day after the New Jersey Supreme Court decided that same-sex couples must be given the same rights as married people.
The court left it up to the state's Legislature to decide whether to extend those rights under the structure of marriage, civil unions or something else.
The president said the ruling "raises doubts about the institution of marriage."
"I believe marriage is a union between a man and a woman," he said. "I believe it's a sacred institution that is critical to the health of our society and the well-being of families, and it must be defended."
Bush did not say how it must be defended. But he has advocated a federal ban on gay marriage. Earlier this year, a proposed constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage failed to win the needed two-thirds support in both the Senate and House.
Gay marriage is legal only in Massachusetts. Other states, including Vermont and California, have laws permitting civil unions or domestic partnerships that offer virtually all the benefits of gay marriage, except the name. New Jersey and some other states have domestic partnership laws that offer fewer marriage benefits.
Twenty states have passed constitutional amendments aimed at blocking gay marriage, mostly by large margins. Eight more states - Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Virginia and Wisconsin - will be voting Nov. 7 on constitutional amendments that would ban same-sex marriages and, in most cases, civil unions as well.
Here we go with what seems likely to be my last column of theseason, although of course we are all staying positive.
After all, just ask Pope John-Paul II - miracles really canhappen!
I think at this stage of the season it seems most fitting to givesome sort of send-off in words to a man who has been like a greatrampaging grizzly over the last ten years for Bath.
I am of course talking about one of my second row colleagues, aman who it is a great pleasure to hug then reach our free armsthrough the legs of some other friends and, while bending over, tryto push harder than some other blokes coming the direct opposite wayto us.
The 'Cock', big …
LONDON (AP) — The head of British tennis says he is hopeful that a change in tax laws will stop international sports stars from turning their backs on competing in Britain.
Second-ranked Rafael Nadal has chosen not to compete at the pre-Wimbledon Queen's tournament next year because he will "lose money." Olympic champion Usain Bolt does not compete in Britain because of the …
NEW YORK - Wall Street ended a volatile week with a sharp decline Friday as investors again succumbed to nervousness about rising interest rates and souring subprime loans. The Dow Jones industrial average fell more than 185 points.
The steep pullback coming a day after a respectable gain was characteristic of the erratic sessions Wall Street has endured in recent weeks as it dealt with concerns ranging from interest rates to the health of hedge funds to, more recently, the prospects of unfavorable legislation from Washington.
Friday's session, unusually devoid of economic or earnings data, began with a focus on the initial public offering of a stake in the management arm of Blackstone Group LP. The most talked-about IPO since Google Inc. went public saw the buyout shop's stock open well above the $31 a share at which it had been priced late Thursday. The stock rose $4.15, or 13.4 percent, to $35.15. Enthusiasm over Blackstone wasn't broad enough to prop up the markets, however.
According to preliminary calculations, the Dow industrials fell 185.58, or 1.37 percent, to 13,360.26. On Thursday, stocks had fluctuated before ending higher, with the Dow recovering 56 points following a 146-point tumble on Wednesday.
Broader stock indicators also dropped sharply Friday. The Standard & Poor's 500 index fell 19.56, or 1.28 percent, to 1,502.63, and the Nasdaq composite index fell 28.00, or 1.07 percent, to 2,588.96.
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On the Net:
New York Stock Exchange: http://www.nyse.com
Nasdaq Stock Market: http://www.nasdaq.com
Paced by an outstanding performance by quarterback Steve Jones, Austin blasted Orr, 32-6, in the Public League Intra-City Conference semi-finals Wednesday at Hanson Stadium.
Austin advances to the Intra-City championship Monday night at Hanson where they will face Senn or Michelle Clark.
Jones, a senior, threw for 212 yards and four touchdowns as Austin improved its record to 9-1 with the win.
Orr closes it season with a 7-3 record.
"Steve is just great quarterback," Austin head coach "Papa Joe" Phillips told the Defender. "Today, he showed just how good he is."
Jones tossed two long touchdown passes to Andre Summerfield, one to Signey Jones and another …
(ADPnews) - Feb 9, 2011 - S&P on Tuesday rated at BBB- with a "positive" outlook Puerto Rico's series 2011 general obligation (GO) public improvement refunding bonds.
The service also maintained at BBB- with a "positive" outlook the commonwealth's GO debt outstanding.
The rating is constrained by Puerto Rico's high debt levels and persistent budget deficits, with ongoing fiscal stabilisation efforts likely to bear fruit in 2013 at the earliest.
…
Byline: DENNIS YUSKO Staff Writer
CLIFTON PARK - Opposition to a proposed rezoning of the town's western half surfaced for the first time on Monday.
A handful of landowners objects to the Town Board's zoning changes and design standards proposed to conserve open space in 13,900 western acres. They told the board that the plan's central feature - establishing an average density of one home per three developable acres - would ruin their financial future.
"You're really hurting a lot of people's retirements who were planning to sell that land," farmer Vince O'Bremski of Appleton Road said.
Town leaders are asking property owners in the west …
WASHINGTON -- Congress will hold hearings this week on credit union-to-bank charter conversions. Witnesses from both sides of the issue will testify. For additional …
Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Afghanistan, has been caught up in a number of attacks over the course of his diplomatic career:
—Sept. 13, 2011: Taliban insurgents fired rocket-propelled grenades and assault rifles at the U.S. Embassy as part of a series of attacks in Kabul, the Afghan capital. No Embassy staff members were killed or wounded, and it was not immediately clear if Crocker was in the building at the time.
—March 29, 2007: Multiple suicide bombers struck in predominantly Shiite markets in Baghdad and in a town north of the capital, killing at least 104 people and wounding scores on the same day that Crocker, the new U.S. ambassador to Iraq, was sworn in at …
LLANMILOE youngsters have shown their artistic skills bydesigning a poster for a charity carol singing event.
Community councillor Dennis Hinchey organised a postercompetition to promote a carol singing event taking place later thismonth and encouraged the pupils to get creative with their designs.The charity carol singing event itself takes place around theChristmas tree in Pendine, and is being held on Saturday, December17 at 6pm.
The event will be raising money for the NSPCC, and is sponsoredby local taxi firm Brooke Cars, who are offering free …
The Ministry for Youth Affairs plans to open the Youth House in Bishkek, Youth Minister Aliasbek Alymkulov said at the ministerial meeting today.The Minister asked to increase financing for their projects. The Ministry plans to open the Youth …
