Peninsula Daily News for Thursday, February 24, 2011
Second Front Page
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Briefly: Nation Governor duped into discussing plan for unions MADISON, Wis. — On a prank call that quickly spread across the Internet, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was duped into discussing his strategy to cripple public employee unions, promising never to give in and joking that he would use a baseball bat in his office to go after political opponents. Walker believed the caller was a conservative billionaire named David Koch, but it was actually the editor of a liberal online Walker newspaper. The two talked for at least 20 minutes — a conversation in which the governor described several potential ways to pressure Democrats to return to the Statehouse and revealed that his supporters had considered secretly planting people in pro-union protest crowds to stir up trouble. Walker compared his stand to that taken by President Ronald Reagan when he fired the nation’s air-traffic controllers during a labor dispute in 1981. The audio was posted by the Buffalo Beast, a left-leaning website based in Buffalo, N.Y., and quickly went viral. Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie confirmed that it was Walker’s voice on the call. At a news conference, Walker acknowledged being deceived but stuck to his message that the union changes were needed
to balance Wisconsin’s budget.
‘Deadliest Catch’ death ANCHORAGE, Alaska — A new member of a “Deadliest Catch” fishing crew has been found dead in an Alaska motel room. Justin Tennison was found dead Tuesday afternoon in a room at the Best Western Bidarka Inn in Homer, Alaska, police said Wednesday. Tennison, 33, was a member of the Time Bandit, one of the vessels on the popular Discovery Channel reality series. He will make a posthumous debut in the seventh season kicking off in April, said Discovery spokesman Josh Weinberg. Homer police Lt. Randy Rosencrans said beer, hard liquor and a small amount of marijuana were found in the room. But he added that the cause of death is unknown, although foul play is not suspected.
Libya violence reviled WASHINGTON — The Obama administration Wednesday sharpened its condemnation of a bloody crackdown on Libyan opposition demonstrators as it broadened its outreach to government officials, dissidents, rights activists and youth in other Arab nations across a Middle East that is seething with unrest. Amid the tumult rocking the region, Obama condemned the violence in Libya in the sharpest terms Washington has yet used and directed his administration to prepare a full range of options, including possible sanctions that could freeze the assets and ban travel to the U.S. by Libyan officials. The Associated Press
U.S. drops defense of anti-gay marriage law Boehner’s spokesman gives sharp response to the change By Pete Yost
The Associated Press
WASHINGTON — In a major policy reversal, the Obama administration said Wednesday it will no longer defend the constitutionality of a federal law banning recognition of same-sex marriage. Attorney General Eric Holder said President Barack Obama has concluded that the administration cannot defend the federal law that defines marriage as only between a man and a woman. He noted that the congressional debate during passage of the Defense of Marriage Act “contains numerous expressions reflecting moral disapproval of gays and lesbians and their intimate and family relationships — precisely the kind of stereotype-based thinking and animus” the Constitution is designed to guard against. The Justice Department had defended the act in court until now. The move quickly drew praise from some Democrats in Congress
but a sharp response from the spokesman for Republican John Boehner, the House Speaker. “While Americans want Washington to focus on creating jobs and cutting spending, the president will have to explain why he thinks now is the appropriate time to stir up a controversial issue that sharply divides the nation,” said Boehner’s spokesman Michael Steel.
Obama’s move may position him politically at the forefront of rising public support for gay marriage. Polling results can vary rather significantly depending on what words are used to describe gay marriage, but there is a gradual trend in public opinion toward more acceptance of gay marriage. An Associated Press-National Constitution Center Poll conducted last August found 52 percent of Americans saying the federal government should give legal recognition to marriages between couples of the same sex, while 46 percent said it should not.
‘Ending an . . . injustice’
Support rising
Gay groups, which had long pressured the administration to take a step like this, were pleased. Ron Carey, executive director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force, called the policy change “a tremendous step toward recognizing our common humanity and ending an egregious injustice against thousands of loving, committed couples who simply want the protections, rights and responsibilities afforded other married couples. “We thank the Obama administration.”
In polling by ABC News and the Washington Post, support for the legalization of gay marriage has climbed from 37 percent in 2003 to 47 percent in February 2010. Holder’s statement said, “Much of the legal landscape has changed in the 15 years since Congress passed” the Defense of Marriage Act. He noted that the Supreme Court has ruled that laws criminalizing homosexual conduct are unconstitutional and that Congress has repealed the military’s “don’t ask, don’t tell” policy.
Briefly: World Rift caused by jailed American spy in Pakistan ISLAMABAD, Pakistan — Pakistan’s ISI spy agency is ready to split with the CIA because of frustration over what it calls heavy-handed pressure and its anger over what it believes is a covert U.S. operation involving hundreds of contract spies, according to an internal document obtained by The Associated Press and interviews with U.S. and Pakistani officials. Such a move could seriously damage the U.S war effort in Afghanistan, limit a program targeting al-Qaida insurgents along the Pakistan frontier and restrict Washington’s access to information in the nucleararmed country. According to a statement drafted by the ISI, supported by interviews with officials, an already-fragile relationship between the two agencies collapsed following the shooting death of two Pakistanis by Raymond Davis, a U.S. contracted spy who is in jail in Pakistan facing possible multiple murder charges.
Monday night, said Luiz Claudio Farias, a captain of firefighters in the north-central city of Parauapebas. When the woman went to clean up the following day, she saw the boy playing with something behind the couch, Farias said. It turned out to be a gator. “She snatched the boy away and called us,” he said. Farias said it was lucky the reptile apparently wasn’t in the mood for a meal: “If he was hungry, he could have seriously hurt or even killed the boy.” Firefighters trapped the alligator and took it to a nearby environmental preserve, where they set it free.
Mubarak regime
CAIRO — An angry crowd of hundreds taunted three former high-ranking members of ousted President Hosni Mubarak’s regime as they arrived in court for a corruption hearing Wednesday. Egyptian authorities also imposed a travel ban on two former ministers and the head of state TV and radio — a measure that often serves as a prelude to a criminal investigation and a possible trial, the official MENA news agency said. The three former top officials who appeared in a Cairo Criminal Court on Wednesday — exAlligator in house Housing Minister Ahmed SAO PAULO — After floodMaghrabi, former Tourism Minwaters receded from her home, ister Zuheir Garana and steel a Brazilian woman was shocked tycoon and prominent ruling to find a most unwelcome house party leader Ahmed Ezz — wore guest: a 5-foot alligator lying white prison uniforms and sat tamely in the living room as her in a metal cage as a judge 3-year-old son petted the repissued a ruling blocking any tile’s head. commercial dealings in the The animal apparently was men’s properties. washed inside by the high water The Associated Press
The Associated Press
Protesters gather in the eastern Libyan town of Derna on Wednesday.
Gadhafi’s control whittling away as Lybia revolt spreads By Maggie Michael and Paul Schemm The Associated Press
BENGHAZI, Libya — The scope of Moammar Gadhafi’s control was whittled away Wednesday as major Libyan cities and towns closer to the capital fell to the rebellion against his rule. In the east, now all but broken away, the opposition vowed to “liberate” Tripoli, where the Libyan leader is holed up with a force of militiamen roaming the streets and tanks guarding the outskirts. In a further sign of Gadhafi’s faltering hold, two air force pilots — one from the leader’s own tribe — parachuted out of their warplane and let it crash into the eastern Libyan desert rather than follow orders to bomb an opposition-held city. International momentum was building for action to punish Gadhafi’s regime for the bloody crack-
Quick Read
down it has unleashed against the uprising that began Feb. 15. President Barack Obama said the suffering and bloodshed in Libya “is outrageous and it is unacceptable,” and he directed his administration to prepare a full range of options, including possible sanctions that could freeze the assets and ban travel to the U.S. by Libyan officials.
‘Outrageous, unacceptable’ French President Nicolas Sarkozy raised the possibility of the European Union cutting off economic ties. Another proposal gaining some traction was for the United Nations to declare a no-fly zone over Libya to prevent it using warplanes to hit protesters. U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said that if reports of such strikes are confirmed, “there’s an immediate
need for that level of protection.” Italy’s Foreign Minister Franco Frattini said estimates of some 1,000 people killed in the violence in Libya were “credible,” although he stressed information about casualties was incomplete. The New York-based Human Rights Watch has put the death toll at nearly 300, according to a partial count. In Tripoli, Gadhafi’s stronghold, protest organizers called for new rallies today and Friday, raising the potential for a more bloody confrontation. Militiamen and Gadhafi supporters — a mix of Libyans and foreign African fighters bused in — roamed the capital’s main streets, called up Tuesday night by the Libyan leader in a fistpounding speech in which he vowed to fight to the death. The gunmen fired weapons in the air, chanting “Long live Gadhafi,” and waved green flags.
. . . more news to start your day
West: Hawaii governor signs civil unions into law
West: GOP calls for Ore. congressman to resign
Nation: Pennsylvania Avenue getting new name?
Nation: Space shuttle blasts off one last time
HAWAII GOV. NEIL Abercrombie signed same-sex civil unions into law Wednesday, calling it “a triumph for everyone” that gay and lesbian couples will have the same state rights as married partners. Civil unions would start Jan. 1, 2012, making Hawaii the seventh state to permit civil unions or similar legal recognitions for gay couples. Five other states and the District of Columbia allow same-sex marriage. “This bill represents equal rights for everyone in Hawaii, everyone who comes here. This is to me the essence of the aloha spirit,” Abercrombie said at a signing ceremony.
OREGON’S SEVEN-TERM DEMOCRATIC Rep. David Wu faced increasing pressure Wednesday to step down amid a series of bizarre revelations in recent days about his mental health, including a photo he sent to staffers during his re-election bid showing him wearing a tiger costume. The state Republican chair and the Eugene Register Guard said Wu should resign, but Wu said he has no intention of quitting. “The citizens of Oregon and the citizens of the congressional district deserve to have a congressman who’s completely focused on serving them,” Oregon Republican Party Chairman Allen Alley said Wednesday.
A WASHINGTON, D.C., council member wants to highlight the city’s lack of statehood and is asking residents to pick another name for Pennsylvania Avenue. Among the options on the online survey are Let D.C. Vote Way, 51st State Way and Free D.C. Avenue. Council member Michael Brown is considering a ceremonial renaming, and the sign could be placed under existing markers for Pennsylvania Avenue — home to the White House. The survey also asks residents whether other streets should be renamed. Washington’s 600,000 residents pay federal taxes but do not have a vote in Congress.
AFTER 143 MILLION miles and nearly a year all told in orbit, space shuttle Discovery is poised to blast off today one last time. It promises to be a sentimental journey for the six astronauts assigned to the mission as well as the supporting cast of thousands who have painstakingly prepped the world’s most traveled rocketship. Once more, NASA’s fleet leader is paving a new road, one that leads to shuttle retirement and an uncertain future for America’s space program. When Discovery returns from the International Space Station, it will be the first of the three surviving shuttles to be decommissioned this year.