 A federal judge in Boston has dismissed a suit by 2 families who wanted to stop a Massachusetts town and its public school system from teaching their children about gay marriage, court documents show. The families last year filed the suit asserting that the reading of a gay-themed book and handing out to elementary school students of other children's books that discussed homosexuality without first notifying parents was a violation of their religious rights. Federal Judge Mark Wolf ruled on Friday that public schools are "entitled to teach anything that is reasonably related to the goals of preparing students to become engaged and productive citizens in our democracy." "Diversity is a hallmark of our nation. It is increasingly evident that our diversity includes differences in sexual orientation," he said. He said the courts had decided in other cases that parents' rights to exercise their religious beliefs were not violated when their children were exposed to contrary ideas in school....
http://news.yahoo.com
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Editor - 08:25:00 02-24-07
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 Shiites protest detention of Iraqi politician's son |
Thousands of Shiites rallied in the holy city of Najaf on Saturday to protest the nearly 12-hour detention of the eldest son of Iraq's most influential Shiite politician as he crossed back from Iran. Amar al-Hakim, who was taken into custody on Friday, complained Saturday that U.S. soldiers handcuffed and blindfolded him before his release and "strongly abused" his bodyguards. "Is this the way to deal with a national figure? This does not conform with Iraq's sovereignty," he said. He said cellphones, licensed weapons and two-way radios were among items confiscated. "It is not a question of offering apologies," the black-turbaned cleric told reporters in Najaf, about 100 miles south of Baghdad. "We need clear and honest measures to prevent such incidents from happening again."...
http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2007-02-24-politicianson_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 08:23:00 02-24-07
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| GOP rejects Iraq measure |
Republicans yesterday rejected the Democrats' plan to withdraw Congress' 2002 vote to invade Iraq, while Vice President Dick Cheney said House Speaker Nancy Pelosi was not unpatriotic but plain wrong to oppose President Bush's troop-reinforcement plan. "There's only one way to end the war, if that's what our Democratic friends want to do. That is to cut off funds for the war," said Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, Kentucky Republican. "That's our constitutional role, and we shouldn't drag this into the morass of Democratic presidential primary politics." Key Senate Democrats are writing a bill to rescind the broad authorization to go to war in Iraq that Congress passed in 2002 and replace it with a narrow mission that would take all combat troops out of Iraq by March 2008....
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20070223-115055-8445r.htm
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Editor - 08:08:00 02-24-07
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| Helicopter pilot gets highest military honor for action in Vietnam battle |
Bruce Crandall was a soldier once ... and young.As a 32-year-old helicopter pilot, he flew through a gauntlet of enemy fire, taking ammunition in and wounded Americans out of one of the fiercest battles of the Vietnam War, Army records say. Now, a week after his 74th birthday, Crandall will receive the nation's highest military honor Monday in a White House ceremony with President Bush. "I'm still here," he said of his 41-year-wait for the Medal of Honor. "Most of these awards are posthumous, so I can't complain." Crandall's actions in the November 1965 Battle at Ia Drang Valley were depicted in the Hollywood movie We Were Soldiers, adapted from the book We Were Soldiers Once ... And Young. At the time, Crandall was a major commanding a company of the 229th Assault Helicopter Battalion, 1st Cavalry Division (Airmobile)....
http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-02-24-crandall_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 07:55:00 02-24-07
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| Report: Israel Asks U.S. for Iraqi Airspace Corridor for Iran Strike |
Israel opened negotiations to fly through U.S. controlled airspace in Iraq to carry out strikes on Iranian nuclear facilities, a British newspaper reported Saturday. Israel's deputy defense minister denied the claim. The Daily Telegraph newspaper quoted an unnamed Israeli defense official as saying the talks were aimed at planning for all scenarios, including any future decision to target Iran's nuclear program. Israeli bombers would need a corridor through U.S.-administered airspace in Iraq to carry out any strikes, the official was quoted as saying by the newspaper. Ephraim Sneh, Israel's Deputy Defense Minister, told The Associated Press on Saturday that the report was incorrect. "This is baseless information," Sneh said. "Maybe people like to divert (attention from) the need for immediate economic sanctions (with) stories about imminent Israeli action, which is not on the agenda."...
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,254299,00.html
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Editor - 07:52:00 02-24-07
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| Americans unaware of Iraqi death toll Poll shows knowledge of U.S. dead, but huge underestimation of Iraqis |
One person can tell you precisely how many Americans have been killed in Iraq. Another pays close attention to the names and hometowns of those who die each week. A third mourns for the families of fallen U.S. troops, but also figures it was their choice to enlist. Americans are keenly aware of how many U.S. forces have lost their lives in Iraq, according to a new AP-Ipsos poll. But they woefully underestimate the number of Iraqi civilians who have been killed. When the poll was conducted earlier this month, a little more than 3,100 U.S. troops had been killed. The midpoint estimate among those polled was right on target, at about 3,000. Far from a vague statistic, the death toll is painfully real for many Americans. Seventeen percent in the poll know someone who has been killed or wounded in Iraq. And among adults under 35, those closest to the ages of those deployed, 27 percent know someone who has been killed or wounded. ...
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/17310383/
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Editor - 07:50:00 02-24-07
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