Iraq Executes 13 Insurgents

Iraq Executes 13 Insurgents
By VOA News 09 March 2006

Iraq has hanged 13 insurgents in the first government executions since the ouster of Saddam Hussein in 2003.
Authorities gave few details about the men.
Thursday's executions came as U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld urged Iraqis to form a national unity government to lessen the threat of civil war.
He also told a U.S. Senate committee that if a civil war did erupt, Iraqi forces would deal with it to the extent they are able to.
The general who commands U.S. military activities in the Middle East said at the same hearing that sectarian tensions in Iraq are at their highest level so far. But he said the security situation in the country is controllable by Iraqi and coalition forces.
Also Thursday, Iraqi President Jalal Talabani agreed to postpone the first session of parliament to March 19th -- a week beyond the constitutional deadline for the opening session of the legislature.
And the U.S.-led multinational force says Iraqi soldiers found weapons caches south of Baghdad near the Euphrates River that included items to detonate roadside bombs.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reported that Shi'ite leaders have ordered the Health Ministry to stop counting execution-style killings after the recent bombing of a Shi'ite shrine sparked weeks of violence.
The government put the official death toll from the first week of sectarian killings at 379 -- far lower than the one thousand tallied by some Iraqi officials.
At least 10 more people were killed in a wave of attacks across Baghdad Thursday.

Study: Iraqi Insurgents' Web Skills Boost Communications, Confidence

By Meredith Buel Washington09 March 2006
Buel report - Download 365k Listen to Buel report
[Picture] An Iraqi man walks past unexploded ordnance next to the wreckage of a car bomb blast, in Baghdad,Iraq

The International Crisis Group (ICG), a non-governmental organization that analyzes international conflict zones, says insurgents in Iraq are finding better ways to communicate and are gaining confidence in their ability to fight against U.S.-led coalition forces. The information comes in a new report that analyzes websites, films and magazines produced by insurgents in Iraq.

The report by the International Crisis Group (ICG), focuses on communications and propaganda efforts by insurgent groups in Iraq, and what it says are their efforts to maximize support among Sunni Arabs that form the backbone for the opposition to the U.S.-led occupation.
The director of ICG's Middle East and North Africa program, Rob Malley, says the Internet has become a valuable tool for armed militant groups in Iraq.

"If you think about how the insurgents today communicate with one another, it is very much through the Internet, through chat rooms, because they don't have other means of communication," he explained. "It is not easy for them to meet. It is not easy for them to have live, in-person gatherings. So what they do is that they communicate in the only way they know how."

Malley says the insurgency is no longer a scattered, chaotic phenomenon.
He says the groups are well organized, produce regular publications and react rapidly to political developments.

"You see a marked improvement in their communication, a real multi-media communications strategy," he explained. "When they go out now for a sniper attack they often bring their camera crew with them. They bring a media team so that immediately posted on the Internet they have a report of their attack, with details so they can substantiate it and gain credibility."

The co-author of the report, senior analyst Peter Harling, lived in Iraq between 1998 and 2003.
He says insurgent groups and the U.S. military focus efforts to sway public opinion on vastly different audiences.

"At the level of discourse and propaganda, winning hearts and minds, the U.S. government has been focusing far more on its own home audience than on the insurgents' target audience, which is the reservoir of volunteers fighting against U.S. forces," he noted.

The ICG report says Iraqi insurgent groups are acutely aware of public opinion and increasingly mindful of their image.
The report says the groups, for the most part, have abandoned some gruesome and locally controversial practices such as beheading hostages and attacking voters going to the polls.
Rob Malley of the ICG says insurgents are increasingly optimistic.

"At this point we are facing an insurgency that is gaining in confidence, that is gaining in unity, that is gaining in uniformity in a way, and that is able to play the political game it appears, given its capacity to renew itself, to replenish its resources, to replenish its ranks, playing the political game far better than most people would assume," added Mr. Malley.

The ICG report says the emergence (cf.emergency) of a better organized and coordinated insurgency has profound implications for policy-makers.
The report says countering the insurgency requires taking its discourse seriously, reducing its legitimacy, and increasing the Iraqi people's confidence in their new government.

Summary March. 10

The state department criticized the United Arab Emirates today over human rights. An annual report said the UAE used floggings as punishment for adultery and drug abuse. It also criticized Egypt and Saudi Arabia over torture and lack of religious freedom. And it said Iraq is plagued by extreme violence and corruption.

President Bush pressed congress today to make good on promised aid for the Gulf Coast. He went to New Orleans’ hard-hit Lower 9th Ward, and he urged approval of 4.2 billion dollars for Louisiana alone to fix levees and replace homes. In Washington, the head of the army corps of engineers discussed levee repairs at a Senate hearing. Lieutenant general Carl Strock denied the corps is cutting corners.

Federal agents in Alabama arrested three men today in a string of (a series of) church fires last month. All were college students in Birmingham. They were charged with church arson. On February 3rd, five churches were set afire south of Birmingham. Four days later, four more churches were burned in west Alabama. In Tuscaloosa today, investigators said it appeared to be a case of thrill seeking. "In the complaint, you'll see that they said that after they lit the first two fires in Bibb County, that it became too spontaneous. After they saw the fire trucks and the lights, it became very spontaneous. That’s in the complaint. That’s indicative of an excitement thrill motive. All of the churches were Baptist’s. Some of the congregations were mostly black, others mostly white".

Photographer and film director Gordon Parks died Tuesday at his home in New York City. He was the first black American to work as a photojournalist for Life magazine starting in 1948. Twenty years later, he moved into movies with “The Learning Tree.” That was followed by the crime thriller “Shaft” in 1971.

Differences between American and British English

Our VOA listener question this week comes from Iraq. Harbey Muhammad Ali asks about differences between American and British English.
Language experts say that spoken English was almost the same in the American colonies and Britain. Americans began to change the sound of their speech after the Revolutionary War in seventeen seventy-six. They wanted to separate themselves from the British in language as they had separated themselves from the British government.
Some American leaders proposed major changes in the language. Benjamin Franklin wanted a new system of spelling. His reforms were rejected. But his ideas influenced others. One was Noah Webster.
Webster wrote language books for schools. He thought Americans should learn from American books. He published his first spelling book in seventeen eighty-three. Webster published The American Dictionary of the English Language in eighteen twenty-eight. It established rules for speaking and spelling the words used in American English.
Webster believed that British English spelling rules were too complex. So he worked to establish an American version of the English language. For example, he spelled the word “center” “c-e-n-t-e-r” instead of the British spelling, “c-e-n-t-r-e”. He spelled the word “honor” “h-o-n-o-r” instead of “h-o-n-o-u-r” as it is spelled in Britain.
Noah Webster said every part of a word should be spoken. That is why Americans say “sec-re-ta-ry” instead of “sec-re-t’ry” as the British do. Webster’s rule for saying every part of a word made American English easier for immigrants to learn. For example, they learned to say “waist-coat” the way it is spelled instead of the British “wes-kit”.
The different languages of the immigrants who came to the United States also helped make American English different from British English. Many foreign words and expressions became part of English as Americans speak it.
Sometimes Americans and British people do not understand each other because of different word meanings. For example, a “jumper” in Britain is a sweater. In the United States, it is a kind of a dress. The British word “brolly” is an “umbrella” in America. A “wastebasket” in America is a “dustbin” in Britain. French fried potatoes in the United States are called “chips” in Britain.
All these differences led British writer George Bernard Shaw to joke that Britain and America are two countries separated by the same language.

On the Iran nuclear story

On the Iran nuclear story: The Associated Press reported Iran offered to stop large-scale work on nuclear fuel for two years, but it insisted on continuing small-scale efforts. The proposal circulated at a meeting of the UN nuclear agency in Vienna, Austria. The Iranian delegate said his country is committed to resolving the issue. --- We still hope that a wise decision is made and the Russians and others spare no effort to make sure that there would be peaceful settlement of this issue and do not let unilateral policy of the United States to take the multilateral diplomacy as a hostage.But in Washington, vice president Cheney warned Iran would face meaningful consequences if it continues a nuclear program. Russia has been negotiating with Iran, but the Russian foreign minister said today there was no compromise in sight.

News Summary

Protests also flared across Pakistan in the hours before Mr. Bush arrived in Islamabad. There was heavy security as Air Force I arrived after dark with lights off and window shades pulled. Just yesterday in Karachi, a suicide bomber killed an American diplomat. Today police broke up a crowd trying to march on the consulate there.

The US defense department released today the names of hundreds of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A federal judge ordered the release in a lawsuit under the Freedom of Information Act. The Bush administration withheld the names for four years. It argued that identifying the men publicly would violate their privacy and endanger them and their families.

Another video shed light on official confusion after hurricane Katrina hit. The Associated Press(AP) obtained the tape of a federal-state briefing. It was hours after the storm came ashore and officials were asking about the New Orleans levees. Governor Kathleen Blanco discussed the flooding on a telephone hookup. --- We keep getting reports in some places that maybe water is coming over the levees. We heard a report unconfirmed, I think, we have not breached the levee, we have not breached the levee at this point of time.At that same briefing, the Federal Emergency director Michael Brown said President Bush was asking about possible levee breaks. In fact, the National Weather Service had reported a break three hours earlier.

The maker of the Blackberry wireless device settled a patent dispute today. Research in Motion agreed to pay $612 million to a small Virginia firm NTP. The settlement ensured thousands of users will not lose service. The handheld Blackberry sends and receives email and serves as a digital planner and phonebook.

The Origin of Species

Today almost 150 years after the Origin of Species first appeared, evolution theory is again in the news and stirring passions. Charles Darwin appears on magazine covers, a scientific superstar if an embattled one. But a fascinating new exhibition at New York's American Museum of Natural History looks at the man himself and his own intellectual evolution and shows him as in some ways an unlikely revolutionary who so feared the consequences of his own discoveries he kept them secret for decades. Niles Eldredge, an evolution theorist himself, is the curator of the exhibition and author of the companion book.
"I think it is almost an unparalleled opportunity to understand the essence of creativity in somebody. It wasn't just on a high; it was a long process of letting nature soak in, so to speak, and then have it sort of bubble up slowly into his conscious brain when he came up with the idea of evolution. "
Charles Darwin was born into 19th century British privilege, raised largely by his sisters after his mother died when he was eight. His one passion as a youth was collecting beetles(insect). Beyond that, he showed little direction and his father despaired.
"He was worried that the kid wasn't showing any sort of focus. He said you care about nothing but shooting dogs and rat catching, and you shall be a disgrace to yourself and to your entire family. "
"Oh, that's very low expectations for this young fellow. "
"So his dad says, okay, so let's put you off to Cambridge, take an undergraduate degree there and become a clergyman so you have some respectable thing to do and you can collect all the beetles you want while you are being a country curie. "
Hard to imagine now Charles Darwin, the country clergyman. Instead, while studying botany at Cambridge, he received an invitation that would change his life and much else, to be an unpaid naturalist on HMS Beagle, with a mission to explore and collect specimens along the coast of South America. " When he got this invitation, of course he jumped at it."
Darwin took his bible with him, but the trip he later wrote 'determined my whole career.' The would-be clergyman became a committed naturalist.

Mar.8th Summary

AT&T announced plans today to eliminate up to 10,000 jobs. It’s part of the nation’s largest telecom company’s move to get even larger, with its offer to buy Bell South for 67 billion dollars. That deal includes Cingular Wireless. Officials said both of the job reductions would come through attrition.
The federal death penalty trial of Zacarias Moussaoui began in earnest today in Virginia. In opening statements, a federal prosecutor charged Moussaoui lied to investigators to cover the 9-11 plot. Moussaoui has admitted training with al-Qaida but denies any role in the attacks.
The US supreme court today upheld a law on military recruiting at colleges and universities. In an 8-0 unanimous decision, the justices agreed schools taking federal money must let recruiters on campus. Justice Samuel Alito did not take part in the decision because he was not on the court to hear the argument.
The governor of South Dakota signed a bill today banning nearly all abortions statewide. It’s designed to set up a direct challenge to Rowe v. Wade, the supreme court decision that legalized abortion in 1973. The South Dakota law bars any abortions except when the mother’s life is endangered. There are no exceptions for rape or incest.

Death Penalty Controversy

SHELLEY WALCOTT, CNN Anchor:
The United States federal government carries out Timothy McVeigh’s sentence of death. The 33-year-old drew his last breath Monday after being injected with a series of drugs. It took place at the federal penitentiary in Terre Haute, Indiana. McVeigh was executed for an act of first-degree murder that shook the nation’s sense of security. On April 19, 1995, McVeigh parked a Ryder truck full of explosives in front of the Oklahoma City Federal Building. The bombing killed 168 people, including 19 children. The execution of Timothy McVeigh has caused much speculation about capital punishment. It’s a hot topic, not only in the courts, but also in schools and among students across the nation. CNN’s student bureau’s Allison Walker reports on what students in Texas and Connecticut have to say about the death penalty.

-WALTER STREIGLE, Student, Norwich Free Academy: It’s wrong. We should never, never kill. Capital punishment is wrong, and we need to do away with it.
-ALLISON WALKER, CNN Student Bureau Reporter: The death penalty is an emotional issue. For some, like high school student Walter Streigle, taking lives as a punishment and as a deterrent for others not to commit a crime is unjustifiable.
-STREIGLE: What we should do is we should, if we have to judge somebody and we judge that they’re guilty of a crime, then we should help that person to see that their crime is wrong.
-HEATHER LEWIS, Student, Norwich Free Academy: My favorite quote that I’ve heard of all time is “Why do we kill people who kill people to show that killing people is wrong?” It kind of just shows that the death penalty is a big hypocrisy.
-WALKER: In Connecticut, there are currently seven inmates on death row but no one has been executed since 1961. Texas leads the nation in executions. There were 40 people put to death there last year alone. Kamna Balhara attends Clements High School in Sugar Land, Texas.
-KAMNA BALHARA, Student, Clements High School: I’m for it in a sense because killing someone deserves reciprocations in the same way, like the killers deserve it. But at the same time, I’m against it because if you take someone’s life, you’re doing the same thing that the criminal did.
-J.C. BAXTER, Student, Clements High School: (it)Seems to me(that) the only cruel and unusual thing would be to waste the taxpayers’ money on keeping these kind of people alive.
-PAIGE NEWTON, Student, Clements High School: I think it would be better for the government to make the person spend their life in prison thinking about what they did wrong.
-WALKER: In Texas, the death sentence is handed down at a rate 10 times more than in Connecticut. Allison Walker, CNN Student Bureau, Atlanta.
-CHRISTIANE AMANPOUR, CNN Senior International Correspondent: There were a few protests in Europe, where the death penalty has been abolished and where there is a growing movement against capital punishment in the United States. Indeed, the U.S. and Japan are the only industrialized democracies that execute convicted criminals. Italy abolished the practice back in 1947.
-ELISABETTA ZAMPARUTTI, Anti Death Penalty Campaigner: The death penalty is a very primitive answer to the problem of the criminality.
-AMANPOUR: Britain stopped hanging people in 1965, and while there is virtually no support for Timothy McVeigh, there is also little support for killing him.
-UNIDENTIFIED MALE: He’s done a terrible, terrible thing, but to go and watch somebody be executed is....…
-UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: I think it’s more of a punishment if he was locked up for life. AMANPOUR: Others say it’s no deterrent and simply reinforces violence in society.
-UNIDENTIFIED FEMALE: If I say, I slapped my child because she slapped a child, how’s she going to learn that slapping a person is not right?
-AMANPOUR: Amnesty International is conducting a worldwide effort against the U.S. death penalty. It says there were at least 1,457 executions in 27 countries in the year 2000. 88 percent of all-known executions took place in China, Saudi Arabia, the United States and Iran. Amnesty says the death penalty in the U.S. is flawed and biased against blacks and poor people. -PIERS BANNISTER, Amnesty International: It’s inflicted upon the innocent. It’s inflicted after unfair trials, where people, defendants didn’t have adequate legal help under resource lawyers. It’s inflicted on the mentally retarded.
-AMANPOUR: The movement in Europe against the U.S. death penalty has grown with the presidency of George W. Bush. As Texas Governor, he signed 150 death warrants. And during his inauguration, protesters delivered bags of petitions to U.S. embassies around Europe. Abolishing the death penalty is a precondition for belonging to the European Union, and after McVeigh’s execution, a top European official said that the way he died was wrong, that the death penalty was not a deterrent, because it gave McVeigh the notoriety he so craved. And he urged the United States to change its position on the death penalty, to bring it in line with the vast majority of the free and democratic world. Christiane Amanpour, CNN, London.

Seoul, second violent city across the globe?

Seoul is less safe than other cities across the globe given its steep crime rate and high number fatal traffic accidents, according to a survey by the Seoul metropolitan government yesterday. Seoul came second in terms of violent crime and murder rate among eight other cities - Tokyo, Beijing, Shanghai, Hong Kong, Singapore, London, Paris and New York. The figures were compiled from statistics given by each country. Deaths from traffic accidents reached 504 in Seoul in 2003, higher than those in Tokyo, New York, London and Singapore.

Blair Announces Referendum on EU Constitution

British Prime Minister Tony Blair has announced he's ready to hold a referendum on a proposed EU constitution. In making the announcement before parliament Mr. Blair urge support for the new constitution which polls show is opposed by many Britons. The EU is trying to reach an agreement on an updated constitution as it prepares to add 10 new members on May 1st.

Society (Melting Pot)

The United States is a land of immigrants. For centuries, people from all over the world have come looking for a better life. As Siobhan Darrow reports, new census figures show that is still true today. It is citizenship day. Many may not know the words yet to "The Star -Spangled Banner," but they do know they want to be U.S. citizens. Immigration hit it's peak at the turn of the century, when almost 15 percent of the country was born elsewhere, most of the newcomers from Ireland or from other European countries.

Today, they are Latinos and Asians. A new report released by the census bureau says nearly one U.S. resident in 10 was born outside the United States. The census bureau projects that by the year 2025, Hispanics will be 17 percent of the U.S. population, and by 2050, they will make up a quarter. The fastest-growing race: Asians and Pacific islanders, with a 102 percent increase by the year 2025. California is the nation's demographic laboratory, providing a glimpse into the future. By next year, whites will no longer be the majority in this state. In Los Angeles, Latinos already make up more than 50 percent of the population. Caucasian numbers are not only declining, but the races are mixing more. Guaranteeing a more racially mixed America in the 21st century.

Korea embraces top-seeded role

Undefeated team ready for more Classic competition
By Jim Street / MLB.com
TOKYO -- The water gets considerably deeper for the top-seeded team to emerge from Pool A in the inaugural World Baseball Classic.
Now come some big boys in the world of international baseball for Korea.
The team from Seoul played two tough games in the first round of the tournament, using their superior pitching to beat Chinese Taipei in a close game (2-0), China in a rout (10-1) and host Japan in a Sunday night thriller (3-2) at the Tokyo Dome.
And now they probably get a chance to take on Team USA in the second round, scheduled for next weekend in Anaheim. However, the strong American team must first get past two of the four teams playing in Pool B.
That round begins Tuesday night in the Valley of the Sun and you can be sure that Korea will have plenty of scouts watching Team USA, Canada, Mexico and maybe even South Africa, just to make sure all their bases are covered.
Even so, there was more talk Sunday night about playing the U.S. in Anaheim than anyone else.
"We have seen a lot of (MLB) games on television, five or six games a week," Korea manager In Sik Kim said after Sunday night's tense 3-2 victory over Japan in an outcome that sends Korea to the second round as Asia's number one seed.
That means they would play the top seed from Pool B (perhaps Team USA) in the second game Sunday in Anaheim.
"I have seen a lot of what Major Leaguers are like and have a certain amount of information on them," Kim added. "But I need more details. We have researchers (scouts) currently in America getting more information.
"I do know that the Major Leaguers on that team are so tough, so strong and so wonderful."
One of the best things Korea has going for it, though, is having a pitching staff familiar with most of the Team USA players. Six of them currently play for MLB teams and have faced the likes of Alex Rodriguez, Derek Jeter and a roster full of other big-leaguers.
Rather than look too far ahead, tested MLB hurlers Chan Ho Park, who registered the save in Sunday's game against Japan, and finale starter Sun Woo Kim preferred to savor that win instead of looking ahead to a week-away clash against Team USA.
And can you blame them?
Before going to Anaheim, though, Korea will spend a week in Arizona getting prepared for Round 2. They will play the Seattle Mariners Wednesday night in Peoria, the Texas Rangers in Surprise Thursday night and the Milwaukee Brewers in Phoenix on Friday night.

Jim Street is a national reporter for MLB.com.

(WBC) Korea upsets Japan

Lee's home run in the eighth stuns Tokyo Dome crowd
By Jim Street / MLB.com
• Box score
TOKYO -- Team Korea was getting a taste of its own medicine Sunday and it wasn't delicious.
They were having as much trouble scoring runs against Team Japan's pitchers as two other teams in the World Baseball Classic had scoring against their own Major League-dominated staff.
And then, like a bolt of lightning delivered from Seoul, two swings in the eighth inning produced two runs and a stunning turn of events that resulted in a 3-2 victory over Japan and top-seed status heading into the second round of the inaugural Classic.
The largest crowd of the series -- 40,553 -- included Crown Prince Naruhito and his wife.
First baseman Seung Yeop Lee, who will be playing his home games inside the Tokyo Dome this season, spoiled the night for his future fans when he sent a 3-and-1 pitch from left-handed reliever Hirotoshi Ishii into the right-field seats, turning a one-run deficit into a one-run lead -- and a noisy crowd into almost complete silence.
Familiarity served Seung Yeop well in the decisive at-bat of the game.
"In that situation (3-and-1 count), Japanese pitchers will throw a breaking ball," he said. "I was lucky because I could use my experience."
Ishii threw a slider that stayed up in the strike zone and rested right in the middle of Seung Yeop's wheelhouse and just as he did twice Saturday night against China, Lee drove it into the seats.
But this one was a whole lot larger than those others.
Japan manager Sadaharu Oh thought he had the final two innings of the game set up perfectly, starting with Ishii. Lefty against lefty usually is a good thing.
"I think the batter was too good for Ishii," Oh said. "It was the eighth inning and the batter came up with a big home run. If I knew he was going to do that, I wouldn't have (put Ishii into the game)."
Ishii struck out the first batter he faced, but Jong Beom Lee lined a single into center field. That set up Seung Yeop's decisive, smooth swing, resulting in a home run probably heard all the way to Seoul.
The Koreans wanted to win the Pool A series finale and gain Far East bragging rights from the inaugural Classic. But they seemed destined for the consolation prize -- a trip to the United States on Monday morning to prepare for the second round of the 16-team tournament, which will be played March 12-16 in Anaheim, as the number two seed from Pool A.
Now, as the top seed, Korea plays three exhibition games in Arizona -- Wednesday night against the Kansas City Royals in Surprise and Friday night against the San Diego Padres in Peoria. A date with the second seed from Pool B (United States, Canada, Mexico or South Africa) awaits Korea in Anaheim on Sunday, followed by two other games -- including a rematch against Japan.
Pool B teams begin play Tuesday afternoon with the U.S. playing Mexico at Chase Field in Phoenix and Canada taking on South Africa later that night in Scottsdale. The top two seeds from Pool B advance to Anaheim.
If pitching is the key to reaching the semifinals in San Diego, then Korea has an excellent shot of getting there.
"Our pitchers pitched so well," Korea manager In Sik Kim said. "(Japan) had good batters, but we had great pitchers who wouldn't let them hit."
A pitching staff that includes six Major Leaguers surrendered just one run in wins over Chinese Taipei (2-0) and China (10-1), but wobbled a bit in the first two innings on Sunday, surrendering a run in each inning.
A terrific, diving catch by right fielder Jin Young Lee that ended the fourth inning deprived Tsuyoshi Nishioka of what could have been a bases-loaded double or triple. It basically saved Korea's bacon.
"I knew he was capable of being a good fielder," In Sik said of his right fielder.
Oh admitted that the huge home run and super defensive play were, "The reasons we could not win. They had two heroes."
Well, maybe three.
Right-hander Chan Ho Park, the most famous pitcher in Korea history, pitched a perfect ninth inning for the save.
"He is a great veteran pitcher and I thought he as the best man for the job," In Sik said.
Oh credited the Korean pitchers for a job well done in shutting down an offense that scored 18 runs in its opening game victory over China and 14 against Chinese Taipei.
But it was a completely different story in the finale.
And Korea gets the honor of being number one in the Far East. For now, that definitely is enough to whet their appetite.

Law (Marijuana as Treatment)

A federal appeals court says seriously ill patients may have a right to use marijuana despite federal narcotics laws. The court ruled a federal judge should rethink his order that granted a Clinton administration request to shut down marijuana clubs in California. The court says the judge didn't give enough consideration to the possibility that the drug is an indispensable treatment for people served by the clubs. This ruling doesn't vacate the injunction, but it suggests the judge amend it to allow the clubs to resume serving patients who can prove they have a medical need.

Entertainment (Miss America)

Organizers of the Miss America pageant may be backing off from plans to relax some of the eligibility rules as it enters the new century. Only yesterday pageant officials said beginning in the new year, divorced women and women who have had abortions will be allowed to compete. But the proposal is running into strong opposition from pageant traditionalists who claim such a move would conflict with Miss America's ability to appear as a role model for young women. Since 1950, the Miss American organization has required contestants to vow they have never been married and never been pregnant. The pageant approved these changes to keep from violating anti-discrimination laws in New Jersey.

China vows more money for poor

Farmers in the village of Zhongjulou. Income gaps between urban and rural Chinese continue to widen.

BEIJING, China -- China's premier is pledging to narrow the gap between rich and poor as the National People's Congress opened its 10-day session in Beijing.
In the opening session of China's parliament, Premier Wen Jiabao introduced a new five-year plan to improve education and health care for the rural poor, CNN's Stan Grant reported.
Wen opened the annual session of China's figurehead parliament on Sunday with promises of new social spending for the country's rural poor, and said the economy is expected to slow but should still grow by 8 percent.
Also Sunday, the issue of Iran's nuclear program surfaced in Beijing. China's foreign minister urged Tehran to return to negotiations with the European Union. (Full story)
The session of the National People's Congress was expected to focus on efforts to ease tensions over the gulf between China's rich and poor by spending more to help the countryside, home to 800 million people, and others left behind by its economic boom.
"Building a 'new socialist countryside' is a major historic task," Wen said in a nationally televised address to 2,927 NPC delegates, according to a report from The Associated Press.
This year, Beijing will spend an extra $5.2 billion on rural schools, hospitals, crop subsidies and other programs, raising spending on those areas by 15 percent, Wen said.
The AP reported that a 15,000-member security force set up around the hall to block protests by laid-off workers, farmers with land disputes or supporters of the banned Falun Gong spiritual movement.
The AP reported that pedestrians were stopped and questioned, and at least one man was detained. A group of college students who approached a foreigner reporter, apparently hoping to practice their English, were ordered away by a policeman, the AP reported.
The premier promised "fast yet steady" economic development, according to the AP. Wen said growth was expected to fall to 8 percent this year -- down from 9.9 percent last year and below a World Bank projection of 9.2 percent for 2006, the AP reported.
Wen said a key government priority will be increasing domestic consumption, the AP reported. Additionally, the Chinese budget calls for a sharp increase in spending on science.
CNN's Stan Grant also reported that Wen also warned Taiwan's democratically elected leaders against pursuing formal independence -- a step that Beijing has warned could lead to war with the island, which has been split from the mainland since 1949.

Beijing has no official relations with Taipei and reacted angrily this week when Taiwanese President Chen Shui-bian abolished an agency dedicated to unifying the island with the mainland. (Full story)
The government announced Saturday that its military budget this year will rise 14.7 percent to $35.3 billion. Total spending on the 2.5 million-member People's Liberation Army is believed to be as much as several times the reported figure, according to the AP.
The NPC's 10-day annual session is a carefully scripted event for an almost powerless body that routinely endorses policies already decided by communist leaders.
Copyright 2006 CNN. All rights reserved.

Best picture goes to gritty drama 'Crash'

LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) -- In a year when best picture nominees thrived on controversy, the Academy Awards' top honor went to the film that attacked its issues most bluntly.
The Los Angeles social drama "Crash," which interwove plots and characters from different racial and economic backgrounds in Los Angeles, won best picture honors despite favorite "Brokeback Mountain" winning virtually every other major award it had been up for leading up the the 78th Oscars.
The ensemble film, with a cast that included Don Cheadle, Matt Dillon, Sandra Bullock and hip-hop star Ludacris, also won awards for best original screenplay and best editing.
"We are humbled by the other nominees in this category," producer Cathy Schulman said in accepting the Oscar. "You have made this year one of the most breathtaking and stunning maverick years in American cinema."
Haggis was still stunned when he came backstage to talk about the award.
"I didn't believe any of that nonsense," he said of reports that "Crash" was making a late run towards best picture. "We're still trying to figure out if we actually got this."

"Brokeback Mountain" director Ang Lee won best director for his film about the homosexual relationship that grows between two sheepherders in remote Wyoming.
"Brokeback" writers Diana Ossana and Larry McMurtry won the Oscar for best adapted screenplay, and Gustavo Santaolalla took the award for best original score.
The film had been the odds-on favorite for top honors. But "Crash" had strong support for its willingness to address prejudice with its tangled tale of crime and bigotry in the Academy's hometown.
Lee couldn't hide his disappointment backstage.
"I don't know the answer," he said when asked why "Brokeback" didn't end up as best picture. "I was backstage, enjoying the kind of buildup I was familiar with. It was a surprise this year for me."

Philip Seymour Hoffman and Reese Witherspoon were awarded best actor and actress honors.
(actor and atress in leading role)
Hoffman won for his portrayal of Truman Capote in "Capote," while Witherspoon won her Oscar for playing June Carter Cash in the Johnny Cash biography, "Walk the Line."
Backstage, Hoffman -- a versatile actor who has already been pigeonholed with the dread appelation "character actor," usually associated with supporting roles -- said he would continue to choose roles that challenged him.
"I hope all the roles I take are character roles -- lead, supporting, gaffer -- that's how I look at it. I don't look at character roles as supporting roles."
As for why he didn't bark like a dog, which was the subject of a bet about winning Oscar he made years ago, he said it never crossed his mind until he was practically off stage.
"I lost all control over my bowels up there. I thought maybe I'd bark up there for my friends ... but I was swimming in my head," he said. The pressure leading to the award announcement is "not the most comfortable environment."
Joaquin Phoenix, who played Cash in "Walk the Line" was also nominated for best actor.

Rachel Weisz won her first Academy Award for her performance as an impassioned activist who dies under mysterious circumstances in "The Constant Gardener."
And George Clooney won best supporting actor for his performance as a CIA man who starts unraveling the truth in the political thriller "Syriana."
"Wallace & Gromit in the Curse of the Were-Rabbit" was awarded the Oscar for best animated feature film and "King Kong" won for visual effects.

Koreans Pouring Money into Overseas Investment Funds

Reported by Kim Yong-min, yongmin@fnnews.com
ⓒ The Financial News.

The amount of assets held in overseas investment funds is increasing at an explosive rate this year. Since the beginning of January, the aggregate balance of overseas investment funds has increased by over 1.4 trillion won. Experts speculate that the prevailing trend of low interest rates and the stringent restrictions the government is enforcing in the real estate market are driving excess capital into overseas funds. According to industry reports on March 1, the number of overseas fund-related inquiries received by banks and securities firms has been growing exponentially of late. The news that the yield on securities was highest in the overseas sector this year has provided an added boost to individual investors seeking out overseas funds. A source in the banking industry said, “The interest in overseas investment funds began to grow last year, and is building even more rapidly this year. Our clients are becoming increasingly globalized in their investment outlooks.”

Korail Strike Causes Enormous Inconvenience to Commuters

Commuters have a hard time getting themselves out of the train packed with passengers at Shindorim Station in Seoul Thursday morning as the operation of Subway Line No. 1 was delayed due to an on-going strike by Korean rail workers. The operation of trains in the Seoul metropolitan area as of noon Thursday stood at only 56% of the regular level, with Gyeongin Line at 43%, KTX at 39%, passenger trains at 19% and cargo trains at 15%.

/Photo by Reporter Choi Jong-hak※ Copyrights ⓒ The Financial News.

Inteview HARUKI MURAKAMI

HARUKI MURAKAMI
Salon Magazine, By Laura Miller

Haruki Murakami on the darkness of the subconscious, the Aum cult subway attack and being an individualist in Japan.

The heroes in HarukiMurakami's dazzling, addictive and rather strange novels (A Wild Sheep Chase, Hard-Boiled Wonderland and the End of the World) don't fit the stereotype of conformist, work-obsessed Japanese men at all. They're dreamy, brainy introverts, drunk on culture (high and pop), with a tendency to get mixed up with mysterious women and outlandish conspiracies. Toru Okada, the narrator of Murakami's latest opus, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, spends a good portion of the novel in luxuriant unemployment -- cooking, reading, swimming and waiting for a series of peculiar characters to pop by and tell him their tragic stories. Since Murakami doesn't hide his identification with his heroes, it's no surprise to learn that he has long felt like an odd man out in his native land, even among other writers. What's more remarkable is the novelist's recent rapprochement with Japan and his countrymen, culminating in the year he spent interviewing victims of the Aum cult's poison gas attack on a Tokyo subway in March 1995.

Murakami says this reassessment began during the four years he spent at Princeton, writing The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. Besides giving him an impressive command of English, Murakami's sojourn in America had an emotional impact that he finds difficult to articulate even today, two years after his return to Japan. With Wanderlust editor Don George, who stepped in to translate at a key moment, I met with Murakami during his brief West Coast book tour to promote Wind-Up Bird Chronicle. The novelist's slow, careful responses to our questions seemed more the result of a rare, utterly unself-conscious sincerity (he seldom gives interviews) than any language barrier.

Question.- How did you get the idea for The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle? Answer.- When I started to write, the idea was very small, just an image, not an idea actually. A man who is 30, cooking spaghetti in the kitchen, and the telephone rings -- that's it. It's so simple, but I had the feeling that something was happening there.

Q.- Are you always surprised by what happens in the story, almost as if you were reading it yourself, or do you know where it's going after a certain point? A.- I have no idea. I was enjoying myself writing, because I don't know what's going to happen when I take a ride around that corner. You don't know at all what you're going to find there. That can be thrilling when you read a book, especially when you're a kid and you're reading stories. It's very exciting when you don't know what's going to happen next. The same thing happens to me when I'm writing. It's fun.

Q.- You deal with some topics in this book that are new to you. You have one character describe some truly horrible experiences from World War II. Why did you decide to explore that? A.- I'd been trying to write about the war, but it wasn't easy for me. Every writer has his writing technique -- what he can and can't do to describe something like war or history. I'm not good at writing about those things, but I try because I feel it is necessary to write that kind of thing. I have drawers in my mind, so many drawers. I have hundreds of materials in these drawers. I take out the memories and images that I need. The war is a big drawer to me, a big one. I felt that sometime I would use this, pull something out of that drawer and write about it. I don't know why. Because it's my father's story, I guess. My father belongs to the generation that fought the war in the 1940s. When I was a kid my father told me stories -- not so many, but it meant a lot to me. I wanted to know what happened then, to my father's generation. It's a kind of inheritance, the memory of it. What I wrote in this book, though, I made up -- it's a fiction, from beginning to end. I just made it up.

Q.- Did you do much research for those sections? A.- I did do research, a little. I was at Princeton when I was writing that book and they have a big library there. I was free to do anything in those days, and I went to the library every day, reading books, mostly history books. They have a good collection of books about what happened on the Mongolian and Manchurian border. Most of those facts were new for me. I was surprised to find that it was so absurd and cruel and bloody. I went to Manchuria and Mongolia after I finished the book, which is strange. Most people go to a place to research before writing the book, but I did the opposite. Imagination is the most important asset of mine, so I didn't spoil my imagination by going there.

Q.- This book also feels more Japanese. Some of your other books seem, to Western readers, as if the characters could be Western. A.- Really?
Q.- Yes. Perhaps because your characters are so fond of Western culture. It doesn't feel, reading them, that the story is happening in Japan -- but that's the impression of a Western reader. This book, however, definitely feels more focused on Japan. Why did you decide to do that? A.- That's because I was living in the States! I was here from 1991 to 1995, which was when I was writing this book. That's the reason why I was looking at my own country and my own people. When I was writing my other books, in Japan, I just wanted to escape. Once I got out of my country, I was wondering: What am I? What am I as a writer? I'm writing books in Japanese, so that means I'm a Japanese writer, so what is my identity? I was thinking about that all the time when I was here. I think that's one of the reasons I wrote about the war. In a way we were lost, the Japanese. We have been working so hard since just after the war. We were getting rich. We reached a certain stage, but after reaching it, we asked ourselves: Where are we going? What are we doing? It's a sense of loss. Also I guess I am looking for some reason or cause to write. It isn't easy to explain. It's too hard for me.

Q.- How did Japan seem to you once you were far away? A.- [A long pause] It is too big a thing.
Q.- Would you like to try in Japanese? A.- [In Japanese] Even in Japanese, it is very difficult to explain ...
Q.- [Wanderlust Editor Don George, in Japanese:] Is it that if you are looking at your own country from a distance, from another country, the meaning of being Japanese -- what it is to be Japanese -- becomes clearer? When you are in Japan, living in Japan, you just don't think about such things -- but when suddenly you find yourself in another country, you get a different perspective on what it is to be Japanese. A.- Yes, that's part of it, but ... It's really too overwhelming for me to talk about, to articulate. Can we move to another subject?

Q.- Certainly. Your heroes don't conform to the hard-working Japanese ethos that you observe was so powerful after the war. What do you like about characters like Toru in The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, who is unemployed and stays home a lot? A.- I myself have been on my own and utterly independent since I graduated. I haven't belonged to any company or any system. It isn't easy to live like this in Japan. You are estimated by which company or which system you belong to. That is very important to us. In that sense, I've been an outsider all the time. It's been kind of hard, but I like that way of living. These days, young people are looking for this kind of living style. They don't trust any company. Ten years ago, Mitsubishi or other big companies were very solid, unshakable. But not anymore. Especially right now. Young people these days don't trust anything at all. They want to be free. This system, our society, they won't accept such people. So these people have to be outsiders, if they graduate from school and don't go to any company. These people are becoming a big group in our society these days. I can understand their feelings very well. I am 48, and they are in their 20s or 30s, but I have a Web page and we're corresponding with each other and they're sending me so many e-mails saying that they appreciate my books. It's very strange. We are so different, but we can understand each other very naturally. I like that naturalness. I feel that our society is changing. We were talking about my heroes. Maybe my readers are feeling some kind of empathy or sympathy with those heroes. I believe so. My stories appeal to some sense of liberty or freedom in my readers.

Q.- Your heroes live a little bit like writers because they work on their own. Is it hard to be a writer in Japan? A.- It's not that hard. I'm the exception. Even the writers in Japan have made a society, but not me. That's one reason why I keep escaping from Japan. That's my privilege. I can go anywhere. In Japan the writers have made up a literary community, a circle, a society. I think 90 percent of Japan's writers live in Tokyo. Naturally, they make a community. There are groups and customs, and so they are tied up in a way. It's ridiculous, I guess. If you're a writer, an author, you're free to do anything, go anywhere, and that's the most important thing to me. So, naturally, they mostly don't like me. I don't like elitism. I am not missed when I'm gone.

Q.- Do they have a problem with what you write? A.- I love pop culture -- the Rolling Stones, the Doors, David Lynch, things like that. That's why I said I don't like elitism. I like horror films, Stephen King, Raymond Chandler, detective stories. I don't want to write those things. What I want to do is use those structures, not the content. I like to put my content in that structure. That's my way, my style. So both of those kinds of writers don't like me. Entertainment writers don't like me, and serious literature people don't like me. I'm kind of in-between, doing a new kind of thing. That's why I couldn't find my position in Japan for many years. But I'm feeling that things are changing drastically. I'm gaining more territory. I have had my very loyal readers in these 15 years or so. They're buying my books, and they're on my side. The writers and critics are not on my side. I'm feeling responsibility as a Japanese writer more and more as I gain territory. That's what's happening to me right now and that's why I came back to Japan two years ago. Last year I wrote a book about the sarin gas attack on the subway train in Tokyo in March 1995. I interviewed 63 victims who were on the train that day. I did it because I wanted to interview ordinary Japanese people. It was a weekday, a Monday morning -- 8:30 or something like that. They were commuting to the center of Tokyo. It was packed, as you know, rush hour, and you can't move, you're like this [hunches shoulders together]. But they are very hard-working people, ordinary people, ordinary Japanese, and they were attacked with poison gas for no reason at all. It was ridiculous. I just wanted to know what happened to them. Who are those people? So I interviewed them one by one. It took one year, but I was impressed to find who those people are. So, I myself hate those company people -- salarymen, businesspeople. But after those interviews, I had some compassion for them. Honestly, I don't know why they are working so hard. Some of them got up at 5:30 in the morning to commute to the center of Tokyo. It takes more than two hours by train, all of it packed like this [hunches]. You can't even read a book. But they are doing that for 30 or 40 years. That's incredible to me. They come home at 10 p.m. and their kids are sleeping. The only day they see their children is Sunday. It's horrible. But they don't complain. So I asked them why not and they said it's no use. It's what all the people are doing, so there's no reason to complain.

Q.- Do they envy you? A.- No, they don't. They're used to it. They have been doing that life for many years. They don't have any alternative. There's a similarity between the cult people and ordinary people. When I studied those interviews, the similarity was in my mind. When I finished, I was looking at the difference instead. It's hard to say. In other words, I love those people. I'm listening to their stories of their childhood. I asked, who were you as a child? Who were you in high school? What kind of person were you when you married? What kind of girl did you marry? There are so many stories in their lives. Each person has his own interesting stories and that was very exciting to me. Now when I ride on the train, and when I see people like that, I don't know them, but I'm feeling more comfortable with them right now. I can see that these people have their own stories. Those interviews did good to me. I guess I'm changing.

Q.- What was the reaction to that book? A.- I had many letters from readers. They were so impressed. Some were encouraged. It was a strange reaction to a crime nonfiction book. But they said they were encouraged. People are working so hard and so sincerely, and they were moved by that. This isn't the same as what we used to think -- that working so hard was a good thing. It's not that. It's a kind of compassion.

Q.- Did you interview cult members? A.- I'm doing it right now. I'm feeling very sorry for them. Those people are young, mostly in their 20s. They're very serious people, idealistic. They were thinking so seriously about the world and value systems. I was born in 1949 and I was in the university in the late '60s, a time of revolution and counterculture. We used to be idealistic, our generation, but it's gone. And the bubble economy came. Those young people are kind of the same, idealistic, and they are not able to belong to the system. Nobody accepts them, and that's why they went to the cult. They were saying that money doesn't mean anything to them. They want something more precious, a more valuable thing. A spiritual thing. It's not a bad idea. It's not wrong. But nobody can offer hem what they want, only cult people can do that. They don't have a checking system, to decide what is right and what is wrong. We haven't given them those judging systems. I suppose that we authors have a responsibility for that. If I give you the right story, that story will give you a judging system, to tell what is wrong and what is right. To me, a story means to put your feet in someone else's shoes. There are so many kinds of shoes, and when you put your feet in them you look at the world through other people's eyes. You learn something about the world through good stories, serious stories. But those people weren't given good stories. When Asahara, the Aum guru, gave them his story, they were so tied up by the power of his story. Asahara, he's got some kind of power that's turned to evil, but it's a powerful story he gave them. I feel sorry about that. What I'm saying is that we should have given them the good story.

Q.- In The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, Toru's brother-in-law, Noboru, is a very interesting character, like a media pundit who goes on TV to talk about politics and economics, but he doesn't believe in anything. He just says whatever is strategic. What inspired him? A.- TV [laughs]. I don't watch it generally, but if you watch it from morning to night, just for one day, you could make up that kind of person. He can talk, but he's very shallow. He has nothing inside him. There are so many of that kind of person in Japan, and many in the States. So many nationalists in Japan are that kind of shallow person. I feel there's some kind of danger in the presence of those people. We can laugh at them, but it's dangerous at the same time.

Q.- Are you afraid of fascism or something like that? A.- Fascism is not the right word -- nationalism and revisionism. They're saying there was no Nanking Massacre and no trouble with comfort women [Chinese and Korean women who were forced into sexual slavery by the Japanese Army]. They're remaking history. That's very dangerous. I went to Manchuria a couple of years ago and visited some villages. The villagers told me, "Japanese soldiers massacred four or five dozen people here." They showed me the mass grave -- it's still there. It's shocking and nobody can deny the fact, but they are doing it. We can go forward, but we have to remember the past. We don't have to be tied by the past, but we have to remember it -- that's different.

Q.- You say that imagination is very important in your works. Sometimes your novels are very realistic, and then sometimes they get very ... metaphysical. A.- I write weird stories. I don't know why I like weirdness so much. Myself, I'm a very realistic person. I don't trust anything New Age -- or reincarnation, dreams, Tarot, horoscopes. I don't trust anything like that at all. I wake up at 6 in the morning and go to bed at 10, jogging every day and swimming, eating healthy food. I'm very realistic. But when I write, I write weird. That's very strange. When I'm getting more and more serious, I'm getting more and more weird. When I want to write about the reality of society and the world, it gets weird. Many people ask me why, and I can't answer that. But I recognized when I was interviewing those 63 ordinary people -- they were very straightforward, very simple, very ordinary, but their stories were sometimes very weird. That was interesting.

Q.- Did you ever sit in the bottom of a dry well, like your hero, Toru? A.- No. But I've always been attracted by wells, very much. Every time I see one, I go over and look in.

Q.- Do you think you'll go down one some day? A.- No, no.

Q.- Too scared? A.- Too scared. I read some writings by people who dropped down wells. One story, by Raymond Carver, was about a boy who dropped into a well and spent a day at the bottom. It's a good story.

Q.- He's a very realistic writer. A.- Yes, very realistic. But the subconscious is very important to me as a writer. I don't read much Jung, but what he writes has some similarity with my writing. To me the subconscious is terra incognita. I don't want to analyze it, but Jung and those people, psychiatrists, are always analyzing dreams and the significance of everything. I don't want to do that. I just take it as a whole. Maybe that's kind of weird, but I'm feeling like I can do the right thing with that weirdness. Sometimes it's very dangerous to handle that. You remember that scene in the mysterious hotel? I like the story of Orpheus, his descending, and this is based on that. The world of death and you enter there at your own risk. I think that I am a writer, and I can do that. I am taking my own risk. I have confidence that I can do it. But it takes time. When I started to write this book and I was writing and writing every day, then when that darkness came, I was ready to enter it. It took time before that, to reach that stage. You can't do that by starting to write today and then tomorrow entering that kind of world. You have to endure and labor every day. You have to have the ability to concentrate. I think that's the most important ingredient to the writer. For that I was training every day. Physical power is essential. Many authors don't respect that. [Laughs] They drink too much and smoke too much. I don't criticize them, but to me, strength is critical. People don't believe that I'm a writer because I'm jogging and swimming every day. They say, "He's not a writer."

Q.- Do you scare yourself when you write these dark things? A.- No, not at all.

Q.- Not even in the scene when the evil being is coming through the hotel room door to get Toru, or when the soldier is skinned alive? Doesn't writing those scenes upset you? A.- OK, yeah, I get scared. When I was writing those scenes, I was there. I knew that place, I knew. I can feel the darkness. I can smell the strange smells. If you cannot do that, you are not a writer. If you're a writer you can feel that in your skin. When I was writing the scene of the skinning, I was so ... it was so horrible, and I was scared. I didn't want to write it, honestly, but I did it. I wasn't happy when I was doing it, but it was so important to the story. You can't avoid that. It's your responsibility.

Q.- It sounds like when you feel scared about writing something, you decide to pursue it. A.- You can't escape from that. There is a saying in Japan: "When you want a tiger's cub, you have to enter the tiger's den."