Appeal by photographer in gay bias case is heard

SANTA FE, N.M. (AP) ? In a case that tests anti-discrimination protection for gays, a religious rights group told the New Mexico Supreme Court on Monday that a photographer who declined to shoot the commitment ceremony of a lesbian couple was exercising her rights to free speech and artistic freedom.

The First Amendment should exempt Elaine Huguenin and her Albuquerque business, Elane Photography, from state laws prohibiting discrimination based on sexual orientation, Jordan Lorence of the Alliance Defending Freedom told the high court.

He said gay marriage is against the photographer's religious beliefs, and she should not be required to promote a message that violates her conscience.

The state, however, argued that the business openly advertises its wedding photography services, and as a public business is required to follow the same anti-discrimination laws as any other company.

After the hearing, Lorence called it an unusual case that takes the gay marriage debate to a new level.

"Nationally, there is a lot of debate about should marriage be defined as between a man and a woman," he said. "One of the consequences is that it creates these rights of conscience cases."

In another case, Catholic Charities in Boston has declined to allow gay couples to adopt children, he said.

Lorence said the case involving Elaine Huguenin is one of the first in which free speech rights were used as a defense.

"The point we are trying to make is that even people who have views that are contrary should not be silenced by the government," he said.

Tobias Wolff, a University of Pennsylvania law professor representing the state, said the only thing unusual about the case was the defense.

"The nature of the discrimination claim is very straightforward," he said after the hearing.

Questions from the Supreme Court justices during the hearing centered on how to differentiate between photography being a business or protected artistic expression.

"Are there no limits to this?" asked Justice Richard Bosson. "Can you force an African-American photographer to take photos of the Ku Klux Klan?"

Justice Charles Daniels noted the Klan is not a protected class. But he did say the questions in the case revolve around the rights of the couple and the photographer.

The case stems from Huguenin's refusal in 2006 to photograph a commitment ceremony between Vanessa Wilcock and another woman.

Wilcock found another photographer to shoot the ceremony but filed an anti-discrimination claim with the Human Rights Commission, which found Huguenin's studio violated state law and ordered her to pay nearly $7,000 in attorney fees.

A state district judge and the New Mexico Court of Appeals have upheld that ruling.

It was unclear when the New Mexico Supreme Court will issue a ruling.

Source: http://news.yahoo.com/appeal-photographer-gay-bias-case-heard-171147549.html

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2 Americans slain at special ops site in Afghanistan

Two U.S. service members have been in what's being called an "inside attack" at a suburban Kabul police station. The incident follows a weekend visit to Afghanistan by newly confirmed Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel. NBC'S Mike Taibbi reports.

By Jamieson Lesko and Jim Miklaszewski, NBC News

KABUL, Afghanistan ? Two U.S. service members were killed and at least eight others injured Monday in a possible insider attack at a special forces site in Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan officials said.

The shooting occurred at a U.S. special operations outpost in Wardak province in eastern Afghanistan, U.S. officials said. The shooter, who was dressed in an Afghan National Security Forces uniform, was shot and killed.

---

"We have two confirmed dead, but the toll could rise," one U.S. official said.?

A senior official in the Afghan Defense Ministry said that at least three Afghans were also killed.

The Taliban claimed responsibility for the attack in a text message sent by Taliban spokesman Zabihullah Mujahid. The group has falsely claimed responsibility for attacks in the past.

The shooting occurred during a group meeting or briefing, a spokesman for NATO's International Security Assistance Force said.

Monday?s incident marks the first time Americans have been killed by enemy contact in Afghanistan since Jan. 7, according to U.S. officials.

The attack took place as a deadline expired for U.S. special forces to leave Wardak, after Afghan President Hamid Karzai accused them and Afghans working for them of overseeing torture and killings in the area.?

It was not immediately clear if the attack was directed at U.S. special forces.?

U.S. Secretary of Defense Chuck Hagel, who left Afghanistan early on Monday after a three-day visit, raised the sensitive issue of Wardak when he met Karzai.?

Rahmat Gul / AP

More than ten years after the beginning of the war, Afghanistan faces external pressure to reform as well as ongoing internal conflicts.

U.S. forces have denied involvement in any abuses in Wardak.

Other issues besides Wardak have pointed to a particularly strained relationship between Kabul and Washington of late.

On Sunday, Karzai said in a speech that the U.S. was colluding with the Taliban to keep foreign forces in Afghanistan beyond next year's planned withdrawal, and he went so far as to accuse the two sides of holding daily meetings.

A planned joint press conference with Hagel and Karzai was canceled shortly after Karzai's comments. "Security concerns" were cited as the reason.

The commander of coalition forces, U.S. General Joseph Dunford, and a Taliban spokesman rejected all of Karzai?s assertions unequivocally.

By Sunday night, Dunford was compelled to say the U.S. did "not have a broken relationship? with Karzai or a lack of trust. Hagel told reporters that as a former politician himself he "can understand the kind of pressures national leaders are always under," and that the two countries will be able to move forward together.

Reuters contributed to this report.?

Related:?

Afghanistan following 11 years of US combat: 'Not much different'

Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel in Afghanistan: 'We're still at war'

Karzai, alleging torture, orders US forces out of key province

This story was originally published on Mon Mar 11, 2013 7:22 AM EDT

Source: http://worldnews.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/03/11/17267505-2-us-service-members-killed-at-special-operations-base-in-afghanistan?lite

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Researcher: Zombie fads peak when society unhappy ... - Metro News

COLUMBIA, S.C. ? Zombies seem to be everywhere these days.

In the popular TV series ?The Walking Dead,? humans struggle to escape from a pack of zombies hungry for flesh. Prank alerts have warned of a zombie apocalypse on radio stations in a handful of states. And across the country, zombie wannabes in tattered clothes occasionally fill local parks, gurgling moans of the undead.

Are these just unhealthy obsessions with death and decay? To Clemson University professor Sarah Lauro, the phenomenon isn?t harmful or a random fad, but part of a historical trend that mirrors a level of cultural dissatisfaction and economic upheaval.

Lauro, who teaches English at Clemson, studied zombies while working on her doctoral degree at the University of California at Davis. Lauro said she keeps track of zombie movies, TV shows and video games, but her research focuses primarily on the concept of the ?zombie walk,? a mass gathering of people who, dressed in the clothes and makeup of the undead, stagger about and dance.

It?s a fascination that, for Lauro, a self-described ?chicken,? seems unnatural. Disinterested in violent movies or games, Lauro said she finds herself now taking part in both in an attempt to further understand what makes zombie-lovers tick.

?I hate violence,? she said. ?I can?t stand gore. So it?s a labour, but I do it.?

The zombie mob originated in 2003 in Toronto, Lauro said, and popularity escalated dramatically in the United States in 2005, alongside a rise in dissatisfaction with the war in Iraq.

?It was a way that the population was getting to exercise the fact that they felt like they hadn?t been listened to by the Bush administration,? Lauro said. ?Nobody really wanted that war, and yet we were going to war anyway.?

The mid- to late 2000s also saw an uptick in overall zombie popularity, perhaps prompted in part by the release of post-apocalyptic movies including ?Dawn of the Dead? and ?28 Days Later.?

As of last year, Lauro said, zombie walks had been documented in 20 countries. The largest gathering drew more than 4,000 participants at the New Jersey Zombie Walk in Asbury Park, N.J., in October 2010, according to Guinness World Records.

?We are more interested in the zombie at times when as a culture we feel disempowered,? Lauro said. ?And the facts are there that, when we are experiencing economic crises, the vast population is feeling disempowered. ? Either playing dead themselves ? or watching a show like ?Walking Dead? provides a great variety of outlets for people.?

But, Lauro pointed out, the display of dissatisfaction isn?t always a conscious expression of that feeling of frustration.

?If you were to ask the participants, I don?t think that all of them are very cognizant of what they?re saying when they put on the zombie makeup and participate,? she said. ?To me, it?s such an obvious allegory. We feel like, in one way, we?re dead.?

___

Meg Kinnard can be reached at http://twitter.com/MegKinnardAP .

(Video via Woki Toki)

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Source: http://metronews.ca/scene/590282/researcher-zombie-fads-peak-when-society-unhappy/

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Enduring storm surprises New England with big snow

A house on the Plum Island seacoast in Newbury, Mass., sits partially collapsed into the churning surf, driven by winds from a slow-moving storm centered far out in the Atlantic Ocean, at high tide Friday morning, March 8, 2013. The storm dropped up to a foot of snow in some parts of New England, caused coastal flooding in Massachusetts and slowed the morning commute in the region to a slushy crawl. (AP Photo/Newburyport Daily News, Jim Vaiknoras)

A house on the Plum Island seacoast in Newbury, Mass., sits partially collapsed into the churning surf, driven by winds from a slow-moving storm centered far out in the Atlantic Ocean, at high tide Friday morning, March 8, 2013. The storm dropped up to a foot of snow in some parts of New England, caused coastal flooding in Massachusetts and slowed the morning commute in the region to a slushy crawl. (AP Photo/Newburyport Daily News, Jim Vaiknoras)

A woman makes her way across the bus station in downtown New Bedford, Mass., as heavy snow falls Friday, March 8, 2013. The storm dropped up to a foot of snow in some parts of New England, caused coastal flooding in Massachusetts. (AP Photo/The Standard-Times, Peter Periera)

A Subaru Outback is rolled over on Rt 20 in Charlton, near the Sturbridge line, blocking part of the westbound lane Friday, March 8, 2013. The National Weather Service reported that central Massachusetts, areas southwest of Boston and Middlesex County are getting the most snow from a slow-moving storm that hit Massachusetts harder than expected. (AP Photo/Worcester Telegram & Gazette, Dan Gould)

People shield themselves from driving snow in Foley Square during a storm on Friday, March. 8 2013, in New York. A very wet snow is causing slippery road conditions in the metropolitan area and several inches have fallen on eastern Long Island and Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.(AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

People walk through driving snow near courthouses in lower Manhattan during a storm on Friday, March. 8 2013, in New York. A very wet snow is causing slippery road conditions in the metropolitan area and several inches have fallen on eastern Long Island and Westchester, Rockland and Putnam counties.(AP Photo/Peter Morgan)

WHITMAN, Mass. (AP) ? The late-winter storm that buried parts of the country was forecast to be little more than a nuisance for most of New England. Try telling that to Connecticut and Massachusetts residents who spent two days shoveling as much as 2 feet snow.

"The forecast was 4 to 6 inches and I think I'm looking at about 12 to 14 inches," West Roxbury resident Mark Spillane said as snow continued to fall Friday. "I did not expect to have to bring out the snow blower."

The storm was centered far out in the Atlantic Ocean, and by the time it reached New England, forecasters were focused on the potential for coastal flooding and not snow, which in many places was predicted to reach a maximum of 6 or 8 inches.

The coastline was battered by three high tides during the duration of the storm, the worst Friday morning, when some roads in coastal towns were flooded with up to 3 feet of water. A vacant house on Plum Island, off the northeast coast of Massachusetts, was ripped from its foundation and collapsed into the sea. Other homes there were badly damaged.

But in most places, it was the persistent snow that threw people for a loop.

The National Weather Service reported nearly 13 inches of snow at Boston's Logan International Airport as of 1 p.m., with more than 2 feet in a few Massachusetts towns and nearly that much in many others. Some parts of Connecticut and New Hampshire also saw more than a foot.

With spring less than two weeks away, Lisa Parisella, of Beverly, Mass., had been ready to dig out her sandals. Instead, she found herself donning her winter boots for a trip to the grocery store to make sure she had enough food for her kids, whose classes were canceled Friday.

"This was unexpected," said Parisella, 47, an office manager. Forecasts had called for between 1 and 8 inches. Instead, her town had well over a foot by noon, and snow continued to fall. "I was ready to start decorating for spring. I was thinking, March, ready to take out the sandals, and I'm taking out the boots again."

Tim Wicker, a self-employed 32-year-old resident of Norwich, Conn., said the latest storm wasn't too bad, but he was also longing for spring.

"The other day I was out in a T-shirt," Wicker said. "Now we're dealing with this again. It's going to be 54 on Sunday. It's just New England."

Charley Foley, a meteorologist at the National Weather Service in Taunton, said the higher snowfalls were caused by winds swirling around the storm that subtly changed course from the northeast to a more northerly direction. That allowed the storm to tap colder air from Canada, pick up moisture from the warmer ocean and dump snow on New England.

"We did get somewhat surprised by higher snow amounts," Foley said.

The storm had been giving forecasters fits for days. After pummeling the Midwest earlier in the week, it dumped nearly two feet of snow in some part of the mid-Atlantic but largely spared the nation's capital, despite warnings that as much as 10 inches could fall on Washington.

Some school districts, including Boston, were criticized for holding classes Friday despite icy sidewalks and poorly plowed roads.

Boston public schools spokesman Lee McGuire said schools were kept open because the weather forecast was so fluid. Thursday night's forecast called for just a few inches of snow.

"We made the best decision we could with the information we had at the time," McGuire said.

The district said students whose parents kept them home Friday would be considered "constructively present" and their absences would be excused.

Boston resident Vera Miller was angry about the decision. She kept her grandchildren home after taking a look outside Friday morning.

"I said, 'Oh no, you kids are staying home today,'" Miller said. "I just felt that school should have been canceled."

The snow made for a slippery Friday morning commute as far south as Pennsylvania and New York.

In Scituate, Mass., a shoreline town about 20 miles south of Boston, police Chief Brian Stewart breathed a sigh of relief Friday morning after high tide. The town got some coastal flooding ? it almost always does during major storms ? and eight roads were closed under 2 to 3 feet of water.

"It's coming over the usual spots," he said. "I would say we were fortunate because at this point we have no reports of injuries or major damage."

In Whitman, which had nearly a foot of snow by 10 a.m., Maureen Chittick's house was among those that lost electricity for a while. Grandchildren Nicole Clark, 15, and Gary Clark, 13, came inside for an old-fashioned game with marbles after shoveling the snow out of her driveway.

"I was shoveling and I saw purple flowers underneath," Nicole Clark said. "I thought to myself, 'Summer is never going to come.' I just want summer. Bring on the hot, the beach!"

___

Jay Lindsay in Beverly, Mass.; Bridget Murphy in Boston; Rodrique Ngowi in West Roxbury, Mass.; and John Christoffersen in New Haven, Conn., contributed to this report.

Associated Press

Source: http://hosted2.ap.org/APDEFAULT/3d281c11a96b4ad082fe88aa0db04305/Article_2013-03-08-US-Winter-Storm/id-24e036cfd98d48818581012bf37ab2db

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Former US guard jailed in China spying case

WASHINGTON: A former guard at a US consulate compound being built in China was sentenced to nine years' jail after admitting to trying to sell classified photographs and information about the building to the Chinese.

Bryan Underwood, 32, learned of his punishment on Tuesday in federal court in Washington after pleading guilty in August to attempting to communicate national defence information to China. He planned to sell the information and access to the compound under construction in the southern city of Guangzhou for as much as $US5 million, according to the US.

"Bryan Underwood betrayed America's trust by attempting to sell access to secure areas of the very US consulate compound he was charged to protect," Lisa Monaco, head of the Justice Department's national security division, said.

Underwood was charged in 2011 with attempting to pass secret information to China's State Security Ministry and making false statements. The guard lost a substantial amount of money in the stock market in March 2011 and then devised a plan to sell the classified information, the US government said.

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Underwood sneaked a camera into the compound and took photographs of a restricted building, the government said. He also wrote a letter to the Chinese ministry expressing interest in initiating a business arrangement, according to court papers.

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Mitcham to become a personal trainer - Star Observer

Gay Olympian and diving champion Matthew Mitcham has announced his entry into the fitness education industry with the unveiling of a national campaign with training provider FIAFitnation.

The recently inked deal will see Mitcham become the face of FIAFitnation?s health and fitness training package, the Gold Standard Trainer, through a national print, radio, outdoor and online campaign.

The partnership will also see Mitcham become a qualified personal trainer through FIAFitnation to complement his diving career.

?First and foremost, I?m eager to use the insights I gain to further refine my diving technique and help me hit the goals I?ve set for myself for the next phase of my diving career,? Mitcham said.

?I?ve been looking for some years for the right opportunity which allowed me to use my experience to help others, while accommodating my diving commitments.

?I want to inject lots of fun into my programs to encourage people to get excited about exercise.?

FIAFitnation CEO Carolyn Barker AM said partnering with Mitcham was a perfect fit for the fitness training provider.

?Matthew is the perfect embodiment of the spirit, focus and positivity we want to inspire in our students and graduates and we are delighted to be working together,? Barker said.

?As a gold medal winning champion who gave us one of the most memorable moments in Olympic history, we know his achievements and persona will appeal directly to the personal training market and those interested in a career in fitness.?

Source: http://www.starobserver.com.au/news/2013/03/06/mitcham-to-become-a-personal-trainer/99528

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Annamalai University Time Table 2013 May Dec Exam | Results, 2013

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Source: http://eastorlandorealestatenews.blogspot.com/2013/03/annamalai-university-time-table-2013.html

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