UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon has condemned as "shocking and shameless" a Taliban raid which killed at least five UN workers in the Afghan capital Kabul.
Three Afghans also died when suicide bombers stormed a UN guesthouse in the city, but Mr Ban said the UN would not be deterred from its mission there.
The Taliban said the attack was the first step in its bid to disrupt next week's presidential run-off election.
But the White House said such attacks would not derail the vote.
In a separate attack, rockets were fired at the city's five-star Serena Hotel, but no-one was injured.
'Family loss'
The attack on the private Bekhtar guesthouse in the Shar-i-Naw district was the deadliest on the United Nations in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001.
These attacks on two high-profile targets have spread a lot of fear.
Every building where UN staff work or live has to conform to minimum security rules, and one question that will be asked is 'How did these gunmen get into this building?'
President Hamid Karzai has said he wants more security for foreign workers, but there is more security in place now than ever before, more concrete blast barriers, more troops in the street, but that still cannot prevent determined militants getting through.
Will sending more troops turn the tide? That is the question that right now US President Barack Obama is facing.
Zabiullah Mujahid, a spokesman for the Taliban, said they carried out the raid, in a telephone call to the Associated Press news agency.
He said it was the "first attack" in the run-up to the second round of the presidential election on 7 November.
In New York, Mr Ban said: "This is a sad day and a very difficult day for the United Nations."
"I want to extend my deepest condolences to the families, and to our UN family."
He condemned the "shocking and shameless act", but he said the UN would not be deterred from its "noble mission".
"We stand by the people of Afghanistan today, and we will do so tomorrow," he said.
Mr Ban pledged to review security procedures in Afghanistan and take all necessary measures to protect its staff there.
US reaction
White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said President Barack Obama was confident that existing security arrangements were appropriate.
"The administration is confident that there are the appropriate resources to conduct an election and that the will of the Afghan people won't be thwarted," Mr Gibbs told reporters in Washington.
The head of the UN mission in Afghanistan, Kai Eide, said he could not yet give details of the nationalities of the victims, although the US embassy has confirmed one of the dead was an American.
Map
UN officials initially said six of its workers had been killed, but later revised the figure to at least five dead and nine wounded.
In addition to the UN staff, two Afghan security personnel and a civilian were killed.
Afghan President Hamid Karzai said the attack was "an inhuman act".
Nato Secretary General Anders Fogh Rasmussen also condemned the attack.
"The victims of these terrorist attacks were devoted to helping the Afghan people build better lives. In targeting them, the Taliban has demonstrated once again that it is truly an enemy of the Afghan people."
Brazen attack
The attack on the guesthouse, which is used by the UN and other international organisations, happened just before 0600 (0130 GMT).
KABUL YEAR OF VIOLENCE
28 Oct: Five UN staff and three Afghans killed in attack on UN guesthouse
8 Oct: Suicide bomber attacks Indian embassy, killing at least 17
17 Sept: Six Italian soldiers and 10 Afghans die in bomb attack on military convoy
18 Aug: Suicide car bomber kills 10 in attack on convoy of Western troops
11 Feb: Assault on three government buildings kills 27, including eight attackers
Eyewitness accounts
In pictures: Kabul UN attacks
US to pay Taliban to switch sides
UN rattled by Kabul attack
At least 25 UN workers were at the guesthouse, including 17 members of the election team.
Three Taliban militants with suicide vests, grenades and machine guns carried out the assault.
UN spokesman Aleem Siddique told the BBC there was gunfire and an explosion outside the guesthouse as UN employees tried to flee. The building was gutted by fire.
The three gunmen were shot dead and the incident ended at about 0830 local time.
There has been heightened tension in Afghanistan since the first round of the presidential election, which was marred by widespread fraud.
The UN is playing a leading role in organising the run-off vote, and the BBC's Ian Pannell in Kabul says the attack is clearly a tactic of the Taliban to prevent its staff from going about their business safely.
Mr Karzai will face his rival Abdullah Abdullah in the 7 November vote
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Jon Gosselin is emotionally abusive, girlfriend says
(People.com) -- Jon Gosselin has more relationship drama on his hands.
Hailey Glassman said her reality star boyfriend is emotionally abusive -- and she's sick of it.
"He'll call me and take his anger out on me," Glassman, 22, said in a two-part interview scheduled to air on "The Insider" beginning Thursday. "He has 'mantrums.' I shouldn't have to put up with being emotionally abused. I cry and say, 'Why are you so mean to me?' "
But she may not get a straight answer. "Sometimes he has trouble with the truth," she said, "and he will dance and dance around his lies. He's like Jekyll and Hyde. But I still love him."
People.com: Kate Gosselin flooded with questions for TLC special
Ever since she started dating Gosselin, Glassman said her life has changed -- and not necessarily for the better.
"I met Jon in a bubble," she said. "I'd never seen the show. I had no idea."
After their trip to France in July, she said she's faced harsh criticism. "People judge me before they meet me. I get threats everyday. I get called a home wrecker and a fat whore. People will stare or point. It gets worse everyday."
People.com: Did Jon hack into Kate's emails?
She admitted their relationship is "not normal," but Glassman said she can't imagine leaving Gosselin. "I don't want to leave him all alone," she said. "At the end of the day, I love him but I dislike him at times. When I love someone I would never hurt them."
Hailey Glassman said her reality star boyfriend is emotionally abusive -- and she's sick of it.
"He'll call me and take his anger out on me," Glassman, 22, said in a two-part interview scheduled to air on "The Insider" beginning Thursday. "He has 'mantrums.' I shouldn't have to put up with being emotionally abused. I cry and say, 'Why are you so mean to me?' "
But she may not get a straight answer. "Sometimes he has trouble with the truth," she said, "and he will dance and dance around his lies. He's like Jekyll and Hyde. But I still love him."
People.com: Kate Gosselin flooded with questions for TLC special
Ever since she started dating Gosselin, Glassman said her life has changed -- and not necessarily for the better.
"I met Jon in a bubble," she said. "I'd never seen the show. I had no idea."
After their trip to France in July, she said she's faced harsh criticism. "People judge me before they meet me. I get threats everyday. I get called a home wrecker and a fat whore. People will stare or point. It gets worse everyday."
People.com: Did Jon hack into Kate's emails?
She admitted their relationship is "not normal," but Glassman said she can't imagine leaving Gosselin. "I don't want to leave him all alone," she said. "At the end of the day, I love him but I dislike him at times. When I love someone I would never hurt them."
Five arrested in alleged rape of girl at California high school
Richmond, California (CNN) -- Police investigating the rape of a 15-year-old girl have arrested five people, a police spokesman said Wednesday.
Three juveniles and two adults are in custody in connection with the rape Saturday, said the Richmond police spokesman, Lt. Mark Gagan.
Authorities have described the incident as a 2½-hour assault on the Richmond High School campus.
Gagan said police arrested three of the suspects Tuesday night. They included Salvador Rodriguez, 21, as well as a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old whose identities were not released because they are juveniles, he said.
Rodriguez faces numerous felony charges, including gang rape, he said. It was not immediately clear what charges the other two face.
A 19-year-old, Manuel Ortega, and an unidentified 15-year-old were arrested earlier, he said. They are expected to be arraigned Wednesday, and the others are expected to be arraigned later this week.
Gagan said the suspects are likely to face "several felonies" in connection with the incident.
Watch a discussion with Gagan Video
Earlier this week, police said Ortega -- who has been described as a former student at the school -- faced charges of rape, robbery and kidnapping, while the 15-year-old faced one felony count of sexual assault.
Gagan said Wednesday that police expect to make further arrests.
As many as 10 people were involved in the assault in a dimly lighted back alley at the school, police have said, while another 10 people watched without calling 911 to report it.
A 1999 California law makes it illegal not to report a witnessed crime against a child, but the law applies only to cases in which the child is 14 or younger.
Police have posted a $20,000 reward for anyone who comes to them with information that helps arrest and convict those involved in the attack.
"We do not have the ability to arrest people who witnessed the crime and did nothing," Gagan said. "The law can be very rigid. We don't have the authority to make an arrest."
The school said it would hold a safety meeting for parents and students Wednesday evening to address the alleged assault.
The attack occurred on school grounds as the annual homecoming dance was under way inside the school Saturday night, authorities said.
The victim was found unconscious and "brutally assaulted" under a bench shortly before midnight Saturday, after police received a call from someone in the area who had overheard people at the assault scene talking about the incident, police said.
The girl was flown by helicopter to a hospital, where she was admitted in critical condition. She was in stable condition Tuesday, police said. Investigators canvassed the community with fliers, which included the reward offer, hoping to identify more suspects.
Richmond is north of Oakland on San Francisco Bay.
Three juveniles and two adults are in custody in connection with the rape Saturday, said the Richmond police spokesman, Lt. Mark Gagan.
Authorities have described the incident as a 2½-hour assault on the Richmond High School campus.
Gagan said police arrested three of the suspects Tuesday night. They included Salvador Rodriguez, 21, as well as a 16-year-old and a 17-year-old whose identities were not released because they are juveniles, he said.
Rodriguez faces numerous felony charges, including gang rape, he said. It was not immediately clear what charges the other two face.
A 19-year-old, Manuel Ortega, and an unidentified 15-year-old were arrested earlier, he said. They are expected to be arraigned Wednesday, and the others are expected to be arraigned later this week.
Gagan said the suspects are likely to face "several felonies" in connection with the incident.
Watch a discussion with Gagan Video
Earlier this week, police said Ortega -- who has been described as a former student at the school -- faced charges of rape, robbery and kidnapping, while the 15-year-old faced one felony count of sexual assault.
Gagan said Wednesday that police expect to make further arrests.
As many as 10 people were involved in the assault in a dimly lighted back alley at the school, police have said, while another 10 people watched without calling 911 to report it.
A 1999 California law makes it illegal not to report a witnessed crime against a child, but the law applies only to cases in which the child is 14 or younger.
Police have posted a $20,000 reward for anyone who comes to them with information that helps arrest and convict those involved in the attack.
"We do not have the ability to arrest people who witnessed the crime and did nothing," Gagan said. "The law can be very rigid. We don't have the authority to make an arrest."
The school said it would hold a safety meeting for parents and students Wednesday evening to address the alleged assault.
The attack occurred on school grounds as the annual homecoming dance was under way inside the school Saturday night, authorities said.
The victim was found unconscious and "brutally assaulted" under a bench shortly before midnight Saturday, after police received a call from someone in the area who had overheard people at the assault scene talking about the incident, police said.
The girl was flown by helicopter to a hospital, where she was admitted in critical condition. She was in stable condition Tuesday, police said. Investigators canvassed the community with fliers, which included the reward offer, hoping to identify more suspects.
Richmond is north of Oakland on San Francisco Bay.
U.S. set to pay Taliban members to switch sides
(CNN) -- There is a well-known saying in Afghanistan: "You can rent an Afghan, but you can't buy him."
Some experts on the region believe a U.S. program to pay Taliban fighters to quit the organization is buying temporary loyalty.
President Obama on Wednesday signed a $680 billion defense appropriations bill, which will pay for military operations in the 2010 fiscal year. The bill includes a Taliban reintegration provision under the Commander's Emergency Response Program, which is now receiving $1.3 billion. CERP funding also is intended for humanitarian relief and reconstruction projects at commanders' discretion.
The buyout idea, according to the Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is to separate local Taliban from their leaders, replicating a program used to neutralize the insurgency against Americans in Iraq.
"Afghan leaders and our military say that local Taliban fighters are motivated largely by the need for a job or loyalty to the local leader who pays them and not by ideology or religious zeal," Levin said in a Senate floor speech on September 11. "They believe an effort to attract these fighters to the government's side could succeed, if they are offered security for themselves and their families, and if there is no penalty for previous activity against us."
But Nicholas Schmidle, an expert on the Afghanistan-Pakistan region for the non-partisan New America Foundation, said that while the plan has a "reasonable chance for some success," the old Afghan saying will eventually be borne out.
"So long as the Americans are keenly aware of this, you're buying a very, very, very temporary allegiance," he said. "If that's the foundation for moving forward, it's a shaky foundation."
The bill comes as an uptick in violence claimed the lives of several American troops in Afghanistan over the past few months. In the most recent attack on Tuesday, eight soldiers were killed in what officials are calling a well-coordinated attack in southern Afghanistan involving improvised explosive devices and small-arms fire.
CNN Security Analyst Peter Bergen said the idea of paying off Taliban members to quit is nothing new.
"There's been an amnesty program for low-level Taliban in place for many years now and thousands of people have taken advantage of it," he said. "So this is not entirely a new idea. The idea of bribing people, local guys, to come over. ... It's one of the most cost-effective ways to get people to lay down their arms, either to negotiate a peace or coerce them."
Levin touted the plan, using the 'Sons of Iraq' plan to drive home his point.
"Large numbers of young Iraqis, who had been attacking us switched over to our side and became the 'Sons of Iraq,'" he added. "They were drawn in part by the promise of jobs and amnesty for past attacks, and in part by the recognition that the status quo was creating horrific violence in their own communities. In their own interests and the interests of their nation, they switched sides and became a positive force."
But Bergen argues the comparisons are not analogous.
"In Iraq, they turned their guns on al Qaeda in Iraq, which was a foreign level organization that was imposing Taliban-style rule. And that didn't go down very well with the local Iraqi Sunnis," he said. But in Afghanistan, "The Taliban is the guy you grew up with. They're not some foreigners who came in and to be part of the jihad. ... The values they [Taliban] have are not far off from what rural Pashtuns have."
It's one of the most cost-effective ways to get people to lay down their arms
--CNN security analyst Peter Bergen
He added that al Qaeda in Iraq made a lot of mistakes - which was instrumental in getting Iraqis to "switch sides and get on the American payroll."
The top commander in Afghanistan has backed the plan for the Taliban.
"Most of the fighters we see in Afghanistan are Afghans, some with [a] foreign cadre with them," said Gen. Stanley McChrystal in a July 28 Los Angeles Times interview. Most are not ideologically or even politically motivated, he said in the interview. "Most are operating for pay; some are under a commanders charismatic leadership; some are frustrated with local leaders."
Some experts on the region believe a U.S. program to pay Taliban fighters to quit the organization is buying temporary loyalty.
President Obama on Wednesday signed a $680 billion defense appropriations bill, which will pay for military operations in the 2010 fiscal year. The bill includes a Taliban reintegration provision under the Commander's Emergency Response Program, which is now receiving $1.3 billion. CERP funding also is intended for humanitarian relief and reconstruction projects at commanders' discretion.
The buyout idea, according to the Sen. Carl Levin, chairman of the Senate Armed Services Committee, is to separate local Taliban from their leaders, replicating a program used to neutralize the insurgency against Americans in Iraq.
"Afghan leaders and our military say that local Taliban fighters are motivated largely by the need for a job or loyalty to the local leader who pays them and not by ideology or religious zeal," Levin said in a Senate floor speech on September 11. "They believe an effort to attract these fighters to the government's side could succeed, if they are offered security for themselves and their families, and if there is no penalty for previous activity against us."
But Nicholas Schmidle, an expert on the Afghanistan-Pakistan region for the non-partisan New America Foundation, said that while the plan has a "reasonable chance for some success," the old Afghan saying will eventually be borne out.
"So long as the Americans are keenly aware of this, you're buying a very, very, very temporary allegiance," he said. "If that's the foundation for moving forward, it's a shaky foundation."
The bill comes as an uptick in violence claimed the lives of several American troops in Afghanistan over the past few months. In the most recent attack on Tuesday, eight soldiers were killed in what officials are calling a well-coordinated attack in southern Afghanistan involving improvised explosive devices and small-arms fire.
CNN Security Analyst Peter Bergen said the idea of paying off Taliban members to quit is nothing new.
"There's been an amnesty program for low-level Taliban in place for many years now and thousands of people have taken advantage of it," he said. "So this is not entirely a new idea. The idea of bribing people, local guys, to come over. ... It's one of the most cost-effective ways to get people to lay down their arms, either to negotiate a peace or coerce them."
Levin touted the plan, using the 'Sons of Iraq' plan to drive home his point.
"Large numbers of young Iraqis, who had been attacking us switched over to our side and became the 'Sons of Iraq,'" he added. "They were drawn in part by the promise of jobs and amnesty for past attacks, and in part by the recognition that the status quo was creating horrific violence in their own communities. In their own interests and the interests of their nation, they switched sides and became a positive force."
But Bergen argues the comparisons are not analogous.
"In Iraq, they turned their guns on al Qaeda in Iraq, which was a foreign level organization that was imposing Taliban-style rule. And that didn't go down very well with the local Iraqi Sunnis," he said. But in Afghanistan, "The Taliban is the guy you grew up with. They're not some foreigners who came in and to be part of the jihad. ... The values they [Taliban] have are not far off from what rural Pashtuns have."
It's one of the most cost-effective ways to get people to lay down their arms
--CNN security analyst Peter Bergen
He added that al Qaeda in Iraq made a lot of mistakes - which was instrumental in getting Iraqis to "switch sides and get on the American payroll."
The top commander in Afghanistan has backed the plan for the Taliban.
"Most of the fighters we see in Afghanistan are Afghans, some with [a] foreign cadre with them," said Gen. Stanley McChrystal in a July 28 Los Angeles Times interview. Most are not ideologically or even politically motivated, he said in the interview. "Most are operating for pay; some are under a commanders charismatic leadership; some are frustrated with local leaders."
Obama signs hate crimes bill into law
Washington (CNN) -- President Obama on Wednesday signed a law that makes it a federal crime to assault an individual because of his or her sexual orientation or gender identity.
The expanded federal hate crimes law, hailed by supporters as the first major federal gay rights legislation, was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill that Obama signed at a packed White House ceremony.
The hate crimes measure was named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., an African-American man dragged to death in Texas the same year.
Shepard's mother, Judy, was among those at the ceremony that also included Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Attorney General Eric Holder and leading members of Congress and the Pentagon, who were on hand for the appropriations bill signing.
To loud applause, Obama hailed the hate crimes measure in the bill as a step toward change to "help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray."
Video: Obama signs hate crime bill
He cited the work of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and others "to make this day possible."
Later Wednesday, Obama stood with Shepard's parents and relatives of Byrd at a separate White House event honoring passage of the expanded hate crimes law.
Noting reports of 12,000 crimes based on sexual orientation over the past 10 years, Obama called the bill another step in the continuing struggle for protecting human rights.
"Because of the efforts of the folks in this room, particularly those family members standing behind me, the bell rings even louder now," Obama said. When he finished his remarks, he hugged the weeping relatives as the audience applauded.
Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality. However, Holder has said that any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, not to prosecute speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs.
Former President George W. Bush had threatened to veto a similar measure, but Obama brought a reversal of that policy to the White House.
When the bill won final congressional approval last week, Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese called the hate crimes measure "our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people."
Earlier this month, Obama told the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay rights group, that the nation still needs to make significant changes to ensure equal rights for gays and lesbians.
"Despite the progress we've made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open," he said in an address at the group's annual dinner. "This fight continues now and I'm here with the simple message: I'm here with you in that fight."
Among other things, Obama has called for the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military -- the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He also has urged Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act.
The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage, for federal purposes, as a legal union between a man and a woman. It allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. The Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act would extend family benefits now available to heterosexual federal employees to gay and lesbian federal workers.
However, some advocates for stronger rights for the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community have complained that Obama's administration is moving too slowly on his legislative promises.
Opponents of the expanded hate crimes bill challenged the need to specify one particular community in federal legislation. They contended that existing federal hate crimes laws were sufficient to protect the rights of people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported by the FBI between 1998 and 2007, or "nearly one hate crime for every hour of every day over the span of a decade," Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee in June.
At Wednesday's signing, Obama also praised what he called a bipartisan effort to start changing the culture of military spending through the annual appropriations bill. He noted that Gates had worked with congressional leaders to end what Obama called wasteful projects like the F-22 fighter bomber and a new presidential helicopter that would have cost "almost as much as Air Force One."
"I won't be flying on that," the president said.
Noting that cost overruns in military projects total tens of billions of dollars, Obama called for further "fundamental" reforms in how the government and Pentagon do business.
"We all know where this kind of waste comes from," he said, citing "indefensible" no-bid contracts and special interests pushing unneeded weapons systems.
Such actions are "inexcusable", "unconscionable" and an "affront to the American people" as the nation faces two wars and an economic recession, Obama said.
"Today I'm pleased to say that we have proved that change is possible," he said.
The expanded federal hate crimes law, hailed by supporters as the first major federal gay rights legislation, was added to a $680 billion defense authorization bill that Obama signed at a packed White House ceremony.
The hate crimes measure was named for Matthew Shepard, a gay Wyoming teenager who died after being kidnapped and severely beaten in October 1998, and James Byrd Jr., an African-American man dragged to death in Texas the same year.
Shepard's mother, Judy, was among those at the ceremony that also included Vice President Joe Biden, Defense Secretary Robert Gates, Attorney General Eric Holder and leading members of Congress and the Pentagon, who were on hand for the appropriations bill signing.
To loud applause, Obama hailed the hate crimes measure in the bill as a step toward change to "help protect our citizens from violence based on what they look like, who they love, how they pray."
Video: Obama signs hate crime bill
He cited the work of the late Sen. Edward Kennedy of Massachusetts and others "to make this day possible."
Later Wednesday, Obama stood with Shepard's parents and relatives of Byrd at a separate White House event honoring passage of the expanded hate crimes law.
Noting reports of 12,000 crimes based on sexual orientation over the past 10 years, Obama called the bill another step in the continuing struggle for protecting human rights.
"Because of the efforts of the folks in this room, particularly those family members standing behind me, the bell rings even louder now," Obama said. When he finished his remarks, he hugged the weeping relatives as the audience applauded.
Several religious groups have expressed concern that a hate crimes law could be used to criminalize conservative speech relating to subjects such as abortion or homosexuality. However, Holder has said that any federal hate-crimes law would be used only to prosecute violent acts based on bias, not to prosecute speech based on controversial racial or religious beliefs.
Former President George W. Bush had threatened to veto a similar measure, but Obama brought a reversal of that policy to the White House.
When the bill won final congressional approval last week, Human Rights Campaign president Joe Solmonese called the hate crimes measure "our nation's first major piece of civil rights legislation for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender people."
Earlier this month, Obama told the Human Rights Campaign, the country's largest gay rights group, that the nation still needs to make significant changes to ensure equal rights for gays and lesbians.
"Despite the progress we've made, there are still laws to change and hearts to open," he said in an address at the group's annual dinner. "This fight continues now and I'm here with the simple message: I'm here with you in that fight."
Among other things, Obama has called for the repeal of the ban on gays serving openly in the military -- the "don't ask, don't tell" policy. He also has urged Congress to repeal the Defense of Marriage Act and pass the Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act.
The Defense of Marriage Act defines marriage, for federal purposes, as a legal union between a man and a woman. It allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages. The Domestic Partners Benefit and Obligations Act would extend family benefits now available to heterosexual federal employees to gay and lesbian federal workers.
However, some advocates for stronger rights for the lesbian-gay-bisexual-transgender community have complained that Obama's administration is moving too slowly on his legislative promises.
Opponents of the expanded hate crimes bill challenged the need to specify one particular community in federal legislation. They contended that existing federal hate crimes laws were sufficient to protect the rights of people based on sexual orientation and gender identity.
More than 77,000 hate-crime incidents were reported by the FBI between 1998 and 2007, or "nearly one hate crime for every hour of every day over the span of a decade," Holder told the Senate Judiciary Committee in June.
At Wednesday's signing, Obama also praised what he called a bipartisan effort to start changing the culture of military spending through the annual appropriations bill. He noted that Gates had worked with congressional leaders to end what Obama called wasteful projects like the F-22 fighter bomber and a new presidential helicopter that would have cost "almost as much as Air Force One."
"I won't be flying on that," the president said.
Noting that cost overruns in military projects total tens of billions of dollars, Obama called for further "fundamental" reforms in how the government and Pentagon do business.
"We all know where this kind of waste comes from," he said, citing "indefensible" no-bid contracts and special interests pushing unneeded weapons systems.
Such actions are "inexcusable", "unconscionable" and an "affront to the American people" as the nation faces two wars and an economic recession, Obama said.
"Today I'm pleased to say that we have proved that change is possible," he said.
Census will report same-sex couples, gay groups see opportunity
October 28, 2009 7:53 p.m. EDT
The 2010 census is the first that will report the numbers of same-sex couples who describe themselves as married.
The 2010 census is the first that will report the numbers of same-sex couples who describe themselves as married.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* 2010 census is first that will report numbers of same-sex couples who use the terms husband and wife
* Same-sex couples numbers will be released separately says Census Bureau
* Demographers say new numbers are otherwise unavailable; will be helpful
(CNN) -- Peter Dziedzic and his husband, Jay Judas, aren't quite sure yet which of them will be designated the head of household when they fill out the 2010 census form in April.
Both are employed and make about the same amount of money, Dziedzic, 32, of Boston, Massachusetts, explained recently.
"We'll just pick ... maybe I'll give it to him, he's older," Dziedzic, who legally married Judas, 38, last year, joked.
Regardless of who fills out the census form, the Census Bureau will report their response as a married same-sex couple without changing it.
The 2010 census is the first that will report the numbers of same-sex couples who describe themselves as married, or more specifically, who use the terms husband and wife.
The number of same-sex couples who identify as married will be released separately from the national count on a state-by-state basis, according to Census Bureau reports.
Those couples will not be included in the official national count of married couples because the Census Bureau does not have time before April to change its editing processes -- which "recode" the answer of any person who says he or she is a spouse in a same-sex marriage to "unmarried partner."
Gay advocacy groups say the new numbers will highlight the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and its needs, and they are working to tell gay couples to honestly answer the census questionnaire questions.
Those opposed to same-sex marriage, meanwhile, say the move is just another example of the erosion of the Defense of Marriage Act. The act defines marriage for federal purposes as a legal union between a man and a woman. It allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages.
More than two dozen gay advocacy organizations have joined together in a coalition called "Our Families Count," which aims to educate the gay community about the census -- that it is confidential, and that people should answer the questions honestly -- something that some may hesitate to do because of fear of discrimination, said Che Ruddell-Tabisola of the Human Rights Campaign.
The numbers will help gays and lesbians in policy fights, he said, and help show their different demographics.
"One of the first challenges is to just be acknowledged," he said. "There are still policy makers who think they have no LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) constituents and don't need to worry about our basic rights," he said.
"There's nothing like the census that paints a picture of America ... and LGBT people are very much a part of that," he said.
"Our Families Count" plans to roll out a Web site next month, and will work at the local level to educate people, Ruddell-Tabisola said.
Although same-sex couples reported being married in the 1990 and 2000 census -- before any state legally allowed same-sex marriage -- the census did not release the data as such.
If members of a same-sex couple reported in 1990 that they were married, the Census Bureau, in its editing process, changed the sex of one to the opposite sex. A decade later, same-sex couples who reported being married were "edited" to be unmarried partners, according to Census Bureau data.
It did not release the unedited data from either year, because of the way the Bush administration interpreted the Defense of Marriage Act, said Derick Moore, a Census Bureau spokesman.
This summer the Obama administration reversed the Bush administration's policy, Moore said.
The data is expected to include thousands more same-sex couples than those who are legally married, and the Census Bureau emphasizes that the 2010 census is not an accurate count of legal marriages.
"What's going to be released is a count of how many couples use the term husband and wife," said Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California at Los Angeles.
In the 2000 census, 253,000 of the 594,000 same-sex couples originally reported themselves as married, the Census Bureau said in a report.
And in the American Community Survey in 2008 -- the bureau's annual survey as opposed to its once-a-decade national head count -- nearly 150,000 same-sex couples identified one partner as husband or wife, even though estimates suggest that by the end of 2008, only about 35,000 same-sex couples were legally married, Gates said.
The ACS 2008 survey marked the first time the census bureau released official estimates for the number of same-sex couples who identified one partner as husband or wife.
Currently, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa and Vermont allow gay marriage. New Hampshire will begin allowing them next year and voters in Maine, which passed legislation allowing same-sex marriage, will decide the issue in a referendum next month.
While gay advocacy groups see the census count as an opportunity to help them, conservative groups who are opposed to gay marriage say counting and releasing the data runs counter to the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA.
"We see it as a violation to DOMA," said Tom McClusky, the vice president for Family Research Council Action, the legislative action arm of Family Research Council.
He said the group is trying to work with members of Congress to "see what can be done" as far as funding streams to the census.
Jenny Tyree, a marriage analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said in a written statement that the move was "just another clear signal from the Obama administration that marriage is open to redefinition."
Demographers say the census count of same-sex couples who use the term husband and wife will help provide numbers that are otherwise unavailable.
"People far overestimate about how much data there are about the LGBT population," Gates said, noting that few surveys ever ask about sexual orientation.
"The census, while limited ... nonetheless is an enormous resource, at least for that component," he said.
William Frey, of the Brookings Institution, said the count "is a gauge of what people across the country are actually doing."
He said, "I think it reflects change in our society ... social change goes slowly and government statistics try to keep up with the social change, and I think this is an attempt to do that."
Dziedzic said that while he'd like his marriage to be included in the official national count, but that this was a good first step.
"I admire and appreciate the effort, but ... it leaves a little bit to be desired," he said.
The 2010 census is the first that will report the numbers of same-sex couples who describe themselves as married.
The 2010 census is the first that will report the numbers of same-sex couples who describe themselves as married.
STORY HIGHLIGHTS
* 2010 census is first that will report numbers of same-sex couples who use the terms husband and wife
* Same-sex couples numbers will be released separately says Census Bureau
* Demographers say new numbers are otherwise unavailable; will be helpful
(CNN) -- Peter Dziedzic and his husband, Jay Judas, aren't quite sure yet which of them will be designated the head of household when they fill out the 2010 census form in April.
Both are employed and make about the same amount of money, Dziedzic, 32, of Boston, Massachusetts, explained recently.
"We'll just pick ... maybe I'll give it to him, he's older," Dziedzic, who legally married Judas, 38, last year, joked.
Regardless of who fills out the census form, the Census Bureau will report their response as a married same-sex couple without changing it.
The 2010 census is the first that will report the numbers of same-sex couples who describe themselves as married, or more specifically, who use the terms husband and wife.
The number of same-sex couples who identify as married will be released separately from the national count on a state-by-state basis, according to Census Bureau reports.
Those couples will not be included in the official national count of married couples because the Census Bureau does not have time before April to change its editing processes -- which "recode" the answer of any person who says he or she is a spouse in a same-sex marriage to "unmarried partner."
Gay advocacy groups say the new numbers will highlight the lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community and its needs, and they are working to tell gay couples to honestly answer the census questionnaire questions.
Those opposed to same-sex marriage, meanwhile, say the move is just another example of the erosion of the Defense of Marriage Act. The act defines marriage for federal purposes as a legal union between a man and a woman. It allows states to refuse to recognize same-sex marriages.
More than two dozen gay advocacy organizations have joined together in a coalition called "Our Families Count," which aims to educate the gay community about the census -- that it is confidential, and that people should answer the questions honestly -- something that some may hesitate to do because of fear of discrimination, said Che Ruddell-Tabisola of the Human Rights Campaign.
The numbers will help gays and lesbians in policy fights, he said, and help show their different demographics.
"One of the first challenges is to just be acknowledged," he said. "There are still policy makers who think they have no LGBT (lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender) constituents and don't need to worry about our basic rights," he said.
"There's nothing like the census that paints a picture of America ... and LGBT people are very much a part of that," he said.
"Our Families Count" plans to roll out a Web site next month, and will work at the local level to educate people, Ruddell-Tabisola said.
Although same-sex couples reported being married in the 1990 and 2000 census -- before any state legally allowed same-sex marriage -- the census did not release the data as such.
If members of a same-sex couple reported in 1990 that they were married, the Census Bureau, in its editing process, changed the sex of one to the opposite sex. A decade later, same-sex couples who reported being married were "edited" to be unmarried partners, according to Census Bureau data.
It did not release the unedited data from either year, because of the way the Bush administration interpreted the Defense of Marriage Act, said Derick Moore, a Census Bureau spokesman.
This summer the Obama administration reversed the Bush administration's policy, Moore said.
The data is expected to include thousands more same-sex couples than those who are legally married, and the Census Bureau emphasizes that the 2010 census is not an accurate count of legal marriages.
"What's going to be released is a count of how many couples use the term husband and wife," said Gary Gates, a demographer at the University of California at Los Angeles.
In the 2000 census, 253,000 of the 594,000 same-sex couples originally reported themselves as married, the Census Bureau said in a report.
And in the American Community Survey in 2008 -- the bureau's annual survey as opposed to its once-a-decade national head count -- nearly 150,000 same-sex couples identified one partner as husband or wife, even though estimates suggest that by the end of 2008, only about 35,000 same-sex couples were legally married, Gates said.
The ACS 2008 survey marked the first time the census bureau released official estimates for the number of same-sex couples who identified one partner as husband or wife.
Currently, Connecticut, Massachusetts, Iowa and Vermont allow gay marriage. New Hampshire will begin allowing them next year and voters in Maine, which passed legislation allowing same-sex marriage, will decide the issue in a referendum next month.
While gay advocacy groups see the census count as an opportunity to help them, conservative groups who are opposed to gay marriage say counting and releasing the data runs counter to the Defense of Marriage Act, or DOMA.
"We see it as a violation to DOMA," said Tom McClusky, the vice president for Family Research Council Action, the legislative action arm of Family Research Council.
He said the group is trying to work with members of Congress to "see what can be done" as far as funding streams to the census.
Jenny Tyree, a marriage analyst for Focus on the Family Action, said in a written statement that the move was "just another clear signal from the Obama administration that marriage is open to redefinition."
Demographers say the census count of same-sex couples who use the term husband and wife will help provide numbers that are otherwise unavailable.
"People far overestimate about how much data there are about the LGBT population," Gates said, noting that few surveys ever ask about sexual orientation.
"The census, while limited ... nonetheless is an enormous resource, at least for that component," he said.
William Frey, of the Brookings Institution, said the count "is a gauge of what people across the country are actually doing."
He said, "I think it reflects change in our society ... social change goes slowly and government statistics try to keep up with the social change, and I think this is an attempt to do that."
Dziedzic said that while he'd like his marriage to be included in the official national count, but that this was a good first step.
"I admire and appreciate the effort, but ... it leaves a little bit to be desired," he said.
Bay Bridge closure snarls traffic
CNN) -- The indefinite closure of a major artery linking the California cities of San Francisco and Oakland snarled traffic Wednesday and left commuters frustrated.
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was closed Tuesday night after pieces fell from the span onto the roadway. The 73-year-old bridge spans the San Francisco Bay and carries an average 280,000 vehicles daily, according to the state's Transportation Department.
"My wife actually drives over to the peninsula; she says it's taken her two hours to get to work so far and she's not there yet," commuter Seth Carp told CNN affiliate KTVU as he prepared to board a Bay Area Rapid Transit train.
"I tried to take the Golden Gate Bridge," said a woman who identified herself only as Yemi. "It was a big mistake." She gave up and wound up taking BART.
"Today was just jam-packed," said Christina Chou, who lives in Foster City near the San Mateo Bridge, which served as an alternate route for many. "It was back-to-back bumper, there were rows of cars everywhere," she said. "It was just horrible."
Map: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
Ridership increased on ferries, with some people finding a silver lining to the snafu. "I have been looking for an opportunity to go across the bay in the ferry," said Jack Pierce of Oakland. "I'm sorry the cable parted, but I am glad to get the opportunity."
Repair work began Tuesday and continued Wednesday. "All the materials are in place out on the Bay Bridge right now that arrived last night," Transportation Department spokesman Bart Ney told reporters Wednesday morning.
He said wind gusts were slowing the repair efforts.
"Our main concern is for worker safety at this point," he said. "They are going to be working about 120 feet off the upper deck of the Bay Bridge placing thousands of pounds of steel to complete this repair."
Travelers flocked to BART, which ran longer trains and extra trains. The rail line was on track to exceed its peak ridership of 405,000 in a single day, said BART spokesman Linton Johnson.
Were you there? Send photos and video
"We have called in extra personnel to help us make sure we operate with every available train car we have in order to provide as much capacity as possible," said BART's assistant general manager of operations, Paul Oversier.
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit said that for the Wednesday commute it was running regular weekday service, but its "buses will detour to four East Bay BART stations so that passengers can continue to San Francisco on BART."
Amtrak was running a shuttle between the San Francisco and Martinez Stations for Coast Starlight and California Zephyr passengers.
The pieces that fell, described as a cross beam and tie rods, came from the same section that was repaired over Labor Day weekend in September, when crews worked almost around the clock to fix a crack in the span.
A 50-foot section of the bridge collapsed in 1989 during the Loma Prieta earthquake, killing one person and prompting efforts to make the bridge quake-tolerant.
The whole bridge is slated to be replaced in 2013, said Patrick Siegman, a transportation planner at Nelson Nygaard Consulting Associates, a national transportation planning firm based in San Francisco.
The bridge is "really showing its age," he said. "It's kind of a race against time to finish the new bridge before the next quake hits."
The San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge was closed Tuesday night after pieces fell from the span onto the roadway. The 73-year-old bridge spans the San Francisco Bay and carries an average 280,000 vehicles daily, according to the state's Transportation Department.
"My wife actually drives over to the peninsula; she says it's taken her two hours to get to work so far and she's not there yet," commuter Seth Carp told CNN affiliate KTVU as he prepared to board a Bay Area Rapid Transit train.
"I tried to take the Golden Gate Bridge," said a woman who identified herself only as Yemi. "It was a big mistake." She gave up and wound up taking BART.
"Today was just jam-packed," said Christina Chou, who lives in Foster City near the San Mateo Bridge, which served as an alternate route for many. "It was back-to-back bumper, there were rows of cars everywhere," she said. "It was just horrible."
Map: San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge
Ridership increased on ferries, with some people finding a silver lining to the snafu. "I have been looking for an opportunity to go across the bay in the ferry," said Jack Pierce of Oakland. "I'm sorry the cable parted, but I am glad to get the opportunity."
Repair work began Tuesday and continued Wednesday. "All the materials are in place out on the Bay Bridge right now that arrived last night," Transportation Department spokesman Bart Ney told reporters Wednesday morning.
He said wind gusts were slowing the repair efforts.
"Our main concern is for worker safety at this point," he said. "They are going to be working about 120 feet off the upper deck of the Bay Bridge placing thousands of pounds of steel to complete this repair."
Travelers flocked to BART, which ran longer trains and extra trains. The rail line was on track to exceed its peak ridership of 405,000 in a single day, said BART spokesman Linton Johnson.
Were you there? Send photos and video
"We have called in extra personnel to help us make sure we operate with every available train car we have in order to provide as much capacity as possible," said BART's assistant general manager of operations, Paul Oversier.
Alameda-Contra Costa Transit said that for the Wednesday commute it was running regular weekday service, but its "buses will detour to four East Bay BART stations so that passengers can continue to San Francisco on BART."
Amtrak was running a shuttle between the San Francisco and Martinez Stations for Coast Starlight and California Zephyr passengers.
The pieces that fell, described as a cross beam and tie rods, came from the same section that was repaired over Labor Day weekend in September, when crews worked almost around the clock to fix a crack in the span.
A 50-foot section of the bridge collapsed in 1989 during the Loma Prieta earthquake, killing one person and prompting efforts to make the bridge quake-tolerant.
The whole bridge is slated to be replaced in 2013, said Patrick Siegman, a transportation planner at Nelson Nygaard Consulting Associates, a national transportation planning firm based in San Francisco.
The bridge is "really showing its age," he said. "It's kind of a race against time to finish the new bridge before the next quake hits."
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