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Gan Yulan, a woman from a small town in Jianxi Province of China, was blindfolded and forced to have a sterilization operation by local township officials on March 23. Gan told a reporter that she was assaulted by the deputy director of the Local People's Congress on the way to the hospital and was forced to be sterilized without any family members present. Four officers took her into custody without showing any legal warrant. The officer who assaulted her on the way to the hospital was deputy director, Wang Xuebing. When asked why he hit her, Wang said: "You are...

THE BRIEFING ROOM • THE BLOG "The world we leave our children" SNIPPET: "And some took heart in what the First Lady assured them would be "a new day" at the EPA."

BEDFORD HEIGHTS, Ohio – President-elect Barack Obama made a pitch for his massive economic stimulus plan at a Midwestern factory that makes wind turbine parts, saying Friday his plan would make smart investments in the country's future and create solid jobs in up-and-coming industries. "Renewable energy isn't something pie in the sky. It's not part of a far-off future. It's happening all across America right now," Obama told workers at the Cardinal Fastener & Specialty Co. in this Cleveland suburb. "It can create millions of additional jobs and entire new industries if we act right now." Just days before taking...

If you're in Beijing for the Olympics kick starting this weekend, don't be spilling any beans (state secrets or otherwise) in your cab back to the hotel, because you're being listened to. As the WSJ is reporting, on your taxi's dash is a microphone that can be activated remotely, at any time and without the driver's knowledge, for a live listen into any one of Beijing's estimated 70,000 cabs. And then, if the folks on the other end don't like what they hear, they can take things even further.The GPS-equipped devices also allow for remote disabling by "cutting off...

BEIJING (AFP) - The Beijing Olympics were plunged into another controversy on Wednesday as China announced a backflip on Internet freedoms for the thousands of foreign reporters covering the Games. China's decision to reverse a pledge on allowing unfettered web access proved an embarrassment for the International Olympic Committee (IOC), which had repeatedly said foreign press would not face any Internet curbs in Beijing. It was also the latest in a long line of issues to have tarnished the run-up to the Olympics, which start on August 8, following controversies over pollution, human rights and terrorism threats. Beijing Olympic organising...

LOS ANGELES - In the impoverished neighborhood of South Los Angeles, fast food is the easiest cuisine to find — and that's a problem for elected officials who see it as an unhealthy source of calories and cholesterol. The City Council was poised to vote Tuesday on a moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a swath of the city where a proliferation of such eateries goes hand-in-hand with obesity. "Our communities have an extreme shortage of quality foods," City Councilman Bernard Parks said.

The Democratic National Committee is asking America to weigh in on its party platform, and this week kicks off more than 1,300 meetings to hear from voters across the country on the big question: What should Democrats stand for - and against? If the idea sounds politically challenging, or even risky - think Rush Limbaugh and his dittoheads weighing in - San Francisco attorney Michael Yaki, who heads the party's platform committee, says not to worry. In fact, he's even invited Limbaugh and his dittoheads to come on down and take part in the meetings that will happen around the...

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama promised on Wednesday to create new opportunities for national service that would give Americans a chance to fight growing challenges on issues like poverty, climate change and education. On a trip to Colorado, which Obama hopes to turn into an election battleground in his November White House race with Republican John McCain, Obama said Americans were ready to answer a new call for national service. "I won't just ask for your vote as a candidate -- I will ask for your service and your active citizenship when I am president of...

If the government gets into the business of regulating and controlling carbon emissions it will be an unparalleled concentration of power far exceeding the New Deal under Roosevelt. The government will be in complete control over what businesses and average citizens consume and produce. It is the gateway excuse to rule, regulate and control your daily life in a fashion that we have never tolerated before but are now expected to meekly accept as we attempt to bailout the bathtub with a teaspoon. Never have Americans been so willing to hand over the most fundamental financial, transportation and quality of...

A direct quote: We support Barack Obama because he knows what is best for the people!

Happy Days are Here Again! by Lisa Fabrizio After Obama takes office, happy days will be here again. Although much of the country dreads it like the plague, there is a chance that if Barack Obama wins the White House, Democrats would control the Legislative and Executive branches of our government, as did the Republicans during half of President Bush’s two terms. But there is also the chilling prospect that they will reach the magic number of 60 votes in the Senate, which would give them the filibuster-proof power that the GOP could only dream about. But there is, as...

IT'S AN UTTERLY remarkable American story that Barack Obama, by means of extraordinary energy, intelligence, charm and eloquence, is on the verge of being the first black to secure the Democratic nomination for President, but no one who has been paying attention can buy his pledge of change. He offers more of the same. Beginning most notably with FDR's New Deal, the federal government has been extending its reach in America, ignoring constitutional restraints, usurping the responsibilities of other levels of government and involving itself in virtually every aspect of our lives to the point where we now face a...

Barack Obama and his advisers have begun the process of vetting vice presidential running mates, and Hillary Clinton and several former military leaders have landed on the soon-to-be Democratic nominee’s list of 20 potential candidates. Clinton, Obama’s rival during the primary contests, reportedly made the cut by building an energetic coalition of support among women, working-class voters and Hispanics in her unsuccessful bid for the party’s nomination, and, according to Obama, “would be on anybody's short list.” Clinton finished strong by winning six of the last nine and nine of the last 15 primaries, including decisive 10-point victories over Sen....

Decision '08: In a commencement speech at Wesleyan University, Barack Obama advised graduates not to pursue the American dream of success. Ivy League graduates who live in big homes can be selfish, you know.President Kennedy once spoke of a rising tide that would lift all boats. Obama wants us to pull into shore and tie them to a dock. Worse than that, a disturbing pattern of rhetoric indicates he will not only counsel a draconian lifestyle, but also mandate it. The man who made over $4 million last year, who lives in a $1.65 million house and who probably doesn't...

Curling up in front of a cozy wood fire on a nippy night will be banned in many parts of Southern California on bad air days under new regulations passed Friday by regional air regulators. Citing public health concerns in the heavily polluted Los Angeles Basin, the South Coast Air Quality Management District board voted unanimously to impose hefty fines on homeowners who burn wood in fireplaces on high-pollution days during winter months -- usually about two dozen days. "This is a fair trade-off," district Executive Director Barry Wallerstein said. "This is about trading personal rights for cleaner air and...

China has an estimated 350 million smokers Health officials in the Chinese city of Chongqing are urging people to report their family members to the authorities if they violate a smoking ban.The initiative is part of a campaign in two districts of the city to tackle the effects of passive smoking. Those who are accused of smoking will have their names posted on a warning list on community notice boards. As well as the campaign within families, a workplace smoking ban is also being tried in public buildings. A hospital boss whose organisation is taking part in the trial...

(BEIJING) — Seeking to ferret out online games considered overly violent or unhealthy, China has targeted illegal Web sites, computer markets and Internet cafes as part of a campaign to rein in juvenile crime. The crackdown, christened "Operation For Tomorrow," is also aimed at Web sites offering unregistered playing platforms or services for gamers that can be downloaded, the official Xinhua News Agency said Tuesday. The plan will "use the law to attack, investigate and prosecute ... to cleanse the environment in which young people are raised and prevent and reduce juvenile crime and illegal activity," the report said. China...

Will Sen. Hillary Clinton garnish the wages of people who can afford health insurance but refuse to buy into her universal health care plan? The Democratic presidential hopeful tried to duck the question Sunday when ABC's George Stephanopoulos asked her about wage-garnishing three times but she didn't rule it out. Pressed a third time on the wage-garnishing question, Clinton said,"we will have an enforcement mechanism - whether it's that (wage garnishing) or it's some other mechanism through the tax system or automatic enrollments."

"Clinton also recognizes that many states’ child support guidelines are excessive, noting:"'Child support payments can represent half of [low-income] men's income, and can provide a strong incentive to work in the underground economy.'"Clinton’s proposals are a good start, but much more needs to be done to address the problems low-income fathers face."My new co-authored column, Hillary Clinton’s Youth Opportunity Agenda Will Help Low-Income Fathers (Black Press USA Network, 1/25/08), discusses some small but significant proposals from Democratic presidential candidate Hillary Clinton to resolve the child support problems faced by many low-income African-American fathers. The proposals are based on the Urban...

The least-acknowledged fact in the present debate over health care is that many millions of Americans have no good reason to buy health insurance. This is especially true of single young people, above all single men. They rarely become seriously ill, and they know that if they are unlucky enough to be in an accident or contract a serious illness, they will be treated anyway. So, quite properly, they see no reason to pay for health insurance or--the same thing--place a high value on health insurance as an employment benefit. Pizza Hut learned this a few years ago when it...