Brownback Helps McCain Woo Catholics
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/brownback_mccain_catholic/2008/05/16/96816.html
WASHINGTON -- When Pope Benedict XVI visited the nation's capital last month, Sen. Sam Brownback did a little preaching to Catholics himself -- the gospel according to John McCain.
Once McCain's rival for the White House, the Kansas Republican is helping to spearhead McCain's effort to woo Catholic voters.
With Democrats flush with advantages, McCain hopes that Brownback's street cred among religious conservatives could help tip a swing state or two his way.
"He has a big following in the conservative wing of the party with right-to-life supporters and those who care about social and cultural issues," said Charlie Black, a McCain senior adviser and a veteran of Republican presidential politics, "and he has been terrific at promoting McCain among those groups."
Brownback endorsed McCain last fall after dropping out of the presidential race. Now his political network drives the presumptive Republican nominee's Catholic outreach.
It helped McCain's ground game during the Florida primary in January, when his victory over Mitt Romney sealed him as the front-runner.
But McCain also has stumbled. His long pursuit of pastor John Hagee's endorsement backfired when the evangelical preacher's anti-Catholic statements -- he referred to the church as "the great whore" -- rippled through the media.
Hagee, who runs a 19,000-member mega-church in Texas, has apologized. But McCain had originally said that he was "very honored" to have Hagee's support.
The episode showed that either his campaign's vetting of Hagee was careless or that it knew about the controversial remarks but decided the political benefits outweighed any embarrassment or Catholic backlash.
The pope's visit to Washington was a chance to showcase McCain before high-profile Catholics. A Catholic himself, Brownback hosted the pontiff at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast, where he was warmly greeted by 1,000 prominent faithful.
Brownback also entertained some of McCain's leading Catholic supporters at a more intimate gathering that week at the Metropolitan Club, one of the capital's storied havens for political business and quiet talk.
The presence of Cindy McCain, the candidate's wife, and Rick Davis, his campaign manager, said all anyone needed to know about the importance they placed on Catholic support.
Catholics "will be swing voters," Brownback said. "They are key votes."
And they no longer are a rock-solid part of the Democratic base. President Bush proved that in 2004 when he won 52 percent of the Catholic vote, even though Democratic Sen. John Kerry was the first Catholic major party presidential nominee since John Kennedy in 1960.
But William Donohue, president of the Catholic League for Religious and Civil Rights _ and who pounded McCain over the Hagee endorsement _ said that while "everybody knows Jews will go with Democrats and Protestants will go with Republicans," Catholics were "politically homeless."
"They are there for the taking," he said. "Bill Clinton did an excellent job reaching out to Catholics. Hillary (Clinton) has done a good job. (Barack) Obama has real problems. Whoever wins the Catholic vote stands to win the White House. That's why it is critical."
McCain backers are encouraged that several states with large blocs of Catholic voters could be fertile ground this fall. In 2004, Catholics accounted for more than 25 percent of the turnout in Ohio, Minnesota, Michigan, Wisconsin, Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
"States with high concentrations of Catholics tend to be some of the more important swing states," Black said.
Brownback, 51, co-chairs the National Catholics for McCain Committee with former Oklahoma Gov. Frank Keating. An evangelical Christian before converting to Catholicism in 2002, his politics have always been steeped in faith.
Brownback has been the go-to lawmaker for social conservatives on divisive political hot buttons such as abortion and gay marriage.
But he's worked across the aisle with Democratic liberals such as Clinton and the late Sen. Paul Wellstone on social justice causes such as sexual trafficking and famine.
Tasking him with religious outreach is like asking Tiger Woods to play a round at Augusta National, where he's won four Masters tournaments.
Brownback knows the contours of the terrain: where it's hazardous, where to be aggressive and where to lay back.
"What's important is that Senator Brownback will have the ear of John McCain," said Steven Wagner, who ran Catholic outreach for the Republican Party in 2000. "He will be able to advise Senator McCain on what Catholics are concerned about, what they want to hear from their presidential candidates. It's the presence of the Catholic mentality to the campaign. That is his role."
McCain Rebuffs Dobson: Will Evangelicals Bolt?
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/mccain_dobson_evangelical/2008/05/18/97063.html
Sen. John McCain's campaign has so far turned a deaf ear to invitations to meet with politically powerful evangelical leader Dr. James Dobson at his Focus on the Family headquarters in Colorado Springs, Colo., raising the possibility that the nation's sizeable evangelical bloc will sit out the presidential race in November.
The move would all but assuring the election of Sen. Barack Obama, columnist Robert Novak argues in a recent column.
Noting that Dobson has indicated he can't support McCain for president, Novak writes that Dobson's opposition to McCain "reflects continued resistance to the prospective presidential nominee among Christian conservatives who are unhappy with McCain's current positions on stem-cell research, immigration and global warming, not to mention his past sponsorship of campaign-finance reform."
But conservatives are surprised that despite the differences between McCain and some key conservatives, he hasn't responded to their olive branches and sought meetings.
As a result of their dissatisfaction, Novak reports that many of Dobson's followers "are looking beyond 2008 to seek a new leader of the conservative movement for the 2012 election."
In another column, Novak questions Mike Huckabee's announced support of McCain. Though Huckabee has been unequivoval in his backing of McCain, telling Tim Russert on "Meet the Press" Sunday that he thought McCain was his nominee during their primary fight if could not clinch the nomination, Novak has heard otherwise, citing sources that suggests Huckabee has secretly allied himself with the bitter-end anti-McCain opposition.
Novak writes that while that seems hardly credible given Huckabee's very public support of McCain, his critics point out that during Huckabee's 10 years as Arkansas governor he proved "all too capable of playing a double game."
Novak writes that McCain could not be where he is today had not Huckabee mobilized born-again voters to upset Mitt Romney in the Iowa caucuses, and that "all efforts by Romney to overtake McCain in conservative Southern state primaries were stifled by Huckabee's success in those contests."
Moreover, even though Huckabee lost no time in endorsing McCain once he clinched the nomination evangelical community sources dispute the veracity of Huckabee's support.
One unidentified source long active in Christian politics told Novak many evangelicals have embraced the concept that an Obama presidency "might be what the American people deserve."
That, writes Novak "fits what has largely been a fringe position among evangelicals, that the pain of an Obama presidency is in keeping with the Bible's prophecy."
Hucakbee: I Want to be McCain's VP
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/huckabee_mccain_vp/2008/05/18/97068.html
Former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee, having failed in his own bid for the Republicans' White House nomination, said Sunday he wanted to run as John McCain's vice presidential pick.
On the Democratic side, Senator Joseph Biden said he could not refuse an offer to run as his party's number two, while Senator Jim Webb was coy about his own ambitions.
Huckabee, an ordained Baptist minister popular with the religious right, told NBC television: "There's no one I would rather be on a ticket with than John McCain."
He said that during his unsuccessful primary campaign against McCain, "there was no one who was more complimentary of him publicly and privately" than himself.
"But whether or not I do the best for him, that's something that only he can decide," added Huckabee, 52.
"I'm going to support him because I think he's the right person for America. I think he has the kind of seasoning and maturity that this country needs."
Pundits say McCain needs to balance his ticket for November's presidential election with a younger politician. At 72 next January, the Arizona senator would be the oldest president sworn in to a first term.
Former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney has also said he would be interested, despite the bad blood spilt between the wealthy business executive and McCain when they were both running for the Republican nomination.
Among the Democrats, the "dream ticket" scenario being floated by some is for Barack Obama to select Hillary Clinton as his VP nominee to heal the party's wounds after a long and bruising nominating fight.
But it isn't everyone's dream, and in fact is seen as a long-shot by most pundits. And Marine veteran Webb is one name touted to give national-security heft to the relatively inexperienced Obama. Webb's state of Virginia would also be a coveted prize for November.
Asked on NBC about the speculation, the former navy secretary in Ronald Reagan's Republican administration said: "At this point, no one's asking; no one's talking; and I'm not that interested."
Asked for his response if he were approached by Obama or Clinton, Webb added: "I would highly discourage them is probably the best way to say it."
Biden, the chairman of the Senate's foreign relations committee who was a short-lived candidate in this year's Democratic race, was less coy.
"Well, you know, anybody that's asked by their nominee to be their running mate, you'd have to consider it. How could you just blow it off? You can't do that," he told ABC.
"But I don't anticipate that happening," the Delaware senator added.
U.N. Racisim Investigator Interferes in U.S. Vote
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/un_racism_investigator/2008/05/18/97006.html
A special U.N. human rights investigator will visit the United States this month to probe racism, an issue that has forced its way into the race to secure the Democratic Party's presidential nomination.
The United Nations said Doudou Diene would meet federal and local officials, as well as lawmakers and judicial authorities during the May 19-June 6 visit.
"The special rapporteur will...gather first-hand information on issues related to racism, racial discrimination, xenophobia and related intolerance," a U.N. statement said on Friday.
His three-week visit, at U.S. government invitation, will cover eight cities -- Washington D.C., New York, Chicago, Omaha, Los Angeles, New Orleans, Miami and San Juan, Puerto Rico.
Race has become a central issue in the U.S. election cycle because Sen. Barack Obama, the frontrunner in the battle for the Democratic nomination battle, stands to become the country's first African American president.
His campaign has increased turnout among black voters but has also turned off some white voters in a country with a history of slavery and racial segregation.
Diene, a Senegalese lawyer who has served in the independent post since 2002, will report his findings to the U.N. Human Rights Council next year.
However, the United Nations has almost no clout when it comes to U.S. domestic affairs and is widely perceived by many as interfering. The United States is not among the 47 member states of the Geneva-based forum, but has observer status.
In a report last year he said Islamophobia had grown worldwide since the September 11 2001 attacks on the United States, carried out by al-Qaeda militants.
DEATH PENALTY
A U.N. panel which examined the U.S. record on racial discrimination last March urged the United States to halt racial profiling of Americans of Arab, Muslim and South Asian descent and to ensure immigrants and non-nationals are not mistreated.
It also said America should impose a moratorium on the death penalty and stop sentencing young offenders to life in prison until it can root out racial bias from its justice system.
Racial minorities were more likely than whites to be sentenced to death or to life without parole as juveniles, according to the U.N. Committee on the Elimination of Racial Discrimination. It monitors compliance with an international treaty which Washington ratified in 1994.
U.S. officials told the body, made up of 18 independent experts, that they were combating hate crimes such as displays of hangman's nooses and police brutality against minorities.
Some 800 racially motivated incidents against people perceived to be Arab, Muslim, Sikh or South Asian had been investigated since the September 11 attacks, they said at the time.
Substantial progress had been made over the years in addressing disparities in housing, education, employment and health care, according to a U.S. report submitted to the talks.
Rep. Istook: Pretzel Logic Behind Gay Marriage
http://www.newsmax.com/insidecover/gay_marriage/2008/05/16/96616.html
The law was just a plaything to California’s Supreme Court, and the justices twisted logic into a pretzel as they legalized same-sex marriage by judicial fiat.
The court also exposed the danger created by wishy-washy lawmakers who push “civil unions” or “domestic partnerships” as a supposed middle-ground compromise. That actually is a deadly policy of appeasement. It was the very existence of such laws that the justices used to justify this outrageous decision.
By trying to appease homosexual rights activists, those who have refused to stand up for traditional marriage helped to create this court ruling. They are the Neville Chamberlains of the cultural wars.
In essence, California’s highest court yesterday decreed that society cannot have a “separate but equal” matchmaking plan for same-sex couples.
The moment California or any other state adopts civil unions, this decision makes clear, it’s on the slippery slope that makes same-sex marriage inevitable.
This ruling also further disenfranchises citizens and voters. The court not only usurped legislative power, it ignored the clear will of the 61 percent of California voters who in 2000 placed into law this language: “Only marriage between a man and a woman is valid or recognized in California.”
A lone justice, Marvin Baxter, wrote a clear dissent describing how radical the ruling is and what he called the “legal jujitsu” used by the majority to rationalize its decision. Two other justices dissented, but not as forcefully as Justice Baxter.
The high court ruled that the existence of a “domestic partners” statute compelled it to overturn California’s marriage law and permit same-sex marriages. Otherwise, the court said, it would be a denial of equal protection if same-sex couples could get advantages similar to marriage but not actually be married as opposite-sex couples can.
The lesson? Lawmakers across the country who have promoted domestic partnerships as a compromise now are exposed as enablers of the full same-sex marriage agenda. They should be held accountable accordingly.
And places that have adopted such civil union laws should repeal them right away, lest they invite a blitzkrieg of more court decisions from activist judges, mimicking the California edict.
As the majority wrote for California’s Supreme Court: “California . . . in recent years has enacted comprehensive domestic partnership legislation under which a same-sex couple may enter into a legal relationship that affords the couple virtually all of the same substantive legal benefits and privileges, and imposes upon the couple virtually all of the same legal obligations and duties, that California law affords to and imposes upon a married couple.
“Accordingly, the legal issue we must resolve is not whether it would be constitutionally permissible under the California Constitution for the state to limit marriage only to opposite-sex couples while denying same-sex couples any opportunity to enter into an official relationship with all or virtually all of the same substantive attributes, but rather whether our state Constitution prohibits the state from establishing a statutory scheme in which both opposite-sex and same-sex couples are granted the right to enter into an officially recognized family relationship . . . but under which the union of an opposite-sex couple is officially designated a ‘marriage’ whereas the union of a same-sex couple is officially designated a ‘domestic partnership.’”
But Justice Baxter correctly noted that California’s high court made a three-way power shift that violates American principles of constitutional law:
It usurped the state legislature’s authority to make laws, violating separation of powers.
It usurped the people’s authority to make laws via initiative and referendum.
Because the state constitution prohibits legislators from repealing laws passed by popular vote, the court gave the lawmakers a new power to repeal such laws indirectly.
Justice Baxter said it well. He wrote in his dissent: “Nothing in our Constitution, express or implicit, compels the majority’s startling conclusion that the age-old understanding of marriage — an understanding recently confirmed by an initiative law — is no longer valid.
"California statutes already recognize same-sex unions and grant them all the substantive legal rights this state can bestow. If there is to be a further sea change in the social and legal understanding of marriage itself, that evolution should occur by similar democratic means. The majority forecloses this ordinary democratic process, and, in doing so, oversteps its authority.
“The majority’s mode of analysis is particularly troubling. The majority relies heavily on the Legislature’s adoption of progressive civil rights protections for gays and lesbians to find a constitutional right to same-sex marriage.
"In effect, the majority gives the Legislature indirectly power that body does not directly possess to amend the Constitution and repeal an initiative statute. But a bare majority of this court, not satisfied with the pace of democratic change, now abruptly forestalls that process and substitutes, by judicial fiat, its own social policy views for those expressed by the People themselves.
“Undeterred by the strong weight of state and federal law and authority, the majority invents a new constitutional right, immune from the ordinary process of legislative consideration. The majority finds that our Constitution suddenly demands no less than a permanent redefinition of marriage, regardless of the popular will.
“In doing so, the majority holds, in effect, that the Legislature has done indirectly what the Constitution prohibits it from doing directly. Under article II, section 10, subdivision (c), that body cannot unilaterally repeal an initiative statute . . . Yet the majority suggests that, by enacting other statutes which do provide substantial rights to gays and lesbians — including domestic partnership rights which, under [Family Code] section 308.5, the Legislature could not call ‘marriage’ — the Legislature has given ‘explicit official recognition’ (maj. opn., ante, at pp. 68, 69) to a California right of equal treatment which, because it includes the right to marry, thereby invalidates section 308.5.
“I cannot join this exercise in legal jujitsu, by which the Legislature’s own weight is used against it to create a constitutional right from whole cloth, defeat the People’s will, and invalidate a statute otherwise immune from legislative interference.”
California’s high court noted that other states are looking at this equal-protection argument as a basis for moving all the way to full-blown same-sex marriage in places where civil unions or domestic partnerships have been established.
Those who support traditional values — and an orderly democratic process that lets the people and their elected officials make decisions about marriage — should recognize the dangers inherent in this California decision. Any law that mimics marriage by another name needs re-examining and probably repeal as well, lest it become full-blown same-sex marriage.
California voters probably will vote this fall on changing their statutory marriage protection into stronger constitutional protection.
Voters there and in other states would be wise to elevate this matter into an election issue in every other state as well, because it is elected officials who created this opportunity for wayward judicial activism by trying to placate a radical agenda rather than standing up against it..
Those elected officials should not be permitted now to blame it all on the judges, wringing their hands and trying to deny their complicity.
It’s time to hold accountable those lawmakers who have opened the door for this court ruling by trying to appease homosexual rights activists with laws that allow civil unions. You cannot have peace at any price with those who seek to conquer and vanquish our values.
Police Identify Man Responsible for Church Festival Shooting
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356503,00.html
LOS ANGELES — Police identified the gunman responsible for shooting three people at a Los Angeles church festival as 33-year-old Fernando Diaz, Jr., FOX News confirmed on Sunday.
Diaz opened fire at the St. John Baptist de la Salle Roman Catholic parish shortly before 11 a.m. Saturday, wounding three people, before bystanders jumped in to restrain him.
The man’s 30-year-old wife, who was setting up a game booth at the time of the shooting, was the intended target, authorities told Fox's Casey Stegall. She was injured and remains hospitalized in stable condition.
Police say Diaz now faces three counts of attempted murder.
Police say Diaz has a child who attends the church school and had an ongoing dispute with the mother. Police Capt. Steven Ruiz described the shooting Saturday as “an isolated incident, a domestic-violence dispute.”
Two other people were hurt, including a 45-year-old man who was shot in the chest and another man, 47, who was hit in the leg. Both men have been upgraded to stable condition.
Diaz showed up at the church with his child and a duffle bag shortly before the festival was to begin, investigators said. He then pulled a .22-caliber rifle from his bag and opened fire, witnesses told FOX News.
When Diaz stopped to reload his gun, bystanders tackled him to the ground and subdued him until police arrived on the scene.
“I just ran as fast as I could and tackled him,” said Charles Sternberg, who witnessed the shooting. “I put him on his back. Other parents came and we held him down until the LAPD arrived.
"They managed to overtake him and held him down," Ruiz said. "I'm told that he was in the process of possibly reloading."
The festival was shut down for the day as grief counselors met with witnesses, said Father Robert Milbauer, the church’s pastor.
Milabuer, who held a mass Saturday night to pray for the victims, said Diaz was not permitted to step foot on the church's property.
He said the parish plans to go ahead with the festival on Sunday to help parishioners put the tragedy behind them.
"We hope to be up and running and help people get beyond this," he said.
The church and school are located in the city's Granada Hills area in the San Fernando Valley, an ordinarily peaceful, multiethnic, middle-class residential neighborhood not far from the historic San Fernando Mission.
The annual festival features ethnic food booths, carnival games and rides. Proceeds go to the school's building fund.
"This is the only fundraiser that the parish has during the year," said Jerry Eckel, 62, a secretary in the religious education department.
There had been no major disturbances at the event in its 21 years, she said.
"It's a family event. There's no liquor involved," she said, adding the security is also provided.
The church, which has about 4,200 families in its congregation, has never been the scene of violence, she said.
"I'm just really shocked because I have been a member of the parish since I was 16 years old," she said. "I grew up there. It's home to us."
'Prince Caspian' Rules at the Box Office
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/377480.aspx
CBNNews.com - LOS ANGELES - "The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian" dethroned "Iron Man" as ruler at the box office, pulling down $56.6 million, according to studio estimates Sunday.
The Walt Disney Co.'s action sequel took in less domestically in its opening weekend than "The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, The Witch and the Wardrobe," which sold $65.6 million in North America in its debut weekend in December 2005. "Caspian" also raked in $20.7 million overseas.
But Disney expects the PG-rated movie, based on the C.S. Lewis fantasy series, to ride high through the coming Memorial Day weekend. The first "Narnia" tale grossed $745 million worldwide over its theatrical run.
"This is a film that we think is going to play all summer long and it's got nothing but school holidays in front of it," said Mark Zoradi, president of the Walt Disney Studios Motion Picture Group.
Disney is in pre-production on the third of the series, "The Chronicles of Narnia: Voyage of the Dawn Treader," set for release in the summer of 2010.
Marvel Studios' "Iron Man" slipped to second place after two weeks at No. 1 with $31.2 million, bringing its domestic total to $222.5 million.
Paul Dergarabedian, president of tracking firm Media By Numbers LLC, said the flawed superhero flick is holding its appeal better than "Spider-Man 3" did the previous May.
"'Iron Man' continues to hold very well," he said. "It's definitely cutting into audiences across the board."
The 20th Century Fox comedy "What Happens in Vegas," starring Cameron Diaz and Ashton Kutcher, came in third, with $13.9 million in its second weekend. Its domestic total reached $40.3 million, well above its $35 million budget.
"It's clearly the comedy, non-family movie in the marketplace right now," said Chris Aronson, a Fox senior vice president.
Warner Bros.' disappointing "Speed Racer" slowed to $7.6 million for fourth place, driving in $29.8 million over two weeks.
The studio said it was not ready to call it game over on the Wachowski brothers movie, which cost $120 million to make.
Jeff Goldstein, Warner Bros.' executive vice president of distribution, said next weekend was "do or die" for the movie.
Overture Films' acclaimed drama, "The Visitor," crept into 10th place at the box office with $687,000.
The distributor picked up the indie film, about a professor who discovers a couple living in his little-used New York apartment, at the Toronto Film Festival for a reported $1 million. It has grossed $3.4 million so far.
"It's good to know that you don't have to have special effects in your movie to make money," said Overture Films' senior vice president Adam Keen.
"Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull," which received a somewhat ho-hum reaction at the Cannes Film Festival on Sunday, whips its way into theaters on Thursday.
Estimated ticket sales for Friday through Sunday at U.S. and Canadian theaters, according to Media By Numbers LLC. Final figures will be released Monday.
"The Chronicles of Narnia: Prince Caspian," $56.6 million.
"Iron Man," $31.2 million.
"What Happens in Vegas," $13.9 million.
"Speed Racer," $7.6 million.
"Baby Mama," $4.6 million.
"Made of Honor," $4.5 million.
"Forgetting Sarah Marshall," $2.5 million.
"Harold & Kumar Escape from Guantanamo Bay," $1.8 million.
"The Forbidden Kingdom," $1 million.
"The Visitor," $687,000.
Chávez seeks more control over economy of Venezuela
http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/nationworld/2004422055_chavez18.html?syndication=rss
CARACAS, Venezuela — Faced with shortages of food, building materials and other staples, President Hugo Chávez is intensifying state control of the Venezuelan economy through a new wave of takeovers of private companies and the creation of government-controlled ventures with such allies as Cuba and Iran.
The moves come just months after voters rejected a referendum to give the president sweeping constitutional power over the economy and public institutions, leading to new accusations that Chávez is more interested in consolidating power than in fixing Venezuela's problems.
And while he has argued that aggressive action against the private sector is needed to correct social injustices and fight soaring inflation, his critics say his moves are instead compounding those troubles.
One significant measure is foreign investment, which has hit record levels in several other Latin American countries but has fallen in Venezuela.
As foreign interests reacted to Chávez's socialist-inspired changes, including nationalizations last year of major electricity, telephone and oil companies, outside investment dropped to just $500 million in 2007. In contrast, Peru, with a population comparable to Venezuela's 27 million, received $5.4 billion in foreign investment last year.
British PM Backs Human-Animal Hybrid Embryo Research Bill
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356547,00.html
LONDON — Britain's prime minister says he backs a new law that would allow the creation of animal-human hybrid embryos.
The embryos are created using empty animal eggs and human genetic material. Scientists say such embryos could be an important source of stem cells. Those in turn could potentially used to treat diseases such as Parkinson's and Alzheimer's.
However the technology disturbs some who believe it could lead to the genetic engineering of human beings. Gordon Brown wrote in The Observer Sunday that he supported the research.
British lawmakers are due to vote on the matter next week as part of a series of proposals covering abortion, embryology and genetic screening.
Christian leaders condemn Brown’s backing of hybrid embryo plans
http://www.christiantoday.com/article/christian.leaders.condemn.browns.backing.of.hybrid.embryo.plans/18858.htm
LONDON - Prime Minister Gordon Brown has been criticised by a number of leading religious leaders as he called on Sunday for members of parliament to offer their support for research using embryonic stem cells, which controversially includes human-animal hybrid embryos.
The Prime Minister has come under attack following his endorsement of the controversial Human Fertility and Embryology Bill. Cardinal Keith O’Brien, who has called work on human-animal embryos as a form of “Frankenstein Science”, was united in his condemnation of Brown’s comments along with the leaders of the Catholic Church in England and Northern Ireland.
The Times has also reported that 14 other Christian leaders from other denominations, have made a united appeal against parts of the bill, including the creation of so-called saviour siblings.
Brown’s comments come ahead of an important vote in parliament on the issue scheduled on Monday.
The issue of embryonic cell research has divided the Labour government, and Christians as well as other faith groups have condemned the proposals saying that it is ethically wrong.
Cardinal O’Brien, Cardinal Cormac Murphy-O’Connor and Cardinal Sean Brady in a joint statement today said: “Not nearly enough time has been given to discussing these issues and these questions require answers before and not after legislation.
“We support scientific research that seeks to cure disease and suffering. The HFE Bill has focused on embryonic stem cell research.
“In fact, much greater progress has already been made towards clinical therapies using adult stem cells. Other emerging techniques hold potential for good, without creating and destroying human embryos.”
In addition a letter signed by bishops, clergy and the heads of national Christian organisations said: “We would like to make it plain that as people from other Christian traditions we are completely opposed to the creation of animal-human hybrids, saviour siblings and the removal of the obligation on IVF clinics to consider the child's need for a father.
“This is not a narrowly Roman Catholic issue, nor is it a narrowly Christian issue nor indeed is it a narrowly religious issue. It is a human issue. We need to fight to uphold and protect our humanity.”
At a time when Brown is not faring well in opinion polls, he has decided to allow a "free vote" in parliament on Monday on some of the most controversial parts of a human reproduction bill. Therefore, even though the prime minister has backed the bill, he is allowing members of his party to oppose them without being required to resign from the cabinet.
Brown has made his stance on the issue very clear, publicly declaring in the Observer newspaper that the research could "save and transform millions of lives" by providing important therapies to fight disease.
"That is why we have -- patiently and with full regard for religious concerns -- sought to introduce clear laws which permit the use of stem cells within a clear, managed, legal framework subject to the strictest supervision," Brown wrote.
British scientists have been pioneers in research on using "stem cells" -- undifferentiated cells that can turn into many types of tissue -- to cure disease.
Among the controversial aspects of the research are the so-called hybrid embryos, which involve putting human DNA into cells derived from animals to produce stem cells.
Brown wrote: "Around the world, researchers now face a severe shortage of embryonic stem cells. They argue that the safest way to maintain progress is to make use of animal eggs from which the animal genetic material is almost entirely removed, then a human cell nucleus added, to make them compatible for research on human diseases."
Brown is seen as strongly committed to stem cell research, an issue that affects him personally because his youngest son Fraser has the genetic disease cystic fibrosis, a condition that might one day benefit from stem cell-derived treatment.
Monday's debate is expected also to see heated discussion of abortion, with a number of MPs seeking to amend the bill to reduce the 24-week period in which women are normally permitted to terminate pregnancies.
Danish Press Freedom Group Invites Anti-Koran Filmmaker to Speak
http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,356524,00.html
COPENHAGEN, Denmark — A Danish press freedom group said Sunday it has invited a Dutch lawmaker to talk about an anti-Koran film he made that sparked angry street protests in Muslim countries earlier this year.
Geert Wilders will appear in Copenhagen on June 1 to talk about the movie and share his thoughts on free speech, said The Free Press Society of 2004.
Lars Hedegaard, president of the society, said the invitation to Wilders should not be viewed as a provocation against the Muslim world, but rather as a way to address the debate on the right to speak freely.
"He has been badmouthed and persecuted by almost everyone in Europe," Hedegaard said of the right-wing lawmaker. "He has not committed a crime as far as I know. He has simply voiced his opinion."
Denmark found itself at the center of a similar controversy after a Danish newspaper published caricatures of the Prophet Muhammad that ignited protests by Muslims around the globe in 2006.
That episode was also seized upon by free-speech advocates. Danish newspapers republished the drawings, saying they wanted to demonstrate their support for free speech after police revealed a plot to kill one of the artists.
"The more threats we receive, the greater our duty to continue to speak freely," Hedegaard said.
Wilders' film "Fitna," which appeared on the Internet on March 27, linked terror attacks by Muslim extremists to texts from the Koran, Islam's holy book.
The Netherlands responded to security concerns after the film's release by closing its embassy's offices in Afghanistan's capital and moving embassy personnel in Pakistan. The film set off protests in Pakistan, Malaysia and Indonesia and led to calls in other countries for a boycott of Dutch goods.
The Dutch government has said it disagrees with the tone of the film, but says Wilders has a constitutional right to air his views. The U.N. secretary-general and U.N. agencies have condemned the film. EU foreign ministers have also rejected Wilders' views.
Bush Lectures to the Arab World
http://www.cbn.com/CBNnews/377398.aspx
CBNNews.com - SHARM EL-SHEIK, Egypt - President Bush lectured the Arab world Sunday about everything from political repression to the denial of women's rights but ran into Palestinian complaints he is favoring Israel in stalled Mideast peace talks. "Freedom and peace are within your grasp," Bush said despite scant signs of progress.
Winding up a five-day trip to the region, Bush took a strikingly tougher tone with Arab nations than he did with Israel in a speech Thursday to the Knesset. Israel received effusive praise from the president while Arab nations heard a litany of U.S. criticisms mixed with some compliments.
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Bush Reiterates Middle East Peace
"Too often in the Middle East, politics has consisted of one leader in power and the opposition in jail," Bush said in a speech to 1,500 global policymakers and business leaders at this Red Sea beach resort. That was a clear reference to host Egypt, where main secular opposition figure Ayman Nour has been jailed and President Hosni Mubarak has led an authoritarian government since 1981.
"America is deeply concerned about the plight of political prisoners in this region, as well as democratic activists who are intimidated or repressed, newspapers and civil society organizations that are shut down and dissidents whose voices are stifled," Bush said.
"I call on all nations in this region to release their prisoners of conscience, open up their political debate and trust their people to chart their future," Bush said.
Scattered applause followed, with barely a ripple of reaction later to his declaration than Iran must not be allowed to obtain a nuclear weapon.
Bush headed back to Washington with little to show for the trip. Saudi Arabia rebuffed his plea for help with soaring oil prices, Egypt's leader questioned his seriousness about peacemaking and there was not enough progress in the peace talks to warrant a three-way meeting of Bush with Israeli and Palestinian leaders.
The Palestinian president, Mahmoud Abbas, did not conceal his disappointment over Bush's remarks to the Israeli parliament. The speech barely mentioned Palestinian hopes.
"We do not want the Americans to negotiate on our behalf," Abbas said Sunday after talks with Mubarak. "All that we want from them is to stand by (our) legitimacy and have a minimum of neutrality." Abbas had dinner Saturday with Bush.
"In principle, the Bush speech at the Knesset angered us, and we were not happy with it," Abbas said Sunday. "This is our position and we have a lot of remarks (about the speech) and I frankly, clearly and transparently asked him that the American position should be balanced."
Abbas told Israeli parliament member Yossi Beilin on Sunday he would resign if there was no substantial progress in peace talks over the next six months, according to the lawmaker's office.
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, on Air Force One with Bush returning to Washington, said there were serious peace negotiations going on in private and that she expected them to intensify in the months ahead. She said Bush inserted the wording in the speech that "I believe" the Palestinians will build a democracy, as a sign of his confidence that will happen.
As for Arab criticism Bush leans too far in supporting Israel, Rice said, "The president isn't pro this or pro that. The president is pro-democracy and pro-peace."
The trip was Bush's second to the Mideast this year. His national security adviser, Stephen Hadley, said Bush might return again before his term ends in January if "there is work for him to advance the peace process."
The White House made clear that Bush's goal for a peace accord before his leaves office does not mean it will be put into place by then or produce an immediate Palestinian state. "That would be a process that would take years," Hadley said.
Bush ended his visit with an address to the World Economic Forum on the Middle East, an offshoot of the annual gathering of political and business leaders in Davos, Switzerland.
After talking privately with key leaders, the president in public touched only broadly on Mideast peacemaking. He did not suggest concrete steps to resolve the generations-old differences standing in the way of an agreement.
"Palestinians must fight terror and continue to build the institutions of a free and peaceful society," Bush said. "Israel must make tough sacrifices for peace, ease the restrictions on Palestinians. Arab states, especially oil-rich nations, must seize this opportunity to invest aggressively in the Palestinian people and to move past their old resentments against Israel."
"And all nations in the region must stand together in confronting Hamas, which is attempting to undermine efforts at peace with acts of terror and violence" from the Gaza Strip, Bush said. Hamas, which the U.S. considers a terrorist group, controls that territory; the U.S.-backed Abbas is in charge of the West Bank.
The heart of Bush's speech was a warning that Mideast nations lag behind the developing world and cannot count on their oil wealth forever.
Bush urged countries to make their economies more diverse, open to free trade, with lower taxes and protection for intellectual property rights.
He called for political changes that bring competitive, legitimate elections where leaders are held to account and appealed to nations to push back against the negative influence of "spoilers" such as Iran and Syria.
He urged an expansion of women's rights as "a matter of morality and of basic math. No nation that cuts off half its population from opportunities will be as productive or prosperous as it could be. Women are a formidable force, as I have seen in my own family and my own administration."
At the same time, Bush hailed democratic advances in countries such as Turkey, Afghanistan, Iraq, Morocco and Jordan and said, "The light of liberty is beginning to shine."
Bush's speech recalled his promise in his second inaugural address to work in every nation for "ending tyranny in our world." One of the obvious targets of his message was Egypt, the country hosting the conference.
Egypt has often been publicly singled out by his administration, especially in its early years, as a country that needs to do more in terms of political liberalization and democracy. Egypt did hold its first presidential elections in 2005 but pulled back following strong gains by the Muslim Brotherhood in later parliamentary elections.
In addition to Nour's jailing, independent newspaper editors were sentenced to prison for criticizing the president and his government, and hundreds of members of the Muslim Brotherhood were put behind bars. Public criticism of Mubarak's government by the Bush administration, however, has been increasingly muted in recent years as the situation in Iraq worsened and worries grew over Iran, and as the U.S. sought Egypt's help on a Palestinian-Israeli peace deal.
Bush said political changes must accompany economic ones in Egypt.
Israeli Police to Question Olmert Again
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JERUSALEM -- An Israeli police spokesman says investigators are summoning Prime Minister Ehud Olmert for a second round of questioning about money he accepted from an American businessman.
Micky Rosenfeld says police informed Olmert's lawyer they want to question the prime minister "in the coming days."
Rosenfeld said Sunday police are now awaiting a response "on the place and time for the questioning."
Olmert's already low popularity is taking a further drubbing over the suspicions he took money from U.S. businessman Morris Talansky. Olmert denies wrongdoing and says the money was to fund political campaigns. But police are not ruling out bribery.
The new charges mark the fifth police investigation into Olmert since he took power in 2006. He has never been convicted.
Exclusive: Olmert and Barak finally opt for truce rather than military operation in Gaza
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5279
DEBKAfile’s military and Middle East sources report that Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak will inform Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak at their meeting in Sharm el-Sheikh Monday, May 19, that the kidnapped Israel soldier Gilead Shalit must be included in the ceasefire deal.
Israel and Hamas have been using Egypt’s good office to negotiate a ceasefire.
Without consulting the security cabinet, our military sources reveal that Olmert and Barak have finally come down in favor of a truce with Hamas instead of a substantial military operation to eliminate the Palestinian fundamentalists’ war machine and wipe out the missiles plaguing their Israeli neighbors.
Hamas quickly countered by raising its price for the soldier it snatched two years ago, namely more jailed terrorists “with blood on their hands.” Israel has offered 72 of these hardened murderers and held back on the 280 terrorists on Hamas’ list. But after relenting on Hamas’ truce terms, Olmert and Barak are expected to reach a compromise on this issue as well.
Olmert’s statement at the Sunday, May 18, government session in Jerusalem that the Gaza situation cannot go on and Israel “is very close to the point of a decision” on this issue is seen by inside sources as an attempt to mislead the go down more smoothly if Gilead Shalit were part of the deal.
What is really close at hand, according to DEBKAfile’s military sources, is the deal for a ceasefire. Two key questions are still outstanding:
1. The number of jailed Palestinian murderers Israel is willing to trade for Shalit.
2. How and when Israel will lift its blockade on the Hamas-ruled Gaza Strip. This will entail throwing open all the enclave’s border crossings as part of the reciprocal ceasefire package.
The Barak-Mubarak interview Monday has a good chance of settling both these questions. Mubarak, who wants closure on the Gaza question, knows that in these matters, the Israeli defense minister is the man to do business with.
New poll gives Olmert-Barak duo 21 percent rating for dealing with Gaza violence
http://www.debka.com/headline.php?hid=5278
The poll, conducted by Prof. Yitzahk Katz’s Maagar Mohot institute, found 51 percent of the sample canvassed in favor of fighting Hamas; 39 percent preferred an accommodation. Only 31 percent trusted prime minister Ehud Olmert and defense minister Ehud Barak to deal with the Palestinian missile offensive from Gaza; 21 percent did not; 34 percent were skeptical.
Palestinian top diplomat extends condolences over China's deadly earthquake
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Information Minister and acting Foreign Minister of the interim Palestinian government Riyadh al-Maliki visited the Office of the People's Republic of China in the Palestinian Territories Sunday to offer his solace and condolences over last week's deadly earthquake in China's southwestern province of Sichuan.
During his talks with Yang Weiguo, head of the office, al-Maliki said he was shocked by the enormous loss of lives and property caused by the disaster that hit Sichuan on May 12.
On behalf of the Foreign Ministry of the interim Palestinian government, al-Maliki asked Yang to convey his sincere solace and condolences to the Chinese government and people.
The Palestinian diplomat also expressed his confidence that China will overcome the disaster.
More than 32,000 people have been confirmed dead in the quake, measuring 8.0 on the Richter scale.
Israel’s Missed Boat in Lebanon
http://www.debka.com/article.php?aid=1350
Sunday night, May 11, the Israeli army was poised to strike Hizballah. The Shiite militia was winding up its takeover of West Beirut and battling pro-government forces in the North. When he opened the regular cabinet meeting Sunday, May 11, prime minister Ehud Olmert had already received the go-ahead from Washington for a military strike to halt the Hizballah advance. The message said that President George W. Bush would not call off his visit to Israel to attend its 60th anniversary celebrations and would arrive as planned Wednesday, May 14 - even if the Israeli army was still fighting in Lebanon and Hizballah struck back against Tel Aviv and Ben-Gurion airport.
American intelligence estimated that Hizballah was capable of retaliating against northern Israel at the rate of 600 missiles a day.
Olmert, defense minister Ehud Barak and foreign minister Tzipi Lvini, the only ministers in the picture, decided not to intervene in Lebanon’s civil conflict. Iran’s surrogate army consequently waltzed unchecked to its second victory in two years over the United States and Israel.
DEBKAfile’s US and military sources disclose the arguments Washington marshaled to persuade Israel to go ahead: Hizballah, after its electronic trackers had learned from the Israel army’s communication and telephone networks that not a single troop or tank was on the move, took the calculated risk of transferring more than 5,000 armed men from the South to secure the capture of West Beirut.
This presented a rare moment to take Hizballah by surprise, Washington maintained. The plan outlined in Washington was for the Israeli Air force to bombard Hizballah’s positions in the South, the West and southern Beirut. This would give the pro-government Christian, Sunni and Druze forces the opening for a counter-attack. Israeli tanks would simultaneously drive into the South and head towards Beirut in two columns.
1. The western column would take the Tyre-Sidon-Damour-Beirut coastal highway.
2. The eastern column would press north through Nabatiya, Jezzine, Ain Zchalta and Alei.
Sunday night, Olmert called Lebanese prime minister Fouad Siniora and his allies, the Sunni majority leader Saad Hariri, head of the mainline Druze party Walid Jumblatt and Christian Phalanges chief Samir Geagea and informed them there would be no Israeli strike against Hizballah. Jerusalem would not come to their aid.
According to American sources, the pro-Western front in Beirut collapsed then and there, leaving Hizballah a free path to victory. The recriminations from Washington sharpened day by day and peaked with President Bush’s arrival in Israel.
Our sources report that, behind the protestations of undying American friendship and camaraderie shown in public by the US president, prime minister and Shimon Peres, Bush and his senior aides bitterly reprimanded Israel for its passivity in taking up the military challenge and crushing an avowed enemy in Lebanon.
While the president was busy with ceremonies and speeches, secretary of state Condoleezza Rice and national security adviser Stephen Hadley took Israeli officials to task. Hadley in particular bluntly blamed Israel for the downfall of the pro-Western government bloc in Beirut and its surrender to the pro-Iranian, Pro-Syrian Hizballah. If Israeli forces had struck Hizballah gunmen wile on the move, he said, Hassan Nasrallah would not have seized Beirut and brought the pro-government militias to their knees.
One US official said straight out to Olmert and Barak: For two years, you didn’t raise a finger when Hizballah took delivery of quantities of weapons, including missiles, from Iran and Syria. You did not interfere with Hizballah’s military buildup in southern Lebanon then or its capture of Beirut now.
IDF generals who were present at these conversations reported they have never seen American officials so angry or outspoken. Israel’s original blunder, they said, was its intelligence misreading of Hizballah’s first belligerent moves on May 4. At that point, Israel’s government military heads decided not to interfere, after judging those moves to be unthreatening.
The Americans similarly criticizes Israel for letting Hamas get away with its daily rocket and missile attacks on Israel civilians year after year. A blow to Hizballah would have deterred Hamas from exercising blackmail tactics for a ceasefire. In Sharm el-Sheikh Sunday, May 18, President Bush called on Middle East countries to confront Hamas and isolate terror-sponsors Iran and Syria.
Bin Laden Sends 'Strong Message'
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CBNNews.com - CAIRO, Egypt - Osama bin Laden released a new message on Sunday denouncing Arab leaders for sacrificing the Palestinians and saying the head of the Shiite militant group Hezbollah did not really have the strength to take on Israel.
In his second audio message in three days focusing on the Palestinians, the al-Qaida leader said the only way to liberate Palestine is to fight the Arab regimes that are protecting Israel. And he called on Muslim militants in Egypt to help break the blockade of Gaza.
Bin Laden said Muslims should ignore the Islamic prohibition against raising arms against fellow Muslims, claiming it was legitimate to rise up against leaders who are not governing according to Islamic law. Those leaders, he said, came to power "either by a military coup or with backing from foreign forces."
"Those (Arab) kings and leaders sacrificed Palestine and Al-Aqsa to keep their crowns," bin Laden said, referring to Al-Aqsa mosque in Jerusalem, one of Islam's holiest sites. "But we will not be relieved of this responsibility."
His 22-minute audiotape was posted on an Islamic militant Web site where al-Qaida leaders have issued past statements. The voice sounded like bin Laden's, although the authenticity of the tape could not be independently verified.
Bin Laden and his deputy Ayman al-Zawahri frequently attack Arab leaders as traitors and sellouts. But they are increasingly focusing on the Palestinian issue in recent messages, aiming to increase their appeal to an Arab public widely sympathetic to the Palestinian plight.
Bin Laden's last audio message, released Friday to mark the 60th anniversary of Israel's establishment, vowed to continue what he called al-Qaida's struggle against the Jewish state.
With his denunciation of Arab leaders, bin Laden portrayed himself as the true defender of the Palestinian cause.
He calls Arab leaders "agents of the crusaders" and "wolves" and portrays Arab citizens as herds of sheep who have been handed over to the wolves to look after them.
"Every day, the herd wishes the wolves would stop preying on it," he said.
He said Israel was weak but the Arabs have not fought "even a single serious war to get Palestine back."
Bin Laden singled out by name Hassan Nasrallah, leader of Hezbollah, whose 2006 war against Israel boosted the group's popularity among Shiites and Sunnis.
Bin Laden said Nasrallah claimed he had enough resources, such as money and combatants, to fight Israel.
"But the truth is the opposite," he said. "If he was honest and has enough (resources), why then he did not support the fight to liberate Palestine."
He also attacked Nasrallah for allowing the deployment of U.N. peacekeepers in southern Lebanon "to protect the Jews."
Sunni al-Qaida has also stepped up its criticism of Shiite Iran, the main backer of Hezbollah, accusing it of trying to dominate the Middle East.
Bin Laden made no reference to the recent clashes in Lebanon between Shiite Hezbollah supporters and Sunni supporters of the U.S.-backed government. It was not clear whether his message was recorded before or after the violence broke out.
The message comes just days after President Bush delivered a speech at the Israeli parliament that angered many in the Arab world. The speech, to mark Israel's 60th anniversary, praised Israel effusively while hardly mentioning the Palestinians.
Bin Laden's message appeared to come too soon after that speech to be a response to it. But it could strike a chord among Arabs frustrated with the U.S. and its Arab allies.
He said Arab leaders have stopped taking their instructions from Islam and started taking them from the U.S.
"They have decided that peace with the Zionists is their strategic option, so damn their decision."
Both Israel and Egypt have closed their borders with Gaza since the Islamic militant group Hamas violently seized control of the Palestinian territory in June last year. The closure deepened economic hardship in the already impoverished strip where 1.4 million Palestinians live.
"Each one of us is responsible for the death of our vulnerable people in Gaza where scores have died because of the blockade," bin Laden said.
He urged Muslim militants in Egypt to try to end the closure.
"They are the only ones close to its borders and they must work on breaking this blockade," he said.
Hamas militants blasted holes in Gaza's border with Egypt in February, allowing hundreds of thousands of Gazans to escape the tight closure and stream across the frontier unchecked for 12 days. They voraciously bought up goods such as fuel and food made scarce by the closure.
U.S. Soldier Shot at Quran for Practice
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CBNNews.com - BAGHDAD - An American soldier used a Quran, the Islamic holy book, for target practice in a predominantly Sunni area west of Baghdad, prompting an apology from the U.S. military, a spokesman said Sunday.
Separately, mortar shells slammed into a residential area north of the Iraqi capital, killing at least four people and wounding 30, most children playing outside, officials said Sunday.
The shelling occurred as clashes broke out in Shiite areas late Saturday despite a truce reached last week by Shiite politicians and followers of anti-U.S. cleric Muqtada al-Sadr.
Iraqi police found the bullet-riddled Quran with graffiti inside the cover on a small-arms range near a police station in Radwaniyah, a former insurgent stronghold west of Baghdad, U.S. military spokesman Col. Bill Buckner said in an e-mailed response to a query.
American commanders then launched an inquiry that led to disciplinary action against the soldier, who has been removed from Iraq, Buckner said.
The shooting, which occurred May 9 and was discovered two days later, threatened to further strain relations between the Americans and Sunni allies who have joined forces with them against al-Qaida in Iraq in Radwaniyah and other areas.
The incident was first reported by CNN, which broadcast a ceremony at which the top American commander in Baghdad apologized to tribal leaders in Radwaniyah.
"I come before you here seeking your forgiveness," Maj. Gen. Jeffery Hammond was quoted as saying by the network. "In the most humble manner I look in your eyes today and I say please forgive me and my soldiers."
The commander also read a letter of apology by the shooter, and another military official kissed a Quran and presented it to the tribal leaders, according to CNN.
The military statement called the incident "serious and deeply troubling" but stressed it was the result of one soldier's actions and "not representative of the professionalism of our soldiers or the respect they have for all faiths."
The Sunni alliances have been key to a steep decline in violence over the past year, along with a U.S. troop buildup and a longer term cease-fire by al-Sadr's Mahdi Army militia.
Bandaged girls and boys with bloodstained clothes cried as they were packed two to a bed at a hospital in Sadr City, a Shiite stronghold where most of the recent fighting has occurred.
At least three mortar rounds struck a house, an open area and a street where boys were playing soccer in the Maamil neighborhood on Baghdad's northeastern outskirts, witnesses said.
Those killed included a man and three children, according to police and hospital officials who also said at least 30 people were wounded.
Associated Press photos showed men holding two dead babies bundled in blankets. Relatives identified them as 1-year-old Zahra Kadhim and 2-year-old Abbas Nadim.
Sporadic gunbattles also occurred in some areas of Sadr City, but no casualties were reported, police said.
Fighting between Shiite militiamen and U.S.-Iraqi forces has ebbed but occasional clashes continue to break out, casting doubt on the durability of the peace deal reached last Monday.
The U.S. military said separately that Iraqi soldiers captured a "special groups" cell leader blamed for coordinating roadside bombings and rocket attacks against U.S. and Iraqi forces, in an operation in Husseiniyah, about 20 miles north of Baghdad.
The term "special groups" refers to Shiite militia fighters who are ignoring al-Sadr's cease-fire order.
American soldiers killed two other such militants after coming under attack by a roadside bomb and small-arms fire in the northern Shiite neighborhood of Kazimiyah, the military said in a separate statement.
The skirmishes in Baghdad came as the Iraqi government has shifted its attention to an offensive aimed at clearing Sunni insurgents from the northern city of Mosul.
The military said 15 suspects had been detained in raids targeting al-Qaida in Iraq Saturday and Sunday, including eight in Mosul. Six of the Mosul detainees were linked to a militant leader in the city and two were apprehended during an operation to disrupt a planned suicide car bombing.
Iraqi officials say around 1,000 people have been detained in the sweep since May 10.
U.S. airstrikes also killed six militants and destroyed a weapons cache after troops were attacked by rocket-propelled grenades and small-arms fire near Khan Bani Saad, north of Baghdad, according to a military statement.
In violence Sunday, a parked car bomb struck an Iraqi army patrol in eastern Baghdad, killing two soldiers and wounding six other people, police said.
U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, meanwhile, said she "made clear that the war must be brought to an end" as she met with top Iraqi and U.S. officials Saturday during a visit to Baghdad.
"It has already taken far too many American and Iraqi lives, it has cost far too much in money and the reputation of the United States, and it has drained far too much from the capability of our military," she said in a statement.
The California Democrat led a bipartisan delegation to Iraq, where they met with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, parliamentary speaker Mahmoud al-Mashhadani, U.S. Ambassador Ryan Crocker and Gen. David Petraeus, the top American commander in Iraq.
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