Edwards calls on Bush to stop ads
WASHINGTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- Democratic vice presidential nominee John Edwards called on President Bush Saturday to condemn the Swift Boat Veterans for Truth ad campaign.
The ads criticize Democratic presidential nominee John Kerry's activities after the Vietnam War and accuse Kerry of lying to get his war medals. Kerry and others have said ads are false, CNN reported.
Edwards said during a question-and-answer session at a campaign rally that President Bush could end the dispute if he were to say, "Stop these ads."
The latest ad uses segments from Kerry's testimony before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee in 1971. In the ad, Kerry says, "They had personally raped, cut off ears, cut off heads," and "razed villages in a fashion reminiscent of Genghis Kahn."
The ad does not include Kerry's statements made earlier, which state he is reporting what others said at a Vietnam veteran's conference. Instead, a group member refers to the statements as "accusations" made against veterans.
An official transcript shows Kerry was referring to a meeting in Detroit, Michigan, that was part of what was called the Winter Soldier investigation.
Mass. lawmaker arrested driving drunk
BOSTON, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A Mass. lawmaker has been arrested for allegedly driving drunk and urinating in front of the troopers who stopped him.
Rep. Paul Kujawski pleaded not guilty Friday in Dudley District Court to charges of drunken driving, open and gross lewdness, two counts of disorderly conduct, a marked lane violation, negligent operation of a motor vehicle and speeding, the Boston Herald reported Saturday.
"There were several cellphone calls indicating his erratic operation," said state police Trooper Thomas Ryan.
Trooper Steven Hennigan caught up to Kujawki on Route 20 in Sturbridge, where he said he smelled a strong odor of alcohol from the red-eyed Kujawski, who allegedly admitted to the trooper that he had consumed "two drinks" in Springfield or Sturbridge.
As Hennigan moved his cruiser off the roadway, Kujawski allegedly began urinating on Route 20.
Landmark ruling on domestic violence
SEOUL, South Korea, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- In a landmark case in South Korea, a Seoul court sentenced a husband to 30 months in jail for sexually assaulting and raping his wife.
Seoul Central District Court gave a guilty verdict to a husband for having sex with his wife against her will, the Korea Times reported Saturday.
It is the first time in South Korea that a court has acknowledged sexual violence in married life since the constitution was promulgated in 1948.
However, the Seoul court suspended the sentence for three years because the husband, whose name has not been made public, had expressed regret and because he was drunk when the rape occurred.
The husband was accused of beating and sexually assaulting his wife after tying her hands.
"Like husbands, wives also have the right to choose whether to have sex or not," Judge Choi Wan-joo said. "We cannot condone the husband's actions if he ignored his wife's decision when they had sex."
The couple has divorced.
Mexican flag in classroom causes stir
DENVER, Aug. 21 (UPI) -- A newspaper photograph of an American flag hung with the Mexican flag in a Denver classroom had people threatening to storm the school.
The Denver Post reported Saturday that the Mexican flag that hung so prominently in the classroom has been removed and Denver public school principals have been sent instructions on how to hang the American flag properly.
Colorado state law prohibits any flag except the U.S. flag, the Colorado flag or the flags of state subsidiaries displayed permanently in a classroom unless a flag is used for instructional purposes, such as a lesson on Germany, but it must come down eventually.
Last week, a Denver social studies teacher hung the Mexican flag next to the incorrectly hung American flag in a school where 1,200 of 1,472 students call themselves Hispanic to make the students feel welcome.
"I think it's unfortunate that it took on the tenor that it did," said Denver Superintendent Jerry Wartgow at a news conference Friday.
