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Lawyer: Police prevented Bhutto autopsy

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan (CNN) — Rawalpindi’s police chief stopped doctors at the hospital where Benazir Bhutto died from conducting an autopsy, according to a lawyer on the hospital’s board.

It was a violation of Pakistani criminal law and prevented a medical conclusion about what killed the former prime minister, said Athar Minallah, who serves on the board that manages Rawalpindi General Hospital.

However, the police chief involved, Aziz Saud, told CNN that he suggested an autopsy be done, but that Bhutto’s husband objected.

The revelation came on Monday after new videotape of Bhutto’s assassination emerged, showing her slumping just after gunshots rang out.

The tape provided the clearest view yet of the attack and appeared to show that Bhutto was shot. That would contradict the Pakistan government’s account. Read Bhutto’s full medical report

A previously released videotape showed a man at the right of her vehicle raising a gun, pointing it toward Bhutto, who was standing in her car with her upper body through the sunroof. He fired three shots, then there was an explosion.

In the video that emerged on Sunday, Bhutto was standing, and her hair and scarf appeared to move, perhaps from the bullet. Bhutto fell into the car, then came the blast. Watch new tape showing apparent gunman

These images seem to support the theory that Bhutto died at the hands of a shooter before a bomb was detonated, killing another 23 people.

Doctors at Rawalpindi General Hospital declared the 54-year-old dead hours after Thursday’s attack, but the cause of her death has been widely debated.

Pakistan’s Interior Ministry announced on Friday that Bhutto died from a skull fracture suffered when she fell or ducked into the car as a result of the shots or the explosion and crashed her head onto a sunroof latch. See the likely sequence of events

Bhutto’s family and political party maintain that the government is lying, and insist she died from gunshot wounds.

Bhutto’s husband, in an interview with CNN’s Wolf Blitzer on Monday, called for an international investigation into his wife’s death, saying the new video proves the Pakistani government has been trying to muddy the water from the first day.

Everything is now very clear that she was shot, Asif Ali Zardari said.

Zardari also called on the U.S. government to push for an international probe.

I want them to help me find out who killed my wife, the mother of my children, he said of the Bush administration.

Javed Iqbal Cheema, spokesman for Pakistan’s Interior Ministry, said the government’s conclusion on Bhutto’s death was based on absolute facts, nothing but the facts and it was corroborated by the doctor’s report.

But Minallah issued an open letter on Monday and released the doctors’ clinical notes to distance them from the government statement, and he also talked to CNN.

In the letter, Minallah said the doctors suggested to the officials to perform an autopsy, but that Saud did not agree. He noted that under the law, police investigators have exclusive responsibility in deciding to have an autopsy.

Minallah told CNN that he was speaking out because the doctors at the hospital were threatened.

They are government servants who cannot speak; I am not, he said. He did not elaborate on the threats against the doctors.

He said the lack of an autopsy has created a perception that there is some kind of cover-up, though I might not believe in that theory.

There is a state within the state, and that state within the state does not want itself to be held accountable, Minallah said.

Cheema said the government had no objection to Bhutto’s body being exhumed for an autopsy if the family requested it.

Her widower has said the family was against exhumation because it did not trust the government.

Minallah said the family could not have prevented an autopsy at the hospital without getting an order from a judge.

The three-page medical report, which was signed by seven doctors, described Bhutto’s head wound, but it did not conclude what caused it. It noted that X-ray images were made after she was declared dead.

The wound was described as an irregular oval of about 5 centimeters by 3 centimeters above her right ear.

Sharp bones edges were felt in the wound, it read. No foreign body was felt in the wound.
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She helps the warriors

EUGENE, Oregon (AP) — Darcy Woodke recalls the day she picked up her husband and several of his National Guard buddies after they got back from Iraq.

I stopped at a four-way stop sign. I have never seen people in my life freak out like that. They were saying, `Why are you stopping? Go! Go! Go! Go! Don’t stop! Don’t stop!’ Woodke says.

The soldiers had been trained in Iraq not to stop at an intersection because that can make you an easy target for insurgent gunmen or bombers.

That is the mind-set Woodke has to deal with in her job — helping soldiers readjust to civilian life after getting shot at, bombed and psychologically maimed while serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Woodke is a family assistance coordinator in Oregon for the U.S. military. As the title suggests, her job entails dealing with the Pentagon’s legendary red tape.

She is an advocate for the soldiers, arranging medical treatment, therapy, marital counseling and other assistance to help soldiers and their families deal with the transition from hyper-vigilant warriors back to husbands and wives, moms and dads.

A former school bus driver, Woodke, 39, is married to a soldier who served in Iraq and was wounded by a bomb blast. I need to help. I’ve been there, she said. I believe in these soldiers, and I believe in these families.

From coast to coast, there are nearly 700 paid family assistance workers like Woodke, as well as thousands of volunteers, according to the National Guard.

Woodke describes herself as a phone book. Her job is to line up professionals who can help soldiers and their families.

I always tell people, `I don’t know diddly squat; I just know all the people who do know things,’ she said.

She also provides soldiers with a shoulder to cry on and helps their families deal with everyday hassles such as car repairs, broken water heaters, medical insurance foul-ups or other financial problems.

Recently, Woodke helped a woman whose husband is serving in Iraq find someone to repair flood and wind damage to her house.

The need for such help is particularly great now that National Guardsmen have been thrust into long overseas deployments as never before. More than a quarter-million Guard members have been sent to fight in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The soldier can’t focus on what’s going on in the theater if they are not sure their families are being taken care of, said 2nd Lt. Jennifer Hahn, family program director for the Maryland National Guard.

Woodke also calls up newly returned soldiers at 30-, 60-, 90- and 120-day intervals just to ask how they are doing, and often learns of delayed symptoms of physical or mental trauma.

A typical case involves someone who’s been home for a year. They say, `I’m hurting; my shoulder hurts. Can I get some help? Where do I go?’ Or I get, `I’m feeling a little punchy, and I don’t know why,’ she said.

Staff Sgt. Robert Fields said Woodke arranged counseling that helped him and his wife work through their problems.

She really had a lot of trouble really understanding what I was going through in Iraq, Fields said of his wife. And it took me a while to realize that every time the doorbell rang, it scared my wife to death because she thought the Army was coming to tell her that I had died. It really made it hard for us to relate to each other.

Lt. Col. Paul Trapp, chief of family readiness for the National Guard, said there has been a concerted effort to step up assistance to soldiers and their families.

When you start calling on Guardsmen to do more for their country, you can’t do that without providing them and their family the support that they need, Trapp said.

Woodke — whose husband, Bill, suffered headaches, back and shoulder pain and memory loss from the bomb blast that rocked his armored vehicle — got involved in the program as a volunteer while her husband’s unit was in Iraq, then got hired after he returned in 2005.

You get to know the people, and you start to see them hurt and have good times, and you want to be part of it, she said. It becomes a family.
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Six tips to managing workplace conflict

Ever held a differing opinion from your boss? Boasted dissimilar ideas than your co-worker? Been knocked out by a colleague over a disagreement about a project? (OK, so the last one might be a stretch, but it’s happened before…)

Join the club.

Human resource managers report spending 24 to 60 percent of their time dealing with employee disputes.

The number of violent incidents in the workplace has been increasing steadily, according to a study by the Society of Human Resource Management (SHRM). Nearly 60 percent of respondents said violence had occurred in their organization during the past three years, and they identified personality conflicts as the leading cause.

Like birth, death, choice and change, conflict is a constant fact of life. It’s also a fact of the workplace, especially when you deal or interact with people. While disagreements and differing opinions are normal, even healthy, in work relationships, conflict can cost your company productivity, money and employee satisfaction.

Fifty-three percent of workers said they lost time at work worrying about a past or future confrontation with a co-worker, according to a recent survey by researchers at the University of North Carolina.

Twenty-eight percent of those surveyed said they lost work time because they avoided the confrontational colleague, and 37 percent said a hostile altercation caused them to reduce their commitment to the organization. Twenty-two percent said they put less effort into their work because of bad blood at the office.

Co-worker conflicts can be one of the most difficult forms of workplace stress, says Gus Stieber, national director of sales for Bensinger, DuPont Associates, a professional services company. Understanding the nature of conflict, examining myths, and learning simple conflict-resolution skills can reduce friction and their negative toll on job satisfaction and productivity.

Reasons for animosity at work run the gamut from weak communication to personality clashes to poor leadership. Whatever the reason, early intervention is the key to managing conflicts before they become crises, Stieber says.

Make use of the following tips to resolve conflict at work:

Choose your battles.

How important is the dispute really? Does it truly affect you, and is it a chronic problem? If it’s a one-time incident or mild transgression, let it pass, says Steven Menack, a professional divorce and business mediator.

Expect conflict.

Decide that friction will occasionally emerge in the course of human relationships, Stieber says. Don’t fear it — rather, learn to spot the symptoms early and see opportunity in the resolution.

Use neutral language.

Avoid judgmental remarks or sweeping generalizations, such as, You always turn your reports in late. Use calm, neutral language to describe what is bothering you. For example: I get very frustrated when I can’t access your reports because it causes us to miss our deadlines. Be respectful and sincere, never sarcastic, Menack suggests.

Practice preventive maintenance.

Avoid retreating to the safety of withdrawal, avoidance or the simplistic view that your co-worker is a bad person, Stieber says. These are defense mechanisms that prevent the resolution of conflict.

Menack suggests focusing on the problem, not the person. Never attack or put the other person on the defensive, he says. Focus on actions and consequences.

Listen actively.

Never interrupt the other party, Menack urges. Really listen and try to understand what the other person is saying. Let him know you understand by restating or reframing his statement or position, so he knows you have indeed heard him.

Get leverage on yourself.

When dissent between you and a co-worker appears without resolution, it is time to get leverage. Ask to be held accountable. This brings your performance evaluation into the equation but without taking away your responsibility for resolving the conflict. This is hard to do, but remarkable change can happen when you are held to task. E-mail to a friend

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3 held on Dutch violence fears

(CNN) — Dutch police raided five homes in Rotterdam early Monday, arresting three men suspected of planning an imminent act of violence, according to a spokeswoman for the Netherlands’ Justice Department.

Two of the suspects, aged 31 and 32, are Dutch-Moroccan and the third is a 39-year-old Sudanese man, spokeswoman Desiree Leppens told CNN.

She said special police forces conducted the raid after the Justice Department received information from General Intelligence and Security Services on the three men.

We got the information yesterday evening and around 6 o’clock (Monday morning) we had the first arrest, Leppens said.

Dutch authorities have launched an investigation and must charge the men by the end of the week, she said. She said it is too early in the investigation to elaborate on what charges are being considered.

She had no other details on the raid or what led authorities to the suspects. E-mail to a friend

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NYC ball drop goes ‘green’ on 100th anniversary

NEW YORK (CNN) — New York celebrates the centennial of its most famous New Year’s tradition Monday, as organizers of the Times Square ball drop have given the crystal globe an environmental makeover.

This year the 1,415-pound ball has been outfitted with more than 9,500 energy-efficient light-emitting diodes that will illuminate the ball’s more than 600 crystals. The LEDs will use the same amount of electricity as about 10 toasters, say event officials.

That’s a dramatic overhaul from 1907’s first Times Square ball, which was made from iron and wood and was covered with about 100 light bulbs. Watch the computer-controlled ball

New York police estimate about a million people will crowd Times Square to watch the ball drop from a flagpole atop the One Times Square building at midnight.

Another billion people worldwide are expected to watch the spectacle on video, said Tom Chiodo, a spokesman for the Times Square Alliance. Of those viewers, 100 million will be in the United States, he said.

New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg will be joined by Iraq war veteran Karolina Wierzchowska, who was also a Ground Zero guard worker and a New York Police Academy valedictorian — to push the button for the ball drop at 11:59 p.m.

Weather forecasts indicate clear skies for the celebration, with temperatures in the 40s — a mild departure from inclement weather gripping much of the Northeast.

In an effort to help people stay warm, New York City sanitation workers will be passing out goody bags from the Times Square Alliance that will include mittens and hats, said Chiodo.

The event will include musical performances from Hannah Montana, the Jonas Brothers, Kid Rock, Lenny Kravitz, Lifehouse, The Bravery, and alums from Fox TV’s American Idol, Carrie Underwood, Jordin Sparks and Blake Lewis.

Security inside Times Square will be tight and everyone should expect to have their bags searched at least three times, said New York Police Commissioner Ray Kelly on CNN’s American Morning.

In addition to a heavy police presence on the ground, Kelly said the NYPD’s counterterrorism unit, radiation detectors and helicopters will also be patrolling the crowds.

Kelly said that once the Times Square attendees pass the entrance gates, they will not be able to leave.

New York’s terrorist threat level remains at orange — the nation’s second highest level — as it has since the September 11, 2001, attacks.

We certainly haven’t let our guard down, Kelly said.

As the ball drops, the new year will be greeted with a massive fireworks explosion, some 168 shots in the first five seconds alone, and a downpour of two tons of fireproof confetti. Some of the confetti includes New Year’s wishes that were written by visitors to the city in nearly two dozen languages.

Over the past week, visitors from across the country wrote their messages on a Times Square Wishing Wall.

I want to turn the world green and the water clean, one person wrote.

Let my husband stop snoring, another wrote, while others were more serious: That my mom will get her kidney transplant and Peace in Pakistan.
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