A senior US official has defended the country's treatment of terror suspects and the transfer of prisoners to third countries for interrogation. State department senior legal adviser John Bellinger told the BBC Washington sought reassurance in those countries that prisoners would not be tortured. He said allegations that hundreds of suspects were sent around the globe to be tortured were "ludicrous". Poland is investigating reports the CIA ran secret jails on its territory. Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz ordered the investigation saying it was necessary to resolve the issue once and for all. "This matter must finally be closed, because it could prove dangerous for Poland," he said. A senior military analyst for the New York-based Human Rights Watch, Marc Garlasco, has said that until recently Poland was the chief CIA detention site in Europe, part of a system of clandestine prisons for interrogating al-Qaeda suspects. ... http://news.bbc.co.uk censor News |
Editor - 10:52:00 12-10-05 |
Sheehan joins peace activists in Britain |
Hundreds of anti-war protesters, including American Cindy Sheehan, attended an international peace conference in London on Saturday to condemn the Iraq conflict. Tony Benn, a veteran leftist politician in the governing Labour Party, opened the one-day meeting by calling the war "illegal, immoral and unwinnable."He said the peace movement wants to see coalition troops withdrawn from Iraq, justice for Palestinians and a ban on any Western military attacks on Iran or Syria.Benn said anti-war sentiment was growing in the United States and Britain, whose armed forces dominate the coalition's military presence in Iraq.Up to 1,500 anti-war protesters and activists gathered for the 10-hour conference, which was organized by the Stop the War Coalition.... http://www.usatoday.com/news/world/iraq/2005-12-10-sheehan-in-britain_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 10:45:00 12-10-05 |
'Syriana' used in oil conservation calls |
After years of trying to wean Americans off oil with warnings about arctic drilling and air pollution, some environmentalists are focusing their appeals on national security — and using the movie "Syriana" to help make their points. The critically acclaimed George Clooney film blames oil dependency for everything from political assassinations to the spread of radical Islam but scarcely mentions the environment. It has, however, helped partner the lefty save-the-Earth movement with an unlikely ally, right-wing national security hawks. Jon Coifman, a spokesman for the Natural Resources Defense Council, said some members of his group were wary about the alliance but have swallowed their doubts in favor of the greater good. "A lot of liberal coalitions and a lot of liberal individuals will look at these people and say, 'We don't like these guys,'" Coifman said. "But the lines on the political map are being redrawn. I don't think this is going to be a short-term marriage of convenience."... http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2005-12-10-syriana-conservation-calls_x.htm?csp=34
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Editor - 10:42:00 12-10-05 |
Polish PM orders probe into CIA prison allegations |
Polish Prime Minister Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz said on Saturday he would order an investigation into allegations that the CIA detained suspected terrorists at secret prisons in Poland. Officials in Marcinkiewicz's government and its predecessor have denied the allegations by Human Rights Watch and in U.S. media but Marcinkiewicz said an investigation was needed since the reports could threaten Poland's security. "I will order an investigation at all possible locations, to determine whether there is any evidence at all that such events took place on our territory," Marcinkiewicz said on the private television channel TVN 24. ... http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=1392808
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Editor - 10:37:00 12-10-05 |
Bush on the Constitution: 'It's just a goddamned piece of paper' |
Last month Rep Congressional leaders filed into the Oval Office to meet with Bush and talk about renewing the controversial Patriot Act. Several provisions of the act, passed in the shell shocked period immediately following the 9/11 terrorist attacks, caused enough anger that liberal groups like the American CLU had joined forces with prominent conservatives like Phyllis Schlafly & Bob Barr to oppose renewal. GOP leaders told Bush that his hardcore push to renew the more onerous provisions of the act could further alienate conservatives still mad at the President from his botched attempt to nominate White House Counsel Harriet Miers to the Supreme Court. “I don’t give a goddamn,” Bush retorted. “I’m the President & the Commander-in-Chief. Do it my way.” “Mr. President,” one aide in the meeting said. “There is a valid case that the provisions in this law undermine the Constitution.” “Stop throwing the Constitution in my face,” Bush screamed back. “It’s just a goddamned piece of paper!”... http://www.capitolhillblue.com/artman/publish/article_7779.shtml
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Editor - 10:31:00 12-10-05 |
Pakistan Earthquake Survivors Prepare for Winter by Digging Graves Before Ground Freezes |
Earthquake survivors are digging graves before the ground freezes in anticipation of the deaths that the long Himalayan winter may bring, the aid agency Oxfam said. The Oct. 8 quake killed at least 87,000 people and left 3.5 million homeless in northwest Pakistan and Pakistani Kashmir. Aid workers have been racing against time to get aid and suitable shelter to the needy. "There is a real danger that this unprecedented natural disaster will be followed by a manmade one," said Farhana Faruqi Stocker, who is directing relief efforts in Pakistan for the British agency Oxfam. "The international community must work together and work faster to fulfill its promise to prevent further deaths." ... http://abcnews.go.com/International/wireStory?id=1392623&CMP=OTC-RSSFeeds0312
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Editor - 09:34:00 12-10-05 |
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