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WORLD News: 20090329 Secret - Detainee's - Torture - Criminal - Military - Intelligence - Government - Terrorism - Waterboarding - War Crimes - Politics - Human - Rights - Law - US - Money - History - Osama bin Laden - Religion - Afghanistan - Globe "Detainee's Harsh Treatment Foiled No Plots: Waterboarding, Rough Interrogation of Abu Zubaida Produced False Leads, Officials Say." ... "When CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] officials subjected their first high-value captive, Abu Zubaida, to waterboarding and other harsh interrogation methods, they were convinced that they had in their custody an al-Qaeda leader who knew details of operations yet to be unleashed, and they were facing increasing pressure from the [Republican President Bush] White House to get those secrets out of him." ... "The methods succeeded in breaking him, and the stories he told of al-Qaeda terrorism plots sent CIA officers around the globe chasing leads." ... "In the end, though, not a single significant plot was foiled as a result of Abu Zubaida's tortured confessions, according to former senior government officials who closely followed the interrogations. Nearly all of the leads attained through the harsh measures quickly evaporated, while most of the useful information from Abu Zubaida -- chiefly names of al-Qaeda members and associates -- was obtained before waterboarding was introduced, they said." ... "Moreover, within weeks of his capture, [United States] U.S. officials had gained evidence that made clear they had misjudged Abu Zubaida. President George W. Bush had publicly described him as "al-Qaeda's chief of operations," and other top officials called him a "trusted associate" of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden and a major figure in the planning of the [2001 September] Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks. None of that was accurate, the new evidence showed." ... "Abu Zubaida was not even an official member of al-Qaeda, according to a portrait of the man that emerges from court documents and interviews with current and former intelligence, law enforcement and military sources. Rather, he was a "fixer" for radical Muslim ideologues, and he ended up working directly with al-Qaeda only after Sept. 11 -- and that was because the United States stood ready to invade Afghanistan." ... "The application of techniques such as waterboarding -- a form of simulated drowning that U.S. officials had previously deemed a crime -- prompted a sudden torrent of names and facts. Abu Zubaida began unspooling the details of various al-Qaeda plots, including plans to unleash weapons of mass destruction." ... "Abu Zubaida's revelations triggered a series of alerts and sent hundreds of CIA and FBI [Federal Bureau of Investigation] investigators scurrying in pursuit of phantoms. The interrogations led directly to the arrest of Jose Padilla, the man Abu Zubaida identified as heading an effort to explode a radiological "dirty bomb" in an American city. Padilla was held in a naval brig for 3 1/2 years on the allegation but was never charged in any such plot. Every other lead ultimately dissolved into smoke and shadow, according to high-ranking former U.S. officials with access to classified reports." ... ""We spent millions of dollars chasing false alarms," one former intelligence official said." (1, 2, 3, 4) -By Peter Finn and Joby Warrick with contributions by Julie Tate -WashingtonPost China - Hackers - International - Computer - Spying - Network - Investigation -  - Cams - Political - Economic - Media - Military - Tech - Canada - United Kingdom - US "UPDATE: Deep computer-spying network touched 103 countries: Analysts find spyware installed on servers belonging to foreign ministries, embassies, and private companies." ... "A 10-month cyberespionage investigation has found that 1,295 computers in 103 countries and belonging to international institutions have been spied on, with some circumstantial evidence suggesting China may be to blame." ... "The 53-page report, released on Sunday, provides some of the most compelling evidence and detail of the efforts of politically motivated hackers while raising questions about their ties with government-sanctioned cyberspying operations." ... "[See also: Roger Grimes' Security Adviser blog]" ... "It describes a network which researchers have called GhostNet, which primarily uses a malicious software program called gh0st RAT (Remote Access Tool) to steal sensitive documents, control Web cams and completely control infected computers." ... ""GhostNet represents a network of compromised computers resident in high-value political, economic and media locations spread across numerous countries worldwide," said the report, written by analysts with the Information Warfare Monitor, a research project of the SecDev Group, a think tank, and the Munk Center for International Studies at the University of Toronto [Canada]. "At the time of writing, these organizations are almost certainly oblivious to the compromised situation in which they find themselves."" ... ""Attributing all Chinese malware to deliberate or targeted intelligence gathering operations by the Chinese state is wrong and misleading," the report said." ... "However, China has made a concerted effort since the 1990s to use cyberspace for military advantage "The Chinese focus on cyber capabilities as part of its strategy of national asymmetric warfare involves deliberately developing capabilities that circumvent [United States] U.S. superiority in command-and-control warfare," it said." ... "A second report [PDF], written by University of Cambridge [United Kingdom] researchers and published in conjunction with the University of Toronto paper, was less circumspect, saying that the attacks against the Office of His Holiness the Dalai Lama (OHHDL) were launched by "agents of the Chinese government." The Cambridge team titled their report, "The Snooping Dragon."" (1, 2) -By Jeremy Kirk with contributions by Robert McMillan -IDG.net via -InfoWorld Global - Climate - Earth - Energy - Emissions - Politics - Economic - Crisis - Floods - Plants - Animals - History -  "World switches off to save planet in "Earth Hour"." ... "Lights went out at tourism landmarks and homes across the globe on Saturday for Earth Hour 2009, a global event designed to highlight the threat from climate change." ... "Organizers said the action showed millions of people wanted governments to work out a strong new [United Nations] U.N. deal to fight global warming by the end of 2009, even though the global economic crisis has raised worries about the costs." ... "The U.N. Climate Panel says greenhouse gas emissions are warming the planet and will lead to more floods, droughts, heatwaves, rising sea levels and animal and plant extinctions." ... "World emissions have risen by about 70 percent since the 1970s." -By Jon Boyle -Reuters 20090328 Alberto R Gonzales - John C Yoo - Douglas J Feith - William J Haynes II - Jay S Bybee - David S Addington - Dick Cheney - Criminal - Torture - War Crimes - Secret - Prisoners - Politics - History - International - Law - US - Guantánamo Bay - Cuba - Chile - Spain "Spanish Court Weighs Inquiry on Torture for 6 Bush-Era Officials." ... "A Spanish court has taken the first steps toward opening a criminal investigation into allegations that six former high-level [Republican President] Bush administration officials violated international law by providing the legal framework to justify the torture of prisoners at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba, an official close to the case said." ... "The case, against former Attorney General Alberto R. Gonzales and others, was sent to the prosecutor’s office for review by Baltasar Garzón, the crusading investigative judge who ordered the arrest of the former Chilean dictator Augusto Pinochet. The official said that it was “highly probable” that the case would go forward and that it could lead to arrest warrants." ... "The complaint under review also names John C. Yoo, the former Justice Department lawyer who wrote secret legal opinions saying the president had the authority to circumvent the Geneva Conventions, and Douglas J. Feith, the former under secretary of defense for policy." ... "Spain can claim jurisdiction in the case because five citizens or residents of Spain who were prisoners at Guantánamo Bay [Cuba] have said they were tortured there. The five had been indicted in Spain, but their cases were dismissed after the Spanish Supreme Court ruled that evidence obtained under torture was not admissible." ... "The 98-page complaint, a copy of which was obtained by The New York Times, is based on the Geneva Conventions and the 1984 Convention Against Torture, which is binding on 145 countries, including Spain and the United States. Countries that are party to the torture convention have the authority to investigate torture cases, especially when a citizen has been abused." ... "Gonzalo Boye, the Madrid lawyer who filed the complaint, said that the six Americans cited had had well-documented roles in approving illegal interrogation techniques, redefining torture and abandoning the definition set by the 1984 Torture Convention." ... "Secret memorandums by Mr. Yoo and other top administration lawyers helped clear the way for aggressive policies like waterboarding and other harsh interrogation techniques, which the [Central Intelligence Agency] C.I.A. director, the attorney general and other American officials have said amount to torture." ... "The other Americans named in the complaint were William J. Haynes II, former general counsel for the Department of Defense; Jay S. Bybee, Mr. Yoo’s former boss at the Justice Department’s Office of Legal Counsel; and David S. Addington, who was the chief of staff and legal adviser to [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney." -By Marlise Simons with contributions by Scott Shane and Eric Schmitt -NYTimes 20090326 Barack Obama - US - Politics - Afghanistan - Police - Pakistan "Obama's Afghanistan plan calls for 4,000 more U.S. troops." ... "[Democratic] President Obama announced Friday a proposal to stem the worsening insurgency in Afghanistan by sending 4,000 more [United States] U.S. troops and additional civilian aid workers, while also increasing aid to neighboring Pakistan." ... "Obama said his objective is to suppress the spreading insurgency by placing more emphasis on building local governments, wooing the civilian population with aid and providing more help to the Afghan army instead of a deploying a large number of combat troops." ... "Check out Obama's address [PDF]" ... ""The situation is increasingly perilous," Obama said. "It has been more than seven years since the Taliban was removed from power, yet war rages on, and insurgents control parts of Afghanistan and Pakistan."" ... "Key elements of the plan include:" ... "• Sending the 4,000 new troops, who would train Afghan soldiers and police. The plan includes a goal of having 134,000 soldiers in the Afghan army, up from about 65,000 soldiers now. "That is how we will prepare Afghans to take responsibility for their security, and how we will ultimately be able to bring our troops home," Obama said." ... "Pakistan long sponsored the Taliban regime that ruled Afghanistan and harbored al-Qaeda terrorists until overthrown by U.S. forces in 2001. Many Taliban members remain in the mountainous border region between the two countries." -By David Jackson with contributions by Tom Vanden Brook and John Fritze -USATODAY Barack Obama - Federal - Enforcement - Financial - Accounting - Politics - American International Group - Consumer - Crises - History - US - International "Geithner to Propose Vast Expansion Of U.S. Oversight of Financial System." ... "Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner plans to propose today a sweeping expansion of federal authority over the financial system, breaking from an era in which the government stood back from financial markets and allowed participants to decide how much risk to take in the pursuit of profit." ... "The [Democratic President] Obama administration's plan, described by several sources, would extend federal regulation for the first time to all trading in financial derivatives and to companies including large hedge funds and major insurers such as American International Group. The administration also will seek to impose uniform standards on all large financial firms, including banks, an unprecedented step that would place significant limits on the scope and risk of their activities." ... "Most of these initiatives would require legislation." ... "In coming months, the administration plans to detail its strategy in three other areas: protecting consumers, eliminating flaws in existing regulations and enhancing international coordination." ... "The nation's financial regulations are largely an accumulation of responses to financial crises. Federal bank regulation was a product of the Civil War. The Federal Reserve was created early in the 20th century to mitigate a long series of monetary crises. The Great Depression delivered deposit insurance and a federally sponsored mortgage market. In the midst of a modern economic upheaval, the Obama administration is pitching the most significant regulatory expansion since that time." ... "The administration's signature proposal is to vest a single federal agency with the power to police risk across the entire financial system." (1, 2, 3) -By Binyamin Appelbaum and David Cho with contributions by Zachary A. Goldfarb -WashingtonPost 20090325 Italy - Swiss - Glaciers - Land - Atmosphere - Global - Climate - Politics - History - France - Austria "Melting glaciers force Italy, Swiss to redraw border." ... "Melting glaciers in the Alps may prompt Italy and Switzerland to redraw their borders near the Matterhorn, according to parliamentary draft legislation being readied in Rome [Italy's capital]." ... "The Italian Military Geographic Institute says climate change is responsible for the Alpine glaciers melting." ... ""This draft law is born out the necessity to revise and verify the frontiers given the changes in climate and atmosphere," [Italy's Democratic Party member Franco] Narducci said. "The 1941 convention between Italy and Switzerland established as criteria [for border revisions] the ridge [crest] of the glaciers. Following the withdrawal of the glaciers in the Alps, a new criterion has been proposed so that the new border coincides with the rock."" ... "Narducci said the same negotiation will be proposed to France and Austria[.]" -CNN Afghan - Pakistan - US - Military - Intelligence - Politics - History "Afghan Strikes by Taliban Get Pakistan Help, U.S. Aides Say." ... "The Taliban’s widening campaign in southern Afghanistan is made possible in part by direct support from operatives in Pakistan’s military intelligence agency, despite Pakistani government promises to sever ties to militant groups fighting in Afghanistan, according to American government officials." ... "The support consists of money, military supplies and strategic planning guidance to Taliban commanders who are gearing up to confront the international force in Afghanistan that will soon include some 17,000 American reinforcements." ... "Support for the Taliban, as well as other militant groups, is coordinated by operatives inside the shadowy S Wing of Pakistan’s spy service, the Directorate for Inter-Services Intelligence, the officials said. There is even evidence that ISI [Inter-Services Intelligence] operatives meet regularly with Taliban commanders to discuss whether to intensify or scale back violence before the Afghan elections." ... "American officials have complained for more than a year about the ISI’s support to groups like the Taliban. But the new details reveal that the spy agency is aiding a broader array of militant networks with more diverse types of support than was previously known — even months after Pakistani officials said that the days of the ISI’s playing a “double game” had ended." ... "Pakistan’s military and civilian leaders publicly deny any government ties to militant groups, and American officials say it is unlikely that top officials in Islamabad [Pakistan's capital] are directly coordinating the clandestine efforts. American officials have also said that midlevel ISI operatives occasionally cultivate relationships that are not approved by their bosses." ... "The ISI helped create and nurture the Taliban movement in the 1990s to bring stability to a nation that had been devastated by years of civil war between rival warlords, and one Pakistani official explained that Islamabad needed to use groups like the Taliban as “proxy forces to preserve our interests.”" ... "Little is publicly known about the ISI’s S Wing, which officials say directs intelligence operations outside of Pakistan. American officials said that the S Wing provided direct support to three major groups carrying out attacks in Afghanistan: the Taliban based in Quetta, Pakistan, commanded by Mullah Muhammad Omar; the militant network run by Gulbuddin Hekmatyar; and a different group run by the guerrilla leader Jalaluddin Haqqani." -By Mark Mazzetti and Eric Schmitt -NYTimes Barack Obama - Government - Financial - Law - Politics - American International Group - US - Global "Geithner to Outline Major Overhaul of Finance Rules." ... "The [Democratic President] Obama administration will detail on Thursday a wide-ranging plan to overhaul financial regulation by subjecting hedge funds and traders of exotic financial instruments, now among the biggest and most freewheeling players on Wall Street, to potentially strict new government supervision, officials said." ... "The Treasury secretary, Timothy F. Geithner, will outline the broad revamping of the regulatory system, which goes further than expected, in a hearing on Thursday. He is expected to say that the new rules are necessary to prevent a repeat of the excesses that nearly wrecked the global financial system and plunged the economy into a recession." ... "The plan, which would require Congressional approval, would give the government vast new powers over “systemically important” banks and other financial institutions that are so big that their collapse would jeopardize the economy as a whole." ... "The government would have the power to peer into the inner workings of companies that currently escape most federal supervision — insurance companies like the American International Group, multibillion-dollar hedge funds like the Citadel Group and private equity firms like the Carlyle Group or Kohlberg, Kravis & Roberts." ... "But the most striking new proposals, and the ones that may provoke the most heated opposition from the industry, would regulate so-called private pools of capital — hedge funds, private equity funds and venture capital funds — and the gigantic market in financial derivatives, including instruments like credit-default swaps, the insurancelike instruments that allow investors to hedge against bond defaults. " -By Edmund L. Andrews and Louise Story -NYTimes Hillary Clinton - Poll - Barack Obama - US - China - Human Rights "Poll: Clinton has high job approval." ... "Seventy-one percent of people questioned in a CNN/Opinion Research Corp. survey released Wednesday said they approve of how [Democratic President Obama's Secretary of State Hillary] Clinton is handling her job as America's top diplomat. Fewer than one in four disapprove." ... ""Nine in 10 Democrats approve of Clinton -- that's no surprise," said Keating Holland, CNN's polling director. "But by a 50 percent to 43 percent margin, Republicans also think she is doing a good job at the State Department. That's an interesting result for a polarizing figure like Clinton."" ... "Clinton was met by large crowds and warmly received by world leaders on both trips, although "she met some criticism in Beijing [China's capital], where she was criticized for a lower-key approach that seemed to downplay the importance of human rights in the overall relationship with China," Labott said." ... ""Her aides said she wanted a new approach to dealing with China's human rights record, including less public criticism and more private discussions, which may prove more productive in changing Chinese behavior."" -By Paul Steinhauser -CNN Hillary Clinton - US - Mexico - Criminal - Drug - Law "Clinton: U.S. drug habits fuel border violence: Secretary of state in Mexico to bolster anti-narcotics cooperation." ... "[United States] U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton on Wednesday pledged to stand "shoulder to shoulder" with Mexico in its violent struggle against drug cartels, and acknowledged the U.S. shares blame because of its demand for drugs and supply of weapons." ... "She said the United States shares responsibility with Mexico for dealing with violence now spilling across the border and promised cooperation to improve security on both sides." ... ""The criminals and kingpins spreading violence are trying to corrode the foundations of law, order, friendship and trust between us that support our continent. They will fail," she told Mexican Foreign Relations Secretary Patricia Espinosa. "We will stand shoulder to shoulder with you."" -AP via -MSNBC Hillary Clinton - Barack Obama - US - Mexico - Illegal - Drug - Enforcement - Military - Health - Brazil - Colombia "Clinton: U.S. Drug Policies Failed, Fueled Mexico's Drug War." ... "Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton traveled to Mexico on Wednesday with a blunt mea culpa, saying that decades of U.S. anti-narcotics policies have been a failure and have contributed to the explosion of drug violence south of the border." ... ""Clearly what we've been doing has not worked," Clinton told reporters on her plane at the start of her two-day trip, saying that [United States] U.S. policies on curbing drug use, narcotics shipments and the flow of guns have been ineffective." ... ""Our insatiable demand for illegal drugs fuels the drug trade," she added. "Our inability to prevent weapons from being illegally smuggled across the border to arm these criminals causes the deaths of police, of soldiers and civilians."" ... "More than 7,000 Mexicans have been killed in the bloodletting since January 2008, with the gangs battling authorities and one another for supremacy." ... "The [Democratic President] Obama administration announced Tuesday that it is sending hundreds more agents and extra high-tech gear to the border to intercept weapons and drug proceeds heading south." ... "Last month, former presidents of Brazil, Colombia and Mexico called on the United States in a report to consider legalizing marijuana use and focusing more on treatment for drug users. Obama has emphasized his support for expanded treatment facilities, although not for allowing marijuana use. " (1, 2) -By Mary Beth Sheridan -WashingtonPost Israel - Secret - Housing - Construction - Palestine - Land "Netanyahu, Lieberman 'struck secret deal for West Bank construction'" ... "Prime Minister-designate Benjamin Netanyahu has struck a secret deal with Yisrael Beiteinu leader Avigdor Lieberman for highly contentious construction on West Bank land [Palestine] known as E1, Army Radio reported Wednesday." ... "The plan is for the West Bank settlement of Ma'aleh Adumim to build 3000 new housing units on the territory, which stretches between it and Jerusalem [Israel's capital], the source was quoted as saying." ... "Construction in the area is particularly sensitive because it would create contiguity between the settlement and the capital, which in turn would prevent Palestinian construction between East Jerusalem and Ramallah [administrative capital of Palestine]." ... "This would also make it difficult to reach agreement between Israel and the Palestinians on the question of permanent borders." -Haaretz.com 20090321 Israeli - Religious - Terrorism - Military - War Crimes - Politics - Land - Palestinian - Human - Rights - Investigation "Israelis told to fight 'holy war' in Gaza." ... "Many Israeli troops had the sense of fighting a "religious war" against Gentiles during the 22-day offensive in Gaza [Palestinian territory], according to a soldier who has highlighted the martial role of military rabbis during the operation." ... "The soldier testified that the "clear" message of literature distributed to troops by the rabbinate was: "We are the Jewish people, we came to this land by a miracle, God brought us back to this land and now we need to fight to expel the Gentiles who are interfering with our conquest of this holy land."" ... "After the offensive, Yesh Din, an Israeli human rights group called for the dismissal of the military's head chaplain, Rabbi Avichai Rontzki, a brigadier general. It said that he had distributed to troops a booklet saying that it was "terribly immoral" to show mercy to a "cruel enemy" and that the soldiers were fighting "murderers"." ... "The longer transcript conveys a fuller sense of the debate involving graduates from the Yitzhak Rabin military preparatory course." ... "The latest casualty figures published by the Palestinian Centre for Human Rights list the names of 1,434 dead of whom they say 926 were civilians, 236 fighters and 255 police officers." -By Donald Macintyre -Independent.co.uk Israeli - Religious - Terrorism - Military - Politics - Land - Palestinian - Noteworthy "Israeli Soldier Says Military Rabbis Framed Gaza Mission as Religious." ... "A soldier involved in Israel's recent military offensive in the Gaza Strip [Palestinian territory] said in published reports Friday that the military's rabbinical staff distributed material characterizing the operation as a religious mission to "get rid of the gentiles who disturb us from conquering the holy land."" ... "In the second day of published accounts from soldiers critical of the conduct of the Israel Defense Forces in Gaza, the daily Maariv ran excerpts of an interview with a squad commander in Israel's Givati Brigade. He was identified only by his first name, given as Rahm." ... "The daily quoted him as saying that the Gaza operation from the beginning had "the feeling of almost a religious mission."" ... ""The military rabbinate brought many magazines and articles with a very clear message: 'We are the Jewish people, a miracle brought us to the land of Israel, God returned us to the land, and now we have to struggle so as to get rid of the gentiles who disturb us from conquering the holy land.' All the feeling throughout all this operation of many of the soldiers was of a war of religions," he said. "As a commander, I tried to explain that the war is not a war of Kiddush Hashem [the sanctification of God's name, including through martyrdom] but over the stopping of the launching of the Qassam rockets."" ... "The soldiers' accounts were elicited by the head of a training school for future military recruits. At a recent gathering, graduates of the school described how the realities of military life clashed with the values taught in the school's curriculum." ... "The school is named in honor Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli leader who signed the 1993 Oslo peace accords with the Palestinians and who was assassinated by an Israeli who opposed the agreements. The school is secular in nature and its graduates would likely be sensitive to the intrusion of religious politics into the conduct of a military operation, said retired Brig. Gen. Meir Elran, a security analyst with the Israeli Institute for National Security Studies at Tel Aviv University." ... "Given that one of Israel's chief struggles is against organizations, such as Hamas, that entwine religion and violence, the presence of similar material among Israeli soldiers is disturbing, Elran said. " -By Howard Schneider -WashingtonPost 20090218 US - Global - Science - Environment - Politics - Corporations "Media often fail in their global warming coverage, says climate researcher." ... ""Business managers of media organizations: You are screwing up your responsibility by firing science and environment reporters, who are frankly the only ones competent to do this," said climate researcher and policy analyst Stephen Schneider, in assessing the current state of media coverage of global warming and related issues." ... "Schneider, a coordinating lead author of Chapter 19 in the report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change published in 2007, is calling for the news media to employ trained reporters in covering global warming. He discussed this and other issues [2009 February] Feb. 13 at the annual meeting of the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) in Chicago [Illinois]." ... ""Science is not politics. You can't just get two opposing viewpoints and think you've done due diligence. You've got to cover the multiple views and the relative credibility of each view," said Schneider, the Melvin and Joan Lane Professor for Interdisciplinary Environmental Studies at Stanford [Universtiy in California], in an interview before the annual meeting. "But that is not usually the problem of the well-trained reporters, who understand what is credible." ... ""The problem is CNN just fired their science team. Why didn't they fire their economics team or their sports team? Why don't they send their general assignment reporters out to cover the Super Bowl?" Schneider said." ... "In addition, researchers have to do their part by clearly explaining issues to reporters in succinct terms, he said." ... ""You have to have your elevator statement or people won't listen to you," Schneider said." ... ""What I always suggest is that scientists find metaphors that convey both urgency and uncertainty, so that you can get people's attention while at the same time not overstating the case," he said. "Then you have websites and backup articles and books where you can give the full story, but you have to have your sound bite and your op-ed piece."" -By Louis Bergeron -StanfordNewsService 20090216 Israel - Palestine - Land "West Bank settlement gets green light for major expansion." ... "" -By Nadav Shragai -Haaretz.com Israel - Palestine - Land - US - Politics "Israel Grabs More Palestinian Land, Sets Stage for Further Illegal Colonization of Palestinian Territory." ... "Meanwhile, in the Middle East’s only democracy, settlements continue to grow:" "Some 1,700 dunams of land in the northern part of Efrat were declared state land last week, paving the way for the West Bank settlement to start the process of seeking government approval to build there." "The Civil Administration issued the declaration after rejecting eight appeals by Palestinians against the move. A ninth appeal was accepted, and the land covered by this appeal was consequently removed from Efrat’s jurisdiction." ... "Opposition to settlements has long been official United States policy, but the overwhelming tendency has been for [United States] U.S. administrations to turn a blind eye to settlement expansion. The expansion itself is an impediment to peace, and American unwillingness to stand behind our own policy commitments is devastating to our credibility in the region. " -By Matthew Yglesias -ThinkProgress.org Israel - Palestinians - Land - US "Livni: Give up parts of 'Land of Israel'." ... "Tzipi Livni, who hopes to be appointed Israel's prime minister-designate, said Monday Israel must give up considerable territory in exchange for peace with the Palestinians, drawing a clear distinction with her rival, Benjamin Netanyahu." ... "She told a convention of American Jewish leaders, "we need to give up parts of the Land of Israel," using a term that refers to biblical borders that include today's Israel, the West Bank and Gaza, repeating her well-known view that pulling out of Palestinian areas would be for the good of Israel, to maintain it as a Jewish state." ... "Livni's centrist Kadima Party won one more seat than the hawkish Likud, led by Netanyahu. He opposes large-scale territorial concessions in peace talks with the Palestinians." -By Aron Heller -AP via -Yahoo Barack Obama - Corporate - Government - Labor - Makers - US - Global - Legislation - Secret - Terrorism - Detainee "Liberals not pleased with go-slow approach by Obama." ... "Union leaders were taken aback this month when [Democratic President Barack] Obama, during television appearances discussing the stimulus legislation, spoke skeptically of "Buy American" provisions in the bill giving [United States] U.S. makers of steel and other materials an advantage in bidding for contracts." ... "Obama told Fox News that the U.S. "can't send a protectionist message," and he cautioned on ABC News that the requirements could be a "potential source of trade wars that we can't afford at a time when trade is sinking all across the globe."" ... "Now, some labor advocates worry about how aggressively the new president will push to fulfill other key campaign promises, such as passage of the so-called card check legislation that would make it easier to form labor unions." ... "At the ACLU, Executive Director Anthony D. Romero said his group's disappointment was "deep and unparalleled" after the Justice Department decided to keep in place one of the most controversial legal tactics of the [Republican President] Bush anti-terrorism arsenal: using the "state secrets" doctrine to block lawsuits by detainees." ... "The Justice Department invoked the privilege last week in arguing that a case should not proceed because it might lead to the disclosure of state secrets." ... "As a candidate, Obama had attacked Bush for using the tactic and had pledged to reverse such policies." -By Peter Wallsten -LAtimes 20090215 Secret - Criminal - Torture - War Crimes - Prison - Psychological - Terrorism - Military - Government -  - Medical - Human -Rights - Law- US - Guantánamo - Cuba "Former Gitmo Guard Tells All." ... "Army Private Brandon Neely served as a prison guard at Guantánamo [US military prison at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba] in the first years the facility was in operation. With the [Republican President] Bush Administration, and thus the threat of retaliation against him, now gone, Neely decided to step forward and tell his story. “The stuff I did and the stuff I saw was just wrong,” he told the Associated Press. Neely describes the arrival of detainees in full sensory-deprivation garb, he details their sexual abuse by medical personnel, torture by other medical personnel, brutal beatings out of frustration, fear, and retribution, the first hunger strike and its causes, torturous shackling, positional torture, interference with religious practices and beliefs, verbal abuse, restriction of recreation, the behavior of mentally ill detainees, an isolation regime that was put in place for child-detainees, and his conversations with prisoners David Hicks and Rhuhel Ahmed. It makes for fascinating reading." ... "Neely’s comprehensive account runs to roughly 15,000 words. It was compiled by law students at the University of California at Davis and can be accessed here." ... "... Neely and other guards had been trained to the U.S. military’s traditional application of the Geneva Convention rules. They were put under great pressure to get rough with the prisoners and to violate the standards they learned. This placed the prison guards under unjustifiable mental stress and anxiety, and, as any person familiar with the vast psychological literature in the area (think of the Stanford Prison Experiment, for instance) would have anticipated produced abuses. Neely discusses at some length the notion of IRF (initial reaction force), a technique devised to brutalize or physically beat a detainee under the pretense that he required being physically subdued. The IRF approach was devised to use a perceived legal loophole in the prohibition on torture. Neely’s testimony makes clear that IRF was understood by everyone, including the prison guards who applied it, as a subterfuge for beating and mistreating prisoners—and that it had nothing to do with the need to preserve discipline and order in the prison." ... "[Neely] describes body searches undertaken for no legitimate security purpose, simply to sexually invade and humiliate the prisoners. This was a standardized [Republican President] Bush Administration tactic–the importance of which became apparent to me when I participated in some Capitol Hill negotiations with White House representatives relating to legislation creating criminal law accountability for contractors. The Bush White House vehemently objected to provisions of the law dealing with rape by instrumentality. When House negotiators pressed to know why, they were met first with silence and then an embarrassed acknowledgement that a key part of the Bush program included invasion of the bodies of prisoners in a way that might be deemed rape by instrumentality under existing federal and state criminal statutes. While these techniques have long been known, the role of health care professionals in implementing them is shocking." ... "Neely’s account demonstrates once more how much the Bush team kept secret and how little we still know about their comprehensive program of official cruelty and torture." -By Scott Horton -Harpers.org "Testimony of Spc. Brandon Neely." via "The Guantánamo Testimonials Project." ... "Testimonies of Military Guards." via humanrights.ucdavis.edu 20090214 Military - Torture - Prison - Psychological - Terrorism - War Crimes -Medical - Human Rights - Law - US - Guantánamo Bay - Cuba "Former Gitmo guard recalls abuse, climate of fear." ... "Army Pvt. [Private] Brandon Neely was scared when he took Guantanamo's first shackled detainees off a bus. Told to expect vicious terrorists, he grabbed a trembling, elderly detainee and ground his face into the cement — the first of a range of humiliations he says he participated in and witnessed as the prison was opening for business." ... "Neely has now come forward in this final year of the detention center's existence, saying he wants to publicly air his feelings of guilt and shame about how some soldiers behaved as the military scrambled to handle the first alleged al-Qaida and Taliban members arriving at the isolated [United States] U.S. Navy base." ... "His account, one of the first by a former guard describing abuses at Guantanamo, describes a chaotic time when soldiers lacked clear rules for dealing with detainees who were denied many basic comforts. He says the circumstances changed quickly once monitors from the International Committee of the Red Cross arrived." ... "Neely, [now] 28, describes a litany of cruel treatment by his fellow soldiers, including beatings and humiliations he said were intended only to deliver physical or psychological pain." ... "Only months had passed since the [2001 September] Sept. 11 attacks, and Neely said many of the guards wanted revenge. Especially before the first Red Cross visit, he said guards were seizing on any apparent infractions to "get some" by hurting the detainees. The soldiers' behavior seemed justified at the time, he said, because they were told "these are the worst terrorists in the world."" ... "He said one medic punched a handcuffed prisoner in the face for refusing to swallow a liquid nutritional supplement, and another bragged about cruelly stretching a prisoner's torn muscles during what was supposed to be physical therapy treatments." ... "He said detainees were forced to submit to take showers and defecate into buckets in full view of female soldiers, against Islamic customs. When a detainee yelled an expletive at a female guard, he said a crew of soldiers beat the man up and held him down so that the woman could repeatedly strike him in the face. " -By Mike Melia-AP via -Yahoo "The Guantánamo Testimonials Project." via humanrights.ucdavis.edu Corporate - Government - Lawmakers - Sacramento - California - Multinational "Business the big winner in California budget plan: Firms would get nearly $1 billion in breaks, while the average person would pay higher taxes five ways. Republicans say the plan would create jobs, but others dispute the claim." ... "Reporting from Sacramento [California's capital] -- The average Californian's taxes would shoot up five different ways in the state budget blueprint that lawmakers hope to vote on this weekend. But the bipartisan plan for wiping out the state's giant deficit isn't so bad for large corporations, many of which would receive a permanent windfall." ... "About $1 billion in corporate tax breaks -- directed mostly at multi-state and multinational companies -- is tucked into the proposal. Opponents say the breaks will do nothing to create jobs, and the Legislature has rejected such moves repeatedly in the past. But now, to secure enough Republican votes to pass a budget that would raise taxes on everyone else, the Legislature is poised to write them into law with no public hearings at a time when the state treasury is almost out of cash." ... "The tax breaks were inserted into the spending plan during private meetings between legislative leaders and [California Republican Governor] Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger. Less than 24 hours before today's scheduled vote, the proposals had not yet been printed in bills and made available to the public, but legislative leaders acknowledged them. " -By Evan Halper with contributions by Patrick McGreevy -LAtimes 20090212 Criminal - Drug - War - Government - Law - Politics - Health - US - Brazil - Mexico - Colombia - World "Latin American Panel Calls U.S. Drug War a Failure." ... "As drug violence spirals out of control in Mexico, a commission led by three former Latin American heads of state blasted the [United States] U.S.-led drug war as a failure that is pushing Latin American societies to the breaking point." ... ""The available evidence indicates that the war on drugs is a failed war," said former Brazilian President Fernando Henrique Cardoso, in a conference call with reporters from Rio de Janeiro [Brazil]. "We have to move from this approach to another one."" ... "The commission, headed by Mr. Cardoso and former presidents Ernesto Zedillo of Mexico and César Gaviria of Colombia, says Latin American governments as well as the U.S. must break what they say is a policy "taboo" and re-examine U.S.-inspired antidrugs efforts. The panel recommends that governments consider measures including decriminalizing the use of marijuana." ... "The report, by the Latin American Commission on Drugs and Democracy, is the latest to question the U.S.'s emphasis on punitive measures to deal with illegal drug use and the criminal violence that accompanies it. A recent Brookings Institution study concluded that despite interdiction and eradication efforts, the world's governments haven't been able to significantly decrease the supply of drugs, while punitive methods haven't succeeded in lowering drug use." ... "The three former presidents who head the commission are political conservatives who have confronted in their home countries the violence and corruption that accompany drug trafficking." ... "The report warned that the U.S.-style antidrug strategy was putting the region's fragile democratic institutions at risk and corrupting "judicial systems, governments, the political system and especially the police forces."" ... "Latin America, he [former President of Colombia César Gaviria] said, should adapt a more European approach, based on treating drug addiction as a health problem." -By José de Córdoba with contributions by David Luhnow, Louise Radnofsky and Evan Perez -WSJ.com 20090211 Phoenix - Arizona - Law - Terrorism - Politics - Drugs - California - Texas - US - Mexico "Kidnapping Capital of the U.S.A.: Washington Too Concerned With al Qaeda Terrorists to Care, Officials Say." ... "In what officials caution is now a dangerous and even deadly crime wave, [Arizona's capital] Phoenix, Arizona has become the kidnapping capital of America, with more incidents than any other city in the world outside of Mexico City [Mexico's capital] and over 370 cases last year alone. But local authorities say Washington, DC [America's capital is too obsessed with al Qaeda terrorists to care about what is happening in their own backyard right now." ... ""We're in the eye of the storm," Phoenix Police Chief Andy Anderson told ABC News of the violent crimes and ruthless tactics spurred by Mexico's drug cartels that have expanded business across the border. "If it doesn't stop here, if we're not able to fix it here and get it turned around, it will go across the nation," he said." ... "California Attorney General Jerry Brown warned that as the U.S. [United States] government focuses so intently on Islamic extremist groups, other types of terrorists those involved with the same kidnappings, extortion and drug cartels that are sweeping Phoenix are overlooked." ... ""Those [criminals], for the average Californian or the average America, may be a more immediate threat to their well being," Brown said." ... "In fact, kidnappings and other crimes connected to the Mexican drug cartels are quickly spreading across the border, from Texas to California." (1, 2) -By Brian Ross, Richard Esposito and Asa Eslocker -ABCNEWS.com 20090210 Corporate - Government - Politics - Lawyers - Jobs - 2008 Election - US - International "Bush Faithful Rewarded With Jobs: On the Way Out, He Placed Aides and Big-Money GOP [GOP=Grand Old Party=Republican] Donors." ... "Fred F. Fielding, Emmet T. Flood, William A. Burck and Daniel M. Price worked together at the White House under [Republican President] George W. Bush. Less than two weeks before leaving office, Bush made sure the senior aides shared a new assignment, naming them to an obscure World Bank agency called the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes." ... "The appointments are for six years and are potentially lucrative, paying up to $3,000 a day plus travel and other expenses if an appointee is chosen to hear a case. Bush also named two other prominent Republican lawyers to the agency, which attempts to broker international finance disagreements." ... "Bush made more than 100 such end-of-term appointments to a constellation of presidential boards and panels, such as the President's Council on Physical Fitness and Sports and the U.S.-Russia Polar Bear Commission." ... "Nearly half of Bush's appointments after [2008] Election Day were filled by donors who gave a total of nearly $1.9 million to Republicans since 2003, according to an analysis of the postings. At least 20 of the positions were filled by former Bush aides, plus others filled by old hands from the administrations of [Republican Presidents] Richard M. Nixon, Ronald Reagan and George H.W. Bush." ... "Melanie Sloan, executive director of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, said that while many of the appointments owe to vanity or good causes, some are also useful for maintaining political influence. "The real question is not only whether they are paid, but what benefits can they pay out from these boards," she said." -By Dan Eggen -WashingtonPost 20090207 Dick Cheney - Criminal - KBR/Halliburton - Corporation - Government - Politics -  - Military - People - Texas - US - Iraq - Nigeria - Oil - Construction "KBR wins contract despite criminal probe of deaths." ... "Defense contractor KBR Inc. [Incorporated] has been awarded a $35 million Pentagon contract involving major electrical work, even as it is under criminal investigation in the electrocution deaths of at least two [United States] U.S. soldiers in Iraq." ... "The announcement of the new KBR contract came just months after the Pentagon, in strongly worded correspondence obtained by The Associated Press, rejected the company's explanation of serious mistakes in Iraq and its proposed improvements. A senior Pentagon official, David J. Graff, cited the company's "continuing quality deficiencies" and said KBR executives were "not sufficiently in touch with the urgency or realities of what was actually occurring on the ground."" ... ""Many within DOD (the Department of Defense) have lost or are losing all remaining confidence in KBR's ability to successfully and repeatedly perform the required electrical support services mission in Iraq," wrote Graff, commander of the Defense Contract Management Agency, in a [September] Sept. 30 letter." ... "Graff rejected the company's claims that it wasn't required to follow U.S. electrical codes for its work on U.S. military facilities in Iraq." ... "The deaths of [Staff Sergeant Christopher Lee] Everett and [Staff Sergeant Ryan] Maseth are among the 18 under review by the Pentagon's inspector general." ... "KBR was previously owned by Halliburton Co. [Company], the oil services conglomerate that former [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney once led." ... "Separately, court papers filed in Houston [Texas] on Friday show KBR is preparing to plead guilty to federal bribery charges for promising and paying tens of millions of dollars in bribes to officials in Nigeria in exchange for engineering and construction contracts between 1995 and 2004." -By Kimberly Hefling -AP via -Yahoo Nuclear - Science - Secrets - Investigation - Military - Intelligence - History - Legal - Politics - Pakistan - Iran - Libya - North Korea - US - British - Italian - Switzerland -  - International "Nuclear Scientist A.Q. Khan Is Freed From House Arrest." ... "Early yesterday, the Pakistani scientist at the center of one of history's worst nuclear scandals walked out of his Islamabad [Pakistan's capital] villa to declare his vindication after five years of house arrest. "The judgment, by the grace of God, is good," a smiling Abdul Qadeer Khan told a throng of reporters and TV crews." ... "Moments earlier, a Pakistani court had ordered the release of the metallurgist who had famously admitted selling nuclear secrets to Iran, Libya and North Korea. Through years of legal limbo, Khan, 72, had never been charged, and now he never will be. "The so-called A.Q. Khan affair is a closed chapter," a Pakistani government spokesman said." ... "Nearly five years after Khan's smuggling operation came to light, the international effort to prosecute its leaders is largely in shambles, yielding convictions of only a few minor participants and no significant prison time for any of them." ... "Khan's international network collapsed in 2003 after U.S. [United States], British and Italian officials halted a Libya-bound ship in the Mediterranean loaded with machine parts used to make enriched uranium." ... "That discovery was the culmination of more than a decade of secret investigation by the CIA [Central Intelligence Agency] and other agencies of the business dealings of Khan, one of Pakistan's best-known scientists and the father of the country's nuclear weapons program." ... "U.S. and U.N. [United Nations] investigators ultimately accused Khan of heading a sophisticated network of businesses and front companies that manufactured and sold components needed to make nuclear bombs. But while the factories and shipping offices were dismantled, Khan proved to be beyond Washington's reach. Pakistan's then-President Pervez Musharraf, confronted with evidence of Khan's deeds, persuaded the scientist to make a public confession but then officially pardoned him. Khan would remain under house arrest, but Pakistani officials refused to allow him to be questioned by U.S. officials or investigators of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the U.N. nuclear watchdog." ... "Efforts to prosecute alleged members of the network in Switzerland touched off a series of squabbles between Swiss and U.S. officials. Swiss prosecutors accused the [Republican President] Bush administration of withholding critical evidence needed to put three Swiss businessmen -- a father and two brothers who worked with Khan in the 1980s and 1990s -- behind bars." ... "Last month, one of the brothers confirmed in a Swiss television interview that he had been working undercover for the CIA, prompting the Swiss parliament to ask why Switzerland had not been informed about covert action inside its territory. " -By Joby Warrick -WashingtonPost 20090206 John A Boehner - Peter Hoekstra - Secret - Trip - Lawmaker - Electronic - Communications - Military - Ohio - Mich - US - Iraq "Congressman Twitters an Iraq Security Breach." ... "A congressional trip to Iraq this weekend was supposed to be a secret." ... "But the cat’s out of the bag now, thanks to a member of the House Intelligence Committee who broke an embargo via Twitter." ... "A delegation led by [Ohio Republican Representative and] House Minority Leader John A. Boehner , R[Republican]-Ohio, arrived in Iraq earlier today, and because of [Michigan Republican Representative] Rep. Peter Hoekstra , R-Mich. [Republican-Michigan], the entire world — or at least Twitter.com readers—now know they’re there." ... "“Just landed in Baghdad [Iraq's capital],” messaged Hoekstra, a former chairman of the Intelligence panel and now the ranking member, who is routinely entrusted to keep some of the nation’s most closely guarded secrets." ... "Before the delegation left Washington, they were advised to keep the trip to themselves for security reasons." ... "Not only did Hoekstra reveal the existence of the lawmakers’ trip, but included details about their itinerary in updates posted every few hours on his Twitter page, until he suddenly stopped, for some reason, on Friday morning. " -By John M. Donnelly -CQPolitics.com China - Drought - Disaster - History - People - Food - Animals - Agriculture - Land "China suffering worst drought in 50 years." ... "China is suffering another natural disaster -- this time, the worst drought in half a century. The land is parched and the irrigation dams have dried up. Crops and livestock are dying." ... "China on Thursday raised the drought-emergency-alert level from orange to red and allocated an additional $44 million dollars on top of the $13 million in emergency aid already released." ... "Since November northern and central China has had little rain. Many places have not had rainfall for more than 100 days." ... "In the drought, more than 4.3 million residents face a shortage of drinking water, as do 2 million livestock." ... "The drought has hit 12 provinces, including the wheat-producing areas in Henan, Anhui, and Shandong provinces. Chinese media says the total area affected has reached 1,370 million hectares (3,385 million acres)." -By Jaime Florcruz -CNN 20090128 Sweden - Military - Switzerland - Politics - US - Media - Entertainment -  "Alba schools Fox’s O’Reilly in WW II history." ... "Jessica Alba is setting the record straight: Sweden was neutral during World War II." ... "Alba and Fox TV show host Bill O’Reilly traded punches last week after the presidential inauguration. After Alba told a Fox reporter that O’Reilly was “kind of an a-hole;” he retaliated by calling her a “pinhead” for telling a reporter to “be Sweden about it,” assuming she meant Switzerland." ... "“I want to clear some things up that have been bothering me lately,” Alba blogged on MySpace Celebrity. “Last week, Mr. Bill O'Reilly and some really classy sites (i.e.TMZ) insinuated I was dumb by claiming Sweden was a neutral country. I appreciate the fact that he is a news anchor and that gossip sites are inundated with intelligent reporting, but seriously people... it's so sad to me that you think the only neutral country during WWII was Switzerland.”" ... "Although Switzerland is more frequently cited as an example of neutrality, Sweden did indeed follow a policy of neutrality during World War II. History point to Alba." -By Courtney Hazlett -MSNBC 20090121 Auto - Manufacturing - Business - History - Michigan - US -Japan - Global "GM loses global sales crown after 77 years." ... "[United States] General Motors Corp reported an 11 percent drop in global sales in 2008, allowing rival [Japan] Toyota Motor Corp to surpass it as the world's largest automaker for the first time." ... "GM [General Motors], now struggling to restructure under a $13.4 billion U.S. [United States] government bailout, had held the title as the global auto industry leader for 77 years and used the line in marketing." ... "But for 2008, Detroit[ Michigan]-based GM said sales tumbled to 8.35 million vehicles, pressured by tightening credit and a slowdown that began in the United States and spread to emerging markets where GM has been stronger." ... "GM, which faces an end-March deadline to demonstrate to U.S. officials that it can be made viable, has a market capitalization of just under $2 billion." ... "Toyota has a market value of about $117 billion." (1, 2) -By Kevin Krolicki with contributions by Poornima Gupta, Soyoung Kim, Maureen Bavdek and Matthew Lewis -Reuters Barack Obama - Federal - Military - Prison - Terrorism - Law - Politics - US - Guantanamo - Cuba - Canada "Obama Seeks Halt to Legal Proceedings at Guantanamo." ... "In one of its first actions, the [Democratic President] Obama administration instructed military prosecutors late Tuesday [January 20, 2009] to seek a 120-day suspension of legal proceedings involving detainees at the naval base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- a clear break with the approach of the outgoing [Republican President] Bush administration." ... "The instruction came in a motion filed with a military court in the case of five defendants accused of organizing the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. The motion called for "a continuance of the proceedings" until May 20 so that "the newly inaugurated president and his administration [can] review the military commissions process, generally, and the cases currently pending before military commissions, specifically."" ... "The same motion was filed in another case scheduled to resume Wednesday, involving a Canadian detainee, and will be filed in all other pending matters." ... "Such a request may not be automatically granted by military judges, and not all defense attorneys may agree to such a suspension. But the move is a first step toward closing a detention facility and system of military trials that became a worldwide symbol of the Bush administration's war on terrorism and its unyielding attitude toward foreign and domestic critics." ... "The Supreme Court ruled that, contrary to [Republican President Bush] administration claims, detainees at Guantanamo were entitled to challenge their detentions and that the naval base was not beyond the reach of federal law." ... "Eventually more than 550 detainees were released; only three were ever put on trial and convicted." -By Peter Finn -WashingtonPost Barack Obama - US - China - Language - Politics - History "China censors parts of inaugural speech." ... "The offending line [to Chinese censors listening to United States Democratic President Barack Obama's inauguration speech] was this: "Recall that earlier generations faced down fascism and communism not just with missiles and tanks, but with sturdy alliances and enduring convictions."" ... "Later, the president said: "To those who cling to power through corruption and deceit and the silencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history, but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench your fist."" ... "Chinese translations of the speech published Wednesday omitted that line and the earlier one on communism. The government, however, has allowed the full English text to be published." -By Edward Wong -IHT.com 20090114 Torture - War Crimes - Government - Military - Terrorism - Intelligence - Detainees - Medical - Human -Rights - Law - Inpector - US - Guantanamo Bay - Cuba - Saudi "Detainee Tortured, Says U.S. Official: Trial Overseer Cites 'Abusive' Methods Against 9/11 Suspect." ... "The top [Republican President] Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay [Cuba] detainees to trial has concluded that the [United States] U.S. military tortured a Saudi [Arabia] national who allegedly planned to participate in the [September] Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a "life-threatening condition."" ... ""We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani," said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. "His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that's why I did not refer the case" for prosecution." ... "Crawford, a retired judge who served as general counsel for the Army during the [Republican President] Reagan administration and as Pentagon inspector general when Dick Cheney was secretary of defense, is the first senior Bush administration official responsible for reviewing practices at Guantanamo to publicly state that a detainee was tortured." ... "Crawford, 61, said the combination of the interrogation techniques, their duration and the impact on Qahtani's health led to her conclusion. "The techniques they used were all authorized, but the manner in which they applied them was overly aggressive and too persistent. . . . You think of torture, you think of some horrendous physical act done to an individual. This was not any one particular act; this was just a combination of things that had a medical impact on him, that hurt his health. It was abusive and uncalled for. And coercive. Clearly coercive. It was that medical impact that pushed me over the edge" to call it torture, she said." ... ""I sympathize with the intelligence gatherers in those days after 9/11, not knowing what was coming next and trying to gain information to keep us safe," said Crawford, a lifelong Republican. "But there still has to be a line that we should not cross. And unfortunately what this has done, I think, has tainted everything going forward."" ... "Crawford said she believes that coerced testimony should not be allowed. "You don't allow it in a regular court," said Crawford, who served as a judge of the United States Court of Appeals for the Armed Forces from 1991 to 2006." ... "In May 2008, Crawford ordered the war-crimes charges against Qahtani dropped but did not state publicly that the harsh interrogations were the reason. "It did shock me," Crawford said. "I was upset by it. I was embarrassed by it. If we tolerate this and allow it, then how can we object when our servicemen and women, or others in foreign service, are captured and subjected to the same techniques? How can we complain? Where is our moral authority to complain? Well, we may have lost it."" ... "The harsh techniques used against Qahtani, she said, were approved by [Republican President Bush's] then-Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld." (1, 2, 3) -By Bob Woodward with contributions by Julie Tate and Evelyn Duffy -WashingtonPost 20090110 War Crimes - Human Rights - Military - Politics - Israel - Palestine -  "UN calls for war crimes probe into IDF shelling of civilian-occupied building in Gaza." ... "With fighting all around them, Israel Defense Forces [IDF] troops knocked on the door of the Samouni clan in Gaza City [Gaza, Palestine] last weekend and told them to leave, directing them to the building owned by a relative. Twenty-four hours later, three shells slammed into the structure where dozens of people were huddling, according to survivor accounts Friday." ... "A newly released United Nations report said 30 people died in the shelling, citing four unidentified survivors who spoke by telephone. It called the shelling "one of the gravest incidents" to happen since Israeli infantry and armored troops entered Gaza [2009 January] Jan. 4 to quell Hamas rockets on Israel." ... "Other accounts given to The Associated Press and an Israeli human rights group provided lower casualty figures, but all agreed that shells hit the large, unfinished warehouse-like building a day after Israeli troops told them to get inside it for their safety." ... "Allegra Pacheco, a senior UN [United Nations] official in Jerusalem [Israel's capital] who helped draft the report on the incident for OCHA, added: "We are not making an accusation of deliberate action" by the Israelis." ... "UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay said the UN report should be the basis for an investigation of "war crimes elements." Her spokesman, Rupert Colville, said the "war crimes elements" would refer to allegations that Israel impeded medical teams trying to care for wounded civilians and failed to care for those injured in the attack." ... "Pillay told an emergency meeting of the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva that any harm to Israeli civilians by Hamas rockets was unacceptable, but it did not excuse abuses carried out by Israeli forces in response." ... "On Thursday, the International Committee of the Red Cross in Geneva accused Israel of "unacceptable" delays in letting rescue workers reach three Gaza City homes hit by shelling, where they eventually found 15 dead and 18 wounded, including young children too weak to stand." -Ha'aretzDaily Corporate - Government - Accounting - Politics - History - Military - Reconstruction - Gas - Alberto Gonzales - Torture -Law - Intelligence - Pat Tillman - US - Afghanistan - Guantánamo - Iraq "Eight Years of Madoffs." ... "Three days after the world learned that $50 billion may have disappeared in Bernie Madoff’s Ponzi scheme, The Times led its front page of [2008 December] Dec. 14 with the revelation of another $50 billion rip-off. This time the vanished loot belonged to American taxpayers. That was our collective contribution to the $117 billion spent (as of mid-2008) on Iraq reconstruction — a sinkhole of corruption, cronyism, incompetence and outright theft that epitomized [Republican President] Bush management at home and abroad." ... "The source for this news was a near-final draft of an as-yet-unpublished 513-page federal history of this nation-building fiasco. The document was assembled by the Office of the Special Inspector General for Iraq Reconstruction — led by a Bush appointee, no less. It pinpoints, among other transgressions, a governmental Ponzi scheme concocted to bamboozle Americans into believing they were accruing steady dividends on their investment in a “new” Iraq." ... "The report quotes no less an authority than Colin Powell on how the scam worked. Back in 2003, Powell said, the Defense Department just “kept inventing numbers of Iraqi security forces — the number would jump 20,000 a week! ‘We now have 80,000, we now have 100,000, we now have 120,000.’ ” Those of us who questioned these astonishing numbers were dismissed as fools, much like those who begged in vain to get the Securities and Exchange Commission to challenge Madoff’s math." ... "What’s most remarkable about the Times article, however, is how little stir it caused. When, in 1971, The Times got its hands on the Pentagon Papers, the internal federal history of the Vietnam disaster, the revelations caused a national uproar. But after eight years of battering by Bush, the nation has been rendered half-catatonic. The Iraq Pentagon Papers sank with barely a trace." ... "After all, next to big-ticket administration horrors like Abu Ghraib, Guantánamo and the politicized hiring and firing at Alberto Gonzales’s Justice Department, the wreckage of Iraq reconstruction is what Ralph Kramden of “The Honeymooners” would dismiss as “a mere bag of shells.” The $50 billion also pales next to other sums that remain unaccounted for in the Bush era, from the $345 billion in lost tax revenue due to unpoliced offshore corporate tax havens to the far-from-transparent disposition of some $350 billion in Wall Street bailout money. In the old Pat Moynihan phrase, the Bush years have “defined deviancy down” in terms of how low a standard of ethical behavior we now tolerate as the norm from public officials." ... "Not even a good old-fashioned sex scandal could get our outrage going again. Indeed, a juicy one erupted last year in the Interior Department, where the inspector general found that officials “had used cocaine and marijuana, and had sexual relationships with oil and gas company representatives." ... "Back in the day, an oil-fueled scandal in that one department alone could mesmerize a nation and earn [Republican President] Warren Harding a permanent ranking among our all-time worst presidents. But while the scandals at Bush’s Interior resemble Teapot Dome — and also encompass millions of dollars in lost federal oil and gas royalties — they barely registered beyond the Beltway. Even late-night comics yawned when The Washington Post administered a coup de grâce last week, reporting that Interior Secretary Dirk Kempthorne spent $235,000 from taxpayers to redo his office bathroom (monogrammed towels included)." ... "It took 110 pages for the Center for Public Integrity, a nonpartisan research organization, to compile the CliffsNotes inventory of the Bush wreckage last month. It found “125 systematic failures across the breadth of the federal government.” That accounting is conservative. There are still too many unanswered questions. " ... "Just a short list is staggering. Who put that bogus “uranium from Africa” into the crucial prewar State of the Union address after the C.I.A. [Central Intelligence Agency] removed it from previous Bush speeches? How high up were the authorities who ordered and condoned torture and then let the “rotten apples” at the bottom of the military heap take the fall? Who orchestrated the Pentagon’s elaborate P.R. [Public Relations] efforts to cover up Pat Tillman’s death by “friendly fire” in Afghanistan? " -By Frank Rich -NYTimes ~~~~~~~~~~

World Websites Country List World Archives Millennium Ecosystem Assessment Flags Maps  U.S. Government's World & Country Reference Sources. CIA.gov "World Fact Book." LOC.gov /rr /FRD/CS "Country Studies: Area Handbook Series." State.gov travel.state.gov "Current Travel Warnings and Public Announcements." "Consular Information Sheets." "Background Notes [for countries]." "Countries and Regions." U.S. Embassies, Consulates, and other Diplomatic Missions.  USaid.gov/Humanitarian "Regions & Countries." "Democracy and Governance." >Region Index "Office of Transition Initiatives."  >Countries Directory WHO.int  "Languages of the World" -Ethnollogue PCL Map Collection - UTLOL Maps in the News Jane's UN News United Nations UN.org /News  UNsystem.org  UN.int  Permanent Security Council Members: -China -France -Russia -UK -USA Rights Groups Amnesty.org  AmnestyUsa.org  Arizona News California News Illinois News Iowa News Marland News Minnesota News Oregon News Pennsylvania News Texas News Washington News FOCUS: Special Reports 9-11 Meta Index September 11 2001 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~

World News Sources: ABC BBC CBS •CNN >Asia >Europe >CNNI IHT NPR PBS AltaVista CSMonitor Economist Google Guardian/Elsewhere LAtimes MSNBC NYTimes Reuters:World:Asia TIME: Asia:Europe WashingtonPost  Nation/World Sections via: ChicagoTribune ForeignPolicy >Current Search World News: News Search <World> in: <AllTheWeb-[News]> <AltaVista-[News]> <Google-[News]> <MSN-[News]> Specialty search: <Google's U.S. "Uncle Sam," .gov and .mil>  Search: <World News> in: <Google> <MSN> <Yahoo> Search Global News: News Search <Global> in: <AllTheWeb-[News]> <AltaVista-[News]> <Google-[News]> <MSN-[News]> Specialty search: <Google's U.S. "Uncle Sam," .gov and .mil>  Search: <Global News> in: <Google> <MSN> <Yahoo> Search Country News: News Search <Country> in: <AllTheWeb-[News]> <AltaVista-[News]> <Google-[News]> <MSN-[News]> Specialty search: <Google's U.S. "Uncle Sam," .gov and .mil>  Search: <Country News> in: <Google> <MSN> <Yahoo> Search International News: News Search <International> in: <AllTheWeb-[News]> <AltaVista-[News]> <Google-[News]> <MSN-[News]> Specialty search: <Google's U.S. "Uncle Sam," .gov and .mil>  Search: <International News>in: <Google> <MSN> <Yahoo> Global Brought to you by the alphabet letter G G ;-) World Brought to you by the alphabet letter W W ;-)

20090109
New York  - Police - Terrorism - Electronic - Communications - Reporting -Photos - Internet - Censorship - Politics - US - India
"NYPD Wants To Interrupt Mobile Communications During Attacks." ... "The New York Police Department wants the ability to interrupt mobile phone service and other electronic communications during terrorist attacks." ... "Police Commissioner Raymond Kelly told the U.S. [United States] Senate Committee on Homeland Security that the November attacks in Mumbai [India] illustrated the dangers of instant reporting from the field while an attack is unfolding." ... "The terrorists used cell phones and other devices to communicate while the attacks were in progress, Kelly said Thursday. Witnesses in India also provided instant updates on the situation using cell phones, digital photos on the Internet, and Twitter -- communicating what they saw as it unfolded." ... "It's unclear if authorities in New York could cut off attackers' cell service and other electronic communications without causing wider disruptions." ... "Millions of New Yorkers used phones -- landlines and cell phones -- to let out-of-town relatives and friends, as well as each other, know that they were OK after the [September] Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. In many cases, those in the middle of the chaos relied on those watching the news outside of New York City [New York] for information to help them decide whether to flee the island of Manhattan [New York City burrough] by ferry, to head uptown, or to stay put." ... "As a New Yorker, I can't imagine an attack without the ability to let my family know I'm OK or the ability to exchange information and offers of assistance with friends scattered throughout Manhattan." -By K.C. Jones -InformationWeek

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20090108
Corporate - Government - Regulations - Workers - Safety -Medical - Science - Environment - History- Earth - Oil - Auto - St. Paul - Minnesota - Wyoming - Utah - Obama -US - Netherlands - World
"Bush Pushes ‘Midnight Rules’ to Support Companies as Term Ends." ... "[Republican President] George W. Bush is using the waning days of his presidency to implement a raft of pro-business regulations, triggering vows by the incoming [Democratic President Elect] Obama administration and congressional Democrats to gut the measures." ... "Bush is proposing changes to federal rules that critics say make it more difficult to protect U.S. [United States] workers from exposure to toxic chemicals, reduce the use of employee medical leave and open more land to oil and gas exploration. The effort is supported by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and trade groups representing companies including [Netherlands-based] Royal Dutch Shell Plc [Public limited company] and Dow Chemical Co. [Company.]" ... "The Interior Department today is publishing a rule that would lift a 79-year-old executive order prohibiting oil shale development in Wyoming and Utah. Yesterday, the Bush administration postponed regulations requiring cars and light trucks to be more fuel efficient by 2011." ... "Bush’s regulation on toxins, which isn’t final yet, would change the way workplace exposure to poisonous substances is measured, and is supported by associations representing companies such as Dow, the biggest U.S. chemical company, Exxon Mobil, the world’s largest oil company, and 3M Co., the St. Paul [Minnesota's capital], Minnesota-based maker of 55,000 products." ... "The change is opposed by the United Mineworkers and other unions. They argue it would delay new health protections for workers by requiring a lengthy regulatory process before new standards could be issued. " -By Holly Rosenkrantz and Mark Drajem -Bloomberg

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Israel - Palestine - People - UN - Military - Politics
"Red Cross criticises Israel for blocking access to Gaza injured." ... "Israel today came under fierce criticism from humanitarian groups for delaying access to the injured during its offensive in Gaza [Palestine area] as fresh fighting killed at least 11 people, taking the death toll over 700." ... "The unusually strong condemnation coincided with a UN [United Nations] announcement that it was suspending its operations in the territory in response to what it said were Israeli attacks." ... "The International Committee of the Red Cross accused Israel of "unacceptable" delays in letting rescue workers reach three homes in Gaza City that had been hit by shelling." ... "The group said the Israeli army refused rescuers permission to reach the site in the Zaytun neighbourhood for four days. Once Red Cross teams reached the area yesterday, they found four small children next to their dead mothers at one home. They were too weak to stand up on their own. One man was also found alive, too weak to stand up. In all, there were at least 12 corpses lying on mattresses." ... "In another house, a rescue team found 15 survivors, including several wounded. In yet another home, rescuers found three bodies. Israeli soldiers posted at a military position nearby ordered the rescue team to leave the area, which it refused to do." ... ""This is a shocking incident," said Pierre Wettach, the Red Cross's head for the region. "The Israeli military must have been aware of the situation but did not assist the wounded. Neither did they make it possible for us or the Palestine Red Crescent to assist the wounded."" ... "Other groups such as Médecins Sans Frontières have also criticised Israel for blocking access to people injured during the crisis." ... "Israel has also come under strong criticism from the UN, which said it was halting all aid shipments into Gaza, citing attacks on UN staff and buildings." ... "The announcement came shortly after the driver of a UN truck was shot and killed by tank fire near an Israeli border as he was about to pick up an aid shipment. The UN said the delivery had been coordinated with Israel and that the vehicle carried a UN flag and insignia. Earlier this week, at least 40 people were killed when two UN schools were hit by Israeli gunfire." -By Mark Tran -Guardian.co.uk

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Corporate - Government - Military - Virginia - US - Iraq - Afghanistan
"Army Sends 'Dear John Doe' Letters to Families of Fallen Troops." ... "The Army mistakenly sent letters addressed "Dear John Doe" to 7,000 family members of soldiers who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, unleashing calls from troubled relatives and prompting a formal apology yesterday from the Army's top general." ... "The letters, mailed late last month by the Army's Casualty and Mortuary Affairs Operation Center in Alexandria [Virginia], contained information about private organizations that assist families of the fallen. But in what the Army called a printing error by a contractor, the letters did not contain specific names and addresses; instead, they had the placeholder greeting "Dear John Doe."" -By Ann Scott Tyson -WashingtonPost

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US - Israel - Palestine - Iraq - Afghanistan - Military - Terrorism - Political - History
"The lessons of Gaza." ... "The Israeli military action in Gaza [Palestine area] raises both moral questions and strategic ones. The moral issues are more complex than partisans on either side are prepared to admit. Not so the strategic issues: here the verdict is clear. Israel's return to Gaza constitutes a tacit admission of strategic failure now stretching back four decades." ... "Indeed, the punishment inflicted on the residents of Gaza all but ensures its perpetuation." ... "For the United States, engaged in a struggle against radical Islamists that mirrors Israel's conflict with the Palestinians, the implications of this story are several. Israeli troubles in the West Bank [Palestine area] and Gaza over the past 40 years suggest the following:" ... "First, getting in may be easy; getting out is the hard part. Once embraced, a tar baby becomes impossible to release. For this reason, the notion that intervention offers a handy problem solver is an illusion." ... "Second, occupation by outsiders produces alienation, resistance, and radicalization, nowhere more so than in the Islamic world. The longer the stay, the more severe the reaction." ... "Third, as instruments of pacification, conventional armies possess modest utility. Rather than facilitating political solutions, coercion only exacerbates the underlying problem." ... "This approach hasn't worked for Israel and won't work for the United States. Yet this approach describes US policy in the global war on terror, which has been based on expectations of intervention, occupation, and superior military power enabling the United States to dictate the conditions in which Muslims in places as remote as Iraq and Afghanistan should live." ... "Even if Israel seemingly has no choice, the United States does. To exercise that choice by replicating the errors Israel has made in its relations with the Palestinians would be the height of folly." -By Andrew J. Bacevich via -BostonGlobe

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US - Israel - Palestine - Syria - Egypt - Military - Intelligence - Terrorism - Politics - Poor - Families - Food - Health - Human Rights
"An Unnecessary War." [by former Democratic President Jimmy Carter] ... "I know from personal involvement that the devastating invasion of Gaza [Palestine area] by Israel could easily have been avoided." ... "After visiting Sderot last April and seeing the serious psychological damage caused by the rockets that had fallen in that area, my wife, Rosalynn, and I declared their launching from Gaza to be inexcusable and an act of terrorism. Although casualties were rare (three deaths in seven years), the town was traumatized by the unpredictable explosions. About 3,000 residents had moved to other communities, and the streets, playgrounds and shopping centers were almost empty. Mayor Eli Moyal assembled a group of citizens in his office to meet us and complained that the government of Israel was not stopping the rockets, either through diplomacy or military action." ... "Knowing that we would soon be seeing Hamas leaders from Gaza and also in Damascus [Syria's capital], we promised to assess prospects for a cease-fire. From Egyptian intelligence chief Omar Suleiman, who was negotiating between the Israelis and Hamas, we learned that there was a fundamental difference between the two sides. Hamas wanted a comprehensive cease-fire in both the West Bank [Palestine area] and Gaza, and the Israelis refused to discuss anything other than Gaza." ... "We knew that the 1.5 million inhabitants of Gaza were being starved, as the U.N. [United Nations] special rapporteur on the right to food had found that acute malnutrition in Gaza was on the same scale as in the poorest nations in the southern Sahara, with more than half of all Palestinian families eating only one meal a day." ... "Palestinian leaders from Gaza were noncommittal on all issues, claiming that rockets were the only way to respond to their imprisonment and to dramatize their humanitarian plight. The top Hamas leaders in Damascus, however, agreed to consider a cease-fire in Gaza only, provided Israel would not attack Gaza and would permit normal humanitarian supplies to be delivered to Palestinian citizens." ... "After extended discussions with those from Gaza, these Hamas leaders also agreed to accept any peace agreement that might be negotiated between the Israelis and Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas, who also heads the PLO, provided it was approved by a majority vote of Palestinians in a referendum or by an elected unity government. " -By Jimmy Carter -WashingtonPost

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Dick Cheney - Douglas J Feith -"Scooter" Libby - Noteworthy - Military - Politics - History - Book - Petroleum - Money - US - Israel - Palestine -  -  -  - -  -  -  - 
"Neoconservatism dies in Gaza: he recent Israeli offensive has put the final nail in the coffin of the [Republican President] Bush administration's Middle East fantasy." ... "The Gaza War of 2009 is a final and eloquent testimony to the complete failure of the neoconservative movement in United States foreign policy. For over a decade, the leading figures in this school of thought saw the violent overthrow of [Iraqi leader] Saddam Hussein and the institution of a parliamentary regime in Iraq as the magic solution to all the problems in the Middle East. They envisioned, in the wake of the fall of Baghdad [Iraq's capital], the moderation of Hezbollah in Lebanon, the overthrow of the Baath Party in Syria and the Khomeinist regime in Iran, the deepening of the alliance with Turkey, the marginalization of Saudi Arabia, a new era of cheap petroleum, and a final resolution of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict on terms favorable to Israel. After eight years in which they strode the globe like colossi, they have left behind a devastated moonscape reminiscent of some post-apocalyptic B movie. As their chief enabler prepares to exit the White House, the only nation they have strengthened is Iran; the only alliance they have deepened is that between Iran and two militant Islamist entities to Israel's north and south, Hezbollah and Hamas." ... "The neoconservatives first laid out their manifesto in a 1996 paper, "A Clean Break," written for an obscure think tank in Jerusalem [Israel's capital] and intended for the eyes of far right-wing Israeli politician Binyamin Netanyahu of the Likud Party, who had just been elected prime minister. They advised Israel to renounce the Oslo [Norway's capital] peace process and reject the principle of trading land for peace, instead dealing with the Palestinians with an iron fist. They urged Israel to uphold the right of hot pursuit of Palestinian guerrillas and to find alternatives to Yasser Arafat's Fatah for the Palestinian leadership. They called forth Israeli airstrikes on targets in Syria and rejection of negotiations with Damascus [Syria's capital]. They foresaw strengthened ties between Israel and its two regional friends, Turkey and Jordan." ... "They advocated "removing Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq," in part as a way of "rolling back" Syria. In place of the secular, republican tyrant, they fantasized about the restoration of the Hashemite monarchy in Iraq, and thought that a Sunni king might help moderate the Shiite Hezbollah in south Lebanon. (Yes.) They barely mentioned Iran, though it appears that their program of expelling Syria from Lebanon and weakening its regime was in part aimed at depriving Iran of its main Arab ally. In a 1999 book called "Tyranny's Ally: America's Failure to Defeat Saddam Hussein," David Wurmser argued that it was false to fear that installing the Iraqi Shiites in power in Baghdad would strengthen Iran regionally." ... "The signatories to this fantasy of using brute military power to reshape all of West Asia included some figures who would go on to fill key positions in the Bush administration. Richard Perle, a former assistant secretary of defense under Reagan, became chairman of the influential Defense Policy Board Advisory Committee, a civilian oversight body for the Pentagon. Douglas J. Feith became the undersecretary of defense for planning. David Wurmser first served in Feith's propaganda shop, the Office of Special Plans, which manufactured the case for an American war on Iraq, and then went on to serve with "Scooter" Libby in the office of [Republican] Vice President Dick Cheney." ... "The neoconservatives used their well-funded think tanks, including the American Enterprise Institute, the Washington Institute for Near East Policy (WINEP, an organ of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee), the Jewish Institute for National Security Affairs, and the Hudson Institute, among others, to promote this agenda of the conquest of Iraq as a solution of all ills." ... "The biggest danger facing the United States is that there will be no true "Clean Break" -- that the neoconservatives will somehow find a way to survive the Bush administration, and continue to influence American foreign policy." (1, 2) -By Juan Cole -Salon

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World News, Global News, World News Sources, World, News, Source, Global, Sources, Search, Find, Earth, Globe, Foreign News, Foreign, Country News, Country, Countries, Planet, Terra, Small World, It's a Small World and Shrinking, World Weblog, Global Weblog

• "CIA Publications" - http://www.ODCI.gov/cia/publications
• "Chiefs of State and Cabinet Members of Foreign Governments." - http://www.ODCI.gov/cia/publications/chiefs
• State.gov - "US Department of State." - US State Department
•  Bureau of Consular Affairs, US Department of State - http://travel.state.gov
•  Travel Warnings & Consular Information Sheets (with country list)
•  Current Travel Warnings and Public Announcements

• Ethnologue.com
• >Country Index with Maps
• >Languages of the world - complete country list.

•  LonelyPlanet.com  - "For Web Monkeys and Travel Junkies.  The World's Best Travel Guides."
•  LonelyPlanet.com/destinations

?? /  - UN.org /News

 Webcast from the United Nations- http://www.UN.org/webcast

 UN Multimedia - http://www.UN.org/av

 United Nations Radio News - http://www.un.org/av/radio/news/latenews.htm

•  The National Security Archive - http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv
•  Electronic Briefing Books -  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB
•  The September 11 Source Books -  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/sept11
•  East Timor Revisited -  http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB62
•  The US and the Genocide in Rwanda 1994 - http://www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/NSAEBB/NSAEBB53

•  GlobalPolicy.org
•  Global Policy Forum - 9/11
•  Analysis - 9/11 - Global Policy Forum

•  FindLaw: Legal Subjects: International Law: Databases and Statistics - http://www.findlaw.com/01topics/24international/database.html

 JURIST - World Law

•  TERRORISM STUDIES - http://www.loc.gov/rr/frd/terrorism.htm
•  Links concerning Terrorism (Library of Congress)
•  General Sites on Terrorism
•  Aviation--Security Measures
•  Bioterrorism
•  Law & Legislation
•  Terrorism & Afghanistan
•  War in Afghanistan
•  Terrorism & Colombia
•  Terrorism & India
•  Terrorism & Pakistan
•  Terrorism & Peru
•  Terrorism & Spain
•  Terrorism & Islam
•  Islamic Groups & Parties
•  Islamic Fundamentalism
•  Osama bin Laden
•  Biographies of Bin Laden
•  Bin Laden and Africa
•  Bin Laden and the USS Cole
•  Bin Laden and the Taliban
•  Mullah Omar
•  Al Qaeda

•  Portals to the World from the Library of Congress - http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/portals.html
•  International Resources from the Library of Congress - http://www.loc.gov/rr/international/
• -> MOVED TO:  http://www.loc.gov/international -> International Horizons (Library of Congress) - http://international.loc.gov/intldl/intldlhome.html

 Open Directory - World - http://dmoz.org/World/

 IMF -- International Monetary Fund- http://www.IMF.org

 ACRONYMS  - http://www.imf.org/external/np/sec/decdo/acronyms.htm

 Directory of Economic, Commodity and Development Organizations - Contents - http://www.IMF.org/external/np/sec/decdo/contents.htm

•  Google Search: UN cartographic
•  United Nations Cartographic Section Web Site - http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/english/
•  General Maps
•  International Law - http://www.UN.org/law
•  Departments of the UN Secretariat- http://www.UN.org/Depts
•  Other Offices and Programmes 

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•  Executive Office of the Secretary-General (EOSG)
•  Office of Internal Oversight Services (OIOS)
•  Office of Legal Affairs (OLA)
•  Office of the Legal Counsel (OLC)
•  General Legal Division (GLD)
•  Codification Division (COD)
•  Division for Ocean Affairs and the Law of the Sea (DOALOS)
•  International Trade Law Branch (ITLB)
•  Treaty Section (TREATY)
•  Secretariat of the United Nations Administrative Tribunal (UNAT)
•  Department of Political Affairs (DPA)
•  Department for Disarmament Affairs (DDA)
•  Department of Peace-keeping Operations (DPKO)
•  Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA)
•  Department of Economic and Social Affairs
•  Department of General Assembly Affairs and Conference Services

 CIA -- The World Factbook -- Appendix A: Abbreviations

 CIA -- The World Factbook -- Appendix B (Groups A-G) -  International Organizations and Groups

 CIA -- The World Factbook -- Appendix B (Groups H-N) - International Organizations and Groups

 CIA -- The World Factbook -- Appendix B (Groups O-Z) - International Organizations and Groups

 CIA -- The World Factbook -- Appendix C: Selected International Environmental Agreements

 Google Search: Arab League- ? "Leagueof Arab States."

 The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems - "2/96 - factbook developed under a BJS grant."

•  World Intelligence and Security Agencies
• via: - http://www.FAS.org/irp/world
•  United States | Australia | Canada | New Zealand | United Kingdom
•  Russia / USSR | China | India | Pakistan
•  Global
•  Austria | Belgium | Czech Republic | Finland | France | Germany | Greece | Hungary| Ireland | Israel | Italy | Japan|Korea|Luxembourg | Netherlands | Norway| Poland | Portugal | Saudi Arabia | Spain | Sweden | Switzerland | Taiwan | Turkey
•  Argentina | Bolivia | Brazil | Chile| Colombia | Costa Rica| El Salvador | Guatemala| Mexico| Nicaragua | Peru
•  Afghanistan | Bosnia | Croatia | Egypt | Estonia | Indonesia | Jordan | Morocco| Nigeria | Palestinian Authority | Romania| Slovakia | Slovenia| Sudan | South Africa | Ukraine
•  Cuba | Iran | Iraq | Libya | North Korea | Serbia | Syria
•  Para-States [thugs, drugs & other outlaws] - Para-States - Liberation Movements, Terrorist Organizations and Others - http://www.FAS.org/irp/world/para/
•  Iraqi Intelligence Agencies - http://www.FAS.org/irp/world/iraq
•  THE WORLD TRADE CENTER BOMB: Who is Ramzi Yousef? And Why It Matters - The National Interest, Winter, 1995/96 - http://www.FAS.org/irp/world/iraq/956-tni.htm
• "Sources and Resources." <- linked to from FAS.org/irp/world
•  Agentura - "specializing in Russian security and intelligence services."
•  Governments on the WWW- "Gunnar Anzinger "
•  Intelligence Online- "@ Indigo Publications"
•  International Intelligence History Study Group
•  Country Studies / Area Handbooks - "Library of Congress Federal Research Division."
•  SPECWAR PAGE
•  Statewatch database - "monitoring the state and civil liberties in the European Union."
•  The World Factbook of Criminal Justice Systems - "2/96 - factbook developed under a BJS grant."

• World Flags

•  http://www.UNsystem.org - "Official WEB Site Locator for the United Nations System of Organizations: Alphabetic Index of Website of the United Nations System of Organizations."
•  http://uncaps.unsystem.org - "UNCAPS: United Nations System Shared Cataloguing and Public Access System."

•  "FRONTLINE/WORLD | PBS"- http://www.PBS.org/frontlineworld
• 200205 "Sierra Leone - Gunrunners." - "FRONTLINE/WORLD . Sierra Leone | PBS." - http://www.PBS.org/frontlineworld/stories/sierraleone
• "Gallery of International Arms Dealers." - http://www.pbs.org/frontlineworld/stories/sierraleone/breakingnews.html
• 200205 "Sri Lanka - Living With Terror." -  "FRONTLINE/WORLD . Sri Lanka | PBS." - http://www.PBS.org/frontlineworld/stories/srilanka
• 200205 "Bhutan - The Last Place." -  "FRONTLINE/WORLD . Bhutan | PBS." - http://www.PBS.org/frontlineworld/stories/bhutan
• 200205 "Bolivia - Leasing the Rain." - "FRONTLINE/WORLD . Bolivia | PBS." - http://www.PBS.org/frontlineworld/stories/bolivia

•  UN.int -  Security Council - http://www.un.org/Docs/scinfo.htm
•  UN.org/Docs/sc/presidency
• 5 Permanent Members: U.S. / Russia / UK/ China/ France
•  China-UN.org  - China
•  UN.int/france
•  UN.int/russia - Russian Federation
•  UKUN.org
•  UN.int/usa
• Current (2002) Membership (10 elected positions)
•  Mauritius
•  Mexico
•  Norway-UN.org - Norway
•  Singapore
•  Syrian Arab Republic
•  Bulgaria
•  Cameroon
•  Colombia
•  Guinea
•  Ireland
•  United Nations Security Council Documents Full-Text Search - http://www.UN.org/Docs/sc

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