Free Internet Press Newsletter - Thursday November 16 2006 - (813)

Thursday November 16 2006 edition
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U.S. Middle East Commander Warns Against Iraq Cutoff 2006-11-15 20:31:56 The commander of U.S. forces in the Middle East today cautioned against beginning a phased withdrawal of troops from Iraq and recommended that current troop levels be maintained, but he said that all options remain open, including a "temporary" increase to help the Iraqi army become more effective. Army Gen. John P. Abizaid, who heads the U.S. Central Command, told a Senate panel that U.S. commanders on the ground and the government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki both oppose the idea of significantly boosting U.S. forces in Iraq to help deal with intensifying sectarian violence. The U.S. commanders view such an option as contradicting their efforts to place more responsibility on Iraqi forces, and Maliki has told him it would undermine the government's authority, said Abizaid. Nevertheless, the general held out the prospect that the U.S. troop levels may need to go up in order to bolster the U.S. "military transition teams" that are "embedded" with Iraqi forces. Read The Full Story U.S. Plans Last Big Push In Iraq 2006-11-15 20:31:08 President George Bush has told senior advisers that the U.S. and its allies must make "a last big push" to win the war in Iraq and that instead of beginning a troop withdrawal next year, he may increase U.S. forces by up to 20,000 soldiers, according to sources familiar with the administration's internal deliberations. Bush's refusal to give ground, coming in the teeth of growing calls in the U.S. and Britain for a radical rethink or a swift exit, is having a decisive impact on the policy review being conducted by the Iraq Study Group chaired by Bush family loyalist James Baker, said the sources. Although the panel's work is not complete, its recommendations are expected to be built around a four-point "victory strategy" developed by Pentagon officials advising the group. The strategy, along with other related proposals, is being circulated in draft form and has been discussed in separate closed sessions with Baker and the vice-president Dick Cheney, an Iraq war hawk. Read The Full Story Abramoff Reports To Maryland Prison To Begin Serving 5-Year, 10-Month Sentence 2006-11-15 20:30:01 Jack Abramoff, the former lobbyist blamed for a corruption scandal that contributed to the Republican loss of Congress last week, reported to a federal prison in Maryland Wednesday. Abramoff, 47, began serving a sentence of five years and 10 months at a minimum-security prison camp in Cumberland, Maryland, for defrauding banks of $23 million in his purchase of a Florida casino cruise line six years ago. Abramoff has also pleaded guilty in Washington to fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials. He is to be sentenced in that case next year, after he completes his cooperation with the Justice Department's wide-ranging investigation of his dealings with officials in Congress and executive-branch agencies. Read The Full Story Justice Dept.'s Brief On Detention Policy Draws Ire 2006-11-15 00:06:19 Critics of U.S. detention policies warned yesterday that a brief legal document filed by the Justice Department this week raises the possibility that any of the millions of immigrants living in the United States could be subject to indefinite detention if they are accused of ties to terrorist groups. In a six-page motion filed in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit in Richmond, Justice Department lawyers argue that an anti-terrorism law approved by Congress last month allows the government to detain any foreign national declared to be an enemy combatant, even if he is arrested and imprisoned inside the United States. The government argues that a legal challenge by alleged al-Qaeda sleeper agent Ali Saleh Kahlah al-Marri should be dismissed because the former Bradley University graduate student has no standing in regular civilian courts. Under the new law, the Military Commissions Act, the Pentagon plans to place Marri into its new military trial system as soon as his criminal case is dismissed, according to the filing. Read The Full Story Iraqi Report On Hostages Release Now Called False 2006-11-15 00:05:20 Intellpuke: On Tuesday, I posted a CNN article saying that most of the hostages taken from a Higher Education Ministry office in Baghdad, Iraq, had been released. The following Associated Press article now says that report, initially made by Iraqi officials and and Iraqi t.v. news site, was incorrect. Here's the A.P. report: Suspected Shiite militiamen dressed as Interior Ministry commandos stormed a Higher Education Ministry office Tuesday and kidnapped dozens of people after clearing the area under the guise of providing security for what they claimed would be a visit by the U.S. ambassador. A broadcast report that most hostages were freed appeared to be false. Witnesses and authorities said the gunmen raced through all four stories of the building, forced men and women into separate rooms, handcuffed the men and loaded them aboard about 20 pickup trucks. Read The Full Story Scientists Call For Ban On Deep Sea Trawling 2006-11-15 00:03:59 Scientists have called for a worldwide ban on deep-sea trawling following a major United Nations-backed report on the damage it is causing to vulnerable deep-sea corals. The study will provide ammunition for countries calling for a moratorium on the fishing practice on the high seas. The latest round of negotiations on the issue will begin at the U.N. General Assembly on Friday. Scientific evidence has been mounting that deep-sea bottom trawling, which involves dragging nets over the summits of submerged mountains called seamounts, can do long-lasting damage to the ecosystems. But countries such as Spain, Russia, Canada and South Korea have defended the practice, arguing that no one could be sure which areas to avoid. The U.K. government supports a moratorium. Read The Full Story	Kofi Annan Attacks Big Polluters On Greenhouse Gas Emissions 2006-11-15 20:31:28 In a thinly veiled attack on the U.S. and Australia, United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan said Wednesday a "frightening lack of leadership" was hindering the fight against global warming. Speaking at the start of the main session of the U.N. climate change conference in the Kenyan capital, Nairobi, Annan described the build-up of heat-trapping greenhouse gases as an "all-encompassing threat" to the world. He said that the Kyoto protocol, under which industrialized countries agreed to limit their harmful emissions to pre-1990 levels by 2012, was a crucial step in tackling the problem. The U.S. and Australia refused to sign the protocol, claiming it would unfairly hurt their economies as it does not commit developing nations like China and India to binding targets. Read The Full Story Medicare Drug Plan Signup Opens 2006-11-15 20:30:38 The shopping season began Wednesday for elderly and disabled Americans considering enrollment in the Medicare drug program. For the next six weeks, about 43 million beneficiaries are eligible to enroll in a private plan that would subsidize the cost of their medicine in 2007. Enrollees on average saved about $1,100 on their medicine this year as a result of the program, federal officials say. People who are satisfied with their current plan will be automatically re-enrolled unless they want to make a change. But Medicare officials do recommend that beneficiaries explore what changes their plans have in store for them next year. For instance, some plans will charge higher premiums, so there may be better deals available elsewhere. Read The Full Story Britain's Law Watchdog Warns Against 'Rush To Judgment' On Extending Detainees' Detention Time 2006-11-15 20:29:38 The government's anti-terror law watchdog, Lord Carlile, warned ministers yesterday not to "rush to judgment" on any decision to attempt to extend the detention without charge of terror suspects beyond the current 28 days. As the independent reviewer of Britain's counter terror laws, the Liberal Democrat peer said he had yet to see the evidence needed to "fully support" the claim made by the Metropolitan police commissioner, Sir Ian Blair, that it was "time to examine the case for longer". His intervention underlined one of the central features of the Queen's speech, that despite the promise by Tony Blair to put counter-terrorism and security at the center of his last legislative programme the Cabinet is still a long way from agreeing what new legislation is needed. Read The Full Story 'Nightline's Dave Marash Becomes Al Jazeera's American News Anchor 2006-11-15 00:05:54 The moment Dave Marash told friends and colleagues about his new job, the questions began flying. Who? listeners asked skeptically. And why? Nearly nine months later, he's still hearing those questions - and it turns out answering the first one is simpler. In February, Marash, a lifelong broadcast newsman, became the Washington-based anchor of Al Jazeera English (AJE), the English-language spinoff of the Arabic TV news network. When AJE begins its first globe-spanning broadcast today (Wednesday), Marash will be its most prominent American face. Read The Full Story U.N. Says Somalis Helped Hezbollah Fighters 2006-11-15 00:04:32 More than 700 Islamic militants from Somalia traveled to Lebanon in July to fight alongside Hezbollah in its war against Israel, a United Nations report says. The militia in Lebanon returned the favor by providing training and -  through its patrons Iran and Syria - weapons to the Islamic alliance struggling for control of Somalia, it adds. The report, which was disclosed by Reuters on Monday, appears to be the first indication that foreign fighters assisted Hezbollah during the 34-day conflict, when Israel maintained a tight blockade on Lebanon. The report also says Iran sought to trade arms for uranium from Somalia to further its nuclear ambitions, though it does not say whether Iran succeeded. Read The Full Story E.U. Commissioner Gives Microsoft Until Thanksgiving To Hand Over Software Secrets 2006-11-15 00:03:17 Brussels, Belgium, gave Microsoft a nine-day deadline Tuesday to provide its rivals with outstanding details of its software systems or face fresh fines. Neelie Kroes, the European Union's competition commissioner, gave the world's largest software group until next Thursday - Thanksgiving Day in America - to hand over all relevant information about the secret protocols behind its Windows operating system. Ms. Kroes fined Microsoft €280.5 million (£190 million or about $350 million) in July for failing to comply with commission rulings and could now fine it up to €3 million a day. In an interview with the Guardian newspaper, she made plain that her patience had run out, saying: "I don't have eternal life." Microsoft, which is launching its upgraded Vista operating system this month, had promised to deliver all the details - to allow its systems to operate fully with rival networks - by July 19. Read The Full Story
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