Free Internet Press Newsletter - Tuesday May 29 2007 - (813)

Tuesday May 29 2007 edition
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Congress Members Push For Big Subsidy For Coal Process 2007-05-29 02:37:41 Even as Congressional leaders draft legislation to reduce greenhouse gases linked to global warming, a powerful roster of Democrats and Republicansis pushing to subsidize coal as the king of alternative fuels. Prodded by intense lobbying from the coal industry, lawmakers from coal states are proposing that taxpayers guarantee billions of dollars in construction loans for coal-to-liquid production plants, guarantee minimum prices for the new fuel, and guarantee big government purchases for the next 25 years. With both House and Senate Democrats hoping to pass “energy independence” bills by mid-July, coal supporters argue that coal-based fuels are more American than gasoline and potentially greener than ethanol. Read The Full Story China Embraces Nuclear Future 2007-05-29 02:37:08 Not far from the old Silk Road, Chinese government scientists have begun boring holes deep into granite in the first steps toward building what could become the world's largest tomb for nuclear waste. As governments worldwide look at nuclear power as a possible answer to global warming, China has embarked on a nuclear-plant construction binge that eventually could exceed the one the United States undertook during the technology's heyday in the 1960s. Under plans already announced, China intends to spend $50 billion to build 32 nuclear plants by 2020. Some analysts say the country will build 300 more by the middle of the century. That's not much less than the generating power of all the nuclear plants in the world today. Read The Full Story Disillusion Rises For Some G.I.s As Iraqi Allies Turn Foe 2007-05-28 16:22:33 Staff Sgt. David Safstrom does not regret his previous tours in Iraq, not even a difficult second stint when two comrades were killed while trying to capture insurgents. “In Mosul, in 2003, it felt like we were making the city a better place,” he said. “There was no sectarian violence, Saddam was gone, we were tracking down the bad guys. It felt awesome.” But now on his third deployment in Iraq, he is no longer a believer in the mission. The pivotal moment came, he says, this February when soldiers killed a man setting a roadside bomb. When they searched the bomber’s body, they found identification showing him to be a sergeant in the Iraqi Army. Read The Full Story 'That's Where The Journalists Were Shot' 2007-05-28 16:22:05 Intellpuke: Western broadcasters rely on local stringers for much of their coverage from Iraq. But are they ignoring their obligations to the people who risk their lives to get those dramatic images? It's an interesting question and the BBC's developing world correspondent David Loyn examines it in the following article, which is an edited extract of his article that appears in the British Journalism Review, Volume 18, Number 2. The policeman who stopped us at the checkpoint was quite matter of fact when we told him our occupation. "You are journalists, are you?" he said. "That's where the journalists were shot this morning." We looked briefly across the rubbish-strewn wasteground under the flyover that soars above Baghdad on the east side of the Tigris and then drove on. I had heard about the incident before we set out: two Iraqi journalists, identified and shot. It would hardly feature on the news in Baghdad, let alone abroad. The most dangerous place in the world for journalists has imposed a new set of rules on reporting. A shabby Toyota saloon, with a smeared windscreen fringed by woollen tassels, and grey nylon curtains obscuring the rear windows, is now the vehicle of choice, leaving fleets of expensive armored vehicles to gather dust in garages. A low profile is better protection than armor plating. All reporters have a second backup vehicle a discreet distance behind, and the escorts are armed. You try not to make appointments, so that ambushes cannot be prepared; you try to stay only 20 minutes at any location, varying the route in and out, to make it harder for kidnappers. The big agencies, with permanent staffs, have their own security. But even journalists with smaller organizations have their own safety net, keeping each other informed of their whereabouts. There are no scoops in Baghdad. Read The Full Story U.S., Iran Meet To Discuss Iraq Security 2007-05-28 16:21:38 U.S. and Iranian diplomats met Monday in formal, bilateral talks for the first time in more than a quarter century and agreed in general terms on the advances they would like to see to restore stability to this fractured country, where both have vital interests, the U.S. envoy reported. Ryan Crocker, the U.S. ambassador to Iraq, told reporters after the session that his four-hour meeting with Iranian Ambassador Hassan Kazemi Qomi had been business-like and "proceeded positively" and that both sides wanted to move toward a stable, federal Iraq. But he said at a press conference that he made clear that the United States wants "Iranian actions on the ground to come into harmony with their described principles." "I laid out to the Iranians direct, specific concerns about their behavior in Iraq and their support for militias that are fighting Iraqi and coalition forces," including the imports of explosives from Iran into Iraq that have been used against U.S. and Iraqi forces, Crocker said. Read The Full Story U.S. Immigration Agency Mired In Inefficiency 2007-05-28 03:00:00 Last June, U.S. immigration officials were presented a plan that supporters said could help slash waiting times for green cards from nearly three years to three months and save 1 million applicants more than a third of the 45 hours they could expect to spend in government lines. It would also save about $350 million. The response? No thanks. Leaders of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services rejected key changes because ending huge immigration backlogs nationwide would rob the agency of application and renewal fees that cover 20 percent of its $1.8 billion budget, according to the plan's author, agency ombudsman Prakash Khatri. Read The Full Story Heavy Rains Strand 1,500 Oklahoma Campers 2007-05-28 02:59:34 Heavy rains pounded central Oklahoma on Sunday, sending swollen rivers and creeks over their banks and stranding hundreds of campers who came for the holiday weekend at a popular park. About 1,500 campers at Turner Falls Park near Davis were stuck with their vehicles Sunday after flash flooding forced the closure of the only road leading into the campgrounds, park manager Tom Graham said. No injuries were reported. "One minute it was OK, and 20 minutes later a wave came through and caused us to shut it down," said Graham. "We started warning people yesterday evening that if they stayed, they may get flooded in." Read The Full Story U.S., Iraqi Troops Free 42 Iraqis Held By Al-Qaeda 2007-05-28 02:59:03 U.S. and Iraqi forces freed 42 kidnapped Iraqis - some of whom had been hung from ceilings and tortured for months - in a raid Sunday on an al-Qaeda hideout north of Baghdad, said the U.S. military. Military officials said the operation, launched on tips from residents, showed that Iraqis in the turbulent Diyala province were turning against Sunni insurgents and beginning to trust U.S. troops. "The people in Diyala are speaking up against al-Qaeda," said Maj. Gen. William Caldwell, the top U.S. military spokesman in Iraq. Elsewhere in Diyala, a U.S. soldier was killed when an explosion hit his vehicle and a second soldier was killed in an explosion in Baghdad, the military said. The deaths brought the number of troops killed this month to at least 102, putting May on pace to become the deadliest month for Americans here in more than 2 years. Read The Full Story Japan's Agriculture Minister Dies 2007-05-28 02:58:24 Japan's agricultural minister died Monday after reportedly hanging himself just hours before he was to face questioning in parliament in a political scandal, said officials. Toshikatsu Matsuoka, 62, was found unconscious in his apartment and rushed to a hospital, where he was declared dead hours later, said a Tokyo Metropolitan Police official. "We've confirmed that Agriculture Minister Toshikatsu Matsuoka is dead," said Yasuhisa Shiozaki, the chief government spokesman. "We are greatly saddened." Shiozaki said the police were still investigating the cause of death, and that he could not officially confirm it was a suicide. Japanese media reported that Matsuoka had been found hanging in his apartment and that efforts to resuscitate him at the hospital failed. Read The Full Story Assad The Only Choice In Presidential Referendum 2007-05-28 02:57:56 High above the teeming streets of Damascus, from giant hoardings, posters and balloons, Bashar al-Assad gazed benignly down on his people - determined, proud, statesmanlike and reassuring - the carefully crafted image of a man fit to carry on leading Syria for another seven years. Banners praised "our Bashar", defender of sovereignty and stability. "We love you," declared another slogan, printed over a thumbprint in the national colors. Nightly street parties, concerts, dabke dancing and rallies created a festive, jubilee-like atmosphere in the run-up to Sunday's presidential referendum. No one was surprised that celebrations were taking place before a single ballot was cast; President Assad was, after all, the only candidate nominated by the ruling Ba'ath party. There is no legal opposition. Tellingly, the event is described in Arabic as "renewing the pledge of allegiance" as if this young, British-educated ophthalmologist and computer buff were a mediaeval Caliph. Read The Full Story	Hispanic Groups Reconsider Support Of Alberto Gonzales 2007-05-29 02:37:27 Two years ago, major Hispanic groups broke with other civil rights organizations and supported Alberto R. Gonzales' nomination for attorney general, primarily because he would become the highest-ranking Latino ever in a presidential Cabinet. Now, these groups say they are suffering from buyer's remorse. "I have to say we were in error when we supported him to begin with," said Brent Wilkes, executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens. Gonzales, Wilkes said, has not aggressively pursued hate crimes and cases of police profiling of Hispanics. "We hoped for better. Instead it looks like he's done the bidding of the White House." Read The Full Story Campaign Puts Pressure On U.S. Secret Service 2007-05-29 02:36:48 The U.S. Secret Service expects to borrow more than 2,000 immigration officers and federal airport screeners next year to help guard an ever-expanding field of presidential candidates, while shifting 250 of its own agents from investigations to security details. Burdened by the White House's wartime security needs, the persistent threat of terrorism and a field of at least 20 presidential contenders, the Secret Service was showing signs of strain even before the Department of Homeland Security ordered protection for Sen. Barack Obama (D-Illinois) as of May 3, the earliest a candidate has ever been assigned protection in an election season. Its $110 million-plus budget for campaign protection - two-thirds more than the record $65 million it spent for the 2004 election - was prepared when the service did not expect to be guarding Obama or anyone else until January. The agency has already been forced to scale back its efforts to battle counterfeiting and cybercrime. Read The Full Story Congressional Study Raises Concerns Of Militarization Of U.S. Foreign Policy In Africa 2007-05-28 16:22:19 The creation of the Defense Department Africa Command (AFRICOM), with responsibilities to promote security and government stability in the region, has heightened concerns among African countries and in the U.S.  government over the militarization of U.S. foreign policy, according to a newly released study by the Congressional Research Service. The Africa Command (AFRICOM) was announced in February by the Bush administration and is scheduled to begin operations in October with temporary headquarters in Stuttgart, Germany. AFRICOM would have traditional responsibilities of a combat command "to facilitate or lead [U.S.] military operations" on the continent, but would also include "a broader 'soft power' mandate aimed at preemptively reducing conflict and would incorporate a larger civilian component to address those challenges," according to the CRS study. AFRICOM raises oversight issues for congressional committees, according to the report. "How will the administration ensure that U.S. militaryefforts in Africa do not overshadow or contradict U.S. diplomatic and development objectives?" the report asks. Similar concerns are being raised between Defense and State Department officials over the Pentagon's plans to take economic assistance programs begun in Iraq and Afghanistan and make them permanent and worldwide, with more than $1 billion allocated to them annually. Read The Full Story Bush Pays Tribute To Fallen Troops 2007-05-28 16:21:49 President Bush on Monday honored U.S. troops who have fought and died for freedom and expressed his steely resolve to succeed in the war in Iraq. "As before in our history, Americans find ourselves under attack and underestimated," he said. Bush marked his sixth Memorial Day as a wartime president with a somber speech at Arlington National Cemetery. He said he hoped the United States will always prove worthy of the sacrifices fallen troops have made, and recognized the grief suffered by families and friends of troops killed in war, most recently in Afghanistan and Iraq. "Now this hallowed ground receives a new generation of heroes - men and women who gave their lives in places such as Kabul and Kandahar, Baghdad and Ramadi," he said. "Like those who came before them, they did not want war, but they answered the call when it came. They believed in something larger than themselves. They fought for our country, and our country unites to mourn them as one." Read The Full Story Man Wrestles Leopard That Jumped In Bed 2007-05-28 16:21:09 A man clad only in underwear and a T-shirt wrestled a wild leopard to the floor and pinned it for 20 minutes after the cat leapt through a window of his home and hopped into bed with his sleeping family. "This kind of thing doesn't happen every day," said 49-year-old Arthur Du Mosch, a nature guide. "I don't know why I did it. I wasn't thinking, I just acted." Raviv Shapira, who heads the southern district of the Israel Nature and Parks Protection Authority, said a half dozen leopards have been spotted recently near Du Mosch's small community of Kibbutz Sde Boker in the Negev desert in southern Israel, although they rarely threaten humans. Shapira said it was probably food that lured the big cat. Leopards living near humans are usually too old to hunt in the wild and resort to chasing down domestic dogs and cats for food, he added. Read The Full Story Another Memorial Day Marks Grief's Journey 2007-05-28 02:59:49 Not a waking hour goes by when Judy Adamouski does not think of the son she lost at war. Some nights, she drifts from room to room in her Springfield home - sleepless, taking in what is left of his life. A framed photograph of a soldier in uniform. A wedding portrait. A diploma from West Point. "You miss the voice," she said. "You miss seeing him. It's just hard. All we have is our memories and our pictures." Her son is not a recent casualty but one of the early deaths of the Iraq war: Army Capt. James F. Adamouski, killed April 2, 2003, in a Black Hawk helicopter crash as U.S. troops made their way toward Baghdad two weeks into combat operations. This is her fifth Memorial Day since then - a holiday that marks time's passing but still finds her living with a mother's grief. "Jimmy," as she called him, was her only son, 29 years old, newly married, bound for Harvard University for a master's degree. Read The Full Story Guantanamo Detainee Told: Stay In Jail Or Face Torture In Home Country 2007-05-28 02:59:22 The British government was under pressure last night to allow a London man held in Guantanamo Bay for four years to return to Britain after the U.S. cleared him for release from the notorious prison. Jamil el-Banna was detained by the U.S. in 2002 after Britain sent the CIA false information about him. He had also failed to accept an MI5 offer to turn informant. If refused entry to Britain, Banna could be returned to face torture in his native Jordan, from where he fled to Britain in 1994 after alleging ill treatment. Speaking through his lawyer from Guantanamo, Banna described how he longed to be reunited with his wife and five children, and denied involvement in terrorism. "They should admit the truth - that they have been holding an innocent man for four-and-a-half years. I just want to be home with my family," he said. Read The Full Story Police Use Water Cannons To Stop Protest As Anti-Chavez Station Taken Off The Air 2007-05-28 02:58:45 Troops and police broke up an opposition protest using water cannon and tear gas last night as the Venezuelan government prepared to pull the plug on a TV channel opposed to President Hugo Chavez. Protesters scattered as they were hit by water jets then sang the national anthem as they returned to face riot police outside the state telecommunications commission. Tension mounted in Caracas, the capital, as the clock ticked towards the midnight deadline for the channel to cease broadcasting, a decision which has triggered accusations of censorship. Radio Caracas Television, the country's "oldest and most popular" private channel, hosted an emotional farewell to viewers and depicted its imminent demise as a political watershed. "This marks a turn toward totalitarianism," said its director, Marcel Granier. Read The Full Story Israeli Prime Minister Risks Losing Office 2007-05-28 02:58:08 Israel's government faces fresh upheaval Monday when the Labor party begins primaries for a new leader who could deal a final blow to Ehud Olmert's tenure as prime minister. The two leading contenders to take the party's helm from Peretz have said that they will work to get rid of Olmert, who has been under intense pressure following a damning report into his prosecution of last year's war in Lebanon. Labor is part of the ruling coalition along with Olmert's Kadima party. Peretz, also tainted by the Lebanon campaign, has already said he will resign as defense minister after the primaries. Opinion polls suggest that Ami Ayalon, a former head of the Shin Bet internal security service, will win but may not get the required 40% of the vote to avoid a second round of voting. Ehud Barak, a former prime minister, is second with Peretz a distant third. Read The Full Story
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