Free Internet Press Newsletter - Tuesday June 5 2007 - (813)

Tuesday June 5 2007 edition
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Bush Administration Drastically Cuts Back Global Warming Checks From Space 2007-06-05 01:24:37 The Bush administration is drastically scaling back efforts to measure global warming from space, just as the president tries to convince the world the U.S. is ready to take the lead in reducing greenhouse gases. A confidential report to the White House, obtained by the Associated Press, warns that U.S. scientists will soon lose much of their ability to monitor warming from space using a costly and problem-plagued satellite initiative begun more than a decade ago. Because of technology glitches and a near-doubling in the original $6.5 billion cost, the Defense Department has decided to downsize and launch four satellites paired into two orbits, instead of six satellites and three orbits. The satellites were intended to gather weather and climate data, replacing existing satellites as they come to the end of their useful lifetimes beginning in the next couple of years. Read The Full Story Global Warming 'Is Three Times Faster Than Worst Predictions' 2007-06-05 01:23:51 Global warming is accelerating three times more quickly than feared, a series of startling, authoritative studies has revealed. They have found that emissions of carbon dioxide have been rising at three times the rate in the 1990s. The Arctic ice cap is melting three times as fast - and the seas are rising twice as rapidly - as had been predicted. News of the studies - which are bound to lead to calls for even tougher anti-pollution measures than have yet been contemplated - comes as the leaders of the world's most powerful nations prepare for the most crucial meeting yet on tackling climate change. Read The Full Story Commentary: Don't Listen To Listen To What The Rich World's Leaders Say - Look At What They Do 2007-06-05 01:23:08 Intellpuke:  The following commentary by Professor George Monbiot appears in the Guardian edition for Tuesday, June 5, 2007. In it, Prof. Monbiot urges people to pay less attention to what the world's rich leaders say and pay much more attention to what they actually do. As an example, he writes that  thousands of Filipino children who die every year courtesy of the formula milk corporations, backed by U.S. lobbying. Prof. Monbiot's column follows: It is time once again for that touching annual ritual, in which the world's most powerful people move themselves to tears. At Heiligendamm they will emote with the wretched of the earth. They will beat their breasts and say many worthy and necessary things - about climate change, Africa, poverty, trade - but one word will not leave their lips. Power. Amid the patrician goodwill, there will be no acknowledgement that the power they wield over other nations destroys everything they claim to stand for. The leaders of the G8 nations present themselves as a force for unmitigated good. Sometimes they fail, but they seek only to make the world a kinder place. Bob Geldof and Bono give oxygen to this deception, speaking of the good works the leaders might perform, or of the good works they have failed to perform - but not mentioning the active harm. They refuse to acknowledge that what the rich nations give with one finger they take with both hands. Look at what is happening, right now, in the Philippines. This country has many problems, but one stands out: just 16% of children between four and five months old are exclusively breastfed. This is one of the lowest documented rates on earth, and it has fallen by a third since 1998. As 70% of Filipinos have inadequate access to clean water, the result is a public health disaster. Every year, according to the World Health Organization, some 16,000 Filipino children die as a result of "inappropriate feeding practices". Read The Full Story U.S. Court Questions FCC's Right To Police Airwaves For Language 2007-06-05 01:22:24 A federal appeals court tossed out an indecency ruling against Rupert Murdoch's Fox television network Monday and broadly questioned whether the Federal Communications Commission has the right to police the airwaves for offensive language. In a 2 to 1 decision, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 2nd Circuit in New York ruled that the FCC went too far in issuing a 2006 decision against Fox Broadcasting for separate incidents in 2002 and 2003 after singer Cher and celebrity Nicole Richie each uttered an expletive on live television. The ruling is a rebuke to the FCC and a victory for television networks, which in recent years have pushed back against the FCC's crackdown on indecency. In 2004, the agency reversed years of policy and effectively branded even "fleeting," or one-time, use of an expletive off-limits on broadcast television and radio, angering Hollywood,  which warned of a chilling effect on programming. Read The Full Story UPDATE: Grand Jury Indicts Rep. Jefferson On 16 Counts 2007-06-04 18:54:09 Rep. William J. Jefferson was indicted Monday in a longstanding FBI corruption probe centering on allegations that he took bribes to promote high-tech business ventures in Africa. The Louisiana Democrat faces charges that include racketeering, money laundering, wire fraud and conspiracy to solicit bribes by a public official. The 16-count indictment was returned by a federal grand jury in Alexandria, Virginia. Federal officials have scheduled a 3:30 p.m. news conference to discuss the 94-page indictment, which could land Jefferson in prison for life if he is convicted on all counts. The charges cap a long and tumultuous investigation that was stalled for months because of a legal battle over the constitutionality of an FBI raid on Jefferson's office last May. The raid came after the FBI found $90,000 in the freezer of his Capitol Hill home. Read The Full Story Radical Group Releases Video Of Missing Soldiers' Belongings 2007-06-04 13:57:02 A radical group linked to al-Qaeda released a video Monday that includes images of the military identification cards and other personal effects of two missing U.S. soldiers, as well as footage of a May 12 ambush in which the pair and a third American were abducted. The video from the Islamic State of Iraq, an umbrella organization for militant groups in the country, was obtained by terrorist tracking organizations in the United States, and its contents were confirmed by U.S. officials. "The video content and the documents appear to be genuine," a U.S. military official said this morning. Read The Full Story Surge In Baghdad Short Of Goals Say Commanders 2007-06-04 13:56:11 Three months after the start of the Baghdad security plan that has added thousands of American and Iraqi troops to the capital, they control fewer than one-third of the city’s neighborhoods, far short of the initial goal for the operation, according to some commanders and an internal military assessment. The American assessment, completed in late May, found that American and Iraqi forces were able to “protect the population” and “maintain physical influence over” only 146 of the 457 Baghdad neighborhoods. In the remaining 311 neighborhoods, troops have either not begun operations aimed at rooting out insurgents or still face “resistance,” according to the one-page assessment, which was provided to the New York Times and summarized reports from brigade and battalion commanders in Baghdad. The assessment offers the first comprehensive look at the progress of the effort to stabilize Baghdad with the heavy influx of additional troops. The last remaining American units in the troop increase are just now arriving. Read The Full Story Feds Seek Indictment Against U.S. Rep. Jefferson 2007-06-04 13:54:56 Federal prosecutors are seeking an indictment today against Rep. William J. Jefferson (D-Louisiana) in a longstanding FBI corruption probe centering on allegations that he took bribes to promote high-tech business ventures in Africa, said sources familiar with the investigation. Prosecutors are presenting the case to grand jurors in Alexandria, Virginia, today, said the sources, who spoke on condition of anonymity because no charges have yet been filed. If filed, the indictment would cap a long and tumultuous investigation that was stalled for months because of a legal battle over the constitutionality of an FBI raid on Jefferson's office last May. The raid came after the FBI found $90,000 in the freezer of his Capitol Hill home. Read The Full Story The New Cold War: Russia's Missiles To Target Europe 2007-06-04 00:02:10 President Vladimir Putin Sunday declared that a new arms race and cold war with the west had begun and announced that Russia would retaliate against U.S. missile defense plans in Europe by pointing its missiles at European cities. In a hawkish speech that sets the stage for a frosty G8 summit this week, Putin launched an extraordinary broadside at the west over missile defense, Kosovo and democratic standards. Putin will meet George Bush, Tony Blair and other world leaders on Wednesday in the German resort of Heiligendamm for their annual meeting. In an interview released Sunday night he made his most strident attack yet on western power. He also indicated that he would not shy away from fights with the German chancellor Angela Merkel on human rights and harshly accused Britain of "politicizing" the murder of the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko. Read The Full Story 14 U.S. Soldiers Killed In Iraq, Warning Of More Casualties 2007-06-04 00:00:37 America Sunday endured one of its deadliest days in Iraq since President Bush ordered more troops into the war zone, with the Pentagon announcing the deaths of 14 U.S. soldiers. Sunday's announced toll, which includes troops killed since the beginning of June, was one of the highest in a single day since President Bush sent more troops to Iraq, raising force strength there to 150,000. Six were killed Sunday, seven on Saturday and one on Friday. The latest casualties included four soldiers killed in a single roadside bombing during a search operation northwest of Baghdad, as well as a soldier who was blown up as he questioned a suicide bomber. They raise the toll of U.S.  forces in Iraq to 3,493. Read The Full Story Boeing Subsidiary To Be Sued Over 'Torture Flights' 2007-06-04 00:00:04 A former British resident being held at Guantanamo is suing a subsidiary of the Boeing corporation which he alleges was involved in arranging for him to be taken to secret American prisons around the world. Once there, he says, he was tortured. Lawyers for Benyam Mohammed, an Ethiopian national who grew up in Notting Hill, west London, say Jeppesen Dataplan has been providing logistical support for the Central Intelligence Agency's so-called extraordinary rendition program. According to legal papers filed in San Jose, California, by the London-based legal charity Reprieve, "Jeppesen has played a critical role in the successful implementation of the extraordinary rendition program" by providing support for flights to countries where the use of torture is routine. "Among other services provided, Jeppesen prepared pre-departure flight planning services, including itinerary, route weather, and fuel plans" for rendition flights, as well as landing and overflight permits, and arranged for fuel to be provided. The papers allege that Jeppesen facilitated more than 70 rendition flights over four years, and knew, or should have known, that detainees were being tortured at their destinations. Read The Full Story	Poll: Americans Discontent Over Iraq And With U.S. Congress Grows 2007-06-05 01:24:15 Growing frustration with the performance of the Democratic Congress, combined with widespread public pessimism over President Bush's temporary troop buildup in Iraq, has left satisfaction with the overall direction of the country at its lowest point in more than a decade, according to a new Washington Post-ABC Newspoll. Almost six in 10 Americans said they do not think the additional troops sent to Iraq since the beginning of the year will help restore civil order there, and 53 percent - a new high in Post-ABC News polls - said they do not believe that the war has contributed to the long-term security of the United States. Disapproval of Bush's performance in office remains high, but the poll highlighted growing disapproval of the new Democratic majority in Congress. Just 39 percent said they approve of the job Congress is doing, down from 44 percent in April, when the new Congress was about 100 days into its term. More significant, approval of congressional Democrats dropped 10 percentage points over that same period, from 54 percent to 44 percent. Read The Full Story Massacres In The Biofuel Revolution 2007-06-05 01:23:31 Armed groups in Colombia are driving peasants off their land to make way for plantations of palm oil, a biofuel that is being promoted as an environmentally friendly source of energy. Surging demand for "green" fuel has prompted rightwing paramilitaries to seize swaths of territory, according to activists and farmers. Thousands of families are believed to have fled a campaign of killing and intimidation, swelling Colombia's population of 3 million displaced people and adding to one of the world's worst refugee crises after Darfur and Congo. Several companies were collaborating by falsifying deeds to claim ownership of the land, said Andres Castro, the general secretary of Fedepalma, the national federation of palm oil producers. Read The Full Story UPDATE: Guantanamo Trials In Chaos As Military Judge Throws Out 2 Cases 2007-06-05 01:22:39 The Bush administration's plans to bring detainees at Guantanamo Bay to trial were thrown into chaos Monday when military judges threw out all charges against a detainee held there since he was 15 and dismissed charges against another detainee who chauffeured Osama bin Laden. In back-to-back arraignments for the Canadian Omar Khadr and Salim Ahmed Hamdan, a Yemeni national, the U.S. military's cases against the alleged al-Qaeda figures were dismissed because, the judges said, the government had failed to establish jurisdiction. Monday's decision by Colonel Peter Brownback to dismiss all charges against Khadr on technical grounds has broad implications for the Bush administration's system of military tribunals because the technicality appears to apply to all 385 prisoners held at Guantanamo. The dismissal of the case also undermines the administration's efforts to show that the military tribunals are based on sound legal practice and can provide detainees with a fair hearing, said detainee lawyers. Read The Full Story U.S. Military Judge Clears Canadian Detainee At Guantanamo 2007-06-04 18:54:22 A U.S. military judge Monday dismissed all charges against a Canadian detainee at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, ruling that his murder trial cannot go forward under the current law governing military commissions. Army Col. Peter Brownback's decision at the island detention facility temporarily ended the case against Omar Khadr, a 20-year-old detainee who allegedly killed a U.S. serviceman during intense fighting in Afghanistan in July 2002. Khadr, who the military has determined is an "enemy combatant," was scheduled for arraignment Monday in what was to be the second case to go before a military commission. Brownback decided that the Military Commissions Act of 2006 - which sets forth the rules for trying detainees at Guantanamo - limits such commissions to "unlawful enemy combatants" and concluded that the military has never classified Khadr using the term "unlawful." Read The Full Story Immigration Bill Backers More Optimistic 2007-06-04 13:57:18 After a week at home with their constituents, the Senate architects of a delicate immigration compromise are increasingly convinced that they will hold together this week to pass an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, with momentum building behind one unifying theme: Today's immigration system is too broken to go unaddressed. Congress's week-long Memorial Day recess was expected to leave the bill in tatters, but with a week of action set to begin today, the legislation's champions say they believe that the voices of opposition, especially from conservatives, represent a small segment of public opinion. Sen. Jon Kyl (R-Arizona), who led negotiations on the bill for his party, said the flood of angry calls and protests that greeted the deal two weeks ago has since receded every day. "You just have to recognize you will get 300 calls, you'll get conflicts at town hall meetings - all of them negative," said Rep. Jeff Flake (R-Arizona), who consulted with Kyl and hopes to carry a similar deal through the House in July. "The last few days have really turned things around." Read The Full Story China Reveals Its Climate-Change Plan 2007-06-04 13:56:40 China Monday released its first comprehensive strategy on addressing climate change, a plan that calls for improving energy efficiency and controlling greenhouse gas emissions but that rejects mandatory caps on emissions that could harm the country’s sizzling economy. “Our general stance is that China will not commit to any quantified emissions reduction targets, but that does not mean we will not assume responsibilities in responding to climate change,” said Ma Kai, head of China’s powerful economic planning agency, the National Development and Reform Commission. The 62-page report unveiled by Ma is dense with figures and programs on subjects like reforestation, public education and improving regulatory enforcement. Read The Full Story NATO: Putin Missile Remarks 'Unhelpful' 2007-06-04 13:55:48 NATO led criticism on Monday of President Vladimir Putin's latest attack on a planned U.S. missile shield, but Western reaction was generally muted ahead of a Group of Eight (G8) encounter with Putin this week. The Russian leader warned in an interview released on Sunday that Russia would revert to its Cold War stance of aiming missiles at Europe if Washington pursued its plan to site parts of its planned shield in Poland and the Czech Republic. Putin acknowledged that such a response risked reviving an arms race in Europe but said Moscow could not be blamed because Washington had started the escalation. [Intellpuke: You can read a separate article on Putin's comments elsewhere on today's Free Internet Press mainpage.] "As far as I am aware, the only country speculating about targeting Europe with missiles is the Russian Federation," NATO spokesman James Appathurai said. Read The Full Story China's Stock Market Takes A Tumble ...Again 2007-06-04 13:54:37 China's loss appears to be other Asian stock markets' gain. While Chinese stocks plunged 8.3 percent Monday for their biggest one-day fall since a February drop that triggered a global selloff, markets in Australia, Indonesia, Singapore, South Korea and the Philippines - rose to record highs. Tokyo's Nikkei 225 index edged up 0.08 percent, while Hong Kong's benchmark index rose 0.6 percent. Even U.S. and European shares largely shrugged off the decline Chinese shares, a far different outcome than in February, when an almost 9 percent decline in the benchmark Shanghai Composite Index set off alarm bells across global bourses. On Monday, the Shanghai Index tumbled to 3,670.40, falling for the third time in four sessions since the government raised a tax on trading last week to cool a market boom. The index had dropped 2.7 percent Friday. The Shenzhen Composite Index for China's smaller second market fell 7.9 percent to 1,039.90. Read The Full Story Brazil's President Rejects Bush Move On Climate Change 2007-06-04 00:01:55 Brazil's President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva, has flatly rejected President Bush's proposals for parallel global negotiations to combat climate change, insisting that countries come to agreement at the United Nations, and not under U.S. leadership. In a rare interview with a British newspaper, President Lula told the Guardian that Brazil, a fast developing country whose support is critical to a global deal on emission cuts, had not even been informed that Bush was contemplating a new negotiating framework, before the U.S. president made his announcement last Thursday. "The Brazilian position is clear cut," said Lula. "I cannot accept the idea that we have to build another group to discuss the same issues that were discussed in Kyoto and not fulfilled. "If you have a multilateral forum [the U.N.] that makes a democratic decision .. then we should work to abide by those rules [rather than] simply to say that I do not agree with Kyoto and that I will develop another institution," said Lula, who was in London to watch Friday's England-Brazil international soccer match. Read The Full Story Israeli Ministers Discuss British Boycott Threats Amid Plans To Retaliate 2007-06-04 00:00:22 Israeli groups are planning to launch a counter-boycott of Britain in response to a series of boycotts proposed by British unions and associations. The counter-measures include an email campaign to convince North Americans to boycott British goods and services and a threat by union workers to refuse to unload British exports to Israel. Israelis have reacted angrily to proposals by the University and College Union and Unison, the largest public sector workers' union, to boycott Israel in protest at its treatment of Palestinians. The proposals follow a similar resolution passed by the National Union of Journalists earlier this year. Read The Full Story
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