world news thread

[mike_2007]

Wednesday, February 13, 2008


US Senate passes surveillance bill with telecom immunity grant
Brett Murphy at 7:31 AM ET



The US Senate on Tuesday voted 68-29 [roll call] in favor of the FISA Amendments Act , legislation intended to replace the temporary Protect America Act in modernizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act. The Protect America Act is currently set to expire February 15. The bill passed by the Senate Tuesday would provide immunity for telecommunications companies from lawsuits related to their participation in the NSA warrantless surveillance program . The House version ] of the legislation, approved in November , did not include the provisions on immunity, and House Republicans are now pressing for a vote on the Senate bill to side-step potentially difficult negotiations to reconcile differences between the versions. House Judiciary Committee Chairman Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) sent a letter to White House Counsel Fred Fielding Tuesday, maintaining his position against the granting of retroactive immunity to telecom companies. Conyers said that there was no reason for such a broad grant of amnesty.

Congress has mulled the controversial issue of telecom immunity while working on long-term legislation to "modernize" the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) ; the Bush administration has indicated it will veto any legislation passed without a telecom liability protection. On Tuesday, the Senate approved by voice vote an increase in the power of Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court (FISC) to monitor the government's eavesdropping on American citizens. Current law allows the US government to eavesdrop inside of the US without court approval as long as one end of a conversation is reasonably perceived to have been outside of the US; the amendment will extend the court order requirement to Americans located overseas.

[mike_2007]

Guatemala legislature passes bill to restore death penalty
Leslie Schulman at 7:22 AM ET


The Guatemalan Congress voted to restore the death penalty Tuesday, passing a bill that ends a six-year moratorium on executions imposed by the Constitutional Court in 2002. Under the new law, Guatemalan President Alvaro Colom will have to decide whether to grant clemency to the 24 inmates currently on death row or to order their executions to take place. Each prison sentence would be commuted to 50 years, which is the maximum sentence permitted under Guatemalan law. Colom, sworn into office last mont, is an opponent of the death penalty and will have 30 days to grant clemency individually to each inmate.

In 2002, former President Alfonso Portillo directed the Constitutional Court to set the capital punishment moratorium in Guatemala, concluding that a 1892 law permitting commutation was unclear as to which part of the government had jurisdiction to grant clemency. The Constitutional Court granted the moratorium, stating that it was Congress' job to amend the law.

[mike_2007]

ICTR defense investigator pleads not guilty in witness bribing case
Caitlin Price at 12:54 PM ET



Rwandan defense investigator Leonidas Nshogoza pleaded not guilty Monday before the International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda (ICTR) to charges of contempt and attempted contempt of the ICTR. Nshogoza was arrested in June 2007 for allegedly bribing witnesses, fabricating evidence and "interfering in the administration of justice" during an appeal of the 2004 conviction of former Rwandan Higher Education Minister Jean de Dieu Kamuhanda . Nshogoza was provisionally released from police custody in November 2007 and voluntarily surrendered last week after the ICTR issued an international arrest warrant for him. ICTR defense lawyers have demanded Nshogoza's unconditional release and criticized the laying of the charges for undermining the independence of the tribunal.

Last December, the ICTR sentenced a former witness in Kamuhanda's appeal to nine months in prison for contempt of court and giving false testimony before the tribunal. Kamuhanda is currently serving two life sentences for genocide and extermination. The ICTR was established to try genocide suspects for crimes occurring during the 1994 Rwandan conflict between Hutus and Tutsis in which approximately 800,000 people, primarily Tutsis, died.

[mike_2007]

US copyright group says Canada joining China, Russia as top violator
Deirdre Jurand at 5:35 PM ET



China, Russia and Canada are the main violators of US copyright law, according to report issued Monday by a US-based industry group. The International Intellectual Property Alliance (IIPA), a consortium of seven trade associations representing 1,900 US companies producing and distributing copyrighted materials, found that the number of violations had increased over the past year due to what it called the "explosive growth of online and mobile piracy." A survey of 51 countries showed a total loss of $18.4 billion in revenue from these acts. The IPAA recommended that the office of the United States Trade Representative (USTR) establish stronger international anti-piracy norms, more effective enforcement and more international law enforcement cooperation. China and Russia are traditional targets of the IIPA and US officials working on copyright issues; those officials have criticized Canadian copyright law for being the most lax among the G7 nations. Canadian lawmakers are preparing draft legislation to address the concerns, but many Canadians have protested more stringent copyright regulation.

In October 2007, American and European official announced plans for multinational negotiation of an Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement (ACTA) to promote international enforcement of copyright law . Talks have begun between the US, the European Union nations, Switzerland, Canada, Mexico, Japan, South Korea, and New Zealand on the agreement, which will increase scrutiny and enforcement against piracy and counterfeiting. Reuters has more.

[mike_2007]

By PHILIP ELLIOTT, Associated Press Writer
13 minutes ago



COLUMBUS, Ohio - The man who served as national manager of former President Clinton's 1992 campaign endorsed Sen. Barack Obama on Wednesday. David Wilhelm, who led the campaign and later became chairman of the Democratic National Committee, said Obama had the unique ability to encourage cooperation as a 65-percent president after the divisive years of a 51-percent majority.

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He was referring to the notion that Obama could govern the country with the support of a large coalition, as opposed to more polarized support for President Bush.

Wilhelm is a superdelegate who was previously uncommitted in the race. His endorsement helps Obama in the race for delegates, in which he pulled ahead after Tuesday's sweeps of primaries in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. Clinton remains considerably ahead in superdelegates, which are party officials, elected officials and others who can vote however they choose at the nominating convention.

If the race for pledged delegates based on outcomes in caucuses and primaries across the country remains tight, superdelegates could decide the nomination.

Obama leads the delegate race with 1,224 to 1,198 to Clinton, according to the latest count by The Associated Press.

Persuading superdelegates to back Obama will be a crucial role for Wilhelm in the Obama campaign, he said.

"The only reason this race appears to be closer than it actually is is the number of superdelegates that bought into Senator Clinton's inevitability early "” too early, it seems," Wilhelm said.

The Clinton campaign predicted Wednesday it would be in a virtual tie with Obama in delegates after March 4 primaries in Ohio, Texas, Vermont and Rhode Island, separated by no more than 25 delegates.

Wilhelm said the Democrats could never win a contest about experience over Sen. John McCain, the likely Republican nominee, but could win "” with Obama "” an election that was framed around change.

[mike_2007]

Wednesday, February 13, 2008


Senate backs intelligence bill restricting CIA interrogation tactics
Mike Rosen-Molina at 5:41 PM ET



The US Senate voted 51-45 Wednesday to approve the conference report for an intelligence funding bill , which includes a provision that would restrict CIA interrogators to using only those interrogation techniques explicitly authorized by the 2006 Army Field Manual. Field Manual 2-22.3 , Human Intelligence Collector Operations, explicitly prohibits the use of waterboarding , electrocution, sensory deprivation, inducing hypothermia, or depriving the subject of food, water, or medical care. The 2006 manual also specifies that the Geneva Conventions apply to all detainees and eliminates separate standards for the questioning of prisoners of war and enemy combatants . The US House agreed to the conference report in December. The conference report represents negotiations between both houses of Congress to reconcile differences between the versions of HR 2028 passed in 2007 by the House of Representatives and the Senate.

The proposed restriction on CIA interrogations may face a veto challenge from President George W. Bush, who in July 2007 signed a controversial executive order that prohibits cruel and inhuman treatment during the interrogation of terror suspects detained by the CIA, but allows "enhanced interrogation techniques" and may exempt the CIA from Common Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions. The order does not specify what specific interrogation techniques are now disallowed, but the order prohibits "acts intended to denigrate the religion, religious practices, or religious objects of the individual," and "torture" as defined in 18 USC .

[ProudUSC]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/23161942

Two strong earthquakes hit southern Greece

No reports of injuries; first tremblor felt as far away as Italy and Egypt

updated 54 minutes ago

ATHENS, Greece - Two strong earthquakes hit southern Greece on Thursday "” one of them felt as far away as Italy and Egypt. No injuries were reported.

The first quake, with a preliminary magnitude of 6.5, hit just after noon the Athens Geodynamic Institute said. It was felt in Cairo and in the southern Italian regions of Puglia and Calabria.

The second struck about two hours later and had a slightly lower preliminary magnitude of 6.4. Both had epicenters beneath the seabed 140 miles south-southwest of Athens, the institute said.

The initial quake "was incredibly strong and lasted a long time," said Theodoros Salantis, mayor of Koroni, a seaside town near Kalamata, the closest city to the epicenter.

Schools were evacuated and people fled from their homes and offices in towns of southern Greece, but nobody was hurt. Authorities said there were reports of only minor damage such as cracks in walls and plaster falling off building exteriors, including at some schools.

'Very strong aftershock'
The second quake was likely "a very strong aftershock of the first," said Gerasimos Papadopoulos, head of research at the Geodynamic Institute.

"We believe there will be more strong aftershocks," he said, adding that they could reach the level of magnitude 5.5 or 6. However, Papadopoulos said that inhabited areas near the epicenter were not believed to be in danger. "They are at a safe distance from the seismic activity. That is the important thing."

Greek television stations broadcast warnings by seismologists urging people in areas near the epicenter to stay away from buildings and remain outdoors.

Seismologist Efthymios Lekkas said the first quake struck at a depth of about 18 miles beneath the seabed, which helped prevent it causing serious damage. He added that initial indications were that it was the main earthquake, rather than a preliminary temblor.

Earthquakes are common in Greece, which is riddled with fault lines. In January, a 6.5 quake struck another part of southern Greece. Its epicenter was located deep underground and while it was felt across much of the country, it did not cause any injuries or serious damage.

In 1999, a 5.9-magnitude quake near Athens killed 143 people and left

[mike_2007]

thnx proud lol lol

[ProudUSC]

You're welcome, Mike. I didn't want you to think you were cursed or anything - lol!!!

[mike_2007]

lol i know that proud

[mike_2007]

By LOLITA C. BALDOR, Associated Press Writer
9 minutes ago



WASHINGTON - Taking a page from Hollywood science fiction, the Pentagon said Thursday it will try to shoot down a dying, bus-size U.S. spy satellite loaded with toxic fuel on a collision course with the Earth.

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The military hopes to smash the satellite as soon as next week "” just before it enters Earth's atmosphere "” with a single missile fired from a Navy cruiser in the northern Pacific Ocean.

The dramatic maneuver may well trigger international concerns, and U.S. officials have begun notifying other countries of the plan "” stressing that it does not signal the start of a new American anti-satellite weapons program.

Military and administration officials said the satellite is carrying fuel called hydrazine that could injure or even kill people who are near it when it hits the ground. That reason alone, they said, persuaded President Bush to order the shoot-down.

"That is the only thing that breaks it out, that is worthy of taking extraordinary measures," said Gen. James Cartwright, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, during a Pentagon briefing.

He predicted a fairly high chance "” as much as 80 percent "” of hitting the satellite, which will be about 150 miles up when the shot is fired. The window of opportunity for taking the satellite down, Cartwright said, opens in three or four days and lasts for about seven or eight days.

"We'll take one shot and assess," he said. "This is the first time we've used a tactical missile to engage a spacecraft."

Deputy National Security Adviser James Jeffrey discounted comparisons to an anti-satellite test conducted by the Chinese last year that triggered criticism from the U.S. and other countries.

"This is all about trying to reduce the danger to human beings," Jeffrey said. "Specifically, there was enough of a risk for the president to be quite concerned about human life."

There might also be unstated military aims, some outside the administration suggested.

Similar spacecraft re-enter the atmosphere regularly and break up into pieces, said Ivan Oelrich, vice president for strategic security programs at the Federation of American Scientists. He said, "One could be forgiven for asking if this is just an excuse to test an anti-satellite weapon."

A key issue when China shot down its defunct weather satellite was that it created an enormous amount of space debris.

"All of the debris from this encounter, as carefully designed as it is, will be down at most within weeks, and most of it will be down within the first couple of orbits afterward," said Jeffrey. "There's an enormous difference to spacefaring nations in ... those two things."

He and others dismissed suggestions that this was simply an attempt by the U.S. to flex its muscles, and that officials were overstating the toxic fuel threat.

Left alone, the satellite would be expected to hit Earth during the first week of March. About half of the 5,000-pound spacecraft would be expected to survive its blazing descent through the atmosphere and would scatter debris over several hundred miles.

If the missile shot is successful, officials said, much of the debris would burn up as it fell. They said they could not estimate how much would make it through the atmosphere. They said the largest piece that would survive re-entry would be the spherical fuel tank, which is about 40 inches wide "” assuming it is not hit directly by the missile.

The goal, however, is to hit the fuel tank in order to minimize the amount of fuel that returns to Earth, Cartwright said.

A Navy missile known as Standard Missile 3 would be fired at the spy satellite in an attempt to intercept it just before it re-enters Earth's atmosphere. It would be "next to impossible" to hit the satellite after that because of atmospheric disturbances, he said.

Known by its military designation US 193, the satellite was launched in December 2006. It lost power and its central computer failed almost immediately afterward, leaving it uncontrollable. It carried a sophisticated and secret imaging sensor.

Software associated with the Standard Missile 3 has been modified to enhance the chances of the missile's sensors recognizing that the satellite is its target. The missile's designed mission is to shoot down ballistic missiles, not satellites. Other officials said the missile's maximum range, while a classified figure, is not great enough to hit a satellite operating in normal orbits.

"It's a one-time deal," Cartwright said when asked whether the modified Standard Missile 3 should be considered a new U.S. anti-satellite technology.

He said that if an initial shoot-down attempt fails, the military would have about two days to reassess and decide whether to take a second shot.

NASA Administrator Michael Griffin told reporters that analysis shows the hydrazine tank would survive a fall to Earth under normal circumstances, much as one did when the Space Shuttle Columbia crashed.

"The hydrazine which is in it is frozen solid, as it is now. Not all of it will melt," he said. If the tank hits the ground it will have been breached because the fuel lines will have broken off and hydrazine will vent out, he said.

Jeffrey said members of Congress were briefed on the plan earlier Thursday and that diplomatic notifications to other countries were being made by the end of the day.

"It should be understood by all, at home and abroad, that this is an exceptional circumstance and should not be perceived as the standard U.S. policy for dealing with errant satellites," said House Armed Services Chairman Ike Skelton.

___

[Sprint_girl07]

US university gunman kills five

A gunman has opened fire on students at a university near Chicago killing five people before turning the gun on himself, police say.

The shooting took place at Northern Illinois University, in De Kalb, 65 miles (100km) west of Chicago.

Students ran for cover as a white male armed with two handguns and a shotgun opened fire in a lecture theater.

Police said he had shot himself before they arrived on the scene and that there was no apparent motive.

Two weapons have been recovered and police are searching for a third firearm in Cole Hall near the King Commons, a central gathering place for the 25,000 students on campus.

The victims, four women and a man, were killed in a "brief, rapid-fire assault", university president John Peters said.


The gunman was believed to be a former graduate student in sociology, but he was not currently enrolled at the university, Mr Peters told a news conference.

Earlier reports said 17 victims had been transported to Kishwaukee Community Hospital, several with serious head wounds.

The shooting comes 10 months after 32 students and staff were shot by a student at Virginia Tech University in one of the worst shootings ever at a US school.

It is also the fourth shooting at a US education establishment within a week.

Last Friday, a woman shot dead two fellow students before killing herself at Louisiana Technical College in Baton Rouge. In Memphis, Tennessee, a 17-year-old is accused of shooting and critically wounding a student on Monday, and a 15-year-old was shot at a junior high school in California on Tuesday.

Terrifying

A student named John told local radio station WBBM that the gunman entered a lecture theatre and began firing a shotgun on the more than 100 students inside.


"He pointed it into the middle of the class... then he went for the teacher," John said.

George ***nor, a senior geography student, told the student newspaper that the gunman was "a skinny white guy with a stocking cap on".

He described the scene immediately following the incident as terrifying and chaotic.

"Some girl got hit in the eye, a guy got hit in the leg," he said.

The university's website first issued alerts, warning of the possibility of a gunman on campus.

"Get to a safe area and take precautions until given the all clear," it warned students.

The site then carried updates confirming the shooting and telling students to stay away or stay in doors. It then said the gunman was "no longer a threat".

Emergency hotlines and counselling are being offered for

[explora]

http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl...hair,0,1979102.story


See video caught on tape at police station


Deputies suspended for dumping quadriplegic man out of chair

South Florida Sun-Sentinel
Associated Press
11:49 PM EST, February 12, 2008

TAMPA - Four Hillsborough County sheriff's deputies have been suspended after purposely tipping a quadriplegic man out of his wheelchair at a jail, authorities said Tuesday.

Orient Road Jail surveillance footage from Jan. 29 shows veteran deputy Charlette Marshall-Jones, 44, dumping Brian Sterner out of his wheelchair and searching him on the floor after he was brought in on a warrant after a traffic violation.

Sterner said when he was taken into a booking room and told to stand up, Jones grew agitated when he told her that he could not.


Deputies suspended for pushing disabled man out of wheelchair Video

``She was irked that I wasn't complying to what she was telling me to do,'' he told The Tampa Tribune. ``It didn't register with her that she was asking me to do something I can't do.''

Jones has been suspended without pay, and Sgt. Gary Hinson, 51, Cpl. Steven ****ey, 45 and Cpl. Decondra Williams, 36 have also been placed on administrative leave pending an investigation, sheriff's spokeswoman Debbie Carter said.

``The actions are indefensible at every level,'' Chief Deputy Jose Docobo said. ``Based on what I saw, anything short of dismissal would be inappropriate.''

He said the officers' actions were an aberration.

A woman who answered Jones' telephone said Jones was unavailable. A message left at a telephone number listed for a Steven ****ey in Tampa was not immediately returned Tuesday night. Listings for Hinson and Williams could not be located.

``That none of the supervisors acted upon what they saw is of great concern,'' Docobo said. ``This is not the norm at the sheriff's office.''

Sterner was arrested at his Riverview home and taken to the jail Jan. 29 on a charge of fleeing and attempting to elude a police officer, according to records. He posted $2,000 bond and was released Feb 3.

A warrant for Sterner's arrest was issued after an Oct. 25 incident, in which Tampa police stopped him in Ybor City. He was stopped while driving a Mini Cooper that had been fitted with hand pedals and was cited for blocking an intersection.

``My client was stopped that night and was given a traffic citation, so how could he be fleeing and eluding?'' Sterner's lawyer John Trevena said. ``We're very skeptical about the basis for the charge itself.''

Trevena said he hopes authorities investigate the deputies for criminal charges. He said he was ``mortified'' when he watched the footage.

``I couldn't believe that a detention deputy would be so callous toward an individual, whether they were disabled or not,'' he said.

On Sterner's MySpace page, the 32-year-old cites interests that include wheelchair rugby, yoga, art shows and documentaries.



Copyright © 2008, South Florida Sun-Sentinel



(Comment by explora: Sorry, I didn't realize this had already been posted as I've been informed. It wasn't my intention to duplicate but since it's here I'll leave it.)

[mike_2007]

US military judge Navy Capt. Keith Allred has ruled that lawyers for Guantanamo Bay detainee Salim Ahmed Hamdan can send written questions to Khalid Sheik Mohammed and other alleged high-level al Qaeda detainees. Hamdan's lawyers hope that the interviewed detainees will testify that Hamdan was not involved with the USS Cole or 9/11 attacks and thus should not be charged with conspiracy, but Department of Defense prosecutors say that the charges against Hamdan do not require him to have been directly involved with those attacks.

In a motion filed last month, Hamdan's lawyers requested face-to-face interviews, but in the ruling made public Thursday, Allred limited the discovery to written questions, which must be reviewed by an independent security officer. Any answers will be censored according to national security concerns. Earlier this month, Hamdan's lawyers urged Allred to drop the charges against Hamdan. In December, Allred denied a request by Hamdan's lawyers for immediate access to top terrorism suspects, citing security concerns.

[mike_2007]

Friday, February 15, 2008


Bush chides House for not passing FISA bill in time to replace expiring act
Eric Firkel at 3:25 PM ET



US President George W. Bush Friday chided the US House of Representatives for failing to pass the FISA Amendments Act before leaving for a 12-day recess, saying that the US would be in greater danger of an attack when the temporary Protect America Act expires on Saturday. The US Senate voted 68-29 Tuesday to pass the FISA Amendments Act, but the House failed to pass the bill this week. The version approved by the Senate provides immunity for telecommunications companies from lawsuits related to their participation in the NSA warrantless surveillance program . The House version of the legislation, approved in November, does not include the immunity provisions. Speaker of the House Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) rejected Bush's comments Friday, saying:
The President is misrepresenting the facts on our nation's electronic surveillance capabilities. Last August, he insisted that Congress pass the Protect America Act; but this week, he refused to support an extension, which can only mean he knows our intelligence agencies will be able to do all the wiretapping they need to do to protect the nation. That surveillance can be undertaken under broad orders authorized under the PAA or under orders that can be obtained through the FISA court.

The President knows the facts; if he did not want the PAA to expire this weekend, he should have supported an extension of it, as the overwhelming majority of House Democrats did on Wednesday. Having guaranteed the lapse of the August law, the President should now work in a cooperative way with Congress to pass a strong FISA modernization bill that protects our nation's security and the Constitution.
The FISA Amendments Act, supplementary to the 1978 Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA) , would make it easier for the government to monitor foreign phone calls and e-mails that pass through the United States. Strong critics of the legislation, including Senator Christopher Dodd (D-CT) , have deplored its retroactive grant of immunity to participating telecom companies as an effective endorsement of warrantless wiretapping contrary to the rule of law . In the absence of new legislation, the government can get an order from the secret Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court to monitor calls and e-mails, set up under FISA. Amendment supporters have rejected this option, saying it creates too much red tape.