Politico Update 4-29-2008

U.S. Election Update

Senator Hillary R. Clinton

Senator Hillary Clinton is not , I repeat is not quitting the political race for the presidency of the United States. As a pro -choice candidate she wants to keep Roe vs Wade. She voted no to have a constitutional ban on same sex marraiges, and yes to adding sexual orientation to the list of Federal hate crimes.

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Journalists Freed in Cuba 2-26-2008

CUBA: FOUR DISSIDENTS RELEASED
Four Cuban dissidents - including two journalists - were released and flown into exile in Spain after spending years behind bars for their Pedro Pablo Álvarez Ramos, Omar Pernet Hernández and journalists Jose 16 February, a few days after a meeting between Spanish and Cuban diplomats in Madrid. The four were among 75 dissidents arrested in a government crackdown on the opposition and the independent press in March 2003.

The Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) says that at least 55 of the "Group of 75" are still in jail.

Ramón Castillo, director of the news agency Instituto Cultura y Democracia Press in eastern Santiago de Cuba, and González Raga, a freelance reporter from the central Camagüey province, had been sentenced to 20 years and 14 years respectively for acting against "the independence or the territorial integrity of the state." According to CPJ, they reported on news ignored by Cuba's official media, and filed stories by phone and fax to overseas news outlets.

International PEN's Writers in Prison Committee (WiPC) says the exact reasons for their release are unknown. Some press reports imply they were freed on medical grounds, but at a press conference on 19 February in why they were freed.

There is also no indication that their release is linked to Fidel Castro's retirement announcement.
CPJ says that with at least 22 other journalists behind bars, Cuba continues to be one of the world's leading jailers of journalists, second
only to China. Nineteen of the journalists were detained in March 2003.

The Spanish foreign minister announced on 15 February that three other "Black Spring" dissidents are due to be freed soon on humanitarian grounds and to leave the country. All three are journalists whose families are living in exile in the United States.

Senator Biden on Castros Stepping Down 2-21-2008

Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) issued the following statement after the official announcement that Cuban President Fidel Castro is stepping down:

"With Castro's resignation, Cuba's darkest days could finally be coming to an end, opening up a new age of possibility for the Cuban people and Cuban-American relations.  But a possibility is not a guarantee.
 
"Whether Raul Castro, or another, is named successor, we should not consider lifting the embargo until Cuba frees political prisoners, respects human rights and allows independent civil organizations.  However, we should not sit back and wait for the successor to act; there are steps we should take now to support the Cuban people and to start to put in place a strong foundation for freedom and free enterprise.
 
"First, we should allow increased travel of Cuban Americans to the island for family or humanitarian visits. Second, we should expand family remittances from Cuban Americans to include extended family. Third, we should allow U.S.-based companies and non-profits to send remittances to Cubans to support small business, and we should establish an Enterprise Fund, like the ones we set up after the end of communism in Eastern Europe, to jump start small and medium-sized private enterprise.  Finally, we must establish direct mail service to Cuba.
 
"The Cuban-American community has a lead role to play in these efforts.  Together, we can build the kind of bright future Cuba's people deserve after decades in the dark."

Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Turkey

Senator BIDEN Heads to Pakistan, Afghanistan, India and Turkey
Chairman of Senate Foreign Relations Committee to Observe Pakistan Elections; Meet with Leaders in Afghanistan, India and Turkey
 
Washington, DC – Chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee Joseph R. Biden, Jr. (D-DE) is heading to Pakistan this weekend to observe the February 18th parliamentary elections and meet with top Pakistani government and opposition leaders.  He will be joined by Senators John Kerry (D-MA) and Chuck Hagel (R-NE).  The Senate delegation trip will also visit Afghanistan, India and Turkey.

“Afghanistan’s fate is linked to Pakistan’s future – and so is our security.  If there’s a central front in the war on terrorism, it lies between those countries,” said Senator Joe Biden.  “That’s where the attack came from on 9-11.  That’s where our enemies are regrouping.  That’s where our focus must be.  If Afghanistan fails or Pakistan falls prey to fundamentalism, it will be a setback of historic proportions.”
 
Pakistan
 
“In Pakistan, I want to see for myself whether the elections are fair and put the country on the road back to democracy.  The moderate majority must have a voice in the system.  If not, there’s a real danger they will make common cause with extremists.  We’ve been down that road before in Iran,” said Sen. Biden.  “I’ve been arguing for some time that we need to move from a policy based on personalities – Musharraf – to one based on the entire country and its people – Pakistan.  We need a new approach to Pakistan, including a significant increase in non-military assistance coupled with real transparency and accountability in the military aid we continue to provide.
 
Afghanistan
 
“There is a deep and growing concern in Congress that Afghanistan is failing.  The Taliban is back, violence is up, drug production is at an all time high and the Afghan people are losing faith that their government – and by extension us – can deliver a better future for them,” said Sen. Biden.  “All three legs of our strategy – security, reconstruction, counter-narcotics – are wobbly and the whole thing risks collapse.  So on this trip, I want to look hard at what needs to be done to produce a real strategy for success.” 
 
India and Turkey
 
“We’ll also be visiting India and Turkey, two critically important friends,  to discuss, among many other things, a peaceful nuclear cooperation deal in Delhi and the situation in Iraq with our allies in Ankara,”  added Sen. Biden.  

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement
In these hard economic times, Americans are anxious about the future.  Balancing the demands of work and family is getting more and more difficult every day. 
 
Times are especially hard for families facing a health care crisis.   It’s difficult enough to deal with a serious illness in your family without the added worry that taking time off from work puts your job at risk.
 
When my son lost his leg to cancer years ago, he had months of difficult treatment before he became cancer-free.  I was fortunate enough to be able to take the time I needed to be there for him. 
 
All Americans deserve this kind of support when they’re facing a health care crisis.  They need to know that serious illness will not put their job and their family’s future in jeopardy.
 
We took a major step forward in the 1990’s when we passed the Family and Medical Leave Act. Since then, more than 60 million families have been able to recover from illness and care for a new child or a sick relative without putting their job at risk.
 
Last week, though, the Bush Administration announced new regulations that undermine the vital protections in the Family Medical Leave Act. It will be harder for workers to take medical leave when they need it, and more difficult for people to return to work when their health crisis ends. 
 
When so many families are struggling, this is the worst possible time to roll back the protections of the Family and Medical Leave Act.  Instead, we should be strengthening the Act.
 
Under current law, the leave is unpaid, which is a real problem for millions of low-wage workers.  They can’t take the leave, even for a serious illnesses, because they’ll miss a paycheck if they do.  We need to provide paid FMLA leave for working families so that everyone has the support they need to weather a crisis.
 
A second key reform is to grant workers paid sick days, so they can treat a minor illness and be back at work the next day.
 
In our economic crisis, families need more security, not less.  I hope my colleagues in the Senate will join together to pass these reforms to help hardworking men and women deal with these basic challenges of modern life in the workplace.

Economic Report Card 2-12-2008

WASHINGTON, DC—Senator Edward M. Kennedy, Chairman of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, today released the following statement in response to the publication of the President’s annual Economic Report.
 
“The President’s Economic Report once again shows how out of touch the Administration is with the harsh realities that America’s working families are facing each day.  The report offers a rosy picture of the economy, despite economists’ overwhelming predictions of a recession and a sharp rise in unemployment over the next two years.  It’s clear the White House doesn’t begin to understand the anxiety that tens of millions of American families are suffering, and the stimulus bill signed by the President today leaves too many of them out.  The best response by Congress to this report is to pass immediate additional targeted relief to those in need, with specific help for the unemployed and for families who can’t afford to heat their homes.”

Senators Barack Obma 's Plan

PLAN TO STRENGTHEN THE ECONOMY

“I believe that America's free market has been the engine of America's great progress. It's created a prosperity that is the envy of the world. It's led to a standard of living unmatched in history. And it has provided great rewards to the innovators and risk-takers who have made America a beacon for science, and technology, and discovery…We are all in this together. From CEOs to shareholders, from financiers to factory workers, we all have a stake in each other's success because the more Americans prosper, the more America prospers.”
— Barack Obama, New York, NY, September 17, 2007 taken from his web site 2-12-2008 http://www.barackobama.com/issues/economy/

Kenya Conference Koffi Annan/Mwai Kibaki 2-6-2008

“The Council welcomes the announcement of progress in the negotiations, overseen by Kofi Annan, between Mwai Kibaki and Raila Odinga on 1 February including the adoption of an agenda and timetable for action to end the crisis in Kenya following the disputed 27 December elections.  The Council welcomes the African Union communiqué, commends the efforts of the AU, President Kufuor of Ghana and United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon, and emphasizes its full support for the Panel of Eminent African Personalities, led by Kofi Annan, in assisting the parties in finding a political solution.  The Council deplores the widespread violence following the elections, which has resulted in extensive loss of life and serious humanitarian consequences.

“The Council expresses its deep concern that, despite the commitments made on 1 February, civilians continue to be killed, subjected to sexual and gender-based violence and displaced from their homes.  The Council emphasizes that the only solution to the crisis lies through dialogue, negotiation and compromise and strongly urges Kenya’s political leaders to foster reconciliation and to elaborate and implement the actions agreed to on 1 February without delay, including by meeting their responsibility to engage fully in finding a sustainable political solution and taking action to immediately end violence, including ethnically-motivated attacks, dismantle armed gangs, improve the humanitarian situation and restore human rights.  Recalling the need to avoid impunity, the Council calls for those responsible for violence to be brought to justice.  It expresses its concern at the political, security and economic impact of the crisis in Kenya on the wider region.

KENYA / UN

With roads opening up in and around the Kenyan capital of Nairobi, and the security situation continuing to improve throughout the country, United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator John Holmes said today that the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) was stepping up its efforts to deliver critical relief for up to 255,000 people displaced by last week’s post-election violence.

“There’s a lot beginning to happen on the ground,” he said, especially as it has become easier to move supplies and people around the country in the past few days.  An initial allocation of $7 million from the Central Emergency Response Fund (CERF) had just been approved to help the various agencies and non-governmental organizations working in Kenya.  Further allocations would be considered if the crisis continued or worsened in any way.  The bulk of that initial cash infusion would go to traditional areas such as food, health, water, shelter and sanitation.  It would also be used to ensure that protection facilities were in place, with the help of the various agencies responsible for that work.  OCHA was working on a consolidated inter-agency appeal, which would probably be announced early next week, when the results of various ongoing agency assessments were “firmed up”.

Gov. Schwarzenegger Applauds Assembly Vote on Landmark Health Care Reform

Comprehensive Plan Provides Access to Affordable Health Care for All Californians
Joined by Assembly Speaker Fabian Núñez and a diverse coalition of labor, business, elected officials, hospitals, doctors, medical  groups, consumer advocacy groups, insurers, children's health advocates and other health care professional groups in support of fixing our broken health care system, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger applauded today's successful Assembly vote of AB x1 1 the Health Care Security and Cost Reduction Act.

"With the Assembly's courageous vote just a short time ago, we are closer than ever to fixing our broken health care system. We owe so much to the great leaders, Assembly Speaker Núñez and Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata and to all the different groups standing with us today who normally oppose one another, but who have gradually joined forces for the good of all Californians," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger.

The Health Care Security and Cost Reduction Act:
• Requires that all Californians take responsibility for their health coverage (individual mandate).
• Guarantees that no Californian will be turned away from buying insurance based on their age or medical history (guarantee issue).
• Spreads responsibility across individuals, government, hospitals and employers (shared responsibility).
• Makes coverage more affordable for individuals and families through tax credits and subsidies.
• Helps keep hospitals and emergency rooms open by increasing Medi-Cal reimbursement rates.
• Allows individuals to choose their health coverage and keep their current insurance.

"This reform is the best thing we could do right now for the California economy and our state budget because it is self-financing, it takes nothing from our general fund and it pumps billions into our economy," said Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger. "I am confident the Senate will follow up and quickly move the finish line even closer because I know Senator Perata is a big believer in making sure everyone has medical insurance and giving California the world-class health care it deserves."

Life- Saving Vaccines 12-13-2007

WASHINGTON, DC — Today Rep. Waxman, Sen. Kennedy, and Rep Roybal-Allard introduced a package of bills that will help to ensure that adults have access to life-saving vaccines.  These vaccines include the new vaccine against the virus that causes cervical cancer as well as vaccines against seasonal influenza, certain pneumonias, Hepatitis B, and shingles, among others. 

These bills will increase access to vaccines by creating a Vaccines for Uninsured Adults program, modeled on the very successful Vaccines for Children (VFC) program.  The Vaccines for Uninsured Adults program will provide vaccines free of charge to uninsured and underinsured adults.  The bills would fund programs to educate the public about the importance of adult immunization and would provide for grants to states to strengthen state adult immunization efforts as well. 
 
The legislation would further facilitate immunization of older Americans by moving vaccines from Medicare Part D to Medicare Part B, which would allow for doctors to be paid to administer the vaccines.  In addition, the legislation would require the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services to study ways they can encourage both adult and health care worker immunization.
 
 “This package of legislation represents a major policy initiative to improve adult immunization rates,” said Rep. Waxman.  “We know that immunizations save lives.  Unfortunately, not enough adults are getting their recommended vaccines.  What we are proposing today is a comprehensive approach to boost immunization rates and to improve the Nation’s health.”
 
“Vaccination is obviously indispensable in the battle against many diseases,” said Sen. Kennedy.  “It protects children and adults alike, yet it’s not reaching all those who need it.  The CDC estimates that more than 42,000 adults die every year from vaccine-preventable diseases.  Fewer than 30% of adults at high-risk for influenza actually receive the vaccine.  As new vaccines become available against more diseases, we need to do more to see that uninsured and under-insured adults and children will benefit from these medical advances.  Under the bills we are introducing today, many more adults and children in communities across America will have access to these life-saving discoveries, and the nation as a whole will be better prepared to avoid or reduce the threat of a pandemic.”
 
“It has been my pleasure to work with Congressman Waxman and Senator Kennedy, who have devoted their years in public service to ensuring that all Americans have access to quality health care,” said Rep. Roybal-Allard.  “This group of immunization bills is a key component of that effort.  We are fortunate to have highly effective vaccines that will prevent death and disability and save billions of dollars in health costs annually, but they can't work unless we take decisive steps to ensure their universal availability and utilization.” 
 
The bills would also help the nation with a vaccine shortage by requiring vaccine companies to give the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) one year’s notice, when feasible, of their plans to stop manufacturing a particular vaccine.  In addition, the measures would give HHS the authority to keep track of doses of vaccines in times of shortage.  Shortages can occur for many reasons and are often unpredictable, such as the manufacturing problem reported this week by Merck & Company that will likely result in a shortage of pediatric meningitis and pneumonia vaccines. 
 
Finally, the bills would improve the VFC by allowing underinsured children who qualify for VFC to get immunized at any public health clinic
 
A text of the bills and summaries are available at http://www.oversight.house.gov. 

December 7, 2007
 
The Honorable Michael Mukasey
Attorney General
Department of Justice
950 Pennsylvania Avenue NW
Washington, DC 20530
 
Dear Attorney General Mukasey:
 
Like millions of Americans, I was outraged to learn about the Central Intelligence Agency’s intentional destruction of videotapes showing agency officials subjecting detainees to severe interrogation techniques.  I am writing to request that you immediately open an investigation and, if necessary, appoint a special prosecutor.
 
Both the CIA Director, General Michael Hayden, and the United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia, Karen Williams, have already acknowledged that the CIA destroyed these tapes. 
 
General Hayden stated that the tapes were destroyed because “it was determined they were no longer of intelligence value and not relevant to any internal, legislative, or judicial inquiries.”  But the tapes were plainly relevant to pending inquiries, including the 9/11 Commission and the Zacarias Moussaoui prosecution, as well as to possible investigations to come.  As you know from your confirmation hearings, Congress continues to have a strong interest in the CIA’s interrogation practices.  It is not the CIA’s role to determine what evidence is relevant to such proceedings.
 
General Hayden also stated that the tapes were destroyed because they “posed a serious security risk.  Were they ever to leak, they would permit identification of your CIA colleagues who had served in the program, exposing them and their families to retaliation from al-Qa’ida and its sympathizers.”  But this claim also makes little sense.  Millions of documents produced by the CIA would pose a serious security risk if leaked, yet the CIA does not respond by destroying them.  The CIA has extensive procedures in place to prevent leaks, and they certainly have the technological capacity to conceal the identity of their employees on a videotape.
 
The most plausible reason for the tapes’ destruction is the one that several officials gave to the New York Times: they were destroyed “because officers were concerned that tapes documenting controversial interrogation methods could expose agency officials to greater risk of legal jeopardy.”  In other words, the tapes were destroyed because they revealed potentially serious criminal conduct by CIA interrogators.  It is hard to escape the conclusion that this was a cover-up.
 
Section 1512 of Title 18 of the United States Code makes it a felony to “corruptly alter, destroy, mutilate, or conceal a record, document, or other object . . . with the intent to impair the object’s integrity or availability for use in an official proceeding.”  For purposes of this statute, “an official proceeding need not be pending or about to be instituted at the time of the offense; and . . . the testimony, or the record, document, or other object need not be admissible in evidence or free of a claim of privilege.”  So long as it is foreseeable that the destroyed item might at some point be relevant to an official proceeding, its destruction is a felony under our obstruction-of-justice laws.
 
The seriousness of this matter is hard to overstate.  Our legal prohibitions against torture protect the ideals we hold most dear and the safety of our personnel abroad.  Our legal prohibitions against obstruction of justice protect the integrity of our courtrooms and our entire legal system.  If government officials violate these laws, it is imperative that these violations be identified and their perpetrators held to account.
 
In your confirmation hearings, you pledged that as Attorney General, you would have “no course but to follow the law.”  You stated that politics “can’t have anything to do with the jobs of the people in the Justice Department today,” and that as Attorney General you would be “working for all the people of the United States of America,” not just the President.  You also stated that torture is “antithetical to everything this country stands for.”
 
I hope and trust that these commitments you made to the American people will lead you to follow the rule of law and investigate this matter as fully, openly, and expeditiously as possible.  The nation is demanding answers, and it deserves them from the Department of Justice. 
 
My colleague Senator Durbin has made a similar request, and I join him in asking that you respond to this request by Wednesday, December 12.
 
With respect and appreciation,
 
Sincerely,
 
 
Edward M. Kennedy
 

PAKISTAN: JOURNALIST SLAIN; PROTESTS AGAINST MEDIA CURBS CONTINUE

A reporter for a leading paper was shot dead by unidentified gunmen in the southern province of Sindh last week, report Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF), the International Press Institute (IPI) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

Zubair Ahmed Mujahid, correspondent for the national daily "Jang", was riding a motorbike in the town of Mirpurkhas on 23 November, when unidentified armed men opened fire and killed him. Mujahid was killed because of "his articles criticising the situation of the poor," Mujahid's elder brother told RSF. He wrote a weekly column called "Crime and Punishment" in which he often criticised landowners and police for mistreating the poor. One of his reports led to arrests of local policemen involved in violence against villagers. "This tragedy is further proof that the authorities are unable to protect journalist safetty," says RSF.

Since President Pervez Musharraf's declaration of a state of emergency on 3 November, dozens of journalists have been beaten and arrested. But
journalists remain defiant and are continuing to protest against the media curbs, reports the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ). On 20 November, more than 180 journalists in Karachi were arrested for
protesting against the continuing broadcasting ban on two popular TV stations, GEO TV and ARY Digital. Four journalists were charged with offences related to
disturbing the peace, IFJ says. A reporter for Aaj television station,

Khurram Hashmi, was abducted and severely beaten by four armed police before being dumped on a side street, says PPF. Solidarity protests have also extended to neighbouring countries in South Federation
of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) presented the Pakistan embassy with a memorandum signed by 20 different rights organisations on 15 November. In
Bangladesh, union members are demanding that the draconian press laws in Pakistan be scrapped.
According to IFJ, which recently went to Pakistan on an international crisis mission, media owners are collaborating with journalists to consider further joint actions, including a proposal that the media go on strike
and shut down operations for 24 or 48 hours.
Musharraf has mostly targeted political opponents, lawyers and journalists, rather than the militants leading an increasingly strong insurgency, say Musharraf's critics.

Suicide bombers killed an estimated 35 people in
nearly simultaneous blasts on 24 November in Rawalpindi, a garrison city at the heart of Pakistan's security establishment. Pro-Taliban militants who
are fighting security forces in the tribal areas are suspected to be behind the attack.
Visit these links
on Mujahid:
- PPF: http://tinyurl.com/229oez
- IPI: http://tinyurl.com/3cvccv
- RSF: http://www.rsf.org/article.php3?id_article=24506

President Pervez Musharraf Still in Military Uniform

11-7-2007

President Pervez Musharraf has declared emergency rule and slammed down severe restrictions on Pakistan's news media as they try to cover the country's political crisis, report Pakistan Press Foundation (PPF),

ARTICLE 19, the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ), Human Rights Watch, the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ) and Reporters Without Borders (Reporters sans frontières, RSF).

After suspending the constitution on 3 November - including articles related to freedom of the press - to respond to a "growing Islamic militant threat", Musharraf ordered a halt to broadcasts by privately-owned TV channels in all the country's major cities. Private TV channel Aaj TV in Islamabad and two FM radio stations, FM103 in Karachi and FM99 in Islamabad, were raided by police - a new ordinance allows for the media regulatory authority PEMRA to confiscate equipment and bar entrances to media premises.

According to PPF, some mobile phone communications were also cut, and international and national news websites were blocked. State-run Pakistan TV was the only news broadcaster still on domestic airwaves as of 6 November.
Yesterday (5 November) in Karachi, authorities tried to close down the printing press of the country's largest media house, Jang Media Group, as punishment for publishing a newspaper supplement in the daily "Awam" on events in the country since the state of emergency was announced. But management and employees refused to stop publishing. Five journalists and four activists who were protesting the raid outside the press club in Karachi were later arrested, says PPF. Some were reportedly beaten with batons.

Up to 1,500 opposition leaders, lawyers, activists and journalists were rounded up and detained or put under house arrest within the first 24 hours of emergency rule, including well-known human rights activist and journalist I.A. Rehman. Opposition groups say that nearly 3,500 people have been detained. In Rawalpindi, police assaulted reporters and cameramen covering a lawyers' protest and also tried to snatch their cameras.

The government has also put forward new regulations on the media, including making it illegal to report critically about senior government officials, the army and government policies; discuss Supreme Court cases challenging Musharraf's re-election in October; broadcast live coverage of anti-government protests; or report on the results of attacks by anti-government militants. Violations of the new law can result in up to three years in prison, fines of 10 million Rupees (US$165,000), and suspension of broadcasting licenses.

The curbs have been widely condemned by IFEX members and local media organisations, including the Pakistan Federal Union of Journalists (PFUJ), who calls the moves the "worst kind of repression against the media in Pakistan in 30 years." PPF is currently organising a joint action by IFEX members denouncing Musharraf's measures. ARTICLE 19 is also calling on Western governments to use their influence to bring about the release of
activists and a repeal of the oppressive media laws.

The U.S., a main ally, has expressed deep concerns, but said Musharraf's actions would not affect military support of Pakistan. "This is as big a test for the Bush administration as it is for Musharraf," says Human Rights Watch. "Thus far, Washington's long support for a military government has merely led to an unprecedented political crisis that could lead Pakistan to disaster, not least in the effort to address international terrorism."

Journalists remain defiant. Hundreds gathered at press clubs in Islamabad and Lahore on 5 November to protest the new media laws. Others are refusing to report government functions or abide official orders demanding a change in their editorial policies, says IFJ. A global day of action is also being prepared.

Critics say the measures amount to martial law and were enacted because of concern over Musharraf's political longevity. The Supreme Court is due to hear a petition challenging Musharraf's eligibility to serve as president again, and is reportedly ruling against him. Elections are currently scheduled for January.

So far, the government's restrictions have mainly silenced broadcast media; according to CPJ, newspapers continue to appear, many with headline critical of the president's moves.

Iran Nuclear Ambitions

29 October 2007 – "Active cooperation and transparency" on Iran's part are key in resolving outstanding issues over the country's nuclear ambitions, the head of the United Nations International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) told the General Assembly today.

"If the Agency were able to provide credible assurance about the peaceful nature of Iran's past and currently nuclear programme, this would go a long way towards building confidence, and could create the conditions for a comprehensive and durable solution," IAEA Director General Mohamed ElBaradei said at a General Assembly plenary meeting in New York.

"Such a solution would assure the international community about the peaceful nature of Iran's nuclear programme, while enabling Iran to make full use of nuclear technology for economic and social development."

He noted that Iran's agreement -- following repeated requests by the Security Council and the IAEA' Board of Governors -- on a work plan to get to the bottom of all unresolved verification issues is "an important step in the right direction."

Iran's nuclear programme has been a matter of international concern since the discovery in 2003 that it had concealed its nuclear activities for 18 years in breach of its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).

Last December, the Security Council adopted a resolution banning trade with Iran in all items, materials, equipment, goods and technology which could contribute to the country's enrichment-related, reprocessing or heavy water-related activities, or to the development of nuclear weapon delivery systems. It tightened the measures in March, banning arms sales and expanding the freeze on assets.

"Contrary to the decisions of the Security Council, calling on Iran to take certain confidence building measures, Iran has not suspended its enrichment related activities, and is continuing with its construction of the heavy water reactor at Arak," Mr. ElBaradei said today. "This is regrettable."

The Director General also told the Assembly that in the face of a renewed interest in nuclear power worldwide, the role of the IAEA is "not so much to predict the future as to do its utmost to plan and prepare for it."

The resurgence of interest in nuclear power is driven by the steady rise in demand for energy, increased concerns regarding energy security and the challenges posed by climate change, he said.

At present, there are 439 operating nuclear power reactors in 30 countries which supply some 15 per cent of the world's electricity and the use of nuclear power has been primarily in industrialized countries.

"But in terms of new construction, the pattern is different: half of the 30 reactors now being built are in developing countries," he pointed out.

2007 Nobel Peace Prize

The Nobel Peace Prize for 2007The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided that the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 is to be shared, in two equal parts, between the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr. for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change.

Indications of changes in the earth's future climate must be treated with the utmost seriousness, and with the precautionary principle uppermost in our minds. Extensive climate changes may alter and threaten the living conditions of much of mankind. They may induce large-scale migration and lead to greater competition for the earth's resources. Such changes will place particularly heavy burdens on the world's most vulnerable countries. There may be increased danger of violent conflicts and wars, within and between states.Through the scientific reports it has issued over the past two decades, the IPCC has created an ever-broader informed consensus about the connection between human activities and global warming. Thousands of scientists and officials from over one hundred countries have collaborated to achieve greater certainty as to the scale of the warming. Whereas in the 1980s global warming seemed to be merely an interesting hypothesis, the 1990s produced firmer evidence in its support. In the last few years, the connections have become even clearer and the consequences still more apparent.Al Gore has for a long time been one of the world's leading environmentalist politicians. He became aware at an early stage of the climatic challenges the world is facing. His strong commitment, reflected in political activity, lectures, films and books, has strengthened the struggle against climate change. He is probably the single individual who has done most to create greater worldwide understanding of the measures that need to be adopted.By awarding the Nobel Peace Prize for 2007 to the IPCC and Al Gore, the Norwegian Nobel Committee is seeking to contribute to a sharper focus on the processes and decisions that appear to be necessary to protect the world’s future climate, and thereby to reduce the threat to the security of mankind.

Action is necessary now, before climate change moves beyond man’s control.

Oslo, 12 October 2007
Other prizes announced include:
• Date: Thursday, October 11, 2007 (13:00 p.m. CEST. at the earliest)
• Prize: LITERATURE
• Awarding institution: The Swedish Academy
• And the prize goes to...
• Doris Lessing
• "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny".
• Date: Friday, October 12, 2007 (11:00 a.m. CEST)
• Prize: PEACE
• Awarding institution: The Norwegian Nobel Institute
• And the prizes go to...
• Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and Albert Arnold (Al) Gore Jr.
• "for their efforts to build up and disseminate greater knowledge about man-made climate change, and to lay the foundations for the measures that are needed to counteract such change".
• Date: Thursday, October 11, 2007 (13:00 p.m. CEST. at the earliest)
• Prize: LITERATURE
• Awarding institution: The Swedish Academy
• And the prize goes to...
• Doris Lessing
• "that epicist of the female experience, who with scepticism, fire and visionary power has subjected a divided civilisation to scrutiny".
• Date: Wednesday, October 10, 2007 (11:45 a.m. CEST at the earliest)
• Prize: CHEMISTRY
• Awarding institution: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
• And the prize goes to...
• Gerhard Ertl
• "for his studies of chemical processes on solid surfaces".
• Date: Tuesday, October 9, 2007 (11:45 a.m. CEST at the earliest)
• Prize: PHYSICS
• Awarding institution: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
• And the prizes go to... Albert Fert and Peter Grünberg
• "for the discovery of Giant Magnetoresistance".
• Date: Monday, October 8, 2007 (11:30 a.m. CEST at the earliest)
• Prize: PHYSIOLOGY or MEDICINE
• Awarding institution: The Nobel Assembly at the Karolinska Institute
• And the prizes go to...
• Mario R. Capecchi , Sir Martin J. Evans , and Oliver Smithies
• "for their discoveries of principles for introducing specific gene modifications in mice by the use of embryonic stem cells"
• Date: Monday, October 15, 2007 (13:00 CEST at the earliest)
• Prize: ECONOMICS
• Awarding institution: The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences
• And the prize goes to...
• Date: Thursday, October 5, 2007 (7:30 pm EDT)
• Prize: IG NOBEL PRIZES
• Awarding institution: The Annals of Improbable Research
• And the winners are:
• MEDICINE:
Brian Witcombe of Gloucester, UK, and Dan Meyer of Antioch, Tennessee, USA, for their penetrating medical report "Sword Swallowing and Its Side Effects."
REFERENCE: "Sword Swallowing and Its Side Effects," Brian Witcombe and Dan Meyer, British Medical Journal, December 23, 2006, vol. 333, pp. 1285-7

UN Talks WithLebanese and Israeli Military Officials

9 October 2007 – The military chief of the United Nations Interim Force in Lebanon (UNIFIL) today met with senior officials from both the Lebanese and the Israeli armies to discuss recent violations of the Blue Line between the two countries, the marking of the line and the temporary security arrangements for a key border village.
Maj.-Gen. Claudio Graziano, Force Commander of UNIFIL, held the meeting at the UN Position at the border crossing at Ras Al Naqoura, UN spokesperson Michele Montas told reporters.
She said the Force Commander was encouraged with the general approach of the two sides and their determination to adhere to the relevant provisions of the Security Council resolution that ended last year’s war between Israel and Hizbollah.

Today’s discussion focused on how to carry out the provisions of that resolution, especially concerning violations of the Blue Line, with a view to preventing further incidents. They also looked at the security arrangements for the northern part of the village of Ghajar.

Overide the Veto

Senators Mikulski and Cardin 10-4-2007
WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Barbara A. Mikulski (both D-MD) and Benjamin L. Cardin today called on Congress to override the President’s veto of the Children’s Health Insurance Program (CHIP) bill. The Senate voted by a 67-to-29 margin to approve the measure, a veto-proof majority. The House approved the measure last week by a vote of 265 to 159, but will need two-thirds of voting members to override a presidential veto.Today, more than 100,000 children from Maryland from working families receive affordable, comprehensive health care through CHIP. In Western Maryland, more than 13,400 children depend on the program for their health care. This bipartisan measure would provide health care for an additional 42,000 uninsured Maryland children.

The CHIP bill that President Bush vetoed would provide health care to an additional 3.8 million low-income children nationally, and would provide a guaranteed dental benefit to children enrolled in the program. The bill would be fully financed by increasing the federal excise tax to 61-Cents on a pack of cigarettes.“In vetoing the CHIP bill, President Bush has made clear that the health of America’s children is not a priority,” said Senator Cardin. “The President claims he is vetoing the bill because it is too expensive. But one month of what we spend in Iraq would provide health care to 7.4 million children. The Senate has the votes to override his veto, but the House may not. I urge Americans to contact their members of Congress and urge them to vote to override the President’s veto.”“With his veto, President Bush has turned his back on America’s children in need. This program is critical to ensure our children have access to the health care they need and deserve," said Senator Mikulski, one of the original SCHIP authors in 1997. "I have been fighting since SCHIP's creation to expand coverage and increase payment to states. I will continue to work with my colleagues to overturn the President's misguided veto.”Senator Cardin also referred to Tobi Drabczyk, who lives in Walkersville, MD. Tobi and her husband Kevin have four children. Kevin has a full-time job, but he would have to pay premiums of $700 a month to cover his wife and four children, an unaffordable amount for a family with an annual income of $36,000. In 2003, Tobi enrolled the children in MCHP.

Tobi explains it best when she says: “SCHIP has been very important to our family. We don't go to the doctors for colds, flu, or other non serious conditions. This isn't free for us and we aren't asking for a hand out. We would gladly pay for private insurance if it was even close to being affordable. Kevin works hard, but no matter how hard he works we can not afford the continually rising cost of health insurance. There are many families just like us. We just need a little bit of help.”Carol Antoniewicz, Coordinator, Medicaid Matters! Maryland, said: “There are thousands of reasons to vote for SCHIP -- and all of them are children. In August, some of us met with Congressman Bartlett, and he agreed that children need healthcare. We shared stories about children with no health coverage – untreated asthma, even one with a broken arm who didn’t get care for three weeks because the family could not find an orthopedic doctor willing to take him without insurance. We are a non-partisan group, we are especially proud of Republicans like Congressman Wayne Gilchrest who did vote for SCHIP. We’d like to see Mr. Bartlett do the right thing and vote to override the President’s veto.”

Mexico Second Most Dangerous Country in the World for Journalists 9-17-2007
IFEX MEMBERS AND PARTNERS STEP UP PRESS FREEDOM CAMPAIGNING

In Mexico, now the second most dangerous country in the world for journalists after Iraq, press freedom advocates and journalists have teamed up to fight against free expression violations and restrictions in the
country.There Should be an Urgency to Change and Reform The U.S. Intelligence Agency U.S. Senator Barbara Mikulski of Maryland
According to the Senator over the past two years, the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence has investigated and completed reports on two of the most significant intelligence failures in America’s history the September 11th attacks and intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq. I endorse the bipartisan, unanimous report of the Intelligence Committee on intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq, as I did the December 2002 report by the Joint Inquiry on intelligence activities prior to September 11 th.
The report on pre-Iraq war intelligence explains in detail what went wrong with the collection and analysis of intelligence leading up to the war. The purpose of these
additional views is to outline recommendations for where we go from here. The investigation, its report and conclusions must be a clarion call for reform. Our national security, our national honor and our standing in the world depend such action.We must be as energetic, as far reaching and as vigorous in our reform efforts as we were in the investigation of intelligence failures. The Importance of Accurate and Timely Intelligence Now more than ever, the security of our nation depends on timely and reliable intelligence. We depend on intelligence to detect, disrupt and deter terrorist attacks, and to help policymakers make the right decisions about diplomacy and deployment of troops.The full report of the Intelligence Committee makes clear that the intelligence leading up to the war in Iraq was seriously flawed. Our intelligence agencies were wrong about Iraq’s weapons of mass destruction, wrong about what our troops would face in the aftermath of war and wrong about how and when Iraq would move to a stable, democratic system. Errors were not limited to the CIA. They also occurred at the Departments of Defense and State.

Two of the world’s other great intelligence services those of the WK and Israel
-were also in error. These countries have already begun a process of self-examination and reform. So must we.

For our own country, these intelligence failures were not small, insignificant or
isolated. There are persistent, systemic problems with how we gather and analyze
intelligence, and how that intelligence is used to formulate policy.

In the case of Iraq, flawed intelligence was fuel for activating the policy of pre-
emption. The men and women of our armed forces were put, and remain, in harm’s way perhaps needlessly. Relationships with our treasured allies are frayed. These are grave and severe consequences. That is why I believe it is not sufficient to merely analyze what went wrong.

That analysis must be a starting point for reform. Since the attacks of September 11, we have seen a few modest changes in our intelligence procedures. For example, progress has been made on the consolidation of watch lists so terrorists who seek to cross our borders can be identified. Intelligence agencies report improved information sharing and increased personnel dedicated to intelligence analysis. These are steps in the right direction. But more needs to be done.Modernization of our intelligence community cannot be slow or timid. Reform must
be undertaken with a sense of urgency. It must be broad, deep and authentic. America’s intelligence professionals are capable and dedicated. They often do their jobs in dangerous and difficult circumstances. They need strong leadership, a renewed focus on mission, and clear lines of authority and accountability to excel.
Structural, organizational and jurisdictional reforms must be made and will be made.
But, the goal ultimately is to create an environment and a culture where truth
to power is spoken from the bottom to the top.
Idea for ReformThere are many ideas for reform. All should be carefully and thoroughly considered,
including the following:1. Give the Director of Central Intelligence (DCr) authority over all intelligence
agencies.

Elevating the DCI to a true position of authority over the entire intelligence community and the entire intelligence budget s the first step to an integrated intelligence community free from turf battles, internal rivalries and tunnel vision.
Today’s DCI is not empowered to provide strategic direction or management oversight over the entire intelligence community. Organizational authority is dispersed among fourteen different agency directors. The vast majority of intelligence funds 80 percent are controlled by the Department of Defense. This is a dysfunctional structure. The DCI cannot deploy intelligence resources in the most efficient and effective manner when his recommendations may be ignored by
the Department of Defense.

This new DCI should be appointed to five or six year terms similar to the term of
the Federal Reserve Board Chairman to ensure independence of the DCI.
If it is important to ensure independence of monetary policy, it is important to ensure independence of our intelligence community.2. Institute and formalize procedures for alternative analysis.

Even the best analysts need to have their work checked and challenged by others. The best way to vet assumptions, information and sources is to open them up to scrutiny and initiate a “devil’s advocate” or red team mechanism. Experts who do not have a vested interest in any particular agency or outcome should be part of this process.3. Create an intelligence community Inspector General.

There is no single Inspector General with oversight of the intelligence community.
Instead, there are individual IGs spread across the 15 intelligence agencies. Creating an Inspector General position empowered to identifj and investigate problems throughout the intelligence community should be considered.4. Improve congressional oversight.

Congress must make a number of structural changes to better oversee the intelligence agencies. First, we should consider modifying the term limits of members on the Intelligence Committee. It takes time for members to learn and understand the intelligence agencies. We need a system that retains the benefits of experience and knowledge while still bringing in fresh ideas and perspectives of new members.

Second, the jurisdiction of the Intelligence Committee needs examination. The
Intelligence Committee has no budgetary authority over large segments of the intelligence community. For example, 80% of intelligence funds are controlled by the Department of Defense and fall under the jurisdiction of the defense committees. The FBI falls under jurisdiction of the Judiciary Committee. Some of these functions may be more appropriately reviewed by the Intelligence Committee. How to organize ourselves so the Intelligence Committee has sufficient authority and broad oversight is a question to be explored and examined.

Conclusion:
The investigation of the Intelligence Committee shows that the intelligence failures
leading up to the war in Iraq were serious and pervasive. So were the failures prior to the September 11th attacks. While the investigations will continue, reform must begin. There can be no delay when the safety and security of America and Americans are at stake.

The goal of review and reform is to build 21 st century intelligence agencies that
America and the world can rely on, with the best trained, best led people and a congress that does its due diligence with the most efficient and effective jurisdictional oversight structure.

 

Peru Earthquake Victims Funding 8-31-2007

29 August 2007 – The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) is appealing for $850,000 in emergency funding to ensure that up to 250,000 victims of the recent earthquake in Peru receive critical health services.

With these funds – which form part of a $37 million UN system-wide Flash Appeal launched yesterday – UNFPA will help restore and strengthen local primary health services following the 15 August earthquake, which struck 161 kilometres south of the capital, Lima.The powerful quake, measuring 7.9 on the Richter scale, has resulted in the death of over 500 people and injured more than 1,000 others, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).

In addition, preliminary assessments indicate that over 37,000 houses and four hospitals were destroyed, while 16 hospitals were damaged.UNFPA will help improve emergency reproductive health care and assess local health services, particularly in isolated, rural mountain villages, as well as provide affected communities with reproductive health supplies and emergency birth kits. A total of 50,000 women and girls of childbearing age, including 15,000 pregnant women, stand to benefit from these activities.The emergency funds will also help establish 15 community centres for those that lost their homes.

The centres will provide hygiene kits and offer protection to vulnerable groups, such as women, girls, the elderly and disabled people from gender-based and other violence, and provide legal, medical, psychosocial and vocational services. A mobile team of professionals to assist victims of sexual violence will also be set up.In addition, UNFPA will help carry out a census of the affected population, in cooperation with Peru’s National Institute for Statistics and Information and local authorities, to register individuals and determine losses, damage and access to basic services.The agency has already allocated $90,000 which is being used to provide 6,000 emergency hygiene kits and to fund the initiation of the census.

World Health Assembly Adopts Key Resolutions21 May 2007 --

The World Health Assembly today adopted resolutions on key health issues, including the health conditions in the occupied Palestinian territory, eradication of polio, control of leishmaniasis, and a strategic plan for 2008-13 that includes the budget for 2008-09. Discussions continue on a range of other subjects such as avian and pandemic influenza, and public health, innovation and intellectual property. The Sixtieth World Health AssemblyWHO is being held on: 14-23 May 2007 in Geneva, Switzerland.
The World Health Assembly is the supreme decision-making body of the World Health Organization. It meets in Geneva in May each year, and is attended by delegations from the 193 Member States. The main function of the World Health Assembly is to determine the policies of the Organization.

This year, issues being discussed include: avian and pandemic influenza and the application of the International Health Regulations; smallpox eradication; noncommunicable diseases; better medicines for children; and progress in the rational use of medicines. The Health Assembly is considering draft resolutions recommended by the WHO Executive Board on these and other issues.
World Press Freedom Day

On World Press Freedom Day (3 May), dozens of heavily armed gunmen killed security guard Adel al-Badri and wounded two others at Radio Dijla, an independent radio station in Baghdad, says the Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ). The assailants bombed the first floor of the building,destroying the station's broadcast equipment and effectively knocking the station off the air. Radio Dijla's acting director-general told CPJ that although he called for help, employees were able to hold off the masked gunmen for more than 30 minutes before they were rescued by Iraqi security forces, who arrived after the gunmen had already fled. "The attack took place in central Baghdad without any intervention from police units patrolling nearby," says RSF. The Iraqi authorities must shoulder some of the blame." RSF also reports that three days later, on 6 May, a Russian reporter embedded with a US military unit was killed just north of Baghdad.Freelance photographer Dmitry Chebotayev died in a roadside bomb, which also killed six members of a US military unit. Chebotayev, the first Russian journalist to be killed in Iraq, was on assignment for the Russian
edition of "Newsweek" magazine. In response to the violence, IFJ's affiliates in Iraq, including the Kurdish Journalists' Syndicate and the Iraqi Journalists Syndicate - are organising an urgent meeting next week to help develop a security plan for Iraqi journalists. According to IFJ, 199 journalists and media workers have been killed in Iraq since the start of the war in March 2003 - 26 journalists this year alone. The victims have been overwhelmingly Iraqi. The Arab Archives Institute (AAI) in Jordan has paid tribute to the Arab journalists killed in Iraq and other Arab countries in its latest report, which highlights their achievements. At least one Arab journalist was
killed every month in an Arab country in the past six years, most noticeably in Iraq - including another employee at Radio Dijla in 2006.

According to Hillary Rodahm clinton-Washington, DC --

"With his veto today 5-1-2007, President Bush has made it clear that he is standing in the way of ending the war in Iraq and bringing our troops home. The nation is ready for the President to stop disregarding the will of the American people and to work with Democrats on a funding bill that will enable us to begin redeploying our troops. He has a chance to do just that when he meets with the Democratic leadership tomorrow.

"It has been four years since the President declared an end to major combat operations. It is my hope that the President will approach this next round of talks in good faith.

"I am also disappointed that with his veto, the President has taken us back a step in meeting the homeland security needs of our high-threat cities like New York City and vetoed $35 million in additional funding under the Urban Area Security Initiative.

"In addition, with his veto, the President has shirked his responsibility to address the growing health needs affecting those exposed to the toxic air around Ground Zero in the wake of 9/11 and vetoed $50 million in funding for 9/11 health, which would not only have helped provide treatment to those affected in the New York metro area, but also to responders from all over the country who are suffering from 9/11 health effects. This funding would have helped meet immediate health needs and allow 9/11 health programs to continue operating. Despite the President's actions today, I will continue to fight, along with my colleagues in the New York delegation, to secure the federal commitment and funding required to meet 9/11 health needs in the long-term."The President has also chosen to veto critical legislation that would have ended the practice of giving Department of Homeland Security (DHS) contractors bonuses for incomplete or sub-par work, thereby saving taxpayers millions of dollars."

From NOW

In the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court's regressive ruling on April 18 in the two abortion ban cases, women's rights advocates in Congress have introduced the Freedom of Choice Act (FOCA) S. 1173/H.R. 1964. This legislation, if enacted, would override the Court's decision in the two cases, Gonzales v. Planned Parenthood and Gonzales v. Carhart, in which the court upheld vaguely-written bans that could prohibit the most commonly used and safest abortion procedures after 12 weeks of pregnancy.In upholding these bans, five conservative Supreme Court justices have effectively overruled a core element of Roe v. Wade that had been reinforced in many Court decisions: the requirement that legislative restrictions on abortion must contain an exception to protect the woman's health. The gravity of the Court's decision as it relates to the health of all women of child-bearing age is immense. It is a giant leap toward overturning Roe and, at the same time, signals approval to the state legislatures with anti-abortion majorities to move forward with abortion ban bills that would go into effect when, and if, Roe falls completely.With the two recent Bush-appointed justices—John Roberts and Samuel A. Alito, Jr.—and their anti-abortion-rights colleagues Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Anthony Kennedy, it seems only a matter of time that Roe will be overturned by the high court. States will then be allowed to re-criminalize abortion; doctors and their patients would face the threat of criminal investigation, prosecution, and even imprisonment. Doctors will not risk the consequences, and women's reproductive health clinics will close. We all know what will take their place.The Freedom of Choice Act, if adopted into law, will restore the reproductive rights recognized in 1973 in Roe v. Wade and in Doe v. Bolton, before Congress, state legislatures and courts eroded these rights. Since Roe, hundreds of anti-reproductive-rights measures have been enacted by state legislatures and more are being considered with each legislative session. The sum total of these erosions, combined with extremists' clinic violence, have narrowed women's access to reproductive health services. Indeed, in many parts of the country and for many low-income women, the right to an abortion is meaningless for lack of providers and financial assistance.Not wasting a moment, the Supreme Court on April 23 directed the lower courts to review earlier decisions that had overturned state abortion bans in Virginia and Missouri because they lacked exceptions to protect the health of the woman. Because the Supreme Court's April 18 decision discounts the necessity of a health exception, legal experts predict that the new reviews will result in the circuit courts upholding those state bans.The Freedom of Choice Act would put a stop to this assault. We must work toward a future when there will be a feminist president in the White House and a supportive majority in the U.S. Senate and the House of Representatives! Contact your politicians today!
Human Rights Campaign 4-12-2007
On April 12, Sens. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., and Gordon Smith, R-Ore., introduced the Matthew Shepard Act (S. 1105), which would expand the definition of federal hate crimes laws to include sexual orientation and gender identity.Earlier this week 4-28-2007, New Hampshire legislators gave final approval to civil unions for same-sex couples. When the law takes effect, New Hampshire will be the fourth state with civil unions and the ninth to provide some significant level of protection to same-sex couples and their families. Electing fair-minded majorities to the New Hampshire Senate and House of Representatives was a high priority for HRC last year. In addition to our financial contributions, HRC staff spent months in the state working with pro-equality candidates and mobilizing our members. This week's tremendous step forward for New Hampshire families shows what a difference our work makes.
In 33 states, it's perfectly legal to fire someone because he or she is gay. In 42 states, employers can fire or discriminate against workers solely because of their gender identities.
In November 2005, IBM announced FightAIDS@Home, a research effort to develop new and more effective anti-AIDS drugs by harnessing the power of World Community Grid, a global community of computer users who donate unused time on their personal and business computers to humanitarian efforts. The goal of the project is to design new therapeutic approaches that are effective in the treatment of AIDS in the face of viral drug resistance. According to Dr. Arthur Olson of the Scripps Research Institute, "World Community Grid has allowed us to complete very complex research studies in six months that would have taken five years."
Home Depot the largest retailer of its kind adheres to a non discrimination policy of all issues. The Home Depot does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, age, disability, sexual orientation or any other characteristic protected by applicable law.
United States Senate
Committee on the Judiciary
Prepared Statement of
D. Kyle Sampson
March 29, 2007 Mr. Chairman and members of the Committee, good morning. As you know, I have come here voluntarily to answer your questions. I have been a public servant for the past eight years. During the past several years, I have served Attorney General Gonzales in a staff position, culminating in my service to him as his Chief of Staff. In that role, I was responsible for organizing and managing the process by which the U.S. Attorneys were asked to resign. From that vantage point, I believe I was well positioned to observe and understand what happened in this matter. I can't pretend to know or remember every fact that may be of relevance, but I am pleased to share with the Committee today those that I do know and remember. I will be glad to stay here as long as necessary to ensure that you have the answers you need. After the 2004 election, the White House inquired about the prospect of replacing all 93 U.S. Attorneys with new appointees. I believed, as did others, that less sweeping changes were more appropriate. The Department of Justice then began to look at replacing a limited number of U.S. Attorneys in districts where, for a variety of reasons, the Department thought change would be beneficial. Reasonable and honest people can differ, and in fact did at various stages of the process, on whether particular individuals should have been asked to resign. But the decision to ask them to do so was the result of an internal process that aggregated the considered, collective judgment of a number of senior Justice Department officials. I would be the first to concede that this process was not scientific, nor was it extensively documented. That is the nature of presidential personnel decisions. But neither was the process random or arbitrary. Instead, it was a consensus-based process based on input from senior Justice Department officials who were in the best position to develop informed opinions about U.S. Attorney performance.
When I speak about U.S. Attorney performance, it is critical to understand that performance for a Senate-confirmed presidential appointee is a very different thing than performance for a civil servant or a private sector employee. Presidential appointees are judged not only on their professional skills but also their management abilities, their relationships with law enforcement and other governmental leaders, and their support for the priorities of the President and the Attorney General. A United States Attorney may be a wonderful lawyer and wonderful person - as I believe are all of the individuals whose resignations were eventually sought - but if he or she is unable to maintain the morale and motivation of line assistants, is resistant to the President's or the Attorney General's constitutional authority, loses the trust and confidence of important local constituencies in law enforcement or government, or fails to contribute to the important non-prosecutorial activities that come with positions of leadership in the Justice Department, then that U. S. Attorney is not performing at a high level.
Thus, the distinction between "political" and "performance-related" reasons for removing a United States Attorney is, in my view, largely artificial. A U.S. Attorney who is unsuccessful from a political perspective, either because he or she has alienated the leadership of the Department in Washington or cannot work constructively with law enforcement or other governmental constituencies in the district important to effective leadership of the office, is unsuccessful. With these standards for evaluation of U.S. Attorney performance in mind, I coordinated the process of identifying U.S. Attorneys that might be considered for replacement after their four-year terms had expired. I received input from a number of senior officials at the Department of Justice who were in a position to form considered judgments about our U.S. Attorneys. These included not only senior political appointees such as the Deputy Attorney General but also senior career lawyers at the Department of Justice such as David Margolis, a man who has served Justice for more than forty years under Presidents of both parties and who probably knows more about United States Attorneys than any person alive.
I developed and maintained a list that reflected the aggregation of views of these and other Department officials over a period of almost two years. I provided that information to the White House when requested, and reviewed it with and circulated it to others at the Department of Justice for comment. The list changed over time as new information was received and incorporated. By and large, the process operated by consensus: when any official whom I consulted felt that an individual name should be removed from the list, it generally was. Although consideration of possible changes had begun in early 2005, the process of actually finalizing a list of U.S. Attorneys who might be asked to resign, and acting on that list, did not begin until last fall. The process of finalizing the list of recommendations and receiving the approval of the required principals is reflected in many of the more than 3,000 documents that have been produced. In the end, eight total U.S. Attorneys were selected for replacement: one, Bud Cummins, in mid-2006, and the other seven in a group in early December, 2006. With the exception of Bud Cummins, none of the U.S. Attorneys was asked to resign in favor of a particular individual who had already been identified to take the vacant spot. Nor, to my knowledge, was any U.S. Attorney asked to resign for an improper reason. As presidential appointees, U.S. Attorneys serve at the "pleasure of the President" and may be asked to resign for almost any reason with no public or private explanation. The limited category of improper reasons includes an effort to interfere with or influence the investigation or prosecution of a particular case for political or partisan advantage. To my knowledge, nothing of the sort occurred here. Instead, based on everything I have seen and heard, I believe that each replaced U.S. Attorney was selected for legitimate reasons falling well within the President's broad discretion and relating to his or her performance in office, at least as performance is properly understood in the context of Senate-confirmed political appointees. Nonetheless, when Members of Congress began to raise questions about these removals, I believe the Department's response was badly mishandled. It was mishandled through an unfortunate combination of poor judgments, poor word choices, and poor communication and preparation for the Department's testimony before Congress. For my part in allowing what should have been a routine process of assuring the Congress that nothing untoward occurred to become an ugly, undignified spectacle, I want to apologize to my former DOJ colleagues, especially the U.S. Attorneys who were asked to resign. What started as a good faith attempt to carry out the Department's management responsibilities and exercise the President's appointment authority has unfortunately resulted in confusion, misunderstanding, and embarrassment. This should not have happened. The U.S. Attorneys who were replaced are good people; each served our country honorably; and I was privileged to serve at the Justice Department with them. As the Attorney General's Chief of Staff, I could have and should have helped to prevent this. In failing to do so, I let the Attorney General and the Department down. For that reason, I offered the Attorney General my resignation. I was not asked to resign. I simply felt honor-bound to accept my share of blame for this problem and to hold myself accountable. Contrary to some suggestions I have seen in the press, I was not motivated to resign by any belief on my part that I withheld information from Department witnesses or intentionally misled either those witnesses or the Congress. The mistakes I made here were made honestly and in good faith. I failed to organize a more effective response to questions about the replacement process, but I never sought to conceal or withhold any material fact about this matter from anyone. I always carried out my responsibilities with respect to U.S. Attorneys in an open and collaborative manner. Others in the Department knew what I knew about the origins and timing of this enterprise. None of us spoke up on those subjects during the process of preparing Mr. McNulty and Mr. Moschella to testify, not because there was some effort to hide this history, but because the focus of our preparation sessions was on other subjects - principally why each of the U.S. Attorneys had been replaced, whether there had been improper case-related motivations for those replacements, and whether the Administration planned to use the Attorney
General's interim appointment authority to evade the Senate confirmation process.
Thus, the truth of this affair as I see it is this: the decisions to seek the resignations of a handful of U.S. Attorneys were properly made but poorly explained. This is a benign rather than sinister story, and I know that some may be indisposed to accept it. But it is the truth as I observed and experienced it. Thank you once again for the opportunity to testify before you today. I would be pleased to answer your questions.
US Mexico Border FEMA
Recently, Sonja Nieuwejaar from FEMA’s Office of International Affairs spoke to the Good Neighbor Environmental Board, an independent federal committee that advises the president and congress on environmental and infrastructure issues along the U.S. border with Mexico.
Board participants discussed a variety of local and national issues during the day-long conference. FEMA’s Office of International Affairs addressed cross-border emergency management initiatives at the local, state and national levels. Nieuwejaar cited an August 2006 dam safety incident in the city of Juarez, Mexico, which could have caused flooding in downtown El Paso, Texas. “The Montada Dam incident is a good example of the importance of cross-border relationships.” Nieuwejaar added, “In this instance, the established relationships between El Paso and Juarez city authorities allowed for effective communication and notification. The City of Juarez and the International Boundaries Water Commission also invited the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to be part of a bi-national team and evaluate the threat. To assist with the overall pumping efforts, the City of El Paso also sent two pumping units to Juarez.” Nieuwejaar also spoke to the scope of international assistance accepted by the U.S. government during Hurricane Katrina. To date, over 150 countries and international organizations have offered various forms of aid to combat that disaster. In addition, Nieuwejaar spoke to the resulting policies and procedures created for accepting international assistance in future domestic disasters. Over the past year, FEMA, the Department of State, and United States Agency for International Development developed a concept of operations called the International Assistance System to quickly review, accept and reject, manage and distribute donations.Another important aspect of cross-border operations is the common challenges that confront bi-national initiatives to include coordination, legal, regulatory, operational, logistical and financial issues. According to Nieuwejaar, conducting bi-national exercises, maintaining solid lines of communication between cross-border emergency management agencies and sharing cross-border best practices are essential tools to help strengthen cross-border emergency management activities and plans. From the World Health International Organization 12-20-2006
Floods put 2 million people at health risk in Horn of Africa
19 December 2006 -- Severe floods — the worst in a decade — are affecting the most vulnerable areas of Ethiopia, Kenya and Somalia, displacing hundreds of thousands and causing extensive damage to livelihoods and infrastructures. More than 100 people have reportedly drowned; at least two million are affected by the floods and potentially face the threat of communicable diseases such as cholera, dysentery, measles and malaria.
Horn of Africa
Weeks of heavy rains have caused extensive flooding in central and southern Somalia and neighbouring Kenya and Ethiopia . More than 100 people have died and up to 2 million people are affected across the three countries. Severe food insecurity caused by a prolonged drought throughout the region is affecting up to 8.5 million people. Outbreaks of diarrhoeal diseases have been reported in Ethiopia and Kenya and lack of access to clean drinking water and hygienic sanitation is an issue.NATO Discussions
Discussions at the NATO summit surround the U.S. desires to get more help in Afghanistan and more troop help period. Twenty six NATO leaders have agreed that there will be more help needed, however, in new military missions there needs to be a fair sharing of the burden. Most of them agree that they share goals of a free and independent Afghanistan country.In other poltical news the U.N. is in a race to provide food for 600,000 Afghan people before winter. Many impoverished Afghans will be cut off as bitter cold sets in and heavy snow comes. According to the U.N. World food Programme, “Winter is a brutal time in Afghanistan. Hundreds of villages that are remote today will be impossible to reach within the coming weeks,” WFP country representative Rick Corsino said in Kabul, the capital, today.“Right now our focus is on positioning food in these areas, as well as moving forward with our drought relief efforts in more readily accessible areas.”
WFP is already helping victims of severe floods in other areas of the country, especially the west, northwest and far east.With winter approaching, 21,000 metric tons of food, including wheat, beans, oil and salt, need to be positioned and then distributed to 600,000 vulnerable people in over half the provinces of the strife-torn country. Increased insecurity due to the continuing conflict exacerbates the difficulties already posed by bad weather.
WFP has already delivered 16,000 tons, or all of its planned winterization aid to the provinces of Badakshan, Nuristan, Kunar, Ghor, Wardak, and Nangarhar, and more than 80 per cent to Bamyan and Badghis but poor road conditions, worsened by early snows and heightened insecurity along some key road corridors, have hampered deliveries to thousands of people at higher elevations.
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In the higher passes roads are barely wide enough to allow a single truck to move. So when a vehicle breaks down, or cannot progress because of snow or mud, traffic in both directions can be halted for several hours, or even longer,” Mr. Corsino said. “Thousands of people are in need of our assistance. We have to reach them before winter does – and that means within the next few weeks.”The “very timely and generous” donor response has ensured there is enough food to get the beneficiaries through the winter, but because of the very long lead time between confirmation of a contribution and distribution of food to a hungry person, WFP will face shortfalls in all commodities by next March, Mr. Corsino stressed.
Further donations are urgently needed now to avoid such shortfalls, including 6,000 tons of fortified biscuits to enable the school meals programme to commence at the start of the new school year in March.