CIA chief defends detention, 'rendition' practices; APEC sets 'goal' to reduce greenhouse gas emissions...

8 September :: Gen. Michael Hayden, head of US CIA, has publicly defended detention and "extraordinary rendition" practices used by CIA in treatment of those captured in association with terror investigations; EU courts investigating abductions, illegal transport of prisoners, detention without judicial review, with evidence suggesting hundreds of clandestine flights related to such practices; lawsuits have been filed in Europe, US, Canada by former detainees who say they were abducted, flown to third countries, then later tortured... Leaders of APEC nations agreed in Australia yesterday to a "long-term aspirational goal" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, but have set no binding targets; major concern is how to bring China into a carbon-emissions regime without undermining its rapid industrial expansion...

Intel on Bin Laden video; McCann family named as suspects; Fosset disappearance "baffles" experts...

7 September :: US intel analysts "skeptical" about Al-Qaeda claim of forthcoming video of Bin Laden; agencies suggest threat of "gift" to commemorate attacks refers to video, which would be Bin Laden's first appearance in 3 years... Family of missing Madeleine in shock as Portuguese police name mother as suspect; Kate McCann says she is disappointed, fears police are no longer serious about finding missing girl... Experts said to be "baffled" by disppearance of Steve Fosset, aviation record-setter and expert pilot, in small plane on recreational outing in perfectly clear conditions; some observers have speculated he may have flown over top-secret military bases in Nevada desert, have demanded gov't give information as to his whereabouts; Cynthia Ryan, spokesperson for the Civil Air Patrol Nevada Wing, has said "I can't think of anyone more experienced and capable of dealing with an emergency than Steve Fossett ... The chances are still very, very good that we'll find this man"... Universal, world's largest music producer, is suing Veoh video service for "massive copyright infringement", alleging the company has based its business on exploiting others' intellectual property for profit; suit comes just as Napster lawsuit is finally settled "when German media-behemoth Bertelsmann AG paid the National Music Publishers Association $130 million to settle claims it contributed to copyright violations by financially propping up Napster with $85 million in loans"...

Euro Bank injects 42.245 billion € to avert crisis; global carbon footprint 22.199 billion tons...

6 September :: European Central Bank has injected another 42.245 billion € into the euro-zone markets, via monetary auction with minimum interest of 4%; at least 46 banks and financial institutions are reported to have participated in the bidding for extra cash; the move is intended to shore up the euro against increasing 'volatility' as European markets respond to the US mortgage-lending and homeowning crisis... Actor Fred Thompson, a former US senator, has announced his official bid for the Republican nomination for US president; his campaign will be launched by webcast and with an official announcement on NBC's The Tonight Show; reaction is mixed, as the popular former senator has made moves to jockey for visibility that other candidates consider unethical, including taking out a campaign ad before officially announcing, that will air at the beginning of a presidential debate he is skipping... The global carbon footprint is listed at 22.199 billion tons by desmogblog.com, as of 12 noon GMT...

Sudan drone aircraft, Khartoum says it is militarily 'self-sufficient'; UN calls for progress in Darfur conflict...

5 September :: Sudan gov't announces it has successfully produced military-use drone aircraft and is seeking ballistic missile capabilities; the Khartoum-based gov't of Pres. al-Bashir has said Sudan can now manufacture enough conventional weapons to be "self-sufficient" in defense-related production; observers say the announcement is disconcerting primarily because it is not clear against what perceived threat Sudan is arming itself; the top UN official in Sudan has called for progress on a negotiated political settlement to the conflict in Darfur, where some worry that a heavily armed Khartoum regime might use its military to support the ongoing slaughter with impunity...

67% of Greeks believe wildfires arsonist conspiracy; RMT Union shuts down London transport; US negotiator says DPRK not 'de-listed'...

4 September :: Greece political climate soured by nationwide fires; 67% of those polled believe fires started deliberately by arsonist conspiracy, 31% say foreign entities, while 26% suspect property developers; Christian Science Monitor reports "European Commission's European Forest Fire Information System (EFFIS) estimates that 469,000 acres burned between Aug. 24 and 28 alone. The financial ministry now estimates the damage to be more than $1.6 billion, or 0.6 percent of Greece's GDP", while the Greek gov't is saying the fires appear to be part of an "asymmetric threat" plotted by unnamed conspirators; 6 people have been detained so far on arson-related charges; ecological experts, European officials say fires likely linked to extreme dry conditions, climate anomaly across southern Europe, poor land management tied to agricultural practices, and global warming... A strike by the Rail, Maritime and Transport Union (RMT) has halted Underground trains across London; authorities said trains were running with severe delays or not at all on all lines except the Northern and Jubilee; RMT says failed maintenance-service managing firm Metronet has not provided unequivocal guarantees not to lay off workers or cut pensions in future; another strike is planned by RMT after the current three-day strike, if Metronet does not provide signed guarantees... One day after North Korea's state-run news service reported it had been delisted by the US as a state sponsor of terrorism, in exchange for shutting down Yongbyon nuclear facility, US assistant sec. of State Chris Hill says no such thing has occurred, DPRK still listed as terror-backer, that other unnamed steps are required... La Vanguardia newspaper reports US security, biotech/health sectors seeing surge in investment, Washington, DC, locations, due to Iraq war, with gov't spending soaring, industrial concentration increasing around the funding capital, the Congress, and a massive and growing economic gap between the wealthy interests that rim the city and the inner-city poor that make up a large part of Washington's hometown population...

DPRK agrees to shut down Yongbyon reactor, allow inspectors in; Bush tells PBS he won't bail out mortgage 'speculators'...

3 September :: US assistant sec. of State Hill says North Korea has agreed to verifiably shut down its nuclear fuel production facilities, including an alleged secret program "purchased from Pakistan"; the DPRK will also allow UN inspectors to enter all such sites and carry out ongoing long-term inspections to insure compliance; the move reportedly represents the total denuclearization of the DPRK... KCNA, North Korea's state-run news agency, reported comments by an unidentified foreign ministry official who claimed that the US has agreed to remove the DPRK from its list of state sponsors of terrorism... US pres. George W. Bush, in a surprise visit to troops in Anbar province, Iraq (where the US has seen some security successes) told the press that if such successes continue, it may be possible to secure Iraq with fewer troops, hinting at a willingness to follow through on troop reductions now demanded by leaders of both parties in Congress... On the US mortgage crisis, Pres. Bush has told PBS, "It's not the government's job to bail out speculators" or people who knowingly take out loans they can't afford, but is planning to offer gov't-insured loans to more than 80,000 homeowners to help soften the sub-prime lending crisis; according to PBS, "economists predict that as many as two million people with subprime mortgages will be paying higher monthly payments within the next two years", with monthly payments possibly doubling in "some instances"...

Fmr UK army chief says Iraq war plan 'intellectually bankrupt'; top UK post-war planner says US "shut out anybody who challenged" preconceptions...

2 September :: Former head of the British Army, during the 2003 invasion of Iraq, Gen. Sir Mike Jackson, has created a political firestorm in Britain by saying US post-war planning was "intellectually bankrupt"; while current cabinet officials (Foreign and Defence secretaries) seek to cool the furore, saying the UK pullout of Basra will occur not before the end of the year, and only upon consultation with the US military commander in Iraq, the Guardian reports that "Sir Malcolm Rifkind, a former Tory Foreign Secretary and Defence Secretary, endorsed his criticism of Rumsfeld, calling him 'incompetent'" while "Major General Tim Cross, the top British officer involved in post-war planning. Describing US postwar policy as 'fatally flawed,' he said he had raised his concerns with Rumsfeld at the time but that his warnings had been 'dismissed' or 'ignored'"; Cross reportedly added "The US had convinced themselves that following the invasion Iraq would emerge reasonably quickly as a stable democracy. They shut out anybody who challenged that idea"...