Musharraf declares martial law, suspends constitution, arrests opponents; US looks at closing Guantánamo prison; Google opens online social nets...

4 November :: Pakistan pres. Gen. Pervez Musharraf declares martial law, suspends constitution, fires chief justice, raising ire of world leaders; opposition politicians, top lawyers, including Chief Jutice Muhammad Iftikhar Chaudhry's personal lawyer, were detained in raids across the country... "U.S. officials are considering granting Guantánamo Bay detainees substantially greater rights as part of an effort to close the detention center and possibly move much of its population from Cuba to the United States, according to officials involved in the discussions", according to the IHT... Google OpenSocial to create community of software developers across Internet, freeing up user information, embedded applications for use across array of social networks; project has won backing of MySpace, the largest social networking site in the world; move could be challenge to prevalence of closed networks like Facebook, which Google says threaten openness of online medium... Press reporting "shoo-in" for Mukasey, despite widespread opposition, after Feinstein cites answers that were "crisp and succinct, and demonstrated a strong, informed and independent mind", Schumer says he is not "ideal", but will "clean the stench of politicization" from Justice, is "far better than anyone could expect from this administration"; Pres. Bush meanwhile says no "responsible nominee" could meet the "new standard" of being compelled to qualify cruel treatment as torture and renounce its use, suggests he will use unconfirmed "acting" attorney general through rest of term if Mukasey is opposed by Senate... Man shot by London police in "botched" 2006 raid says he was later cornered in 2nd incident by armed police who threatened his life, used racial slurs; Guardian reports "Mohammed Abdul Kahar, 23, who was shot in the shoulder during a raid by police on his home in Forest Gate in 2006, says he and his brother Abul Koyair, 20, were stopped by armed police with one officer shouting 'shoot him, shoot him'", as allegations of abusive practices dog Met police chief, calls for resignation increase... Scientists at Harvard, MIT have genetically modified mice to release glowing proteins when neurons fire, proteins help map neural fabric as they spread along fibers; researchers aim to use process to trace brain activity, learn about structure of brain...

Rice admits US mishandled Arar case; US may have more contractors in Iraq than soldiers; UN says xenon in Canada proves 2006 DPRK nuke test...

25 October :: Sec. of State Condoleezza Rice admits to House human rights subcommittee that the US handling of the case of Maher Arar, was "by no means perfect, in fact it was quite imperfect", adding "we do absolutely not want to transfer anyone to a place where they might be tortured"; Arar is a Canadian citizen sent to Syria for interrogation where he was allegedly tortured for a year; in 2004, the Canadian government set up a commission of inquiry into the Arar case, its proceedings and fact-finding reports are available online... Reuters reports "For the first time in its history, the U.S. is fighting a war with more private contractors than military personnel. The ratio in Iraq is estimated at around 180,000 to 160,000"; escalating dependence on 'contractors' is worrying as it shows military limitations, and use of mercenaries is banned under int'l law... Iraq gov't drafting legislation to strip foreign security contractors of immunity from prosecution under Iraqi system; move would reverse decree by outgoing Coalition Provisional Authority, rule which many Iraqis blame for contractors' alleged abuses... Jim Rogers, who co-founded Quantum Fund, tells Telegraph US is "undoubtedly in recession"; consumer spending, housing market, transport costs, falling dollar undermining overall economy... UN researchers detect unusually high levels of radioactive noble gas Xenon, in northern Canada, say gas is trace evidence confirming 2006 nuclear test by DPRK; scientists said amount found suggests explosion was relatively small, and underground... Rumored deal to get Republican support for spending measures brings enough Democrat support to approve controversial judicial nominee to Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals; party leader, along with majority of Democrats, had opposed Leslie Southwick's nomination to a court that covers Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas, because he's seen as weak on racial equality... Google to work with Nielson to pinpoint television viewing habits, help advertisers gather information on commercial viewing, better target ad dollars...