UN warns worldwide food crisis imminent, if action not taken fast; Carter meets Hamas exiles in Damascus, talks of peace...

19 April :: "The global food crisis became official yesterday [15 April] when the UN called for urgent intergovernmental action and farming reforms to tackle the soaring prices that are plunging millions of people into potentially deadly poverty", reports UK's Independent; reports of riots from southeast Asia to the Caribbean, along with multiple border crises in the Horn of Africa, are leading to speculation that food scarcity may now be close to provoking regional conflicts... To the dismay of US, Israeli leaders, fmr. US pres. and Nobel peace laureate Jimmy Carter, has met for a 2nd time with two Hamas leaders in exile in Damascus, Syria; he says the group may be willing to talk peace with Israel; according to the AP, "On Saturday, Marzouk said Carter and Mashaal discussed a possible prisoner exchange with Israel, as well as how to lift a siege imposed by the Jewish state on the Hamas-controlled Gaza Strip. Carter, who brokered the 1978 Israeli-Egyptian peace, is trying to secure the release of captured Israeli soldier Gilad Shalit"... FoxBusiness reports "Today John McCain, the ninth richest member of Congress, again showed the American people that his call for openness and accountability in government applies to everyone but himself. By only releasing two years of returns, he is the first nominee of either party since Ronald Reagan in 1980 to disclose that little information. And by failing to release his wife Cindy McCain's return, serious questions remain unanswered about how John McCain's position as a U.S. Senator may have benefited John and Cindy McCain's business ventures"; DNC Chairman Howard Dean said McCain's limited disclosure "continues a troubling pattern of thinking the rules don't apply to him"; Sen. Obama and his wife have released 8 years of returns, and Sen. Clinton and fmr. Pres. Clinton's returns dating back to 1977 are on public record, according to the same FoxBusiness report... Russian pres. Vladimir Putin denies rumors he secretly divorced his wife of 24 years for a star gymnast, 24-year-old Alina Kabayeva, whom his party named to sit in Parliament; the newspaper that printed the story has had its right to publish "suspended", officially for "financial" reasons...

SPECIAL NEWS ALERT: AT&T Announces Plans to Inspect & Filter Internet Traffic & Content

AT&T is proposing the implementation of new filtering technologies "at the network level" that would essentially interrupt in a definitive way the public's freedom to access online content. The concept known as 'net neutrality' refers to consumers and netizens' ability to freely gain access to any site, paid or unpaid, without major telecommunications companies programming access as they do with cable television.

The movement against net neutrality has been spearheaded by giant internet service providers (ISPs) like AT&T and Verizon, who want to profit from permitting consumers access to specific sites. They already charge for end-user access and for content-providers' access, and they charge more if you want higher speeds (bandwidth). Now they seek to ensure that freedom of access be impeded, in order to allow them to manipulate access and information in order to further line their pockets with a medium they did not develop, did not fund, and have not produced.

Existing law bars such filtering from being implemented by ISPs. The First Amendment to the US Constitution states that "Congress shall make no law... abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press". Filtering and restricting access to online content "at the network level" would very directly abridge the freedom of individuals to create and distribute online content, and would limit the ability of the online "press" to freely report the news and generate creative content.

There is no viable legal solution to this issue other than the prohibition of such filtering technologies as a threat to the free market of ideas on which American society, the rule of law as we understand it, and our society of democratic values based on the free expression of ideas, actually do depend.

US military to hand detained AP photographer over to Iraqis; FBI says hate crime up 7% in US; Chávez threatens $200 oil if Iran attacked...

20 November :: US military to turn over AP photographer to Iraqi authorities for prosecution, accusing him of links to terrorist groups; AP says no such links have even been demonstrated, Iraq native —who won Pulitzer Prize with team of AP photographers— was detained by US after offering shelter to people fleeing a bombing raid in Ramadi, allegedly knowing none of them; AP further says identity of alleged militants among those sheltered has never been demonstrated, calls process "a sham of due process"... FBI reports 7% rise in hate crimes across US last year, to more than 7,700 officially recognized cases nationwide; 19% are reported to have been cases where individuals were targetted for their religious beliefs... While Iowa is reported to be "up for grabs", a Wash. Post/ABC News poll shows Obama leading Democrats with 30% support, Clinton with 26%, Edwards with 22% support; the poll represents an overall gain for Obama, but also, according to the Post, "strategic gains for Obama. His support is up eight percentage points since July among voters 45 and older -- who accounted for two-thirds of Iowa caucus-goers in 2004. He also runs evenly with Clinton among women in Iowa, drawing 32 percent to her 31 percent, despite the fact that her campaign has built its effort around attracting female voters"... Hugo Chávez says oil prices will double, to $200/barrel, if the US takes military action against Iran, also calling on OPEC to drop the dollar-based pricing scheme, use "basket" of currencies; Chávez made declaration as he, Iran pres. Ahmedinejad annoucned binational joint bank, invited other OPEC members to join... Pakistan announces 8 January date for parliamentary, regional assembly elections; opposition leaders say they will boycott if emergency rule not lifted, jailed opposition figure Khan on hunger strike until ousted supreme court justices reinstated...

Musharraf forces beat, gas attorneys calling for rule of law; US energy bill could produce massive shift in national fuel consumption, wean off oil...

8 November :: Musharraf forces beat and tear-gassed demosntrating lawyers before taking them into custody; reports suggest intimidation has been widespread, with int'l press reporting security forces "charged" a group of more than 1,000 lawyers chanting anti-Musharraf slogans in Lahore; deposed supreme court chief Chaudry calls on lawyers to step up demonstrations nationwide, as demands grow for restoration of law-based democratic gov't, Scotsman reporting "A strongly-worded White House statement demanded that those detained under emergency regulations be released immediately, saying it was 'deeply disturbed'"; int'l press reportedly under strict censorship guidelines in new martial regime... CS Monitor reports "Energy-conservation measures in House and Senate bills approved earlier this year could by 2030 save the US twice as much oil as it now imports from the Persian Gulf, slash greenhouse-gas emissions by 40 percent, and reduce electricity use by at least 10 percent"; bill would push major nationwide shift in modes of energy consumption, fuel sources... 1.2 billion sms or text messages being sent per week across Britain in 2007, figure equates to 4,000 sms per second, making it the fastest growing means of wide-market communications; original developers admit they believed the technology would be used for limited business-to-business usage... Voters in NJ on Tuesday rejected a state-borrowing ballot measure to fund stem-cell research at state level, Utah voters similarly rejected school voucher program; worries about gov't debt, personal savings, income stagnation and economic slowdown, reported to be primary concerns driving opposition to spending-based ballot measures; Texas voters supported ballot initiative to spend $3 billion raised from bonds, over 10 years, to expand cancer research... Democrats gain Kentucky governorship, control of Virginia legislature, as corruption, support for Bush policies hamper GOP electoral efforts nationwide; Mississippi governor, Haley Barbour, a Republican, won re-election easily, Reuters reporting "Barbour was one of the few politicians to win praise after Hurricane Katrina in 2005 for working to reopen casinos quickly in coastal cities such as Gulfport that were devastated by the storm as a way of kick-starting the local economy"...

Bhutto calls on Musharraf to restore constitution, or face mass march from Lahore to Islamabad; Turkey to reform "national insult" law...

7 November :: Benazir Bhutto has called on Pakistan pres. Musharraf to restore constitution, fix date for elections, step down as army chief, or she will lead mass demonstration in Lahore, march with thousands of supporters to Islamabad to repeat demands; police used force to put down pro-Bhutto rally outside parliament building in Islamabad... In address to Parliament, Britain's foreign secretary David Milliband has called on Pakistan's pres. Pervez Musharraf to "release all political prisoners, including members of the judiciary and human rights activists", and to declare a specific date for January elections, step down from the role of military chief and establish negotiations with opposition leaders... Turkey reported to be considering changes to Article 301, which bans "insults" to Turkish identity, used to imprison intellectuals, journalists, and activists; the change is aimed at opening Turkey's laws governing freedom of speech, under pressure from Turkish activists, international human rights observers, and foreign gov'ts... China's Three Gorges Dam has provoked collapse of reservoir lake banks, causing dozens of deaths from massive landslides; now 4 million to be forcibly uprooted, many for 2nd time, as dam-critics' predictions appear to be realized, sustainability of dam in question... Scientists in the US have discoverd a 5th planet orbiting the star Cancri 55, 41 light years from Earth, making that star system the only other one known which approaches our solar system (with 8 planets), in density of orbiting planetary bodies; the new planet is 45 times larger than Earth, researchers say Cancri 55 system is not twin to our solar system, as 4 planets closest to sun are size of Neptune... BBC World Service radio reports torture now commonplace in Iraq, both among factional militia and in facilities run by gov't; 'power drill' is particularly disturbing method used by militia groups across south; gov't facilities alleged to include electro-shock, stress-positions, beating of soles of feet; human rights groups say independent monitoring, 24-hour court hearing, end of arbitrary detention, are simple means that can greatly reduce the likelihood of torture...

'Real ID' national ID-card scheme may be defunct; House votes to override Bush veto of water bill...

6 November :: Privacy advocates say Real ID —a Homeland Security plan to force all US citizens to carry uniform biometric ID cards— may be finished, as DHS official reportedly indicated to officials from several states their citizens will not be penalized for the states' rejecting Real ID; 17 states have passed legislation opposing the nationalization of ID documents, concerned a centralized database would pose an unprecedented threat to privacy... State Dept. envoy Sung Kim says North Korea dismantling of nuclear facilities is "off to a good start", adding "this phase of disablement" may be complete by New Year... The US House has voted 361-54 to override a veto by Pres. Bush of its water bill, aimed at coastal restoration, transport and flood-control projects, with prominent Republicans saying "The next crisis we're facing in this country is our water...This bill is right. Let's override the president. Let's do something for America" and that the bill was "long overdue"... Resolution to impeach VP Cheney put on hold in House of Representatives; presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich (D-OH) proposed the resolution, and Republicans sought to bring it directly to a vote to serve Kucinich a rapid defeat, while Democratic leaders referred to the resolution to the judiciary committee, where it is expected not to be brought to a vote... Yahoo! executives face House foreign affairs committee hearing, accused of providing false information to Congress, aiding Chinese gov't jailing of reporter; China ranks in bottom 10 nations worldwide for press freedom, according to Reporters without Borders... Software to be produced by Google's Open Handset Alliance, through the Linux-based 'Android' platform, expected to be "everything you need to run a phone", meaning handset manufacturers will be forced to choose between the open platform and proprietary OS that let them limit adaptability... Alibaba.com raises $1.5 billion in IPO, leaving it with $25.7 billion in market value, after one day of trading, according to the IHT; the site is China's biggest eCommerce business, may herald new boom in Asian internet ventures...

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...

US fears catastrophic dam collapse in Iraq could kill 500,000; UK power Grid officials warn of possible energy crisis this winter...

31 October :: US authorities fear catastrophic dam failure in Iraq: "A catastrophic failure of the largest dam in Iraq would send a wave 65ft high hurtling down the valley of the river Tigris, killing up to 500,000 people, US engineers warned yesterday" reports UK's Independent; Army Corps of Engineers warns failure of the two-mile-across earth-filled dam could flood Mosul —with 1.7 million residents— with 60 feet of water... UK officials warn of possible energy crisis this winter, as natural gas prices are 40% above continental Europe; supplies likely to be undercut by plant outage, shortages could lead to electricity cuts if 300 extra megawatts are not generated for peak home-usage hours; officials moderated warning, saying reports are precautionary requests, aimed at increasing elasticit of overall system to face shortages... HRW reports Burmese military junta enslaving children as young as 10 years old to prop up its unpopular regime, finding that "Military recruiters are literally buying and selling children to fill the ranks of the Burmese armed forces"; the 135-page report 'Sold to be Soldiers' is available free online... On an intensifying crackdown against press by Azerbaijan authorities, HRW reports "On October 30, Azerbaijan’s Grave Crimes Court convicted Fatullayev, the outspoken editor-in-chief of the independent Realni Azerbaijan and Gundelik Azerbaijan newspapers, for terrorism, inciting ethnic hatred, and tax evasion. The conviction is a culmination of a concerted effort by the Azerbaijani authorities to silence Fatuallyev and his newspapers"... NY Times reporting "All State Department security convoys in Iraq will now fall under military control, the latest step taken by government officials to bring Blackwater Worldwide and other armed contractors under tighter supervision"; Pentagon authority asserted could protentially bring contractors under Uniform Code of Military Justice, after State Dept. officials without authorization offered immunity to Blackwater guards accused of murder, Iraq gov't has approved draft law to revoke immunity granted to foreign contractors by Coalition Provisional Authority...

China to spend $14 bn to clean up toxic lake; FEMA apologizes for sham press briefing...

27 October :: China plans to spend $14.4 billion to clean up Lake Tai, 3rd largest fresh-water lake in country, affected by direct toxic dumping, rampant algal bloom that cut off drinking water to Wuxi, a city of 2.3 million; according to IHT "Lake Tai, known as China's ancient "land of rice and fish," is a legendary setting, once famous for its bounty of white shrimp, whitebait and whitefish. But over time, an industrial buildup transformed the region. More than 2,800 chemical factories arose around the lake, and industrial dumping became a severe problem and, eventually, a crisis"... FEMA has apologized for staging a sham press conference; the Federal Emergency Management Agency gave reporters from around the country only 15 minutes' notice to attend, then had its own public affairs personnel pose questions... DR Congo, US leaders meet to discuss the humanitarian, security situation, as well as economic policies, political viability; fighting in far east of sub-Saharan nation of major concern, rebels say they are fighting to protect the population from outsiders who fled Rwanda after their campaign of genocide there was ended... Georgia Supreme Court orders 21-year-old man freed who was sentenced to 10 years in prison for having consensual oral sex at 17 with 15-year-old, saying the extreme sentence violated Constitutional protection against "cruel and unusual punishment"; court found the sentence "grossly disproportionate", that the activity considered criminal by then state law "did not rise to the level of culpability of adults who prey on children"... CNN reports "An eastern Kentucky school district with one confirmed case of antibiotic-resistant staph infection plans to shut down all 23 of its schools Monday, affecting about 10,300 students, to disinfect the facilities"; drug resistant bacterium suspected of infecting 90,000 Americans per year...

UN reports US maternal death rate 4x European avg; US life expectancy rises to record 77.9 years for 2005...

14 October :: UN report shows rate of women dying during or just after childbirth in US on par with Belarus, Serbia, ten times worse than world's safest, Ireland; a UN statement on the joint UN-World Bank report said "Among the ten top-ranked European and other industrialized countries, where women are guaranteed good-quality health and family planning services that minimize their lifetime risk, fewer than one in 16,400 will die from complications of pregnancy and childbirth", childbirth in US being 4 times more dangerous for women than European avg, US 41st among 171 nations studied... US Centers for Disease Control has released data showing "that a child born in the United States in 2005 can expect to live 77.9 years, up from 77.8 in 2004 and continuing a rise dating back decades. U.S. life expectancy was 75.8 years in 1995 and 69.6 years in 1955", according to ENN; infant mortality reportedly increased in 2005, and US ranks 42nd in world for life expectancy... Reuters reports "Iran jailed a prominent pro-reform journalist and rights activist, Emadeddin Baghi, on Sunday for acting against national security, a close friend said"; Baghi is accused of publishing classified information, has previously been jailed for "insulting Islamic sanctity" and criticizing the Islamic state; his book on the chain killings of intellectuals by gov't agents have been banned in Iran... Interfax has reported Russian special services have been warned of a plot to assassinate Russian pres. Putin during an upcoming visit to Teheran; Iran says no such plot exists and rumor is attempt to sour Iran-Russian relations; report suggests "a number of groups of suicide bombers" involved; Putin 1st Russian head of state to visit Iran since Soviet dictator Stalin in 1943... In effort to steer regional business culture away from dangerous practices involving conflicts of interest and bribery, banned under its corporate charter, Merck has instituted an ethics center in Dubai; after 7 years and $3 million of Merck backing, it was given independence and is now the Dubai Ethics Research Center, part of Dubai's effort to become a "regional medical center"; Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship found it "had clearly impressed a cross-section of government, military and business thought leaders on the importance of codifying and enforcing 'workplace ethics'"...

Gen. Sanchez says Iraq war planning "catastrophically flawed"; Gen. Clark says Pentagon planned to attack "7 countries in 5 years"...

13 October :: Fmr commander of US forces in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, yesterday declared the war plan "catastrophically flawed", said the soldiers on the ground and Iraqi civilians are "living a nightmare with no end in sight", and added that "The administration, Congress and the entire interagency, especially the State Department, must shoulder the responsibility for this catastrophic failure, and the American people must hold them accountable"; criticism is significant because Sanchez is attacking the very plan he was ordered to execute while in command as the insurgency burst forth and Abu Ghraib prison abuse scandal surfaced... A passage in Gen. Wesley Clark's new book says that Pentagon insiders informed him in Sept. 2001 that Defense Dept. was planning to impose "regime change" in "seven countries in five years" across the Middle East, that Iraq was only one part of the long-term strategy; Clark was Supreme Allied Commander for NATO forces in 1990s Balkan war... GAO has reported FCC has violated rules governing its regulatory enforcement powers, leaked information to corporate interests prior to publishing it, possibly harming investigatory procedure; FCC ordered to follow rules, hold violators accountable... New York Post devotes front page above-fold to covering its own story from yesterday about naked man on Manhattan streets, ignores war, famine, climate change, Russia security talks, Pakistan vote, contractors thrown out of Afghanistan; owner Murdoch still negotiating takeover of Wall Street Journal, which he promises will not be subjected to tabloid-quality distortions...

China frees NY Times reporter it jailed for 3 years; 35 journalists, 51 'cyber-dissidents' still in prison in China...

15 September :: China has freed a New York Times reporter imprisoned for 3 years; Zhao Yan was detained in 2004 after reporting that Jian Zemin was likely to step down, the charge being the leaking of state secrets; Zhao had also reported on official abuses; China is currently holding 35 journalists and at least 51 "cyber-dissidents" in prison on similar charges...