Bali conference ends with drama, compromise, possible emissions 'roadmap'; Bush moves to limit JAG's ability to disagree with White House...

16 December :: Bali climate change conference goes into extra day, as EU, US reach agreement on language for roadmap to global emissions rules; CNN reports "The European Union and the United States reached agreement on a compromise for a global warming pact Saturday, setting the stage for intense negotiations in the next two years aimed at reducing carbon dioxide emissions worldwide"... The White House is moving to ensure that military lawyers must follow presidential opinions on legal powers and limits on executive power; IHT reports "The administration has proposed a regulation requiring "coordination" with politically appointed Pentagon lawyers before the promotion of any member of the Judge Advocate General Corps, the military's 4,000-member uniformed legal force", with Bush appointee Haynes to oversee examination of lawyers' degree of 'coordination' with White House policy; "One of Haynes's allies on the Bush administration legal team is John Yoo, who as a Justice Department lawyer wrote a series of legal opinions asserting a presidential power to bypass the Geneva Conventions and ignore laws against torture", Yoo also suggested 'punishing' JAGs who disagree with the legality of administration policy... Truthdig questions whether CIA destruction of interrogation tapes hid vital facts tied to 9/11 plot from 9/11 Commission, reporting "Videos were made of those “sensitive” interrogations, which were accurately described as “torture” by one of the agents involved, John Kiriakou, in an interview with ABC News. Yet when the 9/11 Commission and federal judges specifically asked for such tapes, they were destroyed by the CIA, which then denied their existence"... British agency grants £140,000 to four women who suffered human trafficking, sexual enslavement, says it will recognize 'pain and suffering' related to such crimes, continue payouts; some critics have asked what's being done to prevent the trafficking itself... Rep. Ted Poe, a Texas Republican, says he believes one of his constituents who alleges she was gang-raped by coworkers at KBR in Iraq is not alone; Poe has called for other victims to come forward and says he will push for a federal criminal probe, with the attorney general intervening to speed the process...

NJ Assembly passes death penalty ban; US accused of trying to derail Bali climate talks; US may be engaging Iran via Arab allies...

14 December :: New Jersey Assembly has passed death penalty ban, Gov. Corzine says he may sign within one week; 8 men currently awaiting execution will have sentences commuted to life in prison, observers comment some states may begin to follow suit, after DNA evidence has demonstrated high rate of erroneous convictions... The Bush admin. has been accused of trying to derail action on climate change at Bali conference, by proposing that all Kyoto-related regulations be voluntary, not binding; Guardian reports "The proposed text, tabled late last night and leaked at about midnight local time, would effectively allow any country to opt out of the next round of the Kyoto agreement. Observers said last night it could take climate change negotiations back more than a decade"... EU environment commissioner Stavros Dimas has said there's some progress toward a 'Bali roadmap', which could lead to more aggressive action after a US-led climate summit in January, though EU ministers say they will boycott the summit if the Bush admin. does not back hard numerical targets in Bali... US appears to be pushing diplomatic initiative to engage Iran, by way of close Arab allies like Egypt, Saudi Arabia, in hopes nuclear weapons program remains frozen, relations improve with Islamic Republic... Oil industry, utilities have won major legislative battle as Senate passes trimmed down energy policy reform bill; according to the NY Times, "The legislation still contains a landmark increase in fuel-economy standards for vehicles and a huge boost for alternative fuels. But a $13 billion tax increase on oil companies and a requirement that utilities nationwide produce 15 percent of their electricity from renewable sources were left on the floor to secure Republican votes for the package"... Fmr. Sen. Mitchell's report on steroid use in Major League Baseball names raft of top players, all-time legends, raising serious questions about MLB complicity and future Hall of Fame awards, record books, even recent World Series titles... UK gov't reportedly preparing for 'nationalization' of troubled Northern Rock bank, as feeling takes hold that only state ownership will prevent total collapse of lending institution, potential economic repercussions across Great Britain...

Justice, CIA, at least one Congressional committee to probe CIA destruction of video evidence; Obama camp hosts 30,000 in SC, with Oprah...

9 December :: LA Times reporting "The Justice Department and the CIA's Office of the Inspector General said Saturday that they had launched a joint inquiry into the CIA's controversial destruction of videotaped interrogations of two Al Qaeda suspects"; unnamed staffer for Senate judiciary committee said probes could lead to charges of obstruction of justice, false testimony before Congress, both federal crimes; House intelligence committee has also announced its own probe into the matter... Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL), with Oprah Winfrey at his side, hosts crowd of 30,000 in SC, the largest gathering of prospective voters to date in the already long-running 2008 presidential campaign... Bali conference to face task of mobilizing global resources to combat acceleration of climate change; TIME reports that the US gov't sticking point that developing nations should be reined in on emissions also could undermine Bali negotiations: "Beijing and New Delhi both argue that the vast majority of historical carbon emissions came from the developed nations (CO2 stays in the air for up to 200 years), so action should come from the rich first — a contention arguably supported by the UNFCCC itself, which calls for "common but differentiated responsibilities" between nations on climate change"...

UN praises US Senate effort to cap greenhouse gas emissions; IMF to calculate climate costs; Ukraine pres. backs Tymoshenko for PM...

6 December :: UN says US Senate plan to cap greenhouse gas emissions is step in right direction for US, for public health worldwide, in effort to reduce climate change impact; after new Australian gov't ratified Kyoto Protocol at Bali talks, US is only developed nation not signed on, while Bush admin. representative at Bali says the Senate proposal will not alter gov't policy at present... IMF to publish data and analysis on costs of climate change in 2008, in connection with talks about ways to "climate-proof" economies against the ill effects of volatile climate conditions... Reuters reports "Ukraine's President Viktor Yushchenko accepted on Thursday the leader of a pro-Western 'orange' coalition, Yulia Tymoshenko, as prime minister"; Tymoshenko and Pres. Yuschenko were allies in the 2004 'Orange revolution' that brought their pro-Western gov't to power, she was his first PM, but split after intense infighting; Parliament now needs to vote on her candidacy... Italian politician has shocked nation, outraged Jews, by saying gov't should treat immigrants according to a Nazi policy that punished 10 Italians for every one Nazi killed; policy is infamous throughout Italy, because Italians who opposed Nazis were brutally killed by Hitler regime, the 10-to-1 concept obviously asserting that group persecution or targetting of innocents, however light the punishment, violating democratic principles fundamentally; a front-page editorial in Il Giornale, a conservative paper that often sides with Bettio's party wrote "Even if he was drunk or his brain short-circuited [...] he must be condemned without appeal"... Fmr Mass. governor and fmr. GOP frontrunner, Mitt Romney, has used a speech in Texas to assure voters his Mormon faith will not intervene in his decisions as president; some analysts have attributed Romney's slipping poll numbers to skepticism about the Mormon church and the perception that he would take advice from church leaders...

NIE says no Iran nuclear weapons program, for now; calls for climate refugee assistance at Bali summit, as sea-levels rising...

4 December :: Revised US National Intelligence Estimate says Iran halted nuclear weapons program in 2003, no current work being done to pursue bomb; NIE is consensus report from 16 US intelligence agencies, current analysis contradicts White House policy, as well as 2005 NIE citing Iran's determination to build bomb; according to current NIE, Iran would require up to 8 years to finalize building of weapon, if program were restarted; report does say uranium enrichment is ongoing, apparently for civilian use; Democrats have called for White House to launch "diplomatic surge", using Reagan negotiation with USSR as example... Pressure expected to increase on White House to moderate Iran policy, amid unpopular Iraq war, wariness from powerful allies about counter-productive military intervention; TIME magazine in August published analysis warning US might be "isolated" on the issue, with close allies favoring diplomacy and IAEA process... Islanders already affected by rising sea levels call for international assistance for climate refugees; testimony from affected populations, scientists and the Europe-based Global Governance Project, at Bali conference, will push for fund to resettle climate refugees...

Putin leads exit polling in Russian parliamentary vote; Venezuelans reject Chávez constitutional reforms; Annapolis may warm US-Syria relations...

3 December :: With 54.5% of vote counted, Putin's 'United Russia' party has reportedly gathered 62.9% of the vote, the Communist party a distant 2nd with 11.6%; NY Times reporting "Across Russia in recent weeks, members of opposition parties said they had been subjected to intense harassment from the authorities, and people who worked for government agencies and companies that received state financing reported that they had been ordered to vote for United Russia"... Observers around world say Putin gov't manipulated parliamentary elections, European observers say there is "no doubt" the elections were "[not] free, fair nor democratic", US calls on Kremlin to investigate allegations of media bias, widespread voter intimidation; opponents say Putin plan to become 'national leader' with no clear constitutional role, no clear limit to power, dangerous for Russia's fledgling democracy... Official results show Venezuelan pres. Hugo Chávez has suffered a major political defeat, as population votes 51% to 49% against his proposed constitutional reforms; Venezuelan gov't ministers, speaking anonymously, had claimed Chávez won referendum, by as much as 6% margin; "If approved, the referendum vote on a raft of reforms would allow Chavez —in office since 1999— to run for reelection indefinitely, control foreign currency reserves, appoint loyalists over regional elected officials and censor the media if he declares an emergency", according to Reuters; VP says election results are too close to call, are already in dispute, opposition has called for calm, but says its numbers show Chávez victory not assured... Speculation spreads US may be considering talks with Syrian gov't in new post-Annapolis worldview; CSM reports US may be tacitly backing Syrian favorite for Lebanese presidency, despite opposition from US allies in Lebanon, who now appear to also approve Gen. Michel Suleiman's rise as president... UN climate change policy conference opens on Indonesian island of Bali, to draft successor protocols to Kyoto treaty; with 180 nations in attendance, hopes are US will support accord, push global emissions regulations... Facing mounting international pressure, and after meetings with muslim members of the British parliament, Sudan pres. Omar al-Bashir pardons British schoolteacher jailed for allowing pupils to name teddy bear 'Muhammad', she will be sent home in coming days...