Nation

Inter-Agency Spying a U.S. "Intelligence Nightmare"

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A Marine at San Diego’s Camp Pendleton pleaded guilty to passing top secret documents along to L.A. police and counterterrorism officers — but says he did it out of a sense of patriotism. Sgt. Gary Maziarz said bureaucracy was preventing military and civilian agencies from working together, and spirited more than 100 classified documents out of the base and into the hands of an L.A. detective and an intelligence analyst at a Colorado command center. The San Diego Union Tribune reports that the extent of the inter- agency spying may be far more profound — reaching back to the early 1990s — and indicative of a deep disconnect between U.S. intelligence and counterterrorism agencies. Experts also told the newspaper that the spying case reveals the growing role of the U.S. military in domestic security, and “confirms that U.S. officials believe al-Qaeda is active in the United States.”

World

Refugees: A Risky Route to Yemen

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Thousands of Somali and Ethiopian refugees attempting to flee to Yemen are risking their lives in covert smuggling voyages across the dangerous Gulf of Aden, reports ADNKronos. Of the 4,741 people who crossed in September alone, 89 were killed and 154 are missing and presumed dead. Many refugees are killed by asphyxiation below board or drown when smugglers throw them into the water before reaching shore. Refugees say the smugglers also beat them with pipes, while the Yemeni coast guard opens fire when they see the boat approaching. The United Nations has committed to building a new refugee camp on the Yemeni coast, and will train the coast guards and immigration officials on refugee law, humanitarian law and rescue at sea.

World

Russia and the Muslims

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A series of unprovoked attacks on native Russian families living in Ingushetia, a Muslim Republic in Southern Russia, have brought hundreds of Russian security forces into the area and increased the level of carnage in recent days. Accusations abound as to who is responsible for the killings. Some believe the assailants are boyeviki, or Muslim rebels based in the mountains, who want to gain power in the region. Others think the killings are organized by opponents of President Murad Zyazikov as a way to get him out of office. For its part, the opposition points out that the killings make it easy for Zyazikov to argue that he needs to stay in office.

Democracy & Civics

The Death Sentence on Trial?

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Support for capital punishment may be on the wane, as the Supreme Court ponders a Kentucky case that pivots on the question of whether lethal injections constitute “cruel and unusual punishment,” reports the Globe & Mail in Toronto. In Texas, at least one inmate’s execution has been put on pending a decision in the case, according to the Houston Chronicle. Lawyers there are predicting that judges will begin placing a moratorium on all executions until the case is heard this winter. But Texas Governor Rick Perry wants the scheduled executions to move forward unabated. Legal observers say the Supreme Court’s decision will have no bearing on whether the death penalty is humane or not.

Democracy & Civics

A Nuclear "Renaissance"

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Although it is a long way from becoming a reality, pundits are already predicting a “nuclear renaissance” in America for the first time in 30 years, even as plans for new plants take shape around the world. A New Jersey company has filed an application with the Nuclear Regulatory Commission to built two nuclear power plants in Texas, and the NRC expects to receive applications to build 28 more reactors in the next 15 months, according to the Christian Science Monitor. The traditional arguments against nuclear energy — that it is dangerous, costly, offers terrorist attack targets and creates radioactive waste — have not changed. What has changed is the fact that the U.S. government is offering to guarantee investors against loan defaults, and the potential of nuclear power as an energy source with low greenhouse gas emissions. Given the history of nuclear power plants in the U.S. — many of which were never built, at huge cost overruns, after the Three Mile Island meltdown — many experts predict taxpayers will have to pay up when companies default on their loans.

World

Bhutto Promises Nuclear Access

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Former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto said that if she were to return to power, she would permit the United Nations — but not the United States or other Western powers — to interview the nuclear weapons expert AQ Khan. Khan, who was pardoned in 2004 by President Pervez Musharraf for passing nuclear secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea, has “lived under virtual house arrest” since then, reports Agence France-Press. Bhutto, who plans to return from exile to Pakistan on October 18, is jockeying for power amid growing dissatisfaction with Musharraf. According to Reuters, negotiations with Musharraf have “stalled,” and could lead to mass resignations by her political allies ahead of contested elections there. Source:
“Bhutto would give UN access to nuclear expert AQ Khan”
Agence France-Presse, September 26, 2007
“Pakistan’s Bhutto says talks with Musharraf stalled”
Reuters, October 3, 2007

Democracy & Civics

Kurdish Vote Puts Pressure on Arabs

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Kurdish officials are beginning the process of sending Arab residents back to their cities of origin ahead of a referendum on whether to absorb Kirkuk into the Kurdistan Regional Government area. Some Arabs, who were originally placed in Kirkuk by Saddam Hussein to counter the political influence of ethnic Kurds, fear they will be forced to leave their comparatively peaceful region. Kurdish officials fear the Arabs will vote to keep Kirkuk inside Iraq. Some even report being detained by police until they agreed to leave; the Kurdish government is offering families $16,000 if they do so voluntarily. Accounts of how many Arabs the government has relocated differ.

Economy

UPDATED: Egypt Gripped by Textile Strike

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While the world focuses on Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak’s repression of journalists and the Muslim Brotherhood party, a different sort of social unrest has boiled over at a state-owned textile mill in Mahalla el-Kubra, where tens of thousands of strikers have brought work to a costly standstill. The BBC notes that a similar strike last December at the mill led to sympathy strikes across Egypt, causing the government to “back down and meet the workers’ demands” for higher pay and better profit sharing. Now, an estimated 27,000 workers have taken over the factory in Mahalla, a town north of Cairo on the Nile Delta, claiming the government has failed to live up to its promises. According to Reuters, inflation is on the rise and wages are stagnant, shutting out laborers from the benefits of Egypt’s otherwise growing economy. The Associated Press reports that at least five strike leaders were arrested, but a pro-labor blogger, Hossam el-Hamalawy, posted a statement by the strike committee that the leaders have since been released after promising to “calm” the protests.

Democracy & Civics

Day Labor Camp Divides in Texas

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A Christian church in Houston is part of an interfaith coalition that has drawn the ire of anti-immigration activists by planning a new center for day laborers, the Houston Chronicle reports. U.S. Border Watch, a civilian group, brought 200 people to a rally opposed to the plan, saying it would undermine border security. But members of the Cypress Creek Interfaith Coalition for Economic Development, while acknowledging that most day laborers were indeed undocumented immigrants, said the site was vital because there is an “economic need” for their work. Source:
“Faith leaders plan day-labor site, despite protest”
Houston Chronicle, September 26, 2007

Democracy & Civics

Billboards No More for Brazil's Megalopolis

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More than 70 percent of residents of Sao Paulo, Brazil’s largest city and the nation’s economic powerhouse, remain fully committed to a near-total ban on outdoor urban advertising there. Adbusters reports that the city’s conservative mayor, Gilberto Kassab, pushed through the new Clean City Law to target air, water, noise and “visual” pollution. Despite opposition from business, particularly Clear Channel Communications, $8 million in fines have been passed down this year, and 15,000 billboards, placards and outdoor video screens have been taken down or remain blank. Source:
“Sao Paulo: A City Without Ads”
Adbusters, Sep-Oct 2007