CommonDreams.org Headlines

Biodiversity Loss Is Earth's 'Immense and Hidden' Tragedy, Darwin's 'Natural Heir' Warns

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 14:48:40 -0500

by James Randerson

The diversity of life on Earth is undergoing an "immense and hidden" tragedy that requires the scale of global response now being deployed to tackle climate change, according to one of the world's most eminent biologists.

Prof Edward Wilson, an ecologist who has been described as "Darwin's natural heir" and hailed by novelist Ian McEwan as an "intellectual hero" and "inspirational&

My Lai Photographer Ron Haeberle Exposed a Vietnam Massacre 40 Years Ago Today in The Plain Dealer

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 13:03:07 -0500

by Evelyn Theiss

Forty years ago today, black-and-white photographs of slaughtered women, children and old men in a Vietnamese village shocked the world -- or that portion of the world willing to believe American soldiers could gun down unarmed peasants and leave them to die in streets and ditches.

The Plain Dealer, in an international exclusive, was the first news outlet to publish the images of what infamously became known as the My Lai massacre, which had taken place on March 16, 1968.

Tea Partyers Turn on Each Other

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:20:22 -0500

by Kenneth P. Vogel

After emerging out of nowhere over the summer as a seemingly potent and growing political force, the tea party movement has become embroiled in internal feuding over philosophy, strategy and money and is at risk of losing its momentum.

CIA 'Ran Secret Prison for al-Qaeda' in Lithuanian Riding School

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 11:00:29 -0500

by Andrew Osborn in Moscow

The allegations have sparked a parliamentary inquiry after President Dalia Grybauskaite said she harboured "indirect suspicions" that such a facility existed.

According to unnamed former intelligence operatives quoted by ABC News, the CIA built the secret jail in 2004 and used it for more than a year, flying in at least eight suspected al-Qaeda terrorists from Afghanistan.

Report Says Nuclear Plants Are Poisoning Our Water

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 10:15:19 -0500

by Mike De Souza

Nuclear facilities and power plants are contaminating local Canadian food and water with radioactive waste that increases risks of cancer and birth defects, says a new report to be released today.

Court Rejects David Miliband Bid to Suppress CIA Evidence

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 09:48:24 -0500

by Richard Norton-Taylor

The high court today flatly rejected claims by David Miliband, the foreign secretary, that releasing evidence of the CIA's inhuman and unlawful treatment of UK resident Binyam Mohamed would harm Britain's relations with the US by giving away intelligence secrets.

Evidence that the foreign secretary also wants to suppress is believed to reveal what British intelligence officers knew about Mohamed's treatment.

UN Urges Global Action on Children

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:52:29 -0500

The UN children's agency says one billion children around the world are still deprived of food, shelter, clean water and healthcare 20 years after the adoption of a treaty guaranteeing children's rights.

Hundreds of millions more children are constantly threatened by violence, Unicef said in a report released on Thursday assessing the situation two decades after the UN adopted the Convention of the Rights of the Child on November 20 1989.

SOA Watch Marks 20th Anniversary of Assassinations

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:28:50 -0500

by Tim Chitwood

It was 6 a.m. on Nov. 16, 1989, when a gardener named Obdulio Ramos saw that six Jesuit priests and his wife and daughter had been gunned down by soldiers in El Salvador.

Fed Beaten: Bill to Audit Federal Reserve Passes Key Hurdle

Fri, 20 Nov 2009 08:13:24 -0500

by Ryan Grim

In an unprecedented defeat for the Federal Reserve, an amendment to audit the multi-trillion dollar institution was approved by the House Finance Committee with an overwhelming and bipartisan 43-26 vote on Thursday afternoon despite harried last-minute lobbying from top Fed officials and the surprise opposition of Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.), who had previously been a supporter.

Belgian PM Named as EU President

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 16:06:45 -0500

Herman Van Rompuy, Belgium's prime minister, has become the first president of the European Council.

Van Rompuy, largely unknown outside his native Belgium, was named after a consensus was reached at a meeting of the leaders of the 27-member European Union on Thursday.

"I did not seek this high position, I didn't make any steps to achieve but from tonight I take on this task," he told a news conference.

US Residents Fight for the Right to Hang Laundry

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 15:05:02 -0500

by Jon Hurdle

PERKASIE, Pennsylvania - Carin Froehlich pegs her laundry to three clotheslines strung between trees outside her 18th-century farmhouse, knowing that her actions annoy local officials who have asked her to stop.

Froehlich is among the growing number of people across America fighting for the right to dry their laundry outside against a rising tide of housing associations who oppose the practice despite its energy-saving green appeal.

Republicans Berate Geithner, Call for Him to Resign

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 14:41:46 -0500

by Kevin G. Hall

WASHINGTON - Like a boxer under siege, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner on Thursday rebuffed calls from Republicans to resign and slugged it out with lawmakers over Obama administration economic policies.

Geithner is on the hot seat with lawmakers because billions of stimulus dollars have not prevented the nation's high 10.2 percent unemployment rate, and for bank bailout decisions he made as the former president of the powerful Federal Reserve Bank of New York.

Iran Demands US Free Its Assets After Obama Warning

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 12:27:59 -0500

TEHRAN - Iran's Mahmoud Ahmadinejad on Thursday urged Washington to unblock Iranian assets, as US President Barack Obama warned of "consequences" after Tehran's dismissal of a UN-brokered nuclear fuel deal.

"If our nation sees they have changed their behaviour, dropped their arrogant attitude ... and return Iranian nation's rights and assets, the nation will accept that," the Iranian president said in a televised speech in the northern city of Tabriz.

Rage at UC Fee Hike in L.A., Berkeley Protests

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:16:55 -0500

by Nanette Asimov and Jill Tucker

LOS ANGELES - The UC regents are expected to put the final seal today on a hefty 32 percent tuition increase as students resume the protests that shut down their board meeting three times Wednesday and required campus police in riot gear to maintain calm.

Students, furious at the increase that will bring their yearly fees above $10,000 for the first time, rushed the UCLA building where the regents were meeting, throwing food, sticks and vinegar-soaked red bandannas meant to look like blood.

US Makes Debut Attendance at Hague War Crimes Court

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 11:01:18 -0500

by Aaron Gray-Block

THE HAGUE - U.S. ambassador-at-large for war crimes issues Stephen Rapp made a debut appearance for the United States at the world's war crimes court Thursday and said the U.S. remained wary of politically driven prosecutions.

The United States is not a signatory to the 2002 Rome treaty that established the International Criminal Court (ICC) in The Hague, and Rapp's attendance at meetings this week and next is the clearest sign yet of Washington engaging with the court.

Fine and Inquiry Possible for Blackwater Successor

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 10:30:36 -0500

by Mark Mazzetti and James Risen

WASHINGTON — The international security company formerly called Blackwater Worldwide is facing large government fines for unlicensed arms shipments to Iraq, as a key Congressional committee is asking for a separate investigation into whether the company bribed Iraqi officials.

In talks likely to result in millions of dollars in penalties, executives from the company, no

All Afghan Detainees Likely Tortured: Diplomat

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:58:58 -0500

All detainees transferred by Canadians to Afghan prisons were likely tortured by Afghan officials and many of the prisoners were innocent, says a former senior diplomat with Canada's mission in Afghanistan.

Appearing before a House of Commons committee Wednesday, Richard Colvin blasted the detainees policies of Canada and compared them with the policies of the British and the Netherlands.

The detainees were captured by Canadian soldiers then handed over to the Afghan intelligence service, called the NDS.

Senate Dems Close in on Reform: Details of Health Care Bill Revealed

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 09:15:45 -0500

by Ryan Grim

Senate Democrats have posted the legislation on their web site.

Senate Democrats made a big step toward comprehensive health care reform Wednesday night as Sen. Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) unveiled a bill that merges the two plans that passed the health and finance committees.

With the House having already passed its own bill, Congress is now closer to achieving health care reform than it has ever been in the six decades that Democrats have pursued it.

Court: Negligence by US Army Corps Caused Katrina Flooding

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:58:42 -0500

NEW ORLEANS, Louisiana - The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers' failure to maintain a navigation channel led to massive flooding in New Orleans following Hurricane Katrina, a federal judge ruled late [Wednesday].

The decision could make the federal government the target of billions of dollars worth of legal claims by more than 100,000 other individuals, businesses and government entities that also sustained damages from the water that inundated 80 percent of the city when the levees protecting the low-lying city were breached in several places.

Activists to Peg Climate Actions to Science

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:40:05 -0500

by Adam Groves

LONDON - In a week when world leaders concluded that it would be "unrealistic" to aim for a legally binding agreement at the upcoming UN Climate Conference, there are signs that activist groups are working to create their own systematic plans

'Liberation Was Just a Big Lie'

Thu, 19 Nov 2009 08:33:55 -0500

by Olivia Ward

She sleeps in safe houses, with a rotating squad of bodyguards securing the doors. She goes out only in a billowing burqa. Even her wedding was held in secret.

Elected the youngest member of the Afghan parliament – and suspended for her outspoken criticism of the country's top officials – Malalai Joya has been labelled the bravest woman in Afghanistan.

Report Details 'Coal's Assault on Human Health'

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 17:54:06 -0500

by Ken Ward Jr.

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- Coal pollution is assaulting human health through impacts on workers, residents near mining operations and power plants, and the environment in coalfield communities, according to a new report by a group of physicians.

The report by Physicians for Social Responsibility examined coal's impacts on major organ systems of the human body, from the lungs to the brain.

Push to Curb Credit-Card Rates Fades

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:49:28 -0500

by Michael Kranish

WASHINGTON - Efforts in Congress to cap credit-card interest rates are faltering because of opposition from Democrats and a lack of specific support from the White House, despite growing consumer outrage over a rush by banks to impose rates as high as 30 percent.

Rising CO2 Will Cause Catastrophic Sea Level Rise Finds Antarctic Study

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:38:23 -0500

by Louise Gray, Environment Correspondent

The British Antarctic Survey found that during past periods of high carbon dioxide, temperatures in Antarctica were up to 6C above current levels. This could cause a sea level rise of up six metres, threatening coastal cities like London, New York and San Francisco.

Senate Democrats Plan to Unveil Healthcare Bill

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 11:16:23 -0500

WASHINGTON - Senate Democratic leader Harry Reid prepared to unveil long-awaited healthcare overhaul legislation on Wednesday, with the first test vote on the package expected by the end of the week.

The healthcare reform bill, President Barack Obama's top domestic priority, has been delayed in the Senate for weeks as Reid waited for cost estimates and searched for an approach that can win the 60 votes needed to overcome Republican procedural hurdles.

Netanyahu Shrugs off Worldwide Criticism

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:35:57 -0500

by Jason Koutsoukis in Jerusalem and Anne Davies in Washington

The Israeli Prime Minister, Benjamin Netanyahu, has brushed aside international anger over the expansion of Jewish neighbourhoods in east Jerusalem by defining the new plans as ''standard procedure''.

On Tuesday the Jerusalem municipality approved the construction of another 900 housing units in Gilo, which is built on land annexed by Israel after the 1967 Six-Day War and is regarded as an illegal settlement by the United Nations.

Obama Admits Guantanamo Won't Close by Jan. Deadline

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 10:22:07 -0500

by Anne E. Kornblut

BEIJING -- President Obama directly acknowledged for the first time Wednesday that the prison facility at Guantanamo Bay will not close by the January deadline he set, but he said he hoped to still achieve that goal sometime next year.

Obama refused, however, to set a new deadline.

In an interview in the Chinese capital with Major Garrett of Fox News, Obama said he was "not disappointed" that the Guantanamo deadline had slipped, saying he "knew this was going to be hard."

Labor Fight Ends in Win for Students

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:34:43 -0500

by Steven Greenhouse

The anti-sweatshop movement at dozens of American universities, from Georgetown to U.C.L.A., has had plenty of idealism and energy, but not many victories.

Until now.

The often raucous student movement announced on Tuesday that it had achieved its biggest victory by far. Its pressure tactics persuaded one of the nation's leading sportswear companies, Russell Athletic, to agree to rehire 1,200 workers in Honduras who lost their jobs when Russell closed their factory soon after the workers had unionized.

Poor Women 'Bear Climate Burden'

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 09:21:29 -0500

Women in developing countries will be the most vulnerable to climate change, a report from the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) has warned.

The agency said there was a disproportionate burden on those women and called for greater equality.

They do most of the agricultural work, and are therefore affected by weather-related natural disasters impacting on food, energy and water, it said.

Slower population growth would help cut greenhouse gas emissions, it added.

'For Afghans, There Is No Refuge'

Wed, 18 Nov 2009 08:35:11 -0500

by Olivia Ward

For most of her life, the young Afghan woman was fleeing war. But everywhere she went it stalked her.

"She was very quiet and shy, and you could barely hear her speak," said Ashley Jackson of Oxfam. "When the civil war began in the early 1990s, she left Kabul and went to the border. But her son was killed by a rocket attack.

"She went to Pakistan and lived in a refugee settlement, and her daughter was taken by a man who wanted her. When the Taliban fell and the family finally got back to Kabul, her husband was killed.