WASHINGTON — FBI agents repeatedly complained to their superiors that harsh interrogation techniques used on detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo might violate the law and jeopardize future criminal trials, but administration officials took little action to address their concerns, according to a report by a government watchdog. At one point in 2003, several top Justice Department officials raised concerns about the interrogation practices at Guantanamo Bay detention facility with the National Security Council, which includes President Bush and Vice President Cheney and was chaired at the time by then-National Security Adviser Condoleezza Rice, the Justice Department’s Inspector General Glenn Fine found. ‘But they did not recall that any changes were made at (Guantanamo) as a result,’ Fine said. Although the FBI’s concerns about harsh interrogations were previously known, Fine’s report provides the most detailed narrative yet of how the bureau, the Justice Department, the CIA and the Pentagon did little to address them and in some instances appear to have disregarded the warnings.
They [Arab leaders] have stopped taking their instructions from Islam, they have decided that peace with the Zionists is their strategic option, so damn their decision.’ – Osama bin Laden, audio message, May 18 Last Tuesday, while United States President George W Bush was setting out from Washington on a five-day tour of the Middle East, Iran’s semi-official Fars news agency quoted Iranian President Mahmud Ahmadinejad as hinting that Tehran might consider a cut in oil exports. Of course, Iranian Oil Minister Gholamhossein Nozari quickly clarified that Tehran was only reviewing its exports and here, too, a decision was to be taken on a possible increase or decrease. Neither Ahmadinejad nor Nozari said anything like Iran was reviewing oil output as such (which exceeds 4.2 million barrels per day, the highest level since the 1979 Islamic revolution). But US oil prices went into a tizzy nonetheless and hit a record high of US$126 per barrel by the time Bush landed in the Persian Gulf region. Bush was expected to press the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) for an early meet to raise oil production. (OPEC is scheduled to next meet in September to decide on its […]
Women with a vitamin D deficiency when they are diagnosed with breast cancer have an increased risk of dying within 10 years, research has found. Patients whose levels of the vitamin are below average are twice as likely to see the cancer spread, and 73 per cent more likely to die within a decade of diagnosis, according to a study due to be presented next month by the American Society of Clinical Oncology. While the correlation between low levels of vitamin D and the increased risk of breast, prostate, pancreas, oesophagus and colon cancer is well documented, no previous attempt has been made until now to link it to patients’ prognosis after the disease is discovered. ‘This is the first study to look at the impact of vitamin D on outcomes of breast cancer,’ said the lead author, Dr Pamela Goodwin, an oncologist at Mount Sinai Hospital in New York and professor of medicine at the University of Toronto. The researchers studied 512 women diagnosed with localised breast cancer between 1989 and 1995 and followed their progress for 10 years. At the time of diagnosis, 37.5 per cent had low levels of the vitamin, 38.5 per […]
British scientists will be allowed to research devastating diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s using human-animal embryos, after the House of Commons rejected a ban yesterday. An amendment to the Human Fertilisation and Embryology Bill that would have outlawed the creation of ‘human admixed embryos’ for medical research was defeated in a free vote by a majority of 160, preserving what Gordon Brown regarded as a central element of the legislation. The Government is braced for defeat today, however, on a separate clause that would scrap the requirement that fertility clinics consider a child’s need for a father before treating patients. MPs will also consider amendments tonight that would cut the legal limit for abortion from 24 weeks to 22 or 20 weeks. A second amendment, which would have banned the creation of ‘true hybrids’ made by fertilising an animal egg with human sperm, or vice-versa, was also defeated yesterday by a majority of 63. Another free vote last night was expected to approve the use of embryo-screening to create ‘saviour siblings’ suitable to donate umbilical cord blood to sick children. Edward Leigh, Conservative MP for Gainsborough, moving the amendment to ban all admixed embryos, said […]
Nissan Motor Co., playing catch-up in fuel-efficient motoring, said Monday that it and NEC Corp. will invest 115 million dollars to mass produce new batteries for electric, hybrid and fuel-cell vehicles. The push into advanced lithium-ion batteries comes as Japanese automakers invest in an array of new environmentally friendly car technologies amid soaring prices at the pump. Nissan has been slower than rivals Toyota Motor Corp. and Honda Motor Co. to embrace petrol-electric hybrids, but it aims to become the industry leader in electric vehicles. ‘Our vision for a more sustainable future is clear,’ said Nissan’s executive vice president Carlos Tavares. ‘Nissan firmly believes the ultimate solution for sustainable mobility lies in zero emission.’ ‘Electric vehicles will be a key product breakthrough our industry can deliver,’ he told reporters, adding that Nissan was ready to supply the batteries to any company interested in the technology. The venture, Automotive Energy Supply Corp. (AESC), which was set up last year, plans to build its first battery production line at a Nissan facility in Kanagawa Prefecture southwest of Tokyo. Owned 51 percent by Nissan and 49 percent by the NEC group, it will invest 12 billion yen […]
Remote Viewing the Year 2060
