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Last Updated: Sep 2nd, 2009 - 13:25:29 |
Israel Seizes Aid Ship, Kidnaps Activists
The Israeli military has seized a ship trying to deliver
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| Cynthia McKinney aboard the aid boat, Dignity, bound for Gaza. |
humanitarian aid to Gaza in international waters. On Tuesday, Israeli forces boarded the Free Gaza movement’s Spirit of Humanity and towed it to the Israeli port of Ashdod. The twenty-one activists on board have been reportedly denied attorneys and are set to be deported. The kidnapped passengers include former Congress member and presidential candidate Cynthia McKinney and the Irish peace activist and Nobel laureate Mairead Maguire. Israeli spokesperson Mark Regev dismissed the boat’s humanitarian mission.
Mark Regev: “Israel every day is allowing humanitarian support to reach the people of Gaza—food stuffs, medicines, energy and so forth. This boat was not about that. This boat was about political activists who have been apologists for the Hamas regime, who have nothing whatsoever to say about Hamas’s brutal treatment of the people of Gaza.”
The sailing was the Free Gaza movement’s first since it aborted an attempt in January after the Israeli navy threatened to shoot the civilian passengers on board. That sailing had come just weeks after an Israeli navy vessel deliberately rammed another of its boats, almost forcing it to sink. Issam Younis of Gaza’s Al Mezan Center for Human Rights condemned the kidnapping.
Issam Younis: “This would reveal the fact that Gaza is under occupation, Gaza is an occupied territory, and Israeli authorities are imposing an unprecedented siege over the Gaza Strip. It’s not only closing the borders and have this effective control over the movement for the individuals and goods, but this time the sea. They impose very severe restrictions on the movement at sea, so shipments that are on their way to Gaza full of humanitarian aid were not allowed.”
Supreme Court Delays Ruling in Davis Case
The Supreme Court has apparently delayed a ruling in the case of the Georgia death row prisoner Troy Anthony Davis. Davis, an African American, was convicted for the 1989 killing of a white police officer. Seven of the nine non-police witnesses have recanted their testimony since the trial. Three witnesses say another man later admitted to the killing. The Supreme Court has reportedly informed Davis’s lawyer it won’t issue a decision in the case until it reconvenes in September.
Supreme Court Restricts Diversity Efforts in Hiring
The Supreme Court has imposed new restrictions on how workplaces can seek to promote racial diversity in employment decisions. On Monday, the court ruled in favor of a group of white firefighters in New Haven, Connecticut, who alleged rules aimed at promoting workplace diversity subjected them to discrimination. At issue was a decision by New Haven city officials to discount a promotions test that had yielded poor results for people of color. The case has come under greater scrutiny because Supreme Court nominee Judge Sonia Sotomayor was part of a lower court panel endorsing New Haven’s actions.
California Fiscal Crisis Intensifies
In California, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger has declared a fiscal state of emergency over a more than $26 billion deficit. Schwarzenegger has ordered state offices to close for three days a month. The state controller is expected to begin issuing “IOUs” to pay off bills as early as today. Schwarzenegger has sought to reduce the deficit entirely through major cutbacks to government programs, including welfare. He meanwhile has opposed several Democratic proposals, including new taxes on oil and tobacco companies.
Obama Issues Signing Statement to Ignore Labor, Environmental Provisions
President Obama has issued a signing statement refusing to comply with several provisions of the $106 billion war funding bill he signed into law last week. Obama says he will ignore a congressional mandate to pressure the World Bank to strengthen labor and environmental standards. Obama has also rejected a provision calling for the Treasury Department to report on the World Bank and IMF’s activities. The war funding bill included billions of dollars for the IMF. The signing statement is Obama’s sixth since taking office.
Report: GE Major Beneficiary of Wall Street Bailout
The investigative website ProPublica and the Washington Post are jointly reporting the industrial giant GE has become a major beneficiary of the taxpayer-funded Wall Street bailout while avoiding many of the attendant restrictions imposed on participating firms. GE’s financial arm initially failed to qualify for the bailout, but ended up taking part after regulators eased eligibility rules. Assistance to GE so far accounts for nearly a quarter of the $340 billion in debt secured by the government bailout.
House Narrowly Passes Climate Bill
The House has narrowly passed a climate bill that would limit greenhouse gas emissions and impose a cap-and-trade system allowing firms to trade emissions permits. The measure would cut emissions 17 percent below 2005 levels by 2020 and 83 percent by 2050. The measure passed by a slim margin Friday of 219-to-212. President Obama hailed the vote as a major victory.
President Obama: “The fact is, just weeks ago, few in Washington believed that this day would come to pass.”
Most Republicans voted against the measure. The Hill newspaper reports House Minority Leader John Boehner even referred to the bill using an expletive. But several Democrats also opposed it for not going far enough to reduce pollution. Environmentalist critics say the emissions cuts are too low and could be easily avoided through flawed methods of monitoring compliance. The measure also provides billions of dollars in subsidies for the coal industry. In congressional debate before the vote, Congress member Dennis Kucinich called the measure a boon for polluters.
Rep. Dennis Kucinich: “The bill allows two billion tons of carbon dioxide a year, roughly equivalent to 30 percent of all US greenhouse gas emissions. Supporters of the bill point out that coal use will increase by 2020, because electric utilities will continue to use dirty coal, the prime source of pollution. With two billion tons of offsets per year, we’re told electric utilities will reduce carbon emissions at places other than their generating plants. So they really don’t have to actually decrease their emissions, and coal-fired CO2 emissions will increase through 2025. No wonder there are twenty-six active coal plant applications. Increased CO2 emissions will be our gift to the next generation. Apparently, the planet is not melting; with this bill, it’s just getting better for polluters.”
More International News
Shell Accused of Covering Up Nigeria Oil Spills
In Nigeria, the oil giant Shell is being accused of covering up devastating oil spills by blaming them on sabotage by local militants in the Niger Delta. Amnesty International says Shell has exploited Nigeria’s political instability and lack of oversight to evade its responsibility for spills caused by its own faulty equipment. An estimated 13 million barrels of oil have been spilled in the Niger Delta, equivalent to an Exxon Valdez disaster every year.
Nigeria Offers Amnesty to Niger Delta Militants
The Nigerian government says it has offered amnesty to militants fighting in the oil-rich Niger Delta. Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua made the announcement on Thursday.
Nigerian President Umaru Yar’Adua: “I hereby grant amnesty and unconditional pardon to all persons who have directly or indirectly participated in the commission of offenses associated with militant activities in the Niger Delta.”
Nigeria says the militants will have until October 4th to accept the amnesty offer. The Niger Delta’s main militant group, MEND, has criticized the amnesty effort because it says it’s been excluded from the talks.
Morales: Bolivia Trade Suspension Shows Obama “Lied to Latin America”
President Obama has announced he will continue a Bush administration policy of suspending trade benefits to Bolivia. The Bush administration revoked the benefits last year, accusing Bolivian President Evo Morales of failing to cooperate in the so-called war on drugs. On Wednesday, Morales said Obama has been deceptive in promising a new era of regional cooperation. Referring to Obama’s overtures at a recent hemispheric summit, Morales said, “President Obama lied to Latin America when he told us in Trinidad and Tobago that there are not senior and junior partners.” The US has been accused of hypocrisy for targeting Bolivia. The most recent UN figures show cocaine production in Bolivia rose just five percent in 2007. Colombia, which has received billions in US aid, saw an increase of 27 percent.
Hussein Stoked WMD Talk Out of Fear of Iran
And newly declassified documents show former Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein told FBI interrogators he let the world believe he had weapons of mass destruction to avoid appearing weak to neighboring Iran. Hussein also said he had no links to al-Qaeda and denounced Osama bin Laden as “a zealot.” Hussein was hanged in December 2006 for crimes carried out before he enjoyed critical US support up until he invaded Kuwait.
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