BAGHDAD: Iraq will reopen the notorious Abu Ghraib prison next month, but it's getting a facelift and a new name, a senior justice official said. The heavily fortified compound has come to symbolize American abuse of prisoners captured in Iraq since photos were released showing U.S. soldiers sexually humiliating inmates at the facility, causing a worldwide outcry. The renovated facility will be called Baghdad Central Prison because the name Abu Ghraib has left a "bitter feeling inside Iraqis' hearts," the deputy justice minister, Busho Ibrahim, said. Abu Ghraib, which was a torture center under Saddam Hussein, has been closed since 2006. The prison will house 3,500 inmates when it reopens in mid-February and will have a capacity for about 15,000 by the end of this year, Ibrahim said in an interview. The announcement comes as the U.S. military has begun handing over about 15,000 detainees in its custody to the Iraqis under a new security agreement, prompting concern about Iraq's beleaguered judicial system. The United Nations warned in a recent human rights report about overcrowding and "grave human rights violations" of detainees in Iraqi custody.
BAGHDAD: Iraq will reopen the notorious Abu Ghraib prison next month, but it's getting a facelift and a new name, a senior justice official said.
The heavily fortified compound has come to symbolize American abuse of prisoners captured in Iraq since photos were released showing U.S. soldiers sexually humiliating inmates at the facility, causing a worldwide outcry.
The renovated facility will be called Baghdad Central Prison because the name Abu Ghraib has left a "bitter feeling inside Iraqis' hearts," the deputy justice minister, Busho Ibrahim, said.
Abu Ghraib, which was a torture center under Saddam Hussein, has been closed since 2006. The prison will house 3,500 inmates when it reopens in mid-February and will have a capacity for about 15,000 by the end of this year, Ibrahim said in an interview.
The announcement comes as the U.S. military has begun handing over about 15,000 detainees in its custody to the Iraqis under a new security agreement, prompting concern about Iraq's beleaguered judicial system. The United Nations warned in a recent human rights report about overcrowding and "grave human rights violations" of detainees in Iraqi custody.
The Saddam Hussein Memorial Fun Palace ? keep to the Fen Causeway
But then I thought that wasn't nearly cynical enough, considering.
* Israelis destroyed or damaged 21,000 buildings* Food factories among those hit during invasionHamas officials stepped in yesterday to offer cash handouts worth a total of $52m (£38.1m) to Gazans who had lost family members, homes or businesses, as fresh evidence emerged of Israel's destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including the territory's largest concrete factory and the only operating flour mill - both of which are now in ruins.As well as the heavy toll on human life, more than 21,000 buildings and apartments have been wholly or partly destroyed, including at least 219 major factories, among them several industrial sites, including food processing plants. Palestinian surveyors said an initial estimate shows overall damage of $1.9bn. Israel's leaders insisted its war was against Hamas and its structures in Gaza. But much of Gaza's private industry had already been forced out of business by Israel's economic blockade over the past year and a half. The rest has now been severely damaged by war.
* Food factories among those hit during invasion
Hamas officials stepped in yesterday to offer cash handouts worth a total of $52m (£38.1m) to Gazans who had lost family members, homes or businesses, as fresh evidence emerged of Israel's destruction of civilian infrastructure in Gaza, including the territory's largest concrete factory and the only operating flour mill - both of which are now in ruins.
As well as the heavy toll on human life, more than 21,000 buildings and apartments have been wholly or partly destroyed, including at least 219 major factories, among them several industrial sites, including food processing plants.
Palestinian surveyors said an initial estimate shows overall damage of $1.9bn. Israel's leaders insisted its war was against Hamas and its structures in Gaza. But much of Gaza's private industry had already been forced out of business by Israel's economic blockade over the past year and a half. The rest has now been severely damaged by war.
European leaders are keeping up the diplomatic pressure on Palestinians to set aside political divisions in a bid for lasting Middle East peace. The European Union's top diplomat will travel to the region Monday. European Union foreign ministers said they want to see Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to forge a consensus government that will re-open border crossings and restart a Middle East peace process. European leaders hosted Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian and Turkish officials on Sunday, Jan. 25, in Brussels. Europe hosted Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni last week and will send EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to the Middle East on Monday in a bid to bolster the Gaza ceasefire. "It is time for the Palestinians to start talking to each other," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. "If we can't overcome the division in the Palestinian society, it will be very difficult to move forward both with Gaza and the peace process."
European Union foreign ministers said they want to see Hamas and the Palestinian Authority to forge a consensus government that will re-open border crossings and restart a Middle East peace process.
European leaders hosted Palestinian, Egyptian, Jordanian and Turkish officials on Sunday, Jan. 25, in Brussels. Europe hosted Israel's Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni last week and will send EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana to the Middle East on Monday in a bid to bolster the Gaza ceasefire.
"It is time for the Palestinians to start talking to each other," Swedish Foreign Minister Carl Bildt said. "If we can't overcome the division in the Palestinian society, it will be very difficult to move forward both with Gaza and the peace process."
The European Commission announced Monday, Jan. 26, that it was providing 58 million euros ($74.3 million) in humanitarian aid to vulnerable Palestinians this year. In a statement, EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said around 32 million euros would be earmarked for Gaza, which suffered massive damage during a three-week bombing campaign by Israel. An additional 20 million euros are to go to the West Bank, with the remaining six million destined for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon. "This funding package of 58 million euros will contribute substantially to the international effort on behalf of these suffering people and will also sustain our ongoing solidarity with the entire Palestinian population," Michel said. Calling the situation in Gaza "catastrophic," he said the strip's civilian population of nearly 1.5 million had faced "terrible and unprecedented" suffering compared to past times of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. "Destruction on such a massive scale saddens me deeply," Michel said during a fact-finding visit to the Gaza Strip.
In a statement, EU Aid Commissioner Louis Michel said around 32 million euros would be earmarked for Gaza, which suffered massive damage during a three-week bombing campaign by Israel.
An additional 20 million euros are to go to the West Bank, with the remaining six million destined for Palestinian refugees in Lebanon.
"This funding package of 58 million euros will contribute substantially to the international effort on behalf of these suffering people and will also sustain our ongoing solidarity with the entire Palestinian population," Michel said.
Calling the situation in Gaza "catastrophic," he said the strip's civilian population of nearly 1.5 million had faced "terrible and unprecedented" suffering compared to past times of violence in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.
"Destruction on such a massive scale saddens me deeply," Michel said during a fact-finding visit to the Gaza Strip.
Officials from about 100 countries gathered in Madrid for a United Nations summit aimed at combating soaring food prices that are causing hunger around the globe. There had been little progress in the fight against hunger recently, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said on opening the conference on Monday, Jan. 26, attributing the problems to rising food prices in 2008 and to the international financial crisis. The conference should facilitate "a drastic change in the way we govern hunger," Jacques Diouf, general director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said in an interview with the daily El Pais.
There had been little progress in the fight against hunger recently, Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos said on opening the conference on Monday, Jan. 26, attributing the problems to rising food prices in 2008 and to the international financial crisis.
The conference should facilitate "a drastic change in the way we govern hunger," Jacques Diouf, general director of the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), said in an interview with the daily El Pais.
Barack Obama is recognized to be a person of acute intelligence, a legal scholar, careful with his choice of words. He deserves to be taken seriously - both what he says, and what he omits. Particularly significant is his first substantive statement on foreign affairs, on January 22, at the State Department, when introducing George Mitchell to serve as his special envoy for Middle East peace. Mitchell is to focus his attention on the Israel-Palestine problem, in the wake of the recent US-Israeli invasion of Gaza. During the murderous assault, Obama remained silent apart from a few platitudes, because, he said, there is only one president - a fact that did not silence him on many other issues. His campaign did, however, repeat his statement that "if missiles were falling where my two daughters sleep, I would do everything in order to stop that." He was referring to Israeli children, not the hundreds of Palestinian children being butchered by US arms, about whom he could not speak, because there was only one president. On January 22, however, the one president was Barack Obama, so he could speak freely about these matters - avoiding, however, the attack on Gaza, which had, conveniently, been called off just before the inauguration. Obama's talk emphasized his commitment to a peaceful settlement. He left its contours vague, apart from one specific proposal: "the Arab peace initiative," Obama said, "contains constructive elements that could help advance these efforts. Now is the time for Arab states to act on the initiative's promise by supporting the Palestinian government under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, taking steps towards normalizing relations with Israel, and by standing up to extremism that threatens us all." Obama is not directly falsifying the Arab League proposal, but the carefully framed deceit is instructive.
Mitchell is to focus his attention on the Israel-Palestine problem, in the wake of the recent US-Israeli invasion of Gaza. During the murderous assault, Obama remained silent apart from a few platitudes, because, he said, there is only one president - a fact that did not silence him on many other issues. His campaign did, however, repeat his statement that "if missiles were falling where my two daughters sleep, I would do everything in order to stop that." He was referring to Israeli children, not the hundreds of Palestinian children being butchered by US arms, about whom he could not speak, because there was only one president.
On January 22, however, the one president was Barack Obama, so he could speak freely about these matters - avoiding, however, the attack on Gaza, which had, conveniently, been called off just before the inauguration.
Obama's talk emphasized his commitment to a peaceful settlement. He left its contours vague, apart from one specific proposal: "the Arab peace initiative," Obama said, "contains constructive elements that could help advance these efforts. Now is the time for Arab states to act on the initiative's promise by supporting the Palestinian government under President Abbas and Prime Minister Fayyad, taking steps towards normalizing relations with Israel, and by standing up to extremism that threatens us all."
Obama is not directly falsifying the Arab League proposal, but the carefully framed deceit is instructive.
Regulatory Review Plan (Memorandum of January 20, 2009), 4435-4436 [E9-1639]
EXECUTIVE OFFICE OF THE PRESIDENT The White House Office Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies January 20, 2009, Washington, DC. From: Rahm Emanuel, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff Subject: Regulatory Review President Obama has asked me to communicate to each of you his plan for managing the Federal regulatory process at the beginning of his Administration. It is important that President Obama's appointees and designees have the opportunity to review and approve any new or pending regulations. Therefore, at the direction of the President, I am requesting that you immediately take the following steps: 1. Subject to any exceptions the Director or Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (the "OMB Director") allows for emergency situations or other urgent circumstances relating to health, safety, environmental, financial, or national security matters, or otherwise, no proposed or final regulation should be sent to the Office of the Federal Register (the "OFR") for publication unless and until it has been reviewed and approved by a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President after noon on January 20, 2009, or in the case of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense. The department or agency head may delegate this review and approval power to any other person so appointed or designated by the President, consistent with applicable law. 2.Withdraw from the OFR all proposed or final regulations that have not been published in the Federal Register so that they can be reviewed and approved by a department or agency head as described in paragraph 1. This withdrawal is subject to the exceptions described in paragraph 1 and must be conducted consistent with OFR procedures. 3.Consider extending for 60 days the effective date of regulations that have been published in the Federal Register but not yet taken effect, subject to the exceptions described in paragraph 1, for the purpose of reviewing questions of law and policy raised by those [[Page 4436]] regulations. Where such an extension is made for this purpose, you should immediately reopen the notice-and-comment period for 30 days to allow interested parties to provide comments about issues of law and policy raised by those rules. Following the 60-day extension: a. For those rules that raise no substantial questions of law or policy, no further action needs to be taken; and b. For those rules that raise substantial questions of law or policy, agencies should notify the OMB Director and take appropriate further action. 4.The requested actions set forth in paragraphs 1-3 do not apply to any regulations subject to statutory or judicial deadlines. Please immediately notify the OMB Director of any such regulations. 5.Notify the OMB Director promptly of any regulations that you believe should not be subject to the directives in paragraphs 1-3 because they affect critical health, safety, environmental, financial, or national security functions of the department or agency, or for some other reason. The OMB Director will review all such notifications and determine whether an exception is appropriate. 6.Continue in all instances to comply with any applicable Executive Orders concerning regulatory management. As used in this memorandum, "regulation" has the meaning set forth in section 3(e) of Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993, as amended; this memorandum covers "any substantive action by an agency (normally published in the Federal Register) that promulgates or is expected to lead to the promulgation of a final rule or regulation, including notices of inquiry, advance notices of proposed rulemaking, and notices of proposed rulemaking." This regulatory review will be implemented by the OMB Director, and communications regarding any matters pertaining to this review should be addressed to that official. The OMB Director is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register. [FR Doc. E9-1639 Filed 1-23-09; 8:45 am]
The White House Office
Memorandum for the Heads of Executive Departments and Agencies
January 20, 2009, Washington, DC. From: Rahm Emanuel, Assistant to the President and Chief of Staff Subject: Regulatory Review
President Obama has asked me to communicate to each of you his plan for managing the Federal regulatory process at the beginning of his Administration. It is important that President Obama's appointees and designees have the opportunity to review and approve any new or pending regulations. Therefore, at the direction of the President, I am requesting that you immediately take the following steps:
1. Subject to any exceptions the Director or Acting Director of the Office of Management and Budget (the "OMB Director") allows for emergency situations or other urgent circumstances relating to health, safety, environmental, financial, or national security matters, or otherwise, no proposed or final regulation should be sent to the Office of the Federal Register (the "OFR") for publication unless and until it has been reviewed and approved by a department or agency head appointed or designated by the President after noon on January 20, 2009, or in the case of the Department of Defense, the Secretary of Defense. The department or agency head may delegate this review and approval power to any other person so appointed or designated by the President, consistent with applicable law.
2.Withdraw from the OFR all proposed or final regulations that have not been published in the Federal Register so that they can be reviewed and approved by a department or agency head as described in paragraph 1. This withdrawal is subject to the exceptions described in paragraph 1 and must be conducted consistent with OFR procedures.
3.Consider extending for 60 days the effective date of regulations that have been published in the Federal Register but not yet taken effect, subject to the exceptions described in paragraph 1, for the purpose of reviewing questions of law and policy raised by those
[[Page 4436]]
regulations. Where such an extension is made for this purpose, you should immediately reopen the notice-and-comment period for 30 days to allow interested parties to provide comments about issues of law and policy raised by those rules. Following the 60-day extension: a. For those rules that raise no substantial questions of law or policy, no further action needs to be taken; and b. For those rules that raise substantial questions of law or policy, agencies should notify the OMB Director and take appropriate further action.
4.The requested actions set forth in paragraphs 1-3 do not apply to any regulations subject to statutory or judicial deadlines. Please immediately notify the OMB Director of any such regulations.
5.Notify the OMB Director promptly of any regulations that you believe should not be subject to the directives in paragraphs 1-3 because they affect critical health, safety, environmental, financial, or national security functions of the department or agency, or for some other reason. The OMB Director will review all such notifications and determine whether an exception is appropriate.
6.Continue in all instances to comply with any applicable Executive Orders concerning regulatory management.
As used in this memorandum, "regulation" has the meaning set forth in section 3(e) of Executive Order 12866 of September 30, 1993, as amended; this memorandum covers "any substantive action by an agency (normally published in the Federal Register) that promulgates or is expected to lead to the promulgation of a final rule or regulation, including notices of inquiry, advance notices of proposed rulemaking, and notices of proposed rulemaking." This regulatory review will be implemented by the OMB Director, and communications regarding any matters pertaining to this review should be addressed to that official. The OMB Director is authorized and directed to publish this memorandum in the Federal Register.
[FR Doc. E9-1639 Filed 1-23-09; 8:45 am]
The OMB director? Peter Orzag. Diversity is the key to economic and political evolution.
On December 21 I wrote:NATO is negotiating with Russia over opening a new supply route through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The U.S. plans a different route through Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan....I doubt that the effort will succeed. Russia will have a say in this no matter how much bribes the U.S. is willing to pay the dictators of those countries.An additional supply route to Afghanistan without Russia is not possible. Such a solution will have to be negotiated. But astonishingly last Tuesday the NYT reported this: Faced with the risk that Taliban attacks could imperil the main supply route for NATO troops in Afghanistan, the United States military has obtained permission to move troop supplies through Russia and Central Asia, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in the Middle East, said on Tuesday....The general had previously visited Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to discuss the issue. "There have been agreements reached, and there are transit lines now and transit agreements for commercial goods and services in particular that include several countries in the Central Asian states and also Russia," he said. Had I missed all the negotiations? No. Russia did not know about the deal Petraeus announced:
On December 21 I wrote:
NATO is negotiating with Russia over opening a new supply route through Russia, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. The U.S. plans a different route through Georgia, Azerbaijan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan....I doubt that the effort will succeed. Russia will have a say in this no matter how much bribes the U.S. is willing to pay the dictators of those countries.
An additional supply route to Afghanistan without Russia is not possible. Such a solution will have to be negotiated.
But astonishingly last Tuesday the NYT reported this:
Faced with the risk that Taliban attacks could imperil the main supply route for NATO troops in Afghanistan, the United States military has obtained permission to move troop supplies through Russia and Central Asia, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in the Middle East, said on Tuesday....The general had previously visited Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to discuss the issue. "There have been agreements reached, and there are transit lines now and transit agreements for commercial goods and services in particular that include several countries in the Central Asian states and also Russia," he said.
Faced with the risk that Taliban attacks could imperil the main supply route for NATO troops in Afghanistan, the United States military has obtained permission to move troop supplies through Russia and Central Asia, Gen. David H. Petraeus, the top American commander in the Middle East, said on Tuesday....The general had previously visited Turkmenistan, Tajikistan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan to discuss the issue.
"There have been agreements reached, and there are transit lines now and transit agreements for commercial goods and services in particular that include several countries in the Central Asian states and also Russia," he said.
Had I missed all the negotiations? No. Russia did not know about the deal Petraeus announced:
CIUDAD JUAREZ, Mexico -- In this carnage-racked border city of 1.3 million, more than 80 murders have been clocked in the past three weeks, and kidnappings, extortions, robberies and rapes further bedevil an already rattled population. So far, the new year looks to be bringing as much, if not more, havoc than the last. "Walking in the streets of Juarez is an extreme sport," said political scientist Tony Payan, an expert on border violence, repeating a grim quip making the rounds. Though little more than 1 percent of Mexico's 105 million population lives in Juarez, it accounted for almost one-third of the country's nearly 5,400 gangland murders last year, according to the federal government. And with President Felipe Calderon's war on the country's powerful drug syndicates unlikely to abate, this city bordering El Paso looks to remain a prime battleground. Some U.S. security experts warn that Mexico teeters on meltdown -- of being a "failed state." Mexican leaders shrug off the notion, but Juarez's criminal chaos wails like a siren before an approaching storm.
So far, the new year looks to be bringing as much, if not more, havoc than the last.
"Walking in the streets of Juarez is an extreme sport," said political scientist Tony Payan, an expert on border violence, repeating a grim quip making the rounds.
Though little more than 1 percent of Mexico's 105 million population lives in Juarez, it accounted for almost one-third of the country's nearly 5,400 gangland murders last year, according to the federal government. And with President Felipe Calderon's war on the country's powerful drug syndicates unlikely to abate, this city bordering El Paso looks to remain a prime battleground.
Some U.S. security experts warn that Mexico teeters on meltdown -- of being a "failed state." Mexican leaders shrug off the notion, but Juarez's criminal chaos wails like a siren before an approaching storm.
A bit under 2,000 murders last year, in a city of only 1.3 million. Scary numbers. Conservatives want live babies so they can raise them to be dead soldiers. - George Carlin
