Germany said no, so the tiny island nation of Palau jumped into the void and said it would accept up to 17 Uighurs held in Guantanamo. Palau President Johnson Toribiong told SPIEGEL ONLINE that it was "spurious" to claim money was the reason. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Germany has spent weeks discussing whether it should accept Uighur detainees who are set to be released from Guantanamo. Now Palau has offered to take them. How did that come about? In November, Johnson Toribiong became the seventh elected president of Palau, a small group of islands located in the Pacific, about 800 kilometers east of the Philippines. Toribiong, 63, was born in the Airai area of Palau. A nephew of Palauan founding father Roman Tmetuchl, Toribiong was educated in the United States and obtained an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1969, and his J.D. and masters in law from the University of Washington Law School. Johnson Toribiong: I received a personal request from US President Barack Obama, through his envoy Daniel Fried, to help the US resolve this thorny political issue. Based on our long friendship with the US, we agreed to make a humanitarian gesture and offer a helping hand. We are honored and proud to be able to help the US with this issue, which has implications for the US justice system and human rights. SPIEGEL ONLINE: Like President Obama, you attended law school in the United States. How did your background as an attorney inform your understanding of the Uighur issue? Toribiong: The Uighurs are ethnic Chinese who have been struggling to create their own nation and they were picked up in Afghanistan and brought to the Guantánamo Bay detention center on the suspicion that they were members of the Taliban or terrorists. Subsequently, the appropriate authorities in the United States determined that they were not enemy combatants. The only other place they could be returned is their homeland, where they would face persecution and perhaps execution.
Germany said no, so the tiny island nation of Palau jumped into the void and said it would accept up to 17 Uighurs held in Guantanamo. Palau President Johnson Toribiong told SPIEGEL ONLINE that it was "spurious" to claim money was the reason.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Germany has spent weeks discussing whether it should accept Uighur detainees who are set to be released from Guantanamo. Now Palau has offered to take them. How did that come about?
In November, Johnson Toribiong became the seventh elected president of Palau, a small group of islands located in the Pacific, about 800 kilometers east of the Philippines. Toribiong, 63, was born in the Airai area of Palau. A nephew of Palauan founding father Roman Tmetuchl, Toribiong was educated in the United States and obtained an undergraduate degree in political science from the University of Colorado at Boulder in 1969, and his J.D. and masters in law from the University of Washington Law School. Johnson Toribiong: I received a personal request from US President Barack Obama, through his envoy Daniel Fried, to help the US resolve this thorny political issue. Based on our long friendship with the US, we agreed to make a humanitarian gesture and offer a helping hand. We are honored and proud to be able to help the US with this issue, which has implications for the US justice system and human rights.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Like President Obama, you attended law school in the United States. How did your background as an attorney inform your understanding of the Uighur issue?
Toribiong: The Uighurs are ethnic Chinese who have been struggling to create their own nation and they were picked up in Afghanistan and brought to the Guantánamo Bay detention center on the suspicion that they were members of the Taliban or terrorists. Subsequently, the appropriate authorities in the United States determined that they were not enemy combatants. The only other place they could be returned is their homeland, where they would face persecution and perhaps execution.
The British Government responded with ill-disguised fury tonight to the news that four Chinese Uighurs freed from Guantanamo Bay had been flown for resettlement on the Atlantic tourist paradise of Bermuda. The four arrived on Bermuda in the early hours, celebrating the end of seven years of detention after learning that they were to be accepted as guest workers. But it appears that the Government of Bermuda failed to consult with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the decision to take in the Uighurs - whose return is demanded by Beijing - and it could now be forced to send them back to Cuba or risk a grave diplomatic crisis. Bermuda, Britain's oldest remaining dependency, is one of 14 overseas territories that come under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, which retains direct responsibility for such matters as foreign policy and security.
The British Government responded with ill-disguised fury tonight to the news that four Chinese Uighurs freed from Guantanamo Bay had been flown for resettlement on the Atlantic tourist paradise of Bermuda.
The four arrived on Bermuda in the early hours, celebrating the end of seven years of detention after learning that they were to be accepted as guest workers.
But it appears that the Government of Bermuda failed to consult with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office on the decision to take in the Uighurs - whose return is demanded by Beijing - and it could now be forced to send them back to Cuba or risk a grave diplomatic crisis.
Bermuda, Britain's oldest remaining dependency, is one of 14 overseas territories that come under the sovereignty of the United Kingdom, which retains direct responsibility for such matters as foreign policy and security.
I've no love for the US trying to wash its hands of its responsibilities in the most grubby and underhandeded manner, but if any other govt deserves condemnation alongside them, it's the UK. keep to the Fen Causeway
TAPPER: Two questions about developments today. One regarding the Ghailani trial -- him being flown to the United States -- if any of the detainees who are brought to trial through the U.S. criminal courts, or even through military commissions -- if any of them are found not guilty, will the administration let them free? GIBBS: Well, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about... TAPPER: Forget the military commissions. GIBBS: I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about the court cases either. TAPPER: Well, this is an important part of -- you're talking about a credible justice system; bringing these people to justice. You've spoken at great length about this -- the president has. If they are found not guilty, will they be found... GIBBS: Well, let's discuss that if it ever comes to fruition. TAPPER: But isn't that what is underlying a credible justice system? The idea that if you're found not guilty, you'll be free? GIBBS: Sure. TAPPER: So... GIBBS: But I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about how certain cases may or may not play out. TAPPER: So you're not willing to commit to freeing people if they're found not guilty? GIBBS: I'm not willing to get into playing hypothetical games.
GIBBS: Well, I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about...
TAPPER: Forget the military commissions.
GIBBS: I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about the court cases either.
TAPPER: Well, this is an important part of -- you're talking about a credible justice system; bringing these people to justice. You've spoken at great length about this -- the president has. If they are found not guilty, will they be found...
GIBBS: Well, let's discuss that if it ever comes to fruition.
TAPPER: But isn't that what is underlying a credible justice system? The idea that if you're found not guilty, you'll be free?
GIBBS: Sure.
TAPPER: So...
GIBBS: But I'm not going to get into hypotheticals about how certain cases may or may not play out.
TAPPER: So you're not willing to commit to freeing people if they're found not guilty?
GIBBS: I'm not willing to get into playing hypothetical games.
Most likely places to take the Uighurs also had agreements that China would have used to request their return as 'terrorists'. Palau doesn't. In fact, they recognize Taiwan and have often been relied upon for pro-US (anti-Palestinian, pro-war) votes in the UN. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
Frank Delaney ~ Ireland
"The nature of their arrest and detention is such that they are essentially stateless, without documentation and without the benefit of a fresh start will be condemned to languish as innocent men in some form of detention even after the closure of Guantanamo Bay. "The United States Government will bear the cost surrounding this relocation and the Government of Bermuda will facilitate documentation, residence and employment. Bermuda has extended itself in this manner previously. In the 1980s in the wake of the natural disasters and political issues in Vietnam, Bermuda accepted Vietnamese families and they have, for the most part, become a part of this community or have settled overseas. "It is important for everyone to understand that this process in [sic] not complete. I met with His Excellency the Governor this morning, and on behalf of the United Kingdom, he is seeking to further assess the ramifications of this move before allowing the Government of Bermuda to fully implement this action. Our colonial relationship with the United Kingdom certainly gives him license to do so.
"The United States Government will bear the cost surrounding this relocation and the Government of Bermuda will facilitate documentation, residence and employment. Bermuda has extended itself in this manner previously. In the 1980s in the wake of the natural disasters and political issues in Vietnam, Bermuda accepted Vietnamese families and they have, for the most part, become a part of this community or have settled overseas.
"It is important for everyone to understand that this process in [sic] not complete. I met with His Excellency the Governor this morning, and on behalf of the United Kingdom, he is seeking to further assess the ramifications of this move before allowing the Government of Bermuda to fully implement this action. Our colonial relationship with the United Kingdom certainly gives him license to do so.
The Obama administration has all but abandoned plans to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release to live in the United States, administration officials said yesterday, a decision that reflects bipartisan congressional opposition to admitting such prisoners but complicates efforts to persuade European allies to accept them. Four Uighur detainees, Chinese Muslims who were incarcerated at the U.S. military prison in Cuba for more than seven years, arrived early yesterday in Bermuda, where they will become foreign guest workers. An administration official said the United States is engaged in negotiations with other countries, including Palau, an island nation in the western Pacific, to find places for the remaining 13 Uighurs held at Guantanamo. The Uighurs, who were ordered released by a federal judge last year, never counted America as an enemy, according to the men's lawyers and human rights groups, giving the administration grounds to argue that they should live in the United States. Picked up in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2002, the Uighurs were later cleared of the "enemy combatant" label but remained in minimum-security confinement at Guantanamo.
The Obama administration has all but abandoned plans to allow Guantanamo Bay detainees who have been cleared for release to live in the United States, administration officials said yesterday, a decision that reflects bipartisan congressional opposition to admitting such prisoners but complicates efforts to persuade European allies to accept them.
Four Uighur detainees, Chinese Muslims who were incarcerated at the U.S. military prison in Cuba for more than seven years, arrived early yesterday in Bermuda, where they will become foreign guest workers. An administration official said the United States is engaged in negotiations with other countries, including Palau, an island nation in the western Pacific, to find places for the remaining 13 Uighurs held at Guantanamo.
The Uighurs, who were ordered released by a federal judge last year, never counted America as an enemy, according to the men's lawyers and human rights groups, giving the administration grounds to argue that they should live in the United States. Picked up in Pakistan and Afghanistan in 2002, the Uighurs were later cleared of the "enemy combatant" label but remained in minimum-security confinement at Guantanamo.
And the reason he fears that this may happen is statistics showing that 15% or so of the 500 detainees released under the Bush administration went back to fight or equivalent. But somehow Bush was not seen as "weak on defense" for releasing these.
That's also the political reality that Obama has to deal with... In the long run, we're all dead. John Maynard Keynes
The Obama administration has proposed a 25 percent cut in the research and development budget for one of the most promising renewable energy sources in the Northwest - wave and tidal power.At the same time the White House sought an 82 percent increase in solar power research funding, a 36 percent increase in wind power funding and a 14 percent increase in geothermal funding, it sought to cut wave and tidal research funding from $40 million to $30 million.The decision to cut funding for tidal and wave power came only weeks after the Interior Department suggested that wave power could emerge as the leading offshore energy source in the Northwest and at a time when efforts to develop tidal power in Puget Sound are attracting national and international attention.
The Obama administration has proposed a 25 percent cut in the research and development budget for one of the most promising renewable energy sources in the Northwest - wave and tidal power.
At the same time the White House sought an 82 percent increase in solar power research funding, a 36 percent increase in wind power funding and a 14 percent increase in geothermal funding, it sought to cut wave and tidal research funding from $40 million to $30 million.
The decision to cut funding for tidal and wave power came only weeks after the Interior Department suggested that wave power could emerge as the leading offshore energy source in the Northwest and at a time when efforts to develop tidal power in Puget Sound are attracting national and international attention.
together with an international program of energy efficiency, the cheapest of all, we wouldn't need to promote marginal tech. "Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one's courage." - Anaïs Nin
No, research is research. The brainless should not be in banking. — Willem Buiter
Also, research into mature technologies is not interchangeable with research into experimental technologies. The brainless should not be in banking. — Willem Buiter
Odds are that, a) someone forgot to submit one of the grant requests, and b) Obama never got within earshot of this. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
A CNN headline, reporting Obama's plans for his June 4 Cairo address, read `Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world.' Perhaps that captures his intent, but more significant is the content hidden in the rhetorical stance, or more accurately, omitted. Keeping just to Israel-Palestine--there was nothing substantive about anything else--Obama called on Arabs and Israelis not to `point fingers' at each other or to `see this conflict only from one side or the other.' There is, however, a third side, that of the United States, which has played a decisive role in sustaining the current conflict. Obama gave no indication that its role should change or even be considered. Those familiar with the history will rationally conclude, then, that Obama will continue in the path of unilateral U.S. rejectionism. Obama once again praised the Arab Peace Initiative, saying only that Arabs should see it as "an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities." How should the Obama administration see it?
A CNN headline, reporting Obama's plans for his June 4 Cairo address, read `Obama looks to reach the soul of the Muslim world.' Perhaps that captures his intent, but more significant is the content hidden in the rhetorical stance, or more accurately, omitted.
Keeping just to Israel-Palestine--there was nothing substantive about anything else--Obama called on Arabs and Israelis not to `point fingers' at each other or to `see this conflict only from one side or the other.' There is, however, a third side, that of the United States, which has played a decisive role in sustaining the current conflict. Obama gave no indication that its role should change or even be considered.
Those familiar with the history will rationally conclude, then, that Obama will continue in the path of unilateral U.S. rejectionism.
Obama once again praised the Arab Peace Initiative, saying only that Arabs should see it as "an important beginning, but not the end of their responsibilities." How should the Obama administration see it?
Israeli tanks have crossed the border into the southeast Gaza Strip after the regime's gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast across the strip. According to witnesses and local sources, four tanks provided cover for six bulldozers to roll hundreds meters deep into the strip on Tuesday and flattened the cultivated fields in al-Shouka neighborhood in eastern Rafah city. Meanwhile, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast in northern and southern Gaza Strip, Xinhua reported. The incursion came a day after Israeli forces backed by a helicopter gunship killed four Palestinians at the border with the southern Gaza Strip.
According to witnesses and local sources, four tanks provided cover for six bulldozers to roll hundreds meters deep into the strip on Tuesday and flattened the cultivated fields in al-Shouka neighborhood in eastern Rafah city.
Meanwhile, Israeli gunboats opened fire at Palestinian fishing boats off the coast in northern and southern Gaza Strip, Xinhua reported.
The incursion came a day after Israeli forces backed by a helicopter gunship killed four Palestinians at the border with the southern Gaza Strip.
About time to extend the Israel boycott to the US methinks. Never underestimate their intelligence, always underestimate their knowledge.
FRANCE: 'Defying Rules on Arms Sales to Israel'
Between 2003 and 2007 France issued licences worth more than 446 million euros (623 million dollars) for arms exports to Israel. This made France by far the largest supplier of weapons to Israel in the EU.
