LESS than a month before the US invasion of Iraq, Saddam Hussein signalled that he was willing to go into exile as long as he could take $US1 billion and information on weapons of mass destruction, a Spanish newspaper claims. for more click here
(New York, September 28, 2007) ?The Philippines government should stop blacklisting peaceful critics and banning them from entering the country, Human Rights Watch said today.
Human Rights Watch has obtained a copy of a Philippines government blacklist banning 504 people from entering the country in July and August with, according to the document, “Al-Qaeda/Taliban Link.” The Bureau of Immigration of the Philippines Justice Department blacklist includes individuals from more than 50 countries, including expatriate Filipinos. The blacklist includes individuals from US-based organizations such as Church World Service, the Methodist Church General Board of Church and Society, the National Lawyers Guild, and the Center for Constitutional Rights. It also includes individuals working for the International Labor Solidarity Mission, and from Philippine unions and civil society organizations such as Bayan and Gabriela/Gabnet. The blacklist can be viewed at: http://hrw.org/pub/2007/asia/philippines_blacklist-
watchlist0907.pdf.
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In an objective world, U.S. President George W. Bush and Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad could be finalists in a competition of stupid remarks by major international leaders. But in a measure of how far the United States has slipped into an authoritarian paradigm, the U.S. media heaped vitriol on Ahmadinejad during his UN visit but kept silent about Bush’s hypocrisy when he presented himself as the champion for inalienable human rights. for more click here
CITY MSP Malcolm Chisholm has called for domestic abuse courts to be set up throughout Scotland.
A pilot scheme in Glasgow found the use of specialised staff resulted in more guilty pleas, a higher conviction rate and most cases reaching trial within six weeks. for more click here
Geneva (dpa) - The European Union group of countries led overwhelming calls at the UN Human Rights Council Friday for a special session to discuss human rights violations in Burma. for more click here
A TREASURE trove of Scottish history is set to be housed on Edinburgh’s Waterfront creating a major new tourist attraction for the Capital.
Around 100,000 people a year are expected to visit the new centre which will bring the nation’s history to life. for more click here
FORMER Scottish Tory leader David McLetchie has called for MSPs’ allowances to be brought into line with those at Westminster.
The Edinburgh Pentlands MSP - who quit as leader after a row over his taxi expenses - said Holyrood’s current Members Support Allowance (MSA) should be scrapped and replaced with three separate allowances for staff costs, office expenses and a communications budget. for more click here
Science Daily — A new analysis of high-resolution satellite images — completed by the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS) — pinpoints evidence consistent with village destruction, forced relocations, and a growing military presence at 25 sites across eastern Burma where eye-witnesses have reported human rights violations. for more click here
NEW DELHI — Attempting to stop the flow of violent images that have galvanized international condemnation of Myanmar, the country’s military government Friday tried to shut down access to the Internet and cellphone service.
On the third day of the clampdown on largely peaceful protests, authorities closed Internet cafes and suspended two key service providers, but embassies and companies linked by satellite to the Web remained online. for more click here
Like most of the political circus, I arrived in Bournemouth still sceptical about talk of an early general election. Along with the majority of the tribe, I left the Labour conference concluding that an election will now be very hard to stop. I continue to think an early election could still be risky for Labour. But as someone who cares more about politics than about Labour, I also believe an election now would be positively wrong. for more click here