Top Items:
Anne Penketh / Independent:
Ex-envoy to Uzbekistan goes public on torture — Britain's former ambassador to Uzbekistan, Craig Murray, has defied the Foreign Office by publishing on the internet documents providing evidence that the British Government knowingly received information extracted by torture in the "war on terror".
RELATED ITEMS:
Dana Priest / Washington Post:
Covert CIA Program Withstands New Furor — The effort President Bush authorized shortly after Sept. 11, 2001, to fight al Qaeda has grown into the largest CIA covert action program since the height of the Cold War, expanding in size and ambition despite a growing outcry at home and abroad …
National Review:
NRO's 2006 Crystal Ball — EDITOR'S NOTE: Another year, more predictions. Every year some brave souls here at National Review Online look into their crystal balls and see what they see for the upcoming year. Enjoy their self-sacrifice. And Happy New Year! — WARREN BELL
RELATED ITEM:
MEMRI:
Bahraini Women's Rights Activist Ghada Jamshir Attacks Islamic Clerics for Issuing Fatwas Authorizing Sexual Abuse of Infants — The following are excerpts from an interview with Bahraini women's rights activist Ghada Jamshir, which aired on Al-Arabiya TV on December 21, 2005.
Rob Stein / Washington Post:
Stomach Bug Mutates Into Medical Mystery — First came stomach cramps, which left Christina Shultz doubled over and weeping in pain. Then came nausea and fatigue — so overwhelming she couldn't get out of bed for days. Just when she thought things couldn't get worse …
Ben Curtis / Associated Press:
Egyptian Police Kill 10 Sudanese in Cairo — CAIRO, Egypt - Egyptian police turned water cannons on Sudanese war refugees and beat them with sticks Friday, brutally clearing out a squatters camp in a city park. At least 10 people were killed, the government said.
Suzanne Goldenberg / Guardian:
US intelligence service bugged website visitors despite ban — · Agency apologises for use of 'cookie' tracking files — · Exposure adds to pressure over White House powers — The intelligence service at the centre of the row over eavesdropping tracked visitors to its website, despite US government regulations.
RELATED ITEM:
Jason Straziuso / Associated Press:
AP: U.S. Teen Runs Off to Iraq by Himself — BAGHDAD, Iraq - Maybe it was the time the taxi dumped him at the Iraq-Kuwait border, leaving him alone in the middle of the desert. Or when he drew a crowd at a Baghdad food stand after using an Arabic phrase book to order.
Bull Moose:
Year End Musings — The Moose rambles during his holiday repose. — There is a legitimate and important debate underway on the authority for the President's eavesdropping program. There are strong arguments that the President should have sought authorization from the FISA Court for the surveillance.
Sharon LaFraniere / New York Times:
Women's Rights Laws and African Custom Clash — LAMONTVILLE, South Africa - In theory, what happened to 14-year-old Sibongile in this hilly, crowded township outside Durban in November could not happen today - at least, not legally. — On a broiling Saturday morning, as more than a dozen women looked on …
Stephanie Strom / New York Times:
Senators Press Red Cross for a Full Accounting — The Senate Finance Committee began an inquiry into the American Red Cross yesterday, seeking a broad range of information about its governance, its handling of money donated for disaster relief and its compensation policies.
Jeff Jacoby / Townhall.com:
Slurs fly from the Left — Nothing brings out racist slurs like an ambitious black man who doesn't know his "place." So when Maryland's lieutenant governor, Michael Steele, announced his candidacy for the US Senate recently, the bigots reared up. On one popular website, The News Blog …
Eric Schmitt / New York Times:
General Retreats on Rumsfeld Rift — ABOARD A C-32 JET, over the Persian Gulf, Dec. 29 - It was a rare moment last month when Gen. Peter Pace, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, publicly contradicted his boss, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld. On Thursday, however, General Pace essentially said never mind.
David Barboza / New York Times:
Nick's Cultural Revolution — SHANGHAI, Dec. 28 - When Nickelodeon's popular "Kids' Choice Awards" program came to China last month, the producers were forced to make some serious modifications. There would be no voting on favorite burp. Nor would children judge which movie character was the best at breaking wind.
Discussion:
Simon World
Tony Snow / Townhall.com:
Time for the President to call their bluff — WASHINGTON, D.C. — The White House Social Office needs to note right now, before anybody has a chance to forget, that it really must send flowers, chocolates and wall-sized Christmas cards (um, holiday cards) next year to James Risen and Eric Lichtblau of The New York Times.
Discussion:
Daily Pundit
The Experience Tdaxp / tdaxp:
The Majestic International Community — Dr. Demarche of the American Future has asked "What is the international community?" … The Glittering Eye, Mark from ZenPundit and Callimachus at Done with Mirrors have given their take, so here's mine: — The international community is that society …
RELATED ITEM:
