Evening News for Friday, June 8, 2007

U.S. NATIONAL NEWS

Iraq's al-Sadr Decries US Occupation

McClatchy Newspaper reported today that:

In a rare appearance on state-operated Iraqi television, radical anti-American Shiite Muslim cleric Muqtada al-Sadr on Thursday called the U.S.-backed government of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki "neglectful" and sectarian and blamed Iraq's problems on the U.S. presence in the country.

al-Sadr's his willingness to sit for an interview that lasted nearly an hour marked a new stage in his efforts to recast himself as a nationalist figure capable of uniting Sunni and Shiite partisans, two weeks after he resurfaced from a months-long absence.

In the interview, al-Sadr said that "the layers of government and parties are turning their backs on the people." He added that the government is only half-hearted in its efforts to serve the people.

He ticked off a laundry list of Iraq's problems - sectarianism, lack of services, lack of security, the Mahdi Army's reputation as a brutal killer of Sunnis. But the culprit was always the same - "the occupation."

He said he would never negotiate with American officials, despite assertions last week by Lt. Gen. Raymond Odierno, the No. 2 U.S. military commander in Iraq, that the U.S. was interested in opening such talks.

"I refuse any sit-down with the occupation, whether in Iraq or outside," he said.

Many people in Iraq believe al-Sadr is Iraq's most popular political figure, thanks largely to the millions of impoverished Shiites who were devoted to his father, a popular cleric who was assassinated during Saddam Hussein's rule. Al-Sadr has cemented that loyalty with his Mahdi Army, which many Shiites credit with protecting them from Sunni insurgents.

Did Democrats Write a Republican-like Global Warming/Energy Bill

The problem with having only two parties is that it becomes too easy for moneyed interests to hijack both parties. House Democrats have tried to fashion a bill, but it looks more like a Republican bill than a Democratic bill. According to The Hill that has setoff a fight within the Democratic ranks:

Divisions among Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee may doom an early effort to combat global warming and develop homegrown alternative fuels.

A dozen committee Democrats have sent a letter to panel Chairman John Dingell (D-Mich.) and Energy and Air Quality subcommittee Chairman Rick Boucher (D-Va.) saying a bill the two members drafted contained several “harmful policies.”

Specifically, the attacked the bill for pushing development of coal as a transportation fuel, despite concerns that doing so would raise greenhouse gas emissions, and for not increasing fuel mileage standards for cars and trucks aggressively enough.

Members also said they opposed language that would preempt states in forcing reductions in tailpipe emissions and overturn a Supreme Court ruling that found the Environmental Protection Agency had the authority to regulate greenhouse gases under the Clean Air Act.

“We have serious concerns about the direction in which the committee is currently heading and must strongly oppose the draft legislation that has been circulated,” the lawmakers wrote.

“We urge you to rethink your approach and produce a bill that will help address the serious threat of global warming and reduce the nation’s dependence on oil.”

Gay-Bashing Grey's Star Given the Boot

In a victory for common decency, MSNBC reported:

Isaiah Washington has lost his job on the hit ABC medical drama “Grey’s Anatomy,” five months after creating a furor with his use of an anti-gay slur.

Washington’s contract option was not renewed for next season, series producer ABC Television Studios said Thursday.

He drew fire after using the anti-gay epithet backstage at the Golden Globe Awards in January while denying he’d used it previously on the set against cast mate T.R. Knight.

Gay rights groups and cast member Katherine Heigl, who publicly denounced Washington, were among his most vocal critics.

WORLD REPORT

Fighting Explodes Again in Lebanese Refugee Camp

Lebanese troops pounded al Qaeda-inspired militants dug in at a Palestinian refugee camp in north Lebanon on Friday after the group rejected demands to surrender.

Artillery and tanks blasted several areas of the squalid Nahr al-Bared camp, where Fatah al-Islam fighters have shown stiff resistance in three weeks of often ferocious battles.

Camp resident Wissam Badran told Reuters he had helped pull a man, woman and two children from under the rubble after a shell hit a house sheltering 10 civilians. He initially thought they were dead.

"They lost consciousness. We thought they were dead, but thank God, they are alive," Badran said by telephone from inside Nahr al-Bared. Six others were lightly wounded, he said.

The heavy thud of machinegun fire echoed across the area as fires raged inside and clouds of smoke billowed over the camp, abandoned by most of its 40,000 residents. Witnesses said at least 30 civilians were evacuated by relief workers.

The fighting began on May 20 when the militants attacked army units deployed around Nahr al-Bared after one of their hideouts in a nearby city was stormed. At least 115 people, including 47 soldiers and 38 militants, have been killed.

EU Seeks to Standardize Rules for Asylum Seekers

Deutsche Welle is reporting that there is an effort underfoot in Europe to try and standardize asylum rules across the EU (European Union) and to provide more rights to long-term asylum guests:

Approximately 12 percent of asylum seekers apply to more than one country, looking for the one most likely to accept them or give them the best benefits, EU Justice Commissioner Franco Frattini said Wednesday. This practice of "asylum shopping" must stop, Frattini said.

The European Commission wants stronger cooperation between EU countries to standardize entry procedures and give legitimate asylum seekers more rights.

Frattini suggested looking for ways to better share the burden of refugees between countries. The approximately 182,000 people who seek asylum in the EU each year -- half as many as in 2002 -- are unevenly distributed between countries because entry points are often concentrated in southern Europe while northern European countries often have more liberal asylum policies.

Only a few countries, such as Sweden, Finland and the Netherlands will accept asylum-seekers from other EU countries. That must change so that there are uniform criteria, he said.

"We need a fair and effective system to deal with these people," Frattini said.

But the proposal goes beyond regularizing entry into the EU.

Frattini wants to give recognized asylum seekers who have lived in the EU for at least five years more rights. They should be able to travel within the EU and should be able to have a work permit as long as they fulfil certain conditions, such as having a regular income and health insurance.

It's unfair that in 2003 the EU granted such rights only to legal immigrants and not to integrated refugees, Frattini said.

Pirates Seize Danish Ship

The Copenhagen Post reported pirates, real ones - not those of Hollywood creation - have hijacked a ship near Somalia:

The ship and five-person crew of freighter Danica White are being held by pirates after being hijacked Saturday in the Arabian Sea off the coast of Somalia, reported the Operative Command of the Royal Danish Navy (SOK).

The ship is owned by H. Folmer & Co in Copenhagen and was carrying 10 tonnes of building materials.

SOK was notified Saturday by the shipper that the vessel had been on its way from Dubai to Mombassa, Kenya and had been in contact with a French warship when captured. The French ship could not follow the freighter into Somali waters, and no further contact has been possible with the ship or its crew since Saturday.

The ship was reportedly localised Monday afternoon in Somalia by private investigation firm Protocol, according to Politiken newspaper, which reported that it is anchored in the port town of Hobyo, 700 kilometres up the coast from Mogadishu.

Lars Thuesen, the Foreign Ministry’s chief of consular affairs, told public broadcaster DR the ministry is doing everything in its power to secure the safety of the crew.

‘We’ve set up a task force with all the relevant Danish authorities, which have been summoned many times during the weekend. In addition we have close contact with the ship’s owners and the crewmen’s families.’

Authorities are now waiting to hear from the hijackers and what their demands are for release of the ship and crew.