Thursday, February 7, 2008

Bhutto's supporters remember assassinated leader
Photo courtesy of Zack Baddorf

• Mukasey Denies Request for Criminal Probe into Use of Waterboarding
• Attorney General Michael Mukasey Testifies Against Reducing Sentences for Current Crack-Cocaine Offenders
• Texas Landowners Counter Sue Homeland Security over Border Wall
• Pakistani Police Arrest Two in Connection to the Assassination of Benazir Bhutto
• Naples, Italy Struggles to Dig Itself Out of a Huge Back-up of Garbage Piling Up in its Streets

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Mukasey Denies Request for Criminal Probe into Use of Waterboarding

While human rights groups continue to call for an investigation into the Bush Administration's use of waterboarding, Attorney General Michael Mukasey continues to deny the practice torture. The White House claimed yesterday that the interrogation method is legal and that Bush could authorize the CIA to use the technique. And today, Mukasey rejected a call for a criminal probe into the matter. FSRN's Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Attorney General Michael Mukasey Testifies Against Reducing Sentences for Current Crack-Cocaine Offenders

A new law dealing with the sentencing of Crack-Cocaine defendants goes into effect in less than a month. The question now is whether to allow those already serving time to have their sentences reduced. Today, Attorney General Michael Mukasey testified before congress on the issue. He wants to block a plan that would allow some crack cocaine offenders to be resentenced. FSRN Karen Miller has more from DC.

Texas Landowners Counter Sue Homeland Security over Border Wall

The Department of Homeland Security is suing dozens of landowners along the US-Mexico Border. DHS is in the process of erecting a wall to stem the flow of undocumented immigrants into the United States. Several property owners in Texas, California and Arizona have resisted, refusing to allow government survey crews onto their property. The lawsuits look to grant government officials temporary access to the private property in order to establish the most ideal path for the wall.

Now, indigenous people in the Rio Grande Valley are striking back. Several have counter-sued the Department of Homeland Security to stop what they call "irreparable harm to the community and the land on the Texas-Mexico border."

Peter Schey of the Center for Human Rights.

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Dr. Eloisa Tamez and her husband own land along the border – land that has been in their family since the 18th century. The Department of Homeland Security has threatened them with confiscation if they do not allow surveyors on the property. The Tamez's daughter, Margo Tamez, is part of the Lipan Apache Women's Community Defense.

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Communities along the Texas-Mexico border are often closely connected. US border cities often have Mexican Sister-cities directly across the border; they share cultures, a workforce, and resources. The proposed border wall threatens these communities. US Customs and Border Protection hopes to build nearly 670 miles of wall by the end of the year. According to an agency spokes person, about 100 of the 600 total landowners contacted by the government have refused to give access to their land.

Pakistani Police Arrest Two in Connection to the Assassination of Benazir Bhutto

Tens of thousands of people across Pakistan completed 40 days of mourning for former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto yesterday. As the traditional Muslim mourning period comes to a close, the environment for opposition leaders is no less dangerous. Going into Pakistan's scheduled February 18th elections, some politicians continue to fear for their safety.

Meanwhile, in what Pakistani officials called a "major breakthrough," two quote - "very important alleged terrorists" - were arrested in connection with the opposition leader's assassination. They were picked up in the garrison city of Rawalpindi, the same city where Bhutto was killed. Zack Baddorf reports from Pakistan.

Naples, Italy Struggles to Dig Itself Out of a Huge Back-up of Garbage Piling Up in its Streets

For more than a month, the city of Naples and surrounding areas have been buried under thousands of tons of garbage. The Italian government blames much of the problem on organized crime, which reportedly controls garbage collection in the city. Garbage collectors stopped picking up trash in mid-December because of lack of space in the city's dumps. Some residents have taken matters into their own hands and have begun burning the trash – but this making the environmental situation worse.

This issue is nothing new in Southern Italy. So called "garbage emergencies" have been a chronic problem for the Campiania region for the last 14 years. Diletta Varlese reports.