Fair Proxy Web

Musharraf names allies to ‘caretaker’ government

LAHORE, Pakistan (CNN) — Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf picked at least seven allies to fill posts in a caretaker government due to be sworn in Friday, according to state-run media.

Musharraf made the announcement as he faces increasing political pressure to step down as the nation’s military leader and to end a state of emergency he declared November 3.

Most of the leaders from Pakistan’s opposition parties have been jailed or placed under house arrest. Many have been charged under anti-terrorism statutes.

In Karachi, police have cracked down on opposition rallies, jailing hundreds of demonstrators. Two boys were killed in a Thursday rally held in support of opposition leader and former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto, police sources said. The deaths were the first reported fatalities since Musharraf’s emergency order was announced. Watch outrage spill into Pakistan’s streets Wednesday

Bhutto was placed under house arrest earlier this week to prevent her from leading a march from Lahore to the capital, Islamabad. However, the house arrest was lifted early Friday and hundreds of police officers were being stationed outside her home, police sources said.

Despite promising fairness in his government appointments, Musharraf has named several allies to fill interim posts; atop the list is Senate Chairman Mohammad Mian Soomro, who was appointed prime minister, the state-run Associated Press of Pakistan reported.

In appointing Soomro, who is scheduled to be sworn in Friday, Musharraf applauded members of the National Assembly, whose tenures ended Thursday. The parliament and political assemblies are scheduled to be dissolved Tuesday.

Musharraf said the parliament and government have introduced a new culture in the country’s political history over the last five years.

The appointments come ahead of a parliamentary election, which the interim government is charged with overseeing. Musharraf has said the election will take place before January 9, but the Pakistan Election Commission will set the date. See how the nation’s political turmoil has evolved

As interim prime minister, Soomro will oversee the process leading up to the election.

Among Musharraf’s other appointments to the interim government:

Sen. Nisar Memon, one of the president’s close associates, was named information minister, a post he previously held under Musharraf.

Abbas Sarfaz and Salman Shah, both members of the country’s ruling Pakistan Muslim League-Q party, were named Cabinet members. They have both served before in Musharraf’s Cabinet.

Dilawar Abbas, also a PML-Q member, was tapped to fill the petroleum minister post.

Gen. Hamid Nawaz, a former member of Musharraf’s Cabinet, was named interior minister.

Inam ul Haq, another former Cabinet member, was appointed to the foreign minister post.

The Cabinet will be sworn in early Friday, government sources said.

Critics had warned that Musharraf would appoint allies to the interim Cabinet. Previous caretaker governments have been neutral.

When asked Wednesday if he would include members of the opposition in the caretaker government, Musharraf promised only neutrality and efficiency in an interview with The Associated Press.

We will make sure that the caretaker government contains people of stature, people of a neutral band, and those that can perform government functions well, he said.

U.S. Deputy Secretary of State John Negroponte is scheduled to arrive Friday in Pakistan for weekend meetings with Musharraf and other Pakistani officials.

Senior State Department officials said Negroponte will convey to Musharraf that the United States frowns on his imposition of emergency rule and wants to see it rescinded.

Bhutto, who has repeatedly called for Musharraf to step down as army chief, told U.S. consul general Bryan Hunt on Thursday that negotiations with Musharraf had hit a dead end, the former prime minister said, according to AP.

I told him that we had worked with General Musharraf on this road map to democracy, but instead of moving towards democracy, to my shock and horror, we found that we had moved backward towards military dictatorship, Bhutto told AP.

She said her party’s sentiments on Musharraf’s rule are simple: We feel that his time is finished and that he should quit.

Bhutto has entered into talks with exiled former Pakistani premier Nawaz Sharif on forming an alliance against Musharraf, members of both camps said.

Musharraf has been accused by the opposition of imposing the emergency order to remain in power by avoiding an expected ruling from the previous Supreme Court that would nullify his October election victory.

Musharraf has countered that the order was imposed to save Pakistan from governmental paralysis caused by the chief justice of the Supreme Court. He has said it improves stability and will foster peaceful parliamentary elections.
found here.

Skepticism about holiday air travel ‘express lane’

WASHINGTON (AP) — Despite President Bush’s personal intervention, American travelers stuck in one of the air traffic system’s chokepoints remained skeptical the government would be able to avert serious flight delays over the Thanksgiving holiday.

Bush announced a series of technical measures Thursday to reduce air traffic congestion and long delays that have left passengers stranded and turned holiday travel into a season of dread for too many Americans. Among the most innovative: Opening two lanes of restricted military airspace off the East Coast to commercial airlines from 4 p.m. ET Wednesday through the following Sunday.

Many of Bush’s moves were aimed at New York airports, whose congestion plays a role in 75 percent of the flight delays nationwide.

In a year of record delays, Bush declared that business as usual is not good enough for American travelers. Opening two lanes of military airspace offshore will supplement the dozen air routes regularly used from Florida to New England and create a Thanksgiving express lane for commercial airliners during the busiest days of Thanksgiving travel. Watch the president’s announcement

It’s probably a good idea, but are the airlines going to be able to handle it? asked Dawn East, 52, as she waited at New Jersey’s Newark Liberty International Airport for her flight to Miami, Florida, which had been delayed for two hours. It’s not a problem of the lanes up there. It’s an industry problem. There’s no efficiency.

For the second time since September when he ordered the Transportation Department and the Federal Aviation Administration to come up with solutions, Bush personally intervened in the intractable problem of air congestion that previous presidents avoided and many aviation experts believe has only long-term solutions.

Crowded airports, stranded passengers and delayed flights carry some real costs for the country, Bush said, not just in the inconvenience they cause, but in the business they obstruct and family gatherings they cause people to miss.

Bush’s moves were applauded by trade groups representing the airlines and airports but derided as ineffective by air traffic controllers who said their ranks have been thinned too much to handle the holiday crush efficiently. The pilots union called some long-term steps too drastic.

Democrats in Congress characterized Bush’s actions as better late than never, in the words of Rep. Jerry Costello, D-Illinois, House aviation subcommittee chairman, and not nearly enough in the view of Sen. Charles Schumer, D-New York.

The chief benefit of using the military air routes would be to get people out of the New York area quicker, especially if we have [bad] weather up and down the East Coast, said Nancy Kalinowski, systems operations vice president at the Federal Aviation Administration.

Through September, more than 24 percent of U.S. flights arrived late, the worst on-time performance since comparable data began being collected in 1995. And in these Transportation Department figures, on-time means less than 15 minutes late.

Many of the new moves also will be in effect for Christmas but even some of the short-term steps Bush announced — like doubling the penalties airlines have to pay passengers bumped from overbooked flights — won’t take place until next summer at the earliest.

Bush acknowledged these short-term steps do not cure the underlying problem: In certain parts of our country, the demand for air service exceeds the available supply. As a result, airlines are scheduling more arrivals and departures than airports can possibly handle.

He called on Congress to pass his FAA reauthorization bill, which would finance a multibillion-dollar modernizing of air traffic control by replacing radars with global positioning satellites. The House has passed a reauthorization but Bush objects to some provisions; the Senate has yet to act.

Among the short-term steps:

–The FAA is imposing a holiday moratorium on nonessential maintenance projects, so all its personnel and equipment will be focused on keeping flights on time.

–New runway use patterns have been instituted at New York’s Kennedy International that allow four to six more planes to arrive each hour, and Newark is about to add new takeoff routes.

–An FAA Web site, www.Fly.FAA.Gov, will provide up-to-date information about airport delays and passengers can sign up to have delay notices sent to their mobile phones.

The Transportation Department proposed new rules to double the bump fee that airlines must pay to travelers with tickets but no seat from $200 for those delayed less than two hours and $400 for those who wait more than two hours to $400 and $800. It also proposed that airlines devise legally enforceable plans to provide food, water, lavatories and medical care to passengers stranded in planes on airport taxiways.
found here.

Newsquiz: Week of November 12

(CNN Student News) — November 16, 2007

Name that noun — Answer the following questions about the people, places or things from this week’s news. Fill in your answers in the space provided.

1. A group of stagehands went on strike in what famous theater district?

*

*

2. What NBA All-Star center for the Houston Rockets hails from China?

*

*

3. What type of environmental disaster took place in the Kerch Strait near Russia?

*

*

4. What U.S. governor held a prayer vigil on the steps of his state’s Capitol for rain?

*

*

5. What Egyptian king’s treasures are on display in London?

*

*

6. What U.S. state’s governor dropped his plan to issue driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants?

*

*

7. What technology company settled a lawsuit brought by the families of two Chinese dissidents?

*

*

8. What country was struck by a magnitude 7.7 earthquake on Wednesday?

*

*

9. According to the Guinness Book of World Records, who is the tallest man in the United States?

*

*

10. What record-breaking athlete was charged by a federal grand jury with perjury and obstruction of justice?

*

* E-mail to a friend

found here.

Home run king Barry Bonds indicted on perjury charges

SAN FRANCISCO, California (CNN) — A federal grand jury indictment on Thursday charged Barry Bonds, baseball’s record home run hitter, with perjury and obstruction of justice and accused him of testing positive for performance-enhancing steroids.

Bonds, 43, repeatedly denied he had knowingly taken performance-enhancing drugs during his December 2003 testimony in an investigation that focused on a San Francisco-area laboratory.

The grand jury in San Francisco returned a five count indictment against Bonds, which includes four counts of perjury and one count of obstruction of justice and accuses him of lying when he said he didn’t knowingly take steroids given to him by his personal trainer, Greg Anderson.

The indictment includes the first official public acknowledgement that Bonds allegedly tested positive for steroids and other performance enhancing drugs.

During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other professional athletes, the indictment said.

Perjury convictions carry possible prison terms of up to five years, while obstruction of justice can bring a 10-year sentence.

Anderson spent three months in prison after admitting distributing steroids and was later jailed for refusing to cooperate with prosecutors investigating whether Bonds lied to the grand jury. Bonds’ lawyer, Michael Raines, denounced the investigation as a witch hunt at the time.

In a written statement Thursday, Bonds’ attorneys expressed disappointment that the government did not extend us the courtesy of sharing a copy of the indictment.

It goes without saying that we look forward to rebutting these unsupported charges in court, said the statement.

Bonds has denied taking steroids at any time in 2001 when he was pursuing the single-season home run record. During the criminal investigation, evidence was obtained including positive tests for the presence of anabolic steroids and other performance-enhancing substances for Bonds and other athletes, the indictment reads. He is also charged with lying that Anderson never injected him with steroids.

President Bush, a former baseball team owner who has spoken against steroid use, is very disappointed to hear this, said White House spokesman Tony Fratto. As this case is now in the criminal justice system, we will refrain from any further specific comments about it. But clearly this is a sad day for baseball.

Bonds was granted immunity for his December 4, 2003, testimony before the grand jury. The indictment states Bonds was promised his testimony would not be used against him except in the cases of perjury, false declaration or otherwise failing to comply with the court’s order.

Bonds filed for free agency last month on the first possible day after the World Series ended with Boston’s sweep of the Colorado Rockies — severing his tenure with San Francisco. Giants owner Peter Magowan told him last month the club would not bring him back for a 16th season.

Bonds, who has hit 762 homers, broke Hank Aaron’s record with a shot into the right-center seats off Washington Nationals pitcher Mike Bacsik at San Francisco on August 7. But his achievements on the field have long been shadowed by the drug-use allegations.

He has been selected for 14 All-Star games, a record seven National League Most Valuable Player awards and eight Gold Glove awards.
found here.

AP: State Department drops plan for forced Iraq duty

WASHINGTON (AP) — The U.S. State Department is dropping plans to force diplomats to serve in Iraq because volunteers have filled all 48 vacant positions at the Baghdad embassy and outlying provinces, The Associated Press has learned.

The department will announce it no longer needs to move to directed assignments for Iraq once personnel panels give a formal OK to foreign service officers who signed up for the remaining three open jobs, U.S. officials said Thursday.

Those three diplomats have already won tentative approval, they said.

The announcement could come as early as Friday, the officials said. They spoke on condition of anonymity because the decision has not been announced.

Officials had indicated this week that a forced call-up might not be necessary after volunteers cut the number of vacant posts to 11 by Tuesday. All were filled by Thursday with only the final screening process for the last three spots pending, they said.

The announcement will be major relief for Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and the department’s senior management. They had struggled to quell a revolt among diplomats who questioned the ethics of ordering unarmed civilians into a war zone under penalty of dismissal.

But the officials said Rice had intended to go ahead with directed assignments if not enough volunteers had come forward. They also said the department may have to resort to such a measure in the future.

The prospect of the largest diplomatic call-up since Vietnam had caused an uproar among the 11,500-member Foreign Service. At a contentious town hall meeting this month, the strength of their opposition came into public view as some diplomats protested the forced assignments, citing safety and security concerns.

The complaints were a deep embarrassment to the department and led Rice and her deputy, John Negroponte, to remind diplomats of their duty to serve their government anywhere they are needed. Both sent worldwide cables urging foreign service officers to volunteer, but stressed that they would rely directed assignments if needed.

More than 1,500 diplomats have volunteered to work in Iraq since the U.S.-led invasion in 2003. But the resistance to forced assignments generated bitter criticism of the diplomatic corps; some Internet commentators accused the foreign service of cowardice and treason.
found here.