My World Earth News

Wednesday, August 26, 2009

Lion of Senate - Ted Kennedy dies at 77 years old - Brain cancer

The U.S. Capitol is seen in the background as flags fly at half-staff at the Washington Monument in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, in honor of the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass

Alex Gahl, left, and her friend Rylee Thomas, both 2, accompany Rylee's mother April, top, of Marstons Mills, Mass., to pay their respects to Sen. Edward Kennedy outside the Kennedy compound, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, in Hyannisport, Mass

The front pages of newspapers announce the death of Sen. Edward Kennedy at a newsstand in Harvard Square in Cambridge, Mass., Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009.

Newspaper vender Curtis Thomas displays the front page of Chicago Tribune as he yells the news about the death of U.S. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009 in Chicago. Sen. Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, the last surviving brother in a political dynasty and one of the most influential senators in history, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a year-long struggle with brain cancer. He was 77

A news ticker in New York's Times Square announces the death of Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. The last surviving brother in a political dynasty and one of the most influential senators in history, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a year-long struggle with brain cancer. He was 77

Suzanne Norton, of Oak Hill, Va., left, and Shirley Shiflett, of Springfield, Va., look at at a newspaper article remembering Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., at a display outside the Newseum in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Kennedy, the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77

Madelynne Norton, 12, of Oak Hill, Va., looks at at a newspaper article remembering Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., at a display outside the Newseum in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Kennedy, the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77

Madelynne Norton, 12, of Oak Hill, Va., left, and her grandmother Shirley Shiflett, of Springfield, Va., look at at a newspaper article remembering Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., at a display outside the Newseum in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Kennedy, the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77

Meagan Manning, a staff member for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., answers phone calls in Kennedy's office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Kennedy, the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77

In Kennedy's Office Business cards for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., sit atop a desk in Kennedy's office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Kennedy, the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77

Henry Sanford, staff assistant for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., takes a seat while waiting in Kennedy's office on Capitol Hill in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009. Kennedy, the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty, died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77

A flag flies at half-staff at the Capitol in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, in honor of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the last surviving brother in an enduring political dynasty, who died Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod after a yearlong battle with brain cancer. He was 77

The Lincoln Memorial is seen in the background as flags fly at half-staff at the Washington Monument in Washington, Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009, in honor of the passing of Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass.

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Senator Ted Kennedy dead at 77

Sen. Ted Kennedy died shortly before midnight Tuesday at his home in Hyannis Port, Massachusetts, at the age of 77. There is no doubt he would have become President of America for at least one tern if not two if it was not for the Chappaquiddick incident in the 1969.

Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy (born February 22, 1932, died August 26, 2009) was the senior United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. In office since November 1962, Kennedy was in his eighth full (and ninth overall) term in the Senate. He is the second most senior member of the Senate, after Robert Byrd of West Virginia, and the third-longest-serving senator of all time. The most prominent living member of the Kennedy family, he is the youngest brother of President John F. Kennedy and Senator Robert F. Kennedy, both victims of assassinations, and the father of Congressman Patrick J. Kennedy.

Kennedy was born in Boston and raised in Massachusetts, New York, Florida, and England. He was educated at Harvard College, where he was expelled for cheating on an exam but later readmitted, and the University of Virginia School of Law. His 1958 marriage to Virginia Joan Bennett would later end in divorce. He was a manager in his brother John's successful 1960 campaign for president, then worked as an assistant district attorney for Suffolk County, Massachusetts. Kennedy entered the Senate in a 1962 special election to fill the seat once held by John. He was seriously injured in an airplane crash in 1964 and still suffers from back pain as a result. Kennedy was elected to a full six-year term in 1964 and was reelected in 1970, 1976, 1982, 1988, 1994, 2000 and 2006.

In the 1969 Chappaquiddick incident, the car Kennedy was driving ran off a bridge and plunged into water, resulting in the death of passenger Mary Jo Kopechne. Kennedy pleaded guilty to leaving the scene of an accident and was given a suspended sentence; however, doubts about his account of the accident significantly damaged his chances of ever becoming President of the United States. Kennedy's one run for the office, in the 1980 presidential election, ended in a primary campaign loss to incumbent Democratic President Jimmy Carter. Kennedy is known for his oratorical power, with his 1968 eulogy for his brother Robert and his 1980 Democratic National Convention rallying cry for American liberalism being his best-known moments. Kennedy's heated rhetoric helped lead to the defeat of the 1987 Robert Bork Supreme Court nomination and usher in an era of intense political battles over federal judicial nominations. Kennedy's personal behavior became the subject of public ridicule in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but his 1992 marriage to Victoria Anne Reggie stabilized his life.

In this Tuesday, April 21, 2009, file photo, President Barack Obama embraces Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., before Obama signed the Edward M. Kennedy Serve America Act at the SEED School in Washington. Despite the age difference between the 77-year-old senator and 48-year-old president, the two have forged a close personal bond.

In this Jan. 28, 2008 file photo, then-Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., smiles with Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Mass., during a rally at American University in Washington where Kennedy endorsed Obama. Kennedy, the liberal lion of the Senate, has died after battling a brain tumor. He was 77. Kennedy's family announced his death in a brief statement released early Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2009.

Youth is the quality that we normally associate with the Kennedys, yet it was Ted Kennedy's longevity that made him such an irrepressible force on Capitol Hill.

The Massachusetts senator died late Tuesday night at his home on Cape Cod, Mass., after a yearlong struggle with brain cancer. He was 77.

Near universal is the view that he was Washington's most influential lawmaker of the past 50 years, which is all the more remarkable given that he was such a polarising politician.

Civil rights. Disability rights. The minimum wage. Immigration. Education. Campaign finance reform. And his signature issue, healthcare. Most, if not all, of the landmark progressive legislative of the past five decades has his imprint all over it.

While it was his passion for social justice that won him the epithet "Lion of the Senate", it was his detailed grasp of that institution's obscure rules and procedures which helped explain his prolific

The president cited Kennedy's counsel during Obama's short time serving as a senator from Illinois.

But probably Kennedy's greatest gift to Obama came during last year's presidential race. Kennedy, and his niece Caroline, shook up the Democratic establishment in January 2008 when they endorsed Obama over Democratic rival Hillary Rodham Clinton at a critical point in the campaign. Kennedy lit up the Democratic base with his comparisons between young contender Obama and former President John F. Kennedy.

Then, risking his own health, Sen. Kennedy traveled to the Democratic National Convention in Denver, where Obama accepted the presidential nomination, to give a rousing speech on Obama's behalf. It was almost exactly one year before Kennedy's death. The senator also returned to the Capitol in January to see Obama sworn in as the nation's first black president, suffering a seizure at a celebratory luncheon afterward.

"I cherished his confidence and momentous support in my race for the presidency," Obama had said earlier in a written statement.

Ted's religion can be summarized in this speech.
"I am an American and a Catholic," he said. "I love my country and treasure my faith. But I do not assume that my conception of patriotism or policy is invariably correct, or that my convictions about religion should command any greater respect than any other faith in this pluralistic society. I believe there surely is such a thing as truth, but who among us can claim a monopoly on it?"

Yet his supporters would argue that he lived out his faith by championing causes long embraced by Catholicism--compassion for the poor and vulnerable, support for arms control, suspicion of war, the right to health care, the rights of workers.

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Tuesday, August 25, 2009

California School Close after Kid with 8 pipe boms attack

A teacher being hailed as a hero said Tuesday he had no time to think when he encountered a 17-year-old boy who detonated two pipe bombs at a Northern California high school while armed with a chain saw, sword and explosives.

Teacher Kennet Santana, 35, is one of a number of Hillsdale High School staffers credited with subduing the bombing suspect. He told The Associated Press he was walking cautiously toward the disruption on Monday when he found himself face to face with the boy.

"He had a black tactical vest on with lots of pockets," Santana said by phone Tuesday. "We were maybe six feet away from each other at this point, we're talking seconds, there was not time for a lot of thinking."

The explosions caused neither serious damage nor injury, but the 1,270-student school was evacuated, and Santana and the other staff members were credited with stopping a situation that could have played out much more tragically.

Evidence collected so far suggests the boy had planned the attack for months, and that he had a number of specific targets on the school faculty whom he believed had wronged him, San Mateo police Chief Susan Manheimer said.

"He had planned in brutal and chilling detail this action over months," she said. "He clearly was out to demonstrate he could get back at the school administration."

The unidentified boy, a San Mateo resident who had not attended the school for more than a year, was arrested just after the second blast about 8 a.m. at the school at 3115 Del Monte St.

The remaining eight bombs were strapped to his chest in a military-style vest, San Mateo police Chief Susan Manheimer said during a news conference.

The teen detonated the bombs in the north west hallway of the academic wing near the library, police said.

"He had planned in brutal and chilling detail this action over months," she said. "He clearly was out to demonstrate he could get back at the school administration."

Santana said the boy, whom police have not identified because he is a minor, could have run toward the street to escape, but instead chose to follow the fleeing students.

"He was trying to go toward the kids, he could have exited to the street," Santana said. "He was trying to go toward the drama."

"I decided to close distance and bear-hugged him and restrained his arms. We were face-to-face, chest-to-chest," he said.

Police quickly arrived and arrested the teen on suspicion of six felony counts of attempted murder, igniting a destructive device with intent to murder, possession of destructive devices, possession of destructive devices on school grounds, possession of destructive devices with intent to injure or destroy property and assault with a deadly weapon.

The boy is being held in San Mateo County's juvenile hall while the district attorney reviews the evidence and decides whether he should be tried as an adult.

Law enforcement officials said the result could have been much worse. They lauded the work of Santana and other staff members who helped subdue the boy.

"The teachers acted heroically and risked their own lives," said police Lt. Mike Brunicardi. "(They) were not taking into consideration their personal safety, they were taking the greater good into mind to save 1,270 students and about 100 school staff members.

Back on campus Tuesday, Santana and other teachers discussed the incident. Students were scheduled to return on Wednesday, and teachers, students and others will gather to discuss the incident in the morning then restart classes in the afternoon.

Santana said the boy did not struggle, only saying "let me go" after he'd been held.

"He was not struggling, it was almost like he was defeated," Santana said.

After stopping the boy with a bear hug, Santana threw him to the floor and was joined by Principal Jeff Gilbert and school counselor Ed Canda. The three held the boy down until police arrived.

"We had more people running to the explosion than we had running away from the explosion," Gilbert said. "So I think that speaks to the staff and just what they feel about the students."

-Police near the school-

Scott Laurence, Superintendent of San Mateo Union High School District, left, watches as workers work near a spot where damage was found after a two pipe bombs were detonated on Monday at Hillsdale High School on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in San Mateo, Calif. A day after a 17-year-old boy armed with a chain saw, sword and explosives detonated two pipe bombs at a Northern California high school before being restrained, teachers and staff were back at work trying to make sense of it all.

Teacher Kennet Santana, 35, center, with counselor Ed Canda, left, prepares to speak at a news conference at Hillsdale High School on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in San Mateo, Calif. At right is Scott Laurence, Superintendent of San Mateo Union High School District. A day after a 17-year-old boy armed with a chain saw, sword and explosives, detonated two pipe bombs at a Northern California high school before being restrained, teachers and staff were back at work trying to make sense of it all. Santana is credited with subduing the bombing suspect

Teacher Kennet Santana, 35, left, with counselor Ed Canda, right, speaks at a news conference at Hillsdale High School on Tuesday, Aug. 25, 2009, in San Mateo, Calif. A day after a 17-year-old boy armed with a chain saw, sword and explosives detonated two pipe bombs at a Northern California high school before being restrained, teachers and staff were back at work trying to make sense of it all. Santana is one of the staffers credited with subduing the bombing suspect.

-Alex Youshock has been identified by sources as the suspect in a bombing incident at Hillsdale High School that took place Monday morning. -

-Police arrest the 17-year-old suspect-

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SAN MATEO, CA Hundreds of worried parents in San Mateo rushed to pick up their children Monday morning after an explosion rocked Hillsdale High School.
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Dr Conray Murray deadly drug cocktail to MJ explained

King of Pop , Micheal Jackson

-Dr Conray Murray was beside MJ when he died , Now is a homicide case.

Dr Conrad Murray, the doctor at the center of the Michael Jackson death investigation, claims he never received any payment during the time he served as the singer's personal physician, according to a source familiar with the arrangement.

Dr. Conrad Murray admits giving the singer several drugs before he died..Murray, who dispensed a cocktail of potent sedatives, including the anesthetic propofol, to Jackson early the morning of the day he died, was hand-selected by Jackson to serve as his doctor and was to accompany the singer to London for a series of scheduled concerts.

"Conrad Murray was Michael Jackson's personal physician for three years," said the AEG spokesman. "Michael Jackson requested Murray be put on as part of the show. Murray, however, had yet to be hired. Discussions were along the way for a completed contract. Murray had signed the contract, however, neither Michael Jackson nor AEG had signed the contract."

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British PM repulsed by the Hero welcome of Lockiber Convict at Libya.

-Scottish Prison Service (SPS) guidelines suggest that inmates are only freed if they have less than three months to live-

The Lockerbie bomber could live far longer than predicted by Scottish ministers when they decided to release him, a cancer expert has warned.

Gordon Brown yesterday broke his silence on the release of the man convicted of the Lockerbie bombing when he spoke of how he had been "repulsed" by the triumphant scenes that greeted his return to Libya last week.

Dr Richard Simpson said that medical reports show there is “significant doubt” that Abdelbaset Ali Mohmed al Megrahi will die within the next three months.

The Labour MSP accused Kenny MacAskill, the Scottish justice minister, of failing to conduct sufficient checks before deciding to release the terminally-ill bomber last week.

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The UK Prime Minister has been forced to react to the release of al-Megrahi the Lockiebir Bom convict. Repulsed by the Hero reception at Libya

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Gordon Brown shaking in fear?

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Monday, August 24, 2009

Dr Murray is suspect in Homocide Case of Death oF Micheal Jackson

Dr Conray Murray administrater deadly mixture of sedatives that finally end MJ live.

-King of Pop Micheal Jackson

The mixture of the sedatives Valium, lorazepam and midazolam, combined with propofol, was enough to kill the singer, a warrant affidavit unsealed Monday in Houston shows.

A sleepless Michael Jackson spent his last hours pleading for a dose of a powerful anesthetic, his doctor told police, according to court records unsealed Monday.

For six hours, Dr. Conrad Murray said he resisted -- fearful that the pop star had developed a dangerous addiction to propofol.

Instead, Murray administered the sedatives Valium, lorazepam and midazolam -- five times over six hours. But none put Jackson to sleep, and he continued to demand his "milk," the word the pop star used for propofol.

Murray finally relented and at 10:40 a.m. added the drug to Jackson's intravenous drip, according to the records.

That dose -- mixed with the cocktail of other sedatives in the pop star's system -- was enough to kill him, the Los Angeles County coroner's office concluded in a preliminary toxicology report cited in a search warrant affidavit unsealed Monday in Houston.

The records also lay out the first detailed chronology of Jackson's final hours-- and reveal Murray's fateful decision to give Jackson the drugs despite his suspicions that the pop star was becoming addicted to them. The narrative is based largely on a three-hour interview Murray gave to Los Angeles police detective two days after Jackson's death on June 25.

Police said Murray told them he found Jackson not breathing at 11 a.m. -- a contention that Murray's attorney disputes -- but paramedics were not called until nearly 90 minutes later. During that time, police suspect that Murray made three cellphone calls totaling 47 minutes, according to the affidavits filed last month when authorities sought search warrants for Murray's Houston medical office and storage unit.

In addition, Murray failed to tell paramedics or emergency room doctors that he had administered propofol, a critical omission that calls into question his treatment and could bolster pursuit of an involuntary manslaughter charge, authorities said.

"Michael Jackson was not the usual patient with the usual problems in the usual circumstances," said Murray's attorney, Edward Chernoff, in response to the court records. "Dr. Murray's overriding goal was to try to help him. . . . To place negligence on him simply because he was there, I don't think is fair."

At Jackson's request, Murray had been administering 50 milligrams of propofol in the six weeks prior to his death using an intravenous line, according to court records. But after weeks of use, Murray said he tried to wean the pop star off the medication. Murray told detectives that he lowered Jackson's dosage to 25 milligrams and mixed it with two other sedatives, lorazepam and midazolam. Then, on June 23, two days before Jackson's death, he administered those two medications and withheld the propofol -- and Jackson was able to sleep.

On June 25, the day Jackson died, Murray once again tried to induce sleep without resorting to propofol, according to the affidavit. He first gave Jackson the three alternative sedatives at 1:30 a.m., 2 a.m., 3 a.m., 5 a.m. and 7:30 a.m. But Jackson remained awake.

Finally, "after repeated demands/requests from Jackson," Murray relented and gave Jackson 25 milligrams of propofol, diluted with another sedative, records state.

Medical experts said that a 25-milligram dose for someone Jackson's size should not have been enough to kill him. But combined with other drugs, the propofol could have been more dangerous.

"You start giving a lot of drugs and don't know what the final effects might be," said Dr. Scott Engwall, vice chairman of the Department of Anesthesiology at UC Irvine School of Medicine. "When you give a little bit of this and a little bit of that, it starts adding up."

According to the court records, Murray sat at Jackson's bedside for 10 minutes after the singer fell asleep, before leaving to use the restroom for no more than two minutes. When he returned, he found Jackson not breathing and said he immediately began administering CPR as well as a drug to reverse the effects of the sedative. Police said that Murray told them that Jackson had stopped breathing about 11 a.m. Murray's attorney disputed that contention.

Police believe Murray made three separate phone calls for approximately 47 minutes beginning at 11:18 a.m, according to records and law enforcement sources. Jackson's staff did not call 911 until 12:21 p.m., police said.

Murray's attorney criticized the timeline outlined in the document as "theory, not fact" and disputed the significance of the phone calls.

"Dr. Murray never said 10 minutes. He said he watched him long enough that he felt comfortable," Chernoff said. "Their theory is he . . . goes off to make some social calls and comes back and finds Michael Jackson is dead and is negligent. The implication is that he left the room to make the phone calls. He didn't need to leave the room to make the calls."

Chernoff declined to say why Murray did not immediately tell paramedics and emergency room doctors that he had given Jackson propofol.

Conrad Murray told police he tried to wean Jackson off propofol.

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Sunday, August 23, 2009

Lockerbie minister facing critics

Mr MacAskill the Scottich Justice Secretary releashed Terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.
will explain his actions to MSPs at Holyrood.

Terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

Alex Salmond, the First Minister, has confirmed that he would resign if the Holyrood vote went against him

The Scottish justice secretary will be forced to defend his decision to release the Lockerbie bomber, as the Scottish Parliament is recalled later.

Opposition parties will demand to know how Kenny MacAskill aims to repair the damage they claimed had been done to Scotland's global reputation.

He has been under huge pressure, after granting early release to terminally-ill Abdelbaset Ali al-Megrahi.

The 57-year-old, who has prostate cancer, returned home to Libya on Thursday to jubilant scenes which included people waving Scottish flags.

Scottish ministers said their decision to release Megrahi on compassionate grounds - which has been strongly criticised by the US government - followed due process and was the right one.

They also insisted he must reveal whether any deals were done "behind the scenes" in relation to the early release, and address claims Megrahi was pressurised into his decision to drop the appeal against his conviction.

Ministers said they understood the upset, but were duty-bound to take the right decision in the eyes of the Scottish legal system. US president Barack Obama and FBI boss Robert Mueller have both hit out at Mr MacAskill's decision.

The Scottish Parliament, which had not been due back in Edinburgh from summer recess until the start of September, has only been recalled on two previous occasions in its 10 year history.

These came following the deaths of former first minister Donald Dewar, in 2000, and the Queen Mother, in 2002.

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Scottish Justice Secretary Kenny MacAskill announces the release of the Lockerbie bomber

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Huge crowds in Libya have welcomed Abdel Basset al-Megrahi, the Lockerbie bombing convict freed from a Scottish prison. The US, whose nationals accounted for the majority of the 270 that perished in the bombing, has called the decision to free al-Megrahi a "mistake".

Al-Megrahi is the only man to be convicted of the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 in 1988, which blew up over the Scottish town of Lockerbie. He is now dying of cancer, but for many of his victims' families, his release on compassionate grounds is a travesty of justice.

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Abdelbaset al-Megrahi has boarded a plane to go home to Libya after being freed by the Scottish justice secretary

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Hamid Karzai accused by rival candidate of rigging Afghanistan election

The main challenger to President Karzai accused him yesterday of rigging last week’s Afghan presidential election as investigators began wading through hundreds of complaints that could leave the country in political limbo for more than three weeks.

However, Abdullah Abdullah told The Times that he would challenge alleged fraud only through legal channels, rather than calling his supporters out in protest, and would accept defeat if it was ultimately confirmed by election bodies.

His moderate stance — after talks with US officials — eased short-term fears that the country could split along ethnic lines and erupt in protest after Mr Karzai and Mr Abdullah both claimed a first-round victory on Friday.

The scale of the alleged fraud now threatens to undermine the entire election process, which is seen as a test of international efforts to defeat the Taleban and build democracy in Afghanistan.

Hamid Karzai will face a crisis of legitimacy and a legal challenge to his re-election if he is proclaimed the outright winner of Afghanistan's presidential ballot on Tuesday, opponents and an UN official warned today, as his chief rival accused him of "stealing" the election.

In a withering attack on an election process that Afghanistan's international backers are desperate should be seen as legitimate, Abdullah Abdullah pinned the blame on Karzai and his team for what he claimed were fraudulent results emerging from the country's southern and eastern regions. He told the Guardian: "It was led by Mr Karzai. He knew. He knew that without this he cannot win, about that I have no doubt in my mind."

The prospect of a protracted post-election dispute is an unhappy one for the US and its main partners in the Isaf force in Afghanistan, Britain, Canada and Germany, who are eager to declare the vote acceptable and avoid the uncertainty, delay and confrontation that could aggravate an already parlous security situation.

A woman with a child in Kabul, Afghanistan. Election observers say that the turnout by women in the recent presidential election was depressed by intimidation and other factors.

Women on a bridge in Kabul, Afghanistan. Independent election observers say that the turnout by women in the recent presidential election was depressed by intimidation and other factors.

Abdullah Abdullah gives a press conference in Kabul

Elections staff on duty in various polling centres.

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Security is tight as campaigning for presidential and provincial elections in Afghanistan draws to a close.

But observers fear the poll could be marred by fraud as hundreds of voter registration cards go on sale

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Report to detail alleged abuse inside CIA secret prisons

Attorney General Eric Holder is considering appointing a prosecutor to investigate a CIA interrogation program.

President Obama's Attorney-General Eric Holder is expected to make clear whether he will appoint a criminal prosecutor to investigate alleged abuse by CIA officials

CIA interrogators threatened an al Qaeda prisoner with a gun and an electric drill to try to scare him into giving up information, according to a long-concealed inspector-general's report due to be made public on Monday, sources familiar with the report confirmed to CNN.

The gun and drill were used in two separate interrogation sessions against Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, one of the sources said. Al-Nashiri is accused of plotting the 2000 attack on the USS Cole, which left 17 U.S. sailors dead.

The alleged crimes and abuses carried out under the Bush Administration will take centre stage today with the release of a report detailing brutal CIA interrogations, a document that could trigger criminal investigations later this week.

The CIA inspector-general’s report claims that the harsh interrogation of terror suspects was ineffective, and produced no valuable intelligence.

In another episode, a gunshot was fired in a room next to a detainee to make the prisoner believe another suspect had been executed. It is illegal under US torture statutes to threaten a detainee with imminent death.

Democrats are particularly focused on Bush-era Justice Department officials who wrote legal opinions for the CIA that justified techniques including waterboarding, and who claimed that threats of imminent death were legal if they did not cause permanent mental harm.

Mr al-Nashiri’s interrogation sessions were videotaped, but the tapes were destroyed by CIA officials in 2005. A federal prosecutor is now investigating the circusmtances of their destruction.

Other documents expected to be released today include memos that former Vice-President Dick Cheney has said prove that harsh interrogation techniques produced valuable intelligence about al-Qaeda.

Mr Cheney said earlier this year that he had seen documents containing evidence that lives had been saved because of “enhanced” interrogations. If such a document emerges today the emotive debate about the effectiveness of torture will be reignited.

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President Bush acknowledged the existence of secret CIA prisons for terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay awaiting trial.

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They disappeared: Are they dead? Are they alive? Some were in secret CIA prisons in Europe and the United States, tortured with the help of several nations. Some who survived the Western torture are being released due to international pressure, and the Red Cross this week presented an International Red Cross Report about Torture in secret CIA prisons globally. The secret prisons and torture were probaly located in Europe and the United States, but both sides refuse to give any comment on this issue.

Senior CIA official Mary O. McCarthy couldn't take it anymore and provided classified information about CIA secret prisons in Europe to The Washington Post's Dana Priest. After that the CIA fired him, and refusing any further comment about the existence of the "black sites" in Europe. Europe also refuses to give any comment

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Plane makes emergency landing on Highway 101, hits three cars

A plane makes an emergency landing on Highway 101, hits three cars and amazingly nobody was hurt.

It happened at about 10:30 a.m. Sunday on the southbound side of Highway 101 near Turnpike and Patterson Roads in Santa Barbara.

Fire officials say there were two people in the Piper Comanche plane and five people in the cars.

One person from one of the vehicles was taken to the hospital as a precaution but was later released.

The California Highway Patrol says the plane was traveling from Temecula to the Santa Barbara Municipal Airport when it lost power.

Officers closed one lane of the highway but things were back up and running by noon.

The Piper Comache 260 carrying a married couple landed on the southbound lanes of U.S. Highway 101 just outside Santa Barbara and a few miles from the airport,

The plane's engine quit, and as the pilot descended, he lost control of the plane and landed in the southbound lane facing oncoming traffic. The plane struck two vehicles while landing, then spun and hit another one with its tail.

One vehicle passenger was treated for minor injuries, he said. No other injuries were reported.

The landing happened at 10:36 a.m. (1:36 p.m. ET) and held up traffic for less than two hours,

The pilot told authorities that he attempted to switch fuel lines during the flight, but was unable to restore power to the plane. He said he alerted a tower at the airport that a landing on the highway was imminent, Richardson said

Firefighters attend to a small plane that crashed on U.S. Highway 101 on Sunday. FAA spokesman Ian Gregor says the Piper PA-24 was bound for Santa Barbara Airport when it made an emergency landing on the southbound side of the freeway

The pilot of this Piper Comanche ran out of gas and attempted a freeway landing when he was unable to reach the Santa Barbara Airport.

There were only minor injuries when a small plane made a crash landing on southbound Highway 101 south of Patterson Avenue on Sunday morning

The crash left the plane with major damage.

The accident scene, at left, reduced southbound Highway 101 to one lane while northbound traffic came to a standstill

A flatbed truck hauls the wrecked plane off the freeway on to Turnpike Road.

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Nice landing no spark , no crash , even with nose wheel malfunctions.

My World Earth News