6 posts tagged “government”

Carbon producers would have been able to trade emissions allowancesA US attempt to establish a system of caps and tax relief to cut carbon emissions has been blocked in Congress. The bill was backed by most senators, but did not get the 60 votes needed to stop a delaying tactic - a filibuster - used by the bill's opponents. Even if it had succeeded in passing Congress, President George W Bush had pledged to veto the bill. Lawmakers will now wait until next year - when there will be a new president - before attempting to pass a new bill. Tax relief The bill - sponsored by Republican John Warner and Independent Joe Lieberman - would have introduced caps on carbon dioxide emissions from power plants, oil refineries and factories. Carbon producers would have been granted emissions allowances, which they would have been able to trade with one another, providing them with an incentive to cut their emissions. "It's a huge tax increase," said Mitch McConnell, leader of the Senate Republicans, most of whom opposed the bill. Supporters of the new system said that tax relief would be provided to help people pay energy costs. Neither John McCain nor Barack Obama were present for the vote, but both presidential candidates said that they would have supported the bill if they had been able to attend. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with:DeliciousDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponWhat are these?

He called for the establishment of a clear "pact" between citizens and government that says clearly what will be done with information people hand over, and what happens when data is lost or things go wrong.

The report calls for a major overhaul of the US justice systemThe US prison population has risen eight-fold since 1970, with little impact on crime but at great cost to the taxpayer, researchers say. There are more than 1.5 million people in US state and federal jails, a report by a Washington-based criminal justice research group, the JFA Institute says. Inmate numbers are projected to rise by 192,000 in five years, costing $27.5bn (£13.44bn) to build and run jails. The JFA recommends reducing the number and length of sentences. The Unlocking America report, which was published on Monday, also advocated changing terms of parole and finding alternatives to prison as part of a major overhaul of the US justice system. "There is no evidence that keeping people in prison longer makes us any safer," said JFA president James Austin. Women convicts The report said that US crime rates, which have been in decline since the 1990s, are about the same as those for 1973. It says the incarceration rate has soared because sentences have got longer and those who violate parole or probation are more likely to be given prison terms. The report said that every year hundreds of thousands of Americans are sent to jail "for crimes that pose little if any danger or harm to society". It cited several examples including a Florida woman's two-year sentence for throwing a cup of coffee at another car in a traffic row. Its recommendations run counter to the Bush administration's policy of longer, harsher sentences, which the government says has contributed to falling violent crime and murder figures. The JFA researchers found that women represented the fastest-growing sector of the US prison population. The report was funded by the Rosenbaum Foundation and the Open Society Institute. E-mail this to a friend Printable version Bookmark with:DeliciousDiggredditFacebookStumbleUponWhat are these?

DONALD RUMSFELD CHARGED WITH TORTURE DURING TRIP TO FRANCEComplaint Filed Against Former Defense Secretary for Torture, Abuse at Guantánamo and Abu Ghraib CONTACT: Jen Nessel, 917.442.0112, jnessel@ccr-ny.orgOctober 26, 2007, Paris, France – Today, the International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH) along with the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR), the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), and the French League for Human Rights filed a complaint with the Paris Prosecutor before the “Court of First Instance” (Tribunal de Grande Instance) charging former Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld with ordering and authorizing torture. Rumsfeld was in Paris for a talk sponsored by Foreign Policy magazine, and left through a door connecting to the U.S. embassy to avoid journalists and human rights attorneys outside. “The filing of this French case against Rumsfeld demonstrates that we will not rest until those U.S. officials involved in the torture program are brought to justice. Rumsfeld must understand that he has no place to hide. A torturer is an enemy of all humankind,” said CCR President Michael Ratner. France is under the obligation to investigate and prosecute Rumsfeld’s accountability for crimes of torture in Guantanamo and Iraq. France has no choice but to open an investigation if an alleged torturer is on its territory. I hope that the fight against impunity will not be sacrificed in the name of politics. We call on France to refuse to be a safe haven for criminals.” said FIDH President Souhayr Belhassen. We want to combat impunity and therefore demand a judicial investigation and a criminal prosecution wherever there is jurisdiction over the torture incidents,” said ECCHR General Secretary Wolfgang Kaleck. more at:http://ccrjustice.org/newsroom/press-releases/donald-ru...

Fema employees posed as reporters at Tuesday's "news briefing" with Deputy Administrator Harvey Johnson because an agency was providing a live video feed to US TV networks, according to the Washington Post.