--What the Globe is reporting on torture allegations

Many detainees were just farmers, Afghan official says

David Mulroney, who was recently posted to China as Canada's ambassador, is planning to contact the committee and offer to testify as early as next week, a government official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to brief the press. Mr. Mulroney wants to “set the record straight” by explaining the context around Mr. Colvin's reports and the procedures Ottawa put in place to deal with allegations of torture, the official said.

The official said Mr. Colvin's memos were not ignored, but the government sought to obtain reports on the treatment of detainees from other allies, conducted a review of the allegations, and began work on designing a system to monitor detainees. Under instructions from Mr. Mulroney, regular phone calls were established to connect Ottawa with Kabul and Kandahar, and connect civilian personnel with the military, the official said. “That's why some people were reminded to use the phone instead of simply sitting in an office writing out the same report.”

--What the Star is reporting

a senior government official with knowledge of the file told the Star yesterday there was a simple – and not a nefarious – explanation for Mulroney's instruction.

"Under instructions from Mr. Mulroney, regular phone calls were instituted that connected Ottawa with the field, Kabul with Kandahar, and civilians with military," the source said. "That's why some people were reminded to use the phone instead of simply sitting in an office writing out the same report."

The same source, who answered the Star's question on condition of anonymity, said Colvin's allegations were reviewed by departmental officials, not political officials. The timing of that review was not exactly clear, but the source suggested it was in 2007.

"A complete and thorough review of everything that was alleged was done, and a whole government team set to design a monitoring system still in place now. No detail was hidden, every relevant fact was brought to light."

--What else the Star is reporting

EU diplomat backs claims on torture (Star)

Michael Semple, former deputy head of the European Union's mission in Afghanistan when Colvin was second-in-command of the Canadian embassy, said his own records from his time in Kabul are littered with the same findings that the senior Canadian envoy shared with a House of Commons committee this week.

--What else else the Globe is reporting

Once the invisible man, now the centre of attention

Michael Semple, a former European Union official who served in Afghanistan at the same time as Mr. Colvin, said: “He is the opposite of flamboyant, which is why I am flabbergasted that he's being painted as a maverick. He's undramatic, decent, a good, solid person.”

However, others suggested Mr. Colvin's time in Afghanistan, where he was a senior Foreign Affairs staffer for seventeen months, somehow changed him. One source suggested Mr. Colvin had “some private axe to grind” and felt other, less qualified people had leap-frogged over him in the foreign service.

--What the Star is reporting

also said Colvin never complained to him about Canadian officials in Ottawa or Afghanistan ignoring his advice from the front lines, nor did he mention, as he did in his testimony, that he was being asked to keep his explosive findings out of written reports to his superiors to avoid a scandalous paper trail.

"My reading of this is that he was discreet and did not discuss internal Canadian affairs with people outside his office," Semple said.

--What the Citizen is reporting

Facing the fake Taliban (Cit)

Canadian soldiers may have turned over as many as 580 detainees to Afghan security forces in the first 18 months of operations in Kandahar.

--What Le Devoir is reporting

Torture en Afghanistan - Le Canada a transféré plus de 220 détenus

--What the Guardian is reporting

Canadian diplomat alleges troops in Afghanistan were complicit in torture 

--What Tom Flanagan says

Tories tar long-gun success by 'swinging too hard' on torture

--What Paul Cavalluzzo says

Arar-case lawyer sees torture déjà vu

"I saw many similarities because his (Defence Minister Peter MacKay's) position seems to be that unless you see the torture occurring then you don't have proof of it. In one of the key lessons of the Arar report, the commissioner was critical of consular officials (in Syria) who basically said the same thing," Cavalluzzo said.

--What the Times is reporting about torture

Army faces inquiry over ‘Battle of Danny Boy’ torture claims

Claims that British soldiers tortured and murdered up to 20 prisoners after a battle with Iraqi insurgents are to be scrutinised at a public inquiry.

--What the NY Times is reporting on swine flu

Signs Indicate That Swine Flu Wave Has Peaked in U.S. - NYTimes.com

The World Health Organization said the flu appeared to be peaking in the United States and some Western European countries, like Belgium, Britain and Ireland. But it was moving rapidly east and north.

Canada’s outbreak is still intensifying, as is the one in Norway, and Eastern Europe and Central Asia, including Afghanistan, are seeing a surge in cases.

Norway reported finding a mutated virus in three people who died or were severely ill. The mutation, known as D222G on the receptor binding domain, allow the virus to grow deeper in the lungs.

--What CP is reporting on the economy

Flaherty says government will undertake no new spending in next year's budget -

--What the NY Times is reporting on the US economy

New Consensus Views Stimulus as Worthy Step

--What else is shaking in Washington

Health bill opponents make most of mammogram advisory

--What the Citizen is reporting from Ottawa

Layton's NDP making gains: poll (Cit)

The NDP surged six percentage points to 19 per cent support nationally, according to results of an Ipsos Reid poll, commissioned by Canwest News Service and Global National.

Prime Minister Stephen Harper's ruling Conservatives fell three points to 37 per cent, shy of the 40 per cent typically seen as a level needed to land a majority government.

Michael Ignatieff's Liberals garnered 24 per cent of support among respondents, a drop of one percentage point from late October.

--Today’s provincialisms

Grits aim to keep working for HST (Cit)

PQ members debate access to anglo CEGEPs, daycare (Gaz)

NDP maintains 14-point lead over B.C. Liberals as voters hold HST grudge

H1N1 clinics open toall Albertans Monday (Cal Herald)

--What the Globe is reporting on broadcasting/cable

Konrad von Finckenstein ‘sick' and Jim Shaw ‘tired'

--What the NY Times is reporting 

The Future of Broadcast TV’s Unsteady as Cable Strengthens

--What our papers are reporting on Afstan

Canada in talks with U.S. officials to take over security for diplomats: MacKay

MacKay, Gates talk troop pullout (Cit)

MacKay tells Gates Canada is committed to withdrawal (Gaz)

Gates prepares for Canada's Afghan pullout  (Globe)

--What the WS Journal is reporting

U.S. Enlists Allies in New Surge

U.S. and European estimates of the new troops they may get from NATO allies vary from 3,000 to 7,000.

Officials say they are most hopeful they can get commitments from Germany, Italy and the United Kingdom.

--What the LA Times is reporting

U.S. Afghanistan debate curbs Gates on Canada visit

with the U.S. strategy still undecided, Gates was hardly in a position to ask Canada to reconsider or modify its decision to withdraw its 2,800 troops by 2011. Instead, the trip to Halifax, in the Maritime province of Nova Scotia, was billed by officials as more an effort to build goodwill over the long term.

Gates arrived in the midst of a national furor over the conduct of Canadian troops in Afghanistan. A senior Canadian diplomat has charged that the country's troops handed military prisoners over to Afghanistan's intelligence service, under which they faced a high likelihood of torture.

The outcome of the debate over those charges could help determine Canada's decision on its troops, who are concentrated in Kandahar province. Southern Afghanistan is the birthplace of the Taliban movement, and Kandahar, the region's main city, is a key strategic target of the insurgency. In the short term, it is Canada that is looking for reinforcements for its mission.

Public sentiment in Canada has turned against the Afghanistan mission. Still, U.S. officials believe that with improvements in Kandahar and the surrounding area in the next year, Canada might be more open to extending its stay.

--Another great moment in Can-Am military relations

Lesbian U.S. soldier wins key legal battle (Cit)

--What the Guardian is reporting on Afstan

Karzai 'would fall in weeks' if Nato pulls out 

--What the NY Times is reporting

 Gates Says U.S. Could Withhold Aid if Afghanistan Cannot Curb Corruption

Mr. Gates made his comments shortly after the House speaker, Representative Nancy Pelosi, told National Public Radio that Mr. Karzai was an “unworthy partner” who did not deserve more American troops and aid. In the same interview, Ms. Pelosi said there was not strong support among Democrats in Congress for “any big ramp-up of troops.”

The White House said that President Obama would announce a decision on sending more troops to Afghanistan after Thanksgiving.

--What else the Yanks are reporting

16 Afghans killed in suicide attack

In Indiana, practice for 'civilian surge' in Afghanistan

As deployment nears, nerves fray

--What else the Guardian is reporting on AfPak

Report warns of Pakistan's younger generation losing faith in democracy 

--What CP is reporting on what Canadians think

Canadians seem pleased with additions to immigrants' handbook: poll -

--What the Globe is reporting on what Canadians think

Canadians chagrined over status as climate-change dawdlers

--What Le Devoir is reporting on climate change

Réduction des gaz à effet de serre - Québec à Copenhague: ce sera -25 %

Pendant ce temps, à Ottawa, le Bloc québécois a déposé hier une motion — appuyée par le NPD et le Parti libéral — qui demande au gouvernement de ne pas se présenter les mains vides à Copenhague.

Selon le texte qui sera débattu mardi, le Canada devrait proposer à Copenhague que les pays industrialisés acceptent une réduction de 25 % de leurs émissions de GES par rapport à 1990, et cela, d'ici 2020.

--What the Star is reporting on Jim Prentice

Canada welcomes U.S. move to set a target for cutting gas emissions

--What Canwest is reporting

Climate plan will take 40 years: Prentice (Cal Herald)

--What the WS Journal is reporting on climate change

White House Adviser Rejects Idea of Limited Climate Package

--What the NY Times is reporting

Hacked E-Mail Is New Fodder for Climate Dispute

--What the LA Times is reporting

'Carbon tax' is sensible, and perhaps inevitable, advocate says

--What the Times is reporting (a great moment)

Opec wants compensation if climate deal cuts oil use

--A great moment in Canadian journalism

What she didn't ask (Lawrence Solomon)

You probably missed my heated on-air debate Thursday morning with Anna Maria Tremonti, host of CBC's The Current. You certainly missed my superheated off-air debate in her studio immediately afterwards, when Tremonti lit into me for my skepticism of global warming orthodoxy. I don't recall being berated after an interview by a broadcaster before, certainly not by a consummate professional like Tremonti. But Tremonti was visibly upset, so much so that she ended the second debate by turning away from me without the courtesy of a goodbye (she did properly thank me on air at the conclusion of our broadcast debate).

--What the WS Journal is reporting on India and nukes

U.S. and India Hone Nuclear Pact for Singh's Arrival

--What the WS Journal is reporting on Iran

U.N. Official Seeks Global Action on Iran

--What the NY Times is reporting

Frustration as Iran Stalls on Deal

--The world needs more Canada

In Draft Resolution, UN Rebukes Iran for Rights Violations Since Election

The Iranian ambassador, Mohammad Khazaee, called the resolution politically motivated. He lashed out at the human rights record of Canada, the main sponsor of the resolution, and defended Iran’s performance.

--What the W Post is reporting on the Ft Hood massacre

Hasan had intensified contact with radical Yemeni American cleric

and began to discuss surreptitious financial transfers and other steps that could translate his thoughts into action, according to two sources briefed on a collection of secret e-mails between the two.

--What the Times is reporting

Fort Hood suspect Nidal Malik Hasan ‘looked forward to afterlife’

--What else the Times is reporting on security (the US needs more Canada?)

David Headley: quiet American with alleged links to Mumbai massacre

Your job should be a 'contact sport,' PS told (Cit)

Ottawa boosting liability limit for nuclear companies

Entitlement knows no bounds - The Globe and Mail

--Meanwhile, in the National Assembly…

Liberals, PQ trade allegations of shady dealings

--Whereas back at Queen’s Park

Cold words eject HST protesters at Queen's Park (Cit)

--What else is shaking in the distinct society…

Parti Quebecois wants to restrict access to English daycares -

--More provincialisms

Spending on health to reach a record $183.1-billion

Who's the dude with John Kerry? - thestar.com

Oil sands pipeline to West Coast gains backing

B.C. eases off on HST for consumers - with a cost

Top court backs Crown in protecting Basi-Virk informant

Nisga'a take leap into economics of real estate

Labrador Innu break hunting ban, kill 64 caribou

Energy issues dominate discussion as Atlantic premiers meet in Labrador -

--We bring you the latest on the swine flu ‘crisis’

Clinic doors flung open for seniors (Gaz)

H1N1 vaccine available to everyone in B.C., starting Friday (Times Colonist)

--What the Brits are reporting

Millions of healthy children to be given swine flu jab

Healthy children aged between six months and five years old will be vaccinated against swine flu from next month, the Department of Health has confirmed.

The expansion of the government’s inoculation programme comes as the latest pandemic bulletin reported a sharp rise in the number of children being admitted to hospital and a further surge in patient deaths.

The overall estimate of swine flu cases, however, showed a second successive weekly fall.

--What the French are reporting on swine flu

Dès aujourd’hui, après les professionnels de santé, c’est au tour des femmes enceintes de pouvoir se faire vacciner, ainsi que les nourrissons de 6 à 24 mois. Pour ces deux populations, un vaccin sans adjuvant est désormais disponible. Quant aux élèves de maternelle et primaire, ils pourront êt re vaccinés contre la grippe A «dans les premiers jours de décembre en centre de vaccination».

--What ‘the bravest woman in Afghanistan’ tells the Globe and Mail

The bravest woman in Afghanistan

Do you see hope for your country?

My message to peace-loving activists is to educate my people. My message to Canada is to build schools, shelters, literacy courses, build hospitals.

Canadians are doing that.

Your government has built some schools, yes, but in the meantime they are supporting the enemies of the school who destroy the school. Now they support Karzai. How can they support an undemocratic leader if they say they are fighting for democracy?

--What Hillary says

Hillary Clinton Is Obama’s Key Link to Afghan Leader, Karzai

When Mr. Karzai first took office in 2002, she noted, there were one million students in Afghanistan, virtually all boys. Today, there are seven million, 40 percent of them girls. She said Mr. Karzai deserved some credit for that, as well as for other advances during his tenure.

--A great moment in US journalism (and politics)

N Korea among topics of discussion as Obama wraps up tour in Seoul (WP)

Obama said he has not given up hope that Iran might cooperate. "I continue to hold out the prospect that they may decide to walk through this door," he said.

U.S. Talks Tougher on Dealing With Iran (WSJ)

--What Chatty Cannon says

Humbled Karzai aims to please

“His time frame I think is extremely interesting,” said Mr. Cannon, who met with Mr. Karzai along with the foreign ministers of several other countries on Wednesday.

“The statement today satisfied all our allies, including the United States,” Mr. Cannon said. “There is a responsibility, an important responsibility, for the government to deliver on what the international community expects them to deliver. We want things from the Karzai government in terms of good governance and economic stability. … We'll be watching him.”

--What else our foreign minister says

“To say and to insinuate that Canada is in some way complicit in giving money to warlords or to funnelling the money where it shouldn't be going is ludicrous.”

--What Le Devoir is reporting on Afstan

Afghanistan: l'après-2011 ne se discutera pas aux Communes | Le Devoir

--What the Post is reporting

Afghanistan to oppose vote to censure Iran

--What else our papers are reporting

Canada won't arm Afghan drones       (Cit)      

NATO puts pressure on Ottawa (Gaz)

--What the W Post is reporting

U.S. resetting its relationship with Karzai

--What the WS Journal is reporting

Karzai Has Plenty of Promises for the West

--What else the NY Times is reporting

 Karzai Starts Term Vowing Army Will Control Security in 5 Years

He received applause on only three occasions: when he pledged to create a transparent and accountable government; when he promised to fight corruption; and when he thanked the United States and other allies for their help.

--What the Independent is reporting

Brown appeals to Labour MPs over Afghan war - The Independent

--What the NY Times is reporting on the economy

O.E.C.D. Cautious in Economic Forecast

--What the W Post is reporting on the US political economy

Obama faces congressional anger about economy

ECONOMIC WOES TAKING A TOLL

House Republicans call on Geithner to resign

Growing discontent over the economy and frustration with efforts to speed its recovery boiled over Thursday on Capitol Hill in a wave of criticism and outright anger directed at the Obama administration.

--What else is shaking in Washington

In Fort Hood aftermath, Pentagon opens two reviews

--What the Yanks are reporting on free trade

Obama Backs South Korea Trade Pact, but Congress Remains Wary

South Korea Trade Pact Is Revived by Obama

--The US needs more Canada?

Arrests in Chicago drive home global nature of terrorism threat

Before his October arrest, Rana ran his businesses, including a rural Illinois farm that slaughters lambs and goats according to Islamic law, from a cluttered storefront on Devon called First World Immigration Services. He provided space to Raymond J. Sanders, an American immigration lawyer.

"He's an excellent and all-around gentleman who has many business interests," said Sanders, who described Rana as a non-practicing medical doctor "very active in the community." He said Rana focused on clients seeking immigration status in Canada.

According to the charges, Rana lied to a former classmate and official in Pakistan's Chicago consulate in an attempt to get a five-year visa for Headley.

--We bring you the latest war news

Egypt recalls envoy from Algeria over soccer violence -- latimes.com

French PM to Irish leader: keep out of Thierry Henry scandal | Football

--Why all Canadians love our mother country

John Lichfield: The hand of Dieu – but with heads hung

--Why we love our other mother

BNP signs its first non-white member...

An elderly Sikh who describes Islam as a "beast" and once provided a character reference for Nick Griffin during his racial hatred trial is set to become the British National Party's first non-white member.

Student's flagellator was not an offensive weapon, court rules - Telegraph

MUSLIM student caught with a bladed flagellator in his car told a court he had regularly beaten himself with such instruments since the age of six.

Mohsin Khan, 21, was driving to a London nightclub with a friend when he was pulled over during a routine police check in Charing Cross Road.

MPs' expenses: David Curry quits as standards chief over new disclosures

After learning of the Telegraph investigation, David Curry resigned as chairman of the Parliamentary Standards and Privileges Committee and now faces a formal inquiry into his claims.

The Conservative MP is accused of having an affair with a headmistress in his Yorkshire constituency and using a taxpayer-funded cottage to meet his lover.

British businessman Mark Arnold admitted attacking girlfriend

A BRITISH businessman admitted beating his girlfriend with a baseball bat before leaving her in the desert, a Dubai court heard yesterday.

--What the NY Times is reporting on climate change

Nations Unveil Plans to Rein in Emissions

“We now have offers of targets from all industrialized countries except the United States,” Mr. de Boer said. He emphasized that he was looking to the United States for “a numerical midterm target and commitment to financial support.”

“This is essential, and I believe this can be done,” he said.

In an interview, Todd Stern, the chief climate negotiator for the United States, said that the Obama administration was trying to decide whether to release a proposal in the coming days.

“What we are looking at is whether we feel that we can put down a number that would be provisional in effect, contingent on getting our legislation done,” he said. “Our inclination is to try to do that, but we want to be smart about it.”

While some of the pledges are conditioned on reaching a binding international agreement, some countries, like South Korea, have said they will act whether the world did or did not.

--What the Guardian is reporting

Prince Charles announces funding scheme to protect rainforests | The Guardian

--What the French are reporting (one more reason we love ’em)

Et si on baisait vert ? Comment ? C’est simple, avec des préservatifs bio. Il a conquis les domaines de l’alimentation, du prêt-à-porter et des cosmétiques, le bio s’attaque désormais au sexe. Après les sextoys écolos, voici les capotes vertes.

--We begin with a great pandemic moment

Canucks jumped the H1N1 vaccine queue, health officer says (V Sun)

--What the Globe is reporting on Steve

Turning India's goodwill into trade dollars (Ibbitson)

The trip was an unqualified success, the culmination of efforts stretching back years to raise Canada's profile among those who count in the political and business communities.

--What the Star is reporting

The golden chance to win over Sikhs (Star)

--What Mr. Colvin said about torture in his opening statement

Testimony on Afghan detainees (CP)

--What the Globe is reporting

Canada complicit in torture of innocent Afghans, diplomat says

The diplomat said from the very beginning in May 2006 his warnings were sent to the senior ranks of the military. This included Lieutenant-General Michel Gauthier, then-commander of Canadian Expeditionary Force Command, which oversees foreign deployments. Mr. Colvin said he believes that Lt.-Gen. Gauthier would have relayed these reports to Canada's top soldier at the time, General Rick Hillier.

--What the Star is reporting

Canada shamed on torture

Colvin said that was followed by a phone call from the assistant deputy minister of foreign affairs "suggesting in future that we should not put things on paper but instead use the telephone."

--What the Citizen is reporting

Canada ignored Afghan abuse: diplomat (Cit)

Colvin said he was specifically told by Prime Minister Stephen Harper's former foreign affairs adviser, David Mulroney, to use the phone instead of putting anything in writing about prisoner abuse, which Colvin said contradicted Canadian policy and international law against surrendering to the risk of torture.

"There was indeed a policy, but behind the military's wall of secrecy, that's exactly what we were doing," said Colvin.

Mulroney had just left the Prime Minister's Office to become deputy minister of Foreign Affairs at the time that he allegedly warned Colvin to watch his step in April 2007.

Colvin also alleged that Rick Hillier, the former defence chief, knew that Afghan detainees were being abused and he turned his back to it.

Margaret Bloodworth, Harper's national security adviser, was also aware of the issue, said Colvin, though he acknowledged he never talked to her directly.

--What CP is reporting

Canadians handed over innocent Afghans to torture: diplomat (CP)

Hawn, who is the parliamentary secretary to the defence minister, questioned why Colvin never raised his concerns directly with cabinet ministers when they visited Afghanistan.

"It would be a bit inappropriate, I think, to ruin a minister's visit by coming and saying, 'Hey did you know people are getting tortured with electricity?"' Colvin answered.

--What the Times of London is reporting on Iraq

Last minutes of Iraqi detainee Baha Musa punched and kicked by troops

Army medics described the last minutes of an Iraqi detainee’s life after he had been punched and kicked by British soldiers for 36 hours.

Baha Musa, who was arrested by soldiers from the 1st Battalion the Queen’s Lancashire Regiment in 2003 during an arms search at the hotel where he worked, had collapsed and his breathing had stopped.

During his detention he had been forced to wear two hessian sacks over his head and had been deprived of sleep.

--The US needs more Canada?

Many Terrorism Suspects Linked to the Radical Cleric Awlaki

Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan, the Army psychiatrist charged with killing 13 people at Fort Hood, Tex., on Nov. 5, is only the latest suspect accused of perpetrating or plotting violence to be linked to the cleric.

In 2006, for example, a group of Canadian Muslims listened to Mr. Awlaki’s sermons on a laptop a few months before they were charged with plotting attacks in Ontario to have included bombings, shootings, storming the Parliament Building and beheading the Canadian prime minister.

--What Iggy says

Ignatieff tells Liberal faithful he takes responsibility for "tough time" (CP)

--What Iggy says about the Cons

Ignatieff also accused the Conservatives of launching an endless series of attack ads - the latest being taxpayer-funded pamphlets that accuse the Liberals of waffling on support for Israel.

"They are sending this into riding with Jewish communities ... and they are making outrageous allegations about the party," Ignatieff told reporters. "There has been a consensus since 1948 across party lines to support the state of Israel."

--What Jason says about that

Liberals say Tory leaflets suggest Grits are anti-Semitic, demand apology (CP)

Immigration Minister Jason Kenney denied the Tories are accusing Liberals of being anti-Semitic. Rather, he said, the pamphlets simply present a factual account of the Liberal record on issues of interest to Canada's Jewish community.

He scoffed at suggestions the Tories have sunk to a new low in partisan attacks. He maintained nothing Tories have said comes close to former Liberal cabinet minister Elinor Caplan's charge that the Canadian Alliance - predecessor to the Conservative party - was full of "Holocaust-deniers, prominent bigots and racists."

Kenney got some support from one of Canada's most prominent Jewish organizations.

Frank Dimant, CEO of B'nai Brith Canada, said he doesn't interpret the pamphlets as accusing the Liberals of anti-Semitism. Rather, he said they seem to accurately recount the fact that on several key issues, the Conservatives "were more in tune with the Jewish community" than the Liberals.

--What else is shaking in Ottawa

Fed Bridge Corp., still awaiting report on board members at Tory fundraiser (CP)

Accused war criminal wins chance to keep citizenship

Transport minister denies pandering to airlines on passenger rights bill (Cit)

Tories silent on who flew on executive jets (Cit)

Canada scrambles to contain canola crisis as China goes local

Canadians are socking cash away in TFSAs

--What else the Globe is reporting on torture (a great moment)

Solitary confinement 'not safe, nor is it humane'

Lawyers association president Frank Addario said the groups may resort to legal action to end the "torture" of thousands of inmates in solitary-confinement cells.

--What La Presse is reporting on Afstan

--What the Star is reporting

'Liberation was just a big lie' (Star)

--What the WS Journal is reporting

Debate Shifts to Afghan Exit Plan

President Barack Obama and British Prime Minister Gordon Brown have turned the focus of Afghan war planning toward an exit strategy, publicly declaring that the U.S. and its allies can't send additional troops without a plan for getting them out.

Mr. Obama isn't asking for the firm, publicly declared handover dates in Afghanistan that were the feature of early Iraq war plans, according to senior administration and military officials.

Instead, the officials said, the administration wants the Pentagon to identify key milestones for Afghanistan to meet, in its governance and the capability of its security forces, and then give a rough sense of when each objective is likely to be achieved. Reaching these goals would allow the U.S. role to shift away from direct combat, allowing troop levels to decline.

Mr. Obama said Wednesday in a CNN interview that he believed his new Afghan policy needed to include an "endgame" because "unless you impose that kind of discipline, [U.S. policy] could end up leading to a multiyear occupation that won't serve the interests of the United States."

Keeping the public eye on an exit strategy -- rather than on how many new troops would be deployed, the subject of much of the U.S. public debate so far -- could also help Mr. Obama sell his strategy at home.

--What the NY Times is reporting

Obama Demands Results From Afghan Reforms

In an unannounced visit to Kabul, Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton warned Mr. Karzai privately that future civilian aid would depend in part on how his government performed in areas like developing an effective army and curbing cronyism, according to an American official. Publicly, she told reporters that Mr. Karzai had begun to tackle corruption but “not nearly enough.”

--What the LA Times is reporting

Karzai sworn in as Afghanistan president

--What else the NY Times is reporting

German Cabinet Approves Extension for Afghan Mission

--What the Independent is reporting

Political satire show has Afghans glued to their TVs

--What the Globe is reporting on the G20

Seven months to go, G20 site up in the air

Muskoka communities cash in on G8

--You think the G20 has a problem!

G7 meeting to be held in Iqaluit - The Globe and Mail

--What the Globe is reporting on Obama and the law

Obama: death for 9/11 mastermind

--What the W Post is reporting

Holder answers to 9/11 relatives about trying terrorism suspects in U.S.

--What the W Post is reporting on Obama-care

Senate announces $849 billion health-care bill

--What else is shaking in Washington

Army Corps of Engineers blamed for Hurricane Katrina levee breaches

Lawmakers seek more help from administration for Fort Hood investigations

--Meanwhile, back at Queen’s Park

McGuinty rejects public hearings on HST; expects tax to be election issue (CP)

--What Ontario’s fin-min says

Jilted McGuinty still 'proud' of HST

"The feds certainly pushed us – they've given us 4.3 billion reasons to do it," he said. "There are always rats in these debates and it's funny watching ... those individuals who are trying to deny the $4.3 billion their government is giving us."

--What the Globe is reporting on security

Canadian at centre of FBI terror probe has Kanata connection

Mr. Rana and his wife are two of five family members who co-own the house in Kanata. But only his father, his brother Abbas and Abbas's wife currently live there. When a Globe and Mail reporter rang the doorbell yesterday evening, a woman peered out the window of an unlit second-storey room but did not answer the door.

Abbas has worked for The Hill Times newspaper since 2002.

--The US needs more Canada?

Ex-Military Officer in Pakistan Is Linked to 2 Chicago Terrorism Suspects (NYT)

Mr. Rana is a Canadian citizen who has lived legally in Chicago, where he operated a travel agency and other businesses.

Mr. Headley and Mr. Rana are graduates of a military academy in the town of Hasan Abdal in Pakistan, and they maintained e-mail contact with other former students, including officers in Pakistan’s military. They belonged to a group of the school’s graduates who referred to themselves as the “abdalians” in Internet postings, according to government affidavits.

Mr. Headley and Mr. Rana were accused in the complaints of reporting to Ilyas Kashmiri, a former Pakistani military officer who has become an Islamic militant commander associated with both Al Qaeda and Lashkar-e-Taiba. The latter is a Pakistan-based militant group suspected in the deadly attacks in Mumbai.

--What the Independent is reporting

Secret evidence blow hits Guantanamo seven

Britain’s security services should be able to withold evidence from claimants in civil court cases, the High Court ruled today.

--What the W Post is reporting on climate change

U.S. to help China develop inventory of its greenhouse gas emissions

Several senators whose votes are key to passage of domestic climate legislation, including Sen. Evan Bayh (D-Ind.), have questioned whether they will be able to trust any greenhouse gas reductions China reports to the international community. China has surpassed the United States as the world's largest emitter of greenhouse gases; together they account for roughly 40 percent of the world's output.

--What the Gaz is reporting

Quebec must set pollution targets, group urges (Gaz)

--What else the Yanks are reporting

Seas Grow Less Effective at Absorbing Emissions

A climate threat, rising from the soil

--What the Times is reporting

Birth control: the most effective way of reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Investing in birth control to reduce population growth could be more effective in cutting greenhouse gas emissions than building wind turbines or nuclear power stations, according to a United Nations report. Taking action to prevent one billion births by 2050 would save as much carbon dioxide as constructing 2 million giant wind turbines.

--What else the Times is reporting

Women’s carbon print is small but climate change hits them harder

--What the WS Journal is reporting on Obama (a great journalism moment)

Obama Vows to Push For Korea Trade Pact

What the NY Times is reporting

Obama Takes Stern Tone on North Korea and Iran

The only potential point of contention on the visit was that Washington still was not moving to ratify a free-trade agreement agreed upon two years ago. Mr. Obama said that he wanted to get it down but acknowledged that “there is obviously a concern in the United States of the incredible trade imbalances that have grown in the past few years.”

--The reviews of Obama’s peregrinations are in and they ain’t good

Obama's story infused Asia tour (W Post)

U.S. in standoff with Beijing over Chinese currency (LAT)

Obama’s Pacific Trip Encounters Rough Waters (NYT)

--What the Times is reporting on the EU

Franco-German deal on European council president causes anger

--The world needs more Canada

My kingdom for a bolting horse | Matthew Parris

Canadian clubbed

On Tuesday we broadcast the last of our five-part series for BBC Radio — Parting Shots — on the valedictory dispatches of British ambassadors. This tradition (recently suppressed) allowed retiring ambassadors to sound off in a letter widely circulated in Whitehall: a sober and elegant version of a drunken office leaving do. …

Some Canadian columnists and readers have castigated Moran (and us British) — “Move to Britain if it is great and we are so bad. BYE BYE” — but the general tone is thoughtfully self-critical: “It’s important to have one’s bubble burst occasionally,” one reader says. “He hits the nail on the head,” another says; while the columnist Colby Cosh writes: “That we failed to answer in 2009 with a chorus of ‘bull’s eye!’ audible from Earth’s moon demonstrates precisely the uneasy nationalism and self-consciousness [Moran] was trying to describe.”

Canadian reaction is surely more mature than ours would have been. But the Thais have been edgy. Our Ambassador in Bangkok, Quinton Quayle, has had to issue a press release distancing himself from his predecessor, Sir Anthony Rumbold, whose 1967 valedictory described the Thais as having “. . . no literature, no painting and only a very odd kind of music ... their architecture is monotonous and interior decoration hideous . . . [while] nobody can deny that gambling and golf are the chief pleasures of the rich, and that licentiousness is the main pleasure of them all”. Rumbold added: “The general level of intelligence of the Thais is rather low, a good deal lower than ours and much lower than that of the Chinese.”

“My own views differ from my predecessor of 42 years ago,” states the admirable Mr Quayle.

Senator Housakos sues RueFrontenac and its reporters for $150 000

--What the W Post is reporting on Mark Carney’s ex

Goldman Commits $500 Million to Help 10,000 Small Businesses

--What else is shaking in Ottawa

Feds eye move into battle over TV-cable fees (Globe)

Prejudices land Canadians in database for crime (Globe)

Airlines helped craft passenger bill of rights, documents reveal (Canwest)

Ignatieff's new staffers believe less is more for Liberals (Globe)

Team Iggy gets a shake-up call (Star)

DEBT CLIMBING TO $500B (Post)

'No-fly' watchdogs blasted  (Star)

--Meanwhile, at Queen’s Park

McGuinty Liberals nosedive in poll (Cit)

--And in the distinct society…

We need a new 'Quebec.com': Péladeau (Post)

--What else our papers are reporting on Afstan

Troops to be 'inoculated' against stress (Cit)

Canada spending millions on private security in Afghanistan (Globe)

Drive straight, then shoot straight, for Afghan troops (Globe)

--What the Brits are reporting

Last message of soldier shot in Afstan: 'Still waiting for new body armour'

Nato chief promises Afghanistan will get 'substantially more forces' 

Karzai set to sacrifice lambs, not wolves

Miliband: Taliban must join Afghan parliament 

Nato chief: quick exit from Afghanistan will unleash 'global jihad'

--What the Globe reported on Afstan yesterday

Brown aims for Afghan withdrawal

Britain and other NATO partners could join Canada in withdrawing from active combat in Afghanistan, shifting the war to the Afghans in a process that could begin by the end of next year, according to British Prime Minister Gordon Brown.

Mr. Brown announced in a speech Monday night that he hopes to hold an international conference in London in January to decide on a withdrawal timeline in which his country's 9,000 troops, along with the rest of the NATO force, would hand over power to the Afghan National Army.

--What a former Globester now with the NY Times is reporting today

Brown Vows to Continue War Effort in Afghanistan

As President Obama moves closer to a decision on the United States military’s request for more troops in Afghanistan, the British government has made an unflinching commitment to continue its role as the second largest troop provider in the 43-nation coalition fighting the war.

In the face of opinion polls suggesting that British public opinion has moved sharply against the war in the face of rising British casualties, Prime Minister Gordon Brown and David Miliband, the foreign secretary, used major speeches in the past two days to reaffirm Britain’s determination to fight on in Afghanistan alongside the United States.

--What the W Post is reporting

Afghan minister accused of taking bribe

The Afghan minister of mines accepted a roughly $30 million bribe to award the country's largest development project to a Chinese mining firm, according to a U.S. official who is familiar with military intelligence reports.

--What else the Yanks are reporting on Afstan

Poll finds guarded optimism on Obama's Afghan plan

Pakistani army shows off captured Taliban posts

Pakistani Successes May Sway U.S. Troop Decision

--A great moment in Canadian journalism

Officials approve homes for Jews in West Bank (Cit)

Peace effort stalls after Israel OKs settlements (Post)

--A great moment in US journalism

Kennedy Frustrated Over School-Press Flap

--What the Globe is reporting on the Obama-China climate

Obama revives hope for climate accord (Globe)

Barack Obama is seeking to regain momentum for the Copenhagen climate summit, aiming for a “comprehensive agreement” that would spark immediate action even if it falls short of a legally binding treaty….

The Obama administration, however, is reluctant to commit to specific targets for emission reductions until the Senate passes a cap-and-trade bill similar to the one approved by the House of Representatives that would reduce emissions by 17 per cent from 2005 levels by 2020.

He has made it clear he does not want to sign anything in Copenhagen that could be used as political fodder for opponents of the bill in the Senate, which is not expected to vote on the legislation until the new year.

--What the Guardian is reporting

Barack Obama and Hu Jintao aim to agree greenhouse gas targets |

The US and China, the world's two biggest polluters, today said they aimed to set targets for easing greenhouse gas emissions next month, potentially breathing new life into the flagging Copenhagen climate negotiations.

Days after the US president, Barack Obama, said time to secure a legally binding agreement had run out, he and the Chinese president, Hu Jintao, agreed at a summit that they would continue to press for a comprehensive deal at Copenhagen that would "rally the world".

"Our aim there, in support of what the prime minister [Lars Løkke] Rasmussen of Denmark is trying to achieve, is not a partial accord or a political declaration, but rather an accord that covers all of the issues in the negotiations and one that has immediate operational effect," Obama said after holding talks with Hu in Beijing.

In a joint communique, the leaders said an accord in Denmark should include emission reduction targets for rich nations and a declaration of action plans to ease greenhouse gas emissions in developing countries.

Countering concerns that a non-legal deal could evade many key issues, the communique said the climate talks should also increase financial assistance to developing countries, promote technology development, help poor communities to adapt and enhance forest protection.

--What the W Post is reporting

U.S., China may come to talks with emission-reduction goals

Buried in the text of Tuesday's joint declaration between President Obama and Chinese President Hu Jintao was a hopeful clause about climate talks: The Obama administration is likely to offer emission-reduction targets at next month's climate summit, as long as the Chinese offer a proposal of their own.

A senior administration official said any U.S. target would require congressional action. Tuesday, Senate Majority Leader Harry M. Reid (Nev.) said that would not happen until spring. The House-passed climate bill includes a 17 percent reduction in greenhouse gases by 2020 compared with 2005 levels; the Senate Environment and Public Works Committee backed a 20 percent cut, but key senators vowed to make that less ambitious.

--What the WS Journal is reporting

Senate to Put Off Climate Bill Until Spring

Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday they would put off debate on a big climate-change bill until spring, in a sign of weakening political will to tackle a long-term environmental issue at a time of high unemployment and economic uncertainty.

Legislation on health care, overhauling financial markets and job creation will be considered before the Senate takes up a measure to cap emissions of carbon dioxide and other gases linked to climate change, Senate Democratic leaders said Tuesday.

Climate legislation will be taken up "some time in the spring," Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada said Tuesday after a Democratic caucus meeting.

--What else the Brits are reporting on climate change

Global temperatures will rise 6C by end of century, say scientists | 

--What else the Yanks are reporting

Paying More for Flights Eases Guilt, Not Emissions

--What the WS Journal is reporting on Obama’s visit

U.S., China in Strained Diplomatic Embrace

Mr. Hu, talking while Mr. Obama looked down at the lectern, said he "stressed to President Obama that under the current circumstances, our two countries need to oppose and reject protectionism in all its manifestations in an even stronger stand," a reference to what China

--What the Globe is reporting

A group of two on China's terms (Globe)

--What the NY Times adds

China Holds Firm on Major Issues in Obama’s Visit

Past American presidents have usually insisted in advance on some concrete achievements from their trips overseas. President Bush received vigorous endorsements of his top foreign policy priority, the global war on terrorism, during his visits to Beijing, and President Bill Clinton guided China toward joining the World Trade Organization after prolonged negotiations. When either of those presidents visited the country, China often made a modest concession on human rights as well.

--What the W Post adds

Obama's China trip stands in stark contrast to those of past presidents

In 1998, when President Bill Clinton stood before television cameras in Beijing's Great Hall of the People, the United States owed more money to Spain than to China and did more than twice as much trade with Mexico. At a freewheeling news conference, Clinton criticized China's military crackdown a decade earlier in Tiananmen Square and traded spirited jibes with President Jiang Zemin.

On Tuesday, Obama stood in the same building alongside another Chinese leader. This time, with the United States in hock to China for more than $1 trillion dollars and flooded with Chinese-made goods, it was a Chinese-style news conference. Each leader read a prepared statement and eyed the other in silence. There were no questions.

--A great CBC moment

CBC accidentally uses anti-Palin book during 'The National'

--What the W Post is reporting on the US economy

Analysis: Outrage over stimulus jobs misguided

--What the W Post is reporting on Gitmó

In Senate vote, signs of shift on Guantanamo Bay detainees

The Senate on Tuesday rejected an attempt to bar using funds from a defense spending bill to build or modify prisons in the United States to hold detainees from Guantanamo Bay, a move that suggested congressional Democrats may be lining up behind President Obama's vision for closing the military prison.

--What the W Post is reporting on tax evasion

IRS divulges criteria for targeting UBS accounts

Details as to which accounts the two governments would target for disclosure under the agreement were withheld until Tuesday to keep depositors guessing about their risk of being exposed -- and to keep them under pressure to confess in return for an IRS offer of leniency.

All told, more than 14,700 people turned themselves in under the IRS leniency program, more than 12,000 of them after the deal with Switzerland was announced, IRS Commissioner Douglas Shulman said in a briefing Tuesday.

Tories move to dampen spending expectations

--What the Globe is reporting that Le Dev (and we) reported yesterday

Tory MPs assailed over mailing costs

--Hey! Maybe that Liberal campaign ad was true…

Soldiers could get uniforms for urban jungle (Cit)

Future Canadian soldiers could be wearing new uniforms designed to provide camouflage on the streets of our largest cities.

--What the Citizen is reporting on the Con lobbying manoeuvre

Tories to extend lobbying ban

John Chenier, co-founder of Ottawa-based Lobby Monitor, said the government was essentially saying it was going to start enforcing a policy that hadn't been strictly enforced.

--What the Globe is reporting

Tories crack down on Crown lobbying

Mr. Toews's office said the warning, sent by the Clerk of the Privy Council to 91 Crown corporations and "shared governance" organizations, is not a new policy. Rather, it was a reminder to agencies like port authorities that were created after a similar edict in 1985.

--What the NY Times is reporting on an independent budget officer

When the Budget Director Talks, People Will Listen

His detailed analyses — “scores” in Washington argot — are highly educated guesswork but are more or less the final word, making him a combination oracle and judge on many of the biggest issues of the day.

Now Congress is awaiting Mr. Elmendorf’s judgment on a health bill that the Senate hopes to begin considering soon.

 Mr. Elmendorf — bearded, bespectacled and cautious to a fault — shuns publicity and almost never appears on television, except for the occasional hearing shown on C-Span. He and his team of number crunchers occupy the cramped fourth floor of a government building that once housed F.B.I. fingerprint files. His own office has a view of the freeway.

--What the Globe is reporting on autos

GM payback: It's up to the value of those shares

--What CBC is reporting from NB

CBC News - New Brunswick - Cancer rates linked to industrial activity

--What Monsieur says in the Globe

For Quebec, it's third time lucky, Parizeau says

In exchange for receiving Mr. Desmarais's help to win the presidency, Mr. Sarkozy was willing to help French companies such as Suez and Total, in which Mr. Desmarais holds a financial stake, to be part of France's efforts at gaining a foothold in Canada's nuclear energy market, according to Mr. Parizeau.

The close friendship with Mr. Desmarais drove Mr. Sarkozy last year to explicitly reject Quebec sovereignty as a viable option….

He questions why Mr. Bouchard devoted so much energy to eliminating the deficit instead of pursuing the cause of independence. "There is in all of this a mystery that has never been completely elucidated," Mr. Parizeau writes.

--What the Globe is reporting on the HST

HST exemptions to cost Ontario $1.89-billion

--What the Star is reporting

Tourists to take HST hit - thestar.com

Thanks to federal Finance Minister Jim Flaherty's elimination of the GST visitor rebate program on April 1, 2007, harmonization has forced the province to scrap its refunds to tourists from abroad.

--What the Citizen is reporting

Liberals put risky HST plan in motion

Some now believe the tax could be stymied by a federal election. The HST requires companion federal legislation before $4.3 billion in transition funding is sent to Ontario.

Federal Liberal leader Michael Ignatieff, who has only tepidly endorsed the HST in the past, now seems ready to abandon that support. Gordon Campbell's B.C. government is facing considerable public anger over harmonization as well.

Asked to clarify Ignatieff's HST position on Monday, the Liberal leader's press secretary refused to comment.

"We are not going to speculate on a bill we haven't seen at this time," Mike O'Shaughnessy wrote in an e-mail.

Duncan said Monday he wouldn't speculate on the "politics of a minority parliament."

"I've been given the assurance by the federal government that they will pass the requisite legislation and I take the federal government and the federal parliament at their word," he added.

--What the Globe is reporting on the Prez in China

China plays down Obama's visit

--What the NY Times is reporting

In China, Obama Pushes Need for ‘Strong Dialogue’

The degree of control exercised over the most public event of Mr. Obama’s three-day stay in China suggests that Chinese leaders are less willing to make concessions to American demands for the arrangements of a presidential visit than they once were.

--What the Independent is reporting

Government heavies reportedly barged into souvenir shops in Beijing last week demanding that goods bearing the Obama likeness be removed from shelves, especially so-called ObaMao T-shirts melding his face with Chairman Mao’s.

--What the W Post is reporting

Obama pushes China on currency, human rights

the official Chinese news coverage that followed yesterday's Great Hall of the People event focused on one part of Obama's message: that the United States accepts Tibet as part of China. "Obama says U.S. recognizes Tibet as part of China," read the headline on China's state-run news agency Xinhua, ignoring his repeated call for universal human rights.

A lengthy joint statement released by Obama and Hu Tuesday listed areas in which the two countries will work together, from the establishment of a Clean Energy Research Center to intelligence sharing and others steps to help curb terrorism and crime.

--What the Guardian is reporting on climate change

UN chief Achim Steiner warns of high cost of climate delays | Environment

--What the AP is reporting

Obama, Hu show cooperation, but divisions remain

On climate, Obama said the United States and China are looking for a comprehensive deal during next month's climate change summit that will "rally the world."

Obama said the goal at the Copenhagen meeting should be an agreement that has "immediate operational effect," not just a political declaration. As the world's two largest consumers and producers of energy, Obama said the United States and China must play a key role in negotiating an agreement. Hu committed to helping, but only within China's capabilities.

--The column I wish I’d written

--What the W Post is reporting on the US economy

Bernanke offers grim job outlook, help for dollar

he said, "the best thing we can say about the labor market right now is that it may be getting worse more slowly."

--What the NY Times is reporting on Iran

Inspectors Fear Iran Is Hiding Nuclear Plants

--What the WS Journal is reporting that the Globe (via the NY Times) is not

Nuclear Agency Warns of More Iran Plants

The IAEA on Monday also said Syria continues to defy U.N. requests for greater cooperation into a probe of Damascus's alleged nuclear activities.

The IAEA has specifically been seeking President Bashar Assad's help in tracing uranium particles that U.N. investigators found last year at the bombed site. Syria denies it was secretly building the reactor. But IAEA officials said the uranium isn't from Syria's declared stock, nor is it likely to have come from Israeli munitions, as Damascus claims.

The IAEA also is seeking clarity from Syria on traces of fissile material that agency investigators found during an inspection of Damascus's research reactor.

--What the Times of London is reporting

UN nuclear chief in secret talks with Iran over deal to end sanctions

--What the Times is reporting on Iraq

'Commanding officer threatened to blow Iraqi prisoner's head off'

--What the Guardian is reporting on the UK horse race

David Cameron closing deal with voters despite Labour boost

--What a Con anonymouse says about him

Bollywood swing aims at voters back home (Canwest)

pictures of Harper with Kumar and on the set of the TV dance show are nods to Indian popular culture crafted to send a signal to the more than 1 million Canadians back home who were born in or grew up in India that Harper "gets it" when it comes to the subcontinent.

"It's very smart," a Conservative political staffer said, speaking on condition of anonymity last week. "The mainstream media might ignore this, but this will be front-page news all over the ethnic media next week."

--Meanwhile, back home…

Sikhs line up to vote for new leadership

--What a pollsters says in The Hill Times about the Cons in Quebec

“Six months ago a lot of people,

including me, said maybe the

Conservatives will have difficulty

electing any members and if

we have an election, they’ll lose

all ten seats they won last time.

But six months later things have

changed, now for the first time

they could increase the number of

MPs if we have an election today,”

he said. “After this byelection

people will look differently at the

Conservatives.… It will depend

how they take advantage of it in

the next few weeks.”

--What a Globester is reporting on Danny Millions and Steve

Peace down east: Why Williams is ready to make nice with Harper

“If the Prime Minister reached out,” Williams told The Globe and Mail, “we would accept any kind of an olive branch.”

Newfoundland and Labrador sources say Williams will need federal help in his new battle against the expansion plans of Hydro-Québec.

Put the highly respected Sullivan in the Senate, and the cabinet, the source says, and it would be a two-man show that could work to the advantage of both Williams, the premier, and Harper, the prime minister.

--What The Hill Times is reporting on the Grits

Ignatieff's to do list: sharpen message and toughen up

Those that managed to survive the transition include deputy chief of Staff Sachin Aggarwal, Strategic Communications Adviser Leslie Church, and speechwriter Adam Goldenberg. Mr. Aggarwal and Ms. Church are in their early 30s, and Mr. Goldenberg is in his early 20s, which will make them among the youngest members of a team that is expected to be comprised of more senior operatives.

--What Kinsella says about Iggy

"I've worked with amazing communicators, like Chrétien and McGuinty, and I regard Ignatieff as top-notch, too. He has a clear, crisp way of communicating that respects the intelligence of his audience—and never dodges the question," Mr. Kinsella said.

--What Iggy said on Friday as proof of the above

"Shawn Graham doesn't get asked about Afghanistan, and I don't get asked about a provincial matter ... That's how our system works and it is good that we respect provincial jurisdictions on this matter." 

--A seminal metaphor we could do without

Caucus and rank-and-file Liberals said Mr. Ignatieff's office, and particularly his communications strategy, were poorly handled under Mr. Davey and his girlfriend, former director of communications Jill Fairbrother. The well-liked couple played a seminal role in Mr. Ignatieff's rise since entering politics in 2005, but ultimately they reaped some of the blame for his recent fall.

--What The Hill Times is reporting on those who want at both Grits & Cons

Lobbyists 'very concerned' about comm's new interpretation of 'political activities'

Lobbyists are "very concerned" about a new interpretation of the Lobbyists Code of Conduct, which states that engaging in "political activities" could be a breach of conflict of interest laws, and it could infringe on their Charter rights, says the head of the association that represents lobbyists.

--What CTV News is reporting on lobbyists

Conservatives to ban lobbyists for public agencies

--What Canwest is reporting from Ottawa

Projects may avoid federal review (Canwest)

More than 90 per cent of the thousands of new infrastructure projects across the country are slated to get funding from the Conservative government without being required to undergo a federal assessment of their environmental impact, Canwest News Service has learned.

--What the Citizen is reporting that will stimulate you

--What CP is reporting

--What The Hill Times is reporting

--What Le Devoir is reporting from Ottawa

Conservative propaganda funded by taxpayers

Opposition MPs on average claimed $17 977  for printing, Conservatives claimed more than double: $38 337…for a total of   6,3 million…while opposition MPs claimed 3,8 millions.

--What La Presse is reporting from the distinct society

Whissell’s company did business with a Hells Angel symp

ABC Rive-Nord, in which Liberal MNA (and former Minister) David Whissell is a shareholder paid more than 1,5 million dollars to a Hells Angel symp and his wife to purshase their asphalt factory in Labelle.

--What the Globe is reporting on climate change

Climate deal delayed, world leaders search for common ground

--What the Guardian is reporting

Copenhagen climate talks: No deal, we're out of time, Obama warns |

There will now be intense discussions on whether the political agreement at Copenhagen contains any detailed meaningful commitments.

--Jim says

Jim Prentice on the challenge of Copenhagen

--What his critic says

Climat - L'APEC torpille Copenhague

Le porte-parole du Bloc québécois en matière d'environnement en appellera durant les prochains jours aux deux autres partis d'opposition afin de forcer le gouvernement conservateur à s'engager une fois pour toutes dans la lutte contre les GES. «On a bien l'intention cette semaine de coaliser l'opposition, de tenter de la fédérer pour faire entendre raison au gouvernement», a-t-il dit au Devoir.

--What the W Post is reporting

U.S., Chinese emissions cuts are key to climate treaty

The scaled-back climate strategy endorsed Sunday in Singapore by President Obama and other leaders could put pressure on the United States and China to resolve the biggest stumbling block to an agreement -- how much they will cut greenhouse-gas emissions in the next decade.

--What the Financial Times is reporting

Obama rules out Copenhagen treaty

Under this approach, Copenhagen would produce an agreement on the substantive issues, which are: developed nations must agree substantial cuts to their emissions by 2020; developing countries must agree to take certain measures to curb the future growth of their emissions; rich countries must provide finance to poor countries to help them achieve their goals and cope with the effects of climate change; governance structures must be outlined, to deliver the above objectives.

Countries would have to sign a document setting out the above, which would not have legal force but which would be “politically binding” – in other words, a public commitment that would be difficult and embarrassing for governments to renege upon.

Lawyers could produce a fully articulated treaty ready for signature by world leaders or their representatives, either at a UN conference in Bonn next June or at the next climate change summit in Mexico City in December 2010.

However, even reaching a politically binding agreement will be tough. Mr Obama still faces great difficulty in meeting two of the four objectives of a Copenhagen deal – setting out the US’s commitments to cut emissions by 2020, and setting out how much finance the US would be prepared to make available to poor countries.

These commitments could be made if a bill now before the US Senate, setting out cap-and-trade legislation, were to be passed by the end of the Copenhagen summit. This is almost certainly not possible, and the future of the bill is in doubt.

If Mr Obama does not have the explicit support of the Senate, the administration may find it impossible to agree to any deal at Copenhagen and this would mean the whole process could break down in discord and acrimony.

--The world needs more Canada

TD Bank plans major move into area

--What our papers are reporting on swine flu

Quebec's Disney-inspired solution to flu-shot chaos

Hundreds of doses of H1N1 vaccine discarded due to 24-hour shelf life

Record lineups for flu shots (Gaz)

Hospitals can expect flu crunch: Duckett (Ed Journal)

War on flu being won (Cal Herald)

H1N1 not as deadly as predicted: chief health officer (Canwest)

--What Canwest is reporting on land mines

Canadian landmine initiative saved thousands of lives: report

--What your paper has not reported

Afghan roadside bombs a new priority for U.S.

The challenges are different from those in Iraq, Gates told reporters Thursday before a visit to a Wisconsin factory that is producing a rugged new armored vehicle for use in Afghanistan. He said most of the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in Iraq are based mainly on artillery shells and are triggered electronically. Those in Afghanistan, he said, are made primarily from fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate, with mines as detonators.

--What the W Post is reporting on Afstan today

U.S. gives tour of new Afghan detention center

Human rights groups said these measures still do not provide fair treatment for detainees. A joint statement from Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International and Human Rights First said detainees should be given lawyers and allowed to defend themselves in front of an independent and impartial tribunal. They also said that the Afghan Independent Human Rights Commission should have access to the detainees. Currently only the International Committee of the Red Cross, whose findings are confidential, can visit them.

--What the LA Times is reporting on AfPak

Pakistan Taliban taps Punjab heartland for recruits

--What the W Post is reporting

Pakistan's Zardari criticized over U.S. alliance, insurgency and shortages

--What the NY Times is reporting

Afghanistan Strategists Turn Focus to Pakistan

The Obama administration is stepping up pressure on Pakistan to expand and reorient its fight against the Taliban and Al Qaeda, warning that failing to do so would undercut the new strategy and troop increase for Afghanistan that President Obama is preparing to approve, American officials say.

--What else the Yanks are reporting on Afstan

U.S. Urges Karzai to Curb Graft

French and Afghan troops move to begin supply road in hostile area

--What the Guardian is reporting

Nato taskforce to form 'Afghan FBI' and root out high-level corruption

The need for such a body, dubbed the "Afghan FBI", has been highlighted by the breakthrough arrest in October of a top police officer in the southern province of Kandahar after an investigation into thousands of "ghost salaries" of non-existent policemen under his command.

The arrest of the officer, who cannot be named until the conclusion of his trial, was greeted with alarm by the interior minister, Hanif Atmar, who has so far refused to claim credit for the unprecedented arrest of such a senior official.

--What else the Brits are reporting

Helicopters boost troops in Afghanistan

The hidden beauty parlour of Helmand

--The world needs more Canada?

Brown to apologise to care home children sent to Australia and Canada | Society

Government records show that at least 150,000 children aged between three and 14 were taken abroad, mainly to Australia and Canada, in a programme that began in the 1920s and did not stop until 1967.

The children, almost invariably from deprived backgrounds and already in some form of social or charitable care, were cut off from their families or even falsely informed that they were orphans.

While their parents were told the child migrants had gone to a better life, in many cases they remained in institutions or were sent to farming families and treated as unpaid labour, and many faced abuse. A key subtext to the programme, particularly in relation to Australia, was the aim of supplying Commonwealth countries with sufficient "white stock".

--What CP is reporting

Child migrants pleased with UK's apology; demand one from Ottawa

--What the Globe is reporting

Unlike Britain, Australia, Canada won't apologize to British home children

--What else CP is reporting

Stimulus programs typically structured inefficiently: expert

--What the Financial Times is reporting on Apec

China says Fed policy threatens global recovery

the final communiqué from the 21 members was delayed as Hu Jintao, the Chinese president, called successfully for the removal of a reference to the desirability of “market oriented exchange rates that reflect underlying economic fundamentals”.

In a surprise move, the reference had been included in a statement by Apec finance ministers on Thursday, in spite of China’s unwillingness to discuss the issue. Mr Hu ignored the issue in both his speeches and earlier contributions to the Apec debates.

Officials confirmed that it had also been included in the final leaders’ statement, but was removed after a discussion between the US and Chinese leaders.

--What the WS Journal is reporting

Concerns Rise Around Obama Trip

the U.S. president committed this weekend to re-engage the Trans Pacific Partnership, a fledgling free trade alliance in the region. But a presidential shift in tone toward more trade engagement will face its real test Thursday when Mr. Obama visits South Korea to discuss a free trade agreement with that country that remains stuck. 

--What else the Financial Times is reporting

Liu Mingkang, China’s chief banking regulator, said that the combination of a weak dollar and low interest rates had encouraged a “huge carry trade” that was having a “massive impact on global asset prices”.

--What the LA Times is reporting

Obama chides China on human rights

One person asked Obama if he used Twitter and was aware of China's Internet firewall. Obama said his thumbs are too "clumsy" for him to send messages via Twitter. But he said that information should flow unhindered, even if that proves uncomfortable for politicians.

"I can tell you that in the United States the fact that we have unrestricted Internet access is a source of strength," Obama said, "and should be encouraged."

He added: "Now, I should tell you that, as president of the United States, there are times when I wish information didn't flow so freely because then I wouldn't have to listen to people criticizing me all the time. I actually think that makes our democracy stronger and it makes me a better leader, because it forces me to hear opinions that I don't want to hear."

--What the W Post is reporting on autos

GM to start repaying debt to U.S. government next month

--What the Post is reporting

GM mayuse Canadian funding to save Opel

--What Canwest is reporting on Omar Khadr

Marchers want Khadr freed from Gitmo (Ed Journal)

--What the WS Journal is reporting on military commissions

Suspect Is Key to Pace in 9/11 Case

As originally conceived by Mr. Bush in 2001, military commissions could consider statements taken through torture or abuse, withhold evidence from defendants, conduct proceedings in secret and execute defendants with no review by an appellate court.

Such deviations from traditional due process led the Supreme Court to invalidate Mr. Bush's plan in 2006, and subsequent congressional action, court decisions and executive orders have added safeguards. Statements taken through torture are now inadmissible before military commissions, and defendants can appeal convictions to the federal courts including, potentially, the Supreme Court.

Moreover, in the handful of proceedings that have taken place at Guantanamo, military judges and juries have demonstrated independence from the government, returning acquittals on some charges and imposing at least one sentence far below the lengthy term sought by military prosecutors.

--What the NY Times is reporting

Experts Outline Hurdles in Trying to Defend Hasan

--What the W Post is reporting on the Ft Hood massacre

Cleric says he was confidant to Hasan

--What the W Post is reporting on US politics

So much for the power of incumbency

In Pew Research Center's polling, just over half of Americans said they would like to see their members of Congress reelected next fall. Only 34 percent said they want most incumbents to be reelected in the midterms.

Pew describes those numbers as among the most negative in two decades of collecting data. They approach levels found in the run-ups to the 1994 and 2006 midterms -- elections in which there were significant seat changes in the House and Senate. In October 2006, 55 percent said they wanted to see their lawmakers reelected and 37 percent favored the reelection of most members of Congress; in October 1994, 49 percent favored the reelection of their own lawmakers and 29 percent backed reelection of Capitol Hill incumbents in general.

Even more troubling for incumbents is that independent voters are more down on their elected officials than partisans of either stripe. Only a quarter of independents want to see congressional incumbents reelected next year, while 42 percent support their own lawmakers in the midterms.

--And a great CBC moment

The master of arm farts

10. What useless skill(s) do you possess?

I had to think about this one for quite a while because there are a lot of things competing for the No. 1 spot. I'm very good at doing arm farts. The only problem is that only my son laughs when I do it. Everybody else thinks that's not right. But ever since I was a kid -- and I credit Ottawa ...

Well, we are the arm fart capital.

We must be. I think I started at Mutchmor Public School on Fifth Avenue, and I think that's where I learned it from a guy named Lloyd Stonehouse. He taught me how to do it, and I've never lost that ability -- they've only got better.

--What else the Citizen is reporting

Cold call (Cit)

Security specialist says nuclear sub's northern exposure sends a message that Canada should heed: Take Arctic claims seriously

--What CP is reporting on things military

Future of the army lies in counter-insurgency, not peacemaking: General –

--What Canwest is reporting on Afstan

Kandahar co-op gives Afghan women hope (Canwest)

--A great Canadian Afstan moment

Laliberté gets his money's worth (Gaz)

The Montreal billionaire's trip to the International Space Station as a tourist received 23 times more international media attention than Canada's presence in Afghanistan, according to recently released data.

--What Ms Joya says

Canada must pull its soldiers out of Afghanistan and let the people of the war-torn nation overthrow the “corrupt Mafia system” that has been allowed to rule, says a former Afghan member of Parliament whose fierce criticisms of her government almost cost her her life.

“No nation can deliver liberation by occupation,” said 31-year-old Malalai Joya, an outspoken Afghan social activist and politician who is in Victoria today as part of a two-week Canadian speaking tour.

Reached by phone in Vancouver yesterday, Joya is promoting her new book, A Woman Among Warlords: The Extraordinary Story of an Afghan Who Dared to Raise Her

--What the NY Times is reporting on Afstan

High Costs Weigh on Troop Debate for Afghan War

Even if fewer troops are sent, or their mission is modified, the rough formula used by the White House, of about $1 million per soldier a year, appears almost constant.

even if Mr. Obama opts for a lower troop commitment, Afghanistan’s new costs could wash out the projected $26 billion expected to be saved in 2010 from withdrawing troops from Iraq. And the overall military budget could rise to as much as $734 billion, or 10 percent more than the peak of $667 billion under the Bush administration.

Representative John Murtha, Democrat of Pennsylvania and chairman of a subcommittee on defense appropriations, said in an interview that because of concerns about President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan, he thought a majority of the 258 Democrats in the House would vote against any bill to pay for more troops. “A month ago, I would have said 60 to 70,” he said.

--What the W Post is reporting on Pink Lloyd’s treaty

Afghan roadside bombs a new priority for U.S.

The challenges are different from those in Iraq, Gates told reporters Thursday before a visit to a Wisconsin factory that is producing a rugged new armored vehicle for use in Afghanistan. He said most of the improvised explosive devices, or IEDs, in Iraq are based mainly on artillery shells and are triggered electronically. Those in Afghanistan, he said, are made primarily from fertilizers such as ammonium nitrate, with mines as detonators.

--What else the Yanks are reporting on Afstan

Broaching Birth Control With Afghan Mullahs

No Parade for Hans

--Another great Obama moment

Chinese await an Obama so unlike their leaders

There is little doubt that the Chinese government had a higher comfort level with Obama's predecessor, despite ideological differences. …In fact, China is one of the few places in the world where George W. Bush was popular. Albania is another.

--What the Independent is reporting

War in Afghanistan: Not in our name - Home News, UK

Seven out of 10 Britons back The Independent on Sunday's call for a phased withdrawal of troops from Afghanistan as a landmark report by Oxfam this week exposes the real human cost of the war.

The powerful dossier by the aid agency reveals how women and children in Afghanistan are bearing the brunt of the ongoing conflict, undermining the international community's claims that they are the very people being helped by the West's activities.

Nearly half – 47 per cent – think that the threat of terrorism on UK soil is increased by British forces remaining in Afghanistan, while 44 per cent disagree.

Oxfam does not advocate a withdrawal from Afghanistan, but its report, The Cost of War in Afghanistan, amounts to a forceful indictment of the mission. It is expected to reflect a catalogue of evidence that ordinary Afghans are paying a heavy price after eight years of war.

The number of botched Nato air strikes, killing civilians, is continuing to rise. Latest UN figures for the first half of this year alone report 40 rogue air strikes, which are believed to have killed 200 civilians. The figure compares with the 116 Afghan civilians killed in 13 aerial strikes in 2006, and 321 in 22 attacks the following year. In 2008, 552 were killed.

--What else the Independent is reporting

At last, PM eclipses 'The Sun' and enjoys a good week - UK Politics, UK

In his telephone call with Rupert Murdoch last Tuesday evening, Gordon Brown, while keeping the tone friendly, warned the owner of The Sun that his paper was effectively undermining Britain's mission in Afghanistan.

--What The Observer is reporting

Brown to give help to army families | UK news

Gordon Brown has ordered a series of new measures to help military families get on the housing ladder and find jobs amid growing fears that the loss of public support for the war in Afghanistan could spread to the forces community.

--What the Telegraph is reporting

Afghanistan: British troops in Helmand kill 80 Taliban in 10 days of fighting

Afstan: bomb disposal hero is 'racing certainty' for top gallantry award

Afghanistan dispatch: British troops take aim at the Taliban in Helmand

--A great Brit-Afstan moment

Traumatised troops get payout pittance after Afghanistan and Iraq

MoD civil servants in Afghanistan get £50,000 danger money top-ups

--What the Times is reporting

Biometric tests to identify rebels in Afghanistan

Nato braced for attack as President Hamid Karzai is sworn in

--Why all Canadians love our mother country

Latvian 'cheddar' now outselling the original

--Why we love our other mother

French mock Nicolas Sarkozy, the Beatle who bust the Berlin Wall

--Why we have a tender place in our hearts for the Scots

Breast-feeding is not best for Scottish mums

--What the W Post is reporting on Gitmó

9/11 trial could become a parable of right and wrong

Bush allowed more than 800 terrorism indictments to be handed up by federal grand juries, resisting constitutional protections only for those he declared to be "unlawful enemy combatants." The current administration has granted such rights to six of the 241 detainees who were at Guantanamo Bay when Obama took office, and senior government lawyers have said there is next to no prospect of bringing more than 20 more to trial in any tribunal, civilian or military.

Obama is acknowledging explicitly, as Bush never did, that some defendants will enjoy more legal protection than others, that their rights in military commissions will be inferior to those enjoyed by the few who reach federal court.

--What the LA Times is reporting

Remaining detainees leave Guantanamo's closure up in air

near certainty that President Obama will miss a self-imposed January deadline for shuttering the controversial facility.

Five detainees -- including self-proclaimed Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed, will be tried in federal court in New York. But the plans leave unsettled the fate of more than 200 remaining detainees, who now represent the biggest obstacle to closing the prison.

Five of those remaining men, Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. said Friday, will be prosecuted by military tribunals. And, military officials said, dozens of the others have been approved for transfer to other countries.

--What the LA Times is reporting

CIA says it gets its money's worth from Pakistani spy agency

The CIA has funneled hundreds of millions of dollars to Pakistan's intelligence service since the Sept. 11 attacks, accounting for as much as one-third of the foreign spy agency's annual budget, current and former U.S. officials say.

--What the NY Times is reporting

Tangle of Clues About Suspect at Fort Hood

Dr. Michael Stone, a forensic psychiatrist in New York and an expert on mass murderers, said the emerging picture of Major Hasan suggests that militant religion “seemed to provide answers to a lot of the psychological problems already stirring around in him.”

What’s new in the New York Times report

By September, Major Hasan had purchased a handgun and had begun to visit the strip club next to the gun shop. The club’s general manager, Matthew Jones, said he stayed for six or seven hours the handful of times he visited, paying for lap dances in a private room.

--What the Times is reporting

Terrorists smuggle fatwas out of secure prisons

SOME of Britain’s most dangerous Al-Qaeda leaders are promoting jihad from inside high-security prisons by smuggling out propaganda for the internet and finding recruits.

In an authoritative report, Quilliam, a think tank funded by the Home Office, claims “mismanagement” by the Prison Service is helping AlQaeda gain recruits and risks “strengthening jihadist movements”.

Abu Qatada, described by MI5 as “Osama Bin Laden’s right-hand man in Europe”, has published fatwas — religious rulings — on the internet from Long Lartin prison, in Worcestershire, calling for holy war and the murder of moderate Muslims, it reveals.

--What else the Times is reporting

Irishman wants to kill for Islam

Joël-Denis Bellavance : Canadiens don't view Ignatieff as a prime minister

--What the Star is reporting on Steve (keeping open his options)

PM to skip summit on climate change (Star)

--All you need to know about Canada’s position

Cutting emissions needs support from U.s.: prentice (Cal Herald)

--Iggy says

Sarah Palin did more for environment than the Tories - Ignatieff  

--A great moment in Canadian politics

Ignatieff dodges NB Power issue  

--Keep your children indoors! (another great moment)

With the PM away, opposition have room to play

if you're Mr. Ignatieff, who has been struggling of late, you might want to listen to fellow Liberal Frank McKenna.

“The House is a hard place for an opposition leader to win. Very hard,” he said. “So I think he’s smart to be around the country and expose himself to people.”

--What the Times is reporting on climate change

Global warming is not our fault, say most voters in Times poll

--What the LA Times is reporting

India defends its climate-change strategy

--What the Globe is reporting on the economy

Canada gets boost as exports to U.S., Europe rise

--What the W Post is reporting

Europe emerges from recession

--In the NYT, one Canadian disses another

Book Review - 'What the Dog Saw - And Other Adventures,' by Malcolm Gladwell

The themes of the collection are a good way to characterize Gladwell himself: a minor genius who unwittingly demonstrates the hazards of statistical reasoning and who occasionally blunders into spectacular failures.

--A great Obama moment

Obama Says U.S. Seeks to Build Stronger Ties to China

In a wide-ranging speech on his first trip to Asia as president, Mr. Obama drew on his own background to reassure the people of the fast-growing continent that even as the United States seemed preoccupied with conflicts in the Middle East and other regions, it was increasingly “a nation of the Pacific.”

Declaring himself “America’s first Pacific president” (a description that somehow ignored Richard Nixon and Ronald Reagan, two Californians), Mr. Obama previewed many of the themes that will shadow him during his weeklong trip, which will also include stops in Singapore, Shanghai, Beijing and Seoul.

--What else your paper the W Post is reporting on Steve Obama

As a sign of how exhausting his trip has already been, Obama briefly stumbled over the name of the Burmese opposition leader, Aung San Suu Kyi.

--Another great moment in Canadian journalism

Rolling up the Pacific rim to win  (Ibbitson)

When Stephen Harper was born, Canada was an Atlantic nation. Today, it is increasingly a Pacific nation. The Prime Minister is starting to figure this out.

--What else is shaking in Ottawa

Tory water doesn't go down well

Watchdog: Jail system fails native prisoners

Unlikely taxpayers will recover GM bailout money (Ed Journal)

--Why all Canadians, with few exceptions, love British Columbians

Palatial Point Grey home will be city's most expensive

--From BC, we bring you some great moments in Canadian journalism

Olympic dream dashed for women ski jumpers (Globe)

Women ski jumpers sat in stunned silence, blinking back tears, as the B.C. Court of Appeal dashed their dreams of jumping in the 2010 Winter Olympics with a curt rejection of their last-ditch bid to take part.

"The appeal is dismissed," was all Judge Anne Rowles said late Friday after two days of legal argument on the women's complaint that their exclusion violated the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms. The veteran judge promised written reasons next week.

Female ski jumpers lose Olympics bid (Star)

In less than a minute, with three simple sentences, three B.C. Court of Appeal judges dismissed the dreams of 14 female ski jumpers who have been fighting for years for inclusion in the Olympics.

The tears started almost immediately after the ruling late Friday afternoon for some of the ski jumpers, including Lindsey Van of the U.S., a world champion ski jumper who had hoped to compete in the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

--Personally, I find many of them quite attractive

Female ski jumpers lose appeal

--Another great moment in Canadian journalism

The way forward with Canada's maple Crown - Globe and Mail

In 1991, this newspaper advocated a novel and subtly republican change….It is an interesting idea, but it is unworkable and indeed in some respects is objectionable….This country can do better.

--What the Globe is reporting on swine flu

Unadjuvanted H1N1 vaccine approved for wider use

Federal health officials said yesterday that an adjuvant-free vaccine is not only safe for pregnant women, but also induces a strong immune response in healthy people between the ages of 10 and 64. Provinces and territories, which have received some of the unadjuvanted doses from GlaxoSmithKline's Ste-Foy, Que., plant, will start offering the vaccine now that Health Canada has authorized its use.

But the latest change in vaccine delivery adds to the confusion and suggests to some experts that the national strategy has become more of a day-to-day improvisation to get needles into people's arms.

--What else our papers are reporting

Seniors and kids to get H1N1 shot on Monday (Star)

Second wave hitting the island (Gaz)

Authorities expand H1N1 vaccine clinics to include 'first responders' (V Sun)

--Another great moment in Canadian health care

Key figure in eHealth debacle resigns

--What’s shaking in the distinct society

He can still move the sovereignty movement

Close loophole with notwithstanding clause, PQ urges

Crown asks for life sentence in Quebec terrorism case

--What the Star is reporting on Omar K

U.S. military to decide detainees' fate (Star)

Even as Canada's Supreme Court weighs the question of Khadr, it remained unclear whether U.S. authorities would recognize any request to repatriate the detainee to Canada.

Holder evaded the question yesterday, saying: "We'll look into the Khadr matter ... and we will, as that case proceeds, see how it should be ultimately treated."

--What Omar’s sis says to CBC Al Jazeera's English Service

--What the Globe is reporting (a great moment in journalism)

Khadr to stand trial at military tribunal

Omar Khadr's fate remains in the legal twilight of widely denounced military tribunals, despite President Barack Obama's promise to end the makeshift Bush-era system for putting terrorists on trial and to shutter the notorious Guantanamo Bay prison camp.

--What the Telegraph is reporting from London

Profiles: 10 Guantanamo Bay detainees on trial in US

Omar Khadr, born in Toronto, who was 15 when captured after allegedly killing an American soldier during a 2002 battle in Afghanistan. He is accused of killing US Army Sgt. 1st Class Christopher Speer of Albuquerque, New Mexico, with a grenade. Authorities say he is the son of a slain al-Qaeda financier.

--What the Post reports on the Web but not in its dead-tree edition

Khadr will still face military trial

Some of the strongest prosecution testimony to emerge so far came in a January hearing at Guantanamo, but received little publicity.

A female intelligence officer identified only as "No. 11" said Mr. Khadr voluntarily admitted to tossing the grenade that U.S. officials said killed Delta Force Sgt. Chris Speer.

According to the officer, Mr. Khadr said he "pulled the pin from the grenade" and, because he had never used such a weapon before, "chucked it over his shoulder."

He'd earlier picked a grenade and a loaded pistol from a table full of weapons, and had taken up positions on orders from one of the others, the agent testified Mr. Khadr said.

She added he said that, at the time he threw the grenade, he was hiding behind a bush, and knew - she presumed from the language they were using - that Americans were approaching.

"He told me he was proud" when he later learned that his action had killed a U.S. serviceman, the agent told the tribunal. But she added he also recognized that U.S. medics had saved his life from battlefield wounds he suffered in the same firefight.

--Personally, I’ve always understood him to be of the Muslim faith

Omar Khadr's future remains in limbo

--What La Presse is reporting

While Nathan Withling was emphasizing that his client's case had stagnated for seven years, the Administration announced that Omar Khadr would be transferred to the United States in the coming months to be tried before a military commission.

--What you won’t read in our papers

"We applaud the administration's recognition that both the law of war and domestic criminal law are appropriate tools" against al-Qaeda, said Kate Martin, director of the Center for National Security Studies. "It makes sense that those who killed civilians in New York face justice in federal court there. And using military tribunals to try those who attack military objectives overseas as part of a self-declared war on the United States is consistent with the law of war so long as those trials are in fact fair."

--What else the W Post is reporting

Alleged Sept. 11 planner will be tried in New York

Although Guantanamo Bay will soon lose some of its most infamous inhabitants, the administration has all but acknowledged that the facility itself cannot be closed by Jan. 22, the one-year deadline Obama set in an executive order shortly after taking office.

Holder said one factor in deciding to keep Nashiri's case within the military justice system was that the attack targeted a U.S. warship docked in foreign territory, rather than a civilian target on American soil.

The cases of four other detainees who had been charged in military tribunals will remain in the military system, officials said. They include Omar Ahmed Khadr, a Canadian citizen, who is accused of killing a U.S. Army sergeant in a grenade attack in Afghanistan in 2002. His case is controversial because he was a minor at the time of the alleged attack, and his attorneys, as well as international human rights monitors, argue that he was a child soldier who should be rehabilitated, not prosecuted.

--What the WS Journal is reporting

Alleged 9/11 Plotters Face Trial

About 20 to 25 detainees may never be put on trial but are still considered too dangerous to release. They may be detained indefinitely, but it isn't clear where, according to an official familiar with the matter.

--What the NY Times is reporting

Accused 9/11 Mastermind to Face Civilian Trial in N.Y.

Mr. Holder said that over the past few weeks, he had “personally reviewed” the 10 cases and made the final determination about which system would prosecute the two sets of detainees.

--What the LA Times is reporting

Strong reaction to announcement of 9/11 trial in New York court

Holder said that he had decided to keep the five before military commissions in part because the attacks had occurred overseas and against military targets.

--What the NY Times says editorially speaking

Editorial - A Return to American Justice – NY Times

Regrettably, the decision fell short of a clean break. Five other Guantánamo detainees are to be tried before a military commission for the 2000 bombing of the Navy destroyer Cole, including Abd al-Rahim al-Nashiri, who is accused of planning the attack.

The rules for the commissions were recently revised to bring them closer to military standards. And Mr. Holder cites the fact that the Cole bombing was an attack on a military target to justify a military trial. But that does not cure the problem of relying on a new system outside the regular military justice system. Nor does it erase the appearance that the government is forum-shopping to win convictions. Most broadly, it fails to establish a clear framework for assigning cases to regular courts or military commissions going forward.

Still, this much is clear: the Obama administration has yet to completely figure out how to rectify the disgraceful Bush detention policies, but it is getting there.

--What the W Post says

Prosecution of terrorism suspects prompts tough questions – Washington Post

The decision to try five other suspects in military commissions signals a recognition that federal court is not always the best, or even an appropriate, venue. The administration directed toward military commissions suspects who are believed to have carried out or plotted terrorist acts overseas against military targets.

--What the LA Times says

Plan for Mohammed's trial upholds U.S. values

Holder immediately was denounced by Democrats and Republicans alike for sending the cases to the civilian judicial system rather than military commissions (which, inexplicably, he has decided to entrust with the trials of those accused of attacking the U.S. destroyer Cole in Yemen in 2000).

--What the LA Times is reporting on the Ft Hood massacre

Although Hasan had given away most of his belongings in the days before the attack, some items remained, the paper said, including a business card listing Hasan's credentials as a psychiatrist that had the letters "SoA" under his name. According to experts, "SoA" stands for "Servant of Allah" or "Soldier of Allah." The latter phrase has been associated with Muslim extremist groups.

"I know some people are saying [it means] soldier of Allah," Galligan said. "Is that any more troubling than saying I'm a servant of Christ?"

--That’s not all he may never do again

Ft. Hood shooting suspect Nidal Malik Hasan is paralyzed, his lawyer says

John P. Galligan said that Maj. Nidal Malik Hasan feels no sensation in his legs and that doctors at a San Antonio military hospital -- where Hasan is in intensive care and under guard -- have said he may not walk again.

--What the Globe is reporting on Afstan

Slow, but staggering progress  (Globe)

--What Canwest is reporting

World is watching, McKay warns Afghan president Karzai (Canwest)

--What the NY Times is reporting

Obama, in Japan, Says U.S. Will Study Status of a Marine Base on Okinawa

The United States also appeared to give ground on the other security point of dispute, accepting Mr. Hatoyama’s pledge of $5 billion in aid to Afghanistan, which the prime minister linked to his government’s decision to end the Japanese Navy’s refueling mission near Afghanistan.

Mr. Obama said the promise “underscores Japan’s prominent role” in the international effort in Afghanistan.

--What the Independent is reporting

Suicide attack piles pressure on Obama and Brown - Asia, World

meanwhile, Gordon Brown claimed that his lobbying had prompted Nato countries to provide another 5,000 troops. He said: "I have taken the responsibility of asking others in Europe, and outside Europe actually, if they will back this strategy. We need our Nato allies to help. I think we can probably get another 5,000 forces into Afghanistan..."

There was, however, surprise in both defence and diplomatic circles over Mr Brown's assertion about the numbers. The UK has agreed to send another 500 troops, the Turks may send several hundred more and the Germans said that they may augment their force by another 100. "We don't know where the other 4,000 will be coming from," said a senior military officer.

There was also surprise in Kabul at Mr Brown's assurance that the Afghan President Hamid Karzai was willing to tackle corruption. Western diplomats say the Afghan President has done nothing to deal with the endemic corruption surrounding his government.

--What the Telegraph is reporting

Brown says British troops in Afghanistan cannot be 'occupying army forever'

--What the Guardian is reporting

UK pressing Karzai to negotiate with Taliban, says leaked memo | Politics

--What the Times is reporting

Muslims must quit British Forces, says Iranian envoy Abdolhossein Moezi

Peter Hain breaks rank to question war in Afghanistan publicly

--What else the Yanks are reporting on Afstan

U.S. soldiers' morale down in Afghanistan

Afghan Insurgency Tests German Troops

Russian Deal on Afghan Supply Route Not a Deal Yet

Bomb Attack Near U.S. Camp Phoenix in Kabul

Britain Presses Allies on Troops for Afghanistan

--What the Brits are reporting on AfPak

Ten dead as Pakistan spy agency struck by militants in Peshawar

--What the Brits are reporting on Iraq

Huge rise in birth defects in Falluja | World news

Britain's Abu Ghraib: Did Britain collude with US in abuse of Iraqis? - Home