Journalist debunks Libby claims

Journalist debunks Libby claims Correspondents in Washington February 01, 2007 A FORMER New York Times reporter, who spent almost three months in jail to protect her source - US Vice-President Dick Cheney's ex-chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby - directly contradicted Mr Libby in his perjury trial yesterday. Judith Miller told a federal court jury that Mr Libby spoke to her about CIA agent Valerie Plame, wife of a prominent critic of the Iraq war, weeks before Mr Libby told investigators he first heard about Ms Plame from another reporter. Miller spent 85 days in jail for refusing to co-operate with Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into who leaked the CIA agent's identity to reporters. She refused to break her promise not to disclose conversations she had with Mr Libby until he personally released her from their confidentiality agreement, after which she was released from jail and testified. Disclosing a CIA officer's name without authorisation can be a criminal offence. Miller is the first of several prominent journalists to testify in a trial that is providing the jury - and the US public - a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Bush White House, which prided itself on privacy. The appearance of Miller as someone forced by the Government to testify against a source emphasised how the case had changed relations between journalists and Washington officials. Mr Libby's charges of perjury and obstruction of justice are the only criminal counts to come out of Mr Fitzgerald's investigation into the CIA leak. The prosecutor says Mr Libby discussed CIA officer Plame with reporters, then lied about those conversations. Mr Libby has pleaded not guilty. Miller is a major witness in Mr Fitzgerald's case because she describes two conversations with Mr Libby regarding Ms Plame before Mr Libby told investigators he had been surprised to learn about Ms Plame from NBC reporter Tim Russert. Ms Plame is the wife of a former US ambassador, Joseph Wilson, who was intensely disliked by the White House because of his public accusations that President George W. Bush and Mr Cheney manipulated intelligence reports to build a case for invading Iraq in 2003. Mr Libby has claimed under oath that he learned about Ms Plame on July 10, but Miller became the sixth person to testify that he had identified Ms Plame before then. Miller testified yesterday that Mr Libby discussed Ms Plame on June 23, 2003. He said Mr Wilson's wife worked for the "bureau", Miller recalled. "Through the context of the discussion, I quickly determined it to be the CIA," she testified. She said Mr Libby told her at the meeting that it was Ms Plame who sent Mr Wilson to Niger to see if Iraq bought uranium for nuclear bombs from the African country. Mr Wilson returned from Niger and said that the uranium report - a key piece of evidence in Mr Bush's rationale for going to war - was false. Miller said Mr Libby was "agitated, frustrated and angry" when they met in a White House office. Mr Libby was upset over Mr Wilson's comments and by press reports he had been ordered to Niger by Mr Cheney. Miller told of a second meeting with Mr Libby, this one on July 8, 2003. She said Mr Libby had mentioned that Ms Plame worked for a division specialising in weapons of mass destruction. In a speech on Monday night, Russert said he did not tell Mr Libby about Ms Plame. Journalism groups have criticised Mr Fitzgerald for calling reporters as witnesses and demanding they discuss conversations with sources. Mr Fitzgerald is expected to call two other reporters - Russert and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine - during the trial. Mr Fitzgerald has said Ms Plame's name was leaked by Bush administration officials trying to discredit Mr Wilson's finding that there was no proof Iraq was attempting to buy uranium in Niger for its nuclear weapons program. Mr Libby has pleaded not guilty, contending he did not remember conversations he had with reporters about Ms Plame amid the crush of his work on national security issues. Miller left The New York Times in November 2005 after a 28-year career at the newspaper. Her reporting came under attack after articles she wrote suggested Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction - coverage that helped the Bush administration build its case for invading Iraq, but turned out to be wrong.

Journalist debunks Libby claims

Journalist debunks Libby claims Correspondents in Washington February 01, 2007 A FORMER New York Times reporter, who spent almost three months in jail to protect her source - US Vice-President Dick Cheney's ex-chief of staff I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby - directly contradicted Mr Libby in his perjury trial yesterday. Judith Miller told a federal court jury that Mr Libby spoke to her about CIA agent Valerie Plame, wife of a prominent critic of the Iraq war, weeks before Mr Libby told investigators he first heard about Ms Plame from another reporter. Miller spent 85 days in jail for refusing to co-operate with Special Prosecutor Patrick Fitzgerald's investigation into who leaked the CIA agent's identity to reporters. She refused to break her promise not to disclose conversations she had with Mr Libby until he personally released her from their confidentiality agreement, after which she was released from jail and testified. Disclosing a CIA officer's name without authorisation can be a criminal offence. Miller is the first of several prominent journalists to testify in a trial that is providing the jury - and the US public - a rare glimpse into the inner workings of the Bush White House, which prided itself on privacy. The appearance of Miller as someone forced by the Government to testify against a source emphasised how the case had changed relations between journalists and Washington officials. Mr Libby's charges of perjury and obstruction of justice are the only criminal counts to come out of Mr Fitzgerald's investigation into the CIA leak. The prosecutor says Mr Libby discussed CIA officer Plame with reporters, then lied about those conversations. Mr Libby has pleaded not guilty. Miller is a major witness in Mr Fitzgerald's case because she describes two conversations with Mr Libby regarding Ms Plame before Mr Libby told investigators he had been surprised to learn about Ms Plame from NBC reporter Tim Russert. Ms Plame is the wife of a former US ambassador, Joseph Wilson, who was intensely disliked by the White House because of his public accusations that President George W. Bush and Mr Cheney manipulated intelligence reports to build a case for invading Iraq in 2003. Mr Libby has claimed under oath that he learned about Ms Plame on July 10, but Miller became the sixth person to testify that he had identified Ms Plame before then. Miller testified yesterday that Mr Libby discussed Ms Plame on June 23, 2003. He said Mr Wilson's wife worked for the "bureau", Miller recalled. "Through the context of the discussion, I quickly determined it to be the CIA," she testified. She said Mr Libby told her at the meeting that it was Ms Plame who sent Mr Wilson to Niger to see if Iraq bought uranium for nuclear bombs from the African country. Mr Wilson returned from Niger and said that the uranium report - a key piece of evidence in Mr Bush's rationale for going to war - was false. Miller said Mr Libby was "agitated, frustrated and angry" when they met in a White House office. Mr Libby was upset over Mr Wilson's comments and by press reports he had been ordered to Niger by Mr Cheney. Miller told of a second meeting with Mr Libby, this one on July 8, 2003. She said Mr Libby had mentioned that Ms Plame worked for a division specialising in weapons of mass destruction. In a speech on Monday night, Russert said he did not tell Mr Libby about Ms Plame. Journalism groups have criticised Mr Fitzgerald for calling reporters as witnesses and demanding they discuss conversations with sources. Mr Fitzgerald is expected to call two other reporters - Russert and Matthew Cooper of Time magazine - during the trial. Mr Fitzgerald has said Ms Plame's name was leaked by Bush administration officials trying to discredit Mr Wilson's finding that there was no proof Iraq was attempting to buy uranium in Niger for its nuclear weapons program. Mr Libby has pleaded not guilty, contending he did not remember conversations he had with reporters about Ms Plame amid the crush of his work on national security issues. Miller left The New York Times in November 2005 after a 28-year career at the newspaper. Her reporting came under attack after articles she wrote suggested Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction - coverage that helped the Bush administration build its case for invading Iraq, but turned out to be wrong.

back to school

After the horrors of war, a love of learning Pia Akerman January 29, 2007 FOR most children, returning to school today is an unwelcome end to summer freedom. But for others, such as the Pager children, school is a welcome symbol of opportunity in a country that has never known the horror of a civil war. Kuany Pager brought her five children to Adelaide two years ago while her husband remained in Konger, southern Sudan. "In the Sudan there was no school, no food. A lot of people were dying," Mrs Pager said. "Now it's good because now my children go to school to learn." Chol, 12, Diing, 10, and Aleek, 5, will be among more than 3.3 million primary and high school students returning to school this week. In NSW, teachers return to school today but the 740,000 students will say hello to the classroom tomorrow. Victorian students return on Wednesday and in far western NSW towns such as Deniliquin, Wilcannia and Broken Hill they return on February 6. The NSW Government will begin implementing the final part of its $710million program to reduce class sizes to an average of 20 students in kindergarten, 22 in Year 1 and 24 in Year 2. Parents also will be forced to spend more on schooling this year, as education costs outstrip inflation. Education costs rose 4.8 per cent in the year to December. While most government schools do not charge fees, the costs of uniforms, sports equipment, school bags and text books are likely to rise. Private schools such as Cranbrook, in Sydney's eastern suburbs, will charge fees of up to $24,000 this year. Chol, Diing and Aleek will walk into Nazareth College in Adelaide's western suburbs with more than 1300 students from 40 ethnic groups. The school officially opens today after the amalgamation of Siena College and Our Lady of the Manger, Mater Christi and Cardinia Parish schools. Co-principal Pauline Murphy said the number of refugee students had increased. "Some of them haven't been to any formal schooling because they've been born in refugee camps," she said. "The African families are very supportive of the school and are keen for their children to get an education." Additional reporting: AAP http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21133169-5006787,00.html

From what I have heard. it is totally un-Australian, it threatens the very fabric of our community

States want Islamist group outlawed Imre Salusinszky and Natalie O'Brien January 30, 2007 WHILE critics on the Left have denounced the curtailing of civil liberties under the federal anti-terrorism legislation, it seems the laws do not go far enough for the state Labor administrations. Outflanking the Howard Government on the Right on national security, the NSW and West Australian governments yesterday called for the banning of radical Islamic group Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation). On Sunday, about 450 people at a conference convened by the group in Lakemba, in Sydney's southwest, heard speakers call on Australian Muslims to fight to create a pan-global Islamic state. NSW Premier Morris Iemma yesterday repeated his call for the Howard Government to outlaw the group. "This is not an organisation that is expressing a difference of opinion ... they're advocating war with Australia, on Australians," Mr Iemma said.

HIV tidak menular melalui hubungan seksual??

HIV sceptic backs unprotected sex Jeremy Roberts and Elizabeth Gosch January 31, 2007 A MEDICAL physicist at Royal Perth Hospital has declared that she would have unprotected sex with an HIV-positive man, believing she would not be at risk of infection. Eleni Papadopulos-Eleopulos was giving testimony at the Supreme Court of South Australia during an appeal by a man convicted of exposing three women to HIV. She was asked by prosecutor Sandi McDonald whether "you would have unprotected vaginal sex with a HIV-positive man". "Any time," replied Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos. The admission came on the last day of Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos's cross-examination. She is the lead expert witness for Andre Chad Parenzee, 35, who was convicted in February last year on three counts of endangering life. A jury found Parenzee had unprotected sex with three women despite knowing he was HIV-positive. He infected one of them. He remains in custody awaiting sentencing. His mother, Jeanette Thumlert, has spent $250,000 on her son's defence. Some of that money has gone to flying two expert witnesses from Perth on three occasions since October last year. The witnesses, Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos and emergency doctor Val Turner, represent the Perth Group. The group's key claim is that HIV has never been isolated and identified as a retrovirus. HIV is the result of the misinterpretation of laboratory phenomena and experiments, the group says. Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos says AIDS is a disease that results from the oxidising of the inside of the body from repeated exposure to semen resulting from passive anal intercourse. It is not a "virus" and cannot be "transmitted" from one person to another during sex. Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos's views are largely ignored by mainstream scientific journals. She has a bachelor of science and is a medical physicist at Royal Perth Hospital, with Perth Group member David Causer, the head of clinical physics. A spokeswoman for the hospital said neither worked with AIDS patients or in HIV research. "Their views are not consistent with the hospital's views on HIV-AIDS," she said. Despite the Perth Group's marginal position, its evidence in the Parenzee appeal has spurred up to seven eminent HIV-AIDS scientists to give rebuttal testimony. The prosecution has told the court that Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos has misrepresented scientific papers and will call some of the papers' authors to set the record straight. Renowned immunologist and World Health Organisation public health expert Gustav Nossal is preparing to give written evidence or appear in person debunking the testimony. He has called the HIV sceptics "a very considerable embarrassment to Australian science". Yesterday, Ms Papadopulos-Eleopulos continued her strident defence of her claims. She was asked to consider the good record of anti-retroviral drugs in extending the lives of HIV-AIDS patients. Judge John Sulan asked: "Is it your evidence that it is a waste of resources to give anti-retrovirals to pregnant women?" "Yes," she said. The case continues. http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,20867,21151217-5006787,00.html