Today is the annual state opening of Parliament in the UK -- it's the ritualistic, ceremonial centrepiece to our democratic constitution, which ironically is carried out by our now defunct feudal system grand dame -- the Queen.
 
The closest equivalent I can think of in the US is the State of Union  address -- though that is short on the visual appeal of crowns and sceptres! to those outside the UK it's all quite la di da, but the main practical point of it is too announce in a speech to the great unwashed ( you and me) which Bills the Government plans to bring in the following year. Behind all the pomp and ceremony (which has taken place once a year in EXACTLY the same way for more than 5 centuries) her royal Queeness only delivers the speech -- government is truly in charge of the proceedings.
 
Bills, much as in the US take forever to pass through to law especially with the House of Lords there to check and balance (thankfully)what the Houses of Parliament try to bring in , and this year is interesting as it will be Tony's last as premier. What has taken place, looks to all intents and purposes the equivalent of final exam cramming, a whopping 29 Bills have been put forward, with a huge focus on security and terrorism, the government remain coy on any new attempts to extend the 28 holding period for terrorist suspects -- it seems they are playing a long game.
 
Most disappointing to me is the complete retraction of verbal commitments to the environment -- what's on offer is a long-term goal of a 60% cut in carbon emission by 2050, not a piece of Kyoto  treaty in sight. Tony has for a while now been putting himself about as abit of an environment saviour, as ever he can talk the talk but it seems that for all his earnest posturing on the planet wide threat of global warming he cannot walk the walk -- shame on you Mr Blair, what are you going to tell your kids?, sorry, fruit of my loins, Daddy got too sucked up in power politics and now you have inherited a dying planet.
 
And don't even get me started on ID cards -- more on that later in the week.
 
--Melanie Andrews
Planet Waves News/Political Waves


Blair plans final security blitz
Wednesday, 15 November 2006, 15:24 GMT
 
Plans to combat terrorism, crime and anti-social behaviour will dominate Tony Blair's final months in office.  Tackling climate change and reforming pensions will also be key parts of the Queen's Speech programme of 29 bills for the coming Parliamentary session. There will also be moves to strengthen border controls, prevent illegal working and push ahead with ID cards.

But Conservative leader David Cameron accused Mr Blair of using the "politics of fear" to cover up "hollow" plans. Mr Cameron told MPs it had all been heard before, saying it was "so depressing that people might think the chancellor has already taken over". Mr Cameron attacked Mr Blair's record on criminal justice, pensions, security the NHS and immigration.

"The tragedy of this prime minister is that he promised so much and he has delivered so little," Mr Cameron told MPs.

He said the prime minister had "given up on the causes of crime" in favour of "eyecatching initiatives that last as long as a news bulletin". The government's priorities were set out earlier in Parliament by the Queen amid the traditional pomp and ceremony.

The Queen told MPs and peers: "At the heart of my government's programme will be further action to provide strong, secure and stable communities, and to address the threat of terrorism.

"My government will put victims at the heart of the criminal justice system, support the police and all those responsible for the public's safety and proceed with the development of ID cards."

Environment

In what it is describing as an "ambitious" Queen's Speech for the "aspiring majority", the government says it will push ahead with plans to implement the Turner report on pensions. These include restoring the link with earnings - a move welcomed by the Conservatives.

On the environment, the government will commit itself by law to a long-term goal of a 60% cut in carbon emission by 2050 and an independent panel to monitor progress. Tory leader David Cameron said he hoped it would be a "proper bill and not a watered down bill" with annual targets, something the government has so far ruled out.

On Lords reform, ministers pledge to continue seeking a cross-party consensus before coming up with new legislation. But they remain committed to abolishing the remaining hereditary peers and holding a free vote on the composition of the second chamber.

Also included are plans to:

-- Extend road pricing schemes
-- Give new powers to London's mayor
-- Scrap the Child Support Agency
-- Reform regulation of human embryology
-- Tighten regulation of estate agents

But as in recent years, it is the Home Office that will have the heaviest workload, with eight separate bills referred to in the programme. Sentencing reforms could see criminals caught red-handed lose the right to have their sentences cut by a third if they plead guilty, and tougher sentences for violent prisoners. Police will also be given the power to throw home-owners out of their properties within 48 hours for committing anti-social behaviour. Officers will also get new powers to seize criminal assets, in a fresh crackdown on organised crime.

Terrorism

The immigration measures are expected to put into practice the plans unveiled in the summer for tighter immigration controls and firmer action against employers who use illegal immigrant labour.

On terrorism, no new bills were unveiled but the government said it would legislate to fill the "gaps" identified by Home Secretary John Reid's review of current capabilities and resources, "taking into account lessons learned" from the alleged airline terror plot last summer. Some ministers are said to be in favour of a new attempt to allow the detention of terrorism suspects for up to 90 days, before they are charged. Last year, a combination of Tory, Liberal Democrat and rebel Labour MPs defeated the government amid civil liberties fears, and pushed through a 28-day limit instead.

Crossrail

There are also plans to abolish jury trials in complex fraud cases. An amendment from the abandoned Mental Health Bill is likely to permit people with severe personality disorders to be given compulsory detention and treatment. In addition to the new measures unveiled, three bills have been carried over from the last session, covering welfare reform, corporate manslaughter and Crossrail. The session is scheduled to last until next November, and as Mr Blair has said he will stand down by next September, it will be his last one in office.

Connected Link
UN chief issues climate warning


Pakistan votes to amend rape laws
Wednesday, 15 November 2006, 14:10 GMT
 
Pakistan's national assembly has voted to amend the country's strict Sharia laws on rape and adultery. Until now rape cases were dealt with in Sharia courts. Victims had to have four male witnesses to the crime - if not they faced prosecution for adultery. Now civil courts will be able to try rape cases, assuming the upper house and the president ratify the move.

The reform has been seen as a test of President Musharraf's stated commitment to a moderate form of Islam. Religious parties boycotted the vote saying the bill encouraged "free sex".

'Lewdness'

A woman is raped every two hours and gang-raped every eight hours in Pakistan , according to the country's independent Human Rights Commission. Correspondents say these figures are probably an under-estimation as many rapes are not reported. Campaigners say Pakistan's laws have made it virtually impossible to prosecute rape.

Attempts to pass a new bill failed in September in face of angry opposition. The version of the Women's Protection Bill put before legislators then caused such an outcry that parliament was prorogued. It would have allowed alleged rapists to be tried under civil as well as Islamic law.

Human rights activists said this would have created confusion, allowing powerful religious lobbies to manipulate what is seen as a weak judicial system. Pakistan's religious parties called the legislation "a harbinger of lewdness and indecency in the country", and against the strictures of the Koran and Sharia law. They have threatened nationwide protests over the revised bill.

Addressing parliament on Wednesday, the leader of the six-party MMA Islamic alliance, Maulana Fazlur Rahman, said the bill would "turn Pakistan into a free-sex zone". Law Minister Wasi Zafar, meanwhile, told a television station that "some of the MMA's proposals had been included in the bill".

Lashings

Rape and adultery in Pakistan are dealt with under the Hudood Ordinance, a controversial set of Islamic laws introduced from 1979 by Gen Zia-ul-Haq. They include sections prescribing lashing and stoning as punishments for adultery. The bill tabled in the summer and withdrawn was then reviewed by a panel of ulema, or Islamic scholars, who suggested three revisions. The BBC's Barbara Plett in Islamabad says how parliament voted on Wednesday is also being seen as an indication of what political alliances might contest elections next year.


CIA Acknowledges Bush memos on aggressive interrogation
Tuesday 14 November 2006

After years of denials, the CIA has formally acknowledged the existence of two classified documents governing aggressive interrogation and detention policies for terrorism suspects, according to the American Civil Liberties Union.

But CIA lawyers say the documents -- memos from President Bush and the Justice Department -- are still so sensitive that no portion can be released to the public.

The disclosures by the CIA general counsel's office came in a letter Friday to attorneys for the ACLU. The group had filed a lawsuit in U.S. District Court in New York two years ago under the Freedom of Information Act, seeking records related to U.S. interrogation and detention policies.

The lawsuit has resulted in the release of more than 100,000 pages of documents, including some that revealed internal debates over the policies governing prisoners held at the military detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba . Many other records have not been released and, in some cases, their existence has been revealed only in media reports.

Friday's letter from John L. McPherson, the CIA's associate general counsel, lists two documents that pertain to the ACLU's records request.

The ACLU describes the first as a "directive" signed by Bush governing CIA interrogation methods or allowing the agency to set up detention facilities outside the United States. McPherson describes it as a "memorandum." In September, Bush confirmed the existence of secret CIA prisons and transferred 14 remaining terrorism suspects from them to Guantanamo Bay .

The second document is an August 2002 legal memo from the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel to the CIA general counsel. The ACLU describes it as "specifying interrogation methods that the CIA may use against top al-Qaeda members." (This document is separate from another widely publicized Justice memo, also issued in August 2002, that narrowed the definition of torture. The Justice Department has since rescinded the latter.)

The ACLU relied on media reports to identify and describe the two documents, but the CIA and other agencies had not previously confirmed their existence. McPherson wrote that neither document can be released to the public for reasons of security and attorney-client privilege.
"The documents are withheld in their entirety because there is no meaningful non-exempt information that can be reasonably segregated from the exempt information," McPherson wrote. A spokesman for the CIA declined to comment yesterday.

Amrit Singh, one of the ACLU's attorneys on the case, said the disclosures may make it easier for the group to argue in favor of releasing the documents.

"For more than three years, they've refused to even confirm or deny the existence of these records," Singh said, referring to the group's initial document request in October 2003. "The fact that they're now choosing to do so confirms that their position was unjustified from the start. . . . Now we can begin to actually litigate the release of these documents."

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