‘The Church of England's most senior clergyman has today
joined criticism of the US detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, warning that
it's set a dangerous precedent.

The Archbishop of Canterbury, Rowan Williams, says the United States' disregard
of international law sends the wrong message to tyrants elsewhere in the world.’ 

Archbishop of
Canterbury Speaks Out against Guantanamo Bay 

‘It's easy to think sometimes that a new government
program, law, or regulation could cure a pressing social problem. 

Whether it's a desire to end
abortions, keep the wrong people out of the country, make your city drug-free,
stop corporate frauds, crack down on criminals, or make health care more
accessible and less expensive, you can imagine how the right new law could make
everything okay. 

But when you get that kind of
thought, I hope you'll remember the seven principles that apply to all
government programs - not just the ones you oppose.’ 

‘Tony Blair believes
he will be judged by God for his decision to send British troops into Iraq, the
Prime Minister reveals today.  

In a rare departure from his usual
reticence about discussing his faith in public, Mr Blair talks openly about his
Christianity in a television interview to be broadcast on ITV tonight.’ 

‘Every generation or so an evil
arises which is so monstrous, so degrading to the human spirit, so morally
bankrupt that even to debate it is a sign of moral corruption. Native American
genocide, slavery, totalitarianism, and Jim Crow laws are evils so unspeakable
that we cannot understand today how anyone with a shred of decency could have
once supported them. Today, torture, a practice far more degrading to us than
to our victims, represents such an evil. 

The issue has become urgent
because Bush has chosen to demand the legal right to torture anyone he wishes.
When torture was revealed at Abu Ghraib, the administration - falsely and
shamelessly - attempted to shift its own responsibility onto foot-soldiers like
Lynndie England. Since then, however, leaks have revealed that the CIA has
tortured terrorist suspects all around the world, using techniques like
"waterboarding." In response, Senator John McCain proposed an
amendment, attached to the 2006 Defense bill, that would ban torture. 

‘President Bush today said his
landmark nuclear cooperation agreement with India marked a crucial advancement
in limiting the spread of nuclear weapons - ensuring for the first time the
presence of international inspectors at civilian nuclear reactors. 

But administration officials
conceded that the agreement was not everything the U.S. had hoped for -
permitting India to keep eight of its 22 reactors under wraps as secret
military sites. 

‘Stung by growing criticism of his Iraq policy which has
manifested itself in all-time low public opinion ratings, President Bush last
month embarked on a tour in which he delivered five speeches outlining his
"Plan for Victory" in Iraq, as well as offering a defense of his
decision to invade Iraq. "It is true that much of the intelligence [used
to justify the invasion] turned out to be wrong", Mr. Bush said in the
fourth of these speeches. "As President, I'm responsible for the decision
to go into Iraq." 

From the ABC

Deputy Prime Minister Mark Vaile has announced the sale of 350,000 tonnes of Australian wheat to Iraq worth up to $70 million.

Mr Vaile made the announcement as he and other Nationals
parliamentarians addressed a rally of around 400 farmers in the New
South Wales central-west.

I forgot if this already appears on the site... But I drew this just when Mr Vaile was leaving Australia for negociations with Iraq... Not hard to guess the result...

From the ABC

Foreign Affairs Minister Alexander Downer says he supports a decision by the United States to deliver nuclear technology to India.

Australia has ruled out selling uranium to India because it has not signed the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

Prime Minister John Howard is due to visit the country next week, but Mr Downer says this development will not cause discomfort.

"We've considered very carefully over the last few months the American proposal for this agreement that President Bush has signed with the Indians, and our view of it is that it's a good step forward... 

Gus radiations: