"U.S. OKs Evidence Gained Through Torture"

Michael J. Sniffen, Associated Press

WASHINGTON — Evidence gained by torture can be used by the U.S. military in deciding whether to imprison a foreigner indefinitely at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, as an enemy combatant, the government says.

Statements produced under torture have been inadmissible in U.S. courts for about 70 years. But the U.S. military panels reviewing the detention of 550 foreigners as enemy combatants at the U.S. naval base in Cuba are allowed to use such evidence, Principal Deputy Associate Attorney General Brian Boyle acknowledged at a U.S. District Court hearing Thursday.

Anonymous Comrade writes:

"Resistance or Retrogression?

The Battle of Ideas Over Iraq"
Peter Hudis, News & Letters

The U.S. occupation of Iraq has turned into a quagmire of nightmarish proportions, with many now calling it the most serious setback for U.S. foreign policy since the Vietnam War. This is seen in everything from the way western Iraq has come under the control of Taliban-like fundamentalists to the fact that jihadists from neighboring lands are flocking to Iraq to take advantage of hatred of the U.S. occupation and to further their effort to create a reactionary "Islamic state" upon its ruins. Clearly, the U.S. occupation of Iraq — which would have continued even if Kerry won the presidential election — created fertile ground for reactionary and terrorist forces to take root and flourish.

Housing Developers Burn Down NYC Community Center

Bronx, NY December 2, 2004 — Thirty residents of Casa Del Sol, a
community center in the South Bronx, are homeless after a fire
partially destroyed their building and sent 16 firefighters to the
hospital. Residents blame ACORN, a development group, for allowing the
fire to burn five hours after police evicted the building's residents.

"The circumstances are incredibly suspicious," says former Casa Del
Sol resident Joleene Martin. "The fire happened under their watch. I
blame them for either negligence or malice. Either way, it's their
fault."

Sandinista Wins Worry U.S.:

Leftists Making Political Gains in Nicaragua

Hugh Dellios, Chicago Tribune

MANAGUA, Nicaragua — As leftist leaders make gains across Latin America, an old U.S. adversary from the 1980s contra war has set off alarm bells in Washington: Daniel Ortega's Sandinistas.

The Sandinista Front won 87 of Nicaragua's 152 mayoral posts in elections this month, making significant inroads against a right-wing ruling faction divided by infighting and corruption scandals. Analysts say the victories also reflect the leftist party's success in running several cities efficiently and fairly.