** amnesty international: only two eu states uphold human rights

"...only two of the 15 current member states - Luxembourg and the Netherlands - could be given a clean bill of health.

Britain stands accused of "serious human rights violations" in its responses to the September 11 attacks on the United States. Abuses were being committed in the name of the "war on terror" and the fight against illegal immigration, according to the report "Human Rights Begin at Home"."


** more grief for bush's national security doctrine - strategic studies institute:

"The global war on terrorism as presently defined and conducted is strategically unfocused, promises much more than it can deliver, and threatens to dissipate US military and other resources in an endless and hopeless search for absolute security," says the study by Jeffrey Record, a visiting scholar at the Strategic Studies Institute."

[...]

"Mr Record recommends a total overhaul of the national security strategy and says it must redirect its campaign against global terror from "unrealistic to realistic war aims".


** towards 1984 - bush administration looking to classify travellers to us according to terror risk:

"The unprecedented measure would see each visitor to the United States score on a scale of three colours - green, yellow and red - based on personal details, shortly after making their flight reservation."

[...]

"In the event that a traveller is thought to have the same characteristics as a "terror suspect", "you will not be able to immediately board the flight, you are going to be talking to law enforcement and you will be given an immediate opportunity to establish an error, if you believe one exists," Hatfield said. The airline ticket will not be reimbursed by US authorities, however, he said."


** tit-for-tat - brazil continues to check id's of travellers from the us

"At present all US visitors to Brazil must be photographed and fingerprinted. The measures, which have caused long delays for travellers, are a response to similar rules recently introduced in the United States."


** the suv principle: to avoid fuel limits, turn it into a truck