Pax Gaea Human Rights World Post

• New Thai Constitution to include Prime Minister appointment
• Democracy only acceptable course in upcoming Bangladesh elections
• Foreign medical workers slated for Libyan firing squad Tuesday for child HIV mass infection
• UK's Blair in Jerusalem to mediate with Israel and Palestine leadership
• Colin Powell says U.S. losing in Iraq
• North Korea Six Party Talks resume Monday
• Baghdad Red Crescent office attacked; dozens kidnapped
• What is a human life worth?

New Thai constitution may allow PM to be appointed

Connie Levett Herald Correspondent in Bangkok

THAILAND'S National People's Assembly meets today to begin the process of creating a new constitution amid concerns that the country will not return to full democracy next year. Before the assembly started senior leaders refused to dismiss the possibility of having an appointed, rather than elected, prime minister. The interim Prime Minister, Surayud Chulanont, who was appointed by the military after the coup on September 19, said the issue should be decided by the people in a referendum. "On this point we want to open up for an exchange of views. On the part of the Government and the [Council of National Security], we have no flag as to whether the prime minister should be elected or not," he told Thai journalists at a lunch at Government House, the Bangkok Post reported. Sydney Morning Herald (Australia) (12/17)

BNP stages victory rally to mark V-day

People won't pardon if any party thwarts democratic process, Bhuiyan warns BNP supporters joined a colourful victory pageant marking the Victory Day (V-Day) in the capital Sunday, pledging to protect the country's independence and democracy through thwarting a plot to foil the election process, reports UNB. Addressing a pre-march rally, BNP secretary general Abdul Mannan Bhuiyan said the general election would be held after a few days, but some political parties were plotting to foil the election process creating pretext by placing newer demands. Urging all political parties to join the polls, he cautioned that the people would not pardon those who would disrupt the election and democratic process in the country.Party leaders and activists, carrying national and party flags, and attired in colorful dresses marched through the city thoroughfares.Jubilant party followers also brought sheaf of paddy, displaying traditional culture atop horse and cattle carts. Financial Express (Bangladesh) (12/17)

Libya uses HIV children as diplomatic pawns

The death in Libya six weeks ago of nine-year-old Marwa Annouiji from Aids was much more than just another developing world statistic. In her short, life, dominated by illness, the frail child was a pawn in a high-level game of international relations. Marwa, from al-Bayda on the Mediterranean coast, was the 52nd Libyan child to die as a result, Libya claims, of a deliberate operation by foreign medical workers to pump HIV-infected blood into 426 girls and boys at the al-Fatah Hospital in Benghazi. On Tuesday, barring some extraordinary intervention, the six medics -- a Palestinian doctor and five Bulgarian nurses who have been in prison in Libya for seven years -- will have their sentence confirmed by a court in the capital, Tripoli: execution by firing squad. The case has sparked unprecedented mobilisation in support of the medics among international scientists who have found the Libyan evidence groundless. European governments and the United States stand accused of abandoning the medical workers for powerful strategic and economic reasons. Mail & Guardian (South Africa) (12/17)

Blair to meet with Olmert, Abbas in effort kick-start peace talks

By The Associated Press and Haaretz Service

British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in Israel on Sunday night on a mission to try to restart peace efforts between Israel and the Palestinians, as internal Palestinian violence exploded across the Gaza Strip. Blair scheduled to meet Palestinian Authority Chairman Mahmoud Abbas in Ramallah Monday morning. Blair's visit is primarily aimed at bolstering Abbas' image among the Palestinian moderates. Following his meeting in Ramallah, the British leader will meet with Prime Minister Olmert at his office in Jerusalem. Blair is also scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Tzipi Livni and Defense Minister Amir Peretz. Preparatory talks on behalf of the British prime minister were held Sunday in Jerusalem by his special envoy to the Middle East, Lord Michael Levy. At the center of Blair's meetings on Monday will be the resumption of the Israeli-Palestinian peace process and the building of government institutions that could function in a future Palestinian state. Ha'aretz (Israel) (12/17)

Colin Powell: US losing Iraq war

Former US Secretary of State Colin Powell has said overstretched US troops are losing the conflict in Iraq. Mr Powell told CBS News that bolstering troop numbers would be unlikely to reverse the "grave and deteriorating situation" in the country. President Bush is trying to shape a new strategy for Iraq, with officials suggesting more soldiers may be sent. Mr Powell's comments come a day before the new defence secretary, Robert Gates, is to be sworn in. During his confirmation hearings, Mr Gates also conceded that the US was not winning in Iraq and faced a "regional conflagration" unless the downward spiral was reversed. BBC (12/17)

NKorea nuclear talks resume testing Pyongyang's will to disarm

Canada warned of Kyoto damage

By ALEXA OLESENBEIJING (AP) - Six-country talks on North Korea's nuclear program resumed Monday for the first time in more than a year, a test of whether the communist regime is willing to negotiate after its surprise atomic test rattled the region this fall. Head delegates held preliminary meetings in Beijing on Monday morning before Chinese envoy Wu Dawei officially opened the talks at a Chinese state guesthouse. "After hearing each country's opening speech, especially North Korea's opening speech, we will be able to tell where the six-party talks will go," South Korean nuclear envoy Chun Yung-woo told reporters Monday before the talks. CANOE/ CNET News (Canada) (12/17)

Dozens kidnapped at Baghdad Red Crescent office

By Ibon Villelabeitia

BAGHDAD, Dec 17 (Reuters) - Gunmen in police uniforms kidnapped dozens of people at a Baghdad branch of the Red Crescent on Sunday, the same day as British Prime Minister Tony Blair arrived in the capital to meet Iraq's embattled leaders. A Red Crescent official and witnesses said the gunmen stormed the office in central Karrada in pickup trucks, separated men from women and then took off with some 25 employees, visitors and private security guards. Police said between 10 and 20 people were kidnapped. "They took all the men, separated them from the women and left," a witness told Reuters. Baghdad is plagued by daily kidnappings, both political and criminal. Last week, gunmen in camouflage fatigues abducted some 30 people in an industrial area in central Baghdad but released most of them a few hours later. Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki's government is struggling to contain soaring sectarian tension and daily violence that U.N. officials estimate kills more than 100 people a day. Reuters (12/17)

Ecuador attacks Colombian resumption of coca spraying

By Chris Kraul Los Angeles Times QUITO, Ecuador · Ecuador's foreign minister said that Colombia's decision to resume aerial fumigation of coca plants near the nations' shared border after a yearlong suspension was "an unfriendly and hostile act" that could cause a break in diplomatic relations. President-elect Rafael Correa, speaking to reporters in Buenos Aires, agreed with Foreign Minister Francisco Carrion, saying the resumption Tuesday of spraying in Colombia just above the border was a hostile act. Correa takes office Jan. 15.Argentina Star (12/17)

What Should a Billionaire Give – and What Should You?

By PETER SINGER

What is a human life worth? You may not want to put a price tag on a it. But if we really had to, most of us would agree that the value of a human life would be in the millions. Consistent with the foundations of our democracy and our frequently professed belief in the inherent dignity of human beings, we would also agree that all humans are created equal, at least to the extent of denying that differences of sex, ethnicity, nationality and place of residence change the value of a human life. With Christmas approaching, and Americans writing checks to their favorite charities, it’s a good time to ask how these two beliefs — that a human life, if it can be priced at all, is worth millions, and that the factors I have mentioned do not alter the value of a human life — square with our actions. Perhaps this year such questions lurk beneath the surface of more family discussions than usual, for it has been an extraordinary year for philanthropy, especially philanthropy to fight global poverty. New York Times Magazine (12/17)