Det danske Fredsakademi

Kronologi over fredssagen og international politik 28. september 2005 / Timeline September 28, 2005

Version 3.5

27. September 2005, 29. September 2005


09/28/2005
National Security Archive Marks International Right to Know Day
Commends State Department for Monitoring Access to Information in Human Rights Reports
http://www.nsarchive.org
Washington, D.C., September 28, 2005 - Marking International Right to Know Day, the National Security Archive commended the Department of State for including access to government information as one factor evaluated in its annual Country Reports on Human Rights Practices. Transparency and information are essential to allow people to scrutinize and debate the actions of their government, combat corruption, and promote democracy. In its open letter to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the Archive also requested that the Department include access to information an independent category in the reports, to increase the prominence and recognition of this fundamental human right department-wide.

09/28/2005
Egypt proposes nuclear-free-zone in Middle East
VIENNA (AFP) Sep 28, 2005
http://www.spacewar.com/2005/050928124308.br8wiiey.html
Egypt Wednesday proposed the creation of a nuclear-free zone in the Middle East and blasted Israel for standing in the way, at a meeting in Vienna of the UN atomic watchdog.

09/28/2005
Soldier's Parents Feuding Over His Death Payouts
Palm Beach (FL) Post
September 28, 2005
By Jane Musgrave, Palm Beach Post Staff Writer
It's been more than a year since Pfc. Brandon Sapp was blown to bits in Najaf, Iraq, but fighting hasn't stopped on the home front.
His mother, Hope Veverka, insists she just wants to be fully recognized as the parent of a young soldier killed in combat. His father, John Sapp, is equally insistent that he just wants to carry out his late son's wishes.
The two ­ who have rarely seen eye to eye since they were divorced nearly 20 years ago ­ are fighting over one of the less honorable spoils of war: Money.
And they are not alone.
Disputes over who gets a dead GI's government benefits are playing out among family members from Lake Worth to Los Angeles, said those who run agencies to help military families cope.
And, while they have erupted since the first soldier hoisted a weapon, the ugly skirmishes have been exacerbated by a generous measure federal lawmakers passed this year, somberly telling television cameras that it was a way to help ease the pain of those who lost loved ones in combat.
When Congress increased the payout for a soldier's death from $262,420 to $500,000, family arguments increased exponentially, military agency officials said.
"Any time large amounts of money are involved it can cause difficulties within families," said Bonnie Carroll, who founded the nonprofit Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors after her husband, a brigadier general, was killed in an Army plane crash in 1992.
"It's sad that the mother feels left out," Kathleen Moakler, deputy director of the National Military Family Association, said when told of Veverka's distress.
But, Moakler said, as hard as it may be, Veverka has to accept that it was her late son who decided that the bulk of his benefits would go to his father.
Parental payments
What John Sapp received:
$200,000 as the prime beneficiary of Brandon Sapp's life insurance policy.
$100,000 in death gratuity 'to provide immediate cash to meet the needs of the survivors.'
What Hope Veverka received:
$100,000 as another beneficiary of Brandon's life insurance policy.
Some of Brandon's personal belongings, half of his private $10,000 life insurance policy.

09/28/2005
FCC Mandate Forces 'Backdoors' in Broadband ISPs and VoIP
EFF and Others to Challenge Privacy-Invasive Rule
Electronic Frontier Foundation
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0928-09.htm
http://www.cdt.org/digi_tele/20050923fcc-calea.pdf
http://hraunfoss.fcc.gov/edocs_public/attachmatch/FCC-05-151A1.pdf
WASHINGTON - September 28 - The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) has issued a "First Report and Order" confirming its expansion of the Communications Assistance to Law Enforcement Act (CALEA) to the Internet. The Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF) is planning to challenge the rule in court.
The new rule forces Internet broadband providers and "interconnected" Voice-over-IP (VoIP) providers to build backdoors into their networks to make it easier for law enforcement to listen in on private communications. EFF has argued against this expansion of CALEA in several rounds of comments to the FCC.
"A tech mandate requiring backdoors in the Internet endangers the privacy of innocent people, stifles innovation, and risks the Internet as a forum for free and open expression," said Kurt Opsahl, EFF staff attorney.
CALEA, a law passed in the early 1990s, required that all telephone providers build surveillance backdoors into their networks. Due to pressure from EFF and other privacy groups, Congress expressly exempted information services like broadband. But the new details released on September 23rd show that the FCC has decided to ignore Congress's decision to protect the Internet, instead forcing all "facilities-based" providers of any type of broadband Internet access service, as well as interconnected VoIP services, to make their networks wiretap-ready. According to the FCC, all VoIP communications on a given service must be wiretap-ready if the VoIP service offers the capability for users to connect calls with the public switched telephone network (PSTN), even those communications that do not involve the PSTN.
Practically, what this means is that the government will be asking broadband providers -- as well as companies that manufacture devices used for broadband communications -- to create new backdoors for surveillance, imperiling the privacy and security of citizens on the Internet. It also hobbles technical innovation by forcing companies involved in broadband to redesign their products to meet government requirements.
Acknowledging that the FCC is reaching beyond Congress's intention by expanding CALEA to the Internet, FCC Commissioner Michael J. Copps admitted that "[the] statute is undeniably stretched," and FCC Commissioner Kathleen Q. Abernathy issued a plea that Congress revisit its decision to exempt the Internet, stating the "application of CALEA to these new services could be stymied for years" by litigation.
"The FCC's overreach is an attempt to overrule Congress's decision to exclude 'information services,'" said EFF Senior Staff Attorney Lee Tien. "By mandating backdoors in any service that has the capability to replace functions provided by a telephone, the FCC has stretched the statute to the breaking point."

09/28/2005
GAO: GLOBAL WAR ON TERRORISM
DOD Should Consider All Funds Requested for the War When Determining Needs and Covering Expenses
In fiscal years 2004 and 2005, DOD received funding for GWOT through both funds included in its annual appropriation and supplemental appropriations. In fiscal years 2004 and 2005, the military services received about $52.4 billion and $62.1 billion, respectively, in supplemental appropriations for GWOT (1) military personnel and (2) operation and maintenance expenses. The Army, Air Force, and Navy also received in their annual appropriations a combined $7.9 billion in fiscal year 2004 and a combined $7.6 billion in fiscal year 2005, which DOD described as being intended to support GWOT. The military services absorbed the increase into their annual appropriations and allocated it based on their judgment of where the funds were most needed. DOD’s accounting systems, however, do not separately identify these additional appropriations, and there are no reporting requirements for DOD to identify to which appropriation accounts the funds were allocated; consequently, the military services have lost visibility over these funds and do not know the extent to which they are being used to support GWOT. Despite having asked for the increase to support GWOT, DOD is not explicitly counting these additional funds when considering the amount of funding available to cover GWOT expenses.
For fiscal year 2004, regarding supplemental appropriations for GWOT military personnel expenses, the Navy and Marine Corps reported more in obligations than they received in supplemental appropriations, while the Army and Air Force received more in supplemental appropriations than their reported obligations. Each of the services reported more in GWOT operation and maintenance obligations than it received in supplemental appropriations. To cover the differences (gaps), DOD and the services exercised a number of authorities provided them, including transferring funds and reducing or deferring planned spending for peacetime operations. However, in considering the amount of funding available to cover the gaps, DOD did not explicitly take into account the funds provided through its annual appropriation that as previously noted it described as for the support of GWOT. If DOD had considered these funds, it could have reduced the Army’s GWOT gap and eliminated the GWOT gaps of the Air Force and Navy. For fiscal year 2005, the services’ forecasts of GWOT obligations for the full fiscal year as of June 2005 suggest a potential gap of $500 million for military personnel for the Air Force and potential gaps of about $2.7 billion and about $1 billion, respectively, for operation and maintenance for the Army and Air Force. To cover expenses, DOD and the services again plan to take a variety of actions, including reprogramming funds and reducing or deferring planned spending. However, DOD is again not explicitly considering the funds provided through its annual appropriation, which it described as for the support of GWOT. If counted in fiscal year 2005, the amounts potentially could reduce the Army’s and eliminate the Air Force’s GWOT gaps and eliminate the need for reprogramming funds and reducing or deferring planned spending.

09/28/2005

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