US Backs Sham Democracies, Watchdog Says

Children absorb nicotine equivalent to 36 cigarettes a day

(NEWSER) - In the tobacco fields that supply a Philip Morris factory in Kazakhstan, child laborers as young as 10 encounter such high doses of nicotine that they feel dizzy, vomit, and develop rashes on their necks and stomachs, a condition known as "green tobacco sickness." Other migrant tobacco workers have only pesticide-contaminated water to drink and are forced to work without pay. These are some of the many allegations in a new report by Human Rights Watch that accuses the international tobacco giant of benefiting from child labor in Kazakhstan. More»

Experts split on whether to use federal courts or military commissions

(NEWSER) - President Obama is edging closer to his goal of closing the Guantanamo Bay prison: Congress has approved detainee trials on US soil and the National Defense Authorization Act, passed yesterday, attempts to repair the damaged legality of President Bush’s military-commissions system. But hurdles remain, with legal scholars split on using the improved military-commissions system or federal courts for prosecutions. More»

(NEWSER) - The Bush administration stonewalled human rights organizations and branches of the US government that sought an investigation into the alleged mass murder of Taliban prisoners in Afghanistan in 2001, the New York Times reports. As many as 1,500 people may have died in the incident, under the command of a Northern Alliance general in league with the CIA. The general has held high posts in the Karzai government, leading some to believe the apparent reluctance to investigate was politically motivated. More»

Case would turn courts into political 'plaything,' he says

(AP) - Spanish prosecutors will recommend against opening an investigation into whether six Bush administration officials sanctioned torture against terror suspects at Guantanamo Bay, the country’s attorney general said today. The case against former high-ranking figures like Alberto Gonzales was without merit, he said, because the men weren’t present when the alleged torture took place. More»

Massive tariff amounts to ban on Roquefort

(NEWSER) - On its way out the door, the Bush administration essentially banned France’s prized Roquefort cheese from US shelves with a 300% tariff. The move was a tit-for-tat after the EU banned the import of US beef containing hormones, said a US trade rep. But residents of the cheese-dependent Roquefort region, where 4,500 people herd special sheep, say they’ve been unfairly targeted, the Washington Post reports. More»