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16: CIA Kidnaps Suspects for Overseas Torture and Execution quiet war against abortion rights is being conducted by many local governments in the United States. Cities and counties are placing repressive legal restrictions on abortion providers under the guise of women's health laws. These restrictions can be on the width of hallways, the type of jet and angle of drinking fountains, the height of ceilings, and how long one must wait between initially seeing the doctor and when the procedure can be performed. These legal ordinances are known as TRAP laws. TRAP stands for Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers. These laws attempt to restrict all aspects of the physical environment related to an abortion. While deemed women's health laws, many are seldom applied to any medical facility other than abortion clinics. The goal of TRAP laws is to discourage a woman's legal right to choose abortion. In the words of one right-to-life leader, the idea is to create an environment where abortion may indeed be perfectly legal, but no one can get one." (Source: Mother Jones, September/October 2001) a _ ee ad v LArtocal governments in the United States. Cities and counties S agents are involved in abducting people they suspect of ter- are placing repressive legal restrictions on abortion providers rorist activities and sending them to countries where torture under the guise of women's health laws. These restrictions can be during interrogation is legal, according to US diplomatic sources. on the width of hallways, the type of jet and angle of drinking Suspects are shipped to allied countries where they are denied fountains, the height of ceilings, and how long one must wait legal assistance and imprisoned without any specific charges between initially seeing the doctor and when the procedure can be made against them. The prisoners have been taken to countries performed. such as Egypt and Jordan (whose intelligence agencies have close These legal ordinances are known as TRAP laws. TRAP stands ties to the CIA), where they can be subjected to interrogation tac- for Targeted Regulation of Abortion Providers. These laws tics, including torture and threats to family, which are illegal in attempt to restrict all aspects of the physical environment related the United States. to an abortion. While deemed women's health laws, many are According to one US diplomat: "After September 11, these seldom applied to any medical facility other than abortion clinics. sorts of movements have been occurring. It allows us to get infor- The goal of TRAP laws is to discourage a woman's legal right to mation from terrorists in a way we can't do on US soil." choose abortion. In the words of one right-to-life leader, the idea Although such "movements" have intensified since 9-11, the is to create an environment where abortion may indeed be US has long been involved in this practice of kidnapping. These perfectly legal, but no one can get one." abductions, known to those in the business as "rendition", violate (Source: Mother Jones, September/October 2001) local and international extradition laws as well as internationally recognised human rights standards. 15: Bush's Energy Plan Threatens Environment and According to the Washington Post's sources, from 1993 to 1999 Public Health suspects were rendered to the US from a lhe Bush Administration's energy variety of countries including South plan will actually increase air pol- Africa, Nigeria, Kenya and The lution in the United States. The plan Philippines. US officials have calls for increased fossil fuel consump- The US press failed to inform acknowledged some of these opera- tion and for decreased funding for . tions, but the Post's sources say that research into renewable, clean energy the public of the core, dozens of other covert renditions development. The plan also lowers underlying issues of the occurred, the details of which remain upgrade requirements on 30- to 60- . P . . cloaked in secrecy. year-old power plants that often emit major anti-globalisation (Sources: The Weekend Australian, 4-10 times as much sulphur dioxide, protests of recent years. February 23, 2002; The Washington nitrogen oxide, carbon dioxide and Post, March 11, 2002; World Socialist mercury as newer power plants. The website, http://www.wsws.org/arti - administration stands behind this plan cles/2002/mar2002/, March 20, 2002) despite higher smog levels, increased respiratory-related hospital visits an 17: Corporate Media Ignore Key record-high asthma cases on the East Coast last year. Issues of Anti-Globalisation Protests Although Bush conceded earlier in his presidency that global lhe US press failed to inform the public of the core, underlying warming is underway and that steps must be taken to reduce emis- issues of the major anti-globalisation protests of recent years. sions, the US is still responsible for 25 per cent of the world's Dramatic images such as protesters enshrouded in tear gas, facing emissions. The Bush plan puts into jeopardy the New Source down a line of police officers dressed in riot gear, have come to Review (NSR) provision, which is a vital part of the Clean Air dominate the media coverage and overshadow the actual reasons Act. The NSR requires facilities to offset pollution increases with that thousands of people are taking to the streets. reductions elsewhere in the facility or demonstrate that the facility In July 2001, over 100,000 people went to Genoa to protest the is using the best available pollution control technology. G8 meetings. However, corporate television gave little recogni- Major power, coal and oil companies which own power plants tion to the issues that were being raised by the protesters. CNN that were built between 1940 and 1970 have sought to ease the showed few protesters actually sharing their views and reasons for restrictions of the NSR, claiming that the law hurts their business protesting. due to high costs of upgrading to the best available pollution con- Instead, news correspondents briefly summed up the protest in trol technology. The EPA and several states have successfully terms of who was there. This broad summary format was signifi- sued a number of large utilities for violation of this NSR provi- cantly lacking attention to specifics of the meetings or the sion. These legal victories have led to millions of dollars in protests. On Fox networks, the Genoa protesters were all but penalties. ignored. Additionally, the Bush plan calls for a slashing of funding in A hard look at more than 200 stories by major news outlets, research for renewable, clean forms of energy such as wind and including ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox, NBC, the Los Angeles Times, solar power, which can provide very effective amounts of energy the New York Times, the Washington Post, Time and Newsweek, for US consumption. The slashing of funding for research into shows serious weaknesses in the coverage of the four largest clean, renewable energy and increased dependence on fossil fuels protests: the International Monetary Fund meeting in Prague in will speed up the effects of global warming and have a detrimental © September 2000; the Hemispheric Free Trade talks in Quebec effect on our health and environment. City in April 2001; the European Union summit in Gothenburg, (Sources: The Progressive Populist, March 1-5, 2002; Environment Sweden, in June 2001; and the G8 meeting that took place in News Service, July 2001) Genoa in July 2001. The problem is not so much the focus on the The US press failed to inform the public of the core, underlying issues of the major anti-globalisation protests of recent years. 16 = NEXUS 14: New Laws Restrict Access to Abortions in US www.nexusmagazine.com DECEMBER 2002 — JANUARY 2003