Archive - Jan 22, 2009

• Blair Faces Confirmation Hearing
• Washington: Obama Bars Torture, Appoints Middle East Peace Envoy
• Pakistan: School Bombings Continue
• Massive University Strike in Canada

• Sri Lankan Civilians in Designated "Safe Zone" Bombed
• Resident Return to Gaza Neighborhoods
• Protesters Surround Icelandic Parliament Demanding Economic Fix
• Poultry Industry Workers Take Economic Brunt of Bird Flu Outbreak in Nepal
• Roe v. Wade: 36th Anniversary
• Grey Wolf Remains Protected as Obama Halts Rule Changes

Today the Senate Committee on Intelligence held a hearing on Obama's pick for Director of Intelligence, Dennis Blair. If confirmed, Blair will be in charge of the agencies at the center of Bush-era scandals over domestic surveillance and torture. He took strong stands against keeping the CIA exempt from restrictions on interrogation techniques, said he would not allow warrantless wiretapping, and even hinted the U.S. government might be able to collaborate with the government of Iran on issues of mutual interest.

Blair's confirmation wasn't the only news in Washington today. The Senate Finance Committee approved Tim Geitner, Barack Obama's pick for Treasury Secretary, despite some republican objections over his failure to pay several years' worth of self-employment taxes. And Hillary Clinton started her first day as secretary of state by addressing the state department's career staff. They've often been at odds with the Bush administration, but Clinton told them they'd would play a leading role in rebuilding U.S. foreign relations.

At York University in Toronto, a massive teachers' strike is underway. In what is now Canada's second-longest University Strike, some 55,000 students have missed classes for 80 days – and they may be missing them for longer. Teachers and graduate students have rejected a management offer that included pay raises and better benefits – they're holding out for greater job security for contract teachers. Courtney Kirkby has more from Toronto.

As the Obama administration pushes forward with diplomatic efforts in the Middle East, conditions are worsening in another hotspot confronting the new president—the border between Pakistan and Afghanistan. Taliban militants blew up another school near the Pakistani city of Swat today. The Taliban issued a ban on female education in the area two weeks ago – today's bombing brings the number of school they've destroyed since then to ten. Afridai Afridi has more:

In Chile it's recently come to light that some army officers are still training at a U.S. academy that critics accuse of teaching torture techniques. The Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation, formerly known as the School of the Americas, has graduated soldiers, policemen, and dictators implicated in some of Latin America's most notorious human rights abuses. That's been hard to swallow for a country still grappling with the legacy of the repressive Pinochet regime. Jorge Garretón has more from Santiago.