Newscast for Tuesday, December 8, 2009

Officials make case for troop surge in Afghanistan, but lawmakers remain skeptical
On Capitol Hill today, General Stanley McChrystal, the chief architect for the expanded war in Afghanistan gave more details of his plan to members of Congress. Sitting along side him was Ambassador to Afghanistan, Karl Eikenberry, the diplomat wary of a troop increase. Both said ‘success’ was possible but not imminent. They testified as Defense Secretary Robert Gates was in Afghanistan. FSRN’s Leigh Ann Caldwell reports.

Pressure grows on US at Copenhagen climate conference
And now we go to Copenhagen where late today, a leaked document authored by the Danish government has infuriated some participants, sparking immediate protests.

After news of the Danish document spread, a group of mainly African activists paraded through the main conference hall to protest the status of the talks. The document names the objective of limiting warming to two degrees Celsius, but does not include actual emissions reductions targets. The thirteen-page document lays out what countries should do about mitigation, adaptation and funding, in language that is clearly not binding.

The protesters today said the target of two degrees Celsius is not strong enough to protect Africa. Climate change is predicted to hit the continent hardest, potentially making large areas uninhabitable.

“If they don’t deliver a fair deal, and that is a legally-binding deal, under the pillars of what we have been negotiating then we want to add the African group, the G-77, and even the heads of states and the ministers who will be coming, that it is dangerous, they should not sign a genocide paper for us.”

That's Joseph Mithika Mwenda, who coordinates the Pan-African Climate Justice Alliance. The group demanded a strong, binding conclusion to the talks, and wants to see a shift in the overall tenor of the negotiations.

Before the conference began, participants toned down expectations and a political agreement rather than a binding legal agreement became the goal of the conference.

Participants at the Copenhagen climate negotiation are also watching the United States closely. Many negotiators are pressuring the US to offer a stronger target for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the coming decades. And activists say President Obama should use his legal authority to significantly reduce greenhouse gases and sign a binding treaty at this conference – rather than waiting for Congress to pass legislation. From Copenhagen, Jenny Johnson reports.

Miners and conservationists face off in West Virginia over mountain top removal
Just weeks after blasting began on West Virginia's Coal River Mountain, the Federal EPA halted what would have been the state's largest Mountain Top Removal mine project on a nearby peak. Seventy-nine other Mountain Top Removal permits are being held up pending further environmental studies. Surface miners and Appalachian conservationists - many of them miners or miners families are facing off in the legislature and in the streets. Evan Davis filed this report from Charleston.

Philippine president declares martial law after political killings
In the wake of the worst political killings in recent memory, Philippine President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo declared martial law in the country’s troubled southern region last weekend. Fifty-seven people were killed in a November 23rd attack, many of them journalists and women. A powerful political family in the region has been charged with multiple counts of murder. The killings have brought renewed attention to the Arroyo administration, which a 2007 UN report on extrajudicial killings said was responsible for a "culture of impunity."

The declaration of martial law and Arroyo's possible ties to the political family accused of the murders have drawn criticism. Today, the Philippine Supreme Court ordered President Arroyo to respond to questions of the constitutionality of martial law. Congress will convene a joint session tomorrow to consider the issue.

Meanwhile, a coalition of independent media recently released a report with new details of the killings.

We're joined by Ed Lingao. He's a reporter with the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism in Manila. He was part of the fact-finding mission that produced the report and he visited the site of the massacre during the last week of November.