By SUZANNE GAMBOA, Associated Press Writer, 02 December, 2007

WASHINGTON – More people seeking asylum in the U.S. could be detained and then jailed longer under a new Homeland Security Department policy for people wanting safe harbor. Immigration and Customs Enforcement, a division of the Homeland Security Department, said it issued the new policy Nov. 6 to make detention rules for asylum seekers more consistent and clear. But refugee advocates say it sets tougher standards for asylum seekers to win parole from detention.

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by Stefan Christoff, Electronic Lebanon, 14 November 2007

In 2002 Canada unveiled an official list of “terrorist” organizations, strikingly similar to that of the the US government. Today the Lebanese political movement Hizballah — both the military and political wing — is officially considered a “terrorist” organization by the government of Canada, a policy endorsed by only two additional countries internationally — the US and Israel. In the Middle East, from Lebanon to Palestine, Hizballah is commonly viewed as a national liberation movement, which in 2006 successfully halted Israel’s major military assault on Lebanon. As a political and social force in Lebanon, Hizballah remains a major player at the highest levels of government and in the most impoverished sectors of society.

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 COLIN FREEZE. Globe and Mail. Monday, November 12, 2007 Page A5

Call it a “security certificate lite”: In nearly a dozen cases since 9/11, Canadian officials have sought to invoke an obscure power that allows for secret evidence in deportation cases – keeping suspects ranging from alleged terrorists to a reputed teenaged member of the Crips gang in the dark about the full extent of the allegations against them. Section 86 of 2002’s Immigration and Refugee Protection Act has allowed the government to bar suspects and defence lawyers from secret hearings where federal agents have told adjudicators about evidence they felt to be “injurious to national security or to the safety of any person” if otherwise disclosed.

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Bizarre allegations about Toronto 18, unorthodox decisions are raising questions about Crown’s case. September 25, 2007, Thomas Walkom Toronto Star

Ottawa’s abrupt decision to cancel a preliminary inquiry into Canada’s most spectacular post-9/11 terror allegations and instead move directly to trial raises new and troubling questions. Everything about the case of the so-called Toronto 18 is shrouded in mystery. Evidence raised in court, either at bail hearings or the preliminary hearing, is covered by a publication ban. But this hasn’t prevented the public from knowing allegations against 14 adults and four juveniles that are so bizarre as to be almost unbelievable.

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Belleville Intelligencer, Samantha Craggs. September 18, 2007.

A group of nomadic Navajo Indians en route to support the aboriginal quarry protest near Deseronto have been arrested, says a member currently at the quarry.  Twenty-eight members of the tribe, an offshoot of the Navajo, were on their way to Deseronto in nine vehicles with 10 horses in tow to show support and respect for a group of Tyendinaga Mohawks, said Spata Desareau, 64, a member of the tribe. They travelled across western Canada without incident, but once in Ontario, were stopped by law enforcement three times – Wawa, Sault St. Marie and finally Kaladar, where they were taken into police custody Sunday, he said. “They’re saying they’re a political organization, which is a way of saying they’re a terrorist organization,” said Desareau of the group ranging in age from two to 72.

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