WASHINGTON - Controversy over illegal secret CIA prisons in Europe rose again Wednesday with the allegations that an upscale Lithuanian horseback riding school was secretly used to interrogate and torture suspects.
ABC news, citing unnamed Lithuanian government officials and a former US intelligence official, claimed the riding academy and cafe outside Vilnius was used to interrogate up to eight suspects at a time.
The CIA is alleged to have constructed thick concrete pillars inside the facility, which it bought using a front company.
The claim comes after Lithuanian lawmakers earlier this month launched an inquiry to find out if the CIA operated a secret prison for terror suspects and if Lithuanian officials may have been complicit.
In October, Lithuanian President Dalia Grybauskaite ruled out accepting any prisoners from the controversial US Guantanamo detention facility until Lithuania is cleared of allegations it secretly hosted any CIA jails.
Lithuania is the third European country to face accusations of hosting secret CIA prisons during the previous US administration after Poland and Romania.
The so-called black sites are believed to have been used to interrogate suspects using torture.source: middle east online
2. Gates to join world top brass at security forum
OTTAWA – Top brass from Europe and the Americas, including US Defense Secretary Robert Gates, gather this week in Canada to discuss the future of NATO, the war in Afghanistan and other pressing security matters.
Gates will be joined by counterparts from Belgium, Brazil, Canada, Colombia, Germany, New Zealand, and the Netherlands as well as French President Nicolas Sarkozy's military adviser at the meeting from Sunday to Tuesday in Halifax.
The Nova Scotia city is hosting the inaugural Halifax International Security Forum, organized jointly by the Canadian government and the German Marshall Fund, a public policy institute for strengthening transatlantic ties.
Over three days, delegates will discuss Afghanistan, Iran, piracy and port security, Arctic security, nuclear proliferation, and the future of the 28-member North Atlantic Treaty Organization.
Behind closed doors and at dinner meetings, they will also talk about Pakistan, Iraq and the Middle East, China and North Korea, pandemics, energy security, and the geopolitical consequences of the economic crisis.
...But Arctic security and piracy are new topics for a forum of this magnitude to be discussing, said Bohlen. "These haven't been dealt with before on this scale."...Gates is expected to also discuss "everything from the Arctic and the security issues there, to South America and the challenges there," he said.
...The Canadian delegation in Halifax will also measure responses to its claims to the Northwest Passage and vast swaths of Arctic seabed also claimed by the United States, Russia, Norway and Denmark....A key difference of this event from similar summits held previously in Europe is that guests were invited from New Zealand, Japan, India and elsewhere, not just from Canada, the United States and European nations.
...Others attending the meeting, said by organizers to be first of its kind in North America, include US Senator John McCain and NATO's top commander in Europe, Admiral James Stavridis.read more @ global nation
3. Latin American Minerals Inc announces addition of Richard Boulay to the BOD
TORONTO, ONTARIO--(Marketwire - Nov. 19, 2009) - Latin American Minerals Inc. (TSX VENTURE:LAT)(the "Corporation") is pleased to announce that Mr. Richard Boulay (B.Sc. (Geology)) has joined the board of directors.
Mr. Boulay is a geologist with over 40 years of experience in the exploration, mining and mining finance industries in Canada, the United States, Mexico and several Latin American countries. He has fifteen years of mining and infrastructure financing experience gained with the Bank of Montreal, The Royal Bank of Canada and the Bank of Tokyo. During his project financing career he assisted in the financing of numerous underground and open pit mining projects, hydro and diversion dams, nuclear reactors, pipelines and offshore exploration, production and gas separation platforms. He has extensive experience in the management and financing of public companies in Canada and the United States. In 2004, Mr. Boulay joined the board of San Gold Corporation as a Director and served as San Gold's first Chief Financial Officer for 2 years as that Company financed the reactivation of the Rice Lake gold mine and conducted an aggressive five year exploration program that has outlined several new high grade gold deposits, including a second producing very high grade gold mine. He remains a Director of San Gold Corporation and also serves as a Director and Chief Executive Officer of StrikePoint Gold Inc., a company that has an extensive land position in Manitoba's Rice Lake greenstone belt, including a joint venture property with San Gold, adjacent to San Gold's Rice Lake mine lease.
Following a private due diligence trip to Latin American Minerals' Paraguayan gold and diamond properties in March, 2009, he became a shareholder of the Company. During a recent meeting, Mr. Boulay summarized his initial impression of LAT's Paraguayan program by noting: "I love the obvious geological prospectivity of Paraguay, the fact that it has no mining industry because it has never been systematically explored, the country's political and fiscal stability, the strong work ethic and integrity of the Paraguayan people that I met and, importantly, the professionalism of LAT's extensive technical team in Paraguay. My current work is in Manitoba, Canada one of the best rated mining jurisdictions in the world. Imagine my delight to discover firsthand that Paraguay has a stable economy, low taxes, abundant water, extensive arable land, a sophisticate and extensive road system, a large educated labour pool and unlimited amounts of economically priced electricity. LAT's properties are outstanding. Paso Yobai is an extensive, geologically fascinating, very large low-sulphidization gold system that keeps growing with every exploration program and will soon be entering its pilot production phase. The Itapoty diamond project is truly fascinating due to its radical geology, seemingly extensive nature and the stunning fact that the indicator minerals consist of beautiful high quality diamonds."
Waldo A. Perez, interim President and CEO of the Corporation stated, "Rick's experience in exploration, mining and finance represents a valuable addition to our diversified board as LAT prepares for the financing and rapid development of the Paso Yobai gold project in 2010. Due to LAT's current cash position and investment assets it is anticipated that Paso Yobai production can be achieved without significant equity dilution. Financing alternatives using the strength of LAT's financial assets are currently under consideration."
Latin American Minerals Inc. is a mineral exploration company focused on the acquisition and development of minerals projects in under-explored but highly prospective countries of Latin America.
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