Robot Village People

Robot Village People



Semi-robotic correspondent Emery Wells travels to Robot Village in New York City in search of a new pet.

Fun Fact - Emery's hair in this episode was washed, combed and styled by two electricians.

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Khalid Sheikh calls for death penalty to be martyr

Khalid Sheikh calls for death penalty to be martyr

GUANTANAMO BAY: The alleged mastermind of the September 11, 2001 US attacks Thursday called to be sentenced to death so he could become a martyr at the start of a US military hearing of five alleged plotters.

"This is what I want, I'm looking to be a martyr for long time," Khaled Sheikh Mohammed, a Pakistani national, told the hearing at Guantanamo Bay as he was reminded by the military judge that he faced the death penalty.

"God is all sufficient for me," he translated into English as he read verses from the Koran, the Muslim holy book. He also threw out his appointed military and civilian defense team, saying he would defend himself.

Sheikh Mohammed, 43, has claimed to have been behind not just the September 11 attacks but also some 30 operations against the West in the past decade, according to transcripts of his interrogation released by the Pentagon.

His appearance on Thursday is the first time he has been seen in public since his capture in Pakistan on March 1, 2003.

Dressed in white but not handcuffed, he appeared along with four alleged co-conspirators at the hearing at the controversial US naval base in southern Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

He and his alleged co-conspirators, Ramzi Binalshibh, Ali Abd al-Aziz Ali, Wallid bin Attash and Mustapha al-Hawsawi have been charged for their role in the attacks on the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon which killed some 3,000 people.

They all face the death penalty if convicted on charges including conspiracy, murder, attacking civilians, intentionally causing serious bodily injury, destruction of property, terrorism, and material support for terrorism.

The men appeared relaxed as they chatted in Arabic before the hearing started at which the charges will be read by judge Colonel Ralph Kohlmann.

The judge opened the military commission by saying the government would consider any statements by the five as confidential because of their detentions in secret CIA prisons.
"Any statement by any of the detainees is presumptively classified," Kohlmann said.
That means there would be a 20-second delay before the defendants statements are broadcast by video to the nearby purpose-built press room in order to allow prosecutors to cut any sensitive information.

All five were to get the chance on Thursday to say if they accepted their military and civilian defense lawyers, and whether they wished to plead immediately on the charges.

All the suspects were arrested between 2002 and 2003, and transferred to the controversial base on Cuba in 2006, allegedly after spending years in secret CIA prisons.

The military tribunals have been mired in controversy since they were established by President George W. Bush at the end of 2001.

In 2006, the US Supreme Court ruled they were illegal, but then Congress adopted a new law allowing for them to be re-established and allowing indirect witness statements or testimony won under duress to be submitted as evidence.

Brigadier General Thomas Hartmann, legal advisor to the military commissions, said the defense team had been granted "extraordinary" rights.

But he noted that if they are acquitted, the suspects could still continue to be held until the end of the so-called "war on terror."

"This is a fundamentally flawed process and we will zealously identify and expose each and every one (of its flaws). Our nation deserves better than this," countered chief defense counsel Colonel Steven David.

A village of tents has been set up on an old landing strip to accommodate the journalists and other visitors who have traveled to Cuba for the hearing.

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Ossama Bin Laden marries a British woman

Ossama Bin Laden Marries a British Woman

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Probe reveals no links of Dr Khan with al-Qaeda

Probe reveals no links of Dr Khan with al-Qaeda

ISLAMABAD: Investigations against Dr AQ Khan have proven that the renowned nuclear scientist had no links with al-Qaeda and that he helped Iran and Libya to divert the US focus from the Pakistani nuclear programme. Also, he was tricked into making the infamous confession on the national TV by President Musharraf and Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain.

Highly-placed government sources have claimed that it was not established during the four-year-long investigations that Dr Khan was providing nuclear technology to Iran and Libya just for money. The probe found that the main reason behind nuclear proliferation was because Dr Khan disliked the US policies.

According to a statement given by Dr Khan to investigators, he thought that if Iran or Libya became nuclear powers, pressure of the West from Pakistan will be diverted. Dr Khan was also of the view that the US might try to destroy Iran or Libya, so he tried to help these countries to develop a nuclear umbrella.

Investigators never found big amounts of money in his bank accounts. There was a transfer of four million rupees in the account of one woman named Sabeeha but Dr Khan declared her a “blackmailer”.

Initially, the US authorities had claimed that Dr Khan was in contact with al-Qaeda leader Khalid Sheikh Muhammad but it could not be proven. Pakistani investigators never found any evidence of his links with al-Qaeda or the Taliban. It was learnt that slowly and gradually Dr Khan would be given more freedom of movement. Before Dr Khan appeared on the Pakistan Television in February 2004 and accepted that he was involved in nuclear proliferation, his old friend Senator SM Zafar warned him in early 2004 that he should not confess anything in the name of national interest because the establishment will make him a scapegoat. But the poor doctor never listened to his old friend.

PML-Q President Chaudhry Shujaat Hussain was the man who convinced Dr Khan to confess that he was involved in nuclear proliferation just to save Pakistan, which he maintains was a great mistake.

Dr Khan claimed that it was not only Shujaat but also President Pervez Musharraf, who assured him on February 4, 2004 that nothing bad will happen to him after the confessional statement and that he would be free to move anywhere in Pakistan but unfortunately he was betrayed.

In an exclusive chat with this correspondent, Dr Abdul Qadeer Khan accepted that neither had he faced any torture nor any foreign investigator mal-Qaedaet him in the four years of his detention. Dr Khan said: “I am a Pathan and nobody could dare touch me because all Pathans would take revenge if anything happened to me.”

He clearly said: “I will not answer any question posed by any foreign investigator.” He said he was not demoralised during the detention and faced investigation with courage and spent his time with his family, books and his Allah.

He said he was retired from the Kahuta Research Laboratories (KRL) in March 2001 because he had reached the age of 65, but he added: “I was retired may be because I was not a sycophant.”

He said he was dragged into the nuclear proliferation controversy through a sting operation against Iran and Libya. Responding to another question, he said, “I was not asked any questions about my alleged links with Al-Qaeda because investigators were aware that it was just propaganda.” He said the new civilian government was facing many problems. “I am not in the custody of the civilian government, and I am in the custody of the Army.” He revealed that late Benazir Bhutto never contacted him during the detention but added: “Yes, Nawaz Sharif and Qazi Hussain Ahmed sent me some messages of support.”

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