BREAKING NEWS ~ Gitmo terror suspect trials to resume ASAP News
BREAKING NEWS ~ Gitmo terror suspect trials to resume ASAP

[JURIST] AP is reporting that US Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld has said that military trials of two suspected terrorists held at Guantanamo Bay will resume as soon as possible and charges will be filed against eight other detainees.

2:25 PM ET – Rumsfeld's comments, made at a news conference with visiting Australian Prime Minister John Howard, addressed concerns expressed earlier by the Australian government [JURIST report]. One of the two Guantanamo detainees already charged is Australian national David Hicks [advocacy website; charges, PDF]. The other is Yemeni national Salim Ahmed Hamdan, the alleged former driver of Osama bin Laden who was at the center of the appeals court ruling [PDF] last Friday which held that trials of Gitmo detainees by military commission were legally permissible [JURIST report]. Read the full US DOD press release on the resumption of the military commissions. Reuters has more.

THIS DAY @ LAW

Laws of Burgos put into effect

The Spanish Crown put the Laws of Burgos into effect on December 27, 1512. These laws governed the relationship of Spanish settlers with the indigenous peoples of the Caribbean. The laws established the encomienda system of labor, promoted conversion to Catholicism, and safeguarded the indigenous peoples from physical abuse.  However, historians argue that the laws were ineffective at protecting the rights of the indigenous population. Learn more from the Library of Congress.

Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public bar smashing

On December 27, 1900, militant Prohibitionist Carrie Nation carried out her first public smashing of a bar, at the Carey Hotel in Wichita, Kansas. Nation argued that destroying bars was an acceptable means of battling the liquor trade since the Kansas Constitution prohibited alcohol. Learn more about Carrie Nation.

World Bank created

On December 27, 1944, the World Bank was created during the United Nations Monetary and Financial Conference in Bretton Woods, New Hampshire, USA. Learn more about the history of the World Bank.