Bush reverses course on McCain torture bill

President Bush consented to Sen. John McCain's call for a law banning cruel, inhumane and degrading treatment of foreign detainees after weeks of stalemate over the issue.

Bush even spoke in favor of the bill during an announcement of the deal at the White House.

He said the law would "make it clear to the world that this government does not torture and that we adhere to the international convention of torture, whether it be here at home or abroad."

"We've sent a message to the world that the United States is not like the terrorists," McCain said earlier as he sat next to Bush in the Oval Office, according to the Associated Press. "We have no grief for them, but what we are is a nation that upholds values and standards of behavior and treatment of all people, no matter how evil or bad they are. And I think this will help us enormously in winning the war for the hearts and minds of people throughout the world in the war on terror."

Cardinal McCarrick Urges Bush to Protect Poor

WASHINGTON, D.C., DEC. 2, 2005 (Zenit.org).- The archbishop of Washington urged President George Bush to ensure that trade negotiations this month in Hong Kong protect the interests of the world's poor.

Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Bush met in a private meeting Thursday.

In statements to the press afterward, Cardinal McCarrick said: "The fight against poverty around the world is vital to establishing solidarity among peoples and nations.

"Global trade rules, when framed from the perspective of the 'least among us,' can lead to more equitable prosperity and stability in a world where growing inequality and instability are very often dangerous realities."

Cardinal McCarrick's meeting with the president comes days before the sixth ministerial conference of the World Trade Organization, scheduled for Dec. 13-18 in Hong Kong.

Specifically, Cardinal McCarrick urged the president to work to "substantially reduce, if not eliminate, trade-distorting federal subsidies while protecting small and medium-sized farms in the United States."

The full text of Cardinal McCarrick's remarks to the White House media can be found on the U.S. bishops Web site here.