Good evening. Hope everyone had a good holiday and a great weekend. Let's get things kicked off with Democracy Now!
Navy's Top Attorney Warned Against Administration's Detainee Policies
The New Yorker magazine has revealed that two years before the Abu Ghraib photos were first published, the Navy's general counsel, Alberto Mora, began challenging what he described as the administration's "disastrous and unlawful policy of authorizing cruelty toward terror suspects." Mora warned his superiors at the Pentagon about the consequences of President Bush's decision, in 2002, to circumvent the Geneva conventions. He argued that a refusal to outlaw cruelty toward U.S.-held detainees was an implicit invitation to abuse. Mora also challenged the legal framework that the Bush Administration has constructed to justify an expansion of executive power, in matters ranging from interrogations to wiretapping. He described the novel legal theories granting the President the right to authorize abuse as "unlawful," "dangerous," and "erroneous."
So four years later, we're still dealing with fall out that was predicted but that no one wanted to listen to? Jane Mayer wrote the article and you should read it. She's had a series of strong articles during the last few years and she's frequently a guest on Democracy Now! so I'll assume most of you already know who she is. Here's my take on the article: you had people who wanted to do what they wanted (and give the administration unchecked powers) so the result was they didn't listen because they didn't care. That's the policy of this administration. They want what they want and don't care about the costs. That's how we end up in Iraq. Lies are fine with them, as long as it gets them what they want.
Report: U.S. Used Bogus Call Sign to Hide Secret Flights
The Sunday Times of London is reporting the U.S. military has been operating secretive flights across Europe using a call sign assigned to a civilian airline that they have no legal right to use. This has allowed the U.S. to carry out covert missions in Europe, the Middle East and Africa. The Sunday Times reported one flight apparently transported 45 tons of surplus weapons and ammunition to Rwanda in defiance of a UN embargo. In another case, a plane identified with the CIA practice of "extraordinary rendition" left a US air base just after the arrival of an aircraft using the bogus call sign.
We are the Gansta' Nation. And the real gangster's are in the administration. There's no law they won't break. In fact, Ava and C.I. covered this in their TV review of Bully Boy's press conference last year:
Obviously Bully's the madcap one, so he needs a sidekick who's a little more serious and a lot more prissy. We think they should create a character named Cheney who goes around hiding maps of the Middle East and stroking his stuffed cat that he calls Boo-Boo Kitty WMD. We think Jonathan Winters would be perfection in the role.
Yeah, it's a steal from Laverne & Shirley but imagine the opening credits as they skip down Pennsylvania Avenue singing "Give us any treaty we'll break it . . ."
And think of how humorous it would be if [Timothy] Bottoms had a big "B" on all his outfits. Especially if they dressed him up in military garb! The AWOL Bully in military garb would bring the house down. It would be "high-larious" to use a word none of the kids are saying but What I Like About You tries to convince us they are.
Gansta' Nation. People talk about how America once stood for something. Maybe it did. But we get further and further away from that each day. Bully Boy is a disgrace and it's past time to impeach. He needs to be impeached by Congress and the Senate needs to find him guilty of the charges.
Be sure to head over to Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's take on the above.
Tony asked me to note Dave Zirin's "White Blindness: The Winter Olympics and Defending Bryant Gumbel" (Common Dreams):
The right-wing media hordes, in a mad dash to deflect attention from Dick Cheney's shooting spree, may have found their target of mass distraction: Bryant Gumbel. At the end of his HBO show "Real Sports," Gumbel unleashed a prolonged rant about the utter unwatchability of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino. The Winter Games certainly are a worthy target. On ten-hour tape delay, NBC has been force-feeding us highlights of sports that seem concocted on Madison Avenue to sell Mountain Dew. As Gumbel took the Xtreme winter games to task, he said, "So try not to laugh when someone says these are the world's greatest athletes, despite a paucity of Blacks that makes the Winter Games look like a GOP convention." Immediately, and predictably, the bloviating bigots of the blogosphere started splattering Gumbel's statement all over the web.
This was to be expected. But more striking was the reaction to Gumbel on ESPN Radio's "The Dan Patrick Show." Normally, in the red meat world of sports radio, Dan Patrick seems happy to be veal: no gristle or fat, morally offensive to some, but generally just plain and easily digestible. But Dan blew a gasket on the air, going after Gumbel like he was president of the Willard Scott fan club. He called for Gumbel's job, saying that if Rush Limbaugh was fired from ESPN for making racially insensitive comments, - a firing Dan says he opposed -- then Gumbel should suffer the same fate. Comparing Gumbel to Limbaugh is like comparing apples to an obese drug addict. Gumbel is an award-winning journalist who has had a foot in the world of hard sports commentary for three decades. Limbaugh is a gaseous hop-head who once asked, "Why do all composite criminal photos look like Jesse Jackson?" and telling an African-American caller to his show - who somehow got through the screeners -- to "Take the bone out of your nose." Gumbel hosts a critically lauded show. Limbaugh was a hired by ESPN as a gimmick by their ownership group, Disney, as part of their mission to make America stupider.
But when you actually compare their respective comments, the Dan Patrick argument not only collapses, but becomes intellectually dishonest. Limbaugh, of course, said on ESPN's NFL show that Pro-Bowl Philadelphia Eagle Donavan McNabb was "overrated" because of the "media's social concern" to see a successful Black quarterback. This was exactly the kind of ignorant garbage Disney hired him spew. What the rat shack didn't count on was thousands of phone calls and emails demanding the fat man's Sosa-sized head.
democracy now
torture
secret flights
dave zirin
the common ills
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
Tuesday, February 21, 2006
Headlines
In the United Kingdom today, over 200 people gathered at St Nicholas and Writhington Church, in Radstock, Somerset for the funeral of Corporal Gordon Pritchard who died in Basra on January 31, 2005 becoming the 100th British soldier to die in Iraq. 101 British troops have died in Iraq, official count. Gordon Pritchard, who was 31 years-old, is survived by his wife Julie-Ann and his children Stacey, Harrison and Summer.
Alexander Panetta, of the Associated Press, is reporting that Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay maintains that "latest intelligence" indicates that the four memebers of Christian Peacemaker Teams are still alive. The four members, kidnapped in November, were last seen in a January 29th videotape. The four members are:
James Loney, 41, of Toronto;
Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a former Montreal resident;
Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va.,
and Norman Kember, 74, of London [. . .]
Sunday's upsurge in violence continued on Monday. Reuters is reporting that bombings in Mosul and Baghdad today killed "at least 19 people." The Associated Press reports that in Karbala one American soldier was killed in a bombing and that in Mosul, a bomber killed himself in a "restaurant packed with policemen eating breakfast, killing at least five people and wounding 21, including 10 policemen". The Department of Defense has identified Capt. Anthony R. Garcia of Fort Worth, Texas as one of the 34 US military fatalities this month. Garcia died of from gunshot wounds after a February 17th shooting that took place on a military base in Tikrit. Garcia is survived by his wife Doris and his children Kelly and Garrick.
Brian Zimmerman, of Gannet News, is reporting that questions still surround the shooting death of Army Reservist David Douglas who died two weeks after returning to the United States from a one-year stint in Iraq. Commenting on the violent deaths of many returning veterans, National Guardsman Alfonso Williams told Zimmerman:
You have a whole lot of built-up anger from being over there. . . . You can't explain (what it's like) to anybody. And to them, what they may think is screaming and hollering to you is a normal tone.
In 2005, the military reports that 136 active duty personnel committed suicide. No figures are kept for those who are inactive. The current number for US military fatalities in Iraq stands at 2276.
As Jane Mayer reported in The New Yorker, early warnings were ignored by the administration about the environment created for abuse of prisoners in Guantanamo. Noting that "Human rights are under threat," Amnesty International is calling for the closing of Guantanamo. Tuesday, Amnesty International will host a live online discussion:
Live chat with Moazzam Begg, ex Guantánamo detainee, on 21 February, 6-7pm GMT
Moazzam Begg, British citizen, was held for "nearly three years," as noted on Democracy Now!. Amnesty International's call echoes the call of the UN investigation team as well as the prime ministers of Germany, France, England and Malaysia. U.S. Charm Minister Karen Hughes, speaking to Al Jazeera, rejected calls to close Gitmo and reportedly maintained that not only are the people imprisoned in Guantanamo wanting to kill Americans but that some released "have gone back to fighting and killing Americans." If the report is accurate, it is surprising that such an assertion would be made by the Minister of Charm and not Bully Boy himself.
In this country, the Associated Press is reporting that Republican governors George Pataki (New York) and Robert Ehrlich (Maryland) have joined the chorus of voices objecting by administration plans to turn over control of "six major U.S. ports" to Dubai Ports World. Senators Robert Menendez (New Jersey) and Hillary Clinton (New York) are also objecting to the proposed plan. Speaking out against the plan involving the Arab company, Mendendez stated today, "We wouldn't turn over our customs service or our border patrol to a foreign government. We shouldn't turn over the ports of the United States, either."
Feminist Wire Daily is reporting that CWIG (Center for Women in Government and Civil Society) has conducted a study on "the percentage of women in policy-making positions - such as state legislators, elected officials, high court judges, department heads, and top governor's advisors" for the years 1998 to 2005 and found that the rate of growth for women in those positions increased by only 1.6% -- "from 23.1 percent to 24.7 percent." FWD notes:
Slow progress for women in state government has national implications, says Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers. State and local office serve as a "pipeline" to draw women into national politics. Not to mention, adds Walsh, state legislatures themselves are "making a tremendous amount of policy" –- in 2005, 48 state legislatures considered over 500 anti-choice bills.
On the national level, NOW notes, that although "almost nine million more women voted than men" only fourteen women serve in the United States Senate and only sixty-seven in the House, while of the fifty governors in the United States, only eight are women.
As noted on Sunday's KPFA Evening News, Saturday Feb. 25th, a Counter-Recruiting workshop will be held, open to the public, from 2 to 5pm at the Veterans' Memorial Building, Room 219, 401 Van Ness Ave. March 1st is the National Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty (SDADP).
In other news, Philadelphia Indymedia is reporting that Governor Ed Rendell vetoed the Pennsylvania's Voter ID bill. Rendell, who spanked Casey Junior in the 2002 election race, stated, "I see no reason to enact laws that will result in voter confusion and disenfranchise legitimately registered voters." Member of Protect the Vote had successfully fought against the proposed legislation and were on hand for the veto ceromny.
In other civil liberties news, following what BuzzFlash has called "Just Your Average Week of the Bush Administration Betraying America," the ACLU features a snapshot of governmental spying/snooping in the form of Betty Ball who states:
It is true that I have become more motivated to work for justice and social change knowing that the government is abusing its powers like this. But I am worried about how far the government will go to squelch First Amendment rights and silence dissent. Will we all be rounded up and incarcerated? Already so many people have been frightened away from participating in our events, and have asked to have their names removed from our mailing lists, for fear of the consequences of associating with us. I hesitate to call people to discuss plans for rallies or protests because I don’t want them ending up in an FBI file labeled as a "domestic terrorist."
Meanwhile, author and activist Diane Wilson remains in a Victoria County jail in Texas. Wilson was arrested for unfurling a banner that read "Corporate Greed Kills--From Bhopal to Baghdad" at a Dick Cheney attended fundraiser in Houston on December 5, 2005. Wilson's banners are apparently too much for the delicate sensibilities of the foes of democracy. She is currently serving a 150 day sentence for a 2002 action where she climbed a Dow Jones tower and unfurled a banner which read "Justice For Bhopal." CODEPINK is calling for Wilson's release.
In other take action news, MediaChannel.org is asking you to Take Action: Demand Coverage of Able Danger (more info on the Able Danger program can be found at Able Danger Media Monitoring).
Finally, Monday's Democracy Now! featured:
"Readings From Howard Zinn's 'Voices of a People's History of the UnitedStates:'"
Today we spend the hour with readings from a Voices of a People's History of the United States edited by historian Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. It is the companion volume to Zinn's legendary People's History of the United States which has sold over a million copies.We will hear dramatic readings of speeches, letters, poems, songs, petitions, and manifestos. These are the voices of people throughout U.S.history who struggled against slavery, racism, and war, against oppression and exploitation, and who articulated a vision for a better world. Performances include Danny Glover as Frederick Douglass, Marisa Tomei as Cindy Sheehan, Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Tecumseh and Chief Joseph, Sandra Oh as Emma Goldman and Yuri Kochiyama, and Viggo Mortensen as Bartolomeo de Las Casas and Mark Twain.
This entry was compiled by:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim;
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man;
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review;
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills);
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix;
Mike of Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz;
and Wally of The Daily Jot.
democracy now
news
iraq
the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
kats korner
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
cedrics big mix
thomas friedman is a great man
the daily jot
feminist wire
jane mayer
the new yorker
codepink
diane wilson
guantanamo
national lawyers guild
amnesty international
aclu
counter-recruiting
able danger
buzzflash
Alexander Panetta, of the Associated Press, is reporting that Canada's Foreign Affairs Minister Peter MacKay maintains that "latest intelligence" indicates that the four memebers of Christian Peacemaker Teams are still alive. The four members, kidnapped in November, were last seen in a January 29th videotape. The four members are:
James Loney, 41, of Toronto;
Harmeet Singh Sooden, 32, a former Montreal resident;
Tom Fox, 54, of Clear Brook, Va.,
and Norman Kember, 74, of London [. . .]
Sunday's upsurge in violence continued on Monday. Reuters is reporting that bombings in Mosul and Baghdad today killed "at least 19 people." The Associated Press reports that in Karbala one American soldier was killed in a bombing and that in Mosul, a bomber killed himself in a "restaurant packed with policemen eating breakfast, killing at least five people and wounding 21, including 10 policemen". The Department of Defense has identified Capt. Anthony R. Garcia of Fort Worth, Texas as one of the 34 US military fatalities this month. Garcia died of from gunshot wounds after a February 17th shooting that took place on a military base in Tikrit. Garcia is survived by his wife Doris and his children Kelly and Garrick.
Brian Zimmerman, of Gannet News, is reporting that questions still surround the shooting death of Army Reservist David Douglas who died two weeks after returning to the United States from a one-year stint in Iraq. Commenting on the violent deaths of many returning veterans, National Guardsman Alfonso Williams told Zimmerman:
You have a whole lot of built-up anger from being over there. . . . You can't explain (what it's like) to anybody. And to them, what they may think is screaming and hollering to you is a normal tone.
In 2005, the military reports that 136 active duty personnel committed suicide. No figures are kept for those who are inactive. The current number for US military fatalities in Iraq stands at 2276.
As Jane Mayer reported in The New Yorker, early warnings were ignored by the administration about the environment created for abuse of prisoners in Guantanamo. Noting that "Human rights are under threat," Amnesty International is calling for the closing of Guantanamo. Tuesday, Amnesty International will host a live online discussion:
Live chat with Moazzam Begg, ex Guantánamo detainee, on 21 February, 6-7pm GMT
Moazzam Begg, British citizen, was held for "nearly three years," as noted on Democracy Now!. Amnesty International's call echoes the call of the UN investigation team as well as the prime ministers of Germany, France, England and Malaysia. U.S. Charm Minister Karen Hughes, speaking to Al Jazeera, rejected calls to close Gitmo and reportedly maintained that not only are the people imprisoned in Guantanamo wanting to kill Americans but that some released "have gone back to fighting and killing Americans." If the report is accurate, it is surprising that such an assertion would be made by the Minister of Charm and not Bully Boy himself.
In this country, the Associated Press is reporting that Republican governors George Pataki (New York) and Robert Ehrlich (Maryland) have joined the chorus of voices objecting by administration plans to turn over control of "six major U.S. ports" to Dubai Ports World. Senators Robert Menendez (New Jersey) and Hillary Clinton (New York) are also objecting to the proposed plan. Speaking out against the plan involving the Arab company, Mendendez stated today, "We wouldn't turn over our customs service or our border patrol to a foreign government. We shouldn't turn over the ports of the United States, either."
Feminist Wire Daily is reporting that CWIG (Center for Women in Government and Civil Society) has conducted a study on "the percentage of women in policy-making positions - such as state legislators, elected officials, high court judges, department heads, and top governor's advisors" for the years 1998 to 2005 and found that the rate of growth for women in those positions increased by only 1.6% -- "from 23.1 percent to 24.7 percent." FWD notes:
Slow progress for women in state government has national implications, says Debbie Walsh, director of the Center for American Women in Politics at Rutgers. State and local office serve as a "pipeline" to draw women into national politics. Not to mention, adds Walsh, state legislatures themselves are "making a tremendous amount of policy" –- in 2005, 48 state legislatures considered over 500 anti-choice bills.
On the national level, NOW notes, that although "almost nine million more women voted than men" only fourteen women serve in the United States Senate and only sixty-seven in the House, while of the fifty governors in the United States, only eight are women.
As noted on Sunday's KPFA Evening News, Saturday Feb. 25th, a Counter-Recruiting workshop will be held, open to the public, from 2 to 5pm at the Veterans' Memorial Building, Room 219, 401 Van Ness Ave. March 1st is the National Law Student Day Against the Death Penalty (SDADP).
In other news, Philadelphia Indymedia is reporting that Governor Ed Rendell vetoed the Pennsylvania's Voter ID bill. Rendell, who spanked Casey Junior in the 2002 election race, stated, "I see no reason to enact laws that will result in voter confusion and disenfranchise legitimately registered voters." Member of Protect the Vote had successfully fought against the proposed legislation and were on hand for the veto ceromny.
In other civil liberties news, following what BuzzFlash has called "Just Your Average Week of the Bush Administration Betraying America," the ACLU features a snapshot of governmental spying/snooping in the form of Betty Ball who states:
It is true that I have become more motivated to work for justice and social change knowing that the government is abusing its powers like this. But I am worried about how far the government will go to squelch First Amendment rights and silence dissent. Will we all be rounded up and incarcerated? Already so many people have been frightened away from participating in our events, and have asked to have their names removed from our mailing lists, for fear of the consequences of associating with us. I hesitate to call people to discuss plans for rallies or protests because I don’t want them ending up in an FBI file labeled as a "domestic terrorist."
Meanwhile, author and activist Diane Wilson remains in a Victoria County jail in Texas. Wilson was arrested for unfurling a banner that read "Corporate Greed Kills--From Bhopal to Baghdad" at a Dick Cheney attended fundraiser in Houston on December 5, 2005. Wilson's banners are apparently too much for the delicate sensibilities of the foes of democracy. She is currently serving a 150 day sentence for a 2002 action where she climbed a Dow Jones tower and unfurled a banner which read "Justice For Bhopal." CODEPINK is calling for Wilson's release.
In other take action news, MediaChannel.org is asking you to Take Action: Demand Coverage of Able Danger (more info on the Able Danger program can be found at Able Danger Media Monitoring).
Finally, Monday's Democracy Now! featured:
"Readings From Howard Zinn's 'Voices of a People's History of the UnitedStates:'"
Today we spend the hour with readings from a Voices of a People's History of the United States edited by historian Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. It is the companion volume to Zinn's legendary People's History of the United States which has sold over a million copies.We will hear dramatic readings of speeches, letters, poems, songs, petitions, and manifestos. These are the voices of people throughout U.S.history who struggled against slavery, racism, and war, against oppression and exploitation, and who articulated a vision for a better world. Performances include Danny Glover as Frederick Douglass, Marisa Tomei as Cindy Sheehan, Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Tecumseh and Chief Joseph, Sandra Oh as Emma Goldman and Yuri Kochiyama, and Viggo Mortensen as Bartolomeo de Las Casas and Mark Twain.
This entry was compiled by:
The Third Estate Sunday Review's Dona, Jess, Ty, Ava and Jim;
Rebecca of Sex and Politics and Screeds and Attitude;
Betty of Thomas Friedman Is a Great Man;
C.I. of The Common Ills and The Third Estate Sunday Review;
Kat of Kat's Korner (of The Common Ills);
Cedric of Cedric's Big Mix;
Mike of Mikey Likes It!;
Elaine of Like Maria Said Paz;
and Wally of The Daily Jot.
democracy now
news
iraq
the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
kats korner
the third estate sunday review
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
cedrics big mix
thomas friedman is a great man
the daily jot
feminist wire
jane mayer
the new yorker
codepink
diane wilson
guantanamo
national lawyers guild
amnesty international
aclu
counter-recruiting
able danger
buzzflash
Monday, February 20, 2006
Isaiah on Brokedown Democracy and Howard Zinn on Democracy Now!
The above is Isaiah's latest, greatest The World Today Just Nuts, "Brokedown Democracy." Nina and I saw Brokeback Mountain and it's a great movie. Living under Bully Boy and Dick Cheney's Brokedown Democracy? Not so good.
Here's what's on today's Democracy Now!, "Readings From Howard Zinn's 'Voices of a People's History of the UnitedStates:'"
Today we spend the hour with readings from a Voices of a People's History of the United States edited by historian Howard Zinn and Anthony Arnove. It is the companion volume to Zinn's legendary People's History of the United States which has sold over a million copies.We will hear dramatic readings of speeches, letters, poems, songs, petitions, and manifestos. These are the voices of people throughout U.S.history who struggled against slavery, racism, and war, against oppression and exploitation, and who articulated a vision for a better world. Performances include Danny Glover as Frederick Douglass, Marisa Tomei as Cindy Sheehan, Floyd Red Crow Westerman as Tecumseh and Chief Joseph, Sandra Oh as Emma Goldman and Yuri Kochiyama, and Viggo Mortensen as Bartolomeo de Las Casas and Mark Twain.
C.I. called and asked if I was taking the day off. I think I will probably. Nina and I have plans to run errands together and, if we can get that done in time, we may grab a movie. Check out C.I.'s "Other Items" this morning. Two entries and both are great but there's more commentary in "Other Items" so if you're on holiday schedule and only have time for one thing, read that right now. Seriously. (The first one is here.)
Hope everyone has a great day even if you don't have the day off. I may post this evening. I'm not sure yet.
But here's Maria's rundown of the important headlines from last week's Democracy Now! first in Spanish and then in English.
Senadores republicanos bloquean investigacion sobre espionaje de la NSA
Maria: Buenos dias. De parte de "Democracy Now!" diez cosas que vale hacer notar este fin de semana. Paz.
Senadores republicanos bloquean investigación sobre espionaje de la NSA: Actualizamos información de la controversia sobre el programa de espionaje interno, del presidente Bush. En Capitol Hill, los senadores republicanos obstruyeron una propuesta de investigar la operación.El republicano Pat Roberts, presidente del Comité de Inteligencia, dijo el jueves que su panel había decidido no llevar a cabo la investigación. Roberts manifestó que había llegado a un acuerdo con la Casa Blanca para que considerara la legislación y proporcionara más información al Congreso sobre el programa de espionaje de conversaciones privadas.El senador demócrata de más alto rango del comité, John Rockefeller, dijo: "Hoy, el Comité de Inteligencia del Senado una vez más renunció a su responsabilidad de supervisar las actividades de inteligencia de Estados Unidos".
Juez ordena a Departamento de Justicia que publique documentos de la NSA: Mientras tanto, un juez federal ordenó al Departamento de Justicia que publique los documentos sobre el programa de la Agencia de Seguridad Nacional (NSA, por sus siglas en inglés) en un plazo de 20 días. Esta orden surgió como respuesta a un pedido de libertad de información realizado por el Centro de Privacidad de la Información Electrónica (EPIC, por sus siglas en inglés).
Investigadores de la ONU dijeron a Estados Unidos: Clausuren Guantánamo: En otras noticias, investigadores de la Organización de las Naciones Unidas exhortaron al gobierno de Bush a que cierre inmediatamente la prisión de la Bahía de Guantánamo, en Cuba. El informe de la ONU insta al gobierno estadounidense a "abstenerse de cualquier práctica equivalente a la tortura o al trato o castigo cruel, inhumano o degradante".
El informe también dice: "En el caso de los detenidos de la Bahía de Guantánamo, el presidente de Estados Unidos opera como juez, fiscal, y abogado defensor: esto constituye serias violaciones de diversas garantías del derecho a un juicio justo ante un tribunal independiente". Hay aproximadamente 500 hombres detenidos en ese lugar. No se presentaron cargos en contra de la mayoría de ellos. El portavoz del Departamento de Estado Sean McCormack, desestimó el informe. McCormack dijo que la información de la ONU estaba basada en "rumores".
Iraquíes indignados por nuevas fotos de Abu Ghraib: En Irak, la publicación de nuevas fotografías que muestran a detenidos iraquíes siendo torturados en la prisión de Abu Ghraib, dirigida por Estados Unidos, provocó indignación. La cadena televisiva australiana SBS mostró estas fotos por primera vez el miércoles y varias de las imágenes fueron reproducidas en periódicos iraquíes y en medios televisivos. Un ciudadano iraquí, Abd Al-Awadh, dice que las fotos demostraron que Estados Unidos estaba violando el derecho internacional.Abd Al-Awadh dijo: "Estamos muy apenados por las fotos que vimos ayer. Vimos como humillaban a los iraquíes y que en este país no hay respeto por la dignidad del pueblo iraquí, en el país donde éramos amos ahora somos esclavos y los amos son extranjeros. Además de las fotos de abusos en Abu Ghraib, vimos a iraquíes siendo golpeados en Basora por las fuerzas británicas. Esto es una violación de las leyes internacionales, las que ellos usaron como pretexto para invadir Irak". Y agregó: "Sentimos mucho que estos actos se repitan diariamente en las calles iraquíes. Las fuerzas estadounidenses matan injustificadamente. La opinión de la población es tergiversada y lamentablemente el prisionero iraquí fue tratado de forma bárbara y salvaje por las fuerzas estadounidenses".
Fotografías muestran cadáveres, tortura y hombres desnudos: Una de las fotografías mostraba a un hombre muerto, tirado desnudo sobre el polvo con sangre saliéndole de la cabeza. Otra foto mostraba a un hombre desnudo colgado de una cama, sujetado de las rodillas. Otro prisionero estaba cubierto de heces. Las fotografías también muestran a hombres desnudos en posiciones sexuales humillantes. Los prisioneros fueron fotografiados usando capuchas. También fotografiaron a hombres que mostraban lo que parecen ser marcas de quemaduras y torturas.Y la protesta suscitada por las fotos podría intesificarse. Hoy temprano, "Salon.com" publicó mas fotos de Abu Ghraib. La publicación en Internet obtuvo archivos y otros documentos electrónicos de una investigación interna del ejército. El material incluye más de 1.000 fotografías, videos y documentos probatorios. Según "Salon.com", algunos de los documentos se refieren a los funcionarios de la CIA como interrogadores de los prisioneros en Abu Ghraib. Hasta la fecha, ningún oficial de la CIA ha sido procesado por ningún crimen ocurrido dentro de la prisión, a pesar de que al menos un iraquí murió allí durante un interrogatorio de la CIA.
El miércoles, la Unión Estadounidense por las Libertades Civiles (ACLU, por sus siglas en inglés), Amnistía Internacional y otros grupos pidieron una investigación realmente independiente que indague en todos los niveles de la cadena de mando militar, así como también la vinculación de otros organismos del gobierno como la CIA y los contratistas militares privados que estuvieron implicados en abusos.
Cinco mujeres arrestadas en protesta contra la guerra cerca de Washington DC: Y en las afueras de Washington DC, cinco mujeres del grupo contra la guerra Raging Grannies (Abuelas Furiosas) fueron arrestadas el martes en una protesta frente a una oficina de reclutamiento militar. Las mujeres fueron arrestadas luego de anunciar que pretendían enlistarse. Coreaban: "si alguien debe morir en Irak, que sean los viejos". Más tarde fueron liberadas sin cargos en su contra. El martes se realizaron protestas similares en todo el país, incluyendo los estados de Florida, California y Nueva York.
Más de mil personas protestan por video que muestra a soldados británicos golpeando a jóvenes iraquíes: En Irak, más de mil personas protestaron el martes en Basora por un video dado a conocer recientemente que muestra a soldados británicos golpeando a jóvenes iraquíes. Se cree que el video fue grabado luego de una protesta en la ciudad de Amarah, a principios de 2004. Cientos de personas asistieron a la protesta para exigir empleo. En el video, cuatro manifestantes jóvenes son arrastrados desde una calle a un recinto del ejército británico donde recibieron puñetazos, puntapiés y porrazos. También se escucha la voz de una persona, que no aparece en la grabación, que elogia los ataques. El martes, el jefe de la fuerza policial de Basora dijo que las fuerzas de seguridad iraquíes suspenderán los patrullajes conjuntos con las Fuerzas Armadas británicas en la provincia, como medida de protesta. Mientras tanto, el gobierno británico dice que hasta el momento arrestó a tres personas vinculadas con el incidente.
Senado rechaza por 93 votos contra 3 el intento del senador Feingold de detener la renovación de la Ley Patriota: En otras noticias de Capitol Hill, el Senado va en camino a renovar la Ley Patriota. El senador demócrata Russ Feingold, de Wisconsin, lidera el esfuerzo para bloquear la renovación, pero está recibiendo poco apoyo, incluso de sus compañeros demócratas. Feingold quiere establecer una fecha de caducidad de cuatro años para las disposiciones de la Ley que permiten a los agentes del gobierno obligar a bancos, bibliotecas, compañías proveedoras de servicios de Internet y otras instituciones a entregar registros privados sin una orden judicial. El jueves, el senado aprobó con 93 votos a favor y 3 en contra rechazar el intento de Feingold de detener la legislación. Sólo el senador independiente Jim Jeffords y el demócrata Robert Byrd apoyaron a Feingold.
FBI realiza redadas en casas de activistas independentistas en Puerto Rico: En Washington, varios miembros del Congreso están pidiendo una investigación sobre recientes redadas llevadas a cabo por el FBI contra activistas independentistas en Puerto Rico.
La semana pasada, cientos de miembros de la unidad antiterrorista del FBI llevaron a cabo seis redadas simultáneas en las casas a integrantes del grupo independentista conocido como Macheteros.
El FBI dijo que estaba intentando impedir un posible ataque terrorista a nivel nacional.
En una de las redadas, agentes del FBI golpearon y lanzaron gas de pimienta a los periodistas que intentaban realizar entrevistas.
Las redadas ocurrieron menos de seis meses después de que el FBI mató a balazos al líder independentista puertorriqueño Filiberto Ojeda Rios.
En Irán, el gobierno afirma que reanudó el enriquecimiento de uranio a pequeña escala, desafiando el esfuerzo internacional para limitar su actividad nuclear. La noticia surge en medio de recientes especulaciones sobre un posible ataque de Estados Unidos a Irán. Durante el fin de semana, el "Sunday Telegraph" informó que el Pentágono trazó un plan de ataque como último recurso para impedir que Irán desarrolle armas nucleares. Un funcionario de alto rango del Pentágono, que no reveló su identidad, dijo: "Esto es más que un plan estándar de contingencia militar...El problema adquirió mayor urgencia en los últimos meses".
Maria: Now in English, here are ten headlines from Democracy Now! Peace.
Senate Republicans Block Investigation Into NSA Spying: This update on the controversy over President Bush's warrant-less domestic spying program - on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans have blocked a proposed investigation into the operation. On Thursday, Republican Senator Pat Roberts, chair of the Intelligence Committee said, his panel decided not to conduct an investigation. Roberts said he reached an agreement with the White House to consider legislation and provide more information to Congress on the eavesdropping program. The ranking Democrat on the committee -- Sen. John Rockefeller -- said "Today, the Senate Intelligence Committee once again abdicated its responsibility to oversee the intelligence activities of the United States."
Judge Orders Justice Dept To Release NSA Documents: Meanwhile, a federal judge has ordered the Justice Department to release documents about the NSA program within 20 days. The order comes in response to a Freedom Of Information request filed by EPIC - the Electronic Privacy Information Center.
UN Investigators Call on U.S. to Close Guantanamo: In other news, United Nations investigators have called on the Bush administration to immediately close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba. The UN report urges the US government to "refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." The report goes on to state "In the case of the Guantanamo Bay detainees, the U.S. executive operates as judge, as prosecutor, and as defense council: this constitutes serious violations of various guarantees of the right to a fair trial before an independent tribunal." About 500 men are being held at the site. Charges have never been filed against most of them. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack dismissed the report. He said the U.N. information was based on "hearsay."
Iraqis Outraged Over New Abu Ghraib Photos: In Iraq, the publication of new photographs showing Iraqi detainees being tortured inside the U.S.-run Abu Ghraib prison is being met by outrage. The Australian broadcaster SBS first aired the photographs on Wednesday and many of the images have been reprinted in Iraqi newspapers and aired on television. One Iraqi citizen, Abd Al-Awadh, says the photos proved the United States was acting in violation of international law. "We feel sorry about the photos we saw yesterday. We saw humiliation to the Iraqis and we saw that there is no respect to the dignity of the Iraqi people in this country, the country where we were masters we are now slaves and the masters come from abroad. In addition to Abu Ghraib abuse photos, we saw Iraqis being beaten in Basra by the British forces. This is a violation of international laws, which they used as a pretext to invade Iraq," said Abd Al-Awadh. "We feel sorry that such acts are being repeated on a daily basis at the Iraqi streets. There is unjustified killings by the U.S. force. The public opinion is misled and regrettably enough the Iraqi prisoner was treated in a barbaric and savage way at the hands of the American forces."
Photographs Depict Corpses, Torture, Naked Men: One photograph showed a man lying dead in the dirt with blood coming out of his head. Another showed a naked man hanging from a bed by his knees. Another prisoner is shown covered in feces. Naked men are also shown in sexually humiliating positions. Prisoners were photographed wearing hoods. Men were also photographed showing what appears to be burn and torture marks. And the outcry over the photos may only intensify. Earlier today Salon.com published even more photographs from Abu Ghraib. The online publication obtained files and other electronic documents from an internal Army investigation. The material includes more than 1,000 photographs, videos and supporting documents. According to Salon.com some of the documents refer to CIA personnel as interrogators of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. To date, no CIA officers have been prosecuted for any crimes that occurred within the prison, despite the death of at least one Iraqi during a CIA interrogation there. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and other groups called for a truly independent investigation to look at all levels of the military chain of command, as well as involvement from other government agencies like the CIA and private military contractors who have been implicated in abuses.
5 "Raging Grannies" Arrested at Anti-War Protest Near DC: And just outside of Washington, DC, five women with the anti-war group the Raging Grannies were arrested Tuesday at a protest outside a military recruitment office. The women were arrested after announcing they intended to enlist. They chanted: "if someone must die in Iraq, let it be the old." They were later released without charge. The protest was one of several held across the country Tuesday, including in Florida, California, and New York.
Over 1,000 Protest Video Showing British Troops Beating Iraqi Youths: In Iraq, more than 1,000 people rallied in Basra Tuesday over a recent video showing British soldiers beating Iraqi youths. The video is believed be from the aftermath of a protest in the city of Amarah in early 2004. Hundreds of people attended the rally to demand employment. On the video, four young protesters are pulled off of a street and into a British army compound where they are punched, kicked and hit with batons. An off-camera voice can also be heard praising the attacks. On Tuesday, the chief of the Basra police force said Iraqi security forces would cease joint patrols with the British military in the province in protest. Meanwhile, the British government says it has arrested three people so far in connection to the beatings.
Senate Votes 96-3 to Reject Sen. Feingold's Effort to Stall Patriot Act Renewal: In other news from Capitol Hill, the Senate is moving closer to renewing the Patriot Act. Democratic Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin is leading the effort to block renewal but he is receiving little support even from fellow Democrats. Feingold wants to set a four-year expiration date on provisions within the Act that allows government agents to force banks, libraries, Internet providers and others to hand over private records without a warrant. On Thursday, the Senate voted 96 to 3 to reject Feingold's efforts to stall the legislation. Only independent Senator Jim Jeffords and Democrat Robert Byrd backed Feingold.
FBI Raids Homes of Pro-Independence Activists in Puerto Rico: In Washington, several members of Congress are calling for an investigation into recent raids conducted by the FBI targeting pro-independence activists in Puerto Rico. Last week hundreds of members of the FBI's counterterrorism unit conducted six simultaneous raids targeting members of the pro-independence group known as the Macheteros. The FBI claimed it was attempting to thwart a possible domestic terrorism attack. At one of the raids, FBI agents beat and pepper sprayed journalists who attempted to conduct interviews. The raids come less than six months after the FBI shot dead Puerto Rican independence leader Filiberto Ojeda Rios.
Report: US Drawing Up Plans For Iran Attack: In Iran, the government says it has resumed small-scale enrichment of uranium, defying an international effort to limit its nuclear activity. The news comes amid fresh speculation over a possible US attack on Iran. Over the weekend, the Sunday Telegraph reported the Pentagon has drawn up an attack plan as a last resort to stop Iran from developing nuclear weapons. An anonymous senior Pentagon official said: "This is more than just the standard military contingency assessment. This has taken on much greater urgency in recent months."
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Friday, February 17, 2006
Annan wants Guantanamo closed and Democracy Now! takes in depth look at torture
Good evening. Long day.
And blame Elaine for us both starting late. We weren't able to get on the phone together until about a half hour ago and then Elaine wanted to read two things from The Third Estate Sunday Review. Her office assistant had printed them up today and handed them to her. (Elaine had a long day too.) Elaine was going through various papers and forms and came across those and just started laughing. They made her day. So she was reading them to me over the phone and they put me in a better mood too.
Let me say thank you to Jim, C.I. and Elaine who all read the research paper I did recently. They gave me input and I know they're all busy. I got the paper back today and got a high A on it. I couldn't have done that without them pointing out the weak spots and offering suggestions so thank you to all three.
Now let's do Democracy Now!
Kofi Annan Calls for U.S. To Close Guantanamo
The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan is urging the United States to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp "as soon as is possible." His comments came in response to a new report by UN investigators calling for U.S. to close the camp. Kofi Annan said the Bush administration could not hold hundreds of prisoners in jail without charges in perpetuity. "Charges have to be brought against them, and (they) be given a chance to explain themselves, and prosecuted, charged, or released, I think is something that is, common under any legal system," Annan said. "And I think sooner or later, there will be a need to close the Guantanamo and I think, it will be up to the government to decide, hopefully to do it as soon as is possible." White House spokesperson Scott McClellan dismissed the new UN report. "The United Nations should be making serious investigations across the world, and there are many instances when they do, when it comes to human rights. This was not one of them," said McClellan. "And I think it's a discredit to the U.N. when a team like this goes about rushing to report something when they haven't even looked into the facts. All they have done is look at the allegations."
He should know the facts? Has Scotty forgotten that he didn't know the facts about the outing of Valerie Plame when he was going to the press and saying that no one in the administration was involved? Annan has the facts. Most people outside the US do. That may not be the case in the US but that's the fault of the corporate media.
I hope everyone caught Democracy Now! today but if you missed it, this is from "Professor McCoy Exposes the History of CIA Interrogation, From the Cold War to the War on Terror:"
AMY GOODMAN: And Rumsfeld's comment, when asked if it was torture, when people were forced to stand hours on end, that he stands at his desk?
ALFRED McCOY: Right, he wrote that in one of his memos. When he was asked to review the Guantanamo techniques in late 2003 or early 2004, he scribbled that marginal note and said, you know, "I stand at my desk eight hours a day." He has a designer standing desk. "How come we're limiting these techniques of the stress position to just four hours?" So, in other words, that was a clear signal from the Defense Secretary. Now, one of the problems beyond the details of these orders is torture is an extraordinarily dangerous thing. There's an absolute ban on torture for a very good reason. Torture taps into the deepest recesses, unexplored recesses of human consciousness, where creation and destruction coexist, where the infinite human capacity for kindness and infinite human capacity for cruelty coexist, and it has a powerful perverse appeal, and once it starts, both the perpetrators and the powerful who order them, let it spread, and it spreads out of control.
That's a pretty important interview so check it out.
Senate Republicans Block Investigation Into NSA Spying
This update on the controversy over President Bush's warrant-less domestic spying program - on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans have blocked a proposed investigation into the operation. On Thursday, Republican Senator Pat Roberts, chair of the Intelligence Committee said, his panel decided not to conduct an investigation. Roberts said he reached an agreement with the White House to consider legislation and provide more information to Congress on the eavesdropping program. The ranking Democrat on the committee -- Sen. John Rockefeller -- said "Today, the Senate Intelligence Committee once again abdicated its responsibility to oversee the intelligence activities of the United States."
I would have been screaming but I'd read The Common Ills before I heard Democracy Now! on the radio today so I was prepared for this. C.I. was writing about "Accord in House to Hold Inquiry on Surveillance" in the New York Times and comparing it to "Senate Rejects Wiretapping Probe" in the Washington Post. The difference is that the Washington Post led with this:
The Bush administration helped derail a Senate bid to investigate a warrantless eavesdropping program yesterday after signaling it would reject Congress's request to have former attorney general John D. Ashcroft and other officials testify about the program's legality. The actions underscored a dramatic and possibly permanent drop in momentum for a congressional inquiry, which had seemed likely two months ago.
The Times didn't really want to address that. C.I.'s got the testimony where Specter (Republican) was saying that he wanted Ashcroft to testify and Schumer was trying to pin down Gonzales on how freely Aschroft could speak. Gonzales keeps saying that whether or not to call Ashcroft is the "chair's decision." The chair is Specter. And as soon as Gonzales' testimony was over, you better believe that he ran back to the White House to oppose Ashcroft testifying.
Read C.I.'s "NYT: The paper, like the Congress, can't wait to wear the 'Kick Me!' sign."
And always read The Daily Jot. Wally's got another funny post today but don't miss yesterday's "THIS JUST IN! THE ONE TOKE CHENEY DANCE!." Watergate note: Martha Mitchell joke in yesterday's post.
And if you've missed it, please check out Joan Mellen's "HOW THE FAILURE TO IDENTIFY, PROSECUTE AND CONVICT PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S ASSASSINS HAS LED TO TODAY'S CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY."
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And blame Elaine for us both starting late. We weren't able to get on the phone together until about a half hour ago and then Elaine wanted to read two things from The Third Estate Sunday Review. Her office assistant had printed them up today and handed them to her. (Elaine had a long day too.) Elaine was going through various papers and forms and came across those and just started laughing. They made her day. So she was reading them to me over the phone and they put me in a better mood too.
Let me say thank you to Jim, C.I. and Elaine who all read the research paper I did recently. They gave me input and I know they're all busy. I got the paper back today and got a high A on it. I couldn't have done that without them pointing out the weak spots and offering suggestions so thank you to all three.
Now let's do Democracy Now!
Kofi Annan Calls for U.S. To Close Guantanamo
The United Nations Secretary General, Kofi Annan is urging the United States to shut down the Guantanamo Bay prison camp "as soon as is possible." His comments came in response to a new report by UN investigators calling for U.S. to close the camp. Kofi Annan said the Bush administration could not hold hundreds of prisoners in jail without charges in perpetuity. "Charges have to be brought against them, and (they) be given a chance to explain themselves, and prosecuted, charged, or released, I think is something that is, common under any legal system," Annan said. "And I think sooner or later, there will be a need to close the Guantanamo and I think, it will be up to the government to decide, hopefully to do it as soon as is possible." White House spokesperson Scott McClellan dismissed the new UN report. "The United Nations should be making serious investigations across the world, and there are many instances when they do, when it comes to human rights. This was not one of them," said McClellan. "And I think it's a discredit to the U.N. when a team like this goes about rushing to report something when they haven't even looked into the facts. All they have done is look at the allegations."
He should know the facts? Has Scotty forgotten that he didn't know the facts about the outing of Valerie Plame when he was going to the press and saying that no one in the administration was involved? Annan has the facts. Most people outside the US do. That may not be the case in the US but that's the fault of the corporate media.
I hope everyone caught Democracy Now! today but if you missed it, this is from "Professor McCoy Exposes the History of CIA Interrogation, From the Cold War to the War on Terror:"
AMY GOODMAN: And Rumsfeld's comment, when asked if it was torture, when people were forced to stand hours on end, that he stands at his desk?
ALFRED McCOY: Right, he wrote that in one of his memos. When he was asked to review the Guantanamo techniques in late 2003 or early 2004, he scribbled that marginal note and said, you know, "I stand at my desk eight hours a day." He has a designer standing desk. "How come we're limiting these techniques of the stress position to just four hours?" So, in other words, that was a clear signal from the Defense Secretary. Now, one of the problems beyond the details of these orders is torture is an extraordinarily dangerous thing. There's an absolute ban on torture for a very good reason. Torture taps into the deepest recesses, unexplored recesses of human consciousness, where creation and destruction coexist, where the infinite human capacity for kindness and infinite human capacity for cruelty coexist, and it has a powerful perverse appeal, and once it starts, both the perpetrators and the powerful who order them, let it spread, and it spreads out of control.
That's a pretty important interview so check it out.
Senate Republicans Block Investigation Into NSA Spying
This update on the controversy over President Bush's warrant-less domestic spying program - on Capitol Hill, Senate Republicans have blocked a proposed investigation into the operation. On Thursday, Republican Senator Pat Roberts, chair of the Intelligence Committee said, his panel decided not to conduct an investigation. Roberts said he reached an agreement with the White House to consider legislation and provide more information to Congress on the eavesdropping program. The ranking Democrat on the committee -- Sen. John Rockefeller -- said "Today, the Senate Intelligence Committee once again abdicated its responsibility to oversee the intelligence activities of the United States."
I would have been screaming but I'd read The Common Ills before I heard Democracy Now! on the radio today so I was prepared for this. C.I. was writing about "Accord in House to Hold Inquiry on Surveillance" in the New York Times and comparing it to "Senate Rejects Wiretapping Probe" in the Washington Post. The difference is that the Washington Post led with this:
The Bush administration helped derail a Senate bid to investigate a warrantless eavesdropping program yesterday after signaling it would reject Congress's request to have former attorney general John D. Ashcroft and other officials testify about the program's legality. The actions underscored a dramatic and possibly permanent drop in momentum for a congressional inquiry, which had seemed likely two months ago.
The Times didn't really want to address that. C.I.'s got the testimony where Specter (Republican) was saying that he wanted Ashcroft to testify and Schumer was trying to pin down Gonzales on how freely Aschroft could speak. Gonzales keeps saying that whether or not to call Ashcroft is the "chair's decision." The chair is Specter. And as soon as Gonzales' testimony was over, you better believe that he ran back to the White House to oppose Ashcroft testifying.
Read C.I.'s "NYT: The paper, like the Congress, can't wait to wear the 'Kick Me!' sign."
And always read The Daily Jot. Wally's got another funny post today but don't miss yesterday's "THIS JUST IN! THE ONE TOKE CHENEY DANCE!." Watergate note: Martha Mitchell joke in yesterday's post.
And if you've missed it, please check out Joan Mellen's "HOW THE FAILURE TO IDENTIFY, PROSECUTE AND CONVICT PRESIDENT KENNEDY'S ASSASSINS HAS LED TO TODAY'S CRISIS OF DEMOCRACY."
democracy now
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Iraq, Dave Zirin and Danny Schechter
Good morning. It's past midnight here. Cedric phoned and said, "Mike do not get online this evening. Take some time with Nina, have some fun, get something to eat, see a movie or something." I said, "Cedric, I didn't post anything about posting late." And Cedric said, "It's Thursday, you can tell your readers, 'Cedric always posts on Thursdays, you should have checked there. Maybe next time you will.'" :D
So if you did check, you saw that. I did have a lot of fun tonight. And then I got back here and read Cedric's entry and thought, "You said it all, buddy!" He really did so check it out. I did a lot of research for the post I intended and I think I may take it over to The Third Estate Sunday Review and maybe we can do a parody this week or next with it but Cedric said all that can be said factually. Tip of the hat to Ced.
So let's get started with Democracy Now!
UN Investigators Call on U.S. to Close Guantanamo
In other news, United Nations investigators have called on the Bush administration to immediately close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba. The UN report urges the US government to "refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." The report goes on to state "In the case of the Guantanamo Bay detainees, the U.S. executive operates as judge, as prosecutor, and as defense council: this constitutes serious violations of various guarantees of the right to a fair trial before an independent tribunal." About 500 men are being held at the site. Charges have never been filed against most of them. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack dismissed the report. He said the U.N. information was based on "hearsay."
I was intending to write a ton about this because this is a big issue. Usually Elaine and C.I. cover this and the rest of us just follow in their footsteps at The Third Estate Sunday Review when the topic comes up. But I got back here and made some phone calls, checked my e-mails, and surfed. Rebecca's said it all and here's a part of it:
this is something you'll have to answer for. children in a generation or 2 will ask you, 'how were you able to just stay silent and look the other way?' so if that's your plan to keep on ignoring this, you might use that looking away time to come up with a good excuse. this is a sad thing, this is a tragedy.
being scared senseless immediately after 9-11 might have been understandable for some, goodness knows the bully boy was working overtime - the only time he ever works - to scare the nation. and you may have been grieving and felt like 'who cares?'
well it's past time to care. want to make money in afghanistan? kidnap some 1 and turn him over to the authorities telling them you've captured a terrorist.some of them were children. they've spent 4 years locked away. if they had any information, it was old long ago.
in the meantime, as many of the prisoners realize that they are never getting out, they go on a hunger strike. so we brutalize them. we force feed them in spite of the fact that every patient has the right to refuse treatment. but we can't have them dying on us, not while the world's condemning us even if our own press isn't paying attention. this is nonsense and it should have been addressed a long time ago. your children will study in this history classes, their children will study it. the matt dillon of the future will star in a film where he falls in love with 1 of the prisoners or the family of a prisoner (like golden gate).
it's a travesty and we willingly tossed aside our own principles to feel 'safe'. then we left our principles in the trash can because it was too messy to deal with.
U.S. Denies Entry To Iraqi Widows
In other Iraq news, the human rights group Global Exchange and anti-war group CodePink are criticizing the Bush administration for refusing to allow two Iraqi women into the United States. The women had been scheduled to take part in a speaking tour and to participate in the March 8th Women Say No to War march in Washington Both women are widows whose husbands and children were killed by U.S. troops. According to the groups the State Department rejected the visas because the women didn’t have enough family in Iraq to prove that they'll return to the country and not emigrate to the United States. Organizer Medea Benjamin said "It's appalling that the US military killed these women's families and then the US government rejects their visas on the grounds that they have no family to return to in Iraq."
You gotta wonder what Bully Boy was thinking there? Was he thinking, "My God! They're going to join Cindy Sheehan and all camp out in front of my ranchette! I won't get any kind of a vacation!"? He had to be thinking something to turn them down, he had to be thinking something. Well, maybe not "thinking," it's the Bully Boy after all. Probably he just couldn't face the costs of the illegal war he led this country into.
Photographs Depict Corpses, Torture, Naked Men
One photograph showed a man lying dead in the dirt with blood coming out of his head. Another showed a naked man hanging from a bed by his knees. Another prisoner is shown covered in feces. Naked men are also shown in sexually humiliating positions. Prisoners were photographed wearing hoods. Men were also photographed showing what appears to be burn and torture marks. And the outcry over the photos may only intensify. Earlier today Salon.com published even more photographs from Abu Ghraib. The online publication obtained files and other electronic documents from an internal Army investigation. The material includes more than 1,000 photographs, videos and supporting documents. According to Salon.com some of the documents refer to CIA personnel as interrogators of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. To date, no CIA officers have been prosecuted for any crimes that occurred within the prison, despite the death of at least one Iraqi during a CIA interrogation there. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and other groups called for a truly independent investigation to look at all levels of the military chain of command, as well as involvement from other government agencies like the CIA and private military contractors who have been implicated in abuses.
I'm swiping from C.I. to get those links because I'm lazy tonight. You realize, right, that these aren't even what's supposed to be the worst of the photos? There's still more that haven't come out. C.I. addressed this in "And the war goes on . . . (Indymedia Roundup)." Forgot that was tonight or I wouldn't have called C.I. There's a ton of information in it.
I followed Cedric's advice and didn't bring up the Scold while I was on the phone with C.I. And reading the entry, it's obvious that C.I.'s just going to keep the nose to the grindstone and focus on what's important. I wish I was that noble. But C.I.'s always saying that people make the mistake of reading their own press so maybe that's how C.I. looks at the Scold? On the phone, C.I. was talking about the time the plane leaves tomorrow and wondering what time we were all getting on the phones for the latest Third Estate Sunday Review edition Saturday night. So I guess C.I. feels that the Scold and her opinion are unimportant. Until Cedric had reminded me, I hadn't remembered this was another week of go out on the road and speak to groups about the war and all the Bully Boy's wars actually. I get wiped out just from a trip to DC. Cedric's point to me on the phone (and he said I could blog about this) was that this person is nothing to C.I. and C.I.'s attitude will be, "There's work to be done, focus on that." It's that whole "high road" thing. But if you're a member who was outraged, I was too. I still am but am going to try to follow Cedric's recommendation and focus on what matters.
I'm tired so let's wind down by noting Dave Zirin's "The Value of a Number:"
When Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color line in 1947, baseball ceased to be just a game. In the dark years of McCarthyism, as his biographer Arnold Rampersad wrote, "only Jackie Robinson insisted day in and day out on challenging America on questions of race and justice." As Martin Luther King said of Robinson, "He was a sit-inner before sit-ins. A freedom rider before freedom rides." In 1997, on the fiftieth anniversary of Robinson's rookie season, MLB commissioner Bud Selig took the unprecedented step of retiring Robinson's number, 42, from the league.
Now a new push is taking place to honor another legend in a similar way. An appeal has been made by Hispanics Across America (HAA) to retire the number 21of Pittsburgh Pirate Roberto Clemente. A native of Puerto Rico, Clemente was not the game's first Latino but its first breakout star. Clemente was a regular season and World Series MVP with 3,000 career hits, but he is especially revered for his efforts to support Latin American communities in the United States and abroad. Clemente's almost Bolivarian reputation was cemented when he perished in a 1972 plane crash taking medical, food and clothing supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua.
But the effort to honor Clemente has met resistance from a surprising source: Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon. In January, she said, "To my understanding, the purpose of retiring my father's number is that what he did changed all of baseball, not only for African-Americans but also for Latinos, so I think that purpose has been met. When you start retiring numbers across the board, for all different groups, you're kind of diluting the original purpose."
And here's a Jack Abramoff story you can sink your teeth into, Danny Schechter's "JACK ABRAMOFF'S WHITE MAN'S BURDEN: How the Sleazy Republican Lobbyist Boosted Apartheid:"
Abramoff has a pattern of first denying sleazy practices until forced to admit them. At first, he publicly denied South African financing. This past week the Mail & Guardian quotes one-time apartheid spy Craig Williamson as now admitting that the money came directly from the South African military:
"Among Abramoff's South African projects was the anti-communist film Red Scorpion, made in South African-occupied Namibia and, according to Williamson, funded by the South African military."
Why the military? The newspaper reveals: "The IFF was ostensibly founded as a conservative think-tank, but was in reality part of an elaborate South African military intelligence operation, code-named Operation Babushka. Established to combat sanctions and undermine the African National Congress, it also supported Jonas Savimbi and his rebel Angolan movement, Unita."
The movie was modeled romantically on Savimbi’s 'War for Freedom' but also riddled with stereotypes and crude propaganda.
Weekend's almost ready to begin.
cedrics big mix
democracy now
codepink
global exchange
iraq
danny schechter
and the war drags on
the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
the third estate sunday review
So if you did check, you saw that. I did have a lot of fun tonight. And then I got back here and read Cedric's entry and thought, "You said it all, buddy!" He really did so check it out. I did a lot of research for the post I intended and I think I may take it over to The Third Estate Sunday Review and maybe we can do a parody this week or next with it but Cedric said all that can be said factually. Tip of the hat to Ced.
So let's get started with Democracy Now!
UN Investigators Call on U.S. to Close Guantanamo
In other news, United Nations investigators have called on the Bush administration to immediately close the Guantanamo Bay prison camp in Cuba. The UN report urges the US government to "refrain from any practice amounting to torture or cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." The report goes on to state "In the case of the Guantanamo Bay detainees, the U.S. executive operates as judge, as prosecutor, and as defense council: this constitutes serious violations of various guarantees of the right to a fair trial before an independent tribunal." About 500 men are being held at the site. Charges have never been filed against most of them. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack dismissed the report. He said the U.N. information was based on "hearsay."
I was intending to write a ton about this because this is a big issue. Usually Elaine and C.I. cover this and the rest of us just follow in their footsteps at The Third Estate Sunday Review when the topic comes up. But I got back here and made some phone calls, checked my e-mails, and surfed. Rebecca's said it all and here's a part of it:
this is something you'll have to answer for. children in a generation or 2 will ask you, 'how were you able to just stay silent and look the other way?' so if that's your plan to keep on ignoring this, you might use that looking away time to come up with a good excuse. this is a sad thing, this is a tragedy.
being scared senseless immediately after 9-11 might have been understandable for some, goodness knows the bully boy was working overtime - the only time he ever works - to scare the nation. and you may have been grieving and felt like 'who cares?'
well it's past time to care. want to make money in afghanistan? kidnap some 1 and turn him over to the authorities telling them you've captured a terrorist.some of them were children. they've spent 4 years locked away. if they had any information, it was old long ago.
in the meantime, as many of the prisoners realize that they are never getting out, they go on a hunger strike. so we brutalize them. we force feed them in spite of the fact that every patient has the right to refuse treatment. but we can't have them dying on us, not while the world's condemning us even if our own press isn't paying attention. this is nonsense and it should have been addressed a long time ago. your children will study in this history classes, their children will study it. the matt dillon of the future will star in a film where he falls in love with 1 of the prisoners or the family of a prisoner (like golden gate).
it's a travesty and we willingly tossed aside our own principles to feel 'safe'. then we left our principles in the trash can because it was too messy to deal with.
U.S. Denies Entry To Iraqi Widows
In other Iraq news, the human rights group Global Exchange and anti-war group CodePink are criticizing the Bush administration for refusing to allow two Iraqi women into the United States. The women had been scheduled to take part in a speaking tour and to participate in the March 8th Women Say No to War march in Washington Both women are widows whose husbands and children were killed by U.S. troops. According to the groups the State Department rejected the visas because the women didn’t have enough family in Iraq to prove that they'll return to the country and not emigrate to the United States. Organizer Medea Benjamin said "It's appalling that the US military killed these women's families and then the US government rejects their visas on the grounds that they have no family to return to in Iraq."
You gotta wonder what Bully Boy was thinking there? Was he thinking, "My God! They're going to join Cindy Sheehan and all camp out in front of my ranchette! I won't get any kind of a vacation!"? He had to be thinking something to turn them down, he had to be thinking something. Well, maybe not "thinking," it's the Bully Boy after all. Probably he just couldn't face the costs of the illegal war he led this country into.
Photographs Depict Corpses, Torture, Naked Men
One photograph showed a man lying dead in the dirt with blood coming out of his head. Another showed a naked man hanging from a bed by his knees. Another prisoner is shown covered in feces. Naked men are also shown in sexually humiliating positions. Prisoners were photographed wearing hoods. Men were also photographed showing what appears to be burn and torture marks. And the outcry over the photos may only intensify. Earlier today Salon.com published even more photographs from Abu Ghraib. The online publication obtained files and other electronic documents from an internal Army investigation. The material includes more than 1,000 photographs, videos and supporting documents. According to Salon.com some of the documents refer to CIA personnel as interrogators of prisoners at Abu Ghraib. To date, no CIA officers have been prosecuted for any crimes that occurred within the prison, despite the death of at least one Iraqi during a CIA interrogation there. On Wednesday, the American Civil Liberties Union, Amnesty International and other groups called for a truly independent investigation to look at all levels of the military chain of command, as well as involvement from other government agencies like the CIA and private military contractors who have been implicated in abuses.
I'm swiping from C.I. to get those links because I'm lazy tonight. You realize, right, that these aren't even what's supposed to be the worst of the photos? There's still more that haven't come out. C.I. addressed this in "And the war goes on . . . (Indymedia Roundup)." Forgot that was tonight or I wouldn't have called C.I. There's a ton of information in it.
I followed Cedric's advice and didn't bring up the Scold while I was on the phone with C.I. And reading the entry, it's obvious that C.I.'s just going to keep the nose to the grindstone and focus on what's important. I wish I was that noble. But C.I.'s always saying that people make the mistake of reading their own press so maybe that's how C.I. looks at the Scold? On the phone, C.I. was talking about the time the plane leaves tomorrow and wondering what time we were all getting on the phones for the latest Third Estate Sunday Review edition Saturday night. So I guess C.I. feels that the Scold and her opinion are unimportant. Until Cedric had reminded me, I hadn't remembered this was another week of go out on the road and speak to groups about the war and all the Bully Boy's wars actually. I get wiped out just from a trip to DC. Cedric's point to me on the phone (and he said I could blog about this) was that this person is nothing to C.I. and C.I.'s attitude will be, "There's work to be done, focus on that." It's that whole "high road" thing. But if you're a member who was outraged, I was too. I still am but am going to try to follow Cedric's recommendation and focus on what matters.
I'm tired so let's wind down by noting Dave Zirin's "The Value of a Number:"
When Jackie Robinson broke Major League Baseball's color line in 1947, baseball ceased to be just a game. In the dark years of McCarthyism, as his biographer Arnold Rampersad wrote, "only Jackie Robinson insisted day in and day out on challenging America on questions of race and justice." As Martin Luther King said of Robinson, "He was a sit-inner before sit-ins. A freedom rider before freedom rides." In 1997, on the fiftieth anniversary of Robinson's rookie season, MLB commissioner Bud Selig took the unprecedented step of retiring Robinson's number, 42, from the league.
Now a new push is taking place to honor another legend in a similar way. An appeal has been made by Hispanics Across America (HAA) to retire the number 21of Pittsburgh Pirate Roberto Clemente. A native of Puerto Rico, Clemente was not the game's first Latino but its first breakout star. Clemente was a regular season and World Series MVP with 3,000 career hits, but he is especially revered for his efforts to support Latin American communities in the United States and abroad. Clemente's almost Bolivarian reputation was cemented when he perished in a 1972 plane crash taking medical, food and clothing supplies to earthquake-ravaged Nicaragua.
But the effort to honor Clemente has met resistance from a surprising source: Jackie Robinson's daughter Sharon. In January, she said, "To my understanding, the purpose of retiring my father's number is that what he did changed all of baseball, not only for African-Americans but also for Latinos, so I think that purpose has been met. When you start retiring numbers across the board, for all different groups, you're kind of diluting the original purpose."
And here's a Jack Abramoff story you can sink your teeth into, Danny Schechter's "JACK ABRAMOFF'S WHITE MAN'S BURDEN: How the Sleazy Republican Lobbyist Boosted Apartheid:"
Abramoff has a pattern of first denying sleazy practices until forced to admit them. At first, he publicly denied South African financing. This past week the Mail & Guardian quotes one-time apartheid spy Craig Williamson as now admitting that the money came directly from the South African military:
"Among Abramoff's South African projects was the anti-communist film Red Scorpion, made in South African-occupied Namibia and, according to Williamson, funded by the South African military."
Why the military? The newspaper reveals: "The IFF was ostensibly founded as a conservative think-tank, but was in reality part of an elaborate South African military intelligence operation, code-named Operation Babushka. Established to combat sanctions and undermine the African National Congress, it also supported Jonas Savimbi and his rebel Angolan movement, Unita."
The movie was modeled romantically on Savimbi’s 'War for Freedom' but also riddled with stereotypes and crude propaganda.
Weekend's almost ready to begin.
cedrics big mix
democracy now
codepink
global exchange
iraq
danny schechter
and the war drags on
the common ills
sex and politics and screeds and attitude
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
the third estate sunday review
Wednesday, February 15, 2006
Raging Grannies and the story we're not supposed to talk about: Cheney
Evening. I won't say "good evening" and I'll go into that after Democracy Now!
Report: Cheney Withheld News of Whittington's Heart Condition
Cheney is again being accused of withholding information on Whittington's condition. Over the weekend, the White House waited at least 19 hours before announcing the shooting. Today, the New York Times is reporting Cheney was informed of Whittington's heart condition when he arrived at the White House Tuesday morning. But according to senior administration officials, Cheney did not pass the information on to President Bush's aides, including White House Press secretary Scott McLellan. At a press conference later in the day, McLellan did not mention Whittington’s heart problems and even joked he was wearing an orange tie so he could be clearly visible in front of Cheney.
Scott McLellan made a joke. Does that mean a Scold's going to tear into him? Nina said I should write "Scold May I have permission to write about this topic?" In case you missed it, a scold's launched an attack on the left for writing about Cheney's shooting the guy. And the Scold's attacked people who've made jokes. "These aren't important topics!" screams the Scold who goes on to write about Willie Nelson the next day. Aren't we all a little better for having the Scold to write about the important topics?
I think she took a crack at my buddy Wally. Nina thinks so too. I'm still too mad to write about it tonight but I may write about it tomorrow.
This is a story. When someone's shot, it's a story. Scold or no Scold, it's a story.
Check out this by Matt Curry:
If the man wounded by Dick Cheney dies, the vice president could -- in theory at least -- face criminal charges, even though the shooting was an accident.
Dallas defense attorney David Finn, who has been a state and a federal prosecutor, said Wednesday that a Texas grand jury could bring a charge of criminally negligent homicide if there is evidence the vice president knew or should have known "there was a substantial or unjustifiable risk that his actions would result in him shooting a fellow hunter."
And check out this from Democracy Now!, "As Cheney Victim Suffers Heart Attack, Questions Raised About Secrecy and Cronyism:"
AMY GOODMAN: So, what do you think will now happen? Of course, we don't know right now the condition of Harry Whittington. I mean, we understand that he had a heart attack yesterday, has birdshot in his heart.
ROBERT BRYCE: Well, and that's really -- I mean, you know, I'm very concerned. You know, Harry is, as I said, he's such a wonderful guy, a very decent man. You know, he's 78. You know, you don't want to be having heart attacks, nor do you want to be shot, when you're 78. So, I think a lot of people are very concerned about his health and what this could mean if he, you know, God save us, that he would die. But, yeah, I mean, this is something that I think is not going to go away. And there was a very good piece in the Austin American-Statesman yesterday by Mike Leggett, who's their hunting or outdoors reporter. And, I mean, he just went right after Cheney, and he ended his piece by saying to Cheney, he said, "Stand up. Take responsibility. Be a man. You shot a guy." And I think that that really cuts to the heart of the matter, that for Cheney not to publicly apologize, for him not to, you know, say, "I made a mistake. You know, I made the worst error a hunter can make," I think it's just indicative of the arrogance that this White House, and particularly this Vice President, shows.
So it's news. And if the scold wants to have at Wally or C.I., she might want to try actually having something to point to with pride. Or maybe she thinks her Willie Nelson post today spread freedom and democracy online? While she's jerking off, Wally's making funny comments that have something to say. While she's jerking off, C.I.'s covering real issues. C.I. didn't make a 'Cheney joke' once but you'll note that Big Chin has one and she still links to him. She writes how sick she is of the left and how she removed sites from her blog roll that were focused on Cheney. Big Chin's must be her exception to her non-rules.
If you think I'm furious, I am, but it's nothing compared to Nina's fury. (Nina just said "I'm enraged.") (Nina said if I'm putting that in put in that Elaine doesn't have to keep noting that me and her aren't a couple. Nina's my girlfriend but a lot of people seem to think me and Elaine are a couple. Elaine's cool and pretty but Nina's my girlfriend -- and she's cool and pretty too.)
Poor Elaine had to hear me scream on the phone tonight. I'm sure she had to be thinking, "All day long I have to deal with crazies and now I've got another one!" :D
Nina says to note that Elaine "inspired her" when we all got together in D.C. in September so she decided to become a psychologist too. Sounds like good news until you realize that ever since Nina declared her major she's been all over my ass to declare as well. :D I'm still sampling.
5 "Raging Grannies" Arrested at Anti-War Protest Near DC
And just outside of Washington, DC, five women with the anti-war group the Raging Grannies were arrested Tuesday at a protest outside a military recruitment office. The women were arrested after announcing they intended to enlist. They chanted: "if someone must die in Iraq, let it be the old.” They were later released without charge. The protest was one of several held across the country Tuesday, including in Florida, California, and New York.
Give it up for the Grannies! Elaine's first words tonight were, "We've got to include the Grannies." I agree and that's about the only thing that makes me happy tonight. Good for those Raging Grannies. They are brave. If you heard about this, you know that the recuriters were scared of the Grannies and locked the doors in one location. They had this recruiter on the radio going, "Well, we were afraid that other protesters might show up too" but you know they were running scared from the Raging Grannies. Give it up for the Grannies.
Check out Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's thoughts (if she has any left, I think I gave her a big headache tonight -- sorry and thanks for listening). And always check out The Daily Jot and The Common Ills.
democracy now
dick cheney
the common ills
the daily jot
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
Report: Cheney Withheld News of Whittington's Heart Condition
Cheney is again being accused of withholding information on Whittington's condition. Over the weekend, the White House waited at least 19 hours before announcing the shooting. Today, the New York Times is reporting Cheney was informed of Whittington's heart condition when he arrived at the White House Tuesday morning. But according to senior administration officials, Cheney did not pass the information on to President Bush's aides, including White House Press secretary Scott McLellan. At a press conference later in the day, McLellan did not mention Whittington’s heart problems and even joked he was wearing an orange tie so he could be clearly visible in front of Cheney.
Scott McLellan made a joke. Does that mean a Scold's going to tear into him? Nina said I should write "Scold May I have permission to write about this topic?" In case you missed it, a scold's launched an attack on the left for writing about Cheney's shooting the guy. And the Scold's attacked people who've made jokes. "These aren't important topics!" screams the Scold who goes on to write about Willie Nelson the next day. Aren't we all a little better for having the Scold to write about the important topics?
I think she took a crack at my buddy Wally. Nina thinks so too. I'm still too mad to write about it tonight but I may write about it tomorrow.
This is a story. When someone's shot, it's a story. Scold or no Scold, it's a story.
Check out this by Matt Curry:
If the man wounded by Dick Cheney dies, the vice president could -- in theory at least -- face criminal charges, even though the shooting was an accident.
Dallas defense attorney David Finn, who has been a state and a federal prosecutor, said Wednesday that a Texas grand jury could bring a charge of criminally negligent homicide if there is evidence the vice president knew or should have known "there was a substantial or unjustifiable risk that his actions would result in him shooting a fellow hunter."
And check out this from Democracy Now!, "As Cheney Victim Suffers Heart Attack, Questions Raised About Secrecy and Cronyism:"
AMY GOODMAN: So, what do you think will now happen? Of course, we don't know right now the condition of Harry Whittington. I mean, we understand that he had a heart attack yesterday, has birdshot in his heart.
ROBERT BRYCE: Well, and that's really -- I mean, you know, I'm very concerned. You know, Harry is, as I said, he's such a wonderful guy, a very decent man. You know, he's 78. You know, you don't want to be having heart attacks, nor do you want to be shot, when you're 78. So, I think a lot of people are very concerned about his health and what this could mean if he, you know, God save us, that he would die. But, yeah, I mean, this is something that I think is not going to go away. And there was a very good piece in the Austin American-Statesman yesterday by Mike Leggett, who's their hunting or outdoors reporter. And, I mean, he just went right after Cheney, and he ended his piece by saying to Cheney, he said, "Stand up. Take responsibility. Be a man. You shot a guy." And I think that that really cuts to the heart of the matter, that for Cheney not to publicly apologize, for him not to, you know, say, "I made a mistake. You know, I made the worst error a hunter can make," I think it's just indicative of the arrogance that this White House, and particularly this Vice President, shows.
So it's news. And if the scold wants to have at Wally or C.I., she might want to try actually having something to point to with pride. Or maybe she thinks her Willie Nelson post today spread freedom and democracy online? While she's jerking off, Wally's making funny comments that have something to say. While she's jerking off, C.I.'s covering real issues. C.I. didn't make a 'Cheney joke' once but you'll note that Big Chin has one and she still links to him. She writes how sick she is of the left and how she removed sites from her blog roll that were focused on Cheney. Big Chin's must be her exception to her non-rules.
If you think I'm furious, I am, but it's nothing compared to Nina's fury. (Nina just said "I'm enraged.") (Nina said if I'm putting that in put in that Elaine doesn't have to keep noting that me and her aren't a couple. Nina's my girlfriend but a lot of people seem to think me and Elaine are a couple. Elaine's cool and pretty but Nina's my girlfriend -- and she's cool and pretty too.)
Poor Elaine had to hear me scream on the phone tonight. I'm sure she had to be thinking, "All day long I have to deal with crazies and now I've got another one!" :D
Nina says to note that Elaine "inspired her" when we all got together in D.C. in September so she decided to become a psychologist too. Sounds like good news until you realize that ever since Nina declared her major she's been all over my ass to declare as well. :D I'm still sampling.
5 "Raging Grannies" Arrested at Anti-War Protest Near DC
And just outside of Washington, DC, five women with the anti-war group the Raging Grannies were arrested Tuesday at a protest outside a military recruitment office. The women were arrested after announcing they intended to enlist. They chanted: "if someone must die in Iraq, let it be the old.” They were later released without charge. The protest was one of several held across the country Tuesday, including in Florida, California, and New York.
Give it up for the Grannies! Elaine's first words tonight were, "We've got to include the Grannies." I agree and that's about the only thing that makes me happy tonight. Good for those Raging Grannies. They are brave. If you heard about this, you know that the recuriters were scared of the Grannies and locked the doors in one location. They had this recruiter on the radio going, "Well, we were afraid that other protesters might show up too" but you know they were running scared from the Raging Grannies. Give it up for the Grannies.
Check out Like Maria Said Paz for Elaine's thoughts (if she has any left, I think I gave her a big headache tonight -- sorry and thanks for listening). And always check out The Daily Jot and The Common Ills.
democracy now
dick cheney
the common ills
the daily jot
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
Tuesday, February 14, 2006
Shoot 'em up Cheney still raises questions -- fortunately they spend lots of money on spin
Good evening. Tomorrow's hump day so hang in there until the weekend. (Leigh Ann wrote, "Will this week ever end?") It can be a rough day if you don't have a honey. Let's get things going with Democracy Now!
Cheney Cited For Hunting Violation in Shooting Incident
The Bush administration is on the defensive over Vice President Dick Cheney’s accidental shooting of hunting companion and Republican fundraiser Harry Whittington at a Texas ranch Saturday. Whittington is reported to be in stable condition. It took the White House at least 19 hours to inform the public -- and only after a local Texas newspaper broke the story. Cheney is also coming under criticism for violating Texas game law. On Monday, state officials said Cheney had not purchased a stamp required for bird hunting.
So let's sketch this out. Whittington supposedly walked behind Cheney. How did he get shot in the face then? Cheney was hunting without the necessary papers. Cheney shot Whittington. Cheney didn't want the public to know and Cheney didn't want to talk to the cops. Was he drunk?
C.I. passed this on to me and Elaine, Juan Gonzalez's "Why Put Silencer on Story?":
Since when does the massive White House spin machine permit a little-known South Texas rancher to give vice presidential press briefings?
McClellan said yesterday he did not even learn the vice president had been the shooter until Sunday morning.
Even the normally docile Washington press corps wasn't buying that line. Angry reporters repeatedly demanded to know exactly when Bush learned about Cheney's errant shot.
Later in the day, the White House revealed that deputy chief of staff Karl Rove was the first to know. Rove spoke by phone with Armstrong on Saturday evening, then informed Bush around 8 p.m. of the vice president's role.
In other words, both Bush and Rove knew the essential details within hours of the incident, yet the White House kept things quiet until the next day.
At yesterday's briefing, McClellan repeatedly referred further questions to Cheney's office, and late in the day the information dribbled out that Cheney hadn't bothered to pay for the proper permit to go bird hunting in Texas.
Local sheriffs in Kenedy County reportedly complained that Secret Service agents prevented them from talking to the vice president immediately after the incident.
The Secret Service, on the other hand, says that it reported the shooting to the sheriff's office an hour after it happened, and that Cheney eventually did talk to local authorities.
The Cheney interview, like so much of this story, was delayed until Sunday morning.
Vice President shoots someone, it's news. Accident or not. C.I. noted the Pravda like coverage in the New York Times. Cheney's a sick man, we all know that or should. During the 2000 recount, they tried to act like he was fine but he had to go into the hospital. Are we supposed to believe that six years later, he's healthier than he was then? What if the Bully Boy bulge in the October 2004 debate wasn't a wire but some health related device? What if we've got two people in the charge who are both a lot sicker than the press has ever told you? Think about it.
GAO: Bush Admin. Spent Over $1.6B on PR
And finally, a new report from the Government Accountablity Office says the Bush administration has spent over $1.6 billion on advertising and public relations contracts in the last two years. Of this amount, the Pentagon has been the biggest spender, paying $1.1 billion for recruitment campaigns and other public relations efforts.
What can I tell you? Press whores cost money. They probably have a price they can quote you. Like Elisabeth Bumiller probably charges more for a press snowball (where she spits out -- in print -- every "fact" you gave her) than she does for fluffing. 1.6 billion dollars? A drop in the bucket compared to how much the wars are costing us but what if they took that money and gave it to the school systems? While they're starving off all the programs that are supposed to help people, they have a lot of money to toss out on spin. This administration spends so much Bully Boy must be so dizzy he passes out each night.
And?
That's it. Elaine and I both promised to be brief tonight. We both have dates for Valentine's Day. I hope you do too but if you don't, it's not the end of the world. Treat yourself to something fun and make it a good Valentine's Day regardless. Be sure to check out Like Maria Said Paz. And check out this by Kat on the need to use your voice.
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juan gonzalez
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Cheney Cited For Hunting Violation in Shooting Incident
The Bush administration is on the defensive over Vice President Dick Cheney’s accidental shooting of hunting companion and Republican fundraiser Harry Whittington at a Texas ranch Saturday. Whittington is reported to be in stable condition. It took the White House at least 19 hours to inform the public -- and only after a local Texas newspaper broke the story. Cheney is also coming under criticism for violating Texas game law. On Monday, state officials said Cheney had not purchased a stamp required for bird hunting.
So let's sketch this out. Whittington supposedly walked behind Cheney. How did he get shot in the face then? Cheney was hunting without the necessary papers. Cheney shot Whittington. Cheney didn't want the public to know and Cheney didn't want to talk to the cops. Was he drunk?
C.I. passed this on to me and Elaine, Juan Gonzalez's "Why Put Silencer on Story?":
Since when does the massive White House spin machine permit a little-known South Texas rancher to give vice presidential press briefings?
McClellan said yesterday he did not even learn the vice president had been the shooter until Sunday morning.
Even the normally docile Washington press corps wasn't buying that line. Angry reporters repeatedly demanded to know exactly when Bush learned about Cheney's errant shot.
Later in the day, the White House revealed that deputy chief of staff Karl Rove was the first to know. Rove spoke by phone with Armstrong on Saturday evening, then informed Bush around 8 p.m. of the vice president's role.
In other words, both Bush and Rove knew the essential details within hours of the incident, yet the White House kept things quiet until the next day.
At yesterday's briefing, McClellan repeatedly referred further questions to Cheney's office, and late in the day the information dribbled out that Cheney hadn't bothered to pay for the proper permit to go bird hunting in Texas.
Local sheriffs in Kenedy County reportedly complained that Secret Service agents prevented them from talking to the vice president immediately after the incident.
The Secret Service, on the other hand, says that it reported the shooting to the sheriff's office an hour after it happened, and that Cheney eventually did talk to local authorities.
The Cheney interview, like so much of this story, was delayed until Sunday morning.
Vice President shoots someone, it's news. Accident or not. C.I. noted the Pravda like coverage in the New York Times. Cheney's a sick man, we all know that or should. During the 2000 recount, they tried to act like he was fine but he had to go into the hospital. Are we supposed to believe that six years later, he's healthier than he was then? What if the Bully Boy bulge in the October 2004 debate wasn't a wire but some health related device? What if we've got two people in the charge who are both a lot sicker than the press has ever told you? Think about it.
GAO: Bush Admin. Spent Over $1.6B on PR
And finally, a new report from the Government Accountablity Office says the Bush administration has spent over $1.6 billion on advertising and public relations contracts in the last two years. Of this amount, the Pentagon has been the biggest spender, paying $1.1 billion for recruitment campaigns and other public relations efforts.
What can I tell you? Press whores cost money. They probably have a price they can quote you. Like Elisabeth Bumiller probably charges more for a press snowball (where she spits out -- in print -- every "fact" you gave her) than she does for fluffing. 1.6 billion dollars? A drop in the bucket compared to how much the wars are costing us but what if they took that money and gave it to the school systems? While they're starving off all the programs that are supposed to help people, they have a lot of money to toss out on spin. This administration spends so much Bully Boy must be so dizzy he passes out each night.
And?
That's it. Elaine and I both promised to be brief tonight. We both have dates for Valentine's Day. I hope you do too but if you don't, it's not the end of the world. Treat yourself to something fun and make it a good Valentine's Day regardless. Be sure to check out Like Maria Said Paz. And check out this by Kat on the need to use your voice.
democracy now
dick cheney
juan gonzalez
the common ills
kats korner
like maria said paz
mikey likes it
Monday, February 13, 2006
Wally on Sportsman Cheney's fishing mishap, Guantanamo prisoners
Good evening. Hope everyone had a great weekend. Let's kick things off with Democracy Now!
Christian Peace Group Charged Over Gitmo Vigil
Meanwhile, the US government has served legal papers to seven members of a US Christian group that held a vigil outside the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The group, Witness Against Torture, held a five-day march to the prison in December. Around 500 prisoners are being held at Guantanamo, most without charge. The seven members each face up to 10 years in prison or a $250,000 dollar fine. Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights said: "I find it extremely hypocritical that Washington is investigating this group for the 'crime' of traveling to Cuba. The U.S. government is flagrantly violating even the most basic norms of human rights -- such as indefinite detention without charges, denial of fair trials and, most importantly, torture."
Seven brave Americans willing to put their bodies where there mouths were stand up for the rights of us all. They don't know the prisoners. They went down to protest on humanitarian grounds. And the payback? Having charges lodged against them. Do you care? You should. You do know that Guantanamo Bay is just a holding tank and that imprisonment there doesn't mean the people are guilty?
From "CCR Applauds Confirmation of Guantanamo Detainees' Innocence in First Statistical Analysis of Military Documents:"
On February 9, 2006, in New York, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) applauded the release of the Report on Guantanamo Detainees: A Profile of 517 Detainees Through Analysis of Department of Defense Data by Professor Mark Denbeaux of Seton Hall Law School and attorney Joshua Denbeaux.
Since February 2002, CCR has argued in the United States federal courts that the vast majority of prisoners at Guantánamo are innocent men who were kidnapped and turned over to the United States military for a bounty. The report found that "55 percent of the 517 detainees had no hostile act listed as the basis for detention" and a mere 5 percent were captured by U.S. forces, with the rest not picked up on the battlefield in Afghanistan but in Pakistan and handed to the U.S. by warlords and others for large bounties. According the report's careful analysis of the Defense Department records, 92% of the prisoners in Guantánamo were not characterized as Al Qaeda fighters. The men have been denied any fair hearing and detained in inhumane conditions for over four years, despite the Supreme Court ruling in CCR's case, Rasul v. Bush that they have the right to challenge the basis for their detention in U.S. court.
Said CCR attorney Gita Gutierrez, "Now, for the first time, the military's lies and misrepresentations about the prisoners in Guantánamo have been debunked through the military's own documents. Yet, these men remain in prison while at every turn the Executive seeks to avoid judicial scrutiny of its unlawful conduct."
That's from The Center for Constitutional Rights and if you go to that page, you can read a PDF format report. Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I. wrote "A Note to Our Readers" and I read that and thought, "Man, let me in on that!" Seriously, while we working on the F.U. edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review, we were talking about how serious stuff isn't being discussed. We don't mean people telling jokes. Like Wally, okay, The Daily Jot is supposed to make you laugh and hopefully think but it's humor. That's great. I love The Daily Jot. But there are a lot of "I'm so serious" types who aren't trying to make you laugh and they're being really lazy writing these jerk off columns and editorials about stuff like "Oprah had an author who lied!" and strutting around like they did something brave. If you're so serious, can you write about something that matters? Or is that asking too much? Too damn much is the way it looks. Flip through CJR magazine and see how serious they are or how pertinent to the world we're living in. They're a "journalism review" but they're not tackling any of the big issues. They're jerking off. (Read "Cowardly Journalism Review (Parody).") What's the point of that?
Report: US Aiding Construction of Morocoo Prison
In other news, the London Times is reporting the US is helping Morocco build a new prison for terror suspects near the capital of Rabat. The prison would be run by the Moroccan secret police, the Direction for Security of the Territory -- known as DST. Several human rights groups have accused the DST of torture. Morocco is thought to be one of the key partners in the CIA’s rendition of detainees.
What's the point of building more prisons for "terror suspects"? They've gotten away with it once, why not try again.
I'm swiping from C.I.:
James in Brighton notes Con Coughlin's "UN inquiry demands immediate closure of Guantanamo" (The Telegraph of London):
A United Nations inquiry has called for the immediate closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre and the prosecution of officers and politicians "up to the highest level" who are accused of torturing detainees.The UN Human Rights Commission report, due to be published this week, concludes that Washington should put the 520 detainees on trial or release them.It calls for the United States to halt all "practices amounting to torture", including the force-feeding of inmates who go on hunger strike.The report wants the Bush administration to ensure that all allegations of torture are investigated by US criminal courts, and that "all perpetrators up to the highest level of military and political command are brought to justice".
That's from "And the war drags on" which is an entry focusing on reporting coming out of the United States mainstream media. C.I. does one of those (at least one) each Sunday. You read those entries and you get a different sense of the world then what our comfy, lazy press tells you (or doesn't tell you).
By the way, check out this from C.I. to read about outrage. We should all be feeling outraged by what's going on in what is supposed to be the land of the free.
And Ma's got a new recipe, this one requires no cooking and I can vouch for it, it's tasty. I hope everyone checks out Trina's Kitchen. And for some good belly laughs (nothing wrong with having a good laugh), check out Wally's "THIS JUST IN! DICK CHENEY HAS A FISHING MISHAP!" Here's the opening of that:
TODAY IN WASHINGTON, DC., THE WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMED THAT YESTERDAY VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY SLICED OFF A MAN'S FINGER.
THE EVENT, AS IS CURRENTLY KNOWN, TOOK PLACE ON A SUNDAY FISHING TRIP. VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY WAS SAID TO BE ATTEMPTING TO GUT A FISH AND MISTOOK BULLY BOY PIONEER AND ENRON HERO KENNETH LAY'S RIGHT HAND FOR A FISH.
I tagged Elaine's site before I published, I just forgot to mention. Be sure to check out Like Maria Said Paz because Elaine's had a lot to say on the Guantanamo prisoners when we were on the phone earlier.
democracy now
guantanamo
the common ills
the daily jot
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
trinas kitchen
dick cheney
Christian Peace Group Charged Over Gitmo Vigil
Meanwhile, the US government has served legal papers to seven members of a US Christian group that held a vigil outside the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The group, Witness Against Torture, held a five-day march to the prison in December. Around 500 prisoners are being held at Guantanamo, most without charge. The seven members each face up to 10 years in prison or a $250,000 dollar fine. Michael Ratner, president of the Center for Constitutional Rights said: "I find it extremely hypocritical that Washington is investigating this group for the 'crime' of traveling to Cuba. The U.S. government is flagrantly violating even the most basic norms of human rights -- such as indefinite detention without charges, denial of fair trials and, most importantly, torture."
Seven brave Americans willing to put their bodies where there mouths were stand up for the rights of us all. They don't know the prisoners. They went down to protest on humanitarian grounds. And the payback? Having charges lodged against them. Do you care? You should. You do know that Guantanamo Bay is just a holding tank and that imprisonment there doesn't mean the people are guilty?
From "CCR Applauds Confirmation of Guantanamo Detainees' Innocence in First Statistical Analysis of Military Documents:"
On February 9, 2006, in New York, the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) applauded the release of the Report on Guantanamo Detainees: A Profile of 517 Detainees Through Analysis of Department of Defense Data by Professor Mark Denbeaux of Seton Hall Law School and attorney Joshua Denbeaux.
Since February 2002, CCR has argued in the United States federal courts that the vast majority of prisoners at Guantánamo are innocent men who were kidnapped and turned over to the United States military for a bounty. The report found that "55 percent of the 517 detainees had no hostile act listed as the basis for detention" and a mere 5 percent were captured by U.S. forces, with the rest not picked up on the battlefield in Afghanistan but in Pakistan and handed to the U.S. by warlords and others for large bounties. According the report's careful analysis of the Defense Department records, 92% of the prisoners in Guantánamo were not characterized as Al Qaeda fighters. The men have been denied any fair hearing and detained in inhumane conditions for over four years, despite the Supreme Court ruling in CCR's case, Rasul v. Bush that they have the right to challenge the basis for their detention in U.S. court.
Said CCR attorney Gita Gutierrez, "Now, for the first time, the military's lies and misrepresentations about the prisoners in Guantánamo have been debunked through the military's own documents. Yet, these men remain in prison while at every turn the Executive seeks to avoid judicial scrutiny of its unlawful conduct."
That's from The Center for Constitutional Rights and if you go to that page, you can read a PDF format report. Jim, Dona, Ty, Jess, Ava and C.I. wrote "A Note to Our Readers" and I read that and thought, "Man, let me in on that!" Seriously, while we working on the F.U. edition of The Third Estate Sunday Review, we were talking about how serious stuff isn't being discussed. We don't mean people telling jokes. Like Wally, okay, The Daily Jot is supposed to make you laugh and hopefully think but it's humor. That's great. I love The Daily Jot. But there are a lot of "I'm so serious" types who aren't trying to make you laugh and they're being really lazy writing these jerk off columns and editorials about stuff like "Oprah had an author who lied!" and strutting around like they did something brave. If you're so serious, can you write about something that matters? Or is that asking too much? Too damn much is the way it looks. Flip through CJR magazine and see how serious they are or how pertinent to the world we're living in. They're a "journalism review" but they're not tackling any of the big issues. They're jerking off. (Read "Cowardly Journalism Review (Parody).") What's the point of that?
Report: US Aiding Construction of Morocoo Prison
In other news, the London Times is reporting the US is helping Morocco build a new prison for terror suspects near the capital of Rabat. The prison would be run by the Moroccan secret police, the Direction for Security of the Territory -- known as DST. Several human rights groups have accused the DST of torture. Morocco is thought to be one of the key partners in the CIA’s rendition of detainees.
What's the point of building more prisons for "terror suspects"? They've gotten away with it once, why not try again.
I'm swiping from C.I.:
James in Brighton notes Con Coughlin's "UN inquiry demands immediate closure of Guantanamo" (The Telegraph of London):
A United Nations inquiry has called for the immediate closure of America's Guantanamo Bay detention centre and the prosecution of officers and politicians "up to the highest level" who are accused of torturing detainees.The UN Human Rights Commission report, due to be published this week, concludes that Washington should put the 520 detainees on trial or release them.It calls for the United States to halt all "practices amounting to torture", including the force-feeding of inmates who go on hunger strike.The report wants the Bush administration to ensure that all allegations of torture are investigated by US criminal courts, and that "all perpetrators up to the highest level of military and political command are brought to justice".
That's from "And the war drags on" which is an entry focusing on reporting coming out of the United States mainstream media. C.I. does one of those (at least one) each Sunday. You read those entries and you get a different sense of the world then what our comfy, lazy press tells you (or doesn't tell you).
By the way, check out this from C.I. to read about outrage. We should all be feeling outraged by what's going on in what is supposed to be the land of the free.
And Ma's got a new recipe, this one requires no cooking and I can vouch for it, it's tasty. I hope everyone checks out Trina's Kitchen. And for some good belly laughs (nothing wrong with having a good laugh), check out Wally's "THIS JUST IN! DICK CHENEY HAS A FISHING MISHAP!" Here's the opening of that:
TODAY IN WASHINGTON, DC., THE WHITE HOUSE CONFIRMED THAT YESTERDAY VICE PRESIDENT DICK CHENEY SLICED OFF A MAN'S FINGER.
THE EVENT, AS IS CURRENTLY KNOWN, TOOK PLACE ON A SUNDAY FISHING TRIP. VICE PRESIDENT CHENEY WAS SAID TO BE ATTEMPTING TO GUT A FISH AND MISTOOK BULLY BOY PIONEER AND ENRON HERO KENNETH LAY'S RIGHT HAND FOR A FISH.
I tagged Elaine's site before I published, I just forgot to mention. Be sure to check out Like Maria Said Paz because Elaine's had a lot to say on the Guantanamo prisoners when we were on the phone earlier.
democracy now
guantanamo
the common ills
the daily jot
mikey likes it
like maria said paz
trinas kitchen
dick cheney
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