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POPSWaterboarding Demo in Congress !? To Prove not Torture!? "In the war crimes tribunals that followed Japan's defeat in World War II, the issue of waterboarding was sometimes raised. In 1947, the U.S. charged a Japanese officer, Yukio Asano, with war crimes for waterboarding a U.S. civilian. Asano was sentenced to 15 years of hard labor. "'All of these trials elicited compelling descriptions of water torture from its victims, and resulted in severe punishment for its perpetrators,' writes Evan Wallach in the Columbia Journal of Transnational Law." Begs the question. How could he be charged in WW2 with the WAR CRIME of waterboarding? The recipient was a civilian seemed to be the point? Well so are the detainees in Guantanamo Bay. If there were POWs then it would NOT be a WAR CRIME but as Bush says they are not POWs then it is a WAR CRIME.
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POPSHolloween in Dublin. Today... Gays, drink, money, Amnesty. NO religion!
When I saw this photo in the Irish Times of the fun in Temple Bar, Dublin, it was the first time that I knew of the event. Temple Bar was the oldest part of Dublin and has been completely restored. Yet an old fella like me would have stood out with all the young people who flock there. I'm reminded of great Irish traditions that went to America and are now returned, repackaged and better and in some cases even better than left your shores. We've commented here on ChipMarks about Halloween and pumpkins. Well the biggest of all is St.Patrick's Day. That now is celebrated throughout the world, Russia, China, you name it. I'm not sure but I think you invented it. A decade or so ago it was a pitiful affair. Now it would rival any similar event in the World and now not just in Dublin. Spilling out from this are numerous other events throughout the year. That photo gives you an idea of the standard. At times you would think you were in South America. I'm guessing but I think quite a few
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POPSExtracted line by line from Hell by pro bono Attorneys "Osama Abu Kabir is a Jordanian water truck driver who worked for the municipality of Greater Amman. After joining an Islamic missionary organization called Jama'at al-Tablighi, he traveled to Afghanistan, where he was detained by anti-Taliban forces and handed over to the US military. One of the justifications offered for his continued detention is that he was captured wearing a Casio digital watch, a brand supposedly favored by members of Al Qaeda because some models may be used as bomb detonators. Kabir remains at Guantánamo. IS IT TRUE? Is it true that the grass grows up again after the rain? Is it true that the flowers will rise up in the spring? Is it true that birds will migrate home again? Is it true that the salmon swim back up their stream? It is true. This is true. These are all miracles. But is it true that one day we'll leave Guantánamo Bay? Is it true that one day we'll go back to our homes? I sail in my dreams, I am dreaming of homes. To be with my children
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POPSChess Got More Info Than Torture - Steak Dinners Helped Several of the veterans, all men in their 80s and 90s, denounced the controversial techniques. And when the time came for them to accept honors from the Army's Freedom Team Salute, one veteran refused, citing his opposition to the war in Iraq and procedures that have been used at Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. "I feel like the military is using us to say, 'We did spooky stuff then, so it's okay to do it now,' " said Arno Mayer, 81, a professor of European history at Princeton University.
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POPSWP: Abu Ghraib Tactics Were First Used at Guantanamo Maj. Gen. Geoffrey Miller, who commanded the detention facility at Guantanamo Bay and later helped set up U.S. operations at Abu Ghraib, was accused of failing to properly supervise Qahtani's interrogation plan and was recommended for reprimand by investigators. Miller would have been the highest-ranking officer to face discipline for detainee abuses so far, but Gen. Bantz Craddock, head of the U.S. Southern Command, declined to follow the recommendation. Within weeks of his departure from Abu Ghraib, military working dogs were being used in interrogations, and naked detainees were humiliated and abused by military police soldiers working the night shift. Some of the Abu Ghraib soldiers have said they were following the directionsof military intelligence officials to soften up detainees for interrogation, in part by depriving them of sleep. The photos that caused alarm around the world included some showing the MPs sexually humiliating the detainees
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POPSMoral Depravity in the Highest Places
After 7 1/2 years of George W. Bush, much of the media and political establishment — which have never shown much interest in holding Bush to account — now appear anxious to simply move on. They seem determined to leave unexamined the full cruelty and mendacity of the Bush administration, with its unlawful wars and blatant violations of the Geneva Conventions. Moving on is a great idea - once there’s been some accountability, with a full public recognition of wrongdoing, and a commitment to bring about change. Otherwise, nothing will have been learned. The comments of Yoo, who authored top-level internal memos justifying torture and virtually unlimited presidential power, suggest a moral depravity in very high places. That depravity led to the horrific abuses at Abu Ghraib and at other U.S. prisons in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay and “black sites” around the world. The dean of the Massachusetts School of Law, Lawrence Velvel, argues that Bush and top administration offi
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POPSTorture WARNING: The remainder of the article is graphic. Pages from the AQ "comic book" are displayed.
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POPSBUSH: Adding Insult to Injury of Waterboarding William Hopkins is a consultant psychiatrist and psychotherapist who has worked at the Medical Foundation for the Care of Victims of Torture since 2001. He has actively campaigned against the use of force-feeding in Guantánamo Bay and has spoken extensively about both the psychological effects of torture and therapeutic work with survivors.
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POPSUS Human Rights Violations Embolden Others To Act The Same
"Well, it’s very ironic, in fact, for the UN human rights machinery to feel compelled to be involved in a country that has very high human rights standards, at least a legal protection for human rights. I think the choice of the site in Guantanamo Bay was the first marker that there was an attempt by the US administration to manage the war on terror outside the legal framework. I mean, it was a deliberate attempt to shelter the actions of the administration from judicial scrutiny. From day one, this was my biggest concern. I think Americans and people all over the world have every reason to have confidence in US institutions when they are all engaged together. The system of governments has several branches, and in the field of human rights the judicial branch is probably the most important one. It’s the forum for protection, upholding of human rights law. So the signal that this entire war on terror would be fought outside the legal framework, I think, was extremely troublesome."
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POPSBush: those who disagree with him "slander America" How very, very cheap - taking those who disagree with HIM and labeling them slanderers of AMERICA. He attempts to manipulate people who want to be patriotic into sitting down, shutting up, and asking no questions about his abuse of power, so he can do whatever he wants with their money.
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POPSImmunity for Blackwater and Torture for Muslims In case anyone out there is still wondering "Why do they hate us?" allow me to illustrate: American Blackwater guards, employed by the State Department, who are above the Iraqi law and beyond Military law, go on a shooting spree in traffic, leaving a dozen innocent civilians dead. The half-hearted US investigation is undermined by a reflexive offer of immunity. On the other hand, Arab Muslims, or anyone else more swarthy than Nathan Lane, can be abducted off the streets and tortured in secret detention camps or military prisons, with no legal recourse. Our government pardons its hiered killers and arbitrarily tortures people based on their race and religion. That's pretty damn shocking. So why is it so controversial to say "These people should go to jail." They haven't just broken the law, they've made a mockery of American principles. And yet, we feel no shame.
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POPSStop torture now We have to stop this now. We have to do something. This gov't is supposed to be by the people and for the people. The torture must stop!!!
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POPSC.I.A. Destroyed tapes despite court orders It's no surprise that the CIA destroyed any 'evidence' of torture, but they were a bit late, the news was already out. Do they really think no-one else managed to get a copy? They may be able to discredit the detainees stories in the mainstream media, but people are starting to find the grape vine far more reliable.
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POPSSome Iraqi News Not Reported By "The Media" Meanwhile Bill Roggio reports that a released Gitmo detainee is back to the front and is responsible for attacks inside Iraq : The detainee, Abdullah Salih al Ajmi, drove a armored truck packed with explosives into a Iraqi army base and detonated it, killing 13 Iraqi army soldiers and wounding 42. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2008/06/released_guantanamo.php Just the tip of the iceberg I’m afraid after our courts release a large chunk of these guys. Al Qaeda in Iraq, through its puppet organization the Islamic State of Iraq, released its latest propaganda video on June 23. The video contains a montage of attacks throughout Iraq, and features two Kuwaiti al Qaeda operatives who conducted strikes in Mosul. One of the operatives was released from the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. The Islamic State of Iraq used footage taken at Combat Outpost Inman by this reporter in Mosul in March of this year.
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POPSGovt blocks payment of Gitmo defense attorneys "government argues is required under U.S. law because the beneficiaries of the lawyers' services are foreign terrorists" - of course, these being "fair" trials, we wouldn't assume they were "terrorists," before their conviction, now would we? Justice means nothing in this political theater.
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POPSEU Confirms POW TORTURE at Gitmo "Deghayes and Banna arrived back in Britain with a third British resident, Abdennour Samuer. Banna, from north-west London, was arrested in the Gambia in 2002 after he did not accept an MI5 request to become an informant. Irene Nembhard, a lawyer for the men, said it was time for them to be allowed to rebuild their lives." ...Guardian
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POPS 'US Sets Standards, Fails to Meet Them' But while being critical of the position with the U.S. on specific counts, the thrust of the AI position was controversially that the U.S. carries the responsibility of setting an example to the rest of the world.
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POPSChase Away The Ugly Hatred "I have always been able to separate the ordinary Americans from the government. Tonight was the first time that the two became inseparable. For the first time in 21 years I witnessed hate in America – and what an ugly spectacle. Thankfully, I was rescued by that America that I cherish. As I was leaving, I saw more protestors. I joined them and we started chanting. Rabbis, priests, and practicing Moslems were among many who held signs reading: “Thanks Ann, you have united Moslems, Jews, and Christians”. She had. Tonight, as I review the hateful words spoken, the reaction of some in the college that I still love, the signs, the unity, and the warm embrace of the rabbi will chase away the ugly hatred of Ann Coulter and her clan."
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