Hi All,
Too often politicians spin terms to advance their agendas. Even to the point that, in a country created by the most liberal constitution known in history, the term "liberal" was turned to a nasty word.
A rose by any other name still smells as sweetly as a rose and calling torture “enhanced interrogation” still is inhumane and remains torture. The “enhanced interrogation technique” now known as “water boarding” that was not only permitted but also now known demanded under the Bush/Cheney administration is nothing less than “torture”. Politicians in the United States of America, since the time of John F. Kennedy, have learned to buy and sell the mass media. Allowing politicians to misguide the public by spinning words to reduce or increase the “sting” of the word. The current attempt of politicians to rename “torture”, as “enhanced interrogation, is a continuance of the deceptive policy of redefining terminology. Other “enhanced interrogation techniques” aside, the water torture now called “water boarding” is without doubt a form of torture. The attempt to define ‘water-boarding’ as ‘enhanced interrogation’ and not as ‘torture’ is purely political. It is an attempt to steer the public from the fact that the United States government under the auspice of the Bush/Cheney administration knowingly committed war crimes. Harvard Law Professor Alan Dershowitz (Boston Globe 5-15-2004) probably coins the phrase, “water-boarding” in reference to a form of “water-torture”. Water boarding is, of course, actually a form of surfboarding. A great thing for the spinning of words for politicians, giving a form of water tortures the connotation of a sporting event. The United States of America was instrumental in drafting, defining and ratifying the terms of the 1948 documents outlawing wartime crimes. The United States was most adamant in this because of the inhuman treatment suffered by an astronomical amount of brave American soldiers, especially in the World Wars. War crimes under the Geneva Convention include, "...willful killing, torture or inhuman treatment (cruel treatment), including biological experiments, willfully causing great suffering or serious injury to body or health." Article 3 of the Geneva Convention extends the articles of the treatise to include those not classified as “prisoners of war”. Hence, the attempted spinning of “war prisoners” to “detainees” will not protect one from committing a war crime. The water torture now called "water-boarding" surpasses "inhuman treatment" and "willfully causing great suffering", which is also illegal under the convention standards. Water boarding is nothing less than "torture", if it were not so, it would still be a war crime under the Geneva Conventions. Torture is defined as an inflicting of physical punishment which causes someone extreme pain, physical or mental anguish. Water boarding is a water torture that causes extreme pain, physical anguish and mental anguish. Water boarding is a torture. Our own Federal Criminal Code defines torture as “the intentional infliction of severe mental pain or suffering," In the United States, that called ‘water-boarding’ has long been considered and defined as “torture. The water torture now called water boarding has been an illegal war activity for many years. John McCain, past Presidential nominee and torture victim during the Vietnam War, said of the water boarding technique that it is a “very exquisite torture”. In Vietnam, United States Generals reiterated that water boarding was illegal and they were serious. A U.S. soldier found guilty of water boarding in Vietnam and sent to prison. Water boarding has long been considered an illegal wartime crime of torture whereby the United States holds its own accountable. A definition of water boarding as torture that goes back as far as 1901. A United States Army major, in the Spanish/American War, when found guilty of water boarding received a sentence of 10 years at hard labor. Only in the past few years has this been an issue. When it leaked that the United States had water boarded “detainees” at Guantanamo. The “spin” began water torture became water boarding, like the sport. Water boarding became an “enhanced interrogation technique” as opposed to the torture that it is. It is a hard pill to swallow, the idea of holding, especially before the world, one’s own responsible for such actions. However, this is a very resilient country, one of pride, which should not become a false pride by the subversion of words. To ignore our own morality and ideals, those that we have projected to the World, will be far worse than calling torture what it is, torture.
Greetings and Salutation!
I watched the movie version of “Chicago” the other night. Today, I think about this AIG fiasco and remember Richard Gere’s well done rendition of “Razzle Dazzle ’em” in that movie. The sly lawyer as he diverts attention from what is fact to what is emotion. In the instance of this AIG fiasco, diverting attention to bonuses paid executives and away from the truth. Any really, really, good swindle or scam uses that “Razzle Dazzle ‘em” rule. One must have a focus of attention somewhere other than upon the fraud itself. The shenanigans at AIG bring to mind a movie called “Paper Moon”. Destiny teams a little girl and a middle-aged man up as con artists. The man pays for some items in a story with a large bill. Behind him in line, the little girl pays for something with a small bill. When the girl sees her change, she balks, claiming that she had given the clerk the larger bill. Her distressed cry that the larger bill is a birthday gift with a birthday inscription on it, inciting emotions. Found in the cash drawer is a larger bill with the inscription the girl claims. The girl “earns” the larger bill via her deception. AIG is much the same con, right down to the little girl taking the fraud into a simpler swindle. A couple of more obvious short-changing maneuvers to increase her take or maybe just to show off her flair for the con game. In the AIG situation, these would be bonuses unnecessary yet still, bonuses useful in diverting attention toward facts to attention toward emotions. It can be a bit more complicated but the primary things that occurred up to and including the bailouts is the same. There are many faucets to this fraud. However, the base fraud is a matter of giving a small bill and pretending it is the large bill. The deregulation of laws, which had created borders betwixt Wall Street, the Banks, and the Insurance companies, that allowed great fraud to be committed. Long ago and far away, something called “buying on margin” came to be. This entailed a situation whereby a person could post X dollars of collateral and the stock market company would give an equal amount of credit. Thereby, one could have $100.00 in collateral and buy $200.00 in stock. This is termed “leveraging” and was fine when regulations were in place. The advent of such things as “options” for “hedging” will greatly increase this leveraging situation to create a “win-win” situation for the smart investor (or better said, “Sly” investor). The stock market always somewhat of a gamble, one could now “bet” that a stock would fall in value and make the big bucks. Even if one did not actually own the actual shares of that stock, one could control hundreds of thousands of dollars in stock with only a few hundreds of marginal dollars. Marginal dollars are the big bill that the little girl did not really give the store clerk; it never existed. However, the real big bill, which the store clerk gave back to the little girl, did exist. In effect, it was money used to “bail out” the clerk and the store due to emotional circumstances. One day it hit the news that a company called “Lehman Brothers” had taken the big dive and the world would collapse unless the government did not step in to help. The sky was falling, as it were. The big cats including the FED knew that Lehman would collapse if someone did not purchase it (and revise the books) or the FED did not step in with help. The stack of cards to build the house was going to come down. The FED knew long before Lehman Brothers failed that it would happen. Instead of bracing (or bailing out) Lehman Brothers, the Fed let Lehman Brothers fail. The auspice incongruously put out that Lehman would fall by itself and create only a pothole on Wall Street. This is incongruent because anyone familiar with the system would know that Lehman would take others with it. Lehman failed and AIG became responsible for the billions in insurance it sold against such a failure. The government fooled to step in with billions and no oversight. The insurance that AIG had sold and could not cover, billions in insurance to protect investors that they not lose their investment AND not lose the monies that did not exist; stocks and options bought on MARGIN. What a quandary, what a great fraud is the scam perpetrated on an unsuspecting people. AIG had insured billions of dollars that did not exist. Until the FED marched in and turned those dollars into real cash, the clerk handing the poor little child her take and her bonus for her short change game. The executives earned those bonuses because they pulled the biggest heist in history. In addition, they are taking the people’s eye off the proverbial ball and probably giving AIG plenty of time for a probable shredding enterprise. Find the insured and one will find the trail of fraud or one can play with the millions in bonuses and ignore the billions in fraud.
Loveya,
I am sorry for all the repeat blogs but I am involved in many groups and can only contact 10 blogs at a time. Hope you will forgive me.
Duane
Terri S. sent me this link to give spread around. I hope everyone will visit it and pass the link.
All you have to do is visit the animal rescue site and click on the box. They will donate a small amount of food to rescued animals for each click they get, and they are not getting enough clicks right now.
Please help them help animals. It's simple, quick and free, and does a world of good. Please pass on to others that might be interested in helping.
Thanks,
Terri S.
http://www.theanimalrescuesite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=3
Hi, This is one great and creative video! I hope everyone watches, likes it and spreads it around.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhW9DSSMVSk
It is without doubt that many Obama supporters will become discouraged as he takes office.
I hope we can all look at things which take place from an objective perspective and not become discouraged if anything takes place which we find disagreeable. Selections for his cabinet and such.
For me, Barack Obama has shown remarkable integrity honesty in his political career. This is something hard to do in politics and, for me, it is having someone that I trust. He may not always do as I would like, but as in his past, his explanations of things I know will be honest.
Hi all, it is not over 'til it's over. George Bush is preparing to enact 90 resolutions which will be hard for Obama to clear when he gets into office.
I am sending the following email to Nancy Pelosi, House Speaker and the one who can begin impeachment proceedings. It would be a shame if these two criminals are allowed to leave office with some bogus honorable history.
email:sf.nancy@mail.house.govDear Honorable Nancy Pelosi, With all due respect to your position, intelligence and patriotism. Yet it still escapes me why the legislation to impeach Dick Cheney and George Bush was sent to committee. At least this is what happened to the best of my knowledge. I assumed that it was a bad time to be impeaching the executive branch of our government. The controversy would be a bad idea during the campaign of our President Elect, Barack Obama. I ask of you, with my heart, mind and soul, to bring impeachment proceedings forward at this time. It would be a shame on this country and this governmental system if Bush and Cheney were allowed to leave office with honor after what they have done to this country and the Constitution. I firmly believe that without any political shenanigans, these two will be impeached the mere fact that both are sworn to uphold the Constitution and blatantly threatened military action against other sovereign nations is itself enough for impeachment. The founding fathers knew well the possibility of an executive branch, which put military force above diplomatic maneuvers. It is also inferred if not out and out written that the Presidents State of the Union address is to be of facts, not to be filled with inferences or out-and-out lies to the people of this country in effort to sway public political opinion. It is also without doubt that the President and vice-President used a minimum of three deceptions, which were known by them to have other, countermanding information, which they hide from view. It is imperative that bipartisan politics be put aside and honesty, integrity, common sense and intelligence be reinserted into a terribly politicized and polarized Congress. Please, do the right thing and impeach the men that their legacy is not left to blot the future governing of this great country.Yours,Duane A. Kuehn
