Posts with the tag torture

How long will I continue to remain in this fantasy world?

ellend20 — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:55:45 EDT

This is a world where no one is smart enough to say "hello" to me without directions. (All interactions with me - not involving unpaid work, are set up by the U.S. government).

This is a world where sex is a prerequisite for employment (as determined by the men in charge) and all phones are wiretapped.

This is a world where E.N.D.A.(even if it is passed) will never be enforced.

This is a world where a suit is more important than a brain.

Global protest on 14 Oct 2009 for banning Mind Control abuses and tortures

Soleilmavis — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 18:39:00 EDT

Wednesday, October 14, 2009
Photos of protests: http://peacepink.ning.com/photo/albums/rally-or-demonstration
Oct. 14 Protest: Reports from the Front

Here are the reports of the IAACEA (International Alliance Against Covert Electronic Abuse) October 14th Global T.I. Protests for Truth and Justice.

Starting with IAACEA creator, Debbie Newhook reports on the Victoria, Canada protest. Then on to reports two from San Francisco (Bruno Marchisani, Mesha Monge-Irizarry, and Christine), two from Toronto (by Helen Galina Kurdina and Danielle DiBari) and London (by Paolo Fiori). Paolo did a tremendous amount of work to get the word spread about the protest in the UK. Then move on to T. Josephine's concise Philadelphia report at the end. I want to give kudos to T.Josepine for braving the cold and rain all alone. The reports finish up with final thoughts by Debbie Newhook. - Nancy aka mistaken.name, A Word the the Wise T.I.

China
By Soleilmavis
We have more than 500 victims daily being tortured and abused by remotely directed energy weapons. But we remain resolute and most of us work diligently to expose this crime on the Internet, and won't stop reporting this heinous to the Chinese government.

In China, as in the rest of the world, the official police position is that Targeted Individuals are mentally ill, so we cannot get permits to do street protests.
However, we did promote the global protest via the Internet. We got nearly one hundred Targeted Individuals to publish the IAACEA press release on their own websites, along with the list of protest locations, and to send many letters to public.
Here is our online site of supporting signatures:
http://everywhere.zh.pledgebank.com/peacepink (in Chinese)
http://www.change.org/actions/view/ban_mind_controldirected_energy_weapons_abuse_and_torture
http://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=76416668535

Soleilmavis, PeacePink
http://peacepink.ning.com

WASHINGTON, USA REPORT
By Marc Burnell
Thought the protest went well. Weather wasn't the greatest. Kind of nervous with all the cops and undercover cops around. Ate alot of the chips and drank sodas I bought by a great donation from Cynthia. There were lots of tourists that stopped by and took pictires of the White House and us.

Enjoyed talking to other TIs about their situation. Learning alot from other TIs about how to cope and different remedies to use to uplift myself.. Many of the TIs were form NY. We spoke to a freelance writer who took notes and took our pictures. We spoke with other human rights groups that were nearby. Handed out fliers.

SAN FRANCISCO, USA REPORT
by Bruno Marchisani

SF Photos by Scott at OneWorldLove- you'll have to join to view

Yesterday, Wednesday, October 14, 2009, from 11:00am to 2:00pm, there was a civil protest against OS/EH at city hall in San Francisco, California, one of several being planned on or about that same day in several cities around the world, including Los Angeles, Philadelphia, Washington D.C., Cincinnati (meeting only), Victoria and Toronto in Canada, London, India (internet mailings) and China (internet mailings), as part of a global day of protest being organized by a newly formed TI activism group called the International Alliance Against Covert Electronic Abuse, www.iaacea.org. Debbie Newhook and Galina Kurdina in Canada, Soleilmavis in China and Derrick Robinson of FFCHS were some of the planners.

Christine Harris in SF was the contact person for the San Francisco protest, with Mesha Monge-Irizarry being a resource having had experience in protesting.
Mesha is a non-TI activist Christine recently began networking with who among other things setup and moderated a forum to help organize the global protest.
She has an office in San Francisco and apparently moderates 250 internet forums, one of them being the recently created Targeted_Individual s yahoo group. She is considering holding TI meetings at her office in San Francisco.

A possibility of rain was forecast but the weather was clear and mostly sunny. I counted 16 protesters being present, including Christine, Richard in Marin, many other TIs who I've met before, a few I hadn't met yet, Mesha, and Marlon Crump,writer for Poor Magazine who Christine has recently began networking with. Most had arrived within the first half hour of the 11:00am protest start time.

We originally planned to protest at the park across the street from city hall,to be respectful of city hall workers, but a police officer came by and said we needed a permit to protest in a public park, though he said this first time he'd allow it. He also indicated we could protest directly in front of city hall if we liked, so we moved our protest to the sidewalk in front of city hall.

There was a plethora of protest signs of various sizes, colors and styles: "stop group stakling," "stop organized stalking," "stop organized terror," "stop covert torture," "stop electronic harassment," "stop electronic torture," "stop electromagnetic weapons," "stop defamation of character now," "restore human liberties now," "stop residential directed energy attacks now IAACEA," "unforgivable! MKULTRA should never happen again," and "my family is victim of mind control program illegally run by the US gov agencies. Torture, mental rape, robbery -- the outcome of the Nazi experiment." Also I brought buttons with the FFCHS logo for us to wear.

The mood was positive if not festive, with us talking amongst ourselves, getting to know each other. Some of us had come from as far away as Modesto and Fresno,and for at least one of us this was our first time meeting with other TIs.

Foot traffic was light, even during the lunch hour, with some passers-by looking to see what our signs said. A few spoke with us to try to understand what we were protesting. Due to the relatively light foot traffic and us not being very aggressive at distributing handouts, we didn't distribute all that many.
Handouts included one of the IAACEA press releases announcing the global protest, a letter from Missouri State Representative Jim Guest acknowledging the existence of OS/EH on many of the constituents in the country, a flyer on the book "A New Breed: Satellite Terrorism in America" by Dr. John Hall, who has treated patients suffering from the effects of OS/EH, a copy of an article entitled "Is the NSA Conducting Electronic Warfare On Americans?" regarding former NSA intelligence officer Russ Tice and the NSA's purported mind control technology, and a compilation of excerpts from Cheryl Welsh, FFCHS and H.Michael Sweeney.

Vehicular traffic on the other hand was ongoing, and heavier during the lunch hour. Some of us were lined along the edge of the sidewalk displaying our signs -- several drivers honked their horns and gave us the "thumbs up" in support!

At one point a reporter and cameraperson for an independent San Francisco internet video news group came by and did a brief interview with Christine and Mesha -- everybody felt they did a great job! Later on a CBS van parked across the street to cover a different event and Christine went over and gave them some handouts.

I spoke with several TIs at the protest. Christine says she is doing what she can to network to help end our harassment, a TI from Fresno says he is educating some of the people in Fresno on OS/EH, and another said God's message of love is the most important tool in counteracting our harassment. Marlon wanted everyone to know about his new, second, article on OS/EH, entitled "Targeted Individuals.

In my opinion the protest was certainly successful in terms of turnout -- this has been the largest turnout for any TI event in the San Francisco Bay Area I'm aware of and slightly exceed my expectations! Most of us stayed there until the 2:00pm protest end time, shortly after which we disbanded. I and at least a couple of others who were present took pictures of the event and I will be forwarding mine to Felix, a TI who plans to make a video of the global protests.
President Obama was to be visiting San Francisco the following day and Christine along with some of yesterday's protesters planned to be present to gain more exposure.

Reports of some of the protests in the other locations have been posted. Debbie declared her protest a success in Victoria, Canada -- there were 5 TIs present -- they handed out about 400 flyers and were interviewed by a local university student -- later on heavy rainfall brought an end to their protest. There were 5 TIs present at Galina protest in Toronto, Canada -- they spoke with several people, some sympathetic, and handed out a few flyers -- after the main protest had ended and they had some coffee they decided to do a second impromptu protest at another location. An early report from London, England, indicated 5 TIs were present but more were expected. The Philadelphia protest apparently only had one protester show up, but none-the-less the protester remained and handed out flyers! The LA protest was postponed to next week due to a heavy storm and flooding. Nancy is posting the recaps of the protests at http://wiseti.blogspot.com and Mesha is considering doing a compilation on indymedia.org.

For questions about the protest please contact Christine directly.

Judy and I went to the Obama protest last night [Oct. 15th] at 5:00 P.M. to 7:00 P.M. at Powell Street and Geary Street, with over 1000 people. I brought my huge sign, and Russell Tice FBI fliers, and had many inquiries, and victims stopping to talk with us.

With the support of Judy, two reporters from cable channels 13, and 26, which may have been on T.V. last night at 10:00 P.M. stopped to interview me. I was brief, but stated our plight.

Three interviews in two days, I like it!!

Christine Harris
christinelynnharris@hotmail.com (415) 235-6466
Bruno Marchesani
bruno_marchesani@msn.com (650) 776-1814

SAN FRANCISCO, USA REPORT
by Mesha Monge-Irizarry

We were a "crowd" of about 20 TIs & Allies with signs brought by Bruno, Richard,a Black Brother who came from Fresno (name?), Christine, the Kats Family, Judy ... Who am I forgetting? Among us, a Black Sister who is a college professor in Political Science in Oakland, accompanied by a Latina and a white woman TIs.
Also was present a San Franciscan woman, former nurse who blew the whistle on her medical unit at PMC, when she saw several patients with electrodes in their brain, and realized from their encephalograms that something terribly wrong was being done to them... she disconnected everything, and the electronic torture started, did not let up for over a decade. At first the cops, then the sheriffs tried the intimidating routine by demanding to see a permit, but when told:

"we are not blocking traffic, we are only exercizing our right to peaceful assembly, this is a peaceful demonstration", they did not know what else to do.

Then when they approached us again, twice, I gave them a big smile, told them I was a City Commissioner and asked: "Are you going to keep us safe, Officers?" which was sufficient to make them instantly go away after exclaiming "Of course!!" One sheriff, astoundingly, raised a timid fist and quickly told us GO GET "EM" as he walked away with his colleagues (Refreshing! A TI cop ?)
Christine, Richard, the Kats Family, Carole, Judy, John, Yolanda, Carol , Bruno, Marlon, educated onlookers and passed on flyers (forgive this fried brain for omissions... ), and Bruno passed out Buttons. SF Based Tom MCray, TI and political writer, and a homeless person soon joined us. I talked to a colleague,a Veteran for Peace, published poet, who actually wore many political buttons, among them one on Covert Surveillance:

Robert W., who is the acclaimed Honorary chief of the Native Nation, although he is white, due to his incredible activism for Natives and Aborigines and tireless fight to ban School of the Americas and ROTC. He happened to just be waiting for a friend on City Hall steps, and enthusiastically interacted with us.

Robert stated: "We are ALL targeted !". I will stay in touch, potential powerful ally for us. I talked about the protest and IAACEA Goals & Objectives as defined in Debbie's pres release to Sophie Maxwell, City supervisor of my district, and to a campaign team member of James Keys, District 6 Supervisor candidate. Many participants actively engaged passerby's, including an Asian Gay Youth who now wants to be an ally to our movement. No negative interaction whatsoever! (To the sorry exception of a perplike loser... older white dude in a SUV who sped by, hollering: "Go get a job!" Which made us laugh.... Comic relief of the day) One press interview with Christine who handed out a press package and with myself.
Christine connected with the City Hall Court TV Media Liaison, and participants took many pictures and videos of our event.

...Marlon C. from Poor Magazine PPN came to interview participants, stayed with us during the entire event, and will work on his third article on "Targeted Individuals" that he will submit to his editor, the formidable "Tiny" Gray Garcia ! Christine and I will work on an article , recount that we will self publish on Indybay along with a compilation of pictures, under Health isues (Covert Violence IS a Public Health issue !)

People came to join us from : Modesto, Fresno, Marin County, Oakland, Berkeley, local San Franciscans too !

Mesha Monge-Irizarry, Founder
SFTEC

Philladelphia Report
by T. Josephine

Yes, I did give out flyers alone. Yes, some people wanted them. Plenty more were dying to get home. I am glad for the ones who were interested and next time we should have a group petition and get people to sign it.

TORONTO CANADA Report
by Galina Kurdina

We protested in front of the Legislative Assembly Building and near Medical Science Building of University of Toronto today. We started at 10.30 A.M. There were 5 people in front of the Legislative Assembly: Robin Yan, Regan Hallett, Carlo Calandra, Mark Holden and I, Galina Kurdina. People approached us and we distributed about 10 fliers. One woman came to us and started a scandal. She offered us to hire people, pay them and ask to hold our posters on streets of Toronto. She suggested us not to appear ourselves on the streets. She persuaded us that we had to put some soft information on our posters, not the truth that we experienced and described. When asked, what soft things she would advice to write on our posters, she did not answer. She asked Robin, what was the reason of his targeting. It was clear for all of us that she worked for police, or RCMP or Government. Robin took his camera and wanted to take pictures of her, and she immedieately disappeared...

We left Legislative Building about 1.30 P.M. Robin, Regan and I went to Tim Horton and had some coffee. After that we decided to go to any street and came to Medical Science Building of University of Toronto. Regan left us 30 minutes [later], Robin and I stayed there for one hour.

We distributed our fliers very quickly, people approached us, read our poster about mind control and took fliers. One student of UofT, sweet boy, said to us that, in his opinion, these experiments were disgusting, another person wished us to continue our struggle.

We made pictures and video records. I will send them to all of you, as soon as get them.

Toronto Report
by Danielle DiBari, as provided by Robin Yan

Many of you do not know me, but Galina and Robin do (who ran the protest yesterday at Queen's Park do) and I will save introductions for later for those who are dedicated to working to expose the truth about our cause.

I would like to send you all a little run-down of events yesterday -- I think Galina and Robin will agree, it was an excellent day with superb weather (my nose is totally toasted..LOL~ ) and we were treated with dignity and respect, a generous amount of interest (so much so that we RAN OUT OF letters), and a FEW VERY INTERESTING CONTACTS!All times are approximate. 10:00 AM We were greeted by Security and shown where we could set up. We were asked if we would be "chanting" and we said no. We were asked not to interfere with people on site and that we should let them come to us, we agreed.

We set up across from a woman on a month-long protest of her autistic son being cut off from therapy and put in a regular school. www.tooautistic. com (HEY! OUR PIC IS THERE!)

11:30 am, A HUGE tour of Italian and Spanish speaking tourists get stuck outside the legislative building for some reason, and (possibly to kill some time) the tour guide relays and translates in both ITALIAN and SPANISH, the story of Covert Mind control as dictated by Galina. The group is sympathetic and interested (until they get to go in..lol)

Nothing too interesting happens after that for a couple of hours, we get a
number of people stopping and asking about our situation -- some stopping for longer than others ... needless to say, we only have ONE letter left when we spot the CBC vehicle in the parking lot!

1:00 pm Media Trucks start arriving -- our hearts are in our throats as we feel as if they may intend to interview us! Acutally, the set up is for speaker Dan McTeague to present his speech on the treatment of Omar Kadhr at Guantanamo Bay!

2:30 Dan McTeague shows up to do his interview. About half an hour of talking on Dan's part -- the issue with Quantanamo Bay is loosely connected to OUR issue ... the underlying facts being that PEOPLE ARE BEING TORTURED WITHOUT MERCY/JUSTICE/ ETHICAL CONSIDERATIONS!

Here is a link to the situation he spoke of(but nothing on,oh well)
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/20090125/khadr_panel_090125/20090125/

Unfortunately, he only appeared on the news for about 10 seconds! (Robin, did you VHS it?)

Legislature Watchdogs (while polite) stood guard IN FRONT OF AND AROUND THE CAMERAS so that WE WOULD NOT BE IN ANY SHOTS!

However, Mr. McTeague's assistant came over to talk to us, took our picture and,I believe, strategically placed a camera to include US in the shot!

Once the shoot was over, Mr. McTeague came over and shook all our hands, talked with us for a bit, gave us his card and told us "You sure got THEIR attention"(possibly meaning the media - I mean, is it coincidence that a talk on a HUMAN RIGHTS TORTURE ISSUES by a prominent M.P. is scheduled on the SAME DAY as our protest? I think NOT!

Anyhow, he said we should contact him if we need anything...we already got a very good thing from him, we got a confidence boost like you wouldn't believe!

And so, our first protest day came to a close. Sunburned, but happy, we took a walk to the subway, and went on our way.

I would say it was a VERY successful day, no one was disrespectful to us, we got a good deal of attention, learned a lot about what to do better NEXT TIME -- and ALMOST got on TV ... lol!

Most of all we learned that FEAR is THEIR greatest weapon ... none of what we feared came about.

The perps will keep on doing what they do no matter what we do...being afraid only helps their cause so...we may as well make some noise 'cause they ain't going away by themselves.

Cheers and talk to you all soon.
Danielle DiBari
TI - Toronto &Vancouver

VICTORIA, CANADA REPORT
by Debbie Newhook, founder, IAACEA

I feel our Victoria protest was a success. We had 5 people present at the
protest: Keith Tickleback from Nelson BC, Consuelo Galomar from Vernon BC, David Smith from Grabriola, Heather Quinn from Victoria BC and me Debbie Newhook. We had one protester from Nanaimo, Doug (Jerry) Rose who could not make the protest as he reported he was feeling horrible the night before the protest and he did not think he would be able to make it.

As soon as we arrived at the protest location we were greeted by a University of Victoria student who wanted an interview with us. David and I spent 30 mins with her speaking about this crime. We gave her hand out material which included FFCHS material along with a Jim Guest letter of support. In addition we suggest that she research James Walbert and directed her to an article in Wired Magazine about James Walbert. She was genuinely interested and shocked at many of the details about this crime.

During the time David and I were being interviewed, the police arrived. Consuelo spoke to the friendly police officer and was told that the police got 2 telephone calls indicating that we were obstructing the sidewalk traffic. Upon his arrival he saw that we were only a small group and that we were not blocking the sidewalk traffic and asked that we continue to allow the flow of pedestrians and not to interfere with them.

Keith was our camera person and did take still pics only of the event and did capture a picture of the police as he was talking to Consuelo.

Later I was approached by woman who knew she was a target of this crime. She knew much about the goings on of the world and she expressed that she was a whistle blower. David and I could tell that she was genuine and she was fearful.I gave her my contact info.

We had many other people briefly speak to us about this crime and did take hand out material.The area of the protest was a very busy location in Victoria and we all thought it was a success.

After about 2.5 hours we had given away about 400 fliers and we were almost out of hand out material when the skies opened up and it began to rain very hard. We called it quits at that time and went back to Heathers house for a chat and a meal.

In my opinion, I thought this was good activism day. David and I later talked about doing this in Nanaimo at a later date and discussed the date of Dec 10 as it was the UN day of Human Rights. http://www.un.org/en/documents/udhr/

Debbie Newhook
International Alliance Against Covert Electronic Abuse
'We live to achieve justice.

London Report
by Paolo Firori

For all of you on the other side of the Atlantic who would like to know what happened at the Trafalgar Square protest. I received a voicemail from Winston at about 2pm London time, saying that at that point there were 5 people present at the protest, but that they were expecting a few more to attend later. I believe that besides Winston, John Allman and Amanda Palmer were there, as Winston used Amanda's mobile to ring me and John told me of his intention to attend the night before. If people [took] any picture of the event and feel able to share them, I really look forward to seeing them.

[Here's] a short message [Winston] sent me...

"There were 8 of us in the end - we handed out flyers in Trafalgar square and outside the Old Bailey. It was good to meet other T.I.s. We are going to try to set up regular meetings of T.I.s in London."

I may try to do something similar in London on the 24th at two very important events happening on the same day, the annual Anarchist Bookfair and a national Anti-War demo starting in Hyde Park, it will be actually very easy to leaflet there because there are already hundred of different people, leafleting on behalf of hundred different causes, I mean I will probably end up going there by myself, but I would certainly not mind if other London TIs were to decide to join me.

Paolo Fiori
http://altnews.viviti.com

An Honorable beginning, Attorney General Holder!

Richard in Toronto - Still American After All These Years — Fri, 28 Aug 2009 22:01:37 EDT

The ACLU is calling Americans to action to urge Attorney General Holder to conduct a thorough examination of the Bush torture program. There's a form letter you can sign and send, and you are urged to personalize it. Here's how I did that:

I am an educator who has been blessed with the opportunity to live and work abroad for a large part of my life, and to see what an impact the American dream has had in places as far apart historically and culturally as Ethiopia and Canada. America's promise shines as a bright light regardless where in the world one may be.

Dark clouds of fear and loathing have briefly dimmed that light, but the election of President Barak Obama has reminded the world that Americans have good hearts and always, ultimately, remember what is right. His presidency has begun to push away the clouds, and we recall the dream of the Founders who established the egalitarian system under which The Law is our only king.

Mind/ Brain Reading, Brain Copying, Torture and Financial Terrorism in Vietnam business

khanhpham65 — Sat, 08 Aug 2009 05:53:18 EDT

Video of ending life: http://www.youtube.com/khanhpham65

I have been attacking (torturing, harassing, simulating politic economic, sex rape, mind-controlled family treating conflict and business & financial terrorizing). Perpetrators modified the facts of my memory and brain erasing. Perpetrators usually used the animations and voices of U.S well-known people, economic people and politicians during torture and harassing by satellite mind control weapon (television & radio media hacking and dream manipulation), satellite microwave weapon, and directed energy weapon. I was jailed at home and the mind was jailed. I do not belong perpetrators’ government now as bellow story. I have been remaining company owner business but perpetrators attempted to terrorize all incomes and end inheritance-blooding marrying relationship. Perpetrators did not release the certificate of walk-in-road to make legal steps yet. Perpetrators attempted to abuse (paint bad and will notify these backing to) many powerful people including politicians of the moving next countries of perpetrators’ thought by satellite neurological weapon. Perpetrators attempted to terrorize my finance and business for dropping me down to be out of money step by step and will be joined their criminals network.

Many years under brutally tortured by satellite mind control and satellite microwave weapon used for warfare "Common Properties" Vietcombank and Public's Securities. They copied brain data of CEO, Economic Leader, etc to set-up to brain's their wings [Twitter]. Many times I could not stand these tortures of high technical weapons, thought about the death. Vietcombank and Public's Securities did brain-erasing and brain-washing to isolate my love of the family, the relatives, girlfriend, and friends. I could not live as a human and could not stand those brutal tortures inhumanity of Vietcombank and Public's Securities, I wonder that I went to the end of life to tell the truth.

Leading many brutal-torture years: Nguyen Phuoc Thanh-VCB, Secretary "Common Properties" Le Thanh Hai, "Common Properties" Minister of Public's Securities Le Hong Anh, Lead of Securities Department Nguyen Chi Thanh, "Common Properties" Minister of Defense Phung Quang Thanh, Chairman of "Common Properties" government Nguyen Minh Triet and Malaysia government.

Satellite Microwave Weapon

Voice of Myself

God bans Mind Control/EM weapons abuse and torture

Soleilmavis — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 08:20:49 EDT

Proverbs

Warning Against Enticement
1-8 Listen, my son, to your father's instruction and do not forsake your mother's teaching.
1-9 They will be a garland to grace your head and a chain to adorn your neck.
1-10 My son, if sinners entice you, do not give in to them.
1-11 If they say, "Come along with us; let's lie in wait for someone's blood, let's waylay some harmless soul;
1-12 let's swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit;
1-13 we will get all sorts of valuable things and fill our houses with plunder;
1-14 throw in your lot with us, and we will share a common purse"--
1-15 my son, do not go along with them, do not set foot on their paths;
1-16 for their feet rush into sin, they are swift to shed blood.
1-17 How useless to spread a net in full view of all the birds!
1-18 These men lie in wait for their own blood; they waylay only themselves!
1-19 Such is the end of all who go after ill-gotten gain; it takes away the lives of those who get it.

Warning Against Rejecting Wisdom
1-20 Wisdom calls aloud in the street,she raises her voice in the public squares;
1-21 at the head of the noisy streets she cries out,in the gateways of the vity she makes her speech;
1-22 How long will you simple ones love your simple ways? How long will mockers delight in mockery and fools tate knowledge?
1-23 If you had responded to my rebuke, I would have poured out my heart to you and made my thoughts known to you.
1-24 But since you rejected me when I called and no one gave heed when I stretched out my hand,
1-25 Since you ignored all my advoice and would not accept my rebuke,
1-26 I in turn will laugh at your disater; I will mock when calamity overtakes you--
1-27 When calamity overtakes you like a storm,when disaster sweeps over you like a whirlwind,when distress and trouble overwhelm you.
1-28"Then they will call to me but I will not answer;they will look for me but will not find me.
1-29 Since they hated knowledge and did not choose to fear the Lord,
1-30 Since they would not accept my advice and spurned my rebuke,
1-31 they will eat the fruit of their ways.and be filled with the fruit of their schemes.
1-32 For the waywardness of the simple will kill them.and the complacency of fools will destroy them;
1-33 but whoever listens to me will live in safety and be at ease, without fear of harm.

God had already shown wisdom to people with a special way, and wisdom had already awared some people to call aloud in the street with wisdom together.

Even people were not willing to believe that Wisdom was calling aloud, but they could see that there were some people had been awaring by wisdom and calling aloud in the street.

Mind control abuse and torture are (1-11) "wait for someone's blood",and "waylay some harmless soul"; (1-12) "swallow them alive, like the grave, and whole, like those who go down to the pit".

God condemned such terrible mind control abuse and torture. People should not ignore victims calls and reject to help victims who were calling the same with Wisdom to "stop terrible mind control abuse and torture"

Mind control abuse and torture is the most sinful thing in the world. God also condemned those who supported such crinimals and who ignored all complaints of victims. These criminals were very waywardness and complacency.

People in the world, please be awared of such terrible crime. don't ignore.
(1-32) For the waywardness of the simple will kill them. and the complacency of fools will destroy them;

LAND IS FREE, WATER IS FREE, AIR IS FREE, FOOD IS FREE

Kelly from Menomonie, WI — Thu, 09 Jul 2009 09:29:40 EDT

At NO time did the God of the Holy Bible create the earth so that one human can charge another human for what God gave FREE.

Before the United States was invaded by white man LAND WAS FREE, WATER WAS FREE, AIR WAS FREE, FOOD WAS FREE!

Government has found a way to enslave humans to humans. If you don't slave for another man, all of your God given, life sustaining creation will be taken away. That is not FREEDOM! That is torture.

There is no such thing as stuck. There is no such thing as sustaining this financial economy.

Let the slaves go FREE.

LAND IS FREE, WATER IS FREE, AIR IS FREE, FOOD IS FREE!

Work for another human if you want to. THAT IS FREEDOM!

Obama Is Quickly Losing His Base And Noone Cares

Leo — Sun, 28 Jun 2009 17:32:46 EDT

There are mocking calls of 'Obushma' and the like, as more and more Obama decisions become less and less distinguishable from his predecessor.

http://www.truthout.org/062709A?n

Torture Prosecution Must Not Be Feared

Leo — Thu, 18 Jun 2009 18:12:06 EDT

Regarding the friendly disagreement between the Bard and myself, Bush and Cheney already enjoy undeserved folk hero status, and within the far right realms, they will always enjoy such status regardless of outcome.

I appreciate the debate.

To Prosecute Torture Or Not...

Leo — Wed, 17 Jun 2009 20:33:45 EDT

For me it's coming down to what we are preserving- or attempting to preserve- I think the bad far outweighs the good here- and I believe that if Obama sidesteps this it will be his downfall.

President Obama will forever be linked to the Bush Torture Coverup and our great victory over the establishment will be torn down.

"It's a trap are you blind?" (Hamish) ~Braveheart

The American Taxpayer Should Never Be Censored Period

Leo — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 16:01:07 EDT

http://www.truthout.org/061009A

I understand the arguments and how our troops in additional harm's way and additional stain to our national image at a time when we are just starting to recover face in the world's eyes does us no justice.

At the same time, this has to be addressed-

The American taxpayer paid for and is still paying for Iraq...

Stephen Views the News June 7, 2009

Stephen from Elkins Park, PA — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 13:57:17 EDT

Stephen Views the News June 7, 2009

http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/

Diplomacy, Hegemony and Terrorism

During President Barack Obama’s historic 55 minute speech in Cairo he received a standing ovation one dozen times. It seems to me impossible for one to shoot a rifle while forcibly bringing one’s hands together in applause. Unlike the trigger-happy Neocon derriere’s who had beat the drum for invading Iraq and, most recently, called for the U.S. to bomb North Korea and Iran (hello Bill Kristol and Brit Hume of FOX News) intelligent diplomacy gives America at least a chance to bring about a better situation while reducing the threat to American military personnel and civilians. If a time would come when military action is required it is also more likely that having first taken the diplomatic route America would garner meaningful international support – not what George W. Bush had in Iraq. For the sophomoric Neocon tough guys such as Cheney and Kristol who always want to go to war as long as they can continue to avoid serving in the military themselves, I suggest masturbation. It will relieve the pressure generated by overactive male hormones. Like most men walking around with a missile silo between their legs being macho leads to more harm than good.

And let us not forget that the United States was responsible for the overthrow of the elected government in Iran in the 1950’s that inserted the Shah of Iran into power – a puppet of American foreign “policy.” He ruled with a despotic heavy hand that was supported by a secretive and brutal police force. Two decades later the Iranian people rebelled and the result was the U.S. Iranian embassy hostage situation. And who can forget the unprovoked U.S. invasion of Iraq. America’s hands in the Middle East are far from clean (and covered in oil) yet few in America readily accept this reality and its effect on current political relations. It is refreshing and encouraging to have an adult in the White House.

Some voices in America, especially the conservative choir, bemoan Obama’s approach to a new diplomacy that they conclude is an apology. Perhaps standing up and taking responsibility for previous action is an anathema to conservatives since it was their approach that contributed to so much damage in the world. In a cowardly fashion they try to rewrite history rather than acknowledge their culpability. This past week, across the cable news networks, we saw Dick Cheney and daughter Liz making appearances and lying through their gritted teeth about Bush’s justification to invade Iraq and the illegal and immoral use of torture. I have never been waterboarded but I can relate to being tortured while watching these apologists for failed policy try to re-make their brand. Adding to my extreme discomfort is the general failure of interviewers to confront the Cheney family and like-minded phonies with the hard facts of recent history. The media proved to be complete failures in the lead up to the Iraq invasion and they continue to demonstrate their inadequacy today.

There are forces in America that want to demonize all Muslims because of the actions of murderers who call themselves Muslims. There are 1.5 billion people in the world who embrace the Muslim religion. Yes, there are some who claim to be Muslims and who have bastardized the teaching of Muhammad for their own political agenda. This does not justify the condemnation of the entire Muslim world. This past week we saw the murder of George Tiller, a doctor in Kansas who performed legal abortions, being justified in Christian religious terms. At Tiller’s funeral on Saturday anti-abortionists demonstrated with signs saying, “God Sent the Killer.” These are the actions of terrorists and murderers who call themselves Christians. What would Jesus say? Probably, “Oy vey.” It is this short-circuiting of a connection to the Almighty that demeans all that is holy. The bombers of abortion clinics and shooters of physicians are the immoral equivalent of the al Qaeda terrorists who struck the World Trade Center. The long history of man on planet Earth is wrought with acts of inhumanity premised on religious canards. It is a lesson that man is apparently not fated to learn.

* “Four things support the world: the learning of the wise, the justice of the great, the prayers of the good, and the valor of the brave.”

Muhammad (570 – 632), Prophet of Islam

Wrong Direction on Disclosure of Torture Photos

Charles from Silver Spring, MD — Tue, 02 Jun 2009 02:35:23 EDT

Is anyone else as alarmed as I that our President has wavered in his principles and is effectively covering up the crimes of the Bush administration by attempting suppress photographs of detainee torture? I believed that candidate Obama ran on a platform of open government. President Obama seems to have other views.

The Moral Strangulation of America

Eric from Covina, CA — Mon, 01 Jun 2009 21:34:46 EDT

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

The Moral Strangulation of America

In my last article I pointed out that the character of America is being fundamentally changed. In less than two generations we've gone from citizens who were politically engaged and socially aware, to zombies who simply accept what we're being told by our favorite demagogues. We've gone from citizens who held our politicians' feet to the fire, to a group of cattle who allow our politicians to dictate what is, and what isn't, off the table - in spite of our instinctive clamor for the simple adherence to the law. We've allowed politicians to go from representatives with the single mandate of doing our biding, to so-called leaders who dictate to us what's in our best interest. As a direct result, the script has been flipped - we now define what's in the people's best interest by what's in the best interest of the politicians who are supposed to defer us.

The United States Government Tortures People

Peter from Carrollton, TX — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:46:41 EDT

This is an example of waterboarding, as painted in Cambodia. Seems like a cruel practice to me. It reminds me of the time I learned how to swim, or not drown. My oldest brother decides to drag me to the deep end of the pool and let go of me when I was maybe ten years old or so. I was there left to defend for myself. Gasping for breath and sinking to the bottom. Only when I was able to finally sink and jump off the bottom of the pool and climb almost ten feet or more to the surface was I able to regain my breath. Over and over this happened. He even waved off the lifeguards to help me. The closer I got to the wall the safer I began to feel. The panic began to subside until right before I was safely on the railing to hold myself above water and take a break did my brother drag me back out to the middle of the pool and let me go again. I can honestly tell you that it was torture. I’m not sure how long it lasted. I was so afraid of drowning to death. It felt real. To me, it did not matter that I was under the watch of two lifeguards and my brother; not to mention other people around the pool.

Imagine being strapped down and helpless. Head covered. Water pouring over your face. Scared to death. Try gasping for air and nothing comes. Only a brief moment of relief when they stop pumping water up your nose. Doctors and guards standing around you, doing nothing to stop it. The traumatic experience of thinking I was going to drown only happened for that day. After that I knew how to swim. What would I do if they did this to me 183 times in a month? Torture? I think so. A lesser form of torture but torture none the less. My country tortures people.

Watch the Uncut Video of Waterboarding Here

http://politicalpete.com/

http://politicalpete.com/forum/index.php
Read more: http://politicalpete.com/is-waterboarding-torture/#ixzz0H8BCO3N4&B

Must watch Documentary Flow - For Love of Water Directed by Irena Salina

Peter from Carrollton, TX — Sun, 31 May 2009 19:38:18 EDT

Must watch Documentary Flow - For Love of Water Directed by Irena Salina “Thousands have lived without love, not one without water.” –W.H.Auden

Irena Salina’s award-winning documentary investigation into what experts label the most important political and environmental issue of the 21st Century - The World Water Crisis.

Salina builds a case against the growing privatization of the world’s dwindling fresh water supply with an unflinching focus on politics, pollution, human rights, and the emergence of a domineering world water cartel.

Interviews with scientists and activists intelligently reveal the rapidly building crisis, at both the global and human scale, and the film introduces many of the governmental and corporate culprits behind the water grab, while begging the question “CAN ANYONE REALLY OWN WATER?”

Beyond identifying the problem, FLOW also gives viewers a look at the people and institutions providing practical solutions to the water crisis and those developing new technologies, which are fast becoming blueprints for a successful global and economic turnaround. (Excerpt from main website)

Please visit the official website for more information:
http://www.flowthefilm.com

Click the Fullscreen Button for a larger version.

http://politicalpete.com/forum/index.php

http://politicalpete.com/

The Speech That Needs To Be Written

Leo — Sun, 31 May 2009 18:33:31 EDT

So on this issue that has the world embittered over policies, presumably against the Geneva Convention, we are faced with the question: Do we, or do we not, turn our heads?

World opinion changing fast - Mr. President

Heinz Rainer — Fri, 29 May 2009 18:55:13 EDT

Inspite of many attempts to make you change your mind on prosecuting those who committed crime against humanity you keep on hiding the suspects: We ask you how can this be possible, is it on Mr. Gates advice ? Or are you afraid of partisans, who might attempt to remove you from Office ? Do not falter, and you see every sincere person will support you even more.

You decided not to publish photos of Abu Ghraib in order not 'to endanger the U.S. Military' stationed in Iraq.

Your actions are now raising eyebrows on every part of the globe. We ask you again : " Let those who committed those acts face

justice; a term which they used over and overduring their own campaign of Terror against innocent, and helpless people.

Article quoted from New Zealand paper :

Quote :

Obama half bush?

Harith al-Ubaidi, a member of parliament's human rights committee, said he understood why Iraqis struggling with a lack of jobs and services might ignore more photos of abuse, but he contested Obama's reasoning for holding them back.

"This is an absolutely invalid excuse. If armed groups could exert more pressure, they wouldn't wait for the photos."

In Ubaidi's view Obama is trying to avoid whipping up Arab opinion as he attempts to repair US-Middle East relations, damaged under former President George W Bush, and was also protecting interrogators guilty of abuse.

Obama has said CIA agents who followed legal guidance on interrogation would not be prosecuted, but left the door open to prosecuting Bush-era officials who developed the policies.

Ubaidi said Obama's overtures to Muslims in Egypt next week are likely to fail if he is seen as continuing Bush's policy of secrecy over detainees, or as blocking efforts to hold those who abused prisoners accountable.

Laila al-Khafaji, another member of Iraq's parliament, said she preferred to forget the past.

"The page of the Abu Ghraib torture scandal was turned a long time ago and it's time to forget. What's the point of reminding us of these pains?"

unquote

How much more needs to be said to make you understand that people around the world look up to you and want nothing else butyou taking them on.

Again we quote another article from another publication. Gruesome details are known to you, and must be made public.Do not hesitate to act on those who made this world dirtier to live in, to live in shame to be an American.

We need to clarify our good name in front of the world now. And you will gain respect from every voter, everyone who believed in you when they elected you to office.

Please do it now, let justice take its course ..

Follow my tweets

"TORTURING!"

James — Thu, 28 May 2009 11:58:01 EDT

There is a damned good reason why the investigation of all torturing done by the United States, and its allies, is vital to our current and future cultural health. That reason is simple, yet responding to it may be one of the most complex undertakings of this new 'mired-down' administration. The reason we must investigate fully is to know. We must first know what was done. We cannot evaluate data we are not given, or allowed to know exists at all. If we cannot analyze and evaluate, then we support what occurred. Tacitly, we go along with what took place. Our sense of justice, outrage or even understanding, is suspended...and our future becomes bleaker because this. The United States Government, under almost every administration, has been right up there near of the top of the pile of controlling social orders. The public has been treated like it consists of cows, bunched into herds, fed hay, watered, pastured, but told nothing. After all, what could cows possibly understand? By treating the public this way (think the Kennedy Assassination, TWA 800, 9/11) the public is left totally out of any possibility of being part of decision making. Okay, so we don't know who killed Kennedy, really. We don't know what the hell happened to 800, really. We don't know what happened about the towers, really. We just know that we don't know the truth. It rankles inside of us. The 'us' who are not conspiracy theorists, even.

But, we also know that we voted for people who we wanted to run things. We gave them the ability to know things we cannot. We gave them the ability to make decisions for us when we could not. We trusted them. Not all of us. Most of us. It is how it all works here. Occasionally, however, there are things that happen which we need to be involved with. Our leaders fall into habit patterns, now supported by this whacked-out media, and tell us less and less. That is what has happened here. And we must protest. Torture is not an event. Torture is a putrid infection that forms a crack in our social order. It works its way in and then festers, eventually killing the cultural being we have fought so hard to grow and mature. It spreads. It spreads slowly and insidiously. We must find out what happened, no matter how terrible (and hundreds, or thousands have died terribly painful deaths), and then we must confront these acts. We do not even need to punish the real physical perpetrators. Public revelation would probably more than deal with that. No. We need to confront our fear. The fear that allowed us to allow our leaders to direct such acts in our name, and then to deny they did it, or cover up the very acts themselves.

If we can bring all this out from under the black cloak of intended secrecy, then we can rise up and apologize. Yes, apologize to the world and to the survivors. For our good, as well as the good of all. After apologizing we can put this horrid diseased Genie back in the bottle. We do not need to punish those who acted, but we can certainly establish and isolate some of our draconian imprisonment penalties for future perpetrators. We are a nation of laws. But those laws are interpreted by, and applied by, men and women. We need to direct these people by law, and then let them know what is in store for them if they ever commit, or allow to be committed, acts like this again. This is called taking a stand!

We cannot heal this potentially terminal infection by putting a bandage over it, even if the bandage is skin colored. We must clean the infection out, then provide antibiotics to actively fight the remaining tendrils that run through our cultural body. Laws are the antibiotics. Laws without exceptions for this area. We, as a country and a people, cannot go through life being known allow such things as 'rending' other people, or tearing them limb from limb, or drowning them, or delighting in their pain, for the simple reason that we wanted something from them. We have raised up quiet, and not so quiet, enemies against us. You know it and I know it. And I'm not writing about the stupid 'war on terror,' or any of the other Orwellian terminology adopted to keep fear in control of the masses out here. I am writing those men and women who are the families, relatives and friends, of the tortured by us, the missing under our care, the dead because of our studied sadism. Those people are coming, ever coming, and we are going to have to deal with them. We have empowered them by acting like frightened school children. We have been cowardly. And we cannot simply ignore them or provide them with silence and denial. They know. We know. We must come out of this closet. Let the healing begin.

And then there is the rest of it.

Where the hell is the new World Trade Center? Why are there not two towers standing this very day, twice the size of the old ones, in central Manhattan? You think American would not have collected and paid for such a demonstration of cultural will and strength? Where the hell is Osama? You really believe that if a country like our country, of its size and power, could fail to find one man on this earth for eight years? Where is my beloved space program? (for Christ's sake, we are about to 'rent' Russian space vehicles for the next ten years to put our people in space!!!!). Where are our factories? Where are our car companies? Where are our bridges and roads? Where is the money that all these hedge-fund and derivative executives have stolen and hauled away?

Where the hell are you and what are you going to do about it? Get off your couch and your butt and do something, even if it is just to write and say something about it all. I am not the voice of this culture. I am merely a participating observer, like you. But I am writing about it and I am asking hard questions. And I am mad as hell that my present, my future and my children's future has been stained, soiled and trampled under foot by selfish thieving bastards. And its all happened on my watch.

Our newspapers are failing because they will not write this. You need to read this. You need to think about these things. You need to reflect, argue, complain, disagree and take action. Our television media is a morass of mediocre crap fed to us daily by weak-kneed pitiful people who could not work effectively in a General Motors assembly line. You need to scream at Obama, Roberts and all of them.

I want my honor back! I was a Marine Officer. I am still a Marine Officer. But I am supposed to be that proud being, not because of the honor of the Corps, but because of the honor of the United States of America. I want my honor back. I want those things back that allow me to have bliss, and to share that bliss with the world. I want to know I am doing the right thing. I want the Christmas Eve feeling of waiting for the morning, and what I will find under the tree! But I want that back, about life itself. Have you ever lived a time when you could just not wait for tomorrow because it was going to be so great? You just knew it! I want that time for my children and my grand-children, and yes, even for me. Help me get it back. Help yourself in getting it back, or maybe having it for the first time.

I wrote a book called "The Boy." It is about honor. Honor lost. Honor won. About internal honor. Getting it, and then holding on to if for dear life. The book is going to be a movie (at least, as of yesterday!). I am not encouraging you to buy my book. I am encouraging you to write your own! To think. To write. To take action. This is all about you out here so start acting like it.

http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com

http://www.themastodons.com

http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com

I love the Marine Corps. I love America. And I love you.

Dick Cheney and Torture - Torture is an International and US Crime

Unknown user — Tue, 26 May 2009 16:41:41 EDT

Torture is an international and US crime.

Does the United States want to be or look like the street thug, an international bully, or an international criminal to alienate allies, used for propaganda to recruit terrorists and increase terrorism?

Does the Unites States stand for Justice, with the justification to go after international criminals where ever they hide, with the support of allies and the international community?

Change I "CANNOT" Believe In!

Kyle Taylor Lucas — Sat, 23 May 2009 22:28:42 EDT

President Obama said "I'm ASKING YOU TO BELIEVE. Not just in my ability to bring about real change in Washington . . . I'm asking you to believe in yours." He was so convincing. I did believe, both in him and in myself. Of course, the latter belief I already possessed. And a good thing, too, since I now realize that any belief I had in the man I supported for President would soon be crushed. This is a dark post, I know. Yet, my despair at losing "hope" over the "change I can believe in," and did, is so over-whelming that I feel compelled to say so. First, the President's sudden 180 on releasing the torture photos was shocking. But more shocking were the radical claims to new powers for his presidency espoused while speaking to us in front of the Constitution. In his speech he spoke about the Rule of Law while then proclaiming his plans to "develop an appropriate legal regime" for indefinite detention! Our President just told us, in his usual palatable, charming, and inspirational oratory that he intends to break the law and to make new law. He justified preventive incarceration and has a plan! And few noticed 'cause the way in which he told us was just so nice.

I am devastated. Nothing has changed, really, just the faces. We're still heading towards totalitarianism.

And the Cheney sideshow that immediately followed the President’s speech claiming extraordinary power was no doubt staged. The hypnotized public is lulled into believing what the President just said was a much sweeter pill to swallow than the crazy sideshow rhetoric that followed.

Yet, the President and Cheney are not so far apart. We'll torture and we'll hide the evidence. We'll detain with disregard for the Rule of Law and justify it for security reasons. Nothing has changed. If it has, it is change I "cannot" believe in simply because it is sugar-coated. Despite its delivery by a great orator, it is still a violation of everything I hold dear, ethically, morally, and for due process with respect to the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

Obama’s Speech on National Security

N. Julio Barthson - E-Campaign Leader — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:07:17 EDT

Following is a text of President Obama’s speech on Thursday on national security issues, as released by the White House.

A Simple Question: Would God Condone Torture?

Eric from Covina, CA — Fri, 22 May 2009 18:05:14 EDT

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

A Simple Question: Would God Condone Torture?

Maybe I'm missing something but I find it uniquely ironic that some the same people who clamor for prayer in school, claim that same-sex marriage is an abomination under God,who insist that America is a Christian nation, and fight for the Biblical version of creationism over science, are also the very same people who demand the right to be armed to the teeth with some of the most destructive private weapons on Earth, the right to slaughter and bring the most excruciating kinds of death upon God's other creatures for nothing more than their own entertainment, and now, condone the torture of other human beings as a legitimate tool of government. Is it just me, or does anyone else see this as the very height of hypocrisy?

I Am Shocked!!

Sue — Fri, 22 May 2009 00:05:18 EDT

Mr. President-- I think you are a Wonderful person and the hope of the World, therefore, I can't believe what I heard you say tonight in your speech about Torture and closing Guantanamo. It sounds to me that you will not only, not change the Bush policies of using this special "Military Commission" for the treatment of prisoners - the illegal policies of holding a "suspect" indefinably and not having to bring charges against them - but that you will create a whole new set of Laws, that apply only to these "suspects". It sounds like you are going to use preventative incarceration for the people that you suspect may be a threat to America, still able to hold them indefinitely with no charges, no evidence except "suspicion"of the intent of a crime?? This is against the Geneva Convention and it is immoral. I had hoped that you would restore our faith in Humanity and restore our standing in the World, that of an honorable and fair country! The fact that you are keeping another horrible prison open in Afghanistan, that is just as bad as "Gitmo" is appalling! Another shocker is that you approve of and continue the Illegal wire tapping of US citizens- and have discouraged the prosecution of the large Phone Companies that went along with Bush's illegal policies. Why won't you prosecute the Bush Administration? Clearly we have enough evidence to realize that they went to War illegally! So many of their actions were illegal and against "The Constitution". I have been a financially challenged Single Mom since 1989 and I've seen how unfair the Legal System is to people without money. I'm so-o-o-o sick of seeing the "Little People" getting punished for following the orders of the people in charge of the businesses, the Military, the Banks, etc, etc, etc,...... It never ends! To me, it seems that the World hasn't changed since the Medieval times, "The Rich Get Richer and The Poor Get Poorer" The Kings and the Land Lords have everything and the Peasants live in squalor and starvation. Not much has changed as far as I can see. There is still so much corruption - in the Government - in the Church - in the Financial Sector - everywhere! You hand over the Bail Out money to the Bankers and Wall Street, with no strings attached, but then the "Middle Class" Auto Workers have to make all kinds of concessions (While their bosses get huge Bonuses!) Have you ever had to drive all over town, with your child writhing in Pain, trying to find a Dentist who will pull out an abscessed tooth, without cash? Have you ever had to watch your Son go to a Maximum Security Prison, because he couldn't pay the fine for a traffic ticket,(and I couldn't give him any Money) and the Minimum Security Facility he was supposed to go to was full - so they risk my Son's life - for Money? Have you ever had to wait for 6 hours at the County Clinic, so that your child can be treated for a Methadone Addiction only to be told at the end of those 6 hours, that they don't treat that problem? (The ER Doctor puts you on Methadone, to get over your drug addiction - But - they have no plan to get you off of the Methadone - 'cause they make $150 a month if you're taking Methadone) I could go on and on and on!! It's just so disheartening! I feel so HOPELESS! I don't Believe in a Better Future! I'm still ashamed of how badly we are treating the rest of the World! Why doesn't anyone ever talk about the Millions of innocent people we have killed or displaced (ruined their lives) in Iraq and Afghanistan? And now we're sending Unmanned Drones into Pakistan, to kill innocent people!??? Why? Even though I've been fooled so many times before, I really thought you would be different

Present/former Attorneys of DOJ Collusion with Judges of the Judicial Branch to Use Cronyism to Obtain Immunity for Malfeasance-including to Authorize “Torture.”

Hispanic Viet Nam Vet For Oboma — Thu, 21 May 2009 07:30:26 EDT

Dear Mr. President:

Regarding the above referenced issue, I write as a Nam Vet, a former White House appointee in both the Carter and Reagan Administrations, and as an independent federal civil litigation practitioner for the past three decades, to underscore that history has shown that Democracies such as ours are precarious institutions. Therefore, constant vigilance must be maintained to preserve our Constitution from undue government encroachment by the use of legal sophistry of lawyers and judges intentionally acting to circumvent the limitations on the powers granted the government by “the people” in the Constitution and the Rule of Law.

"TORTURED!"

James — Wed, 20 May 2009 23:05:14 EDT

Let me establish some basic fundamental principals in dealing with the application of what we have come to understand is torture. By the way, we know that torture is not really the playing of loud music at all hours, or having the cell, where your victims are stored, too cold or too hot. We know that torture, the kind of torture I am writing about, is the application of physical misery to such an extent that the agony of the pain generated is impossible to endure. Now, understanding that, let's look at application a little closer.

People who have no experience with physical torture also lack an understanding of the psychology of its application. You see, the torturer does not work (or 'play,' depending upon the mindset of the practitioner) in an environment of need. The needs of the torturer are analytical. Empirical data is sought, which the subject of the torture is thought to have in his or her mental possession. There is no emotional need on the part of the torturer. The emotion is experienced on the part of the tortured subject. Torture is probably the most emotional personal experience a person can go through. Total body rape. Penetration, severing, incision....all of it. And, on top of this, the burden of revelation is placed firmly on the subject! The subject, in order to lesson or stop the application, must find some way to convince the torturer that the information is valid. The torturer only moves to prove something through pre-established corroboration or proof. It is quite common, as a matter of policy, once the subject has been properly 'softened' up (by, say; being drowned ten times in a row and revived immediately by nearby doctors), to tell the subject this truth. "You must find some way to get me to believe you, in order for these procedures to be stopped." Think about the enormity of that question for a moment!

Many problems in torturing, as I discussed in my earlier essay, revolve around figuring out the right questions to ask, not evaluating the answers. This creates its own problems. It is never the "you have a nuclear bomb hidden and we need the location" kind of thing. That would be just too easy. Too Krauthammer or Jack Bauer. No, instead, the questions usually revolve around the social order. Who do you know? How do you know them? What have you done? Why are you here, in the first place? Yes, that last one is asked all the time, as astounding as that might seem.

Another problem here, especially when you are torturing cross-culturally, is language and cultural differences. How does the torturer come to understand what the subject of his or her torture is saying? How does he or she fit this into the cultural norms and rules of his or her own culture? Is our 'normal' torturer a linguist? An ethnologist, perhaps? More iikely not. More likely there are interpreters involved. And interpreters add another level of filtering. Most interpreters are indigenous to the culture of the subject (else how is the actual torturer to understand the language?). Which means that the interpreter has a vested interest is what is going to happen to the subject. If, for example, and this is all too common, the tortured subject is a higher ranking member of a tribal unit, and the interpreter is from a lower rank. If the tortured subject is removed from life, then the interpreter's situation rises in that tribe. The tribe may even come to understand that the interpreter had something to do with the removal, thereby increasing the interpreter's rank even more. The tortured subject is likely killed or returned as such a shambling wreck as to be ineffective at anything.

Unfortunately, the discussions in and around the subject of torture, as we see them in the mass media, are not dealing with the real torture that has been done. Those subjects (the really tortured) are long gone to their final relief. So there is murder here. And murder is not looked upon nicely in the American culture. So we have people willing to do just about anything to keep themselves from being found out. Then can do that by destroying records, yes, but they can also do it by threatening to expose the whole ugly mess, so that many many more people are touched by the horror of their conduct. And, we come to Dick Cheney. That is what he is trying to do, and he is doing it successfully. Barack Obama knows pretty much everything by now. His job is to protect you and me. He is torn between going after these rat-bastards or allowing most of the country to maintain some kind of positive self-image, in a time of pretty damned poor self-imaging. I feel bad for this nice man, who I contributed a lot of money to help make such decisions. So this is my apology to Barack. I'm sorry that I did this to you. I cannot make the decision, on this one, for you, and you would not have me make it anyway.

If you decide to allow all of this to remain buried, then I will also be sorry. We are doomed to repeat this history, if you decide that. We are already repeating this history, which we thought long learned years ago. Whom of you reading this right now would ever have believed, twenty years ago, that we would be having a discussion about our military and intelligence people torturing people, as a matter of policy, and in great numbers? I would bet that number would be quite small.

Finally, there are people who have been ordered to torture other people, in our name, who did not want to do it, and are having night terrors over their participation this very night. Post Traumatic Stress lives with them, like a constantly beating drum and inescapable drum. Should they come in, their counseling at the Veteran's Administration will be unmercifully cold and harsh. That's only if they have the idiotic temerity to reveal what they were involved with. They have come home to live alone among people. To die alone, hoping that there is no life after death....hoping not to die and have those subjects appear before them, as they do each and every night while they live. And we, this people, of this United States of America, have done this to them. We need to know a measure of shame for our participation. We elected Bush, twice. We elected Cheney, twice. We allowed Rumsfeld, Wolfowitz, Pearl, Gonzalez and Rice...and yes, Colin Powell too. If there is no butcher's bill for all of this, then we too need to hope that there is no afterlife.

http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com

http://www.themastodons.com

http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com

Change Course on Detainee Photos & Tribunals

Asterios from Los Angeles, CA — Wed, 20 May 2009 18:19:48 EDT

Dear Mr. President,

Please release the most recent batch of photos of detainee torture. I understand that your commanders on the ground have told you that such a release will endanger US troops, but terrorists and their allies require no excuse to incite or perform acts of violence against our forces. Furthermore, you endanger the credibility of your administration overseas if it looks like you are actively trying to keep evidence of US war crimes a secret. Finally, seeing as your administration knows that the photos will likely emerge anyway, you are creating the appearance of playing politics with evidence of systemic neglect of prisoners of war.

Why not simply release all the photos and say, "Never again?" Why not release the photos, then assure the international community that you will work your hardest to make sure such atrocities never again occur? To hide the truth about detainee treatment to avoid a theoretical post-release spike in violence continues to create a world where our people and our forces are seen as oppressors. Creating such an impression only increases the likelihood of violence against us.

Additionally, please make good on your promise to treat prisoners of war as such under the Geneva Conventions instead of judging them in secret military tribunals. If we are going to abhor the crimes the military claims Guantanamo prisoners have committed, surely the best way to punish those crimes in in a transparent and public forum. Justice performed in secret is no justice at all. Such tribunals are yet another signal to the world that we do not care for their opinion.

If we are to build lasting relationships to combat international terror, human rights abuses and the threat of global warming, we need to present an honest face. By working in the dark, we give the international community an all to easy excuse to not do business with us - a course of action that puts us all at peril.

Sincerely,
Asterios Kokkinos
US Citizen & Voter

MAJOR Disappointment

Sandi from Linn Creek, MO — Tue, 19 May 2009 22:56:42 EDT

Having followed this man from the third time I heard him speak. 19 1/2 months on his team. Posters, buttons, bumper stickers, signs! Telling everyone who would listen, and a few who didn't want to. I could not, at this moment be more ashamed of my choice!

Refusing to prosecute those responsible for breaking our constitution, our International treaties, our laws, and our morals. Even when those persons are all over the media BRAGGING about their role in torturing prisoners.

Refusing to close our borders, do something about illegals, and doing NOTHING to stop the ever-increasing flow of drugs & criminal elements across our borders. You'll notice Canada just closed their Southern border, IMHO because the USA won't close ours!

Targeting specific groups of people for higher taxes. Yes, I not only speak of the business owners in this country, but also of smokers (which yes, I am one). While at the same time, refusing to target alcohol sales, which not only cause as many health problems, but I have NEVER known someone to smoke a cigarette, then get behind the wheel of a vehicle & wipe out an entire family on their way home from Grandma's. No, of course not! That might interfere with the weekly cocktail parties at the White House the Obamas have gotten so fond of.

Bailouts of the Auto Industry, with strings attached. While at the same time Wall Street & the banks take BILLIONS with no questions asked.

And now this!!!! Don't ask, Don't tell. Choi & Fehrebach. Both decorated war HEROES, and both dismissed for their choice. Fehrebach after 18 years risking life & limb, only to be thrown under Obama's bus. The Pentagon CROWING about not having any plans to change their reprehensible ideals.

SHAME ON YOU OBAMA! We expect to have campaign promises broken. But Mr. Obama, I must say, I think you've set the World's Land Speed Record in turning into just another stinking politician! And I am |----------| this close to throwing my support to ANYONE running against you in 2012!

"TORTURE!"

James — Mon, 18 May 2009 22:29:09 EDT

I have not written much on torture, after all, I once worked in operations for the Agency. I read so much about it, and even see fictionalizations on television, as in the ever-present Dirty Harry of our time....Jack Bauer on 24. Jack represents what is right. What is definitively right. Only television can allow such definitive right to be truly known. We get to actually see the bad guys and gals being, and intending to be, the bad guys and galls. With that definitive righteousness in hand, Jack can take drill bits, hack saws and other implements into his own hands....and do the actual cutting. And he gets the information that is so vitally necessary to save whatever city, or other large population center, is in peril.

And it is all poppycock. And Jack is forgiven, on screen and off screen. After all, we have seen the evil for ourselves. We can see that the torture applied really worked. And then we can carry this fiction over into reality. We can believe that the people we are having do the torture, those who are our own 'real' agents, are practicing this horrid unforgivable behavior on proven evil bastards and bitches.

And it is all poppycock. Here are some truths about real torture applied:

1. It is often applied to people who know nothing. They have simply been alleged to know something, or rumored to know something. We never ever get the scenario of 'We have the person who planted the bomb and knows where it is but won't tell us.' We instead get lots of rumors and snitching on friends, enemies or those who other people want out of the way. The information givers know that the person who is going to be tortured will probably never be seen again.

2. Real torture does not lend itself to having the tortured person left alive after it is administered. Real torture is not something that can even be told to the public! How about the simple fact that for real torture to work the subject must believe that he or she is not going to survive it, no matter what. They are made to 'talk' only so the pain can end. How do you induce that state of belief in a subject? Why, any number of ways; like cutting their limbs off, or other body parts. That is done just to get the subject's attention! Is this data that our public can stand to hear or know about? Not on your life. Not in the real world. Only on 24 is that okay.

3. People who do the torturing like to torture people. They are the same people who liked to spray cats with gasoline and then light them in grade school, or tear the wings off birds. They are out there. All one has to do is offer them a job. Do you think the Nazi machine had to force people to gas all those Jews? They simply asked for volunteers to serve in the crematoriums. They got plenty. And look at the record. Those people, killing Jews all day long, partied on into the night and on holidays, like they were building cars or making boxes. We actually reward deviant behavior by allowing, endorsing and applying physical torture. Then we bring these sickos back into our culture as honorably serving heroes.

4. Judges put people in prison much more readily if they don't like them. Cops give tickets and make arrests much more frequently if they do not like the victims. We all know this. We are all cowed in their presence, because we know this. People torture people they do not like. It is simple logic. Especially for the kind of people who want to do this sort sick thing. They are sick, and they are loosed upon a pack of victims by us. Some of the victims may have done terrible things, or know terrible information. We might even get it through torture. Then we can live as the dark black creatures we so abominate and decry. And what have we then saved?

5. People, like Charles Krauthammer, encourage torture, like combat, if they have no exposure to it. From back here it is all clear and distant. Like dropping bombs from forty thousand feet. How many air force guys suffer from PTSD? Not many. It is clean and very very distant, and also kind of unknown. And so it is with creeps like Krauthammer. He has not life experience at all. Gifted with money from birth. His only saving grace at all is his disability, but he has learned nothing from it. I encourage people to read his stuff. Although I never want to see anybody on this planet tortured, I sometimes harbor day dreams about people like Krauthammer being tortured, then allowed to write a column. Think it would be a little different?

6. We won't punish anybody for torturing in our name. We cannot have it come out what we really did. Obama knows this. He has all the data. He believes he is there to save us from ourselves. From knowing ourselves, even. Mythology is important. Read Joe Campbell. He sure has. Sometimes it is only mythology that gets us through. But Obama is wrong here. We will repeat our torturing period again, if we don't 'out' this mess. We will bring torture down upon ourselves in the future, if we do not proclaim the people who did the torturing as sick servants of our secretive intelligence culture, and then deny them a welcome return to our society. And that goes for each and every leader who supported or endorsed their actions.

7. We had physicians and psychologists who supported, and even applied, torture to many subjects. These people must have their licenses to practice pulled, at the very least. They are coming back here to work on this population. They are coming back to be you and your families doctors. You don't have to be afraid of combat veterans. If they were involved in real combat then they do not want to be involved anymore. But not so those sick doctors. They have come to know what works, and they will use those tools again, if they can find a way to.

8. Physical torture always works. Always. Nobody can stand against it. McCain did not. Why do you suppose he has remained so vitally opposed to POW investigations or searches? Think about it? He does not want any of those veterans left to reveal that he broke down a lot further than has been discussed. And I like John McCain! But John broke. Everyone breaks. Most just don't survive. Almost none survive. So where are the stories? On paper. Paper can be burned. And do not forget that torture always works, but with one single caveat. It must be applied to someone who has the information you want or need. That is what is uncommon. Most people tortured don't know the answer, and they die that way. The torturer simply tells his or her assistants: "next."

Argue with this essay, if you will. Krauthammer would, except I am too small for such a known pundit to bother with. Torture is another thing that I never ever would have thought that I would be writing about anywhere or at any time, in conjunction with the conduct of American Military or Intelligence Units. It is a subject of shame to me, as it should be to all Americans who consider themselves true patriots.

http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com

http://www.themastodons.com

http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com

Handling evidence of torture by US troops

Rikki — Mon, 18 May 2009 04:58:25 EDT

Hi everybody,

This is the first time ever, I decided to start my own blog, and politics is the reason.

As a political scientist who has been following political developments in North America very closely in the past, I would like to forward the following statement:

Mr. President, please reconsider your decision not to publish evidence of torture committed by US troops. As transparency has been a major issue in your campaign, you have raised high expectations which you are about to disappoint badly. Why not set up a committee which has (truly) independent experts assess the material before maybe publishing at least parts of it. Anything else, I am afraid, would make your role in this appear like some cover-up activity.

Thank you for listening, and feel free to contact me anytime.

Best wishes,

Rikki

Forward to the Past

James — Sat, 16 May 2009 14:14:39 EDT

We are not living in a period where lies are told, and deceit committed, without discovery. No, we are living in a time where those things are done, witnessed and even re-stated, then denied....and the denial is accepted as valid. We all understand that recorded history is not entirely accurate. We know that history is often recorded by people, and in ways, that change the perspective of what really happened. Television, one might have thought, and modern video, would have changed all that. But it has not. We are 'taking back' things at an inordinate rate, as well as denying that they ever happened. Has this happened because of the influence of television? Probably not. Television just makes it easier to understand that it is happening because we can actually go back and check it out. Let's look at some recent examples:

1. A month ago a very noted columnist, named Seymour Hersch, came out and stated that he had confirmed evidence that Dick Cheney was, while V.P., the head of a domestic assassination squad who's mission was to take out people who acted as a threat to the administration for which he worked. Seymour said that there was also evidence that this squad was formed under Richard Nixon and operated under the table in every administration since. This information was noted in the New York Times and on television. The video is still available out there. A few weeks after Seymour stated this and offered to make his evidence known to defend it, he recanted. He came out and stated that what he meant to say was that there were assassination teams run by the military to take out terrorists discovered in Iraq and Afghanistan. What was he talking about and where was the evidence he discussed? Gone, as if it had never been. Seymour was not even required to statw why his original proposition was so different from what he finally stated. Then Seymour disappeared from being in front of the media, probably for some time to come. Denied. Gone. Accepted by the public.

2. Joe Biden, with respect to the supposed Swine Flu, stated that people should stay away from contained areas, like airports and airplanes. Instead of admitting that he has stated that on television, he simply denied he had said it, by using the device of "What I meant to say was..." Accepted by the public.

3. Back during fresh Post 911 days, do you recall the passport? The one that the police found, supposedly at the base of one of the towers. It purportedly belonged to one of the terrorists onboard one of the aircraft that slammed into one of the towers. The television showed us close-ups of that passport, all burned around the edges. When engineers and 'experts' a few days later stated that no paper products whatever could have survived the intensity of heat, fire and explosions from those events, the passport was denied. It was not denied that there was a passport, but it belonged to somebody else. It was too late for that. They just denied that there ever had been a passport. We all saw it. Gone. Just like that. Accepted by the public.

4. Forty-seven people saw a streak of light go up from the sea toward the jet liner that was destroyed in the air over New York. The final report stated that there was no streak. Forty-seven separate people were simply wrong. The jet-liner just blew up on its own. Denied. Gone. Never was. Accepted by the public.

5. Back a bit further, we have the Kennedy thing. We all saw the Zapruder film over and over again. It still runs through my mind. His head was hit in the front, with debris flying off the back, with his head and body rocking back. We know what happened. We saw it. You know the final report. Denied. Gone, Never happened. Accepted by the public.

6. Torture. We all know, unless our head is made of homogeneous rock, that waterboarding is not the slow dripping of water over a subjects mouth. We drown people. Then revive them. Then drown them again. Over and over, until they are beat down into almost nothing. You cannot get real data, the way the torturer's see it unless the person thinks he or she is going to die. There are no rules if you are going to kill the subject anyway. But, instead of any truth, like what some of the surviving subjects are saying and even some political people are admitting, we just get denials. Even Abu Graib, with its obvious shots, was basically denied. Is basically denied. Gone. Did not happen that way at all. Accepted by this public.

http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com

http://www.themastodons.com

http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com

What is happening has happened before. We have all been shown the truth, and then by the television and video. We do not believe that what we see is valid, later on, if our belief system is powerful enough to overcome the facts. The facts are all there, in graphic detail, and we still deny them. We want to deny them because we are made to want to deny them. We are given a belief system to induce that denial. And it works amazingly well. We all know, for example, that there is no longer one member of Congress (House and Senate) that is not a millionaire. Obama is a multi-millionaire. So is Biden. So are the Clintons. And so are all the announcers on the news. Yes, all of them, down to the local level. The television anchor in Milwaukee makes 3.7 million a year, for God's sake! They have a vested interest, all of them, in you believing the mythical presentations they create and propagate. They are insulated and they want to make sure they keep it that way.

So, what good does knowing all this do you, as a citizen, a non-millionaire, a person with a regular job, or maybe no job right now? Am I writing this to simply give you a feeling of glum despair, or to make myself famous? Neither. I am too small to become famous, and I will remain so, even if you buy my books en masse. It takes more than that. No, I am writing this so you will reflect, watch, observe and think. You see, this whole thing spins off of you. You have just been led to believe that it does not. Your thoughts percolate through the system. Your actions have meaning, as small and hidden as you may think that they are. Talk to others. Look for kindred observers. You are not out to look for lies and deceit. I sure wasn't with respect to the Kennedy assassination or 911. I wanted to believe. i don't really know what happened in those situations but I know it is not what I have been told. You know it too. Just open your mind and watch, and think, and then talk to one another. It is so very important if we are ever to take the next step in humanity's development. We are stuck here, mired in these applied lies, stuck in a mud field of deception. We will not get out without great ambition, effort and endurance.

Political fabrications from Bushies vs. Nancy Pelosi

Thomas S. Kelly — Sat, 16 May 2009 11:38:58 EDT

The truth is and the Facts are:

I have yet to meet a person who did not or does not believe that the Bushies were torturing people from the get go. Fact is because the Bushies had been in power so long and did not care about public opinion they Tortured people from the ivory tower because it brought them personal pleasure and that’s how week cowards behave i.e. Uday Hussein against members of Iraq's national soccer team.

Dick Cheney, Donald Rumsfeld, George Bush should be put to justice NOW

Heinz Rainer — Fri, 15 May 2009 17:16:26 EDT

When I read the latest revelation, and we will hear more and more as the days go by,

I ask myself what kind of people these must be.

Taking a great nation such as this to a long ride, making us look like fools.

Are we going to allow them to get away with this ?

Finally President Obama, we ASK you to take action against these perpetrators of crima against humanity in no uncertain terms.

READ: WE NEED JUSTICE, WE CRY FOR JUSTICE in the name of those who were maltreated, raped, tortured, killed, and sodomized by animals who call themselves humans.

MORE here - at last the truth will come out.

I Agree With You About “Abuse Photos”

Andrew Bairnsfather — Thu, 14 May 2009 17:54:02 EDT

I have not read extensively about this issue or heard your comments.

But my first thought about people who want to see more photographs of prisoners being abused is, surely we've seen a representative sample of the awful things that happened. Aren't those who did it punished or in the process of?

I would say to those who want to see the unreleased photos, "use your imaginations sickos. Let those sitting in judgment (official judgment) have access to all of them, but let there be closure, and justice, to this episode."

By the way, how's progress on my list of suggestions going?

Here are some torture pictures http://www.pop.ly/1klo

Food Fascist — Thu, 14 May 2009 13:13:23 EDT

Here are some torture pictures http://www.pop.ly/1klo

Dick Cheney - Spokesman for this Sacred Cow

Rheanni — Thu, 14 May 2009 10:50:50 EDT

We are getting closer and closer to releasing our economic agreements with the Status Quo. However, before we're finished this particular series of Cow Tipping Games, we really must handle this major Sacred Cow accompanied by her siblings, because they would just love to keep us stuck in the mire of doubt, fear and cynicism:

“Without the Status Quo in charge, the world will fall into chaos and be destroyed.”

This “big one” sets the playing field up so that the others can spread their misinformation and thinly veiled threats throughout the pasture, keeping people like us corralled into a scenario of doom and gloom. This manure creates thoughts in our heads, like these:

~ “You don’t know what you’re doing.”
~ “You obviously don’t understand.”
~ “You’re lost.”
~ “What if you make a mistake?”

The Current Spokesman for this Sacred Cow is Dick Cheney and His Position on Torture.

Reclaim Your Faith in Yourself

The kind of thoughts that he is advocating have never led us in a positive direction, they take us right back to avoidance of our own power and being willing to settle for less. He would love us to believe:

“Things will never change, we might as well give up.”

“It’s too hard. We don’t have a chance – we’re screwed.”

“Let’s face it, there’s no way out.”

“I’m too scared to make a decision, make it for me.”

“I’m stuck, we’re stuck, the whole world is stuck.

We aren’t stuck; the Status Quo is stuck and we need to stop following the Status Quo. It feels really sticky and unpleasant, that’s true. However, the very fact that we’re feeling it so strongly means that we’re breaking away from it. Not only that, in the past, Mr. Cheney would have one of his minions do all this for him. He can't stay hidden in the shadows, because no one with any credability is left to shield him. This is not the time to give up!

Look at the Sacred Contract Circle to your right and let go of your personal, familial and cultural agreement to be lead around by fearmongering of the Status Quo. Tip the cow and make a new commitment to a change in direction. Not just any change, a real change that has freedom, peace and prosperity at its core.

Rheanni Lightwater Ccpyright 2009

Play all sixteen games!

At the Gates of the Holy City

The Barbarian — Wed, 13 May 2009 18:44:37 EDT

As a barbarian, I'm not much for politics. It doesn't make sense to declare war on a people and then waste valuable resources on occupying a region that will never give in to you; either annihilate them or leave them be. It also doesn't make sense to tell the world that you're listening and then refuse to discuss possible solutions, such as single-payer healthcare. And when did we decide that following orders justified war crimes? I'm pretty sure we covered that at Nuremberg.

So here I am, outside the Holy City. They know I'm here. And I know that if they send their little Praetorian Guard out after me, I'm toast. But if Caesar won't listen . . . well, at least he'll know I was here, won't he. And with a little luck, the Romans , tucked away all safe and warm behind that wall, will hear what I have to say and have a question or two for their emperor. The worst they can do is kill us. They can't eat us: cannibalism is against the law.

Republicans: Stuck in Own Muck

Eric from Covina, CA — Tue, 12 May 2009 14:24:45 EDT

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE

Republicans: Stuck in Own Muck

With the Grand Old Party experiencing its most precipitous decline in modern times, the very last thing it needs is a rusty old anchor pulling it down even farther. But that's exactly what it's got as it finds itself helplessly attached to a discredited and unrepentant Dick Cheney. Ironically, previously elusive and camera-shy, now that the former vice president is out of office, no one in the Republican Party seems to be able to shut him up.

Torture Reform:

Thomas S. Kelly — Mon, 11 May 2009 18:10:50 EDT

I am pleased to announce that the recent efforts by a United States Senior Citizen named Dick Cheney are now being referred to as “Torture Reform”. Any objections please respond.

Pirates of the Caribbean....

James — Mon, 11 May 2009 17:28:19 EDT

There is a ride at Disneyland called Pirates of the Caribbean. It is a gentle sort of roller coaster ride through some movie theme pirate sets. Cannons go off, the pirates are fake scary, and there is some good music and sound effect material. I mention the Disney ride simply to illustrate the vast gulf between real pirates and those we have been exposed to by the media, of late. The supposed Somalia pirates.

They do not exist. There are no Somalia pirates. Whatever those extortionists from that part of the world are, they are anything but pirates. You see, it just does not compute, at all. For one thing, there just is no way that some twenty-five foot skiff, powered by an old outboard motor, can overtake and claim a huge transport ship at sea. Out there, on the real ocean, the waves run pretty high, the wind is unpredictable, and the currents are ever present. The big transports do not run close in to the shore. Those skiffs we see on the television would not fare well at all out on the surface of the wide open ocean, much less be able to run at twenty or thirty knots to overtake the ships. Then, how do you, as the captain of a pirate vessel, transport your men from the skiff to the big high ship? I mean, if you can latch on to the giant metal monster, in the first place? It is all beyond improbable. So assume the obvious. The pirates are revenue gatherers and sharers. They have the crew, or other interests located wherever the ship is from, coming from or going to, already in their pocket. They take the ship without combat or loss or violence of any sort. They 'hold the crew and cargo' for ransom. They get the money and depart. Then they quietly split the cash among all the paid off sources. The crew is one of those sources.

That is the only way this new piracy can work. The only. Real pirates kill people. All over the place. Just like in the old days. The violence, not the theft, is what brought all the civilized countries in the world down on them. How do you take a ship at sea that refuses to be taken? You shoot the hell out of it, lose some of your own people, then kill the survivors because you are mad as hell at them for hurting you! That was the way it was, and that is the way it would have to be today. Without all the communication we have today, that is. Now the 'pirates' can reach out through telephonic or computer means and contact their 'victims' to negotiate a deal. It is all money shifting. Who ends up with the money, really, and who loses it? Find the answers to those questions and you will have your pirates. And, trust me, you will be really really surprised!

The captain of that vessel, by the way, the one taken a few weeks ago, just spoke to Congress. Listening to him was just great good entertainment and high humor. He supposedly, and without serious injury to himself, surrendered his shop to the pirates overwhelming force. Then, while he was still (apparently) free aboard, he offered himself up as a hostage so his crew could go free. What a crock!!! Like any self-respecting 'real' pirate is going to take that deal? Why would he? Absolutely no reason whatever. And this 'heroic' captain, he is in front of our Congress speaking about how to prevent such occurrences in the future! Here is an easy and quick partial solution: Don't hire him, or his crew!!!

The media is playing right along with the whole pirate mythology. They do not care about the truth anymore at all. They just want headlines. They want heroes, fake or otherwise. They plainly have no surviving ethical standards. That factor alone is why nobody wants to watch them or read the newspapers. The Pirates are a huge manufactured lie. The Swine Flu is a lie. Torture is a lie (oh, we did it all right, but we did real torture, not this watered down 'sleep deprivation,' 'hanky-over-the-nose' crap!). What is going to come our way over the next few weeks? We can always bring back one of those, and maybe improve on one of them, here and there. More likely, however, we will have some more giant lies to merely replace those.

I wrote of 'Dark Matter' and the Uncertainty Principal last week. I am working away toward discussing the real problem about all of this. If everything is fake, then nothing is real. If the roof is fake, then making believe you are not wet when it rains is absolutely required. If the food is fake, then you must work very hard to believe that you are full, and not hungry. If the heating is fake, then you must find a way to think that you are not cold. Or not. You can look up and see there is no roof. You can check your waistline and tell that you are emaciated. You can check around and note the frost covering everything about you. If you do those things, and only if you do those things, can you get to a point where you take action. If some external source, or group of sources, is constantly selling you on the idea that those fake things are real, and you are believing that, then it is very very hard to take any action.

We are being sold a package, about life itself, by the media we allowed, and encouraged, to be in all of our lives. We have to start paying attention to what we can truly perceive for ourselves. We must stop listening, reading and looking at that tube and believing. We have to find a way to get back to reality. Only then can we take rational action to do anything about anything. Our roads and bridges are crumbling. Our space program is a tottering disaster of a fake. Our airlines are barely airlines at all anymore. Our car industry is in shambles. Our factories are broken down and closing, those that are left. You know these things to be true. You drive the roads and bridges. You see the factories, or the shells they once occupied. You ride on the cramped crummy airplanes. Do you see that? Our culture has lost its feelings of bliss and hope. Do you feel that? We have become a nation of depressed souls living off pyschotropic drugs and sleep medications. Do you understand that?

We are at the point where we have come to understand that what we are being presented, almost everywhere, is fake and phony. But we do not yet see the truth. We are in the Twilight Zone, caught between those two things. We are depressed, and have lost hope, because we cannot understand what to do about any of it. Yet.

http://www.jamesstraussauthor.com

http://www.themastodons.com

http://www.from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com

Torture Apologists Demolition Derby

signsSansSignifieds — Sun, 03 May 2009 21:31:53 EDT

The most recent post on my personal blog takes apart the arguments used by torture apologists. You can find it here.

Change? Sir were you referring to CHANGING YOUR MIND??

Rhoda — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:32:13 EDT

The doubt crept into my mind full of a Man that inspired me so that albeit I am from the cradle of Philly I decided to experience History on 18 April 2008 on the mall at Independence Hall. I as an recurring donator, USAF honorably discharged disabled vet, now Veteran for Peace, was emailed by your plethora of persons whom had a glaze over their eyes when out begging bucks for Obama it was indeed reminiscent of an age none care to recollect informing me that no ticket was required only my mail, I walked from the Ritz 3.5 hours prior to your arrival, in line struck up a conversation with a paraplegic African American man in a chair sans ticket as well. Volunteers kept marching by demanding we have our tickets out & ready or no go Joe! We were flumoxed, luck we had due to a woman that handed me an extra ticket. My physically disabled pal was, "Huh?", I said no worries you're my husband, me 52 and blonde and Muslim! They sat us in the area cordoned off for handicapped. We saw nothing, heard nothing and I called your Senate office, of course no reply. We deserve to have received equal treatment but it is what it is.
Now you Sir, a Constitutional Scholar backpeddling on Prosecution of #43 and the EVIL DOER, WHIG, Rummy, Ashcroft, Addington, Feith, Mukasey, Gonzo et al. Sir respectfully, Do WE appear the fool? Violators of the Bill of Rights the 8th Amendment, the UN Charter, Geneva Conventions CAT3 Torture Article yet a darn Executive Over Reach Thin Blue Line? Why then did #43 rewite Title 18, Chapter 18, Ss2241, pgs 531 - 534 of US Code in '06 yet "Hey where'd all the PDD's go?", well #43 released it 20 July 2007, hmmm? Sir? Please do not leave this up to Monsier Novak, the Special Rappoteur and the EU, We the People must act as good Americans and not ever allow US Citizens, in absolutely no uncertain terms the Executive in terms of NEVER prosecute all and try them for War Crimes as defined by the Nuremberg Principles, we must set the example not say move forward and have other Honest, decent Nations set this example of "Never Again."

Like Father – Like Daughter

Tom Awtry — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 21:22:05 EDT

I to would like to see Donald Rumsfelt, Dick Cheney, Condoleezza Rice and George Tenet face charges, but first I want to see how our current administration handles this black mark on our country’s history, without outside interference. Basically, whose going to align themselves on whose side.

Think about it for a moment – Here’s Dick Cheney with every opportunity he can get a hold of, to voice his displeasure with any and all of Obama’s policies with the media; what other former Vice Presidents has done that? Not a one!

Now his daughter is getting into the act:

Liz Cheney Defends Father ‘Dick Cheney’ Torture Legacy/Policies

So Why, easy, to confuse along with attempting to defuse the issue at hand, his own personal involvement with authorizing torture.

Rice, Cheney Approved Waterboarding
Associated Press

The Director of Central Intelligence in the spring of 2003 sought a reaffirmation of the legality of the interrogation methods. Cheney, Rice, then-Attorney General John Ashcroft and White House counsel Alberto Gonzales were among those at a meeting where it was decided that the policies would continue. Rumsfeld and Powell weren’t.
Additional postings regarding this topic and others may be found here:

Looking Forward on Torture and Patriot Act

Tim Schram — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 19:24:16 EDT

It is my opinion that looking forward requires us to investigate the use of "enhanced interrogation techniques" and warrantless suveillance in the Patriot Act. If these are truly violations of the Constitution, domestic laws, and/or international laws, we NEED to prosecute.
If we let transgressions of this type slide under times of emotional response, we risk a repeat of this type of violations. The reason the Constitution, Bill of Rights, and laws forbid torture and warrantless searches (as well as all the others) is precisely so we CAN'T overreact out of fear or anger. To do nothing is to set a precedent that there are circumstances where it is okay not discard the Constitution and ignore the laws.

We are either a nation of laws or we are not. By 'looking forward' while ignoring possible abuses and violations means we are not. It also undermines our ability to hold other countries and entities to this standard. We MUST abide by the standards and principles we espouse. If we don't our country is a lie.

War Crimes...

4Peace — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 16:15:52 EDT

A disturbing posture from the President has become painfully apparent. His desire to handle the alleged war crimes during the previous administration. I would remind all Democrats that it is not the place... if we are to believe the campaign rhetoric, let alone the LAW... of the President to decide the path of an investigation that could lead to indictments that lead to prosecution. This he should know from his days as a constitutional lawyer let alone his predecessor. Saying that those that carried out torture are absolved of responsibility is as heinous an act as those that devised torture policy and is against everything that we learned from World War II. If there is a course that he should follow, it would be silence. Let Congress investigate, turn over their findings to the Justice Department and any decision to proceed with any criminal investigation of perpetrators from the top to the bottom would be taken from there. President Obama may NOT make up law as he goes along, UNLESS he has taken the stand of President Bush and his "if I say it, it must be lawful". The President has the power of the pardon and if it is appropriate, he may use it in the future, but now is NOT the time.
Once again to hammer home the point. There are alleged war crimes that have been commited and as such NO president has the power by law to ignore or push for glossing over the now obvious fact that crimes were commited and no matter how inconvienent to his agenda, he must not interfere. Not only by US law, but by international treaty, we are compelled to investigate and prosecute where the facts support such prosecution. Again, there are NO exceptions on who is open to investigation and possible legal action. President Obama needs to bone up on international treaty laws including the Geneva Conventions. Ask any constitutional law professor, start with Jonathan Turley at George Washington University if he needs any clarification or John Dean, from another era, or those that died at the hands interrogators in WWII and Korea to name but a few conflicts where our troops suffered at the hands of the enemy. Are we to forget the past and in so doing be doomed to repeat it?
What are the repercussions of glossing this over? In my opinion, the President becomes an unindicted co-conspirator to torture. All of our troops captured during military conflict will have had their rights to any protection afforded by the Geneva Conventions rendered null and void. Not to mention that he has willfully broken US law and perhaps fatally wounded our stature in the world in addition to validating the arguments of the militant extremists that would do our country harm. I'd say that is very serious. The President has made a jaw-dropping positive start to his administration (except for taking away my governor, Janet Napolitano) that I would not like to see rendered irrelevant by his continuing path on not holding those accountable for their actions, well accountable.
Accountability...seems like I heard that word used in the campaign. I also seem to remember that President Obama was going to restore the Justice Department to an independent entity to do their job of investigating and carrying out the prosecution of those that break the law. The President is dangerously close to breaking the law now. I for one, hope he opens his eyes on this matter of overriding importance, for it affects both the proper re-alignment of our government back to the intent of the Constitution and laws on the books, but also restores the power, given by law, to agencies of the government to be free of political interference.
"THE WHOLE WORLD IS WATCHING"

Accountability: America's Moral Responsibility to Humanity

Eric from Covina, CA — Thu, 23 Apr 2009 15:51:12 EDT

BENEATH THE SPIN • ERIC L. WATTREE
Accountability: America's Moral Responsibility to Humanity
Eight years of Republican "leadership" has left America both economically devastated, and globally humiliated. Yet, far from apologizing for the damage that they've done to the stability and image of this great nation, instead, they've circled their wagons and gone into damage control mode–not to control the damage that they've done to the nation, but in an attempt to rewrite history in order to control the damage that they've done to themselves.
So now, as President Obama goes about the business of desperately trying to return America to its former position of economic stability at home, and respect, admiration, and moral authority abroad, the GOP leadership seems to be completely oblivious to the nation's desperate and immediate need for a concerted effort in that regard. They're like clueless children who find it impossible to see the big picture. Thus, at this point it has become abundantly clear that their primary concern is not with restoring America to a sound footing in the world, but rather, simply restoring themselves to power at any cost.

Europe Back Off and Stay Out

Tom Awtry — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 22:07:43 EDT

Nuremberg Trials

America, as all countries today, is undergoing a vast amount of change; however there exists a hopefully small number of individuals within our country who in essence mistakenly subscribe to the notion “the Bush doctrine on terror” was correct and righteous, which includes the use of torture to obtain supposed Intel information.

I believe our President is taking the right steps, as he promised during his campaign to “right the wrongs” of our country’s past eight years of injustice regarding our treatment of combative detainees. First by releasing the Bush Administration’s memos condoning torture (listed here and here also here), which he followed up by insuring his release would not produce a witch hunt (as some want) by traveling to CIA’s Headquarters and assuring employees individual prosecution would not be presumed and finally, most importantly turned the entire matter over to our Justice Department and directly to Eric Holder, the Attorney General.

On this past Wednesday (22 Apr 09) an article in the Washington Post, authored by Craig Whitlock, of Washington Post’s Foreign Service Department and entitled: “European Nations May Investigate Bush Officials Over Prisoner Treatment” confirms my beliefs by the following excerpt:

On Tuesday, Obama for the first time raised the possibility of creating a bipartisan commission to examine the Bush administration’s handling of terrorism suspects. He also said he would leave it up to Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr. to determine whether to prosecute senior officials who approved waterboarding and other tactics.

This was further confirmed in a statement published by the American Civil Liberties Union, entitled: “Attorney General Holder Says He Will “Follow The Law” And Investigate Torture” where the following excerpt stated:

Attorney General Eric Holder said today that the Justice Department will “follow the law wherever it takes us” in investigating the U.S. officials behind the CIA torture policies under the Bush administration.

Europe, you have every obligation and right to legally pursue whatever action you feel is appropriate, but please let our present administration do what they can to correct these past “wrongs”; in our way of first and let America reestablish itself under the “Rule of Law”.

A.G. Holder: Investigate Torture

The people who authorized Bush’s torture program shouldn’t get off scot-free. It’s time for Attorney General Holder to appoint an independent special prosecutor.

Update 23 Apr 09:

Clinton Questions Cheney’s Credibility: “I Don’t Consider Him A Particularly Reliable Source Of Information”
Huffington Post    | Nicholas Graham

The sensitive topic of the release of the torture memos came to the forefront when Republican Rep. Dana Rohrbacker asked Clinton if she agreed with Dick Cheney’s request that documents ostensibly showing the efficacy of the torture programs should be declassified. Clinton ultimately replied that she believes “we ought to get to the bottom of this entire matter” and that it “is in the best interest of our country” to do so, but not before she took a shot at Cheney’s credibility, saying “I don’t consider him to be a particularly reliable source of information.”
Additional postings regarding this topic and others may be found here:

Mr. President - right - or wrong?

Heinz Rainer — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 19:15:19 EDT

Latest revelations about CIA torturers and the memos that came from 'above'.
Imagine, Mr. Obama, leaving a human submersed in water with a constant feeling of drowning.
Or, as we saw 'water cascading' on a human 's face, for hours. With the same feeling of getting drowned.
What else? We only begin to know what torture techniques were used against the so called 'Terrorists'.
The difference of being a 'Terrorist' or a CIA thug isn't that big in actual fact.
In Guantanamo Bay, similarly basic human rights were abused by the 'Greatest Nation' on earth.

And finally some of the memos are now being made public .
Where are Bush, Rumsfield, Cheney and Rice, as the master perpetrators. Why don't you take them on trial?
Here is the straw : "Mr President, you now want to protect the CIA henchmen who committed these crimes against humanity". Crimes, for which every normal citizen would be imprisoned for years.
You declare an amnesty for such culprits, who were 'only following orders'.
This means - in actual fact, that German SS troups were only 'following orders' and they should have been exonerated as well. Or do we have some double standards here?
Is it not that any person that tortures another fellow human, is committing a crime against humanity?
No Mr. President, we see some biased decision taking, and we are certain that Mr. Gates is the main reason for this.
He wants to protect his criminal gang.
No Sir, we won't agree. For the first time we speak out against your decision.
Like in the 'illegal use of drones' against innocent civilians.

Your policy of eliminating unwanted people somehow does not compare with the public image you portray. Somehow I have doubts if you are the person we thought you were, or you are simply caving in to pressure.

Torture in any form - is illegal. And torturers must be prosecuted, CIA henchmen or not.
Bush, Rumsfield, Cheney and Rice should be put on trial as well. Fast.

They were lying to us continiously till the end. And now we should let them go free ?
Take them on, the free world looks up to you.

The Rule of Law Returns to America

Larry Roeder — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 13:26:31 EDT

The other shoe dropped today. Those who formulated the torture memos might be prosecuted. Clearly that includes Cheney. Good for the President. What the Bush administration did to the rule of law was repugnant.
Lawyers and politicians who violate our constitutional rights need to be investigated. What bothers me is that CNN likes to say this decision was based on pressure from the left. How about pressure from those us who believe in the rule of law? Since when did that make you left of center?
Now is definetly a time for us to stand up for our President, let him know we support him. I recommend we all write letters of support to the President on this issue, congratulate him on showing what happened in the last administration and for allowing investigations to move forward, if Congress and the Attorney General feel the facts deserve it.
In September, 2004 I published an article in the Foreign Service Journal. At the time I was serving as the Policy Adviser on Disaster Management in the IO Bureau at the Department of State. One part read as follows "The story of Abu Ghraib had just hit the news, complete with its crisp, ugly photographs, evidence of a system gone wrong. A lawyer who works in the field of human rights and who knew I had been in the military asked me if such behavior was illegal in the Army. Somewhat stunned by the question, I said of course it was. I went on to raise the conditions of the prisoners being held at Guantanamo Bay, and argued that they needed lawyers and access to the Red Cross and other human rights observers in order to avoid similar mistreatment, as well as to protect our reputation. My colleague replied that those prisoners have no rights, since “they are pirates.”
If an attorney that works on human rights issues doesn’t know the proper answers to those basic questions, then small wonder West Virginia reservists were confused when aberrant intelligence officers claimed that the rules of war changed after 9/11 and therefore their “high-value” prisoners had no rights. Of course, unknown to both of us was a memo from Justice which contends that the president isn’t bound by laws prohibiting torture and that government agents who might torture prisoners at his direction can’t be prosecuted for doing so."
With a year of publishing that article, I left government service and shortly after was working for Mr. Obama in order to bring justice and honor back to America.
Again, write to the President. Let him know that old ways of politics are over the America we fought for in our revolution is back, a land of ethics and the rule of law.

Larry Winter Roeder, Jr. speaking for myself

LE COMBAT D'UNE MERE COURAGEUSE : Extract from the book "Les Piliers de la traîtrise" d'Elisabeth SILVA

MARQUEZ SILVA Marie-Jos� — Tue, 21 Apr 2009 00:12:12 EDT
LE COMBAT D’UNE MERE COURAGEUSE  DIEU a dit « Vos fils et vos filles prophétiseront, Vos vieillards auront des songes, Et vos jeunes gens des visions. Même sur les serviteurs et sur les servantes, Dans ces jours-là, je répandrai mon Esprit » - Joël 2-28.  « Elisabeth et Marc mes enfants chéris, mes anges ont été meurtris pour avoir défendu la cause des enfants disparus.Ma blessure est profonde, ma plaie est à vif, je suis ivre de douleur.Trouverai-je un mot pour crier ma détresse ? Des traîtres ont transpercé mon âme de leurs flèches meurtrières. Ces misérables veulent détruire et hypothéquer l’avenir de mon sang.Les pervers ont brisé mon cœur, consumé mes jours, égratigné la prunelle de mes yeux, crucifié mon être quand le fruit de mes entrailles, la chair de ma chair a été enchaînée et privée de sa liberté. Mais l’agneau immolé essuiera toute larme de nos yeux, il pansera nos plaies et nous redonnera la vie en abondance.Avec mes armes, celles de Dieu, je combattrai, je résisterai et tiendrai ferme jusqu’au bout. Je prendrai la vérité pour ceinture, je revêtirai la cuirasse de la justice et je mettrai pour chaussures à mes pieds, la paix. Avec toute la force de mon amour, je protégerai ma famille en brandissant le bouclier de la foi et me battrai avec l’épée de l’esprit qui est la parole de Dieu. Le Tout-Puissant, le juste juge qui règne éternellement anéantira la muraille de leur iniquité et pierre après pierre les piliers de la traîtrise s’effondreront. Il a éprouvé ma foi comme on éprouve l’or.J’aime l’Eternel, ma force, mon libérateur.Avec Dieu nous ferons des exploits. » Message d’une Maman déchirée, dont ses enfants font sa fierté.Marie-José MARQUEZ

The grass roots are thick and the tide is turning - he is no longer MY Barack Obama - he is Bush's Barack Obama!!!

Trevor from Glendale, CA — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 19:14:18 EDT

Someone needs to ask Gibbs if ALL crimes in the past are being ignored or just these specifically heinous, international, pointless and embarrassing crimes?
Ask if this means that torture is now legal in the US?
Ask if we will be apologizing to Japan and its citizens for trying and hanging their citizens for something the US now revels in and is hanging our flag proudly upon.
Ask if those previously convicted of torture will be released and pardoned?
Ask where this policy will end
Ask if this is selective or blanket
Ask how Obama would react if an international court filed charges of torture against these people we are letting go
Ask if Obama would fear he would be charged too for hididng these people and these crimes
We need specifics of how this policy is being played out.
America should be more embarrassed now by the ignoring of the crimes than we ever were by the fact that they occurred in the first place

Key testimony : Letter from the Reverend Graham Stevens from Colchester UK

MARQUEZ SILVA Marie-Jos� — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 17:39:32 EDT
Letter from the Reverend Graham Stevens     “ It was the autumn of 2003 when I first met with a French family and their most deeply moving situation.It all began with a simple phone call on the 17th September; I was preparing my sermon for the forthcoming Sunday. It is not unusual within my ministry as a minister from time to time to receive calls for help from people who are in distress and often known as “the down and outs” of society.However after my short telephone conversation with Elisabeth, I had a real sense that God was asking me to be involved in a special work for Him. So without delay I went to the Church where I first of all met Marie, then Elisabeth and Marc (and later on Phai and Simone.) I invited them to my home. There they shared with me something of their tragic story which is told here in this book. I was deeply moved by what they told me and at the time felt quite powerless. What could I possibly do to help them? The first thing at the very least was to immediately offer them all hospitality and trust that God would reveal the next stage.So began several incredible months. I cannot record in just a few lines all the experiences I had as the adventure of their story impacted my life. Perhaps this will be something to write about later in another book. I am able to affirm that this extraordinary, and at the time incredible story, is true. It is a case of facts being stranger than fiction. Sometimes what is real and true is so astounding that it goes beyond our understanding and even our imagination.The faithfulness of God has helped my dear friends through these most testing of events. Times when they felt they would not be able to survive a moment longer. Times so horrifying that anxiety virtually broke their hearts and shook their morale.The understanding that God watches over those who desire to do His will has kept them up to this moment, trusting him and giving them strength to do what is good and to fight until the final victory is won where right and justice will be accomplished.
I thoroughly recommend this book to all who read it and I commend my dear French family to God for their courage and their faithfulness.
Remember the letter of James Chapter 1 and verse 12“Blessed is the man who perseveres under trial, because when he has stood the test, he will receive the crown of life that God has promised to those who love him.” Praise God.God loves you and I love you. Rev. Graham StevensColchester Evangelical Church
Abbeygate Street
Colchester
Essex

CO2 7HBhttp://www.c-e-c.org.uk
enquiries@c-e-c.org.uk

OPEN LETTER TO THE ATTENTION OF PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA

SILVA Marc — Mon, 20 Apr 2009 15:46:40 EDT
Mr Marc SILVA                                                            Courbevoie, on April 15th, 2006.   92400 COURBEVOIE - FRANCE -       Tél. : 06.XX.XX.XX.XX    OPEN LETTER To the attention of the French and foreign Authorities
Subject : - Denunciation of STATE CRIME against the three members of the SILVA-MARQUEZ family: Mrs Marie-José MARQUEZ - Miss Elisabeth SILVA and Mr Marc SILVA.
                - Demands of the opening of National and international inquiries and the revelation of the Secret Defence on the Leo BALLEY affair.
  Dear Sir, Dear Madam, In the course of March 2005, I allowed to recommend you by offering to you, the reading of the book “LES PILIERS DE LA TRAITRISE” written by my sister Elisabeth SILVA, published by Les Editions La Lanterne, in Paris, real exhibit, which establishes the evident and indubitable proof of the attempt of crime against my family, in relation, with for backdrop, a classified SECRET DEFENCE affair, by the French authorities, which revelation is not apparently topical. Because of the obvious denial of justice, which continues, my present open letter has for end the demonstration of the truth on what it should be advisable to call now a separate State Crime. Refusing to give in to the fate and in the perspective of an inquiry led loyally and in any independence, I tried hard to collect new data, by the administration of material evidences, which come as a supplement to the book above mentioned. The check of the collected data should end to the identification of responsible persons, till this day, remained unpunished. I commit to it. I - SITUATION OF THE FAMILY SILVA - SINCE OUR RETURN TO FRANCE ON 11/02/2004 –
After a forced expatriation of my family, during almost four and a half months in England followed by an arbitrary detention in U.S.A., splendidly immortalized with courage by my dear sister Elisabeth SILVA, in a book which crossed the borders, the Calvary of my family thrown to the vindication of maffioso continued, from our return to France on 11/02/2004.
PART- PRACTICES RELATING TO MORAL HARASSMENT: Despite the work of undermining and the concentration camp practices of heroic American executioners from the prison of of York in PENNSYLVANIA and the state of extreme tiredness in which one, we come back to France, we had to undertook our fate. Very fast, the family grouping in the apartment of Courbevoie (92) was imperative in reason of the bankruptcy caused by contemptible persons.
At once, my sister and myself were gained by the consternation, when we notice the state of the mailboxes of our respective apartments, nevertheless distant around 700 kilometres, one of the other one. Both locks had been forced with the same savagery. Only the mailbox of my mother’s house located in Saubusse (40) had escaped any act of vandalism. For a very good reason, the owner of the house, without even waiting for the end of the lease had taken the decision, after the worrying missing of her tenant, to forward the mail to the local post office.

Armed with her only courage and strong of the only arms, my ruined family had to resolve to begin both moves of residence to settle down at home. The first pause intervened very fast.
And so by way of welcome, I acknowledged receipt of bailiff's act of command to pay five rents not settled. This act, beforehand drown up on 06/02/2004 at the request of the O.P.H.L.M. of the city of Courbevoie (Public House service Moderate Rents), will not miss to draw my attention.This date corresponds exactly with the day of our release from the prison of York in Pennsylvania in the United States by the American Judge of the Immigration Office of the Department of Justice (cf. my logbook of 06/02/2004) and with my return to England, according to the procedure of voluntary departure after the request of cancellation of political asylum.
With a single game of writing, the Bailiff crossed off boorishly the first date of the act to replace it by, that of the 10/02/2004, that is to say, the day of our booking of the plane ticket London / Paris. I clarify that this date also coincides with my last phone contact, from the British ground with the secretariat of the Prefect Mr. Roger Marion in Marseille (13), which I informed about our repatriation in France foreseen the next day and that, by our own means.
The Bailiff summoned me, by the aforementioned act, to pay the 2330,41-euro sum, within the delay of two months, as from 10/02/2004, and added that for lack of satisfying the present command, I could be there forced by any ways and means of law, in particular by the sequester of property of my active furniture. Besides, he reminded me the cancellation of the lease, which would be cancelled by rights for lack of payment of a single term of rent.-                      Cf. File OPHLM –Command of the rents - Page 17 - 19. Without even granting me respite, the 18/02/2004, the same member of legal profession diligently appointed by the O.P.H.L.M. of the municipality of Courbevoie (92), moved in my place of residence, supervised by two witnesses and by a locksmith, to proceed to the sequester of property of my personal properties to guarantee the payment of my debt. A report of sequester of property of furniture will be drawn up to me, wearing the sum to 2458 Euros, cost of the inclusive act. Despite the importance of the difficulties met and a non-existent level of resource, known by the General Finance, the administrator of the O.P.H.L.M, I shall be likely to pay the S.L.S. (Supplement of Housing Solidarity) for January and February, 2004, either, 179 euros supplementary monthly. From 24/02/2004, the Treasury of Courbevoie, will establish me a first schedule of due dates over six months, to settle the renting debt. I want, hereby, to return a supported tribute to my mother, Madam Marie-José MARQUEZ, who took from the beginning the control of the financial operations and set up a strategy of recovery. Moved by the energy of despair, my dear mother, recently retired, was going to push away the numerous assaults of the creditors, which demanded their part.In hardly one month, I settle to pay off, 61 % of this debt, namely, 1352 Euro. After, various initiatives of my own with C.A.F (Social Security Office) of the “HAUTS DE SEINE”, this welfare organization will eventually pay directly to the O.P.H.L.M. the 1347-euro sum, which will serve for discharging a part of my debts as well as the current rents. From April, I see myself reduced to the R.M.I. (Minimal income Insertion). It is in the same period that CAF will pay me an A.P.L. (Housing subsidy) and the 30/09/2004, my current rents will be up to date.From his part, the local commission of the “Hauts de Seine”(92) will examine with the biggest attention my file concerning the demand of Housing Solidarity fund. In support of the social inquiry, the members of the aforementioned commission will put the veto and that, despite the alarming precariousness and of the strictly observation of the law. Now, the article 6, the first paragraph modified by the law N ° 90-449 of the 31/05/1990 defines the criteria of eligibility in the helps of capital, which can only be based on elements such as the level of resources of the persons, the importance and the nature of the difficulties which they meet. The Commission of Excessive debt of the “Hauts de Seine” will conclude in view of the examination of my file deposited on 21/04/2004 to the Bank of France of Nanterre ( 92 ) in a " BAD FAITH " 29/07 of the same year. For the prescribed delay, I shall thus exercise an appeal against this inequitable decision with the T.G.I. (High Court Authority) of Nanterre ( 92 ).
To exploit my honesty, not possessing either very personal, or even motor vehicle, given up for lack of being able to maintain it, nor a bank account placed in a tax haven, I shall produce to the Judge of Execution, not the simple paragraphs appeared in the French media, but the long cuts putting in light the blatant abuses of a certain press at the mercy of the organized crime.
In view of following slanderous articles, inspired by a led astray police source, " Le Parisien” from 17/10/2003 titling " A runaway policeman " - ( 1 page); " Le Nouveau Détective " N°1101 of 22/10/2003 entitled " The strange missing of a policeman " - ( 3 pages), and to end the article "Le Monde" (2 pages), poured to the Judge of the Execution, Mr. Pascal LE LUONG, this one will declare "ACCEPTABLE AND VERY FOUNDED" my appeal exercised against the decision of the Local Commission of Excessive debt of the Private individuals of the Hauts de Seine, committee chaired by the Prefect of the “Hauts de Seine”. In any independence, the Judge of Execution, Mr. Pascal LELUONG will motivate his decision returned on 24/02/2005, in those terms: " … Mister SILVA seems convinced however to be the victim of neglects of his hierarchy which would not have insured his protection while he felt threatened. He reports moreover the proof that his name was quoted in the press, while during this period, he was up to the Central Bureau for repression of Banditism.In this respect, both articles, which he produces, evoke his participation in the arrest of dangerous delinquents. In any case, that his suspicions are based or that they result from his imagination, Mister Marc SILVA does not appear as a debtor of bad faith. In both hypotheses, this last one believed that he had to put his family safe from danger, by leaving the national territory, what entailed his revocation and consequently, the loss of his treatment. Mister Marc SILVA perceives a monthly payment constituted by 367,73-euro RMI.His monthly loads are estimated at a 634,28-euro amount, His debt amounts to a global 51.797,65-euro amount. He is in situation of obvious excessive debt. As a consequence, it will be advisable, to declare acceptable Mister SILVA, of his demand.” - Cf. File Excessive debt - Page 25 - 29. Nevertheless, during its session of 19/08/2004, the Housing Solidarity fund had required the admissibility of the excessive debt plan of the Bank of France before satisfying my demand. The members of the local commission considered, that I had to pursue the plan of discharge with my landlord and waited for the admissibility of the excessive debt Plan of the Bank of France. Now, my thin wages reached difficulty 367 Euro.Continuously, on 27/09/2004, the O.P.H.L.M. had seized the “Departemental Section” of the A.P.L. (Of the Local Management Equipment) for my back rent bordering only 30 % of the initial debt, with the aim of questioning my right for the A.P.L. As paradoxical as it can appear, the O.P.H.L.M. would logically have had interest in the fact that the A.P.L. continues to be paid so that my current rents should be settled. The O.P.H.L.M. of Courbevoie refused to wait for the decision of the admissibility of the Excessive debt plan of the Bank of France and for the help of the F.S.L. Unmistakably, the O.P.H.L.M. of Courbevoie, following the example of the Commission of Excessive debt and the F.S.L. both beaten by the General Council of the Hauts de Seine, chaired by Nicolas SARKOZY, will both have, adopted an attitude of systematic negation in defiance of the texts of law and the criteria of resource and that in resentment, of all the personal efforts harshly granted to adjust my delays.      Height of ignominy, during this period riddled with pitfalls, Mr. Claude KUNTZ, first mayor deputy of Courbevoie and President of the O.P.H.L.M. of Courbevoie ( 92 ), had sent very quickly to my place of residence, for the second time, a Bailiff to come to notice the presence of two new tenants under my roof, namely my very dear mother and sister who did not still appear on my rental agreement.On the occasion of this fortuitous meeting, I invited this member of legal profession to follow myself up to the technical premises implanted on the landing, so that he notices by himself the state of the boiler room. On the spot, we realize together that a muff of a dozen centimeters connecting two tubes, was removed at the level of my installation. Furthermore, we shall observe with bewilderment the good connecting of the nearby columns and their normal functioning.The Bailiff having indicated me that he would draw up later a report on the subject of his initial movement, I suggest to him to tell there, at the same opportunity the report of hardship of heating.
            During the next two rigorous winters, despite the payment of provisions of heating, a single apartment on eighty one, that holds the building, where I live, will be sporadically deprived of heating over long periods. Because of the fall of the temperatures, I was obliged to seek repeatedly technicians' intervention heating engineers with the guard of the building, Mrs D. (Phone. / 06. XX.XX.XX.XX), who, will scrupulously note on a register, according to her statements, each of my complaints.
Despite the numerous movements of technicians qualified from the DALKIA Company (located in - 13 rue de l’Abreuvoir in Courbevoie (92) – Sector Responsible: Mr H. - Phone: 06. XX.XX.XX.XX - Leader of operation: Mr L.), the interruptions of heating will multiply throughout both wintry seasons. It is to notice that, since my installation in this apartment since 1998, I had never had to regret a single incident. No rational explanation or report of intervention will be given to me by the aforementioned specialists, who won’t be sent by the O.P.H.L.M. anymore, at the beginning of the year on 2006, to insure this kind of repair. Information taken with the caretaker, no tenant of the building will have been entitled to such disappointments stretching over so long periods. New acts of vandalism, sabotages or simple misfortune ? Apparently, whenever the questions of interest arise, the lowness sublimates and marries all the forms, even the most degrading. Therefore, our family entry and settlement in the municipality of Courbevoie (92), will not be a simple sinecure. II – ACTIONS LED WITH THE PUBLIC AND JUDICIAL, FRENCH AND FOREIGN AUTHORITIES: Although the press plays an eminent role in any democratic society, it has to be careful not to exceed certain limits, notably aiming at the protection of reputation and at the rights of others as well as to the necessity of preventing the disclosure of confidential information. The grave negligence in the check of information, translates a blatant contempt for the research of truth and a hostile intention.This intention to strike a blow at honour and at consideration in these publications, more than litigious, constitutes an abuse of the freedom of expression characterized by a denaturation, a deformation of fundamental facts and an infringement of the rights of the person. No doubt that to serve the superior interest of the Nation, the control of the whole press at the top, give the measure of the importance of a sulphurous affair, classified in the National defence.- -                      Cf. articles: " Le Parisien", " Le Nouveau Détective " and "Le Monde" - Page 30 - 35. So, I attached the highest importance for the answers and others, sometimes edifying silences, which followed the sending, by registered mail, of the report drown up by myself, which drew the attention of the people concerned about grave police dysfunctions and quite particularly to the wide severely reprehensible contribution of French organs of press on international broadcasting.   -          To Sir, Person in charge of the High commission of the rights of the Man of The United Nations, Answer: " having examined carefully the contents of your complaint, I regret to inform you that the H.C.D.H. is not able to assist you within the framework of the affair which you evoked, for the indicated reason: - the internal, judicial or administrative appeals, were not apparently exhausted, and it was not demonstrated that these would exceed reasonable periods, or would be out of reach or ineffective. "     -    To the European Court of Human Rights, Answer: " I inform you that the European Court of Human Rights, sitting on 07/01/2005 in a committee of three judges (N. Vajic, president, E. Steiner and S.E. Jebens) in application of the article 27 of the Agreement to declare unacceptable the aforesaid request, the conditions put by articles 34 or 35 of the Agreement not being filled. Considering all the elements in my ownership, and as far as it was competent to know the formulated assertions, the Court raised no appearance of violation of the guaranteed rights and the liberties by the Agreement or its Protocols.This decision is definitive and can be the object of no appeal in front of the Court including the High Chamber, or another organ. You will understand that the Clerk's Office will not be able to supply you with the other precision on the considerations of the committee nor to answer the letters that you would send to it about the decision returned in the present affair. " - Clerk's Office Assistant of Section, Mr. Santiago QUESADA. -                        To Mister Jacques Chirac, President of the French Republic, Answer: " the President of the Republic asked me to answer the mail that you sent him on the 17/05/2004. I have to indicate to you that the constitutional principle of the separation of powers does not allow the Head of State to intervene in the cases recovering from the justice. " - leader Assistant of Cabinet, Mr. Gérard MARCHAND. -                      To Mister Jean Louis DEBRE, President of the National Assembly, Answer: " The President of the National Assembly asked me to inform you that he would not know how to interfere in a disciplinary procedure with which the administrative jurisdiction is at present seized considering the principle of separation of powers. " - director of Cabinet, Mr. Jean Louis Valentin. -                      - To Mister Christian PONCELET, President of the Senate, Answer: " I have to inform you that a procedure were in progress in front of the Administrative Court of Paris, the principle of the separation of powers forbidden the President of the Senate to interfere in this file. " - principal private secretary, Mr. Pierre ALLEAUME. -                      To Mister Joël THORAVAL, President of the Consultative National Committee (of the rights of the Man, Answer: " I received your mail of 19/05/2004 which quite held attention. Allow me nevertheless to remind you that the statutes of the C.N.C.D.H. do not give its competence to intervene in favour of the individual requests. The first mission of the Commission is to assist of its notices the Prime Minister and the Ministers concerned on all the questions of general reach which, concern human rights and humanitarian action. Accompanying document: list of associations. " - in charge of Mission, Madam Stéphanie DJIAN. -                      To Mister Pierre TRUCHE, President of the National Committee on Deontology and Security, Answer: " we cannot answer it on the bottom because the problems which you evoke do not recover from the competence of the C.N.D.S. " - general Secretary, Mrs Nathalie DUHAMEL. -                      To Mister Dominique DE VILLEPIN and Nicolas SARKOZY, successively Secretaries of The Home Office and the Local Liberties.-                      To Mister Dominique PERBEN, Minister of Justice. –-                      To Mister Roger MARION, Prefect delegated to the Security and to the Defence.      Henceforth, physically present on the French ground, on 18/02/2004, I called the secretary of the Prefect, Mr. Roger MARION, to seek an audience from his high benevolence. (Reminder of the extract of my Log book of 22/10/2003 held in London: " initiate negotiations by phone with Mr. Roger MARION, prefect delegated to the Safety and to the Defence, which eventually invites me for an interview, on the French territory in MARSEILLE (13) or in the Pas de Calais (Dover) (59). ", the secretary of cabinet will inform me, by any means, about suites given to my request by this high authority. The propositions of negotiations with this high-ranking servant are not apparently any more topical. -                      To Mister Jacques KOSSOWSKI, Mayor Representative - (U.M.P). Of Courbevoie (Hauts de Seine) My transmission of report with the aim of the referral to the National Deontology Security Committee (C.N.D.S). In his quality of member of the parliament, he will pull no answer as an elected member. -                      To Mister Jean Luc GARNIER, General Secretary of the trade union ALLIANCE NATIONAL POLICE FORCE. In each of my phone calls remained fruitless, the switchboard operator of permanency would invariably announce me that Mr. Jean Luc GARNIER, regrettably inalienable at the moment, had received my voluminous file, on which my personal coordinates were heading represented. The civil servant regretted to announce me successively that the very media union activist, Mr. Jean Luc GARNIER was either in holidays, online or still in working meeting, but that he would have very certainly the courtesy to call me back.Despite my suggestions, it will not come at the idea of this majority trade union within the National police force, to seize the legal service to ask their lawyer to examine my situation and to bend over the reprehensible drift of my former police hierarchy.  III - TASKS MADE WITH THE MEN OF JUSTICE: A/ SECTION - CONCERNING THE PRESIDENT OF THE BAR OF THE ORDER OF LAWYERS B/SECTION CONCERNING THE PARQUET C/SECTION / DECISION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT:    Back from exile, on 11/02/2004, being neither lawyer, nor a jurist, I quite naturally turned to the justice of my country to ask to the jurists to undo the hank of this complex affair and to make stop the grave dysfunctions from which, my family suffers from now on more than two and a half years, in reason of a classified Secret Defence. I intend to obtain repair of the numerous undergone damages, which origin dates, as everything indicates it, to the classified rogatory commission Secret Defence of 26/02/2002 concerning the Léo BALLEY affair, for which my sister Elisabeth and myself had been heard by the Warrant officer OMER of the Brigade of Research of the Gendarmerie of Grenoble (Isère).   Within any democracy, which respects itself, every person is entitled to the fact that her cause might be settled fairly, publicly and for a reasonable delay, by an independent and impartial court, established by the law, which will decide either on contestings on her rights and obligations of civil character, or on the soundness of any charge in penal case. On top, the law foresees that the customer has the possibility of being assisted by a lawyer, likely to operate everything to insure his defence. Being understood that this last one has no obligation of result but only best effort undertaking. A/ SECTION - CONCERNING THE PRESIDENT OF THE BAR OF THE ORDER OF LAWYERSFar from being at the end of my efforts, having suffered the refusal to insure the defence of my interests on behalf of a ballet of a dozen lawyers, according to the law and in view of my thin financial resources, the president of the bar was forced to appoint Mister Guy PECHEU to represent me in front of the Administrative Court of Paris in the affair, which sets me to the Home Office represented by Nicolas SARKOZY.   Going against the rules, which, governs his profession, Mr Guy PECHEU refrained voluntarily to postulate for pleadings, forgetting the honesty, the loyalty and the diligence, which he was obliged to bring to my file. What led me naturally to exercise an appeal for neglect to his obligation of means in front of the same president of the bar of the order of the lawyers of Paris on 23/03/2006. - Cf. File President of the bar Page 36 - 65 B/ SECTION - CONCERNING THE PARQUET (PUBLIC PROSECUTOR'S DEPARTMENT) Naturally, afterward, every complaint will conscientiously, be classified without suites, by the persons, who due to their function are called to contribute to the truth. -          Deposit of complaint to the public prosecutor near the T.G.I. of Nanterre ( 92 ) of 18/12/2003, for non assistance to person in danger and put in danger of the life of others.
-          Deposit of complaint to the public prosecutor near the T.G.I. of Paris of 28/07/2004 for Violation of professional secret and defamation by one or several police officers who supplied the media with confidential character informations.
-          Deposit of complaint with the public prosecutor near the T.G.I. of the Seine Saint Denis (93) of 14/10/2004 for Complicity by supply of means on behalf of journalists of an obvious violation of a professional secret by a police source against the director of publication of the daily paper "Le Parisien", Mr. Philippe AMAURY and the journalists Frédéric VEZARD and F. VIG. -          Deposit of complaint to the public prosecutor near the T.G.I. of Paris of 14/10/2004 for Complicity by supply of means on behalf of journalists of an obvious violation of a professional secret by a police source against the director of publication of the weekly " Le Nouveau Détective ", Mrs Catherine NEMO and the reporter Michel Mary. The ex-Minister of Justice and Lord Chancellor, Mr. Dominique PERBEN, addressee of all the copies, will not show the slightest bewilderment on the differences between the Public prosecutor's department and the Judge of the Execution of Nanterre, Mr. Pascal LE LUONG. Concerning the works of press in cause. - Cf. File complaints - Page 66 - 81. - Cf. Notification of 24/02/2005 by the Judge of the Execution, near the Hight Court Authority of Nanterre ( 92 ) - Page 25 in 29. C/ SECTION - DECISION OF THE PRESIDENT OF THE ADMINISTRATIVE COURT: Finally, despite the voluntary obstacle to the justice caused by the officially lawyer appointed by the court by the president of the bar, the examination of my report drown up in two parts (namely, 171 pages), as well as the numerous enclosed documents in the present Open letter, all sent to the president of the Administrative Court of Paris, with the aim of a reinstatement in the body of the National police force and especially of the seizure of the General Inspection of the Administration had to result, as a rule in a lawsuit to the penal, considering: - The material existence of the malpractices and cause-effect relations, between suspected persons and facts constituting the malpractices recovering from the obvious denial of justice and from the abuse of power characterized. (Cf. Complaints deposited in Public prosecutor's departments and decision of the Judge of the Execution of Nanterre - page 66 - 81 and page 25 in 29) The 30/03/2006, the Judge of the T.A of Paris will pronounce the REFUSAL of my formed appeal aiming at the cancellation of the order of 20/01/2004, by which the Home Office crossed me off with the National police force executives, for post desertion. - Cf. State progress file Administrative Court of Paris N ° 0408659 - Page 39 - 40. - Cf. Decision of the President of the T.A. of Paris, M.J. KRULIC - Page 167 in 171. IV - ANALYSIS AND REFLECTION UPON THE CONCLUSIONS OF the HOME OFFICE: - Cf. File conclusions of the Home Office - Page 82 in 96. " The guarantee of the Human rights and of the Citizen requires the police force. This force has been established for the advantage of all and not for the particular utility of those to whom, it is entrusted. " The article 12 of the Declaration of the rights of the Man and the Citizen who appears in foreword of the code of ethics of the National police force, always stays present in my spirit. The following observations have for purpose, to answer, in any transparency, the justifiable questions that each, can arise and will so allow to discover facts, which maybe had not held all their attention. At first, I attach a lot of price to indicate that in 02/03/2006, hearing date of the affair, which sets me to the Home Office in front of Administrative Court of Paris, Mister Guy PECHEU, the automatically appointed lawyer entitled to represent my interests, has made the choice not to appear and neither be replaced in the hypothesis of a hindrance.So surprising and grave as it can appear, Mr Guy PECHEU, especially refrained from applying in acts of procedure of which he was load, regarding his representative role. Not only, He hasn’t indicated me at any time the steps and the conclusions of the Home Office, but also, Mister Guy PECHEU refrained from drawing up any conclusion, in answer to those of 23/08/2004 defended by the Home Office. Consequently, I only notice these last ones on the hearing date further to the reading made by Government Commissioner. Deliberately, to the beginning at the end, Mister Guy PECHEU will strictly refrain from operating anything to insure my defence with the honesty, the loyalty and the diligence, which he was entitled to bring to my affair.On my demand, the President of the T.A. of Paris, M.J. KRULIC insured me to have noted my report and, in particular three newspaper articles, and invited me from the end of the audience to consult personally my file with the present Secretary in the audience, to take note of the conclusions of my lawyer, Mister Guy PECHEU. To my big bewilderment, the Secretary did not find track of the slightest conclusion of Mister Guy PECHEU. Everybody can agree, in any objectivity, that this unspeakable neglect in a written procedure, on behalf of a lawyer is inadmissible in a State so-called State under the rule of law. Obviously, this professional misconduct harms seriously my interests, and joins, once more, in the weft of the previous violations of the rights of my defence. - Cf. - extracted from my Report in two parts registered under N ° of file 0408659 - Page 97 - 104. At least, grotesque conclusions developed by the Home Office, brings out, that the opposition, instead of making amends and repent openly, persists and signs in its abuses of authority. Ministry of Interior will resolutely oppose to the fact that the consequent damages that I underwent, open straight ahead to no repair. Besides, the financial asphyxiation will become a reality by the complaint of my former administration of the received salaries, from September, 2003 till January, 2004.It is also advisable to raise, that during the statement of the facts, the demand of application of an administrative procedure of D.C.P.J., for post desertion, intervenes exactly on 16/01/2004.Indeed, this demand was fortunately passed on by the Central Director of the Criminal Investigation Department in the Management of the Administration of the National police force, in the daytime of my demand of protection and political asylum in the U.S.A, either on the 16/01/2004.The facts being enough eloquent, I shall refrain from adding it a comment. Without discussing, the Home Office declares unacceptable my request despite plethora of characterized malpractices recovering certainly from the PENAL, committed against me with complete impunity by a led astray police hierarchy, even when I was still in service.   By supporting it in the report, I raised a non-exhaustive list of the acts of terrorism of State conscientiously hidden by the Home Office, namely:- A non assistance to person in danger, obstacles in the measures of assistance (criminal intention opposed twice, by the disobedience to manifestly, illegal orders on behalf of my former leader of group, very honourable Lieutenant Jean Maurice Bernard), perjury and false index cards of the D.C.P.J. and the General Information, defamations, affected the honour and the violation of professional secrecy on behalf of policemen with the approval of their direction, so stressing the put in danger of the life of a police officer and his sister Elisabeth SILVA with the complicity of newspaper journalists at their order by revealing, in the same time, my complete identity and those of two figures of the organized crime (Mr. Antonio FERRARA and Mr. Joseph MENCONI), So many unambiguous preparatory acts convenient to the realization of a well stopped criminal project. Seen what precedes, I have all the reasons to think that there is a correlation between the multiple aforesaid malpractices aiming at the preparation of the physical elimination and\or the excessive internment and the classified Leo BALLEY SECRET DEFENCE affair, for which my sister, Miss Elisabeth SILVA and myself were heard on rogatory commission, motive connected to the National Security.      It is obvious, that the Home Office prefers “to open the umbrella” and to shelter behind the respect on behalf of D.C.P.J., of the formalities of the administrative procedure, by registered mail, at my last address, of formal demands to take back my service and of non-presentation to the summons, at the risk of radiation from the executives of the National police force for post desertion. To assume no responsibility in this State affair, the Home Office has the presumptuousness to call upon, one claimed turpitude, as for me. The small narrow-minded sentence is released, supposed to produce its effect the hearing date and to divert the attention on its own disorders, which ignore with balance the principles of morals and graver still violate those of the security.    The Home Office, which cannot underestimate the rules of caution and security, chooses voluntarily to keep silent about the publishing of three noxious newspaper articles of nevertheless police source, protecting by no means the anonymity of a policeman appointed to an operational group of the Central Bureau for Repression of Banditism, until then irreproachable if we judge the notations and the successive and invariable appreciations from the beginning of my career until its term. - Cf. States of the services accomplished in the National police force - Page 105 - 121. Despite the settlements and the texts of law, this representative of Home secretary distorted the facts everywhere, soiling the honour of the National police force and consequently the image of the French Republic. This resolution planned to compromise me as well on a professional plan as to expose me to possible reprisals, engages the whole responsibility of the high-ranking servant responsible for the communication with the press both on an administrative and penal plan. On this matter, it is not useless to remind, that the specificity of policeman's profession led the legislator to introduce the capacities of strengthened protection, in the law of July 29th, 1881 on the freedom of the media, notably in respect for the anonymity.   This Institution, even goes as far as blaming me for having leading a parallel inquiry on a missing little girl. On this matter, I allow to underline that the further inquiry asked by the Warrant officer of the Brigade of Local Research in Grenoble (Isère) on the Léo BALLEY affair, classified Secret Defence with the precious help of my sister Elisabeth, had not aroused on behalf of the Committing magistrate such a uprising of shield. As always, the simplistic arguments of the Home Office resist to no logic. In which measure, a possible headway in an inquiry stayed in the break-even point for several months, can be harmful?       Finally, how not underlining the enormous contradictions raised in the strategy argument of the Home Office which, speaks about different informal contacts remained fruitless "to restore normal professional relations as from September 1st, 2003 " with an answer by fax to my mail of 04/09/2003 from Roger Marion, in his quality of prefect delegated for the Security and the Defence in Marseille. In the body of my letter, I expressly explain the case of major force, which urged me to put my family safe from danger from August 2003 and consequently the reasons which opposed the resumption of my normal professional activities at the conclusion of my annual holidays. - Cf. My report of 18/08/2003 of demand of moved closer protection sent to the Main Police captain of Police (Main superintendent), Mr. Christophe MOLMY - Page 122 - 125. - Cf. My Mail of 04/09/2003 sent to the Prefect - Page 126 in 129. - Cf. My report of transmission to the Prefect, Mr. Roger MARION - Page 135By the present document, I also want to evoke another crucial point, raised in my log book of 08/01/2004: - in his report dated 03/10/2003, the Central Director of the Criminal Investigation Department at the time of the facts, Mr. Gérard GIREL speaks about supposedly reasons, which led his direction, to open a file of missing case, concerning myself, with the Central Office of Worrying Missing Persons (O.C.D.I.P). From 20/08/2003, by adding, that I was the object of a registration in the File of the researched Persons (F.P.R). As " depressive person, likely to attempt to his life”. On the other hand, Mr. Gérard GIREL is well careful, not to mention the false index card of the R.G. (General Information) which, was delivered against me. From reliable police source, I shall learn that I became suddenly " a suicidal individual likely to go to the United-Kingdom, accompanied with his sister Elisabeth. ".   Now, the establishment of this kind of index card from R.G. brings, as far as I am concerned, the following observation: - by leaving the postulate, that the files of the services of the General Information contains information on the major persons who can, because of their individual or collective activity, strike a blow at the security of the State or at the law and order, by the appeal or the active support brought to the violence as well as on persons who maintain or who maintained direct and not fortuitous relations with these and what of more these files contain the description of the persons quoted as well as the information on the political, philosophic, religious or trade-union activities of these last ones. In Which scenario enters Marc SILVA to have the honour and the advantage to appear on an index card of the R.G. established credibly in the days which followed my official demand of moved closer protection for my family and in particular for my sister Elisabeth SILVA whose mention " accompanied with his sister " is far from being a coincidence. The lies being added some to the others, in the paragraph which follows by the same report, D.C.P.J., Mr. Gérard GIREL does not hesitate to adduce: " since this date, his behaviour put in evidence the character very disturbed of this civil servant who during the next days attempted, but without succeeding there, to contact the people in charge of the television channel " LCI ", then to seek the protection of the embassy of the United States. "To restore the truth, so awkward, it is for my former hierarchy duly informed by official way, I must underline that the Main superintendent, Mr. Christophe MOLMY, person in charge in second of the O.C.R.B, at the time of the facts, despite multiplication of tracking, aiming to me as well in Toulouse region as in Paris region, escaped from his obligations by refusing to take the drastic measures of security which were imperative in the same circumstances, only because of the principle of precaution. Apparently not very worried about his staff, since the beginning, this department head will not alert the Regional Criminal Investigation Department service of Toulouse (31), about the potential danger incurred by a police officer confronted daily with the organized crime, and with the risks of reprisals inherent to the specificity of certain antiterrorist missions in support of the D.N.A.T. ( Antiterrorist National Division).For lack of police assistance and regarding the state of necessity, the 19/08/2003, I went to the office of T.F.1 where I was able to get in touch with a person in charge of the channel T.F.1, at the end of morning. It is in any transparency, that I evoked the interview granted by Mr. Antoine GUELAUD, who kindly handed me his visiting card. - Cf. log-book of 19/08/2003: " Mr. Antoine GUELAUD, journalist to T.F.1 (leader of the health / company department) receives us together with three co-workers. Documents in the support, submit him the result of our steps, begun about the missing child, Estelle MOUZIN and the form of the events because of the reference to the file of the child Léo BALLEY, classified SECRET DEFENCE. " - Cf. - photocopy Mr. Antoine GUELAUD's visiting card / T.F.1 - Page 133. V - RESULT AND EXPECTATIONS: In the management of this scandalous affair of state, everything indicates that the successive waiting-game of Mr. Jean Pierre RAFFARIN and Mr Dominique DE VILLEPIN at the post of Prime Minister, the dumbness of The Minister of Defence, Mrs Michele ALLIOT-MARIE, the guilty laxness of The Minister of Justice, Mr. Dominique PERBEN and the dominating role held by the Secretary of The Interior, Internal Security and local liberties, Nicolas SARKOZY, who seems to make it, a quite personal affair from the beginning of August 2003 till now, translate a will to damage remained intact. Let us note once more, that this illegal hardship of my freedom and those of my two relatives parents, also of French nationality and irreproachable, in the American prison, will not arouse the slightest hostile reaction of the duly informed French diplomatic authorities. As well the French diplomat, Mrs GREZE as the Minister for Foreign Affairs at the time of the facts, Mr. Dominique DE VILLEPIN, the bard of human rights if there is, known for his ardent diatribes, pronounced at the table of the O.N.U. against regimes little worried about humanist values, will not condemn the American criminal behaviour held towards my family and that nothing can legitimize.The free, independent and rightly, so-called, French press, defendant of injustices striking the French citizens illegally and arbitrarily, worldwide imprisoned, will be careful not to thunder against abuses of the American services, before and after the publishing of the book " LES PILIERS DE LA TRAITRISE " written by Miss Elisabeth SILVA and published by Les Editions la Lanterne.    More annoying and more irritable, this sudden allegiance of circumstance, on behalf of a French government not denouncing the degrading and barbaric treatments of the services of the Immigration of the all powerful United States of America, violating as usual the international legal rules to the detriment of three French citizens, to the virgin police record, entered nevertheless regularly on their ground with valid passport, plane tickets, there and back U.S.A. / ENGLAND, documentary evidences of means of existence. This French pusillanimity will not miss to surprise, I am convinced, all the countries worried about the fate of their fellow countrymen manhandled outside the limits of their border. - Cf. Decisions of the American Judge of the department of Justice of the Immigration Service- Mrs Marie-José MARQUEZ, Miss Elisabeth SILVA and Mr. Marc SILVA - Page 134 - 136. Besides, being deprived since the beginning of the informed advices of a lawyer, worthy of this name, I wonder in which measure, Home secretary, Nicolas SARKOZY, in his defendant's quality in the affair which sets me to the Home Office since 24/03/2004 in front of the Administrative Court of Paris, concerning the double contesting of: - my radiation from the National police force executives, - and of the refund of the received salaries, from 01/09/2003 till 31/01/2004, has the right, and it at the same time, to make insure the defence of the interests of the company AXA BANQUE FINANCING (applicant), which assigned me on 07/03/2005 in front of the Magistrates' court of Courbevoie, for a quite other affair of excessive debt, by the Company of lawyers ARNAUD CLAUDE - NICOLAS SARKOZY, namely the SELAS (Company of liberal exercise by simplified shares, created on 02/05/2002 by NICOLAS SARKOZY with ARNAUD CLAUDE). Is not there confusion of powers between the public service exercised by Nicolas SARKOZY and his private interests? Cf. Mail of 03/03/2005 of the S.E.L.A.S. Arnaud Claude and Nicolas SARKOZY - page 65.
These pernicious, despicable schemes at least of a candidate likely to preside over the highest fates of FRANCE, are rather revealing of the perversity and the determination of this former employer, author of moral harassment. Demonstration is so made, that this new exaction does not manifestly ensue from a frenzy or from a wrong interpretation or still a syndrome of persecution, as for me, as tends to demonstrate it, by the most despicable means the Home Office.
High-ranking French Servants not only exceeded the stage of preparatory acts and realized an attempt aiming to the execution of what we can call a State crime. These same civil servants did not withdraw voluntarily, however their black intention didn’t come to its term because of the evacuation of my family, at the last minute, forced consequently to a long exile outside France. The attempt of crime always liable to penalty, the abuses of power in any kind and the moral harassment, which preceded, accompanied and followed our exile, quite as the quite particular doggedness to deny, to repay justice to an honourable family, demonstrate the guilty intention to the end, of their inspirer.The political responsibility is exclusive, neither of the civil and administrative liability of the State, nor of the penal responsibility of their authors. Force has to remain to the law. I make the solemn oath never let subsidize a State Reason on the equity towards my family. Considering all the elements in his ownership, it henceforth falls to the President of the French Republic, Leader of the Armies, Mr. Jacques Chirac to assume his responsibilities and to condemn without concession crimes committed by his own camp.   Nobody is supposed to ignore the law and the obligations promulgated by articles 434-1 (non denunciation of crime) and following ones of the Penal code who are connected with it. - article 434-1 of the Penal code: " the fact, for whoever having knowledge of a crime of which it is still possible to prevent or to limit the effects, or whose authors may commit new crimes which could be prevented, not to inform the judicial or administrative authorities about it, is punished for three years of detention and for 45000 euro of fine. " Nevertheless, presently, I can only obviously emphasize and notice the absence of administrative or penal penalty against the culprits, as well as the deep autism of the current French government. It is finally without real surprise that the 30/03/2006, the Judge of the Administrative Court of Paris will pronounce the REFUSAL of my formed appeal, aiming at the cancellation of the order of 20/01/2004, by which the Home Office crossed me off, with the National police force executives, for post desertion, decision, which will go to the same direction as the political interest.All the combined elements of proofs leads me to assert, in a irrefutable way, that the constitutional principle of separation of powers, which does not in theory allow the high public Authorities to intervene in the cases of Justice, appears as a real cheating. The force of the weak will have had no respite to display the range of all its low knocks and to concentrate its offensives against two women and a man. These abuses of authority always directed at a retired person from the Ministry of Education, at a young lady heard on rogatory commission in a criminal classified Secret Defence affair, which lent gracefully her help for a further information at the request of a director of inquiry, and at the former civil servant of the National police force, also auditioned in the same frame. So many elements, which will allow you, Sir or Madam, to better understand the inextricable situation, into which my family had been plundged, since August 2003, in defiance of all the national and international legal rules, abused in a shameless way, by high despicable State Representatives, who show all the arrogance of their impunity, soiling by their contemptible schemes, the honour of two superpowers, namely France and the United States of America. It would be an error of judgment to consider my step, as subversive.   I intend to denounce the pervading hypocrisy, which consists in believing, that propaganda and manipulation do not exist within both aforesaid countries, which arise, shamelessly in champions of Democracy. Naturally, you will understand that I call, in no way, for charity or still for solidarity, but for the application strictly speaking of the law, both on the national stage and international.Numerous texts of law arrange, that the citizens of the world are held multiple obligations in which they cannot escape at the risk of being punished. The same texts of law also impose on the public authorities to guarantee the fundamental rights of every individual placed under their responsibility. Consequently, the grave neglects in their duty, notably on behalf of the political authorities supposed to show the example on the base and specially appointed by the people for that purpose, must also be punished and not only during the elections. So, in the name of my family, in the name of the law for a fair justice, I consider necessary to remind to, both culprits States, so on one hand, the real courage consists in looking for the truth then in crying it out loud and clear, and on the other hand, that they have the duty to condemn resolutely, not only crimes committed by their own camp, but also those committed by the other countries, as well as acts of terrorism of State, in the same way as crimes of hurts humanity, instead of adopting the little glorious strategies to disregard the reality, by cowardice, accommodation even calculation, or still to devilish systematically the opponent. Despite the quasi-general renunciation, I still have the weakness or the naivety to believe that an inquiry led in any independence in France and\or still by O.N.U., will raise the lead screed which always presses on this taboo subject, for which we look by all the means to cover up. Otherwise, it would mean for me, that France under Mr. Jacques Chirac presidency, as U.S.A. chaired by Mr. George W. Bush reached the zero degree of Democracy, and that, with complete impunity, in defiance of the national, international law and the other rights of The Man and of The Citizen about whom, we speak so much, quite rightly. It is true, that the value of an individual or of a State, confronts in his righteousness and in his courage, and that in all respects. Finally, I indeed want to express all my gratitude to the politics and others, French and foreign personalities, who had the courage to reply to my sister Elisabeth SILVA, further to the sending of her book “LES PILIERS DE LA TRAITRISE” published by les Editions La Lanterne.- Cf. Book cover and distribution - Page 137 – 141: - to the various French political representatives, - to the French and foreign personalities, - to the foreign embassies in France,-          To the French and foreign media. - Cf. Answers V.I.P. - page 142 in 163. In the name of the demonstration of the truth and of an impartial justice, I exhort you to make circulate this present Open letter, to make the light on the deliberated censorship Law. In your quality of spokesperson, it is up to you to assail the guilty silence, to denounce, according to the law this Crime and to attend to protect the right to life, in dignity and security. So that nobody ignores the unacceptable bottoms of this scandalous French-American affair.                         Yours faithfully, The French citizen,            Mr. Marc SILVA

Is there anything left to sell out on?

Card Player — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 02:34:21 EDT

No matter how much better he is than Bush on some things, the disregard for the rule of law and common decency makes Obama no better than the common criminals of the previous administration. In some ways he is even worse. At least with Bush I never held out hope that he was a man of true character. Between refusing to investigate torture and FISA, I can no longer deny that he is any more than the same kind of politician that we thought we had voted out. Sure, he says the right things and makes you feel good but that is what a con man does. The true test of character is in the actions and he has failed miserably. Why in the world should anyone believe that when the time comes, he is not going to sell out on health care too. Sorry, but all the hope for change I had is all gone.

Racial Discrimination and Abuse in PA Prisons

Donna from Washington, PA — Sun, 22 Mar 2009 13:32:19 EDT
Racist Abuse of Pennsylvania Prisoners: "The Other Inauguration Celebration"
Monday, March 16 2009 @ 05:52 PM CDT
Contributed by: Anonymous
Views: 185
For millions of people, both in America and abroad, the inauguration of a Black person as President of the United States was a moment of transcendent history, one of meaning and significance that suggests real change in a nation that has long labored under its racist history....But for half a dozen men in Pennsylvania's Camp Hill prison, in its SMU (Special Management Unit), the day will be remembered quite differently.

Please take action in support of these prisoners:
phillyimc.org
The Other Inauguration Celebration
[col. writ. 3/9/09] (c) '09 Mumia Abu-Jamal

For millions of people, both in America and abroad, the inauguration of a Black person as President of the United States was a moment of transcendent history, one of meaning and significance that suggests real change in a nation that has long labored under its racist history.

This was perhaps best evidenced by the vast number of people who swarmed Washington to be part of such a day.

But for half a dozen men in Pennsylvania's Camp Hill prison, in its SMU (Special Management Unit), the day will be remembered quite differently.

For that day marked a fit of beatings, electric stun gun (and shield) shocking, kicking, punching and other such treatment, accompanied by a rash of racist slurs by white guards against Black prisoners.

According to the Pittsburgh based Human Right Coalition (HRC), guards and staff launched an attack timed to the inauguration, to send the message, "F--k a historical day, y'all always going to be niggers!"

In an extensive 6 page report sent to members of the press, the HRC's Fed Up! chapter documents assaults and threats against 6 men that day: David Smith, Gary Tucker, Damont Hagan, Ronald Jackson, Willie Robinson and Jamar Perry. Some of these men were threatened with death for daring to file suits in courts against their treatment in the unit.

On the morning of the inauguration, one high-ranking guard reportedly announced over the PA system: "He (speaking of Obama), may have won, in my eyes he's still a nigger." He also stated: "There will be no showers or yard today. We are going to show you niggers who runs this SMU." *

Men were handcuffed, sprayed with hot pepper mace in the face, blinded, stripped naked and beaten in retaliation for exercising their alleged constitutional right to file a civil rights suit in an American court, on the very day that Barack H. Obama was taking the oath of office, telling the assembled throng before him and the nation and world viewing it remotely, that "we do not torture."

For more information contact:

HRC/Fed Up!
5125 Penn Ave.
Pittsburgh, PA 15224
hrcfedup@gmail.com
(412) 361.3022, ext. 4

Most cruel torturers in China history and secret mind control torture

Soleilmavis — Thu, 19 Mar 2009 19:13:26 EDT

There were some very famous torturers in China history. From their stories, we shall learn to concern about current torture in the world. Some tortures are even coverted by secret government department.
(1) Zhou, the last king of Shang, is known in history as a cruel and debauched tyrant. He devised many cruel laws and means of torture, oppressing and expoiting the slaves and common people. King Wu of the Zhou Dynasty launched an attack and overthrew the Shang Dynasty. Torturer Zhou lost his country.
(2) In Xi Han Dynasty, King Han Wu Di trusted torturer Zhang Tang to be the Chief Justice. Zhang Tang was one of the most famous torturer in China histroy. Because of too much people fighted against his cruel torture, he was finally killed by King Han Wu Di.
(3) In Tang Dynasty, King Wu Ze Tian(famle) used two torturers in her secret department. Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen used torture to extract confessions from the officials. Torturers Zhou Xing and Lai Junchen was sentenced to death by King Wu Ze Tian after so many people standed up to againt them. Totally 27 tortures was sentenced to death or suicided after Zhou Xin and Lai Junchen died.
There were so many other examples of torturers in history China. All King torturers would lost their countries or be killed. All very famous torturers, even at first were trusted by King and got high position, but finally were sentenced to death or suicided.
Currently so many victims are suffered terriblly from the secret remote mind control abuse and torture. Even because of the high technology and covert by government, victims can not get strong evidence.
But we are sure that by all victims hard working to keep searching related information, torturers will be finally exposed to public.
Same with all the torturers in History China, all these mind control torturers will be sentenced according to law.
More information of covert mind control abuse and torture, please go to http://peacepink.ning.com/forum

Stephen Views the News March 11, 2009

Stephen from Elkins Park, PA — Wed, 11 Mar 2009 17:54:08 EDT

Stephen Views the News March 11, 2009
http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/
ACRONYMS and Abbreviations
* IWD ~ OMG – March 8th marked the 98th anniversary of International Women’s Day. Sue Katz, at her blog Consenting Adult, offers insight and history of this annual event celebrating women’s independence economically, politically and socially. The Vatican, OTOH (On the Other Hand), offered a SNL (Saturday Night Live) viewpoint of a woman’s place. “The Vatican had a novel message for the women of the world: give thanks for the washing machine. This humble domestic appliance had done more for the women’s liberation movement than the contraceptive pill or working outside the home, said the official Vatican newspaper, Osservatore Romano.” One reaction to such reactionary hyperbole is Oh My God! I was equally disappointed in the short-sightedness of the Vatican’s remarks. The contributions of the clothes dryer and laundry detergent with optical brighteners were totally ignored. Perhaps this faux pas will be rectified when the individual who invented the CWD (combination washer-dryer) is nominated for sainthood.
* ONUG ~ One Nation under God – I thought of this patriotic-spiritual slogan while reading a report by the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC). Apparently not all Americans have read the press release about the US of A being spiritually unified. The SPLC has identified 926 active hate groups in our nation, a 50% increase since 2000. California “leads” the nation with 86, followed by Texas with 66 and Florida with 56 hate groups. Interestingly, the linked map shows that Hawaii and Alaska have zero, which leads one to several conclusions: The two most recent states have not been members of the confederation long enough to develop really good hate; extensive surfing and sledding channels positive energy; these states are too hot or too cold for hate groups to hold their outdoor cross burnings to really get the group vitriolic thing going; or, the groups in the nascent states are more stealth than their continental execrators.
* TIM - When is a tax cut for 98% of American tax payers called a tax increase? It is when the spokespeople for the other 2% generate a disproportionate amount of the rhetoric. The TIM (Tax Increase Myth) is spun by some congressmen, some ideologues on the right, organizations that serve the interests of the wealthy and some media. The TIM was created by the amalgamation of interests we can identify with the acronym GUITPOM (Got Us into This Pile of Manure).
* HUOA – This is not a US Marine shout out. It is descriptive of American foreign policy in recent years where large numbers of troops and U.S. treasure were committed to an effort before reason and strategy were promulgated. This Head Up One’s Ass approach has caused unnecessary American loss of lives, loss of treasure and loss of international credibility and stature. It is important that President Obama keep such folly in mind as he deals with the situation in Afghanistan. The caution flag has been raised since he has committed 17,000 more troops (for a total of 35,000) to this incredibly troubled region BEFORE any statement of objective, goal or strategy. This is reminiscent of the BA (Bushed Approach).
In an October 2008 article in the Christian Science Monitor, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) says, “We need to ask: After seven years of war, will more troops help us achieve our strategic goals in Afghanistan? How many troops would be needed and for how long? Is there a danger that a heavier military footprint will further alienate the population, and, if so, what are the alternatives? And – with the lessons of Iraq in mind – will this approach advance our top national security priority, namely defeating Al Qaeda?” A read of this article offers a better understanding of the dynamics of one of the significant challenges of our times. LBWL (Looking before We Leap) will help prevent FOOA (Falling on Our Ass).
* PMS – The concept of “win” in context with Iraq was achieved within the first week of the Iraq invasion. Since then HOBSH (Hanging on By the Short Hairs) is the operative phrase. It is due to Patriotic Message Syndrome (PMS) that certain interests continue to misleadingly discuss “winning” the war in Iraq where, as in Afghanistan, there is no military solution. This is not to say that there is no role for the military in protecting American lives and interests. It means that like feminine PMS, national PMS can cloud judicious decision making.
* LOL – In email and text messaging shorthand LOL means Lots of Love. In political parlance, rather than a warm emotional connotation, LOL (Look Out for Liberals) embodies fear, hatred and dread. What are those Commie bastards trying to do to our country? Repair bridges, roads and ports that enable commerce and the working population access to jobs. Fix a healthcare system that excludes almost 20% of the citizens (48 million uninsured) and where increasingly high costs dramatically reduce adequate care for many millions more whose insurance is inadequate. Improve education as a means for young people to achieve a meaningful life and contribute to society. The fact that previous efforts have underachieved is not reason to legislatively play hooky. And with great audacity the CMSL (Commie Meets the Socialist Libralator) want The Haves (TH) to pay a fairer share of the cost for these and other programs. Incomes for the average citizen have been flat or declining for three decades while the wealth has continued to grow and concentrate in the wallets of a few. This trend occurred because TH not only controlled the economics but also the politics. The average American has become SOL.
* EIT – Enhanced Interrogation Techniques is one of the most creative marketing terms devised by the Bush administration and this is considerable praise given that they tossed the BS better than all previous presidencies. This sophisticated nomenclature was used to mask the illegal and immoral use of TORTURE. I have noted in a previous blog that I would not be surprised if a world court addresses such inhumane and treaty-breaking acts, even if our own country proves not to have the courage to investigate this appalling period in our history. By “own country” I refer to President Obama, Congress and the Department of Justice. One of the ways that the CIA attempted to get off the hook for its role in torturing was to destroy 92 tapes, many depicting EIT. SE (Situational Ethics) is a societal malady that has afflicted politics, business, government and a broad swath of individuals. TAQ (There Are Consequences). Some we are experiencing and some yet to be encountered.
* OK ~ OMG – In the state of Oklahoma the corn may grow as high as an elephant’s eye but objective truth is experiencing a severe drought. State representative Todd Thomsen has introduced legislation that would deny the “teaching of the theory of evolution at the department of Zoology at the University of Oklahoma.” Rumor has it that the next step is to move the Department of Obstetrics from the med school to Zoology in order to study the role of the stork in delivering babies. Research will also include pre-natal cabbage patches. One wonders if the nickname “Sooner” means AH (Asshole) in Cherokee.
* ??? ~ OMG – I have been critical of the religious right for some of the stands they have taken on gay rights, women’s rights and their penchant to tell others how to live their lives. I cannot wait to see how they will deal with this one. Female Iron Chef Cat Cora is pregnant and her female wife Jennifer is also pregnant. Both women utilized the same sperm donor, NPA (Now Pay Attention), the same donor for the first two children that the ladies have. NPCA (Now Pay Closer Attention). For the first two children Cat carried Jennifer’s embryo and Jennifer carried Cat’s embryo. Phew. I could certainly use an IVF (In vitro Fertilization) flow chart. Regardless of how it occurred I wish the women and their offspring well. To members of the 700 Club I suggest Xanax, a proven treatment for panic disorder
* WIVO – One of the reasons Why I Voted for Obama concerned his predecessor’s politicization of science and objective fact and an unsound policy that negatively impacted the wellbeing of citizens. Obama campaigned to reverse such foolishness. This week Obama announced a dramatic change in the federal government’s support of stem cell research and he went even further by reaffirming the importance and integrity of science. An excerpt from his speech at the announcement: “It is about ensuring that scientific data is never distorted or concealed to serve a political agenda and that we make scientific decisions based on facts, not ideology." The Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) provides an A to Z Guide to Political Interference in Science. The link for the full text of Obama’s Memorandum: Scientific Integrity
* BTDT – The bigger they are the harder they fall. Competition results in better performance. Absolute power leads to abuse of power absolutely. All of these well-used expressions came to mind as I read about the merger deal between mega pharmaceutical companies Merck and Schering-Plough. Been There Done That (BTDT) describes America’s historical experience with industry consolidation that leads to monopoly or oligopoly within an industry. It rarely serves the common good. This was realized almost 100 years ago when a more intelligent/alert Congress enacted laws to prevent such consolidation. In recent decades such wisdom has been lost on the conventional wisdom as dominating companies have emerged in energy, drugs, agriculture and finance while our legislators experienced ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder). We are all going to need regular doses of ASA (aspirin).
* TAFNF – That’s All for Now Folks
* “I'll be scared later. Right now I'm too mad.” Bugs Bunny

TORTURED

K Ashalata — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 19:53:12 EDT

There is little evidence to prove about TORTURE when there is lack of help, support or investigations. The following links throw light to woes of torture.

http://www.doxtop.com/browse/bf0cb42b/postmortem-report-of-pet-dobermann.aspx

http://www.care2.com/greenliving/10-cancer-causers-to-remove-from-your-home.html

Luckily I managed to get the post mortem report with the help of one Vet. The timing coincided with the recent change in the government after the elections. The post mortem report says it all. There was insecticide poisoning and the chemical reaction that causes symptoms of cancer. That was in small dosage to a medium sized dog to cause enough torture and death.

The same can be applied to human beings in small dosages to cause serious and life threatening damages to the health of a human being. If administered in small dosages for over a period of time it can cause irreparable damage and disease to any normal person. It need not necessarily be insecticide or pesticide but any form of drugs or medications or chemical substances to cause grievous danger to life and gruesome death. The slow torture & small dosages are just to cover up the heinous crime.

The same can be applied to aggravate the condition and cause slow torture with the intention to reduce the life span. In other words it is called MURDER of an individual. In India there are not many laboratories to detect the same and even the few can be easily influenced to give the incorrect results. If the individual happens to be a single divorcee it can be all the more easy to enjoy impunity because the killers are the families with kids as shields against punishments.

There is plenty of motive for the undetected murder. If the individual has got a bank job or a share in property. By subjecting the person to slow poison they temporarily incapacitate to start the random fanciful deductions from his/her salaries. Or to jeopardize the livelihood. Or else to immobilize the person from utilizing her property share and to continue residing in rented accommodations paying exhorbitant rents.

If not given an opportunity to aggravate the ill health already induced, it would be easier to fake cases or provoke incidents to rob the individual of her entitlements.

There are still more ways to exploit and that can be done by setting young women oozing sex appeal to intercept and provoke the individual so that no authorities take action against atrocities and outrageous assaults on a single person by a group of hooligans headed by such women. A general weakness for sex and young women.

Even if the provocations do not reap results then there is always the easy prey and vulnerable pet dog to inflict torture upon and get away much more easily shielded against children.

Another way of exploitation was the sexual exploitation in the past that has caused more physical damage because of sedation. There is no proof so it is easy to ignore such exploitations.

How to indulge in senseless politicization in order to exploit an individual? To exert political supremacy over the apartment dwelling and amenities. There need not be any rationale to the amenities enjoyed but sheer show of political supremacy takes over. This again is enough justification to inflict torture and death. In short legal and judiciary systems are cramped and paralysed by political supremacy.

The individual is self. The same can happen to anyone anywhere and in any society or any part of the world. This is not just an violent crime committed on impulse but a premeditated crime.

I have been desperately working on the Net since 2000. In 2008 despite representing my case to several offices, organizations, government authorities, various political parties etc I failed to get recognized and instead extreme injustice of locking me inside an asylum when I acted in self defence.

http://www.youtube.com/ashprudebru001

Atleast police were making guest appearance but none of the advocates were willing to take up my case and were either charging exhorbitantly or refusing the service.

Present is no better than the past. My pet and I still continue to be threatened and people still indulge in senseless politicization. This is all a great MYSTERY.

But it is the slow TORTURE that has prompted me to hope for remedy, investigation….

MURDER & SHAMELESS MURDERERS………..

In all cases like Binyam Mohamed, Obama = Bush (cringe)

Chicago reader — Tue, 24 Feb 2009 02:01:08 EST

The Obama adminstration upholds the threat to Britain to withhold from them security information about potential terrorist threats, if they release evidence in their possession that strongly supports the assertion that Binyam Mohamed was seriously tortured and held captive for years - by the United States government. He is facing the death penalty and the only evidence againt him is his own confession, obtained by torture. The Obama administration has "thanked the UK government for its continued commitment to protect sensitive national security information"...and that the US will "preserve the long-standing intelligence sharing relationship".
President Obama, we realize that you are busy dealing with the current financial crises. But, we also know you are fully aware that, as Washington Independent's Daphne Evitar put it:

the Obama administration is continuing the Bush administration’s policy of concealing evidence that the U.S. sponsored torture and other abuse
We find this policy to highly disturbing and unacceptble given expectations you yourself set during your campaign. And, we demand an immediate change, including a revesal of the following Obama santioned practices.
Abduction of individuals and refusing them any access to lawyers or the outside world
Elimination of due process
Rendition for the purpose of torture
CIA torture
Use of torture based confessions in criminal complaints
Refusal to provide exculpatory evidence to prisoners
Threatening of other nations when there is a chance they may provide exculpatory evidence to prisoners
Disallowing individuals their day in court because any discussion of what was done is a "state secret" and any disclosure at all would harm national security
Read more here:
http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2009/02/19/exceptionalism/index.html
http://andrewsullivan.theatlantic.com/the_daily_dish/2009/02/humane-altern-1.html

Chicago reader

(3 Years to) MUSLIMS' FACSIST GANG ATTACK ON ILAN HALIMI - QURANIC TORTURE

Natalia from Acampo, CA — Mon, 23 Feb 2009 02:42:05 EST
(3 Years to) MUSLIMS' FACSIST GANG ATTACK ON ILAN HALIMI - QURANIC TORTURE

MUSLIMS' FACSIST GANG ATTACK ON ILAN HALIMI
The Shocking unimaginable Torture for weeks (to the sound of reciting the Quran...) and murder by a gang of (about) 30 Muslims called the "Barbarians" [with additional "drop in" Muslim friends that happily participated in the torture] of the young french Jew Ilan Halimi (seduced by a Muslim prostitute sent by the gang to get into a trap).

The grisly murder of Ilan Halimi should concern the entire Jewish world.

The highest echelons of the French government -- led by President Jacques Chirac and Premier Dominique DeVillepin -- went out of their way Thursday night to express sympathy and solidarity with their country's Jews, following the torture and murder of Ilan Halimi. Their attendance of memorial services at Paris's Victoire Synagogue for the 23-year-old victim constituted the most unequivocal and authoritative admission that Halimi fell prey to a horrid hate crime.

The knee-jerk inclination of French officialdom, however, was refusal to categorize this as an anti-Semitic homicide. Initially there even was reluctance to note the Jewish identity of the victim.

The discovery of the dying Halimi near rail tracks in the Paris suburb of St. Genevieve on February 13 sent shock waves throughout France. The cell phone salesman was found handcuffed, gagged, battered, slashed and with burns over most of his naked body. He had obviously been tortured to death.

The interrogation of the since-apprehended gang, which abducted and then for three weeks held Halimi for ransom -- before, as French police report, dousing him with flammable liquid and setting him alight -- indicated that greed wasn't the sole motive.

A pretty young woman lured Halimi from the store in which he was employed. He was kept naked, bound and hooded, subjected throughout to gruesome torments. The kidnappers, who demanded ransom, were told that the family was far from wealthy. They replied that funds be elicited "from the synagogue," because "all Jews are rich." The French-Arab and African-Muslim ringleaders also recited verses from the Koran in their communications with the family.

French interior minister Nicolas Sarkozy confirmed that the perpetrators "were convinced that 'Jews have money'... That's called anti-Semitism by conflation." He added that four of six persons the same gang attempted to capture were also Jews.

Sarkozy revealed that some suspects possessed extreme Islamic and pro-Palestinian literature and documents. What they confessed to the police further confirmed the apprehension that Halimi was subjected to barbaric abuse because he was a Jew.

The grisly attack came at a time in which some French higher-ups boasted that they had beaten back the anti-Semitic tide that accompanied the 2000 intifada. Indeed the French government oversaw a dramatic drop in anti-Jewish incidents. Reportedly the number of anti-Semitic assaults in France for 2005 is 47% below that of 2004. In this respect the French approach and record is better than that of other European states.

But this clearly isn't the whole story. Physical attacks are only one expression of the distress experienced by French Jews, many of whom live in close proximity to Muslim immigrants (estimated at 12% of the population). Jewish children in public schools are frequently bullied by Arab classmates. It's almost impossible to teach the Holocaust in schools with large Arab/Muslim student bodies.

In certain urban French neighborhoods it's risky for Jews to wear skullcaps. Many French Muslims regard local Jews, their houses of worship and communal institutions fair game in their attempts to wreak vengeance on Israel. This indeed is something for Israelis to ponder. The Jewish state's enemies often consider all Jews legitimate targets, as the 1994 blast in Buenos Aires's AMIA Jewish Community Center (which claimed 86 lives) demonstrated on a tragic scale.

France was late in combating the "collective punishment" meted by some Muslims on their Jewish neighbors. It first turned a blind eye to numerous anti-Semitic outbreaks, insisting that "there is no anti-Semitism in France." Jews were essentially requested not to bother the authorities.

Official downplaying of rampant anti-Semitism between 2000-2003 left deep emotional scars in the Jewish community. The Halimi murder and the initial disinclination to treat it as a hate crime reopened many old wounds. DeVillepin promised "the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth" about the crime that alarmed France's Jews. He will have to convince them, but not only them.

Anti-Semitism in Paris isn't just an internal French matter. It should concern all of us in the Jewish state. We mustn't be wary of speaking up lest we offend French sensibilities. Ariel Sharon didn't shrink a few years back from calling on French Jews to make aliya. Our government's concern over the Halimi murder should be conveyed directly to the French government at the highest levels, and our solidarity more emphatically shown with the embattled French Jewish community.
http://www.aish.com/jewishissues/jewishsociety/The_Halimi_Murder.asp

French authorities admit: RACISM played a "role" in barbarian act.
http://web.israelinsider.com/Articles/AntiSemi/7856.htm

Murder of Targeted French Jew: "They acted with indescribable cruelty," the judiciary police chief leading the investigation said. "They kept him naked and tied up for weeks. They cut him and in the end poured flammable liquid on him and set him alight."
http://atlasshrugs2000.typepad.com/atlas_shrugs/2006/02/murder_of_targe.html

The Murder of Ilan Halimi
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
...Little by little, information emerged about the crime. There were at least fifteen thugs, maybe more. They had used a girl to seduce Halimi into the trap where he was captured. They knew he was a Jew and they had chosen him for that reason. In his pocket they found the phone number of a rabbi and he was the first person they called, telling him: "We have a Jew. The family has to pay. If the family cannot pay, it will be the synagogue." In succeeding days, they called the rabbi again, howling sentences full of hatred. Later, they called the family, asking for $600,000, before lowering the price to $5,000. They spoke to the mother, to Halimi’s sisters, uncle, and father. When they were not asking for money, they were reciting suras from the Quran. In some of the conversations it was possible to hear Halimi screaming in the background. The thugs sent a videotape showing the young man naked, humiliated, handcuffed, just like on a Zarqawi videos from Iraq. ..
During the last ten weeks, the people who tortured and killed Ilan Halimi had tried unsuccessfully to kidnap four other Jews..
http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/Read.aspx?GUID=609AC68E-E190-4749-A7E8-CF30DF89AF58

... Barbarians seemed an appropriate name. The shocking cruelty inflicted on Halimi seemed to have little to do with efforts to extract money from his anguished family. It evoked the sadistic moral universe of A Clockwork Orange, the novel by Anthony Burgess, with a dose of anti-semitism thrown in.
Thanks to Yalda's charms, Halimi was imprisoned and tortured with acid and cigarette burns for more than three weeks in the heart of a council estate.
More than 30 neighbours in the building knew what was happening but said nothing about the crime, part of a worrying wave of attacks against Jews all over the country.
Besides Yalda, several women have been arrested in an investigation into their role in botched efforts to lure other Jewish men into "honey traps".

"He wanted a Jew," a girl called Audrey told police, referring to Youssouf Fofana, the charismatic leader of the Barbarians, who was listed by the girls in their telephone directories as "Youssouf the barbarian".
His choice of victims was based on two anti-semitic myths: that Jews are all rich and that they stick together. "They're a big community," Fofana told Audrey. "United and willing to pay."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2089-2114296_2,00.html

Brutal murder was anti-Semitic crime, says Sarkozy | World news ...Feb 22, 2006 ... Mr Sarkozy told the French parliament that the gang sought for the murder of Ilan Halimi, 23, whose naked body was found by railway tracks ...
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2006/feb/22/france.mainsection

Tale of Torture and Murder Horrifies the Whole of France ...Feb 22, 2006 ... The murder of a 23-year-old cell-phone salesman, Ilan Halimi, took place over three weeks, during which he was tortured while his captors ...
http://www.nysun.com/foreign/tale-of-torture-and-murder-horrifies-the-whole/27948/

The murder of Ilan Halimi-Commentary
by Melanie Philips February 24, 2006

As if the kidnap, torture and murder of Ilan Halimi near Paris wasn't bad enough, the way it has been dealt with and reported has graphically illustrated what can only be described as a pathological refusal within Europe to acknowledge the fact that French Jews are being attacked and murdered by Muslims in a kind of rolling pogrom. Ilan Halami was a Jew. He was... kidnapped and murdered because he was singled out as a Jew for this fate. A number of recent kidnappings have taken place of which the vast majority of victims have been Jews and their kidnappers Muslims. As Nidra Poller has reported in the Wall Street Journal [http://online.wsj.com/article/SB114064452021880485.html]:
...
the gang phoned the family on several occasions and made them listen to the recitation of verses from the Quran, while Ilan's tortured screams could be heard in the background. The family has publicly criticized the police for deliberately ignoring the explicit anti-Semitic motives, which were repeatedly expressed and should have dictated an entirely different approach to the case from the start. Police searches have now revealed the presence of Islamist literature in the home of at least one of the gang members. The highest echelons of the French government are now preoccupied with the murder of Ilan Halimi. Paris is well aware that the case threatens France's international reputation, but far more than that is at stake. Once again, as in the suburban riots of 2005, the country is forced to come face to face with the criminalized, alienated and racist Muslim youth and their adult enablers in its midst. Prime Minister Dominique de Villepin declared, in a long speech delivered at the annual dinner of the CRIF, that this heinous crime was anti-Semitic, and that anti-Semitism is not acceptable in France
http://www.israpundit.com/2006/?p=236

according to reports in the French press, some of the suspects in police custody said that they tortured Ilan with particular cruelty simply because he was Jewish.
No longer able to deny or play down the racial motive, the investigation is entering a new phase. One of the most troubling aspects of this affair is the probable involvement of relatives and neighbors, beyond the immediate circle of the gang, who were told about the Jewish hostage and dropped in to participate in the torture.
Ilan's uncle Rafi Halimi told reporters that the gang phoned the family on several occasions and made them listen to the recitation of verses from the Koran, while Ilan's tortured screams could be heard in the background. The family has publicly criticized the police for deliberately ignoring the explicit anti-Semitic motives, which were repeatedly expressed and should have dictated an entirely different approach to the case from the start. Police searches have now revealed the presence of Islamist literature in the home of at least one of the gang members.
http://www.opinionjournal.com/extra/?id=110008006

Halimi suspect Extradited
http://www.totallyjewish.com/news/world/?content_id=2941

Mideast Dispatch Archive: Ilan Halimi: Tortured and killed in ...Feb 23, 2006 ... ILAN HALIMI A VICTIM OF “ISLAMO-FASCISM” ....
http://www.tomgrossmedia.com/mideastdispatches/archives/000645.html

Gang of Barbarians
http://www.tcsdaily.com/article.aspx?id=031506D

French suburban 'barbarians' (mainly Arab Muslims) target Jews
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060402-092358-1704r

Mark Steyn on the murder of Ilan Halimi
http://www.judeoscope.ca/breve.php3?id_breve=0860

May his memory be a democratic blessing
http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=8755

Halimi died because he was Jewish
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/692684.html

Halimi's recent murder is only now being recognized in France as a racist hate crime. While the delay in such recognition needs to be addressed, the French are finally beginning to acknowledge that such offences are being perpetrated in France and must not be explained away or ignored - for the good of the country as a whole.
http://www.infoisrael.net/cgi-local/text.pl?source=4/b/viii/010320061

NY Memorial for Ilan
http://www.israelnationalnews.com/news.php3?id=99333

Commentary
http://www.israpundit.com/2006/?p=236

Remembering Ilan Halimi
http://powerlineblog.com/archives/013259.php

French leaders pay tribute to Ilan Halimi at Paris synagogue
http://www.ejpress.org/article/news/france/6232

Mother of murdered French Jew
http://www.jta.org/page_view_story.asp?intarticleid=16437&intcategoryid=2

Father of Ilan Halimi describes kidnapping ordeal
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395555768&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

The story of Ilan Halimi's murder at the hands of a terrorist gang of French Muslims brings to the surface the various pathologies now converging to make the prospect of annihilating all Jews seem possible to our enemies. First, there are the murderers who took such apparent pleasure and felt such pride in the fact that for 20 days they tortured their Jewish hostage to death.
This makes sense. Anti-Semitism in the Muslim dominated suburbs of Paris and other French cities is all-encompassing. As Nidra Poller related in Thursday's Wall Street Journal, "One of the most troubling aspects of this affair is the probable involvement of relatives and neighbors, beyond the immediate circle of the gang [of kidnappers], who were told about the Jewish hostage and dropped in to participate in the torture."
It appears that Ilan Halimi's murderers had some connection to Hamas. Tuesday, French Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy said that police found propaganda published by the Palestinian Charity Committee or the CBSP at the home of one of the suspects. The European Jewish Press reported this week that Israel has alleged that the organization is a front group for Palestinian terrorists and that in August 2003 the US government froze the organization's US bank accounts, accusing it of links with Hamas.
http://www.jpost.com/servlet/Satellite?cid=1139395477657&pagename=JPost%2FJPArticle%2FShowFull

Ottawa memorial service recalls murdered/tortured Jew
http://www.cjnews.com/viewarticle.asp?id=8735

There you have it, Quranic [Quran-ic] Torture, Islamic Fascistic hatred, "Palestinian - charity" & Propaganda, all in one case, involving around 30 Muslims, plus "ordinary" 30+ Muslims (neighbours) that knew and said nothing!

______

A Follow-up attack?

Jewish teen tortured in French town where Ilan Halimi was killed
06/03/2008
The incident of brutal abuse began at 10 A.M. on February 22. Mathieu Roumi, 19, whose father is Jewish, was strolling through his neighborhood in the Paris suburb of Bagneux, which has been the site of violent riots by immigrants in the past two years. The suburb became notorious as the scene of Ilan Halimi's 2006 murder, which horrified France.
...after which they beat him and, with the help of a third friend, dragged him to a dark basement. The three assailants were joined by three other youths, all neighborhood residents and neighbors of Roumi.
For two hours the attackers tortured the young man. One shoved cigarette butts into his mouth, another took issue with Roumi's Jewish origin, grabbed correction fluid and scrawled "dirty Jew" on his forehead. The six men proceeded to scream at him and threaten that he would die the way Halimi did.
They identified themselves as members of the "Barbarians," the same gang that kidnapped Halimi from his store, demanded ransom for his release, and when that was not forthcoming, tortured the 23-year-old over the course of three weeks. Moments after he was dumped on the street, Halimi died. ...
"We admire Youssouf Fofana!" they shouted at him, referring to the leader of the gang that murdered Halimi. Fofana and 29 other suspects are on trial for abduction, torture and murder. If convicted, they can expect a life sentence.
...the six assailants were arrested. Most are in their 20s, two come from Muslim homes...
http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/961212.html

How Much Can We Sweep Under the Bush Administration Carpet?

Alan — Mon, 16 Feb 2009 16:43:20 EST

February 16th, 2009 9:59 am
Former Gitmo Guard Tells All
By Scott Horton / Harper's
Army Private Brandon Neely served as a prison guard at Guantánamo in the first years the facility was in operation. With the Bush Administration, and thus the threat of retaliation against him, now gone, Neely decided to step forward and tell his story. "The stuff I did and the stuff I saw was just wrong," he told the Associated Press. Neely describes the arrival of detainees in full sensory-deprivation garb, he details their sexual abuse by medical personnel, torture by other medical personnel, brutal beatings out of frustration, fear, and retribution, the first hunger strike and its causes, torturous shackling, positional torture, interference with religious practices and beliefs, verbal abuse, restriction of recreation, the behavior of mentally ill detainees, an isolation regime that was put in place for child-detainees, and his conversations with prisoners David Hicks and Rhuhel Ahmed. It makes for fascinating reading.
Neely's comprehensive account runs to roughly 15,000 words. It was compiled by law students at the University of California at Davis and can be accessed here. Three things struck me in reading through the account.
First, Neely and other guards had been trained to the U.S. military's traditional application of the Geneva Convention rules. They were put under great pressure to get rough with the prisoners and to violate the standards they learned. This placed the prison guards under unjustifiable mental stress and anxiety, and, as any person familiar with the vast psychological literature in the area (think of the Stanford Prison Experiment, for instance) would have anticipated produced abuses. Neely discusses at some length the notion of IRF (initial reaction force), a technique devised to brutalize or physically beat a detainee under the pretense that he required being physically subdued. The IRF approach was devised to use a perceived legal loophole in the prohibition on torture. Neely's testimony makes clear that IRF was understood by everyone, including the prison guards who applied it, as a subterfuge for beating and mistreating prisoners—and that it had nothing to do with the need to preserve discipline and order in the prison.
Second, there is a good deal of discussion of displays of contempt for Islam by the camp authorities, and also specific documentation of mistreatment of the Qu'ran. Remember that the Neocon-laden Pentagon Public Affairs office launched a war against Newsweek based on a very brief piece that appeared in the magazine's Periscope section concerning the mistreatment of a Qu'ran by a prison guard. Not only was the Newsweek report accurate in its essence, it actually understated the gravity and scope of the problem. Moreover, it is clear that the Pentagon Public Affairs office was fully aware, even as it went on the attack against Newsweek, that its claims were false and the weekly's reporting was accurate.
Third, the Nelly account shows that health professionals are right in the thick of the torture and abuse of the prisoners—suggesting a systematic collapse of professional ethics driven by the Pentagon itself. He describes body searches undertaken for no legitimate security purpose, simply to sexually invade and humiliate the prisoners. This was a standardized Bush Administration tactic–the importance of which became apparent to me when I participated in some Capitol Hill negotiations with White House representatives relating to legislation creating criminal law accountability for contractors. The Bush White House vehemently objected to provisions of the law dealing with rape by instrumentality. When House negotiators pressed to know why, they were met first with silence and then an embarrassed acknowledgement that a key part of the Bush program included invasion of the bodies of prisoners in a way that might be deemed rape by instrumentality under existing federal and state criminal statutes. While these techniques have long been known, the role of health care professionals in implementing them is shocking.
Neely's account demonstrates once more how much the Bush team kept secret and how little we still know about their comprehensive program of official cruelty and torture.

"Thou Shalt Not Take My Name in Vain"

James — Fri, 13 Feb 2009 00:44:04 EST

The torture. We are back to the torture. Not in the mainstream media, except for some small comments about the fact that a survey was recently conducted that found over seventy-five percent of the public wants the allegations of torture investigated. It was not reported, except by a few internet sites, that certain 'unredacted,' and I love that word, parts of a House subcommittee report on the subject were revealed earlier this day. It was revealed that at least two prisoners, in one of the many institutions we have around the world, were tortured to death. Yes, they were hung in chains and cuffs by their wrists, off the ground, for days, while they were beaten. And they died from this treatment. Others, in another place, were incised with scalpels (presumably by our doctors). Their skin was 'incised,' their word not mine, about many places of their bodies, including their penises, and then 'irritating' agents were introduced into the openings the scalpels made.
No wonder there is some hesitation for even the Obama administration to have this stuff get out. If this is just two pages of an eight hundred page document, then what other outrages are in there? The whole thing is beginning to resemble the Nixon resignation. Gerald Ford was a kindly man, way out of his element as President. I think that has been pretty conclusively proven. But he gave Nixon a pass on everything he had done or might have done. Why did he do that? What is it that would have brought this country to it's moralistic knees if it had been discovered? Nixon was killing his opponents. In this country. Citizens. And that would have been quite devastating. So it was hushed up. The country went on through the most difficult time following Nixon's reign. But it is always so. We live in a Puritanical Calvinistic culture rooted in such affectations. It is always a bad time. These are always the most troubling of times. When has it ever been announced, at any time ever, that the good times have begun? That things are just great? I'll tell you when. Such times are only announced after any good time has well passed. Good times may only be revealed in America using the past tense. And here we are again. The most troubling time of all. Good grief, as you get older, this crap gets really really old. And then there is what it leads to.
We are paying the price for the Nixon pardon. Right now. We do not go back and figure out what went wrong. We did not then and we will not now. This is a country supposedly rooted in the scientific method. We do not examine. We do not publish what happened so that we can not make that mistake, or those mistakes, again. Torture is heinous. Our participation in the torture of many people around the world, no matter what the great good reasons, is dispicable, cowardly and the act of low-life maggots allowed and approved by a weak and stupified general public. And we are fixing to sweep it all under the rug....again. Which means that it is only a matter of time until these kinds of horrors will be repeated. Oh, and they will be repeated on our own people as well. You see we have freed everyone out there of constraint. All they need is a really good selfish reason, like ours. Like the small violent segment of Moslems who attacked were ever going to bring this country down. It could never happen. There are not enough of them. Even with the recruiting help we have given them in Iraq and Afghanistan. Maybe our bankers and financial gurus will do a better job of bringing this country down. Maybe, since torture has become a part of our culture (and if you don't believe that then witness the popularity of that jingoistic show called 24) we might consider torturing the financial people. We might even consider that same thing for Dick Cheney. You know, the penis 'incising' thing. Oh, sorry, I forgot. Dick Cheney has no dick.
Gregg has backed out as Commerce Secretary. The Republicans are still paying their sophomoric games. I was once a Young Republican (or Hitler Youth, take your pick) and remember all the dirty tricks that were planned and gamed on the poor liberal democrats. Late in the day, and after Gregg had 'volunteered himself to Obama for the post,' the White House (our bright man named Emanuel) figured out that Gregg might be positioning himself for the Secretary's job in order to influence the coming census. That national census can have a huge effect on coming elections. So he pulled the census from the Commerce Department and put the responsibility for it under the White House itself. Gregg resigned from his candidacy the same day that that move was announced! That was a direct hit Mr. E! Nice job.
The professor, my friend out here in the wilderness, is emeritus from his university in History. Last November he went on a trip through Vietnam and Cambodia. He led a bunch of college alumni through the sweaty post-monsoon parts of those countries. He brought back his well written journals, and about a thousand photos of the regions and their peoples. Of today. It was amazing to review all that stuff. I was in those countries back in the late sixties. I was fighting that Vietnam war. Forty years later all my friend saw were kind smiling faces. The people all say 'America Number One,' and they mean it. There is work and commerce everywhere. Construction and trade and tons of traffic and people. They hold no grudge against us. They liked the French, the way they tell it today, a whole lot less than us, and still hate Russians to this day. So what the hell happened over there? We lost that war. The communists won. They united the countries of North and South, after we left. We thought they would destroy one another and totally fail. But they did not. We thought that they would starve, but they have not. We thought that the few we took in when we left would fare much better, but they have not.
So what the hell are we still doing in Iraq and Afghanistan? Why has Obama not pulled us out? Why are we still pouring money into those places? Money that we supposedly don't have? If we just announce that we have lost those wars and come home, what do you think is going to happen? Well, take a look at Vietnam and that whole region. Why is it, when I was a kid, and even somewhat today, communism is not even something that could be discussed, much less studied. Why does it seem to be working in China? I have not put those questions to the professor. I do not have that many friends out here. I do not need to have one less. And one other thing. I did not say anything to him about all the photographs. But why were all the Americans so fat and ugly in those pictures? Here were the lithe beautiful Vietnamese and Cambodians running all around them in Western attire. And it was not age. There are a lot of old people over in those countries. And in those photos. Invariably, the natives were all smiling. The Americans never were. We are doing some things terribly wrong in our culture. Without examining exactly what those things are, and correcting them, we are never going to smile, and Jabba The Hutt will live here in the hundreds of millions.
They, the leaders of this great country, have been doing things in my name. In your name. When? When are we going to rise up and scream: "thou shalt not take my name in vain!"
from-the-chateau-dif.blogspot.com
http://www.themastodons.com

Shame on the Obama Administration

Chris from San Diego, CA — Mon, 09 Feb 2009 20:20:28 EST

News that the Obama Administration will continue to hide shameful Bush Administration acts is incredibly disappointing. We want change, not to get short changed.

If there really is a state secret, just make those details (eg people's names, locations) secret. But people have a right to know the truth about illegal rendition and illegal torture.

Investigate Bush/Cheney for war crimes. Petition

Texas_Democrat_06 — Wed, 04 Feb 2009 09:04:41 EST

I will remember the last 8 years of financial destruction here in the US and the bloodshed of millions of civilians on a global scale. most honest political and financial experts consider him the worst leader america has ever had and this is why.
Worst fiscal crisis since the Great Depression
Lied about the war in Iraq
No WMD's found in Iraq
Vetoed health coverage for kids
Ignored law, allowed torture
Illegal wiretapping
Had enough info to stop 9/11 and didn't, hid that fact from the public
Lost Bin laden at Tora Bora
Crassly unconstitutional signing statements
Stripped resources from Afghanistan and sent them to Iraq
Didn't catch Bin Laden
Allowed Al Qaeda to regroup in Pakistan Afghan war out of control
Lied about reducing greenhouse emissions, ignored warming
Muzzled warming scientists in NASA and elsewhere
Political appointments to Department of Justice and political prosecutions
Cheney, Rove, and others in contempt of Congress -- refused to tell the American people the truth
Fooled public into believing Saddam was involved in 9/11 when he knew otherwise
Made light of inabilty to find WMD's

Please sign the petition to investigate Bush/Cheney for war crimes.
Then pass it on to everyony you know that will sign it.
Petition link http://www.petitiononline.com/856798/petition.html

It Lives!!!!!! And its Renewed!!!!

Stine — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 20:51:23 EST

Our accounts and blogs on MYBO are still active, and still free! How kewl is that!

So, we've elected the man, now what? Well updates from the White House are making tree-hugging liberals think we've died and gone to Heaven (Summerland for my fellow neo-pagans). And each day deepens my Presidential Crush:

1/22/09: Obama's third Executive Order issued on his second day in office will see Guantanamo Bay closing in a year's time and emphasizes detainee constitutional privilege of the writ of habeas corpus and enforces standards of the Geneva Conventions. His fourth Order in the same day forms a task force of high level officials to determine future detainee policy

Wait, it gets better, his next Order, issued on the same day, ensures lawful interrogations--effectively taking care of that torture problem we've been having since 2007. The order creates a task force of high level officials to "study and evaluate whether the interrogation practices and techniques in Army Field Manual 2 22.3, when employed by departments or agencies outside the military, provide an appropriate means of acquiring the intelligence necessary to protect the Nation."   Thus examining existing interrogation techniques.

And it gets still better! This same order also deals with CIA "dark" prisons: The CIA shall close as expeditiously as possible any detention facilities that it currently operates and shall not operate any such detention facility in the future."

Three dark blots removed from the conscience of the nation in one day.

But one wonders. In that fifth Order there's this statement: "From this day forward, unless the Attorney General with appropriate consultation provides further guidance, officers, employees, and other agents of the United States Government may, in conducting interrogations, act in reliance upon Army Field Manual 2 22.3, but may not, in conducting interrogations, rely upon any interpretation of the law governing interrogation -- including interpretations of Federal criminal laws, the Convention Against Torture, Common Article 3, Army Field Manual 2 22.3, and its predecessor document, Army Field Manual 34 52 . . . ."

Is this intended to prevent lower rank military personnel from again taking the fall for bad decisions on interrogations? Does this put that onus on higher level officials? Is anyone familiar with military law reading my blog???

Well we've only covered one day, and it gets better. . . so I hope Jimmy Carter doesn't get too jealous while I wallow for several blog entries on how Obama has saved the New World--oh make that Renewed World: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/a_national_day_of_renewal_and_reconciliation/

Until next time Renewed Nation . . . . .

P.S. As promised! Informative links! http://www.whitehouse.gov/briefing_room/executive_orders/

America Does Not Torture-Barack H Obama!

Derryck — Fri, 23 Jan 2009 16:26:14 EST

January 23-2009:
America Does Not Torture-Barack H. Obama!
Definitions of TORTURE:
* Extreme mental distress:
* Intense feelings of suffering; acute mental or physical pain:
* The act of distorting something so it seems to mean something it was not intended to mean:
* The deliberate, systematic, or wanton infliction of physical or mental suffering by one or more persons in an attempt to force another person to yield information or to make a confession or for any other reason:
So what kinds of torture are we referring to, in relation to how we treat prisoners that are terror suspects?
America Does Not Condone Torture!
This is the view and contention of president Barack H. Obama, in relation to torture. But what is still not clear to us all, is what aspect of torture do we condone, and what we do not condone, in relation to prisoners that are incarcerated for terrorist activities, at home and abroad.
Until some CLEARLY spelled out explanation is given to the American people about torture, this issue will continue to be debated online, via the media, and any forum where this issue is of some concern.
Derryck.
NYC.

National Security and Foreign Affairs

Janice C. from Chicago, IL — Tue, 20 Jan 2009 03:12:31 EST

The National Security and Foreign Affairs (NSFA) sub-committee of Team Obama Hyde Park is engaged in the following: (1. Participating in Camp Hope which is "Organized by a coalition of social justice, religious and peace organizations from the Chicago area, Camp Hope's goal is to remind President-elect Obama of the progressive themes he sounded in his campaign and urge him to follow through with policy changes when he takes office later this month" (http://camphope2009.org/) Among the sessions members are attending are:Discussion Withdrawal of Troops from Iraq; Jan. 7, Myths and Realities about U.S. in Afghanistan; Jan. 10, Witness Against Torture Reform; Jan.11, The Gaza Crisis; Jan. 14. (2. Arranging presentations to community groups of the state of readiness of Hyde Park to respond to a natural or man-made disaster. We will be working with the Red Cross (http://www.usa.redcross.org/)   and others with an emphasis on educating the public on preparedness.
Sharon Klopner, Committee Chair

Stephen Views the News 1/15/09

Stephen from Elkins Park, PA — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 21:24:53 EST

Stephen Views the News 1/15/08
http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/
* Being special does not abdicate responsibility – Most of the people reading these words find themselves in a most unique moment in the history of humans who have walked on this planet. We enjoy a standard of living and a sense of peace and safety rarely found in history books or what is the reality for most of the people in the world today. For those of us “special” individuals there is a sense of entitlement that is insulating in its nature. It affects all political affiliations in this country and it seems to have been especially embraced by the Republican Party over the last 3 decades. It removes us from the poverty, violence and subjugation so prevalent throughout the world and including parts of this blessed country. As individuals there is a limit to what we can do about it. We depend upon our government, our representatives, to take needed action both domestically and internationally. What we can do is pressure our elected representatives to do what is right and take greater care in those we elect.
This caveat is required because too many of our representatives have failed us. Too often our government has added to sorrowful conditions internationally and proved inadequate in alleviating undesirable conditions domestically. These conditions did not begin with the Bush administration but it was during this administration that abuse of power militarily and economically and an ignorance of people with needs reached its respective heights and depths. I believe that much of the support for Obama’s candidacy was a reaction to this misguided policy. To the President who so woefully presided over eight years of reversal for the American people I eagerly say farewell. To the man about to take office, Barack Obama, I wish him wisdom, forbearance, humility and good fortune because the fate of Americans and many of the peoples of the world are now dependent upon his guidance.
* Quote of the Week – “The United States does not torture. We will abide by the Geneva Conventions. That we will uphold our highest values and ideals.” The words were spoken by Barack Obama at the press conference introducing his Intelligence Team on January 9, 2009. An incredible number of Americans volunteered to help elect Mr. Obama. These were some of the words and more importantly the actions we want from the President of the United States of America.
Broadcasts this week featured President Bush saying the exact same words “The United States does not torture,” in news clips from years past. (The evidence and Mr. Bush’s own words during his legacy tour the past two weeks showed this statement to be a lie.) I trust that Mr. Obama will prove to be a president we can believe.
* Letter of the Week - A group of scientists at the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have sent a letter to the Obama transition team about widespread managerial misconduct in a division of the agency. "The purpose of this letter is to inform you that the scientific review process for medical devices at the FDA has been corrupted and distorted by current FDA managers, thereby placing the American people at risk." In the letter FDA dissidents alleged that agency managers use intimidation to squelch scientific debate. In the Bush administration business interests took precedence over the interests of the American people and avoided scientific findings like they were a communicable disease. I would not be surprised if similar letters are being sent from the Dept. of the Interior, the EPA and a plethora of other federal agencies. I am optimistic that such an anti-intellectual approach to government and special interest generated “under sight” will improve with Bush’s departure.
* Responsible approach to our environment ~ our lives are at stake – Last week I discussed the health threat resulting from the lack of regulation and guidelines for the byproducts of coal-fired facilities. “Senate Democrats said…they want stricter rules for toxic ash from coal-fired power plants following a massive spill in Tennessee that has threatened drinking water and caused health fears.” Senator Barbara Boxer (D-CA) said, "The federal government has the power to regulate these wastes, and inaction has allowed this enormous volume of toxic material to go largely unregulated." Inaction is the operative word. Taking action following a disaster is positive. As the Obama administration designs it economic recovery program preventative programs should be an important element. Recall that is was known for a long time that the levees in New Orleans were inadequate to keep the city from flooding under certain conditions. The price for upgrading the levees would have been a lot less than the costs that resulted from the Katrina disaster. And how many lives would have been saved? The staggering cost of the Tennessee cleanup will possibly be in the hundreds of millions of dollars. Health issues aside, lack of prevention is stupid economics. And NO, health issues are not aside. It is the tragic consequence of ignorant economics.
* The Word of the Day ~ “Confabulation” is defined as familiar talk or conversation – Last Saturday my Yahoo home page offered this word of the day. It accompanied news on the same page about Illinois Governor Brad Blagojevich’s impeachment, Mayor of Baltimore Sheila Dixon’s indictment on theft and perjury, more news about the Ponzi embezzler Bernard Madoff and news of additional mini-Madoffs. These are the current faces of the disease of fraud and dishonesty running rampant throughout our society. Feeling helpless we confabulate about these matters and shrug our shoulders. I have a sense that as a society we have become too accepting of much that is wrong and what such a development forebodes.
* Lack of accountability contributed to this mess ~ it will not get us out of it - When Barack Obama was asked about investigating possible crimes by the Bush administration his response was “we should look forward as opposed to looking backwards”. I found this response condescending and irresponsible. Eight years of unaccountability, marked by very responsible individuals and organizations identifying the breaking of laws cannot be swept under the national carpet. It only keeps the door open for further abuses by the Obama administration or future administrations. Fortunately, there are some responsible people in Congress (this is not a typo) who do not accept Obama’s somewhat glib view:
Senator Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) said, “I think that there’s a lot that remains to look at, and I appreciate that President Obama doesn’t want to make it his purpose as a new president, with America in real distress in many directions, to go back and look at all this, but I think we in Congress have an independent responsibility, and I fully intend to discharge that responsibility.”
Rep. John Conyers (D-MI), Chairman of the House Judiciary committee “got behind a very different approach, releasing a nearly 500-page report that recommends establishing a blue-ribbon commission -- along the lines of the 9/11 commission, but with subpoena power -- to investigate whether crimes were committed” by members of the Bush administration. “The report also advocates an investigation by the Justice Department, potentially involving a special prosecutor. And in addition to focusing on issues of torture, wiretapping, and the like, the report also recommends continuing to probe matters like the leaking of the name of former CIA agent Valerie Plame, and the US Attorney firings.”
For two months we have listened to Bush and Cheney and their supporters/spokespeople weaving a legacy web as disingenuous and delusional as much of Bush’s presidency. I suggest that it is imperative the truth be told.
* The rule of law – In a speech last June the man Barack Obama has nominated for Attorney General, Eric Holder, said: "I never thought I would see the day when a Justice Department would claim that only the most extreme infliction of pain and physical abuse constitutes torture and that acts that are merely cruel, inhuman and degrading are consistent with United States law and policy, that the Supreme Court would have to order the president of the United States to treat detainees in accordance with the Geneva Convention, never thought that I would see that a president would act in direct defiance of federal law by authorizing warrantless NSA surveillance of American citizens. This disrespect for the rule of law is not only wrong, it is destructive in our struggle against terrorism."
Holder is the nominee that Senator Arlen Spector (R-PA) is opposing for Attorney General. It appears that my “esteemed” senator from Pennsylvania prefers Attorney Generals who range from overly partisan to incompetent such as Ashcroft, Gonzalez and Mukasey – appointments he did not block in his Judiciary Committee. Spector never tires of hearing himself pontificate but many of us in Pennsylvania are exhausted. Should Mr. Spector decide to run again in 2010 he has my commitment to work for his defeat.
* Making the big decisions, or, it’s not my ass on fire – On Wednesday I watched VP Dick Cheney being interviewed on PBS. Jim Lehrer asked Vice President Cheney about the American soldiers who have lost their lives in the war in Iraq. Lehrer asked, "Mr. Vice President, getting from there to here, 4,500 Americans have died, at least 100,000 Iraqis have died. Has it been worth that?" "I think so," Cheney responded. Mr. Cheney failed to note that none of his children or grandchildren lost a life, an arm, a leg or their eyesight or sanity in Iraq.
* “Sometimes we are so caught up in who's right and who's wrong that we forget what's right and wrong.”
Author unknown

American-made Nightmare

Sandy — Tue, 06 Jan 2009 11:54:02 EST

When I think of Nazis... I think of concentration cemps, of unspeakable tortures... And the Russians? - "Russian mob" a la 'Law and Order'... the Cold War, the Berlin Wall, orphans, abaondoned by alcoholic parents; children born with alcohol and drug-related disorders... When Americans think of Communist China... North Vietnam ... even Cuba and Argentina... Americans conjur up pictures of evil-minded people who will stop at nothing to get their way.
I just started to read a story about a man who 'existed' under American control... American CONTROL ... TORTURE ...for 6 years. Why? Because he allegedly told someone he knew how to make a shoe bomb. He said that in Indonesia, not America. He was nowhere near an airplane. I wonder what his own shoes looked like? Did he have ANY of the shoe-bomb-making materials? Did he have access to getting them? to ordering them? Even more basic - how could the USA get involved in what someone said in another sovereign country?
It didn't end with somebody interviewing him - even interrogating him... He was whisked away to various American and non-American locations where, over 6 years, he WAS TORTURED.
He was never arrested - njever indicted - never went to trial - what 'real' evidence did the USA even have? WHY did they - WHY COULD THEY get involved? What sick secret hold did America have over the power to take someone who apparently (1) had no shoe bomb making materials, directions, experience or shoe bombs ... and (2) wasn't in America and (3) wasn't on an airplane?
WE DID THAT. *WE* took this man and tortured him for 6 years. WE. Americans. Bush and Cheney were not physically there to do this. Somehow whatever directives that were decided by whoever they were ... trickled down to the people who decided to check this out... to 'arrest' (AKA KIDNAP) him ... to TORTURE him. Unless this single person was a jack of all trades - a 'diplomant' who knew the story... a 'policeman' (AKA KIDNAPPER) who took him ... a pilot who flew him away ... guards who watched him ... torturers who tortured him ... deciders who decided he should stay there... and there... and there... This wasn't one sick person - even Bush and Cheney didn't do all this. WE ... under the guise of "extraordinary rendition" (aren't cattle hides 'rendered' when they are turned into leather after having been a cow's skin for years ... of course the poor cow is now long gone)
Adolph Hitler didn't do it all. Neither did Nikit Khruschev or the Chinese communists or the Viet cong leader. Yet I am sure our history books paint everyone from those places and eras with the same grim paint. Virtually every country on earth - save these countries' allies - detested them and what they did. With good reason!
Maybe (??? who knows!???)"we" didn't torture millions (what about thousands? if there are hundreds at Guantanamo, could hundreds and hundreds more have gone through similar things?)
If I valued my freedom, and fairness and decency to all, and at least some modicum of reasonable, decent investigative procedures ... and I lived in some other country...
I would DETEST what America stands for now!
While our country has most assuredly made greivous mistakes (ask the Native Americans, the descendants of slaves, the people sent to Tule Lake because their ancestors' country was at war with the US, even though no German-Americans apparently suffered the same fate) ... we did these wrongs within our own borders. And, to a greater or lesser extent, we attempted to fix things. Native Americans still deal with rampant alcoholism - many were taken from their families and forced to learn English while denying the existence of their own cultural heritage that was here well before the Pilgrims landed. Did the slaves ever get restitution? After they and their forebears worked .... slaved ... for free for two centuries or more? And add another century of rampant discrimination.
So "we" are not any singular beacon to the world of democracy in action! "But" our screw-ups happened on our own shores.
But to reach out across the globe and snatch someone who SAID SOMETHING (allegedly!) ... did the Nazis or the Russians or the Vietcong have that power?
(I am posting this publicly ... under my own name ... is some American 'agent' gonna track me down and ...? Oh, by the way, I am a native-born American - native BORN not native - white - that should earn me some credits ... aren't us white native born Americans alot more trustworthy?)
I wonder if our kids' history books taught in our public schools ever really get into this raunchy, disgusting truth. (I wonder how well they even tell the stories of our past screw-ups?) I know that, In California, text books must get an official 'seal of approval' before the state will buy them for a district. Hmmm...
It's as though America has dropped a HUGE, pungent, gargantuan, cat shit smelling stink bomb whose aroma has permiated through every nose with access to stories like this - no matter who wrote them. Anyone who has smelled cat shit up close and personal knows that little turd packs a wallop - and thank God it ain't the size of a cow pie!
President-elect Obama - you will need to be 10 times nicer than Mother Teresa - probably better than any archangel (aren't they the 'officers' of the angel patrol?). You will need to clean house with 100% bleach - some DDT - stiff scrub brushes - lots and lots and LOTS of elbow grease - to even BEGIN to reduce in any measurable way the potence of this American-made disaster. We used to joke that "made in Japan" meant junk (and more recently, "made in Chica") but "made in America" isn't mere junk - it's deadly.
How will this country of ours ever begin to truly address the consequences of these "extraordinary renditions"? I would hardly guess that all of those in Guantanamo have no animosity towards this country - and that Al Qaida would have an easy time recruiting them, and many more. Torture one person - and you create hundreds... thousands ... who vicariously feel that torture and want to retaliate - to get even - to stop it!
To all those Americans (and whoever else!) who was in any way, by choice or by ...? involved in this 6+ year long disaster ... you have corporatly stabbed the rest of us in the heart with your actions. At the very least, you will havge left this world far more cynical - far less trusting of the alleged decency of its' people and government. It appears as though countries are already turning their backs to us. Wasn't there already some Latin-american gathering --- that DIDN'T invite the USA to its' gathering? Somebody in Russia already thinks we're gonna break up into 6 or so parts within the next few years. (With a gadzillion dollar stimulus package coming? Who would secede? Like leaving that $50 billion ponzi schemer's family before the hidden valuables are divided.
Maybe our human genome isn't so different after all. If we all share variants of the same genes, what makes us think we don't share the same code as a Nazi or VC or KGB agent?

Stop Abu Ghraib like Abuse, Medical Neglect, Torture, and Battery in US Prisons and Jails

Dr Linda Shelton — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 10:39:26 EST

It is so important to act and not just talk. We live in a totalitarian police state because people have NOT spoken up and acted. Are you willing to help me write a white paper saying what is wrong with the prison system and what we think should be done?
I know of the lawsuit by Everett Hadix against the Michigan prison system for extreme systemic medical neglect and abuse causing for example the death of TH from dehydration while in restraints, or of another prisoner for failure to provide thyroid medication, and others from medical neglect, torture, and abuse. We have a similar situation in Illinois but no lawsuits yet. Read the US Atty report - http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/iln/pr/chicago/2008/pr0717_01a.pdf.
There is also the gross case of death by ammonia inhalant of a Florida teen in a boot camp where the guards and nurse forced an ammonia inhalant on this prisoner because he wasn't running fast enough. He went into laryngospasm and died. The nurse and guards were tried for murder and acquitted!! But by the grace of God go I !!! I have been wrongfully incarcerated, suffered asthma attacks and ammonia inhalants forced on me until I passed out in laryngospasm because they said I was "faking" and "malingering" and they had to "deal with my dramatics"!! I thought I was going to die several times.
I also was tied down and illegally shot up with psychotropic drugs to shut me up so I wouldn't ask for grievance forms, paper and pen to access the courts, or tell other prisoners their writes. This is while I was severely dehydrated on a dry hunger strike and despite the fact I go into very severe flashbacks from being tied down and suffocated in the past.
I have been viciously beaten by guards and black and blue all over in retaliation for my complaints or resisting a psychotropic drug, un-needed and given illegally. Again these illegal acts were done in retaliation for my complaints and civil rights activities!!
My goal is nothing short of congressional hearings on these topics. This is much worse than Abu Ghraib and is standard practice in US prisons and jails. It is so barbaric and cruel it makes me puke and I constantly suffer from PTSD. I cry and shake when even thinking about this stuff as I am doing now while writing this.
We need to raise a lot of funds so we can hire good attorneys to do class actions and lobby for congressional hearings. We need much more press attention. I have been trying to do this unsuccessfully. I am destitute now and fortunately have a relative who has taken me in.
We need an organization to fight this and a celebrity spokesman to help promote the cause.I would appreciate the guidance and assistance of this group in achieving these goals. Perhaps we can form a coalition with other mental health advocacy, disability advocacy, and prison reform groups, as well as with anti-torture groups.
Please contact me with ideas in this regard, tell me if you have the skills or resources to help, and if you are willing to volunteer in some regard.
Dr. Linda Lorincz Shelton

Questions I Asked in "Open for Questions" Web Site

Dr Linda Shelton — Tue, 30 Dec 2008 09:31:53 EST

The transition team has a web site to ask questions to the team:
http://change.gov/page/content/openforquestions20081229/
These are the questions I have asked to date. When I receive the answers I will discuss them.
"50% or so of health care dollars is spent on advertising. What will you do to stop this waste. Health care providers should be like the police and fire departments, a necessary public service that does not advertise."
"Rural areas have attracted for profit prisons. The prison/industrial complex now employes 1/10 Americans. This is not productive - guards and prisoners don't contribute to the economy - they suck the wind out of it. What will you do to fix this?"
"Japan preserves its crafts by funding "living national treasures" - top craftsmen and artists. They are given a govnt salary to maintain and teach their skill like swordmaking, flower arranging, Samari skills. Should we do this?"
"AAG Patrick Fitzgerald doesn't have half the manpower he needs to prosecute all the corruption in Illinois. Will you remedy this and make stamping out corruption a priority along with prosecuting felony civil rights violations?"
"Torture, medical neglect, abuse, denial of access to courts is routine in American prisons. What will you do to fix this and reduce the prison population which is 40 X greater than in any civilized country and is tearing down our economy?"
"Medical care at Cook Co. Jail & IL prison system is so inadequate inmates have had their leg amputated for lack of antibiotics & prisoners who were disabled lay on the floor in diarrhea for days unable to obtain water/care. Will DOJ investigate?"
"Torture, medical neglect, forced drugging, withholding of medical diets, falsification of records by guards, beatings resulting in death is standard practice in US jails and prisons. Will you hold Congressional hearings on this topic to expose it?"
"US Atty Fitzgerald found systemic medical neglect and violence by guards against inmates at Cook Co. Jail. YET NO INDICTMENTS for this intentional battery resulting in many deaths have occurred. Will you prosecute these criminal officers/officials?"
"All sorts of roadblocks are put up to prevent pro se litigants from defending themselves and litigating in courts. Will you see that pro se manuals are written, judicial education is improved, and citizens can have access and fairness in the courts?"
"Prosecution of felony civil rights violations - been stopped by Bush. Will you prosecute systemic intentional civil rights violations in prisons and jails that have led to death and loss of limb by intentional withholding of medical care and meds?"
"Communications a new frontier - money wasted; no standardization of bills & records; difficult finding data; privacy & security concerns; elderly/disabled concerns; education concerns. Do you support new Cabinet position for Communications Secretary?"
"In Illinois 1 prison law librarian handles ALL requests from all 40,000 prisoners for legal research, legal documents, etc. This cannot be considered access to the courts. Will the DOJ investigate and prosecute such systemic civil rights violations?"

Seasonal Forgiveness Has a Limit. Bush and His Cronies Must Face a Reckoning

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Wed, 24 Dec 2008 16:32:28 EST

Seasonal Forgiveness Has a Limit. Bush and His Cronies Must Face a Reckoning
Heinous crimes are now synonymous with this US administration. If it isn't held to account, what does that say about us?
by Jonathan Freedland - Published on Wednesday, December 24, 2008 by The Guardian/UK
'Tis the night before Christmas and the season of goodwill. The mood is forgiving. Our faces warm with mulled wine, our tummies full, we're meant to slump in the armchair, look back on the year just gone and count our blessings - woozily agreeing to put our troubles behind us.
As in families, so in the realm of public and international affairs. And this December that feels especially true. The "war on terror" that dominated much of the decade seems to be heading towards a kind of conclusion. George Bush will leave office in a matter of weeks and British troops will leave Iraq a few months later. The first, defining phase of the conflict that began on 9/11 - the war of Bush, Tony Blair and Osama bin Laden - is about to slip from the present to the past tense. Bush and Blair will be gone, with only Bin Laden still in post. The urge to move on is palpable.
You can sense it in the valedictory interviews Bush and Dick Cheney are conducting on their way out. They're looking to the verdict of history now, Cheney telling the Washington Times last week: "I myself am personally persuaded that this president and this administration will look very good 20 or 30 years down the road.".........
ENTIRE COMMENT - http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/24/george-bush-guantanamo-bay-us-government

Statement of President-elect Obama on Human Rights Day

Soleilmavis — Sat, 20 Dec 2008 17:07:41 EST

In recognition of Human Rights Day (10 Dec), President-elect Obama released the following statement today:

The United States was founded on the idea that all people are endowed with inalienable rights, and that principle has allowed us to work to perfect our union at home while standing as a beacon of hope to the world. Today, that principle is embodied in agreements Americans helped forge -- the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the Geneva Conventions, and treaties against torture and genocide -- and it unites us with people from every country and culture.

When the United States stands up for human rights, by example at home and by effort abroad, we align ourselves with men and women around the world who struggle for the right to speak their minds, to choose their leaders, and to be treated with dignity and respect. We also strengthen our security and well being, because the abuse of human rights can feed many of the global dangers that we confront -- from armed conflict and humanitarian crises, to corruption and the spread of ideologies that promote hatred and violence.

So on this Human Rights Day, let us rededicate ourselves to the advancement of human rights and freedoms for all, and pledge always to live by the ideals we promote to the world.

Dear all, Please do write to Mr. Obama and urge him to take immediate investigation of Mind Control abuse and torture. You can find some places where you can write to Mr. Obama from the following link:
http://peacepink.ning.com/profiles/blogs/19-dec-2008-mailteam
More information about mind control weapons
http://peacepink.ning.com/forum/topics/introduce-mind-control-and

Cheney Throws Down Gauntlet, Defies Prosecution for War Crimes

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 19:08:55 EST
Cheney Throws Down Gauntlet, Defies Prosecution for War Crimes
by Marjorie Cohn - Published on Friday, December 19, 2008 by CommonDreams.org
Dick Cheney has publicly confessed to ordering war crimes. Asked about waterboarding in an ABC News interview, Cheney replied, "I was aware of the program, certainly, and involved in helping get the process cleared." He also said he still believes waterboarding was an appropriate method to use on terrorism suspects. CIA Director Michael Hayden confirmed that the agency waterboarded three Al Qaeda suspects in 2002 and 2003.
U.S. courts have long held that waterboarding, where water is poured into someone's nose and mouth until he nearly drowns, constitutes torture. Our federal War Crimes Act defines torture as a war crime punishable by life imprisonment or even the death penalty if the victim dies.
Under the doctrine of command responsibility, enshrined in U.S. law, commanders all the way up the chain of command to the commander-in-chief can be held liable for war crimes if they knew or should have known their subordinates would commit them and they did nothing to stop or prevent it..........
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.commondreams.org/view/2008/12/19

Why Not Treat the Shoe-Thrower As an Unlawful Enemy Combatant?

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Fri, 19 Dec 2008 17:00:33 EST

Why Not Treat the Shoe-Thrower As an Enemy Combatant?
by Jacob G. Hornberger @ fff.org - Wednesday, December 18, 2008
After being severely beaten by government officials in the free nation of Iraq, Iraqi journalist Muntader al-Zaidi, the Iraqi man who threw his shoes at President Bush, is being charged with the crime of attacking a head of state, a crime that entails a possible prison sentence of 7 to 15 years.
Some people might consider the beating, which allegedly left al-Zaidi with a broken arm and ribs and injuries to an eye and leg, and the possibility of 15 years in jail, to be too light a punishment for someone who assaults the president of the United States.
But, hey, there’s another option: convert al-Zaidi from a criminal defendant to an enemy combatant in the war on terrorism, thereby entitling the U.S. military to subject him to the full panoply of Abu Ghraib/Gitmo torture-and-sex abuse techniques, and even better, keep him incarcerated for the rest of his life............
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.fff.org/blog/jghblog2008-12-18.asp

Rick Warren, Obama’s New BFF, Still Supports Iraq War, Gave W. Peace Award

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 17:24:28 EST

Rick Warren, Obama’s New BFF, Still Supports Iraq War, Gave W. Peace Award
By: Blue Texan @ firedoglake.com - Thursday December 18, 2008
When he's not using the bible to justify the murder of heads of state the United States doesn't like or refusing to condemn BushCo's torture, Rick ~~Hagee~~ Warren runs interference on that awesome war in Iraq:
[W]hether or not they found weapons of mass destruction in Iraq is beside the point. Saddam and his sons were raping the country, literally. And we morally had to do something. If you have a Judeo-Christian heritage, you have to believe it when God says that evil cannot be compromised with. It has to be resisted, it has to be overcome.......
ARTICLE / VIDEO - http://firedoglake.com/2008/12/18/rick-warren-obamas-new-bff-still-supports-iraq-war-gave-w-peace-award/

Will War Crimes Be Outed?

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 15:05:13 EST
Will War Crimes Be Outed?
by Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith - Published on Thursday, December 18, 2008 by The Nation
As the officials of the Bush administration pack up in Washington and move into their posh suburban homes around the country, will they be able to rest easy, or will they be haunted by the fear that they will be held accountable for war crimes committed during their reign?
There are many reasons to anticipate that the incoming Obama administration and the new Congress will let sleeping dogs lie. Attention to criminal acts by the former administration would probably anger Republicans, whose support Obama is hoping to win for his first priority, his economic program. Democratic Congressional leaders have known a great deal about Bush administration lawlessness, and in some cases have even given it their approval--making an unfettered review seem unlikely.
Some of Obama's own top appointees would undoubtedly receive scrutiny in an unconstrained investigation--Obama's reappointed defense secretary Robert Gates, for example, has had responsibility not only for Guantánamo but also for the incarceration of tens of thousands of Iraqis in prisons in Iraq like Camp Bucca, which the Washington Post described in a headline as "a Prison Full of Innocent Men," without even a procedure for determining their guilt or innocence--unquestionably a violation of the Geneva Conventions in and of itself..........
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/17/douthat/

Prosecuting Bush and Cheney for Torture

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 18 Dec 2008 14:32:04 EST

No One Can be Above the Law
Prosecuting Bush and Cheney for Torture
By DAVE LINDORFF @ counterpunch.com
A month before he takes office, it has become the conventional wisdom in our conventional media that Barack “No Drama” Obama will not seek or even allow any prosecution of Bush administration officials for crimes committed over the past eight years—not even for authorizing and promoting the illegal use of torture on captives of America’s wars on Iraq, Afghanistan and “terror.”
Take that pillar of conventional thinking, the New York Times. A lengthy December 18 editorial laid out a solid case that approval for torture had come from top Bush/Cheney administration officials, and then concluded that “A prosecutor should be appointed to consider criminal charges against top officials in the Pentagon and others involved in planning the abuse.” But then the paper’s editors went on after that to give Obama a pass, saying, “Given his other problems—and how far he has moved from the powerful stands he took on these issues early in the campaign—we do not hold out real hope Barack Obama, as president, will take such a politically fraught step.” In the view of Times’ conventional-thinking editors, it would appear that the American government cannot be expected to prosecute criminals and fight a recession at the same time. .....
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.counterpunch.org/lindorff12182008.html

Scholar: Cheney confessed to war crime

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Wed, 17 Dec 2008 16:39:58 EST
Scholar: Cheney confessed to war crime David Edwards and Muriel Kane
Published: Wednesday December 17, 2008

Constitutional law professor Jonathan Turley believes that not only did Vice President Dick Cheney "unambiguously" confess to a war crime during an ABC interview on Monday, but the US' future as a nation may depend on taking action.

Asked by MSNBC's Keith Olbermann whether Cheney had just confessed to a war crime on national television, Turley at first replied wryly, "It's an interesting question, isn't it? ... If someone commits a crime and everyone's around to see it and does nothing, is it still a crime?"

"It most certainly is a crime to participate, to create, to in many ways monitor a torture program," he added.

ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Turley_Cheney_actions_unambiguously_war_crime_1217.html

Land of the Free (To Torture and Imprison Without Trial)

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 20:58:31 EST

Land of the Free (To Torture and Imprison Without Trial)
by Brian Cloughley @ Smitkingchimp.com | December 16, 2008 - 12:23pm

There are some happenings that are surreal to the point of engendering total astonishment, and a recent official US pronouncement concerning human rights violations is a prime example. The statement about Uzbekistan by the State Department that "We are deeply disappointed about the serious deficiencies of due process . . . and about the allegations of torture" would be extremely serious was it not so bizarrely in line with what the entire world is saying about American torture in Guantanamo Bay and other hideous persecution parlors around the world.
The preposterous Sean McCormack of State had the brass neck, the amazing nerve, the chilling chutzpah, to announce that "Credible allegations have been raised that [a prisoner in Uzbekistan] was tortured with boiling water in pre-trial detention, resulting in serious injury."
Uzbekistan is a wacky dictatorship run by a nutcase only marginally more weird than the present inhabitant of the White House, but it is absurd for the US to criticize him for human rights abuses for so long as Washington indulges in illegal imprisonment and torture of innocent people..........
ENTIRE ARTICE - http://www.smirkingchimp.com/thread/19238

The Right And Torture

Barbara Reid — Tue, 16 Dec 2008 02:44:10 EST
from Andrew Sullivan:

A reader writes:
I'm 18 years old. My politics are still amorphous, shaped largely by my parents' prejudices (both are liberals). I'm pro-life. I come from a prosperous background; I'm suspicious of big government and increasingly likely to support tax cuts. I'm becoming more viscerally opposed to the 'nanny state' as I study law; the rhetoric of many liberals on personal responsibility is becoming increasingly objectionable to me.

And yet, I can not, within the reasonable future, support the Republican Party. Why?

Torture.

I still haven't come to grips with the idea that American soldiers, those who our culture is brought up to value and respect, could commit acts of torture, on the orders of an American administration. The internet is a libertarian place.

Young people are growing up more suspicious of government, more interested in increasing personal control over their lives, more prepared to challenge government bureaucracy. The rEVOLution (which I did not support) captured this perfectly. This could have been a Republican generation -- brought under the big tent under a low-tax, socially moderate, fiscally conservative platform. An earlier John McCain may have been just the man to do this, as he was in 2000. But I cannot imagine how anyone else of my age can look at these reports, look at these pictures -- and then vote for the GOP in the foreseeable future. It's beyond my understanding.

Mine too. Until the GOP purges itself of these fascistic, sadistic elements, lovers of freedom should stay away.

Senate Report Links Bush to Detainee Homicides; Media Yawns

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 19:55:17 EST
Senate Report Links Bush to Detainee Homicides; Media Yawns
by Glenn Greenwald @ salon.com
The bipartisan Senate Armed Services Committee report issued on Thursday -- which documents that "former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other senior U.S. officials share much of the blame for detainee abuse at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, and Guantanamo Bay, Cuba" and "that Rumsfeld's actions were 'a direct cause of detainee abuse' at Guantanamo and 'influenced and contributed to the use of abusive techniques ... in Afghanistan and Iraq'" -- raises an obvious and glaring question:  how can it possibly be justified that the low-level Army personnel carrying out these policies at Abu Ghraib have been charged, convicted and imprisoned, while the high-level political officials and lawyers who directed and authorized these same policies remain free of any risk of prosecution?   The culpability which the Report assigns for these war crimes is vast in scope and unambiguous:
The executive summary also traces the erosion of detainee treatment standards to a Feb,. 7, 2002, memorandum signed by President George W. Bush stating that the Geneva Convention did not apply to the U.S. war with al Qaeda and that Taliban detainees were not entitled to prisoner of war status or legal protections.........
ENTIRE POST - http://www.salon.com/opinion/greenwald/2008/12/15/rumsfeld/index.html

Iraqi boy says U.K. soldiers beat him up before pretending to cut his throat

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Mon, 15 Dec 2008 15:56:48 EST
British troops in 'mock execution' claim
Iraqi boy says soldiers beat him up before pretending to cut his throat
By Robert Verkaik, Law Editor @ theindependent.co.uk
Monday, 15 December 2008

Bariq Abdul-Razzaq, and the injuries he says he received during a beating by British soldiers when he was just 12
enlarge
An Iraqi boy who was beaten up at the age of 12 by British soldiers was subjected to a mock execution, it is claimed in disturbing abuse allegations facing the UK Government.

In a case being prepared for the High Court, lawyers for Bariq Abdul-Razzaq claim he was among a group of youths caught up in a demonstration in Basra who were dragged into a British Army compound and then kicked and punched for up to an hour.
After the beating, Bariq says he was handcuffed and forced to kneel facing a wall. "I felt I was going to be executed ... I was thinking about my family and I asked a soldier next to me if I could borrow his phone so I could tell my family I was going to die."
But instead, he says, one of the soldiers pulled out a knife and brought it across his neck in a cutting motion."I instantly froze thinking my neck was going to be cut and I would die," says Bariq in his witness statement. "The soldier was laughing at me."
Bariq, who has instructed his lawyers to force the Government to open an independent inquiry into the incident, says that he was so badly injured from the beating that when he was eventually released six hours later he had to be carried home.........
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/british-troops-in-mock-execution-claim-1067056.html

U.S. Complicit in American’s Detention and Torture in the U.A.E.

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 13 Dec 2008 17:06:06 EST

U.S. Complicit in American’s Detention and Torture in the U.A.E.
by ACLU @ dailykos.com - Fri Dec 12, 2008 at 01:26:05 PM PST
By Ahilan Arulanantham, Director of Immigrants' Rights and National Security, ACLU of Southern California
More than three months ago, a U.S. citizen named Naji Hamdan was arrested by the State Security forces of the United Arab Emirates (U.A.E.). He was detained without charges or access to a lawyer until the ACLU filed a lawsuit on his behalf. He has since been released into criminal custody in the U.A.E., and reports that he was severely tortured while in detention, apparently in the presence of American officials. Throughout, the U.S. government claimed to know nothing about why he was detained
A few weeks before his arrest, FBI agents from Los Angeles flew to the U.A.E. and interrogated Mr. Hamdan at the Embassy for several hours. This interrogation and the subsequent arrest were only the latest episodes in a two-year period during which the FBI intensively surveilled Mr. Hamdan.
Mr. Hamdan’s description of the torture and interrogation he endured strongly suggests that American agents have been involved. Although his captors blindfolded him, his interrogators spoke native English with an American accent and were not fluent in Arabic. In addition, the agents interrogated Mr. Hamdan on topics about which only federal agents could have knowledge, such as a meeting he had with FBI agents at the U.S. Embassy in Abu Dhabi. His interrogators also asked him in extreme detail about his life and activities when he lived in the United States...........
ENTIRE POST - http://www.dailykos.com/storyonly/2008/12/12/161633/30
Take action: Tell your Members of Congress to help in the release of Hamdan. Go to:
http://action.aclu.org/hamdan

A bipartisan Senate report released today says that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top Bush administration officials are directly responsible for abuses of detainees at Guantanamo Bay.

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:59:28 EST
Rumsfeld Responsible for Torture, Report Says
by Joby Warrick
WASHINGTON - A bipartisan Senate report released today says that former Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld and other top Bush administration officials are directly responsible for abuses of detainees at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, and charges that decisions by those officials led to serious offenses against prisoners in Iraq and elsewhere.
The Senate Armed Services Committee report accuses Rumsfeld and his deputies of being the principal architects of the plan to use harsh interrogation techniques on captured fighters and terrorism suspects, rejecting the Bush administration's contention that the policies originated lower down the command chain......
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/12/11-7

Torture aficionados at the White House and CIA have conned key congressional leaders into insisting not only that torture-lite would be a swell idea, but advocating also that the overseers of torture be kept on.

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 11 Dec 2008 16:16:05 EST
Back to the Future Will Obama Buy Torture-Lite?
By RAY McGOVERN
You've got to hand it to them. Torture aficionados at the White House and CIA have conned key congressional leaders into insisting not only that torture-lite would be a swell idea, but advocating also that the overseers of torture be kept on.
From change-you-can-believe-in we seem to be slipping back to fear-you-can-trade-on. Silvestre Reyes, D-Texas, chair of the House Intelligence Committee, has publicly warned those in charge of the administration transition that "continuity is going to be pivotal in keeping us safe and secure." Thus, he argues, National Intelligence Director Mike McConnell and CIA Director Michael Hayden should stay in their posts.......
ENTIRE POST - http://www.counterpunch.org/mcgovern12112008.html

Musicians Don’t Want Tunes Used for Torture

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 22:56:23 EST

Musicians Don’t Want Tunes Used for Torture
Nine Inch Nails, even ‘Sesame Street’ theme used for interrogations
from commondreams.org
GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba - Blaring from a speaker behind a metal grate in his tiny cell in Iraq, the blistering rock from Nine Inch Nails hit Prisoner No. 200343 like a sonic bludgeon.

Rage Against the Machine ... protesting against Guantanamo Bay at the Reading festival. (Chiaki Nozu/Filmmagic.com/Getty Images)"
Stains like the blood on your teeth," Trent Reznor snarled over distorted guitars. "Bite. Chew."
The auditory assault went on for days, then weeks, then months at the U.S. military detention center in Iraq. Twenty hours a day. AC/DC. Queen. Pantera. The prisoner, military contractor Donald Vance of Chicago, told The Associated Press he was soon suicidal.
The tactic has been common in the U.S. war on terror, with forces systematically using loud music on hundreds of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then the U.S. military commander in Iraq, authorized it on Sept. 14, 2003, "to create fear, disorient ... and prolong capture shock."
Now the detainees aren't the only ones complaining. Musicians are banding together to demand the U.S. military stop using their songs as weapons........
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/12/10

Musicians protest use of songs by US jailers

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 17:30:58 EST

Musicians protest use of songs by US jailers
By ANDREW O. SELSKY
(12-09) 20:58 PST GUANTANAMO BAY NAVAL BASE, Cuba (AP) --
Blaring from a speaker behind a metal grate in his tiny cell in Iraq, the blistering rock from Nine Inch Nails hit Prisoner No. 200343 like a sonic bludgeon.
View Larger Images

"Stains like the blood on your teeth," Trent Reznor snarled over distorted guitars. "Bite. Chew."
The auditory assault went on for days, then weeks, then months at the U.S. military detention center in Iraq. Twenty hours a day. AC/DC. Queen. Pantera. The prisoner, military contractor Donald Vance of Chicago, told The Associated Press he was soon suicidal.
The tactic has been common in the U.S. war on terror, with forces systematically using loud music on hundreds of detainees in Iraq, Afghanistan and Guantanamo Bay. Lt. Gen. Ricardo Sanchez, then the U.S. military commander in Iraq, authorized it on Sept. 14, 2003, "to create fear, disorient ... and prolong capture shock."
Now the detainees aren't the only ones complaining. Musicians are banding together to demand the U.S. military stop using their songs as weapons.....
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2008/12/09/international/i124113S93.DTL

Obama Should Prosecute Bush Officials Who Designed Torture Policy

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 16:16:49 EST

Obama should prosecute Bush officials who designed torture policyBy
Michael Ratner @ progressive.org, December 3, 2008

One of Barack Obama’s first acts as president should be to instruct his attorney general to appoint an independent prosecutor to initiate a criminal investigation of former Bush Administration officials who gave the green light to torture.
At Obama’s press conference on Dec. 1, he spoke of upholding America’s highest values as he introduced Eric Holder as his choice for attorney general. Holder insisted there was no tension between protecting the people of the United States and adhering to our Constitution.
A few months ago, Holder was even more explicit. “Our government authorized the use of torture, approved of secret electronic surveillance against American citizens, secretly detained American citizens without due process of law, denied the writ of habeas corpus to hundreds of accused enemy combatants and authorized the use of procedures that violate both international law and the United States Constitution,” he said. “We owe the American people a reckoning.”
The day of reckoning is fast upon us.....
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.progressive.org/mag/mpratner120308.html

CIA Torture Advocate John Rizzo Says Obama Must Deal With Interrogation Program Immediately

Soleilmavis — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:46:33 EST

CIA Torture Advocate John Rizzo Says Obama Must Deal With Interrogation Program ‘Immediately’
Matt Corley
thinkprogress.org
Nov 7th, 2008

At the American Bar Association’s conference on national security yesterday, CIA senior deputy general counsel John Rizzo recommended that President-elect Barack Obama “address immediately detainee issues at Guantanamo Bay and in the CIA’s interrogation program.” Rizzo said that the agency’s interrogation and detainee program needs “urgent” attention:

The CIA detention and interrogation program, he said, is just as urgent. “That’s going to have to be dealt with immediately,” Rizzo said. “We do not have the luxury to wait and muddle through.” He knows how tough the issue is–his involvement in helping the CIA construct the program earned him opposition in Congress that killed his nomination to be the CIA’s general counsel.

The Wall Street Journal’s Siobhan Gorman did not report whether Rizzo said anything specific about how the program needs to be “dealt” with. This information would be important since, as Gorman notes, Rizzo controversially helped construct the program that pushed the boundaries of torture.

In 2002, while serving as an acting general counsel, Rizzo approved of a memo drafted by then-Assistant Attorney General Jay Bybee that stretched the definition of torture in order to make it permissible for use in the course of an interrogation. Asked at a June 2007 confirmation hearing if he “should have objected at the time” to Bybee’s definition of torture, Rizzo replied, “I can’t say I should have objected at the time.” Watch it:

Rizzo’s nomination was withdrawn by the White House in Sept. 2007 after key senators and human rights and advocacy groups protested his stubborn “>refusal to renounce his role in crafting the Bush administration’s torture policies.

http://thinkprogress.org/2008/11/07/rizzo-obama-interrogation/
Please help us to urge Mr Obama to pay immediate attention to Remote Mind Control Abuse and Torture; urge his to investe and expose such terrible crime immediately.

Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 15:20:13 EST

Kristol Calls On Bush To Pardon Torturers And Wiretappers, Reward Them With Medal Of Freedom»
By Faiz Shakir @ thinkprogress.org
In his new Weekly Standard column, right-wing pundit Bill Kristol lays out a to-do list for President Bush before he leaves office. He urges Bush to deliver speeches “reminding Americans of our successes fighting the war on terror.” Kristol dreams, “Over time, Bush might even get deserved credit for effective conduct of the war on terror.”
After urging Bush to fight the incoming administration’s desire to close Guantanamo, Kristol concludes with this:
One last thing: Bush should consider pardoning–and should at least be vociferously praising–everyone who served in good faith in the war on terror, but whose deeds may now be susceptible to demagogic or politically inspired prosecution by some seeking to score political points. The lawyers can work out if such general or specific preemptive pardons are possible; it may be that the best Bush can or should do is to warn publicly against any such harassment or prosecution. But the idea is this: The CIA agents who waterboarded Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, and the NSA officials who listened in on phone calls from Pakistan, should not have to worry about legal bills or public defamation. In fact, Bush might want to give some of these public servants the Medal of Freedom at the same time he bestows the honor on Generals Petraeus and Odierno. They deserve it.
In the Bush era, the Medal of Freedom has come to absurdly represent a reward for those who carried out policy failures at the urging of the Bush administration.............
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://thinkprogress.org/2008/11/29/kristol-medal-torture/

Open Letter to Obama: Reject John Brennan as Director of the CIA

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Tue, 25 Nov 2008 15:21:55 EST
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 22, 2008
9:00 AM
CONTACT: Psychologists and Allies
Stephen Soldz ssoldz@bgsp.edu (617) 935-4246
Open Letter to Obama: Reject John Brennan as Director of the CIA
- November 22 -
Dear President-Elect Obama,
We are writing to urge you not to select John Brennan as Director of the CIA. We are psychologists and allies who have long opposed the abuses of detainees under the Bush administration. We are just concluding a successful several-year struggle to remove psychologists from their roles in aiding or abetting these abuses. It has been a distressing fact that, while the Bush administration resorted to abuse and torture of those in our custody, often psychologists have been put in positions to use their psychological expertise to guide these unconscionable practices.
We look forward to your administration as an opportunity for genuine change - in this case for our country to take a new direction in its treatment of prisoners. We applaud your commitment to closing Guantanamo and are encouraged by your clear statement from your 60 Minutes interview last Sunday, "America doesn't torture, and I'm gonna make sure that we don't torture." This fuels our hope for a decisive repudiation of the "dark side" - the willingness to use or abet illegal and unethical coercive interrogation tactics that sometimes amount to torture and often constitute cruel, inhuman and degrading treatment.

SOA Watch: Protest Could Be Celebration

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:36:38 EST
SOA Watch: Protest Could Be Celebration
by Tim Chitwood
This year protesters commemorating a massacre may feel so jubilant that keeping a straight face for a vigil could be a challenge.

Rosemary Marston of Cincinnati, Ohio, works on one of three giant flowers Friday afternoon that will be part of the puppetistas performance this weekend during the SOA Watch protest at the gates of Fort Benning. She and others were busy Friday constructing and painting pieces for the show. Photo by Mike Haskey / Ledger-Enquirer
As they again mark the anniversary of the Nov. 16, 1989, killings of six Jesuit priests, their housekeeper and her teenage daughter - gunned down by El Salvadoran soldiers, most of whom had attended what was then known as the School of the Americas - those protesting what's now called the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation will have something else in mind: Hope, and change.
They hope the Nov. 4 election will so change Congress that it closes the institute.
"The members of Congress who in the past voted for the School of the Americas, to keep it open, they lost their seats on Nov. 4," said Eric LeCompte of SOA Watch, the group that has protested the training institute at Fort Benning since 1990. "The last time we had a vote for funding cuts, we lost by six votes. We've had a 30-vote turnover."
He can't claim mission accomplished, but he's hopeful: "I would call it guarded optimism," he said Tuesday....
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.commondreams.org/headline/2008/11/22

Shutting Down The Torture/Terror Factory

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 19:13:33 EST

School of the Americas Watch--Shutting Down The Torture/Terror Factory
by: Paul Rosenberg @ openleft.com
This weekend marks the 19th Annual vigil to close the School of the Americas (SOA/WHINSEC) in Fort Benning, Georgia. School of the Americas Watch (SOA Watch) is the organization founded by Maryknoll priest Father Ray Bourgois, a Navy Vietnam Veteran who resolved to dedicate his life to peace and justice in service to God. Every year since 1990, he has lead protests in Fort Benning, Georgia just before Thanksgiving, to bring pressure and attention to bear on the training ground where a large number of Latin American military torturers and terrorists have been trained. Because of pressure brought by SOA Watch, the School of the Americas was symbolically shut down in 2001, and immediately reopened as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC), but activists continue to refer to it by its orgiinal name, as nothing essential has changed.
This year is further complicated by the fact that Bourgois faces excommunication for supporting the ordination of women priests.......
ENTIRE ARTICLE - http://www.openleft.com/showDiary.do?diaryId=10099

Stephen Views the News 11/22/08

Stephen from Elkins Park, PA — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 12:29:31 EST

Stephen Views the News 11/22/08
http://stephenviewsthenews.blogspot.com/
* The Stench of Torture ~ will not dissipate with Bush’s exit – Barack Obama has stated emphatically that he will end any use of torture by the USA. Human rights groups, constitutional scholars and citizens have called for the next administration to prosecute those who authorized or used harsh interrogation techniques. “But two Obama advisers said there's little — if any — chance that the incoming president's Justice Department will go after anyone involved in authorizing or carrying out interrogations that provoked worldwide outrage.” Having closely followed the actions by the Bush administration and the use of torture, actions contrary to national and international law, I would like to see those who authorized and then lied about it come under scrutiny. Many believe that the US should not look back as Obama changes policy. What about after Obama? If Bush could authorize the use of torture so could a future president. It is obvious that safeguards are not in place to prevent the use of torture. It should not be an option for ANY administration. At the least, America should enact laws that unequivocally prevent any president or U.S. agency from utilizing a policy of torture. That being said, regardless of how the Obama administration decides to deal with abuses by George W. Bush or, should Bush grant broad immunity to perpetrators of abuse before he leaves office, the international community still could address the subject.
It remains to be seen whether there will be an effort to bring war crimes charges against Americans responsible for and involved in torture in Iraq, Guantanamo and secret prisons the U.S. government sanctioned around the world. There is a just-released report by the Human Rights Center/Center for Constitutional Rights report titled “Guantanamo and Its Aftermath.” Former DC Appellate Judge Patricia Wald, a judge at the international trial for Serbians accused of committing war crimes against Bosnian Muslims, compared the treatment of detainees in U.S. custody to the treatment Bosnians received at the hands of their Serbian captors. And from the web site ThinkProgress.org: “Last June, Maj. Gen. Antonio Taguba (ret.), the Army general who led the investigation into prisoner abuse at Iraq’s Abu Ghraib prison, also accused the Bush administration of committing “war crimes” and called for those responsible to be held to account.”
The report noted above is 136 pages in length. Even if one only reads the Forward and Executive Summary one will find a chilling condemnation of the policies invoked by the Bush administration to deal with the aftermath of 9/11 attacks. It is a vision that no sentient American in my lifetime could have envisioned. I was especially struck with the innocent lives destroyed. I would hope that Americans are struck with a sense of the loss of innocence. The Forward concludes, “We, as a nation, must not only remember our past but strive not to repeat it. This report makes an invaluable start in that direction.”
* In Case of Emergency 1 ~ a simple yet very intelligent idea – A reader sent me notice of an idea conceived by a paramedic that is growing in popularity. Most of us have cell phones. If we were to be injured in an accident or unexpectedly taken ill, emergency personnel would want to alert someone to our situation. To avoid the need to search through a large number of entries in the phone’s address book there is an alternative. Add to the address file “ICE” (In Case of Emergency) and the telephone number of the person you want to be contacted. If there is more than one person or phone number, enter ICE 1, ICE 2, and so on. This is an idea you may want to share with friends and family.
* In Case of Emergency 2 – If you just accidentally swallowed poison and need to regurgitate, watch this video of the members of the U.S. Senate giving a standing ovation to Alaskan Republican Senator Ted Stevens. Stevens is not returning to the Senate because he lost his re-election bid. Even if Stevens had won the election he very probably would have been expelled from the Senate because he recently was convicted in a federal court on 7 felony counts. This is the man who porked huge amounts of federal money for Alaska and he was the legislative architect for the Bridge to Nowhere, while using his legislative power for financial gain for himself, members of his family and friends and associates. And our illustrious Senators gave him a standing ovation, which happens to be against their own Senate rules. Applauding a low-life power abuser and convicted felon is not the message that I want to hear from legislators. It does not bode well for ethics reform or the responsible leadership that the American people crave. Republican losses over the last two election cycles have made this very clear. The Good Ol’ Boy Club has gotten very old. More need to be replaced, including a covey of Democrats.
* Derriere Orifice of the Week ~ say hello to Newt Gingrich – Appearing on FOX News (of course) Gingrich was criticizing those individuals protesting the loss of the right of gay couples in California to marry. Gingrich said, "I think there is a gay and secular fascism in this country that wants to impose its will on the rest of us, is prepared to use violence, to use harassment. I think it is prepared to use the government if it can get control of it. I think that it is a very dangerous threat to anybody who believes in traditional religion." I find Gingrich’s comments disingenuous, hypocritical and misleading.
Recall that it was Gingrich and his Republican Party that consummated a marriage with religious-right fundamentalists attempting to tell Americans how to conduct their lives. I see no evidence of people with a gay lifestyle either attempting to or, by example, influencing anyone to be gay. The gay community does not proselytize. It is seeking its own civil rights, in opposition to the likes of Mike Huckabee who pronounce that gay rights and civil rights are totally different. What is Fascist are Gingrich and his tight-assed brown shirts spewing untruthful propaganda and misinformation. Has anyone seen evidence of gay violence or harassment? More than half of the American people are aware of Gingrich and company’s dangerous band of blowhards. Once a few million more Americans wake up to the uncivil attacks on and the denial of civil rights to the gay community, people like Gingrich will find limited access to mainstream media and be relegated to the increasingly irrelevant Pat Robertson’s Holier than Thou TV infomercials.
* Knowing your limitations – “Congratulations” to Fred Thompson. Following the failure of his somnambulant presidential bid he has decided to again leave politics and return to acting. I suggest that his best chance to earn an Oscar or Emmy would be playing the role of Rip Van Winkle.
* Goodbye and good riddance – Wal-Mart CEO Lee Scott is retiring in February. Under his management the largest retailer in this country honed the business model for low wages and low benefits, resulting in many Wal-Mart employees requiring public assistance. Wal-Mart is one of the models for sourcing goods and services overseas that has contributed to the weakness of our economy. Recall that Wal-Mart opposed more diligent inspection of containers as they enter our borders. A container destined for Wal-Mart enters the U.S. every 45 seconds. U.S. national security does not stand in the way of the Wal Mart bottom line. The bottom line is that under Mr. Scott, Wal Mart was a winner on Wall Street but quite damaging to Main Street.
* Is the Bush administration getting in touch with the needs of Americans? ~ Nah! – In an exceptional move the administration has agreed to support the extension of unemployment benefits as unemployment claims reach a 16-year high and unemployment reaches a 25-year high. Otherwise, it is nasty business as usual. The Bush presidency continues to undermine environmental safety, broaden the destruction of public lands and national parks, and further endanger endangered species as it pimps for business interests that are not in the interest of the American people. President George W. and co-conspirators in his administration are making every effort to reduce regulation and constrictions on oil, gas, mining, fishing, timber and financial industries while promoting the development of shale oil, the dirtiest fuel on the planet. America does not need enemies from afar. Our hands are full with the enemies from within.
The situation was best summed up by Rep. Nick Rahall (D-WV), chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee when he told the Wall Street Journal, “This administration will stop at nothing to jam through as many reckless proposals as they can before the clock runs out.” A glimmer of hope for the health of planet Earth is Barack Obama’s promise to make a decisive break with George Bush on the environment … promising a "new chapter in America's leadership on climate change.” These developments bring to mind a question I have often asked over the last seven years. “Why does George W. Bush hate America? I do not accept the conventional wisdom alibi that he is well-intentioned but ill-advised. The damage he has rendered is too widespread, too deep and well beyond the pale of mere incompetence.
* What have we learned in two millennia? A reader asked this question, accompanied by the following quote:
"The budget should be balanced, the Treasury should be refilled, public debt should be reduced, the arrogance of officialdom should be tempered and controlled, and the assistance to foreign lands should be curtailed lest Rome become bankrupt. People must again learn to work, instead of living on public assistance."
Cicero, 55 BC

Documents Obtained By ACLU Provide Further Evidence That Abuse Of Iraqi Prisoners Was Systemic

John Lewis-Dickerson, Atlanta — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 16:05:43 EST

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
November 19, 2008
11:55 AM
CONTACT: ACLU
James Freedland, (212) 519-7829 or 549-2666; media@aclu.org
Documents Obtained By ACLU Provide Further Evidence That Abuse Of Iraqi Prisoners Was SystemicMilitary
Investigations Stymied By Missing Documents, Flawed Records And Failure Of Witness Recollection, Records Show
NEW YORK - November 19 - The American Civil Liberties Union released Department of Defense documents today that provide further evidence that prisoner abuse in U.S. detention facilities in Iraq was systemic. The documents, obtained as part of an ongoing Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) lawsuit, also show that Army investigations of abuse in Iraq were compromised by missing records, flawed interviews and problems with witness recollection.

"The Bush administration created a climate in which abuse was tolerated even when it wasn't expressly endorsed," said Jameel Jaffer, Director of the ACLU National Security Project. "With a new administration entering the White House, we should remember that the tone set by senior military and intelligence officials has very real implications for what takes place in U.S. detention facilities overseas. The new administration should make clear from the outset that it won't turn a blind eye to torture and abuse."

The documents released today relate to eight investigations of detainee abuse that occurred in 2003 and 2004. Charges of abuse described in the documents include food and sleep deprivation, the misuse of Tasers, sexual threats, urinating on detainees and the use of various stress positions and dogs to intimidate detainees........
ENTIRE POST - http://www.commondreams.org/newswire/2008/11/19-2
PS. Senator Russ Feingold for Chairman of the U.S. Senate Committee on Foreign Relations (replacing Biden)

I LOVE YOU BARACK! HERE'S WHAT I WANT:

Aaron from Wellesley Hills, MA — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 11:02:10 EST

I love you Barack!

Here’s what I want:

1) Close Guantanamo torture camp and all other un-Constitutional U.S. torture and sadism camps. Repeal all torture legislation.

Barack, you said “Torture is never right.” Start saying that again.

2) Abolish the Patriot Act and all related, un-Constitutional laws that deny Americans their human rights. Restore the Constitution of the United States.

3) You said you would listen to me and to the Americans who didn’t vote for you, too. -- Great. Also listen to the people of Iraq, Syria, Pakistan, Afghanistan whose civilians are having their lives ended everyday by the U.S. military. As the Iraqi government has said this month, Iraq must not be used as a “center for U.S. aggression in the Middle East.”

4) Listen to the rising voices of the Iraqi government, the Iraqi people, world leaders and your landslide election by the American people: Bring the troops home.

5) You said you would negotiate with Iran. You will be held to your promise. No matter what blows up in this world and is blamed by the Bush Group on the government of Iran, Syria, Lebanon, etc., you must NOT be pressured by John Bolton, the New York Times, Fox News and all other Bush Soldiers to retaliate with UNEQUAL FORCE. You must TALK and NEGOTIATE with Iran. You must do this WITH accountable, world government bodies.

6) You and Joe Biden say on your website that you support Israel 100%. – Fine. If you’re going to insist that 400 million American people need to be so involved in directing the course of the Middle East, then ALSO support and LISTEN TO the Arab/Muslim/Palestinian PEOPLE of Gaza, West Bank, Palestine. Stop supplying Israel with weapons. (The Lebanon War of 2006 was fought by Israel with U.S.-supplied weapons.) -- Lead NEGOTIATION between Israel and Palestine through a world government body.

7) Abolish all un-Constitutional “emergency powers/martial law” legislation, starting with Presidential Directives HSPD-20 and NSPD 51 that were “passed” WITHOUT a vote from Congress in 2007, see the White House website for a description of these laws: http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2007/05/20070509-12.html

8) Keep ALL forms of abortion legal and accessible to ALL women. Abortion is a human rights issue. Bombings of medical clinics is domestic terrorism.

9) Decrease military spending and regulate private weapons manufacturers and private mercenary soldier training camps in the U.S.

10) PROVIDE 100% PHYSICAL AND MENTAL MEDICAL CARE FOR ALL U.S.VETERANS.

11) Keep separation of church and state. Defend the U.S. Constitution.

12) Move toward creating a Peace Economy in America, not a War Economy.

13) Fight lobbyists and special interests in Washington, as you said you would.
14) Start publicly addressing the fact that 2.3 million Americans are behind bars. 1 in 9 black men age 20-35 are incarcerated. Prisoners are used to make goods for the American public. This is slavery.
15) Do not let Congress be intimidated and rush legislation for the American people that has not been read by the U.S. Congress, as is the case with the Bailout Bill. -- See Texas Republican Congressman Michael Burgess and California Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman on youtube addressing this issue and "martial law" in Congress the day before the Bailout Bill was passed:

Texas Republican Congressman Michael Burgess saying: "I understand that we're under martial law as declared by The Speaker of the House last night":

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l7B4laX1E70

California Democratic Congressman Brad Sherman saying that Congress was "threatened with martial law" if they didn't pass the Bailout Bill:

Brad Sherman: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HaG9d_4zij8

Thank you, Aaron Kiely, American Citizen

*******

The “Special Relationship” Frays: British Gov’t Investigating CIA Officers For Torture

Charley James — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:55:46 EDT
So much for the “special relationship” between the United States and Great Britain. If it is not in complete tatters, it is fraying badly this morning.

The British Attorney General says he will investigate allegations that a British resident arrested by the US in Pakistan before being “rended” to Morocco, shipped to the black hell hole prison at Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan and is now at Guantanamo Bay was brutally tortured after being arrested and questioned by American intelligence officers in 2002.

According to The Independent, British Home Secretary Jacqui Smith wants the attorney general, Baroness Scotland, to bring criminal proceedings against American CIA officers said to be responsible for the rendition and abuse of Binyam Mohamed when he was held in prisons in Morocco and Afghanistan as a result of US rendition.

This follows sharp criticism of US prosecutors by British judges who read secret evidence of torture committed against Mohamed, including allegations his torturers used a razor blade to cut his penis repeatedly. The Attorney General's investigation is expected to include allegations that MI5 colluded in Mr Mohamed's rendition. Mohamed, 30, an Ethiopian national and British resident, was arrested in Pakistan in 2002, where he was questioned by an MI5 officer before being handed over to the Americans.

On Tuesday, Government lawyers wrote to the judges hearing Mr Mohamed's case against the UK government in the High Court. In the letter they said "the question of possible criminal wrongdoing to which these proceedings has given rise has been referred by the Home Secretary to the Attorney general for consideration as an independent minister of justice." Baroness Scotland has been sent secret witness statements given to the court and public interest immunity certificates for the proceedings.

Mohamed, 30, accuses MI5 agents of lying about what they knew of CIA plans to transfer him to a prison in North Africa, where he claims he was subjected to horrendous torture to extort a confession. Last night, his lawyer Clive Stafford Smith, said, "This is a welcome recognition that the CIA cannot just go rendering British residents to secret torture chambers without consequences, and British agents cannot take part in US crimes without facing the music."

The US State Dept. had no comment this morning on the British claims, a spokeswoman saying, “we do not comment on matters before foreign courts.” A spokesman for the CIA did not return several phone calls.

McCain’s Dirty Hands

That the CIA was able to do this is partly the responsibility of John McCain. Once a strong campaigner against the US using torture, he caved in to the Bush administration by allowing an ammendment to an anti-torture bill he sponsored and shepherded through Congress that exempted the CIA from the law’s key provisions.

Human rights groups have sharply criticised the British government for allowing CIA “torture flights” to refuel in England as well as fly through its airspace. A special European Parliament investigation condemned the US for its policy of “extraordinary rendition” where individuals suspected of participating in terrorist activities are flown to third countries that use torture as a matter of routine when questioning political prisoners.

“If John McCain had held firm in barring torture by any US government agency, Mr. Mohammed would have avoided being tortured whicforced him to confess to crimes he did not commit,” a spokesman for Human Rights Watch in Britain told me this morning.

“As a result of capitulating to White House demands,” she added, “McCain’s dirty hands are all over this case.”

Another Bush Lie

Torture under any circumstances violates Common Article 3 of the Geneva Convention which both the US and Great Britain have signed. At the time of Mohammad’s rendition, George Bush lied repeatedly when he stated at news conferences between 2004 and 2006 “the US does not torture. Period.”

In August, two judges ruled allegations of torture were at least arguable in Mohammad’s case and stated that MI5 information relating to Mohamed was "not only necessary but essential for his defence.” The judges have read statements and interviews with Mohamed between July 28 and 31, 2004, when he says he was forced to confess to terrorism. The judges said, "This was after a period of over two-and-a-half years of incommunicado detention during which Binyam Mohamed … was tortured."

He was first held in Pakistan in 2002, where a British agent interrogated him; he was then sent to Morocco by the CIA and allegedly tortured for 18 months. He was rendered to the secret "Dark Prison" in Afghanistan, where his torture is alleged to have continued. In September 2004, Mohammad has languished in Guantanamo Bay.

If the British Attorney General finds that the charges of torture are true – which will require merely going through MI5 and MI6 files – then criminal warrants could be issued against Americans who were involved in Mohammad’s torture, rendition and custody. It is doubtful that the Bush Administration would extradite the officers but it could be one of the first diplomatic issues facing the new president in January. If McCain is somehow elected, the officers involved wouldn’t be sent for trial in London but their travelling days and vacations will be limited to the United States.

Another reason to vote for Barack Obama.

What do they mean? That resolution is going to do WHAT for GWB???

EMK — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 00:09:18 EDT

Bush trying to pardon himself: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9RwoFcLgxA0!
The Senate better not pass it!
EMK

Political Haiku

Nanci — Sat, 25 Oct 2008 15:08:25 EDT

Poetry is my thing, and on LibraryThing.com there was a call in the "Political Haiku" bulletin board (blog?) for more on the election, both sides. Haiku only. I'd be glad to hear yours as well, or post there.
Phone taps and torture too
Palin winks
The Right applauds more.

Economy swirls in the gutter
So McCain's campaign
I'll vote the higher ground.

Cut the taxes of the rich
I'll use food stamps
And pay more for oil

FELLOW POWs DOUBT MCCAIN WAS TORTURED

Juli Norwood — Mon, 13 Oct 2008 21:33:48 EDT

The Manchurian Candidate
John McCain is NOT a war hero!

John McCain was NEVER tortured!

John McCains injuries were from bailing out of the plane improperly.

McCain was caught within hours of bailing out of plane AND He spilled his guts immediately and gave away secrets without being tortured... he sang like a song bird to receive preferential POW treatment!

Let me repeat... John McCain was NEVER tortured!

VietNam vets view him as a traitor and a liar!

He was extremely cooperative with the enemy - He willingly made 32 propaganda tapes for the enemy slamming America.
A fellow POW was in process of pressing formal charges against McCain when suddenly Nixon gave a blanket pardon to vietnam vets!

McCain then used his influence to have his POW records permanently sealed so that the public will never know the truth!
FIND OUT WHAT HE IS HIDING FROM US!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EFhhvaIXA9A

A website called Vietnam Veterans Against John McCain has tons of information on it that PROVES John McCain is NOT a war hero, was never tortured and is not fit to be president!

http://www.vietnamveteransagainstjohnmccain.com/
America has a right to know about anyone's military past especially if the candidate is using his military past to bolster his character as a war hero! We should demand that John McCain's POW records be unsealed! America deserves the TRUTH regarding McCains betrayal of America and lies that he was tortured!

Juli Norwood