Author: david

Guantanamo interrogators use tea and ‘mental chess’ -Reuters, 6/14/04. (article) “Building rapport can mean sharing a Big Mac meal from the base McDonald’s…”

Contractor Immunity a Divisive Issue Washington Post, 6/13/04. (Article) In an early test of its imminent sovereignty, Iraq’s new government has been resisting a U.S. demand that thousands of foreign contractors here be granted immunity from Iraqi law…. Extraterritoriality The Columbia Encyclopedia, Sixth Edition. 2001. (Entry) …. privilege of immunity from local law enforcement enjoyed…

Guantanamo Cell Tapes Turned Over to U.S. Officials, Reuters 6/13/04 “The tapes were turned over to the military’s Southern Command in Miami, which has jurisdiction over Guantanamo.” OK, then. The Southern Command in Miami has jurisdiction over Guantanamo. And United States’ law has jurisdication over the Southern Command. Yet United States’ law does not have…

Aide Says President Set Guidelines for Interrogations, Not Specific Techniques, Washington Post, June 9, 2004 McClellan called the memo a historic or scholarly review of laws and conventions concerning torture. “The memo was not prepared to provide advice on specific methods or techniques,” he said. “It was analytical.” OK. Let’s analyze. These are excerpts from…

“The March 6 document about torture provides tightly constructed definitions of torture. For example, if an interrogator ‘knows that severe pain will result from his actions, if causing such harm is not his objective, he lacks the requisite specific intent even though the defendant did not act in good faith,’ the report said. ‘Instead, a…

“Ashcroft said it was not the Justice Department’s policy to define torture. “But he did say the international rules governing treatment of detainees did not apply to groups like al Qaeda since only countries are signatories to the treaty.” (Article) And are they similarly not bound to avoid torturing Americans?

From AARP Bulletin. … Trent Lott of Mississippi, announced he would stop voting against allowing Americans to buy lower-cost prescription drugs from abroad. “I cannot explain to my mother any longer,” he said, “why she should pay twice or two-thirds more than what is paid in Canada or Mexico.” Hmm… .twice or two-thirds more? She…

“Under the earliest prewar plans by the U.S. military, Baghdad’s infrastructure was to be rebuilt by last August, with elections to be held last September and the troops leaving by October.” Toronto Globe and Mail

Article 17 of the Third Convention says, in part, that “No physical or mental torture, nor any other form of coercion, may be inflicted on prisoners of war to secure from them information of any kind whatever. Prisoners of war who refuse to answer may not be threatened, insulted, or exposed to any unpleasant or…

“A strong populace needs a strong leader. When I make a decision, I stick to it!” -Clench, The Steady–Lemming King, rallying his followers in the race to the cliff-edge.

–“The No. 2 general at the Pentagon indicated that interrogation techniques used in Iraq violated the Geneva Conventions and said he did not know who had approved them. “Marine Gen. Peter Pace, vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, said he was unaware of any U.S. military guidelines for interrogating prisoners that would have…

I would guess that for the prison officials, the risks authorizing a prisoner’s release were considerable, while the potential rewards were scant. If someone you released turned up later attacking US forces, it might, in effect, end your career. But even bureaucratically, if the records are missing, or they are vague about the reason for…

The posting I made under the heading “Three Strikes?” cited this report from a Reuters dispatch: “An official said a soldier was convicted in the U.S. military justice system of killing a prisoner by hitting him with a rock, and was reduced in rank to private and thrown out of the service but did not…

An official said a soldier was convicted in the U.S. military justice system of killing a prisoner by hitting him with a rock, and was reduced in rank to private and thrown out of the service but did not serve any jail time. (Article) Perhaps President Bush could embrace this within the US too, as…

The Bush administration has told the Supreme Court that the court’s authority does not extend to Guantanamo, because it is not US territory and is not subject to US law. I am willing to guess that the government would also not accept proceedings in Cuban courts as authoritative there. Clearly, the administration is quietly making…

The two teams are part of the 100 Marine sharpshooters deployed by three battalions around the city. One sniper secreted away in another corner of Fallujah has “26 confirmed kills,” military officers here report. …The snipers were deployed in early April, as guerrilla ambushes claimed more than 50 Marine lives…. …the sharpshooters are an offensive…

Bush made the comment during a Rose Garden news conference, while discussing his goal of more freedom in the Middle East. “There’s a lot of people in the world who don’t believe that people whose skin color may not be the same as ours can be free and self-govern,” Bush said. “OURS”!! What an idiot!!

The human rights group Amnesty International said it had warned U.S. and British authorities…. “We have talked to ex-prisoners, who say when they were taken into custody they were hooded and beaten, sometimes numerous times and subjected on some occasions to psychological torture and acts of sexual humiliation,” Amnesty’s Neil Durkin told Sky News. “They…

Now the US Army is floating the idea of reinstating the draft. That is sooo typical of the Army. Sure they are concerned that the best prospects are going to the prestige services like the Marines and the Air Force. They should be concerned. But how about stepping up to the challenge? How about making…

Maybe I just don’t get it. Did there used to be like all kinds of dangerous carburetors in all our food? I don’t think so! But, wow, the agribusiness conglomerates are rushing to protect us (like they really care!), so every package of anything in the store just has to let us know–in great big…