Torture
NPR Won't Call It Torture
Long, sorry - Anyone who believes that NPR is a "liberal" media outlet -- and anyone who wants to understand the decay of American journalism -- should read this column by NPR's Ombudsman, Alicia C. Shepard, as she explains and justifies why NPR bars the use of the word "torture" to describe what the Bush administration did. Responding to what she calls "a slew of emails challenging NPR's policy of using the words 'harsh interrogation tactics' or 'enhanced interrogation techniques' to describe the treatment of terrorism suspects under the Bush administration," Shepard hauls out every trite and misleading bit of journalistic conventional wisdom to dismiss listeners' concerns and defend NPR's Orwellian practice (as I noted recently when writing about The New York Times' refusal to use the word "torture," NPR's compulsive use of Bush euphemisms has been a constant complaint of the excellent blog NPR Check).'Torturing Democracy'
by Bill Moyers and Michael Winship ...During his speech to the conservative American Enterprise Institute last week -- immediately on the heels of President Obama's address at the National Archives -- former Vice President Dick Cheney used the euphemism "enhanced interrogation" a full dozen times. Smothering the reality of torture in euphemism of course has a political value, enabling its defenders to diminish the horror and possible illegality. It also gives partisans the opening they need to divert our attention by turning the future of the prison at Guantanamo Bay into a "wedge issue," as noted on the front page of Sunday's New York Times.How to Torture the Bush Six
Published on Tuesday, May 12, 2009 by The Daily Beast by Paul Campos An open letter to my fellow law professors: Last summer, I took part in a conference at which John Yoo was participating on another panel. It was a large event, featuring dozens of talks, and I hadn't been aware that Yoo was speaking until the night before my talk. Still, I felt a stab of conscience at the idea that I was, in my own very small way, helping to lend an aura of respectability to Professor Yoo and his ilk by continuing to play a part in a horrible charade.Colbert Responds to Smith's Cussing
The Colbert ReportMon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30cShepard Smith Swearscolbertnation.comColbert Report Full EpisodesPolitical HumorGay Marriage Commercial Stephen Colbert stands up for decency.Why should torturers be the only ones to move forward?
Published by The Guardian/UK If Dick Cheney can trumpet the 'success' of his torture policies without fear of retribution, why can't ordinary criminals? by A Killer, aka Terry Jones ((Terry Jones is a film director, actor and Python Terry-jones.net)) ------------------------------------ I am over the moon about President Obama's recent publication of the Bush administration's torture memos. They come as a breath of fresh air for those of us banged up in Cook County Jail."I hope...I would've had the courage to resign" Bush State Official on Torture
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/15/richard-armitage-on-tortu_n_187391.html April 5, 2009 at 05:54 PM Richard Armitage, the second in command at the State Department under President Bush, told Al Jazeera English in an interview to be aired Thursday that had he known then what he knows now about the torture of detainees, the right thing to do would have been to resign. "I hope, had I known about it at the time I was serving, I would've had the courage to resign," Armitage said in an interview, according to a transcript provided to the Huffington Post. "Fault Lines" host Avi Lewis pressed Armitage about remaining in the administration.Spain to seek criminal charges against Gonzales and five Bush officials for Gitmo Torture
The Bush Six to Be Indicted by Scott Horton thedailybeast.com ((Scott Horton is a law professor and writer on legal and national-security affairs for Harper's magazine and The American Lawyer, among other publications)) April 13, 2009 | 8:34pm Spanish prosecutors have decided to press forward with a criminal investigation targeting former U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales and five top associates over their role in the torture of five Spanish citizens held at Guantánamo, several reliable sources close to the investigation have told The Daily Beast. Their decision is expected to be announced on Tuesday before the Spanish central criminal court, the Audencia Nacional, in Madrid.Guantanamo detainee freed
Guantanamo detainee freed after 4 years in prison By PAISLEY DODDS, Associated Press Writer LONDON – The first Guantanamo detainee released since President Barack Obama took office returned to Britain on Monday, saying his seven years of captivity and torture at an alleged CIA covert site in Morocco went beyond his "darkest nightmares." Binyam Mohamed's allegations — including repeated beatings and having his genitals sliced by a scalpel — have sparked lawsuits that could ensnare the American and British governments in protracted court battles. Looking frail from a hunger strike, Mohamed, who once was accused by U.S.Senate Republicans Delay Holder Vote Over Torture Questions
Wednesday 21 January 2009 by: David Lightman and Marisa Taylor, McClatchy Newspapers ((I'm not sure the Republicans really want to press for a quick answer on this!)) Washington - Key Republicans delayed a vote on Wednesday on the confirmation of attorney general nominee Eric Holder in part over concerns that he views Bush administration interrogation practices as torture. Sen. John Cornyn, R-Texas, a senior member of the Senate Judiciary Committee, said he wanted to know more after Holder sidestepped questions about whether he intends to prosecute officials who condoned or carried out the interrogations.Rumsfeld Responsible for Torture, U.S. SENATE Report Says
This could be significant if any other country ever moves to arrest Administration officials, and it makes the claim that 'no pardons are necessary' suspect. Published on Thursday, December 11, 2008 by the Associated Press 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.Top Brands
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