Olbermann to Limbaugh - FU!

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Limbaugh thinks he's the Program Director for MSNBC, he's thinks his First Amendment Right to be a Public Dumbass is being infringed, that MSNBC - which is doing just fine in the ratings and getting better all the time - couldn't possibly survive without pointing out his Daily Dumbassery.

F! Him!

You act like an idiot in public, you don't get to whine about the rest of us laughing at you. Fuckwad.

Vyan

Ten True Things!

1. Shep Smith Fox News: America Does Not Torture by Law and Treaty
2. Obama: America has been arrogant, but Europe has "casual, insidious" tendency for Anti-Americanism.
3. Fox News: People have attempted to portray the President as "Foreign" simply because of his name.
4. Joe Scarborough: He (Barack) didn't start the Fire, George Bush Nationalized the Banks.
5. Fox News: We can successfully keep terrorists in our Prison.
6. Joe Klien CNN: Rush Limbaugh is just as inappropriate as Wanda Sykes, and misinforming the American public is much more serious than a couple of Jokes.
7. MSNBC: I think Obama wants a Constutional Scholar on the SCOTUS.
8. O'Reilly: ACORN is not getting $2 Billion in Stimulous Money.
9. Shuster MSNBC: Torture was used to justify the Iraq War, not protect America.
10. MSNBC: It doesn't matter who Obama picks for the Supreme Court, Repulicans will be screaming that they are "Liberal and Activist"!

Vyan

Republicans Reduced to Kindergarden Games

In the segment from MSNBC Contessa Brewer describes the ridiculous attempts by the GOP to rename Democrats as "Socialist" as being reduced to childish name-calling.

It's just plain pathetic.

And y'now what's even worse - There already IS a group called "Democratic Socialists of America".
What they believe is this...

Democratic Socialists believe that both the economy and society should be run democratically—to meet public needs, not to make profits for a few. To achieve a more just society, many structures of our government and economy must be radically transformed through greater economic and social democracy so that ordinary Americans can participate in the many decisions that affect our lives.

Considering how Obama hasn't tried to shutdown all private industry in the U.S. - I don't think they're going to send him an invitation.

Vyan

Pelosi-Gate: The Diversion from Investigating War Crimes and Torture

(Sorry for the high-pitched whine in the audio - I'm working on that)

Last night on Rachel, the issue of just what Nancy Pelosi knew and when she knew it was examined for once with a less than jaundiced eye toward ignoring the entire "War Crimes Were Committed" thing.

I don't have a lot to add that I didn't already say in "Leave Nancy Pelosi (The Frack) Alone!"

Except to point out that at this point in time Sen Bob Graham's notes also contradict the CIA's, and even Leon Panetta basically says the CIA's information can't be trusted. This "Controvesy" is essentially all over, except for the whining.

Like this....



If we're going to continue down this road of nit-picking everything Democrats knew and did concerning what the Republicans are increasingly starting to admit Was Torture, it's only fair that we look at and examine what Porter Goss - who was head of the House Intelligence Committe at the time of those famed briefings - or what Senator Roberts his counter-part did.

Lay it All out On the Table.

Let's talk about Ibn Shayhk al-Libi who in February of 2002 was water-boarded and "broken" - then when he wouldn't give up link between Saddam and Bin Laden, he was buried alive until he did claiming that Saddam had been training al-Qaeda operatives on the use of Chemicals weapons.

Except that he DIDN'T.

Saddam didn't train al-Qaeda. Saddam didn't even have any Chemical Weapons anymore, and we knew it because the head of Iraqi Intelligence Habbush told us so in January of 2003.

Instead of listening to the truth, they requested that Habbush forge a letter claiming that Mohammad Atta was trained in Iraq.

In August 2002, Abu Zubaydah was water-boarded 80 times after he gave up KSM and Jose Padilla because he hadn't linked Saddam to Al-Qaeda yet.

In March 2003, KSM was water-boarded 183 after he revealed information about the Library tower plot (which had already been foiled) because he wouldn't tell us where Al-Qaeda washiding in Iraq.

In April 2003, Cheney's Office requested the Water-boarding of an Iraqi P.O.W. (in clear violation of Geneva since it was never denied to Iraqis by President Bush), simply to get him to tell us about - you guessed it - Links between Saddam and al-Qeada.

is it starting to look a bit like "The Facts are being made to fit the Policy?" They were.

Before the Iraqi invasion every bit of evidence against Saddam either came from a liar like >Curveball (aka "Rafid Alwan"), a blatant forgery or Torture.

All of these people were tortured to Justify a Lie!

THAT'S THE ISSUE, not which briefing Nancy Pelosi received while she was in the minority in Congress, and whether she was willing to violate National Security Classification Laws to "get the word out" - while every other Republican around like Goss, Hoekstra and Roberts stood by silently.

Vyan

Human Rights Groups File Complaints against 12 Bush Attorneys over Torture

In what looks like a very serious shot across the bow, numerous Human Rights Groups have banned together to file 500 pages of formal complaints to several state bar associations with detailed allegations of support for Torture and War Crimes by 12 Key Bush Administration Attorneys.

Those attorney's include: John Yoo, Jay Bybee, Stephen Bradbury, Alberto Gonzales, John Ashcroft, Michael Chertoff, Alice Fisher, William Haynes II, Douglas Feith, Michael Mukasey, Timothy Flanigan, and David Addington.

http://www.disbartorturelawyers.com

Although the OPR investigation of memo written by three of the attorney's John Yoo, Jay Bybee and Stephen Bradbury may also recommend disbarment when it is finally released, this set of complaints is much broader.

In testimony at a Senate hearing on Wednesday, Former State Department counselor Philip Zelikow told a committee panel that Bush administration officials engaged in a ‘collective failure’ on detention and interrogation of suspected terrorists. He called the torture memos "unsound" because "the lawyers involved ... did not welcome peer review and indeed would shut down challenges even inside the government." Another witness testified that the legal policy constituted "an ethical train wreck" because it violated constitutional, statutory and international law.

...

Torture is illegal under both United States and international law. The Constitution prohibits cruel and unusual punishment under the Eighth Amendment, and it states that treaties signed by the U.S. are the "supreme Law of the Land" under Article Six. The Geneva Convention and The Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment both prohibit torture and have been signed by the United States. These laws provide no exception for torture under any circumstances. Moreover, the United States Criminal Code prohibits both torture and war crimes, the latter which includes torture. The Army Field Manual prohibits the use of degrading treatment of detainees.

Further argument provided Attorney Kevin Zeese:

Torture is illegal under United States and international law. It is illegal under the U.S. Constitution, domestic law and international treaties to which the United States is a party.

This includes:

1. The United Nations Convention Against Torture (UNCAT), Articles 1, 2, 3 and 16 (ratified in October 1994). Article 2(2) of the Convention states that:

"No exceptional circumstances whatsoever, whether a state of war or a threat of war, internal political instability or any other public emergency, may be invoked as a justification of torture."



2. The Geneva Conventions, Article 3, (ratified in August 1955). Hamdan v. Rumsfeld, 548 U.S. 557 (2006), held that the Geneva Conventions are applicable to accused members of al-Qaeda. Thus, due process protections apply to all detainees in U.S. custody, including those in military prisons.

3. The Eighth Amendment against "cruel and unusual punishment."
4. The United States Criminal Code, Title 18, Prohibitions Against Torture (18 USC 2340A) and War Crimes (18 USC 2441).

Torture is a clearly defined term under international and U.S. law. The Convention Against Torture defines torture as any act by which: "severe pain or suffering, whether physical or mental; is intentionally inflicted on a person . . ."

The torture memoranda did not provide objective legal advice to government decision-makers, but instead twisted the state of the law so that it was unrecognizable. They were so inaccurate that these memoranda are more justifications about what the authors and the intended recipients wanted the law to be, rather than assessments of what the law actually is.

The Raw Data:

Our State Bar Complaints
Jay Bybee-District of Columbia Bar Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Douglas Feith-District of Columbia Bar Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
David Addington-District of Columbia Bar Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Stephen Bradbury-District of Columbia Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Michael Chertoff-District of Columbia Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
John Ashcroft-District of Columbia Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Timothy Flanigan-District of Columbia Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Alice Fisher-District of Columbia Bar Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Michael Haynes-California Bar Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
John Yoo- Pennsylvania Bar Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Alberto Gonzales-Texas Bar Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)
Michael Mukasey-New York Bar Microsoft Word (.doc) Adobe Acrobat (.pdf)

Exhibits Attached To Each Complaint
ACLU List of Known Torture Documents
Army Field Manual On Detainee Treatment
Bradbury 20 Page Memo 5-10-05
Bradbury 46 Page Memo 5-10-05
Bradbury Memo 5-30-05
Bybee to Gonzales Memo 8-01-02
Bybee to Rizzo Memo 8-01-02
Geneva Convention Article 3
Haynes Memo 11-27-02
Red Cross Detainee Treatment Report
Senate Detainee Treatment Report
UN Convention on Torture
U.S. Criminal Code
Yoo Memo 8-01-02
Yoo Memo 3-14-03

Organizations
Republicans for Impeachment
Progressive Democrats of America
Democrats.com
Impeach Bybee
Prosecute Bush/Cheney
After Downing Street
Buzz FlashOp Ed News
Coalition Repair Project
Progressive Magazine
Global Network
Justice Through Music
Media With Conscience
Bend-C Friendship Project
Citizens for Legitimate Government
Center for Study of Democratic Societies
The World Can’t Wait
American Freedom Campaign
Liberty Tree
BFUU Social Justice Campaign
Peace for Justice Forums
WESPAC Foundation
PDA Marin County
Central Jersey Impeach Group
Chesapeake Citizens
Topple Bush
Stop Recruiters WWU
Whatcom Peacebuilders Club
Iraq Veterans for Justice
Longmont Citizens for Justice and Democracy
Bill of Rights Defense Committee
The Democratic Activists
The Solution Zone
Patrick Henry Democratic Club
Epluribus Media
Consumers for Peace
No Nukes North
Veterans for Peace
Florida Peace Action Network
Reclaim the GOP
Boston Anti-War League
Voters for Peace
Campaign for Fresh Air and Clean Politics

Individuals
Bob Fertik
Ann Wright
Tim Carpenter
David Swanson
Benjamin David
William Crain
Phoebe Sorgen
Sphie de Vries
Bob Schecht
Susan Serpa
Peggy Love
Bruce Jones
Ben Maski
Andy Worlington
Mark Adams
William J. Cox
David Lindorff
Ann Wright
Steve Fox
Peggy Love
Pamela Selwyn
John H. Kennedy
Robley George
Bettejo Indelicato
Mike Woloshin
Bill Warick
Story Fitz
Nick Mattern
Dr. P. Thomas
Mark Hull-Richter
Laura Bonham
Amy Ferrer
Christiane Brown
Chris Borland
Chip Pitts
Ann Rick
Flux Rostrum
Evan Knapperberger
RJ Crane
Melinda Pillsbury Foster
David Wittner
David Slesinger
Mary Marino
Anita Fieldman
Nada Khader
Leslie Cagan
Kristina Borjesson
Debra Sweet
Lori Price
Timeteo Jeffries
Shahram Vahdany
Bruce Gagnon
Matthew Rothschild
David Robinson
Srena Crew
Lisa Boyd
Rob Kall
Peter Phillips
Mark Karlin
Doug Fuda

The Released Torture Memos

http://www.fas.org/...
http://www.aclu.org/...
http://www.propublica.org/...

Recent Articles About Accountability For Torture
Accountability for Torture, The Nation, John Nichols, 4/22/09
Accountability Does Not Stop At White House Door, Harvard Law Record, Andrew Kallock, 4/16/09
Pressure Grows For Accountability, Amnesty International, 4/17/09
Medically Assisted Torture, New York Times, Editorial, 4/9/09
The Torturer’s Manifesto, New York Times, Editorial, 4/18/09
The Second Bybee Memo, Jurist Legal News and Research, Jordan Paust, 4/22/09
Federal Prosecution of War Criminals, Lawrence Vevel, 1/9/09
Faithfully Executing The Laws, UCLA Law Review, Dawn Johnsen, 2007
The Torture Team, Harpers Magazine, Scott Horton, 3/28/08
Torture Isn’t Patriotic, The Boston Globe, Editorial, 5/16/09
Efforts to Halt Harsh Tactics Thwarted, Washington Post, Carrie Johnson, 5/14/09
Obama Can’t Turn The Page On Bush, New York Times, Frank Rich, 5/18/09

"There is a very exclusive club, whose membership is very few, the tormentors of the human race, history will not forget you."

Obama's Speech a Notre Dame

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Liz Cheney is Geobbels!

Goebbels used modern propaganda techniques to manipulate and psychologically prepare the German people for aggressive war and the annihilation of civilian populations.

Listen as Liz Cheney uses trickery to justify an attempted War Crime!

The Serial Lying She-Goebbels Speaks.


First of all the issue isn't just the Water-boarding it's all the illegal coercive "24" crap they pulled on hundreds of detainees.

Second the specific allegation which appeared on Rachel last Friday pertains to the interrogation of the head of the Iraqi Secret Police as detailed by Charles Duelfer who was there. He even put it in his book.

It is technically true that Duelfer and his team rejected the suggestion, but several sources have now confirmed that it did come from the Vice President's Office.

The third thing, and really amazing part is that she tries to simultaneously put this claim on teh back of Colin Powell's former COS Col. Wilkersen and literally accuse him of fabricating "Fantasies" in order to maintain his own talk show cottage industry in a mad vendetta against Vice President Cheney.

Oh, Liz - me thinks thou dost protest - and project - far too much.

Why should we be surprised that Cheney's Office attempted to get a false confession from this man? They'd already done the exact same thing with Ibn Shaik al-Libi, having him buried alive in Egypt until he "confessed" that Saddam "had trained al-Qaeda on the use of chemical weapons". This was a Lie!

Why should we be surprised after Cheney's Office plotted to reveal the identity of a covert CIA Operative to cover their own ass over a forgery linking Saddam to yellow cake Uranium? This was a Lie!

Why should we be surprised when the White House ignored the head of Iraqi intelligence who told us in January 2003 "Iraq has NO WMD", and instead asked him to forge a letter claiming that Mohammad Atta had been trained in Iraq? This was a Lie!

It's not about whether this particular guy was or wassn't water-boarding, it's a clear and obvious pattern of malfeasance and LIES that is most revealing.

Vyan

(Update:For the record I'm not calling her a "Nazi" - I'm calling her a LIAR just like Joseph. If you don't the impact of the Iraq war has been a devastating as some of the things excused by Joseph, I would point you to the estimated 655,000 dead and 4.5 Million displaced by a War which was waged based on a Pack of Lies expoused by Father Dick, and continued by Daughter Liz. Except for maybe the Khmer Rouge no one else is even in this league in modern memory!)

Leave Nancy Pelosi (The FRACK) Alone!

Look, I can understand the desire to peek under every nook and cranny of the Torture issue and to no hold anyone, even prominent Democrats, above scrutiny - but being fair-minded and even handed is not what is going on here.

This is a Diversion!

Nancy Pelosi did not Torture Anyone.

Nancy Pelosi did not devise a series of polices designed to circumvent Geneva, the War Crimes Act and the Torture Act.

Nancy Pelosi did not agree that anyone should be tortured.

Nancy Pelosi is not now making the argument that Torture isn't Torture and that Water-boarding is legal.

Regardless of who told her what, and when she was told, all the above remains true. The people we should be focusing on are STILL Yoo, Bybee, Bradbury, Gonzales, Cheney, Bush and THIS GUY!

Q: And waterboarding is or is not torture?

HOEKSTRA: There is a wide range of waterboarding. I’m telling you, that I know waterboarding was used, Shep. I’m not mincing words. I’m saying that I believe the techniques used in 2002, in 2003, which included waterboarding in a specific format that I’m aware of how they used it, that I believe that was consistent with U.S. law.

Think about the Republican position as exposed here by Hoekstra and Cheney. They all say - "Waterboarding is Legal".

Worst case scenario then is that if Nancy was briefed on Water-boarding they also Told Her It Was Legal.

Also recall, at the time this briefing took place, Hoekstra Porter Goss was the Chairman of the Intellegence Committee, so he should have been told everything - and probably more - than Pelosi. If she's guilty of inaction for being told something was "Legal" - so is he.

The briefings of Congress are not done to gain their "approval", notifying Congress is done to allow them a better picture in which to handle current and future legislation.

If a member of Congress disagrees with something they hear in a classified briefing there are only two things they can do and not go to jail - write a letter to the Administration (which Jane Harmon did) and try and change the Law (which Nancy and the House did when they passed legislation to make the CIA abide by the Army Field Manual).

Bush Vetoed that Bill.

Republicans want to distract us from the truth, they want to go after Bill Clinton for Rendition in 1998, they want to Eric Holder for being in the DOJ under Clinton. They want to ignore the fact that the only thing that most people inside the Bush Administration who did "Stand Up" to oppose this policy did were write letters and memos - like William Howard Taft IV (pdf) and Phillip Zelikow at the State Dept and John Bellinger at NSA.

They don't want to admit that those letters were IGNORED - just like Harmon's - and in some cases they were systematically destroyed.

They want to pretend that capable interrogators who can actually get information quickly and within the law like Ali Soufan and Matthew Alexander - don't exist, but they do.



Nancy Pelosi is NOT the problem here. I do think that efforts should be taken to establish a method to handle Classified Crimes, but baring that - there really wasn't much more she could do no matter *WHAT* they told her.

Before we get lost in the weeds on this we need to first start with examining the people who knowingly committed falsehoods and lies (Yoo, Bybee, Bradbury, Cheney) - to implement an illegal policy. Those people are still at it, don't let them take our eyes off the ball.

Vyan

P.S. No, I don't think the "Speech and Debate" clause would protect announcing this information on the floor since it has an exception for "Treason and Felonies" which is what revealing classified information is under 18 USC 798!.