Torture again rears its ugly head November 27, 2011
Posted by grellet in torture.add a comment
Must be getting on to election time. Torture and indefinite detention are again rearing their ugly heads. An amendment and two other provisions, tucked cozily into the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (S. 1867), to be voted on in the Senate tomorrow or Tuesday, threaten to take our country farther back into the pre-Enlightenment era.
Amendment 1068 to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (S. 1867), proposed by freshman Republican Sen. Kelly Ayotte of New Hampshire (mentioned as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney), would authorize a classified list of additional interrogation methods beyond those allowed by the Army Field Manual. Civil rights groups fear that this amendment could be used to establish more aggressive interrogation techniques, as it supersedes the executive order President Obama signed two days after taking office in 2009, requiring that prisoners “shall in all circumstances be treated humanely and shall not be subjected to violence to life and person (including murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment, and torture), nor to outrages upon personal dignity (including humiliating and degrading treatment).” The ACLU has already drafted a letter addressed to senators, which has been co-signed by more than 30 other human rights organizations, strongly condemning the proposed amendment (http://www.aclu.org/national-security/coalition-letter-opposing-amendment-1068-national-defense-authorization-act-fiscal ).
Please contact your senators and tell them to oppose Amendment 1068 to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (S. 1867).
The second issue involves sections 1031 and 1032 of the same bill (National Defense Authorization Act). These sections contain provisions for expanded powers of indefinite detention. Specifically, these provisions would
1) Explicitly authorize the federal government to indefinitely imprison without charge or trial American citizens and others picked up inside and outside the United States;
(2) Mandate military detention of some civilians who would otherwise be outside of military control, including civilians picked up within the United States itself; and
(3) Transfer to the Department of Defense core prosecutorial, investigative, law enforcement, penal, and custodial authority and responsibility now held by the Department of Justice.
(https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=3865&s_subsrc=fixNDAA)
Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is offering the Udall Amendment that will delete the harmful provisions and replace them with a requirement for an orderly Congressional review of detention power.
Please contact your senators and tell them to support the Udall Amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2012 (S. 1867) and to oppose Sec. 1031 & 1032.
If you reside in PA, here’s contact info for our senators:
Sen. Robert P. Casey, Jr.
(202) 224-6324
Phila. Office: (215) 405-9660
http://www.casey.senate.gov/contact/
Sen. Patrick J. Toomey
(202) 224-4254
Phila. Office: (215) 241-1090
http://www.toomey.senate.gov/?p=contact
Contact info for all US senators can be found at:
http://www.senate.gov/general/contact_information/senators_cfm.cfm
More info on these two issues:
http://www.aclu.org/blog/national-security/seriously-senate-considering-repeal-anti-torture-measures
Per Dick Cheney: American citizens are über-humans September 3, 2011
Posted by grellet in Dick Cheney.add a comment
Here is the infamous interview of Dick Cheney by Matt Lauer. Cheney says that it’s OK for us to torture nationals of other countries to save American lives, but that we have the right to protest if another country tortures Americans.
So, American citizens are some sort of über-humans who can never be tortured under any circumstances and who must be protected at all costs, even if it means torturing others.
Can you say “arrogance”?
Torture awareness month June 3, 2011
Posted by grellet in nrcat, Torture Awareness Month.Tags: National Religious Campaign Against Torture
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It arises from those dark recesses of our soul, stirred up by anger and nourished by the desire for vengeance. It grows and swells in direct proportion to our ability to dehumanize the Other, until our actions are out of control and our own humanity corroded.
Torture.
While the Milgram Experiment in the 1960’s demonstrated that almost anyone is capable of inflicting torture, most of us prefer to leave it to the experts. We carefully avert our eyes lest we see what government agencies have done in our name. We say nothing upon learning that White House counsel disingenuously redefined torture, thus giving the green light to interrogators to carry out heinous acts. Detainees not captured in uniform are somehow exempt from Geneva Convention protections, or so goes the rationalization. After that it is but a tiny step to stripping them of their humanity. Finally, in the euphoria following the liquidation of Osama bin Laden, we even cast aside the ticking time bomb scenario, that fictitious emergency situation found only on prime-time TV dramas. The bad guys drove us to it. What further justification do we need? What a dangerous line we have crossed.
As a person of faith, I could care less whether or not torture works. Because it violates the God-given humanity of both the victim and the perpetrator, torture is always abhorrent, immoral, and wrong. I measure the depth of my integrity not by how others treat me but by how I treat others, and I hold my country to the same standard. During the month of June, Torture Awareness Month, check out the website of the National Religious Campaign Against Torture .
We must abolish US-sponsored torture forever.
Ten years too long January 11, 2011
Posted by grellet in Guantánamo Bay Prison, torture.add a comment
from Witness Against Torture
http://www.witnesstorture.org/pr-01-07-2011
CLOSE GUANTÁNAMO WITH JUSTICE NOW
Day Of Action Against Torture, Extra-Legal Detention
At The White House And Justice Department,
Tuesday, January 11
WASHINGTON, D.C. — President Obama entered office promising to close Guantánamo and remove the taint of lawlessness it represents. Yet the prison remains open. While Congress blocks efforts to transfer prisoners to the U.S. for criminal trials, the White House draws up plans to hold some men indefinitely, without charge or trial.
That’s not acceptable, says Witness Against Torture, which will begin two weeks of protest in Washington, D.C. on January 11. On the 11th, a coalition of human rights groups will hold a rally in front of the White House at 11 am, followed by a “prisoner procession” to the Department of Justice. There, one group of participants will demand a meeting with DoJ officials, while others will engage in non-violent civil disobedience. By blocking the lawsuits of former detainees, appealing the decisions of federal judges ordering the release of prisoners, and refusing to prosecute Bush administration officials for torture, the Justice Department has failed to fulfill President Obama’s promise of accountability and respect for the rule of law.
“Congress and the White House are rapidly moving toward a policy of permanent detention without trial for many of the prisoners at Guantánamo,” says Bob Cooke of Witness Against Torture. “Bagram and other detention centers remain beyond the reach of the law. This violates the U.S. Constitution, as well as international law. When our government’s policies violate the law and our nation’s ideals, it’s up to the people to challenge the government directly.”
The protest on the 11th will be followed by 10 days of fasting, lobbying, and demonstrating in Washington, D.C.
Witness Against Torture demands include:
- Close the prison at Guantánamo Bay;
- Free all prisoners who have been cleared for release, ensuring their safe resettlement and providing asylum in the U.S. for those unable to go elsewhere;
- Produce charges against all other prisoners and prosecute them in U.S. courts;
- Open all detention centers to outside scrutiny. That includes accepting the oversight of the International Committee of the Red Cross of all facilities; and
- Conduct a comprehensive criminal inquiry against all those who designed and carried out torture policies under the Bush administration.
Who: Witness Against Torture and co-sponsors
Event: Rally, “prisoner procession” to Department of Justice, and non-violent direct action
Date and Time: Tues, Jan. 11, beginning at 11am
Location: The White House, Washington, D.C.
Who We Are: In December 2005, Witness Against Torture drew international attention when its members walked to Guantánamo Bay to protest at the prison. Since its return, the group has organized vigils, marches, nonviolent direct actions, and educational events opposing torture and calling for the closure of Guantánamo.
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As Guantánamo approaches its tenth year January 3, 2011
Posted by grellet in Uncategorized.add a comment
Guantánamo mon amour
http://www.opednews.com/articles/Guant-namo-mon-amour-by-Barbara-Quintilian-101231-363.html
grellet
