The US’ New Cadre of Josef Mengeles

I’m stewing over the posts by Valtin about the use of US psychologists as agents of torture. I’m heartsick and soul sick at the evidence that Dana Priest and Amy Goldstein produced in their Washington Post Careless Detainee series about the use of nurses and physicians as agents of abuse and torture.
And just in [...]

“We Don’t Torture”

Brian Tamanaha on the always illuminating Balkinization blog explains more succinctly than anywhere else on the web how BushCo has justified its, “We don’t torture,” mantra in spite of clear and convincing (and deadly) evidence to the contrary.  Use this to explain to the Bush dead-enders:
“We do not torture,” declared President Bush in 2005.
A [...]

Torture: They Report It Because The US Media Is Pimping For The White House

The UK-based Guardian, has presented a several part primer on understanding the breadth, depth and scope of US torture.  Yes, make sure you pay attention to the referencing that it is US policy affirming and using torture.  What George and Dick do, they do in all our names.  Until we remove them from office, repudiate [...]

The D.C. Madam Has Nothing On Pimp Extraordinaire Rumsfeld

David Barstow has just let loose on the New York Times with another scandal.  Donald Rumsfeld ran the Pentagon as a prostitution ring. 
Richard Myers, the Chairman of the Joint Chiefs seems to have been the stupid lead prostitute - not fully aware of what he was doing or what was being done to him, although [...]

Daily Constitutional: Torture and Torturous

Military.com reports about the Pentagon’s detailed evidence of abuse of Afghan prisoners.
The LA Times addresses the horrendous state of prison health care.  And yet, no mention is made of the widespread criminalization of people with mental illness.  over 50% of all inpatient psychiatric care is delivered in prisons.  The answer isn’t in adding to the prison [...]

The Nürnberg defence

A while back, the administration and the U.S. military announced that six ‘high-level’ detainees at Guantánamo Bay would be brought to trial under military commissions (authorized by the execrable Military Commissions Act of 2006 [MCA]).  They even had the chutzpah to claim that the defendants would be afforded “an extraordinary set of rights”, better than [...]

Cheney Holds Himself Above We The People

Martha Raddatz of ABC News interviews Richard B. Cheney and gets him on the record. Think Progress reports:
This morning, on the fifth anniversary of the Iraq invasion, ABC’s Good Morning America aired an interview with Vice President Cheney on the war. During the segment, Cheney flatly told White House correspondent Martha Raddatz that he doesn’t care [...]

Pakistan Black Flag Week Ends Today

The NY Times lead editorial speaks to the forward movement toward governance under a participatory democracy thus:
Parliamentary elections in Pakistan last month delivered a verdict that was just clean enough to be credible — a stern rout of President Pervez Musharraf’s party. Now, rivals Asif Ali Zardari and Nawaz Sharif, the leading opposition politicians, have [...]

One Shallow Breath of Oxygen for the Constitution: Fix FISA

The House just passed a bill that, as Glenn Greenwald writes,
The House just now approved a new FISA bill that denies retroactive immunity to lawbreaking telecoms and which refuses to grant most of the new powers for the President to spy on Americans without warrants. It passed comfortably, by a 213-197 margin.
Notably, many of the [...]

Pakistan Takes Significant Step Toward Governance Under Rule of Law

From the Asia Times:
Musharraf faces bench’s fury
By Amir Mir
ISLAMABAD - Throwing a serious challenge to Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf, the two main victorious parties in the February 18 general elections have jointly pledged to reinstate all 63 senior judges, sacked for refusing to recognize his November 3 emergency order.
The Asif Zardari-led Pakistan People’s Party (PPP) [...]

…Traitorous, Treasonous, Dictator, Thief

Gypsy, Gypsy please tell me
What my fortune’s going to be
Rich-man, Poor-man, Beggar-man, Thief
Doc-tor, Law-yer, In-di-an Chief
Tink-er, Tail-or
Cow-boy, Sail-or
Traitor, Treasonous, Dictator, Thief

Fix FISA

This email just arrived from Senator Patrick Leahy and Representative John Conyers. The link takes you to the Fix FISA Congressional email generator.

Dear Annie,
As the chairmen of the U.S. House and Senate Judiciary Committees tasked with modernizing the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act (FISA), we are working hard in Congress to pass a FISA bill that [...]

New York Times Front Page: Pakistan Lawyers Advocate For Rule of Law

At least the news is beginning to get more attention.  This story is from the New York Times online afternoon edition:
Fresh from being released after four months in detention, Mr. Ahsan said the recent parliamentary elections were not enough proof that President Pervez Musharraf’s government was dedicated to democracy. He insisted that the next step [...]

A Tribute to the Activist Lawyers in Pakistan

A Tribute to the Lawyers and People of Pakistan - Protest
Hat Tip EagleZee

Support The Rule of Law In Pakistan

 
The Black Flag Week campaign to support Pakistani lawyers who are protesting - and paying a dear price for their protests - to demand the respect for the rule of law and movement toward a Constitutional democracy, begins tomorrow.  This link will take you to a Flickr slideshow with logos for your use to promote the [...]