Monday June 29, 2009, 2:36 pm
The first world system....and they complain about the third world???

BAH!!!!!

Monday June 29, 2009, 2:50 pm

Un-f**king-real!

(And still . . . many believe that their government "cares?")

Monday June 29, 2009, 3:23 pm
Thank you Carol.

Monday June 29, 2009, 3:30 pm

I am so ENTIRELY APALLED at the never-ending hypocrisy that emanates from the leaders of this government!

PULEEZ don't tell me that this, and every other evil of this government, is strictly a result of Republicans! We have a newly-elected, Harvard-educated, Democrat president.

WHERE IS HIS DENOUNCEMENT OF THIS?????

Monday June 29, 2009, 3:43 pm
This is our fault I am sorry to say. When we continue to let others rule us, do as they will. Who, were hired to do a job that would benefit our lives not theirs we have everything that is due coming to us. This is what we get for being lazy, couldn't care less attitude and me, me, me, there is only me in this world. The bills are available for all to read, things are sneaked in all the time by lobbyist's and special interest which vary rarely has anything to do with the bill. Our congress do not read the bills they rely on others to tell them what is in it and prefers to play golf instead of the job they are paid to do. they have proven time and time again they do not have our best interests at heart only their pockets.
What has happened here is the result of laws being passed that allow our CIA to roam free and do as they will.
It is time to be responsible for what our government does to us and others. If not, what has happened here will be here next. Criminals do not stop unless they are found out!

Monday June 29, 2009, 3:54 pm
Noted. I am so distressed and repulsed that I cannot even find the words to frame a coherent comment.

Monday June 29, 2009, 3:54 pm

How Obama Is Recycling Bush With Abu Ghraib Photos Flip-Flop
"Obama is ensuring that the skeletons of the Bush years will be similarly half-buried."
 

Monday June 29, 2009, 4:04 pm

Next, I suppose, we'll be told that "crucificion is not -- technically -- torture." (And some will even buy THAT!)

Monday June 29, 2009, 4:26 pm
Oh, Carole hush, they may get that idea! They already got Armageddon. lol!

Monday June 29, 2009, 4:29 pm

Oh, Sue . . . "Why, I oughtta!" (hehehehe)

(Yeah, but it's hard to lighten up in the face of all this "transparency" and "change.")

Monday June 29, 2009, 4:39 pm
Ah, the Bu$h admini$tration and their $ecret$ ...Lynn and Dick Cheney $till $hilling on cable new$ and the network$ ...

Monday June 29, 2009, 4:42 pm
Yeah, Blue would love to see what goes on in those private prisons they run here! As an observer of course!

Monday June 29, 2009, 4:50 pm
Well that's the CIA for you still doing God's work five hundred years after the Inquisition. This is what all this hypocritical prayer and claiming to talk to God leads to just as it does in the Islamic world.
Islam unfortunately is not the only side waging a holy war.
There are institutions where if you turned up and said you'd been talking to God they wouldn't even let you go home and get your pyjamas.

Monday June 29, 2009, 4:55 pm

Yup, John -- It's all a mind-f**k.

Much like the distorted history that's perpetually promulgated in our educational system: "Grab them and brainwash them as soon as they can independently form thoughts."

Well, judging from some of the comments I consistently see, it worked!

Monday June 29, 2009, 5:44 pm
noted thank you

Monday June 29, 2009, 5:59 pm
If this was done by another country, we would be screaming about immortal an action this is and no excuses are acceptable. Now when we do it...well it was unusual circumstance, or we are fighting EVIL, or saving the world from EVIL.

Every time I read something like this is wonder why there is no outrage, and then I know the answer. Lazy, and apathetic as Sue said that insidious ME attitude, and of course the endless excuses, It is sad to see the end of what was once a very good country.

Yes, Carole sadly your right it is a mind f@%k and so many don't care to look beyond or question the easy answers.

Monday June 29, 2009, 6:30 pm
Yeah, and John those same institutions are run by the very same wall street banksters!!!
I hope you all take note that these "torture" techniques comes from the very same Institutions. They did not get to the CIA by accident.

Monday June 29, 2009, 6:51 pm

Just received in my email, from Amnesty International:

"News reports this weekend stated that the Obama administration may be considering issuing a highly controversial order to incarcerate some Guantanamo detainees indefinitely.

Indefinite detention without charge or trial is one of the most egregious of all human rights violations and a hallmark of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes the world over.

Obama vowed in May that he would work with Congress to find an appropriate legal framework for those trapped in the inhumane system set up by the Bush administration at Guantanamo Bay.1

His pledge gave Americans hope that we would be turning the page on White House end-runs around the legislative branch and other checks on executive authority. It furthered our belief that the end of the Bush era was a chance to restore an executive branch that adhered to the foundational principles of human rights, transparency and the rule of law.

But this weekend, these hopes were dashed. Some commentators have said that this move reveals a willingness on the part of the Obama administration to bypass Congressional oversight whenever it thinks legislators could fail to act in accordance with its wishes.2"

Monday June 29, 2009, 6:55 pm
Here we g, the true colors are shinning through! Bush sets the standard while we slept and we have not demanded our rights back. Now, Obama is continuing his legacy. The Patriot Act is NOT just for Gitmo. It involves us all. I wonder, are we going to sit back again or are we really going to get our acts together this time?

Monday June 29, 2009, 6:57 pm
Yes Sue and unfortunately most of these techniques were pioneered by the British. I'd like to blame the English entirely for such barbarity, but I watched a doco the other night about the Scots and amongst the other delightful things we did to those who crossed us was in the 14th century we wrapped a Scotltish domiciled Norman knight in lead taken from the roof of his castle, put him in a barrel and set fire to it and melted him, apparently because he'd ravished one of our maidens . We apparently weren't encouraging tourism or immigration in those days; I bet he wished he'd stayed home. It seems as a species we haven't evolved much.

Monday June 29, 2009, 6:59 pm
i am no longer sick of the government. I am sick of the people. We have the power, it is us they are afraid of but we all sit around and put on this face of terror whenever the subject of doing anything comes up. We deserve everything we get!

Monday June 29, 2009, 7:02 pm

Worthy of a repeat:

"Indefinite detention without charge or trial is one of the most egregious of all human rights violations and a hallmark of dictatorships and authoritarian regimes the world over. "

HULLO!

Monday June 29, 2009, 7:08 pm
Thomas Jefferson "I swear upon the altar of God, eternal hostility to every form of tyranny over the mind of man."

Monday June 29, 2009, 7:48 pm
I have to agree with you good people....it is a shame to see such proud people have to throw rocks at your own government and people. Your frustration is more than evident .It is more than obvious from elsewhere in the world as well. We are all being railroaded, there is no such thing as different political parties....only perceptions of political parties. Decisions are being made by other non elected people for their own benefit and agendas. We do not have democracies any more, just the window dressing. When we realize this fact, then we may be able to rise up and make democracy work. How else could our justice systems fail so abysmally, and let all these blatant criminal activities go unpunished.

Monday June 29, 2009, 8:40 pm
“Government is not reason, it is not eloquence, it is force; like fire, a troublesome servant and a fearful master. Never for a moment should it be left to irresponsible action.”
George Washington

Monday June 29, 2009, 9:52 pm
Thanks Carol, and I fully agree. And I might mention let us not forget the protests and sitins. Protest with those of the Peace and Justic Ctr., The Peace Coalition, Veterans and Friends of Veterans for Peace,Voices for Creative Non-Violence, Code Pink and supporting groups like The Separation of Church and State, and The ACLU. Several recent protests I have made the turnout has been very light. If we are going to see change we need to get activated out in the streets.

Monday June 29, 2009, 9:56 pm
I agree Robert. Peacefully of course. Petitions and signing up for things in retaliation are one thing but it is the physical bodies in numbers is what scares them.

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 12:52 am
Thanks Carole, great post...You beat me too it once again :-) but well worth the effort and very much needs airing...

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 1:15 am
Noted...thanks JC

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 3:22 am
Noted thanxxx. sherbet no matter what... it is still a ghastly way to kill someone... and eye for an eye never does work... but lets hope there will come a time when peace can come to all, and then we can all live in harmony with one another... Death can never justify, taking anothers life....

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 4:14 am
a report by the new yorker..lol..no basis and you all take it as fact..dont believe everything you read just because you want it to be true...

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 5:26 am
"Civil disobedience is not our problem. Our problem is civil obedience. Our problem is that numbers of people all over the world have obeyed the dictates of the leaders of their government and have gone to war, and millions have been killed because of this obedience. . . Our problem is that people are obedient all over the world in the face of poverty and starvation and stupidity, and war, and cruelty" : Howard Zinn

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 5:28 am
"All experience hath shown that mankind are more disposed to suffer, while evils are sufferable, than to right themselves by abolishing the forms to which they are accustomed. But when a long train of abuses and usurpations, pursuing invariably the same object evinces a design to reduce them under absolute despotism, it is their right, it is their duty, to throw off such government, and to provide new guards for thir future security." : The Declaration of Independence (1776)

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 5:29 am
"One thing is for certain: There won't be any more mass graves and torture rooms and rape rooms." - George W. Bush [press availability in Monterrey, Mexico, Jan. 12, 2004]

=
"Shamefully we now learn that Saddam's torture chambers reopened under new management, U.S. management." - - Edward Kennedy

=
"We don't torture people in America and people who say we do simply know nothing about our country." - George W. Bush [Interview with Australian TV - October 18, 2003]

=
"The bill Congress sent me would take away one of the most valuable tools in the war on terror - the CIA program to detain and question key terrorist leaders and operatives." George W. Bush on his veto of a bill that would have outlawed waterboarding in March 2008

=
"This fight has nothing to do with soldierly gallantry or principles of the Geneva Convention. If the fight against the partisans is not waged with the most brutal means, we will shortly reach the point where the available forces are insufficient to control the area. It is therefore not only justified, but it is the duty of the troops to use all means without restriction, even against women and children, so long as it ensures success". - - Wilhelm Keitel, chief of staff of the Supreme Command of the Armed Forces of Germany [Dec. 16, 1942]

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 10:18 am
The sad part about all of this that we're now finding out, years later after the event happened; no one will ever stand trial for the murders committed in the name of National Security. After all it was under the guise of national security that the CIA were allowed to use "torture" to get information that many of the detainees never had access to in the first place.

It is up to us to clean up the government, but in reality this will not ever happen because there are people in this country that truly believe every lie the government tells them, and Obama is no different than any other government official. We elected him because of his position on Guantanamo Bay prison, but it is unlikely he will be able to close the prison in the time frame he said he would close it. There is too much opposition from the Republicans and the Blue Dog Democrats. The CIA has been conducting secret experiments on Americans since the early '50s and it continues to this very day.

We need to vote out every long stand member of the House of Representatives, Congress and the Senate. They have been in office for far too long and they have been very comfortable knowing the majority of American who have there heads up their butts and will still vote for them. Those are the people we need to reach and convince in no uncertain terms that our government is the most corrupt on the planet. But I hate to say this will never happen either. No one will be fully convinced that our government is corrupt until the main stream news media starts reporting like it should, but then they are threatened with have their license to broadcast revoked to they report "canned" news stories. Canned news stories are the ones that only the government allow to be reported. It's only when we log on to foreign news web sites do we learn the real truth of what's going on in our own back yards, and by then it's too late to do anything about it.

Welcome to Nazi America. Or should I spell it Amerika!

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 10:23 am

US Troop Withdrawal From Iraq: Your Thoughts, Your Stories (POLL)

We asked you to share your thoughts about the impending troop pullout. Here are your comments


Matthew from California:

This can't happen soon enough. This was an illegal act pure and simple. We should stop rationalizing.

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 1:36 pm
Are we living in a civilized world ? Noted , thanks !

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 2:38 pm

STAND AGAINST PRESIDENT OBAMA'S PROPOSED INDEFINITE DETENTION REGIME

Petition: LINK:

http://takeaction.amnestyusa.org/siteapps/advocacy/ActionItem.aspx?c=jhKPIXPCIoE&b=2590179&aid=12497&ICID=T0906A02&tr=y&auid=5026109

____________________

bush, cheney and the two lawyers who "drafted" the torture policy should all be "crucified"...
It is perfect. After all, they are "Christians", "born-again Christians"... What a fitting sentence for their crimes against humanity, murder, and should be carried out ASAP... "Death by Crucification"...

"There is no question that U.S. interrogations have resulted in deaths," says Anthony Romero, executive director of the ACLU. "High-ranking officials who knew about the torture and sat on their hands and those who created and endorsed these policies must be held accountable. America must stop putting its head in the sand and deal with the torture scandal." At least scores of detainees in U.S. custody have died and homicide is suspected. As far back as May, 2004, the Pentagon conceded at least 37 deaths of prisoners in its custody in Iraq and Afghanistan...".


TY, Just "C".

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 3:13 pm
I wish there were a hell these people could roast in.

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 3:49 pm
Truly UN AMERICAN! bush is an as$, why are we not impeaching him....money????daddy got money from bad people to pay for his babyboy, Here in Fl, we got Jeb. ARGHHHHH... hope he isnt going to try to run also, I will say he did go against his Brother on many occasions though.. still ARGHHHH
I am thinking Hell is on Earth..

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 6:16 pm
Jim Phillips, thanks petition signed. Some excellent questions posed here, why do we allow this? Through I would say that after seeing what happened in Iran and how many people took to the streets all for nothing, you have to wonder if it is just too late. That time has passed and Americans allowed the government and corporations to take over. What is our function? To work - reproduce, and buy things....just to keep the wheels turning, does what we want even matter any more? So many wrongs and injustices all in our name as Americans and we continue to allow it, maybe because we have no idea about how to stop this.

How many Americans have continued to lose their homes, their jobs, their life savings, while the government bails out the same corporations that created this. Obama was invited and did attend the Bilderberg group meeting in June 2008, does that have meaning? Many things have happened over many years to bring us to this situation, now I can not but wonder if there is way to turn things around. The few things being addressed seem to be comprises - or maybe just tiny band aids, meant to pacify us.

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 6:26 pm
Atlas Shrugged By ayn rand is the second best selling book ever, The bible is first, scary huh? At this time its gone back up into the top 20 books sold. the economy seems to bring it out in people.....

Tuesday June 30, 2009, 11:04 pm
I am suprised why there has been so little Coverage of this in The Mainstream Media

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 4:17 am
because it is not true ...but conspiracy theorists want to believe it..nobody was crucified

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 4:36 am
By the way... : https://secure.aclu.org/site/Advocacy?JServSessionIdr011=mzhds0uov2.app20a&cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=1625

Take Action

Dear ACLU Supporter,

There are no two sides to the debate over indefinitely detaining individuals without charge or trial.

Indefinite detention means allowing the government to imprison people for an unspecified period of time without charging them with a crime and without holding a trial.

That would fundamentally alter the character of our democracy. It would also gut the very meaning of the Fifth Amendment which guarantees due process. In short, it would be a human rights disaster.

The ACLU has been gearing up for a big legislative battle to stop any and all proposals to create a new system of indefinite detention. But now, news reports reveal a more immediate threat.

According to an article in the Washington Post last week, a strategy is taking shape in the White House that would authorize indefinite detention -- not through legislation, but with a presidentially signed executive order. And just hours ago, the president's press secretary said they would now go through Congress. One thing is clear: the Obama administration is seeking the power to indefinitely detain individuals without charge or trial.

What is also clear is that whether through executive order or legislation, indefinite detention is un-American.

You and I have to respectfully urge the President to make sure that idea never sees the light of day.

President Obama needs to hear from you. Let him know that -- whether through legislation or executive order -- you are firmly opposed to indefinite detention.

The key to stopping dangerous ideas is to act decisively right from the start. In the weeks ahead, it’s going to be up to you and the ACLU to lead a sustained effort to stop indefinite detention. And we can’t wait until this dangerous proposal is issued -- especially not when the President is being pressured by advisors within the White House to immediately sign an executive order.

We need everyone who believes in the Constitution and the American system of justice to let the President know that preserving our values and the rule of law is a top priority.

This principle is fundamental: In America, we do not imprison people indefinitely without charges or a trial.

Our democracy and the rights that we cherish cannot rely on the wisdom of individual people in the government. It must rely on the Constitution and the rule of law. And we know that our justice system has successfully prosecuted terrorist suspects in the past and there is no reason to think it cannot do so in the future.


Please stand with the ACLU and do everything you can to reach the President with our message: the only way to put the civil liberties and human rights outrages of the Bush administration behind us is to end them.

They cannot be amended, tidied up, or recalibrated; they must be rejected and dismantled if we hope to reclaim an America we can be proud of again. We’re counting on you to personally commit to an all-out effort to reject indefinite detention -- starting right now and carrying forward for as long as it takes to succeed.

Remember, we need as many voices on this as possible. After you take action, please ask your friends and family to join the fight. And thank you for everything you do.

Sincerely,

Anthony D. Romero
Executive Director
American Civil Liberties Union

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 12:59 pm
I am shocked that PEOPLE, think its ok to torture and kill , my stance is we are all eqaul,but just because they did awful things to us does not justify the fact that "crucifing" is ok? Jesus was crucified, as were many others of his time, I doubt it'd be on his list of TO DO'S...

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 1:15 pm

Kristen -- I'm an agnostic, but I GOTTA say this:

AMEN, Sister!

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 1:21 pm
Thanks Carole, I consider myself , different things at different times, even agnostic. I tend to say Mother Earth alot.

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 2:03 pm

The "10" most Wanted War Criminals per Codepink:

Karl Christian Rove aka Turd Blossom

Richard Bruce Cheney aka Shooter

Donald Henry Rumsfeld aka Rummy

George Walker Bush aka The Decider

Condoleezza Rice aka Condi

Jay Scott Bybee aka None Known

John Choon Yoo aka Dr. Yes

Paul Dundes Wolfowitz aka Wolfie

Lewis Paul Bremer III aka Jerry Bremer

Alberto R. Gonzales aka Fredo

For more information about these "soon-to-be-crucified" war criminals, their backgrounds, their whereabouts, their current occupations, petitions - see and read with this LINK:

http://www.codepinkalert.org/article.php?id=4722

and demand accountability.

.

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 2:09 pm

No doubt.

Thanks, dear Jim!

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 2:35 pm
TERRIFIC SITE JIM, THANKS...

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 2:46 pm

"I came upon a child of God
He was walking along the road
And I asked him, where are you going
And this he told me...
I'm going on down to Yasgur's farm
I'm going to join in a rock 'n' roll band
I'm going to camp out on the land
And then try and get my soul free

Chorus*
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

Then can I walk beside you
I have come here to lose the smog
And I feel to be a cog in something turning
Well maybe it is just the time of year
Or maybe it's the time of man
I don't know who l am
But you know life is for learning

*
We are stardust
We are golden
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden

By the time we got to Woodstock
We were half a million strong
And everywhere there was song and celebration
And I dreamed I saw the bombers
Riding shotgun in the sky
And they were turning into butterflies
Above our nation

*
We are stardust -
Billion-year-old carbon -
We are golden
Caught up in the devil's bargain
And we've got to get ourselves
Back to the garden"

(Sound familiar . . . and so true?)

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 2:50 pm
ABSOLUTELY....AND YES SO TRUE... THE SINGERS NAME ALLUDES ME. BUT I CAN HEAR IT IN MY HEAD AS I READ THE WORDS! AS ALWAYS CAROLE JUST AWESOME.

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 2:53 pm

Joni Mitchell. Woodstock.

Sometimes truth comes before its time.

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 3:01 pm

Joni Mitchell - Woodstock
[Personal note:  I'm sorry I lost my way, but glad I'm returning to the right path.]
 

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 3:10 pm
Great song as are all of Mitchell's; the musicians who had the biggest hit with it worldwide were Matthew's Southern Comfort; an irrelevence I know. I'm a terrific Trivial Pursuit partner; a head full of useless information. :)

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 3:14 pm

I'm just glad you still have a head full of something more than propaganda, John!

(Your comments are always refreshingly welcome.)

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 3:28 pm

Yes, this is "off-topic" but, just so you all know. Woodstock is celebrating the 40th Anniversary, now, with a limited boxed Edition, in regular DVD Discs and Blu-Ray Discs with additional materials, patch, Reproduction of Life Magazine, other goodies, and, new, never before seen footage of portions of the concert anywhere. The sound quality is superb. Pricey at $45.00 for the regular DVD's and $55.00 for the Blu-Ray discs.

There is also a new movie coming out soon of the beginnings of Woodstock, a comedy: LINK:

http://www.apple.com/trailers/focus_features/takingwoodstock/ OR

http://www.filminfocus.com/focusfeatures/film/taking_woodstock/

Yes, I was there... from Ohio. "Woodstock Nation".

.

Wednesday July 1, 2009, 3:31 pm

Must be something about "Buckeyes." (I was raised in Canton, Ohio.)

hehehehehe

Thursday July 2, 2009, 4:24 am
The people in Iraq did NOTHING to us. Iraq had nothing to do with 9/11. Most of the people in the prisons were randomly rounded up from their houses in the night - if the men were deemed to be of so-called "fighting" age they were taken, even if they were often the breadwinner of the family (if they still had a job to go to in the chaos of the invasion). Probably in some cases the families never found out what happened to their men. Before the invasion Iraq was still under US-UK-led Security Council sanctions - they were suffering already, before the bombs fell.

The abuse in the prisons is totally shameful.

Thursday July 2, 2009, 10:55 am


ACLU Says Government Used False Confessions

By Del Quentin Wilber
Washington Post Staff Writer
Thursday, July 2, 2009

The American Civil Liberties Union yesterday accused the Obama administration of using statements elicited through torture to justify the confinement of a detainee it represents at the U.S. military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

The ACLU is asking a federal judge to throw out those statements and others made by Mohammed Jawad, an Afghan who may have been as young as 12 when he was captured. His attorney argued that Jawad was abused in U.S. custody, threatened and subjected to intense sleep deprivation.

"The government's continued reliance on evidence gained by torture and other abuse violates centuries of U.S. law and suggests the current administration is not really serious about breaking with the past," said ACLU lawyer Jonathan Hafetz, who is representing Jawad in a lawsuit challenging his detention. [...]

Read more: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/07/01/AR2009070103477.html

Thursday July 2, 2009, 11:42 pm
it is definately atrocious the things still happening in this world eh?...bless You dear Just "C" for bringing more awareness to Us all!....Cathi

Friday July 3, 2009, 10:50 am
Thank you Carole, I knew it, ive even got a cd w/ it, I just was'nt able to place it..great video too..

Saturday July 4, 2009, 8:08 am
Noted and how inhumane.