Anwaar
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Post by Anwaar on Dec 8, 2005 11:14:30 GMT 4
The Strappado Rendition
by Anwaar Hussain
In one of the most widely disseminated images from the Abu Ghuraib scandal, the thuggish grinning faces of Specialists Sabrina Harman and Charles Garner peer out with an evil force. Each is offering a "thumbs-up" gesture as if posing for a pride of performance award.
In the background is a cellophane wrapped, ice packed corpse of one Manadel al-Jamadi, an Iraqi who was tortured to death during interrogation at Abu Ghuraib prison. The U.S. military ruled the death a homicide.
In February 2005, it was revealed that he died after a horrible half-hour session of pain. He was suspended from a barred window by his wrists, which were bound behind his back, in a hideous torture method known as the strappado.
Strappado is a form of torture in which a victim is suspended in the air by means of a rope attached to his hands which are tied behind his back. Weights may be added to the body. Now adopted by the American interrogators, the technique is also known as Palestinian Hanging, or reverse hanging, and is frequently used by Israeli troops on Palestinian prisoners.
In strappado, the victim has his arms tied behind his back with a large rope tied to his wrists and passed over a beam or a hook on the roof. The torturer pulls on this rope until the victim is hanging from his arms. The full weight of the victim’s body is then supported by the extended and internally-rotated shoulder sockets. Since the victim has his hands tied behind the back, this causes a very intense pain. If allowed to continue for a longer time, if not death, a painful joints dislocation of both arms is the sure outcome.
Not withstanding the legal acrobatics that the current US administration has gone over in defining torture, it is universally understood to be the infliction of severe physical or psychological torment as an expression of cruelty, a means of terrorization, retribution or punishment, or as an illegal tool for the extraction of information or confessions. Period.
Torture is also universally considered to be an extreme violation of human rights, as stated by the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Signatories of the 3rd and 4th Geneva Conventions agree not to torture protected persons (enemy civilians and POWs) in armed conflicts. Signatories of the UN Convention Against Torture too concur not to intentionally inflict severe pain or suffering on anyone, to obtain information or a confession, to punish them, or to coerce them or a third person.
Only recently, after being bombarded with questions about alleged secret CIA prisons in eastern Europe while in Ukraine, Condoleezza Rice, the US Secretary of State, said: "As a matter of ... policy, the United States' obligations under the [UN convention against torture] which prohibits cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment extends to US personnel wherever they are, whether they are in the US or outside the US."
In other words, the President of United States, the Vice President and the Secretary of State all are saying one thing i.e. ‘we do not torture’.
Yet, Dick Cheney, the US vice president, has lobbied against a legislation banning cruel treatment of prisoners, calling for a clause exempting the CIA and President George Bush threatened to block the Senate bill.
Other than Abu Ghuraib and Guantánamo Bay, where detainees have included children as young as 11-years-old and where some detainees have now been held for up to four years without charge or trial, America’s torture trail at the present weaves across the globe. America has now become the biggest patron of torture by proxy in the history of planet earth.
Consider the following.
Overseas detention(read torture) facilities are known to be or to have been maintained at least in Thailand, the Philippines, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Jordan, Egypt, Iraq, Morocco, Cyprus, Cuba, Diego Garcia, some Gulf States and unspecified South Pacific island nations. Certain other suspected detention facilities are in Indonesia, El Salvador, Nigeria, Equatorial Guinea, Libya, Israel, Denmark, Poland, Romania, Bulgaria, Albania, Hungary, Germany, and Scotland. In these countries, America oversees from a distance the sessions of pain in dark dungeons. The whole process is affectionately called as ‘the renditions’ by American officials.
The current US Secretary of State, Condoleezza Rice, has become the latest mouth piece of the pain dealers.
Born in Birmingham, Alabama, she is the only child of Angelena Rice and the Reverend John Wesley Rice Jr. Her father was a minister at Westminster Presbyterian Church, and her mother was a music teacher. The name "Condoleezza" is derived from an Italian music-related expression, "Con dolcezza", meaning "with sweetness".
With the goal of becoming a concert pianist, Condoleezza Rice has studied piano at an Aspen music camp in her teens. She has also been known to make use of her musical skills and once played Glenn Gould's piano with Michaelle Jean at Rideau Hall.
In January 2005, during Bush's second inaugural ceremonies, Rice first used the term ‘outposts of tyranny’ to refer to countries that in her view threatened world peace and human rights. This phrase has been called a successor of Bush's phrase "Axis of Evil" used to describe Iraq, Iran and North Korea. She identified six such "outposts" in which she said the United States has a duty to foster freedom: Cuba, Zimbabwe, Burma and Belarus, as well as Iran and North Korea.
She has also pledged allegiance to the flag of United States of America in the following words;
I Pledge Allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the Republic for which it stands, one Nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all.
As America sleeps, Condoleezza Rice now delivers the Strappado Rendition, ‘with sweetness’, to countless helpless victims in more than three dozen ‘outposts of tyranny’. In the balconies above, her masters glide in a ghostly saltation watching her performance. Her victims, however, are reeling with pain by the time she reaches the end note of her grand finale.
Liberty and justice for all--the strappado way.
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Post by Michael Carmichael on Dec 8, 2005 12:47:14 GMT 4
Thank you for this deeply informative insight into the brutality of torture in the 21st century. As an American, I am appalled at the crimes of the Bush-Cheney-Rice White House. Condoleezza Rice's recent journey to Europe was especially disturbing. Before her departure, Rice made a public statement in America that repudiated charges of torture, while in Europe she has made statements amounting to an admission of the use of torture in secret American prisons scattered across the globe. The creation of secret torture dungeons where American prisoners disappear is undermining the dwindling political support for Bush, Cheney, Rice and their minions in Congress. Thank you for publishing this important paper, and, please, keep them coming.
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DT1
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You know, it's not like I wanted to be right about all of this...
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Post by DT1 on Dec 9, 2005 0:18:32 GMT 4
By refusing to sign several international treaties in recent years(for the porpose of saving their own skins),Bush and the Neocons have removed us from twentey-first century civilization,and dragged us back into the Dark Ages. Each day they pursue their agenda,by legal gymnastics which completely undermine the spirit of whatever law they feel the need to circumvent. Case in point: Having one's teeth removed with a pair of pliers,without so much as the benefit of a couple asprins,would probably not result in organ failure,and hence, would not constitute torture.
Please forgive the graphic nature of the above example,but people should be aware of the implications of these legal manuvers. There must be no compromise whatsoever to Senator Mccain's Anti-Torture Legislation. We cannot defeat our enemies by becoming them. This should be obvious to any rational person. Unfortunately,we are not dealing with rational people.
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Nguyenkhaphamthanhchuong
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Post by Nguyenkhaphamthanhchuong on Dec 9, 2005 8:28:26 GMT 4
Thank you Anwaar Hussain. Yes, Liberty and justice for all--the strappado way. I am sure that many Americans never endorse this kind of "USA exceptionalism." These atrocities destroy not only the victims but also the dignity of the Americans as a people. Unfortunately, these have been filtered by the main stream media in the USA, and at this time only the American people can stop this. Now you have brought them out for all of us to know. We hope that American people will wake up and demand back their dignity. This is a great contribution for the truth. Nguyenkhaphamthanhchuong
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
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Post by michelle on Feb 16, 2006 11:14:24 GMT 4
MORE photographs have been leaked of Iraqi citizens tortured by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad.It is with great sorrow that I post the following; I am not trying to be sensational here. A couple of days ago, I received this letter from a woman in one of my political response groups. I believe 'Mary' is correct about using images to raise awareness. Read Mary's letter and then onto the article and photos. MichelleConfronting a Clueless America
Dear Folks,
There are times when I have literally lost my patience with the American people concerning the "Bush War" in Iraq. They go about their daily lives clueless as to what is happening over there. They do not know what is being done in their names and where Bush lied to them and now people are dead.
Well, yesterday as I was food shopping while waiting for a cab to take me home, I took out pictures that I carry around with me at all times of dead American soldiers as well as dead and injured innocent Iraqi children and I thumb tacked them up on the community bulletin board of my local market.
As I sat there waiting for my cab, I paid close attention to people's reactions. Some whisked by almost as if they were ashamed. There were some, looked closely in horror and others looked deeply pained. There were some who shook their head and I wanted to know what was going through their mind as they did. I did not want to approach any to engage in any conversation, but let their hearts and mind be their own private conversation.
I sure hope that they gave thought to the devastation this war has brought on as they traveled home and did their food shopping.
We who take part in these many political groups and email lists have the power of information behind us. We have that power through the very pictures that have been published out there as well and it is my firm belief we use that. If the American broadcast medium and print medium refuses to run these pictures, it is our responsibility to do so.
Regards, Mary! The photos America doesn't want seenFrom The Syndey Morning Herald By Matthew Moore February 15, 2006 MORE photographs have been leaked of Iraqi citizens tortured by US soldiers at the notorious Abu Ghraib prison on the outskirts of Baghdad. Tonight the SBS Dateline program plans to broadcast about 60 previously unpublished photographs that the US Government has been fighting to keep secret in a court case with the American Civil Liberties Union. Although a US judge last year granted the union access to the photographs following a freedom-of-information request, the US Administration has appealed against the decision on the grounds their release would fuel anti-American sentiment. Some of the photos are similar to those published in 2004, others are different. They include photographs of six corpses, although the circumstances of their deaths are not clear. There are also pictures of what appear to be burns and wounds from shotgun pellets. The executive producer of Dateline, Mike Carey, said he was showing the pictures leaked to his program because it was important people understood what had happened at Abu Ghraib. Seven US guards were jailed following publication of the first batch of Abu Ghraib photographs in April 2004. Mr Carey said he could not explain why the photographs had not yet been published, as he thought it was likely that some journalists had them. "It think it's strange, maybe they think its more of the same." ■ The Daily Telegraph, London reports: A British soldier who is believed to have filmed fellow troops assaulting Iraqi civilians has been arrested, the Ministry of Defence said on Monday. The ministry had not confirmed whether he was being questioned as a witness or a suspect. smh.com.au/news/world/the-photos-america-doesnt-want-seen/2006/02/14/1139890737099.html#More snaps from Abu GhraibSome of the 60 previously unpublished photographs that the US Government has been fighting to keep secret in a court case with the American Civil Liberties Union. smh.com.au/photogallery/2006/02/15/1139890768970.html
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DT1
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You know, it's not like I wanted to be right about all of this...
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Post by DT1 on Feb 16, 2006 15:38:12 GMT 4
I wish the that the 800th post at the Fountainhead Discussion Forum had better news... I will let a wiser man than I speak:
There must be some kind of way out of here Said the joker to the thief There’s too much confusion I can’t get no relief Businessman they drink my wine Plow men dig my earth None will level on the line Nobody of it is worth Hey hey
No reason to get excited The thief he kindly spoke There are many here among us Who feel that life is but a joke but uh But you and I we’ve been through that And this is not our fate So let us not talk falsely now The hour’s getting late Hey
Hey
All along the watchtower Princes kept the view While all the women came and went Bare-foot servants to, but huh Outside in the cold distance A wild cat did growl Two riders were approachin’ And the wind began to howl Hey Oh All along the watchtower Hear you sing around the watch Gotta beware gotta beware I will Yeah Ooh baby All along the watchtower
-Jimmy Hendrix
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Post by andrea on Feb 17, 2006 6:26:16 GMT 4
These photographs should be distributed in high traffic areas across the US with a caption that reads "US Liberation of Iraq" or "US Torture."
The individuals that continue to support this war, including those whose silence aids it, should be faced with it, and the realities of US imperialism, every day.
For Afghanistan, Gitmo, Abu Ghraib, Fallujah, Tel Afar - and all the other instances of torture, murder, and destruction - for using white phosphorus, for the 120,000 + dead Iraqi civilians, for illegal wars and the lies told to wage them - the US should be held accountable for what it is: The most destabilizing force in the world.
(Thanks for your great work Anwaar!)
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
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Post by michelle on May 3, 2006 22:27:29 GMT 4
According to Amnesty International, U.S. Government Creating 'Climate of Torture'
5/3/2006 12:02:00 AM
Contact: Sharon Singh of Amnesty International USA, 202-544-0200, ext. 289
WASHINGTON, May 3 /U.S. Newswire/ -- Amnesty International today made public a report detailing its concerns about torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment of prisoners and detainees both in the United States and in U.S. detention sites around the world.
The report has already been sent to members of the UN Committee Against Torture, who will be examining the U.S. compliance with the Convention against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment on May 5 and 8 in Geneva. The Convention against Torture prohibits the use of torture in all circumstances and requires states to take effective legal and other measures to prevent torture and to provide appropriate punishment for those who commit torture.
The U.S. is reportedly sending a 30-strong delegation to Geneva to defend its record. In its written report to the Committee, the U.S. government asserted its unequivocal opposition to the use or practice of torture under any circumstances -- including war or public emergency.
"Although the U.S. government continues to assert its condemnation of torture and ill-treatment, these statements contradict what is happening in practice," said Curt Goering, senior deputy executive director for Amnesty International USA. "The U.S. government is not only failing to take steps to eradicate torture it is actually creating a climate in which torture and other ill-treatment can flourish -- including by trying to narrow the definition of torture."
The Amnesty International report describes how measures taken by the U.S. government in response to widespread torture and ill- treatment of detainees held in U.S. military custody in the context of the "war on terror" have been far from adequate. This is despite evidence that much of the ill-treatment stemmed directly from official policy and practice.
The report reviews several cases where detainees held in U.S. custody in Afghanistan and Iraq have died under torture. To this day, no U.S. agent has been prosecuted for "torture" or "war crimes."
"The heaviest sentence imposed on anyone to date for a torture-related death while in U.S. custody is five months -- the same sentence that you might receive in the U.S. for stealing a bicycle. In this case, the five-month sentence was for assaulting a 22-year-old taxi-driver who was hooded and chained to a ceiling while being kicked and beaten until he died," said Goering.
"While the government continues to try to claim that the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody was mainly due to a few 'aberrant' soldiers, there is clear evidence to the contrary. Most of the torture and ill-treatment stemmed directly from officially sanctioned procedures and policies -- including interrogation techniques approved by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld," said Javier Zuniga, Amnesty International's Americas Program Director.
The report also lists concerns surrounding violations of the Convention against Torture under U.S. domestic law, including ill-treatment and excessive force by police, cruel use of electro-shock weapons, inhuman and degrading conditions of isolation in "super-max" security prisons and abuses against women in the prison system -- including sexual abuse by male guards and shackling while pregnant and in labor.
The United States last appeared before the Committee Against Torture in May 2000. Practices criticized by the Committee six years ago -- such as the use of electro-shock weapons and excessively harsh conditions in "super-maximum" security prisons -- have in some cases been exported for use by U.S. forces abroad -- serving as a model for the treatment of U.S. detainees in the context of the "war on terror."
"The United States has long taken a selective approach to international standards, but in recent years, the U.S. government has taken unprecedented steps to disregard its obligations under international treaties. This threatens to undermine the whole framework of international human rights law -- including the consensus on the absolute prohibition of torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment," said Zuniga.
Amnesty International called on the United States to demonstrate its commitment to eradicating torture, by withdrawing the reservations it has entered to the Convention against Torture, including its "understanding" of Article 1 of the Convention, which could restrict the scope of the definition of torture by the United States.
The organization also called on the United States to clarify to the Committee in no uncertain terms that under its laws no one, including the President, has the right or authority to order the torture or ill-treatment of detainees under any circumstances whatsoever -- and that anyone who does so, including the President, will have committed a crime.
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Background
The Committee Against Torture is a 10-member body of independent experts established by the Convention against Torture to monitor the compliance of states with their obligations under the treaty. It meets twice a year and, among other tasks, reviews the periodic reports of states. At its forthcoming 36th session, which will take place from May 1-19, 2006, it will consider reports presented by Georgia, Guatemala, Republic of Korea, Qatar, Peru, Togo and the United States. Amnesty International has provided written briefings to the Committee in respect of Georgia, Guatemala, Qatar, Togo and the United States.
The second and third periodic reports of the United States will be considered by the Human Rights Committee, which monitors states' compliance under the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, at its 87th session in July. In total, 141 states have ratified the Convention against Torture.
NOTE:
For a copy of the report, please contact the AIUSA press office at 202-544-0200, ext. 302.
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
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Post by michelle on May 4, 2006 17:02:09 GMT 4
TORTURE IS UN-AMERICANTO: Condoleezza Rice U.S. Secretary of StateDear Madam Secretary: Torture. Government kidnapping. Indefinite detention. These are not ideas we associate with the United States of America. They do not represent who we are as Americans. By promoting and condoning these practices in our military and intelligence forces, your administration has broken faith with the American values of freedom and fairness. Last week marked two years since the world first saw the terrible images from Abu Ghraib prison. As human rights experts from around the world gather in Geneva to condemn torture, the U.S. must stand by its own time-honored principles. Widespread evidence, including over 100,000 government documents released to the ACLU under the Freedom of Information Act, shows a systemic pattern of torture and abuse of detainees in U.S. custody. These acts go against our most cherished American ideals. When our leaders promote torture and fail to hold themselves accountable for illegal abuses, they no longer speak for me or for the America in which I believe. We demand our country back. To restore humanity, to defend the rule of law and to end one of the saddest chapters in American history, our government must: reverse the policies that permit torture and abuse, and honor the universal obligations that prohibit torture hold accountable all individuals, regardless of rank or high office, who have authorized, condoned or committed torture or abuse end the practice of secret C.I.A. kidnappings and the transport of individuals to secret detention facilities or to countries where torture is common grant full access at detention facilities to the Red Cross, human rights experts and legal representatives appoint an outside special counsel to investigate and prosecute as necessary all government officials who developed or implemented the policies behind the abuse of detainees in U.S. custody in Afghanistan, Guantánamo, Iraq and in secret facilities conduct a full review and assessment of torture and abuse in jails and other detention facilities at home and abroad As an American, I will not stand for torture. The universal prohibition against torture must be upheld, and enforced, today. Please sign the petition and help us deliver 100,000 signatures and send a loud and clear message to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice that torture is Un-American.action.aclu.org/site/R?i=rjJ1B_tx7CbZxDKqMKPxIQ.. BACKGROUND:Torture is un-American. And our government’s torture policies are just part of a pattern of abuses that tarnish our nation’s standing in the world and weaken our freedoms here at home. More than two years after the ACLU began to expose the truth about U.S. involvement in the torture and abuse of military prisoners, the government has failed to stop the practice or to hold a single high-ranking official responsible. We continue to gather signatures for our Torture is Un-American petition and I’m writing to ask you to please add your name today, as we prepare to present our report on prisoner mistreatment to the Committee Against Torture in Geneva. Torture and abuse of prisoners. Illegal spying on innocent Americans. Gag orders used to silence political debate. Warrantless searches. Is this your America? Just this Sunday, the Boston Globe tallied up 750 laws which the Bush administration has claimed the authority to disobey, including the McCain amendment against torture, and new rules for torture in military prisons. And now even Senate Judiciary Committee Chairman Arlen Specter (R-PA) has announced he will hold hearings on the president's aggressive claims of executive power. [ SEE FOUNTAINHEAD FORUM: Re: Constitutional Law « Reply #32 on May 2, 2006, 8:30pm »airdance.proboards50.com/index.cgi?board=solutions&action=display&thread=1126858491&page=3 ] How can we hold this Administration accountable for these flagrant abuses of power? It is up to each of us. The ACLU and its supporters stand as guardians of the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. Since President Bush took office, we have brought dozens of lawsuits to challenge his administration’s abuses of power. And we've been at the forefront of efforts to persuade Congress to do their job and demand accountability from the White House. When our leaders encourage or condone illegal abuses, when they disregard the rule of law and flout the Constitution, we must do everything in our power to stop them. Stand with us and demand our America back. Please join with the thousands who have already signed the petition and help us deliver 100,000 signatures to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice. Sincerely, Anthony D. Romero Executive Director ACLU P.S. We need your help to collect 100,000 signatures before this Friday, May 5, when we present our report to the Committee Against Torture. So, once you’ve signed the petition, please invite your friends to sign it too.
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Anwaar
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Speak the truth and keep on coming.
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Post by Anwaar on Oct 2, 2006 17:40:14 GMT 4
Tortured Canadian wins battle for truthAfter being detained as a suspected terrorist four years ago and sent to Syria, Maher Arar's name has finally been cleared, writes Anne McIlroy.Monday October 2, 2006, Guardian Unlimited Four years ago, Canadian Maher Arar was detained on a routine airport stopover in the United States and sent to Syria, where he was imprisoned and tortured for 10 months. When he was released by the Syrians and returned to Canada, he started asking how he had been targeted as an Islamist terrorist. His search for answers has made him into a national celebrity, and is likely to end with an apology from the prime minister himself. Late last month, a public inquiry cleared him of any connection to terrorism and criticised the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for feeding American officials misleading information about him. Last week, RCMP commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli finally offered Mr Arar a full apology: "I wish to take this opportunity to express publicly to you and to your wife and to your children how truly sorry I am for whatever part the actions of the RCMP may have contributed to the terrible injustices that you experienced and the pain that you and your family endured." Mr Justice Dennis O'Connor, who led the public inquiry, found that the police had passed faulty intelligence reports to US authorities that had "very likely" led to his arrest at John F. Kennedy Airport in New York, and the beginning of Mr Arar's nightmare. He couldn't say for sure because the Americans refused to participate in the inquiry. Based on the flimsiest of evidence - the fact that he was an acquaintance of a man the Americans suspected of being a terrorist - the RCMP told American officials that Mr Arar was suspected of links to Al-Qaida. They continued to feed questions about him to his Syrian captors, even as Canada's foreign affairs minister was working to get him out of the dark, narrow Syrian jail cell Mr Arar called "the grave." Even after the Syrians released Mr Arar finding no evidence of terrorist links, the RCMP ran a smear campaign, leaking details to reporters about a "confession" Mr Arar had made while he was being tortured. Judge O'Connor also reported that the RCMP had not been straight with government officials about its role. The House of Commons has also apologised to Mr Arar. Prime Minister Stephen Harper is expected to do so once the government reaches a financial settlement with Mr Arar, who suffers from depression and post-traumatic stress syndrome as a result of his ordeal. He has not been able to work since his release from prison and return to Canada three years ago. But for Mr Arar, it is not enough. He wants to see changes to the RCMP that will prevent this kind of abuse from happening in the future, including better oversight of the police force. "I did not seek revenge. I want better institutions in Canada. That is what I want. One way of ensuring this is we have to hold those people accountable." The 36-year-old software engineer has had trouble controlling his emotions following the release of Judge O'Connor's report, breaking down into tears during a number of media interviews. Critics have called for the commissioner of the RCMP to resign, for the officers involved to be disciplined, for the Canadian officials who dealt so callously with Mr Arar to be held accountable. Mr Arar has won a hard-fought victory, not just for himself but for all Canadians. Through his persistence, and that of his wife, they have seen how the powers of the state were abused in the panic and fear that followed the September 11 terrorist attacks on the United States. Three other Canadian citizens were also tortured in the Middle East under similar circumstances: Abdullah Almalki, Ahmad El Maati and Muyyed Nurredin. The government says it is now considering ways to get to the bottom of what happened to them without the cost and delay of holding full public inquiries. As for Mr Arar, he is trying to rebuild his life. He has moved to British Columbia with his wife and two children, and says the people in the community of Kamloops have welcomed them warmly. He is now a national celebrity, his face and his story splashed across the front pages of newspapers and leading the evening news. Flying to his new home, from Ottawa, he was able to get his boarding pass without airline officials making phone calls to make sure it was safe for him to get on the airplane. He is no longer deemed a threat to national security. Source : tinyurl.com/qmfzu
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michelle
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I have broken any attachments I had to the Ascended Masters and their teachings; drains your chi!
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Post by michelle on Oct 4, 2006 15:08:27 GMT 4
Sherwood Ross: George Bush vs. Gospel of Matthew Wednesday, 27 September 2006, 10:22 am Opinion: Sherwood Ross George Bush vs. the Gospel of MatthewBy Sherwood RossAccording to the gospel of Matthew, it came to pass that Pontius Pilate said to Jesus, “ Do you not hear all this evidence that is brought against you?” for even in those days of rudimentary justice a man had the right to hear the charges of his accusers. Yet two thousand years later, under a bill urged by President Bush, a compliant Congress may agree to allow a prisoner of war to be tried without hearing all the evidence against him, some being held back in the name of “national security.” For what is more important, the life of one individual or the security of the State? Every totalitarian regime knows the answer to that. And so prisoners may be put to death, perhaps on false charges, without even knowing what wrong they are accused of. According to the gospel of Matthew, not long before his trial and while journeying to Jerusalem, Jesus took his disciples aside and told them he would be arrested in the city where he would be handed over to a foreign power, to be tried and crucified. And so, too, today, there are more than 400 captives in Guantanamo prison, removed from their homeland by a foreign power in defiance of Geneva, men who have been made to suffer for years in a strange land half a world away from their homes and families, without being charged, without a lawyer, without trial, every one of the uncharged denied due process and thus every one of them innocent. And others, even more unfortunate, have been abducted by the CIA against international law, handed over to a foreign power to be imprisoned, tortured, and, in some cases, crucified, with no trial, and the new bill urged by Mr. Bush allows the CIA to continue its practices. According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus extolled those who showed mercy, saying, “ when I was naked ye clothed me; when I was ill ye came to my help, and when I was in prison ye visited me.” By some strange reversal of New Testament teaching, in the same way as Jesus was stripped of his clothing, captives in U.S. prisons have been stripped of theirs and confined naked in rooms of extreme temperature or threatened by dogs or stacked naked in human pyramids or mocked and scorned or sexually abused or beaten. Such actions, contradicting the words of Jesus, “ That which ye do to the least of my brethren ye do also to me,” violate Common Article 3 of Geneva that forbids “outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment.” As for being visited in prison, many a captive in U.S. custody, such as those in the CIA compound in Kabul, has been denied visits by the International Red Cross, and some have been held incognito, as the “ghost” prisoners of Guantanamo, whose names are not even carried on the prison rolls, also a violation of Geneva. Nor do their families have the opportunity to visit them, a privilege that was commonly afforded even in the days of primitive justice in the time of Jesus, who saw prison visits as a blessing. But what is international law to President Bush, who reportedly told aides, “the Constitution is just a damn scrap of paper”? By contrast, Jesus said, “ If any man therefore sets aside even the least of the Law’s demands, and teaches others to do the same, he will have the lowest place in the kingdom of Heaven..”According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus went up to the hills, and “When he was seated there, crowds flocked to him, bringing with them the lame, blind, dumb, and crippled, and many other sufferers…and he healed them…and they gave praise to the God of Israel.” Only in Bush’s prisons, the sighted are put in darkness for days at a time, whole men are beaten until they are crippled, and sane men are driven mad and to suicide. Recall the words of Matthew: “They (the chief priests) put him in chains and led him away, to hand him over to Pilate, the Roman Governor.”Today, in America’s prisons, men are being chained in stress positions for days at a time or hung by chains suspended from the ceiling for a week or longer. According to the gospel of Matthew, Jesus told his disciples, “ Do not murder,” an injunction not followed by the Bush White House, as more than 100 prisoners have died in U.S. custody, likely every one of them murdered, and several admittedly murdered by their handlers. As for following the Lord’s injunction, “ anyone who commits murder must be brought to judgment,” not one administration official in an executive position responsible for shaping the brutal torture policy has been put on trial. According to the gospel of Matthew, in his Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said , “ How blest are those who show mercy; mercy shall be shown to them.” Yet, the world sees none of it from the White House. Mercy, a gift within the reach of all humanity, is also within the grasp of President Bush and a Congress that appears liable to codify his inhumane bill on the trial and treatment of prisoners. Any member of Congress who votes “aye” will be guilty of condoning torture and subject to prosecution under international law. Equally despicable, any member of Congress who approves the bill will be voting in defiance of the highest moral law ever preached on this planet.
The president’s biographers write he is a regular reader of the Bible. If so, he must be reading the King George version.************* (Sherwood Ross writes for newspapers and magazines. Reach him at sherwoodr1@yahoo.com) Source: www.scoop.co.nz/stories/HL0609/S00392.htm
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Anwaar
Administrator
Speak the truth and keep on coming.
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Post by Anwaar on Apr 26, 2007 18:29:41 GMT 4
Heat Turned up on RiceBy Richard Adams / USA 12:01amThe Democrats in Congress are beginning to make their newly-won muscle count, with two developments that further increase the pressure on the Bush administration. The house of representatives' committee on oversight and government voted to serve Condoleezza Rice, the secretary of state, with a subpoena to force her to testify on the White House's pre-war claims that Iraq was trying to buy uranium. Meanwhile, the house judiciary committee voted granted immunity to a former aide to Alberto Gonzales to testify on why eight federal prosecutors were fired. The two moves show that the pace of investigation is stepping up. The granting of immunity to Monica Goodling - who had earlier refused to testify for fear of incriminating herself - is significant, a further move pressing the embattled attorney-general Gonzales. President Bush has previously declared his support and confidence for Gonzales - but Goodling's testimony may reveal the basis for the firings, and any political involvement of the White House. The subpoena that could be served on Rice opens another can of worms: the vexed and inaccurate claim that Iraq had attempted to buy uranium from Niger as mentioned in the president's 2003 state of the union address. It was that issue that led to the outing of CIA employee Valerie Plame and the eventual conviction for contempt of Scooter Libby, Dick Cheney's chief of staff. Much as the administration would like these issues to fade away, the Democrat majority allows them to control the agenda and issue subpoenas. Source : tinyurl.com/2p66ne
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Anwaar
Administrator
Speak the truth and keep on coming.
Posts: 463
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Post by Anwaar on Jun 11, 2007 4:43:39 GMT 4
Close Gitmo, follow U.S. law, Powell saysJun 10, 2007 11:05 AMWASHINGTON (Reuters) – Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell said today the U.S. military prison at Guantanamo Bay for foreign terrorism suspects should be immediately closed and its inmates moved to the United States. Powell, who in a 2003 speech to the U.N. Security Council made the case for war against Iraq for possessing weapons of mass destruction that were never found, said the controversial prison in Cuba had become a "major problem" for the United States' image abroad and done more harm than good. "Guantanamo has become a major, major problem ... in the way the world perceives America and if it were up to me I would close Guantanamo not tomorrow but this afternoon ... and I would not let any of those people go. I would simply move them to the United States and put them into our federal legal system," Powell told NBC's Meet the Press. "Essentially, we have shaken the belief the world had in America's justice system by keeping a place like Guantanamo open and creating things like the military commission. We don't need it and it is causing us far more damage than any good we get for it," he added. The United States is holding about 380 foreign terrorism suspects at Guantanamo. Rights groups and foreign governments have called for the prison to be closed, saying holding prisoners there for years without trial violated legal standards. But Washington says the prison is legal and necessary to hold dangerous individuals. "I would get rid of Guantanamo and the military commission system and use established procedures in federal law," Powell said, saying some leaders around the world were using Guantanamo to hide their own misdeeds. "It's a more equitable way, and more understandable in constitutional terms," he added. Source : www.thestar.com/News/article/223749
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Anwaar
Administrator
Speak the truth and keep on coming.
Posts: 463
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Post by Anwaar on Nov 27, 2007 16:18:23 GMT 4
Flight logs reveal secret renditionThe Sunday Times, November 25, 2007 THE secret flight plans of American military planes have revealed for the first time how European countries helped send prisoners, including British citizens, to the Guantanamo Bay prison camp. Despite widespread criticism of alleged human rights abuses and torture at the US base in Cuba, a Sunday Times investigation has shown that at least five European countries gave the United States permission to fly nearly 700 terrorist suspects across their territory. Three years ago, The Sunday Times published flight logs of CIA civilian jets in Europe, setting off a controversy over the whether countries across the continent have been secretly involved in America's rendition of terrorist suspects to countries that carry out torture. The row is now set to be reignited. Inquiries by Ana Gomes, a Portuguese member of the European parliament, have uncovered not only more CIA flight logs but also more sensitive military flight plans, which until now have remained a closely guarded secret. Source : tinyurl.com/yur7qa
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Post by brianboru on Dec 8, 2007 14:44:56 GMT 4
So, the Americans have been torturing prisoners. What's new? Read about how they treated the Germans in 1945. It makes Abu Gharib seem like a holiday camp. Torture is as American as 'mom and apple pie'. The Yanks and their Israeli controllers have always been at the forefront in inventing new ways to cause human pain. The Chekka and NKVD in Russia were the original pioneers of mass torture. Most of them moved to Israel and America after that fine experiment in making the world safe for the chosen people. The ability to commit these crimes for so long on so many people shows that they are simply amoral monsters who should be exterminated like a deadly disease. Unfortunately, there doesn't seem to be anyone around who can, or wants, to stop this horror. The Russian and Chinese regimes are hardly ones to shrink from these sort of crimes. After all, they have killed over a hundred million of their own people. Germany is still militarily occupied and has the most draconian thought-crime laws in the world. France now has a Mossad agent in the driving seat, while the UK remains firmly 'on side'. What will happen after the coming financial deluge is anyone's guess, although, I'm sure, the big boys have made firm plans.
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