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Thursday, September 21, 2006
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Bob Herbert:
The right to file for a writ of habeas corpus, insisting that this authority be exercised, is a crucial check on naked governmental power. It’s a check on injustice. In Washington, instead of saluting this cornerstone of freedom, politicians are about to deep-six it for some people without even much in the way of debate.
Talk about freedom is cheap. We hear it all the time. Real protection against tyrannical behavior by powerful government officials is another matter.
(Via Suburban Guerrilla.)
10:37:28 PM 
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According to two conservative websites, White House political strategist Karl Rove has been promising GOP insiders that there will be an "October surprise" before the midterm elections.
"In the past week, Karl Rove has been promising Republican insiders an 'October surprise' to help win the November congressional elections," reports Ronald Kessler for Newsmax.
(Via The Huffington Post | Raw Feed.)
10:19:02 PM
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 OK sports fans - it's official. We're going to be the first country EVAH to authorize violations of the Geneva Conventions! Per Digby:
The "compromise" will, as I predicted, allow the "tough interrogations" by amending the war crimes act. And
they will reportedly create a new JAG office to review classified
information and determine if terrorist suspects can see it if it's
being used against them in a trial. We already know they have devised
some habeas corpus loophole to keep innocent people imprisoned without
any due process.
U.S.A.! U.S.A.! U.S.A.!
(Via AGITPROP: Version 3.0, Featuring Blogenfreude.)
10:18:36 PM
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Posthuman Blues links to the Mars face article I linked to a bit ago, and calls it "bullshit." And asks why the article doesn't discuss proponents of the "Artificiality Hypthesis." But then he doesn't mention them either. No links, no names, no references, just some, as far as I can tell, imaginary "proponents." Bullshit, indeed.
10:07:36 PM
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James Heffernan provides a nice little rerun of the history of that other religion of peace.
In Christianizing the Roman empire by force, Constantine set a precedent for the crusades, which began in 1095 and lasted for two centuries. To reclaim the Holy Lands from Muslims, Christian forces conquered Jerusalem in 1099, killed every Muslim in it, herded all Jews into the synagogue, and burned it. In 1204, after Jerusalem had been reconquered by Muslims, armies of Franks and Venetians sacked Constantinople-capital of Eastern Christianity-and brutally vandalized its greatest church, the Hagia Sophia.
On the other hand, The Anchoress can sum up Christian killing nicely with a little "blah, blah, blah." You see, it was so long ago.
10:02:57 PM
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Chimpy's torture fetish constitutes a grave violation of the Geneva Conventions and thus US law.
United Nations human rights investigators said on Thursday that legislation proposed by U.S. President George W. Bush for tough interrogations of foreign terrorism suspects would breach the Geneva Conventions.
In a joint statement to the U.N. Human Rights Council, meeting in Geneva, the five independent envoys also said that Washington's recent admission of secret detention centres abroad pointed to "very serious human rights violations in relation to the hunt for alleged terrorists".
The investigators called again for the United States to close down the U.S. detention facility at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, where hundreds of foreign terrorism suspects are being held, alleging that violations including torture and religious discrimination continued to occur.
"...the Government has not only taken no step to close Guantanamo, but it has recently proposed draft legislation to the Congress which is in breach with United States' human rights obligations ... and with the requirements of article 3 of the Geneva Conventions," the statement said.
No matter what "compromise" the Assministration reaches with McCain, Warner and Graham if it does not comply with the Common Article III it will be struck down in court.
(Via First Draft.)
8:08:13 PM
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"Clearly, Bush cannot comprehend the damage he is doing to American dignity, credibility and prestige ... His public negotiations with the dissident senators over torture techniques have created one of the worst spectacles in modern political history.”
READ THE WHOLE ITEM
(Via Truthdig: Drilling Beneath the Headlines.)
8:52:27 AM
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© Copyright 2006 Steve Michel.
Last update: 10/1/2006; 10:38:47 AM.
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