verbena-19

Bits About American Torture, including Video (ICH)

These are some of the latest interesting news items from Tom Feely of Information Clearing House (ICH), which he sends out to subscribers to his daily newsletter. For news you won't find on CNN or anywhere else on the MSM, I strongly urge you to check out this wonderful news/information site, and subscribe to the newsletter.

ICH: Fun Bits About American Torture


I believe that justice is instinct and innate; the moral sense is as much a part of our constitution as that of feeling, seeing and hearing: Thomas Jefferson : 3rd US president, principal author of the Declaration of Independence, 1743-1826.

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To sin is a human business, to justify sins is a devilish business: Leo Nikolaevich Tolstoy : Russian author, 1828-1910

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Justice denied anywhere diminishes justice everywhere: Martin Luther King, Jr. : 1929-1968

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Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace: Dwight David Eisenhower : 34th president of the United States, 1890-1969

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Nothing short of self-respect and that justice which is essential to a national character ought to involve us in war: George Washington: First President of the United States, 1732-1799

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Justice in the life and conduct of the State is possible only as first it resides in the hearts and souls of the citizens : Plato : Ancient Greek philosopher (428/427-348/347 B.C.)

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To read this newsletter online http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/ or http://snipurl.com/ayzc


RSS FEED

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Number Of Iraqi civilians Slaughtered In America's War 100,000 +

Number of U.S. Military Personnel Slaughtered In Bush's War 2154

Cost of America's War in Iraq
$227,136,601,800


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The interrogation camp that turned prisoners into living skeletons


By Ian Cobain

Last week, Foreign Office files which have remained closed for almost 60 years were opened after a request by the Guardian under the Freedom of Information Act. These papers, and others declassified earlier, lay bare the appalling suffering of many of the 372 men and 44 women who passed through the centre during the 22 months it operated before its closure in July 1947.
Read full story...

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Fun Bits About American Torture

In many ways, the U.S. is now just as inhumane and brutal as any Third World regime. Oh well?

By Mark Morford

Oh my God, yes, yes we do torture, America that is, and we do it a lot, and we do it in ways that would make you sick to hear about, and we're doing it right now, all over the world, the CIA and the U.S. military, perhaps more often and more brutally than at any time in recent history and we use the exact same kind of techniques and excuses for it our numb-minded president cited as reasons we should declare war and oust the dictator of a defenseless pip-squeak nation that happened to be sitting on our oil.
Read full story here

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America's Own Chronicle of Its Hellish Descent

Iraq, Ourselves

By PIERRE TRISTAM

"Iraq, Ourselves" traces the descent of American values into various circles of hell. The lust and gluttony for power, the greed for cheap and easy profit from Iraq's ruins, the wrath of our terrified military, of our mercenary "private security" goons, and now of Iraq's government-backed death squads and their hunt for heretics: All of it combines into a three-ring circus of violence with the Tigris for a River Styx and the Potomac for a Rubicon. Our imperial president crossed that one three years ago, with fraud on his lips and hubris in his plastic laurels.
Read full story here

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Kidnap and Torture American Style

Video : Channel 4 Investigation

Kidnap and Torture American Style follows the stories of terror suspects. Some of them are British residents, who have been snatched from streets and airports throughout the world before being flown to the Middle-East and Africa. In countries such as Syria and Egypt, they undergo agonising ordeals before being incarcerated, without ever facing an open trial.

Watch it here.


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Seven family members killed:

Seven family members are killed when gunmen burst into their house in town near Hilla, 100 km (62 miles) south of Baghdad, and open fire, police say. They know of no motive.
Read full story here


Iraq’s election a victory for Iran, says Rafsanjani:

Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani, Iran’s influential former president, on Friday called Iraq’s parliamentary elections a “victory” for Iran and said the vote had shattered any US expansionist ambitions in the Middle East.
Read full story here

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George Galloway: Audio: "Today London declared peace on the world."

George Galloway, Respect MP for Bethnal Green and Bow, speaking on Dec 10th at the International Peace Conference in London.
Read full story here

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In case you missed it:

Revealed: US dirty tricks to win vote on Iraq war :

Secret document details American plan to bug phones and emails of key Security Council members
Read full story here

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So, just who is Christian Bailey? :

A 30-year-old Oxford graduate with no public relations experience has been handed a $100m contract by the Pentagon - to plant false stories in Iraqi papers.
Read full story here

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Lawmakers Back Use of Evidence Coerced From Detainees :

House and Senate negotiators agreed Friday to a measure that would enable the government to keep prisoners at Guantánamo Bay indefinitely on the basis of evidence obtained by coercive interrogations.
Read full story here

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Torture Ban May Include a Backdoor:

Tom Wilner, a lawyer who represents a group of Kuwaiti detainees at Guantanamo Bay, told the Washington Post that the Graham amendment would make McCain's prohibition against torture essentially unenforceable, by giving U.S. troops an incentive to engage in coercive interrogations of detainees, without fear of being held liable.
Read full story here

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Landmark Torture Ban Undercut :

Congress Would Allow Evidence Obtained by Torture : Even as the U.S. Congress has passed a prohibition against the use of torture and cruel, inhuman, and degrading treatment, it is set to adopt legislation that would strip the judiciary’s ability to enforce the ban, Human Rights Watch warned today.
Read full story here

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German abduction case gets murkier - did U.S. pay?:

German politicians expressed surprise on Thursday at reported U.S. comments that Washington had apologized and paid money to a German citizen it abducted to Afghanistan and held for months as a terrorist suspect.
Read full story here

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Iran Warns Israel Of "Destructive" Response To Any Attack :

The defense minister , Gen. Mostafa Mohammad Najjar, said that Iran's defenses were strong enough to thwart any attack, but were Israel to try, "the answer of the Iranian armed forces to any attack would be quick, sharp and destructive."
Read full story here

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Iran's President Threatens To Block Nuclear Inspections :

The new law requires the government to stop all voluntary and non-legally binding measures if Iran is referred to the UN Security Council. Fars reported that Ahmadinejad signed the law on 13 December.
Read full story here

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British MP: Iran entitled to peaceful nuclear activity:

"Why should Iran be denied the right to nuclear activities for peaceful purposes, if other countries are given such a right?"
Read full story here

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Iran May Buy Russian Surface-to-Air Missile Complex — Report:

Iran and Russia have prepared and approved an agreement project on the purchase of the Russian surface-to-air missile complex Pechora-2A in the second half of 2006.
Read full story here

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Iran seeks to sign key oil deal with China by Jan:

The deal could draw fire from the United States. Washington has already penalised Chinese firms for working in Iran, which it accuses of seeking nuclear arms and funding anti-Israeli militia. Tehran denies the charges.
Read full story here

posted by Annamarie at 11:37 AM