Why should a judge--even if she is a military judge--rule that the United Nations special representative on torture not be allowed to attend PFC Bradley Manning's trial?
And why should that same judge reject PFC Manning's calling the militart commander of the prison facility at Ft. Leavenworth where he is imprisoned?
Obviously this is not a trial. It is a persecution, a railroading. Manning has been tortured for obeying the Uniform Code of Military Justice. Obama--a lawyer--has already pronounced him guilty. And in a democracy, the Commander-in-Chief can never be wrong.
God bless America!
zondag 22 juli 2012
donderdag 12 juli 2012
Interesting news items.
Last week the world marked the 25th anniversary of the U.S. navy's shooting down a civilian airliner full of people, taking off from the civilian airport in Iran. All 300 of the people on board were killed. The U.S. initially claimed that the civilian airliner was attacking U.S.navy ships. The U.S. said it was diving toward the navy ships. But films showed that it was taking off, flying up into the air when it was shot down. The U.S. government didn't even apologise. I wonder: did the 25th anniversary of that mass murder appear in the news in the U.S last week?
Today's news reports that thirty years after the supposed "end" of the U.S. War Against Vietnam--which of course was also fought in Cambodia and Laos--the U.S. has finally agreed to "help" get rid of more than a million--that's 1,000,000--unexploded U.S. bombs in Laos. Those million-plus bombs are still maiming and killing people in Laos--after thirty years. If we spread them out, there is one unexploded U.S. bomb in every little 5 foot by 5 food piece of ground in Laos: every space the size of a small bed has its own U.S. bomb, in Laos. For thirty years now..
And todays news reports that the U.S. has now released Osama bin Laden's "driver"--the man who drove his car--from the U.S. Concentration Camp at Guantanamo. He was never charged with a crime. We don't know how often he was tortured. But now--AFTER TEN YEARS IN AN ILLEGAL PRISON RUN BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT--he has been sent home.
All U.S. citizens should be proud of the U.S. government. Right? Now all we need to do is end the U.S. wars, occupations, and aggressions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria, stop killing Mexicans in Mexico, close Guantanamo, agree to stop torturing people, and release Bradley Manning who has been in prison for two years--for one year tortured and in solitary confinement--because he allegedly made public documents proving U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If the U.S. could do all of that, then it might look like a decent country.
I am an optimist. And I hope to see the U.S. again a decent, law-abiding, honorable nation.
Last week the world marked the 25th anniversary of the U.S. navy's shooting down a civilian airliner full of people, taking off from the civilian airport in Iran. All 300 of the people on board were killed. The U.S. initially claimed that the civilian airliner was attacking U.S.navy ships. The U.S. said it was diving toward the navy ships. But films showed that it was taking off, flying up into the air when it was shot down. The U.S. government didn't even apologise. I wonder: did the 25th anniversary of that mass murder appear in the news in the U.S last week?
Today's news reports that thirty years after the supposed "end" of the U.S. War Against Vietnam--which of course was also fought in Cambodia and Laos--the U.S. has finally agreed to "help" get rid of more than a million--that's 1,000,000--unexploded U.S. bombs in Laos. Those million-plus bombs are still maiming and killing people in Laos--after thirty years. If we spread them out, there is one unexploded U.S. bomb in every little 5 foot by 5 food piece of ground in Laos: every space the size of a small bed has its own U.S. bomb, in Laos. For thirty years now..
And todays news reports that the U.S. has now released Osama bin Laden's "driver"--the man who drove his car--from the U.S. Concentration Camp at Guantanamo. He was never charged with a crime. We don't know how often he was tortured. But now--AFTER TEN YEARS IN AN ILLEGAL PRISON RUN BY THE U.S. GOVERNMENT--he has been sent home.
All U.S. citizens should be proud of the U.S. government. Right? Now all we need to do is end the U.S. wars, occupations, and aggressions in Iraq, Afghanistan, Pakistan, and Syria, stop killing Mexicans in Mexico, close Guantanamo, agree to stop torturing people, and release Bradley Manning who has been in prison for two years--for one year tortured and in solitary confinement--because he allegedly made public documents proving U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan.
If the U.S. could do all of that, then it might look like a decent country.
I am an optimist. And I hope to see the U.S. again a decent, law-abiding, honorable nation.
zaterdag 7 juli 2012
Why Am I Voting For
What am I voting for? Or does it matter? Like many other people, I voted for Barack Obama in 2008. I voted for him because he said--repeatedly--that he would end the US Bush Wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, would close the US concentration camp at Guantanamo, and would stop the US practice of illegal torture. He also said--repeatedly--that we should honor "whistle-blowers."
He has done none of those things. He has expanded Bush's two wars to four, adding Syria and Pakistan to Iraq and Afghanistan: they are all four now Obama's wars. (Obama is a good name for a warrior!)
Instead of closing Guantanamo, he has continued to flaunt international law and added nearly four more years to the brutal, inhumane punishment of prisoners there. Both their continued imprisonment and their treatment violate the U. S. Constitution and U.S. law. (In case you happen not to know it, at present--thanks to Bush II and Obama--US citizens no longer have their constitutionally guaranteed rights called "Habeas Corpus.")
And rather than stop the use of torture in US prisons, Obama has expanded it beyond Guantanamo: PFC Bradley Manning--an heroic whistle-blower--was tortured for one year at Guantanamo, and now has been held for another year (no "Habeas Corpus") without being charged with a crime.
If Obama had promised to stop taxing Americans, and then doubled their taxes, Americans would have revolted. But doubling the number of our wars instead of stopping them--as he promised--doesn't bother anybody.
If Obama had promised to double Social Security benefits, but then reniged on that promise, Americans would have demanded his impeachment. But not closing Guantanamo, despite his promise, doesn't bother anybody.
And as for torture--and the conmtinued incarceration of Bradley Manning for exposing government crimes--Americans don't seem to care. And Obama has already declared PFC Manning "guilty"--of the crime of whistle-blowing.
What am I voting for in 2012? Nothing. Why am I voting for? I'm not. And there is no provision for voting against. (We learned that in 1968.)
None of these three serious issues--our wars, our concentration camp, our incarceration of Bradley Manning--has been mentioned so far in this campaign for the presidency. None of the three has been mentioned either by the candidates or in the news media.
God bless America: it needs it! May God forgive it, too, once it has corrected itself and repented.
And by the way: the chorus of the second verse of "America the Beautiful" prays, "America, America! God mend thine every flaw. Confirm thy soul in self control, Thy liberty in law.".
Amen.
He has done none of those things. He has expanded Bush's two wars to four, adding Syria and Pakistan to Iraq and Afghanistan: they are all four now Obama's wars. (Obama is a good name for a warrior!)
Instead of closing Guantanamo, he has continued to flaunt international law and added nearly four more years to the brutal, inhumane punishment of prisoners there. Both their continued imprisonment and their treatment violate the U. S. Constitution and U.S. law. (In case you happen not to know it, at present--thanks to Bush II and Obama--US citizens no longer have their constitutionally guaranteed rights called "Habeas Corpus.")
And rather than stop the use of torture in US prisons, Obama has expanded it beyond Guantanamo: PFC Bradley Manning--an heroic whistle-blower--was tortured for one year at Guantanamo, and now has been held for another year (no "Habeas Corpus") without being charged with a crime.
If Obama had promised to stop taxing Americans, and then doubled their taxes, Americans would have revolted. But doubling the number of our wars instead of stopping them--as he promised--doesn't bother anybody.
If Obama had promised to double Social Security benefits, but then reniged on that promise, Americans would have demanded his impeachment. But not closing Guantanamo, despite his promise, doesn't bother anybody.
And as for torture--and the conmtinued incarceration of Bradley Manning for exposing government crimes--Americans don't seem to care. And Obama has already declared PFC Manning "guilty"--of the crime of whistle-blowing.
What am I voting for in 2012? Nothing. Why am I voting for? I'm not. And there is no provision for voting against. (We learned that in 1968.)
None of these three serious issues--our wars, our concentration camp, our incarceration of Bradley Manning--has been mentioned so far in this campaign for the presidency. None of the three has been mentioned either by the candidates or in the news media.
God bless America: it needs it! May God forgive it, too, once it has corrected itself and repented.
And by the way: the chorus of the second verse of "America the Beautiful" prays, "America, America! God mend thine every flaw. Confirm thy soul in self control, Thy liberty in law.".
Amen.
Abonneren op:
Posts (Atom)