Thursday, May 8, 2008

John Yoo's Dilemma

John Yoo, a law professor at the University of California, Berkeley, faces a dilemma. You might recall that he was one of the most controversial lawyers in the Bush administration's early years.

Read whole article here
John Yoo's Dilemma
by
David R. Henderson

Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Scalia's twisted mind

Scalia: Does Torture Violate ‘Cruel And Unusual Punishment’ Provision? ‘No.’

Think Progress
Monday, April 28, 2008

Last night, Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia granted his first broad-based television interview, to Lesley Stahl on CBS’s 60 Minutes. There he explained that the torture of detainees does not violate the 8th Amendment’s ban on “cruel and unusual punishment” because, according to Scalia, torture is not used as punishment:

Read more of this story here

http://www.prisonplanet.com/articles/april2008/280408_b_Scalia.htm





This guy is a supreme court justice? Another sign of the moral bankruptcy of the American elite. Scalia's statement that we torture "to get information" is a lie.
It is well known, except to the worshipers of the cult of intelligence, that torture
does not elicit reliable, truthful, accurate information. The truth is that torture
is a form of terrorism that the morally corrupt elite want permitted to themselves and their all powerful corporatist state. Scalia, like many apologists for torture
use the extreme unusual case example of Las Angeles or some other city being under
threat and the "terrorist" being questioned is in possession of the specific and
crucial information needed to avert the tragedy, yet in practice torture is not
reserved for such unusual and extreme cases. In fact in practice once torture is allowed for the imaginary extreme case, torture becomes routine, ordinary, and usual in actual practice. The allowing of torture in imaginary extreme cases is not a slippery slope - it is a step off the precipice into the pit of hell.

6 min 11 sec

Monday, April 21, 2008

Condi Must Go

Condoleeza Rice Must Resign or be fired

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Jon Stewart on the torturers

Stewart: Despite denials, Bush aides actively managed harsh interrogations David Edwards and Mike Sheehan
Published: Wednesday April 16, 2008
|

Jon Stewart and 'The Daily Show' lambasted, in the lively mix of satire and seriousness Stewart is famous for, President George W. Bush and key past and present members of his administration over their repeated assertions that the United States doesn't use torture against its enemies.

It was revealed last week that both President Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney authorized, supported, and knew of the use of torturous tactics such as waterboarding during interrogations of suspected terrorists.
Read the full story and see the video clip here.

Bush Administration Memo Says Fourth Amendment Does Not Apply To Military Operations Within U.S.

Bush Administration Memo Says Fourth Amendment Does Not Apply To Military Operations Within U.S. (4/2/2008)

ACLU Calls For Immediate Release Of Withheld Legal Memo

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: (212) 519-7829 or (646) 785-1894; media@aclu.org

NEW YORK – A newly disclosed secret memo authored by the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel (OLC) in March 2003 that asserts President Bush has unlimited power to order brutal interrogations of detainees also reveals a radical interpretation of the Constitution's Fourth Amendment protection from unreasonable search and seizure. The memo, declassified yesterday as the result of an American Civil Liberties Union lawsuit, cites a still-secret DOJ memo from 2001 that found that the "Fourth Amendment had no application to domestic military operations." Read whole story here.

Monday, April 14, 2008

Tell the Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law to Fire John Yoo


From The American Freedom Campaign:

Tell the Dean of UC Berkeley School of Law to Fire John Yoo

In 2003, the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office of Legal Counsel issued a memo advising the Pentagon that laws and treaties forbidding torture and other forms of abuse did not apply to U.S. interrogators because of the president's wartime power.

The man who wrote that memo -- John Yoo -- is now happily ensconced as a tenured law professor at the UC Berkeley School of Law. While an unknown number of people suffer the aftereffects of illegal torture he encouraged, Professor Yoo is teaching, writing, and generally enjoying life in California.

This is flat out wrong. John Yoo should not only be disqualified from ever serving in government again, but he should also be prohibited from spreading his distorted view of the law and the role of lawyers to young law students.

He must be fired. And the man to do it is Christopher Edley, Jr, Dean of the UC Berkeley School of Law.

Please fill in the information below and click on "Send my message" to send an E-mail to Dean Edley, urging the dismissal of John Yoo.

Click this link to go to the American Freedom Campaign web message

The essence of John Yoo in 24 seconds

John Yoo,

John Yoo
ignorant of the US Constitution
ignorant of the Geneva Convention
ignorant of the highest spiritual teachings of man and God
ignorant of plain and simple human decency:
contributor to the so called "Patriot Act"
legal apologist for the torture of children
visiting scholar at the fascist, war mongering, American Enterprise Institute



Torture must end.

Obama speaks out against torture.

Obama speaks out against torture.

Demand Accountability for Bush's Top-Down Torture Policy

The ACLU writes:


In a stunning admission to ABC news Friday night, President Bush declared that he knew his top national security advisers discussed and approved specific details of the CIA's use of torture. Bush also defended the use of waterboarding - simulated drowning where the victim feels like they are about to die.

Congress should long ago have gotten to the bottom of which top officials approved, condoned and authorized U.S. involvement in torture. But, now that the President has admitted to a policy of top-down torture, it's even more critical that Congress get involved. Take action: tell your members of Congress you demand accountability for torture now!

Click the link in the immediately preceding sentence which will take you to the ACLU web page and a letter to send to Congress.