Tuesday, May 31, 2005

Cheney "Offended" By Comparison of Guantanamo to a "Gulag"

umm...

sorry?

they didn't mean it?

like they didn't know how controversial that would be?

why would they say that?

don't they know their credibility is on the line?

why would they say that?

how dare they say that?

who are they anyway?

who do they think they are?

(...)

VP Cheney "Offended" By Comparison of Guantanamo to a "gulag"

Meanwhile Vice President Dick Cheney told CNN that he was "offended" by Amnesty's description of Guantanamo Bay as "the gulag of our times". Cheney said "For Amnesty International to suggest that somehow the United States is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don't take them seriously."


Condoleezza Rice also weighed in on Amnesty's report - describing the group's findings as "absurd."


SOURCE - http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/31/1349217

(...)

well...

i guess they just can't be trusted...

(...)

okay then...

on to new old business...

(...)

Bush Says Democrats Stalling on Bolton

By ANNE GEARAN,
AP Diplomatic Writer

Meanwhile, Yale classmates of Bolton's wrote to senators to oppose the nomination.

The 76 signers include cartoonist Garry Trudeau, who lampooned Bolton in his "Doonesbury" strip in May. Others were fellow members of the Class of 1970 who participated in a 35th reunion over the Memorial Day weekend.

"We are embarrassed and ashamed that the Bush administration has nominated someone so manifestly unsuited to represent our country at the United Nations," the Yale classmates wrote.


"As his classmates, we do not believe that Mr. Bolton has exhibited the values of civility, light and truth which our shared institution represents."

Bush also attended Yale and graduated in 1968.

SOURCE - http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050531/ap_on_go_pr_wh/un_ambassador

(...)

76 classmates?

who are they?

who do they think they are?

how dare they say that?

well...

i guess they just can't be trusted...

(...)

oh...
what the hey...
why not...
the best of...
the whole...
kit...
and...
caboodle...

(...)

Headlines for May 31, 2005

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- 8 U.S. & Italian Soldiers Killed In Aircraft Crashes
- Gen. Myers: Guantanamo Bay is a "Model Facility"
- Cheney "Offended" By Criticism of Guantanamo
- Demonstrators Interrupt Rice Speech in San Francisco
- CIA Creates Front Groups to Fly Suspects Around the World
- U.S. General Demoted For Warning of Overstretched Military
- Israel's Mr. TV Criticizes Occupation of West Bank & Gaza
- U.S. Refuses To Extradie Luis Posada Carriles
- Wages Fall But Number of Millionaire Homes Soars

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Report: 11 UK Soldiers Under Investigation for War Crimes

And in Britain, the Independent of London is reporting 11 British soldiers are under investigation for committing war crimes following the killing of an Iraqi civilian.

Amnesty: U.S. Officials Should Be Investigated & Tried For War Crimes

The U.S. mistreatment of detainees at Guantanamo Bay and Iraq remained in the headlines throughout the weekend. Last week Amnesty International issued a damning report criticizing the Bush administration of ignoring international law. Amnesty's William Schulz charged that Washington has become "a leading purveyor and practitioner" of torture and ill-treatment and that senior officials should face prosecution by other governments for violations of the Geneva Conventions and the UN Convention Against Torture. Schulz said "If the U.S. government continues to shirk its responsibility, Amnesty International calls on foreign governments to uphold their obligations under international law by investigating all senior U.S. officials involved in the torture scandal." He went on to say "If those investigations support prosecution, the governments should arrest any official who enters their territory and begin legal proceedings against them." Over the weekend General Richard Myers, Vice President Dick Cheney and Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice all dismissed Amnesty's report.

Gen. Myers: Guantanamo Bay is a "Model Facility"

Gen. Richard Myers -- the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff -- claimed Guatanamo Bay was a "model facility" and that Amnesty's report was "absolutely irresponsible." During that same interview Myers revealed that the U.S. has detained 68,000 people since the Sept. 11 attacks.

VP Cheney "Offended" By Comparison of Guantanamo to a "gulag"

Meanwhile Vice President Dick Cheney told CNN that he was "offended" by Amnesty's description of Guantanamo Bay as "the gulag of our times". Cheney said "For Amnesty International to suggest that somehow the United States is a violator of human rights, I frankly just don't take them seriously." Cheney also attempted to dismiss the widespread reports of mistreatment of detainees. He said "Occasionally there are allegations of mistreatment. But if you trace those back -- in nearly every case -- it turns out to come from somebody who had been inside and been released to their home country and now are peddling lies about how they were treated." Condoleezza Rice also weighed in on Amnesty's report - describing the group's findings as ''absurd."

CIA Creates Front Groups to Fly Suspects Around the World

The New York Times is reporting today that the CIA has created a new generation of shell companies to make it easier for the Bush administration to secretly fly suspects around the world. The paper focuses on the North Carolina based firm Aero Contractors which was founded by a CIA officer who once served as chief pilot for Air America - a Cold War era CIA owned airline. According to flight records Aero Contractors has repeatedly landed at Guantanamo Bay, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Libya. The CIA appears to own 26 planes all of which are owned by a web of seven shell corporations that appear to have no employees. The planes are then operated by real companies that are either controlled by or tied to the CIA. In addition to Aero Contractors, the Times identified two Florida companies as likely CIA front companies: Pegasus Technologies and Tepper Aviation.

Report: U.S. & UK Increased Bombing Raids Over Iraq in 2002

The Sunday Times of London is reporting that it has uncovered new evidence that the U.S. and British governments significantly intensified bombing raids over Iraq in the year before the 2003 invasion in an attempt to provoke Saddam Hussin into giving the allies an excuse to attack. By August 2002 - seven months before the invasion began -- the strikes were so frequent that the Times described it as a full air offensive. At the time, the U.S. and British governments justified the bombings by claiming they were simply enforcing the no-fly zones.

Three-Star General Demoted For Warning of Overstretched Military

A group of 40 retired military personnel - including many retired generals - are campaigning for the Pentagon to reverse last year's demotion of General John Riggs. The three-star general was demoted after he warned that the U.S. military was overstretched in Iraq and Afghanistan. In an interview with the Baltimore Sun, he said that the Army would need to be substantially increased in order to meet its global commitments. This made him the first senior active-duty officer to publicly urge for a larger Army. Within months he was demoted. According to the Pentagon, he was demoted because he allowed outside contractors to perform work they were not supposed to do. But many believe the motivation behind his demotion was politics and the fact that he publicly disagreed with Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld. The Baltimore Sun points out that a senior officer's loss of a star is a punishment seldom used, and then usually only for the most serious offenses. In recent years generals and admirals faced with far more serious official findings including the scandals at the Navy's Tailhook Convention, the Air Force Academy and Abu Ghraib prison have continued in their careers or retired with no loss of rank.

Army Analysts Receive Awards Despite Errors in Iraq Analysis

Meanwhile the Washington Post is reporting two Army analysts who played a key role in the intelligence failure on Iraq have received job performance awards in each of the past three years. The analysts had inaccurately concluded that Saddam Hussein was seeking to buy aluminum tubes in order to bolster the country's alleged nuclear weapons program. The tubes turned out to be for ordinary rockets. But the Bush administration used the nuclear claim as a justification of war. No major reprimand or penalty has been announced publicly in connection with the intelligence failures on Iraq. George Tenet resigned as CIA director but was later awarded the Medal of Freedom by President Bush.

U.S. Refuses To Extradie Luis Posada Carriles

The United States has officially refused to extradite a Cuban man to Venezuela to face terrorism charges. The man -- Luis Posada Carriles -- is wanted to stand trial for the 1976 bombing of a commercial airliner that killed 73 people. Posada is a U.S.-trained Cuban exile who has been trying to violently overthrow Fidel Castro's government for the past 40 years. He snuck into the United States two months ago and is seeking political asylum. The Cuban and Venezuelan government have accused the Bush administration of harboring a terrorist.

Wages Fall But Number of Millionaire Homes Soars

New studies show that the number of households in the country with a net worth of one million dollars rose by about 20 percent last year. There are now 7.5 million so-called millionaire households in the country. Meanwhile the Economic Policy Institute is reporting that real wages for non-management employees are falling at their fastest rate in 14 years. The last time salaries fell this steeply was at the start of 1991.

SOURCE - http://www.democracynow.org/article.pl?sid=05/05/31/1349217

1 Comments:

Anonymous Anonymous said...

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4:49 AM  

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