A Chilean court has issued 129 arrest warrants for those involved in murder and torture for the Pinochet dictatorship and a US court just ruled that Former Atty General John Ashcroft can be sued for his role in illegal detentions.
From Marc Cooper (who was a translator for the Allende government and barely escaped with [...]
Posts Tagged ‘Torture’
Birds of a feather, Pinochet and Ashcroft
Iranian protester commits suicide rather than go back to jail
He’d been in jail for protesting where he was repeatedly raped and tortured. His father bailed him out. But they came back for him. He ran away, then jumped off a bridge.
I just can’t get this out of my mind. While outsiders can’t do much inside Iran, we can keep an international focus on the [...]
Another reason not to visit United Arab Emirates
A wealthy Gulf prince has been torturing those who displease him. We’re talking serious, bone-breaking torture. And he he may have done it to at least 25 people.
Authorities say they’re investigating. Right. UAE is a medieval dictatorship surrounded by a shell of modernism and, oh yes, it’s a world haven for money laundering too. A [...]
White evangelical and Catholic churchgoers most likely to support torture
A Pew Foundation poll has found that the greater the frequency of church attendance by white evangelicals and Catholics, the higher their support for torture.
It’s not the religious belief but the frequency of church attendance that is the primary factor. Seems counter intuitive, doesn’t it?
Obama admission of “torture” may force inquiry
I have to admit that my legal ears perked up when Obama said during his press conference last night that in fact waterboarding is torture, and our government did waterboard. He was per se admitting, as the president of the United States, that our country committed torture. I started to wonder if legally he might [...]
Andrew Sullivan on Obama’s CIA torture decision
But my view is also that the president has acted wisely in this. As president in wartime, he knows how wounding it would be to engage in this kind of activity right now. But he has also ensured that a process of transparency continue. A full accounting of all of this – by people from [...]
Craig Murray on civility in politics
Craig Murray is a former UK ambassador to Uzbekistan who resigned after his protests about US / UK complicity in torture there were ignored.
In this post he responds to a complaint “from Darren who objected to my rather strong and personal attacks on [Labour Party members] Margaret Curran and Doug Hoyle” in a previous post.
(I [...]
Russia’s new gulags
While reactionary troglodytes continue to roam the editorial pages of the WSJ (see previous post), their reporting, as always, remains superb.
Bret Stephens of the WSJ discusses his story, Putin’s Torture Colonies, in this video.
Robert Amsterdam has continuing coverage of Russia and of Putin’s gulags.
EU nations ‘knew of CIA prisons’
The countries knew about the prisons operating on European soil, “co-operated actively or passively” with the CIA, then lied about it and tried to cover it up, says the draft of a report to the European Parliament.
The countries include Britain, Poland, Italy, Germany, Sweden, Austria, Ireland, Spain, Portugal, Greece, Cyprus, and possibly Poland. How other [...]
Rumsfeld okayed torture says former U.S. general
The ruling class is attacking itself. Pass the popcorn, please.
Meanwhile, the war crimes lawsuit against Rumsfeld continues in Germany.
Sounds like his mojo has about run out. Dubya and Cheney must be getting a bit nervous by all this.
The Brooklyn Abu Ghraib
9/11 torture lawsuit heads to federal court
One disturbing incident, repeated over and over, is particularly haunting  inmates head-slammed into a wall where the staff had taped a T-shirt with an American flag printed on it. The motto on the shirt proclaimed: “These colors don’t run.” In time, that spot on the wall was covered [...]
German ministers ‘knew about CIA torture cells’
This is huge. Stern magazine has documents that show 1) the existence of secret U.S. prisons in Europe, 2) that torture was used, and 3) that German ministers knew.
CIA tried to silence EU on torture flights
And may have at least partially succeeded in doing so.
Stephen Grey’s new book, Ghost Plane, the true story of the CIA torture program, has more on the Bushies’ torturing for democracy.
PS Cheney: “detainees” were water-boarded.
What waterboarding looks like
This is what the neocons are defending as ‘not torture.’
As predicted, the Democrats didn’t put up much of a fight. They are too complicit for that. This is torture we’re talking about. It should be opposed totally and completely. If the Dems really want to convince they are opposed to torture, then they should shut [...]
CIA ‘refused to operate’ secret jails
Even that band of thugs and murderers called the CIA (well, what do you think the CIA does?) is now refusing to obey Bush. Not that they’re bothered by any ethical consideration. Hey, if they were, they wouldn’t have tortured in the past, right? Their quite justifiable concern is they now may get the sorry [...]
