Team U.S.A. Players’ Status In Jeapordy
After Champs Exhibit “We Didn’t Vote For Bush” Sign

post from The Gun Toting Liberal? on 14 November 2007 10:54:00 AM. © The Gun Toting Liberal?

As Team USA strolled up to the stage to pause for a group photo; championship medals hanging proudly around their necks; many say the team crossed the line. You see, one of the members of the team had scribbled “We Didn’t Vote For Bush” on the back of a menu and they held it [...]

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The Slippery Slope That Leads To BDS

post from The Newshoggers on 14 November 2007 10:49:00 AM. © The Newshoggers

By Cernig

Amnesty International describes the problem - a slippery slope that leaves the shining citadel besmirched and in the mire:

It is a disturbing spectacle to witness US officialdom tying itself in knots over torture. On the one hand the President claims that his country is leading the global struggle against torture. On the other, he authorizes a secret detention program in which detainees can be held for years entirely incommunicado and subjected to "enhanced" interrogation techniques. Meanwhile, other officials are quick to promote "American values", yet slow to recognize torture when it is described to them or to condemn torture as a matter of principle. The moral high ground, it seems, is surrounded by particularly slippery slopes these days.

It should be straightforward. Torture and other cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment are prohibited, full stop. There are no circumstances -- war or threat of war, emergency or threat of emergency -- that can be used to justify violating this ban. Every human being has the right to be free from torture or other ill-treatment -- whether citizen or alien, whether suspected of a crime or not, whether labelled as "the enemy" or not. Torture is wrong, whatever motivates it and whoever authorizes it. The "ticking bomb" scenario -- the hypothesis put forward to seek to justify one-off torture to extract information about an imminent attack -- is a crude device improvised to manipulate public fears. There is no such thing as one-off torture; torture all too easily seeps across the moral and legal landscape. If used to obtain information, rather than purely to humiliate the individual or spread fear in the community, that information cannot be trusted, let alone used in a fair trial. Torture is an injustice, not a route to justice. It is a threat to long-term security, not a means to win hearts and minds.

And Sully presents the definitive rebuttal of "BDS!" cries, which is that outrage is the only correct response:

Hatred is a strong word and a clouding emotion. But sustained outrage isn't. One can forgive any president for mistakes - even catastrophic mistakes, as in the intelligence for and execution of the Iraq war. But to have trashed the constitution's balance, violated core values of due process and decency, polluted our intelligence in ways that deeply undermine national security, and deliberately divided a country for partisan advantage in wartime - these are not mere mistakes. And anger is not an irrational, let alone, insane response.

What Sully said.

(H/T Matt at CFLF)

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The Dangers of Performance Pay

post from Ezra Klein on 14 November 2007 10:45:00 AM. © Ezra Klein

James Surowiecki lays it out: a recent study of almost a thousand companies by the management professors W. Gerard Sanders and Donald Hambrick found that C.E.O.s whose compensation was made up mostly of stock options tended to ?swing for the...[...]

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Secret Gitmo document leaked

post from AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth on 14 November 2007 10:45:00 AM. © AMERICAblog: A great nation deserves the truth

For real.

A never-before-seen military manual detailing the day-to-day operations of the U.S. military's Guantánamo Bay detention facility has been leaked to the web, affording a rare inside glimpse into the institution where the United States has imprisoned hundreds of suspected terrorists since 2002.

The 238-page document, "Camp Delta Standard Operating Procedures," is dated March 28, 2003. It is unclassified, but designated "For Official Use Only." It hit the web last Wednesday on Wikileaks.org....

Dakwar sees hints of Abu Ghraib in a section instructing guards to use dogs to intimidate prisoners. He also raises concerns over a section on the International Committee of the Red Cross, or ICRC, which indicates that some prisoners were hidden from Red Cross representatives.

You can find the entire document here.

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Rudy Up On The Air In New Hampshire

post from MyDD on 14 November 2007 10:44:28 AM. © MyDD

You know those stupid ads that depict before and after shots where the before is always a woman without makeup frowning and the after photo is much brighter and crisper and features the same woman made-up and smiling? You're supposed to be, "Wow,[...]

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Black radio needs news

post from African American Opinion on 14 November 2007 10:42:00 AM. © African American Opinion

Check out this article by Glenn Ford the executive editor of blackagendareport.com in which he pleads the case for more black news on black radio and why he feels what Michael Baisden did was wrong. Click the link below to read the entire article.

http://www.letstalkhonestly.com/blacknewsblackviews.html

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Waxman: State IG's Brother Sits on Blackwater's
Board

post from TPMmuckraker on 14 November 2007 10:37:31 AM. © TPMmuckraker

At the beginning of today's House oversight committee hearing on State Department Inspector General Howard "Cookie" Krongard, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) dropped a bombshell: Krongard's brother, former CIA Executive Director A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, sits on Blackwater's board. Blackwater, of course, is a State Department contractor.

Calling Krongard's case one of seemingly "reckless incompetence," Waxman reminded the hearing that one of the charges against Krongard is that he squelched an investigation into a State contractor -- since named as Blackwater -- smuggling weapons into Iraq. According to Waxman, Howard Krongard concealed his brother's association with Blackwater from "his own deputy."

Video soon.

Update: Krongard just said he is "unaware of any financial interest" in Blackwater by his brother. "I do not believe it is true that he is a member of the advisory board, as you stated," he told Waxman.

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Waxman: State IG's Brother Sits on Blackwater's
Advisory Board

post from TPMmuckraker on 14 November 2007 10:37:31 AM. © TPMmuckraker

At the beginning of today's House oversight committee hearing on State Department Inspector General Howard "Cookie" Krongard, Rep. Henry Waxman (D-CA) dropped a bombshell: Krongard's brother, former CIA Executive Director A.B. "Buzzy" Krongard, sits on Blackwater's advisory board. Blackwater, of course, is a State Department contractor.

Calling Krongard's case one of seemingly "reckless incompetence," Waxman reminded the hearing that one of the charges against Krongard is that he squelched an investigation into a State contractor -- since named as Blackwater -- smuggling weapons into Iraq. According to Waxman, Howard Krongard concealed his brother's association with Blackwater from "his own deputy." Here's video:

video details and more

Update: Krongard just said he is "unaware of any financial interest" in Blackwater by his brother. "I do not believe it is true that he is a member of the advisory board, as you stated," he told Waxman.

Late Update: To be clear, the issue seems to be that Blackwater invited Krongard's brother to join its advisory board, not its board of directors. This post has been changed to reflect this clarification.

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The Musharraf Shuffle (Update - Imran Khan
Arrested)

By Cernig

The AP headlines its latest story out of Pakistan "Musharraf to Quit Army This Month". By so doing they fall for Musharraf's framing of the current crisis in Pakistan. He's hoping to deflect criticism by PR moves like today's promise to step down as chief of the army this month, or a promise to hold elections in January.

But here's the real lede - the state of emergency will still be in place when the elections are held.

It doesn't matter whether Musharraf is a dictator in uniform or a dictator out of uniform with a hand-picked loyalist in charge of the army. If the state of emergency is still in force there will be no way for opposition parties to campaign, no media coverage, and a carte-blanche for Mushie to rig the result any way he wants.

Meanwhile, the US will continue to talk tough and do exactly nothing about the Musharraf Shuffle. Why? The AP again:

The military is making backup plans in case the unrest in Pakistan begins to affect the flow of supplies to American troops fighting in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the supply lines are ``very real areas of concern'' because about 75 percent of the supplies, including 40 percent of vehicle fuel supplies, either go through or over Pakistan.

``We hope it doesn't come to this,'' Morrell told reporters. ``Right now we've seen no indications that any of our supply lines have been impacted.''

The United States has about 25,000 troops in Afghanistan. Some of their supplies arrive by air from Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan. A former supply line from Uzbekistan was shut down in 2005 when the Uzbek government retaliated against Washington for what it viewed as interference in its internal affairs.

Morrell said the U.S. wanted to ensure there was a backup plan should Pakistan's political turmoil start to affect the supply lines. ``Clearly we do not like the situation we find ourselves in right now,'' he said.

He did not say what potential alternative routes were under consideration and noted that some people have raised questions about safeguarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

``I can tell you, at this point, we have no concerns,'' Morrell said. ``We believe that they are under the appropriate control.''

The Pakistani dictator suckered America bigtime on the War On Terror and now he believes he has the U.S. in a cleft stick.

Update The BBC is reporting that former cricket legend and opposition political leader Imran Khan has been arrested.

Pakistani police have charged opposition figure Imran Khan under the anti-terrorism act after his first public appearance under the emergency. Details were not given but one official said Mr Khan had been disturbing the peace by attending a student protest against President Pervez Musharraf.

The city's police chief earlier accused Mr Khan of spreading hatred and inciting civil unrest. The former cricketer was detained after going to Punjab University in Lahore.

Khan was originally detained by Islamist students belonging to the Jamaat-e-Islami party, who then called police.

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The Musharraf Shuffle

By Cernig

The AP headlines its latest story out of Pakistan "Musharraf to Quit Army This Month". By so doing they fall for Musharraf's framing of the current crisis in Pakistan. He's hoping to deflect criticism by PR moves like today's promise to step down as chief of the army this month, or a promise to hold elections in January.

But here's the real lede - the state of emergency will still be in place when the elections are held.

It doesn't matter whether Musharraf is a dictator in uniform or a dictator out of uniform with a hand-picked loyalist in charge of the army. If the state of emergency is still in force there will be no way for opposition parties to campaign, no media coverage, and a carte-blanche for Mushie to rig the result any way he wants.

Meanwhile, the US will continue to talk tough and do exactly nothing about the Musharraf Shuffle. Why? The AP again:

The military is making backup plans in case the unrest in Pakistan begins to affect the flow of supplies to American troops fighting in Afghanistan, the Defense Department said Wednesday.

Pentagon press secretary Geoff Morrell said the supply lines are ``very real areas of concern'' because about 75 percent of the supplies, including 40 percent of vehicle fuel supplies, either go through or over Pakistan.

``We hope it doesn't come to this,'' Morrell told reporters. ``Right now we've seen no indications that any of our supply lines have been impacted.''

The United States has about 25,000 troops in Afghanistan. Some of their supplies arrive by air from Manas air base in Kyrgyzstan. A former supply line from Uzbekistan was shut down in 2005 when the Uzbek government retaliated against Washington for what it viewed as interference in its internal affairs.

Morrell said the U.S. wanted to ensure there was a backup plan should Pakistan's political turmoil start to affect the supply lines. ``Clearly we do not like the situation we find ourselves in right now,'' he said.

He did not say what potential alternative routes were under consideration and noted that some people have raised questions about safeguarding Pakistan's nuclear weapons.

``I can tell you, at this point, we have no concerns,'' Morrell said. ``We believe that they are under the appropriate control.''

The Pakistani dictator suckered America bigtime on the War On Terror and now he believes he has the U.S. in a cleft stick.

Read The Full Article:
http://cernigsnewshog.blogspot.com/2007/11/musharraf-shuffle.html

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