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October 2, 2007
Annals of Utter Hypocrisy

[R]eports about very innocent people being thrown into detention, where they could be held for years without any representation or charges, is distressing;

Press Briefing by Dana Perino, The White House, October 1, 2007

She was talking about Myanmar, though other places come to mind …

Posted by b on October 2, 2007 at 17:42 UTC | Permalink
Comments

Can anyone beat the Orwellianism of this administration?

[E]arlier Department memos defining torture, such as the infamous 2002 “Bybee memo” (named after Goldsmith’s predecessor Jay Bybee) defined torture as “equivalent in intensity to the pain accompanying serious physical injury, such as organ failure, impairment of bodily function, or even death.” Goldsmith called that reasoning “severely flawed.”
During today’s hearing, Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) asked Goldsmith where that definition had come from. “It came from a health care statute designed to define the circumstances under which there was an emergency situation warranting health care benefits,” he answered.

Posted by: b | Oct 2 2007 18:50 utc | 1

Are we suffering from detention deficit disorder?

Posted by: ralphieboy | Oct 2 2007 18:55 utc | 2

I saw an aljazeera report on Myanmar (they called it that too) last night. It didn’t repeat the usual talking points but went out and spoke to the people plus a few NGO bosses. There is no doubt that poverty and malnutrition are the issues driving people into the streets not ‘democracy’.
This is relevant because when aljazeera spoke to one of the local NGO heads Freedom from Hunger I think it was he said that the existing sanctions were preventing them from doing their job as well as they could. amerika had been blocking any aid from there because it was propping up a bad regime. In other words fuck the people, because if you think about most malnutrition is caused by ‘bad government’ only some of them are sympathetic to USuk so they get aid.
As we have exhaustively discussed in other threads no one thinks the current mob in control of Myanmar are the good guys, but there is reason (Iraq, the Congo , Somalia) to believe that destabilising governments in resource rich nations that have ethnic division, is not good for the humans.
I have been having a bit of a debate with a MP here who I normally get along with but he is a bit close to Amnesty on some issues and has been arguing their corner, that more sanctions are called for. Jeez how many more people do these guys want to kill just to make the place neat, tidy and ‘democratic’?

Posted by: Debs is dead | Oct 2 2007 20:37 utc | 3

b @ 1
I had something planned, but in the event I’m speechless.

Posted by: Tantalus | Oct 2 2007 20:40 utc | 4

Never mind the book, ‘It can’t happen here’ , here is the book ‘It Did Happen Here (pdf): Recollections Of Political Repression In America’

Description: In this moving book, two skilled oral historians collect the words of Americans who have been victims of political repression in their own country. Disturbing and provocative, It Did Happen Here is must-reading for everyone who cares about protecting the rights and liberties upon which this country has been built.

Posted by: Uncle $cam | Oct 3 2007 0:14 utc | 5

thanks for the book, uncle. sunrisedancer didn’t have it, but if you happen to find their next book, The Price of Dissent: Testimonies to Political Repression in America, please share. (also, hella book sale at ucpress through the end of month)

Posted by: b real | Oct 3 2007 2:34 utc | 6

zeitgeistmovie.com/ Watch it.

Posted by: Ben | Oct 3 2007 3:02 utc | 7

The subject is hypocrisy? I could post ANY news story in the last seven years in this thread without going off-topic. That’s the single easiest theme a blogger can run with.

Posted by: Monolycus | Oct 3 2007 7:33 utc | 8

thx for that link Uncle Scam.

Posted by: Tangerine | Oct 3 2007 14:04 utc | 9

She said “very” innocent. ‘Slightly’ innocent isn’t good enough anymore.

Posted by: Anonymous | Oct 3 2007 14:53 utc | 10

very interesting film Ben, haven’t made it all the way thru yet but I do like the astrogical angle

Posted by: dan of steele | Oct 4 2007 7:02 utc | 11

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