Author's note: The statements Cheney made this week during an interview with the Washington Times about his role in approving the waterboarding of three Guantanamo detainees and the so-called "enhanced interrogation" of 33 prisoners was, disturbingly, not covered at all by the mainstream media.
Also published at my web magazine, The Public Record.
Vice President Dick Cheney, in another stunning admission during his campaign to burnish the Bush administration’s legacy, said he personally authorized the “enhanced interrogations” of 33 suspected terrorist detainees and approved the waterboarding of three so-called “high-value” prisoners.
“I signed off on it; others did, as well, too,” Cheney said about the waterboarding, a practice of simulated drowning done by strapping a person to a board, covering the face with a cloth and then pouring water over it, a torture technique dating back at least to the Spanish Inquisition. The victim feels as if he is drowning.
Cheney identified the three waterboarded detainees as al-Qaeda figures Abu Zubaydah, Khalid Sheik Mohammed and al Nashiri. “That's it, those three guys,” Cheney said in an interview with the right-wing Washington Times.
Other detainees at secret CIA prisons and at Guantanamo Bay were subjected to harsh treatment, including being stripped naked, forced into painful stress positions, placed in extremes of heat or cold and prevented from sleeping – actions that international human rights organizations, and previously the U.S. government, have denounced as torture and illegal abuse.
“I thought that it was absolutely the right thing to do,” Cheney said of what he called the “enhanced interrogation” of the detainees. “I thought the [administration’s] legal opinions that were rendered [endorsing the harsh treatment] were sound. I think the techniques were reasonable in terms of what they [the CIA interrogators] were asking to be able to do. And I think it produced the desired result.”
Cheney also took issue with the notion that waterboarding was torture.
“Was it torture? I don't believe it was torture,” Cheney said. “The CIA handled itself, I think, very appropriately. They came to us in the administration, talked to me, talked to others in the administration, about what they felt they needed to do in order to obtain the intelligence that we believe these people were in possession of.”
Other experts, including some military and intelligence interrogators, have disputed Cheney’s claims of success in extracting reliable information through waterboarding and other harsh techniques. Much of the confessed information turned out to be dubious or incorrect.
The First Case
Zubaydah was the first “war on terror” detainee to be subjected to the Bush administration’s waterboarding, according to Pentagon and Justice Department documents, news reports and several books written about the Bush administration’s interrogation methods.
However, according to author Ron Suskind who interviewed CIA and other insiders, Abu Zubaydah was not the "high-value detainee" that the Bush administration had claimed. Rather, Zubaydah was a minor player in the al-Qaeda organization, handling travel for associates and their families, Suskind wrote in his book The One Percent Doctrine.
Nevertheless, Suskind said President George W. Bush became obsessed with Zubaydah and the information he might have about pending terrorist plots against the United States.
"Bush was fixated on how to get Zubaydah to tell us the truth," Suskind wrote. Bush questioned one CIA briefer, "Do some of these harsh methods really work?"
Abu Zubaydah's captors soon discovered that their prisoner was mentally ill and knew nothing about terrorist operations or impending plots. That realization was "echoed at the top of CIA and was, of course, briefed to the President and Vice President," Suskind wrote.
But Bush did not want to "lose face" because he had stated Zubaydah’s importance publicly, according to Suskind.
WARONYOU
12/28/2008
wtf>Cheney Admits He 'Signed Off' on Waterboarding of 3 Gitmo Prisoners
11/25/2008
5 Tips: Navigating Today's Troubled Markets
It’s not easy to sit back and watch the Dow drop triple digits in one session.
Feeling panicky? Before making any hasty moves, here are five steps to consider first.
Don't Panic
First and foremost: Stay calm. The worst thing an investor can do is panic and go on a massive selling spree, says Ben Tobias, a Plantation, Fla.-based fee-only certified financial planner. Investors who sell now will turn paper losses into real losses and won't have money invested to recoup those losses when the market rebounds, he says.
And make no bones about it – the broader markets will recover. History has shown that over the long haul the stock market goes up, not down. Indeed, the periods after a crisis are often very robust.
Make Sure You’re Covered
If headlines of bank failures have you eyeing your mattress as your safe haven, take some deep breaths. Chances are the money you have held at your bank is FDIC-insured. If so, even if the bank shuts down, up to $250,000 (per depositor) in a checking or savings account (or $250,000 in retirement accounts such as IRAs or Keoghs) will be covered by the government. (To find out if a bank is FDIC-insured, visit the FDIC web site.) Those who have more than $250,000 in deposits should consider spreading it among several accounts at different FDIC-insured banks. That way, all of your holdings will be covered.
And what about the money you have at your brokerage firm
? In most cases, investors' assets at brokerage firms are safe even if the firm files for bankruptcy or shuts down. All brokerage firms that conduct business in the U.S. are required to be members of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which insures accounts up to $500,000, including cash of up to $100,000 held in brokerage accounts, according to the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA).
In some cases, when a firm runs into trouble, you still may be able to trade or transfer your account – as is the case with Lehman Brothers. Thus far, it hasn’t been necessary for the SIPC to step in. For more, click here.
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11/21/2008
Dow Plummets Again
U.S. stocks slid and the Standard & Poor's 500 Index plunged to its lowest level in 11 years after economic reports depicted a deepening recession and lawmakers postponed a vote on a plan to salvage the auto industry.
The Standard & Poor's 500 Index extended its 2008 tumble to 49 percent, poised for the worst annual decline in its 80-year history. Chesapeake Energy Corp. and National-Oilwell Varco Inc. slid more than 21 percent as crude sank to a three-year low as the economic slump crushes demand. JPMorgan Chase & Co. tumbled 18 percent and Citigroup Inc. plunged 26 percent as concern the recession will trigger more bankruptcies pushed the cost of insurance against corporate defaults to an all-time high.
``It's an ugly mess out there,'' said Randy Bateman, who oversees $15 billion as chief investment officer of the asset management unit of Huntington Bancshares Inc. in Columbus, Ohio. ``The economy is confirming it is very, very weak.''
The S&P 500 slid 6.7 percent to 752.58, under the low of 776.76 reached during the bear market in 2002. The Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 443.8 points, or 5.6 percent, to 7,553.48. The Nasdaq Composite decreased 5 percent to 1,317.05. Twelve stocks retreated for each that rose on the New York Stock Exchange.
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This Is America: Thursday's Show
Tonight on the November 20 edition on This Is America, with Jon Elliott...
Tonight world-renowned photographer Sebastian Copeland joins Jon to talk about his just released book Antartica: A Call To Action
This is Sebastian's second photographic book on Antarctica and will be a great Christmas gift for all who cherish our planet.
Also regular guest Shannyn Moore joins Jon live from Anchorage and one of Talk Radio News' great journalists tells our listeners the latest in Capitol Hill goings on.
And of course Jon will be taking your calls at 866-303-2270. So make sure to tune in to tonight's jam packed edition of This Is America with Jon Elliott.
You may also dial in and hear the show through Cellecast at 206-400-2860.
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11/07/2008
Videos: Across the Nation Celebration
How is it possible that an election could trigger so much joy? Are there so many political junkies in this country? We're thinking no. What then? Well, there's a bit of "Ding Dong W's Dead" going on. But the rest? Pure phenom.
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Maron v Seder: Is Africa a Country?
Sam Seder and Marc Maron hit the streets to conduct a reality check after the most recent Sarah Palin revelations, and find that most people seem to know a thing or two about continents and stuff.
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10/05/2008
H.R. 1424 - Congress Sells Soul to the Bankers & Gives Americans the Boot
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$700 Billion Bailout Could Balloon to $5 Trillion
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9/04/2008
The coming days: The week ahead
• EUROPEAN UNION leaders are set for an emergency meeting on Monday September 1st to review the block’s relations with Russia in light of the war in Georgia. EU leaders are also likely to discuss new aid for the war-torn regions of Georgia. More strong words of criticism for Russia’s behaviour are expected, but little else, as Europe worries about energy supplies from its vast neighbour. Russia’s government has scored a victory on the home front with its new aggressive foreign policy.
• THE Republican Party holds its four-day national convention in St Paul, Minnesota, beginning on Monday September 1st. As well as the Obama-bashing that most pundits expect, the convention will give John McCain, the Republican presidential nominee, the opportunity to gauge party reaction to his surprising announcement that Sarah Palin will run beside him to become vice-president. Mr McCain wants to distance himself from the current Republican administration, so will be pleased that both George Bush and Dick Cheney are expected to skip the convention because of the probable arrival of hurricane Gustav in New Orleans.
• THE European Central Bank meets on Thursday September 4th to consider its response to deteriorating economic conditions in the euro area. Recession looms and inflation has been creeping up. The ECB may reckon that less growth will lessen the prospects of price rises; falling oil prices may ease inflation pressures too. But most think that the bank will wait until the beginning of 2009 before cutting rates to boost the economy.
• PAKISTAN is set to elect a new president on Saturday September 6th. Members of Pakistan's parliament and regional assemblies will vote for a replacement for Pervez Musharaff, who stepped down in August to avoid impeachment charges. Pakistan’s coalition government has already split over the candidacy of Asif Zardari, leader of the coalition’s main member, the Pakistan People’s Party, and favourite to become president. The coalition’s second-biggest constituent, the Pakistan Muslim League (N), walked out, in objection to Mr Zardari’s standing for a presidency with dictatorial powers. This is all an unwelcome distraction in a country facing an ever-worsening Taliban insurgency and a troubled economy.
RNC: Moles Wanted: Minneapolis City Pages advertise for recruits.
In the months leading up to the Republican National Convention, the FBI-led Minneapolis Joint Terrorist Task Force actively recruited people to infiltrate vegan groups and other leftist organizations and report back about their activities. On May 21, t...
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[Source: Ron Paul forum
Japan: Get someone else
Yasuo Fukuda quits as prime minister of Japan, as the country struggles to find stable leadership
IT HAD been the wish of Japan’s 72-year-old prime minister, Yasuo Fukuda of the Liberal Democratic Party (LDP), to outlast his hapless predecessor, Shinzo Abe, whom he privately despised. He was supposed to provide a steady hand on the helm after Mr Abe’s poor performance. But Mr Fukuda did not manage even Mr Abe’s year in office. On Monday September 1st the prime minister announced his resignation, saying bluntly that “I thought it would be better for someone else to do the job”.
From the start, he had struggled in the face of the opposition Democratic Party of Japan (DPJ) which had won unprecedented control of the upper house of the Diet (parliament). Important legislation was rammed through the Diet thanks only to the two-third’s majority enjoyed by the ruling coalition in the lower house. Most notable was a bill renewing the Japanese navy’s refuelling mission in the Indian Ocean, a part of the anti-terror effort in Afghanistan and thus a gauge of Japan’s willingness to play a part in the world. ...
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[Source: The Economist: News analysis -
Army opens prep school for dropouts to fill ranks
FORT JACKSON, S.C. (AP) - Austin Swarner left high school to care for his mother while she fought a losing battle with cancer. Tony Brown wanted to begin supporting himself and left two classes shy of a diploma. Haelee Holden got tired of trying to make it through school while flipping burgers until 1 a.m.But [...]
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The Republicans: Staying the course
The Republican convention, though battered, goes ahead
IT HAS been a rocky week for the Republican Party, as its convention gets under way in St Paul, Minnesota. After the focus on the Democrats last week, John McCain snatched back attention at the weekend with his choice of Sarah Palin, the young governor of Alaska, as his running mate. But little since that announcement has gone according to plan.
The first difficulty was Hurricane Gustav which crossed the Gulf of Mexico before hitting Louisiana on Monday September 1st. The storm provoked memories of Katrina, the hurricane which drowned New Orleans in 2005 and whose aftermath was mishandled by George Bush’s administration. Nearly 2m people left their homes in Louisiana this week, fleeing the storm. And as a result of the upheaval, Mr Bush and his vice-president, Dick Cheney, decided to stay away from the Republican convention, scrapping planned speeches. Mr McCain was no doubt relieved: the less he is associated with the deeply unpopular incumbent, the happier he will be. ...
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[Source: The Economist: News analysis
8/28/2008
The Democrats:
Barack Obama picks Joe Biden as his running mate
LIKE much else about Barack Obama's campaign, his announcement of a running-made was unconventional. It came in the form of emails and text-messages released simultaneously to the tens of thousands of people who had signed up to receive them, at the distinctly unconventional hour of 3am Eastern time. “Dear [recipient's name], I have some important news that I want to make official”, read the message, purportedly sent by the candidate himself. “I've chosen Joe Biden to be my running-mate.”
After an entire week of press-teasing over the timing of the announcement, some might be forgiven for feeling slightly let down. Mr Biden, a six-term senator and head of the Senate foreign relations committee, was neither a surprise nor, for all his qualities, an especially exciting choice, as the selection of Hillary Clinton or Al Gore would have been. ...
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As a political statement the Beijing Olympics had mixed results
Mixed political results from the Beijing Olympics
Having held the world's attention for the past 17 days, Beijing symbolically handed the Olympic flag to London in a closing ceremony on August 24th. As a sporting event the Games were a huge success—particularly for China, which topped the gold-medal table by a wide margin. But the government's success in achieving its political objectives was mixed.
Billed as China's "coming-out party", the Beijing Games were meant to burnish the country's image both at home and abroad by showcasing the country's remarkable achievements over the past three decades. There is little doubt that this message came across loud and clear domestically, helping to cement the loyalty of China's citizens. The popular legitimacy of the Chinese Communist Party increasingly derives from its ability to deliver material prosperity and international prestige, and the Olympics showed that the regime is capable of marshalling extraordinary resources and determination—and that China commands international respect. Beijing's spectacular opening and closing ceremonies, state-of-the-art venues and flawlessly organised sporting events all underlined the country's extraordinarily rapid re-emergence as a great power. ...
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Prepared Secret Service, police have new equipment if needed
Denver has assembled an army of police and stocked up on an array of new equipment to deal with the unknown during the Democratic National Convention.Mayor John Hickenlooper said the city and its partners developed what may be one of the most comprehensive security plans for an event of this magnitude.“You never know what you [...]
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8/24/2008
Buffett Says Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac `Game Is Over
Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, the two largest mortgage finance companies, dont have any net worth, billionaire investor Warren Buffett said.
The game is over as independent companies said Buffett, the 77-year-old chairman of Berkshire Hathaway Inc.,...
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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]
Commodities:
Some reasons not to expect a collapse in raw-materials prices
DURING the six months to the end of June commodities posted their best performance in 35 years, rising by 29%. In July they had their worst month in 28 years, falling by 10%. The slide continues: an index compiled by Reuters, a news agency, shows that prices are almost a fifth below the pinnacle reached in early July. The Economist’s index, which excludes oil, has fallen by over 12%. Breathless headlines have hailed the bursting of a bubble.
But most analysts are more reticent. They cite various reasons for the recent drop in prices, chief among them the darkening economic outlook in rich countries. In recent weeks it has become clear that Europe and Japan are faring even worse than America, and so are likely to consume less oil, steel, cocoa and the like. But that does not necessarily presage a collapse in commodity prices, they argue, thanks to enduringly strong demand from emerging markets such as China. ...
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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]
American politics:
John McCain and Barack Obama each has a problem with religion. Who will the faithful follow?
IN 2007 James Dobson, who heads Focus on the Family, a powerful Christian group, said that he “would not vote for John McCain under any circumstances.” Mr Dobson said he was worried that the Republican was “not in favour of traditional marriage, and I pray that we won't get stuck with him.” But now Mr Dobson is reconsidering. It is a strange year for religious voters trying to decide between candidates who, on Saturday August 16th, will air their views on matters spiritual and earthly by talking in turn to Rick Warren, a megachurch pastor in California.
In 2000 and again in 2004 the choice was easy: George Bush wore his religion on his sleeve, declared that Jesus was his favourite philosopher and staunchly promoted religious-conservative positions. This year things are rather different. Mr McCain is an infrequent churchgoer and he hardly mentions his faith. When asked about it, he often speaks not of himself but of one of his North Vietnamese captors, a Christian who treated him kindly. He made enemies on the religious right in 2000 by saying that Jerry Falwell, a televangelist, was among harmful “agents of intolerance”. ...
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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]
Indonesia's president is troubled by rising prices
Rising fuel prices are making the president less popular in Indonesia
The damage to the standing of the Indonesian president, Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono, caused by the 30% increase in government-administered fuel prices in May has been reflected in recent opinion polls, in which his nearest contender, Megawati Soekarnoputri, who chairs the opposition Indonesian Democratic Party-Struggle (PDI-P), has taken a lead. A survey in June by a local polling company, Indo Barometer, put voter support for Ms Soekarnoputri at 30.4%, compared with 20.7% for Mr Yudhoyono. Prior to the May fuel price increase, the president led his nearest rival by a considerable margin in a range of opinion polls.
Polls have repeatedly highlighted the fact that economic problems are voters' main concern, and it is therefore no surprise that Mr Yudhoyono's rating has fallen as the result of a policy change that had an immediate and tangible impact on the cost of living. However, a fight-back by the president in the opinion polls is to be expected once the effects of the fuel price increases have played out through the economy. Bank Indonesia (BI, the central bank) estimates that this process will be completed within two months. ...
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[Source: The Economist: News analysis - Posted by King Of Videos and Blogs]
