"It is no wonder that this memo ... could not withstand scrutiny and had to be withdrawn," said Leahy, D-Vermont. "This memo seeks to find ways to avoid legal restrictions and accountability on torture and threatens our country's status as a beacon of human rights around the world." picked by dollyllama 8 months ago

Does anyone notice a trend in the Bush administration:

• Passing the buck and setting up others to be fall guys
  
• Truckloads of lies, deception and half truths
  
• Lack of accountability

picked by indierockcafe 2 years ago

Whitehouse said that as a member of the Intelligence Committee, he had examined "highly classified secret legal opinions" issued by the Department of Justice's Office of Legal Counsel, which the administration used to get legal support of its surveillance program. picked by dollyllama 12 months ago

Hellerstein said he realized he did not give sufficient consideration to an earlier court ruling related to the legal issue and to ACLU evidence indicating all or parts of the memo may have been incorporated into or used to justify official practice and policy. picked by dollyllama 6 months ago

...but (you know there's a "but"). The definition of "torture" is subject to change at Bush's whim. Indefinite imprisonment of poorly defined "unlawful combatants" is allowed. Habeas corpus is suspended for detainees. Coerced testimony at trial is A-OK. Interrogators who may have engaged in torture are retroactively immunized. Witch-burning not specifically mentione... read full post picked by Galoot 2 years ago

Although President Bush has stated that the United States has not and will not torture people, it has been learned that Mr. Bush himself has authorized the use of waterboarding on detainees (a practice previously prosecuted by the United States as a war crime), and has claimed the authority to do so again in certain circumstances. picked by dollyllama 9 months ago

In a May 1 letter to the Judiciary Committee, Cheney legal adviser Kathryn Wheelbarger said Addington would agree to be subpoenaed if the committee limits questions to his "personal knowledge of key historical facts" and avoids questions about Cheney's discussions with President Bush. picked by dollyllama 7 months ago

WELL over a third of US combat troops deployed in Iraq condone torture to obtain information from insurgents and nearly one in 10 acknowledge mistreating civilians, a survey has found. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

Paul F. Little was sentenced to 3 years and 10 month in prison for distributing to consensual customers videos of adults engaging in consensual and legal behavior. Even though he lived in California, they forced his trial to be in Tampa which would have harsher local standards. He tried the Bush Administration defense, but it wasn't successful. picked by bernardblack 1 month ago

"Well, we started to connect the dots in order to protect the American people." Bush told ABC News White House correspondent Martha Raddatz. "And yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved." picked by dollyllama 7 months ago

Just breaking, MTB has obtained excerpts from the leaked emails suggesting the WHite House targeted federal attorneys for firing because they were not "Bush loyalists"
Another Bush administration scandal, lies and cover-ups.

This update provides access to the actual email and may be the first place on the Internet to find it. picked by indierockcafe 2 years ago

An informative, but a little disturbing, article about the torture and sexual abuse of prisoners held by the US government. Americans must hold accountable those who committed, or authorized, sex crimes in US-operated prisons and send a clear message that this bulls**t is NOT OK. picked by theclansman 4 months ago

The White House is trying to clarify something: President George W Bush is ''a commander guy'' but not ''the commander guy.''

Or something like that. picked by AutumnLotus 2 years ago

A poll of more than 27,000 Liberals who hate America in 25 countries shows that a sizeable majority are opposed to torture, even if its purpose is to elicit information that could save other Liberals who hate America from terrorist attack. picked by Galoot 2 years ago

I walked into Rumsfeld's office at 1:25 p.m. on April 19, 2006. He had just returned from a meeting at the White House, and the only other person present in the room was his new Chief of Staff, John Rangel.

*Oh it's a dupe and while it does bear repeating, do upvote the original. picked by dollyllama 7 months ago

The White House says President Bush will veto legislation on Saturday that would have barred the CIA from using waterboarding — a technique that simulates drowning — and other harsh interrogation methods on terror suspects. picked by TraumaMamma 9 months ago

"For six years now, we have known where Al Qaeda is based. The administration has announced over and over again they have a policy to go after Al Qaeda," the GAO report said. "The 9/11 commission said nothing is more important than a coherent strategy to smash this security threat, to break these safe havens. The congress has passed legislation mandating that. Notwithstanding the ad... read full post picked by dollyllama 7 months ago

“Kuntzkamera” is a museum in St. Petersburg founded by Russian Tsar Peter the First. He collected different weird stuff from all over Russia such as freaky people, animals preserved in alcohol, torture instruments, strange paintings and much more. Here are photos: picked by ogri2003 1 year ago

The administration admitted that the sweeping domestic surveillance originated in the wake of the September 11, 2001, attacks. However, declassified documents obtained by the National Security Archive and testimony that is part of these lawsuits suggest the National Security Agency program was put into place shortly after Mr. Bush was inaugurated, long before 9/11. picked by dollyllama 9 months ago

The worst thing about medieval life was the unwavering evil of the Christian "justice" system and the tools of torture they employed. The following are the 20 worst torture devices of all time in order of sheer terror: picked by misswinkle 1 year ago