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Happy Monday and welcome the Dog’s ongoing letter writing campaign. For those of you joining for the first time the idea is every Monday the Dog writes a to decision makers about accountability for the Bush Administration State Sponsored Torture program. This letter can be cut and by any reader or used as the jumping off point for your own letter. The point is to keep the pressure up on the decision makers to make those who apparently committed one of the worst possible crimes accountable for their actions. Today’s letter is to Sen. Patrick Leahy and the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee.
"Originally posted at Squarestate.net"
Dear Senator,
I write you today in your capacity as a member of the Senate Judiciary Committee. Shortly you will be holding confirmation hearings on Judge Sotomayor in her bid to become a Supreme Court Justice. As part of the hearings I urge you to ask after the Judges opinion on the issue of need to fulfill our treaty obligations as a nation.
Specifically I urge you to find out where Judge Sotomayor is on the issue of the International Conventions Against Torture. While this treaty does not have provisions for forcing any nation to adhere to its obligations under the Conventions, as what is known as a High Signatory to the Conventions the Untied States has a higher level of responsibility to live up to.
Thus far we are failing to criminally investigate a clear and substantiated allegation of State Sponsored Torture by the previous administration. Their public testimony and the documents that have been made available thus far seem more than enough to initiate a criminal investigation. I can only assume the hold up is one of a political nature. It is very likely to be a divisive issue given the nations current state of mind on the issues of terrorism and the fact the current Administration is of another political party than the last one.
This makes it likely there will be challenges that will go all the way to the High Court. As a member of the Judiciary committee you have the opportunity to find where Judge Sotomayor stands on the issue of treaty obligations and the enforcement of the rule of law as all levels. This is not just an issue of torture, but one critical to the health of any democracy. Without the sure and certain knowledge the rule of law will be applied as evenly and fairly as our system can provide there is no basis for the public to trust in any institution of our government.
Senator, please, I ask as a citizen of this nation who believes in our system, make the system work for us all.
Sincerely,
So, there is the letter now for the fun part. Below the Dog has provides links to all the Democratic Senators on the Committee. Where they insist on only people from their home State contacting them, the Dog has provided an address and zip code that will get by the filters. These addresses are all either on the same street as their home State offices or in the same building. It is truly sad that some Senators take their job as being only involved with the needs of their State when they have responsibilities to all of the citizens of the United States.
Sen. Herb Kohl
(Use – 402 Graham Ave., Eau Claire WI 54701)
Sen. Benjamin Cardin
(Use 100 S. Charles Street, Baltimore, Maryland 21201)
Sen. Ron Wyden
(Use 405 East 8th Avenue, Eugene, OR 97401)
Now it is up to you citizens. Will you please take a few minutes to contact the Democrats on the Judiciary Committee and urge them towards accountability for torture?
The floor is yours.
16 Comments
If nothing else you now have a way of contacting the Dems on the Judiciary Committee. Since I put that together for you, will you take a few minutes to act for torture accountability?
Thanks Dog
I don’t know if anyone has mentioned this site, but I just heard about it.
The site analyzes the Government statements and data about the Gitmo prisoners. The Government’t own data, when analyzed, shows a much different picture than Government claims. I heard about this on a radio program called Law and Disorder on WBAI. This program comes on right after Amy on Monday mornings in the NYC area.
yes.
Thanks, man!
[psssst, Dog, Elliott is one of us woman-kinders] I made the same mistake and one of the pups set me straight.
Fine letter, and thanks for the links. Is there a potential date yet for the confirmation hearings? Unfortunately both my senators are hard-line repubs.
She did eventually..she kept thinking that the ‘he’ you’d type was just a typing error..not that it mattered in the slightest..’g’. Here is some torture news that was just released today.
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” The newly unredacted information includes statements from the CSRTs of former CIA detainees, including Khalid Sheikh Muhammad, Abd Al Rahim Hussein Mohammed Al Nashiri, Abu Zubaydah and Majid Khan, including descriptions of torture and coercion. These statements include:
• Abu Zubaydah: “After months of suffering and torture, physically and mentally, they did not care about my injuries that they inflicted to my eye, to my stomach, to my bladder, and my left thigh and my reproductive organs. They didn’t care that I almost died from these injuries. Doctors told me that I nearly died four times.” “They say ‘this in your diary.’ They say ’see you want to make operation against America.’ I say no, the idea is different. They say no, torturing, torturing. I say ‘okay, I do. I was decide to make operation.’”
• Al Nashiri: “[And, they used to] drown me in water.”
• Muhammad: “This is what I understand he [CIA interrogator] told me: you are not American and you are not on American soil. So you cannot ask about the Constitution.”
• Khan: “In the end, any classified information you have is through…agencies who physically and mentally tortured me.” “
http://rawstory.com/08/news/20…..f-torture/
I’ve read Zubaydah’s and KSM’s. Seems KSM was ruling the entire Middle East.(/s). There’s no way to sort out what he really was responsible for. There’s a lot of truth in what he said. He didn’t plead for mercy for himself but for those who are innocent.
Strange (or not) that the court ruled their witnesses, and AZ’s diary, were not relevant to the issue, so denied. Yet many of the charges against KSM were based on what they alleged they found on his computer – which he states was not his. His witness to support that was denied. The damaged mental state of these 2 detainees makes it impossible to learn the truth about their true involvement, if any.
That the allegations of torture are all blacked out proves the guilt of the torturers, IMO. The US government is unwilling to stand before Justice and have the case against them aired. Obama is losing time fast in which he can remain not guilty of cover-up of these crimes.
Too big a subject to deal with; I’m checking out for the night.
Not so strange..it is called a ‘kangaroo court’. Torture made America less safe because nobody knows what is or isn’t true of anything said by anybody. Here is a non political link from me for a change.
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” After a quarter of a century, conservationists are celebrating the recovery of one of the world’s most threatened species. “
http://www.guardian.co.uk/envi…..-butterfly
Amazing and wonderful story there, Bluebutterfly. Thank you. Lots of thoughts produced; all good ones. (I needed that).
Of all the brands of ants in the world, they knew just that one they could “sing” to…and their survival depended upon that ‘knowing’.
Ignorant, uncaring human-kind, not possessing nor caring to possess that ‘knowing’ – destroying the very planet upon which we depend for survival as well as the higher qualities of humanity that create and preserve the beautiful.
Yet there is hope as long as there are those like Sir David Attenborough, dedicated to understanding the ways of life, restoring and preserving it when possible. This story of one person’s making such a difference reminds me that it does matter what each single person contributes or destroys in this one life we are granted.
Hey, Blue, just in case you drop back by: You might want to check out the info on ‘Healing the Gerson Way’. Lots of info on the net. Fascinating story. My daughter (smarter than I) studies all that stuff and it works for her family and friends. It’s all about eating the right foods. I just ordered the 2 books for her from Amazon. Amazon is all sold out now, but one of their book dealers had 6 left after I bought. Used ones going up to around $90.00 paperback. Mine, new from Aaron’s books (thru Amazon) was $25.00.
Sorry I didn’t get the link,. . but you handle those real well. heh,heh
Hi..will look in a bit for Gerson information. Never ever underestimate the power of one. All life on this planet of ours is connected. Put a human, an animal, a bird, an insect, a plant, all in one room. When the oxygen runs out..every body dies..no exceptions. The song of life is, thankfully, sung by many. How wonderful that Attenborough never gave up. We can describe those who refuse to sing, or to at least hear the song that others sing, as less intelligent than bluebutterfly larvae..’g’.
Look at the faces reflecting pure joy. A testament to the singing of the Uighurs.
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http://www.andyworthington.co……ew-photos/
hmmmm, going one step further, the fate of those whose signals get warped and they try singing to the wrong colony…
That is so beautiful, Blue. It surely must be like heaven on earth to them to be released from 7 years of unjustified, abusive treatment in GITMO, to go to that beautiful land of flowers, sun and the ocean – and f-r-e-e-d-o-m!
As always, thanks for that link. As for Gerson, Blue I don’t know what else is recommended in those books, but I can attest to the benefits of flax seed oil. I had been on Zocor and its generic for several years. I began having dizziness and balance problems. It got so bad I had to crawl. Finally the lights came on and I began eliminating things I put into my body. After eliminating the Zocor the entire problems disappeared and have not returned. A friend told me about flax seed oil. I’ve taken the 1000 unit gel caps now for about a year and feel better and better, absolutely no problems since. Please check that out (I note in the info provided in the Gerson material that it is recommended).
Got an e-mail from my Bush clone senator that Sotomeyer’s confirmation hearing will be sometime in mid-July. Unfortunately he’s on the Senate Judiciary committee (Cornyn- the worst of the worst). I consider him to be the heavy anchor that retards the progress of Justice at every opportunity.