Village Blue

I now have a site http://www.villageblue.com/ come over and visit me there....I haven't posted on this site for a long time...The new site is much better and covers a wide range of topics and you can become members there and interact.

Booman Tribune ~ Bad News: Liberal Soldier threatened with Court Martial [UPDATE]

Booman Tribune ~ Bad News: Liberal Soldier threatened with Court Martial [UPDATE]: "July 4th, 2005
Happy 4th

Well, happy days are here again! Our great Attorney General Gonzales flew into the Ultra Safe Green Zone and gave a speech at the embassy. You remember our Attorney General, the one who a chief counsel to the President, said it was quite alright to use certain torture methods that might get by the Geneva Convention, Washboarding, beating, etc. It's all there, folks, and our great maniac executive strongly supports him. I'm reading the Stars and Stripes and I'll feel so much more comforted when I'm standing up in the turret of my Humvee or driving it because of these very comforting words by our A.G. : 'As we approach the Fourth of July weekend, I suspect there's some of you that are here that sometimes feel lonely and you sometimes wonder whether you are not alone, ' and I'm here to tell you that you are not alone, that the American people are very much with you.'--Stars and Stripes, 7-4-05.

Oh, I can rest peacfully when the next bomb goes off because the man who approved torture by the United States of America and deeply shamed this nation has told me I am not alone. Well, he's right about one thing I know I'm not alone - whether it's the spooks or agents that are monitoring me or my journals or those of you out there reading these words I am certainly not alone. I know that many of those Iraqi people who wish to kill me and my fellow soldiers and are constantly waiting for their oppurtunity are making sure my fellow soldiers and I are not alone.

Well, I just wanted to thank the brave A.G. for flying into the Green Zone and having to endanger himself behind all of his heavy security just so he could tell me I'm not alone. My heart is truly warmed.

Now, fellow activists, let us keep up the non-violent fight against the terrorists and the tryants at home who are needlessly endangering my fellow soldiers and causing many of them to die needless deaths in this lie we call the Occupation of Iraq. We need to let the three-piece-suited politicians and their crooked lackeys know that we're mad as hell and we're not going to take it anymore! Immediately, fellow activist (even if you have to do it on your own, although working through one of the organizations linked to this site might also be the best way) find out how you local city, state, and federal politicians stand on the occupation of Iraq. If they stand for the lie or are just too afraid to do the right moral thing by standing against this horrible occupation of Iraq, then quickly find somebody who is running against them. If there is nobody running against, find somebody to run against them. Boycott any companies that are profiting off of the blood of my fellow American soldiers. And let us not forget our governors, congressmen and senators (especially Democratic ones) - ask them or their representatives where they stand on a timetable, and if they will not give you an answer then by all means find someone who can take their places who will support a timetable."

Booman Tribune ~ BLOGGERS: Join 4th of July Guantanamo Action

Booman Tribune ~ BLOGGERS: Join 4th of July Guantanamo Action: "BLOGGERS: Join 4th of July Guantanamo Action

by susanhu
Thu Jun 30th, 2005 at 02:57:30 PM PDT
Join the bloggers coalition to close down Guantanamo! We can all help the Center for Constitutional Rights (CCR) publicize and support its Fourth of July rally in NYC (10AM-noon; 34th St, between Broadway & 7th Ave) featuring Eve Ensler, Code Pink, Gloria Steinem, Not in Our Name, Center for Constitutional Rights, and United for Peace and Justice.

ACTIONS:

Sign the bloggers' roll to support the coalition's campaign. E-mail susanhu to get on the list at BoomanTribune.com.
Write a story or diary about the coalition's campaign to end illegal detention and torture. Use the images below the fold.
In your story/diary, URGE OTHER BLOGGERS to sign the blog roll and to write their own stories/diaries.
Encourage your readers to DOWNLOAD STICKERS and DOWNLOAD FLAGS to display on the 4th of July

: : : MORE IDEAS & STORY INFO BELOW : : :

MORE PROJECTS:

Join in the Guantanamo Reading Project
Download a petition (PDF) to send to your representative
Send a letter to your representative
Join the mailing list
Donate to CCR

THIS IS THE TEXT of the flyer that CCR is posting:

HONOR AMERICAN VALUES IN YOUR COMMUNITY ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

JOIN THE MOVEMENT TO END TORTURE CLOSE THE GUANTANAMO DETENTION CENTER

WHY is it important to close Guant�namo?

Guant�namo has become a world-wide symbol for the Bush Administration's arrogant disregard of basic human rights. In the past weeks, world leaders including Presidents Carter and Clinton have joined leading human rights groups in calling for the closing of Guant�namo and other illegal prison facilities around the globe. Countless others have joined the call for an immediate independent investigation and/or special prosecutor to be appointed to investigate the numerous allegations of torture and abuse taking place on Guant�namo.

JOIN ONE OF MANY RALLIES TAKING PLACE ON INDEPENDENCE DAY

July 4th is just the beginning! Keep the movement going on Tuesday, July 5th!

Participate in a massive telephone and online campaign to continue the petition to members of Congress.

Torture is Immoral and Unpatriotic
Shut Down Guant�namo


More background information.
If you have questions, please e-mail susanhu.

CCR CONTACT: Jen Nessel at jnessel@ccr-ny.org cell: 917 442 0112"

Open Letter to Lt. C

The following is a comment I made on Lt.C's blog reg. Sen. Durbins statement in congrees referring to Gitmo as similar to other regimes in Russia, Germany, etc. wherein Lr. C. expresses his disdain for the statement.

"Hi. Lt. C. Diane from cal. here, read your article and comments with interest. I am as you know a liberal and I just have to say this.
As part of our research on the blog that I comment on we did extensive research on the aclu papers that were released several weeks ago and I personall read 11 trascripts of the tribunal proceedings as well as other records of Gitmo.
What can be found in there is truly horrifying and I think you too would find it so.
As liberals we are really trying to stop these practices and return this country to the moral attitude we had prior to this devistating war in Iraq, which we also want to bring to a close.
I am stunned that all the posters here simply disregard the happenings at Gitmo and in Iraq as well as places around the world.
If you and others are comfortable with that then, so be it, but do not condemn us for trying to end deplorable practices and policies used by this Admin.
As you may remember I have a friend a citizen of Iraq and I cannot whatsoever sanction what this war has done to her and her country.
I know that you and other soldiers do what you are ordered to do and I do not fault you for that, if you are not a party to any of these practices.
Trust me, we are fully supportive of our soldiers, they are not just Reps. they are Dems. too and members of many of our families and we care about all of them and you.
Please consider all of this when you write these articles, we are very opposed to this pres. and his group and the awful mistakes and lies that have been told to start this war and work dilligently to bring troops home asap.....
Finally I ask you and others, just what does this country now stand for, torture....I certainly hope not. For a senator to speak truth to power should not be condemned and for him to point to the truth of the situation however it may disturb you, it disturbs us even more that these things are allowed to go on. Club Med at Gitmao, Indeed!!!!!!!"

Gitmo Detainees Say They Were Sold

AP: Gitmo Detainees Say They Were Sold - Yahoo! News: " Gitmo Detainees Say They Were Sold

By MICHELLE FAUL, Associated Press Writer
Tue May 31, 1:49 PM ET

SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico - They fed them well. The Pakistani tribesmen slaughtered a sheep in honor of their guests, Arabs and Chinese Muslims famished from fleeing U.S. bombing in the Afghan mountains. But their hosts had ulterior motives: to sell them to the Americans, said the men who are now prisoners at Guantanamo Bay.

Bounties ranged from $3,000 to $25,000, the detainees testified during military tribunals, according to transcripts the U.S. government gave The Associated Press to comply with a Freedom of Information lawsuit.

A former
CIAintelligence officer who helped lead the search for
Osama bin Laden told AP the accounts sounded legitimate because U.S. allies regularly got money to help catch Taliban and al-Qaida fighters. Gary Schroen said he took a suitcase of $3 million in cash into
Afghanistan himself to help supply and win over warlords to fight for U.S. Special Forces.

'It wouldn't surprise me if we paid rewards,' said Schroen, who retired after 32 years in the CIA soon after the fall of Kabul in late 2001. He recently published the book 'First In: An Insider's Account of How the CIA Spearheaded the War on Terror in Afghanistan.'

Schroen said Afghan warlords like Gen. Rashid Dostum were among those who received bundles of notes. 'It may be that we were giving rewards to people like Dostum because his guys were capturing a lot of Taliban and al-Qaida,' he said.

Pakistan has handed hundreds of suspects to the Americans, but Information Minister Sheikh Rashid Ahmed told the AP, 'No one has taken any money.'

The U.S. departments of Defense, Justice and State and the"

Probe finds 5 Quran mishandling cases - May 26, 2005

CNN.com - Probe finds 5 Quran mishandling cases - May 26, 2005: "

SAVE THIS | EMAIL THIS | Close


Probe finds 5 Quran mishandling cases
Guantanamo Bay commander: 'No credible evidence' of flushing


WASHINGTON (CNN) -- The commander of the U.S. detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba, said Thursday an investigation had identified five incidents in which the Quran appears to have been mishandled by his personnel.

But Brig. Gen. Jay Hood said he has found 'no credible evidence' that personnel at the military prison flushed a Quran in a toilet.

Hood spoke to reporters on the interim findings of his investigation after spending the afternoon briefing defense committees on Capitol Hill.

The five suspect incidents were among 13 involving alleged mishandling that were culled from a review of about 31,000 documents representing three years worth of records."

John Bolton

United Nations: Divulge Bolton dossier: "United Nations: Divulge Bolton dossier

SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER EDITORIAL BOARD

With the Senate in recess, there's time for a quick resolution of the roadblock to a final vote on United Nations ambassador nominee John Bolton.

The White House ought to share with the Senate relevant information on Bolton's record as a State Department official. That would clear the way for an up-or-down vote on his nomination after the Senate reconvenes June 7, following a Memorial Day recess.

The Bush administration has been excessively secretive with Congress and the public. Documents detailing Bolton's State Department advice on congressional testimony about Syria are germane to understanding how he might conduct himself at the United Nations. And it's disrespectful for the administration to withhold from senators intelligence information Bolton received as an undersecretary of state."

White House denies senators papers on Bolton nomination - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Washington - News

White House denies senators papers on Bolton nomination - The Boston Globe - Boston.com - Washington - News: "White House denies senators papers on Bolton nomination

By Rick Klein, Globe Staff | May 28, 2005

WASHINGTON -- White House officials declined yesterday to give senators the extra documents they are seeking regarding John R. Bolton, President Bush's choice to become ambassador to the United Nations, setting up a major standoff with Senate Democrats over the long-troubled nomination.
ADVERTISEMENT



Democratic senators sidetracked a final vote on Bolton's nomination late Thursday, saying they will keep it from the Senate floor until the Bush administration hands over the information they have been seeking for two months. But a White House spokeswoman said yesterday that senators have all the documents they need to make a decision on Bolton, and accused Democrats of playing politics with a key diplomatic post.

''John Bolton enjoys majority [Senate] support, and it's a shame that Democrats are stopping a vote,' said Erin Healy, a White House spokeswoman. ''This is about partisan politics, not documents.'"

Review May Shift Terror Policies

Review May Shift Terror Policies: "Review May Shift Terror Policies
U.S. Is Expected to Look Beyond Al Qaeda


By Susan B. Glasser
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, May 29, 2005; A01


The Bush administration has launched a high-level internal review of its efforts to battle international terrorism, aimed at moving away from a policy that has stressed efforts to capture and kill al Qaeda leaders since Sept. 11, 2001, and toward what a senior official called a broader 'strategy against violent extremism.'

The shift is meant to recognize the transformation of al Qaeda over the past three years into a far more amorphous, diffuse and difficult-to-target organization than the group that struck the United States in 2001. But critics say the policy review comes only after months of delay and lost opportunities while the administration left key counterterrorism jobs unfilled and argued internally over how best to confront the rapid spread of the pro-al Qaeda global Islamic jihad.

President Bush's top adviser on terrorism, Frances Fragos Townsend, said in an interview that the review is needed to take into account the 'ripple effect' from years of operations targeting al Qaeda leaders such as Khalid Sheik Mohammed, arrested for planning the Sept. 11 attacks, and his recently detained deputy. 'Naturally, the enemy has adapted,' she said. 'As you capture a Khalid Sheik Mohammed, an Abu Faraj al-Libbi raises up. Nature abhors a vacuum.'

The review marks the first ambitious effort since the immediate aftermath of the 2001 attacks to take stock of what the administration has called the 'global war on terrorism' -- or GWOT -- but is now considering changing to recognize the evolution of its fight. 'What we really want now is a strategic approach to defeat violent extremism,' said a senior administration official who described the review on the condition of anonymity because it is not finished. 'GWOT is catchy, but there may be a better way to describe it, and those are things that ought to be incumbent on us to look at.'"