OpEdNews - Diary: Routine and Systematic Torture are at the Heart of America's War on Terror

After thousands of years of practice, you might have imagined that every possible means of inflicting pain had already been devised. But you should never underestimate the human capacity for invention. United States interrogators, we now discover, have found a new way of destroying a human being.

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DIANE'S NEWS CLIPS begins here :)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~> IF LINK DOESN'T WORK, THEN PASTE ARTICLE LINK(S) INTO YOUR BROWSER -- OR GO DIRECTLY TO >> http://www.truthout.org George Monbiot Routine and Systematic Torture are at the Heart of America's War on Terror http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206B.shtml George Monbiot writes: "President Bush maintains that he is fighting a war against threats to the 'values of civilized nations': terror, cruelty, barbarism and extremism. He asked his nation's interrogators to discover where these evils are hidden. They should congratulate themselves. They appear to have succeeded." ----- Sarah Olson | Iraq Report: "A Giant Step Sideways" http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206A.shtml Despite the mainstream media's sound and fury, many analysts say the Iraq Study Group report has little to do with leaving Iraq any time soon. Instead, they fear the report's diligent research and assiduous recommendations serve to obfuscate the depth of the US-created crisis, change the nature of the occupation, pave the way for multinational privatization of Iraq's resources, and distract from increasingly stentorian calls for immediate withdrawal. ----- Washington Looks to "Blame Iraqis and Run" http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206T.shtml As President George W. Bush agonizes over which bits of last week's Baker-Hamilton report to adopt for his forthcoming "new way forward in Iraq" announcement, another consensus is emerging in Washington on how to handle the situation: Blame the Iraqis. ----- Renowned Cancer Scientist Was Paid by Chemical Firm for 20 Years http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121206HB.shtml A world-famous British scientist failed to disclose that he held a paid consultancy with a chemical company for more than 20 years while investigating cancer risks in the industry. ----- Chris Floyd | Presidential Tyranny Untamed by Election Defeat http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206J.shtml Chris Floyd begins, "Like the two entwining strands of the double helix, law and power form the genetic structure of government. Law is nothing but empty verbiage without power to back it up, enforce it, embody it. And power without law is nothing but a mad ape, baring its teeth, thumping its chest, raping and beating where it pleases, taking what it wants: a bestial thing, born in the muddy swamp of our lowest, blindest, rawest biochemical impulses. Disconnect these strands and things fall apart, as Yeats says; the center literally cannot hold, and the blood-dimmed tide is loosed upon the world." ----- Robert Parry | Pinochet's Death Spares Bush Family http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206D.shtml Robert Parry writes: "General Augusto Pinochet's death on December 10 means the Bush Family can breathe a little bit easier, knowing that criminal proceedings against Chile's notorious dictator can no longer implicate his longtime friend and protector, former President George H.W. Bush." ----- Dean Baker | A Peace Prize for Iraq: The Economist's Solution to the War http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206E.shtml Dean Baker writes: "The events of the last week should have dashed any hopes that the Iraq Study Group's plan would lead to a quick US withdrawal from Iraq and an end to the violence. President Bush has made it clear that he will not accept the ISG plan for a phased withdrawal of troops. Even if he did accept the ISG plan, it is not clear how much longer US troops would remain in Iraq, nor that the plan would lead to an end to the civil war. ----- GOP Congressman's Ex-Aides Allege Abuse of Power http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206R.shtml US representative Gary Miller has allegedly made a number of moves over the years in which he brought his congressional muscle to bear on personal business matters, according to the former staff members and the correspondence from Miller's congressional office - handwritten notes, letters on Miller's congressional letterhead and emails. ----- Many Imprisoned Katrina Victims Still Waiting for Day in Court http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206S.shtml In October 2005, less than two months after Hurricane Katrina struck, Pedro Parra-Sanchez was arrested for allegedly stabbing a man with a broken bottle during a fight. With the city's prison damaged by flooding, he was taken to a makeshift jail at the Greyhound bus station, then transferred to a correctional facility about 70 miles away, and later to a prison in southwest Louisiana. That's where Parra-Sanchez sat for more than a year - never seeing a lawyer or setting foot in a courtroom. By law, the district attorney should have brought Parra-Sanchez to court to formally charge him within 60 days. Instead, "he disappeared," said Pamela R. Metzger, director of Tulane University's Criminal Law Clinic. "The system failed." ----- Judge Settles Classified Info Fight in Libby Case http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206O.shtml A federal judge has accepted a series of redactions and substitutions proposed by Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald - to be provided to I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby's defense team - which will limit what Libby can share with jurors about his top-secret White House briefings, at his upcoming trial. ----- Pierre Haski | Eternal Regret http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206G.shtml Pierre Haski writes: "The fact that Chile is led today by Michelle Bachelet, a socialist as well as the daughter of one of Pinochet's victims, constitutes - from that point of view - an optimistic symbol and the ultimate revenge on the dictator." ----- Poll: Seven out of Ten Americans Disapprove of Handling of Iraq War http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206H.shtml In a new Post-ABC News poll, seven in 10 Americans disapprove of the way the president is handling the situation in Iraq - the highest percentage since the March 2003 invasion. Six in 10 say the war was not worth fighting. ----- Outrage Over Killing of Gaza Boys http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206P.shtml ----- Gore Doesn't Rule Out '08 Run; Kucinich Is In http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206M.shtml ----- War Resister Considers Himself a Soldier as He Builds New Life http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206N.shtml "I knew I was at a turning point," 33-year-old Patrick Hart said of the wrenching ride toward the border, where he would leave his country behind. From Buffalo, Hart would cross into Canada. His parents, who were in on his secret, drove him across the Peace Bridge and delivered him to a network of Canadian supporters who welcome disillusioned US soldiers with open arms, a place to stay, and legal advice. ----- US Military Deaths in Iraq Hit 2,928 http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206L.shtml ----- David Bacon | Are Democrats Heading Over a Cliff? http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206K.shtml ----- Suzanne Swift Accepts Plea Deal http://www.truthout.org/docs_2006/121206U.shtml ----- By 2040, Greenhouse Gases Could Lead to an Open Arctic Sea in Summers http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121206EA.shtml New studies project that the Arctic Ocean could be mostly open water in summer by 2040 - several decades earlier than previously expected - partly as a result of global warming caused by emissions of greenhouse gases. The projections come from computer simulations of climate and ice and from direct measurements showing that the amount of ice coverage has been declining for 30 years. ----- Fishing Businesses Decry Large Mine Proposed for Alaska http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121206EB.shtml ----- Outbreaks Reveal Food Safety Net's Holes http://www.truthout.org/issues_06/121206HA.shtml First it was spinach. Then tomatoes. Now possibly green onions. Over the past three months, fresh produce has been the culprit in one episode of food-borne illness after another, the latest an E. coli outbreak that appears to be linked to green onions served at Taco Bell restaurants in the Northeast. More than 60 people have been sickened in that outbreak. The patchwork of federal and state regulations that is supposed to ensure food safety has become less effective as the nation's produce supply has grown increasingly industrial. _________________________________ .ron corvuswire@verizon.net CNN's Michael Ware >> http://www.corvuswire.com/michaelware.htm ( Michael Ware Reports from Baghdad - He's been living there for over three years now. Simply the best reporter in Iraq. This guy knows what's going on - in the streets of Baghdad - and tells it like it is. He's probably one of the most hated persons in the Pentagon and White House, because Ware is always telling America and the world what's really happening on the ground in Baghdad. ) ----- Domestic Control of Our Airlines Is Coming To An End http://www.corvuswire.com/losecontrol.htm ( "The Bush administration is going ahead with a plan to give control of our airlines to foreign investors, despite the fact that the U.S. Congress has expressly disapproved that idea. ...it's all being done in the name of 'free trade.' " ) - Lou Dobbs, CNN & Selling Our American Roads To Foreign Companies Your government: selling taxpayer owned roads to foreign investors. In Pennsylvania and Texas, state government officials are proposing to sell taxpayer /state-owned roads to foreign investors, SO THEY CAN BUILD TOLL ROADS ON THEM - for profit. Texas Gov. Rick Perry has already closed the deal in Texas, selling over one million acres of Texas land to a Mexican-owned corporation, so that Mexican company can build toll roads and make profits in Texas. http://www.corvuswire.com/sellingourroads.htm & see North American Union >> http://www.corvusworld.com/nau.htm ----- President Carter on Jay Leno >> http://www.corvuswire.com/jimmycarter-jayleno.htm ----- Americans Leave Now! >> http://www.corvuswire.com/americansleavenow.htm ( An overwhelming majority of Iraqis want us to leave Iraq now! 19 out of every 20 Iraqis say security was better under Saddam Hussein; 9 in 10 say they feel danger when they see U.S. soldiers; two-thirds of Iraqis will feel safer when the U.S. leaves Iraq ). ----- Dennis Kucinich Videos >> http://www.corvuswire.com/kucinichvideos.htm _________________________________ Excerpted from: http://mediamatters.org CNN's Henry did not tell viewers that Bush "listening mode" doesn't include asking questions or openness to suggestions CNN's Ed Henry's description of President Bush being "in listening mode right now" regarding his strategy for the Iraq war ignored that Bush's "listening mode" apparently does not include asking questions of the Iraq Study Group or receptivity to some of the ISG's key recommendations. Read more >> http://mediamatters.org/items/200612110003?src=other ----- Conservatives continued to belittle Iraq Study Group report Since Media Matters for America's December 8 round-up on conservative criticism of the Iraq Study Group (ISG), conservatives have continued to publicly attack both the ISG report and its members. Read more >> http://mediamatters.org/items/200612120003?src=other ----- NY Times uncritically reported Hastert statement about ethics committee report Read more >> http://mediamatters.org/items/200612110005?src=other _________________________________ Bernie Weiner: "Exiting the Rat-Hole: Iraq & CheneyBush" Excerpt: "Consider: As in most authoritarian regimes, the Bush Administration is absolutely paranoid about keeping its programs and policies secret -- and for good reason as many of them are illegal or immoral or extremely dangerous to America's national interests. If you haven't yet read John W. Dean's 2004 best-seller "Worse Than Watergate: The Secret Presidency of George W. Bush, " I heartily recommend it, as it examines with great surgical skill CheneyBush's obsession with secrecy and its dire impact on our democratic process. Full article >> http://www.crisispapers.org/essays6w/rat-hole.htm _________________________________ [NEWSDISSECTOR] UN's Kofi Annan Takes A Parting Shot http://www.newsdissector.com/blog/2006/12/12/uns-kofi-anan-takes-a-parting-shot/ _________________________________ Excerpted from: http://onlinejournal.com Bring the civilians home now! ... By Nicolas J S Davies Online Journal Contributing Writer The United States is now locked in a debate over when and how to bring its troops home from Iraq. However, these military forces are only the tip of the spear that the U.S. government has plunged into the heart of the Arab world. The political debate has failed to address the disposition of the principal instrument for the lasting imposition of American interests on the government of Iraq: the largest "embassy" in the diplomatic history of the world, now rising over the banks of the Tigris. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1505.shtml ----- US and Israel targeting DNA in Gaza? Part 3 of 3: The DIME bomb, yet another genotoxic weapon ... By James Brooks | Online Journal Contributing Writer The human genome: target or innocent bystander? http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1512.shtml ----- Flu vaccines -- open season ... By Sinead Dumigan | Online Journal Guest Writer For all the frantic, unvaccinated citizens fearing the "upcoming" peak of flu season rest assured that coming down with a flu infection is the least of your worries. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1510.shtml ----- Dictatorship may be a safer bet for Iraq By Linda S. Heard | Online Journal Contributing Writer Even as Saddam Hussein awaits the hangman's noose (unless by some miracle his appeal is successful) and is judged to be an irrelevance in today's Iraq, his name keeps popping up on more and more influential lips. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1509.shtml ----- Oh God, where art thou? ... By Nick Paccione | Online Journal Contributing Writer Read the Bible! If nothing else read Genesis and then ask yourself if a rational person could actually believe that these are literal, historical stories about our human ancestors and earth's creation. I'm talking about Adam, Eve, Cain, Abel, Moses, Noah and the rest. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1518.shtml ----- An accomplished interrogator is like a fencing master By Peter Rost, M.D. | Online Journal Contributing Writer Yesterday I went through one of those experiences that will probably stay with me for a long time. I was deposed by Ronald Green, founder of Epstein, Becker & Green, one of the most famous employment law firms in the country. Mr. Green is the defense lawyer of record for Pfizer, a company I used to work for as a vice president. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1516.shtml ----- Hey, we got beat fair and square ... By Mike Whitney Online Journal Contributing Writer The hearings for Robert Gates were about as weird as it gets. http://onlinejournal.com/artman/publish/article_1515.shtml _________________________________ http://multimedia.hsus.org/slideshow-2006/slideshow-2006.html?source=gabau7 _________________________________ Plumb Crazy U.S. EPA considers delisting lead as an air pollutant That sound you hear? It's jaws dropping everywhere in response to the U.S. EPA's announcement that it might stop regulating lead as an air pollutant. Citing the fact that concentrations of the toxic heavy metal in the air have dropped 90 percent since 1980, and using logic we can only assume was supplied by EPA administrator Stephen Johnson's six-year-old granddaughter, the agency says lifting the national standard may be justified "given the significantly changed circumstances since lead was listed [as an air pollutant] in 1976." In other words, listing it worked so well, we might as well delist it. Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), who's set to take over the House Committee on Government Reform, told Johnson "this deregulatory effort cannot be defended" and urged the agency to "renounce this dangerous proposal immediately." Meanwhile, the U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission is recommending that lead be banned from children's jewelry. Because. Lead. Is. Poisonous. Now close your mouth. straight to the source: San Francisco Chronicle, Associated Press, John Heilprin, 06 Dec 2006: http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/n/a/2006/12/06/national/w182037S54.DTL straight to the source: Scientific American, Reuters, Timothy Gardner, 06 Dec 2006: http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa003&articleID=5E4DF576D1ED58E5990F70848D933758 straight to the source: The Washington Post, Annys Shin and Juliet Eilperin, 07 Dec 2006: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/12/06/AR2006120601882.html see also, in Gristmill: Ghoul-y jewelry: http://gristmill.grist.org/story/2006/10/23/13262/450/?source=weekly _________________________________ http://aldaily.com | http://www.counterpunch.org | http://www.antiwar.com _________________________________ .....................Leave a key for Santa Children are so funny. They always come up with the most interesting questions. Just the other day, my Ian asked how Santa could come down the chimney if a fire were lit. Obviously, he was worried that Santa would be deterred by a fire. Well, I hopped on the Internet and found today's Cool Site. It tells you how you can make a magic key so Santa can get in the house to deliver presents. Ian and I made it together. Now Ian's less worried about Santa getting down the chimney than what he's going to bring! Incidentally, the key also works for houses that don't have a chimney. TO VISIT TODAY'S COOL SITE, GO HERE: http://www.dltk-holidays.com Be sure to listen to me Monday through Friday. Use my map to find me near you http://www.komando.com/listen/index.aspx _________________________________ eHEALTHY NEWS Why Raise Your Cancer Risks by Drinking Tap Water? - A slew of new studies have found a connection between bladder cancer and high consumption of tap water. http://www.mercola.com/2006/may/27/raise_your_cancer_risks_by_drinking_tap_water.htm ----- How Evil Are You? - This personality test will let you find out! http://www.mercola.com/2006/may/27/how_evil_are_you.htm _________________________________ VIDEO: Run Away Shadow - Lasse Gjertsen 1:19 12/7/2006 - Lasse Gjertsen is the same guy who created the Stop Motion Piano and Drums videos as well as the Human Beatbox video that we posted a while back. He's from Norway and he is one of the most creative film makers I've ever come across. Here's another one of his brilliant yet semi disturbing videos. http://www.break.com/index/us_lasse_gjertsen.html _________________________________ NationalGeographic.com http://lava.nationalgeographic.com/pod/ _________________________________ NASA Astronomy picture of the day http://antwrp.gsfc.nasa.gov/apod/astropix.html _________________________________ Submitted by: http://eddiestinson@gmail.com Words Women Use: 1.) FINE: This is the word women use to end an argument when they are right and you need to shut up. 2.) Five Minutes: If she is getting dressed, this means a half an hour. Five Minutes is only five minutes if you have just been given five more minutes to watch the game before helping around the house. 3.) Nothing: This is the calm before the storm. This means something, and you should be on your toes. Arguments that begin with nothing usually end in fine. 4.) Go Ahead: This is a dare, not permission. Don't Do It! 5.) Loud Sigh: This is actually a word, but is a non-verbal statement often misunderstood by men. A loud sigh means she thinks you are an idiot and wonders why she is wasting her time standing here and arguing with you about nothing. (Refer back to #3 for the meaning of nothing.) 6.) That's Okay: This is one of the most dangerous statements a women can make to a man. That's okay means she wants to think long and hard before deciding how and when you will pay for your mistake. 7.) Thanks: A woman is thanking you, do not question, or Faint. Just say you're welcome. 8.) Whatever: Is a women's way of saying f*!k you! 9.) Don't worry about it, I got it: Another dangerous statement, meaning this is something that a woman has told a man to do several times, but is now doing it herself. This will later result in a man asking "what's wrong", for the woman's response refer to # 3.