17 Years Since the Notorious Yoo-Bybee “Torture Memos,” the US Still Finds Itself Unable to Successfully Prosecute the Men It Tortured
August 1 was the 17th anniversary of a particularly grotesque and dispiriting event in modern US history, one that has ramifications that are still being felt today, even though it was completely unnoticed — or ignored — by the US media.
On August 1, 2002, Jay S. Bybee, then the Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Legal Counsel (OLC), the branch of the Justice Department responsible for advising the executive branch on what is, and what is not legal, signed off on two blatantly unlawful memos written by OLC lawyer John Yoo, which attempted to re-define torture, and approved its use on Abu Zubaydah, a prisoner of the “war on terror” that the US declared after the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, who was being held in a secret prison — a “black site” — run by the CIA.
AN INSPIRING 2018-19 SCHOOL YEAR!
Should another generation of youth living here be sucked into war for empire, the way two million+ have sacrificed their humanity and lives in the so-called “war on terror?” We say no, and are actively working to present what the recruiters for the U.S. armed forces won’t ever say. Should another generation of youth in this country be unaware of what is being carried out around the world in their names? We say no, and are determined to build anti-war consciousness and activism. It is neither in the interests of this generation of young people nor those of the people of the world for them to enlist in the military – while, on the other hand, becoming part of a movement opposing these wars is.
Video by Will Griffin of the Peace Report.
Kings Bay Plowshares Case Shifts to U.S. District Court for August 7 Hearing
The seven members of the Kings Bay Plowshares received a notice of hearing June 4 answering their request for an oral argument before District Court Judge Lisa Wood. The seven are ordered to be in Brunswick, GA in U.S. District Court on August 7 at 10 a.m.
The Mass-Murdering U.S. Government Steps Up Persecution of Julian Assange for Helping Expose Its War Crimes—and Takes Aim at ALL Investigative Journalists
Imagine a society in which journalists or publishers are threatened by the government with life in prison for reporting on massive war crimes. Actually, you don’t have to imagine this nightmarish scenario. This is now the reality in America 2019, with the May 23 indictment of Julian Assange, founder of WikiLeaks, for working with Chelsea Manning to bring to light U.S. war crimes in Iraq and Afghanistan as well as troves of other information relating to treatment of detainees at Guantánamo, diplomatic cables with details about U.S. relations with its allies, and more.
Wars and Wars and Wars
What’s the matter with us
that we allow
Endless wars, new wars
Wars, wars and more wars?
Venezuela
As U.S. threats against Venezuela continue with the U.S. selection and then recognition of non-elected Juan Guaido as the interim president, there have been threats by Guaido supporters, again backed by the Trump/Pence Regime, to take over the Venezuelan Embassy in Washington DC.
When is Enough, Enough?
Debra Sweet | May 16, 2019If you believe Trump is so isolationist that he wouldn't use the tremendous military force he controls to attack, invade, occupy, change regimes or worse, you've been bamboozled. This is the guy who used the "mother of all bombs" and wants to know "if we have nukes, why can't we use them?"
American Fascism Inspires White Nationalist Movements in Countries Around the World
Curt Wechsler | April 7, 2019
The membership of American white-nationalist movements has grown by more than 600% since 2012, found extremism researcher J.M. Berger in a 2016 study. "Today, they outperform ISIS in nearly every social metric, from follower counts to tweets per day." Through an unrelenting barrage of daily outrages and twitter outbursts, the Trump/Pence regime is radically remaking society - step by step hammering into place a vicious American fascism. This is not insult or exaggeration, it is what they are doing.
As Trump Orders US Out of Afghanistan, Notorious CIA-Backed Units Will Remain
Marjorie Cohn, Truthout | January 6, 2019
Politicians and pundits alike have roundly criticized Donald Trump for stating he will pull our troops out of Syria and cut US forces in Afghanistan by half. James Mattis immediately resigned as secretary of defense, writing in a letter to Trump, “you have the right to have a Secretary of Defense whose views are better aligned with yours.”
As the US military kills civilians in Syria and CIA-led Afghan forces continue to commit war crimes, it appears Trump is doing the right thing in pulling out military troops. But the CIA will remain and grow stronger after the US troops leave. “[A]s American military forces are set to draw down, the role of the Central Intelligence Agency is only likely to grow in importance,” according to The New York Times.
A Measure of How Much has Changed in Two Years
Curt Wechsler | January 9, 2019
Mr. Trump's first Oval Office address felt like a non-event agree The New Yorker writers John Cassidy and Masha Gessen.
"A measure of how much has changed in two years -- how far we have fallen -- is that commentators have stopped saying that Trump is 'Presidential' when he manages to read from the teleprompter," says Gessen. "This isn't because Trump has changed or the commentators have changed. It's because he has redefined what 'Presidential' is."
The Violence Of The U.S. War On Terror
This is not a film review. But see "Vice," starring Christian Bale as "Dick" Cheney. You'll look at this photo differently after seeing the film.
One of the remarkable features of the film is the startling, realistic jumps to the violence of the U.S. war on terror precipitated by Cheney's actions. Cheney co-ordinates the build-up to the attack on Iraq and suddenly the screen is filled with Iraqis being bombed. Cheney authorizes the rendering of a cleric in one of the Baltic states, and bam, the cleric is thrown into a van within seconds, gagged and disappeared. The concepts of human rights and democracy, U.S. style, get brought sharply to the viewer, as a public service.
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