Torture memos

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

People are not pushing for an independent investigation because they understand that procedures were followed and that the torture memos are evidence thereof. They were asking the department whose job it would be to investigate, comprehend?

Me: Hey, Mr. police officer. That STOP sign is bent over and has been for two years. It looks like somebody decided it wasn't valid... they haven't replaced it.

Policeman: It sure does.

Me: So look, because the sign is broken, I'm just going to go through this intersection without stopping, OK?

Policeman: Yes. I've looked in the county records and there is no legal STOP sign at this intersection. You may definitely go through this intersection without stopping.

Me: (goes through intersection)

Policeman: You are under arrest.

Me: What?? But I went through a procedure where I asked you specifically about this sign!

Policeman: The fact that you asked is proof of your guilt. Also, sugarpop is "fairly convinced" you're guilty. Fairly is good enough for me. Off we go.

Arrest the police officer.

[classicman]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

Arrest the police officer.

Why? For what?

[TGRR]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Try harder man. It's not that difficult.

Okay, never mind. I thought you were seriously debating. My bad.

[xoxoxoBruce]

Originally Posted by DanaC

Clearly the only real option is to set up re-education camps where fascist sympathisers like m'self and the good lady sugarpop can learn the true meaning of freedom.

Yes, at my house... with lots of naked calisthenics.

[DanaC]

you're a bad man Bruce.....but I like it

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

People are not pushing for an independent investigation because they understand that procedures were followed and that the torture memos are evidence thereof. They were asking the department whose job it would be to investigate, comprehend?...

In order to get to bottom of this and find out what truly happened and how it happened, we need an independent investigator, someone who is truly unbiased but who understands the rules and laws that were broken. We need to know if there was conspiracy, how far up or down the chain it went, and who all knew about it. Who ordered it. We broke laws, and someone needs to pay for it. I think it should be Cheney, and perhaps Rumsfeld, and the lawyers who twisted the law to fit what they wanted.

We also need an investigation into the financial markets. We need another Pecaro Investigation so we can get to the bottom of that as well, because if we don't, nothing will get done in regulating these institutions and taking apart the ones that are too big to fail, because we can't have that anymore.

[sugarpop]

Originally Posted by classicman

Why? For what?

entrapment.

[TheMercenary]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

In order to get to bottom of this and find out what truly happened and how it happened, we need an independent investigator, someone who is truly unbiased but who understands the rules and laws that were broken. We need to know if there was conspiracy, how far up or down the chain it went, and who all knew about it. Who ordered it. We broke laws, and someone needs to pay for it. I think it should be Cheney, and perhaps Rumsfeld, and the lawyers who twisted the law to fit what they wanted.

And if Pelosi covered up her complacency and approval.

[DanaC]

Hell yeah. This whole thing is Pelosi's fault. First against the wall, that's what i say. There surely can't be anyone else more heavily implicated or worthy of anger.

[TheMercenary]

Forgot your /sarc tag.

You can't hang one group and not hang the others involved.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by sugarpop

entrapment.

Then it should be the DoJ lawyers who are prosecuted.

[DanaC]

I don't use /sarc tags...I rely on context :P

[Happy Monkey]

Originally Posted by Undertoad

Then it should be the DoJ lawyers who are prosecuted.

And anyone else involved in approving it.

[Undertoad]

Originally Posted by Happy Monkey

And anyone else entrapped in approving it.

FTFY, the law is a messy business.

[TheMercenary]

On related news this was interesting. This site has some great posts.

A federal court last week rejected most of the objections raised by the Federal Bureau of Investigation to publication of a 500-page manuscript critical of the FBI counterterrorism program that was written by retired FBI Special Agent Robert G. Wright. The manuscript had been submitted for pre-publication review in October 2001.

“This is a sad and discouraging tale,” wrote Judge Gladys Kessler in a May 6 order (pdf), referring to the FBI’s handling of the manuscript.

“In its efforts to suppress this information, the FBI repeatedly changed its position, presented formalistic objections to release of various portions of the documents in question, admitted finally that much of the material it sought to suppress was in fact in the public domain and had been all along, and now concedes that several of the reasons it originally offered for censorship no longer have any validity,” Judge Kessler observed.

The 41-page, partially redacted court ruling reviewed the facts of the pre-publication review dispute as well as the legal standards for official censorship of such materials, and dismissed all but one government objection to the manuscript. The court also dismissed other government objections to release of written answers to interview questions submitted by then-New York Times reporter Judith Miller.

http://www.fas.org/blog/secrecy/2009...ensorship.html