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| And We Wonder Why The US Is Seen As Hypocritical | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Jan 24 2006, 04:41 PM (134 Views) | |
| Rick Zimmer | Jan 24 2006, 04:41 PM Post #1 |
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Fulla-Carp
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Land of the free. Home of the Brave. Exporter of democratic principles -- hell, we'll even invade and occupy a country to make sure they get our democratic principles. And then, we find out what Bush is really doing. No woneder the worl'd respect for the US has plummttesd under Bush. No wonder the world does not trust Bush. No wonder many of us in the US do not trust him. This is from CNN International, but you can fng the same story in lots of places. Report: U.S. was 'outsourcing' torture Tuesday, January 24, 2006 Posted: 2206 GMT (0606 HKT) (CNN) -- In his initial report to the Council of Europe on alleged secret prisons run by the CIA in eastern Europe to question terror suspects, a Swiss investigator said there was evidence of the "outsourcing" of torture by the United States, adding it was likely a number of Europe nations or their intelligence agencies knew about it. "It has been proved -- and, in fact, never denied -- that individuals have been abducted, deprived of their liberty and transported ... in Europe, to be handed over to countries in which they have suffered ... torture," said Swiss Senator Dick Marty in a written statement. Last month, the group Human Rights Watch said it had "not reached final conclusions about CIA operations in eastern Europe," but had collected information that CIA airplanes traveled from Afghanistan in 2003 and 2004, making direct flights to remote airfields in Poland and Romania, and sometimes passing through other European nations. According to Marty, the alleged operations involved more than 100 people. While admitting there was no formal, irrefutable proof of the existence of secret CIA detention centers in Romania, Poland or any other country, Marty said there was "a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing' of torture." U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack on Tuesday afternoon called the report "old ground having been plowed." "Same old reports wrapped up in some new rhetoric," he said. "There's nothing new here." McCormack repeated what U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice said she told European leaders on a trip to the continent in December: "The United States does not torture. We respect the sovereignty of our European friends and allies." He added, "Most importantly , the United States and Europe are fighting a common fight against terrorism." During her talks in Europe, he said, Rice "got down to the core issue" of the challenge of fighting terrorism in a free society." The Council of Europe launched its probe after allegations surfaced in November that U.S. agents interrogated key al Qaeda suspects at clandestine prisons in eastern Europe and transported some suspects to other countries passing through Europe. |
| [size=4]Violence is incompatible with the nature of God and the nature of the soul -- Benedict XVI[/size] | |
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| George K | Jan 24 2006, 04:48 PM Post #2 |
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Finally
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At least he had some good precedent: From "Against All Enemies" by Richard Clarke Snatches, or more properly "extraordinary renditions," were operations to apprehend terrorists abroad, usually without the knowledge of and almost always without public acknowledgement of the host government.... The first time I proposed a snatch, in 1993, the White House Counsel, Lloyd Cutler, demanded a meeting with the President to explain how it violated international law. Clinton had seemed to be siding with Cutler until Al Gore belatedly joined the meeting, having just flown overnight from South Africa. Clinton recapped the arguments on both sides for Gore: Lloyd says this. Dick says that. Gore laughed and said, "That's a no-brainer. Of course it's a violation of international law, that's why it's a covert action. The guy is a terrorist. Go grab his ass." (pp. 143-144) And your post: "While admitting there was no formal, irrefutable proof of the existence of secret CIA detention centers in Romania, Poland or any other country, Marty said there was "a great deal of coherent, convergent evidence pointing to the existence of a system of 'relocation' or 'outsourcing' of torture." IOW, there's no proof, but we think so. Hmm... And we wonder why the left is seen as hypocritical... (I apologize, I broke my rule) |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| Kincaid | Jan 24 2006, 04:51 PM Post #3 |
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HOLY CARP!!!
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Keep trying Rick, maybe I'll get all worked up about this issue someday.
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| Kincaid - disgusted Republican Partisan since 2006. | |
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| John D'Oh | Jan 24 2006, 05:14 PM Post #4 |
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MAMIL
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Actually, George, your point would make the US even more hypocritical since it would combine additively with Rick's criticism, and mean that the US is always hypocritical whoever's in power. God Save The Queen! A woman who is genetically incapable of lying.
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| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| George K | Jan 24 2006, 05:19 PM Post #5 |
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Finally
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Slap! Thanks, John, for reminding me of my eternal debt to the British Isles, and their natural superiority. (grin!)
hypocritical whoever's in power Yep... |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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| John D'Oh | Jan 24 2006, 05:22 PM Post #6 |
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MAMIL
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Don't thank me, George, thank The Queen. I'm just a loyal and obedient servant of her Britannic Majesty. Now, when can we have our tea back? |
| What do you mean "we", have you got a mouse in your pocket? | |
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| George K | Jan 24 2006, 06:19 PM Post #7 |
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Finally
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http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/11009379/ Political bias affects brain activity, study finds Democrats and Republicans both adept at ignoring facts, brain scans show LiveScience Updated: 6:46 p.m. ET Jan. 24, 2006 Democrats and Republicans alike are adept at making decisions without letting the facts get in the way, a new study shows. And they get quite a rush from ignoring information that's contrary to their point of view. Researchers asked staunch party members from both sides to evaluate information that threatened their preferred candidate prior to the 2004 Presidential election. The subjects' brains were monitored while they pondered. The results were announced today. "We did not see any increased activation of the parts of the brain normally engaged during reasoning," said Drew Westen, director of clinical psychology at Emory University. "What we saw instead was a network of emotion circuits lighting up, including circuits hypothesized to be involved in regulating emotion, and circuits known to be involved in resolving conflicts." Bias on both sides The test subjects on both sides of the political aisle reached totally biased conclusions by ignoring information that could not rationally be discounted, Westen and his colleagues say. Then, with their minds made up, brain activity ceased in the areas that deal with negative emotions such as disgust. But activity spiked in the circuits involved in reward, a response similar to what addicts experience when they get a fix, Westen explained. The study points to a total lack of reason in political decision-making. |
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A guide to GKSR: Click "Now look here, you Baltic gas passer... " - Mik, 6/14/08 Nothing is as effective as homeopathy. I'd rather listen to an hour of Abba than an hour of The Beatles. - Klaus, 4/29/18 | |
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