Comments on: Obama Hates The Truth On Binyan Mohamed

By: drational

drational — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 13:04:36 +0000

Thanks very much for responding and thinking about my reactions on this, and thanks Bmaz, JTMinIA and WO and others for also hearing out my agita and offering insightful and empathetic comments. I respect your deep and consistent positions and am happy to share this set of tubes with you.

By: bobschacht

bobschacht — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:32:59 +0000

…more and more we keep finding that so many of these “so-called terrorists from the Bush Administration” were just set up so badly and were such patsies or just simple citizens of their countries in the Middle East.

Exactly. Perpetual war, and keeping the public in a state of perpetual fear was just what the Bushies needed to grab the power they wanted. For them, those “enemy combatants” were necessary furniture needed to complete The House that George & Dick Built.

Bob in HI

By: maeme

maeme — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 01:20:01 +0000

You know those on the very far fringes of the right have always claimed that Obama was not one bit different than Bush on his aattitudes towards the wars and the terrorists.
I am all in favor of locking up the bad guys who want to hurt and kill americans but more and more we keep finding that so many of these “so-called terrorists from the Bush Administration” were just set up so badly and were such patsies or just simple citizens of their countries in the Middle East.

By: Synoia

Synoia — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:08:57 +0000

Binyan -> ECHR (European Court of Human Rights)

Long Appeal.

By: bmaz

bmaz — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 00:00:47 +0000

Please join us for a special post on Emptywheel, that tells the story of one of our own:

Give the Gift of Life: Become an Organ Donor

By: JohnLopresti

JohnLopresti — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:46:07 +0000

Jane Mayer interview with Gross played today, says April likely docket al-Marri Scotus likely debut of shift back to crim courts or adumbration of Katyal-Goldsmith terra court, look for congress concoct DTA MCA version. My sense of both Obama and Biden is neither could support torcha in any political sense. There is societal conditioning to tocha for sport and inspiration, make that expiration; ex-tackle Madden once described it as something akin to tocha in later life after retiring from gridiron. But I think Mayer has a wider sensibility than the narrow question of court without kangaroo or publicity, and that the Republicans are trying to attract attention until the new institutional pathways are better worn and configured. SJC has scheduled Johnsen next Wednesday; NB the materials available there are a breath of fresh air but some are from more than one year ago. It should be interesting meanwhile to see what Gates thinks of new directions over the next year until January 23 2010.

By: ubetchaiam

ubetchaiam — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:43:55 +0000

Bob, it was a choice between ‘uncle tom’ and ‘oreo’; sarcastic monikers for multiracial persons I’m unaware of and since everyone wants to call him the ‘first black president’ ,oreo seems accurate.
You are right about Condi though.
As is Thomas.
Wonder when Holder will be pushed on to ‘clarify’ his remarks.

By: bobschacht

bobschacht — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:31:28 +0000

IMHO, calling Obama an oreo is a vast oversimplification, and contains little truth. Obama grew up in Indonesia and Hawaii, ferpetesakes, and as a current resident of Hawaii, the Oreo image just doesn’t work. Its more of a parody than a helpful image.

Now, if you want Oreo, I give you Condaleeza Rice.

Bob in HI

By: KenMuldrew

KenMuldrew — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:27:15 +0000

People have been vacuumed up with little or no incriminating evidence and held in captivity for years with no access to due process. Their liberty has been taken from them and in many cases they have been mutilated and tortured, sometimes to death. This is slavery. Quod omnes tangit; it touches everything. There is no hope for the nation if Barack Obama, him especially, refuses to act against institutional slavery for the sake of expedience. There is right and there is wrong and there is nowhere that the choice is so stark as with this issue. Time is of the essence because the civil war was fought 150 years ago, and that is surely long enough to realize that the right side won.

By: ubetchaiam

ubetchaiam — Wed, 18 Feb 2009 23:25:10 +0000

It is amazing how difficult it is for people to see that the emporer hasn’t any clothes.
Bmaz, thanks for this excellent post.
Selise, yes, it is a ‘web’ and climate change is woven deeply into the economic issues but doesn’t get much attention for the linkage.
Others, Obama isn’t a ‘war criminal’ but he IS an OREO and the sooner people realize that the better. Simply reflect on the phrases he has uttered re ’systemic risks’ when it comes to ’stress testing’ of financial institutions,or ‘weakening the institution of the Presidency’ when it comes to ‘State secrets’(and I was pointing out long before he was elected about the dangers of not holding Bush accountable via impeachment).
One can vent one’s opinion/thoughts about accountability regarding torture here