HAPPY FOURTH OF JULY

CLICK ON THE TITLE AND THEN FOLLOW UP WITH THIS LINK:

http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2009/07/rumsfeld_on_abandoning_geneva_all_of_a_sudden_it_w.php?ref=fpb

For Al-Ghizzawi

I am taking a real vacation so there will not be much going on here except on the odd day.... but good things are maybe happening so I will leave you with this....
and say no more for now.

Maybe not the cleanest version but what the heck...

The Government of Transparency

Yes, our new government of transparency is threatening to take me before one of the judges for publicly disclosing information I received from a non government source. Oh well.... hopefully our constitution is still somewhat in effect.

Oh man, We cannot do this to people...Urgent request

As I mentioned, I have been holed up at the secret place for the last while....it is a miserable experience.... but I smiled as I watched the reports about the four Uighers finally finding a home in Bermuda (click on the title for one of the stories).... now the Bermudians (?) are getting whipped up into a frenzy and threatening to call a no-confidence vote on the current administration for allowing these men, who have been accused of nothing and found to be totally innocent....into the country. Please write letters (to the editor) to your local papers speaking as loudly as possible in praise of the humanitarian decency shown by the Bermuda government. Statements should praise in particular premier Dr. Ewart Brown.
I guess I should not have to mention this but this request goes beyond the Uighers. If Brown gets a no confidence vote for doing the right thing...how many countries do you think will be willing to help us close Guantanamo by taking the innocent men that have long been held?

chipping away at the torture lawyers....

Speaking of Torture...

Check out this from the emptywheel.... and this second post that followed.
Click on the title for the post.

Sign on for torture accountability

Sign on for torture accountability!

The Attorney General's reluctance to appoint a special prosecutor to investigate potential crimes by former officials involved in torturing detainees is endangering our nation's fundamental values and our credibility as a worldwide human rights leader.

Take a stand today by signing BORDC's letter to Attorney General Eric Holder and the Senate Intelligence Committee demanding accountability for torture. We will be sending a series of letters, including some on behalf of individuals practicing particular professions, reflecting the unique challenges they face.

• Letter open to all signers

• Letter signed by legal professionals

• Letter signed by education professionals

• Letter signed by clergy and religious lay-leaders

Interesting Torture Timeline with Links

From Roger Fitch and Our Friends Down Under at Justinian

Roger Fitch Esq • June 9, 2009

Our Man in Washington

President Obama says he wants to close Guantánamo Bay … This Konzentrationslager was flawed from the start … There was no law to support the “enemy combatant” regime … Roger Fitch tracks the fate of some of the better known detainees

Now that Barack Obama is settling into the daunting task of returning the US to a constitutional democracy, perhaps it’s a good time to reflect on the fate of Guantánamo prisoners, individual victims of George Bush’s comprehensively illegal project.

Click on the title for more

Anniversary of the Boumediene Decision Brings Some Relief

Today marked the one year anniversary of the decision by the US Supreme Court that said the Guantanamo detainees were entitled to swift hearings on their habeas petitions. Yesterday the Obama administration released 6 men. One of the men was a 14 year old boy (from Chad) when first brought to Guantanamo (el-Gharani), one was Iraqi and Four of the six were Uigher prisoners. Two separate Courts ordered the Uighers to be released, 13 Uighers remain. The four Uighers were released to Bermuda (supposedly CNN has an interview with them). Today three men were released, this time to Saudi Arabia (Khalid Saad Mohammed, Abdalaziz Kareem Salim Al Noofayaee and Ahmed Zaid Salim Zuhair.). Mr. Zuhair was Guantanamo's longest running hunger striker.
I am holed up at the secret place.
229 left and counting...
No word yet on my two clients. Sigh...

The Shocking Statistics of Starvation

To mark the third anniversary of the first known three deaths at Guantanamo, Andy Worthington put together a report for Cageprisoners analyzing the weight records released by the Pentagon in 2007, which demonstrate that, throughout Guantanamo's history, one in ten of the total population — 80 prisoners in total — weighed, at some point, less than 112 pounds (eight stone, or 50 kg), and 20 of these prisoners weighed less than 98 pounds (seven stone, or 44 kg). Click on the title to read the whole story.

Gitmo Attorney David Cynamon Calls For Investigation

Guantanamo Attorney: Investigate Obama Administration’s Failure to Comply with Supreme Court Before Starting Sotomayor Confirmation Process

Confirmation should not proceed until the Obama administration’s compliance with Supreme Court decisions is examined, says Kuwaiti Detainees Lawyer David Cynamon

CLICK ON THE TITLE FOR MORE....

New Seton Hall report debunking Pentagon "leak"

Seton Hall Law, Center for Policy & Research has just published it's latest report: Revisionist Recidivism: An Analysis of the Government’s Representations of Alleged “Recidivism” of the Guantanamo Detainees

A new home for the Uighers?

Palau. I have to admit I did not even know where Palau is located until I read this article. And who knew native born Palaun's don't need a passport to come to the US? I am sure the men would be happy just to get the hell out of Gitmo but could we have found a more remote place? Click here for Andy Worthington's take on this.

Rumsfeld: no place to hide but here in the US of A

And I truly hope we will not shelter you for much longer....