Torture interrogation by trial and error

Carol Rosenberg at the New York Times did an article putting together the recent testimony by the torture psychiatrists... the architects of the torture plan my country used on the men at Guantanamo and other places.
What the testimony (and article) shows is  "that C.I.A. black sites, where some detainees were tortured, amounted to test labs for unproven techniques, with shifting rules shaping operations."

You can read the whole story here.

musical interlude

Sometimes you just need to dream.

And if you are in NYC next week...

Guantánamo [Un]Censored: Art from Inside the Prison

Marking the 18th anniversary of the opening of Guantánamo Bay prison, a new art installation features works created by men incarcerated without charge or fair process at the infamous facility. Exhibition Opening Reception Wednesday, February 19, 2020, 6:00 pm City University of New York (CUNY) School of Law The exhibit showcases artworks — the majority of which have never before been displayed — of eleven current and former Guantánamo prisoners, and includes a range of artistic styles and mediums. From acrylic landscapes on canvas to model ships made from scavenged materials such as plastic bottle caps and threads from prayer rugs, Guantánamo [Un]Censored celebrates the creativity of the artists and their resilience. Regarding his artwork, Moath al-Alwi, a Yemeni national and client of CUNY Law School’s Immigrant and Non-Citizen Rights Clinic (INRC), said “Despite being in prison, I try as much as I can to get my soul out of prison. I live a different life when I am making art.” Guantánamo Bay has become a symbol of injustice, abuse, and flagrant disregard for the rule of law. Since the prison camp opened in 2002, 780 men have been unlawfully imprisoned. Many were subjected to torture and other brutal treatment. Today, 40 men remain, nearly all held without charge or trial. While some have already been cleared for release by the U.S. military and national security agencies, they continue to languish in prison. Special thanks to the artists at Guantánamo for sharing their works — and to their lawyers who provide hope. Featured Artists: Mansoor Adayfi, Moath al-Alwi, Djamel Ameziane, Mohammed al-Ansi, Ghaleb al-Bihani, Towfiq al-Bihani, Assadulah Haroon Gul, Khalid Qasim, Sabry Mohammed al-Qurashi, Ahmed Badr Rabbani, Abdulmalik al-Rahabi, Mohamedou Salahi

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More torture drawings by Abu Zubaydah

Abu Zubaydah has been drawing pictures of the torture techniques used on him by my government. I tried in the past to copy and paste the drawings but that did not work out so well. So click here and view his drawings yourself.

From Roger Fitch and our Friends down under...at Justinian

I am just pasting below the important part of Fitch's latest as it relates to the notorious Patrick Philbin...aka torture enabler. But please click here and read the entire post on the sham impeachment trial.

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During the trial's often diversionary question-and-answer phase, the supercilious Patrick Philbin - a product of Boston's Roxbury Latin School (est.1645), Yale, Harvard Law and Cambridge - glibly fielded Dorothy Dixers from Republican senators. He later added his irritating voice to the closing arguments. 

But there is more to Patrick Philbin's CV: a history of meretricious and tainted legal advice for Republican administrations. While a few journalists noted Philbin's former work for the Office of Legal Counsel, no one seemed to recall that he left his unclean handprints all over the infamous OLC "torture memos" and George Bush's Guantánamo policies. 

Apparently no one remembered the opportune "legal" opinions that Philbin concocted for the "war on terror", nor his support for torture in meetings of the National Security Adviser's "Principals Committee". 

Before the first prisoners arrived at Guantánamo Bay, Philbin (with OLC lawyer John Yoo) advised that the Naval Base lay beyond US federal court jurisdiction, and he also made a baseless finding that the Bush-fabricated military commissions, later struck down by the supreme court, were valid. 

Philbin: flawed legal advice

Worst of all, Philbin joined OLC head Jay Bybee in the first Justice Department memo endorsing the CIA's "enhanced interrogation techniques", practices which no lawyer acting in good faith could regard as other than torture, or "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment", clear violations of US statutes, caselaw, and/or international law. 

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About that Donald J Putin

It seems like a good time to remind all of you about this EXCEPTIONAL book about
American exceptionalism... you can order it here.

Oh yeah... we also have an impeachment going on.