Olbermann- Torture by Waterboarding
from Information Clearing House & at YouTube
The Inquistion Continues
Part 1
"On Friday's Countdown Keith Olbermann talked to Newsweek's Richard Wolfe and Former Nixon White House Counsel, John Dean, about Senators Feinstein and Schumer's inexcusable caving on President Bush's Attorney General nominee and an ABC News report that claims former acting Assistant Attorney General Daniel Levin was forced out of the DoJ when he declared waterboarding to be torture — after allowing himself to be waterboarded."
Part 2- Olbermann on Torture
So Bush & Co. still believe that " Waterboarding " & other such practices are not torture. If they & their true believers are convinced of it they should voluntarily undergo this benign relatively harmless technique themselves as Daniel Levine did & then tell us whether they think it constitutes torture of course they don't have the physical or moral courage to do so.
But then again If " Waterboarding " was good enough for the Catholic Church & The Inquisition & with the Former Shah of Iran & that paragon of virtue & Christian values General Pinochet of Chile & of course the Nazis & the Japanese in WWII then it is good enough for George W. Bush & I guess " waterboarding " is part of American & Family Values as defined by the Republicans & the Religious Right -
It is difficult to know if Prime Minister Stephen Harper is against torture but it is quite probable like his cousin or Boss George Bush he is in favor of whatever his lawyers tell him can be made legal- so slavery was not immoral in any sense when it was legal, it was not immoral or wrong in any sense for husbands to beat their wives when it was legal to do so - & it all comes down to what is in fashion & what is not -
The upshot is that these neoconservatives don't give a fig about " liberal " notions like " human rights " except when it comes to their rights & their freedom & their rights over their property - oh my especially when it comes to property rights - The also have little time or patience for any talk about " international law " or the United Nations & such except when it is to their benefit & the benefit of Big Business & the Multinationals -
Or as Bush puts it if his legal advisers say it is legal then it is ok as Hitler was justified in doing various things no matter how we might object Hitler usually committed most of his horrible actions after getting laws passed so he could do what he wanted to - unfortunately most people seem to believe as Bush does that if its legal then it is ok- if that's the case then Hitler's passing of the Anti-Semitic Nuremberg Laws then these laws or the actions resulting from these laws could not be questioned since they were by definition legal & therefore ethical & moral-
If that is so then those who object to abortions for instance which are at the moment legal then they can't object to abortions since by definition if they are legal then abortions are moral & ethical & anyone who objects to these laws can by Bush's standard can be characterized as being anti-American & subversives -
Anyway the CIA & others working for the United States government have taken part in torture & are more than likely still using torture techniques of various sorts including " Waterboarding" which is inhumane & extremely harmful to those it is used on but to what purpose - as I have discussed before in practical terms the use of torture results in unreliable information but even if it did result in reliable information it is still wrong - otherwise where do we draw the line concerning whether or not to use torture techniques no matter how primitive or sophisticated in the end the torturer becomes no better than the terrorists we are supposedly fighting - it is as it were the thin edge of the wedge & leads to a slippery slope down the road to an authoritarian police state -
The pro-Bushites including our own PM Stephen Harper claim Saddam was evil in part because he used torture but if America uses torture then aren't those who approve of torture in this regard no better than Saddam-
For instance if the claim is the so-called "Ticking Bomb argument "ala the TV show 24 then why stop at the terrorists if someone is accused of kidnapping a child & we know the child is still alive if we have the kidnapper in custody then why not torture him to get the information we want- or if we are trying to get a confession from a murder suspect or drug dealer or whatever why shouldn't we use torture what's to stop us -
So as the Bush administration takes part in legal hair-splitting arguments about torture & surveillance techniques or invading countries based on a hunch or because God spoke to Bush or Cheney & told them to torture alleged criminals or to invade this or that country - then if a police officer arrests & beats & tortures someone based on a hunch in order to save lives & protect their community why shouldn't they -
But I guess I must be naive to believe that torture is always wrong since it is part of our Western heritage - the Catholic Church used torture quite extensively during its search for Heretics or to terrorize European Jews & Muslims & in their search for the non-existent witches -
So if torture was good enough for Christian Churches to employ who am I to question the long line of " noble " & " infallible " Popes & Bishops & the Protestant Churches who also tortured & burned at the stake Heretics, Pagans, Muslims & Witches and anyone else the Churches didn't like - Besides according to the church those outside the Christian Church are , in fact, anti-Christianity & are working willingly for the Anti-Christ or Satan or have been deceived by Satan who is " the Father of Lies ". So besides the fact that all those non-believers are destined for Hell Christians are required to seek them out & make their lives as much of a living hell as possible or to ensure that they are segregated from the rest of Christian society & that they not be permitted to hold public office or work at various jobs or professions -
The followers of George W. Bush & the Neoconservatives & the Religious Right , I believe want to return our society to those good old days before people became ( in their view) obsessed with such liberal notions like Human Rights , Equality & Fraternity & Freedom of the Press & Freedom of Speech the separation of Church & State when Christianity was the State Religion & those of other faiths would not have the same rights & privileges as those who were Christian.
At one time that is up to just a few decades ago we in the West were taught to be suspicious of the Jews if not to Hate the Jews otherwise we would not be considered " good Christians ". The Jews were not just believers in a different faith from Christianity but that the Jews were of a separate race from the rest of our European ancestors & that the Jews as a race were inferior to all other Europeans & that they had been cursed by God because they had murdered the Nazarene , that is Jesus whom the Christians believed to be the Messiah & therefore they had rejected the Messiah & his message & therefore God.
Now it is not the Jews we are told we must hate but the Muslims since now the Muslims we are told are out to destroy Christianity & Western Culture & Civilization - though before the Berlin Wall fell it was the Communists & Socialists who were the enemy & now besides Muslims the Christian Right & the Neoconservatives are trying to route out all the evil " Secular Humanists" & " Liberals " & " Evolutionists " & anyone who talks in terms of Human Rights, Diplomacy, Peace & International Law or even those who claim that we should be concerned about the health of our planet i.e. the Evil Environmentalists & then there's the evil Feminists & the Evil Gays & Lesbians etc. -
( if you think I exaggerate just read the likes of Ann Coulter's book GODLESS & her blog or that of Michelle Malkin or Rush Limbaugh, Bill O'Reilly , & Fox News or any of the members of the Bush or Harper administrations the hatred is sometimes right there at the surface or just below as they use their own form of Newspeak & legaleeze or Bureaucratic jargon & their faith in Realpolitik & their insane form of hyper-nationalism & their belief & certainty that Christianity is the one true religion & like the Christian Churches of an earlier time see enemies everywhere - and so it goes -)
I intend at a later time to deal in more detail with the History of Anti-Semitism in Western Civilization
Take care,
GORD.
No comments:
Post a Comment