Saturday, September 16, 2006

"RECOGNIZED AS INDISPENSABLE BY CIVILIZED PEOPLES" RELEVANT PORTION OF ARTICLE 3 OF THE GENEVA CONVENTION: In the case of armed conflict…each Party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions: (1) Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria. To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons: (a) violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture; (b) taking of hostages; (c) outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment; (d) the passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.   This is the infamously unclear Article 3 cited by George W. Bush as "vague" and "subject to interpretation." You don't have to consult 50 years of case law and commentary by military lawyers. Almost every citizen who has not been hypnotized by Fox News or Talk Radio knows what cruel, humiliating, and degrading treatment is because we all have been humiliated, degraded, and treated cruelly at one time or another in some way or another, especially those of us who are non-rich, non-white, non-Christian, and non-conforming—You don't have to be an ex-POW to figure it out, though I imagine being locked in a concrete box for years at a time might clarify the issue for you.   Outrages against personal dignity abound in these United States after five long years of fear-mongering and war—What? You haven't have been taken aside at an airport security checkpoint and subjected to a strip search, and had the contents of your luggage tossed like a Caesar salad? Travel by air? You'll get your turn.   Never been profiled and pulled over by a traffic cop? Why, you must be as pretty as Ann Coulter or as studly as Karl Rove. Never been sexually harassed by a boss? Maybe you aren't as pretty as Ann or as studly as Karl.   Have you never been laid off, or outright fired, had your desk rifled and your personal things tossed in a box by the herpie (human resources person) and marched publicly from the building, all or in part because you did not participate with sufficient slavish enthusiasm in the workplace consensus reality, which very often has a religious or political dimension? If you are a true blue citizen living behind the Fox Curtain in Red America working as a corporate janissary to make a living and feed your family, it's likely you have, maybe more than once.   Never had your campaign signs stolen, your bumper sticker peeled off, your flyers ripped up or tossed in the dumpster, received anonymous threats through your mail slot, or otherwise had your right of free speech abrogated or suppressed? You must be a Republican. Or else you aren't trying hard enough.   We haven't even gotten to the really outrageous outrages against personal dignity. But sometimes it's the little things that really shake you. I was walking my beagle one night last week, and 3 policemen pulled up to say "Hi" one after another over the course of a few blocks. The reason, I suspect, is that I was wearing my digital camera on a lanyard around my neck, and carrying a small collaspible tripod, some neighbor or other saw the glint of metal, and called it in. That's how bad the fear has gotten. I had my camera and tripod because I wanted to take some pictures of some neon signs on the main avenue on the way home (which I did). When the last cop slowed to a stop beside me, I was beginning feel some personal outrage, and I said with some exasperation, "Is it illegal to walk my dog?" All he said was, "It's dark out here," and slowly pulled away.   Fear is what the man I am ashamed to call the President is selling. It is an outrage against the dignity of our nation. What has been called into question in this matter is not the character or motives of George W. Bush, it is our character as the people of this nation. Will we chose to live in and act out of fear? Then we have lost the war, no matter how many terrorists we torture and kill. Are we a civilized people, or not? 9:51:42 PM    comment []

"We must also provide our military and intelligence professionals the tools they need to keep our country safe."   George W. Bush     TOOL     TOOLS     NEW TOOLS     OLD TOOLS     PROFESSIONALS USING TOOLS     5:07:36 PM    comment []

What’s happening in Washington now is that the establishment political class—and that includes the military, moderate Republican and Democratic members of Congress, the jabbering pundits and op-ed writers, and the bulk of the thinktank denizens—are coming to grips with the stark fact that the war in Iraq is over. And that the United States has lost. It’s beginning to sink in, but it won’t be confronted directly by the political class until after the November elections. After that, all hell is going to break loose. If the Democrats win back Congress, it will happen faster—but even if the Republicans hang on, the gusting winds on Iraq now buffeting the White House will gather strength to become a full-fledged, Category 5 hurricane. Richard Dreyfuss, Iraq's Reality Sinks In, September 8, 2006 VIA James Wolcott and TomPaine.com 4:34:46 PM    comment []