Friday, June 25, 2004

Cheney plays poker ... Hilarious. [Link via Buzzflash.] 11:55:20 AM    comment [] Indecency Yes, on the very day that the Senate voted 99 to 1 in favor of the "Defense of Decency Act" to crack down on Howard Stern et al., Vice President Dick Cheney told Sen. Patrick Leahy to "fuck yourself" on the Senate floor for his questions about Halliburton. 1:58:12 AM    comment [] Pints, Football, and Talk about Iraq It's a sad day for England. Their football team was knocked out of the quarterfinals of Euro 2004 today by host country Portugal, 6-5 on penalty kicks (again!). It shouldn't have come to that, as England clearly scored the winning goal at the end of regulation, only to be called for a non-existent foul by a sketchy referree. I watched the game at a local pub together with scores of English soldiers and reservists who were in town for a joint exercise with American troops and representatives from other NATO countries. I was living in England during Euro 1996, when England hosted, and so I enjoyed reliving the experience of watching football with true fanatics. Lots of drinking, cheering, shouting, and cursing. "Come on, England!" "Re-fe-REE!!" (said in the English way, with stress on the last syllable) "What a wanker!" (Beckham missed the first penalty shot.) "Toss off!" (Every time a Portuguese player pretended to be injured) clap-clap clap-clap-clap clap-clap-clap-clap "ENGLAND!!!!" Some of the lads I talked to had served in Iraq, and so it was interesting to get their perspective. They faulted American tactics and training for Iraq's general instability and violence relative to the stability and calm of the British controlled zone in Southern Iraq. Most British troops have trained in Northern Ireland, and so they have experience dealing with terrorist insurgents hiding amid a non-friendly population. They claimed their general strategy is to try to be as friendly as possible with the local population, develop a rapport with them, and then focus on identifying the true terrorists among them. They claimed that, by contrast, the American troops treated all Iraqis as though they were terrorists and used very agressive tactics on all alike. They especially noted the difference in their respective head gear. Whereas British troops wear soft hats when they go out on patrol, to try to seem as non-threatening as possible, American troops wear helmets at all times. The troops I spoke to also generally agreed that the invasion was for oil. I picked up the tab for the beer and wished them well. Several of them were planning to catch the Orioles-Yankees game in the evening. The Yankees are truly a worldwide phenomenon. 1:00:11 AM    comment [] Bush, Gonzales and the Republic of Texas The torture memo scandal isn't the first time that White House counsel Alberto Gonzales has advised Bush to spurn international law. Alan Berlow reminds us of earlier incidents from their Texas days, in which Gonzales recommended executing Mexican nationals, despite violations of the Vienna Convention. For example, take the case of Irineo Tristan Montoya: Curiously, it was in his role as legal counsel to then-Gov. Bush that Gonzales penned yet another memo pertaining to international law, only in that case his advice was designed not to avoid death sentences, but rather to expedite them on Texas' heavily populated death row. On June 16, 1997, Gonzales first showcased his proclivity for torturing international law when he sent a letter to the U.S. State Department in which he argued that, "Since the State of Texas is not a signatory to the Vienna Convention on Consular Relations, we believe it is inappropriate to ask Texas to determine whether a breach . . . occurred in connection with the arrest and conviction" of a Mexican national. Or, put another way, he asserted that an international treaty just didn't apply to Texas. [snip] The Vienna Convention, ratified by the Senate in 1969, was designed to ensure that foreign nationals accused of a crime are given access to legal counsel by a representative from their home country. In the absence of a lawyer and without access to Mexican authorities, Tristan, who neither spoke nor understood English, signed a confession that he later said he believed to be an immigration document. [snip] Following Tristan's execution, Bush's office released a statement that read, in part: "Gov. Bush assures the people of Mexico that Mr. Tristan had [a] fair trial, ample opportunity to be heard and the full protections of the Constitution and laws of the United States of America." That was not entirely true, however, because Bush and Gonzales apparently believed that international law, as embodied in the Vienna Convention, was somehow inapplicable to Texas. It would be difficult to find an international law expert who agreed with Gonzales' legal analysis, due in no small part to Article 6 of the Constitution, which states that, ". . . all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land." Supreme Court precedent dating to 1804 establishes that states are bound by U.S. treaties. If Bush gets a second term, we may see Alberto Gonzales nominated to the Supreme Court. Lord knows we need judges like Gonzales who respect the Constitution. 12:15:48 AM    comment []

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