Clipmarks | masbury's 'bush' clips

In Gitmo for giving a bad grade to a student

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 17:44:15 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: What the CIA told the Bush Admin in 2002

AMY GOODMAN: Jane Mayer, you also report that back in 2002, the CIA warned that up to a third of the prisoners at Guantanamo may have been imprisoned by mistake.

JANE MAYER: Isn’t that—to me, this is one of the amazing anecdotes

It’s not the ACLU. It’s not, you know, some kind of outside human rights group. It’s the CIA

the CIA sent a particular expert down to Guantanamo in the summer of 2002 to figure out what’s going on. Why are we not getting better intelligence out of these detainees

he came back saying, “Bad news. The reason we’re not getting better intelligence,

is that about a third of the people are innocent.” From what he could tell, they were just mistakes.

AMY GOODMAN: Mistake, like, for example, bounty hunters.

JANE MAYER: Right, sure. Bounty hunters

and people who were put—there

because of personal grudges

one detainee

had been a teacher of somebody and given them a bad grade, and the person that he’d flunked pointed him out as a terrorist, and he was rounded up.

Tags: war on terror, war crimes, gitmo, bush

The Dalai Lama is a better man than I

Fri, 18 Jul 2008 15:58:01 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Sorry, I can't love the King St. George Dumbfuck just yet. I haven't evolved quite that far. Too much death, Blood and sorrow on Bush's hands. I guess I need some "inner disarmament", neh? Seriously.

Clip Source: www.opednews.com

Headlined on 7/17/08:
Dalai Lama: "I Love President Bush... but... Lack(s) Understanding of Reality"

Of course, I have great respect for, in fact, I love President Bus, because he is very frank, very straightforward. His intentions are good, but some of his policy in spite of his sincere motivation and right goal, and some of his method becomes unrealistic because of lack of understanding about reality.

He went on to explain,

"You cannot look in one direction. In order to see reality, (you) have to see in three or four or seven dimensions" and that this applies in the economical field, political field and international relations."

The main message the Dalai Lama presented was the idea of aiming for world peace through inner and outer disarmament. He explained that to reach a point where nations would outwardly disarm, people must first inwardly disarm, by becoming compassionate, not just with friends, but with all people, including those perceived as enemies.

Air Force Judiciary chief: Gitmo trials "not justice"

Wed, 16 Jul 2008 20:51:17 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: “If you’re going to wrap this under the banner of military justice, then it needs to be a fair trial,” Col. Davis said. “What’s taking place now, I would call neither military nor justice.” - former Chief Guatanamo Prosecutor Col. Morris Davis, who resigned his position in protest over political interference from the Bush administration last year

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

AMY GOODMAN: Except the CIA is saying that perhaps up to a third have been held mistakenly, not even enemy combatants, as Bush has defined it.

COL. MORRIS DAVIS: Right. And that, I’ll agree with. I mean, I—I guess I drank the Kool-Aid on that one, as well, believing that the CSRT process and the administrative review boards were a robust process where the individuals did get, you know, a significant look at whether they were being properly detained

I think they’re entitled to meaningful review, and if they’re prosecuted before a military commission, I think they’re entitled to a fair trial. And I think both of those things, at this point in time, are doubtful.

Waterboarding, to me, was a no-brainer. If you’re tying someone down and inducing them to believe they can either talk or possibly die, what they said

has no place in an American court of justice

“What’s taking place now, I would call neither military nor justice.”

Tags: gitmo, justice, news, politics, war on terror

Bush gives up on long term security pact with Iraq!

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:54:22 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: A victory for Iraqis and Americans.

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Report: US Abandons Status Forces Agreement Pact with Iraq

In news from Iraq, the Washington Post reports US and Iraqi negotiators have abandoned efforts to conclude a comprehensive agreement governing the long-term status of US troops in Iraq before the end of the Bush presidency. This will effectively leave talks over an extended US military presence in Iraq to the next administration.

Tags: iraq, war on terror, politics

CIA to Bush in 2002: 1/3 of Gitmos imprisoned by mistake

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:52:51 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: CIA analyst concluded many were bystanders "swept up in dragnets or turned over to the US military by bounty hunters"

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Report: In 2002 CIA Warned 1/3 of Gitmo Prisoners Were Innocent

Jane Mayer also reveals that the Bush administration ignored warnings from the CIA six years ago that up to a third of the prisoners at Guantanamo Bay may have been imprisoned by mistake. In 2002, a CIA analyst concluded that many of the prisoners were essentially bystanders who had been swept up in dragnets or turned over to the US military by bounty hunters. Mayer also reveals that the CIA is investigating whether its agents kidnapped at least six innocent men and held them in secret prisons as part of the agency’s extraordinary rendition program. Only one of the cases—that of Khalid El-Masri—has ever come to light.

Tags: gitmo, war on terror, bush

Red Cross: CIA actions "categorically" constitute torture

Tue, 15 Jul 2008 02:49:09 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Warned Bush Admin last year that it could make them guilty of war crimes

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Red Cross: CIA’s Handling of Prisoners Categorically Torture

A secret report by the International Red Cross warned the Bush administration last year that the CIA’s treatment of prisoners categorically constituted torture and could make Bush administration officials who approved the torture methods guilty of war crimes. One prisoner—Abu Zubaydah—told the Red Cross he had been waterboarded at least ten times in a single week. He was confined in a box so small that he had to double up his limbs in the fetal position. The details about the secret Red Cross report appear in a new book by investigative journalist Jane Mayer called The Dark Side.

Tags: torture, cia, bush, politics, news, war crimes

Bush urges expanded drilling of Alaskan wildlife

Sat, 12 Jul 2008 02:05:00 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: New tech allows boring through bull-walrus midsections. Conservatives rage against saying anything funny about not drilling in ANWR, citing apocalyptic destruction of American values. Urge technology tax credits for development of higher petroleum use. "Americans should be able to bathe themselves in light sweet crude."

Clip Source: www.theonion.com

Bush Urges Expanded Drilling Of Alaskan Wildlife

Workers near Alaska's Lake Teshekpuk take a core sample from a grizzly bear cub.

President Bush urged Congress Tuesday to pass an appropriations bill that would enable expanded drilling of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge's animals.

"With more federal money we can invest in necessary hardware, such as more durable annular diamond-impregnated drill bits, which can bore two-inch diameter holes deep through a solid bull-walrus midsection in seconds."

Drill foremen have already begun digging shallow exploratory holes through the surface flesh of over 5 million animals to provide workspace for the drillers and their equipment. Once this step is complete, an electrical generator powered by a large diesel engine will plunge rotating carbide-steel-tipped drill bits through the animal, boring through the skin, bone, or blubber at speeds of up to 6,500 rpm.

"It's an exciting time to be in the wildlife-drilling field," Salinas added.

Tags: bush, humor, anwr

Maliki calls for withdrawal timetable; Rebuffed by Bush

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 22:39:20 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Al-Maliki said, “The goal is to end the presence of foreign troops.” Now we'll see how much Iraqi sovereignty matters!

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

Maliki Calls for Timetable for US Troop Withdrawal

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has for the first time publicly called for a timetable for the withdrawal of US troops from Iraq. The Bush administration has been secretly negotiating a long-term agreement with Iraq that would allow the US to keep permanent military bases in Iraq. But al-Maliki said Iraq only wants to sign a short-term agreement that includes a withdrawal timetable. Al-Maliki said, “The goal is to end the presence of foreign troops.” In Washington, the Bush administration rebuffed Maliki’s request. Pentagon spokesperson Bryan Whitman criticized timelines as “artificial.” State Department spokesperson Sean McCormack questioned whether Maliki might have been misquoted.

Tags: iraq

Panel calls for new War Powers Act

Tue, 08 Jul 2008 17:57:50 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "The current War Powers Resolution is 'ineffective at best and unconstitutional at worst,' and should be scrapped"

Clip Source: cnnwire.blogs.cnn.com

Panel calls for new War Powers Act

WASHINGTON (CNN) — The United States needs a new law requiring that the president consult with Congress before going to war, a blue-ribbon panel led by two former secretaries of state will say Tuesday.

The current War Powers Resolution is “ineffective at best and unconstitutional at worst,” and should be scrapped, James A. Baker III and Warren Christopher write in Tuesday’s New York Times, previewing the conclusion of the year-long study they led.

The recommendation follows failed efforts by Democrats in Congress to put a stop to the war in Iraq or to put conditions on President Bush’s conduct of it. Congress passed a joint resolution to authorize armed force against in Iraq in 2002, but some Bush opponents say it should not have been interpreted as a blank check for the United States to invade and occupy the Gulf nation.

Tags: foreign policy, politics

More Bushco connections to Iraq oil deals

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:57:26 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Perks for Hunt Oil, whose owner gave $35M to the Bush library.

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

Oversight Committee: Despite Denials, Administration Knew About Bush Donor’s Oil Contracts»

The Bush administration has repeatedly claimed that it plays no part in contract negotiations between Western oil companies and Iraq. But the New York Times reported last week that the State Department actually had an “integral role” in the awarding of no-bid contracts to develop Iraq’s oil fields.

Today, the administration received another blow to its credibility, as the House Oversight Committee released documents further connecting it to Iraqi oil deals, this time through Dallas-based Hunt Oil. Hunt Oil is owned by Ray L. Hunt, a former Halliburton board member who has donated $35 million to the Bush presidential library.

“This is a serious matter because of the widespread suspicion in Iraq and other nations that the United States went to war to gain access to Iraqi oil,” the committee wrote.

Tags: iraq, oil

Bush: those who disagree with him "slander America"

Thu, 03 Jul 2008 05:47:12 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: How very, very cheap - taking those who disagree with HIM and labeling them slanderers of AMERICA. He attempts to manipulate people who want to be patriotic into sitting down, shutting up, and asking no questions about his abuse of power, so he can do whatever he wants with their money.

Clip Source: thinkprogress.org

BOULTON: There are those who would say look, lets take Guantanamo Bay, and Abu Ghraib, and rendition and all those things and to them that is the complete opposite of freedom.

BUSH: Of course, if you want to slander America.

a short — but by no means exhaustive — list of those who have

slandered America:

– The United States Supreme Court: The Court ruled last week that “terrorism suspects held at Guantanamo Bay have a right to seek their release in federal court” saying that Bush’s policy compromised “the Constitution’s guarantee of liberty.”

– McClatchy Newspapers:

the U.S. has wrongfully imprisoned “perhaps hundreds” of men “in Afghanistan, Cuba and elsewhere on the basis of flimsy or fabricated evidence, old personal scores or bounty payments.”

– The Federal Bureau of Investigation:

according to its agents, “[m]ilitary officials at Guantanamo Bay used some aggressive techniques before they were approved, possibly in violation of Defense Department policy and U.S. law.”

Tags: bush, gitmo, war on terror

Uighur prisoners at Gitmo as favor to China

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:54:51 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Fled to Afghanistan, Chinese mad; never took up arms against USA

Clip Source: www.dailykos.com

The administration's maltreatment of the Uighur prisoners is notorious. They fled to Afghanistan in 2001 to escape Chinese oppression. Though nobody disputes that they've never taken up arms against the US, Bush agreed to salt the Uighurs away at Gitmo as a favor to China at a time he was seeking Chinese support for the invasion of Iraq. Secret (very likely Chinese) allegations that the Uighurs support al Qaeda served as the basis for imprisoning them. So it's highly fitting that the first, devastating ~~habeas~~ habeas-like challenge to Bush's CSRTs should come from a Uighur prisoner.

Tags: uighur

Habeas panel: produce evidence or release Gitmo prisoner

Wed, 02 Jul 2008 20:17:23 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: Compares gov't case to fantasy of Lewis Carroll. Detainee held on hearsay; no proof offered. Orders Govt to release detainee or provide evidence justifying detention.

Clip Source: www.dailykos.com

A panel of the Appeals Court in the DC Circuit on Monday released the first ever ruling on a ~~habeas~~ habeas-like review for a Guantanamo prisoner under the Detainee Treatment Act of 2005 (PDF). It's devastating to the Bush administration. The unanimous opinion even mocks Bush & Co.'s argument, comparing it to a nonsense poem by Lewis Carroll.

"The documents repeatedly describe those activities and relationships as having "reportedly" occurred, as being "said to" or "reported to" have happened, and as things that "may" be true or are "suspected of" having taken place

"The government insists that the statements made in the documents are reliable because the State and Defense Departments would not have put them in intelligence documents were that not the case. This comes perilously close to suggesting that whatever the government says must be treated as true, thus rendering superfluous both the role of the Tribunal and the role that Congress assigned to this Court."

Tags: gitmo, habeas corpus

Bush praises McCain for GI Bill McCain opposed

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 05:40:19 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: McCain vehemently opposed this (Webb) bill, yet here's Bush thanking him for helping pass it! What is with these guys? McCain offered a skimpier version, insisting that paying college for Iraq vets would encourage them to leave the service when they could (better to offer them worse benefits so they'll stay, I guess, is the old soldier's plan). 32 Second video at link.

Clip Source: www.crooksandliars.com

Bush praises McCain for Expansion of the GI Bill that he had no part in: Say, what?

I may be forced to start a “Say, what?” series…What the heck is Bush smoking? Let’s see the press corps ask Dana Perino about this latest distortion. We all know that McCain was vehemently opposed to Webb’s GI bill. According to him, we can’t have GI’s receiving adequate compensation because 16% might not stay in the service. Yea, so let’s ask “My Friends” McCain, what a soldier’s life is worth?

This is rank dishonesty by Bush and maybe the straight talker will correct the record for Bush. You know, since he’s such a straight talker. Hell, maybe Richard Cohen will write a nice op-ed about it all. OK, that will never happen so let’s ask him to…cohenr@washpost.com

Tags: mccain, veterans

Bush Admin directly involved in Iraq oil contracts

Tue, 01 Jul 2008 04:32:23 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "American government lawyers ... provided template contracts and detailed suggestions on drafting the contracts" Ugh. The spoils of war.

Clip Source: www.democracynow.org

U.S. Advisers Helped Iraq Draw Up Oil Contracts

The New York Times reports a group of American advisers led by a small State Department team played an integral part in drawing up contracts between the Iraqi government and five major Western oil companies to develop some of the largest oil fields in Iraq. The disclosure marks the first confirmation of direct involvement by the Bush administration in deals to open Iraq’s oil to commercial development. The Times recently reported the original partners in the Iraq Petroleum Company—Exxon Mobil, Shell, Total and BP— as well as Chevron, are on the verge of getting no-bid contracts to service Iraq’s largest oil fields. In their role as advisers to the Iraqi Oil Ministry, American government lawyers and private-sector consultants provided template contracts and detailed suggestions on drafting the contracts.

Tags: oil, iraq