Clipmarks | Prison Clips

McCain acceptance speech: I WAS A POW

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 20:57:38 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "And I have the scars to prove it. Senator Obama does not." How would he help poor people? "I will keep taxes low...My opponent will raise them." And then bemoans "partisan rancor." And the crowd breaks into a chant of "Drill, baby, drill!"
This is a snow job if ever one has been foisted upon America. Give 'em answers that do nothing and make 'em feel patriotic about entropy.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

McCain Uses His Big Speech to Give Us a Tour of His Vietnamese Prison Cell

Number of sentences in John McCain's acceptance speech about his experience as a POW in Vietnam: 43.

Number of sentences about his 25 years in the House and Senate: 8.

The convention ended as it began: a commemoration of McCain's hellish years in a Hanoi prison cell four decades ago. The political equation was a simple one: POW equals patriotic hero equals a fighting president. Before McCain walked down the long runway at St. Paul's Xcel Center, a baritone voice declared over the P.A., "When you've lived in a box .... you put your people first." Case closed.

Clip Source: www.alternet.org

And for McCain, it was on to the final battle, the old soldier, faith-tested and faith-proved, accompanied by a stylish hockey mom representing small-town goodness -- against those whose mettle have not been tested, whose love of country has not been tested, whose America is rather different from the America of the Republican convention.

Tags: mccain

W.Va. Inmate Says He's Denied Religious Rights

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:26:33 GMT

clipped by: wiccantexan

Clip Source: sundaygazettemail.com

The state Supreme Court is considering whether to hear a case involving an inmate who says he's being denied the right to freely practice his Native American religion.

Bobby Eugene Roddy wants the court to order the Division of Corrections to provide him with a sweat lodge to use one day a week for a ceremony.

He also insists on two prayer pipe ceremonies per week. The Mount Olive Correctional Complex inmate also wants to grow his hair long and be allowed to wear moccasins and other Native American garments.

The 42-year-old Roddy goes by the spiritual name "Running Cougar.''

Corrections Commissioner Jim Rubenstein says no inmate is prohibited from practicing religion. But he says certain requests must be denied for security concerns.

Tags: religion, rights, legal, prison

Abramoff asks for Mercy

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 15:52:23 GMT

clipped by: papananook
clipper's remarks: Here's your true face of the Rethuglicans...corruption, and mewling beggars for mercy when caught!

Clip Source: www.politico.com

Jack Abramoff, once a top GOP lobbyist, is asking a federal judge to show mercy when she sentences him Thursday.

Jack Abramoff, once a top Republican lobbyist on K Street, is asking a federal judge to show mercy when she sentences him Thursday in an epic corruption case that continues to rock Capitol Hill and the GOP establishment.

Abramoff, who is already serving a 70-month sentence stemming from his fraudulent purchase of a Florida casino-cruise ship company, will go before District Judge Ellen S. Huvelle to be sentenced in a scandal that resulted in a prison term for one former member of Congress, a dozen other guilty pleas by former Republican aides and officials, and new ethics legislation enacted at the start of the 110th Congress.

In an e-mail letter to Huvelle that was released on Wednesday, Abramoff told the judge that he was "not a bad man (although to read all the news articles one would think I was Osama Bin Laden), but I did many bad things.

McCain's High Horse

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 04:39:40 GMT

clipped by: lifecyce1898
clipper's remarks: Posted Tuesday, Feb. 22, 2000, at 3:30 AM ET
I little trip down memory lane. Here we go again.

Clip Source: www.slate.com

Oh, please. McCain cheapens his own heroism when he tries to use five years in a North Vietnamese prison camp as a rhetorical get-out-of-jail-free card.

George W. Bush's widely mocked garble about McCain taking his "high horse" on the "low road" is actually, with a bit of untangling, a pretty good image. It's one thing to drop your negative ads and challenge your opponent to do the same. But it's a bit rich to carry on as if no decent person would ever do what you yourself were doing just a few days before.

JAIL for the Rest of the Criminals

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:27:27 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: Don't stop now! Arrest the Gang that also profited from his deceptions among them Bush and Cohorts.

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Lobbyist Abramoff gets four years in prison

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Disgraced former lobbyist Jack Abramoff, whose corruption scandal shook up Washington's power elite and contributed to the Republican loss of control in Congress, was sentenced on Thursday to four years in federal prison.

Abramoff is already serving a nearly six-year term on unrelated charges and the new sentence will be served at the same time, meaning he will not spend any extra time behind bars once his original sentence ends in 2012.

"I've fallen into an abyss, your honor, and I don't quite know how to get out," he said.

Several members of Indian tribes victimized by Abramoff urged the judge to give him the maximum sentence, but one tribal member spoke in his defense. Huvelle said because Abramoff cooperated with authorities on other criminal investigations, his sentence was significantly reduced from what guidelines suggested.

fraud charges in the purchase of a Florida casino cruise line

US lobbyist jailed for corruption

Fri, 05 Sep 2008 03:59:36 GMT

clipped by: sahara

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Former Washington lobbyist Jack Abramoff has been sentenced to four years in prison for corruption.

Abramoff's assistance led to other corruption convictions

Abramoff had pleaded guilty in a Washington court to charges of trading expensive gifts, meals and sports trips in exchange for political favours

The case caused a scandal in Washington and sparked off a wide-ranging public corruption probe

The court had heard how Abramoff made tens of millions of dollars by steering clients to consultants who charged excessive fees and then split the profits with him

In 3,000 hours of interviews with the FBI, he gave information leading to the conviction of a string of lawmakers and high-profile political figures, including one member of Congress

He said that much of the activity of Washington "lives in the loopholes" but that he had "blundered farther than even those excesses would allow

The BBC's Richard Lister in Washington says that the scandal was a disaster for the Republican party

FBI Wanted Obama Plotters Charged, But A Rove Appointee Said No

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 21:30:29 GMT

clipped by: ratilfar
clipper's remarks: Cont....

Note the language used by Eid in dismissing the gravity of the case: the case isn't serious because they were "more aspirational, perhaps, than operational"? Well, when it was the Liberty Seven -- black Muslim men who were described by the FBI as "aspirational rather than operational" -- there was no hesitation by the Justice Department in bringing charges.

Another funny thing: When a black man in prison sent a threatening letter containing baby powder to John McCain, Troy Eid brought down the full force of the law, complete with press conferences and public declarations that "We won't stand for threats of this kind in Colorado."

But when it’s a claque of white men with rifles, disguises, and all the accoutrement of a conspiracy – as well as open admissions to it – Troy Eid isn’t worried. After all, they just a bunch of harmless, tweakers, right? … Just like little Timmy McVeigh.

Clip Source: dneiwert.blogspot.com

We noticed last week that it was awfully peculiar that Colorado’s U.S. Attorney, Troy Eid, had so airily dismissed conspiracy charges against the three white-supremacist tweakers who were caught planning to assassinate Barack Obama at last week’s Democratic National Convention in Denver.

Now it turns out that those suspicions were fully warranted:

The plot is similar to that in the 1992 movie "The Bodyguard" starring actors Kevin Costner and Whitney Houston. In the movie, Costner stops an assassination attempt against Houston by spotting a weapon hidden inside a gutted-out TV camera.

Based on the evidence, FBI special agent Robert Sawyer believed there was probable cause to charge the men with conspiracy to kill Senator Obama. However, US Attorney Troy Eid last week said there is insufficient evidence to indicate a true threat, plot or conspiracy against the senator.

Tags: obama, plot, assasination, fbi, crime, justice, rove

Detroit Mayor Guilty

Thu, 04 Sep 2008 22:38:10 GMT

clipped by: klippety
clipper's remarks: This will have far reaching consequences for the Dems. What a pity. Glad it was not Chicago

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Detroit mayor pleads guilty, to leave office

DETROIT (Reuters) - Detroit Mayor Kwame Kilpatrick pleaded guilty on Thursday to obstruction of justice in a plea agreement that forces him from office and caps a scandal that had threatened to spill over into the U.S. presidential campaign in a key battleground state.

The guilty plea to two felony charges stems from Kilpatrick's role in the city's $8.4-million settlement of a whistle-blower lawsuit brought by two fired police officers.

Kilpatrick, 38 and once a rising star in the Democratic Party, had faced up to 15 years in prison and loss of his office if convicted of felony charges of perjury, obstruction of justice and misconduct.

Dubbed the "hip-hop" mayor when he took office in 2002, Kilpatrick had remained defiant in the face of his mounting legal troubles, claiming that the charges against him were racially motivated.

Extraordinary rendition: An Australian's story

Wed, 03 Sep 2008 21:37:32 GMT

clipped by: masbury
clipper's remarks: "Most of his fingernails were missing and he regularly bled from the nose, mouth, and ears while he slept."

Clip Source: www.atimes.com

Mamdouh Habib, an Australian citizen, was living in Sydney with his wife and four children when he took a trip alone to Pakistan

When Habib boarded a bus for the Islamabad airport to return home, Pakistani police seized him

After 15 days in the Pakistani prison, Habib was transferred to

United States agents who flew him to Cairo. When he arrived, Omar Solaimon, chief of Egyptian security, informed him that Egypt receives US$10 million for every confessed terrorist they hand over to the US.

during his five months in Egypt, "there was no interrogation, only torture". His skin was burned with cigarettes, and he was threatened with dogs, beaten, and repeatedly shocked with a stun gun.

American agents sent Habib to Guantanamo Bay. Three British detainees

Most of his fingernails were missing and he regularly bled from the nose, mouth, and ears while he slept.

Rather than have

testimony on the torture

US officials decided to send him back to Sydney in January 2005

Tags: rendition, war on terror, war crimes

The End Of The World and what you can do before its to LATE!!

Tue, 02 Sep 2008 23:19:12 GMT

clipped by: wiganfootie

Clip Source: www.thesun.co.uk

The atom smasher ... the 17-mile-long machine that some fear will destroy our planet

WITH just nine days to go until the end of the world, here’s what you could get up to before it’s too late ...

1. Eat 27 Big Mac meals. Who’s counting the calories?

2. Visit all seven continents.

3. Try out all 64 Kama Sutra positions.

4. Watch the entire box sets of Lost, Heroes and Prison Break.

5. Cruise the River Nile.

6. Drive to Switzerland for a ringside seat of doomsday.

7. Complete Super Mario: The Lost Levels.

8. Catch England’s World Cup qualifiers against Andorra on Saturday and – if we’re still alive – England v Croatia on September 10 If we lose, it’ll feel like the end of the world anyway!

9. Cancel the milk and papers.

John McCain Needs to Lay Off the POW Talk

Fri, 22 Aug 2008 17:13:40 GMT

clipped by: cptenaud
clipper's remarks: The fact is, John McCain's service during Vietnam was honorable and he sacrificed a great deal. But his service to the country carries no more weight than that of any other POW. Likewise, while McCain has given so much to his country, thousands of veterans--past and present--have given as much or more. In this war alone, thousands of troops have lost limbs, been paralyzed, and been burned beyond recognition. So to see McCain resort to playing the POW card when answering legitimate questions, in my mind, cheapens that experience. And by cheapening his own experience in war, he degrades all of our experiences in war. He turns the horrific incidents we've all seen, touched, smelled, and felt into a lame excuse to earn political points. And it dishonors us all.

And while Spencer Ackerman is not a veteran himself, I think he sums up what many combat vets are feeling today after hearing the campaign's statement:

Clip Source: www.vetvoice.com

by: Brandon Friedman

Thu Aug 21, 2008

When John McCain revealed that he didn't know how many houses he and his wife currently own (they have at least eight properties), the Obama campaign pounced. They accused him of being elitist and disconnected and launched an ad within hours. The McCain campaign--realizing this was trouble--retorted the only way they knew how: With a truly stupefying response from McCain spokesman Brian Rogers:

"This is a guy who lived in one house for five and a half years -- in prison," referring to the prisoner of war camp that McCain was in during the Vietnam War.

Yes, you read that right. McCain justified not knowing how many houses he has by saying he was a POW in Vietnam, four decades ago. I have some things to say about this:

1. Being a POW is not an excuse for everything.

The bottom line is that we're sick of hearing about this as a justification for everything John McCain does or doesn't do. This instance is only the latest example, as others have noted.

Tags: mccain, pow, status

NEW ORLEANS MOTHERS NATURE PRISON BITCH !

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 08:01:28 GMT

clipped by: jt3600
clipper's remarks: living in Florida I can feel your pain,you already know that your on your own right ? Bush will be hiding until it's over and if you think he didn't care before he short timing it now .

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

New Orleans declares storm curfew

Mayor Ray Nagin of New Orleans has put the US city under curfew from sunset to dawn as Hurricane Gustav approaches.

New Orleans residents have been fleeing in their thousands after the mayor ordered the evacuation ahead of the storm's expected landfall on Monday.

Mayor Ray Nagin warned residents that trailer homes may 'become projectiles'

Roads out of the Louisiana port have been crammed with traffic.

SHERIFF GOES TO JAIL STUPID WILL HE COME OUT THE SAME WAY ?

Tue, 26 Aug 2008 13:13:51 GMT

clipped by: jt3600
clipper's remarks: This isn't going to work . I know, I've do a lot of time in my time not bragging just facts and this won't work because everyone knows the purpose plus he's not in on charges how do you think his treatment there is going to be especially with the prisoners, they're going to treat him good,they know it will all be over in a week and I'll bet they bring him real coffee too!

Clip Source: www.reuters.com

Sheriff goes to jail for an education

CHICAGO (Reuters) - There's a new sheriff in jail.

Sheriff Mark Curran of Lake County, Illinois, walked into his own jail on Wednesday to spend a week as a prisoner, saying he was divinely inspired to learn what it was like to be confined and to sample jail programs designed to reduce recidivism.

Illinois "has historically had one of the worst-run prison systems in the nation ... treating inmates like caged animals only to see them released back into their communities angrier and more bitter than they originally were," he said.

He will sit in on high school equivalency classes, and spend a night in the high-security unit and in the medical unit.

How to get thrown into a Chinese prison

Mon, 01 Sep 2008 01:11:55 GMT

clipped by: hotdoge3
clipper's remarks: don't do it.

Clip Source: news.cnet.com

How to get thrown into a Chinese prison

Powderly was among the would-be protesters detained in China without being charged of a crime.

What worked and what didn't go forward?
Powderly: None of them worked. We did nothing. We were arrested and detained in China...for doing nothing except for thinking about it.

While being detained, Powderly snapped this shot of a dozing interrogator.

They told some of my collaborators they were gonna shoot us. They really didn't know what we were doing or who we were...At about the 26th hour, they gave up. So they filed us all in vans...and started driving us way on the outskirts of town... Before long we see this ominous spectre of a giant building surrounded by barbed wire. That was Chongwen detention center.

They stripped us and took photos of us naked. They put us in little red shorts and red shirts, prison clothes, and marched us into general population prison cells...At that point we were in a position no or very few Americans had been before.

Tags: china

US Town Turned Into An Open-Air Prison

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 09:14:08 GMT

clipped by: katsteevns

Clip Source: www.commondreams.org

Published on Saturday, August 16, 2008 by The National Post (Canada)

US Town Turned Into An Open-Air Prison

by Charles Lewis

The town of Postville, Iowa, population 2,000, has been turned into an open-air prison. Jerry Johnson, who works at nearby Luther College, called it something out of a bad science-fiction movie or the kind of thing a 1930s totalitarian regime might have cooked up.

On May 12, immigration officials swooped in to arrest 400 undocumented workers from Mexico and Guatemala at the local meat-packing plant, a raid described as the biggest such action at a single site in U.S. history. The raid left 43 women, wives of the men who were taken away, and their 150 children without status or a means of support. The women cannot leave the town, and to make sure they do not they have been outfitted with leg monitoring bracelets.

“What kind of a government makes prisoners of 43 mothers who all have children and then says, ‘You can’t work, you can’t leave and can’t stay?’