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TeamProg

TeamProg's Journal
TeamProg's Journal
January 4, 2024

Verified torture, rape, physical abuse, desecration of a human body of the captives by their 'HamAss' captors.

This is about Abu Graib and GitMo. Remember those horrific pictures? It is relative to what's going on today. Tests have shown that prisoners are often abused their jailers (search the Stanford prison experiment). Some acts more violent than others.


During the early stages of the Iraq War, members of the United States Army and the Central Intelligence Agency committed a series of human rights violations and war crimes against detainees in the Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, including physical abuse, sexual humiliation, both physical and psychological torture, rape, as well the killing of Manadel al-Jamadi and the desecration of his body. 3][4][5][6] The abuses came to public attention with the publication of photographs of the abuse by CBS News in April 2004. The incidents caused shock and outrage, receiving widespread condemnation within the United States and internationally.[7]

The George W. Bush administration said that the abuses at Abu Ghraib were isolated incidents and not indicative of U.S. policy.[8][9]: 328  This was disputed by humanitarian organizations including the Red Cross, Amnesty International, and Human Rights Watch; these organizations stated that the abuses at Abu Ghraib were part of a wider pattern of torture and brutal treatment at American overseas detention centers, including those in Iraq, in Afghanistan, and at Guantanamo Bay[9]: 328  (Gitmo). There were also 36 prisoners killed at Abu Ghraib due to insurgent mortar attacks. This also provoked criticism due to the facility's location in a combat zone.[10]

Documents popularly known as the Torture Memos came to light a few years later. These documents, prepared in the months leading up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq by the United States Department of Justice, authorized certain "enhanced interrogation techniques" (generally held to involve torture) of foreign detainees. The memoranda also argued that international humanitarian laws, such as the Geneva Conventions, did not apply to American interrogators overseas. Several subsequent U.S. Supreme Court decisions, including Hamdan v. Rumsfeld (2006), have overturned Bush administration policy, ruling that the Geneva Conventions do apply.

In response to the events at Abu Ghraib, the United States Department of Defense removed 17 soldiers and officers from duty. Eleven soldiers were charged with dereliction of duty, maltreatment, aggravated assault and battery. Between May 2004 and April 2006, these soldiers were court-martialed, convicted, sentenced to military prison, and dishonorably discharged from service. Two soldiers, found to have perpetrated many of the worst offenses at the prison, Specialist Charles Graner and PFC Lynndie England, were subject to more severe charges and received harsher sentences. Graner was convicted of assault, battery, conspiracy, maltreatment of detainees, committing indecent acts and dereliction of duty; he was sentenced to 10 years imprisonment and loss of rank, pay and benefits.[11] England was convicted of conspiracy, maltreating detainees and committing an indecent act and sentenced to three years in prison.[12] Brigadier General Janis Karpinski, the commanding officer of all detention facilities in Iraq, was reprimanded and demoted to the rank of colonel. Several more military personnel who were accused of perpetrating or authorizing the measures, including many of higher rank, were not prosecuted. In 2004, President George W. Bush and Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld apologized for the Abu Ghraib abuses.


December 31, 2023

S.F. Forty-Niners get the NUMBER ONE SEED! Home Field through the playoffs!

9'ers won
Eagles lost

Awesome !!




San Francisco is officially the cream of the crop in the NFC.

The 49ers clinched their conference's No. 1 seed on Sunday following their 27-10 win over the Commanders and the Eagles' 35-31 upset loss to the Cardinals, assuring themselves a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout their hopeful journey to Super Bowl LVIII.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan's squad locked up the all-important seed two weeks after sewing up the NFC West and three weeks after becoming the first team in the league to punch a playoff ticket.

The wave of success has been earned on both sides of the ball.

Brock Purdy has proven a perfect fit for Shanahan's system and, buoyed by a stellar supporting cast of Brandon Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel and George Kittle, delivered a tremendous second season under center.

Christian McCaffrey has perhaps been even better as the NFL's foremost difference-maker at running back.

And the defense behind Nick Bosa and Fred Warner finds itself as a top-three scoring unit for the second straight year.

December 31, 2023

Opinion: The accidental revelation in 'Ferrari'

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/25/opinions/ferrari-adam-driver-penelope-cruz-berlatsky/index.html

(snip)

The movie frames the danger of death as part of what’s exciting about the races. There are close-ups of the driver’s determined, handsome faces, and repeated references to their attractive girlfriends, the complement to rugged manliness. De Portago is dating Mexican film actress Linda Christian (Sarah Gadon), a famous Hollywood sex symbol of the time.

It’s hard to miss the way that Enzo has built his fortune literally on the blood and bones of his workers. That’s especially apparent when he delivers a pep talk before the Mille Miglia, in which he chastises his drivers for being too cautious. He tells them that if a driver from another company is about to pass them, they should be willing to kill themselves and the opponent rather than admit defeat.

“We all know it’s a deadly passion, our terrible joy,” Enzo insists, with all of Adam Driver’s powers of earnest eloquence. But of course, while Enzo may be passionate, he’s not the one who’s going to die. And while he may find the races a joy, he also literally makes money from them. He’s telling the drivers to sacrifice themselves for his bank account.

(snip)

Even if Enzo seems sincere, even if he has a vision, even if you think sportscar racing is exciting and the danger is part of the thrill, what kind of system is it where some people sacrifice their labor, their health and even their lives so others can get rich?

Hollywood keeps telling us the people in charge of this meatgrinder are likable. “Ferrari” doesn’t sell it.
December 29, 2023

Eclipses, meteor showers and alignments: The astronomy events you won't want to miss in 2024

https://www.accuweather.com/en/space-news/eclipses-meteor-showers-and-alignments-the-astronomy-events-you-wont-want-to-miss-in-2024/1604982

By Brian Lada, AccuWeather meteorologist and staff writer

Published Dec 29, 2023 6:09 AM PST | Updated Dec 29, 2023 6:09 AM PST


The year is jam-packed with captivating astronomical sights including a rare "Super Harvest Moon Eclipse," but one spectacle will leave millions speechless -- and won't be seen from the United States for another 20 years.

The new year brings a fresh slate of exciting astronomical events in the night sky, and one that will take place in the middle of the day that, for many, will be a once-in-a-lifetime spectacle.

From planetary alignments to a "Super Harvest Moon Eclipse," here are the top astronomy events to mark on your 2024 calendar:
March 25: Penumbral lunar eclipse

Less than a week after the spring equinox, which takes place on March 19 at 11:06 p.m. EDT, stargazers will be able to see the year's first eclipse.

A penumbral lunar eclipse will unfold before daybreak on Monday, March 25, and will be visible across North America South America, western Europe, western Africa, Japan, New Zealand and part of Australia.

This type of eclipse can be underwhelming and difficult to notice as the moon only passes through Earth's outer shadow, known as the penumbra, which is not nearly as dark as its inner shadow, the umbra. However, it will be the precursor to a jaw-dropping spectacle that will unfold just two weeks later.


April 8: Total solar eclipse

Millions of people will travel from around the world to see the top astronomy event of 2024, and for North America, it will arguably be the best astronomy event of the decade.

For a few moments on Monday, April 8, the moon will completely block out the sun to create a stunning total solar eclipse, the first for North America since 2017. It will only be visible along a narrow path from Texas to Maine and portions of Mexico and Atlantic Canada.


( snip )

December 29, 2023

The world wants a respite for Gaza. Israel vows to keep fighting.

The U.N. Security Council has called for “urgent and extended” humanitarian pauses in Gaza to allow more aid into the enclave. The United States, Israel’s best friend, says it wants its ally to move from block-flattening airstrikes to operations that target Hamas leaders more precisely.

But in recent days, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Israeli military commanders have suggested that the level of violence with which they’re prosecuting the war — already among the most destructive of the century, and a source of regional instability — will persist or even intensify.

Israeli airstrikes since Christmas Eve have wounded or killed hundreds of Palestinians, many of them in refugee camps, according to Palestinian and international health officials. Nineteen Israeli soldiers have been killed in fighting with militants over the past four days, one of the bloodiest stretches for Israel since it began the campaign it says is aimed at eradicating Hamas on Oct. 7.

The few hospitals that continue to function in Gaza are far beyond overwhelmed, aid officials say.

https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/26/netanyahu-gaza-hamas-israel/

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Not giving Hamas time to show themselves as targets seems like a bad strategy.
This has become your basic indiscriminate bombing.



December 29, 2023

More than 80 children killed in West Bank since Oct. 7, UNICEF says

Source: WaPo

Eighty-three children have been killed in the West Bank and East Jerusalem in the past three months — double the number for the whole of 2022, the agency’s regional director Adele Khodr said in a statement Thursday. More than 576 have been wounded, she added.

“As the world watches on in horror at the situation in the Gaza Strip, children in the West Bank are experiencing a nightmare of their own,” Khodr said.

“Children living in the West Bank, including East Jerusalem, have been experiencing grinding violence for many years, yet the intensity of that violence has dramatically increased since the horrific attacks of 7 October.”

In total, 124 Palestinian children and six Israeli children have been killed there this year, the agency said.

A separate report from the U.N. Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights published Wednesday found that at least 300 Palestinians have been killed in the West Bank since Oct. 7, most of them in incidents involving Israeli security forces.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/29/israel-hamas-war-gaza-news-palestine/#link-BSAV7KFXKBFIXLKG72M2GWRIHI

December 28, 2023

This is just F'n great.. FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday the war between Israel and Hamas has led to a spike

FBI Director Christopher Wray said Tuesday the war between Israel and Hamas has led to a spike in threats against the United States, warning that "we are in a dangerous period" as various terrorist groups look to leverage the conflict for their own causes.

( snip )
Israel-Gaza conflict is being used in extremist propaganda

Christine Abizaid, the director of the National Counterterrorism Center, told lawmakers that the Israel-Hamas war has featured in messaging and propaganda since Oct. 7.

"We've seen it from al-Qaida affiliates, almost every single one of them," she told lawmakers, referring to terrorist groups in the Mideast and Africa with ties to al-Qaida. "We've also seen it from ISIS, which isn't ideologically aligned with a group like Hamas but is still leveraging this current conflict to try to sow the kind of violence, bring adherence to its cause in a kind of exploitative way."

On the home front, Wray said the biggest concern for the FBI is that violent extremists — including people inspired by foreign terrorist groups but also domestic violent extremists — will draw inspiration from the ongoing conflict to carry out attacks against Americans.

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So, Netanyahu's slaughter of approx. 20,000 Palestinian civilians in his attempt to destroy Hamas has raised the terror threat here in the U.S..

Thanks a WHOLE FUCKING BUNCH, A-HOLE.


December 23, 2023

Doctors accuse Israeli troops of desecrating bodies and shooting civilians at hospital Israel says was Hamas 'command ce

https://www.cnn.com/2023/12/23/middleeast/kamal-adwan-hospital-gaza-israel-abuse-allegations-intl-cmd/index.html

Doctors accuse Israeli troops of desecrating bodies and shooting civilians at hospital Israel says was Hamas ‘command center’

Jerusalem
CNN

Israeli soldiers raiding a hospital in northern Gaza desecrated the bodies of dead patients with bulldozers, let a military dog maul a man in a wheelchair, and shot multiple doctors even after vetting them for terror links, according to allegations by staff and patients.

“The soldiers dug up the graves this morning and dragged the bodies with bulldozers, then crushed the bodies with the bulldozers,” said the hospital’s head of pediatric services, Hossam Abu Safiya, in a phone interview on Saturday. “I have never seen such a thing before.”

——————————————






December 16, 2023

Israeli military says soldier opened fire on hostages holding white flag

Source: WaPo

The three hostages killed by Israeli forces in Gaza were carrying a makeshift white flag when a soldier felt threatened and opened fire, a senior Israeli military official said Saturday, adding that an investigation was underway and that the killings were “against our rules of engagement.” Hostages’ families and protesters were frustrated that the Israeli government has not taken a new path beyond a military operation to secure the release of their loved ones.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/2023/12/16/israel-gaza-war-hamas-news-updates/



I will repeast: ""Hostages’ families and protesters were frustrated that the Israeli government has not taken a new path beyond a military operation to secure the release of their loved ones.""


It's as if the Isreali gov't cares more about making Hamas look evil than doing good for their own people.. huh.

December 11, 2023

Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus in Lebanon attack

Source: WaPo

DHEIRA, Lebanon — Israel used U.S.-supplied white phosphorus munitions in an October attack in southern Lebanon that injured at least nine civilians in what a rights group says should be investigated as a war crime, according to a Washington Post analysis of shell fragments found in a small village.

A journalist working for The Post found remnants of three 155-millimeter artillery rounds fired into Dheira, near the border of Israel, which incinerated at least four homes, residents said. The rounds, which eject felt wedges saturated with white phosphorous that burns at high temperatures, produce billowing smoke to obscure troop movements as it falls haphazardly over a wide area. Its contents can stick to skin, causing potentially fatal burns and respiratory damage, and its use near civilian areas could be prohibited under international humanitarian law.

Lot production codes found on the shells match the nomenclature used by the U.S. military to categorize domestically produced munitions, which show they were made by ammunition depots in Louisiana and Arkansas in 1989 and 1992. The light green color and other markings — like “WP” printed on one of the remnants — are consistent with white phosphorous rounds, according to arms experts.



Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/investigations/2023/12/11/israel-us-white-phosphorus-lebanon/



I certainly don't like my tax dollars being used for what are considered 'war crimes'.







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About TeamProg

Retired from music industry of 43 yrs.
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