Senator Leah LAMBASTING Asscroft on 911 failures C-Span ...NOW!

[ElsewheresDaughter]

[seemslikeadream]

1. THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU

N/T

[goforit]

19. And a quadruple THANK YOU.......here here!!!!

:bounce:

[demnan]

2. Time to send Leahy out some more anthrax

n/t

[Demonaut]

99. bad choice of words, you just made a death threat

bad idea most times, terrible in these times

[Spazito]

3. Ashcroft's arrogance is unbelievable, his face showed the total

contempt he holds for Congress.

[goforit]

21. Mr. Holier than thou????.......Commits blasphemy 24/7

[seemslikeadream]

4. How many times is he gonna reference Ronnie?

Does anyone want popcorn?

[nolabels]

8. That cat is a little tubby

Perhaps it should lay off the popcorn some ;p

[Lin]

72. I'll take the kitty...gata bella! <eom>

[KathCO]

91. Cats lay down fat and stand up slim - or the saying sort of goes

[nolabels]

105. Thats is the problem, Our moma kitty (fixed) just lays around and gets fat

That dang calico in her just makes her mean as spit. She was the best varmit puss yad ever seen. But since she had them two litters we had to get her fixed up, she's never been the same ever since :-(

[anarchy1999]

10. Yes Please, I'd like a very large with lots of that butter stuff, better

yet, real butter and real Parmesean, I'm at home!!!!! Popping it now. It's going to be a fun day!! Ashcroft on the Grill!! Well Done, please..

[displacedtexan]

12. Great idea!

Yum! Buttery flavoring, too!

[seemslikeadream]

20. Alright everyone pick out the kind you want

I've got the popcorn

but it's BYO on the booze or other stuff

[anarchy1999]

25. I'm having Bailey's with my coffee first.

This is tooooo good! And toooo long in coming!!!!!

[goforit]

24. Eddie Murrey would love this little Garfield!!!

[displacedtexan]

A$$KKKROFT won't answer the question. Period.

Did your office write the memo, excerpts of which the NYTimes published today?


No answer.

[aquart]

39. What memo? Which memo?

Where have I been? What happened???? Why only excerpts???

[TahitiNut]

5. Leahy was superb! (Ashcroft was arrogant and condescending.)

Ashcroft is an insane zealot. This is a person with whom no communication is possible. His close-mindedness is awesome. He's an anachronistic throwback to the theocratic recapitulation days.

[Just Me]

65. Ewwwww, tell me about it!!! He gives me the major creeps!!! n/t

[seemslikeadream]

6. bush has ignored a treaty Leahy is very aware of

Santiago Treaty. Not coming to the aid of the democraticly elected government of Haiti.


EVERY DEATH CREATES NEW ENEMIES
MORE TERRORISTS
MORE DANGER
MORE DEATH
AND REMEMBER...
HE IS JUST GETTING STARTED...
BUSH'S PLAN FOR PEACE
IS THE PEACE OF THE COMMON GRAVE

http://www.bushflash.com/pax.html

[anarchy1999]

7. Watching now, Grassley (R) is after Ashcroft. I don't think he's going

to make it through this day! Oh please, if there is a GOD....... let him be just.

[Hawkeye-X]

35. If God was listening

Asskkkroft would turn in his resignation, and report to prison for a self-inflicted corporal mortification. Repeatedly.

[Mandate My Ass]

60. ROFL

except he should get weekend passes to work at an AIDS
hospice and a shelter for stray calico kitties.:evilgrin:

[displacedtexan]

9. Grassley is asking about retro classification of translator docs!

Sybil Edmonds docs.

"National Security" matter. A$$KKKROFT takes responsibility for the decision.

Grassley: Isn't it ludicrous to classify it now?

Answer:
Some kind of spilt milk idiotic answer. If you spill milk and no damage is done, isn't it better to put it back in the jar?

HUH?

[anarchy1999]

11. He's a bona-fide idiot! Thank god , Texas does not have to claim him

as well. God is merciful. One or two is enough. Share the idiocy between the states.

[displacedtexan]

17. Absolutely! Ted K is up now.

Back to the memo!

Do you agree with that conclusion?

No answer.

3 memos:

One signed by John Yo

Will you provide those?

"No, I will not."

Ted:Executive priv. does not apply here.

(Cites Watergate and quotes Reagan)

Go, Ted!

[nolabels]

15. You got to be kiddin, I am almost ready to turn the darn thing on

It's comedy sitcom right :crazy:

[anarchy1999]

22. More fun than we've had all year!!!

Tune in.

[seemslikeadream]

23. spilt milk?

[displacedtexan]

42. Fabulous!

Thanks!

[GermanDJ]

13. For a moment it seemed that Ashcroft is crumbling ...

When he was pressured to explain if President Bush was involved in ordering the torture ... Wow! For a moment it seemed that Ashcroft would react aggressively. He really seemed to lose his temper.

He clearly does not appear to be a sympathetic guy ...

I think he's scary! :scared:

[rocktivity]

14. GET THEE BEHIND ME, ASHCROFT!

UNCLEAN! UNCLEAN!

:headbang:
rocknation

[happynewyear]

16. Ted Kennedy has him sweating bullets now

Damn! I love it!!! :loveya: Ted Kennedy!!!

[0007]

18. Why the time limit?- it's killing us.

Kennedy has Ashcroft in a corner and the time is eating him up.

[displacedtexan]

26. The party of the majority sets the time limits.

Get the picture?

[jmowreader]

28. But since Charles Grassley is tearing into him...

the Republican majority may announce, "this is getting good, go for it gentlemen."

Or we can hope.

Remember my Rule of Negative Coattails: if the Bushies start taking other Republicans down with them, the Republicans will drop him like a hot rock. It appears to be starting.

[lumpy]

97. Hey, didn't you get it ?

Charles Grassley is now known as Chuck Grassley.

[displacedtexan]

30. Jesus! Joe Biden says A$$KKKROFT may be in contempt!

He's not allowed NOT to answer the questions!

Wow!

[Just Me]

66. I LOVED that part: "General, you are in contempt of Congress!" n/t

[anarchy1999]

27. Isn't there a Patsy Cline song .... "I fall to pieces........"

just came to mind.

[KittyWampus]

29. Kennedy- Did Bush Authorize Your Invoking Exec. Priveledge

to not answer their questions about memo.

What IS he invoking then?

He is in contempt of Congress- Biden.

[snooper2]

32. That was great!

Thanks for this thread, I wouldn't have known about this otherwise. Now I'm not going to get anything done, but how often do you get to watch Asscrack get grilled...

[Snellius]

33. Tuned in late. What's the "memo?"

What's he hiding?

[TahitiNut]

36. Any memorandum/communication from Bush regarding treatment of prisoners,

... detainees, or other incarcerated people. Ashcroft refused to identify any and refused to turn over any that may exist.

[Vadem]

53. These are the memos they are discussing......

Leaked memos as stated in this WaPo article in today's paper:


http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A23373-2004Jun7.html



Memo Offered Justification for Use of Torture
Justice Dept. Gave Advice in 2002

By Dana Priest and R. Jeffrey Smith
Washington Post Staff Writers
Tuesday, June 8, 2004; Page A01

In August 2002, the Justice Department advised the White House that torturing al Qaeda terrorists in captivity abroad "may be justified," and that international laws against torture "may be unconstitutional if applied to interrogations" conducted in President Bush's war on terrorism, according to a newly obtained memo.

If a government employee were to torture a suspect in captivity, "he would be doing so in order to prevent further attacks on the United States by the Al Qaeda terrorist network," said the memo, from the Justice Department's office of legal counsel, written in response to a CIA request for legal guidance. It added that arguments centering on "necessity and self-defense could provide justifications that would eliminate any criminal liability" later.

The memo seems to counter the pre-Sept. 11, 2001, assumption that U.S. government personnel would never be permitted to torture captives. It was offered after the CIA began detaining and interrogating suspected al Qaeda leaders in Afghanistan and elsewhere in the wake of the attacks, according to government officials familiar with the document.

The legal reasoning in the 2002 memo, which covered treatment of al Qaeda detainees in CIA custody, was later used in a March 2003 report by Pentagon lawyers assessing interrogation rules governing the Defense Department's detention center at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. At that time, Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld had asked the lawyers to examine the logistical, policy and legal issues associated with interrogation techniques.

....more...

[displacedtexan]

34. That guy behind A$$KKKROFT looks shell shocked!

Scary!

Why is A$$KKKROFT defending the executive branch over the judicial branch?

[TahitiNut]

31. Biden : "Contempt of Congress"!

Damned straight. Ashcroft (that arrogant, pompous asshole) merely refuses to provide documents and offers no basis in law for that refusal! Unfreakingbelievable! This is a "law enforcement" official? Disgraceful!

[displacedtexan]

38. God Damn! Go, Joe!

Clenched teeth! "We sign these treaties to protect my son who is in the military!"

[anarchy1999]

40. That was an amazing moment!

And now we have orin.......

Pitiful.....

But still not letting up.......

[happyending]

44. thanks for the heads up

This is more fun than Christmas!

Does anyone happen to know if CSPAN will re-run this?
I'd love to see it from the begining.

[kevin881]

109. biden chewed him up nicely.

[happynewyear]

37. Cook your own goose Ashcrank!

Asscrank: I condemn torture, its not justified ....

Keep on lying liar Crank .... :nuke:

[Eurobabe]

41. Alabama's Sessions-R .....A$$KRACK KISSING

:puke:

[Hawkeye-X]

43. Someone turn off that mic off Sessions

Let him kiss ass elsewhere.

Not on CSPAN.

Hawkeye-X

[displacedtexan]

45. I can't believe these freaks are defending prosecution of thought crimes!

We'll get you before you commit a crime, suckers!

This is completely unamerican!

[anarchy1999]

46. Uh-oh, Feinstein is up, Ashcroft is in trouble, he might just crack...

.....The suspense is killing me////

When is he going to blow a fuse......short circuit coming soon.....

[Eurobabe]

48. A$$KRACK is master of circumlocution

(one of my favorite words!)

Obviously none of these Bu$hCo bozos took Logic 101.

[displacedtexan]

47. A$$KKKROFT Quote of the day

"Torture is painstakingly defined by the US Congress."

A$$KKKROFT is falling into his own trap: is Gitmo part of the USA or not? This will be an important point in the Supreme W. Court decision re prisoner treatment.

Didn't ahe learn to give the shortest answer possible in law school?

[Hawkeye-X]

50. Gitmo and Iraq are in fact violation of Geneva convention

which the US is bound to....

the maladministration should be hanged for this. A$$KKKROFT included.

[gauguin57]

51. wheels coming off

Asscroft stammering and stumbling over his words (as he splits hairs all over the place about torture law vs. Geneva convention) ... sounds likes he's losing it.

And EXCUSE ME, but just cuz the Geneva Convention doesn't technically apply in some given situation (and I'd disagree, but who am I?) ... does that mean we shouldn't follow it anyway? What in the hell are we doing? What in the hell kind of a country are these people turning us into? MY GOD!

[displacedtexan]

52. Feinstein dropped the ball, IMHO.

She had a fab opportunity to say: We, sir, as Americans, are principal signatories of the Geneva Conventions! We, therefore, must uphold them!

[leesa]

95. Feinstein passes up many fab opportunities like that.

[lumpy]

100. Feinstein managed in her quiet way

to fluster Ashcroft. He was trying hard to come up with answers to her questioning.

[Spazito]

54. Ashcroft outright lied about the Geneva Conventions re

High Contracting Parties! The Geneva Conventions also covers those who have NOT signed onto the treaty. Here is the relevant clause:

Although one of the Powers in conflict may not be a party to the present Convention, the Powers who are parties thereto shall remain bound by it in their mutual relations. They shall furthermore be bound by the Convention in relation to the said Power, if the latter accepts and applies the provisions thereof.

Link to Geneva Conventions:

http://www.unhchr.ch/html/menu3/b/91.htm

[lumpy]

98. This was interesting

Ashcroft made a point that the US is not confined to just this continent, it exists all over the world, i.e. US consulates in foreign countries. I would think that Guantanamo would apply.

[iconoclastic cat]

49. Listen to the streaming vid or audio online!

http://www.c-span.org/watch/cspan_wm.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CS

[iconoclastic cat]

55. "The information...was shared with individuals who we felt would

be helpful to us..."

Like who?

[displacedtexan]

56. I don't know anything about Herb Kohl (D WI)

What's his deal?

Asking why Padilla info wasn't shared with local law enforcement.

A$$KKKROFT reciting the "alert list" crap. Yadayadayada... warned apt. dwellers' group.

Right! Like biz owners want that info shared with prospective renters!

What a crock!

FBI Director Mueller re Greek security. Not happy with his answers. Can you give assurances?

A$$KKKROFT: USA is not responsible.

[lumpy]

101. No problem supplying security

for the 1st dimbulb, though.

[anarchy1999]

57. This is an awesome, amazing beautiful day. I can't wait for Sibel and

Daniel Ellsberg on the steps at 9:30am on the 14th. Are we going to make it till then?

[iconoclastic cat]

58. "Mr. Ashcroft, you've got to do a better job."

Love it!

[Gloria]

59. "Contempt of Congress" has made the radio network News!!! I was

passing through the kitchen, where my mother has the radio on listening to Limpballs...heard the news break at the top of the hour....I think it's ABC or CBS, not sure....and heard a snippet of what I thought at the time was a reporter, asking if this was "contempt of Congress."

Who was that? Leahy???

ON Edit--

Ah, I see it was Biden.........

[rocktivity]

61. Sadly, all of this could have been avoided

if Ashcroft had realized that there was a highly effective but thoroughly humane torture device right under his nose.

:headbang:
rocknation

[gauguin57]

62. goddammit

they're cutting away to lame-ass speeches about RWR in the House? DAMMIT! We don't want to hear this crap! We want to hear senators ripping Asscrack a new one!

[Vadem]

63. You can listen here.....

http://judiciary.senate.gov/


on C-Span live webcast.

[gauguin57]

64. also here

http://www.cspan.org/watch/cspanradio.asp?Cat=TV&Code=CSR

[Spazito]

67. Thanks!

*

[maddezmom]

68. thanks for the link

[Rose Siding]

69. Durbin getting him up against the wall

Will you claim privilege, cite a statute or present the answers?

[maddezmom]

70. personal opinion is not citing the law...GO DICK!!

[TahitiNut]

74. Durbin played the "Contempt of Congress" card, too.

How many is that? Kennedy, Leahy, Biden, Durbin .... GOOD! Nail that fucker's ass the to the wall. Throw him into Abu Ghraib!

---

http://quote.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000103&sid=aynk7_r_cQik&refer=us">U.S.'s Ashcroft Won't Release or Discuss Torture Memo

June 8 (Bloomberg) -- U.S. Attorney General John Ashcroft, warned that he might be risking a contempt citation from Congress, told lawmakers he won't release or discuss memoranda that news reports say offered justification for torturing suspected terrorists.

Democratic members of the Senate Judiciary Committee asked Ashcroft about reports in the Wall Street Journal, the Washington Post and the New York Times that the Justice Department advised the White House in 2002 and 2003 that it might not be bound by U.S. and international laws prohibiting torture. Ashcroft said he wouldn't reveal confidential advice he gave to President George W. Bush or discuss it with Congress.

<more>

[peterh]

71. WOW….I can’t believe what I’m reading….

I can’t link to this, but here’s the exchange between Biden and AssCroft….the AG is literally telling Congress to piss off…..I think he’s really crossed the line here and the consequences should surface in the near future….



Ashcroft would not comment directly on the 2002 departmental memo that laid
out a rationale in which the president was not necessarily bound by anti-torture
laws or treaties because of his authority as commander in chief to protect
national security.
Sen. Joseph Biden, D-Del., asked Ashcroft whether there is any presidential
order that "immunizes (from prosecution) interrogators of al-Qaida suspects?"
"The president has issued no such order," Ashcroft replied.
The attorney general said the policy memo on this issue would not be made
available to the committee, however. And Ashcroft said that while he respected
the constitutional right of Congress to ask questions, "there are certain things
that, in the interest of the executive branch operating effectively, that I
think it is inappropriate for the attorney general to say."
"Do you think torture might be justified - not a memorandum - just a question
to you, attorney general of the United States?" Biden asked.
"I am not going to issue or otherwise discuss hypotheticals. I will leave that
to academics," Ashcroft replied.
"John, you sound like you're in the State Department," Biden shot back.
"I condemn torture. ... I don't think it's productive, let alone justified,"
Ashcroft responded.
Biden told Ashcroft "there's a reason why we (Congress) sign those
(anti-torture) treaties" and it is to protect U.S. military personnel.

[Just Me]

75. That is precisely what he's been doing; telling Congress to piss off.

Towards the end of the hearing, Leahy asserted that, terrorism notwithstanding, the constitution must remain in tact.

Ashcroft caused the hair on my arms to raise when he stared at Leahy with a really weird smirk on his face.

:scared:

[riverwalker]

83. the smirk on Ashcrofts face

when Leahy was talking about preserving the Constitution: it was utter contempt. I can't remember a more vile and revealing moment, our founding fathers must be rolling in their graves.

[happynewyear]

92. that same *smirk* was there when Kennedy was grilling him too

I agree, Asscrank is a real creep. He was shaking in hits boots today no doubt. It seems what he was trying to was cover up the fact that one of these "memoranda" is what is printed in the referenced above Washington Post article. I wonder what the other two memoranda say. Ted Kennedy was on track. Too bad he ran out of time.

The leaked "memoranda" seem to authorize torture from what I gather.

Nice guy alright. You better believe being on asscrank's list is a real nazi hell, smirk and everything. :scared: indeed

[anarchy1999]

73. I want a replay of the whole event!!

Anyone know yet when?

[Cassandra]

76. It's already available on C-Span

http://www.c-span.org/

[Habibi]

79. That was fast!

Man, Ashcroft looks like utter hell.

[Rayjay]

89. Help! Problem accessing C-span feed

Any 'puter geeks out there who can help me with this? I get a message saying the "file does not have a program associated with it for performing this action", then another box pops up to advise me: "Protocol specified in this address is not valid."

Help!

[Cassandra]

96. C-Span is the one video I never have problems with

Real Player kicks in well for that feed.

[nolabels]

77. These *co dudes are just par for course

I suspect they have bigger blunders ahead

[Media_Lies_Daily]

78. When Biden starts blasting the NeoCons, things must be starting to....

...unravel for the FratBoy Fuhrer.

[nolabels]

80. Yea, but we knew it was coming

Biden would make a good fishing buoy, when you get big fish on the line he starts to go below the surface. Otherwise he is just out there floating. Nothing is really happened yet anyway except a little more posturing. If and or when congress puts together some committee or commission with teeth then it might look different. They wont though (too close to the election), just sweep it under the rug after they put on a show, that's their M.O. don't ya know.

[0007]

81. Don't bet on it!!

[nolabels]

106. I am betting on it (not that I want to)

We have had so many of these type things go down like this (just the ones the public has found out about) how could one keep track.

They do it for power, they do it for money, they do it for revenge, they do it becaue they are bored, they even have done it just for sex. Their track record is obvious

It's been almost nine months since I posted this thread, It sounds like they are getting close (just like they were in Iran / Contra for 5 or 6 years). It's all rigged to work that way, we will see

I am not buying it, the whole CIA \Plame\ Novak Thing is B.S.
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=104&topic_id=445076

[Zhade]

82. Anyone know where I can read a transcript of this?

I can't get the stream to work right now. I'd like to see what was said.

TIA!

[crossroads]

85. Damn, I missed all of it!!!

:dem:

[grasswire]

84. this was MUST SEE TV

The bedrock principles of our Constitution are under attack.

Dictatorial powers are being grabbed.

Citizens MUST watch this exchange.

[TheWatcher]

86. What's worse is the link on C-SPAN appears to be NON-WORKING

And if it never does work again, I find that VERY scary.

If this is as serious as some people are making it out to be, it would not surprise me in the least if our adversaries would want to make it it difficult for us to access it.

Desppite all the happy flowing Reagan Coverage that helps cover up the rot going on in front of our faces, this country is beginning to unravel, and it is very disturbing.

I still think that a Power Grab and an electionless November are on the plate, so we will have to see.

But it is nice to see that democracy still has a few last gasps in it. Thank You, Senator Leahy. I hope it is not too little, too late.

[TheWatcher]

87. Ahhhh Link Working Again

[happynewyear]

93. I agree, a historical event!

This is one for the video archives no doubt!

:dem: :kick:

[northofdenali]

88. Whooooooooooooohooooooooooooooooooooo!!

Asskkkroft, have I got something waiting for YOU!


(Practicing her "I Got Him" leap)

[KathCO]

90. A$$croft complaining about geneva convention

and how it doesn't apply to al qaeda and iraqis because they are not consignees or something HOWEVER, the USA is so the USA should be bound by that regardless of who the USA is torturing!!

[struggle4progress]

94. PBS story including transcript excerpts

http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/fedagencies/jan-june04/torture_6-8.html

SEN. KENNEDY: General, has the president authorized you to invoke the executive privilege today on these documents?

ATTN. GEN. ASHCROFT: I am not going to reveal discussions -- whether I've had them or not had them with the president. He asked me to deal with him as a matter of confidence. I have not invoked the executive privilege today. I have explained to you why I'm not turning over the documents.

SEN. KENNEDY: Well, what are you invoking then?

ATTN. GEN. ASHCROFT: I have not invoked anything. I have just explained to you why I am not turning over the documents.

SEN. JOE BIDEN, D-Del.: Thank you very much. Well, General, that means you may be in contempt of Congress then. You got to have a reason not to answer our questions, as you know from you sitting up here. There may be a rationale for executive privilege that misses the point, but -- but, you know, you have to have a reason. You are not allowed, under our Constitution, not to answer our questions. And that ain't -- that ain't constitutional.

[struggle4progress]

104. Link for the text of Ashcroft's statement

Text: Ashcroft Comments on Anti-Terror Policy
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A25211-2004Jun8.html

<edit: add text>
LEAHY: Today, the Washington Post quotes from a memo from your department that purportedly argues that torturing a terrorism suspect may be justified.

Now, I've been asking for copies of post-September 11th policy memos for over a year, but your department has repeatedly said such documents are classified, or they simply won't release them.

I asked you for the specific memo that's now reported in the press 10 days ago and received no response. I could read it in the press, but I have not received a response from you.

You selectively declassify memoranda to suit your political purposes, such as the Gorelick memo you offered in the midst of the 9/11 commission hearings. But you denied information to members of this committee on both sides of the aisle, and so we conduct our oversight view of what we learn in the press.

[Oilwellian]

102. Here's the crux of it

In case you missed this excellent DU article by Jack Rabbit, I believe he's explained the crux of the issue:

The crimes at Abu Ghraib are the result of the peculiar detention system established by Mr. Bush and his subordinates in the wake of the war on terror.

The centerpiece of the detention system is the prison camp at the US Naval Base at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. A feature of the detention system is that it is, in the words of separate statements by Human Rights Watch and the International Committee for the Red Cross, "a legal black hole." This administration claims that the detention center is beyond the reach of the jurisdiction of any court. The detainees at the facility are presumed to be terrorists; no review of their cases can occur except by the good graces of this administration itself. The administration further asserts that all detainees at Guantanamo are "unlawful combatants" with no rights as prisoners of war. Again, because the administration claims that no US or international court has any jurisdiction over inmates at Guantanamo, their status cannot be reviewed by anyone outside the Bush administration.

This arrangement contradicts the Third Geneva Convention, under which a detainee is to be treated as a prisoner of war until a competent tribunal rules otherwise (Article 5). Since the administration's rules preclude judicial review of any detainee's status, no detainee has ever had a review by any competent tribunal and so could not be ruled anything but a prisoner of war.

Moreover, the catch-all phrase under international law for those who are not prisoners of war is not "unlawful combatants," a term which is not found in any recognized body of international law, but rather "protected persons." The rights of protected persons are spelled out in the Fourth Geneva Convention; the rights of protected persons under the authority of a hostile power are little different than those prisoners of war. Even assuming that the detainees at Guantanamo are not prisoners of war, their rights under international law are being violated systematically and willfully by Mr. Bush and his subordinates.

The Bush administration has instituted a system of military commissions to try the prisoners at Guantanamo. The trials are not public and their proceedings may be secret. The defendant may only be represented by an attorney who is approved by the government; in effect, the prosecution has veto power over the defense counsel. There shall be no jury; a two-thirds vote from commission members is sufficient for conviction or the imposition of a sentence, including death. The only appeal is to the President or the Secretary of Defense . . . .

The conditions under which prisoners are kept at Guantanamo are the subject of some international concern. Few outsiders have seen the camp and reported on it. Those who have, condemn it. Prisoners are housed in small cages with little protection from the elements. Human Rights Watch called the conditions "a scandal" long before Abu Ghraib made headlines. A British jurist looking into the situation at one of the Guantanamo camps called the conditions one of "utter lawlessness."

The detention camp at Guantanamo Bay was set up to circumvent international law. Mr. Bush cannot claim to know nothing about it or to not be responsible for it. He signed the executive orders authorizing this circumvention of international law.

(much more)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/articles/04/05/11_responsible.html

[gauguin57]

103. turn on C-span right now

... 1:42 a.m. Eastern Time. They've been rerunning it since about 11:30.

Ashcroft blathering to Feingold right now.

[0007]

107. btt

[gasperc]

108. Asscrack to Asscanyon

:kick: