Bush official admits "We tortured…"

A senior Bush official has come forward saying that the US Military has tortured a Saudi man being held at Guantanamo Bay. Since they went ahead and tortured the guy, he apparently cannot be referred for prosecution. Whew…He sure lucked out of that one.

The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo Bay detainees to trial has concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, interrogating him with techniques that included sustained isolation, sleep deprivation, nudity and prolonged exposure to cold, leaving him in a “life-threatening condition.”

“We tortured [Mohammed al-]Qahtani,” said Susan J. Crawford, in her first interview since being named convening authority of military commissions by Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in February 2007. “His treatment met the legal definition of torture. And that’s why I did not refer the case” for prosecution.

via BoingBoing

Patriotic Omniphage (Part: The First)

The final day to vote for the next leader of the US is right around the corner, and the outcome doesn’t seem to be positive either way. In a country that values small-business and diversity (lol) – we sure seem to love a 2-party system. But, from the mouths of the candidates themselves, whoever comes out as alpha-dog in this election won’t be that much different than the others. And the global meltdown and spiral downwards will continue.

The masses responsible for the votes will continue to stumble about their daily live, oblivious to the underlying stagnation and decay of an unhealthy society. It is a part of their culture and part of their psyche. Our lives have become as the zombie; a near-infinite consumption of goods and services, blind to the destruction and scarcity that results. We’ve even crossed the ‘quarantine’ border and have consumed the lives and resources of entire civilizations.

How are we to act in a world where to media bombards us constantly with the images of our own destruction, flashing across our magic lanterns? The decay and rot we have inflicted on the world constantly surrounding us; glamorized on the screen and in print. Our subconscious minds absorb these horrors and turn back to the here and now – the protective bubbles we have made. But the knowledge is still there…the root of most of our anxieties and discomfort, our general unhappiness.

io9 recently made a chart comparing war and social upheaval with the proliferation of zombie films.

"Soldier" Brags of Torture, Rape & Murder

Although the people in this video are probably actors, the events described within are real and typical.

WARNING: The following video contains language, descriptions of torture and murder, and representitive psychopathy. This content might be considered distasteful, grotesque, and offensive to most any human. This is weight of war.
FOR MATURE AUDIENCE ONLY!

f.Light.en.(chanter).ing

I
Mellophone gladiator takes his pose
polar staff at the ready, full of wind, words, and vibration
His armored skin glistening in autumn air, spring-water cool
sighting the conscious along a note
and shattering empty wind-swept epiphany
Flowing mane locks curl unfurl
Lightning
Rust falls in the city as once again ashes and rust fall from cogs
to call once again the ethereal ingenue

II
Tonality drops and curving peak spike rent asunder
clashing, falling, running – charging towards symphony extraordinary
Twisting this way and thither|zither fight embrace
Pale air creating/casting upon all with nighttime cloaks
Golden pools rise from amongst the scattered stones of mountains
and this swell is eminent

III
Discordant order manifesting
barrage of blackened mind-spires, flee
and then turn
Programming and destroying programming and programming and destroying programming
until nothing is left but this aperture of incidence
Skilled fingers this minstrel uses to unabashedly haunt and love,
filling you and all with this noise that we call Agape
Flight fancy and facet – pure light light light
vibrating humming moving fingers over threads of wonder
the Enchanter has won the world with this magic

Bush Ignores Congressional Restrictions…Again

Just recently H.R. 4986 The National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2008 was signed into law. This is basically a big bill designating funds for specific functions of the military, defense, and intelligence sections of the government. However, it seems that President Bush is ignoring the parts that he wants to – telling congress to basically shove it.

Provisions of the Act, including sections 841, 846, 1079, and 1222, purport to impose requirements that could inhibit the President’s ability to carry out his constitutional obligations to take care that the laws be faithfully executed, to protect national security, to supervise the executive branch, and to execute his authority as Commander in Chief. The executive branch shall construe such provisions in a manner consistent with the constitutional authority of the President.

Now, the best section out of that bill is 1222 – The Limitation on Availability of Funds for Certain Purposes Relating to Iraq – which states:

No funds appropriated pursuant to an authorization of appropriations in this Act may be obligated or expended for a purpose as follows:(1) To establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq.

(2) To exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq

So, basically, Bush is saying that he can’t even abide by the simple rules of “No Permanant Iraq Bases” and “No Controlling the Oil”. Hmmmm…I wonder why that is? It seems that by simply looking at what he won’t listen to, we can see the plans for the future. This is a very dangerous situation – the fact that he can just openly and publicly give the metaphorical finger to the American people. Why doesn’t this news bother more people? I’ve only been able to find a few different articles about it around the net, and no mention in mainstream sources.

I’m bothed even more by the other sections. The first two (841, 846) seem to deal with contractors abroad. The first, deals with recieving permission from Senate committees for actions pertaining to government contractors (a la Blackwater), and the second with protecting employees from those companies (or Department of Defense employees) from prosecution if they come forward with “information that the employee reasonably believes is evidence of gross mismanagement of a Department of Defense contract or grant, a gross waste of Department of Defense funds, a substantial and specific danger to public health or safety, or a violation of law related to a Department of Defense contract (including the competition for or negotiation of a contract) or grant”.

So, Bush doesn’t want anyone to be able to tattle on the disgusting things going on up top, and he wants to continue to station mercenaries anywhere he chooses on the taxpayer’s dime. What a waste, what a waste. Hopefully Kucinich changes his mind again about impeachment hearings.

(via SOTT)

Update: GNN just covered this subject.

Martial Law 2008

Note: This is a repost from my old blog WordsForFree. The original post date is September 13, 2007. Although what I predicted with the Air Force base hasn’t happened, I still believe that the current state of our freedoms is in jeopardy more and more every day. Thanks G.W.

What is going on right now does not bode very well for America at all. What would you do if I told you that there is a plan in action right now to strip you of your freedoms, inter you in a detention camp indefinitely, and take control of every aspect of our country?

This plan goes back decades, but I would like to keep it recent. We’ll say, the past 2 years. It all starts with H.R. 5122 (John Warner National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2007)[text of bill] which was passed in congress on September 30, 2006 and signed by President George W. Bush on October 17, 2006. This bill effectively (and officially) paved the way for the complete control of our country by one man – The President himself.

Psychopathic US Troops – Video

WARNING: The following video contains graphic images of torture, murder, and brutal psychopathy. This content might be considered distasteful, grotesque, and offensive to most any human. This is weight of war.
FOR MATURE (18+) AUDIENCE ONLY!

via Signs of the Times

When are people going to get the point? When are they going to understand what their ignorance is causing? This isn’t just some harmless dispute going on where no one gets hurt.Is it when we’ve destroyed the genetic future of a country? Or when all of the soldiers break down?

For more perspective, check out Rigorous Intuition‘s series “America Ate My Brain”:

America Ate My Brain (Part One)
America Ate My Brain (Part Two)