Not torture = torture

Anyone who reads this post from David E. Coombs, Bradley Manning's lawyer will realize that Bradley Manning is being tortured by the United States of America. He is being tortured in our name. Bradley Manning has not been convicted of any crime. Even if he were convicted of a hideous crime, torture would be immoral. The United States claims that it is not torturing Manning, but consider one example of many disgraceful revelations made by David E. Coombs:

The guards are required to check on PFC Manning every five minutes by asking him if he is okay. PFC Manning is required to respond in some affirmative manner. At night, if the guards cannot see PFC Manning clearly, because he has a blanket over his head or is curled up towards the wall, they will wake him in order to ensure he is okay.
What the phuque. This is not making sure he is "OK," as the military claims. Rather, this is sleep deprivation and it is a way to damage cognitive functioning. For those who suggest that this is not a problem, would they ever allow this to be done to someone they loved? And why is it that medical websites universally caution that we get enough sleep?
Learning and memory: Sleep helps the brain commit new information to memory through a process called memory consolidation. In studies, people who’d slept after learning a task did better on tests later. Metabolism and weight: Chronic sleep deprivation may cause weight gain by affecting the way our bodies process and store carbohydrates, and by altering levels of hormones that affect our appetite. Safety: Sleep debt contributes to a greater tendency to fall asleep during the daytime. These lapses may cause falls and mistakes such as medical errors, air traffic mishaps, and road accidents. Mood: Sleep loss may result in irritability, impatience, inability to concentrate, and moodiness. Too little sleep can also leave you too tired to do the things you like to do. Cardiovascular health: Serious sleep disorders have been linked to hypertension, increased stress hormone levels, and irregular heartbeat. Disease: Sleep deprivation alters immune function, including the activity of the body’s killer cells. Keeping up with sleep may also help fight cancer.
Why would anyone do this to anyone else, other than to torture them? Why, especially, would you do this to a man who has never been convicted of a crime? This is the character of the perennial war-monger totalitarian state coming through loud and clear, and Barack Obama is not willing to step in and call a halt to this despicably immoral situation. Bradley Manning had the guts to speak truth to power, and now, in my name and yours, he is being made into a hideous example so that none of the rest of us get any foolish ideas.

Continue ReadingNot torture = torture

Pat Robertson argues for decriminalization of marijuana

Who would have ever thought that we'd hear this sort of thing uttered by Pat Robertson:

"We're locking up people that have taken a couple puffs of marijuana and next thing you know they've got 10 years with mandatory sentences," Robertson continued. "These judges just say, they throw up their hands and say nothing we can do with these mandatory sentences. We've got to take a look at what we're considering crimes and that's one of 'em. "I'm ... I'm not exactly for the use of drugs, don't get me wrong, but I just believe that criminalizing marijuana, criminalizing the possession of a few ounces of pot, that kinda thing it's just, it's costing us a fortune and it's ruining young people. Young people go into prisons, they go in as youths and come out as hardened criminals. That's not a good thing."

Continue ReadingPat Robertson argues for decriminalization of marijuana

Ralph Nader and Julian Assange on Wikimania

Ralph Nader has commented about the government witchhunt of Wikileaks:

Secrecy-keeping the people and Congress in the dark-is the cancer eating at the vitals of democracy. What is remarkable about all the official hullabaloo by government officials, who leak plenty themselves, is that there never is any indictment or prosecution of government big wigs who continually suppress facts and knowledge in order to carry out very devastating actions like invading Iraq under false pretenses and covering up corporate contractors abuses. The morbid and corporate-indentured secrecy of government over the years has cost many American lives, sent Americans to illegal wars, bilked consumers of billions of dollars and harmed the safety and economic well-being of workers.

Meanwhile, Julian Assange warned those who work for traditional media outlets that they should not try to dissociate the work of Wikileaks from the work that they do. In fact, he argues that once the U.S. government criminally prosecutes him, that they will be next, and that will be the end of serious government journalism. This link includes a long interview with Assange by Cenk Uygur of MSNBC. Here's what he had to say about the various calls for him to be illegally murdered, coming from several prominent American politicians:

If we are to have a civil society, you cannot have senior people making calls on national TV to go around the judiciary and illegally murder people," he said. "That is incitement to commit murder.

Continue ReadingRalph Nader and Julian Assange on Wikimania

If you didn’t watch the local TV news Wednesday evening, you missed all of this

I have long been disheartened by the offerings that pass for “news” on local TV news shows, but I thought it might be interesting to carefully monitor a newscast, and to log the content, minute by minute. I invited my 10-year old daughter to join me watching a videotape of the local news of Wednesday evening’s news on St. Louis NBC affiliate KSDK, Channel 5. I had recorded the 30-minute show ahead of time so we could carefully track the time and content, stopping and starting the tape as necessary to be accurate with our note-taking. We got lucky because there was a mild sleet storm in the forecast, which would give us a chance to see how much the station would play up a bit of weather. It turned out that we weren’t disappointed with the winter storm hyperbole. We were sorely disappointed with what passed as “news,” however. Here is the “news,” minute by minute:

0:00 - Intro: Welcome to the News 0:25 Winter Weather Watch (There might be some sleet and ice tonight). 2:10 Breaking News: the police are investigating a crime-a woman was murdered in Illinois 3:28 More weather - (There might be some sleet and ice tonight). 4:22 Stock videotape of the city salt trucks. The “story” is that these trucks are ready to go if necessary. 4:31 A local organization provides meals for the elderly. The accompanying video features an elderly woman who is for the frozen meals. 6:22 More weather: Take care of your pet when it's cold and icy outside. 7:25 Today, there was a student protest at a radio station run by a University. The police arrested a student who was allegedly unruly. The student blames the police and the police blame the student. No serious injuries. 9:02 Several police officers were laid off in one of the municipalities of in the St. Louis area. 9:22 An ex-police officer who had been arrested for corruption regarding an automobile towing operation goes to prison. 10:19 There was a shooting at a school board meeting in Florida. The story includes security video of the shooter being attacked by a woman who used her purse to smack him. He did not shoot her; he was much bigger than her, and swatted her away. She is interviewed afterward and states she didn't know why she hit the man with her purse. 11:03 A preview of upcoming news. 11:30 Commercials 13:13 A video of a small airplane making an emergency landing (without landing gear) at the Springfield Missouri airport. No injuries. 13:35 A bandit in Las Vegas steals $1.5 million in casino chips. The story includes a video of the disguised robber walking out of the casino. 14:10 A mother sues McDonald's for offering Happy Meals to lure children to the restaurant. McDonald's says is proud of its happy meals. 14:50 A skunk breaks into a warehouse and sprays some toys. Many of these stinky toys can no longer be distributed to children. 15:12 More weather. There might be ice and snow tonight. 15:36 Commercials 18:15 More Weather. There might be ice and snow tonight. 21:30 Promos for the local news. We keep you informed. 22:11 More commercials. 24:30 Merry Christmas message from the station. 24:57 Sports. 28:00 A short story about Twitter. 28:20 More commercials 30:00 End of the “news.”
[Epilogue: Despite all of the attention on the weather, only a few schools closed in St. Louis the following morning and there was only a modest amount of ice on the roads]. Here are a few statistics based upon this news monitoring session: - Total time of commercials: More than 8 minutes. - Total amount of weather: About 7 minutes. - National news: None - Investigative reporting: None. - Speaking truth to power: None. [More . . . ]

Continue ReadingIf you didn’t watch the local TV news Wednesday evening, you missed all of this