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Tara Carreon
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Location: Tucson, Arizona
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 Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:45 pm Post subject: |
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THE ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF TORTURE AND NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE SANCTIONS
by Jordan J. Paust
http://www.naderlibrary.com/torture.jordanpaustabsoluteprohibition.htm
| Jordan J. Paust, Footnotes wrote: | | If a U.S. amnesty or immunity precludes U.S. prosecution, the U.S. must either extradite or render to an international tribunal. See also supra note 39. One of the worst responses would involve creation of a farcical “truth commission” where lawyered-up Bush Administration officials who are reasonably accused would be granted immunity to testify, but would refuse to testify about secreted meetings, authorizations, findings, directives, and memoranda that the Obama Administration had still not made public despite claims to transparency. If the U.S. could not prosecute such persons, the U.S. obligation would shift to a duty to extradite. Additionally, the U.S. could not assure extradition of such persons from any foreign country exercising universal jurisdiction and they could be prosecuted in any country they visited or in which they were otherwise found. They would have no jury trial and, if found guilty of authorizing or facilitating crime or dereliction of duty, they would most likely serve their sentence in a foreign jail. As Professor Tony D’Amato remarked, they would “lose the home court advantage.” |
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Tara Carreon
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Joined: 25 Sep 2008
Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:51 pm Post subject: |
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THE ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF TORTURE AND NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE SANCTIONS
by Jordan J. Paust
http://www.naderlibrary.com/torture.jordanpaustabsoluteprohibition.htm
| Jordan J. Paust, Footnes wrote: | New investigations should not be used to postpone prosecution or extradition of those who are already reasonably accused. At most, they would delay the need for President Obama to exercise his constitutionally-based duty to prosecute or extradite those who are later identified as persons reasonably accused of international crime. Presently, there is extensive evidence of manifest criminality engaged in by several individuals and many authoritative reports, published paper trails, and admissions already exist. See, e.g., PAUST, BEYOND THE LAW, supra note 1, at 5–20, 25–30, 32, 35–36, 45–46; supra notes 19, 21–22, 73, 76–80, 107 and accompanying text. They offer proof that what we saw in Abu Ghraib photos and water-boarding, the cold cell, stripping persons naked and use of snarling dogs to instill intense fear are torture authorized and abetted at the highest levels. If they were not torture, they are cruel treatment. If they were not, they constitute inhumane treatment. As such, they are manifest violations of the laws of war and any violation of the laws of war is a war crime. It is time to move beyond what for some has been convenient disbelief and for others has been racist indifference.
A great President must surely realize that we cannot restore the rule of law, we cannot adequately train soldiers to obey the laws of war, we cannot properly move forward without complying with international law and ending impunity through Executive prosecution or extradition of those who are reasonably accused. We must reaffirm the fundamental expectations of the Founders and Framers and countless others here and abroad that no one is above the law—that law exists not merely for those who are outside of government and without substantial wealth or power. See PAUST, BEYOND THE LAW, supra note 1, at xi–xii, 20–23, 65–67, 71–76, 80–81, 86–91, 99; Jordan J. Paust, In Their Own Words: Affirmations of the Founders, Framers, and Early Judiciary Concerning the Binding Nature of the Customary Law of Nations, 14 U.C.DAVIS J. INT’L L. & POL’Y 205, 205, Et seq. (2008). Former President Bush and others in his Administration have created a major crisis here and abroad with respect to our commitment to the rule of law and consequences for the integrity of government that would only be exacerbated if President Obama does not reaffirm that public servants are bound by the law and, whether or not it is comfortable, that he will faithfully execute the laws of the United States, which include treaty-based and customary international legal duties to either initiate prosecution or extradite. It has been left to President Obama to make the decision to end the seven-year trajectory of impunity. It is not a decision for committees, politics, and compromises, but of law. |
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Tara Carreon
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Joined: 25 Sep 2008
Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Mon Aug 03, 2009 9:56 pm Post subject: |
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THE ABSOLUTE PROHIBITION OF TORTURE AND NECESSARY AND APPROPRIATE SANCTIONS
by Jordan J. Paust
http://www.naderlibrary.com/torture.jordanpaustabsoluteprohibition.htm
| Jordan J. Paust, Footnotes wrote: | | U.S. Const., art. II, § 3 (“[H]e shall take Care that the Laws be faithfully executed[.]”). For support that such laws include treaties and customary international law and the President is bound thereby, see, e.g., PAUST, supra note 26, at 169–73, and numerous cases cited; PAUST, BEYOND THE LAW, supra note 1, at 20–23, 72–75, 86, 87–89, 92, 124–25, 168–72 nn.179–195, 233–37 nn.3–5, 20. Every relevant judicial opinion since the beginning of the United States has recognized that the President and all within the Executive branch are bound by the laws of war, a point famously recognized by President Lincoln’s Attorney General in 1865 while addressing the need to prosecute war crimes and the lack of congressional power to limit the reach of the laws of war. See, e.g., Op. Att’y Gen. 297, 298– 300, 307–08 (1865); PAUST, BEYOND THE LAW, supra note 1, at 234–36 n.4; 11. International laws that President Obama must faithfully execute at the beginning of the creation of his legacy include the unavoidable obligation to initiate prosecution of or to extradite all persons of any status who are reasonably accused of war crimes, crimes against humanity, and crimes under the CAT. See, e.g., supra notes 26, 28, 31 and accompanying text. |
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Tara Carreon
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Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 11:51 am Post subject: |
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An example of the kind of person President Obama is is that his Justice Department has opposed the habeas petition of Guantanamo detainee Mohammed Jawad. Breaking news is that Judge Huvelle has ordered him released by August 22.. But Obama and his corrupt attorney general Eric Holder are still , "exploring the possibility of trying to effectively negate the judge’s order by filing criminal charges based on mysterious witness statements that the Justice Department claims were “not previously available.” Eric Holder was the no. 2 guy in Clinton's justice department who tried to pardon billionaire Marc Rich, who fled the country to escape prosecution and was funneling money to the Clinton campaign, a pardon which Clinton himself overturned. Now he's Obama's attorney general. And Newsweek is busy telling everybody how Eric Holder "learned his lesson," and is really a great guy. Obama's put him in charge of reviewing the files of the Guantanamo detainees to distinguish the dangerous from the innocent. Based on Mr. Jawad's case, we can be sure he'll decide they are all guilty, even though we know that the vast majority of them are just Afghani dirt farmers and taxi drivers.
| Quote: | Justice Too Long Delayed
August 4, 2009
New York Times
Of the many examples of the Bush administration’s abusive and incompetent detainee policies, one of the most baffling is the case of Mohammed Jawad. Mr. Jawad, an Afghan, was no older than 17 and likely even younger when he was captured in 2002 and thrown into indefinite detention at Guantánamo Bay, Cuba.
Seven years, one suicide attempt and untold hours of physical and mental torture later, he remains there, a wrecked young man held on an allegation that he hurled a grenade at two American servicemen and their interpreter — without any credible evidence that he actually did or that he is a grave threat to American security.
In a belated victory for justice, a federal judge recognized that tragic fact last week and ordered the government to release Mr. Jawad.
Judge Ellen Huvelle of the Federal District Court for the District of Columbia was rightly offended by the government’s repeated attempts to delay the proceeding and the flimsiness of its case. Her ruling, granting Mr. Jawad’s petition for habeas corpus, seeks to end a legal and human travesty perpetrated by the Bush team but, sadly, still being furthered under President Obama.
Last year, the prosecutor assigned to try this case before a Guantánamo military commission resigned, saying he could not ethically proceed and had come to doubt Mr. Jawad’s guilt. A military judge later refused to admit the confessions that Mr. Jawad’s Afghan captors had tortured out of him, eviscerating the government’s case.
To its credit, the Obama Justice Department has conceded defeat in the habeas proceeding and will not pursue an appeal of Judge Huvelle’s decision. But lawyers from the new administration had no business opposing Mr. Jawad’s habeas petition in the first place. It should not have taken months and a formal motion to suppress the so-called evidence derived from torture to recognize that his military detention is illegitimate.
Judge Huvelle’s order gives the government until Aug. 22 to release Mr. Jawad so that he can be repatriated to Afghanistan, which has requested his immediate return. It remains to be seen whether that will happen. It is troubling that Attorney General Eric Holder is exploring the possibility of trying to effectively negate the judge’s order by filing criminal charges based on mysterious witness statements that the Justice Department claims were “not previously available.”
Mr. Holder should heed Judge Huvelle’s stern warning that bringing criminal charges now would raise serious issues, including the violation of Mr. Jawad’s right to a speedy trial, his mental competency and his status as a juvenile subjected to torture. Even if the government succeeded in securing a conviction — highly unlikely — the sentence would almost certainly be limited to the seven hellish years Mr. Jawad has already served.
There is a broader concern, too. Mr. Obama has assigned Mr. Holder the critical task of reviewing the files of Guantánamo detainees to distinguish those having only weak evidence against them from truly dangerous prisoners. We hope the handling of the Jawad case is not representative of how that review is going. |
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Tara Carreon
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Joined: 25 Sep 2008
Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Wed Aug 05, 2009 12:18 pm Post subject: |
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To see what kind of detainees they have in Guantanamo, it is interesting that Col. Stuart A. Herrington's "Report of Visit and Recommendations," criticized the screening criteria in place which may have resulted in detainees with less intelligence value being sent to GTMO and those with more intelligence value being set free.
"Inquiry Into the Treatment of Detainees in U.S. Custody, Report of the Committee on the Armed Services, United States Senate" referencing
COL Herrington, Report of Visit and Recommendations at 6.
http://www.naderlibrary.com/911.senateinquirydetaineescustody.htm
Now, why would they want the real Al-Qaeda guys to be set free? They seem to be being set free all over, and being allowed to escape. Because they work for us. Why would we want good terrorists locked up, when they can be causing trouble all over the world for democratic governments? Also, they might tell you something you don't want to hear, like there's no connection between Iraq and Al-Qaeda, and their real bosses are Dick Cheney and Donald Rumsfeld.
Most of the detainees in Guantanamo were put there so the Bush warmongers could try and establish a link between Al Qaeda and Iraq. That's when the methods started getting "rough" -- when they couldn't establish the link. So most of the detainees are there to justify a war that hasn't been justified yet.
Then there's the "possible hijackers" at Guantanamo. What's a "possible hijacker"?
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Tara Carreon
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Joined: 25 Sep 2008
Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:11 am Post subject: |
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| Tom Tomorrow wrote: | THIS MODERN WORLD by Tom Tomorrow
HOPE FOR EVENTUAL CHANGE
He began his candidacy with a clear and compelling vision!
>> I AM RUNNING FOR PRESIDENT BECAUSE OF SOMETHING I CALL THE "FIERCE URGENCY OF MAYBE SOMEDAY!"
His soaring campaign rhetoric was nothing short of inspirational!
>> AS PRESIDENT, I WILL FIGHT FOR VAGUE AND UNSPECIFIED REFORMS TO OUR HEALTH CARE SYSTEM, WHICH MIGHT POSSIBLY BE SOME KIND OF IMPROVEMENT, UNLESS THEY'RE NOT.
His promises were clear and unambiguous ...
>> AND I WILL CONSIDER CLOSING GUANTANAMO -- AS A SYMBOL OF MY COMMITMENT TO, UH, USING SOME OTHER FACILITY AS AN EXTRA-LEGAL PRISON INSTEAD!
AND I WILL COME UP WITH LEGAL JUSTIFICATIONS FOR INDEFINITE DETENTION THAT MY PREDECESSORS NEVER DREAMED OF!
... And so far, he's kept every one of them!
>> I FURTHER PLEDGE TO EMBRACE BUSH'S "STATE SECRETS" POLICY ... TO SUPPRESS EVIDENCE OF TORTURE AND BLOCK PROSECUTIONS OF SAME ... TO SUPPORT THE DEFENSE OF MARRIAGE ACT ... AND TO HEM AND HAW ON "DON'T ASK, DON'T TELL"!
So -- why on Earth are some far-left wackos already giving him such a hard time?
>> IT MAKES NO SENSE! IT'S AS IF THEY BELIEVE HE MADE ENTIRELY DIFFERENT PROMISES!
>> WHAT PLANET HAVE THEY BEEN LIVING ON?
>> AND WHY CAN'T THEY BE SENSIBLE ABOUT THINGS -- LIKE WE ARE?
>> GO FIGURE! |
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Tara Carreon
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Joined: 25 Sep 2008
Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:19 am Post subject: |
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| Ted Rall wrote: | BULLETIN BOARD By Ted Rall
Corporate profits are up. The reason: reduced payroll costs.
>> SALES ARE ZERO, BUT WE LAID OFF SO MANY WORKERS, PROFITS ARE UP!
Ultimately, companies become balance sheets in space.
>> CONGLOMCO IS NOW NOTHING MORE THAN A TWITTER ACCOUNT. IT'S A STRONG BUY!
You might think there's no future in constant cost-cutting, but you'd be wrong.
>> WE'RE USING LOOPHOLES IN LABOR LAW TO FIRE PEOPLE WHO DON'T EVEN WORK FOR US.
200% Unemployment: Capitalism made perfect.
>> I REGRET I ONLY HAD ONE JOB TO GIVE FOR MY COUNTRY. |
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Tara Carreon
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Joined: 25 Sep 2008
Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Thu Aug 06, 2009 11:27 am Post subject: |
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| Lloyd Dangle wrote: | TROUBLETOWN, By Lloyd Dangle
Democrats could have 433 seats in the House, 50 governors, and a President with a 96% approval rating ...
>> YES WE ABSOLUTELY CAN!
>> DEMS DEMS
>> ALL DEM!
>> DEM
99 seats in the Senate -- and only one solitary republican too old and feeble to filibuster ..
>> EH, THE PREZ DOESN'T HAVE A BIRTH CERTIFICATE!
>> HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA! HA!
They could introduce a bill that enjoyed the support of 99.7% of the public and had 510 co-sponsors ..
>> S 5220
>> YES!
The blue dogs, the yellow dogs, even the pink poodles could all be on board ...
>> SNIFF! SNIFF! SNIFF!
>> IN LOCKSTEP!
And they'd STILL compromise away the good stuff and pass a gutless, watered-down, halfway nothingburger!
>> THE HEART SAID YES BUT THE SPLEEN SAID NO!
Or they'd go on vacation first.
>> BE SURE TO SAY HI IF YOU SEE THEM AT THE BEACH! |
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Tara Carreon
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Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:36 pm Post subject: |
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| Tom Tomorrow wrote: | THIS MODERN WORLD, By Tom Tomorrow
WHAT IF ... DEMOCRATS BEHAVED MORE LIKE REPUBLICANS ???
They'd gin up fake evidence to support the need for extreme measures.
>> These satellite photos clearly prove that our enemies are planning a major attack on our health care system!
OUR ONLY HOPE FOR SURVIVAL IS TO SWITCH TO A SINGLE PAYER SYSTEM!
They'd relentlessly accuse their opponents of treason.
>> The only reason for Rush Limbaugh to oppose health care reform -- is because he hates America and wants us all to die!
HAS ANYONE EVER SEEN HIS BIRTH CERTIFICATE?
They'd do everything possible to keep the public in an elevated state of panic.
>> Today's color-coded mortality threat level is "orange"!
WE'RE ALL ONE DAY CLOSER TO DEATH!
And they wouldn't give up until they'd steamrolled their plan right through Congress.
>> Health care reform will be a cakewalk!
THE INSURANCE COMPANIES WILL GREET US AS LIBERATORS!
But of course, Democrats do not behave much like Republicans.
>> Here is our modest, incremental health care plan! If it goes too far, we'd be happy to scale it back even more! The important thing ... is that we achieve bipartisan consensus!
OR DROP IT ENTIRELY! |
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Tara Carreon
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Joined: 25 Sep 2008
Posts: 988
Location: Tucson, Arizona
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| Posted: Thu Aug 20, 2009 5:47 pm Post subject: |
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| Lloyd Dangle wrote: | TROUBLETOWN, by Lloyd Dangle, copyright 2009
This is serious business cable news, where we get serious about news and politics, and report seriously on serious subjects.
SERIOUS, SERIOUS, SERIOUS
Tonight we take a serious look at claims by a Virginia man that Obama reads his thoughts using sensors embedded in sandwiches!
UH HUH!
How do you substantiate your claims?
I SWAR! OBAMA WANT TO PUT CONSERVATIVES IN FORCED BUILD-A-BEAR WORKSHOPS ON THE MOON ... N' KILL US!!
GAW!
HEEBIE!
OBAMA WANNA PUT ALL THE WHITE PEOPLE IN CAMPS AND PUT GRANNY DOWN LIKE AN OLD DAWG! HE'LL HAVE HIM A DEATH KENNEL!
FLIPPETY!
Devastating if true.
Senior Official, your comment please.
>> Well, none of these rumors are true at all and it's hard for me to believe that anybody would take them seriously.
PZZ!
>> But we'll back down on health care anyway and give the insurance companies everything they want! Don't you appreciate our spirit of compromise?
ZIP! ZAM!
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