"A prominent Iraqi human rights activist says that Iraqi militia have deployed a painful form of torture against homosexuals by closing their anuses using 'Iranian gum.' ...Yina Mohammad told Alarabiya.net that, 'Iraqi militias have deployed an unprecedented form of torture against homosexuals by using a very strong glue that will close their anus.' According to her, the new substance 'is known as the American hum, which is an Iranian-manufactured glue that if applied to the skin, sticks to it and can only be removed by surgery. After they glue the anuses of homosexuals, they give them a drink that causes diarrhea. Since the anus is closed, the diarrhea causes death. Videos of this form of torture are being distributed on mobile cellphones in Iraq.'"
Related: Darth Cheney regrets not coming up with that idea first, and insists that it's not torture.
And its not raving loony Glenn Beck. Go figure.
The move to add a domestic, left-wing terrorist to the list comes only days after the Obama administration was criticized for internal reports suggesting some military veterans could be susceptible to right-wing extremist recruiters or commit lone acts of violence.
After the revelations about Jane Harman and Abu Gonzales' efforts to keep her out of trouble so she could continue to cheerlead for torture came out yesterday (and her now confirmed efforts to spike the story at Bush's behest that were revealed this morning), Harman has taken the unusual step of demanding all documents relating to her involvement be released by the Justice Department, as well as a demand for an investigation into wiretapping of other members of Congress.
Add to all of this Darth Cheney's musings on Fox News yesterday that he has documents regarding torture that he'd like to see released, and all of a sudden there's the potential for massive amounts of information about the Bush/Cheney torture and surveillance machine being dumped into the public eye.
All of this may seem unrelated and scattershot, but what ties all of these events into a pretty little package is Obama's announcement this morning that he's putting any investigations into the hands they should have been in all along - those of AG Eric Holder, and that he's 'open' to those investigations going forward.
So. Cheney's on the record saying he wants torture documents released. Harman's on the record demanding an investigation into wiretapping of Congress. and Obama has given a tentative green light to Holder swinging the whole thing into motion.
Snap. How soon before we hear from Cheney as he tries to chew his own leg off to walk back the call for release of torture memos? How long before Harman qualifies her call for an investigation?
All during the campaign, we heard over and over about Sarah Palin as a hunter. But it looks as though Obama knows a few things about catching unsuspecting prey as well. He set a trap, and Harman and Cheney walked right into it.
And another thing: if the wingnuts have been complaining that the release of the torture authorization memos would hurt America, won't the release of the "dubya administration 'snuff porn'" memos do the same? Why does Dick Cheney hate America? Just asking.
Al-Qaeda is a terrorist organization whose members think that homosexualtiy is a sin, that women should not be able to show their faces in public, drive, hold jobs or even venture outside without being accompanied by a close male relative, let alone make their own reproductive choices. Islamic terrorists want governments to conform to their holy scriptures. And none of them are ever communists. In fact, Osama bin Ladin is somewhat of a successful capitalist, is he not?
http://www.cogitamusblog.com/2009/04/um-islamic-terrorism-is-right-wing-you-know.html
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So we know the mortgage lenders tricked you with imaginary numbers, bankers scammed you with hidden fees and fines, insurers spent the money that was supposed to underwrite your loan on hot tubs and Dom Perignon in Vail, and Obama's Treas Sec has taken your tax money and given it to the same people who just ripped you off. Your job has been automated or outsourced to Sri Lanka, you've lost your health insurance, your kids are working at Wal-Mart for minimum wage because despite their college degrees that's all the work there is, and you are now in foreclosure and about to lose your home. You have a few pitiful dollars left to your name yet you owe thousands in credit card charges and you decide to use them hiring consultants to help you rearrange your debts and possibly save your reputation if not your house. Wise choice, eh?
Tyna Carter, burdened with $25,000 in credit card debt, did not want to be a deadbeat. After looking for help on the Internet, Mrs. Carter, a West Virginia homemaker, wound up in the hands of a sweet-talking "credit specialist" from Texas.
He claimed his company, Credit Solutions of America, could set her on the road to a debt-free life. But what really happened, Mrs. Carter says, is that Credit Solutions pocketed nearly $4,000 of the couple's income, a little bit each month. Now they are in a deeper hole than ever.
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Jason Linkins obliterates Chuck Todd's oh-so-inside-the-beltway dismissive tone about investigating and prosecuting the torturers.
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Obama's gonna take your guns
If you go to Wisconsin Cartridge Corporation's website, there's a link on the front page titled "Notice regarding product availability" The message of the document is pretty clear -- if you can't afford ammo anymore, you only have right wing paranoiacs to blame.
"Due to the increased demand for ammunition and components, we are currently behind on all handgun ammunition," writes President Scott Young. "You are welcome to place an order for as many rounds as you like, but orders of over 250 rounds or less get filled first. All orders over 250 rounds will be shipped when we get caught up. 233 ammunition is only a couple weeks backordered. 308 ammunition is likely 6-12 months. Any order over 100 rounds for 308 ammunition will likely never be filled. The same goes for 22-250 Rem."
What's the problem? Is there a shortage? Has Obama finally shut down the gun industry? No. The problem is panic-buying by gullible morons.
Due to hoarding of ammunition, you consumers have managed to raise the prices of ammunition and components 50 to 500 percent. You didn't even need the Government to impose taxes or bans. You did it all yourself.
"Please do not believe the rumors about bans or increased taxes on ammunition and firearms," reads the undated statement. "President elect Obama has enough on his plate dealing with wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the world economy, he doesn't have time to think about bans or taxes on ammunition and firearms." Clearly, Scott Young's making some decent coin here. But this is a small business outside the town of Friendship, Wisconsin, and they just don't have the capacity to keep up with the right wing rumor mill's craziness. An earlier statement referred to "people trying to buy ammunition by the pallet loads, believing the world is going to end in just a matter of days." Stupid right wing asses are great for the ammo business. You don't have to be a marketing genius to know that the recent Department of Homeland Security report on right wing extremism isn't bad for business either.
You've got to wonder about all the conservative bloggers, talk show hosts, and pundits who read about the dangers posed by white supremacists, abortion clinic bombers, and Timothy McVeigh-style survivalist gun freaks and think, "Holy crap! They're talking about me!" In trying to grab the mantle of victimhood, they decide it'd be a really great idea to identify themselves with like groups the Klan. And the result is clear, between freaking out about how Obama's going to come take their guns away and the DHS report targeting "Republicans," they've managed to screw the very people they're claiming to defend. Want a whole buttload of ammo to be ready for the big whatever-the-hell you think is coming? Too bad, you can't get it because rest of the wet-your-pants crowd got to it first. You snooze, you lose - the big race war or fascist takeover or whatever it is you think is coming is just going to have to go on without you.
In the end, it's the right's own fears that screw the right winger. Practically addicted to fear, they're lost without something to panic over. After the Berlin Wall fell and death from above was no longer a realistic fear, they switched gears and decided to fear their own government. Bill Clinton and all Democrats were the new commies - a "New World Order" would come to take your guns and your vote and pee on your flag and take a dump on your family Bible. Or something like that anyway - I've got to admit, I never paid much attention to the ravings at the time.
Then Bush won, 9/11 happened, and the right freaked out about terrorism. al Qaeda - a bunch of religious nuts hiding out in caves in Afghanistan and Pakistan - became the new commies. They were an "existential threat" to the US, meaning we were really supposed to believe that they were as capable of wiping the United States off the map as the old Soviet Union. Of course, this was insane - there are people in Afghanistan who literally have no idea what electricity is. But the right needs to be afraid, so they became Blofeld to our James Bond.
Now the new commie is Barack Obama - back to the president and the Democrats again - terrorists are largely forgotten. They were always a stopgap anyway. Barack Obama's liberal hordes are coming to take your guns away, outlaw Christianity, and brainwash our children into becoming little Communists.
I've always felt the "we need guns to protect ourselves from the government" argument to be a little stupid. I don't care how much ammo you've got or what kind of rifles, when those Blackhawk helicopters come in over the horizon, the truth is that you might as well be unarmed. You're not going to shoot down gunships with your deer rifle. And, for the most part, these people addicted to fear are cowards. Faced with an actual revolution, 99.9% would be cheerleaders, not fighters. After all, how many of those cheerleaders for the Iraq war were young enough to sign up? And how many actually did? As Dick Cheney or Rush Limbaugh were to Vietnam, so people like Michelle Malkin or Jonah Goldberg were to Iraq. When the chips are down, you'll find your average wingnut hiding under the bed.
Still, scared people with way too much ammo is a disturbing development. I guess the best thing we can do is hope they realize they can't afford to fire a bullet, because their panic-buying has driven the prices up so high.
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Gates girds for battle: http://theygaveusarepublic.com/diary/2652/gates-girds-for-battle
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European prosecutors are likely to investigate CIA and Bush administration officials on suspicion of violating an international ban on torture if they are not held legally accountable at home, according to U.N. officials and human rights lawyers.
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What a moran.
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Get out the beer and lawn chairs: http://susiemadrak.com/2009/04/21/12/16/get-out-the-beer-and-lawnchairs/
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Jane Harman: 'I'm just very disappointed NSA wiretapped me after I voted to allow them to'
"I'm just very disappointed that my country - I'm an American citizen just like you are - could have permitted what I think is a gross abuse of power in recent years. I'm one member of Congress who may be caught up in it, but I have a bully pulpit and I can fight back. I'm thinking about others who have no bully pulpit and may not be aware, as I was not, that right now somewhere, someone's listening in on their conversations, and they're innocent Americans."
Here she is when the NYT broke the story about the illegal wiretaps:
"I have been briefed since 2003 on a highly classified NSA foreign collection program that targeted Al Qaeda. I believe the program is essential to U.S. national security and that its disclosure has damaged critical intelligence capabilities," Harman said. "Like many Americans, I am deeply concerned by reports that this program in fact goes far beyond the measures to target Al Qaeda about which I was briefed."
In fact, in 2004 she "urged that The [New York] Times not publish the article" revealing Bush's program.
And here's a press release she issued specifically highlighting that the updated FISA bill she approved of would fully allow warrantless wiretapping:
This bill does a good job - a far better job than the bill reported last month by the Senate Intelligence Committee. ... This legislation arms our intelligence professionals with the ability to listen to foreign targets - without a warrant - to uncover plots that threaten US national security. The bill also protects the Constitutional rights of Americans by requiring the FISA court, an Article III Court, to approve procedures to ensure that Americans are not targeted for warrantless surveillance.
Perhaps her outrage at being a target of wiretapping herself will force her to realize that the program she deemed "essential" invaded the privacy of untold millions of Americans.
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Freddie Mac CFO found dead of apparent suicide: http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/22/freddie-mac-cfo-dead-apparent-suicide/
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Supreme Court strikes blow to 4th Amendment: http://rawstory.com/blog/2009/04/supreme-court-strikes-a-blow-for-the-fourth-amendment-aka-scalias-got-your-back-this-time/
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What was going on in March 2003?
But for most of 2002 and into 2003, Cheney and Rumsfeld, especially, were also demanding proof of the links between al Qaeda and Iraq that (former Iraqi exile leader Ahmed) Chalabi and others had told them were there." ...
Cheney, Rumsfeld and Chalabi, why what could go wrong?
"Cheney's and Rumsfeld's people were told repeatedly, by CIA . . . and by others, that there wasn't any reliable intelligence that pointed to operational ties between bin Laden and Saddam, and that no such ties were likely because the two were fundamentally enemies, not allies."
Senior administration officials, however, "blew that off and kept insisting that we'd overlooked something, that the interrogators weren't pushing hard enough, that there had to be something more we could do to get that information," he said.
So a war crime to support a war crime?
The real ticking timebombs
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Wife of TARP CEO whines about loss of luxury, social status: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/04/21/wife-of-tarp-ceo-whines-a_n_189758.html
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