Soldier will be court martialed for desertion. Florida National Guard Staff Sgt. Camilo Mejia came home from Iraw in October for a two week visit, and never returned. He later applied for conscientious objector status. Mejia will be court martialed 19 May at For Stewart, Georgia. Army Times, 14 May 2004.
Evangelical Christian General linked to abuse. "Lt. Gen. William Boykin, an evangelical Christian under review for saying his God was superior to that of the Muslims, briefed a top Pentagon civilian official last summer on recommendations on ways military interrogators could gain more intelligence from Iraqi prisoners." Reuters via truthout, 11 May 2004.
Abu Ghraid guard Charles Graner was accused before. Graner had been accused of brutality both by his ex-wife and by inmates at the prison where he worked as a civilian. Chicago Sun-Times, 14 May 2004.
Michael Berg blames Shrub and Rumsfeld for his son's death. "My son died for the sins of George Bush and Donald Rumsfeld. This administration did this." Reuters via Yahoo, 13 May 2004; also Al-Jazeera, 14 May 2004.
Vatican warns Catholics -- especially Catholic women -- about intermarriage with Muslims, noting that women are "less protected" in Muslim families, and urging Muslims to respect human rights. Spiegel, 14 May 2004.
According to Catholic World News, the Pope will also have some stern words for Shrub when they meet in June. "Cardinal Pio Laghi told Corriere della Sera that the Pope will repeat the same message that Bush 'chose not to listen to before the war.'"
Muslim militias have been attacking Christians in Nigeria, saying they're retaliating for a massacre by Christians. President Obasanjo has asked Muslim leaders to help restore calm: "I ask you to stop our Muslim brothers because an eye for an eye will and a tooth for a tooth only cause our country drown in blood." Catholic World News, 13 May 2004.
An article about climbing gas prices contains the startling information: "The previous high for gasoline was $2.01 in 2000; adjusted in today's dollars it would be $2.19." What does that tell you about the economy? When's the last time you used the expression "sound as a dollar"? Chicago Sun-Times, 14 May 2004.
Gandhi Family making a comeback. Hindu nationalists don't like her, but Sonia Gandhi may be the next Prime Minister of India. BBC News, 14 May 2004.
Wolfowitz admits Geneva Convention violations. The link is to a German news video in Real format; try also USA Today's report on the same story.
No "queer dressing" on Chinese TV. I think they mean "strange," not "gay." China Daily, 14 May 2004.
Shrub Administration's War Crimes. Read the following three paragraphs, then read them again:
The Defense Department has adopted a 72-point "matrix" of types of stress to which detainees can be subjected. These include stripping detainees naked, depriving them of sleep, subjecting them to bright lights or blaring noise, hooding them, exposing them to heat and cold, and binding them in uncomfortable positions. The more stressful techniques must be approved by senior commanders, but all are permitted. And nearly all are being used, according to testimony taken by Human Rights Watch from post-Sept. 11 detainees released from U.S. custody.
None of these techniques is legal. Treaties ratified by the United States, including the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against Torture, prohibit not only torture but also "cruel, inhuman or degrading treatment or punishment." In ratifying the Convention Against Torture, the U.S. government interpreted this provision to prohibit the same practices as those proscribed by the U.S. Constitution. The Bush administration reiterated that understanding last June.
In other words, just as U.S. courts repeatedly have found it unconstitutional for interrogators in American police stations to use these third-degree methods, it is illegal under international law for U.S. interrogators in Iraq, Afghanistan, Guantanamo Bay or elsewhere to employ them. U.S. military manuals ban these "stress and duress" techniques, and federal law condemns them as war crimes. Yet the Bush administration has authorized them.
Washington Post, 13 May 2004.
All about same-sex marriage in Massachusetts: As you're no doubt aware, Gov. Mitt Romney is invoking a 1913 law (originally passed to restrict interracial marriages) to forbid out-of-state couples from marrying in Massachusetts.
� The City of Boston will not require proof of residency, opening the door for same-sex couples who are willing to lie on their license applications. Provincetown, on the other hand, will allow couples to leave that line on the application blank. Boston Globe, 13 May 2004.
� The Episcopal Diocese of Boston forbids its clergy from officiating at same-sex weddings, although its three bishops have been outspoken supporters of legalization. Other churches that have issued similar instructions to clergy include The Roman Catholic Church, the United Methodist Church, the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, the Presbyterian Church (USA), the Greek Orthodox Church, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latterday Saints, the National Baptist Convention, and the Church of God in Christ. Four denominations (the Unitarian-Universalist Association, the Metropolitan Community Churches, Reform Judaism, and Reconstructionist Judaism) have endorsed same-sex weddings, and three -- the United Church of Christ, the American Baptist Churches, and the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) -- are allowing clergy to make up their own minds on the issue. Some Buddhist clergy are also expected to officiate at same-sex weddings. Episcopal clergy in the Diocese of Boston will be permitted to bless same-sex couples, but not to officiate at their weddings. The clergy of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America and the Presyterian Church (USA) will likewise be permitted to bless couples, but not to officiate at weddings. United Methodist clergy will not be permitted either to officiate at weddings or to bless the couples. The Rev. Carter Heyward, famous as one of the first women ordained to the priesthood in the Episcopal Church, says she will defy the order. Other Episcopal clergy say they will bring justices of the peace into their churches to officiate at weddings, and then bless the couples. Boston Globe, 13 May 2004.
Frontline will re-broadcast The Jesus Factor on 20 May. The program examines George W. Bush's "personal religious journey" and the influence of evangelicalism on politics.
"New prisoner abuse images 'far worse'." U. S. Senators are disgusted, but Rumsfeld defends "interrogation techniques." Al-Jazeera, 13 May 2004.
Right-wing culture warriors are trying to shift the blame for Abu Ghraib. Are they stupid, or do they just think their readers are stupid? Slate, 13 May 2204.
Questions about the Nick Berg execution video. Some believe Mr. Berg was killed earlier than claimed. Al-Jazeera, 13 May 2004.
Pfizer will plead guilty to illegal promotion of Neurontin. It's legal for doctors to prescribe drugs for non-approved uses, but not for companies to promote them for such uses. Dallas Morning News, 13 May 2004.
The Israeli Knesset has rejected a bill that would have forbidden Yigal Amir, convicted assassin of Yitzhak Rabin, from marrying. Amir, despite serving life in solitary confinement, recently became engaged. JTA - Global Jewish News, 13 May 2004.
Violence in Mogadishu. After four days of the worst violence in years, at least sixty are dead and thousands have fled their homes in the Somali capital. Basler Zeitung, 13 May 2004.
Shrub was fully informed about abuse, says Colin Powell. Baltimore Sun, 12 May 2004.
Shrub's campaign chairman thinks Shrub=America. An AP story quotes Marc Racicot: "To blame the abuse on Bush and the armed forces is to blame all of America for the disgusting actions of a few." Huh? To blame ... Bush and the armed forces ... is to blame all of America? No, Marc. To blame Shrub is to blame Shrub. Shrub leads the administration that authorized war crimes in Iraq. (See above.) I blame Shrub. Not America.
The Red Cross says up to 90% of Iraqi prisoners were arrested "by mistake." ''Sometimes they arrested all adult males present in a house, including elderly, handicapped or sick people.'' Chicago Sun-Times, 11 May 2004.
"The assassination of Akhmad Kadyrov has created a power vacuum in Chechnya that the Kremlin might find hard to fill" - Putin may support Kadyrov's youngest son to become new president of Chechnyna. Some Russian pols are advocating direct rule, and the hell with transferring power to the Chechens.St. Petersburg Times, 11 May 2004.
International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 103 screws its gay members. Boston Globe, 11 May 2004.
Wax Hitler causes uproar in Berlin. St. Petersburg Times, 11 May 2004.
Better late than never: Almost a half-century after the brutal 1955 murder of 14-year-old Emmett Till, and years after the deaths of scumbag confessed murderers Roy Bryant and J. W. Milam, the Justice Department is looking into the case. Chicago Sun-Times, 10 May 2004. For more about the murder, see The Murder of Emmett Till.
Microsoft bails on Wi-Fi. CNET, 10 May 2004.
I never liked Madeleine Albright, but she did make some relevant comments in Raleigh on 8 May -- about Shrub's bungling in Iraq. "I have studied foreign relations nearly my entire life, and I have never seen a situation as terrible as this one." News & Observer, 9 May 2004.
Archbishop Demetrios disagrees with Black Bart. Patriarch Vartholomaios has recently severed ties with the State Church of Greece over jurisdictional issues, but Demetrios said, "How can I go back and look the people in the eyes?�Don�t you know that the flock in America comes from Greece?� The National Herald notes, "It's truly disturbing to see the Patriarch acting almost out of control, unable to understand what a deleterious effect his inappropriate behavior is having on the important position he holds." The National Herald (9 May), via Orthodox News, 11 May 2004. See also the National Herald's story from 7 May, on the Orthodox News website.
The Economist calls for Rumsfeld's resignation. "Responsibility for what has occurred needs to be taken�and to be seen to be taken�at the highest level too. It is plain what that means. The secretary of defence, Donald Rumsfeld, should resign. And if he won't resign, Mr Bush should fire him." However, the magazine also reports that Rumsfeld "can count on his friends," like Shrub, to support him. The Economist, 8 May 2004.
Moqtada Sadr calls for Bush to be tried before an Iraqi court. However, Sheikh Sadreddin Kubanji, who has ties to Ayatollah Ali al-Sistani, suggested Sadr should just go home: "Listen to the advice of the learned ones. You are our beloved youth and we care about you, but go back to your home where you came from and fight the occupation and the Baathists there." Middle East Times, 7 May 2004.
