And the beat goes on.
After an extremely intense Torture News, (link to emptywheel's Document Dump Timeline) week prior to this, these past few days have quieted down a bit. However, the noise makers continue to try to justify torture and we find ourselves sometimes in debates. I hope to take this week's Action Diary to stress how important it is that we continue having conversations and yelling louder about the realities of the crimes that have been carried out in our names. And, if we must argue, can we please try to keep it civil, amongst ourselves, in the "progressive" sphere...? Please?
Like most of the others, I was a seeker, a mover, a malcontent, and at times a stupid hell-raiser. I was never idle long enough to do much thinking, but I felt somehow that my instincts were right. I shared a vagrant optimism that some of us were making real progress, that we had taken an honest road, and that the best of us would inevitably make it over the top. At the same time, I shared a dark suspicion that the life we were leading was a lost cause, that we were all actors, kidding ourselves along on a senseless odyssey. It was the tension between these two poles - a restless idealism on one hand and a sense of impending doom on the other - that kept me going.
~HST, The Rum Diary
I’ve created this place, this series, to be something of a landing zone for us, any of us in the progressive community who feel the grief, who wish to contribute in some way to this growing call for justice, and/or who want to stay tuned in to any ACTION activities that emerge around this cause. I will publish every week, on Thursday mornings.
The headline grabbers of the previous week are detailed, discussed, and documented in the Sunday Torture News Round Up Series, which I highly recommend you read, in case you missed it.
Please see this Special Story on the DK Front Page this week:
Finding Justice by mcjoan; Sun Apr 26, 2009.
Previous weeks (older issues) are linked inside the previous digests. See #5 PDNC Torture News Roundup: British Admit Torture Cover-up 04.19.09
N E W S F L A S H
h/t rb137 active links here in case these dont work properly. (my apologies, had some trouble today with my html).
Tonight at 8:00 PDT, Heather (chacounne at Daily Kos) will participate with the Olympia Rachel Corrie Chapter 109 of Veterans For Peace in the radio show "On Wings of Peace". This is a special monthy show produced by VFP in cooperation with "Free and Fair on the Air" with John Ford on KAOS. They will discuss torture.
KAOS is a community radio station affiliated with Evergreen State College.
You can find KAOS and Free and Fair on iTunes or stream directly from the radio station's webpage through links on this page.
Please tune in!
Other Torture Series Diaries
Follow the Monday’s Letter Campaign Diary Series and send one yourself!
Weekly Torture Action Letter 8 - AG Holder, You Are Riding A Tiger by Something the Dog Said; Mon Apr 27, 2009.
"Why I Fight Against Torture" by chacounne
Chacounne's Part Eleven 4.30.09 brings me to my knees.
And... Coming Soon... ACTION is in the building stages from Chacounne:
I am in the beginning of bringing together the people and organizations necessary to organize a March for Accountability. I think we need to show those in Washington how many will not stand for anything less than justice and accountability. If you are interested, please email me at the address in my profile.
Quote of the Week
"Philosophers have argued for centuries about how many angels can dance on the head of a pin, but materialists have always known it depends on whether they are jitterbugging or dancing cheek to cheek." ~Tom Robbins
By The Numbers
List of Likely CIA Prisoners Who Are Still Missing by Dafna Linzer, ProPublica - April 22, 2009
Community Comments
Almost forgot I made a promise last week!
Thank you to the inimitable Tahoebasha3:
And, of course, the clock is ticking right along, and now have one year and four and a half months left, before the U.S. statute on torture runs, within which to investigate and prosecute.
Torture Diary Rescues (from the past week, through 4.29.09)
Another week of abundance, I've selected rescues this week with a focus on making good arguments for Justice.
Exposing Two Important Myths About Torture
by rb137; Tue Apr 28, 2009
Excellent in depth look at psychological aspects and debunking of those myths.
Why We Don't Torture
by geomoo; Sat Apr 25, 2009
Snippet: If we lose our essence, what have we defended? We don't torture because it violates THE core basis for our founding, our system of government and our system of law--the unalienable rights of the individual.
Hoa Lo, Hanoi Hilton, Hell's Hole
by Unenergy, Sun Apr 26, 2009
This one really touched my heart.
A great quote s/he includes in there is this: "There are arguments that torture makes us a safer country, there are no arguments that it makes us a better country." Dana Gould, Bill Maher show 24 April 2009
Talking Points from Pathological Liars
by noweasels; Fri Apr 24, 2009
Now there's some righteous smackdown for ya (Rec Listed)
U.S. Military Strongly Opposed Bush Admin. Torture Techniques
by WeBetterWinThisTime; Thu Apr 23, 2009
snippie: "We saw the F.B.I. make clear they were opposed from the get go and now the United States Military is coming out and disclosing that their objections to the Bush Administrations illegal torture techniques , went unheard by the rogue administration."
Website of the Week & Resource Spotlight Combo
h/t to jimstaro who posted his diary here on Tue Apr 28, 2009
Coalition for Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans website
The Coalition for Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans (CIAV) is a national non-partisan partnership of organizations committed to working with and on behalf of all military, veterans, families, survivors and providers to strengthen the existing system of care and support for all those affected by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Playing for Change, Songs Around the World Album Release
Songs Around The World CD/DVD In Stores Now!!
Media Pick of the Week
Jon Stewart, The Daily Show, April 29, 2009
video Jon interviews Cliff May Unedited Pt. 1.
Go to the Daily Show site for Pts 2 & 3.
Cliff May defends America's waterboarding techniques in this complete, unedited interview.
What's Coming Up Next?
Awaiting the Report (no clue on the date) from Dept of Justice
the The Office of Professional Responsibility,
which reports directly to the Attorney General, is responsible for investigating allegations of misconduct involving Department attorneys that relate to the exercise of their authority to investigate, litigate or provide legal advice, as well as allegations of misconduct by law enforcement personnel when they are related to allegations of attorney misconduct within the jurisdiction of OPR.
The objective of OPR is to ensure that Department of Justice attorneys continue to perform their duties in accordance with the high professional standards expected of the Nation's principal law enforcement agency.
and
PICS: ACLU says Pentagon agrees to release 'substantial number' of photos of abuse of prisoners
The photos will be made available by May 28, the ACLU said, citing a letter dated Thursday from the Justice Department to a federal judge in New York. The photos' release is in response to a Freedom of Information Act lawsuit filed by the ACLU in 2004 and will include images from prisons in Iraq and Afghanistan at locations other than Abu Ghraib, the ACLU said.
"These photographs provide visual proof that prisoner abuse by U.S. personnel was not aberrational but widespread, reaching far beyond the walls of Abu Ghraib," Amrit Singh, staff attorney with the ACLU, said in a statement. "Their disclosure is critical for helping the public understand the scope and scale of prisoner abuse as well as for holding senior officials accountable for authorizing or permitting such abuse."
ACTION
* Sign the DD Petition
http://www.democrats.com/...
Thanks for visiting LL’s brain. See you in the comments, please be kind to one another, and me!
crossposted at Docudharma
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