Will Bush pardon his torturers?

This video from the USA is called BUSH TORTURE POLICY: John Yoo and David Addington @ Congress.

From the Conservative Daily Telegraph in England:

November 17th, 2008 11:26 am

George W Bush could pardon spies involved in torture

By Tim Shipman

Senior intelligence officers are lobbying the outgoing president to look after the men and women who could face charges for following his orders in the war on terrorism.

Many fear that Barack Obama, who has pledged to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp and put an end to the policy of extraordinary rendition, could launch a legal witch hunt against those who oversaw the policies after he is sworn in on Jan 20.

Most vulnerable are US intelligence officers who took part in intensive interrogations against terrorist suspects, using techniques including water boarding, which many believe crossed the line into torture.

Come on …. “legal witch hunt”??!! If, during the Obama presidency, child rapists or serial murderers would be indicted, would that be “witch hunting” those as well? Torture is a crime according to law. Enough said.

However, it would be a shame if people practicing torture like private Lynndie England would go to jail, while higher ups like Bush, Cheney, and Rumsfeld who ordered that torture, would go scot free.

Bush Pardons Offenders: Should Prisoner Torturers Be Among Them? Here.

Would Bush pre-emptively pardon Rumsfeld? Here.

Related articles

• Would Bush pre-emptively pardon Rumsfeld?
• Bush’s pardons
• bUSh to pardons torturers
• Who Will George Bush Pardon Today?
• Beyond the Senate report: torture never ‘works’ the way torturers tell you it does
• A Pardon For Graner?
• Andy Card LOL: Bush Can’t Pardon Himself for Torture (But Obama Has)

US soldiers die in Iraq, helicopter down

This video from the USA is called IVAW confronts military recruiters in St Louis.

From Reuters:

November 17th, 2008 12:25 am

U.S. helicopter down in Iraq‘s Mosul leaving two dead

BAGHDAD – Two U.S. soldiers were killed in a helicopter accident in the northern Iraqi city of Mosul on Saturday, a military spokeswoman said.

The helicopter involved was an OH-58 Kiowa Warrior, a small scout helicopter fitted with weapons. It hit overhead cables as it was attempting to land.

“There has been a helicopter incident in Mosul. They’re classifying it now as a hard landing when it came in contact with wires,” Captain Charles Calio said earlier on Saturday.

…

Air crashes have remained common in Iraq even as violence has waned. A civilian cargo plane crashed in Western Iraq on Thursday killing seven people.

Two Black Hawk helicopters collided last month killing one U.S. soldier, and seven soldiers died when a Chinook transport helicopter crashed in southern Iraq in September.

KKK gives up racism for birdwatching, satire

From www.comedy.com in the USA:

The KKK Gives Up Racism For Bird Watching

Now that Barack Obama has won the election, things are really changing for this country’s leading racists, the Ku Klux Klan. As Landline TV demonstrates in their latest funny video, the KKK has decided to turn their attention to a much less controversial hobby – bird watching. It’s the best bit of KKK comedy we’ve seen since Dave Chappelle’s White Supremacist sketch.

If only this would be true … unfortunately, it’s not.

Related articles

• Holy Cross Student Newspaper Considers Name Change After KKK Confusion
• High School Play Featuring KKK Costumes Cancelled
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Obama and the arts

This video is called Barack Obama – Speech on the 5th Anniversary of Iraq War.

From Art for a Change blog in the USA:

Obama’s Arts & Culture Policy

It is noteworthy that the upcoming administration of President-Elect Barack Obama is the first to present a detailed formal arts policy prior to inauguration. To foster debate, this article will reproduce in full, the Obama/Biden Platform In Support Of The Arts – with a link to the original .pdf document located on http://www.barackobama.com. I encourage a thorough reading of the platform, but also a vigorous debate of its various points.

Update 31 December 2008: here. Update 21 January 2009: here.

Obama, Sarkozy, and the arts: here.

Obama: Close Gitmo, Ban Torture to ‘Regain America’s Moral Stature’: here.

Related articles

• Guantanamo’s horrifying irony: How Bush’s shadow looms over shutting it down
• Obama Is Supposedly Getting Ready to Close Gitmo. Here Are 9 Other Times We’ve Heard That.
• For Obama, a New Plan to Fight Terror or More of the Same on the Biggest Issues?
• Obama’s Non-Closing of Gitmo
• 6 Reasons Why Obama’s Clemency Effort for Drug Offenders Doesn’t Change Mass Incarceration One Bit
• Has Obama Presented a New Plan to Fight Terror or More of the Same?
• So Obama Really Can Close Gitmo
• Close Guantanamo, Avaaz petition

Financial problems continuing

This Reuters video says about itself:

Massive demonstation in Reykjavik on October 18, 2008 outside the parliament demanding the resignation of the chief director of the Central Bank of Iceland and ex-PM David Oddsson. 2,000 gathered to protest in a population of 320,000.

The economic crisis continues.

Amid ongoing tensions, G-20 takes few concrete decisions: here.

The US auto bailout and the socialist alternative to concessions: here.

Australia: Labor to hand over billions to car giants: here.

British court ruling increases risk of home repossession: here.

Britain: The GMB trade union yesterday condemned the huge profits being made out of the poorest customers by gas and electricity companies: here.