The Audacity of Torture; The Audacity of Prosecution
In the 41 years since the Republicans took over, the right wingers among us have failed to adapt their ideology to the requirements of a sovereign, independent, prosperous and genuinely pluralistic Republic of America. Instead, they have continued defining its core principle – the ‘American Cause’ – through a mindset of resource appropriation. They have continued to see the USA as a springboard towards the realization of a territorial utopia – by not only denying the legitimate struggle for self-determination, but by also laying claim to territories unable to resist the USA's military clout. They have continued to propagate the idea of a New American Century national ideology, despite the notion’s totalitarian and fundamentally anti-democratic nature, precluding any form of debate and introspection.
If the President Says Waterboarding is Not Torture, That's the Final Word
RICE: I just said, the United States was told, we were told, nothing that violates our obligations under the Convention Against Torture. And so by definition, if it was authorized by the president, it did not violate our obligations under the Convention Against Torture.
And killing the messenger instead of debating the message is precisely one symptom of such rigidly absolutist thought. If you adhere to any of the suggestions outside the approved set of bromides, you in effect adhere to the standpoint of our enemies - debate closed. This is the clear implication of Condi Rice's statement.
Unlucky for her the camcorder wielding citizen journalist has wrecked the politics of the last century. Reina Garcia has captured Condi's confession to authorizing torture. The former Secretary of State can't depend on her advisors to kill the story. Two-hundred millions bloggers can download it with ease. The legal prostitutes at MSNBC can dissect her words in a sound bite.
On the whim of the Attorney General, she could rot in prison and die there.
The Audacity of War Crimes
Michele Bachman is the typical 21st Century Republican. The Congresswoman from Minnesota operates completely within the regime of lies always appealing to the baser instincts of her constituents.
Why should Michele tell the truth when it's so easy to lie?
For all his faults - and he had and still has many - Levon Ter-Petrossian was absolutely right when he declared in 1997:
“What do they mean by a national ideology? Only one thing which the whole nation should accept. A whole nation accepts one single ideology only in totalitarian systems, only in ideologized states. If there is democracy, no one can impose any ideology. Today, every ideology in Armenia is a national one to me, because each of them projects the best way of solving the national issues in itself. If a nation is forced to accept a national ideology, that is the end of democracy.”
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