Month: October 2004

More Torture.

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From Ha’aretz, via American Street: “The Central Intelligence Agency declined Wednesday to comment on a Haaretz report that it is holding 11 susepcted senior Al-Qaida members in Jordan, the BBC reported. Haaretz has learned from international intelligence sources that the CIA is running a top-secret interrogation facility in Jordan, where the detainees – considered Al-Qaida’s … Read more

Open Thread on Generosity and Selflessness

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I’d like this to be an open thread on generosity and selflessness, two character traits I personally really need to work to better develop and which my partner is helping me with.

My partner observes Ramadan each year. Otherwise he’s not that religious, but he feels the way about Ramadan that I do about Christmas. It’s something to look forward to…a joyous time full of hope and remembrance.

I’m still learning about this holiest of holidays in Islam, but on the surface of it, there are some impressive aspects of it. Clearly it’s very demanding. For the entire month there’s no eating or drinking during daylight. There’s also no smoking, alcohol, or sexual relations during the fasting. There are incredibly detailed rules about the fasting as well.

My partner gets up at 4:00am to have some breakfast and then goes back to bed…by the end of the month this no longer wakes me up…fortunately for us, the days are currently getting shorter (my partner tends to get a wee bit grouchy when he’s hungry…I’m learning to be “busy at the gallery” until after nightfall…although the joy in his face when night finally falls during Ramadan, and the peace in his heart, is beautiful and inspiring).

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This doesn’t seem right

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Professor Reynolds‘ Wall Street Journal article on the strange case of Vanessa Leggett — a freelance journalist who was jailed for refusing to turn over certain notes to the U.S. Justice Department — seems to contain a minor legal inaccuracy. The article reads in relevant part:

Contrary to frequent assertions from professional journalists, there is no special First Amendment protection for members of the press. Such protections, to the extent they exist at all, exist only as a matter of statutory or regulatory grace. Under the First Amendment, everyone enjoys the same protection as “professional journalists.” Ms. Leggett probably had First Amendment grounds for refusing to turn over all of her notes, but not for refusing to testify to a grand jury, and not for refusing to make her notes available for copying (rather than seizure). Her refusal to testify may make her a heroine to journalists, but it does not make her a First Amendment heroine.

Now, (1) this isn’t my area and (2) I think Professor Reynolds is mostly right. But he is also a bit wrong, if I recall correctly.

The relevant case — Branzburg v. Hayes, et al. — had four votes for Reynolds’ “no protection whatsoever” viewpoint, and four for the “at least some protection” approach (including one, by Justice Douglas, for the “I like my constitutional protections the way I like my condoms: total protection” approach.)

The fifth, deciding vote for “no protection” was cast by Justice Powell in a concurrence. This concurrence is crucial, and it’s not nearly as absolute as the plurality opinion for “no protection.” To the contrary, it seems to suggest that there are certain limited First Amendment protections for newsgathering. When Powell’s concurrence is added to the four “at least some protection” votes, it arguably creates a majority for the viewpoint that there are at least some narrow First Amendment protections for newsgathering.

The concurrence reads in whole (it’s short):

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Update: Voter Registration Fraud And Other Delightful Tactics

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Via Josh Marshall: Six people recently resigned from the Republican Party operation in South Dakota over allegations of voter fraud, which are now the subject of an investigation by the South Dakota Division of Criminal Investigation. According to the Sioux Falls Argus Leader, “When South Dakota Republican Party Chairman Randy Frederick announced the resignations of … Read more

Right on Cue: Budget Trickery

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You’d think they’d be embarrassed to even attempt it, but no-o-o-o-o. Back in early September, I posted on the widely criticized Bush Administration practice of issuing reports of overly low expectations with regards to the federal deficit, and then claiming the economy is actually improving when the true figure turns out slightly better. And, well, … Read more

Things I owe, and things I don’t

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Among endless piles of motions, jury instructions, and related flotsam, a few items occur to me. In no particular order: 1. I scored last night’s debate as a narrow win for Kerry. So far, then, I have a “Kerry Blowout”; a “Cheney Snatches Defeat From the Jaws of Victory (by his misstatements)”; a “Bush Narrow … Read more

Is The Election Over Yet?

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I didn’t watch the debates last night. I was invited to attend the San Diego Business Journal’s “Women Who Mean Business” awards dinner, so of course I went. It was an excellent celebration of the success of women in business. 25 women were especially honored, and it was nice to see such a diversity of … Read more

“It was allllll a dream… it was alllllll a dream!”

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That’s what Fafnir says our soldiers should say, as they leap backwards and get pulled into the sky by the cords on their backs so that they can be airlifted to aircraft carriers cleverly disguised as banana boats, allowing us finally to make our getaway from Iraq. Treasury Secretary John Snow has obviously been reading … Read more

Wha?

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Do Tom Coburn and Alan Keyes have some kind of bet to see which one can sound nuttier?? If so, Coburn may be defying the odds and pulling into the lead.

The campaigns of U.S. Senate candidates Democrat Brad Carson and Republican Tom Coburn exchanged sharp remarks Monday over an August comment Coburn made about “rampant” lesbianism in southeastern Oklahoma schools.

At an Aug. 31 town hall meeting, Coburn said: “You know, John Burkeen is our rep down here in the southeast area. He lives in Coalgate and travels out of Atoka.

“He was telling me lesbianism is so rampant in some of the schools in southeast Oklahoma that they’ll only let one girl go to the bathroom. Now, think about it. Think about that issue. How is it that that’s happened to us?”

School officials were confused:

Southeastern Oklahoma educators said they were mystified by Coburn’s August comments.

Joe McCulley, the school superintendent in Coalgate, chuckled when asked about the remark.

“I think he’s spreading rumors. He knows something I don’t know. We have not identified anything like that. We have not had to deal with any issues on that subject — ever,” McCulley said.

Hugo Superintendent Dwight Davidson also was puzzled by the remark.

“Going on six years, I have never heard of one incident of that nature,” he said.

The Carson campaign released the videotape, so there’s not much possibility that he was misquoted. Coburn’s spokesman said the remarks were, you guessed it, “taken out of context.”

I do wonder what the question was.

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Health Finance Experts Speak Out

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President Bush has repeatedly characterized Kerry’s health care plan as involving government taking over individual healthcare decisions. For instance, he recently said that : “My opponent’s proposal would be the largest expansion of government-run health care ever. And you know something, when the government pays the bills, it makes the rules. His plan would put … Read more

Kerry Plan for Iraq Gets Boost

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Via Kos ~~~~~~~ According to a report in the Financial Times, Germany might now deploy troops into Iraq. Part of what’s helping change their minds is the Kerry “proposal that he would convene an international conference on Iraq including countries that opposed the war.” Germany would certainly attend, [Peter Struck, the German defense minister] said. … Read more

Just Asking

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Put aside the ballooning deficit. Why, exactly, is it a bad thing for a tax cut to “[Give] Business More and More,” as the New York Times so “neutrally” put it? Who creates the jobs? Who does the research? Who builds the buildings? Who pays the pensions? What is in your retirement fund? We need … Read more

Oops! They Did It Again!

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Our Congress, that model of prudence and fiscal discipline, passed yet another tax cut yesterday. This one is projected to cost the government $140 billion over the next ten years. It started as an attempt to repeal a subsidy that had been ruled illegal, and had resulted in tariffs on some US goods. That would … Read more

Silly Season

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Actual quote from someone who knows better: “If Kerry’s not brave enough to be seen drinking French water, what kind of courage can we expect in the infinitely more vital position of commander-in-chief?”

Derrida, Part Deux

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Edward has penned a great note regarding Derrida, who passed away over last Friday, but I can’t let his death pass without comment from me. Frankly, I found Derrida to be a too-clever pain in the ass (a seven-point-five, for those using the Wittgenstein scale), but he was a fun pain in the ass — in a mind-frag kinda way. And, some of the problems that Derrida skirted around (Derrida, seemingly on principle, never really got around to “addressing” them) actually have some modicum of relevance in the real world.

How? Well, consider patent law.

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Trusting In the Word of Madmen

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EDITED rather dramatically to delete an intro that obscured more than it illuminated. Resolved: Even if extraordinary rendition weren’t immoral, it would be stupid. I don’t expect to convince people who don’t already agree with me that torture isn’t effective–I’m no expert, and I clearly want very badly to believe that it’s not effective. But … Read more

Making Light (or “La-Dee-Derrida”)

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Warning: relatively longish and somewhat wandering thoughts on Jacques Derrida*

There are cultures or individuals who believe that via various means of magic other people can capture/control/immobilize one’s soul or at least one’s subconscious. We’ve all heard of the “primitive” tribe that won’t allow themselves to be photographed or the way a lock of one’s hair in the hands of a certain Neapolitan potion maker can be used to direct one’s affections. Less famous perhaps, but just as outrageous, is the story of how Jean-Paul Sartre supposedly sapped the French writer Jean Genet’s ability to write novels via his brutal psychoanalysis of Genet in what’s now billed a “biography”: Saint Genet. The legend goes that upon reading the manuscript in Sartre’s apartment, Genet was so outraged he threw the pages into the fireplace. The text was still eventually published (and makes for riveting reading if you’re into that kind of thing), but forever afterward Genet (who never wrote another novel) blamed Sartre for stealing his novelist soul, for revealing his secret literary device and thereby neutering him.

I was obsessed with this story in my younger days. Was it possible? Could someone peer so deeply into another’s mind that they could find the “off” switch and shut them down? As an individualist, this struck me as the most horrifying of powers, and I spent years reading Freud and others to try and find a defense against it. I’ve since calmed down quite a bit, none the least because Edmund White, who later wrote the definitive biography on Genet, told me that there was more myth than truth to the legend. According to White’s research, Genet had already exhausted what he was able/interested in doing in the novel format (though he went on to write many plays and poetry) and used the Sartre book as an excuse. Genet was not at all allergic to a touch of melodrama, you see. Further, adding to my comfort is the fact that much of psychoanalysis, as it existed in Sartre’s day, has been debunked.

This all came rushing back to me when I read the New York Times’ obituary on the Algerian-French “father of deconstruction,” Jacques Derrida. He was 74.

Derrida was infamous for his nebulous writings, but he was nearly as enigmatic at times when he spoke in public.

As a lecturer, Mr. Derrida cultivated charisma and mystery. For many years, he declined to be photographed for publication. He cut a dashing, handsome figure at the lectern, with his thick thatch of prematurely white hair, tanned complexion, and well-tailored suits. He peppered his lectures with puns, rhymes and enigmatic pronouncements, like, “Thinking is what we already know that we have not yet begun,” or, “Oh my friends, there is no friend…”

Now it’s difficult to understand, let alone critique the complexity of, many of Derrida’s writings, so I generally cull what I can from them and give him the benefit of doubt on the rest (I first read his two-columned comparison/contrast extravaganza on Hegel and Genet—Glas—as part of my research on the “neutered” writer). But why he would be so “nuanced” when speaking in public (yes, there’s a potential political tie in here if you look for it…but I’m a bit too lazy today) struck me as gratuitous.

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Christopher Reeve has died.

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As has been mentioned in comments, Christopher Reeve has passed away. I respected his determination to overcome his injuries, and I am saddened that he was not able to do so. I presume that he would have wanted well-wishers to contribute to his foundation, so I’ve linked.

Words Fail Me.

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From the LA Times, via Atrios: Bush Administration Plans to Delay Major Assaults in Iraq By Mark Mazzetti Times Staff Writer 7:45 PM PDT, October 10, 2004 WASHINGTON — The Bush administration will delay major assaults on rebel-held cities in Iraq until after U.S. elections in November, say administration officials, mindful that large-scale military offensives … Read more

The My County’s Elections Board Makes Me See Red Blues.

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This is a gripe-and-moan session about the perfidies of Maryland local government; bear that in mind when deciding to click through.

[UPDATE] I have been informed, by people whose word I personally trust, that GOTV volunteers do not troll registration forms for voter information. My sense of personal oppression by the world has been thus lessened proportionately.

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Dred Scott: All Is Revealed

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Silly me. I couldn’t understand why on earth Bush mentioned the Dred Scott decision last night. I put it on my list of three informative moments from the debate, but only because, as I said, it seemed to me to provide an answer to the question, does Bush not know what’s in the Constitution, or does he just not care? (My reasoning being that in both cases there is a fairly straightforward constitutional argument in support of the decisions he mentioned, whether you agree with it or not, and therefore neither is a remotely plausible candidate for the title ‘decision requiring judges to interject their personal opinions’.) The Dred Scott example raised some other minor questions — did Bush think that slavery was likely to be an issue in this race? If not, why mention Dred Scott? And why would someone who knew enough to be able to mention Dred Scott not also know that at the time the Constitution did allow slavery, which is why we needed the 13th Amendment? But at bottom I thought it was just another bizarre Bush moment, like his reference to medicines from ‘a third world’.

Boy, was I wrong. It turns out that ‘Dred Scott’ is actually code for ‘Roe v. Wade’. From Paperwight (the first link):

“Some people seem to be a bit boggled by Bush’s Dred Scott remark last night. It wasn’t about racism or slavery, or just Bush’s natural incoherence. Here’s what Bush actually said:

If elected to another term, I promise that I will nominate Supreme Court Justices who will overturn Roe v. Wade.

Bush couldn’t say that in plain language, because it would freak out every moderate swing voter in the country, but he can say it in code, to make sure that his base will turn out for him. Anti-choice advocates have been comparing Roe v. Wade with Dred Scott v. Sandford for some time now. There is a constant drumbeat on the religious right to compare the contemporary culture war over abortion with the 19th century fight over slavery, with the anti-choicers cast in the role of the abolitionists.”

And you know what? Paperwight is right. Here are a few quotes:

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A Completely Non-Partisan Policy Conundrum

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In an effort to provide an occasion for political discussion that engages our political and moral views but not our partisan passions, I offer the following policy question, which I and some colleagues have written about (registration required). (A longer relative of this paper with more biology and a less developed moral argument is here.) It’s about embryonic stem cells, but nothing about the moral question we raise turns on whether or not it’s OK to use human embryos to derive stem cells. It also assumes that we have figured out how to use stem cells to cure diseases.

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House Votes to Only Sort of Legalize Torture Outsourcing

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The House passed the 9/11 Commission bill yesterday on 282-134 vote, but not before they amended the torture outsourcing provision.

To read the NY Times, you’d think we’d won:

House leaders did agree to amend wording that would have allowed the government to deport foreign terror suspects to countries where they could face torture. The amendment, proposed by Representative John Hostettler, Republican of Indiana, would allow the Department of Homeland Security to detain the suspects but would bar deportation until after the State Department had sought assurances that they would not be harmed. “It will protect the American people from dangerous aliens while continuing our nation’s proud history of providing refuge for the innocent,” Mr. Hostettler said.

One problem: the State Department already seeks those assurances. In practice, they provide no protection at all against torture.

We got assurances from Syria that Maher Arar would not be tortured. But he alleges that:

The next day I was taken upstairs again. The beating started that day and was very intense for a week, and then less intense for another week. That second and the third days were the worst. I could hear other prisoners being tortured, and screaming and screaming.

Interrogations are carried out in different rooms. One tactic they use is to question prisoners for two hours, and then put them in a waiting room, so they can hear the others screaming, and then bring them back to continue the interrogation.

The cable is a black electrical cable, about two inches thick. They hit me with it everywhere on my body. They mostly aimed for my palms, but sometimes missed and hit my wrists. They were sore and red for three weeks. They also struck me on my hips, and lower back. Interrogators constantly threatened me with the metal chair, tire and electric shocks.

The tire is used to restrain prisoners while they torture them with beating on the sole of their feet. I guess I was lucky, because they put me in the tire, but only as a threat. I was not beaten while in tire. They used the cable on the second and third day, and after that mostly beat me with their hands, hitting me in the stomach and on the back of my neck, and slapping me on the face. Where they hit me with the cables, my skin turned blue for two or three weeks, but there was no bleeding. At the end of the day they told me tomorrow would be worse. So I could not sleep.

Then on the third day, the interrogation lasted about 18 hours. They beat me from time to time and make me wait in the waiting room for one to two hours before resuming the interrogation. While in the waiting room I heard a lot of people screaming. They wanted me to say I went to Afghanistan. This was a surprise to me. They had not asked about this in the United States.

They kept beating me so I had to falsely confess and told them I did go to Afghanistan. I was ready to confess to anything if it would stop the torture. They wanted me to say I went to a training camp. I was so scared I urinated on myself twice. The beating was less severe each of the following days.

Human rights groups reported on Arar’s torture before he was released. His descriptions are entirely consistent with other prisoners’ and human rights’ groups description of what goes on in Syrian prisons. Off the record U.S. officials admit that Arar was tortured. On November 15, 2003, the New York Times reported that “American officials who spoke on condition of anonymity…say [Arar] confessed under torture in Syria that he had gone to Afghanistan for terrorist training, named his instructors and gave other intimate details.”

But on less than a week later, Ashcroft was still saying it trusted that Syria had not tortured Arar: “I note the statement by the Syrian embassy … regarding the treatment of Mr. Arar,” Ashcroft said, “as that statement is fully consistent with the assurances that the United States government received prior to the removal of Mr. Arar,” he told the Toronto Star. (The article was published on November 21, 2003, p. A13).

Again, it is not only Arar. Sweden received “diplomatic assurances” from Egypt that Ahmed Agiza and Muhamad al-Zery were tortured, and then proceeded to ignore their and cover up their allegations of torture.

According to the Washington Post,

In a report made public shortly afterward, Sven Linder, the Swedish ambassador to Egypt, wrote that Agiza and Zery told him they had been treated “excellently” in prison and that to him “they seemed well-nourished and showed no external signs of physical abuse or such things.”

Another section of the ambassador’s report that remained classified until recently, however, offered a different appraisal. It noted that Agiza had complained that he was subjected to “excessive brutality” by the Swedish security police when he was seized and that he was repeatedly beaten in Egyptian prisons.
According to the Swedish TV show Kalla Fakta:

Kalla Fakta has taken part of original documents which support the testimonies, and which prove that the two men have been systematically tortured, with electricity, blows and kicks.
On at least four occasions, Swedish authorities have received information through different channels from the men about what they have been subjected to.

A full Human Rights Watch report on the worthlessness of diplomatic assurances not to torture is available here.

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Post-Debate Thread

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So what did you think? Personally, I didn’t think it was a slam dunk like last time. But I did think that Kerry had the President on the defensive for most of the debate, and that the way the President kept trying to claim time for rebuttals when the rules said that whether there were … Read more

In a way, it’s impressive.

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The way that Reuters managed to write an article about blogs and their effect on the campaign (“Blogs Abuzz with Gossip in Caustic U.S. Campaign”) without ever actually mentioning a single one by name. Except for Salon, which I wouldn’t say really counts as a blog, per se. No, really, this one was like a … Read more

Levity

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This an open thread for posting the funniest thing you’ve seen this week. I nominate this post. Excerpt: You know, when I started this weblog, there weren’t so many weblogs around. Now there are more. I can’t take all the credit for that, but it’s something I’ve noticed. But weblogging used to be real. It … Read more

Not great news.

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96,000 new jobs in September — less than the 148,000 economists had expected. The unemployment rate is steady at 5.4%. Since conventional wisdom holds that nearly 150,000 new jobs must be created to keep up with new entries to the labor market, this suggests that a significant number of workers have given up looking for … Read more

Not a real concern. Yet.

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While I am not blind to the problem mentioned here and here or here, right now what we have going on is sporadic anti-Republican and/or anti-Bush violence being done by a bunch of unconnected yahoos with no further connection except for the fact that they all made the decision to surrender to fear (and hate, … Read more