Sadism in the New World Order

From an article in The Nation:

"[Lt. Col Stuart] Couch, a prosecutor at Guantínamo, inadvertently witnessed other prisoners being tortured, but he was denied access to the man he was prosecuting, who suddenly began telling his captors what they wanted to hear after being subjected to the "varsity program." That's the nickname for the Special Interrogation Plan which then-Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld authorized."

"Aside from the beatings, water-boarding, stress positions and sexual degradation that have been the norm at Guantínamo, Slahi [a detainee] was taunted with details of his mother's incarceration and rape in an elaborate hoax by an officer who claimed to be representing the White House."

[The 9/11 Commission reported, "We were told our requests might disrupt the sensitive interrogation process."] "That "sensitive interrogation" in the case of Slahi, according to Senate testimony of Air Force Lt. Gen. Randall Schmidt, assigned by the Pentagon to investigate conditions at Guantínamo, was conducted by an interrogation chief who the general concluded "was a rogue guy," a "zealot" who "essentially was having a ball."

Aside from the sadistic example being set by the United States for the world, the other cost is that torture does not produce credible intelligence results or legally recognized convictions of the guilty, even employing the sorry military tribunal standard accepted by the US Supreme Court."

"The point, once again, is not to get at the truth about 9/11 but rather to make George Bush look vigilant, despite the facts, in fighting his phony war on terrorism."

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A quote from UK Chancellor Gordon Brown makes an interesting footnote to the above:

The chancellor sidestepped the criticisms on defence policy, but admitted that more action on poverty was needed by the UK and world leaders. The UK, he promised, would continue to take a lead. "As human beings, we can't be fully happy when we know so many are sad. We can't feast while others starve. We can't be fully at ease while others are suffering," he said.

Article: Scottish churches say Brown is squandering money on war

Naomi Wolf's 10 steps to fascism

In today's UK Guardian, Naomi Wolf shows how we are treading the same footsteps as the fascist states of the last century.

Fascist America in 10 easy steps:

1. Invoke a terrifying internal and external enemy

2. Create a gulag

3. Develop a thug caste

4. Set up an internal surveillance system

5. Harass citizens' groups

6. Engage in arbitrary detention and release

7. Target key individuals

8. Control the press

9. Dissent equals treason

10. Suspend the rule of law

Note:
Naomi Wolf writes of America. If you're in the UK or Australia, you should take a good look in your own backyard, for you too are treading the same steps.

Beware. Allowing such matters to pass unchecked is how we've arrived at totalitarianism previously. Read the history. Check the comparisons for yourself.
Read William L Shirer's The Rise and Fall of the Third Reich. (Written by an American journalist working in Germany at the time.)

"it's not the lies that count but the muddying"

Vacationing on the Axis of Evil

Lonely Planet founder Tony Wheeler takes a holiday in Iran.

Story: UK Observer

Play dirty tricks; people get hurt

Today's The Independent, UK newspaper, reports that the 15 UK captives held in Iran were seized in retaliation to an attempt by the US to kidnap two senior Iranian security officers.

Story: The botched US raid that led to the hostage crisis