October 2014 Archives

By refusing to prosecute Bush-era officials for their culpability in major human rights abuses such as the CIA program and Abu Ghraib, President Obama is not just failing to enforce justice but is essentially guaranteeing that such abuses will happen again in the future. His administration has demonstrated that even if government officials perpetrate the most heinous crimes imaginable, they will still be able to rely on their peers to conceal their wrongdoing and protect them from prosecution. This not only erodes the rule of law, it also helps create a culture of impunity that will inevitably give rise to such actions once again.

-- Murtaza Hussain, c/o The Intercept

When presidential power is used to extend empire, to spread violence or to bomb sovereign nations, it always seems permissible to Congress and the corporate media. But using presidential power to help people, to close Guantánamo, "dramatically" upsets the controlling interests in Congress and the media...

Congressional restrictions aside, Commander-In-Chief does as he pleases

According to the Gitmo authorities, there's also no such thing as 'force-feeding' at the base [Guantanamo concentration camp] -- only 'enteral feeding.' Recently, they decided there was also no such thing as a 'hunger strike' going on -- only 'longterm non-religious fasts.'

"..implementing or proposing any changes "is the furthest thing from my mind." -- new Guantanamo commander Rear Admiral Kyle Cozad

new Joint Task Force emblem includes razor wire surrounding camps

A university that allows a war criminal to teach constitutional and international law courses to the next generation of lawyers and judges under prejudice of "academic freedom" is protecting war crimes. Faced with the challenge of moral relativism popularized in today's schools, will students find the courage to speak out against the crimes of their government?

Photo: Jane Tyska/Bay Area News Group

For the president to officially admit that men were tortured in the name of national security is one thing. For him to justify those actions, and attempt to induce sympathy or even exculpate those who were in charge of designing and implementing a torture program - in the name of all Americans - is reprehensible.

-- Professor Falguni A. Sheth, Hampshire College