16 Year Old Homeschooler Hauled Away Under PATRIOT Act

A 16 year old American was hauled away after 10 FBI agents stormed his mother's house with a warrant accusing the boy of making bomb threats. The boy was deprived due process of law, as the PATRIOT act apparently now supersedes the Constitution.What country is this again?

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Torture: It Was Never Just “Sleep Deprivation”

What this L.A. Times story demonstrates is the proclivity of the CIA and other government torturing agencies to twist the meaning of words, and stuff into the nomenclature of one "technique" or procedures a veritable cornucopia of different torture methods. In this "enhanced interrogation" version of sleep deprivation, forced sleep deficit was...

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Release of Memos Fuels Push for Inquiry Into Bush’s Terror-Fighting Policies - NYTimes.com

By CHARLIE SAVAGE and NEIL A. LEWIS

Published: March 3, 2009

WASHINGTON — A day after releasing a set of Bush administration opinions that claimed sweeping presidential powers in fighting terrorism, the Obama administration faced new pressure on Tuesday to support a broad inquiry into interrogation, detention, surveillance and other practices under President George W. Bush.

Detainee Was Tortured, a Bush Official Confirms

The top Bush administration official in charge of deciding whether to bring Guantanamo detainees to trial, Susan Crawford, concluded that the U.S. military tortured a Saudi national who allegedly planned to participate in the Sept. 11 attacks. "His (Mohammed al-Qahtani) treatment met the legal definition of torture," said Crawford.

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Ex-gitmo guard saw torture, calls co-workers psychotic

As the Guantanamo Bay detention center reached its seventh birthday this week, a U.S. veteran said he witnessed cell beatings, forced head shavings and interrogation tactics--including sleep deprivation, floor shackles and loud music--while guarding detainees there.

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"Cross in the Dirt" story stolen from Solzhenitsyn (updated)

"I was watching the forum last night and decided that since I hadn't eaten yet, I would try to listen to John McCain speak. I was doing OK with the "my friends" and the evil chuckle when I heard him talk about his POW story of the cross in the dirt. That was when I couldn't take it anymore.

"UPDATE: This story was actually excerpted from "The Gulag Archipelago" by Alexander Solzhenitsyn, which was released in the US in 1973.

"UPDATE X2: It seems that McCain is a bit of a Solzhenitsyn fan, as evidenced in his article in the NY Sun here. Thanks to Turing for the link.

"UPDATE X3: May other great Kossacks have expanded on my diary. Check out their great diaries.

"TomP: Cross in the Dirt, a recap of what we know
"Calouste: No "cross in the sand" for McCain in 1973
"Throwing Stones: McCain lies, contradicts himself on Cross story"

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Five GOP Groups that Can't Stand John McCain

John McCain has some serious trouble with his own party, particularly large swaths of voters whom he has offended with his temper, attitude, legislative work, and lack of conservative credentials. A look at five of the most notable groups.

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