Clear Ambiguity

Torture tale sidesteps Hicks gag | NEWS.com.au

David Hicks may be gagged from telling his story but here is some interesting reading with information from his British citizenship application. It will be interesting to see how Howard deals with this one.

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Wonderful post from Making Light.

ATTENTION US MILITARY PERSONNEL
Posted by Jim Macdonald

You are not required to obey an unlawful order.

You are required to disobey an unlawful order.

You swore an oath to support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic.

The Constitution states (Article VI):

This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.

Here is article 3, the common article, to the Geneva Conventions, a duly ratified treaty made under the authority of the United States:

Article 3In the case of armed conflict not of an international character occurring in the territory of one of the High Contracting Parties, each party to the conflict shall be bound to apply, as a minimum, the following provisions:

1. Persons taking no active part in the hostilities, including members of armed forces who have laid down their arms and those placed hors de combat by sickness, wounds, detention, or any other cause, shall in all circumstances be treated humanely, without any adverse distinction founded on race, colour, religion or faith, sex, birth or wealth, or any other similar criteria.

To this end the following acts are and shall remain prohibited at any time and in any place whatsoever with respect to the above-mentioned persons:

(a) Violence to life and person, in particular murder of all kinds, mutilation, cruel treatment and torture;

(b) Taking of hostages;

(c) Outrages upon personal dignity, in particular, humiliating and degrading treatment;

(d) The passing of sentences and the carrying out of executions without previous judgment pronounced by a regularly constituted court affording all the judicial guarantees which are recognized as indispensable by civilized peoples.

2. The wounded and sick shall be collected and cared for.

An impartial humanitarian body, such as the International Committee of the Red Cross, may offer its services to the Parties to the conflict.

The Parties to the conflict should further endeavour to bring into force, by means of special agreements, all or part of the other provisions of the present Convention.

The application of the preceding provisions shall not affect the legal status of the Parties to the conflict.

Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions is straightforward and clear. Under Article VI of the Constitution, it forms part of the supreme law of the land.

You personally will be held responsible for all of your actions, in all countries, at all times and places, for the rest of your life. “I was only following orders” is not a defense.

What all this is leading to:

If you are ordered to violate Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, it is your duty to disobey that order. No “clarification,” whether passed by Congress or signed by the president, relieves you of that duty.

If you are ordered to violate Article 3 of the Geneva Conventions, this is what to do:

1. Request that your superior put the order in writing.

2. If your superior puts the order in writing, inform your superior that you intend to disobey that order.

3. Request trial by courtmartial.

You will almost certainly face disciplinary action, harassment of various kinds, loss of pay, loss of liberty, discomfort and indignity. America relies on you and your courage to face those challenges.

We, the people, need you to support and defend the Constitution. I am certain that your honor and patriotism are equal to the task.

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Torture ban ‘hinders terror war’ | NEWS.com.au

Not to be outdone our own Attorney-General Phillip Ruddock has started defining what torture is. He has this rather interesting idea that stopping torture will hinder the war on terror.

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Antiterrorism Bill on Detainees, Geneva Conventions - Rushing Off a Cliff - New York Times

This is actually a decent article about the new detainee bill on the Ney York Times site. The only real problem I have with it is that it is hidden with no link on hte front page. It is great to see mainstream media cover this story, but please let people see it.

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Picture says it all!

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OK, this is either me procrastinating from doing an assignment or my mind really telling me that I have to do something now.

I have a great friend at work known as Cocko. He has lived a bit and works harder than most doing everything asked of him. Cocko is a true legend in my mind with a great attitude to life. One habit of his is arriving at work in the morning and stating “The world’s fucked”. This is kind of amusing and he typically has a half valid point to explain why.

I don’t need his advice today however as I can state that without a single doubt “The World is Fucked”. The reason- George Bush, his dictatorship and a congress to piss weak to put the Earth first.

Perhaps you are unaware of what is going on. Good luck to you. Half of me wishes I was naive as well, but alas I am a geek, with the constant desire for input shared with my pale friends.

Here is some reading from very well respected writers to give you some background:
1. “We are now officially living in a dictatorship” from Science Blogs
http://scienceblogs.com/clock/2006/09/we_are_now_officially_living_i.php

2. One of my personal favourite authors and just a nice guy. John Scalzi
http://www.scalzi.com/whatever/004498.html

3. Buzzflash
http://www.buzzflash.com/articles/editorials/100

4. Bush Seeks Immunity for Violating War Crimes Act
http://www.commondreams.org/views06/0923-22.htm

There are hundreds of others, just do a search for bush AND dictatorship.

This is really scary folks. Bush is putting himself in a position of complete power over the US, and the world. You can now be imprisoned indefinitely without evidence or charge because he says so. Yes, and I mean you, whether you live in the US or not.

As Scalzi says “I’m tired of being led by moral cowards. I want better for myself, and for my country.”

and in my case I want better for everyone. Kids, future generations, refugees- everyone. This is just crap.

Bush must be impeached, or anyone else must get into his office. Any other right wing loony Republican would do. Anyone but this lunatic.

Where the hell are the left?

shaun

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