Why Even Bother With a Trial?

I was watching the News Hour with Jim Leher (PBS) on SBS yesterday evening and noticed something that quite astonished me.

John Yoo, a Law professor at the University of California at Berkeley and former deputy assistant attorney general in the Office of Legal Counsel at the Department of Justice was having a debate/discussion with another US Attorney, Tom Wilner who is representing several Kuwaiti men held at Guantanamo Bay.
John Yoo, is supposed to be a law professor but here he simply refused to accept the basic fundamental rule of law which is "Innocent until proven guilty" or in this case the protection given by Habeas corpus(see bottom of page for link*).

Obviously it's slightly more complicated than that but basically he has claimed each and every single one of the people picked up in Afghanistan and Pakistan are guilty therefore are denied any legal rights and that they are also guilty of not being soldiers so they are denied any protection offered by the Geneva Convention.

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Watch it in Streaming video or read the Text from the Interview here

The Lawyers acting for the Detainees at Guantánamo Bay have taken the US Government to court challenging them on their detention of people for years on end with no trial and without the protection of the Geneva Convention. No one has proven that these people were indeed Soldiers or what the US Government would like to term them as "Illegal Combatants". These people are asking that if they are soldiers then treat them like soldiers if not then they should be allowed a Fair Trial. Nothing more nothing less. But this Law professor was saying NO, they are Terrorists?? How does he know whether they are Terrorists or are not?...How can this person, who teaches law, deny the prisoners the fundamental right of innocence? How he can stand in judgement without a fair trial in this day and age when he claims to be an expert of the topic is beyond me.
Thankfully the US Senate denied the Legislation be passed.


More here from the Guardian

The US senate's decision to deny detainees at Guantánamo Bay the right to challenge their detention in a US court could be overturned this week, following protests from senators, civil rights groups and former military officers.

Habeas Corpus Act 1679

Words of Wisdom

"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired, signifies in the final sense a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."

President Dwight D. Eisenhower
April 16, 1953

Before he left office in January 1961, for his farm in Gettysburg, he urged the necessity of maintaining an adequate military strength, but cautioned that vast, long-continued military expenditures could breed potential dangers to our way of life. He concluded with a prayer for peace "in the goodness of time." Both themes remained timely and urgent when he died, after a long illness, on March
28, 1969.

Ike Eisenhower was a Republican but unlike the current President of the US, at least this man had first hand experience of war. Perhaps that's why he worked so hard for Peace.

Find out more about the man here...

Court challenge to have consequences for Hicks

News.com.au

DAVID Hicks faces another year without trial in Guantanamo Bay, after a US Supreme Court decision effectively delayed his trial until the end of next year.

Justices will decide whether Osama bin Laden's former driver, Salim Ahmed Hamdan, can be tried for war crimes before military officers in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

"Obviously the issues that Hamdan raises apply four square to Hicks - whether the tribunal is lawful and consistent with the uniform code of
military justice. If the Hicks commission went ahead then they would be taking a
very big chance."

Lateline Transcript
TONY JONES: The US President is facing challenges on two fronts over prisoners detained in the so-called 'war on terror'. George W. Bush has denied US forces are engaged in torture, while, at the same time, the White House is preparing to fight moves in Congress for a complete ban on the practice. Those developments come as the US Supreme Court announced it will hear a challenge on the legality of military commissions for prisoners held in Guantanamo Bay. The decision will have consequences for the Australian, David Hicks.

NORMAN HERMANT:Amidst reports of secret prisons being run by the CIA, and battling resistance within his own Republican Party over US interrogation practices, George W. Bush was on the back foot as he wrapped up his visit to Latin America in Panama. The US President defended America's actions in the so-called 'war on terror'.

GEORGE W. BUSH, US PRESIDENT: We are trying to disrupt their plots and plans. Anything we do to that effort, to that end, in this effort, any activity we conduct is within the law. We do not torture. There's an enemy that lurks, that plots and plans and wants to hurt America again. And so you bet, we'll aggressively pursue them, but we will do so under the law.

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The man is a compulsive liar.
Which begs the question. Why does the general public, the Voters, believe statements like the above when there is so much conclusive evidence to the contrary?

Is the Chimp trying to tell the American Public that the Abu Gharib photo's and subsequent prosecutions are all a dream? That they did happen but it's OK because we are the good guy's and the law doesn't apply to us?

Feds arrest 6 Suspects

Story Here

More than 400 ASIO agents and federal police raided at least 20 homes in south-west Sydney at 2.30am today, arresting six people.

Well, that was a massive amount of resources really well spent. Not.
I also noticed Allen Jones having a say on channel Nines Morning show. I would like to take his argument apart piece by piece but I loath the man so much I cannot even listen to him. Although this morning I did try, honestly I did, but as soon as he started on the "Islam against the Australian Nation" rubbish I had to hit the mute button on the remote. Allen Jones is a no-talent, over paid, views and opinion so far from reality it's not funny, idiot!

I just find it slightly discrepant that these people always blame "them" when the West has a policy Pre-Emptive" strikes.

More here from SBS.

Antiwar Sermon Brings IRS Warning

Story from L.A. Times

The Internal Revenue Service has warned one of Southern California's largest and most liberal churches that it is at risk of losing its tax-exempt status because of an antiwar sermon two days before the 2004 presidential election.

On June 9, the church received a letter from the IRS stating that "a reasonable belief exists that you may not be tax-exempt as a church … " The federal tax code prohibits tax-exempt organizations, including churches, from intervening in political campaigns and elections.
The letter went on to say that "our concerns are based on a sermon presented at the All Saints Church discussed in the article."

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I came across this story at Crooks and Liars and to be quite honest I found it quite amazing (although not surprising).

Dave Johnson has more:

"How many "conservative" churches that DO tell parishioners how to vote have received similar letters? The Government trying to Bully a Church into not saying anything against them?

It obviously wouldn't of happened if it were saying nice things about the Chimp.
Just another example of the blatant Hypocrisy of the Us Government

(link to story at C & L here.)