Silicon Investor (SI) -- The First Internet Community

STOCKTALK

We've detected that you're using an ad content blocking browser plug-in or feature. Ads provide a critical source of revenue to the continued operation of Silicon Investor. We ask that you disable ad blocking while on Silicon Investor in the best interests of our community. If you are not using an ad blocker but are still receiving this message, make sure your browser's tracking protection is set to the 'standard' level.

Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Red Heeler who wrote (647334)	10/18/2004 2:44:14 PM
From: Hope Praytochange	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

An Elephant Never Forgets! ONE YEAR AGO TODAY, JOHN KERRY AND JOHN EDWARDS VOTED AGAINST $87 BILLION TO FUND MILITARY OPERATIONS IN IRAQ AND AFGHANISTAN. (S. 1689, CQ Vote #400: Passed 87-12: R 50-0; D 37-11; I 0-1, 10/17/03, Kerry And Edwards Voted Nay) BEFORE CASTING HIS VOTE, KERRY TOLD AMERICAN PUBLIC THAT VOTING AGAINST THAT FUNDING WOULD BE "IRRESPONSIBLE": LOS ANGELES TIMES' DOYLE McMANUS: "If that amendment does not pass, will you then vote against the $87 billion?" KERRY: "I don't think any United States senator is going to abandon our troops and recklessly leave Iraq to whatever follows as a result of simply cutting and running. That's irresponsible. What is responsible is for the administration to do this properly now. And I am laying out the way in which the administration could unite the American people, could bring other countries to the table, and I think could give the American people a sense that they're on the right track. There's a way to do this properly. But I don't think anyone in the Congress is going to not give our troops ammunition, not give our troops the ability to be able to defend themselves. We're not going to cut and run and not do the job." (CBS' "Face The Nation," 9/14/03) INCLUDED IN $87 BILLION KERRY OPPOSED WAS: * “Extra Money For Body Armor For Soldiers …” (“Highlights Of Iraq, Afghanistan Measures,” The Associated Press, 10/17/03; S. Rept. 108-160, Conference Report On S. 1689, 10/2/03) * Increased Combat Pay For Troops. (“Highlights Of Iraq, Afghanistan Measures,” The Associated Press, 10/17/03; S. Rept. 108-160, Conference Report On S. 1689, 10/2/03; “FY 2004 Supplemental Request For Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), And Operation Noble Eagle (ONE),” U.S. Department Of Defense, 9/03) * Health Benefits For Reservists And Guardsmen Called To Active Duty, As Well As Support For Their Families. (“Highlights Of Iraq, Afghanistan Measures,” The Associated Press, 10/17/03; S. Rept. 108-160, Conference Report On S. 1689, 10/2/03; “FY 2004 Supplemental Request For Operation Iraqi Freedom (OIF), Operation Enduring Freedom (OEF), And Operation Noble Eagle (ONE),” U.S. Department Of Defense, 9/03) * Eligibility For TRICARE Health Benefits To Reservists, Guardsmen And Their Dependents If They Are Activated For Duty, Unemployed, Or Their Employer Does Not Provide Health Care Benefits. (S. 1689, CQ Vote #400: Passed 87-12: R 50-0; D 37-11; I 0-1, 10/17/03, Kerry Voted Nay; See Text Of H.R. 3289, Engrossed Amendment As Agreed To By Senate) LEARN MORE ABOUT KERRY/EDWARDS' SHIFTING POSITIONS AT WWW.KERRYONIRAQ.COM

To: Red Heeler who wrote (647334)	10/18/2004 2:44:28 PM
From: Red Heeler	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 769670

Guerriero attacks Bush and Cheney for "feigning outrage" over discussion of Mary Cheney's sexuality advocate.com

To: Red Heeler who wrote (647334)	10/18/2004 2:45:24 PM
From: Skywatcher	Read Replies (5) \| Respond to of 769670

Bush...the TORTURE MAN! Ex-Guantánamo Bay Workers Claim Prisoner Abuse was Widespread by Julian Borger in Washington The abusive treatment of inmates at Guantánamo Bay was far more widespread than the Pentagon has admitted, according to a new report published yesterday. Many detainees at the US prison camp were "regularly subjected to harsh and coercive treatment" over a long period of time, far beyond the isolated cases that have been acknowledged to date, according to the report, which appeared in the New York Times. It quoted sources who once worked at the naval base and who were angry at the treatment dealt out to the prisoners, suspected terrorists from around the world who have been held without charge, most for more than two years. The harsh treatment was intended to persuade inmates to talk, and was matched by incentives to co-operate. One "regular procedure" was making prisoners strip to their underwear, sit on a chair while their hands and feet were shackled to a bolt on the ground, while they were subjected to strobe lights, loud music (reportedly by Limp Bizkit, Rage Against The Machine and Eminem) and cold. Such sessions could go on for up to 14 hours, with a few breaks. "It fried them," one official was quoted as saying. Another said: "They were very wobbly. They came back to their cells and were completely out of it." Responding to the report, a Pentagon spokesman, Major Paul Swiergosz, said yesterday: "We take all allegations of detainee abuse seriously, and ... we've directed several enquiries to be conducted into a number of allegations." He pointed to an earlier Pentagon statement stating that: "Guantánamo guards provide an environment that is stable, secure, safe and humane. And it is that environment that sets the conditions for interrogators to work successfully and to gain valuable information from detainees because they have built a relationship of trust, not fear." Following the revelations earlier this year that torture was used by US military guards at Abu Ghraib prison near Baghdad, the US military held enquiries, which found that a number of harsh interrogation techniques had been approved for use in Guantánamo by the defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, but that they were rarely used. The New York Times allegations suggest instead that the procedures used went beyond those guidelines, which allow interrogators to place detainees "in a setting that may be less comfortable" but should not "constitute a substantial change in environmental quality". Yesterday's report quoted an intelligence official as saying that much of the harshest interrogation was focused on a "dirty thirty" of detainees, thought to represent the best potential sources of intelligence on al-Qaida. However, other reports have suggested that very little, if any, "actionable" intelligence has emerged from the more than 600 prisoners held at Guantanamo Bay, scores of whom have since been transferred to their home countries without charges. High level al-Qaida captives, like Khalid Sheikh Mohamed, and Abu Zubaidah have been held at secret locations in allied countries in the Middle East and elsewhere. Human rights group allege that these high-value prisoners are being held outside US territory to avoid legal obstacles to the use of torture. One military official said yesterday it was not clear when the sources quoted in the report worked at Guantánamo Bay, suggesting that procedures had recently improved. "There has been - after detainee abuse allegations, - a number of reviews, so it is important what period is being talked about," the official said. © Copyright Guardian Newspapers Limited 2004