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To: Bank Holding Company who wrote (242333)	3/26/2010 2:36:43 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Respond to of 306849

"What Bush began, I can do bigger and better!" --B. Obama, 2010 Obama backtracking on detainee rights, critics say Human rights activists object to a focus on overseas prisons and arrests without trials. Republican Sen. Lindsey Graham is weighing in. By Julian E. Barnes and David S. Cloud March 25, 2010 Reporting from Washington The newest option for detaining terrorism suspects -- an Afghan prison that serves the same purpose as the lockup in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba -- suggests that President Obama's policies are becoming more like those of his predecessor, George W. Bush, in the view of human rights groups and legal experts. Obama began his presidency vowing to close Guantanamo, end CIA detention practices and transform the post-9/11 system created by Bush. But the administration gradually has backtracked, and is now revisiting some of the practices in use under Bush: military tribunals, detention without trials and overseas prisons. Human rights activists have objected to what they see as a trend in the administration toward favoring long-term detention of terrorism suspects and military commission proceedings rather than public court trials. In the latest possible shift, administration officials said last week that they may use a prison at the Bagram air base in Afghanistan for long-term detainees captured elsewhere. "That would be George Bush's wish list," Christopher Anders, the senior legislative counsel for the American Civil Liberties Union, said of the possible policy changes. The activists believe the administration is not unified on the issue, saying that Atty. Gen. Eric H. Holder Jr. believes the president should stick to the positions he outlined during the campaign, while others, including White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel, see the detention issue more as a political problem. The administration says no such divisions exist. The White House believes it must compromise with lawmakers to preserve Obama's core detention policies. Other officials said that without somewhere to hold and question terrorism suspects, capturing militants around the world becomes more problematic. At least in the short term, these officials said, Bagram could be used to hold extremists captured in other countries. The proposal is controversial. Military officials, including the top U.S. and allied commander in Afghanistan, argue that using the prison for such detainees could complicate the war effort by providing a propaganda weapon that extremists could use against the U.S. Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.), a leading Republican voice on detainee issues, said he considered concerns about Bagram legitimate, and considered it an option only as a stop-gap measure until another facility was ready. "Bagram air base is not a long-term solution," Graham said in an interview. "We're not going to be able to count on that facility . . . it's a sovereign government that's not going to become enamored of being the jailer for America." Separate from the issue of Bagram, the administration is in talks with Graham on a deal that would let the administration buy a state prison in Thomson, Ill., to hold some of the detainees now at Guantanamo Bay. Any proposal to move detainees to Thomson would require the approval of Congress, which overwhelmingly approved a ban on transferring terrorism suspects to the U.S. last year. A deal with Graham is seen as a step that would allow some federal trials for detainees to go forward, although maybe not for the most prominent, such as alleged Sept. 11 organizer Khalid Shaikh Mohammed. Holder announced in November that the Justice Department would prosecute the Sept. 11 plotters in federal court in New York. But New York city and state officials objected, and Republican lawmakers have tried to block funding for the trials. Graham is pushing for wider use of military commissions, the special courts created under Bush that have been codified in U.S. law. Graham also would like a new law to allow the indefinite detention of terrorism suspects without trial, and changes in how detainees petition the courts for release under federal habeas corpus guidelines. "We need a statutory framework to deal with the problem," Graham said in an interview. Graham said he wanted to establish regular annual reviews for detainees and create uniform standards for judges to use when deciding whether suspects should be released. "To have someone spend the rest of their life in a military prison is OK with me," he said. Few Republicans want to close Guantanamo, but Graham said that a comprehensive deal between lawmakers and the White House that included his proposals could attract broader support. Administration officials acknowledged that they had discussed changes in habeas corpus procedures with Graham, but said that no agreements had been made. "They are simply talking and looking for common ground," an administration official said, speaking on condition of anonymity because officials were not authorized to speak publicly on the issue. But even talks on detainee issues worry human rights advocates. Many believe that any reform championed by Graham simply would be aimed at gutting court oversight of those in long-term detention. And human rights officials also question whether the South Carolina senator can convince other Republicans to agree to shut down Guantanamo. Opponents of Bush-era detainee practices hope that reports about White House shifts on its detention policies are simply trial balloons that the president himself will eventually pop. "The policy of the Obama administration is that suspected terrorists should be tried in civilian courts wherever possible," said Tom Malinowski, the Washington advocacy director of Human Rights Watch. "As far as I am concerned, that is their policy, and it is not accurate or fair to say Obama has embraced the policies of the Bush administration. And I hope they don't." Copyright 2010 Los Angeles Times

To: Bank Holding Company who wrote (242333)	3/26/2010 2:48:24 PM
From: Broken_Clock	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 306849

"Who's the biggest, baddest gun on the planet? I am!" -- B. Obama, 2010 Obama Presses for $33 Billion War Supplement Most Funding Will Go Toward Afghan War by Jason Ditz, March 25, 2010 Email This \| Print This \| Share This \| Comment \| Antiwar Forum In a move that was widely expected, Obama Administration officials headed to the Senate to press for approval of a $33 billion war supplemental bill, with most of the money going to pay for the Afghan War. The $33 billion supplement would be in addition to the record $708 billion military budget reported in January. The Obama Administration had defended the record military funding by saying that the war costs would be folded into the military bill instead of being part of a supplement, though at the time they had already conceded that they would need a supplement. The Obama Administration was already reporting the $33 billion request in January, on the grounds that the latest escalation into Afghanistan was not covered in the budget. At the same time, however, portions of the request did not involve the escalation, including around $1 billion in funding for Iraq. Members of Congress reportedly expressed concern about the spiraling war costs and the lack of a deadline for ending the conflicts. Yet if $700 billion war budgets are not enough to make them balk, it is unclear what will.

To: Bank Holding Company who wrote (242333)	3/27/2010 1:46:44 PM
From: Smiling Bob	Respond to of 306849

Just another creative way to eliminate-or pawn off- the risk and maximize the returns, yet "nobody saw it coming." Ball Of Confusion Lyrics Artist(Band):The Temptations Review The Song (8) Print the Lyrics Send "Ball Of Confusion" Ringtones to Cell People movin' out People movin' in Why, because of the color of their skin Run, run, run, but you sho' can't hide An eye for an eye A tooth for a tooth Vote for me, and I'll set you free Rap on brother, rap on Well, the only person talkin' 'Bout love thy brother is the preacher And it seems, Nobody is interested in learnin' But the teacher Segregation, determination, demonstration, Integration, aggravation, Humiliation, obligation to our nation Ball of Confusion That's what the world is today The sale of pills are at an all time high Young folks walk around with Their heads in the sky Cities aflame in the summer time And, the beat goes on Air pollution, revolution, gun control, Sound of soul Shootin' rockets to the moon Kids growin' up too soon Politicians say more taxes will Solve everything And the band played on So round 'n' round 'n' round we go Where the world's headed, nobody knows Just a Ball of Confusion Oh yea, that's what the wold is today Fear in the air, tension everywhere Unemployment rising fast, The Beatles' new record's a gas And the only safe place to live is On an indian reservation And the band played on Eve of destruction, tax deduction City inspectors, bill collectors Mod clothes in demand, Population out of hand Suicide, too many bills, hippies movin' To the hills People all over the world, are shoutin' End the war And the band played on. Copyright 1970 Jobete Music Company, Inc.