The listing drew a sharp response from the U.S., a key NATO ally and trading partner, which asked to be removed from the manual.So there you have it, if you want to read this news from other sources they are starting to creep in on Google News. I don't have much to add, I just felt obligated to provide this follow up from last weeks posting about America being put on the Torture Watch List, I know torture talk upsets a lot of people in America and if I hurt any feelings, I apologize. Just wanted to pop by and remind you all, waterboarding was once torture.
"We find it to be offensive for us to be on the same list with countries like Iran and China. Quite frankly it's absurd," U.S. Ambassador David Wilkins told The Associated Press. "For us to be on a list like that is just ridiculous." He said the U.S. does not authorize or condone torture.
"We think it should be removed and we've made that request. We have voiced our opinion very forcefully," Wilkins said...Read More on CBSNews....
The video today is a Fox News clip discussing Waterboarding.
From the NewsHounds.us archive.
*Post Updated: Jan 21st
Reader Comments ( Page 1 of 1)
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george at 3:32PM on Jan 28th 2008
2. It is a business site for news, sports broadcasting and advertising companies
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lafsar at 5:12PM on Apr 7th 2008
3.
"Waterboarding, your sort of splash some water on them." -- Fox propagandist.
The best part of that video is the last shot.
"We watch Fox so you don't have to."
Captain Negative at 7:48PM on Jan 19th 2008
4. Ambassador Wilkins is right it is offensive to be on the same torture list as Iran and China!
Wilkins is right, for the wrong reason....
It is offensive to act in such a way that you need put on the list, and yes the US TORTURES.
mac at 8:02PM on Jan 19th 2008
5. Canada need not worry about offending the US.
We can't seem to find a 7 foot tall, frail, cave man dragging a diallisus machine around the desert. I think we have our hands full with Iraq right now, we won't bother Canada....unless there's votes in it. IT is an election year!
mac at 8:10PM on Jan 19th 2008
6. Out of 13 international conventions on protecting universal human rights and the resulting treaties, the US has ratified just 3. WE have signed 2 which means we agree with the protocols and amendments but do not accept it as American policy. The remaining 8 treaties(including prohibition of torture) recieved a N(o)A(ction)vote.Our reasoning for not ratifying all? Well,the US argues,it's superfluous because we already have all those treaties in place via our inalienable BIll of Rights and Constitutional guarantees. Thus,to ratify what already exists as American policy would be redundant.
The US,after Russia and followed by China, is #1 on the list for having the world's largest prison population. The death penalty has not been abolished. All prisons, including ours, are rife with commonplace "tortures" considered essential but innoncuous. These routinely include solitary confinement,deprivation of food and exercise,restricting movement within cells by short chaining,victimizing through forceful rapes to reduce prisoner resistance to authority,induce cooperation and conformity,and to underscore that the end justifies the mean. It's blindsighted of us not to recognize the US shadow government wants to be beyond scrutiny. This laissez faire attitude-the state will not intervene in the agencies affairs and methods of operation-permits personnel and policies to exceed limits. Our carefully cultivated persona as the world champions of democracy and freedom is pure disinformation. We will not hesitate to crush human rights and support murderous dictators to further our economic and political aims. Americans need only to look so far as Vietnam, Chile, El Salvador, Nicaragua and Guatemala. We have engineered the disposal of democratically elected government leaders in order to impose our will in what we deem to be our sphere of influence. The CIA assisted the opposition, the conservative military leaders, to assassinate President Allende of Chile; we engineered the overthrow of a freely elected president (1955)in Iran to enthrone the puppet shah, a bona fide tyrant and murderer whose security forces recieved training in torture and other methods to extract
information (intelligence) from the hapless opposition. The US is not global saint. Like other nations we meddle, forment and underwrite whatever entity(Iran-Contra)we are disposed to at the time. We can export torture, too, extradicting the individual to a country that that permits torture(ie, the US pressuring Italy to extradite the leader of Turkey's Kurdish rebels to Istanbul).Obviously,Canada is being pressured by the powers that be (Bush & company). Removing our name from the List does not absolve us of our conduct. Ignoring human rights is our refusal to be a part of ethical and moral humanity.
boredwell at 5:14AM on Jan 20th 2008
7. boredwell
These well thought out opinions of yours should point out that these problems cross party lines, Republican and Democrat, and is a Politics as Usual in DC. Nothing seems to change except the Faces and the Party Hats that they wear, the greed and abuses go on and on, from administration to administration.
ROBERT OKANE at 5:34AM on Jan 20th 2008
8. Makes you wonder what sort of backroom "persuasion" was involved. Google "Avro Arrow" (a 1950s Canadian fighter jet that was 5 years ahead of any U.S. design) or watch the Dan Aykroyd movie "The Arrow". Just one example of U.S./Canadian "diplomacy". The 800 pound gorilla has spoken.
BILL G at 5:49AM on Jan 20th 2008
9. what did you say about America Jeff? YOU Fucking canadian faggot. What did you say about the heros of Abu Grab? All of those fucking terroists should have been tortured and exacuted. You Canadians are the biggest bunch of pussies i have ever seen. We should invade Canada that should take all of about 5 minutes!!!Jeff you liberal coward piece of shit why don`t you come down to NY AND i`ll baet your fucking ass right in the street you fucking pussie.
Bobby at 9:07PM on Jan 20th 2008
10. Jeff
You are a dishonest journalist from Canada who should go back to and stay in Canada. You also sound as if you are trying out for the position with the Liberal Fascists, such as Herr Gobbels held under Hitler.
Your convienent omissions or misinformations:
1-Israel was also on this list with the USA
2-This training document was produced by the Canadian Foreign Ministery and is used in workshops to teach Canadian Diplomats to be able tell if a Canadian has been tortured.
3-Foreign Ministry stated the training document IS NOT policy document and DOES NOT reflect the views or policies of the Canadian Govt.
4-There is NO CASES OF TORTURE specified in this document.
5-The Training Document classifies some US interrogation techniques, forced nudity, isolation and sleep deprivation, as torture.
6-Training Document states that prison camp at Guantanamo Bay COULD BE A PLACE WHERE PRISONERS COULD BE TORTURED.
The Foreign Ministry has removed the United States and Israel from its training document. All other countries mentioned may also be removed in the near future.
Jeff- your distorted report on the Canadian Training Document is what can fit you neatly into the catagory Liberal Fascist
PS_ In the Fall of 2000, Bill Clinton gave Halliburton a non bid cost plus contract to build the Prison at Guantanamo Bay. $300 million dollar contract
ROBERT OKANE at 9:16PM on Jan 20th 2008
11. "PS_ In the Fall of 2000, Bill Clinton gave Halliburton a non bid cost
plus contract to build the Prison at Guantanamo Bay. $300 million
dollar contract"
- That is actually interesting, I didn't know that.
BTW - Robert, I am not a journalist, nor do I claim to be. I am a blogger here on AOL, if you are looking for "Journalism" I suggest you go to a section not titled "news bloggers," Cheers.
Jeff Hoard at 10:07PM on Jan 20th 2008
12. Jeff
Old saying-if it walks like a duck, looks like a duck and quacks like a duck, it is a duck.
You are presenting news, or your edited view of the news stories.
If you want to prompt a discussion, why do you need to put your slant on most of the news stories? Why not tell the whole story, you know, the truth?
ROBERT OKANE at 1:48AM on Jan 21st 2008
13. "If you want to prompt a discussion, why do you need to put your slant on most of the news stories? Why not tell the whole story, you know, the truth?"
Consdering that Jeff is the most responsive of all the bloggers, your comment seems particularly rude.
Captain Negative at 2:44AM on Jan 22nd 2008
14. #9 - Jeff - I have not been able to determine why or when the tent city prisons were "upgraded" beyond a note in
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/facility/guantanamo-bay_delta.htm
that
"As of April 9, 2002, construction of Camp Delta had already been approved and funded with construction having already begun at Radio Range, approximately five miles from Camp X-Ray. Construction of the new detention facility officially began on February 27, 2002."
Camp Delta being the second facility. The first,
"Detention facilities at Camp X-Ray were temporary. As a result of this, of the single occupancy capacity at Camp X-Ray being limited to 320, and with Guantanamo Bay preparing to receive up to 2,000 Al-Qaeda and Taliban detainees, the need arose for the construction of larger enclosed long-term detention facilities at Naval Station Guantanamo Bay, Cuba."
If Robert is correct concerning Clinton funding the prison building and that it was a no-bid contract, I wonder why the building was funded a year before the attack, and why it was a no-bid contract. I have not been able to find anything on that yet. Do you have any information?
I will agree completely with Robert's comment in #5 that we need to keep an eye on both sides of the aisle. I hate to have to depend on the Democrats to correct the abuses of the Republicans and I hate to have to depend on the Republicans to rein in the excesses of the Democrats.
alan at 11:59AM on Jan 22nd 2008
15. I haven't found anything about Clinton building Guantanamo Bay. The only "no bid" contract I could find was for the expansion of the Prison done in 2005.
This Wiki has tonnes of sourced information about the bay.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guantanamo_Bay_detention_camp
Jeff Hoard at 8:37PM on Jan 22nd 2008