Human Rights Groups Want President Obama To Do More Than Release The CIA Interrogation Memos!

I would like someone to answer for the fact that the law was bent so that the Bush administration could justify the use of torture.As we all know,that violates the Geneva convention & makes the United States look like a hypocrite in the eyes of the world!I mean,how civilized are we if we condone torture?

But,some conservatives are angry that President Obama gave away CIA interrogation secrets.They say that those methods worked because there have not been any more terrorist attacks in the U.S. And their argument is that this will jeopardize the safety of Americans.Isn't it funny how conservatives always argue for transparency in government,but they are mad because President Obama gave the public the truth about torture?!!

Bush said that we did not torture,but we did!That should have been exposed & I'm glad that it was.People call President Obama arrogant,but look at how condescending George Bush was when he lied about not torturing people in this video.And some folks want to defend his actions.I cannot understand that!I mean if you are a conservative worried about government expansion,then you should be outraged by these documents.Because George Bush used the "war on terror" to increase his executive power.And push all legal boundaries on torture.


Even though President Obama did release those CIA documents,I do not believe that he will go any further.And the possibility that there will be no repercussions for the torture that happened during President Bush's time in office has a lot of human rights groups upset!Here's more from CNN:

"The decision to release the memos was met with criticism among conservatives and CIA veterans who warned that the highly detailed documents would serve as a counterinterrogation training manual for Al Qaeda and other terrorist groups.

Former CIA Director Michael Hayden said Thursday that the release of the memos would make the country less safe.

The documents spell out in often disconcerting detail how interrogation methods were to be administered.

Prisoners could be kept shackled in a standing position for as many as 180 hours. The documents provide statistics, noting that more than a dozen CIA prisoners had been deprived of sleep for at least 48 hours, three for more than 96, and one for the nearly eight-day maximum stated on one memo. The documents include elaborate legal debate over waterboarding, the interrogation technique that makes a prisoner believe he is in imminent danger of drowning. The memos spell out that a prisoner could be waterboarded at most six times during a two-hour session, and they require an attending physician to be on duty in case a prisoner didn't recover after being returned to an upright position.

In that event, "the intervening physician would perform a tracheotomy," said a May 10, 2005, memo.

The memos were crafted by the Justice Department's Office of Legal Counsel, a unit at the center of a series of legal debates during the Bush administration over the limits of executive power and counterterrorism tactics.

The memos were designed to fill in details left out of more theoretical opinions—some of which eventually surfaced publicly—that were produced by the Justice Department as it sought to lay out the legal boundaries of the Bush administration's "war on terror."

The four documents cover a period from 2002 until 2005, when the government was recalculating its approach to detention and interrogation matters in the aftermath of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal in Iraq.

The release of the documents was preceded by months of jostling between CIA and Justice Department officials over how much to disclose. A Justice Department official said Atty. Gen. Eric Holder urged full disclosure to help restore trust in a department that had been beleaguered by criticism that it had twisted the law to fit the Bush administration's political ends.

The release of the memos was driven to a large degree by an ACLU lawsuit aimed at forcing the government to disclose secret rulings issued in connection with the CIA's detention and interrogation programs.

But Obama's decision to shield agency employees from legal liability drew criticism from human-rights groups. Holder said the Justice Department would provide legal representation to CIA employees facing legal challenge in the United States or overseas."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the whole article here.

Farmer Suicide Issue:1500 Farmers Commit Suicide In An Indian State!

After failing crops & piles of debt,1500 farmers in an Indian state have committed suicide.These were desperate people who were caught up in an on-going cycle of mounting debt.And there are a lot of folks that want the government to do something before the amount of suicides increases even more.Here's a little background on this ongoing issue of farmer suicides in India from countercurrents.org:

"The Indian peasantry, the largest body of surviving small farmers in the world, today faces a crisis of extinction.

Two thirds of India makes its living from the land. The earth is the most generous employer in this country of a billion, that has farmed this land for more than 5000 years.

However, as farming is delinked from the earth, the soil, the biodiversity, and the climate, and linked to global corporations and global markets, and the generosity of the earth is replaced by the greed of corporations, the viability of small farmers and small farms is destroyed. Farmers suicides are the most tragic and dramatic symptom of the crisis of survival faced by Indian peasants.

1997 witnessed the first emergence of farm suicides in India. A rapid increase in indebtedness, was at the root of farmers taking their lives. Debt is a reflection of a negative economy, a loosing economy. Two factors have transformed the positive economy of agriculture into a negative economy for peasants - the rising costs of production and the falling prices of farm commodities. Both these factors are rooted in the policies of trade liberalization and corporate globalisation.

In 1998, the World Bank's structural adjustment policies forced India to open up its seed sector to global corporations like Cargill, Monsanto, and Syngenta. The global corporations changed the input economy overnight. Farm saved seeds were replaced by corporate seeds which needed fertilizers and pesticides and could not be saved.

As seed saving is prevented by patents as well as by the engineering of seeds with non-renewable traits, seed has to be bought for every planting season by poor peasants. A free resource available on farms became a commodity which farmers were forced to buy every year. This increases poverty and leads to indebtedness.

As debts increase and become unpayable, farmers are compelled to sell kidneys or even commit suicide. More than 25,000 peasants in India have taken their lives since 1997 when the practice of seed saving was transformed under globalisation pressures and multinational seed corporations started to take control of the seed supply. Seed saving gives farmers life. Seed monopolies rob farmers of life.

The shift from farm saved seed to corporate monopolies of the seed supply is also a shift from biodiversity to monocultures in agriculture. The District of Warangal in Andhra Pradesh used to grow diverse legumes, millets, and oilseeds. Seed monopolies created crop monocultures of cotton, leading to disappearance of millions of products of nature's evolution and farmer's breeding."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.

For Some Reason,I Really Like "Taking The Stage"!

I don't know why I am so taken with this particular reality show.But,I watch MTV's "Taking The Stage" every week.A lot of folks have compared it to "Fame".I just find this group of talented teens exciting to watch.It's definitely a docu-soap.And since I was raised on soap operas & tabloids,that's probably why I find it so intriguing.Tonight is also the "Making The Band" finale.So,for me,it's going to be a MTV night!

As for "Taking The Stage",I want to see what drama unfolds in the love triangle that is comprised of Jasmine,Tyler,& Mia.Here's more about the show from Pop tower:

"What would you do in order to fulfill your dreams? For the young stars of MTV's new reality musical series "Taking The Stage," the answer is anything. Premiering Thursday, March 19 at 10p.m. ET/PT on MTV, "Taking The Stage" is a one-hour 10-episode reality musical series conceptualized and executive produced by Nick Lachey (98 Degrees), that will follow the lives of five talented students at the School For Creative and Performing Arts (SCPA) in Cincinnati, Ohio. A reality musical series executive produced by feature film and theatre producer Marc Platt who also serves as creative consultant ("Honey," "Legally Blonde," "Nine," Broadway Musical "Wicked"), the show is the first of its kind to be scored with music performed by cast members in-scene. Each episode of "Taking The Stage" will feature songs and dance routines written and choreographed by the cast.

In the heart of Cincinnati, SCPA is a prestigious school that draws young people from all backgrounds dedicated to pursuing careers in the arts. The school has an illustrious history of producing some of the entertainment industry's most renowned dancers, singers and musicians from Sarah Jessica Parker ("Sex and the City") and actress Carmen Electra ("Starsky & Hutch"), to actor/director Todd Luiso ("High Fidelity"), actor Rocky Carroll ("NCIS") and singer Nick Lachey. SCPA is not the average high school and gaining entrance is not an easy task, as every student must audition before being accepted. The curriculum is so rigorous, that the students who have been there the longest call themselves "survivors." Honing their skills will take everything they have but to achieve it they will have to focus all their energy and make sacrifices along the way.

While they are some of the most talented teenagers in the country, they will still have to navigate the same trials and insecurities that all teenagers face which are obstacles that threaten their chances at success."(END OF EXCERPT)Read the rest here.