•TPC•

Cyrano’s Journal Online and its semi-autonomous subsections (Thomas Paine’s Corner, The Greanville Journal, CJO Avenger, and VoxPop) would be delighted to periodically email you links to the most recent material and timeless classics available on our diverse and comprehensive site. If you would like to subscribe, type “CJO subscription” in the subject line and send your email to

By Dhane Blue

11/13/07

“The U.S. House of Representatives recently passed HR 1955 titled the Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007. This bill is one of the most blatant attacks against the Constitution yet and actually defines thought crimes as homegrown terrorism. If passed into law, it will also establish a commission and a Center of Excellence to study and defeat so called thought criminals. Unlike previous anti-terror legislation, this bill specifically targets the civilian population of the United States and uses vague language to define homegrown terrorism. Amazingly, 404 of our elected representatives from both the Democrat and Republican parties voted in favor of this bill. There is little doubt that this bill is specifically targeting the growing patriot community that is demanding the restoration of the Constitution.”

(Big Brother: House passes the “Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act– House Passes Thought Crime Prevention Bill by Lee Rogers, November 2, 2007 Here)

Just to be sure that ‘Big Brother’ knows what I think, and doesn’t have to guess at my meaning by using ‘vague language’ written into another meaningless law — let me spell it out for the imbeciles who voted for this bill. In my humble opinion, the lot of you are either lost in a ’sociopathic wet dream’ or, alternatively, victims of ’state mind control’. Like the ‘flying monkeys’ from the Wizard of Oz, your behavior and actions are evidence of the powers that rule you.

“George W. Bush has shoved American politics into the dark realm of the lunatic right, zipping past Joe McCarthy into territory previously covered by historical accounts of Germany in the 1940s. We’ve lost our right to see an attorney, to confront our accusers, even to get a fair trial. Government agents have kidnapped thousands of people, many of whom have never been heard from again. Bush even signed an edict claiming the right to assassinate anyone, including you and me, based solely on his whims. Torture, the ultimate sign that civilized society has been replaced by a police state, was repeatedly authorized by government officials who smirked the few times reporters had the temerity to ask them about it.”

(Torturers, the Next Generation: Psycho-Politicians Pledge to Continue Bush’s Crimes, by Ted Rall, November 1, 2007 Here)

I am writing this to voice my protest (along with many others — see bibliography at the end of this blog) to ‘institutionalized torture’ as it is practiced by the U.S. Government. The only ‘terrorism’ that needs to be eliminated is that practiced by this U.S. Government and its paid lackeys. It is their ‘thought crimes’ that are evident in their words and deeds. Yes, it is their threat against those who would speak out against them that is ‘codified’ in this new law. They hope to beat those who will not submit to their mindset into submission or into at least keeping quiet while ‘torture’ and ’state-sponsored genocide’ continues. They have not only ‘broadcast’ their sociopathy around the world — they now want to institute it as the ‘normal’ mindset of an obedient U.S. citizen. As George Bush has said repeatedly, “You’re either with us or against us.”

A lot has been written about the inquisition of the Middle Ages. Heretics and witches were commonly burned at the stake. It seems that modern society is reverting to this earlier time when ‘thought crimes’ were first defined. It is the same mindset now masquerading as American Democracy and its ‘mad’ politicians who are acting out the pathology of their religious ancestors. Now, the new religion is ‘democracy’ in its George Orwellian defined mode. Only, in this modern age, there are Catholic priests who have learned from the lessons of history and are reminding the rest of us of our duty to just say “no’” to torture. I don’t imagine it will be much more effective than when we just said “no” to drugs. But, everyone must define their own ‘morality’ and draw their ‘own line in the sand’ beyond which they can not go. The example of these two priests has helped me define my ‘line in the sand’ — I am saying “no” loudly and clearly to the actions of the U.S. Government. They, in no way, shape, or form act in my name or behalf! I denounce them as the ‘rabid dogs of war’ they have become. As such, they are the enemies of all healthy humankind.

“Jesuit Fr. Steve Kelly and Franciscan Fr. Louis Vitale were arrested as they approached the Fort Huachuca gatehouse on November 19, 2006, as they sought entry to speak with enlisted personnel and deliver a letter denouncing torture (see letter here) and the Military Commissions Act of 2006 to Major General Barbara Fast, then commander at the post and a key figure in the torture scandal at Abu Ghraib Prison in Iraq. When they were not allowed to pass, they knelt in prayer, and were soon arrested.” (Two Catholic Priests Arrested Protesting Torture Training at Ft. Huachuca, AZ, Here)

I am a teacher at a Catholic institution although I was raised as the son of a Baptist minister. Some of the good of Catholicism — the actions of its saints — is rubbing off on me. It took many years of life before I came ‘face to face’ with the ‘evil’ of torture. I failed my first test when challenged — I didn’t react at all when it was carried out right in front of me. Let me digress. About seven years ago, I found myself in a Nepalese police station with my wife. In a story straight out of a ‘Keystone Cops’ episode, my small Sony walkman had been stolen from my stepsons while I was visiting them in Katmandu. They called the police who apprehended the thief and called us to the police station to confront the young man who had taken the walkman.

A Nepalese police officer swaggered in with his ‘riding crop’, berated the thief to admit his crime, and beat the boy in front of us. I should have protested. Some background into why I didn’t — I had taught English for many years in Katmandu and many of my students were policemen. They had told me stories of their fight with Nepalese communists. Plenty of atrocities were carried out on both sides of that little civil war. I was at least sympathetic to the policemen’s plight — forced to fight and kill their own countrymen — they were ‘just doing their duty’. How many times have we all heard that excuse?

I have always felt guilty at not stopping that policeman. But, our family paid for not doing our duty at the time. After my visit was over, the thief’s family beat one of my stepsons and bribed the police to put ‘him’ in jail. I was approached by the same Nepalese police I had previously thought my friends and blackmailed — for a certain sum of money my stepson could be released from jail and everything would be OK. We waited them out. Relatives visited my stepson, provided him food and support, and he was eventually released without further consequences. I wonder at the consequences the U.S. Government is creating for itself with its continued policy of ‘openly sanctioned’ torture used on ’so-called’ terrorists. Many of these ’so-called’ terrorists are nothing of the sort — the U.S. Government itself fits the definition of a ‘terrorist’ better than many of the people locked up in the network of jails established by the U.S.A. in third world countries.

“Washington likes to hold up Afghanistan as an exemplar of how a rogue regime can be replaced by democracy. Meanwhile, human-rights activists and Afghan politicians have accused the U.S. military of placing Afghanistan at the hub of a global system of detention centres where prisoners are held incommunicado and allegedly subjected to torture. The secrecy surrounding them prevents any real independent investigation of the allegations. ‘The detention system in Afghanistan exists entirely outside international norms, but it is only part of a far larger and more sinister jail network that (is) only now beginning to (be understood),’ (said) Michael Posner, director of the U.S. legal watchdog Human Rights First.” (One Huge U.S. Jail by Adrian Levy and Kathy Scott-Clark, The Guardian UK, 19 March, 2005 Here)

Now that I am working in Thailand, another country where ‘rendition’ is accepted, I find myself in a quandary. I teach both Thai and Burmese students. One of my second-graders, a girl, is the daughter of a Karen general who opposes the Burmese ruling junta. I am in Mae Sot — just across the border from Karen State — and my home is only a kilometer from the Moei River that is the border between the two countries. The recent protests by Burmese monks in Yangon and the reaction of the Burmese junta have been on my mind for a couple of months. There are also plenty of Thai police in the local area that I realize have the same mindset toward the Burmese that my friend, the Nepalese policeman, had against a common thief.

I didn’t have to imagine too hard to have a picture in my mind of what was going on in Yangon. During the 1990’s while living in Katmandu, I was a first-hand witness to people protesting for Democracy being shot in the streets. I know what policemen and soldiers are capable of when given their orders. Most of them are always just ‘doing their duty’. It is a mindset that is difficult to argue with when it is backed up by the threat of violence and the will to use it. I am sure plenty of torture was going on in Buddhist monasteries last month. I am sure it is still going on. However, I can’t exactly expect my voice to be heard much above the sound of bullets being fired. My line in the sand here is the Moei River. I am content to stay on the Thai side of the river in spite of the ’so-called’ Friendship Bridge that spans it. At least here, I have a chance to help some of those who have escaped the conflict in Burma. (Here)

I have sympathy for those who protest but don’t understand their tactics of confrontation. I have always used ‘avoidance’ in my life — nowadays this is harder and harder to practice. The State, or Big Brother, if you will, is increasingly in everyone’s face and everyone’s life. There is no space left to retreat to and avoid Big Brother. He has grown from the ‘Gorilla’ in the living room that no one talks about to ‘King Kong’ raping your sister on the couch. I am especially upset by his presence in the classroom. When he wants to come into my workplace and practice his ‘torture’ there I have to do more than protest. It is time for self-defense. Plenty has been written about incidents like Columbine and Virginia Tech — enough for most people to realize when it is necessary to pick up a gun and do what our ‘complicit’ police will not do.

“In Massachusetts, Matthew Israel’s critics have been trying to put him out of business for more than two decades. The first major battle took place in 1985—before Israel even started using shocks—after a 22-year-old student named Vincent Milletich died while in restraints at one of Israel’s homes. In the mid-1990s, Massachusetts again tried to close down Israel’s program—which by then had started to use electric shocks—and again he prevailed. This time, a judge declared that the state Department of Mental Retardation had waged a “war of harassment” against Israel, accused its commissioner of lying on the witness stand, stripped the agency of its power to regulate Israel’s facility, and ordered the state to pay the $1.5 million in legal fees and other costs that Israel had racked up. Meanwhile, a parallel battle over Israel’s use of aversives has been fought in the Massachusetts state Legislature. Since the late 1980s, a bill to ban their use has been introduced in every legislative session—and every time it has failed to become law.” (Why Can’t Massachusetts Shut Matthew Israel Down? by Jennifer Gonnerman, August 20, 2007, Mother Jones, Here)

So, what can people do when the state, itself, is incapable of drawing its ‘line in the sand’ against the pathology of ‘torture’ being institutionalized in our country’s own classrooms? There are stories in the news everyday of police or security authorities ‘out of control’ with students — over-reacting with force meant to terrorize children. I suppose the future will see a Gestapo thug in every hospital delivery room. Not that it isn’t already a ‘torture’ chamber with barbaric circumcision as an infant’s ‘welcome’ to this world. I suppose the U.S. Government will soon practice its ‘mind-control’ upon unborn infants — while still in the mother’s body. Will police ‘taser’ the mom whose infant started ‘kicking’ in the womb. What? He challenged authority! That’s a thought-crime, for sure. We’ll soon get that one to submit! Maybe the state should abort that rebellious fetus! This IS the mindset being acted out by the U.S. Government today. Be sure that I oppose it, Uncle Sam! My name can be added to your list at your will. The last person who put me in jail ended up dead. I wouldn’t wish any better upon my next would-be jailer.

Select Bibliography:

Break Them Down — Systematic Use of Psychological Torture by U.S. Forces (Physicians for Human Rights, 2005)

Recommendations to the Royal Thai Government in Regard to Both Refugees and Migrants (Human Rights Watch, 2004)

Memorandum for Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President, and William J. Haynes II, General Counsel of the Department of Defense (Office of the Assistant Attorney General, 2002)

The Alternative Report of the Japanese Government’s Report of the Convention Aginst Torture, and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment (CAT Network Japan, 2007)

What is Torture? A Primer on American Interrogation

The Truth About Torture (by Charles Krauthammer, “Weekly Standard”, 2005)

Afghanistan: ‘One Huge U.S. Jail’ (”The Guardian/UK”, 2005)

Final Report of the Independent Panel to Review Department of Defense Detention Operations (Independent Panel to Review DoD Detention Operations, 2004)

Pentagon Rewards Generals, Corporations Tied to Abu Ghraib Scandal (by Chris Shumway, “New Standard”, 2004)

Revealed: U.S. Soldier Killed Herself After Objecting to Interrogation Techniques (Common Dreams News Center, 2006)

Demands for Reform Take Shape (Thailand Law Forum)

Constitution of the Kingdom of Thailand (1997)

PR Charades Notwithstanding, Fort Huachuca Wrote the Book on Prisoner Abuse (by Randy Serraglio, “Tucson Weekly”, 2004)

Memorandum for Chairman of the JCS, Status of Taliban and Al Qaida (Secretary of Defense, 2002)

Action Memo: Counter-Resistance Techniques (General Counsel of DoD, 2002)

Executive Order: Interpretation of the Geneva Conventions Common Article 3 as Applied to a Program of Detention and Interrogation Operated by the C.I.A. (President Bush, 2007)

Bearing Witness: Violence and Social Responsibility (Binghamton, N.Y.: Haworth Press, 1998)

By the Numbers - Findings of the Detainee Abuse and Accountability Project (2006)

Final Report: Investigation into F.B..I. Allegations of Detainee Abuse at Guantanamo Bay, Cuba Detention Facility (2005)

Promotion and Protection of Human Rights Defenders (Commission on Human Rights, Mission to Thailand, 2004)

Crimes of Hate, Conspiracy of Silence (Amnesty International, 2001)

Annals of Justice: Outsourcing Torture (by Jane Mayer, “The New Yorker”, 2005)

AR 15-16 Investigation of the Abu Ghraib Detention Facility and 205th Military Intelligence Brigade (2004)

The Physical and Moral Destruction of the U.S. Military (TBR News, 2007)

Review of DoD Detention Operations and Detainee Interrogation Techniques (Office of the Secretary of Defense, 2005)

Reference on the Rule of Law in Combatting Terrorism (Asia Pacific Forum of National Human Rights Institutions, 2005)

TortureonTrial.org

Battle Over Tactics Ranged at Gitmo — International Torture (by Bill Dedman, MSNBC, 2006)

Memorandum for Alberto R. Gonzales, Counsel to the President — Standards of Conduct for Interrogation (Office of the Assistant Attorney General, 2002)

Migrating with Hope — Burmese Women Working in Thailand and the Sex Industry (Images Asia, 1997)

More On Outsourcing Torture (No Right Turn, 2005)

Torture as Policy: The Network of Evil (Time Magazine, 1976)

Torture, Rendition and Other Abuses Against Captives in Iraq, Afghanistan and Elsewhere (Cooperative Research History Commons, 2003)

Outsourcing Torture — The Secret History of America’s ‘Extraordinary Rendition’ Program (by Jane Mayer, “The New Yorker”, 2005)

Prosecuting for Rendition (No Right Turn, 2005)

Report on the School of Americas (1997)

Annual Report (Amnesty International, 2005)

Team Bush Goes Unpunished for Torture (by Marjorie Cohn, Truthout, 2005)

A Question of ‘Tough Love’ vs. Torture (by Scott Allen, “The Boston Globe”, 2006)

Torture School Subjects Children to Lethal Punishments (by Cory Doctorow, Boingboing.net, 2007)

Nagging? Zap. Swearing? Zap: New York’s Investigations of the Rotenberg Center (by Jennifer Gonnerman, “Mother Jones”, 2007)

Why Can’t Massachusetts Shut Matthew Israel Down? (by Jennifer Gonnerman, “Mother Jones”, 2007)

Torture (Right Reason Weblog for Conservative Philosophers, 2005)

The American Way of Torture (by Nicole Colson, “International Socialist Review”, 2005)

Torture in Asia (by Basil Fernando, Asian Human Rights Commission, 2001)

The U.S. As Torture Central (by Edward S. Herman, “Z Magazine”, 2004)

Democracy and Torture: The American Way (by Sai Madivala and Jeffrey Napolitano, “The Valley War Bulletin”, 2006

=========================================================================

We at Cyrano’s and Thomas Paine’s Corner need your help! Our editors and writers work hard to provide you with the most original and diverse progressive content on the Internet. We are fiercely determined to provide enough people with a sound political education so that, in authentic democratic fashion, the will not only liberate their minds, but eventually cure the economic and moral disease afflicting our nation.

We derive no financial remuneration for our efforts to build a social order based on justice, democracy, compassion, and humanity. Isn’t that your desire as well? In fact, it costs us money to maintain our Internet presence.

If each of you donated a mere $5 a month—a trifling sum these days, the price of pack of smokes or a fancy beer—we would have enough money to cover our overhead, upgrade our server capacity, expand our audio offerings, and begin to provide you with compelling video content.

By helping us in this fashion you will be assisting the birth of a new type of American democracy, one which, genuinely rooted in the ideals we profess to honor, will finally measure up to its promise.

For you, for us, for everything that you think needs defending, make a donation that fits your budget today by clicking

Comments RSS