by Frank Ritter

Tennessean

03/01/05

To my knowledge, I've never tortured anyone. It's not in me to do that. People might be discomfited somewhat by what I write, but never have I -- nor anyone I know -- broken anybody's bones, raped them, denied them food or stuck a lit cigarette in their ear or nostrils.

But regularly these days, we receive new reports that torture is being done in your name and mine, by our government, with our tax money supporting it. In our name, to 'protect us,' our government under the Bush administration can arrest people without charge, hold them for years without access to a lawyer or family, expose them to despicable acts. 'It's necessary,' we are told, 'to fight terrorism.' Is that what we've come to as a society, a nation, a people? Torture, brutality, sexual exploitation, even murder -- it has all happened at the hands of Americans. ... [I]t's not something I ever expected in this day and time. I thought we were smarter...

http://tinyurl.com/4sev6


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

Two human rights groups filed a lawsuit today against Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld on behalf of eight men allegedly tortured by U.S. forces in Iraq and Afghanistan.

http://207.44.245.159/article8186.htm

AB SOFORT ONLINE:

CROPfm-Live-Sendung vom 18. 2. 2005:
http://cropfm.mur.at/past_shows.htm#folter
"Folter: Spurensuche zwischen Allmacht und Wahnsinn."
http://www.folter.co.at/

Folter ist ein ständiger Begleiter des Menschen auf seinem Weg durch die Evolution; ausgehend von mythologischen Blutritualen über die Verbrechen der Kirche bis zum amerikanischen Guantanamo. Über die Zusammenhänge zwischen Lust, Gewalt und Mythologie sprachen Chris Haderer und Claudia Altendorfer mit Prof. Horst Herrmann, Autor von "Die Folter. Eine Enzyklopädie des Grauens."

Die Sendung kann direkt von der Homepage von CROPfm als RealAudio-Datei abgerufen werden:
http://cropfm.mur.at/past_shows.htm#folter

Zusätzlich steht eine MATERIALSAMMLUNG mit Links, Ressourcen, einer Biblio- und Filmografie sowie weiterführenden Informationen unter http://www.folter.co.at/ zur Verfügung. Über Meinungen, Kommentare und eigene Beiträge würden wir uns sehr freuen. Die Site wird permanent erweitert. Über http://www.folter.co.at sind auch weitere Interviews und Radiosendungen zum Thema Folter abrufbar.

Moderation: Chris Haderer/Claudia Altendorfer
Telefongast: Horst Herrmann (Soziologe, Autor)

http://www.folter.co.at
http://cropfm.mur.at/past_shows.htm#folter

AIUSA
http://www.commondreams.org/news2005/0228-07.htm

House Speaker Dennis Hastert believes any person suspected (not convicted, just suspected) should be deported to their home countries (or other countries) where they face torture and death. Do Hastert's dangerous comments mean he believes our Constitution and our protections for due process are gone? Has Hastert undermined and abandoned our Nation's values supporting freedom?

http://www.veteransforcommonsense.org/?Page=Article&ID=2903

Iraq: US says puppet government uses torture

Houston Chronicle

02/28/05

The State Department on Monday detailed an array of human rights abuses last year by the Iraqi government, including torture, rape and illegal detentions by police officers and functionaries of the interim administration that took power in June. In the Bush administration's bluntest description of human rights transgressions by the U.S.-supported government, the report said the Iraqis 'generally respected human rights, but serious problems remained' as the government and U.S.-led foreign forces fought a violent insurgency [sic]. It cited 'reports of arbitrary deprivation of life, torture, impunity, poor prison conditions -- particularly in pretrial detention facilities -- and arbitrary arrest and detention...

http://www.chron.com/cs/CDA/ssistory.mpl/world/3061520


Informant: Thomas L. Knapp

As a nation, does the United States have a conscience? Or is anything and everything O.K. in post-9/11 America? If torture and the denial of due process are O.K., why not murder? When the government can just make people vanish - which it can, and which it does - where is the line that we, as a nation, dare not cross?

http://service.spiegel.de/cache/international/0,1518,344019,00.html


From Information Clearing House

Torture

Post 9/11, the interrogation methods the US administration are using in their 'war on terror' are said by human rights groups to be nothing short of illegal torture. Channel 4 looks at how US actions are betraying the very values they claim to be defending.

http://www.channel4.com/news/microsites/T/torture/index.html


From Information Clearing House

There is widening unease within the Central Intelligence Agency over the possibility that career officers could be prosecuted or otherwise punished for their conduct during interrogations and detentions of terrorism suspects, according to current and former government officials.

http://207.44.245.159/article8174.htm