[icopyright one button toolbar] The Obama administration is obliged by international law to conduct criminal prosecutions against all those who perpetrated or authorized torture, a top United Nations expert said in reaction to the summary Feinstein report on crimes committed by the Bush-era CIA. Ben Emmerson, the independent British Special Rapporteur on counter … [Read more...] about US must prosecute both authorizers and perpetrators of torture: UN expert
Accountability Goes Bye-Bye As Shocking Senate Torture Report Finally Is Released
[icopyright one button toolbar] The release today of the executive summary of the Senate Intelligence Committee's report on the CIA's network of secret prisons where terrorism suspects were tortured with the approval of President Bush and his henchmen in violation of American law and the Geneva Conventions is surely one of the greatest anticlimaxes in American history, … [Read more...] about Accountability Goes Bye-Bye As Shocking Senate Torture Report Finally Is Released
Torture Report: CIA’s Enhanced Interrogation Techniques Weren’t Effective
[icopyright one button toolbar] A Senate report found the CIA's enhanced interrogation techniques, including waterboarding, were not effective. The agency is accused of misrepresenting management of the program. Um, these are the same techniques former vice president Dick Cheney praised. Here are some key points from the NY Times on the CIA interrogation report: 1. … [Read more...] about Torture Report: CIA’s Enhanced Interrogation Techniques Weren’t Effective
The Fear Factor
[icopyright one button toolbar] With the recent grand jury dismissal of the police shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, and the choking death of Eric Garner by the police in Staten Island, New York, nationwide demonstrations against the police and the justice system have been occurring. However, there has been little discussion of the fear factor that exists on … [Read more...] about The Fear Factor
Bush: ‘We Don’t Torture’ (Updates)
[icopyright one button toolbar] In an interview in September 2006 with then-CBS Evening News anchor Katie Couric, President George W. Bush said, "I've said to the people that we don't torture, and we don't." Today, eight years later, a 528- page summary report, the result of “an exhaustive, five-year Senate investigation of the CIA’s secret interrogations of terrorism … [Read more...] about Bush: ‘We Don’t Torture’ (Updates)
Racism’s uncomfortable truth
WASHINGTON -- President Obama's observation that racism is "deeply rooted" in U.S. society is an understatement. Racism is as American as the Fourth of July, and ignoring this fact doesn't make it go away. These truths, to quote a familiar document, are self-evident. Obama made the remark in an interview with Black Entertainment Television, telling the network's largely … [Read more...] about Racism’s uncomfortable truth
Torture Cuts Both Ways
If some key former U.S. intelligence officials can’t agree on basic facts in the CIA’s post-9/11 interrogation program, how are ordinary Americans supposed to figure out what the truth is? The only thing we know for sure is that Americans remain sharply divided over whether the rough stuff—“torture,” as critics call it, or “enhanced interrogation techniques,”… … [Read more...] about Torture Cuts Both Ways
Cartoon: Poverty Wage Jobs
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Cartoon: Poverty Wage Jobs
NY Protesters Stage ‘Royal Shutdown’ Outside Nets Game
Hundreds of demonstrators staged protests and "die-ins" outside New York's Barclays Center Monday night ahead of the Brooklyn Nets-Cleveland Cavaliers NBA game. Protesters walked through traffic and sprawled flat in the streets to denounce racism and the deaths of Eric Garner and Michael Brown, both black men who died at the hands of white police officers… … [Read more...] about NY Protesters Stage ‘Royal Shutdown’ Outside Nets Game
Sullivan on the Torture Report, Ctd.
Andrew Sullivan exposes the mind-boggling cognitive dissonance of the defenders of torture on The Daily Dish. Everything the president said (in denying torture) is untrue – and it appears that the looming Senate Intelligence Committee report on the torture program will soon prove it. The US did torture many, many people with techniques devised by Nazis and Communists, … [Read more...] about Sullivan on the Torture Report, Ctd.
Americans Generally Satisfied With Healthcare Costs But Those On Medicare Are Happier Than Those With Private Insurance
[icopyright one button toolbar] A Friday afternoon news dump is not always bad news. Gallup released a poll under this headline on Friday: As ACA Takes Effect, Majority OK With Personal Health Costs. Gallup reported, "Nearly six in 10 Americans (57%) say they are satisfied with the total cost they pay for healthcare, on par with other readings over the last five years. So … [Read more...] about Americans Generally Satisfied With Healthcare Costs But Those On Medicare Are Happier Than Those With Private Insurance
Satire Imitating Life: The Imperial Presidency
[icopyright one button toolbar] The non-partisan Heritage Foundation, “leading the historic charge against the unsustainable binge of spending, taxing, and borrowing that threatens to destroy our nation’s future,” has often spoken out against Obama’s "Imperial Presidency." While Obama’s imperial presidency has manifested itself in many ways, the Foundation cites an e-mail … [Read more...] about Satire Imitating Life: The Imperial Presidency
The impact of digital violence (Guest Voice)
I consider myself a digital evangelist, but in the last weekend I began to question myself on how far this evangelism can go. My reflection started when I decided to play with my nineyearold nephew. He'd been playing his Sony PlayStation. What I saw sent chills down my spine. "See this, uncle, I have killed all… … [Read more...] about The impact of digital violence (Guest Voice)
Is it possible to buy America?
[icopyright one button toolbar] Is it possible to buy America? Sure looks like it. The Koch brothers and their allies are pumping tens of millions of dollars into a data company that’s developing detailed, state-of-the-art profiles of 250 million Americans, giving the brothers’ political operation all the earmarks of a national party. … [Read more...] about Is it possible to buy America?
Cartoon: Police Get Out of Jail Free
See great cartoons by all the top political cartoonists at http://cagle.com. To license this cartoon for your own site, visit http://politicalcartoons.com … [Read more...] about Cartoon: Police Get Out of Jail Free
Hostage rescue in Yemen ruined by ‘maybe a dog bark’ – alerting al-Qaida fighters that U.S. troops were closing in
BAHRAIN - In the early hours of Saturday morning, American Osprey aircraft whirred over the Yemeni coast from the Gulf of Aden, flying above the rugged mountains of Shabwe province. The aim of the 40 Special Forces soldiers on board was to mount one of the most difficult of all military operations, namely a rescue mission… … [Read more...] about Hostage rescue in Yemen ruined by ‘maybe a dog bark’ – alerting al-Qaida fighters that U.S. troops were closing in
In politics, does evidence matter?
WASHINGTON -- One of the lovely formulations in John F. Kennedy's inaugural address expressed his hope that "a beachhead of cooperation may push back the jungle of suspicion." Kennedy was talking about the Cold War, but we could use a little of this in the partisan and ideological warfare that engulfs our nation's capital. And so let us pause at the beachhead … [Read more...] about In politics, does evidence matter?
IMPORTANT: Attention TMV Readers
NOTE TO TMV READERS: If you read TMV regularly you know that we offer lots of continuous content. Once in a while there be a rare date when there is little new content on the site -- which is mostly due various circumstances which may converge. TMV has many contributors and co-blogger (and yes, we are always looking for people who want to offer thoughtful commentary or … [Read more...] about IMPORTANT: Attention TMV Readers
New power struggle in Asia — Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Delhi
[icopyright one button toolbar] The intensifying Putin-Obama clash over Ukraine is turning into a new struggle for sway in Asia reminiscent of the 20th century’s zones of influence. Presently, the two prizes there are China and India. Despite its great dependence on exports to the US, China is beyond Washington’s political influence because of deep strains of nationalism … [Read more...] about New power struggle in Asia — Washington, Moscow, Beijing, Delhi
Grand Jury Eruption in America has Little to do with Race (La Stampa, Italy)
Are the mass protests breaking out across the country due to historic racism, or is there something else at play? For Italy's La Stampa, columnist Gianni Riotta writes that with the middle class shrinking and resentment seething over the ease with which undocumented immigrants are able to find employment, the problem has far more to do with the desperation of average people … [Read more...] about Grand Jury Eruption in America has Little to do with Race (La Stampa, Italy)