NPR's Morning Edition...

[sendero]

... is falling all over themselves trying to minimize the torture news.

"After 911, the rules changed", "the Geneva Convention is not all that specific".

I'll tell ya, it makes me sick. Here's your voice in the wilderness, this is your conscience of the left. Oh wait, that was 3 years ago. Now they are just another lying bag of whores dragging the country pell-mell into the abyss.

SPIT.

[dsc]

1. Yeah I about fell out when I heard about

the alledged torture of the victims. I don't mind putting alledged before the perpertrators but I do before the crime.

[Nlighten1]

2. Alledged is fine...

when there is a presumption of innocence...there is none in this case.

[dsc]

5. actually there is for the perps

in that they could have been forced to do it or something along those lines but the torture is torture.

[Junkdrawer]

4. Well, there is a lot of "alleged" reporting going on at NPR...

but all I find is day old news reworked to shield the Bush administration.

[BiggJawn]

3. And our own insightful Steve Buyer...Gawd, I'm so PROUD to be a Hoosier!

Now remember, this is a guy who's a licensed attorney, made his fame as a "War Hero" in Oil War I in Kuwait working for the JAG and what does this Beautiful Legal Mind tell the nation?

"Well, what do 'they' expect? after all, 'they' burnt 4 of our civilian contractors and hung them from a bridge..."

OK, my ticket is punched in Electronics, not Jurisprudence, and even *I* can see why not. Let's put aside for the moment any arguments about human decency...

The Iraqis in our custody are, like it or not, Prisoners of War. and as such, the Geneva Conventions are supposed to protect them.
The "Civilian Contractors" (mercenaries)are just that, civilians, and are not provided the same protections as POW's. that's one of the down sides of being a Merc, dontcha know...One of the reasons the pay is so high, because management/labour both understand that if you get captured, you're toast, because nobody wants to claim you.


And it's also disturbing that an supposedly "educated" member of our legislative branch seems to be advocating a policy of "tit for tat" concerning treatment of prisoners....

But then, I don't have much of favourable impression of the post-Newt House, anyway. Reminds me of "The Lord of the Flies"

[dsc]

6. It is worse than that

This investigation dates from Feb. which is well before the dragging or our troop's bodies.

[Bridget Burke]

7. His timeline is also off....

The pictures were made before the mercenaries died in Fallujah. All thse abuses in the prison--including worse things done to young boys and women--were apparently known by our side. I'll bet they were known to the Iraqis.

"Contractors" supposedly had a role in the abuse (rape, torture, etc.) that took place. Maybe the guys who died in Fallujah were just hired guns--who were killed because of what other mercenaries did in the prisons.

Anyway, weren't about 700 people killed in Fallujah--for revenge?

[Mel]

9. Steve Buyer

I hear you on that piece of scum I listened to him on the House of Reps. floor last night. :eyes:

One other point, which may of already been made, wasn't the torture of Iraqi prisoners happening Before the four mercenaries where hung from the bridge?

Is it not possible that the people of Iraq knew about the torture in Abu Ghrai (and other prisons in Iraq) before we did? Maybe they decided to get revenge by murdering those mercenaries? I'm not saying murdering the mercenaries is right either I'm just saying what the hell do people expect in this country? We'd fight back too ( the movie Red Dawn) comes to mind if we where invaded wouldn't we fight back if we heard people in prisons here where being tortured? I would hope that I would fight back!
Bringing Democracy my ass, torturing people hasn't a damn thing to do with democracy.

[pansypoo53219]

8. but but but Rummy said

it was abuse, not torture.




grrrrrr

[Badger1]

10. Also heard

I also just heard them say, " one day after President bush apologized for the abuse" WTF? What did they hear the bastard say?

[scrotim]

11. diane rheim's show, carried on many NPR stations: i've been sad to

see even diane go squishy/easy on the bushies ever siince 9/11.

[sendero]

12. Slight disagreement...

... IMHO Diane Rehm is one of the few who haven't sold out. She may be giving Bush* a slight benefit of a doubt that she didn't before, but generally asks the tough questions few will ask, has interesting guests, and doesn't let unsubstantiated claims stand.

She is also big on civility, which in a political discussion is essential if anything is going to be accomplished.

Maybe you caught her on a bad day? :)

[scrotim]

15. don't get me wrong, deseo. I generally love Diane's show, and listen

every day that I can.

But her "benefit of the doubt" extended toward Bush has shown itself mostly, to my ears, in the questions she has left UN answered, or the discussions or callers she has cut off.

As there are so few mainstream shows that show bush any skepticism since 9/11, I was sad to see her back off at all.

She had been reaming the administration hard on Enron, California energy rates, Cheney's secret energy panel, Florida recount, etc, but she eased off severely after 9/11 and has never come back as strong.

I just find it annoying that ANY professional media person thinks this is the proper way to conduct journalism in america.

[sendero]

16. Fair enough....

.... you might have a point there. I'd say that compared to NPR news she has kept her integrity. That might be too low a standard tho; :)

[Bertha Venation]

13. Wasn't it a shill from the Washington TIMES who said "the rules changed?"

Am I remembering it wrong?

I tried to listen to the guy from the Times with an open mind, but when he started trying to explain away the torture episodes by saying "this is Bill Clinton's military" -- If I could've gotten out of my car and picked it up and thrown it, I would've, that made me so angry.

[skippysmom]

14. Me too

If I hadn't been half asleep at the time I would have thrown the radio against the wall. Why do they always pit an "objective" journalist against a partisan one?