Bush Administration Losing Control of Media: Fresh Air Breaks Through

[helderheid]

by Barbara Bellows-TerraNova

Fresh Air Breaks Through With Phillipe Sands - the International Human Rights Lawyer Senate Republicans tried to Silence!

Did you hear http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91684540">NPR’s Fresh Air on Thursday, June 19th?

If you did, you heard that for the rest of their lives, those who authorized, ordered and/or assisted with the decision to use the interrogation techniques that have been found to be TORTURE – which means Bush, Cheney, Rumsfeld and a team of lawyers that includes Addington, Bybee, Haynes, Yoo and more – cannot step outside the United States without being vulnerable to arrest and prosecution for war crimes.

It appears there is accountability beyond Pelosi’s table, with no time limit.

Dave Davies, sitting in for Terry Gross, interviewed Phillipe Sands, international human rights lawyer, British Queen’s Counsel, Director of the Centre of International Courts and Tribunals, Professor of International Law at University College London, and most recently author of http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/ASIN/0230603904/npr-5-20">Torture Team: Rumsfeld’s Memo and the Betrayal of American Values.

This was a lot more than a "driveway moment."

After a review of the evidence of Torture, particularly in relationship to Mohammed al-Qahtani, often referred to as 911's 20th highjacker, Sands used the example of Augusto Pinochet’s arrest in London decades after his reign of terror in Chile as the precedent for the detention of former heads of state.

http://www.opednews.com/articles/Bush-Administration-Losing-by-Barbara-Bellows-Te-080623-379.html">A WHOLE lot more here and be sure to digg it!

[TNOE]

1. Awww - I do love the fresh air of truth

Good to hear!

[helderheid]

2. Breathe deep!

:hi:

[raccoon]

8. Yep, sure beats the flatulence of the past 7 1/2 years! nt

[helderheid]

19. LOL!

[Subdivisions]

12. The gathering gloom...for boosh & co. !!!!!!!!! n/t

[helderheid]

3. kicky poo

[BB1]

40. Yo! We've almost finished the draft

that enables us to arrest and prosecute George W. Bush et al.

Let them come to Holland:) We'll be waiting... with a big stick.

ps shame about the EC football...

[comtec]

44. we still have the germans!

It like the US WC team.
The Turks, and Russians are technically superior. amazing players!
but they have not drama game!
They don't know how to play (or pay) the ref's which is why the Russians will loose to Spain, and the Germans will win the EK... again!

[The Backlash Cometh]

4. What a wonderful title.

But, I bet Dubai would welcome them.

[helderheid]

5. Here's the author's take on that:

So Much for Dubai

Well, it does blow the escape to Dubai, which has no extradition agreement with the U.S., where Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld and their law team would have run into Halliburton CEO David J. Lesar, who conveniently and abruptly moved to a new corporate in Dubai in May 2007, just as investigations into Halliburton contracts, accounting and more were ramping up. Without testimony from the CEO, Halliburton remains unaccountable.

And that's the way these guys -- august or slimy -- like it.

See, the more Americans recognize what has occurred, the greater the possibility that we, like many current Republican candidates, seek to distance ourselves from Bush/Cheney and their policies, and define our principles by facilitating justice.

That means indictment for those who have broken laws.

That threat made David Lesar hop a plane.

But Mr. Sands, speaking up and speaking out, may well have grounded that planned plane for the Torture Team.

by Barbara Bellows-TerraNova (6 articles, 0 quicklinks, 0 diaries, 19 comments) on Wednesday, June 25, 2008 at 5:47:35 AM

[roody]

6. Not leaving the US won't bother Shrub.

[helderheid]

7. I wonder if he still plans on going to Paraguay?

[leftchick]

9. they have no extradition with the US

hopefully that will change soon with their new Left Leader.

[jtrockville]

21. Does Paraguay have extradition treaties with anyone else?

Germany? France?

[leftchick]

24. not sure

but I would doubt it. It was a US propped up dictatorship for decades.

[redqueen]

55. Actually it seems that they do.

http://www.oas.org/juridico/MLA/en/traites/en_traites-ext-usa-pry.pdf

There is this, though:

As is customary in extradition treaties, Article IV incorporates a
political offense exception to the obligation to extradite. Article
IV(1) states generally that extradition shall not be granted for a political
offense. The article expressly excludes from the reach of the
political offense exception several categories of offenses:
(a) a murder or other willful crime against the physical integrity
of the Head of State of one of the Parties, or of a member
of the Head of State’s family;
(b) an offense for which both Parties are obliged pursuant to
a multilateral international agreement to extradite the person
sought or submit the case to their competent authorities for decision
as to prosecution; and
(c) a conspiracy or attempt to commit the offenses described
above, or participation in the commission of such offenses.
Article IV(2) provides that extradition shall not be granted if the
competent authority of the Requested State determines that the request
was politically motivated.

[The Doctor.]

11. Didn't they elect a Democratic leader who would agree to extradition?

Ah, here we go;

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paraguayan_general_election,_2008#Results

[Subdivisions]

15. IIRC, a win by the Patriotic Alliance for Change would not

bode well for boosh's Paraguay escape.

[NewJeffCT]

10. You're right

He'll just retire to his ranch in Texas and his place in Kennebunkport and live out his life in comfort here.

[Subdivisions]

16. He's not welcome here either. n/t

[rucognizant]

43. Maybe I can

pursuade my wanked out neighbor with the loud motorcycle and the louder hostile radio, top volume, to move down to Kennebunkport.
Those earth shaking bass speakers are bad enough in an enclosed car.....open air it is horrible!

[Beausoleil]

58. "ranch"? Hell, no.

He'll be in Highland Park. They've been casing the place for months.

He'll have no need of a Potemkin ranch anymore. That was for "our" benefit only.

[Ganja Ninja]

13. Better the Bush cabal be put on trial by the World Court rather

than here because they won't be able to appeal to the Supreme Court.

[wicket]

14. Wow....just....wow

K & R

[helderheid]

31. I know!

[Gold Metal Flake]

17. Presidential pardons don't matter?

(I hope not...)

[helderheid]

18. Not internationally!

[Gold Metal Flake]

28. Ooh. There goes that feeling again. It's something called "hope".

Now, how can we get the Bush admin stranded at some out of country airport?

[rambler_american]

41. Just as good

make a detour through Brattleboro, VT.

http://www.boston.com/news/local/vermont/articles/2008/03/04/in_brattleboro_bush_cheney_indictment_on_ballot/

[Gabi Hayes]

20. I heard Sands on BBC radio yesterday, and he called what happened here right after 911 a ''COUP''

said the neocons used 911 to push through their agenda

I'm sure he's said it elsewhere and I imagine there are links, but he used the word coup to describe what happened here

coup

[Raster]

22. Yep, "coup" must about covers it. And how convenient 9/11 happened when it did.

[dixiegrrrrl]

51. Many Many people have correctly called it a coup

including George Carlin.
Because MSM is so stifled, it is not widely publicized.

Google and see what comes up.

In any event, yes, a definite coup. Long time planned, they did a great job of covering all the bases.

[ellie]

23. I totally dug it!

And voted it up. Thanks for posting!

[helderheid]

26. Thank you!

[samsingh]

25. good name for a tv show

Fresh Air with the Democrats

[helderheid]

27. kick - I know the author - she is incredible

[KoKo]

29. Kick! So glad some "truth" slipped by NPR's Politboro ....Thanks for post!

I've heard Phillipe on other places. Didn't think NPR would dare to have him on.

[helderheid]

30. :)

[defendandprotect]

32. Would be nice if anything like this were true . . .

I hope so -- but the cynic within wonders if all the money that Obama has raked in --

a lot of which will be going to the media --- might be helping to reshape their thinking?????

And, after all, if Obama makes it --- there's a new ass in town to kiss --- right???

[anitar1]

33. OMG, I have prayed for this. Maybe I will live to see them pay.

This is the best news I have heard for years. Thank You, helderheid.

[Duer 157099]

34. Um, wasn't Bush just out of the country a week or so ago?

Or does all this only apply after he's no longer prez?

Makes one worry about him trying to extend his stay in the WH doesn't it

[Hekate]

35. Thanks so much for this. I heard part of the Sands interview in my car & made a note to get his book

I think I just couldn't believe what I was hearing -- that there might be hope of getting these bastards their well-deserved comeuppance. Reading your post helps make what I heard more real, and I'm almost getting goosebumps. Almost tears, even.

Everything is riding on this election. Everything. --> No pressure, eh Senator Obama? Just the soul of our nation.

Hekate

[NBachers]

36. Everything is riding

on keeping Obama alive long enough. I don't want to see another Robert Kennedy-type assassination. Please encourage safety and protection for Senator Obama.

[Hekate]

38. I pray daily for his long life -- & 8 years as President. nt

[Hannah Bell]

37. so what about the bushes' property in paraguay?

[Shipwack]

39. I wonder though...

What if one of the Bush war criminal gang goes overseas, to say, Belgium, and gets arrested.

Won't there be a hue and cry if President Obama doesn't try to use every available means (including force) to rescue him? If he does, he loses standing in the world community. If he doesn't he is portrayed at home as a partner of "lawless elelments", and accused of using his power to eliminate political enemies.

The corporate media will paint this a "kidnapping", and the influence of these fascists will linger for years after their departure.

Remember, Clinton felt obligated to order a missile strike against Gaddafi for an alleged assassination attempt on Bush Sr.

[Jackpine Radical]

56. I think there may be a subtle distinction

between an assassination attempt and an arrest, trial, and conviction. Perhaps even the American public would be capable of understanding this distinction.

[bluerum]

42. Through the NPR conversion, Terri Gross has always been one of the bright spots.

It cannot have been easy for her and her staff. She does a lot of puff pieces on musicians etc. - not sure if she gets to choose her topics.

[rox63]

53. She has always done a lot of segments on the arts and music

In my memory, Fresh Air has always been more about music, books and all the arts than it has been about politics. And I've been an NPR listener for a long time.

[mwb970]

45. So *many* of us want The Criminal held accountable.

Is it possible that he will sail away from his crimes scot-free? bush makes OJ look like a piker - he only killed 2 people!

bush and his thugs belong behind bars.

[marias23]

46. This Made My Day: a commitment to justice

Only a commitment to justice whether it is legal or economic can save this world from imploding (or is it exploding?)Thanks for this post and the hope it gives....

[KharmaTrain]

47. This Is The Only Real Justice...

Impeachement doesn't begin to address the crimes this regime has committed. It doesn't go after all the criminals..and there's no real penalty these goon will suffer for their abuses of power and destruction of lives. Their criminality has risen to such a level that our own compromised Justice system and corrupt corporate media would make such a discovery and a full accounting impossible...it's up to the World Court...and as I had said previous, the ball is starting to roll in this direction.

There's no reason this regime should ever be pardoned or given a pass on any of its crimes...not now, not in a year or ever. It's our responsibility to never forget all the crimes and criminals and to demand justice wherever it can be found.

[Echo In Light]

48. K&R

[spanone]

49. maybe, but they still have a stranglehold on the democratic congress

[Echo In Light]

54. "We got a kinder, gentler, machine-gun hand." Neil Young

[DogPoundPup]

50. Ahhhh, they're just foolin' us AGAIN, we're still livin' 1984

DON'T BE FOOLED AGAIN

[Swagman]

52. issue arrest warrants and give the info to INTERPOL !!

[Summer93]

57. Arrest them and try them

Let's be done with them. They have killed too many, ruined the lives of too many. Take back our Constitution.