I was going to start out with fun stuff, how H.o.p. and Marty went to see “The Adventures of Mighty Bug” at The Center for Puppetry Arts today, but on my way to get a link to the website I stopped in for some news and happened on this, a new old news story on Manadel al-Jamadi, a ghost detainee (ie. held secretly) of the CIA whose November 2003 obituary was a matter of photos showing Abu Ghraib guards giving a thumbs-up over his abused, ice-packed corpse. The new news is that he died in one of the prison shower rooms, during a half-hour of questioning, while being suspended by his wrists with his hands cuffed behind his back. He had already been roughed over by SEALS before turned over to the CIA interrogator and Abu Ghraib guards, his autopsy showing several broken ribs. It’s reported that when he was discovered to be dead, his shackles undone, lowered from his hanging position, that blood gushed from his mouth as if a faucet had been cut on.
I don’t know how the military pathologist who ruled the case a homicide phrased it, but the news article gives the pathologist as determining Manadel al-Jamadi had died from pressure to the chest and “difficulty breathing’. If I remember correctly, GW Bush’s daddy dignified his stint in office with the offer of a kinder, gentler world. This is the kinder, gentler world’s way of saying, “Asphyxiated.”
It’s called an “enhanced” intelligence gathering technique.
Sonny GW Bush insists he has always ordered questioning methods to remain within the law.
Today, GWB nominated for Director of National Intelligence, Ambassador John Negroponte.
GWB says,
“John will make sure that those whose duty it is to defend America have the information we need to make the right decisions. John understands America’s global intelligence needs because he spent the better part of his life in our foreign service, and is now serving with distinction in the sensitive post of our nation’s first Ambassador to a free Iraq. ”
GWB says,
“John’s nomination comes at an historic moment for our intelligence services. In the war against terrorists who target innocent civilians and continue to seek weapons of mass murder, intelligence is our first line of defense.”
GWB says,
“As DNI, John will lead a unified intelligence community, and will serve as the principle advisor to the President on intelligence matters. He will have the authority to order the collection of new intelligence, to ensure the sharing of information among agencies, and to establish common standards for the intelligence community’s personnel. “
Derechos Human Rights, a member of the World Organization Against Torture, says:
John Negroponte was ambassador to Honduras from 1981-1985. As such he supported and carried out a US-sponsored policy of violations to human rights and international law. Among other things he supervised the creation of the El Aguacate air base, where the US trained Nicaraguan Contras during the 1980’s. The base was used as a secret detention and torture center, in August 2001 excavations at the base discovered the first of the corpses of the 185 people, including two Americans, who are thought to have been killed and buried at this base.
During his ambassadorship, human rights violations in Honduras became systematic. The infamous Battalion 316, trained by the CIA and Argentine military, kidnaped, tortured and killed hundreds of people. Negroponte knew about these human rights violations and yet continued to collaborate with them, while lying to Congress.
President George W. Bush has nominated Negroponte to be US ambassador before the UN. Human Rights organizations in the US and Latin America have joined their voices in asking the US Senate to not ratify his nomination. Please join us!
The shower room is a “common” CIA interrogation spot.
Hopefully in the next Random House Dictionary update “shower room” will be noted for its euphemisms.
Today’s notes from Godzillaland…“The Adventures of Mighty Bug” was said to be visually appealing but not much to it. The literature reads, “The evil arachnid Scorpiana, fresh from a prison stay in a nearby entomologist’s lab, has assembled a group of insect-eating animals to attack Bugville while she captures Mighty Bug and the lovely Morpha. Scorpiana, however, is no match for our insect heroes – the most successful animal species on earth, after all. With the help of Professor Rhinoceros beetle, the insects of Bugville join forces to save the town…” According to Marty however there wasn’t much adventure and plot was practically nonexistent. That’s all right with H.o.p. who’s always there for the puppets, in this case shadow puppets. He came home with a spider puppet that he’d made. Cute and simple design. Black construction and brown pipe cleaners.
H.o.p. also came home with pot stickers and a little robot. A trip to the puppetry center means now for him a visit to the store there to get another puppet, but this time he came away with “Roxy the Robot” who looks suspiciously like the robot maid in the Jetsons cartoon, Rosie. Rosie is purple-blue, a Hindu robot goddess, has a white cap, antennae ears, white frill collar, white apron, black skirt, and skates about on a peg leg. Roxy, also a maid, is about 5 inches tall, pink, springs for hair, antennae for ears and is blessed with two legs but unfortunately has flat red monster of Frankenstein feet. She has a grey torso, black skirt and white apron. Roxy has breasts, which Rosie did not. Two little black knobs. She is supposed to be able to walk but in this Rosie’s case she only air walks. Put her down and she stops. H.o.p. doesn’t like his robots to walk anyway. None of them. She has a key that winds her up. Marty asked H.o.p. what he wanted to do with it. H.o.p. said he didn’t want it. We put it up.
Tin Roxy came with a collector’s certificate. (Hah.) The box reads she’s for ages 8 and up, but not for “children”!, she is for collectors only as she has some vaguely sharp edges (none of them projecting, the bottom of her skirt and shoes are a bit edgy). So, H.o.p. had to become a collector in order to purchase Roxy.
The reading program was on hold a couple of days as my speakers went out. They’re working again as of now but need to be replaced. We may make it through another reading “world” tomorrow.
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