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“Why Oscar is a Patriot” Open Thread (Wide Open)

By SusanUnPC on February 27, 2008 at 7:54 PM in Taxi to the Dark Side

We reported the great news on Sunday night. Today, Lorelei Kelly has written a moving tribute to documentary Oscar winner, Taxi To The Dark Side (director: Alex Gabney; executive producer: Sidney Blumenthal) at Huffington Post:

For those of us working here in D.C. on national security issues, Sunday night gave our nation a good dose of reputation rehabilitation: Spain, France, Great Britain, the Czech Republic, Canada (please let me know who I’ve missed). It reminded the worldwide audience that America is connected in a good way to everyone on the planet. Deployed soldiers via satellite was a great touch, too. …

… I thought that, at the very least, it would serve our nation by documenting and witnessing on film the decay and decline of public accountability in the US government. I hoped that the film would inspire the public and our elected leaders to take a cold, hard look at the abysmal polices of the Bush era, but also at how we’ve harmed one of our most vital public institutions: the US military.

Sadly, Kelly reports, the Discovery Channel has chickened out on showing the film. But do read the rest of her article, which describes a Senate hearing she participated in.

http://www.despair.com/in24x30prin.html Smilin’ Jim

“Sadly, Kelly reports, the Discovery Channel has chickened out on showing the film.”
That is an astonishingly naive expectation.

DCI through Liberty Media is cheek to jowl with Newscorp and Time Warner, the nice folks that are convincing us to runoff Obama with McCain.

Expect it to be carried on Sundance or LinkTV then maybe HBO.
Simon

Once a sane, intelligent president leads American again, it WILL get better.

I know we’re all drowning in the narcissistic no talent spew, everything from the press, to the president, but real intellect, real talent will come through, again.
Simon

American, here…

Meant America, sorry.
Voodoo Chile

I guess this was the Year of Liberal Documentaries at the Oscar’s. I think it had Sicko, No End In Sight, and this one you’re talking about, all in the same year.
Mr.Murder

Bush fumbled with an inappropriate reference to a pro baseball player today. One wonders what the rest of the world would say. He humored at a player having lost his grandmother and missing games for it.

One foul ball over the cuckoo’s nest.

Meanwhile, Clemons highlights new news from the WSJ about the resignation of the DoD counsel that enabled torture.

Architect of Bush’s Detainee
Policies to Step Down
By JESS BRAVIN
February 26, 2008; Page A13

WASHINGTON — A principal architect of the Bush administration’s detainee policies is stepping down, just as military officials gear up for the Guantanamo Bay trial of alleged planners of the Sept. 11, 2001, conspiracy.

Since becoming Defense Department general counsel in 2001, William J. Haynes pushed the Pentagon toward a near-revolution in military law, away from traditional procedures for enemy prisoners and through a series of experiments in detention, interrogation and prosecution of suspected terrorists outside the Geneva Conventions or domestic law.

http://online.wsj.com/public/article_print/SB120399246244492555-bbNzeqWUoaplc99fbbl6a6iXIhc_20090225.html

He had better lawyer up. He appears to have moved his torture chamber to greener pastures:

Pentagon spokesman Geoff Morrell said Mr. Haynes would be taking a position as in-house counsel at a major corporation after he steps down next month. Mr. Haynes’s chief deputy, Daniel Dell’Orto, will serve as acting general counsel, Mr. Morrell said.

Blackwater or Dyncorp? Which contractor will come up with a cushy job for a kickback?

One gets the feeling he’s doing this to either avoid legislation enactments, or more likely, is bailing on a FOIA request clearance.

Count back as many days for FOIA clearance to various torture or rendition scandals. There’s your co defendant.
Mr.Murder

Fitgerald is continuing his prior investigation on the Plame matters.

Did prosecutor get all White House mail?

Why Was All the E-Mail Missing From Cheney’s Office on Key Dates in CIA Leak Probe?

PETE YOST
AP News

Feb 27, 2008 03:33 EST

When Special Counsel Patrick Fitzgerald wanted to find out what was going on inside Vice President Dick Cheney’s office, the prosecutor in the CIA leak probe made a logical move. He dropped a grand jury subpoena on the White House for all the relevant e-mail.
Cee

Glad for the OT.

Former FAA Inspector: TSA’s Enforcement of Post-9/11 Laws ‘Basically Nonexistent’ Thousands of foreign student pilots have been able to enroll and obtain pilot licenses from U.S. flight schools, despite tough laws passed in the wake of the 9/ll attacks, according to internal government documents obtained by ABC News.
http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4353991&page=1
Cee

How did a prisoner become HIV+ in Gitmo?

We know from Sollock’s affidavit that Al-Ghizzawi arrived at Guantánamo HIV-free in June 2002 and we know from Al-Ghizzawi that his health started to deteriorate in 2004. Upon learning of this AIDS diagnosis, I sent an e-mail to the government attorney asking if he would confirm or deny that Al-Ghizzawi has AIDS. Instead of answering my simple question, the attorney sent this unresponsive statement:

We are not privy to the particulars of what your client may have been told by his doctor, if anything, but Guantánamo provides high-quality medical care to all detainees.
http://www.inthesetimes.com/article/3540/the_hippocratic_oath_dies_in_gitmo/
TeakWoodKite

Any monkey wrench for the revolving door? Love to see him get jammed.
The chief prosecuter,Morris Davis, resigned from the military commisions at Gitmo because of him, after being ordered to make sure the outcome was always “guilty”.

http://www.alternet.org/blogs/peek/70247/
TeakWoodKite

Unbelievable Cee, sadly I am not surprised but very angry reading it.
Thanks for the link.
http://noquarterusa.net/ SusanUnPC

Yeah, we all need it, don’t we.

Btw, do read all of Kelly’s article — there’s much more there that I didn’t include.
ChrisXP

This passes as press? You know that the media is extremely biased when posting such tripe…

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap_campaignplus/20080227/ap_ca/on_deadline_ohio_debate
Fred C. Dobbs

>>> Dyncorp

If this recession gets much worse, I’ll WISH I was working for DynCorp again. They weren’t nice people, but their checks cleared on the first try.

I’m willing to ply my trade for Plumber wages, but now we’re getting to Schoolteacher scale, and it doesn’t buy much of what I like/need/use.
http://www.despair.com/in24x30prin.html Smilin’ Jim

A well-crafted and mocking hatchet job done without love.

We should be on the watch for the witty amongst the wags to start talking about the five stages, like she’s currently in anger, #2, with bargaining, depression and acceptance to go.

It is beyond me why people run this sort of gauntlet and subject themselves to ritual public humiliation at the hands of mental midgets in the press.

An inquiry to those who might know (dcmediagirl, hint hint): That article carries the byline which must be somehow covered by copywright, “Associated Press Writer”. Is the AP really in on the job and using Yahoo as a screen?