There is an interesting copy of George W. Bush’s speech to the nation where he gave the position of the United States on the prosecution of war crimes — before Americans were accused of war crimes. Back then, Bush gave a standard that showed that he and his Administration knew that there is no “good faith defense” in committing war crimes. He insisted “War crimes will be prosecuted, war criminals will be punished and it will be no defense to say, “I was just following orders.”
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In one of the most uniquely stupid acts committed recently by our government, Louis Caldera, Obama’s Director of the White House Military Office, approved an operation where a 747 flew low over New York and the Statue of Liberty with a fighter jet in pursuit. New Yorkers panicked, fleeing buildings and running in the streets — only to be told it was a White House photo op stunt. What they succeeded in getting was pictures of New Yorkers fleeing and screaming what they believed was another attack.
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On Face the Nation this morning, Sen. John McCain became the latest figure to publicly state that the Bush Administration violated the Geneva Conventions and the U.N. Convention Against Torture. It is not clear how many international and domestic figures will have to publicly acknowledge these crimes before Attorney General Eric Holder will appoint a special prosecutor. I discussed the torture issue last night on this segment of MSNBC Countdown.
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It appears that women in Saudi Arabia will soon be denied the right to work out in athletic clubs. Saudi officials have decided that there is only authority for men’s clubs to be operated and regulated in the Kingdom. Due to the strict separation of men and women, various clubs have started to tailor to women and those clubs now appear close to a shutdown.
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In a true sign of the apocalypse, civil libertarians have something to agree on with Doug Feith (the former Bush Under Secretary of Defense for Policy) who is universally ridiculed for his role on some of the most disastrous policies of the Bush Administration. The Wall Street Journal ran an opinion editorial from Feith virtually daring the Obama Administration to investigate and prosecute any crimes related to the torture program. Obviously, Feith is widely viewed as a bit of a clown, but it is time for Holder to stop trying to find a way out and call the bluff of Cheney, Feith and others. He needs to appoint a special prosecutor to allow a neutral prosecutor to determine if crimes were committed.
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The citizens of Berlin rejected calls from the Pope, German Chancellor Angela Merkel, and others to allow religious classes to be substituted for compulsory ethics classes. It is a victory for those of us who have decried the loss of civics education and the increasing integration of religious training in public education. The campaign was led by a group called Pro Reli — “Reli” is the street name for religious classes.
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Criminal cases have often involved a modern problem for killers: the ability of pacemakers to keep victims alive. In Manchester, Iowa, Jesse Fierstine, 32, seems to have realized this when he allegedly beat his sixty-three year old father with a flashlight and firewood — and then cut out Charles Fierstine’s pacemaker out of his chest with a pocketknife.
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Former Klan leader David Duke has been detained by police in Prague on suspicion of denying the Holocaust. Despite the universal loathing of Duke and other Holocaust deniers, the arrest hits a difficult issue for civil libertarians. Criminalizing a viewpoint is a fundamental denial of free speech and allows prosecution for unpopular thoughts or views.
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Wayne County Circuit Judge Annette Berry had a jury form that only a prosecutor would love: it had not option for a verdict of “not guilty.” The error has resulted in the Michigan Court of Appeals overturning the conviction of Michael Jess Wade, 50, a former security guard who was convicted of shooting and killing a suspected thief.
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In light of the recent defenses made recently on behalf of Judge Jay Bybee, John Yoo, and Steven Bradbury, this picture appears to capture their sudden emergence into the public debate.
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Recently, I wrote a column on how the West has used hate crime laws to create a Western version of blasphemy prosecutions in the Middle East. Finland has now added to the list of countries charging people with blasphemy. Helsinki city councilman, Jussi Halla-aho was charged with blasphemy and incitement of an ethnic-group for publishing on his blog that Islam’s prophet was a pedophile. Mohammad is often accused of being a pedophile due to his marriage to 6-year-old Aisha, which was consummated when she was 9.
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The trial of Mazoltuv Borukhova and Mikhail Mallayev end with criminal sentences of life without parole for the gunning down of Dr. Borukhova’s estranged husband, Daniel Malakov, 34, in front of their 4-year-old daughter in a playground. The trial was filled with references to religion and the Jewish faith.
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According to close friends, Judge Jay S. Bybee appears to have adopted the Alberto Gonzalez defense: he is now claiming that he did not write his infamous memo and only signed it. This is similar to the defense that Democrats allowed Gonzales to make on the first torture memo at his confirmation hearing for Attorney General, to wit, he did not read an important policy memo on the commission of a war crime, he just signed it. It is the empty suit defense: I really am not to blame when I sign orders or memos because I just sign things. Bybee has not spoken directly on this matter to the public, but there are now various friends saying that he would like to repudiate the memos and even denies writing the memos.
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A Jewish professor at the University of California at Santa Barbara has been accused of anti-Semitism for material that he shared with his students in a course on sociology and globalization. The material critical of Israel led to two students dropping the course and charges filed against Professor William I. Robinson.
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University of Georgia Professor George Zinkhan is being sought by police in connection with the shooting deaths of three people at an off-campus murder scene. Zinkhan is a professor in the department of marketing and distribution at the Terry College of Business. His website entry lists him as the Coca-Cola Company Professor at the school. Zinkhan’s ex-wife is among the victims: Marie Bruce, 47; Tom Tanner, 40; and Ben Teague, 63. All were members of a theater group.
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