War on Terrorism
Stopping Thugs and Terrorists
State sponsored terrorism needs to be stopped:
Springtime is on the way and already hundreds of farmers are tending pale-green shoots of Afghanistan’s chief crop and economic mainstay: opium poppies.
It looks to be a bumper year. Some 320,000 acres are blanketed in rows of sprouts that eventually produce almost 90 percent of the world’s heroin.
But drug agents are counterattacking. An army of 500 tractor-driving Afghans hopes to plow the plants under before producers grow powerful enough to corrupt the country’s fledgling government.
These 500 thugs and their sponsors have no higher standing than common thieves and murderers.
If the Afghani government will not live up to its sole responsibility which is to protect the life, liberty and pursuit of happiness of its citizens then these farmers have every right to form their own protective associations and deal appropriately with those who would destroy their property, land and lives.
Candidates for NSA Surveillance
These folks want to end the world and don’t seem bashful about saying so (reg):
Pastors of some of the largest evangelical churches in America met Tuesday in Inglewood to polish strategies for starting 5 million new churches worldwide in 10 years — an effort they hope will hasten the End Time.
Just what are the bushies doing to stop this conspiracy?
In an interview at Faith Central Bible Church in Inglewood, James Davis, president of the campaign, said, “Jesus Christ commissioned his disciples to go to the ends of the Earth and tell everyone how they could achieve eternal life.
“As we advance around the world, we’ll be shortening the time needed to fulfill that great commission,” he said. “Then, the Bible says, the end will come.”
They would do better to donate their money to this effort to achieve eternal life.
NSA Hearing Scope Too Narrow?
Orin Kerr picks up on something that’s been nagging at me today as I listened to the judicial committee hearings. There is a lot more going on than the particular program that seemed to be the focus of today’s hearings:
Perhaps the most interesting aspect of the AG’s testimony is his suggestion, made at various places, that there are other classified telecommunications surveillance programs beyond FISA and the NSA program.
If these focus at all on domestic surveillance without warrants then they need to be brought out into the light of day.
Oh yea, wasn’t gonzalez adept at saying nothing! But did anyone expect anything different?
mcain may be breaking
It looks like mcain may be reaching an unacceptable compromise with bush regarding exemption language in his amemdment barring inhumane or degrading treatment of prisoners:
Instead, he has offered to include some language, modeled after military standards, under which soldiers can provide a defense if a “reasonable” person could have concluded that he or she was following a lawful order about how to treat prisoners.
Hopefully this is not the case. pace got it right a few days ago:
“It is the absolute responsibility of every U.S. service member, if they see inhumane treatment being conducted, to intervene, to stop it,” the general said.
Rumsfeld interjected: “I don’t think you mean they have an obligation to physically stop it; it’s to report it.”
But Pace meant what he said. “If they are physically present when inhumane treatment is taking place, sir, they have an obligation to try to stop it,” he said, firmly.
This damn well better apply to every human being no matter who they work for.
Following orders is never an excuse for for inhumane behavior. Though it might be possible to consider a slightly less excruciating punishment for a perpetrator following orders than that given to one acting on their own or to the one who gave the orders.
Via Talkleft.