TranceAddict Forums (www.tranceaddict.com/forums)
- Political Discussion / Debate
-- Compassionate Conservatism part deux: U.S. Still Holds Child Detainees at Guantanamo
Compassionate Conservatism part deux: U.S. Still Holds Child Detainees at Guantanamo
http://www.reuters.com/newsEarlierA...cted=2004-01-16
| quote: |
| Published on Friday, January 16, 2004 by Reuters U.S. Still Holds Child Detainees at Guantanamo by Sue Pleming WASHINGTON - The United States has held three child detainees at its military base in Guantanamo Bay for more than a year and the Pentagon said on Thursday it has no plans to move or free them, despite international pressure. A defense official said doctors estimated the boys were 13-15 years old and were deemed "enemy combatants" along with about 660 prisoners being held at the base in Cuba after the U.S. invasion in Afghanistan in response to the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on America. U.S. Still Holds Child Detainees at Guantanamo Two demonstrators dressed as Guantanamo detainees kneel outside the US embassy in London. (AFP/Eric Feferberg) "There has been lots of media speculation they were going to be moved out but that's all it has been, just speculation," the official told Reuters when asked if there were plans to move or release the teen-age detainees any time soon. A spokeswoman for the military task force holding the prisoners told Reuters last August that prison camp commander, Brig-Gen. Geoffrey Miller, would recommend the three boys be sent home, and this was confirmed by Miller a month later. The detentions without trial at Guantanamo Bay have drawn worldwide criticism from governments and human rights groups who have urged the United States to file charges against the prisoners and to send the children home to their families. The military official said the three were being kept separately from older prisoners in a refurbished house. They shared a large bedroom and there was also a dayroom, a kitchen and a facility where the teens received daily lessons. "They are being tutored in their own language and are learning other skills. They are being taught to read and mathematics." The official said there was a large yard around the house where the teens played soccer, volleyball and other games. NO FAMILY CONTACT He did not know whether family members had been informed of the teen-agers whereabouts but said they had been given access to Red Cross officials who visited the base. "None of the detainees has had direct contact with their families except for one," he said, referring to an Australian man David Hicks who was allowed to speak to his father on the telephone. In the past, senior Pentagon officials described the children as "enemy combatants" who despite their age were "very, very dangerous people" who "have stated they have killed and will kill again." Asked whether there had been any incidents involving the children, the official said he did not believe so. "The conditions they are being held in are humane. There have been very many media down there who have seen the conditions they live in," he said, adding that the media had not seen the children themselves. "We are not going to hold them up for public scrutiny or ridicule," he said. Jo Becker, advocacy director for children's rights at Human Rights Watch, voiced deep concern the children were still being held and called for their release. "They have been in detention since the early part of last year without any direct contact with their families or knowledge about what is going to happen to them," said Becker. She appealed to the military to free the detainees so they could be re-integrated with their communities and said there was particular worry about them being separated and detained during the vulnerable teen years. She said other teen-agers, aged between 16-18, were also being held at the U.S. base along with the older prisoners. The military official declined to provide any details on detainees aged between 16-18. Copyright 2004 Reuters Ltd |
Re: Compassionate Conservatism part deux: U.S. Still Holds Child Detainees at Guantan
| quote: |
| Originally posted by DaveSaenz http://www.reuters.com/newsEarlierA...cted=2004-01-16 Now before anyone says anything, I want you to imagine if that were your 13y/o son, brother, cousin, or friend. I'm glad they are being treated decently in terms of living conditions at least, but isn't this a bit like locking up old women? *Shakes head* This is just one reason why I feel that Bush is not a true Christian, and why we need regime change in Washington. |
Re: Re: Compassionate Conservatism part deux: U.S. Still Holds Child Detainees at Guantan
The funny thing is he fucked up my state before he became President, so I knew what we'd all be getting beforehand. 
He's not a real Texan anyways.
Ok here's some more compassionate conservatism for ya:
-Pretend to support Black voters by laying a wreath on Dr. Martin Luther King Jr�s. grave (amid a huge amount of protestors who were blocked from view by administration officials) as an afterthought before going to two million dollar fundraising events:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dy...-2004Jan15.html
-The next day appoint this man to the 5th circuit court of appeals without a Senate vote:
| quote: |
As a federal judge, Charles Pickering: criticized the �one-person, one-vote� principle recognized by the Supreme Court. suggested that large deviations from equality in drawing legislative district lines, which the Supreme Court has held presumptively unconstitutional, were �relatively minor� and �de minimis.� criticized or sought to limit important remedies provided by the Voting Rights Act. repeatedly inserted into his rulings, in cases involving claims of employment discrimination, severe criticisms of civil rights plaintiffs and the use of civil rights laws to address alleged discrimination. demonstrated a propensity to make it harder for some people to obtain access to justice, especially less powerful litigants, such as people raising civil rights or liberties claims. has been reversed 15 times by the 5th Circuit for ignoring or violating �well-settled principles of law� � 11 of those 15 in cases involving constitutional, civil rights, criminal procedure, or labor issues; in contrast, another Bush nominee who was confirmed to the 5th Circuit, Edith Brown Clement, was reversed only once during a slightly shorter tenure as a district court judge. engaged in unethical conduct in an effort to reduce the sentence for a defendant convicted for burning a cross on the lawn of an interracial family and by soliciting letters of support for his confirmation from attorneys who practiced before him. As a state senator, Charles Pickering: co-sponsored a Mississippi Senate resolution calling on Congress to repeal Section 5 of the Voting Rights Act (providing federal oversight over jurisdictions with a history of discrimination in voting) or to apply it to all states regardless of their discrimination history, widely seen as an effort to gut the Act. supported �open primary� legislation that was blocked by the Justice Department over concerns about discrimination against black voters. supported a resolution calling for a constitutional convention to propose an amendment to ban abortion. Hundreds of organizations, individuals and elected officials have announced their opposition to Pickering�s nomination: African-American organizations and leaders in Mississippi, including every local chapter and the state chapter of the NAACP, the Legislative Black Caucus, the Magnolia Bar Association, the Southern Christian Leadership Conference, and the Mississippi Worker�s Center for Human Rights, and more. National legal and civil rights organizations, including the Congressional Black Caucus, the NAACP, the Leadership Conference on Civil Rights, the Alliance for Justice, the Human Rights Campaign, the Mexican American Legal Defense and Educational Fund, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the National Bar Association and more. Local and national women�s rights groups, including the American Association of University Women, the National Women�s Law Center, the National Partnership for Women and Families, NARAL Pro-Choice America and the National Womens Political Caucus, and more. Labor organizations, including the AFL-CIO, the American Federation of School Administrators, AFSME, UNITE!, the United Steelworkers of America, and more. |
Regarding Judge Pickering, you guys are crazy if you think he was an unqualified nominee. He was supported by the leader of his local NAACP chapter (national NAACP got pissed about this), and he was regarded as well qualified by numerous national legal groups. He was held up by a handful of Democrats for pure politics - the leaked Democrat judicial memos from last November show this.
On his comments on voting rights, as any constitutional lawyer (or law student) who studies the issue will tell you, the "one man, one vote" principle has been wrongly construed for at least 20 years. The result is that it's harder to recognize historic voting districts that may be all-minority. Pickering was actually well ahead of his time in many of his decisions. The Supreme Court (with the current PA redistricting cases) is finally starting to "fix" the law.
And I always think it's hilarious when people bring up the fact that he was reversed 15 times by the 5th Circuit. Every judge gets reversed numerous times in their tenure, and Judge Pickering is laughably below the average. The 9th Circuit Court of Appeals in San Francisco was once reversed 3 times by the Supreme Court on a single day.
Ah well.
It's just a temporary appointment anyways. Since that court represents my region, it's still a slap in the face though.
How do you feel about the Guantanamo children?
I'd say Bush is on a roll lately.
Powered by: vBulletin
Copyright © 2000-2021, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.