Saturday, July 21, 2007

Double Standard

Read this piece from Slate by Glenn Greenwald -- but only if you want to be pissed again at the hubris and double-dealings of our president and his morally-bankrupt administration. In the piece, Greenwald quotes from a document he discovered in which the US protested offenses against human rights taking place in Russia.

What was Bush saying about the Russians way back in 2001?:

"Authorities continued to infringe on citizens' privacy rights. Government technical regulations that require Internet service providers and telecommunications companies to invest in equipment that enables the [Foreign Security Service] to monitor Internet traffic, telephone calls, and pagers without judicial approval caused serious concern.?

"(P)roceedings took place behind closed doors and the defendants and their attorneys encountered difficulties in learning the details of the charges."

"(T)orture by police officers usually occurs within the first few hours or days of arrest and usually takes one of four forms: beatings with fists, batons, or other objects; asphyxiation using gas masks or bags (sometimes filled with mace); electric shocks; or suspension of body parts (e.g. suspending a victim from the wrists, which are tied together behind the back). Allegations of torture are difficult to substantiate because of lack of access by medical professionals and because the techniques used often leave few or no permanent physical traces."

But when we do it, it's in defense of freedom and liberty, so it's OK, right George? What a joke. It will take years to undo the damage this man has done to our once-great country.

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