"Their Own Hotheadedness": Senator Benjamin R."Pitchfork Ben" Tillman Justifies Violence Against Southern Blacks

Thu, 15 May 2008 19:47:51 -0000

Tags: lynching racism populism sources politics

Posted by: david_voelker

Letter to My Granddaughter: How to Decide Whom to Vote for

Fri, 09 May 2008 17:33:37 -0000

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

Tags: history politics

Posted by: david_voelker

Letters Give C.I.A. Tactics a Legal Rationale - New York Times

Sun, 27 Apr 2008 19:55:50 -0000

Jack Bauer for President, anybody?

Highlights and Sticky Notes:

WASHINGTON — The Justice Department has told Congress that American intelligence operatives attempting to thwart terrorist attacks can legally use interrogation methods that might otherwise be prohibited under international law.

While the Geneva Conventions prohibit “outrages upon personal dignity,” a letter sent by the Justice Department to Congress on March 5 makes clear that the administration has not drawn a precise line in deciding which interrogation methods would violate that standard, and is reserving the right to make case-by-case judgments.

“The fact that an act is undertaken to prevent a threatened terrorist attack, rather than for the purpose of humiliation or abuse, would be relevant to a reasonable observer in measuring the outrageousness of the act,” said Brian A. Benczkowski, a deputy assistant attorney general, in the letter, which had not previously been made public.

“What they are saying is that if my intent is to defend the United States rather than to humiliate you, than I have not committed an offense,” said Scott L. Silliman, who teaches national security law at Duke University.

Tags: politics torture CIA

Posted by: david_voelker

David_voelker's Favorite Links on politics from Diigo

"Their Own Hotheadedness": Senator Benjamin R."Pitchfork Ben" Tillman Justifies Violence Against Southern Blacks

Letter to My Granddaughter: How to Decide Whom to Vote for

Letters Give C.I.A. Tactics a Legal Rationale - New York Times